My Birthday Haul!

Hi, everyone!

My birthday was on Friday 7/31, and I decided to treat myself and do what I love most; makeup shopping! My husband and I were going away for the weekend, so I had a limited amount of time in which to go by Ulta and Sephora. I actually made a list of the things I wanted to pick up most (yes, I'm a list maker), and managed to get most of what I wanted! While I was packing for our trip, I purposely didn't pack the type of  makeup I would be buying. For example, I knew I needed a new color of my UD Naked Skin concealer; therefore, I didn't pack a concealer.

Let's start with what I picked up from Ulta! I had a 20% off prestige coupon (I LOVE when these come around!), and wanted to take full advantage! Last year, I bought myself the Lorac Pro palette for my birthday, and this year I grabbed the Lorac Pro 2! I'm usually not a fan of cool toned shadows, but I've been drawn to them a lot these last few months, and I actually didn't own but two or three of them! I certainly didn't have any cool toned palettes! Another thing on my list was the Too Faced Twice the Sex mascara duo. For the price of a full size mascara, you get one full size and one deluxe sample. Then, thanks to the beautiful @coffeebreakwithdani, I knew I needed to pick up the new Stila Lash Stunner Extreme Lash Primer. I am a huge fan of lash primers, and she made this one sound amazing. A few days before, while browsing the "new" sections of Ulta and Sephora, I saw a new hairspray by Living Proof called "Humidity Shield" and thought that sounded wonderful for my curly hair. While at Ulta, I spotted the travel size and scooped it up! I had forgotten to pack an eye makeup remover, so I needed to grab one while I was shopping. I usually use the Kroger brand of the Neutrogena one because it's inexpensive and it works. Since I was in Ulta, I went ahead and grabbed the actual Neutrogena one, and it works fine. It does the job. I've been loving the Rimmel foundation that I mentioned in my July Favorites, but I also forgot to pack my moisturizer with sunscreen, so I picked up the travel size It Cosmetics CC+ Cream in Medium. That covered my sunscreen, moisturizer, and the need to match my self tanner. If you read my post about the Lorac Alter Ego Lip Set, you know how much I love those lip glosses. I picked up a new color while at Ulta; a pretty peach called Super Model. One thing that was not on my list was a new foundation, However, the new Too Faced Born this Way foundation sucked me in and "Sand" found it's way into my bag. If you purchased anything from Too Faced, you got a sample pack of three different shades of the Born this Way foundation, which is what you see in the bottom of the picture above. A last minute impulse purchase was the Mario Badescu Facial Spray. It was on an end cap of travel things for $5, and I had heard @emilynoel talking about it, so I grabbed it. I love all things rose scented, and this smells wonderful. The last thing from Ulta was my birthday gift! Platinum members get two gifts for their birthday; a $10 off coupon and the makeup item all other members get. July birthdays got a deluxe sample of the Urban Decay Perversion mascara. I've tried this one a few times, and I'm not a huge fan, but maybe it will work better over the Stila lash primer!

There were two things on my list that were out of stock at Ulta, so next stop was Sephora! As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I needed a new shade of the Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer. The one I had was Fair Neutral, which is too light with my tan. Ulta was out of the shade Light Neutral, so I purchased it from Sephora. The other thing that was on my list and sold out at Ulta was the Tartelette palette. @makeupbymaci, who is the queen of photographing her eye looks, was telling me how much she loves this palette, and she uses it in so many of her looks, I had to have it! The Kat Von D Ink Liner Trio was the other thing on my list. I already have and love the shade "Trooper", and this trio comes with that one, a navy, and a brown. I used the navy Saturday night and loved it! Sephora is great about offering samples, and the sweet girl who helped me gave me a sample of the First Aid Beauty Triple Remedy eye cream and the Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration moisturizer. As I was walking by the clearance table, I spotted the Kat Von D blush in "Wish" (no longer available on-line) and two bronzers on sale for $11.99 each. The bronzers looked similar to ones I already own, but "Wish" had been on my wish list for a long time, so I was happy to get it more than half off! A few weeks ago, I noticed that the Sephora automatic, waterproof lip liners were on the sale page on-line for $7, but all of the colors were sold out. My Sephora in JCP had them on the clearance table for $5.99! I've mentioned "Petal" in a post before, and I love it. They only had one left, which I bought, and then I bought two each of "Mauve" and "Naked". The last thing I picked up was the Josie Maran Argan Oil Light. I've used the regular version before, and loved it for my dry skin, but I thought the light version might be better for summer time. And then this happened...

Yep. Hello, Rouge!

Thank you for stopping by and reading! 

*None of the links above are affiliates.

*All items mentioned were purchased by me and all 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 Haul!

Hello, everyone!

I recently renewed my VIB status at Sephora, and with it, received a 10% off discount on my next purchase. I also had a Sephora gift card burning a hole in my pocket! The great thing about those coupons is that you can use them once online and once in-store. This works out great for me because the closest Sephora to me is a Sephora in JCP, and those don't have the full range of products like a stand alone store does, or like the website. During the VIB sale (which was 15% off), I went into Sephora for one thing in particular, but it was sold out. Every summer, Sephora in JCP comes out with a Sephora Favorites Summer Obsessions kit that is exclusive to Sephora in JCP. They usually come with a makeup bag and quite a few items, from deluxe to full sizes. I bought the one last year, and really wanted this years! They put me on the waitlist and then called me once it came in so I could pick it up. Here's what this year's looks like:

The cost is $39 and you get a FULL-SIZE Beauty Blender Pro ($19.95) and a FULL-SIZE Nars lipgloss in Turkish Delight ($26). Those two products alone cost more than the entire kit! Also included is a travel size of the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes, a deluxe sample size of Benefit's Watt's Up, a travel size Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Fearless, a travel size Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, and travel size Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray ($14). Plus the makeup bag! I needed a new Beauty Blender and I've wanted Turkish Delight for years, so this was perfect! Here are swatches of the bronzer, blush, highlighter, and lip gloss:

 

That is actually the only thing I picked up in-store. The other things were ordered online, and here's a shot of those!

 

 One other item I wanted during the VIB sale was the Clinique Cheek Pop in Pink Pop, which was (in)conveniently out of stock during the entire sale. I managed to snag that, as well as the Urban Decay Primer Potion in Enigma, a 100 point perk which was the Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel (travel size), a Makeup Forever 100 point perk of their new Artist Plexi Gloss in 202, 100 point perk of Caudalie's Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet, another of the Soap & Glory Hand Food lotions (no longer on the Sephora website), and since I needed a matte dark brown, long-wearing eyeliner, I picked up the Sephora Contour Eye Pencil in Tiramisu. I have heard great things about this formulation, and I haven't quite found that "perfect" brown yet. I got some great samples to try out, as well! Coffeebreakwithdani was singing the praises of Urban Decay's Enigma because 100% of the proceeds go to empower women. I am all for women empowerment! I haven't had a chance to try most of this out yet (which is why this is a haul and not a review) since I haven't worn makeup since the eventful ER trip. Trust me, I'm more shocked than anyone that I haven't worn a stitch of makeup in five days. I'm breaking it all back out tomorrow though!!

 

Have you picked up anything good (or bad) lately? Let me know below! Thanks for reading and please subscribe!

 

 

 

*None of the links above are affiliate links.

*All items mentioned 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!