Smoky Palo Santo
Who doesn’t want their fingers to smell like burning wood?
This is Sinful Colors “Smoky Palo Santo” from the Essenchills Collection. The scent is very, very faint – but they did smell like exotic burning Palo Santo for about 24 hours.
This is two coats of “Smoky Palo Santo” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. Without a top coat, the polish started chipping rather quickly, which was a disappointment.
Blueberry Milk
Blueberry Milk sounds…DISGUSTANG!
Even so, I absolutely LOVE this nail polish – Nailtopia “Blueberry Milk”. I was supposed to go on a work trip a few weeks ago and this was the color I chose – it matches the streaks in my hair – but it was canceled due to inclement weather in North Texas. But guess what, bitches? My trip was rescheduled for this week and I am painting my nails tonight. You’ll be seeing “Blueberry Milk” again soon…
This is two coats of “Blueberry Milk” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Lunar New Year Ulta Haul
The Crème Shop had a cute endcap display of Hello Kitty Lunar New Year stuff, but I passed it by in-store, just to order a bunch online for the kids and I. My son likes Kuromi, so I got Kuromi Fortune Macaron Lip Balm in “Lucky Lychee” ($10 each) for him and I. I got my daughter Hello Kitty Fortune Macaron Lip Balm in “Apple Blossom” ($10) for my daughter. So what if they arrived slightly after Lunar New Year? I’ll save the gift with purchase – a set of 4 lucky red envelopes & stickers – for next year.
I saw an Insta post about how amazing L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Fresh Wear Foundation In A Powder ($15.99) is, so I added to cart. I used Ulta’s Shade Finder to pick “20 Ivory” and it was (shockingly) a perfect match. The Shade Finder on Sephora’s website is shit, but Ulta’s is REALLY good. This foundation has replaced the Clinique I just got as my holy grail powder foundation – it’s smooth and wonderful and reduces redness. We’ll see how it fares when the weather gets hotter, but for now – I love it.
I also grabbed an L.A. Girl Gloss Lip Stain in “Adored” ($5.99) and I love this one, too! I assumed it was similar to the Colourpop gloss stains I was obsessed with last year and the L.A. Girl ones have better staying power AND are cheaper!
Oh yeah, and I got a NARS 4 Piece Beauty Break with my $50 purchase – even though I used a $5 off coupon to drop my total below $50. Inside the gift: NARS High Pigment Longwear Eyeliner in “Via Veneto”; NARS Bronzing Powder in “Laguna”; NARS Lipstick in “Inappropriate Red”; and NARS Climax Mascara. Good stuff!
Just $1,003 to Diamond in 2024.
Winter Rose
Ew. This nail polish is almost the exact color of my skin.
I am not at all against nude nail polish…for other people. It’s too boring for me.
I got Plum Color Affair Nail Polish in “Winter Rose” in January’s ipsy bag. The name of the polish was no where to be found on the bottle OR the box it came in, so I initially assumed the name of the color was “Be Good”, because that’s what it said on the top of the box. Oops. Ipsy’s website told me it’s really named “Winter Rose.”
This is two coats of “Winter Rose” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
January 2023 Ipsy Bag – The Year of You
Keep calm and stroke the furry bag…if you know, you know.
This month’s furry bag is absolutely adorable…but there is NO WAY I could keep it in my huge MOM PURSE. Can you imagine what kind of gunk would end up stuck in the fur? Gum…lip balm…boogers…who knows? I’ll have to keep it safe in my bedroom…
I totally spazzed on product choice this month, so I got whatever ipsy thought I should get. Work, School, Kids is a shitshow, so the only product I’ve tried is the Plum Color Affair Nail Polish in “Winter Rose” (coming soon). Also in this month’s furry purple bag: ĀTHR Beauty Desert Rose Lip and Cheek Oil Stain in “Harmony” (lips maybe…cheeks NEVER); It Cosmetics Hello Results Wrinkle-Reducing Serum-in-Cream; Oryza Nebula Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette; and Polaar Ice Pure Gentle Scrub with Arctic Cotton.
I made sure and did my product choice for February’s Glam Bag X, so I don’t get screwed again!
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $13/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.
Hypnotic Frenzy Skittles
Mini Sets are a natural choice for Skittle Manicures…so I grabbed the Julep Hypnotic Frenzy Set and got to work. It is a 6 polish set and it was SO HARD to give one the boot. Sorry “Brita”, you did not make the cut.
I kept it simple and did two coats of each polish over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. The three glitter polishes got a coat of Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber for good luck.
Going from thumb to pinky, I used Bombshell “Kirra” – Icy purple multidimensional glitter; Boho Glam “Maryann” – Lilac mauve shimmer; Boho Glam “Agatha” – Gilded bronze multidimensional glitter; Bombshell “O’Neill” – Sleek copper chrome; and It Girl “Vinsy” – Blooming pink multidimensional glitter. I don’t know that I got the order exactly right, but I really likes how this one turned out.
Carrot Cake
This nail polish makes me SO hungry for Whataburger! If you know, you know…
This is Nailtopia “Carrot Cake” and it is quite carrot-like. Fun fact, when I posted this pic on Insta, I used #🥕 – which got my post shadow banned. I edited it out later…I guess #🥕 means something bad? Maybe penis-related?
This is two coats of “Carrot Cake” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. So shiny!
First Ulta Haul of 2023
Well…that didn’t take long. The first Diamond Offers email arrived on January 2nd and I jumped right on it!
I wasn’t planning on getting the Urban Decay Cosmetics Naked x Robin Eisenberg Eyeshadow Palette ($27, down from $54), but half price made it a lot more attractive. Initially, I was put off by the lack of “naked” colors in a “naked” palette, but I was pleasantly surprised by how wearable these bright shimmery colors are. There are several color-shifting duochrome shadows, which are like catnip to me. I can see myself wearing this one quite a bit!
I didn’t want to forget to redeem my Diamond gift of a free Clinique Foundation, so I guessed at my shade and chose Clinique Beyond Perfecting Powder Foundation + Concealer in “0.5 Breeze” (normally $36). I chose correctly and this is a GREAT powder foundation – not cakey at all. Since all Clinique was 25%, I also picked up a back-up tube of Clinique Almost Lipstick in “Black Honey” ($16.50, down from $22). I never thought I’d be a Clinique girl like my mom, but here we are.
I threw some fun clearance items into my cart – a few $1.25 nail polishes, Nailtopia “Carrot Cake” and “Blueberry Milk”. I am out of samples of micellar water, so I am trying out wet n wild Makeup Remover Micellar Cleansing Water ($4.99).
I got a few different freebies with this order. I received a BareMinerals Platinum & Diamond Exclusive 4 Piece Gift with $35 makeup purchase, which includes Ageless 10% Phyto-Retinol Night Concentrate, Prime Time Original Foundation Primer, and Mineral Veil Finishing Powder in a very nice Makeup Bag. I also received an Exuviance Diamond & Platinum Exclusive! Free 4 Piece Gift with $25 purchase, which includes Deep Clean AHA Cleanser, Glycolic Expert Moisturizer, Overnight Transformation Complex, and A.G.E. Less Everyday Moisturizer. My skin is gonna look AMAZING.
Just $1,149 to Diamond in 2024…
The Dregs
When you hit the Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale a few days before the end, you save yourself A LOT of money…that’s because all that’s left are the dregs and there are not many good deals!
I only spent about $14 – I bought a couple of “Strawberry Poundcake” Shower Gels at 75%, a “Vampire Blood” Single Wick Candle, and some sour goo lip gloss for Lil. I didn’t even get to use a coupon!
Jello Skittles
2023 is the year of the skittle manicure!
I have declared it, so shall it be.
I call this “Jello Skittles” – because this sheer matte polish looks like Jello.
I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and then two coats of each color. Yellow is Sinful Colors “See-Through Citrine”, green is Sinful Colors “Sheer-Treuse”, teal is Sinful Colors “Turnt-Quoise”, blue is Sinful Colors “Kiss of Cobalt”, and purple is Sinful Colors “Veiled in Violet”.
I didn’t use a top coat, so I could keep the matte finish, but I definitely need to try then with a glossy top coat.