Author: Lara
Elmo Pubes
I really don’t know how else to describe China Glaze “On the Nice List”, except that it looks the bathroom floor after Elmo gives his fuzzy balls a trim.
When I first applied, I thought “On the Nice List” was a sparse microglitter, but upon closer inspection, it’s a sparse micro bar glitter. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. I probably could’ve gotten full coverage in 3 or even 4 coats, but I didn’t want to totally torture my nails. It’s so friggin’ hard to take of glitter polish, especially bars.
7 down, 5 to go – I’m on the home stretch, baby!
January Sephora Play! – Stress-Free Beauty
Oh, no matter how up to date I am on my posts, Sephora Play is always gonna be running late!
January’s theme is “Stress-Free Beauty” and includes products for your relaxation rituals.
So I wonder if Sephora knew that Kat Von D was jumping ship, when they put together this box? Did they know and use it as an opportunity to offload liners with the old branding? Or did was the move truly a surprise? Who knows? In any case, I have another Kat Von D Beauty Tattoo Liner in “Trooper”.
Also in this month’s box: Cover FX High Performance Setting Spray; Glamglow SUPERMUD Activated Charcoal Treatment Mask; Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Soothing Treatment Lotion (I JUST got this in October’s box!); Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer; and Giorgio Armani Beauty Si Passione (gross and stinky).
This box was meh. Sephora – do better!
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 prestige samples a month, for just $10! You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
Unwined
I finally found a solution for my shampoo problem!
My shampoo problem isn’t that uncommon – I buy matching shampoo and conditioner, but I always end up with more shampoo than conditioner. These little packets will be the solution to my extra shampoo issues.
These little Deep Conditioning packets from HASK were on clearance at Walmart for $1 each, down from $1.98. Each packet should give me two applications. I picked up 5 of them to start, although now I’m regretting not buying more. I wanted to try them all: HASK Greek Yogurt Color Protection Deep Conditioner, Sweet Escapes by HASK Vegas Baby Deep Conditioner, Unwined by HASK Sauvignon Blanc Shine & Nourish Deep Conditioner, Unwined by HASK Pinot Noir Repair & Moisturize Deep Conditioner, and Unwined by HASK Brut Rose Color Protect & Hydrate Deep Conditioner.
Of course, I already tried the Vegas Baby Deep Conditioner. It made my hair unbelievably shiny and bouncy, and it also smells amazing. Yeah, I definitely need to go back for more.
Me Ate Santa’s Cookies!
I mean…who else would eat Santa’s cookies besides Cookie Monster?
This is China Glaze “Me Ate Santa’s Cookies!” from the Sesame Street 50 Year Anniversary Collection. It’s a shimmery baby blue, just like Cookie Monster himself. It’s beautiful!
This is two coats of “Me Ate Santa’s Cookies!” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
I’m halfway through the whole collection!
50 Shimmering Years
Okay, after a brief distraction with Sporty Brights, I’m back to the Sesame Street Collection. For some reason, I’ve lost the privilege of picking the shade to sample – Lily is now choosing shades for me.
Lily chose China Glaze “50 Shimmering Years”, a full coverage rose gold glitter. I got full coverage in two light coats, over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I wanted to see it matte, so I used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on my ring finger and regular Glisten & Glow Top Coat on the rest.
I have a lot of rose gold glitters, but this is a nice one that I could see owning a full size bottle.
This is the 5th shade I’ve sampled – just 7 to go.
Target Beauty Boxes – January 2020
Target released TWO Beauty Boxes for January – hallelujah!
I was really excited to get a sample of Love Home & Planet Laundry Detergent “Lavender & Argan Oil” – even though lavender gives me a headache. I am obsessed with the laundry detergent though – I have the Rose version and I love the way it makes my clothes smell! The bottle came with a $2 off coupon, which I will DEFINITELY use. Also in the “Clean Up Your Beauty Routine”box: Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Body Lotion (giving to my son); Lumene Nordic-C Cleansing Balm; Lumene Nordic-C Arctic Berry Oil Cocktail; Native Deodorant Mini in “Charcoal”; Burt’s Bees Flouride Free Purely White Zen Peppermint Toothpaste (going to Vegas with me); Mrs. Meyer’s Oat Blossom Hand Soap, and Up & Up Premium Cotton Rounds (also perfect for Vegas).
The other box – “Out with the Old, In with the New” – is full of brand new products: Clairol Hair Food Coconut & Chai Spice Sulfate Free Shampoo and Conditioner (the scent sounds weird, but I’ll try it); Crest 3D White Radiant Mint Toothpaste (maybe I’ll let my husband use this one in Vegas); Que Bella Limited Edition Watermelon peel off mask & Cooling Avocado Clay Mask Duo; Creme of Nature Perfect Hold with Exotic Shine (This says it is for “edges” – I don’t think I have “edges”); Boots No7 Laboratories Firming Booster Serum; Olay Regenerist Whip Facial Moisturizer (I love the way this feels on my face – my face just drinks it up); and Olay Regenrist Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer (this one is great, too).
Both of these boxes were GREAT!
Each box was $7, with free shipping, plus 5% off with my Target Red Card. Both boxes came with $3 off $15 coupons that expire in just a few days – I better hurry! I did use last month’s coupon – I took my daughter to Target the day after Xmas and bought half off Xmas Beauty goodies, like brushes and nail polish gift sets.
RIP Little Polishes
It’s hard to say goodbye to dried up nail polishes, even if they are petrified beyond rescue. I recently reorganized my nail polishes and came upon these three polishes that could not be saved.
The hardest to let go of was Revlon Street Wear “Furball”. Revlon Street Wear was a fun line of nail polishes from the 90s – they offered a rainbow of colors and textures before it was mainstream to do so. I’m pretty sure that I picked this polish up in college. It’s very similar to Sinful Colors “Glass Pink”, so I won’t mourn it too much.
I also said goodbye to Revlon Nail Art “Break-up”, a dried up crackle polish. I think it’s a dupe of OPI “Super Bass Shatter”.
I was surprised that China Glaze “Boo-Gie Down” was totally solidified – but I guess I did buy it almost 6 years ago… no dupes that I can think of, I might need another black, white and gold glitter.
Rest in peace, little polishes…
Flamingo Socks
I SWEAR this was an accident. I had paired up my new Sporty Brights by complementary colors and had Lily pick which pair I tried first. It wasn’t until after I had finished them, that I realized that they matched the Flamingo socks I was wearing.
I also didn’t realize that I still had some Sinful Colors Base Coat left in the bottle – there’s maybe one use left after what I used with this look. I started with two coats of the blue, Sinful Colors “Double Time”, and orange-coral, Sinful Colors “Warning!”. I used a dotting tool to add polka dots in the complementary color to my ring finger and pinky. There is a rubber-like texture to the polish, It’s supposed to be like the sole of a sneaker? To me, it doesn’t feel like a sneaker sole, as much as they feel like kindergarten chairs. Remember those molded plastic chairs that they used to have in elementary school? THAT’S what these polishes remind me of.
I finished with the new Sinful Colors Rubber Top Coat. The top coat definitely preserved the rubber texture. I am curious to find out if it will add the texture to a plain polish.
Sporty Brights
New font, who dis? Look at these fancy new Sinful Colors bottles – the first new collection of 2020 has a new font AND a new finish.
I came upon the entire “Sporty Brights” Collection at my HEB. I picked up all 7 shades and the new Rubber Top Coat at $1.98 each. Per the stickers, they have a “Sneaker-like Texture.”
The shades are, left to right: “Fit Chick”, “Warning!”, “Shoot & Swishhh”, “Fitspo”, “Double Time”, “Werk Out”, and “Trainers”. I’m itching to try these 80s looking, neon babies out.
January 2020 Allure Beauty Box – 2020 Vision
It’s only January and I’m already sick of the “2020” puns. Lordtttt help me.
This month’s Allure Beauty Box is full of beauty innovations. Some of these were so good that I snatched them up and took them to the bathroom immediately!
The evening I got the box, I broke open the Kate Somerville Exfolikate – I love getting any Kate Somerville sample I can. I also started using the Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Water Cream – it smells SO good and I love what hyaluronic acid does for my skin.
Also in this month’s punny box: tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara (SMART mascara? PUHlease…); Akar Skin Pure Lip Restoration (this definitely will be going to Vegas with me); Vitabrid 12 Dual Drop Serum (interesting); and Naturelab Tokyo Perfect Shine Oil Mist (I really liked the Naturelab Perfect Shampoo and conditioner in September’s box).
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.