Author: Lara
Brita
“Brita” is a fantastic name – it’s not just for water filters. In addition to RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 12 front-runner, Brita Filter, there’s Brit(t)a from Community and I even have a great, great, great grandmother named Brita.
Julep “Brita” is a sleek frozen raspberry chrome. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. There were a few little pinprick bubbles, but nothing too bad. It lasted fairly well. If anything, it was too ordinary – I’ve been spoiled by weird textures and smells!
“Brita” is one of the mini polishes from the Hypnotic Frenzy Set.
March 2020 Allure Beauty Box – Spring Vibes
Oh come on Allure Beauty Box – you gotta do better than this!
I hate when Beauty Boxes just throw a bunch of random old products in a box together. I got Floss My New Favorite Lip Gloss in “Lax” in last June’s box. Don’t even get me started on the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in “Zero” – I think I have about 12 of these.
I wasn’t upset to get Mamonde Red Energy Recovery Serum – I’ve been wearing it every morning after my show. I’m not sure what it is helping my skin recover from, but it feels nice.
Also in this month’s box: Rodial Glamolash Mascara XXL; Dr. Botanicals Lemon Superfood All-in-One Rescue Butter; and Lapcos Ceramide Firming Mask.
Okay Allure Beauty Box – you’re on warning! No more crappy boxes or I am gonna have to cancel!
The Allure Beauty Box is $15/month, but they give you $5 off your first box. They also offer an option for $150/year – a savings of $30. Sign up via my referral link.
Chocolate Cake
Sinful Colors “Chocolate Cake” had an even stronger scent than “Cookies & Cream”! It wasn’t the same scent either – it was more of a rich dark chocolate, whereas “Cookies & Cream” was more milky scent.
“Chocolate Cake” also has a crumbly texture, similar to “Cheese Puff”. It also seemed shinier. It’s settled – the sweet scents have a far stronger scent throw than the salty ones.
This is two layers of “Chocolate Cake” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I feel like “Chocolate Cake” chipped faster than “Cheese puff”, but that might have been an optical illusion because the polish is so dark and it’s more obvious right away.
I really hope Sinful Colors comes out with more fun scented polishes – maybe some fruit scents? Or ice cream? Their scented polishes also make me think that Sally Hansen REALLY missed an opportunity to add scents to their Jelly Belly collaboration .
Orange Capsule
I know it’s super cliched…but this palette is SO PIGMENTED.
This PIGMENTED palette is the Sugarpill C2 Orange Capsule ($42), an Ulta exclusive. This is my first experience with Sugarpill shadows, and I am very impressed. No primer needed with these shadows – they spread on the lid like butter. I was drawn to this palette for one particular shade – that bright turquoise shimmer – “Skyrise”. Even though I loved they way it looked on me, my husband said I look like Mimi from The Drew Carey Show. He doesn’t understand FASHION. Now I want the Pink Capsule Palette!
I also tried out a new brow pencil – Colourpop Brow Boss in “Dark Brown” ($6). It’s a great price, but still not as good my Ulta Holy Grail for a few dollars more. It doesn’t blend as well and fades throughout the day. It’s fine for work, though.
Black Moon Lippies are 30% off ($12.60, down from $18) – I wonder if this means they are dropping the brand? Anyway, I picked up “Warrior”, a Breast Cancer Awareness nude matte.
Oh, and I got a Women Founded Beauty Sample Bag, with it Cosmetics Mini Blurring Foundation Brush; Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer, Sweet Spot Labs Vanilla Blossom Gentle Wash (it says “gynecologist recommended”, so I guess it is for my vajayjay?); Benefit The POREfessional, Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream (I’ve tried this before and really like the smell); Sunday Riley A+ High Dose Retinoid Serum; Pattern Heavy Conditioner for Coilies (will be gifted to a curly-headed friend); Sagely Naturals CBD Cream (I tried a previous sample of this while in Vegas, and it TINGLED so bad – I loved it); DefineMe Sofia Isabel Fragrance (an orangey vanilla rollerball); and Drybar Jump Start Quick Dry Blowout Serum.
I was able to use a $3.50 off coupon, leaving me with $1,007 more to get to Diamond again.
Unbroken
I was skeptical…until I actually put it on.
Mischo Beauty Nail Lacquer in “Unbroken” reminds me of silly putty. It’s a neutral taupe that leans slightly purple. It looks bland in the bottle, but it is really striking on the nail. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Oh, and I even have a matching lipstick – Kat Von D “Haze”!
I really enjoy trying out new (to me anyway) brands via my ipsy bag – they need to keep it up!
March 2020 Ipsy Bag – Celebrate You
I am all out of order this month – I barely know what day it is or what subscriptions I’ve gotten!
This month commemorates Ipsy’s 100th Glam Bag! I haven’t been a subscriber since the start, but I’ve gotten at least 60-70 of those bags. This month’s bag is one of the more homely color schemes – teal and chartreuse.
I love clay masks and I was expecting the Generation Clay Brightening Purple Clay Mask to be BRIGHT PURPLE. It was not. It was nice on my skin and made it soft and silky, though.
Also in this month’s 100th glam bag (with a bonus 6th product!): Luxie Beauty Periwinkle Pro Precision Tapered Brush; Awake Lip Therapy Mask; Mischo Beauty Nail Lacquer in “Unbroken”; Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream (my product choice this month); and Belle en Argent Lip Luire Gloss in “Jealous of Us”.
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $12/month. If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Pizza Party
I know you’re DYING to find out – Sinful Colors “Pizza Party” smells like oregano. Slightly spicy oregano. It definitely has the weakest scent so far.
This is two coats of “Pizza Party” over Glisten & Glow Base Coat. Much like “Cookies & Cream” the bar glitters started lifting and peeling almost immediately.
I’m trying to figure out the ingredients in this pizza…The base is a light tan, so I am assuming it is the crust, because sauce would be red. So this pizza has no sauce. There is black microglitter – so there is pepper on the crust. As for toppings, we’ve got red circle glitter – pepperoni, yellow circle glitter – mushrooms?, and white bar glitter – mozzarella cheese. So – a peppery pizza with no sauce, topped with pepperoni, mushrooms and scant cheese. No thank you, Sinful Colors, that sounds DISGUSTING!
Kaia
Oh HIEEEEEEEEEEE. I’m back from a little staycay in East Texas.
I keep seeing this color everywhere – golden reddish orange? What shall we call it – “grorange”? This is Julep “Kaia” and they describe it as flaming red orange metallic.
This is two coats of “Kaia” over Glisten & Glow Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It lasted well, but again – DISHES were my downfall.
I also applied to my toes – it’s a great Spring polish.
Target Beauty Boxes – March 2020
For the third month in a row, Target gave us two Beauty Boxes this month!
The “Spring Break” box knocked it out of the park. The star of the box is a FULL SIZE Schmidt’s Rose & Black Pepper Natural Deodorant, which retails for $7.99 on its own! I’d gotten samples of Schmidt’s previously, and it left my pits red and irritated. I gave this one a shot and I’ve had no redness or irritation. I am in love with the peppery scent!
Also in the “Spring Break” box: Thayer’s Witch Hazel Alcohol-Free Toner Facial Mist; Nexxus Therappe Ultimate Moisture Shampoo; Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisture Conditioner (this scent brings me back to my childhood, when my mom would buy this conditioner and I would sneak it); Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Unscented Refreshing Dry Shampoo; OGX Refresh & Restore + Coconut Miracle Oil Dry Shampoo (do I really need two more dry shampoos?); and Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser. This is a fantastic box!
The other box was themed “Dermatologist-Trusted Skincare” and included: La Roche Posay Touleraine Hydrating Gentle Cleanser; CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser for Normal to Oily Skin; CeraVe Eye Repair Cream; Vichy Aqualia Thermal Rich; La Roche Posay Anthelios Tinted Mineral Suncreen – SPF 50 (this stuff is really good – I’ve sampled it before); CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion; Vichy Mineral 89 Eyes; and Vichy Mineral 89. This is a great, high end box!
Each box was $7, with free shipping, plus 5% off with my Target Red Card. (Strangely enough, no consolidation discount was offered with the March boxes.) Both boxes came with $3 off $15 coupons, and THESE coupons have an extended expiration date of 6/30/20. I should have no problems getting to use both these coupons!
Bite Me
No…you stay over there…six feet away!
Sinful Colors Quick Bliss in “Bite” is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day nail polish. It reminds me of an iguana – green with a bluish textured shimmer. The texture was a surprise – I’d seen swatches in Instagram, but I thought it was a trick of the light or glitter. Sinful Colors is full of surprises!
This is two coats, over Glisten & Glow Base Coat. Again, no top coat, so I could enjoy the texture. The newer textured Sinful Colors polishes have amazing staying power – much better than earlier batches.
With all the “social distancing” and working from home, the days are running together. When I woke up Monday, I was convinced it was St. Patrick’s Day – I threw on my “Shenanigans” tank top…about half way through the day, I was looking at the date on something at work…SONOFABITCH. So, I didn’t have anything green to wear today, although there is a little bit of green on the Wicked Witch Shirt I’m wearing today…*sigh*…maybe next year.