Author: Lara
Pride Skittles
June is Pride Month, so how about Pride Skittle Nails?
Technically, I guess these aren’t Skittles – I blended the colors on my nails instead of using one color per nail. I pulled out the Sinful Colors Pride Collection and got to work.
I am terribly boring and blended the colors in ROY G BIV order, starting with red “Tainted Love”, orange “Tight Squeeze”, yellow “Natural Blonde”, green “Filthy Rich”, blue “Love is Love”, and purple “Drag Queen”. I layered two coats of each over Glisten & Glow Base Coat. The unique finish is from topping with Sinful Colors Rubber Top Coat – it’s basically just a slightly rougher matte top coat.
The shades blended really well, except for the yellow and green. I feel like the yellow and green blended really awkwardly. My favorite blend ended up on my right thumb, the red and purple. I don’t normally take pics of my neglected left hand, especially my stunted and damaged thumb nail, but I really wanted to show the blend in this post.
Vroom, Vroom MF
I heard on the internets that Sinful Colors added two more shades to the new Quick Bliss Collection…I mean, I needed some Walmart stuff anyway…
No need to go on a scavenger hunt – my closest Walmart had both of the new shades. The red is “Speedster” and the lavender shimmer is “Vvvroom”. Both have stickers denoting that they are “Bebe’s Shade” – oh hey, more Bebe Rexha collabs.
I even paid full price for these – $2.98. That’s a far cry from my 2/$1 hauls from Dollar Tree.
Spark
Oh hot damn, this polish is FIRE.
I’ve been swimming in Sinful Colors lately, so I decided to pick a neglected polish from the back of the cabinet…I cannot believe I’ve been sleeping on Formula X “Spark”. I was expecting a sparse topper, but this is no topper – this is a full coverage glitter, baby!
This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Base Coat. I used Glisten & Glow Top Coat on my first three fingers and Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on my ring finger and pinky. It will surprise no one that I like the matte look better.
Dare I start checking Tuesday Mornings to see if there are any Formula X bottles left? The one by me is NOT going out of business…
Double Dollars
I may have hit two more Dollar Trees over the last week, searching for more nail polish.
I did find two more two packs worth getting! The first one had Sinful Colors “Thera-pewter” from the “Stoned Crystal Shimmer” collection and “Bite Me”, which I feel like was from a Halloween collection. The other pack had Sinful Shine “Rule My World” and “Clay Me” from the “Stoned Crystal Shimmer” collection.
I also found a two pack of nameless wet ‘n wild polishes. I HATE nameless polishes – but I got em anyway. There was a blue shimmer and a pink and red glitter.
It’s hot as hell here in Southeast Texas, so I definitely recommend picking up a few $1 fans from Dollar Tree. I found a “Shade” fan to match my “Slay” fan.
I do NOT recommend picking up hair clips from Dollar Tree – these cheap shitty plastic clips did not hold all of my hair and they scratched my scalp. I gave them to Lily.
Do you have any hot Dollar Tree deals to share?
Smurf Queen
Remember “Smurf Pox”? THIS is what I was expecting when I got “Smurf Pox”. I really like the light blue jelly base – it looks great on my nails.
Sinful Colors “Pop Queen” is also from the 2017 Moon Metal Collection – I think I have all of them now. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Base Coat.
I topped ALL of my nails with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat – I love the gummy bear look of a mattified sheer/jelly polish.
Sephora Favorites Hello! Beauty Icons Set
Just a month after Sephora unceremoniously killed their $10 monthly Beauty Box subscription, they release a $10 sample set. OhhhhhhKAY, I’ll bite.
Yeah, I picked up the $10 Sephora Favorites Hello! Beauty Icons Set. Honestly, I wouldn’t have bothered if I had to pay for shipping with it, but Sephora is still offering free shipping for COVID.
Why do I have so much Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb? I get samples from every service, month after month. It’s fine, I even wore it today. I’d never buy it, but it’s an okay scent if you have half a dozen samples of it.
I used the Living proof. Restore Repair Mask on my hair this morning – it smells so expensive, but didn’t make is noticeably softer.
Also in the kit: NARS Lipstick in “Toléde”; Youth to The People Superfood Antioxidant Cleaner (I’ve gotten this in a box previously – it’s good); Nudestix Nudies Matte Blush & Bronze in “Sunkissed”; and Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream (love this stuff, going to put it on before bed tonight).
Oh, and the set included 15% off coupons for full sizes of the included products. Yeah, I will never use them.
I also got regular Sephora samples: Verb Ghost Shampoo & Conditioner and Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask. Just $198 to maintain my VIB status.
FYI, the set is currently still available on Sephora’s site, so go get it here.
Berry Blue
I buy so much cheap nail polish, that sometimes I forgot what all I’ve got!
I reached WAY back in the TV cabinet and found Sally Hansen Insta Dri x Jelly Belly “Berry Blue”. I cannot believe I let this beauty sit for nearly a year without trying it! It’s a beautiful opaque blue, smooth and self leveling.
This is two coats of “Berry Blue” over Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat. I tried it glossy, using Glisten & Glow Top Coat on my first three fingers and matte, with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on my last two fingers. Hands down, I prefer the matte look – it’s that much more sophisticated…well, as sophisticated as blue nail polish can be.
Back to Back Ulta Hauls
I know I just ordered, but June 1st was Diamond Day, with a whole load of Diamond Exclusive Offers…
I shopped so long that I missed a Special Diamond Gift Bag and Nail Purchase Bag – they were both sold out by the time I placed my order – well, shit. I did still get the Makeup Revolution “Fierce Mind” Eyeshadow Palette for free with $25 makeup purchase. It’s got 4 huge pans of neutral shimmer shades that can easily be used as blush, too. The makeup I picked to get it was a mix of new products. I wanted to try Colourpop Ultra Blotted Liquid Lip ($7) in “Cypress Chill”, a bricky red. It is a matte liquid lipstick, but with a muted finish – it does appear to be blotted down and soft focus. I want more shades! I also tried the new NYX Dip Shape Go Longwear Brow Pomade in “Dark Brown” (usually $11, but all NYX was 40% off, so it was $6.60). This is similar to Julep’s Don’t Leave Your Brows at Home, but in a pomade form. If I’m gonna use a pomade, I’d prefer this all in one form, instead of the brush and pot being separate. That being said, this product did give me fuller brows, but I did have to finish them off with a slim pencil for definition. This product is not one and done.
Coincidentally, I did buy a back-up of my favorite brow pencil – the Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($10) – it counted as makeup towards the free eyeshadow AND towards an Ulta 4 piece gift, with $19.50 purchase. The gift contained a HUGE clear tote bag, a small palm tree patterned makeup bag, Ulta Watermelon Makeup Remover Facial Towelettes, and Ulta Watermelon Waves Juicy Gloss. Oh, the other purchase was Ulta Brush Cleaning Solid Soap ($10). I am devastated that Ulta no longer carries the Japonesque Solid Soap, but I’m holding in my tears and trying another brand.
I went all in on stocking up on skincare to get ANOTHER Skincare gift with purchase. My son has been breaking out lately, so I got him Garnier SkinActive Clean+ Blackhead Eliminating Scrub ($8.49) and Biore T-Zone Targeted Deep Cleansing Pore Strips ($9.99). I was all excited when I showed him, but he said he felt personally attacked. Rude!
For myself, I got Sagely Naturals Relief & Recovery CBD Cream ($9, but I swear it was $28 when I looked at it a few weeks ago). I’d gotten this sample a few times, and although CBD seems to be a bullshit ingredient, the tingly menthol in this moisturizer is not bullshit – it feels AMAZING on my face. I also got Freeman CBD Balance Jelly Mask + Scrub ($9.99) and Dr. Organic Rose Restoring Face Scrub ($15.99). Both are bit more pricey than I usually get, but I am a sucker for scrubs and roses.
The “Be Your Own Sunshine” Sample Bag includes Ulta Beauty Makeup Remover Facial Towelettes, Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water All-in-1 Waterproof; Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream (more eye cream!); proactivMD Deep Cleansing Face Wash; it Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream; Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate; Peach & Lily Glass Skin Refining Serum; and Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel. That’s a lot of skincare!
The only coupon available was $3.50 off – but hey, better than nothing. I’m now $784 to Diamond Status and I have accrued $50 in points!
Ulta Breakout & Chill
I’d been saving The Sign Tribe’s Remove and Chill Nail Enamel Remover ($14.99, $11.99 after 20% off coupon) in my cart for a quite a while, waiting for a good gift with purchase or coupon. I had both, so I ordered!
This product is a game change for anyone who cannot stand the smell of nail polish remover. It’s a cream that you put on your fingernails that melts off the nail polish remover. There’s no chemical scent, it’s just like a super moisturizing cuticle cream. I’ll be honest, it takes a loooong time to dissolve the polish, and it takes a double application because of the thick top coat that I use. I’ve used it twice (on Sinful Colors “I Ain’t Jambalayan” and Sally Hansen “Berry Blue”) and it’s removed all the polish both times, but neither of those are glitters, so I’ll reserve my full judgement until I try it on a glitter and on my toenails. It’s also quite expensive, even compared to my $10 Zoya Remove+.
The other part of my purchase was the Kate Somerville Breakout Fighters Kit ($55). This kit is kind of bullshit, but it’s my own damn fault, because I should’ve checked the sizes it contained. The main reason I bought it was for the 1 oz EradiKate Acne Treatment ($26 alone), because I was close to running out. This smelly sulfur elixir is the only thing that tames the acne on my chest. The kit also contains a 1 oz EradiKate Daily Cleanser Foaming Cleanser Acne Treatment – but I thought it was the 4 oz size, which is normally $38. That means the 1 oz is worth $9.50. The kit also contains EradiKate Salicylic Acid Treatment (0.33 oz) – the full 1 oz size is $58, so I guess this tiny sample is supposed to be worth $19.33. The Kate Somerville Oil Free Moisturizer (which is very, very nice on my face) is $65 for 1.7 oz, so that makes the .5 oz size about $19.12. I still don’t feel like I got that great of a deal, even if it is all worth $73.95 together…boo.
The Skinfatuation gift with purchase was also disappointing – but AGAIN, my own damn fault. I didn’t realize that it was exclusively eye creams, which I barely use and have a shit ton of. The gift includes Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels; it Cosmetics Confidence in an Eye Cream (I love the moisturizer, so I bet this one is good, too); StriVectin Intensive Eye Concentrate for Wrinkles; Dr. Brandt Needles No More No More Baggage Eye De-Puffing Gel; La Roche-Posay Toleriance Ultra Eyes Soothing Repair Moisturizer; and CeraVe Eye Repair Cream.
$874 to go until Diamond in 2021.
I Ain’t Jambalayan
I could not wait to dig into my Dollar Tree haul.
Sinful Colors Sinful Shine “I Ain’t Jambalayan” is a shrimpy peach shimmer with a gold overtone. It’s from the 2016 or 2017 “Bayou Babes” collection.
This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It’s so shiny!
Man, now I’m craving cajun food!