Author: Lara
Merry 20% off Xmas to Me!
My husband and I have a unique arrangement. We tell each other exactly what we want for gifts and then go buy it. We occasionally surprise each other, but for the most part, we know what’s coming. He wanted a breadmaker, so I ordered it from Amazon, got it 2 days later and started making bread. I REALLY wanted the Urban Decay Vice3 Palette…and wouldn’t you know it, I just got a 20% off at Ulta coupon!
Since my husband is out of town fishing, I decided to “be nice” and go pick up my own gift today. I say “be nice”, because it really benefits me. I get to use my 20% coupon AND I get the Ultamate Rewards points. Of course, the first Ulta was out of stock. So I got to use my $5 off $10 coupon on Zoya Remove+ and some headbands.
I found success at the second Ulta though – they had at least 20 vice3 palettes. (I wonder if I have to wait until Xmas to use it? I bet I can use it tomorrow, since he already got to use his breadmaker…) I also picked up a 4 pack of $10 gift cards for teacher gifts. Since both Logan’s teachers complimented my nails during my last parent teacher conference, I think they’ll enjoy it…
I had to hit Bath & Body Works – I couldn’t resist $2.50 Hand Soaps, especially since they were only $2 with my 20% off coupon. I showed restraint and only picked up 16…which I will be sharing with my little sister.
I also hit Bed Bath & Beyond to use a 20% off coupon on a new ceramic skillet for my husband’s birthday. (I totally hoard those coupons. My sister and BFF even save theirs for me…let me know if you need one – I have plenty extra this year.) How lucky am I that he always wants kitchen stuff for gifts?
Merry 20% off Xmas to me!
Ulta Cyber Monday Bag
Online shopping orders are coming in! There were some smoking beauty deals on Cyber Monday…Ulta offered the choice of 3 different beauty sample bags with a $60 purchase and since I needed some gifts for my bestie, why not order online and get a gift for me?
I chose the pink glitter bag, mostly because it came with a sample of Benefit The POREfessional. This bag is LOADED with goodies!
Makeup: Benefit The POREfessional (my biggest beauty concern right now is my giant crater like pores); Cargo Swimmables Water Resistant Bronzer (Uh…no.); Bare Minerals 5in1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow (I’ve gotten this before and never tried it); Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm in “Nude Glow” (I’ve been wanting to try this!); Ulta Lip Gloss in “Charmed”; tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush in “Fearless”
Face: Hada Labo Ultimate Anti-Aging Facial Mask (with a $3 off coupon); Rodial Stem Cell super-food facial oil; Exuviance Daily Antioxidant Peel CA; Philosophy Purity Made Simple 3-in-1 cleanser for face and eyes
Body: Vitabath Body Wash “In Bloom” (Asian Orchid & Coconut)
Hair: Rusk glue (Deluxe sample!); Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Shampoo and Conditioner (Anti-aging shampoo? Really?); Macadamia Beauty Deep Repair Mask
Fragrance: Dolce & Gabbana “light blue”; Dolce & Gabbana “light blue” Pour Homme; Marc Jacobs “Daisy”; Dolce & Gabbana “Dolce”
Other: Hollywood Fashion Secrets Fashion Tape (I actually need this – my boobs are always popping out)
Coupons: 20% off your next hair service at Ulta The Salon; $10 off Bare Minerals (online only); $15 off any online purchase of $75; $5 off any Ulta brand purchase of $10+
I chose the variety sampler and got Ouidad Moisture Lock (I don’t have curly hair) and a single use sample of Butter London Lippy Moisture Matte Lipstick in “Ruby Murray”. It was kind of a lame sample pack, but I don’t even care with all this other great stuff.
Barbie Bride
Forget the Ugly Christmas Sweater – now I feel like a beautiful Barbie Bride!
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure “Sweet Talker” is a pale, pale pink.(I got it in my Allure Beauty Box a few days ago!) It’s a thin, milky polish and was still streaky after the second coat. I might have been able to get a smooth finish after three coats, but since I knew I was gonna put Julep “Chatoya” over it, I didn’t bother. (It will be relegated to the “undercoat only” pile.) Julep’s site describes “Chatoya” as a bright platinum glitter top coat, but upon close inspection, it’s a mix of silver and rose gold glitter – and absolutely stunning. Again, I used the Sinful Colors Base Coat and Sally Hansen Diamond Flash, which is quickly becoming my go-to combination.
Although I didn’t have it in mind when I picked this nail polish combination, it perfectly matches my vintage Barbie Bride ornament, which also adorned my wedding cake oh-so-long-ago. (Poor Ken is hidden behind my hand.) I can’t wait to show off more of my Xmas ornaments…
Ugly Christmas Sweater
Behold…the nail polish version of the Ugly Christmas Sweater.
My husband does NOT like this at AT ALL. All he would say is that it’s “not pretty” – which is just him being nice. It’s beautifully hideous if you ask me…
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I used just a single coat of Sinful Colors “Sugar Sugar” and a thick, goopy coat of Funky Fingers “Fra-Gee-Lay”. Sally Hansen Diamond Flash smoothed down the goopy, stacked glitter. My husband said it felt like modeling clay after it dried – smooth, but rippled.
Isn’t that cupcake ornament cute? My mother-in-law gave it to me a few years ago. I just wanna lick it!
Allure Beauty Box – December 2014
Because I knew this season’s Allure Beauty Box would go on sale during my Thanksgiving vacation, I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to jump on the computer and purchase it…again, I was able to get this value-packed box of goodies – over $250 of stuff for $44.95 + $10 shipping.
Is it possible that this box is even better than the last one? Inside: Aloxxi Conditioning Detangler (Lily might be getting this); Bioré Self heating One Minute Mask (I would have tried this out tonight if it wasn’t for a freak mustache wax accident this morning – don’t ask); Burt’s Bees Cucumber & Sage Facial Cleansing Towelettes (I totally used up the e.l.f. ones I got last time, so I know I’ll use these); Cetaphil Intensive Moisturizing Cream; Clean & Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer; Colgate Optic White Toothbrush + Built-In Whitening Pen (weird); Colgate Optic White Platinum Whiten & Protect Toothpaste (cool); Curel Skincare Rough Skin Rescue (the only duplicate from the last box – my husband already called dibs on this bottle to take to work); Dove White Beauty Bar (I didn’t know people still used bar soap?); Jergens Natural Glow 3 Days To Glow Moisturizer (I don’t need to be browner, so this will be gifted); John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Colour Protecting Moisturising Conditioner (this shit is my JAM); John Frieda Colour Refreshing Gloss for Cool Brunettes; John Frieda Frizz Ease Nourishing Oil Elixir; Neutrogena Boost Water Gel; Not Your Mother’s Whip It Up Cream Styling Mousse (do people still use mousse?); Organic Doctor Organic Manuka Honey Hand & Nail Cream; Organic Doctor Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Hydrating Radiance Elixir; Physicians Formula Nude Wear Glowing Nude Blush in “Rose” (YES, YES, YES); Rusk Texture Dry Finishing Spray; Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in “Sweet Talker”; scünci Hair Emergency Kit (my purse needs this); Shea Moisture Superfruit Complex Body Lotion; Splat hair Chalk in “Dusty Rose” (why not?); and Style Sexy Hair Dry Shampoo (yes, more dry shampoo).
My only disappointment was that there was no face wash! Now I have to go buy some fucking face wash!
Target Beauty Boxes – December 2014
I wasn’t expecting another Target Beauty Box so soon – the last one came around just 2 months ago! This time, there were 3 boxes to choose from. Of course, I got the regular $10 Beauty Box for myself, but this time – they had a $5 Men’s box. My husband has been envious of all my subscription boxes, and now he finally got one! There was also a natural box, but none of the products interested me, so I skipped it.
Inside the Men’s box: Gillette ProGlide FlexBall Razor – we both use Mach3 and this looks similar; Dove Men+Care Dry Deodorant Spray; Old Spice Swagger 2in1 Shampoo and Conditioner – the last deodorant I bought him was Old Spice Swagger, so this will match; Neutrogena Men Invigorating Face Wash – I don’t think I have ever seem my husband wash his face…at least not like girls wash their face; Proraso Shaving Cream; and AXE Peace Shower Gel – yay for travel sizes!
The Women’s Beauty Box is a major score for $10. Inside: Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen – maybe this is THE ONE, the one that will give me the correct cat eye; Revlon HD Lacquer in “Petalite” – I am getting overloaded with Barbie pink lip gloss; Clairol Hair Food Thickening Solution – it’s a full size product, but it sounds like a pain in the ass to use, having to put in your wet hair, comb through and then rinse out; L’Oreal Butterfly Intenza Mascara – I love the original, so this one has to be twice as good; Cover Girl Eye Enhancers in “Daring Nudes” – no matter how many expensive palettes I get, I still use these Cover Girl quads weekly; ChapStick Total Hydration Lip Care in “Sweet Peach”; Laneige Water Sleeping Mask; and Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum.
As always, free shipping on these boxes and 5% off with my Red Card. You can’t beat this deal with a stick!
My Sharna
This is Julep “Sharna” from this month’s Maven box. I absolutely adore the fine, sharp texture of Julep’s microglitters. I’ll never add a top coat because I love the sandpapery feel of the glitter. I used Orly Bonder for the base coat – it does a great job of keeping the tips from chipping.
I’ve never heard of anyone named “Sharna” – but then I googled it and saw that it’s the name of one of the dancers on Dancing with the Stars. Hmmm…what an odd name.
It’s a Major Award!
Like I said…I can’t go shopping without getting something for myself. Yesterday, I took Lily to Five Below to pick out Christmas presents for her brother and I couldn’t resist the A Christmas Story themed polishes from Funky Fingers.
The three polishes are “Red Ryder” – I need another red glitter like I need…I ALWAYS need more red glitter; “Double Dog Dare Ya” – blue and fuchsia glitter; and “Fra-Gee-Lay” – white, red and green glitter.
I really wanted some of the other movie themed polishes that they had – they have one called “Jawbreaker“ – but I decided to hold off until my next trip…
December Julep Maven Box – The Countdown Collection
Once again, I got my Julep Box on the 5th – they’re really getting really good at their shipping times. My Julep Box was buried among 8 packages yesterday – a Harry & David box from my boss (pears from Oregon – yum), my Shutterfly Calendars and the rest from Amazon! I only have a few more gifts to buy left…
“The Countdown Collection” stars Orbital Eye Shadow, a shimmery shadow that can be worn dry OR wet. I picked “airglow” – champagne with rose gold pearlescence. I love baked wet/dry shadows, so I hope it’s similar! I also customized the shadows in my box: It Girl “Sharna” – bronze-dipped full-coverage microglitter – and Boho Glam “Chatoya” – bright platinum glitter top coat. For a treat, there were 2 Red Bird Southern Refresh-mints.
Since I switched to the customizable box, I can no longer use my Jules to pay for boxes. I was sad, until I realized that I had so many Jules that I could use them on other stuff – like their new holiday line. I picked SWEEP – The Photogenic Palette. It a palette of 11 neutral shades – matte and shimmer. 11 is such an odd number, but whatever. Even though there’s a sea of naked/nude palettes on the market, I feel like I gotta get em all!
Not a Julep Maven? CLICK HERE to join! Get a FREE Jingle Bells Welcome Box with code TREAT!
Marsala
So Pantone announced their 2015 “Color of the Year” – Marsala, described by Pantone as ‘a naturally robust and earthy wine red‘. Well, aren’t you so fancy, Marsala? Personally, I think it’s just an excuse for Sephora to sell makeup…but what do I know? I’ll go ahead and play along, I’m throwing my Marsala into the ring…
This is Sinful Colors “Hot Chili”. It’s definitely an ‘earthy wine red’, but also has holographic gold glitter. It’s not a smooth polish and really needs a good top coat – I used Sally Hansen Diamond Flash. For some reason, my thumb really started to bubble underneath the top coat and remained rough, but the rest of my fingernails are as smooth as glass. I wasn’t all that good at chemistry, so I have no godly clue why. Oh yeah, Sinful Colors Base Coat first.
I admit, I might be tempted if Sephora comes out with a Marsala set like the one that came out last year for Radiant Orchid. It doesn’t take me very much to be tempted by makeup – does Sephora take direct deposit?