Ulta & Sephora VIB Sale HAUL!

Hey guys! I'm so sorry I've been MIA for a few days! I haven't been feeling so great lately and really just needed to rest. Today, I have a haul to share with you of some products I've picked up within the last few weeks or so. I haven't really done much beauty shopping lately because I am trying to use up what I already have, but I wanted to treat myself a little bit!

First up is Ulta. I had placed an online order during their 21 Days of Beauty, where I picked up the Philosophy Purity Made Simple Wipes and the Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in the shade Something About Berry. Each of those products were 50% off, and since I'm a Platinum member, I also received free shipping, as well as a good amount of points because Philosophy was 5X the points during that time! I've used the Philosophy wipes before and remember liking them, but I can't remember if I was wowed by them. They were only $7.50, so no real loss if I end up not liking them much. I had also been wanting to try one of the Too Faced Sweethearts blushes, but always thought they were a bit too expensive. They were only $15 at the 50% off sale price, so I ran with it. I have yet to try it, but will report back with a review!

I had gone into my local Ulta after not being in that store since October of 2015, because I had a 20% off coupon for Platinum members sent to me. I wanted to check out some skincare, so off to the store I went. I've really enjoyed being sent a bunch of goodies from Pur Cosmetics before, so I wanted to look into their skincare to see if I liked any of it. I picked up their In The Clear Clarifying Cleanser and the Soak It Up Intense Hydrating Moisturizer. A rep from the brand was there, so she was testing out a bunch of things on me to help me with my choices. The cleanser seems like it'll be great for use in the Summer as it's very cooling, and the moisturizer seems nice and light feeling, but still very hydrating at the same time.

I've heard so many amazing things about the Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads, and have been very curious to try them myself. Unfortunately, I didn't look at the ingredients while in-store, and there's denatured alcohol in them. I'm trying to stay away from products that contain alcohol, and now for personal reasons (which I might mention later), I'm also staying away from Glycolic Acid. I will be returning this since I have yet to break the seal and open it. 

I really didn't have plans to buy anything from the Sephora VIB sale. In all honesty, I haven't shopped at Sephora, online or in-store, since the middle of December! Like I said above, I'm really trying to limit my purchases this year to buying mainly what I need, not just what I want. So, I limited myself to the NARS Pencil Sharpener, because the sharpeners I have just didn't cut it anymore, and the beautyblender Two.BB.Clean that comes with two regular sized original Beauty Blenders, as well as a 5 ounce Liquid Blender Cleanser. You all know my love for the Beauty Blender and I just adore their Liquid Cleanser as well, so for $40 minus the 15% discount, you really couldn't beat that. 

I finally had a reason to redeem some of my points, so I redeemed 100 points on the Lancome Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover, which is my all-time favorite, but it's freaking expensive. They also had a pretty great 500 point gift of Ole Henriksen products called Glow For it, which includes deluxe sizes of their African Red Tea Cleanser, Truth Sugar Glow Polishing Mask, Truth Collagen Booster (LOVE!), and Pure Truth Youth Activating Oil. I've been really into Ole Henriksen products lately, and this kit definitely seemed worth the 500 points. 

Did you buy anything from the Sephora VIB sale?

YouTube Video: March 2016 Favorites!

Hey guys! I decided to film March's beauty favorites this time around, so I hope you take a look at what I was loving last month! Be sure to give the video a thumbs up while you're there, and subscribe if you want :) I've used some affiliate links below if you wanted to check out any of the products.

Products mentioned in the video:

- Exuviance Gentle Cleansing Creme
- Ole Henriksen Balancing Cucumber Face Mist
- Valentia Royal Rose Hydrating Serum
- Kognac Sponge
- Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream
- Covergirl The Super Sizer Mascara
- Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolor in Devotion
- Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Palette

What were some of your favorite products? 

Review: Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Palette

 *Post contains affiliate links*

Hi everyone! Today, I'm finally going to be sharing my review of the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Palette. I've given this a good run, and it's safe to say that I really enjoy it!

Here is some info on the palette from Sephora:

What it is:
An eye palette from the Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Collection with 16 heart-shaped, cocoa powder-enriched eye shades in brights and neutrals.
What it does:
This palette features matte and shimmer eye shades in cool pops of color, brights, and beautiful neutrals. Each is infused with Too Faced’s chocolate-scented, antioxidant-rich, cocoa powder formula. The third palette in the bestselling Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Collection, Chocolate Bon Bons includes a signature Glamour Guide with three beauty looks to get you started. With 16 shades, including two cult favorite hues, it’s perfect for limitless eye looks. 

Chocolate Bon Bons comes with 6 matte shades and 10 shimmery shades, which is a nice range to me, in a metal case with a magnetic closure. All of the shadows are infused with cocoa powder, which does make it smell like chocolate. I have to say though, the scent is much less overpowering in this palette compared to the original Chocolate Bar and Semisweet palettes. With a primer, these shadows perform on the eyes very well, they blend easily and last all day. At first, I wasn't a massive fan of the color selection, but after using it and swatching all the colors, I totally fell in love. 

Swatches in the second photo from top to bottom are:

Almond Truffle
Satin Sheets
Cashew Chew
Cotton Candy
Cafe Au Lait
Dark Truffle
Pecan Praline
Totally Fetch

Colors in the second photo from top to bottom are:

Sprinkles
Molasses Chip
Malted
Bordeaux
Mocha
Black Currant
Earl Grey
Divinity

Alot of the colors blend into my skin a bit, but I did try to build them up as best as I could. I think this palette is fantastic honestly! It's got a great color range, and I can do a super neutral look, or do something more colorful. Cashew Chew is the perfect transition shade for me, Cafe Au Lait is a great lid shade that also makes for a great one-shadow look, Molasses Chip is probably the most beautiful shade out of this entire palette, and I love Bordeaux because I'm obsessed with burgundy shades, although this shade has a bit more brown in it. 

Overall, I think the Chocolate Bon Bons Palette is worth the $49 price tag, and I think this might be my favorite palette from the Chocolate Bar line. All of the shades swatched well for me, they look great on the eyes, and of course I love that it smells like chocolate.

I purchased mine from Sephora, but it is also at Ulta and the Too Faced website. 

Have you tried this palette?

My Top 15 Favorite Beauty Products of 2015

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Hey everyone! I know this post is probably a bit late for most of you, but I still wanted to share with you all my 15 favorite beauty products of 2015. They're in no kind of order and I loved everything pretty much equally. 

First, I have to talk about eyeshadows. My favorite palette of 2015 has got to be the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Palette. Every color is amazing, and you get warm, cool and neutral toned matte shadows in one palette. It's a hooded eyed person's dream, and even though I'm more of a neutral/cool lover, I do appreciate the warm shades as well. I did a review of this here if you wanted to check it out! I had to also give some love to Make Up Geek Eyeshadow singles. For just $6 each, these shadows are such amazing quality, and they may be all you really need if you're just getting started in makeup. All of the ones I have are shown in the picture, but I definitely need to add more to my collection. They're pigmented, buttery smooth, and blend onto the eyes nicely. 

Next up is the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay. I did a review here, and I have to say, this mask is probably my favorite mask that makes my pores look invisible. You can mix it with either water or apple cider vinegar (it works better with ACV for me personally), and you leave it on for up to 20 minutes depending on how sensitive your skin is. I do get redness from this mask, but since I use it at night, it doesn't bother me. This is a miracle worker if I feel like my pores are super clogged and nothing else is helping them. You need this if you have pores that clog easily, and it's super cheap as well. 

Oh Batiste Dry Shampoo, how I love thee! Honestly guys, I will never buy another brand of dry shampoo as long as I live. I've gotten others in the past that don't work nearly as well as Batiste does, and everytime I've strayed, I've been disappointed. Batiste is my one true love in keeping my hair feeling and looking clean, even if I've gone about 4 days without washing it. I also did a review of this here quite a long time ago.  

Who can live without a Beauty Blender? I can't! I honestly don't know where I was or what I did before this little pink egg-shaped sponge came into my life. This has changed my foundation/concealer routine in so many positive ways that when I I try to use a brush or even my fingers, it just doesn't work! There is something truly special about this sponge, and completely worth the $20 price tag. Any dupes out there are not the same, including the Real Techniques sponge. I used to like that, but they've changed the texture of it and it's awful. 

If I ever have issues with removing my makeup, Bioderma always comes to my rescue. Yes, this seems like just regular water in a fancy bottle, but there is magic in this water! It removes every last bit of makeup from my eyes and face without irritation. I've said this before, but no makeup remover has ever done what Bioderma does for me. It's incredible and it's surprisingly not that expensive. I purchased mine off of the Beautylish website, but you can also find it on Amazon. I did a review of this here! 

You all are probably so tired of me talking about The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner, but this is still my all-time favorite toner, and I have yet to find something better. There are under 10 ingredients in this, feels great on my skin, and preps it well for serums and moisturizers. I always have backups of backups in my stash. 

The Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder was something I had been wanting to try for well over a year. Every beauty YouTuber raves about it, so I gave in and splurged. They must've been on to something because this is an amazing setting powder! I have oily skin and for some reason it helps keep me more matte, and it's a wonderful setting powder for under the eyes. I feel like this is just such a versatile powder that anyone can use, whether you have oily, dry or combo skin. You get a ton of product as well, so I feel it's worth the price. 

The Tangle Teezer was another product that I had heard about for quite a few years. I felt it was completely overpriced for a hair brush, but fell into the hype anyway. The first time I used it after I had washed my hair is when I knew what the hype was about. I have very fine hair that gets knotty and tangled very easily, that sometimes even combs would snag my hair. The Tangle Teezer just glides right through and gets all the tangles out without hurting. My husband was even interested after I kept telling him how amazing it was and he started using mine to brush out his beard. I ended up buying his own, and he absolutely loves it. Even though I have fine hair, I do feel like people with thick hair can use it was well.

You all know how much of a lip balm freak I am, and my all-time favorite has to be the Lip Butters from The Body Shop. You only need the tiniest amount to make your lips feel soft and moisturized, and one little jar lasts for ages. I love this Sweet Lemon scent that I'm currently using, but my favorites have to be the Shea and Coconut scents.They do leave a little bit of a white cast on your lips, but I only use these at night as my lips dry and crack the worst at that time. 

Every product I try from Bite Beauty, I fall more in love with the brand. The product pictured is the Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in the shades Date and Fig. These duos are only around during the holiday's I believe, but they do have many single shades available. If I could've, I probably would've put every Bite Beauty product I own in this post, and I know you have things to do rather than sitting on my blog all day. The Luminous Creme formula is just incredible. It feels nice on the lips, and it's just a good quality lipstick. These duos don't cost much either, just $12 or $14. 

I have two mascaras that practically blew my mind this year. A little while ago, I was given the chance to try out the Covergirl Super Sizer Mascara. I used to really like the mascara in the orange tube, but hadn't used much from the brand in many years. Trying this mascara has changed my opinion on the Covergirl brand, and now I'm tempted to go out and buy a ton of their makeup. This mascara gives me amazing volume and length, and it looks good all day long. It's probably my current favorite drugstore mascara. I do have a review on this here. I also had to put the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara in my favorites. If you want volumized lashes that look fake, this is your mascara. I get a bit of length from this, but the volume I get is like nothing I've ever gotten from a mascara before. I used up a full sized tube around the end of 2015, so this is a deluxe size that came with the Stardust palette. For a high end mascara, this is definitely my favorite, and there is a review here!

Another lip product that was a surprising favorite is the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks. I have a few of these now and the shade pictured above is Outlaw. I was so on the fence with wanting to try liquid lipsticks because my lips are already dry, and I always heard that liquid lipsticks were very drying. While I don't feel like this is hydrating by any means, it's not as drying as I thought it was going to be. The colors available are so gorgeous, highly pigmented, and they stay on and don't budge once they're set. I definitely see myself picking up a few more colors in this line. 

The last product I have pictured is an Airbrush Blending Crease Brush by it Cosmetics. Again, I'd put the whole entire brush line in this post if I could, because they're that good. I don't think I've ever felt softer brushes before. I have quite a few different it Cosmetics brushes, but this crease brush is my favorite. It applies and blends out shadows like a dream, and I find myself playing with these brushes because of how soft they are. Seriously, go to an Ulta and have a feel for yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed! 

Those were my favorites from 2015! Let me know in a comment what some of your favorites were in the last year. I'll need some inspiration when my spending ban is over ;)

What I Got For Christmas/ My Birthday HAUL!

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Hey guys! I hope everyone who celebrates had an awesome Christmas, and has a very happy New Year! December is always an odd month for me because my birthday is on the 8th, so presents that are given to me nowadays are for both that and Christmas, which I'm honestly fine with! Since I'm now 27 (hooray for being in my late 20's now...not!), I never really ask for certain presents anymore. I prefer either gift cards or cash so I can get something I know I'll enjoy and use. I also do treat myself to some things because, why the heck not?! So today I'll be sharing with you what I ended up getting with my birthday/Christmas money!

I had gone to Walgreen's hoping to find new products that I've been hearing about, but had zero luck. They did however have a major clearance sale going on, so I took some time browsing. I picked up the Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Mattifying Powder that was on clearance for just a couple dollars. I'm hoping this is decent, but with it being marked down, it's probably getting discontinued. 

I also picked up one of the Megalast Liquid Lip Colors in the shade Red My Mind. It's a beautiful shade in the package, but that's it. It's an awful formula and flakes off my lips almost immediately after applying it. Luckily, this was just over $1 on clearance, and now I understand why every shade in this line was marked down. 

I've never tried the popular Wet n Wild lipsticks that everyone talks about, so I picked up the shades Smokin' Hot Pink and Cherry Picking. I always thought these were $1.99, but at my Walgreen's they were $2.49. No big deal really, so if I end up liking these, I'll probably buy more!

Burt's Bees wasn't on sale at all, but if you bought 2 of their lip balms, you got 1,000 points so I got the scents Honey and Coconut & Pear. I love lip balms, and Burt's Bees makes some great ones. 

Next up is Sephora! I had gotten the VIB Rouge giftcard in the mail for $25 off of a $50 purchase, and my mom also gave me hers to use as well, so I placed 2 separate orders, but lumped everything together. On one of the orders I had to buy hair ties because I wasn't quite at $50, but somehow I lost them already.

Anyway, I ended up getting the Philosophy Holiday Handbook hand cream set, which has the scents Cranberry Medley, Fresh Cream and Raspberries & Cream. I purchased a set of these last year as well and love them, so when I saw they had another set this year, I knew I had to have it. Fresh Cream is such a light, but amazing scent and I'm very happy to have it in hand cream form!

I have no reason to be buying more eyeshadow palettes, but the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons is one I just had to have! I had been hearing about it for months, thought the packaging was adorable, and the fact that it smells like chocolate always seals the deal. I have the other two chocolate bar palettes as well and color selection wise, I think I like this one the most. 

Kat Von D has been killing it with her makeup line within the past year, and everything I've tried so far, I've loved. I bought yet another Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in the shade Bauhau5 and a Metal Crush Eyeshadow in the shade Raw Power. You all know my love for her liquid lipsticks, but I've been dying to try out the Metal Crush Eyeshadows. I was torn between this and the shade Thunderstruck, but went with Raw Power because I love my burgundy's!

The birthday gift this year came from Nars and it included a Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade Cruella, a Satin Lip Pencil in the shade Rikugien, and since I'm VIB Rouge, it came with an extra little sample of their Larger Than Life Eyeliner in the shade Via Veneto. I hear that both of the lip pencils and the eyeliner are great, so I'm excited to try them out!

Last but not least, I made a trip to Ulta. My lovely mother-in-law gave me a giftcard, and my dad gave me some birthday money. I also had the coupon for 20% off, which was good on everything I purchased! I had seen a review on YouTube of the Stila Trust in Love Gift Set, which includes an eyeshadow palette, a deluxe sized lip glaze, and a deluxe sized sample of their HUGE Extreme Lash Mascara. The wand on the mascara reminds me so much of the Too Faced Better Than Sex, which is probably my favorite higher end mascara, so we'll see if the Stila one compares. 

Real Techniques was on sale, so I picked up two of their Shading Brushes. I don't have these yet in my Real Techniques brush collection, but I love the size of these and think they will be good for applying shadow to my hooded lids. 

I've decided I wanted to delve into the world of lip liners, so I went a little ham with what I bought. I ended up buying three Essence lip liners in the shades 15 Honey Berry, 07 Cute Pink and 08 Red Blush. These babies were only $1.49 and with the coupon I had, it made them super inexpensive. I always hear good things about these lip liners too, so I have high hopes. I also purchased two other lip liners, one from NYX in the shade Cabaret, and one from Rimmel in the shade Rapture. The Rimmel lip liner was marked down to clearance, which may mean it's being discontinued. 

Next up is a new Revlon eyeshadow palette called Not Just Nudes, and the one I purchased is Romantic Nudes. They had another one that seemed a bit more warm toned, so the purple-y mauve-y pink shades in this stood out to me more. I love how drugstore brands are coming out with eyeshadow palettes, so I hope this is decent quality. 

The last product was the birthday gift from bareMinerals, and it's a Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in the shade Birthday Babe. I don't think I've tried these glosses before, but I love the color of this, and it isn't very sticky either. 

That's everything from my birthday and what I got for Christmas! Did you get any makeup/beauty goodies that you're enjoying?

Review: Too Faced Stardust by Vegas Nay Palette

Hey guys! I'm excited to finally be doing this review of the Too Faced Stardust Palette they did in collaboration with Vegas Nay, a popular makeup artist on Instagram. I had never heard of her before honestly, but once I started seeing reviews and swatches of this palette, I knew I had to try it out myself. 

First, I have to say that the packaging everything comes in is really pretty, but completely and unnecessarily wasteful. There's just so much darn cardboard that I honestly won't hold on to. 

Once you get everything out of the packaging, you have the eyeshadow palette along with more cardboard that holds deluxe samples of the Glamour Dust in Nude Beam, Better Than Sex Mascara, Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer, and 4 different guides to create different eye looks. I feel like these come in handy if you're not sure what to do and want some inspiration. 

The palette itself is so slim, which makes me even more confused as to why they used so much cardboard to package everything, but oh well. That's me trying to be aware of all the waste that the world creates. Anyways, you get 12 nice sized eye shadows that each contain 0.04 ounce of product, which isn't a ton, but with how pigmented these shadows are, I doubt I'd hit pan on these anytime soon. 

- Chandelier: A matte cream 
- Millennial: A matte medium brown
- Girl's Night: A matte dark brown
- #Selfie: A satin-finish cream
- Showgirl: A bronze-y gold shimmer
- Jackpot: A dark brown with gold shimmer
- Pink Pearl: A satin light pink
- The Strip: A light silvery taupe shimmer
- Follow Me: A satin dark purple with a slight pink sheen to it
- Double Tap: A matte burgundy/brown with just a hint of shimmer 
- Golden Nugget: A true gold shimmer
- Sin City: A matte black 

For some reason, I cannot find this online anywhere it was sold! I had purchased mine at Ulta in-store, so maybe it's still available if you go to your local Ulta. I did my best to describe the shades, and I feel like I did fairly well! I had some difficulty swatching Pink Pearl and The Strip, which came out a bit patchy and not as pigmented as I'd like. I absolutely adore Millennial as a crease shade, and my favorite shades in this palette have to be Showgirl and Jackpot. 

While I feel like this palette is great for the neutral lover who wants just a little pop of color, it's nothing special color-wise and I could easily dupe these in the large eyeshadow collection I have. With that being said, I've been enjoying using this because it definitely has all the shades you could ever want to create a simple, neutral look, but you can also do a darker, more dramatic look as well. I feel like this is such a versatile palette and overall, I'm glad I took the plunge and added this to my collection. I just wish the outer packaging wasn't so bulky and annoying... *rant over*

Have you tried this palette? what do you think of it?

Collective Makeup HAUL! Big Lots, Sephora & Ulta

Hi everyone! The past few weeks I did a bit of makeup shopping, and I wanted to share with you what I purchased. I'm trying to be good right now because the Sephora VIB sale is coming up next weekend for Rouge members, and I have a feeling I'll be splurging a bit. I plan on doing a wishlist for the event that should be up hopefully by tomorrow or Monday/Tuesday, so stay tuned! Anyway, lets see what goodies I have this time!

Starting off with the things from Big Lots, the first product I found is Body Raves Fresher Than Green Detoxifying Wipes. These are said to be infused with Aloe and Cucumber with Green Tea and they remove makeup, dirt, oil and environmental toxins. I snagged these up because they were only $2 and you get a whopping 60 wipes in a package. That's an incredible deal and if I end up not liking these on my face, they'll be fine for swatches. 

The next two products I was so excited to see and they're the Maybelline Eyestudio quads in Sapphire Stylist and Spirited Seas. The packaging for Sapphire Stylist says it was limited edition, but I have no idea what collection it's from, and Spirited Seas says "New", but it was probably discontinued for whatever reason. The price of these were incredible so brace yourselves. They were only $2.20 each! I couldn't believe it! In the drugstore, these quads are around $10, so just over $2 for each was amazing, and no one stuck their grubby hands in them either!

The last two products I found were shades from the discontinued Maybelline Color Whispers line. I found the shades Lust For Blush and Coral Ambition. I absolutely adored this line when it came out because the formula feels like a very hydrating gel. I have about 3 or 4 other shades, so I'm excited to have these in my collection now! Lust For Blush was $3.50 and Coral Ambition was $3. 

Next up is a couple things from an online order at Sephora. I was browsing Instagram a little while ago (I'm @Skinstuffbykaty there if you want to follow me!) and someone had posted about the Make Up For Ever Metal Palette being an awesome dupe for the Z Palette, at a much better price. Z Palettes are typically over $20, and this baby was just $14! I had also gotten a 10% off code to use on this purchase, so that brought the price of it down to $12.60. It was out of stock when I initially went to look it up, but I signed up to be notified when it came back, so I snagged one right away once I got the email. This palette is freaking fantastic! Seriously, it holds so much more product than the Z Palette and the price is incredible. The only downside is that it is heavy because the entire palette is metal. That doesn't bother me, and I'm officially converted. I've even switched my Makeup Geek shadows over to this already. I highly recommend picking one of these up! 

The next product I picked up is the Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in the infamous shade Lolita. The liquid lipstick version is always sold out, but for some reason, this lipstick looks like a prettier color to me. I have yet to try this as I want to review it, but I have to say, this smells like a vanilla cupcake, and that makes me very happy. 

I had cashed in 250 of my Beauty Insider points for the Bite Beauty Lip Lab Trio in Kir Royal. This was October's Limited Edition trio, and I knew I had to have it since it's a beautiful burgundy/berry/fuchsia color. I love Bite Beauty more everytime I try other products from them, and I'm slowly building up my collection. 

Last up is Ulta! I had received a 20% off coupon in the mail a couple weeks ago for Platinum members, and it was good on EVERYTHING! There were just a few exclusions, like Dermalogica, Lancome, the Benefit Brow Bar and one or two others. I had my eye on the Too Faced Star Dust Palette by Vegas Nay, but kept telling myself I didn't need it and had so many colors like what's in the palette, in my collection. As I kept seeing rave reviews on blogs and YouTube, I had to check it out for myself. This truly is such a stunning palette in person! While I probably have many similar shades already, I got sucked in. It also comes with deluxe sizes of Better Than Sex Mascara, Shadow Insurance, and a Glamour Dust Glitter Pigment. I figured since I got 20% off, why the heck not?! #TreatYoSelf

Anastasia Beverly Hills is one of those brands that everyone and their dog talks about, but I really haven't tried much. I do love her clear brow gel, and I also have the Tamanna eyeshadow palette. I've never tried her famous brow wiz and I have not a care in the world for her liquid lipsticks or glosses. However, after seeing pictures and swatches of this Self Made Palette on Instagram, I knew it had to be mine. Do I need another palette? Not at all, but I feel like she has some really nice eyeshadows for an amazing price. This retails for $35 and with the 20% off, it came down to just $28 before tax. Not too shabby for 14 different shades in one palette!

The last product I picked up is the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream 3 piece set that has the shades Monte Carlo, Copenhagen, and Transylvania and retails for $11.99. I saw this set online but with different shades, and in-store they had three different sets. I was drawn more towards this one as I'm trying to broaden my dark lip horizon. I haven't tried Monte Carlo or Copenhagen yet, but Transylvania is just such a gorgeous color, yet it's kinda difficult to work with. It goes on a bit patchy and you have to layer it to get it to look nice. I also feel like I maybe need to invest in a lip liner for shades like this. I still feel like the set is worth it, and the price is great. The Soft Matte Lip Creams retail for either $5.99 or $6.99 individually, so it's like you get one free in this set. Also, with the 20% off coupon I had, it really wasn't bad at all.

That's everything! I feel really happy with this haul honestly since I got things I had been wanting for a little while now. Is there anything you've purchased recently?

July 2015 Empties

Hey guys! I'm fairly unhappy with the amount of products I used up (or didn't use up really), but if you read my favorites post where I posted my life update, I didn't really care to do much makeup/skincare wise. I managed to use up a few things, so lets see what I have!

The first used up product is the St. Ives Oatmeal & Shea Butter Body Wash. I originally bought this for my husband when he was having itchy skin issues, but decided I wanted to try it out for myself because it smelled so good. This stuff is amazing! It feels incredibly hydrating for being such a foamy body wash and it was super inexpensive too. We will definitely be buying this again once the stash is used up. 

Next up is one of the Foaming Hand Soaps from Bath & Body Works in the scent Berry Sangria. This scent is heavenly, but my husband and I both prefer to use the soaps with the scrubby bits in them. I'm slowly trying to use up all the foamy ones I have, but if this scent is still available in the scrubby one, I will buy it again. 

I like taking the Nature Made Fish Oil softgels because my husband isn't a fan of seafood and doesn't really like the smell of it either, so I don't cook it much. To still get the health benefits, I take a fish oil supplement, and this one has DHA in it which is said to help with heart health. I have another bottle of this, but I bought a different brand that I'm currently using. 

These are the last few bits! I used up the three mascaras I had been rotating. Too Face Better Than Sex, Lancome Grandiose, and Urban Decay Supercurl. I loved all these for different reasons. Too Faced is amazing overall, it lengthens and volumizes my lashes like no other mascara has and it's probably my favorite out of these three. Lancome for me is more lengthening than volumizing overall. Urban decay is the one I used if I got some clumps in my lashes because it's incredibly separating. I did also post reviews of the Too Faced mascara here and the Lancome mascara here. Out of these three, I'd probably repurchase Too Faced Better Than Sex.

I finished up a little baby sample of the L'Occitane Shea Hand Cream. This stuff is amazingly hydrating on parched, dry hands. I've been having a dry spell with my hands lately and you only need a tiny bit of this to get the job done, so it lasted a good while. The full size of these hand creams are pretty expensive though, so I probably wouldn't repurchase unless it's in a gift set or something.

The final product I used up is the e.l.f Therapeutic Conditioning Balm in the scent Orange Creme. I featured this in last month's favorites here and I completely fell in love, especially with the scent. The only gripe I had with this is it didn't take long for me to use up. Honestly, I probably used this up in about 3 or so weeks. I do love me some lip balm but I only really used this at night before bed. I think this is only $1 so it's no big deal, but I'd rather use something that will last me a little while. 

What did you use up in July?

Makeup & Beauty HAUL! Ulta, Sephora & Makeup Geek

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to be showing you some makeup goodies I had purchased over the last few weeks or so. Alot of sales were going on, and there were a few things that I just wanted to try. I know I say this in every haul post I do, but I think it's going to be a little while until I do another haul. If you saw my last post, you know my husband and I are expecting our first baby! Since finding out we're expecting, I was in the mindset of changing some of my habits like eating differently, and I want to change around my skincare. Being pregnant and having oily, acne-prone skin is proving difficult to take care of properly. Anyways, forgive this long intro, and lets see what I picked up!

I'll start off with the products I picked up from Ulta. The day I went, Ulta was having a 40% off sale on certain brands and I also wanted to get some advice on skincare I can use during pregnancy. Salicylic Acid, moisturizers/serums/toners with Tea Tree Oil, Glycolic Acid, and possibly Benzoyl Peroxide are ruled out. In turn, that rules out almost all of my skincare because Salicylic Acid and Tea Tree Oil are the only ingredients that help with any acne I get. Instead of buying a totally new regimen, I decided to try out the Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash. My mom has used this in the past, but I had never tried it. The ingredients look safe, so I'm excited to see how this does with my skin. 

I had been so curious about the it Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream for ages. During pregnancy, I have read that you can only use a physical sunscreen like Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide, and not chemical sunscreens. I found a regular sunscreen I can use at Walmart, and I was very pleased to see this it Cosmetics CC Cream having both physical sunscreens. I have already used this, and I absolutely love it! I bought the shade Fair, and it's almost perfect, but it leans a little yellow on my skin. I can work with it though and it blends in incredibly well. 

I'm in love with Too Faced products and was standing at their section for close to 15 minutes, while my poor husband waited patiently. Their Melted Lipsticks are fantastic so I decided to get the shade Melted Jelly Donut, which is a bright fuchsia color. I have yet to try it, but I think I'm going to love it with my fair skin. 

L'Oreal and Physician's Formula were two of the brands that were 40% off. I picked up the L'Oreal Infallible Makeup Extender Setting Spray due to all the great reviews I hear and read. I love setting sprays, especially during this time of year, and I typically like what I try. For Physician's Formula, I picked up the Matte Collection Quad Eye Shadow in Quartz Quartet. I don't hear alot about these shadows, but what I do hear is typically good. I have yet to try this, but I have pretty high hopes. 

I also had a coupon at Ulta for 20% off one item (excluding high-end brands), so the nice girl ringing me up split up my purchase and rung the L'Oreal spray and Physician's Formula quad separate. Also during that time, there was 5X points for Platinum Members and there was also something else going on, so I have a ton of points to use sometime!

Oh Sephora, how I love thee! I don't know what it is, but everytime I see or hear the words "Limited Edition", I tend to freak out inside a little. Kat Von D had come out with a LE version of her Tattoo Liner in Trooper. The packaging is all fancy, and a portion of the proceeds from every sale of this LE liner go to charity, which I found really sweet. This is one of my favorite liners as it makes it super easy to do wings. 

Another LE product I decided to buy is the Becca and Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Champagne Pop. Good Lord, is this stunning in person! Honestly, I didn't want this at first. I'm not typically a highlighter kind of girl because of my oily skin, but looking at swatches and seeing how much people have been raving about it, I had to have it. I don't know what my problem is, it just had to be mine! I haven't even tried it yet because I haven't really worn much makeup lately and it's so pretty, I don't want to touch it. I'm weird, I know. 

I also wanted to try out the Bite Beauty Neutral Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo. One end is called Fig, the other Date. I'm not the biggest fan of Date, but Fig is beautiful. I can probably mix the two and come up with something pretty! I'm a huge fan of the Bite products I've tried so I'm sure I will love this one too. 

I got a few deluxe sized samples as well, the first one being the Dr. Jart Premium Beauty Balm. It's got an SPF of 45 and Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide, so I can use it! The Clinique Acne Solutions BB Cream has Titanium Dioxide in it, but it also has two chemical sunscreens, which is a bummer. I also have no idea what color they sent me, because it's so dark, I may not be able to use it at all!

Last, but not least, we have Makeup Geek! It had been almost a year since my last MG purchase, and recently there was a coupon code for 10% off Make Up Geek products. 10% doesn't seem like alot, but hey, it's something! I chose to purchase 3 of their Foiled Eyeshadows, and the shades I got were Caitlin Rose, Starry Eyed and Grandstand. These look so gorgeous, but I have yet to play with them. From what I hear, I won't be disappointed. I also picked up 3 of her regular eyeshadows in the shades Bitten, Barcelona Beach and Baby Face. I have 13 of here regular eyeshadows, so I'm already a huge fan. I really want to do a post on either my Makeup Geek shadow collection, or my favorites out of the ones I have. Once I test out these new ones, I'll do some kind of review. 

Well, that's my haul! If there is anything here you want a review on, let me know! It might be a while since I still don't feel too good alot of the time, but I promise I will get to it!

Is there anything you've purchased recently that you've been loving?

Also, remember I'm still doing my Summer blog sale!

June 2015 Empties

Hi everyone! It's been a while again, I know. I'm still not feeling too well and I'm just exhausted, so bear with me for a bit! Today I'm sharing with you all the products I used up last month. Looking at the bag of stuff I had saved, it turned out I used up alot more than I thought, which I'm very happy with!

Starting off with some skincare, I used up The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner. I love this toner in the Summertime as it really helps to lessen the amount of oil my skin produces. I always have backups of these, but right now I'm using something different that I've really been enjoying. 

I used up the Philosophy Never Let Them See You Shine Cleanser. I can't remember if I talked about this cleanser here on the blog or Instagram, but I ended up not really being a fan of this. It does really eliminate any shine and oil you may have, but it was fairly drying to me. I don't think they even make this anymore, because when I purchased it, it was on major clearance. 

I also finished up the Origins A Perfect World Moisturizer SPF 25. I really, really liked this! I'm pretty sure I mentioned it in a favorites before, but this was just a great moisturizer. It felt nice and hydrating on my skin, but not greasy, and I loved that it had SPF in it, so I didn't have to worry about putting extra on. Not sure if I would repurchase though. I have so many moisturizers in my stash. 

Next up is the Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion. I thought this was really nice. The scrubbing beads were very fine, but they made my skin super soft and feeling nice. I think this is an expensive product so I probably won't buy the full size. 

I got the Eclos Plant Stem Cells Regenerative Cream in a previous Ipsy bag. I honestly don't even know which one, it's been that long. I thought maybe this was bad, but it smelled fine and wasn't separated, so I used it up. I used it only at night and got about a week's worth of use from it. I liked it, it made my skin feel soft and hydrated, but it's nothing special, if you ask me.

Now for a few makeup-type products. I finally used up the Soap & Glory A Great Kisser lip balm, and boy am I glad to be rid of this! At first I liked it. It smells nice, gives a nice glossy sheen to the lips, and it actually tastes good too. That's where it ends really. I didn't find this to be hydrating, it just sat on my lips without sinking in, and I just got tired of it real quick. I stuck it out and used it up because I hate being wasteful. 

I have finally used up The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Facial Blotting Tissues. I had this one package for years, honest. Even though I have really oily skin, I could never really be bothered with blotting off extra oil during the day. I made an effort more and am really happy I used this up. 

Now I didn't fully use up the Too Faced Mood Swing lip gloss from the Smurfette Collection. Don't even ask me how old this is, because I have no darn clue! I went to use it, and it was all separated and it smelled funky so in the trash it went. I did like this gloss though as it gave me the prettiest shade of pink to my lips. 

Now for some health-type products! I used up this ginormous bottle of the Crest Pro-Health mouthwash. I was a fan of this, but my husband was saying someone told him this will stain your teeth blue with constant use. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I had opened another one of these big bottles, so once I use that up, I may switch to something else. The reason I like this is because it's got no alcohol in it, so it doesn't burn my mouth! Mouthwashes like that are hard to find. 

I used up a Bath & Body Works antibacterial hand soap in the scent Berry Sangria, and I loved every second of using this. I had kept this in the kitchen, and it just smells wonderful, like you're sipping on a fruity cocktail, sitting on the beach. I am currently using the foam version of this in my bathroom, and that will probably be in this month's empties. 

I used up a Nature Made Super B-Complex. I had always read that B vitamins are good for boosting energy, but I never noticed anything. I'm starting to really streamline what vitamins I take now, so if I do repurchase this, it won't be for a while. 

I don't always wear my contacts, but when I do, I use Renu Fresh multi-purpose solution to clean them, and soak them overnight. This is the only contact solution that doesn't feel like I stick acid in my eyes when I put my contacts in. I will always and forever repurchase this brand as long as I'm wearing contacts. 

Last few random products! I'm so glad I'm finished the Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo. This did absolutely nothing for my greasy roots, if anything it made it worse. I was close to chucking this multiple times, but like I've said, I hate wasting product. 

I also used up The Body Shop Spa Wisdom Africa Ximenia & Marula Oil Shower Cream. This stuff was amazing! It smelled really nice and clean, and it did its job nicely. I had purchased this ages ago when it was on clearance, and I wish they would bring this back, it was that lovely!

My last used up product is the Udderly Smooth Udder Cream. Now I'm not sure how readily available this product is, but I would purchase these creams out in a little shop in Amish country (aka Lancaster, Pennsylvania). I have also seen them in some Walgreen's near me. I used to be obsessed with this stuff because it was incredible for dry, cracked hands. You could use this anywhere really, but this particular bottle didn't do much for me. I have had it for a while, so maybe it just thinned out over time, but this was my jam years ago!

Phew, that's everything! It's such a great feeling being able to use up all this stuff and get rid of clutter. How much did you use up last month?

Review: Too Faced Sugar Pop Eye Palette

Hi guys! Today I'm going to be reviewing the Too Faced Sugar Pop Palette. I was one the fence alot with this and at first didn't want it. I eventually caved back in April during the Sephora VIB sale. 

Here is some info on the palette, taken from Sephora:

What it is:
A colorful palette of nine shimmer and glitter eye shadows in vanilla, chocolate, and candy-inspired hues.

What it does:
Put eyes in the spotlight with this colorful palette of nine enticing, shimmer and glitter shadows in vanilla, chocolate, and candy-inspired hues. Create limitless, irresistible eye looks with this French macaroon-inspired palette that features exclusive, rich pure pigmented eye shadows that impart lids with rich color. Perfectly blendable, these silky-smooth formulas blend on effortlessly for an airbrushed effect. Plus, this palette includes step-by-step Instructions in Too Faced’s signature Glamour Guide, with three must-try eye looks.  

The colors are beautiful and perfect for Spring and Summer. Underneath the guide booklet is a small but useable mirror. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of it! It's got a magnetic closure, but it's not very strong, so I personally would be wary of traveling with it.

Swatches of the first row, Sweet & Spicy:

- Rock Candy is a matte base with glitter throughout light, creamy peach shade
- Macaron is a darker more intense shimmery peach shade
- Malted Milk Ball is a shimmery medium brown shade

Swatches of the second row, Sugar Plums:

- Strawberry Ice is an almost matte, satin like finish cool toned light pink leaning a little into a lilac shade
- Sugared Violet is a beautiful shimmery blue/purple shade
- Blackberry is a matte dark purple, almost brown shade

Swatches of the third row, Candy Coated:

- Peach Fuzz is a matte base with glitter, light peach shade
- Bubblegum is also a matte base with glitter, hot pink shade
- Blue Raspberry is a satin finish, almost a seafoam blue shade

Overall, I'm a big fan of this palette. I find the shades to be pigmented, but not too pigmented to where you can't control them. They swatch pretty evenly and apply on the eye well. I always use a primer so I can't say how they apply without one. With a primer, they do last quite a while on my eyes, about 6 or 7 hours before I notice any creasing or fading. The shades that have a matte base with glitter are interesting. The glitter particles don't show up on my skin at all, which is kinda odd. I'm usually not one for a ton of color, but I really have been enjoying this palette! You can make some pretty neutral looks too, which is more up my alley. I like that they give you a little guide for looks, but I like having fun mixing the color scheme.

This palette costs $36, and you can find it at Sephora, Ulta and the Too Faced website.

Have you tried this palette? What do you think of it?