Category: Makeup
Sephora Play! 07 – March 2016
“The Perfection Collection” is Sephora’s March theme – and it is the most perfect box yet. I’ve gotten almost all of these products before…but haven’t tried some of them…yet.
This box gives me my 3rd bottle of Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil – I guess I better try it. Also inside this month’s box: Murad Invisiblur Protecting Shield Broad Spectrum SPF 30 (I’ve got another sample of this, but cannot remember if I’ve tried it); Fresh Soy Face Cleaner (gentle and smells like cucumber); Sephora Collection The Perfectionist Airbrush Sponge (looking forward to trying this one); Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in “Trooper” (I’ve got several of these, but I love the cute little mini size); and Maison Martin Margiela Replica “Beach Walk”.
If you haven’t signed up yet – do it NOW. This is by far the best subscription box I get every month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
March Beauty Box 5 – Make Room to Bloom
“Make Room to Bloom” – sure, why not?
This month’s Beauty Box 5 is full of pastels and flowery things: Colour Me “Sky Blue” Fragrance (very strong Freesia scent – reminds me of a stronger version of Bath & Body Works Freesia); Mai Couture Blush & Highlighter Papiers (this is DUMB – tinted paper you rub on your cheeks); Pur~lisse Blue Lotus 4-in-1 Eye Adore Serum (full size is $65 – really?); Glamour Dolls Eye Shadow Duo in “Secret Weapon” (shimmery nude and copper shades); Personail Custom Floral Nail Polish Wraps (very Easter-y); and a bonus temporary tattoo – a rose.
Not a bad box…but some weird stuff, for sure.
March Ipsy Bag – Hello, Spring
Hello, Spring!
March’s ipsy bag is here to help me say, “Hello, Spring” with an adorable blue and red rose bag. Inside my bag: a Beau Gâchis Paris eyeshadow brush; Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Pencil in “Jet”; Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco 3 Day Smooth Perfect Blow Dry Cream; Nudestix Lip + Cheek Pencil in “Mystic”; and NYX Cosmetics Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in “Kitten Heels” (So happy to get this color).
Oh…and I used my ipsy points to get Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter. It smells awesome and matches my bag.
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
On Wednesdays, We Order from Ulta
Ulta knows what they are doing, offering their Wednesday Beauty Breaks…I’ll be pondering on whether to order something, I’ll get that email, and I’ve clicked “Complete Order” before I know what hit me…
Since my main purchase was a gift, I’ll show you the stuff for ME that I got. I ordered BOGHalf Freeman Beauty Masks – both new – Banana-Oat Instant Smoothing Mask and Charcoal & Black Sugar Mud Mask. There’s a new Apple Cider Vinegar Mask that I wanted, but it was sold out.
This weeks Beauty Break (free with $50 purchase) was from Laura Geller. It was Baked Marble Eyeshadow Duo in “Pink Icing/Devil’s Food”; Color Drenched Lip Gloss in “Pink Lemonade”; i-care Waterproof Eyeliner in “Charcoal”; and double-ended makeup brush (I wanted this the most!) – all in a cute gold wristlet.
I got nearly the same skincare samples AGAIN – Benefit The POREfessional and smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. Both are good products – but I have so much! Oh…and I used a $3.50 off coupon to get my total to $50.94 – I’m getting good at this!
March Birchbox – Ready for Anything
This month’s Birchbox has me “Ready for Anything”!
I chose this month’s curated box. Inside the box: PARLOR by Jeff Chastain Smoothing Blowout Spray; MILK Studios Lip Color in “C.R.E.A.M.” (What is this, lipstick for ants?); Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Trio in “Filter” (Pretty browns, but unfortunately, one of the pans is shattered); Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream; and Wilma Schumann Hydrating Collagen Eye Pads.
A cute little box…if I can salvage the eye shadow and figure out how to use that tiny little lipstick.
If you would like to try Birchbox, click on my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join.
You Complete Me
My life is now complete…I now own the missing piece in my collection – Urban Decay “Naked 3”.
Our lives haven’t been syncing up lately, so it’s taken a month and a half for my BFF and I to get together and exchange some gifts – I got us matching “Shenanigans” shirts from Victoria’s Secret for us for St. Patrick’s Day and she had birthday gifts for my rugrats and I.
SO happy to finally have “Naked 3”! I broke it open this morning…and even used primer potion like a big girl. The rose gold toned colors complement my skin perfectly. I want to wear this at my funeral.
The World is Not Enough
Obviously, there’s not enough makeup in the United States, so I’ve had to resort to ordering makeup from the United Kingdom to get my fix! Technically, I guess there’s just not enough Makeup Revolution at Ulta, so I had to order from their website to get my fix.
Over Leap Day weekend, Makeup Revolution was offering 20% off orders, so I figured that would be enough to makeup for the $18 shipping, so I ordered £30 of stuff…I ordered the Death by Chocolate palette (one of their 4 tributes to the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palettes); Blushing Hearts Blusher in “Candy Queen of Hearts” (a tribute to Too Faced Sweethearts blush – I love the way this one looks on me); 2 WOW Sticks – “Dreaming” (this one looks like I rubbed Pepto Bismol on my lips – it’s gross and chalky) and “Maria” (this dark wine is a winner and lasts all day); Salvation “Dia de los Muertos” palette (same 18 shadow set up as the other Salvation palettes); “Go to Hell” and “Go to Heaven” palettes (the only palette I’ve tried so far is the “Go to Heaven” – it’s pinky neutral and lovely); Rose Gold Lipstick in “Chaffeur” (a true nude – good for ombre-ing with “Maria”); The One Foundation (need to try, but experiencing a breakout); and Translucent Pressed Powder (a nice basic mattifying powder).
$18 shipping was ABSOLUTELY worth it for all this loot. Shipping didn’t take too long – 15 days, but that’s a loooong time for me. When is Ulta going to get more Makeup Revolution???
Bonus Ulta Haul
For the past few years, I’ve had a ritual. As soon as I find out what my yearly bonus will be, I go online and buy the makeup that’s been on my mind. I only spend around $50 – nothing huge – it’s just a fun, immediate way to celebrate.
This time, I immediately went to Ulta’s site and started adding.
First was another Makeup Revolution Palette and another Salvation Lip Lacquer in “Nothing Like Anything”.
In addition to 3 more NYX Lip Lingerie and another Lip Ombre Duo in “Rags & Riches”, I also decided to try NYX HD Finishing Powder in “Banana”. Yup, I’m gonna try Banana Powder…the Kardashian Holy Grail for contouring. I’m not going to contour, per se…I don’t know what I’m gonna do with it.
There was also a Skincare Beauty Break – it was free, so why not? It came with a Clarisonic brush head (I don’t have a Clarisonic…yet); Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel; Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser; Exuviance Purifying Clay Mask; and Bliss Fabulous Makeup Melt. My freebies were Benefit Air Patrol and Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer (I think I have enough of this to paint my house now).
I promise – these NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipsticks are NOT all the same color. From top to bottom, they are “Push-up”, “Corset” and “Bedtime Flirt”. The formula is creamy, although a bit drying, and last almost all day
I wore “Push-up” today – it looked great with a dramatic matte eye. It did feel dry after a few hours, so I did a bit of lip balm over it to replenish my lips. It didn’t melt away and didn’t leave any weird residue on my lips.
I couldn’t resist swatching the Makeup Revolution Salvation “New-trals vs. Neutrals” palette. It’s a bit frustrating that all the Salvation palettes come in identical plastic cases…although this palette is matte black plastic and “Girls on Film” is shiny plastic. Other than that, the only way to tell them apart is to look at the stick on the back. This palette also comes with the shadow names printed on the plastic liner – I love that! It also came with a good quality, dual-ended brush – instead of the sponge applicator in “Girls on Film”.
The quality also feels better than “Girls on Film”. I wore it this morning, sticking to the lightest matte and the orangey matte for my crease. It went on flawlessly with the brush and blended beautifully. I’m looking forward to trying the shimmers tomorrow – they look very similar to the UD Gwen Stefnai palette. I’m in HEAVEN…at least until my monster order for the Makeup Revolution site makes it across the pond…
The Makeup Revolution
I’ve been curious about Makeup Revolution since it launched in the US at Ulta last summer. It’s a UK brand, famous for their prestige dupes and ridiculously low prices. Seriously – palettes for $5-$10 and lipstick for $3-$5. I hadn’t gotten around to trying out the brand…until my fellow makeup enthusiast in the UK, Sally, placed an order…then I had serious makeup envy.
I was out shopping with my big sis this past weekend, so of course there was a stop at Sephora and Ulta. I didn’t see anything new at Sephora, but I went directly to the Makeup Revolution display at Ulta. It was pretty well picked clean, but I managed to find a few things…
The first thing I grabbed was the Makeup Revolution Salvation “Girls on Film” palette. 18 eye shadows – 12 shimmer and 6 matte – for $10! The colors are smoky neutrals, leaning towards copper and bronze. It’s not a dupe of any well known products, but it reminds me of the Urban Decay “Mariposa” Palette.
For the last few years, I’ve been dutifully detailing my purchases, but I’ve decided to try branching out and swatching some of my purchases. My palette is no longer pretty after swatching, but I have already used it the past three days, so it was no longer pristine anyway.
After three days, I’ll say that the quality is fairly decent. The shimmers are buttery and blend well. They do tend to fade through the day, but I haven’t been using any primers – they tend to feel heavy and itchy on my eyes when I wear them through the work day. The matte shades aren’t as vivid as I would like, but still better than the usual drugstore or store brands.
I also tried one the Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquers in “Vamp” ($5). I wore it today and it applied smoothly and dried matte…but disappeared on my inner lips right after coffee. I tried to perk it up with lip balm, but the balm totally dissolved it, so I had to wipe it off. I am not thrilled with the staying power, but it would work for going out.
I also found a single NYX Lip Lingerie in “Exotic” ($6.99) – just one in the entire store, stashed among the Soft Matte Lip Creams. I grabbed it quick! I wore it Sunday – it is an almost perfect dupe for Kat Von D “Lolita”! It, too faded after a hearty Taco Bell meal…but I was able to revive it with lip gloss. Since it is a lighter shade, it still looked good with gloss on top and didn’t dissolve.
I was rather irritated that the current coupon was 20% off one item – I only got $2 off my palette.
I’ve also been spying on the Makeup Revolution Website…so much more than what launched at Ulta! They have Too Faced Chocolate Bar, Urban Decay Naked/Electric and LORAC Pro dupes, plus well-reviewed foundation. I am having a hard time stomaching the $12-$15 shipping, so I signed up for their emails…hoping for a sale that makes the shipping worth it…until then, I’ll just have to buy EVERYTHING available through Ulta.
Sephora Play! 06 – February 2016
February’s Sephora Play! theme is “Now & Later” – beauty essentials for all day and all night.
As soon as I opened the box, I knew I would be giving the Tom Ford “Black Orchid” to my big sis – Tom Ford is her favorite. She also bought a few Tom Ford rollerballs when we went to Sephora over the weekend. Also inside this month’s box: bareMinerals Pop of Passion Lip Oil-Balm in “Plumberry Pop”; Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencil Longwear eyeliner in “Noir Intense”; Bumble and bumble. Pret-A-Powder (I am intrigued to try this different take on dry shampoo); Make Up for Ever Rouge Artist Natural in “N9 Copper Pink” (this color looks BANGIN’); and tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara.
Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.