January Favorites!!

Hey Everyone!

I realize we're already halfway into February, but I still wanted to get my January Favorites out there!

For Christmas, my mom got me the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette, and I have worn it so much since then, I've had to force myself to use other shadows! On days where I was in a hurry, I used "Anaheim" and "Blonde" from the UD palette for transition and brow bone shades, and then applied Makeup Geek's foiled shadow in "Charmed" to my lid. 

I went back to an old faithful for eyeshadow primer in January, and picked my UD Primer Potion in "Enigma". 

The only things I used on my top lashes were Benefit's "They're Real" tinted lash primer and Marc Jacobs "Velvet Noir" mascara. Seriously good combination!! 

I didn't do any heavy contouring for the month, but did love my Nars "Laguna" bronzer for warmth and subtle definition. 

I'm a blush junkie, so it's no surprise I have so many blushes in this post. My Too Faced Love Flush Blush palette got a lot of love for the month, as did my Makeup Geek blush in "Bliss" (Bliss is 50% off right now!). 

I have dark under eye circles, that lean on the blue side, and if I don't color correct on really bad days it can look gray under my concealer. I picked up the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealers in "Neutralizer" and "Brightener", and have used them in various combinations lately. I really love the "Neutralizer" by itself or in a combination. 

"Stone" from Dose of Colors restocked in January (now sold out again), and I wanted to try out their formula and that color, so I went ahead and picked it up. I love it. As far as liquid lipsticks go, this one has a comfortable formula and the color is beautiful. When it wears off, it doesn't leave a dreaded ring; instead, it wears off pretty evenly. 

I really loved the E.L.F Ex-tra Lipgloss in "Brian" in lip combos and just as a light pop of color. It's a really pretty pink color, but does have some micro shimmer in it. Through the end of 2/14/16, you can get a free Matte Lip Color in "Rich Red" with any purchase using code "KISS", and on 2/15/15 only, you can get free shipping on any order with code "FREESHIP".

Last for the month, is a cologne. I got this one for Christmas, as well. It's the Abercrombie and Fitch men's cologne in "Fierce". I've stated before that I do not like women's perfumes, so this is right up my alley. I've worn it every day! And, you know, the bottle...

Thank you for stopping by to read! What have you been loving?! Let me know below!

*Some links above are affiliates. 

*All opinions are my own.  

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara-A Review!

Hello, Everyone!

If you've been reading my posts, you know that I'm a part of Influenster, and sometimes they send me products to try and review. I am NEVER paid for these reviews, though. I just get to try out new products and let you know my thoughts!

My most recent box contained a full size Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara to try out. I received this before it even hit shelves!

The full size is .32oz and retails for $26. If you haven't heard about this mascara, it was inspired by Marc Jacob's first beauty memory of his mother shaving fibers from a velvet ribbon to create her own faux lashes. That is lash dedication! The wand has a traditional, bristle brush that looks similar to the hourglass wand of the Too Faced Better than Sex mascara, but not quite as large. I actually prefer the brush in the Velvet Noir mascara.

Due to Hypothyroidism/Hashimoto's Disease, my eyelashes have thinned over the last four years, so large mascara wands tend to deposit mascara onto my eyelids during application. I experience a negligent amount, sometimes, with this wand. Tip: if you ever get mascara anywhere besides your lashes, wait until it dries before trying to remove it. Once dried, it will come right off. trying to remove it while wet will just cause a mess!

There are some crazy statistics with this mascara, such as 1800% more volume in three strokes and 300% more volume in one stroke. I don't know what kind of nifty gadget they have that calculates those claims, but I don't have one. What I do have, is my experience with this mascara for the last 22 days.

My lashes are blonde, so I always need mascara if I want my lashes to be visible. It is one thing I CANNOT skip. Velvet Noir is supposed to have  "super-concentrated black pigment" and the "Flash Volume Complex" that creates "instant, smudge-proof length and volume in three strokes or less". I agree that this is a super black mascara, which I love. The darker the better. I have experienced no flaking or smudging with this mascara, but I have NOT used it on my lower lashes; I use a specific mascara there. I love the Too Faced mascara, but because it is such a dry formula, it flakes. The "three strokes or less" I also find accurate. 1=Good, 2=Better, and 3=Best, in my opinion. My preference in my lashes is the more dramatic, the better! I don't mess with falsies, so I expect my mascara to really deliver a punch. The formula in the Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir is more on the wet spectrum, but it doesn't weigh my lashes down, or cause the curl to fall. I've used this mascara with and without primer, and I love it either way. I love this mascara so much, I used 100 points at Sephora to pick up a deluxe sample as a back up!

(My full size tube next to the deluxe sample from Sephora)

My final thoughts on this mascara are this: I adore it! The formula isn't too wet or too dry, which makes it pretty much perfect. It holds my curl, gives amazing volume, and doesn't flake or smudge. Mascara is one of the most fickle things to recommend to someone. What works for me may certainly not work for you! However, if you have the opportunity, I recommend trying it! As of right now, it is still available as a 100 point perk here. This is my absolute current favorite mascara, and I fully intend on finishing this tube and diving into my small one! I wanted to include it in my December Favorites post, but I didn't receive it until 12/22/2015, so I didn't think it was fair. I bet it shows up in my January Favorites, though! ;)

This was my favorite Influenster box, and I couldn't wait to share how much I love this mascara! 

Have you tried the Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir? Will you give it a shot? Let me know what you think!

*Some links above are affiliates.

*The above mentioned product was sent to me complimentary by Influenster, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.  

Was it Worth the Purchase?

Hello, Everyone!
Sorry that I've been MIA; I had surgery to remove my gallbladder last Friday and I've been in recovery. Aka laying flat on my back because everything else hurts like the dickens.

Anyways, on to why you're actually here! Recently, I posted my Sephora VIB sale haul, and today I want to share if the things I purchased were worth it. I've had a chance to use almost everything, so I wanted to weigh in. My purchase looked like this:

I am just giving my opinion on the items I purchased, not the free samples that I received. The first thing is the Dior Rosy Glow Healthy Glow Awakening Blush in Petal (it only comes in one shade).
This looks very bright in the pan, which might cause my fellow pale skinned beauties to panic. Don't panic! The "science" behind this product is to help recreate a natural flush on your cheeks based on your body's chemistry. Yes, it's one of those products. Dior suggests you swipe once into the pan for natural color, and twice for more intense color. I swipe twice because, as a pale girl, I look kind of dead without some color in my face. On my dry skin, this does last the entire work day for me, which from the time I put it on to the time I get home, is about 12 hours. Was it worth the purchase? I'm happy I got it on sale, and even though I do like it, I wouldn't have purchased it at full price.

Next would be the Kaplan MD Perfect Pout Lip Mask + Lip Balm Duo. I haven't used it enough, exclusively, to be able to confirm all of it's claims, but I do like the tingling mask and I really like the lip balm. It has an SPF of 20 (a must for me), and it on the thicker side so it stays on pretty well. I'm still on the fence on whether or not it was worth it.

Then, there is the L'Occitane Cleansing And Softening Shower Oil With Almond Oil and the Soap & Glory Hand Food (no longer available on the Sephora website). I have actually finished the Cleansing Oil, and will not repurchase. I know many people rave about it, and I didn't think it was bad, I just don't think it's worth the money. I was a nice oil, and smelled pleasant, but just didn't leave me feeling clean enough. It was nice for a bath or shaving, though. As for the Hand Food, I actually ordered another one to have for when this one runs out. It absorbs quickly, smells nice, and actually leaves my hands moisturized.

 The one thing from this haul that I have NOT tried, is the Estee Lauder Little Black Primer. I'm still making my way through my Lancôme Cils Booster XL and using the Dior Diorshow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum that was my 100 point perk this order (which is friggin amazing).

The one thing was that a fail for me in this purchase, was the Dior Addict Lip Maximizer High Volume Lip Plumper in Sheer Pink. I don't have thin lips, but wouldn't mind if they looked a little fuller, so I thought this would be a good product to try. I actually returned this product. It made my lips glossy (duh, it's a gloss), which helps with the appearance of fullness, and it did help to plump up any lines in my lips. However, any good lip balm can do that for me. I want more for my money. The biggest turn off for me, was this caused my lips to peel and flake. Yeah, not a good look. The day I returned it to Sephora, I got a sample of the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask to repair the damage since nothing I owned was getting rid of the peeling.

(Top picture is my lips without any product; bottom picture is ten minutes after applying the Dior Maximizer)

 

 

The last three items in my purchase were the Tony Moly Bbo Bbo Lip Balm in Blueberry, Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Crème in Georgie Girl, and the Beauty Blender Pro. I do like the Tony Moly lip balm; it's very moisturizing and has a nice scent. I would repurchase this one. The Marc Jacobs lipstick in Georgie Girl might be the prettiest pink lipstick that I own. And that says a lot about this lipstick. The color is beautiful, the formula is creamy and long-lasting, and it has a yummy smell. Plus the packaging is adorable, with its magnetic closure. The only bad thing I could say about this would be that I love it so much, I want more colors! I already had the Original Beauty Blender, and when it came time to replace it, I decided to go with the Pro since it was black and might not look as dingy when dirty. I already knew I loved the BB, so this was worth the purchase since it's a repurchase. The Pro doesn't seem as "pointy" as the original one though. It still works just fine, but I do prefer the finer tip on the original.

(Marc Jacobs Georgie Girl)

(Photo credit Sephora.com)



 One more item! I almost forgot the Shiseido Facial Cotton! These are extremely soft and don't leave bits of cotton on my eyes when I'm removing my eye makeup like my Kroger cotton rounds do. It's nice not having to pick tiny fibers out of my eyes! I can use one sheet to remove eye makeup from both eyes, as opposed to two or three cotton rounds. I do think these are worth the purchase! However, I have heard of a dupe found on Amazon (cotton cloud?) that I'm interested in comparing.

 

That's it! I think. I plan on doing another of these posts regarding my other hauls as well, so let me know what you think! Thanks for visiting, and please subscribe!

 

 

 

 

 

*None of the links above are affiliates



*All items were purchased by me and all opinions are my own

Sephora Spring VIB Sale 2015

What better way to start a beauty blog, than with a haul post, right?! I always enjoy reading what everyone else hauls, and I can't be the only one. For those of you who missed it, VIB Rouge and VIBs at Sephora received 15% off during the Spring sale, and BIs received 10% off. As a VIB, I took advantage of my 15% off! My mom only received the 10%, so I shared mine with her.  :)

Here's a peek:

This was technically six different orders (online and in-store) because I get free two day Flash Shipping, and you could use the 15% off discount as many times as you wanted during the promotional days! I decided to pick up a few things that I've heard great things about, but things I didn't necessarily want to pay full price for. I only owned one Dior item before this sale (the ever popular Dior Crème de Rose Lip Balm), but I picked up two more and used points for a third. I decided on the Dior Addict Lip Maximizer High Volume Lip Plumper in Sheer Pink, the Rosy Glow Healthy Glow Awakening Blush in Petal (it only comes in one color), and used a 100 point perk to get the Diorshow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum.

 

A LOT of the smaller things in the picture are samples, and I tried to grab things that I already knew I liked (Elizabeth and James Black Nirvana), or things that i thought I would like (Viktor and Rolf Spicebomb and Nest White Sandalwood), but a few things apparently ran out and Sephora replaced them with different samples (like the Clinique three pack and Queen of Hungary mist). I must have been on a lip and fragrance kick when shopping because I did get quite a few cologne samples (I don't really care for the citrusy, fruity scents of women's perfumes), and quite a few lip products. The Kaplan MD Perfect Pout Lip Mask + Lip Balm Duo, Tony Moly Bbo Bbo Lip Balm in Blueberry, Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Crème in Georgie Girl, and of course the Dior Lip Addict mentioned above all came home with me. Georgie Girl has to be one of the prettiest pink lipsticks that I own, and that is saying a lot! Soap & Glory products are being phased out of Sephora (they're going drugstore), so all of those items are on clearance. What better time to try something from them! There isn't a huge selection left, but I did get the Hand Food hand cream to try out. After hearing MakeupbyTiffanyD and Kathleenlights (I think) rave about the L'Occitane Cleansing and Softening Shower Gel with Almond Oil, I decided to pick up the small size to try it out since I was in need of a new shower gel anyways. Thanks to Emily Noel at Beauty Broadcast, I wanted to try the Estee Lauder Little Black Primer because I am a huge fan of lash primers. My current favorite is the Lancôme Cils Booster XL (but the Dior one I mentioned above may be taking it's place!), but I'm almost out of that one, and the fact that the Estee Lauder one is tinted black intrigues me. I needed a new Beauty Blender and picked up the black "Pro" one to replace my beloved pink one. I've tried a few dupes, including the Real Techniques one, and none are exactly the same. A lot of people love the Shiseido Facial Cotton, so I grabbed it to use with my Bioderma and eye makeup remover. Last but not least, I used some more points to get the Boscia Tsubaki Cleansing Oil-Gel, the Philosophy No Reason to Hide Multi-Imperfection Transforming Serum, and the Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Vitamin C Collagen Booster (not pictured-I left it in my bathroom!).

 

And, that's it! Let me know what you want a review on!

 

What did you get from the sale? Anything you regret getting? Anything you regret not getting? Let me know below!