Author: Lara
Xtraterrestrial Effects
Oh, no biggie…but I found the ENTIRE Sinful Colors “Xtraterrestrial Effects” Halloween Collection by Saweetie at my Walmart. I absolutely bought them all, plus an extra set for a nail friend.
The pink one is “Big Mamaz Ship”, the blue one is “Icy Monstar”, the clay colored one is “Baelien”, and the green one is “Lil Beast”. They were $1.98 each. The collection also includes these alien nail decals ($2.98). I didn’t keep these, I had purchased them for my friend.
Time to get freaky with these textured polishes.
September 2021 Ipsy Bag – Back To
September’s theme is “Back to”, as in Back to School, Back to Work, Back to Life. I know they mean well, but I cannot help but roll my eyes at seeing that trope yet again. Businesses desperately want everything to go back to normal…
My product choice this month was Grace & Stella Hydrating Rose Facial Spray. I tried it out and my face just felt…wet. It dried quickly, but it didn’t seem to do much. My skin didn’t feel moisturized and it did not leave a scent. I don’t exactly understand this product.
Also in this month’s bag: Bioclarity Barefaced Exfoliating Jelly Cleanser (this has a strong veggie smell); BRTC Vitamin B5 Velvet Mask & Vitamin A Velvet Mask; Tarte Sugar Rush Lash Smoothie Volumizing Hemp Mascara (they are putting hemp in EVERYTHING these days); and Verso Skincare Night Cream (I am not kidding when I say that this smells and FEELS like Elmer’s Glue – I kind of like it).
My daughter was eyeing the bag – she said it was giving her Hufflepuff vibes. (Of course, she’s never seen Clueless and doesn’t get the 90s yellow plaid vibe.) I was a kind mommy and promised her the bag.
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $12/month and Glam Bag X for an extra $43/quarterly. If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Skurt Skurt
What is a “Skurt Skurt”? Not only does it sound my cats puking…it also looks like cat puke! Cat owners know…
Sinful Colors “Skurt Skurt” is from Saweetie’s Graffiti Collection. I picked it up on a whim at HEB, along with “Hella Clean”, “Skurt Skurt”‘s lavender cousin.
This is just two coats of “Skurt Skurt” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Sinful Colors does love their puke glitter…and I wouldn’t have it any other way. At least this one doesn’t smell like tacos.
Lacey Business
Why yes, this is my 4th nail polish post in a row…and the next one will be the fifth. I just haven’t been shopping as much lately. I need to be more depressed, I guess.
This is Color Street “Lacey Business”, one of the new sets I just received. I absolutely LOVE this set – it matches everything! My nails are super long right now, so this was a rather expensive mani – I had to use whole strips on each nail, except for my pinkies.
This set lasted over a week!
Dragon Fruitie
I found another Saweetie “Vacation Vibes” polish at HEB! Add to cart…
Sinful Colors “Dragon Fruitie” is a less like a dragon fruit and more like a tomato-y red. It’s a true cream, which surprised me, since “Colada Mama” and “Mushy Gushy Mango” had a nice shimmer.
I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, and then added two coats of “Dragon Fruitie”. My pinky is topped with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat, while the rest of my fingers got regular Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
French Vanilla Starlight
After less than two days, most of the Dashing Diva Nail strips were lifting up and getting all linty. I just said, “fuck it” and peeled off the offending strips while walking around Kroger. (Don’t worry, I didn’t just drop them – I stuck them on the back of my shopping list.)
The stained glass accent strip on my ring finger was holding up well, so I left it on and built a whole new look around that one nail. After Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, I did two coats of Sally Hansen x Jelly Belly “French Vanilla” on my thumb, index and middle fingers. “French Vanilla” is an odd polish – I’ve never seen a plain white jelly bean with sparse silver glitter, but whatever. My pinky got two coats of Sinful Colors “Starlight”. I also gave my index finger a light coat of “Starlight” over “French Vanilla”. “Starlight” is from the “Moon Metals” Collections – a sheer gold polish with sparse domed glitters. I finished off with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
I have not been doing enough visually interesting manicures like this – I need to mix and match more, instead of just sampling single polishes!
All Lined Up
So…after figuring out the trick to applying Color Street Nail Strips, I thought…why not try all the strips in my stash???
First up is Dashing Diva Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Nail Strips in “All Lined Up”. I believe I got these in an Allure Beauty Box last summer, but Ulta sells them for $7.99. Most of the strips are light gray, but a few of them have gold stripes or geometric shapes. There are also accent strips with a stained glass pattern of white, gold and silver, as well as clear with a gold geometric pattern. I liked the accent strips much more than the plain gray strips.
The Dashing Diva strips are like vinyl sticker, more like Jamberry or Mani Me than Color Street. Application was fairly easy, although the strips did not file off as easy as Color Street.
A nice as these looked the first night, the light gray strips started lifting off my nails the very next day. I did not, however, have that issue with the accent nail strips. I had not had this issue with any other brand of strips! Ugh, I would NOT recommend buying these, at least not the solid color strips.
U Got the Look
Urban Decay released their Prince Collaboration back in May…but I patiently waited for the sale that I knew would come…
I don’t need new brushes or more eyeliner…but you know I’m always down for more eye shadow. I picked up the Urban Decay Cosmetics Prince U Got the Look Palette for 50% off ($27.50, down from $55). There are just 10 shadows, which is not many for $55…but not so crazy at half the price. There’s a nice mix of neutrals and purples and the quality is on par with other Urban Decay palettes. I’ve been enjoying using it this week. There is also a Let’s Go Crazy Palette, with more purple, but Ulta is sold old. Sephora has it, but since it is just purples – as one would expect – I’m skipping it for now.
I added a few other items to my order – a full size Megababe Rosy Pits Daily Deodorant ($14) and Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Balm ($8.99).
Even with the $3.50 coupon, my order qualified for a free Platinum & Diamond exclusive 13 piece gift with Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels; Philosophy Nature in a Jar; CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser; Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair (love getting this serum); Clinique High Impact Mascara; MAC Fix+; Smashbox Photo Finish Primer; It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product; Perricone MD High Potency Growth Factor Firming & Lifting Serum; Benefit Boi-ing Cakeless Concealer; La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum; Sunday Riley CEO Brightening Serum; and Good Molecules Clarify & Cleanse Bar. Lots of good stuff for my skin!
Just $352 to Diamond in 2021!. I also have $262 in Ulta Points saved up…dare I splurge on a Dyson Air Wrap???
Tealing Power
Sinful Colors “Tealing Power” has been kicking about my nail polish cabinet for several years…but I felt like blue fingernails, so it got lucky.
“Tealing Power” is a teal (obviously) sparkle shimmer. I don’t know what that means – I just made it up. The shimmery polish isn’t really a glitter, but there are specks of something in the polish that give it a 3-dimensional stone-like feel.
This is two coats of “Tealing Power” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
August 2021 Ipsy Glam Bag X – Halsey
Soooo…since Ipsy is my last subscription box standing, I decided to splurge and upgrade to Glam Bag X. Glam Bag X is $55/per quarter, or just an extra $43. I guess I could’ve gone with Fab Fit Fun or Boxycharm, but I’ve had such good luck with ipsy that I felt I should try Glam Bag X first.
August’s Glam Bag X was curated by Halsey. I only know a few Halsey songs, but there is one I really like, “You Should Be Sad.” It’s a top tier break-up song – one of the best I’ve ever heard. There were a lot of possibilities for inclusion in this bag and I really liked being able to pick three products.
My first product choice was Prose Hair Perfume in Corsica. It’s a light jasmine scent and I really like it. I also picked RÓEN Beauty Liquid Lip Balm in “Charlie.” It’s more of a gloss than a balm, but it’s not sticky like a gloss and it has really good staying power. My last product choice was the Slinky Stasher – yes, I actually chose yet another makeup bag. I don’t remember what my other choices were, but they must have been lame for me to choose another makeup bag.
The star of the box is the ĀTHR Beauty Moonlight Crystal Palette – I believe everyone got this one. It’s full of beautiful, vibrant purples and greens. I’ve been using it nonstop since I got it. The shadows are high quality and blend like butter. The close runner up was Volition Beauty Yaupon Tea Glow-Awakening Moisturizer – it’s very similar to my beloved Fresh Rose in texture.
Also in the bag: About-Face Light Lock Highlight Fluid in “Fight or Flight” (I haven’t sampled – who needs highlighters during a hot Texas summer?); Fenty Beauty Full Frontal Volume, Lift & Curl Mascara in “Cuz I’m Black” (this is a GREAT mascara – I’ve been using it daily); and Herbivore Botanicals Emerald Deep Moisture Glow Oil (I tried this before bed and my face stuck to my pillow – no thanks).
So far, I am very pleased with Glam Bag X – this is definitely worth $55, although I am skeptical that it is worth the $270 ipsy says it is.
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $12/month and Glam Bag X for an extra $43/quarterly. If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.