Influenster Vox Box – Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex
It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten a beauty product Vox Box – the last few have been food…but I just received the newly formulated Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex.
I’ll be honest, I use a wide variety of skin products and my skin tolerates a wide variety of products, but my skin REALLY likes Advanced Night Repair. It’s a lightly scented, light-weight serum. It disappears into my skin within seconds. It doesn’t break me out and when I wake up, my skin is glowing. I feel like my skintone is more even and not as dull as it was a week ago. I’ve gotten samples of the original formula Advanced Night Repair with several different Ulta orders and it was fine, but I don’t feel that it was as nice to my skin as this new formula. I’ll be super sad when my sample runs out.
Literally the only negative about this product is the price. The smallest size – 0.67 ounces – is $50 and a full ounce is $75. I would be hard pressed to spend that kind of money on a serum at 44 years old. Ask me again at 54 years old though…
As always, product was received complimentary, for reviewing purposes.
The Always Extra Mermaid Parade
What’s better than a $1.50 nail polish? TWO $1.50 nail polishes.
I picked up THE GLITTER – Sally Hansen Mega Strength “Mermaid Parade” – in my last Ulta order. I ventured out to Ulta this past Sunday for a haircut – I’m pretty sure I haven’t gotten it cut since some time in 2019 – and found Sally Hansen Mega Strength “Always Extra”, a nude sheer with a pink shimmer. These two are meant to be together – they have adjoining bottle numbers! “Always Extra” is 016 and “Mermaid Parade” is 017.
I used Sally Hansen Double Duty for the base coat. It’s not the best, but I’m trying to use up the bottle. All of my nails got two coats of “Always Extra”, except for the pinky, which got two coats of “Mermaid Parade”. I did a full coat of “Mermaid Parade” on top of “Always Extra” on my ring finger, and just did the tip of my middle finger. I finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
I am in LOVE with “Mermaid Parade” – I am going to use it alone soon.
Target Queen
I went to Target a month or so ago, and it was WEIRD. The dressing rooms are still closed, but it didn’t really matter, since there were no good sales. COVID-19 has sucked all the fun out of Target.
I used up my “Queen Bee” Rollerball, so I decided to switch to the Good Chemistry “Queen Bee” Body Spray with essential oils ($9.99). Now I can DROWN myself in it, instead of just hitting my pulse points. I wish they sold lotion and shower gel – I would buy the hell out of it.
I went ahead and stocked up on my Target stuff – Laundry Detergent, Contact Solution, Rewetting Drops, Polish Remover and Exfoliating Cotton Pads. Even though I got reusable polish remover pads, I still need Cotton Rounds for my skincare regimen.
I was able to use a $3.50 off $15 coupon from my Target Beauty Box…I better use them while I can, because Target Beauty Box is another victim of COVID-19 – they’ve been discontinued, too!
Hella Bright
I was NOT expecting the peach shimmer peaking through the purple polish in Sinful Colors “Hella Bright” – surprise!
How have I missed trying out this polish from last year’s Neon Collection? It’s stunning.
This is two coats of “Hella Bright” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
You’ll notice that I stubified my nails and cut them all fairly short. A few of the longer nails were getting sharp, so I just went ahead and cut them all to match. I feel really self-conscious of how short they are…
Beautifully Bizarre
Don’t blame the polish – it’s my fault. I am totally incompetent when it comes to apply light or white nail polishes. I apply the polish too thickly, and it pools in the creases of my nails, which is exacerbated by adding a top coat. When I pick off the ragged edges of the top coat, it leaves ragged edges instead of a smooth line. Ugh, I need to start cleaning up with acetone or something…
But regardless of how ugly my paint job was, this polish is GORGEOUS in person. Pictures do not do it justice – you cannot even see the teal shimmer under neath this pink pearl polish. This is Orly “Beautifully Bizarre”, a $2.38 steal from Ulta.
The first coat was a bit streaky, but two coats was just right. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. I had to see it mattified, so I used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on my ring finger. It was nice I guess, but muted the teal shimmer too much for my liking.
More pearlescent polishes!
Hufflepuffery
When I got my last Ulta order, I thought my daughter was going to have a seizure from how excited she was about my Gryffindor palette, so as soon as the Hufflepuff version was back in stock, I had to get it for her.
So yes, I ordered her the Harry Potter x Ulta Beauty Hufflepuff Eye Shadow Palette ($16). A few more products dropped, so I also got her a Hufflepuff Cosmetic Bag ($16) and the House Pride Hair Accessory Set ($18)…I admit, I stole the Gryffindor scrunchie and my son stole the Slytherin one.
I came across a new product that I found intriguing – The Sign Tribe Remove and Chill Reusable Nail Polish Remover Pads ($16). I spend a small fortune on cotton rounds, so I was curious if I could save some money using these pads. I’ve used them a few times and they seem to work just fine with regular polish remover. I still need to try them with Remove and Chill Nail Enamel Remover. Each pad is supposed to be able to be used 25 times, whereas I use between 2-6 cotton rounds each time. So…this pack should replace roughly 300 cotton pads, or 3 packs ($3 each or so). If I get 50 uses out of each pad, it might be worth it?
I have a hard time saying “no” to clearance nail polish. It’s rare to see Orly on sale, especially for a price as low as $2.38. I picked up 3 different shades – an iridescent pink pearl called “Beautifully Bizarre” (somehow I added 2 to my cart, so someone will get gifted); a rose gold shimmer called “Lucid Dream”, and a hot pink called “Top Down”. I also got a few cheap Sally Hansen Mega Strength polishes – a pinky gold glitter called “Mermaid Parade” for $2.68 and a matte fuchsia called “Like a Girl” for $1.50.
Oooooh! I qualified for a free pink tote with my $75 purchase. I do not know what I am going to tote with it, but I’ll think of something. I also used a $3.50 off $15 coupon – stacking deals.
$608 to Diamond – almost exactly halfway there!
Semi Annual Soap
So…as disappointed as I was about how underwhelming this summer’s Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale is…I can get a little bit excited about a free shipping offer.
To be honest, I could take or leave 50% off select Hand Soaps – $3.75 isn’t that great a deal…BUT it is better than 4/$20/$5 each or 6/$26/$4.33 each. I would’ve passed the free shipping offer on by…but I was excited to find “Rose Water & Ivy” for 50% off. I never thought I’d see it again! I didn’t go crazy – I just picked up a single Shower Gel ($6.25, down from $13.50).
I went ahead and got 11 of the Summer Soaps to refill my under-sink stock. I also added a half price Wallflowers Refill in “Orange Sunset” ($3.75).
Did you know that you can now use your Victoria’s Secret Credit Card to shop at Bath & Body Works? I didn’t know until I checked out – that’s a nice perk.
Clay Me
Sinful Colors “Clay Me” reminds me of terra cotta pottery, but shimmery. The sticker says “Stoned Crystal Shimmer”, but it’s from the 2017 “Desert Diva” Collection. It was another cheap Dollar Tree find…
This is a THICK polish – this is two coats, but I could’ve gotten away with just one. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat.
I had a hunch that this polish would look better with a matte top coat, so I used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on all of my nails, except the pinky. It’s not bad looking shiny – the regular Glisten & Glow Top Coat makes it look like wet pottery!
July 2020 Ipsy Bag – Take a Break
Take a break and get away…Run away with us for the summer…
I know, I know – I STILL have Hamilton on the brain. This month’s ipsy bag includes products for a beauty staycation. Jokes on ipsy – we’re ALL on a staycation right now. Summer is CANCELED.
This month’s product choice was Mudmasky Facial Detox Purifying Recovery Mask. I will be trying it before my shower tomorrow…
Also in this month’s totally 80s “Escape” bag: Firma Beauty 201 Tall Blender Brush (Okay, I am gonna start painting shit with all these brushes); TheBalm Cosmetics Will Power Blush in “Perseverance”; BASD Body Lotion in “Seductive Sandalwood” (I do not care for sandalwood, so I gave it to my daughter); and Space Case Cosmetics Eye Shadow in “Karma is a Beach”.
A good assortment of products this month!
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. I am starting to get tempted to subscribe to the yearly plan…
July 2020 Allure Beauty Box – The Little Things
Allure is back on the skincare kick again, giving us an all skincare box for July.
The star of this month’s box is a full size – 40ml – Peach & Lily Glass Skin Refining Serum. I’ve gotten a few samples of this before with Ulta GWPs and even used up one of them. It’s a nice, light serum full of hyaluronic acid. The only downside is that it doesn’t smell like peach…or lily, for that matter. I’ve been using it every morning before work.
I’ve also been using the Osea Ocean Cleanser. It has a really odd, slimy texture and smells very…green? It smells like seaweed or something? It’s okay, but I wouldn’t buy it for myself.
Also in this month’s box: Beautaniq Beauty Butter Lip & Cheek Balm; Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Calming Gel Cream (a different product than the Correcting Cream I got in April, but I did get this gel in a Sephora Play! box in 2017); Lapcos Daily Skin Mask in Charcoal; and Avarelle Acne Cover Patches.
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.