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?

Makeup & Body Care HAUL! Clinique + The Body Shop

Hello everyone! I went out to the mall a few days ago, and to my old job to use up some of my discount that's left. I also went to The Body Shop because they have their Summer Sale going on where alot of their products are up to 75% off, so of course I had to pick up a few things!

I'll start off with the Clinique products. I'm sure I mentioned before, but I worked at Macy's. I still had some of my discount left to use up, so I went to the Clinique counter there and got all 3 of these products for just under $30. I picked up two of the Pop Lip Colour + Primers, the first shade being Fab Pop and the second shade being Punch Pop. I've been hearing so many rave reviews about these and the shades I got are so pretty and they seemed to swatch in the store nicely. I will do reviews on these as I use them more. 

I had also heard really good things about the Cheek Pop Blush Pops, so I went with the color Pink Pop. This color swatched beautifully, but I have yet to try it out. I will definitely report back on this one as well!

I love when The Body Shop has their sales where certain products are heavily discounted, but that usually means they will be discontinued. I first picked up their Chocomania Sugar Body Scrub. This stuff smells heavenly, and I do have one of their body butters in the same scent somewhere in my stash. The body butter was also discounted, so I have a feeling they're getting rid of this line. *Sadface*

I was also surprised to see their deep Sleep Dreamy Body Mist on clearance. I used to use this stuff back when I worked at The Body Shop years and years ago. I actually used this as a pillow spray at night to help me sleep. I absolutely loved how this smelled, and it really did help me to fall asleep and stay asleep, which I have problems with quite frequently. I may actually go back and pick up another one of these as a backup for when I really need it. 

The last product I got was their Brazil Nut Body Butter. Now if my brain is remembering correctly, they got rid of the Brazil nut line a few years ago, but brought it back due to popular demand. As far as I know, I had never even tried this scent, but I always was a fan of how it smelled. It's very nutty and also smells like shea butter. It smells amazing, so I'm glad I got my hands on this if they do end up discontinuing it. 

With the sales plus my Love Your Body discount, I only spent just under $27 for everything, which isn't bad at all. The Body Butters alone cost $20 normally. 

Is there anything you've picked up lately? Are you purchasing anything from The Body Shop's sale?

Review: Lancome Grandiose Wide-Angle Fan Effect Mascara

Hello everyone! Today I have a mascara review today, and it's the Lancome Grandiose Mascara. I've been hearing some pretty good reviews, along with a few indifferent reviews. I've tested it out and I'm ready to give my thoughts!

The description that I found on the Sephora site says:

What it is:
A first-of-its-kind mascara that provides access to all lashes for bigger, brighter eyes.
What it does:
This revolutionary, Swan Neck™ Wand Mascara provides exceptional length, lift, and volume to all lashes. It features Lancôme's first patented wand, which works with the shape of your face for the easiest application, and the curve of the wand mixes the mascara with each twist open, allowing for formula that stays fresh longer. The specially designed, elastomer-molded brush perfectly deposits formula on each lash, while smaller bristles effortlessly coat even short lashes from root to tip for ultimate volume. The ultra-black, smudge-free formula features Lancôme’s rose cell extract, which nourishes and smooths lashes while providing infinite buildability. This high-gloss, clump-free mascara leaves lashes fanned out with maximum length, and it is designed with long-wearing, flexible polymers, which allow for easy removal. 

I have to say, the packaging of this mascara is just beautiful. I love the shape of the tube, and the rose detail in the cap is amazing. You can tel they put some good thought into packaging, but what makes it unique is the wand itself.

As you can see, the wand isn't in the typical straight form, it's got a neat curve to it. It's supposed to help with the ease of applying mascara and getting the hard to reach outer and inner corner lashes. It's a rubber bristle brush, which I particularly like. I find it helps to coat my lashes more evenly.

Now for some pictures of my eyeball!

I did a very neutral eye look so that you could see my lashes. As you can probably see, my lashes aren't that amazing. I wish I had Tiffany D's eyelashes so bad, but hey, that's what mascara is for! My lashes have a bit of a natural curl to them, but they're very light and barely noticeable. 

This is with one coat of mascara on non-curled lashes without primer. I'd say there's a big difference here! The mascara curled my lashes really well and deposited color evenly. When using the brush, I do find there's a bit of a learning curve to it as you do have to turn the wand different ways to get all the lashes. I do still struggle a bit with getting the very outer corners of my lashes without getting mascara everywhere, but I get that with every mascara I use. I do feel like this gave me really nice length but maybe not the best volume.

Overall, This mascara is a winner in my book. I'm alright with not having a ton of volume as long as there is length. It doesn't get flaky on me but I do notice a few smudges by the end of the day, but I attribute that to my oily skin. It also removes very easily with makeup remover. This mascara costs a whopping $32, but like I said in the beginning of my post, I got it at a discount because of work. I've honestly never really been so excited for a mascara to come out until I heard about this. I find it to be so unique because of the wand and the packaging is really just beautiful. It also only comes in one color, black, but it's very dark which is great. You can find this mascara at Sephora, Lancome's website and department stores where there is a Lancome counter.

What do you think of this mascara?

Beauty Haul! Featuring BH Cosmetics, Rite Aid, Ulta & More!

Hey everyone! Taking pictures of this haul make me realize I got alot more than I thought! Since I did pick up quite a few things here over the past couple months, I think it's time for a spending ban. I'm giving myself til August 1st, which is just under 3 months. Anyways, lets see what damage I did! ;)

First up is BH Cosmetics! I haven't purchased anything from BH since September of 2012, so I decided it was time for me to buy a few things. The first product I really had my eye on was the Galaxy Chic Baked Eyeshadow Palette. I saw all the prettiness that was inside this palette when it first came out and knew it had to be mine one day! Also, I didn't take any pictures of inside the palettes I bought, so if you'd like to see a full review on anything please let me know!

The next product I purchased is the It's Judy Time Limited Edition Eyeshadow Palette. When I heard that Judy from It's Judy Time on YouTube was making her own palette, I was a bit skeptical honestly. I didn't think it was going to be that special, but when she featured it in one of her videos, I oohed and ahhed throughout the whole video! I'm super excited that I was able to get my hands on this since it is supposedly limited edition. 

I had been thinking about getting some new brushes for my collection and saw this 11 piece Pink-A-Dot Brush set and thought it was adorable! I haven't used these yet, I even still have to wash them, but they seem incredibly soft and good quality. 

BH had this promotion where if you spent $15, you had your choice of one of the three California Palettes for only $4.50! I decided on the San Francisco Palette, as it seemed to be the most neutral. The other two were just not my style. I even did a little searching online and found  10% off code to use on this purchase and saved an extra almost $6! So, basically I got this little palette for free! Plus, I also use Ebates, so I got some cash back as well. Can't beat that! Ebates is awesome! If you do alot of online shopping like I do, you link your PayPal account to your Ebates account, and everytime you shop online, you click the Ebates button and you automatically get a certain percentage of cash back, which really comes in handy!

Next up, I have one item I purchased from Amazon. This is the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay. I had gotten an email from Amazon recommending some products to try and this was one of them. I have incredibly large pores that get super clogged really easily so I'm hoping this does something for me. It was also pretty inexpensive as well.

I was at Walmart with my husband and mother-in-law one day and while they were getting what they wanted, I pretty much stayed in the beauty area. Maybelline is probably my favorite drugstore brand, and they had a $2 off coupon if you bought two products so I picked up their newest mascara, Pumped Up Colossal in the Glam Black color and a Master Hi-Light Blush in the color Pink Rose. I've been hearing good things about these blushes so I'm excited to try it. Haven't heard much yet about the mascara, but I do have high hopes as they are my favorite brand for mascaras, usually.

Next up is Rite Aid! I was able to get to a Rite Aid when a few of the brands there were 40% off so I kinda went a little crazy! I ended up getting two of the Maybelline limited edition Eyestudio quads in Taupe Tease and Take It Off. If I'm not mistaken, these quads are part of their Spring nude line, but don't quote me on that. Love these quads and I want them all!

Wet N' Wild was not on sale, but I had a $1 off coupon on any of their products so I picked up one of their limited edition 8-pan palettes in Flirting at the After Party. I was so torn on either this one or the other neutral one they have but decided on this since I have so many neutrals in my collection. I've already used this once and I do like it, but I'm not in love with it. 

L'Oreal was also 40% off so I picked up their Voluminous Butterfly Mascara in the Blackest Black shade and a Colour Riche Eyeshadow quad in Cupa Joe. I always hear that there are MAC dupes in this palette, but I'm not a MAC girl so I can't say for sure. I'm super excited to try the mascara because I've heard some pretty good things about it!

Some time after Rite Aid's 40% off sale, Ulta had a 40% off sale on certain brands. Physician's Formula is rarely on a good sale and I really wanted to try their Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum. Anything that claims it can boost my lashes instantly, I'm all over. I've been very curious to try this and I'm excited to see if it lives up to that claim. 

Of course I had to get me some more Maybelline! Since they were also 40% off, I picked up another one of the Instant Age Rewind Dark Circles Eraser, but this time I got the Brightener shade. I typically use the fair shade, but this one is a tad bit lighter therefore it makes my undereyes seem brighter. I now have quite a few backups of this stuff so I'm set for a while. 

I also wanted to try out their Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in the Ivory shade. They were sold out of the one I actually wanted, but this seems light enough to have a brightening effect on my pale skin. 

I also wanted to pick up another Elixir Gloss and I got the color Signature Scarlet. I already have tried this and it's really pretty! It's not orange at all and is almost the perfect red for me. I have a hard time finding a red that suits me because I'm so pale and my skin is already pretty red, but this one is nice! I definitely want to pick up more of these babies!

These last products I purchased where I work! I've realized that I mentioned me working in retail but I never said specifically where. Not sure why, I guess maybe I thought I wasn't allowed to say where I work, but it's not like I'm giving the specific store I work in. Anyways, I actually work at Macys! Twice a year, Macys has their Friends & Family event. During that time, they have employee appreciation where instead of receiving our regular discount, we get 30 or 40% off of cosmetics and fragrances depending on the brand. This is really the only time I'll buy skincare or makeup there because hey, a girl likes a good deal! 

Now I have two separate pictures because I made two separate purchases within that Friends & Family period. My first purchase was the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream. I have quite a few samples of this and just love it, but I thought I remembered having a full size already, yet I can't find it to save my life. I decided to just buy another one since with all my discounts, I only paid about $13. This product costs $30 without tax, so I think that's a good deal! I love the girl who works at the Origins counter and she said since I was buying skincare, I got some deluxe samples of the Checks and Balances face wash, Make a Difference Plus Treatment and a GinZing Eye Cream! I love samples, so I was thrilled. 

Hence the reason for me making another purchase! I had read alot about the GinZing Energy- Boosting Moisturizer, but was afraid to try it because I thought maybe it would be too thick for my oily skin. I tried it out first, and am actually happy to report it's a gel like consistency that isn't very thick at all, but still feels nice on the skin! For my samples, I picked A Perfect World Antioxidant Cleanser, and another Make A Difference Plus and GinZing Eye Cream. With all my discounts, I only spent a little under $9 for a product that's normally $26.50.

Since I was on an eye cream kick, I decided to buy one of my favorite night time eye creams, and that's Clinque's All About Eyes. I purchased the larger size that typically retails for $50, but they do have a smaller one that's half the size for $30. The larger size to me is a better deal, plus you don't need to use alot at all. With all my discounts, I ended up paying about $16. Not bad! I usually don't buy this much during the employee appreciation, but I wanted to stock up on things I wanted so I won't have to later on. 

I hope you all enjoyed this haul! It'll probably be my last one for a while unless I run out of things I need, which I don't really expect to happen anytime soon lol

Have you purchased any beauty products lately?