Author: Lara
Target Beauty Boxes – June 2016
One for me and one my man…
My box was $10 and loaded to the gills: Pantene Expert Intense Hydration Shampoo (a HUGE bottle – but no conditioner!); SheaMoisture Fruit Fusion Creme Rinse (I guess I can use this with the Pantene Shampoo); Pixi Mesmerizing Mineral Duo in “Apricot Glow”; Laneige Water Bank Serum (love Laneige); S.W. Basics Exfoliant (Um, basically granola); L’Oreal Paris True Match Cushion Foundation in “Nude Beige”; L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Volume Filler Cream (what will I be filling with this?); Soap & Glory Righteous Butter Body Cream (yum); Yes to Cucumbers 10-count Facial Wipes (How many of these do I have now?); CoTZ Face SPF 40 (coming to Mexico with me); and e.l.f. Lip Kiss Balm in “Bare Kiss”.
His box was $5 and not nearly as full: Nautica Life Cologne (husband said NOPE); got2B Glued Spiking Glue (husband shaves head, son has long hair); Marlowe No. 142 Men’s Shave Gel; Axe White Label Night Body Wash; Old Spice Hardest Working Deodorant; Dove Men + Care Complete Care 2-in-1 Shampoo; Nivea Men Creme (moisturizer?); Schick Hydro Men’s Razor; CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar (the box opened slightly and left soapy flakes all over the inside of the box); and Remington Beard Boss Beard Oil (husband said nope, but I’m gonna make him try it). With all these travel sizes, he’s ready to travel, too!
As always, I got 5% off with my Target Red Card and a coupon for $3.50 off any beauty purchase of $15 in each box. I also remembered to use the $3.50 off coupon from last month’s box – SCORE!
June Julep Maven Box – Midsummer Light
When you get so much mail in one day (Saturday) that it takes days to work through the backlog…
June’s theme is “Midsummer Light”. I wasn’t wowed by the polishes this month, but I did choose one that looked pretty – Wonder Maven “Naveena”, lush jungle teal jelly. I have lots of teal polishes, but no teal jellies.
For beauty products, I chose one of the new Skip the Brush Creme-to-Powder Blush Sticks in “Warm Bronze”. I’m hoping it will give me a sun-kissed glow without actually stepping outside. I also chose a new shade of When Pencil Met Gel Long-Lasting Eyeliner in “Sunset Gold”. I’m gonna bling out my eyes.
My only complaint…NECCO wafers. Fucking disgusting. My husband called dibs and he can have those nasty things.
Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!
Platinum Perk – Urban Decay VICE Lipstick
Another Platinum Perk from Ulta – am I gonna get one every week?
It was obvious from the outside of the box that I would be getting something from Urban Decay‘s new line of VICE lipstick. But what?
I carefully opened the outside box and pulled out the folder to find 24 samples of VICE lipstick. That’s a lot of lipstick…but nothing compared to the 100 lipsticks that make up the whole line. There are shades from every color family – purple, pink, red, brown and nude. There are different finishes – sheer, cream, matter and metallized. I better get my lip brush ready to break into all those little pods…
There’s also a folded up insert, featuring Ruby Rose (gorgeous), with all 100 shades shown. I was pleased as punch to find that 1993 (my new favorite shade) is part of the permanent collection.
Beauty Killer
It’s here…my precioussssss….
I didn’t get home until after 10 PM Saturday night, but the first thing I did was bust open that box and start smearing it all over my face. Beach hair, slightly sunburnt…still fabulous. I didn’t care that it was 4 AM in Scotland – I was sending Sally pics and videos. I will expect nothing less when she gets hers!
Launched on May 25th, I was lucky enough to get an order in for the first batch of Jeffree Star Cosmetics first eye shadow palette – “Beauty Killer” ($45). I was there at 12:00 sharp, with my finger on my phone.
Look at how BIG those shadow pans are. No other makeup company gives you that much shadow. And look at the color names – “Courtney”, “Black Rainbow”, “China White”…and they’re SO pigmented. I was able to apply “Rich Bitch” to my eyelids with just my fingers.
I also got one of Jeffree’s new Skin Frost Highlighters – “Ice Cold” ($29), a platinum lightning bolt across your face. I’m not exactly good at using highlighters, but I’m sure going to have fun trying.
I also couldn’t believe that “Rich Blood” was still in stock from it’s launch the week before…I snatched that sucker up! I also added “Prom Night”, because why not get free shipping? Over $100 = free shipping!
Oh…and Jeffree has two NEW lipstick shades launching on June 8th. “Mannequin” and “Rose Matter” will be mine…oh yes, they will be mine.
Aloha Beaches
Finally!
A new collection of summer polishes from Funky Fingers at Five Below! Grammy was taking this kids to go birthday shopping, but I ended up doing more shopping for me…
I found these three polishes and I couldn’t stop giggling at their naughty names. The peachy pink is “Beach Please”. The chrome-y blue is “Salty Kisses” – Grammy and I couldn’t stop laughing at that one. (No one wants salty kisses…no one.) The shocking pink one is “Aloha Beaches”. These were well worth 3/$5.
I found a big floppy hat ($5) to wear at the beach and the pool…yup, I am officially one of those old ladies. I always manage to get a sunburn on the part on the top of my head. It only took my 40 years to do something about it.
I also found a huge inflatable flamingo for $5…huge might be an overstatement. The jury is still out as to whether I’ll be able to wedge my fat ass into it…at the very least, I *should* be able to get it around my waist…if not, I guess Lily will get a new pool toy.
I let me husband pick which one I would try first…
…and he chose “Aloha Beaches”. Good choice, honey.
I didn’t realize that these polishes are demi-matte. This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat. The formula is nice and smooth –
I decided to forego a top coat, so I could enjoy the matte finish. Ugh, I’m too rough on my nails to go without a top coat. Even though my nails were dry a full two hours before bedtime, I still woke up with sheet marks in my nails. Even worse, I had to get my car towed to the dealership today and taking my keys off the keyring mangled a few of my nails. Bah, humbug.
Flawless Ulta Haul
So…sometimes you just wanna buy something,
After perusing the Memorial Day sales…I was just about to place another overseas Makeup Revolution order (since they were giving away £25 Mystery Bags again), but I had a hard time getting my order up to £30. The only palette I really wanted badly was the Flawless Matte…
…and Ulta has it! On Memorial Day, they were giving away a free mystery sampler with a $50 purchase…no brainer.
So, in addition to the Makeup Revolution Flawless Matte Palette ($15), I also picked up a Makeup Revolution Baked Blusher in “Loved Me the Best” ($5) – these seem to be Laura Geller dupes – LOVE.
I also picked up one of the new NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipsticks – “Clubhopper” ($6.99) and one of the new NYX Plush Gel Lipsticks – “Breakup” ($6.99). I tried “Breakup” today – so smooth and moisturizing, but doesn’t last long on the lips.
How else can I get to $50? 2 bottles of Zoya Remove+ ($10 each) and a pack of Ulta Exfoliating Cotton Pads ($3.49). Done!
That Mystery Bag had some cool stuff: Mario Badescu Enzyme Revitalizing Mask, LORAC Alter Ego Lip Gloss in “Goddess”; Ahava Dead Sea Crystal Osmoter X6; NKD Skin Tinted Tan Mousse (NOPE); bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in “Get Ready” (my third one – I sent the last one to Sally); and Rodial Glamoxy Snake Serum (like that shit in Vegas?).
I also got a free sample of DevaCurl Waves Ahead Loo-Poo Delight – I don’t have curls, but why not try it for free? The free Butter London lippie was sold out. Sad face.
For my regular samples, I got Redken High Rise Volume Shampoo & Conditioner and Garnier Skin Active Clearly Brighter Brightening & Smoothing Daily Moisturizer.
Free shipping for an order over $50, plus got to use a $3.50 off coupon.
So look at that palette…all those warm matte colors…I tore a chunk out of my thumb nail whilst peeling the plastic off – but it was totally worth it.
Pink Lady Fingers
What kind of silly name is that for a nail polish? “Pink Lady Finger”. Oh, if only I could name nail polishes…this one would be “Pink Lady Flamingo”.
I tend to think that all pink creme polishes look like a plastic lawn flamingo. This is Jenna Hipp “Pink Lady Finger”. I was looking for a neon-leaning, summery polish for this weekend. I think this one fits the bill.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat. The first coat was streaky, but I thought the second coat would take care of it…nope, still a bit streaky on the second coat – BUT…“HK Girl” made it much less noticeable.
I am in love with my index finger right now – I want to have it’s babies. It’s the perfect length and perfectly shaped – that never happens. Actually, ALL of the nails on my left hand are looking really good right now. So that means I’ll break one tomorrow…guaranteed.
Platinum Perk – Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil
Ulta Platinum has it’s benefits. Literally.
I was pleasantly surprised to get a surprise from Ulta in the mail yesterday. It was a product from Benefit’s new line of brow products, launching June 24th. Once I figured out how to get the box open, I found a Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil in Shade 3. Cool!
I tried it this morning. The tip is an oblong diamond, similar to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer or Hourglass Arch Pencils that I have. Performance was similar and Shade 3 matched well enough, but it wasn’t a perfect match. At $24, it’s more expensive than the Anastasia, but cheaper than Hourglass. I lean towards the Anastasia Caramel as my favorite anyway.
I’ll definitely continue to use this pencil, but I don’t know that I’ll be buying it.
Finger Bangin’
Sinful Colors “Bangin’ Blue” makes my fingers bangin’. (I know, that was just bad.)
“Bangin’ Blue” is a smurf blue jelly, loaded with jagged slivers of iridescent glitter. When I say loaded, I mean LOADED. This is just two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat. The one annoying thing…the sharp edges of the glitter poke through the “HK Girl”. It’s like my fingernails are ninja stars.
And I was right – “Bangin’ Blue” IS the blue version of “Devil’s Stare”!
Glamingle
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When you don’t have the polish you want – you gotta make something up. I wanted something that would match my very favorite “i heart ronson” flamingo shirt – mostly black, but with flashes of pink.
I was imagining a polish in my head that’s black and pink at the same time. I tried a few pink glitters over blacks, but it didn’t look right. Then I got the bright idea to use a pink micro-glitter/shimmer…yassss.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I laid down two coats of Sinful Colors “Starry Night”, which is a black with rainbow micro-glitter. I then used a coat of Sinful Colors “Zest of Times” to bring the pink. I finished with “HK Girl”.
No angle would really do my nails justice – they are WAY more pink in person. I just couldn’t get the light to reflect the pink in my closet. (It was too dark and rainy all day for an outside pic.) Trust me, they will look SMASHING with that shirt.
It just came to me…why didn’t I just use Bitchcraft? That’s what I really wanted all along…