Tag: Morphe

 
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Bougie Brazilian Ulta Haul

So my daughter makes fun of all the Sol de Janeiro that I buy…she says that I have the taste of an 11 year old ‘Sephora kid’…She’s 18 and it is totally lost on her that these 11 year olds have MOTHERS and THEIR MOTHERS are the ones buying these kids adult products at Sephora and making Tik Toks to monetize their children. All of this is to say…I don’t smell like an 11 year old – these 11 year olds smell like a 50 year old woman!

ANYWAY…Sol de Janeiro came out with a new scent and I purchased it sight unsmelled. Rosa Charmosa AKA Cheriosa 91 is a passionfruit and rose mix, so I was fairly certain I would LOVE it and LOVE it I did. I picked up Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 91 Hair & Body Perfume Mist ($26) and Rosa Charmosa Dewy Cream ($24) and it’s become my “go to” scent. I bought the smaller sizes, but will be buying larger sizes shortly.

I figured I would keep on going and filled my cart with Sol de Janeiro. I picked up a Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Visibly Firming Refillable Body Cream ($44), Sol de Janeiro Beija Flor Body Collagen-Boosting Elasti-Cream with Bio-Retinol ($48), and Sol de Janeiro Rio Deo Aluminum-Free Refillable Deodorant Cheirosa 68 ($18). I’ll be using the Rosa Charmosa with Beija Flor – they meld well together.

Rounding off my cart, I also got a new lube – Playground Free Love Extra-Gentle Water-Based Personal Lubricant ($18) – because Ulta was out of stock of the other one I like. I also grabbed an Ulta Beauty Magic Marker Lip Stain in “Cocoa Mood” ($11.50) and it’s the Rum Raisin of my dreams. (Remember in the 90s, when Clinique “Rum Raisin” was all the rage?)

My order got me several different gifts with purchase. I got a Cetaphil Facial Cleanser with my $50 purchase. I also got Sol de Janeiro 4 piece gift with my $65 brand purchase, which included a Bum Bum Cream and Body Spray only in the bag – it was missing the Body Badalada Lotion that was supposed to come with it. I am kind of salty about that, because I was looking forward to trying it.

The BIG gift with purchase was the Free Diamond Exclusive 40 Piece Beauty Bag with select $185 shipped purchase, Inside the super cute terry cloth makeup bag was tarte tarlette Tubing Mascara Primer; Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil; deluxe size Prada “Paradoxe“; Peach & Lily Retinol for All Renewing Serum; Milani Conceal + Perfect Blur Out Powder; Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!; Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in “Whiskey”; Beautybio The Balance Gel Cleanser; Fresh Black Tea Renewal Serum; CeraVe Invisible Mineral Sunscreen; Supergoop! Dew Screen; Living proof. Perfect hair Day Dry Shampoo (going to the daughter); Verb Frizz Defense Smoothing Spray; Urban Veda Daily Purifying Facial Wash; Cetaphil Nourishing Oil to Foam Cleanser; Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Dewy Liquid Blush; Clarins Lip Comfort Oil “04”; Joico Dream Blowout Glass; Buxom Plump Shot Lip Serum; Origins Check and Balances Gentle Foaming Face Wash; La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foam Cleanser; Mighty Patch Invisible+ (definitely going to the daughter); Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain; Vichy Liftactiv 16% Pure Vitamin C Brightening Serum; ma:nyo Galac Niacin 3.0 Essence; Sebastian Professional Porion 9 Leave-in Conditioner & Styling Cream; Pureology Hydrate Shampoo & Conditioner (deluxe bottles!); Morphe Solo Artist Priming Cream Eyeshadow in “Mixtape”; Pixi Glow Tonic; L.A. Girl Perfect Precision Lip Liner in “Blushing”; Ethique Beauty Love at First Swipe Scalp Health Mini Solid Shampoo (I’m frustrated with how long it takes to use the Kitsch one I got, but I’ll give this one a try); Sunday Riley CEO Brightening Serum; Hourglass Unlocked Instant Extensions Mascara; Carolina Herrera “La Bomba”; divi Scalp Serum; Rabanne “Million Gold for her”; NOYZ “Detour”; and Estee Lauder Double Wear Smooth & Blur Primer. I am not even made that it’s 90% skin stuff – it will save me a few months of buying face wash and serums.

I had a $20 off coupon code, as well as $20.50 in Ulta points, which is what I used to justify this little splurge. Only $684 to Diamond in 2027.

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July 2025 Ipsy Bag – Hot Glow Summer

This month’s ipsy bag itself is very cute…but the contents are a bit of a dud.

The only product I’ve used so far is my product choice – TONYMOLY The Chok Chok Green Tea Foam Cleanser. It leaves my skin feeling almost squeaky clean and smells nice, too. But what is a Chok Chok???

The other items in this months bag are a bit weird: Toyfactory Niabrow Serum Brow Gel Mini (ugh, who uses all this brow gel?); Bisha Essential Lip Designer in “Beverly Hills” (grrrrrrr…); Avatara Juicy Lip Jelly in “Watermellow Clear” (maybe I can use with the lip liner?); and Morphe Mini Bake & Set Soft Focus Setting Powder in “Translucent” (are people still doing their makeup like this?). I feel like the products are for a face I don’t have…

I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $14/month (recently increased from $13/month) and Icon Box (formerly Glam Bag X) for an extra $60/quarterly (recently increased from $43/quarterly). If you’d like to try Ipsy –  click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.

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Wicked Ulta Haul

As soon as Ulta dropped all of the Wicked Movie Collab products…I knew I was in trouble. I tried – TRIED – to be conservative, but I don’t know if I did a very good job, especially since it was Diamond Love List Monday…

Right off the bat, I knew I had to get the OPI x Wicked Nail Lacquer 12 Piece Mini Pack ($49.99). I hate paying full price for nail polish, but I just couldn’t risk it selling out before I got it. The set has 12 mini polishes, 6 for Elphaba and 6 for Galinda. I am really looking forward to trying them all out. Ariana Grande’s r.e.m. beauty released a bunch of matched sets and lipsticks, but I was drawn to the r.e.m. beauty x Wicked Ozdust Eyeshadow Palette ($55). I am impressed by how creamy and blendable the shadows are. The glitters really pop! I even got a gift with purchase – a full size Midnight Shadows Liquid Eyeshadow. I wasn’t paying attention and thought it was a lipstick – which actually looked amazing after I wiped most of it off and applied lip stain on top of it. It made my lips look like stained glass – new favorite lip look! I’m sure I’ll be picking up more Wicked Collab stuff, but this is it for now.

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten hyped up about Urban Decay, but the new Urban Decay Cosmetics Moondust Space Cowboy Glitter Eyeshadow Palette – Limited Edition ($49) caught my eye. Yes, I know it’s basically just a few shadows pulled from Naked palettes in a fancy package – SHUT UP. I have only gotten to use it once, but I ended up with nice results, so no regrets. Oh, and I also got a Platinum and Diamond Free 5 Piece Gift with $35 makeup purchase, which came with an clear vinyl crossbody bag (perfect for stadiums with a clear bag rule); Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray (ugh, I have so much of this); a card sample of Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow in “Space Cowboy”; Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in “Zero”; and Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in “Original”.

I added a few more random items to my bag: an EcoTools Exfoliating EcoPouf Loofah ($2.99); L’Oreal True Match Super-Blendable Powder in “C1 Alabaster” ($6.49, on sale from $12.99 – Ulta’s site told me which shade to use based on the shade I wear in Infallible, but it’s a bit light on me); and Thayers Alcohol-Free Witch Hazel Facial Toner in “Rose Petal” ($10.95).

All this got me a Free Platinum & Diamond Exclusive 28 Piece Gift with with $150 purchase – woo hoo! First off, this gift came with a gorgeous chocolate velvet cosmetic bag. Inside the bag: COSRX Master Patch Intensive; Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour HydraPlay Skin Perfecting Daily Moisturizer; Morphe Mini Continuous Setting Mist; Maybelline The Falsies Lash Lift Mascara; Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 48 Perfume Mist (Awww, I already have one of these); Chloe Intense; Olaplex No. 7 Bonding Oil; Frank Body Glycolic Body Scrub; bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Blonzer (uh whut? It’s blush and bronzer, oh); Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme + Night Power Bounce Creme; e.l.f. Power Grip Primer; Benefit The POREfessional Super Setter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray (ugh, more???); Wella Ultimate Repair Miracle Hair Rescue (again, more???); Clarins Total Eye Lift; Polite Society Greatest Lashes of All Time Mascara (braggy a bit?); Dime TBT Cream (what even is this?); Eau Thermale Avene Cicalfate Intensive Skin Restorative Serum; megababe Le Tush Clarifying Butt Mask (literally laughed out loud); tarte tartelette XL tubing Mascara; Charlotte Tilbury Exagger-eyes Mascara; Florence by Mills Floating Under the Eyes Patches; CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser; OUAI Leave in Conditioner; Buxom Plump Shot Collagen Infused Lip Serum; e.l.f. Skin Holy Hydration Eye Cream; pixi Glow Tonic; NOYZ Lost + Found; and Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying and Plumping Daily Booster. Damn, my fingers are TIRED.

I should feel worse about randomly spending $150+ without a good coupon or sale…but I don’t, because I used the last $30 of Ulta points I had saved up.

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Metal Mania Ulta Haul

Urban Decay keeps making Naked Palettes and I keep buying them. Sigh.

I know, I know…I barely even wear eyeshadow anymore. But Naked Palettes – I just can’t quit you. So I added the new Urban Decay Cosmetics Naked Metal Mania Metallic Eyeshadow Palette ($59). Weren’t these $54 before? Hmmm…the colors are very nice, but I feel like they aren’t blending as well as the older palettes. I cannot tell if this is a change to my eye skin or the shadows themselves…I’ll continue working with them to figure it out.

I also got a free gift – my choice of Urban Decay x Smiley Naked Mini Eyeshadow Palette (regularly $33). I chose the “Mucho Happy” one, but I haven’t tried it out yet.

I also restocked on basics – Thayer’s Witch Hazel Toner in “Rose” ($10.95) and Got 2b Glued Spiking Glue ($7.99) for Lily’s Band Hair. I also add a Sweet & Shimmer Sheer Lilac Lip Oil ($2.99), but was disappointed that lilac is just the color – not the flavor or scent.

Oh, the reason I ordered when I did…to get the National Brow Day (October 2nd) Sampler with my $50 purchase. I got a Morphe Supreme Brow Dual-Ended Brush; Winky Lux Uni-Brow Mini Precision Brow Pencil; NYX Micro Brow Pencil in “Cool Ash Brown”; Benefit Fluff Up Brow Wax (no…just no); Benefit Gimme Brow Brow-Volumizing Fiber Gel (Another no); Anastasia Brow Wiz in “Medium Brown” (YES!); and Ulta Beauty Dual-Ended Brow Highlight in “Light to Medium”. Are we still saying “brows on fleek”? No?

I got to use a $15 off $50 coupon…just $202 to Diamond in 2024.

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Snow White Ulta Haul

I usually splurge a little bit in March, around tax/bonus time…but this year, I may have splurged a lot, buying the whole Disney Snow White x Colourpop Collection ($104). Wait – since I used $125 in Ulta points on my order, does that mean I didn’t splurge at all? All this only cost $12.43, so maybe not a splurge…does that mean I still get to have a splurge?

At first, I was only going to buy the “Thy Magic Spell” Lip Kit ($20) for myself, which is the Evil Queen themed lip set, with Crème Lux Lipstick in “Evil Queen”, Lippie Pencil in “Jealous Much”, and Lux Lip Gloss in “Queen G”. Then I saw the Snow White themed “Love’s First Kiss” set, with Crème Lux Lipstick in “Snow White”, Lippie Pencil in “Such a Beauty”, and Lux Lip Gloss in “Red as Rose” and I wanted to give it to Lily…and then I saw the whole collection, and said FUCK IT, I want it ALL. My only complaint is that the full collection did not come in a nice promo box, like the Malibu Barbie Collection – but maybe that’s because I got it directly from Colourpop? Whatever, like I need more boxes…Also in the collection: “Dreams Come True” Pressed Powder Palette, Super Shock Blush in “Fair Enough”, Super Shock Blush in “I Wish I Wish”, Super Shock Blush in “Just Rosy”, and “Just One Bite” Lippie Scrub. Surprisingly, my favorite part of the collection is the blushes – they have a springy, almost gel-like texture.

I got the L’Oreal Detox & Brighten Clay Mask ($12.99) because I really liked that line of cleansers…I was disappointed to find that this mask does NOT smell like the cleanser I loved so much. It smells like…well…dirt. The jar was half empty, too – I’ll be lucky to get three uses out of it! It’s probably old stock from the original line – six years ago!

My purse needed a replacement buffer, so I got another Flowery Blue Max 4-Way Buffing Block ($2.99) – these are my favorite.

I have been enjoying the Ulta Weightless Water Lip Stain in “Very Berry”, so I ordered “Mango Dreams” ($10) and “Pink Popsicle” ($10), too. I need to order “Cherry Pie” to get the whole set…or steal the one I stuck in Lily’s Xmas stocking. I paid full price, so I could get an Ulta free 10 piece gift. Inside the bright yellow makeup bag: Poreless Face Primer; Tinted Eye Primer in “Champagne”; Lip Gloss in “Velvet Mauve”; Lip Oil in “Peach” (hands down, the best product for removing longwear lipstick); Maximum Lashes Mascara, 2 Eye Shadow Quads, an eye shadow brush and a makeup sponge.

Speaking of freebies, I was supposed to get 3 more gifts with purchase for National Lash Day, but the initial Lash Day Sampler Pack with $65 purchase went out of stock before my box was packed. Whatever, it was a bunch of fake lashes, anyway. I still got the 6 Piece Lash Day Step-Up Sampler with $85 purchase, which included Clinique High Impact Mascara; Benefit Bad Girl Bang Mascara; KISS Lash Purify Eye Makeup Remover and Lash Cleanser; Grande Lash-MD Lash Enhancing Serum; e.l.f. Big Mood Mascara, and a little Tweezerman Mascara Guard. Time to throw away all my current mascara and switch to new tubes! I also got an 8 Piece Makeup Obsession Sampler with $60 purchase, which included a L’Oreal Blend Artist Foundation Sponge, a Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge; Ulta Juice Infused Lip Oil in “Red Apple”; a Morphe Oval Shadow Brush; Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color in “Rosegold”; Pro.Conceal White Concealer; Smashbox Photo Finish Illuminate Glow Primer; and Milani Cheek Kiss Liquid Blush in “Nude Flush”.

That’s right…all this for $12.43 and a $3.50 off $15 coupon. And I still have $80 in Ulta points!

$963 to Diamond in 2024.

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Vegas – Summer 2018

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We did it! The bestie and I lived through a trip to Las Vegas in the Dog Days of Summer!

Seriously, walking outside was like walking into an oven…an oven full of melted plastic tourists. I went several stretches of 24+ hours without going outside, and even then – only at night. It’s 99 degrees outside at night. Anyone who says Texas is a hellscape during the summer has never been to Nevada.

Strangely enough, my skin loved the Vegas weather. Or maybe it loved that I did not go outside and sweat in my car? In any case, the breakouts on my chest and back disappeared and my skin was lovely. Even my hair decided to behave in the humidity-less desert. The one problem I had was my lips – they were so dry that my upper lip felt like it would split at any moment. I brought probably a hundred liquid lipsticks, but I couldn’t wear ANY of them!

Sephora to the rescue! We bopped into the Miracle Mile Location and begged for help with our parched pouts. The castmember immediately led us to try the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Masks ($24). DOH! I still have a sample of this at home and didn’t think to pack it. I also asked to look at some Fresh products, but another lip balm wasn’t going to do the job. She then showed me the Bite Beauty Nude Lip Essentials Set ($15), which came with a mini tube of the Agave Lip Mask and a tube of Amuse Bouche Lipstick in “Pepper”. It was a smoking deal, so I grabbed it. I swore I looked all around for something else to buy, but this location didn’t have any Jo Malone to check out. Another castmember directed me to the Sephora in The Venetian…but that would require too much walking.

The one thing about shopping in-store – usually no samples, but this time we got samples of Drunk Elephant Lala Cream. Nice!

Sally also made a GlamGlow purchase, but gave me her points, so just $384 until Rouge. I just saw that the 20% sale is coming next week – August 24th…is there even anything left I can buy???

Oh, did you know there is a Morphe store in Vegas now? Yup, just a few hundred feet away from Sephora. Sally was finally able to get her hands on the Jeffree Star Blood Sugar Palette, although they were sold out of most of the new summer collection – the Thirsty Palette was no where to be seen and all of the good lipstick colors were gone. We were also able to see the Laura Lee and Manny MUA Palettes up close…ugh, we were not impressed.

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I was THRILLED to find that my bestie brought me a gift all the way from Scotland – the new Pressed Glitter Palette from Makeup Revolution!

I’d been seeing demos on Insta for a bit, but I did not realize how much I needed it in my life. There’s a wide variety of fiery pinks, reds and golds…although I’m a bit scared of “Inflamed”, which appears to be red/green glitter.

We tried out the glitters over the Jeffree Star Blood Sugar Palette. We used Urban Decay Primer Potion as a fixative – worked like a charm. The primer kept it from flaking all over our faces.

One caveat…I AM still finding random pieces of glitter on my face…four days later.

I had a fun trip with the bestie – it was our first time spending so long together, but it felt like we’d been doing it for decades. It’s a relief to know that there a like-minded people out there who just want drink ridiculous amounts of rum and people-watch, as opposed to those who want to hump anything that roves into their field of vision. Vacation partners for life!