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?

Mini Drugstore Haul feat. Walgreen's and Ulta

Hi guys! So I know I'm not really supposed to be doing any beauty shopping for a while but there were some sales going on, and if you know me, you know I love a good sale! Anyway, I did a little shopping at Walgreen's and placed an order online from Ulta. Lets see what goodies I got!

Fist up is Walgreen's. This week Walgreen's has certain Wet n' Wild product for only $2 with your Walgreen's card. I went in really only looking for the Fall 2014 Limited Edition 5 pan shadows. They typically retail for $3.99 which is already a steal, but when I got up to the register, they were only $2 each! I picked up the palettes called Melrose at Night and Smoke and Melrose. They had two other ones, one called High Waisted Jeans which I didn't care for as I don't really like blues on me, and the other one was called Angels in Aubergine, which just looked too harsh for my skintone. Of course I went with the neutral ones, surprise surprise. 

Lastly from Walgreen's, I picked up two of the Vaseline Lip Therapy balms. The first one is Rosy Lips which I had been tying to find but had no success til now and I also picked up the Cocoa Butter one. I was originally only going to buy one but if you bought 2, you got an extra 2,000 points with your Walgreen's card. I'm excited to try these, especially in the Winter when my lips are drier than dry. 

Now we have Ulta, which I'm really excited about. I had heard over and over about these Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stains and wondered what the fuss was about. I don't own many Revlon lip products but was definitely curious about these. I had gotten an email from Ulta saying they had free shipping on orders of $25 or more. Free shipping for Ulta is typically $50 so I always wait for the $25 promo. Revlon also had a buy 1, get 1 50% off deal, which is why I bought four of these, plus I also had the code for $3.50 off of a $10 purchase and I used a bunch of points I had saved up, so with tax everything came to just under $20, and I still got the free shipping! Now keep in mind these typically cost between $7 and $10 depending on where you get them. Drugstores in my area carry them for $9.99, my Ulta carries them for $8.99. I basically got two of these for free! Can't complain about that! Anyways, I picked up the colors LA Exclusive, Rio Rush, Barcelona Nights, and Shanghai Sizzle. I've already tried three of the four and I must say, I'm very impressed! I plan on doing a review of these so I won't go into much detail here, but these are definitely really nice lip products.

That's everything I picked up! What have you purchased recently?

The I Suck At Spending Bans Haul

As you can probably tell by the title of this post, I failed horribly with my spending ban and bought alot of some things. Anyways, I made purchases from Sephora, Amazon, two from Walgreen's and Victoria's Secret. Lets see what trouble I got into!

I'll start off with Sephora. I had made this purchase when Ebates, a site that gives you cash back to your Paypal account, was having their 15th anniversary. Certain websites had 15% cash back and Sephora was one of them. I was looking through all the new skincare on the site and came across the Philosophy Purity Made Simple Mask. It's supposed to be a deep cleaning mask, but you only leave it on for 1 minute. I was intrigued with how it works in just a minute, so in my shopping cart it went. This costs $25 so hopefully it works well.

Last thing from Sephora is a 4 pack of Clarisonic Sensitive Brush Heads. I had never seen a 4 pack before and at $75 for the package, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get this because of the steep price. Buying just one brush head costs $27. I remember it used to be $25, but I guess the price went up since I last purchased some. If I bought three individual brush heads, I'd be spending $81. After I did all the math, I figured buying the 4 pack was way better because I'm basically getting one free! Also, I don't use my Clarisonic everyday, maybe three times a week. They recommend changing out the brush head every three months, but I'm assuming that's with daily use. So, for me personally, I'll change mine out every 5-ish months. This package will last me quite a while, plus I did find other backups in my closet! Oops :)

Next up we have one lone little product I purchased from Amazon. This may be a weird product, but I have a short story. I hate shaving, plain and simple. I always cut myself and usually have irritation from shaving, especially on my underarms, which is where this product comes in handy! It's the Nads gel in the Sangria Punch Scent. I had used the original Nads years and years ago, and was typically pleased with the results. I haven't used this yet, as I found a backup of what I used to use in my closet, but I really like this stuff. It's not really a wax, more of a sugaring gel that you can warm up a bit, and use a muslin cloth to remove hair. It does hurt when you rip out the hair, but I don't have any irritation from this and hair regrowth is alot lighter and sparser. 

Next up is Walgreen's! When I heard that their clearance sale was starting, I definitely wanted to see what they had marked down. I went early on in the sale, so I didn't see much in my store. Covergirl had alot of markdowns and I went a little mascara crazy, like I normally do. The one in the red tube is called the Professional Super Thick Lash in the Very Black color. The one on the blue tube is called the Professional All-In-One also in the Very Black color. These babies only cost me $2.99 each and the lady ringing me up scanned a $2 off coupon for buying two Covergirl mascaras. The last mascara I found marked down was the Exacteyelights Eye Brightening Mascara in the color Black Pearl. This mascara is meant for brown eyes, and mine are a hazel, a mix of brown and green This mascara cost me $4.89. 

The Covergirl Clean Sensitive Skin Pressed Powders were all marked down and I was able to find a decent shade match with Creamy Natural. This cost me $4.19. I've never tried Covergirl powders before so I hope I like this. 

The last product from this shopping trip is the Milani Baked Blush in the shade Corallina. I have only one other baked blush by Milani in Dolce Pink, which I really love. I haven't tried this one yet, but it looks really pretty in the packaging!

Now this is my most recent Walgreen's purchase. I had heard that they were marking down some of the Maybelline Color Tattoos and I figured I should get what I wanted while they were still on the shelves at a lower price. I guess they're getting rid of some colors to make room for new ones? Who knows, but I ended up buying Pomegranate Punk, Gold Rush and Audacious Asphalt. These were on sale for $3.49 plus I had a $1 off coupon on each of them, so $2.49 for each is not too shabby. 

I also noticed when I was there that quite a few of the Color Whispers were marked down to $3.79 each so I picked up Who Wore It Red-er and Mad For Magenta. I already have a couple of these and really like them alot. I'm glad I found more at a good price!

Victoria's Secret was having their Semi Annual Sale and all of their makeup was 50% off. I read somewhere that VS is no longer going to be carrying makeup, which is kind of a bummer because they have some nice products. I ended up with two Metallized Eyeshadows, the first being Petal to the Metal and the second one is called Gold Card. I have some of their other eyeshadows and I really do like them. These only cost me $6 each so that wasn't too bad. 

Well that's my haul! I did do some damage, especially at Sephora but hey, a girl loves her beauty products! What did you purchase recently?

April 2014 Favorites!

Hey everyone! I know my favorites post is going up a bit late and I apologize for that! I've been pretty busy with work and I typically have alot to do on my days off, so blogging kinda fell off the priority list. This month should be better though, so lets get into what I was loving last month!

Starting off with hair, I've been loving my Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Intensely Smooth Leave-In Conditioning Cream. After I finished up the crappy Aussie product I was using, I saw this hiding in my cabinet and snatched it right out to use. I did a post here quite a while ago, and I still love it. This makes my hair less tangled and it feels so smooth and soft. I recently told you guys that I chopped off four inches of my hair, so I'm trying to be really good to my hair so it grows out happy and not sad and dry. 

Since I did chop off my hair, I've been wearing it down once in a while, and I typically straighten it when I do wear it down. The Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Flat Iron Protector is fricken awesome! I can tell that it's really protecting my hair from the heat of my flat iron and it keeps my hair straight too! When I straighten my hair, it can sometimes start to get wavy throughout the day, but I swear this stuff helps with that amazingly well. I probably only straightened my hair twice last month, but I still wanted to mention that this product is an amazing heat protector. Plus, it's very inexpensive when you purchase it from Walmart.

Onto the one body product I loved! The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter Creamy Body Wash is fantastic! I've had pretty dry skin lately and this stuff helps my skin feel really soft and hydrated. I also love that this doesn't get super foamy, but it's a nice creamy lather that gets the job done. I will say though, I don't smell much cocoa butter in it. Honestly, I smell shea butter more, but that's ok for me, since shea butter smells really fresh and clean. 

Whenever I wore a full face of makeup, I loved using the Almay Oil-Free Makeup Remover Towelettes. I think these makeup remover wipes are probably the best I've ever tried! They're 100% fragrance free, so they're great for my sensitive skin, and they remove makeup like a gem, probably because they're so moist (hate that word, but you get what I'm saying!). I do still use a separate remover for my eyes, then use this wipe on my face. These wipes don't burn or sting either. Definitely gonna have to buy again once I use up everything else I have.

I've been so obsessed with the Maybelline The Elixer lip glosses, and the color I've been loving is called Rose Redefined. This is such a perfect dusty rose-y pink shade, and it's just amazing. I'll probably end up doing a review on these glosses because I have a few others that I love too!

Last favorite is the Stila Artful Eye Collector's Edition Vol. 3. Now I purchased this on Sephora when it was on clearance, so I highly doubt it's still available. I just have to share this because.........

LOOK HOW BEAUTIFULLY PIGMENTED THESE ARE! Gosh, I've been so in love with this little palette and I wish I could find more! I love using the lightest shade, called Light Apricot, all over the lid and any of the other colors on the outer half of my lid. I use a different shade in another palette for my crease that's matte. I wish the second picture of swatches really showed how beautiful these colors are in person. Nifty little palette right here!

That is everything I've been loving! What were some of your favorites from April?

Also, I hope you guys like the new layout of the blog! I keep playing around with it, but I like how it looks now. I may keep tweaking things so I hope you don't mind! :)

Beauty Haul! Feat. Makeup Geek, Sephora, Walgreen's and More!

Hey everyone! I hate to admit, but I've done a bit of beauty shopping. I should really be saving my money for more important things (like rent and bills) but I see so many lovely products, I just can't help myself. I think after this haul I post, I'm putting myself on a bit of a spending ban. I'm going to try and do it until August 1st. That'll be 4 whole months of no beauty shopping! I picked August 1st because my husband's birthday is August 6th, and I'm hoping to get him something nice. Lets hope I can go that long without buying anything, unless it's absolutely necessary! Anyways, lets get on with the haul!

I finally decided it was time for me to buy a Z Palette along with some Makeup Geek eyeshadows! I love this hot pink Z Palette so much, although I'm not sure if I want to de-pot eyeshadow singles I already have. I don't feel brave enough I guess! 

I decided to play it safe and buy six neutral colors. The colors I ended up getting from left to right are Shimma Shimma, Beaches & Cream, Creme Brulee, Moondust, Hipster and Taupe Notch. I've already given a few of these colors a try and I must say, I'm definitely impressed. They're great quality for only $5.99. If you want the pan in the little containers they normally come in, they're $7.99. 

Oh, Sephora. How I love thee! I was so excited when this Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette came out, yet I held out on buying it for a while. I needed another eyeshadow palette like I need a hole in my head. 

This palette is wonderful! It's got the perfect amount of shimmer and matte colors, and there are great neutrals with just a bit of color. I left the plastic sheet that came with it in the palette so I can remember the names of the shades. This also has that chocolate scent that their Chocolate Soliel Bronzer has, which is amazeballs! This has quickly become a favorite of mine and I reach for it often.

Then I went to Walgreen's. I had some coupons and points to use, and I found a couple other goodies in the makeup section! I was browsing through their clearance bins when I found one of the Maybelline Eyestudio quads in the limited edition shade, Fall Temptation. This was only on clearance for $5.50 so I snagged it up! There was another quad that had purples in it, but it was opened and messed with. 

Then I decided to pick up the new Milani Lip Intense Liquid Color in the shade Fiery Coral. I tried this on already and holy Nicki Minaj, is it pink! Seriously, the first thing that came to mind was Nicki Minaj because she loves her Barbie pink lips. I'm still on the fence of whether or not I like this, but it was on sale, so I wanted to try it.

Next up is the Dollar Tree. I tend to like looking in dollar stores for some reason and I came across these Physician's Formula Baked Collection Wet/Dry Eye Shadow trios. Honestly, I never remember seeing these in store, but only because Physician's Formula tends to be a little more expensive than other brands, so they're not normally a brand I seek out. As you can tell above, I already opened one to try, and I like it, but don't love it. These are good if you're just starting out with makeup because they seem really neutral, but they're not incredibly pigmented so you won't mess anything up. 

I also bought a quick dry top coat that apparently is by Seche Vite, and three Sinful Colors nail polishes in the colors Beautiful Girl, Cream Pink and Ciao Bella. Not bad for a dollar a piece! 

 Last but not least, we have a purchase from Big Lots! They have so many darn nail polishes on sale, it's ridiculous. I found three of the Revlon Colorstay polishes in the colors Spanish Moss, Indigo Night, which I did a NOTD post here and Rain Forest. All of those polishes were only $1.50 

They also had a bunch of the Sephora by OPI polishes strewn all about on the shelves but only one caught my eye, and its in the shade Shiny Dancer, which cost me a whopping $1.80. 

That's everything I purchased within the past month or two! I know I went a little nail polish crazy, but I've been in the mood to do my nails more, so now I have a few more options to choose from. If anyone wants to see reviews of any products I've shown today, please let me know! 

Have you hauled anything lately?

Also, please be sure to 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!

HAUL! Sephora, Amazon & Walgreens

Hey everyone! I know I've mentioned a little while ago that I was going to do another spending ban, but there are some decent sales at Walgreen's right now and I always find something from Sephora, whether it be in-store or online. After my honeymoon is probably when I'll start the spending ban. So, let me show you what I got!

My purchases from Sephora were done on two separate days and the first day I bought the Lorac PRO To Go Eye/Cheek Palette. I saw Emily From Beauty Broadcast talk about this on her Youtube channel, comparing it to Ulta's version of this. Theirs is just eyeshadows. This palette gives you some extras!

You can tell from the first picture that this folds down pretty small and is about an inch or so thick. Once you open it you can see the different eyeshadows, cheek colors and bronzer.

These eyeshadows are gorgeous! They're also completely different that the regular Lorac PRO Palette. The top row of colors are the shimmer ones, and the bottom row is all matte. I think these are great shadows if you want a neutral look without having to bring a massive palette or a bunch of single eyeshadows. 

I love the color of these blushes! The Coral color reminds me a tad bit of the Nars Orgasm blush but without all the shimmer. This blush is still a bit shimmery though, just not as much as the Nars one. The Pink color is matte and it seems like a color that would go well with any skintone. The picture makes the Bronze look lighter than it does in person. I'm a little worried about this because I'm so pale and I don't want it to look muddy on me. I haven't tried anything in this palette yet, but if I like the bronzer, then this is the palette I'll most likely be using for my wedding. It's got basically everything I need! 


I also forgot to mention that the day I bought this, you got a Stila Lip Glaze deluxe sample in the color Kitten with a $25 purchase. I forgot to picture it, sorry!

Now the second time I went because I had renewed my VIB status with a previous purchase, so I had a 10% off coupon to use. I only have a Sephora inside JCPenny near me, so they don't have as much of a selection as a regular store. I did find a few goodies though!

I've been dying to try the Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadows since they came out. I had originally wanted the color Diamond Dog, which is a dark brown color with white-gold sparkle. They didn't have it, so I went with Zodiac, which is a smoky black with blue-green shift and blue-green 3-D sparkle. I actually used this today, and holy cow is it amazing! This is one of the most intense eyeshadows I've tried and the color payoff is nuts. I barely had to tap my brush in the product, it's that good. I definitely want to get more, and I'm keeping my eye out for Diamond Dog!

I've also been wanting to try one of Stila's eyeshadow palettes for ages! Originally, I had wanted the one that had more neutrals in it, but I always hear that it's very similar to the Naked Palette from Urban Decay. I already have both of them, so I went with this In The Moment Eyeshadow Palette. I've been loving purples lately and these shades look lovely. There are still some neutral browns and whatnot, which is fine. I'm a neutral girl if I had to pick between that or color. I'm excited to play around with this!

I was watching one of Melissa's, or Melmphs on Youtube, videos and she was doing a video on setting sprays. This Skindinavia Bridal Makeup Finish Spray made it to her top three, and literally right after I watched the video, I ordered this off of Amazon. I had heard of Skindinavia setting sprays before, since they do the Urban Decay Setting Sprays, but I had never tried them. I figured since I'm getting married, and it's an outdoor wedding, I'll need my makeup to stay put and my skin to stay matte. I have yet to try this as I am waiting til my wedding to use it, but I may do a review on it afterwards and see if it lives up to the 16 hour wear claim!

A sale started at Walgreen's this week where certain Wet N' Wild products were on sale. It kinda might not make sense, but products that were $3.99 were $3, products that were $2.99 were $2, and products that were $1.99 were only $1. Also the Wet N' Wild Fergie Collection was 25% off. Hope that all made sense! Anyways, I was hoping to look for the newest limited edition eyeshadow trio collection called Tough Girl, and I saw them in a corner on a shelf. Honestly, if I wasn't looking hard enough, I'd have missed them. The limited edition trios I got were Zero Dark Fifty and Soldiers in Charms. These palettes have also been seen in packages with a mascara. My Walgreen's did not have those, just the trios. They have a trio with browns that look amazing, but sadly, I did not find that one. 

I also picked up the much talked about Walking on Eggshells trio. Everyone and their mom talks about this, but I didn't have it in my collection, so now I can test it out and see what all the hype is about! These trios usually cost $2.99 each, so like I said above, these were dropped down to $2. Not a bad deal if you ask me!

I finally got to pick up the Coloricon Bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana. I can't tell you how many times I looked at this and passed it up. With the current sale bring this down to $3, I figured I'd give it a try. It does look very light to be a bronzer, but with my skin being so pale, it just might work for me. If not, I may use it as a face powder or highlight.

Then I picked up the Fergie To Reflect Shimmer Palette. There's no name for the color, but it's the lightest one that I plan on using as a highlight or a shimmery eyeshadow color. The other ones I saw looked brown and more like bronzers with shimmer to them. With the 25% off sale for the Fergie line, this cost me $4.49. This typically retails for $5.99.

Last but not least, I purchased some mascaras. I swear, I'm a mascara junkie! I can't get enough, and I'm on a mission to find my Holy Grail mascara. It hasn't been easy, I tell ya! Anyways, the green tube is the Mega Protein Mascara in Very Black. This little baby only cost me $1! If I end up not liking it, it's no big deal honestly. 

The purple tube is the Mega Length Waterproof Mascara in Very Black. I have to admit, when I looked at the package to write down the name here, I didn't realize I had gotten the waterproof one. I haven't used waterproof mascara in a very, very long time mainly because it's hard to remove and I'm just not a fan. Anyways, this cost me $2, and I will still try it out, probably for my wedding since I'll probably be crying and look like an ugly mess.


Well, that's everything! Sorry if this post is super long, I tend to go on tangents when I'm talking about things, especially things I like! 

Have you tried any of these products? If not, does anything appeal to you?

Ridiculously Large Beauty HAUL! Part 2- The Body Shop, Sephora, Walgreen's, Sally Beauty & Sigma

Hey everyone! This is part 2 of my huge haul, and I really think I did some major damage! I honestly think I'm going to put myself on another spending ban very soon because I really gotta start saving my money! Anyways, this is gonna be a long post, so get some popcorn and lets get onto the goodies!

First up is The Body Shop. They were having a deal online where everything was 40% off, plus I'm a Love Your Body member so I got an extra 10% off, then I had my 4 point gift, which was an extra $15 off my purchase! I got all these lovely things for very good prices with all my deals! The first thing I picked up is the Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream. I wanted to get this because it was a new product that came out and of course I love trying new products! I'm honestly not sure if I like it. I'm obsessed with their Hemp Hand Cream because of how moisturizing it is and how long it lasts, even through numerous hand washings. This hand cream is much lighter and the smell of it isn't that great. It sinks into the skin very fast, but doesn't feel that moisturizing. I'll have to try it out a bit more to give a proper review on it. 

The next thing I got is the Shimmer Cubes Palette 23, which is an eyeshadow quad. I absolutely adore these little palettes! I have another one that I bought when I worked at The Body Shop about 4 years ago, and I still haven't made a dent in it. I seriously think these quads will last for the rest of my life!

I also got another one of their Cocoa Butter Body Butters. They were having a sale where certain body butters were only $10 instead of the usual $20, and this scent is one of my favorites! I have lots of body moisturizers to use up, so I didn't go crazy buying a ton of these body butters.

Then I got two of their new Flavoured Lip Glosses. The one on the left is Coconut, and on the right it Cocoa. I'm sure you all know how much I love coconut and cocoa scented/flavored things, so the purchase of these are totally justified. Plus, they were only $6 with the 40% off, so they weren't a bad deal either!

The last product I got is their Loose Face Powder in the color 01. I'm not entirely sure why I purchased this, but the reviews on the site are amazing. Every review gives this product 5/5 stars saying it's lightweight and gives a matte appearance to the skin, which is what I'll definitely need this Summer! I'm excited to try it out given the good reviews it has!

Now right after I made my last Sephora purchase, I got an email with a 15% off coupon for VIB's. That always happens to me! I always buy something, then right after I get a coupon or some other deal comes out! So of course my head thought that I had to buy more things, and the first thing I got is the Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Scrub. I can't wait to try this! Soap & Glory products are really amazing and I've never tried this particular body scrub before, so I figured I'd try it with the 15% off. I have to say, the smell of it is a bit overpowering, but as long as it doesn't linger very long, I'll be good.

The next thing I got is the Sephora brand Daily Makeup Brush Cleaner. I spot clean my brushes after I use them everytime. I don't know if that's bad for them, but I'm so weird about bacteria and whatnot, so I have to make sure my brushes are clean when I use them. This is my favorite daily brush cleaner. I'm currently using the one from E.L.F. and I don't mind the actual cleaner, but the bottle doesn't spray right, so I had to pour it into one of these containers because it sprays out the liquid better. You'll probably see the E.L.F. bottle in an empties post soon, even though I just used up the Sephora one.

The next product I got is a nail polish. Now I know I've been buying nail polish lately, but I've been getting way more into doing my nails, so I'm experimenting a little. This is from the Sephora X brand in The Pearlescents collection. The color I got is called Privileged and it's the prettiest dark burgundy color! I haven't tried this yet, but the reviews coming in of this nail polish are pretty positive so far!

Then I got a lip balm from the brand TokyoMilk and it's a Femme Fatale Collection Lip Elixer. I got the scent Coco Noir No. 60 which is described as, "Dark Rum, Maraschino Cherry, Sweet Milk and Cocao Bean." This seriously sounds like something I could eat for dessert or make as a drink! There are five other scents as well, but this one stood out the most.

Then I just got the Makeup For Ever High Definition Primer as a 100 point gift. I'm a little disappointed with how small this is for 100 points honestly, but hey, if it works, I'll be happy.

Onto Walgreen's! Now these things weren't bought all at once, I got them on three different shopping trips. The first thing I picked up is the Almay Oil-Free Makeup Remover Towelettes. I'm getting more into removing my makeup with a wipe first instead of just going in with my cleanser and Clarisonic. I haven't tried this particular brand's wipes yet, but Almay is a good brand, so I'm sure I'll like them. 

Then I picked up the Almay Get Up & Grow Mascara in Blackest Black. I've heard Emily from Beauty Broadcast go on and on about how much she likes it, and Almay was on sale, so I figured I'd try it. If Emily likes it, then I'm sure I will too!

Now I said that Almay was on sale. It was buy 1, get one half off, plus if you spent $15, you got like 4,000 points, so I picked up this to get to the $15. I remember my mom mentioning that she likes these Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads, and she's got such sensitive eyes. I have pretty sensitive eyes too, but not like hers, so if she likes these, then I know they're good!

Then I picked up the much talked about Nivea Lip Butters in Caramel Cream Kiss and Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss. They were on sale for only $1.99 each and I haven't tried these yet, so because they were on sale, I decided it was time to jump on the bandwagon. 

I also picked up two Wet N' Wild Megalast Nail Polishes because Wet N' Wild was buy 1, get one half off. These are only $2 to begin with, so I was pretty happy to see a sale on the brand. the Two colors I got are Candy-licious (left) and On a Trip (right). I've heard alot of good things about this nail polish, so I'm excited to try them out!

Then I got two more Wet N' Wild products when I went at a later date because the brand was still buy 1, get one half off. I finally decided to try one of their blushes in Pearlescent Pink, and I also got one of their eyeshadow trios in Silent Treatment. I have one of the eight color palettes, but this is my first trio!

Next up is Sally Beauty! I had only been to a Sally beauty once before, but it was one that wasn't close to my home. I wanted to go to the one near me and see if it was any better because when I went to the one farther from me, I wasn't impressed. I have to say I'm impressed now! The first item I picked up is Hair Chemist Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Masque. I bought this because for some reason my hair is so incredibly dry lately and I need something to make it soft and healthy again. I really hope this does the trick. 

I was really excited to see that all their nail polishes were buy 2, get one free! You could mix and match between brands but I stuck with China Glaze. I only have one nail polish from this brand so I wanted to try out more. I picked up one of their Fast Forward Top Coats, and the colors I got are Love's a Beach and Seduce Me. I wanted the infamous Flip Flop Fantasy, but that slot was totally empty and I didn't bother asking if there were more hiding somewhere. I love the bright neon pink color of Love's a Beach. I may use that very soon!

My final purchase was from Sigma! This is my first ever experience with Sigma, and I'm already super impressed! I picked up and E35 Tapered Blending Brush, which you can see I've already used (and love!). Then I got the P88 Precision Flat Angled Brush, which I was so excited to try! I've been looking for a good brush to blend the concealer under my eyes, and this brush is AMAZING!! I've already used it a handful of times and I love how it works. I plan on doing a separate review post of this, that's how much I love it! The last brush I bought is an E55 Eye Shading Brush. Every beauty guru I watch has one of these and likes them, so I wanted to give it a try. When you spent $35, you got a free gift. I wasn't sure what to expect for the gift, but I received and E05 Eyeliner brush. I haven't used this yet, as I've been using the angled eyeliner brush from Sephora, but I'm sure once I use it, I'll like it! This is probably my most exciting purchase since it's my first ever Sigma purchase. I want to get some of their palettes in the future and definitely more brushes!

Phew! If you guys made it this far, I seriously love you! I'm sorry this was such a long post, but I was so excited with everything so I had to share! I know I said above that I'm going to be putting myself on another spending ban very soon, and I definitely will be! Seriously, I bought all this stuff within the past month and I know that's bad considering I have a part 1 to this haul! I'll keep everyone updated on when I start the ban...

Has anyone done some beauty hauling lately?

March 2013 Favorites!

Hey everyone! So this month I think I have a decent amount of favorites. I haven't been playing around with too many products but I do have three newer items added to my stash that I'll be mentioning!

Starting out with haircare, I've been loving the Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner. I've been switching between these and another brand, and this shampoo and conditioner are truly amazing! Honestly, I haven't had a shampoo and conditioner make my hair feel so soft and healthy in a long time. I had these sitting in my closet since before I moved in with my fiance, and I can't believe I waited so long to use them! The back of the bottle says this claims to control frizz for up to 48 hours, but I do tend to wash my hair everyday so I can't really say it does that. I do have to still use my leave-in conditioner and it seems like this combo I'm using now, my hair is really, really liking.

My next favorite is the Bath & Body Works Shower Gel in the Pink Sugarplum scent. I can't even describe how lovely this smells! It is very sweet, so if you don't like sweet smells too much, you may not like this. I, however, can't get enough of anything sweet smelling. My fiance actually had to grab this for me from the closet because I ran out of shower gel and didn't realize til after I was in the shower. He didn't know what to grab, so I just said grab whatever says shower gel on it, and this is what he picked. He did good!

These are the last few things I have. The next thing I've been loving was actually in my favorites last month and it's the Korres Evening Primrose Eye Cream. Boy, do I love this stuff! It hydrates my eye area without being greasy and it just feels amazing going into the skin. I know I mentioned the smell of this being a little much, and I still agree with that. It is a bit overpowering, but this stuff works for me!

My next favorite is actually a newer product for me and it's the Maybelline The Rocket Mascara. Now this doesn't replace my beloved bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara, but I'm super impressed with this mascara. You only need one coat, it gives you lots of volume and it's super black too, which is awesome! I have fairly light eyelashes, so anything that darkens them up is a winner in my book.

My last two favorites are also new for me, and they're the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Nude and Black. First off, the Nude is amazing at lining the waterline. I hate how white eyeliner looks in my waterline, so I wanted to get a nude color instead. This stuff lasts so long and I got a really good deal on them too. The Rimmel eyeliners were 50% off so I only paid $2.50, which is a total steal. I used the Black eyeliner in my upper lash line and just smudged it a little so it didn't look so dark and harsh. I absolutely love how this looked and how easy it was to apply. I really think this is an awesome dupe for Urban Decay's Perversion eyeliner.

Well those are my favorites! I think this month I had a good variety of products. Stay tuned for my March Empties post, because I have so many products I went through, it's ridiculous!

What were your favorites this month?

Walgreen's Haul!

You all might be wondering again why I have a haul to show you when I'm still on my spending ban. Well, my mom got two free $25 gift cards for transferring a prescription and filling a new one, and she gave them to me! I only used a little over half of one and still have the whole other one to use, which I will save for after my spending ban is over. I didn't think this was cheating since they were gifted to me, so let me show you what I bought!

The first thing I picked up is the Fergie Wet n' Wild Take On The Day Eyeshadow Primer. I'm  pretty excited to try this out! I love my Urban Decay Primer Potion, but it's expensive and this eyeshadow primer was only $4.99, so if this is comparable to the UD one, then I may switch over. I do have other eyeshadow primers to use up, but I may try this soon and switch back and forth from what I'm using to this to be able to use everything up. 

The next product I got is the Wet n' Wild Coverall Pressed Powder in the color Light. This looks like a new product since there's a sticker on it that says new. This was also the lightest shade they had in my Walgreen's but I checked online and they have two shades that are lighter than this is, so I'm a little hesitant to try this because I'm so fair. I may return this since Walgreen's has a good return policy with cosmetics and maybe exchange it for something else.

The last two things I picked up are the Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in the colors Black and Nude. I was excited to try the nude pencil because I had read a ton of good reviews on how it's good on the waterline for brightening up your eyes without having the harshness of a white eyeliner. I already tried it and I really liked it! It actually stayed put for most of the day, and that's amazing for me since I have itchy, watery eyes. I haven't tried the black yet, but I'm hoping it's like the Urban Decay eyeliner in Perversion. These pencils were 50% off on sale which is why I picked up two. That brought them down to $2.24 each which isn't too shabby considering the hype around them.

Well that's my little haul for you! I'm thinking more about returning that pressed powder and it kills me because I have never returned any cosmetics ever in my life, so I feel bad. Knowing me, I'll exchange it for the Rimmel Stay Matte which I already know I really like. Gah! This is actually really hard for me! The lady there is nice so I'm sure she'll understand.

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't yet!

And I did hear about the whole Google Reader thing going away, which could possibly mean that GFC is going away (BOOOOO!!!) so I joined Bloglovin and the link for it is on the top right hand corner of my page if you want to follow me there. 

Thanks for reading everyone!