April 2018 Boxycharm

I received my first ever Boxycharm last month, and I just got April's box in the mail yesterday. Here's all the exciting products I got this month!

This month's theme is called Eye Candy. There are different variations to the boxes, and I'm happy to report I got everything I wanted! 

They were giving everyone a Colourpop eye shadow palette, and I received the Element of Surprise. This is the main one I had my eye on, and was hopeful I'd get it. I cannot wait to play with this baby. I've only tried Colourpop's Super Shock shadows, but not their pressed formula, and I've heard mostly good things. This palette retails for $16. 

When I saw a sneak peek of this month's box, an either/or product was a MAC Liptensity Lipstick or a Tarte liquid highlighter. I don't care for highlighters in general, so I was incredibly happy to see the MAC lipstick. I received the shade Burnt Violet, which is very pretty, but looks a bit dark for my liking. I definitely am going to try this out, but it may be one I only use in the Fall/Winter. This lipstick retails for $21.

I received brushes last month, and got some more this month. I received the SL Miss Glam Eyeshadow Brush and Eye Beauty Blender brush. I'm not sure if I'll like the eyeshadow brush, but the blending brush feels so soft and seems like it will blend shadows nicely. This duo retails for $38.50. 

You all know my love for face masks, and we all got the Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner Pore Purifying Mask. I absolutely adore Dr. Brandt skincare, but it is pretty expensive. I'm not sure if the tube I got is a full size product (it comes with 1 ounce), but the card says it retails for $47, yet Sephora says $42. 

The last product I got was the The Browgal Instatint Tinted Brow Gel in the shade Light Hair 03, which is the perfect shade for me. I don't know much about this brand, and I usually don't do much with my brows, but I'm curious about this product so I'll give it a try. This retails for $22. 

Total retail of the box is $139.50, which is incredible to me. I don't know how Boxycharm does it, but I'm more than impressed and already can't wait for May's box!

If you're subscribed to Boxycharm already, what did you receive this month? If you're interested in signing up, I'd love it if you used my referral code here!

Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty Sale Haul

Ulta recently had their Spring 21 Days of Beauty sale, and I set myself a budget since I knew I wanted to pick up a few things I've had my eye on. 

Dose of Colors is a brand highly hyped up, and their Marvelous Mauves eye shadow palette has stood out to me for a while. At 50% off, it was a total steal and had to be mine. I've also had my eye on the Lorac Pro Palette 3 since it came out, but didn't really want to spend $42 on it. This was also 50% off, so I finally pulled the trigger and bought it. 

I feel like everyone and their mom talks about MAC Fix+, so when I saw this was going to be only $13, I figured I'd try it out for myself to see what all the fuss is about. Same thing with the Smashbox Primer Water. Everyone says great things, but I'm not totally sure if it's something I'll like. It was inexpensive enough, so if I end up not liking it, I'm not out too much money. 

That is all I bought, and I'm really proud of myself. I've made an effort to stay on a budget this year, and this sale only cost me $67 before tax. That's less than half of my budget I set for myself of $150. 

Did you pick something up during the 21 Days of Beauty sale?

Collective Ulta & Sephora Beauty Insider Haul

I've purchased some beauty bits since the Summertime, and wanted to share with you all what I picked up! I've been on a kick lately with self-care in taking better care of my skin and occasionally doing my makeup more. I'm so excited I got to treat myself and can't wait to give everything a try!

I'll start off with the most exciting purchases, eyes shadow palettes! You all know eye shadow palettes are my favorite, and I ended up picking up 3 during different sales where I received 20% off my purchase, and that included prestige brands. I don't really watch Jaclyn Hill much on YouTube anymore, but her eye shadow palette that she put out with Morphe looked absolutely beautiful. Now with Morphe being sold at Ulta, I'm more inclined to try their products. 

I don't have very many MAC products in my collection, but the Cool Neutral eye shadow palette really tripped my trigger. I LOVE cool toned shadows, and I feel like every palette out there is warm toned, so this is a welcome palette to my collection. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills makes some amazing products (the clear brow gel is fantastic!), and I typically love their palettes. With the whole Subculture debacle, I was wary of buying any more from them. However, the Prism palette is just so stunning, and limited edition, so I knew I had to have it before it went away for good. I have yet to try it on my eyes, but I'm excited to, even though reviews I've seen are mixed. 

Skincare is always my weakness, and I haven't used Dermalogica products in ages. Their Active Moist moisturizer was a favorite of mine years ago when I was in cosmetology school. I figured I'd give it a try again to see if I still like it. 

Face masks are my favorite skincare product to use, and I had never heard of the brand Skin & Lab before. They have a few different kinds of masks, but I chose their Glacial Clay Facial Mask, which is said to be a purifying cooling & pore refining treatment with Canadian colloidal & Avena satiba oatmeal. This mask seems to be right up my alley!

I'm in need of replacing my beloved The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner since it's so pricey now, and with the 20% off coupon, I decided to give the Mario Badescu Keratoplast Cleansing Lotion a try. It seems like a simple toner and only has a few ingredients, so I'm hopeful this is a good one.

'Tis the season for dry hands and lips. I tend to go through hand creams and lip balms like they're going out of style once the weather cools down, so I decided to get the Delectable Dream Cream Ultra Nourishing Hand Cream set, and the Skinfix Lip Fix set. I went through so many lip balms and hand creams when my daughter was in the NICU, and I still seem to go through alot, so I can never have enough!

These Hempz products were a gift with purchase for spending a certain amount, and I had never tried any of these products, so I figured I'd give them a go. It came with the Triple Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner, Hand Sanitizer, Body Cream and Lip Balm.

I wasn't planning on purchasing anything from the recent Rouge/VIB/Beauty Insider sale Sephora recently had, but this was the first year Beauty Insiders received a discount. I'm no longer Rouge, and much prefer Ulta's reward system, but the Kat Von D Saint & Sinner eye shadow palette for Holiday 2017 stood out to me. I missed out on last year's palette, Metal Matte, and I kick myself for not getting it still, so I knew I had to get Saint & Sinner. 

I also cashed in 100 points since I rarely buy from Sephora, so I got the Farmacy Honey Potion Hydration Mask. This is a brand I've been dying to try, and my skin needs some extra hydration lately. 

Is there anything you've purchased lately from recent sales?

Fall Lip Product Haul

*Post contains affiliate links*

Hey guys! I know posting has been very sporadic, and I'm really trying to figure out a blogging schedule that fits around my daughter's routines. It's been kinda tough lately figuring things out with her, and this blog has been neglected. Please bear with me as I figure things out! Anyway, I decided to do a little lip product shopping when Ulta was having an extra points deal, as well as a 20% off coupon. I'm all about Fall and love everything about it! The colors, smells, foods, cooler weather, it all puts me in a good mood. 

As you can see, I got quite a few lippies to play with! Maybelline was buy one, get one 50% off, so I picked up the matte shade called Toasted Truffle, and a Color Sensational lipcolor in Deepest Cherry. I've been wanting to experiment with nude shades and see what works with my fair skin, and of course I needed something dark for Fall. 

Revlon was also buy one, get one 50% off so I chose Mauvy Night and Certainly Red. I love mauve shades so much, and I love trying different shades of red. Certainly Red may not be cool toned enough for me, but I have yet to try it out. 

I don't own very many MAC products, and most people say a lot of good things about their lipsticks. I got Party Line and Creme in Your Coffee, both of which are cremesheens. Both shades are gorgeous, and I cannot wait to rock these in Fall and Winter!

The e.l.f. Matte Lip Colors have intrigued me since they came out. They're so inexpensive, and I have heard pretty good things about them. I picked the shades Praline and Wine, which I hear great things about. I definitely look forward to trying these out finally!

I love me some lip products, and would love to know if there is anything you've picked up recently that I need to try!

NEW! Macy's Beauty Box Overview

*Product provided for consideration. Post contains affiliate links*

I was so excited when this showed up on my doorstep, and I have to share it with you guys! Macy's now has their own beauty subscription box, and it seems like something worth checking out.

The Macy's Beauty Box costs $15 a month, you get 5 deluxe samples, plus one bonus product, a cute makeup bag, as well as a $5 gift card towards your next beauty purchase at Macy's, online or in-store!

Products in bag:

- Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser
- Benefit Gimme Brow
- Carolina Herrera Good Girl Eau De Parfum
- Tarte Maracuja Oil
- Smashbox Cover Shot: Golden Hour Eye Shadow Duo
- MAC False Lashes Extreme Black

I've been subscribed to a few different beauty boxes over the years, and this one seems like any other subscription service. I think the price is nice, although I know I won't use the perfume sample. Everything else is up my alley, especially the Purity Cleanser! Each months box is a surprise, and the deluxe samples are chosen by Macy's beauty experts.

If you want to learn more about the Macy's Beauty Box, click here.  

What do you think about the new Macy's Beauty Box?

Review: MAC Lipstick in Please Me

Hey guys! Today I'm going to be reviewing my very first MAC lipstick in the shade Please Me. I won this over at Kate Spitz's blog when she was doing a giveaway. If you haven't checked out Kate's blog, I highly recommend you do so! She's gorgeous, posts frequently and is just amazing! Anyways, this is the first MAC lipstick I've ever had so it was pretty exciting when I received this in the mail!

 Now I had to look up info on this product because I'm not typically a MAC girl. Online, this shade is described as a muted rosy tinted pink. I don't particularly see the rosy side to this. On me, it looks sort of like a Barbie pink, but not quite as bright. 

When I swatched it, I see a bit of a mauve color coming through, but maybe that's the muted rose they're talking about? I don't know, I'm bad at describing colors. 

 Here, I definitely see the toned down Barbie pink I was talking about. It's actually a color I really like for my fair skin. This lipstick is one of their matte colors, and I do feel like it's a bit drying by itself. Most times I've worn this, I've had to put on lip balm first, or wear lipgloss on top. 

This picture was taken with lip balm on top of the lipstick. I personally like how it looks better here than by itself above. I'm still on the fence about whether or not MAC products are worth the hype because you can usually find dupes in the drugstores. MAC lipsticks retail for $16 on the MAC website, although I could've sworn I saw they were $14.50 somewhere. One thing I'm really fond of is the smell. It's got a light vanilla scent but no taste whatsoever. I could probably sit here and smell this thing all day, as weird as that sounds!

Overall, this is a nice lipstick, but I do have to wear lip balm to keep it from feeling too dry on my lips. Would I go out and purchase one myself? Meh, maybe, maybe not. I haven't fallen into that MAC trap where all I use is MAC products. I spread my love around :)

Thanks again to Kate for having a MAC lipstick as the prize for winning her giveaway! It was fun trying out something new that I normally might not buy for myself :)

What do you think about MAC lipsticks? Or their products in general?

Also, check out my blog sale!

Honeymoon Haul! Cosmetic Company Outlet, Kmart, Walmart, Walgreens

Hey guys! Today I'm going to be sharing with you what I purchased while away on our honeymoon! There were outlets about 15 miles away from the hotel we were staying at, and of course I had to take advantage of that. Also, anywhere I go, I have to find a Walmart or some kind of drugstore. I know, I'm weird. Anyways, let me show you what I got!

So when I was looking up what stores were on the outlets, I saw there was a Cosmetic Company Outlet, so I had to go in there. I was never in a store like that before but have heard of them, so I was definitely curious to see what they had. I went in and I told the lady working there that I had never been in a store like this before. She was very nice and basically said that the brands they have are sold at 20% to 50% less than the original price. They had a decent amount of brands sold there. MAC, Elizabeth Arden, Smashbox, Origins, Bobbi Brown and Bumble & Bumble are just some of the brands they carried. I looked around for a bit and ended up with two MAC products.

The first MAC item I picked up is a Powder Blush in the color Peony Petal. Now before I bought these items, I should mention that I only own two other MAC items, so I know pretty much nothing about the brand. I did have to do some research on the items I purchased and from what I've looked up, this blush is from the Tres Cheek Collection from Spring 2012. I'm assuming that means this was limited edition, unless they re-promote the color somewhere down the road. Anyways, I love this color so much! It's like a baby pink, but just a hint darker. The picture above makes it look a bit darker than it is. When this was out, it cost $20. I paid $14.75 before tax. I don't think that was too bad of a deal. 

The second MAC product I picked up is an Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in the color Warm Thunder. From what I looked up about this, it comes from the In Extra Dimension Collection, also from Spring 2012. Again, I'm assuming this was limited edition and it cost $20. I paid $17.50 for it. Still a bit high compared to the original price, but I'm not complaining too much. This color was described on the Temptalia website as a dirty silver grey. I agree with that, but my eyes also see some blue in it. It's very faint, and could just be my eyes, but I definitely see blue. I think it's really cool that you can find products like this at these cosmetic stores. It may be from an old collection, but for someone who knows nothing about this brand, It's pretty darn awesome!

We then went to Kmart on a different day, just kind of looking around really. I haven't been in a Kmart since I was little, so I was definitely curious to see what it's like now. I knew they had a cosmetics section, so of course I made a beeline there. I saw the Wet N' Wild area and was stoked to find the single Eyeshadows they have! My Walgreen's doesn't carry them, and the Rite-Aid near me only has like 5 colors. This Kmart had, I think, all of the colors, which if I remember correctly was around 15. I've been looking for these two shades because Emily from Beauty Broadcast raves about them, especially the color Nutty. I got Brulee as well because they were actually having a buy 1, get one 50% off sale, so that brought one of the shades down to just $1. Total steal! If you have a Kmart near you, I highly recommend you check it out for makeup.

I kinda went a little shampoo/conditioner crazy at Walmart. The reason why is when I got my hair done for my wedding, the girl said I had really fine, dry and damaged hair. I agree with her honestly, but I had gotten a haircut just a few days prior, so it does feel way better than before. Anyways, she was giving me all these tips and tricks to try (which I already do, but listened to her anyway) so I figured I'd get different shampoo and conditioner. I picked up the Tresemme Platinum Strength Strengthening Shampoo and Conditioner. The bottle says it repairs up to 2 years of damage, so we'll see what happens. Both of these bottles cost $4.48 each.

I also picked up a Pantene Anti-Breakage Shampoo. A co-worker of mine loves this shampoo so I figured I'd give it a try eventually. This bottle was only $3.78. Once I got home and checked my closet with all my hair and body products, I realized I have enough shampoo and conditioner to last me for probably over a year. It may be a while before I start using any of these as I want to use up the products I've had longer. 

I went to Walgreen's last and felt the need to pick up some nail polish for Fall. These Sinful Colors Shine Nail Polish with Gel Tech were on sale 2 for $4, or they're originally $2.99 each. The burgundy color is called Mirror Mirror and looks alot lighter in the picture than in person. The second color pictured is called Shine Divine and is a really pretty dark teal color. This also looks alot lighter in the picture than in person. According to the Sinful Colors website, the Gel Tech technology formula provides opulent, rich color and a brilliant shine finish and they also say it's 5 times more glossy than a patent leather shoe. I was going to paint my nails with something else soon, but may try one of these instead. 

I had a $2.50 off coupon for a Revlon Lip Butter, so I picked up the color Candy Apple. I only have two other lip butters, and I definitely think they're nice, so I'm slowly building up my collection. 

When I was wandering around Walgreen's, something told me to go over to the clearance section and dig around in the bins. I'm so glad I did because I ended up finding some L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows in the colors Strawberry Blonde, With A Twist, and Dive Right In. I've been hearing Sam Schuerman on Youtube talk about Strawberry Blonde in quite a few of her videos. I know for sure that color is limited edition, so I'm also assuming the other two colors I picked up are limited edition as well. These were marked down to $4.99 each from originally $8.49. 

Well that's my haul! If you're tired of hearing about my wedding my now, promise this is the end of all the wedding themed posts. I may bring it up occasionally, but hey, who wouldn't when they just got married?! Anyways, I hope you liked what I got, so let me know in the comments if you did!