Recent Ulta Haul!

Since I had a 20% off coupon as well as double points throughout March, I decided to pick up some things I'd been thinking about for awhile at Ulta.

For more photos of the products, as well as my thoughts so far, keep reading!

Ulta Haul!

I made two trips to Ulta recently - the first one to use my 20% off coupon, the second to get the things I actually needed and forgot about. With the coupon, I picked up two Butter London polishes and the Nicole by OPI Drying Drops. I've had my eye on Trout Pout for quite awhile, but kept telling myself I had enough coral-y polishes. I'm so glad I finally got it, though! It isn't identical to any of the other similar colors in my collection, and the formula is fantastic. Although I researched swatches of many of their polishes and asked friends for recommendations from the brand, the other polish I got - Scouse - wasn't one I'd looked up at all in advance, it just really caught my eye! I've been curious about drying drops for awhile as well. I'm not sure yet if they're making a massive difference in dry time or not.

The other - slightly more necessary - products are a new face cleanser, dry shampoo, and a glycolic AHA cream. These are all new-to-me products. I've used the Neutrogena Naturals Makeup Removing cleanser before, but this is the other one. The dry shampoo is from the brand Samy, a brand which I've never tried before. Finally, the AHA cream - I'd heard about these a few times, but didn't know much about them. I assumed they'd be pricey for some reason, but when Lauren of RedheadPhD mentioned this one in a recent video, I figured for that price I may as well give it a go!

Christmas Haul 2012

I got some fun new beauty items for Christmas this year! Two Sephora by OPI nail polishes in fabulous colors and some of the Sephora makeup brushes! I can't wait to use these polishes in a manicure - they're very similar to the colors on my bedroom walls, so I think I'll try to combine them somehow. The brushes are so nice as well. The powder brush is absolutely enormous but so soft and fun to use. The angled liner brush is fantastic, and I always need more of them. I haven't used the stippling brush yet, but it feels really nice! If anyone has any usage tips for that one, I'd love to hear them.

Did you get anything beauty related for gifts this year?

Secret Santa Haul - More Photos & Swatches

In case you missed yesterday's post, these are the items I received from my Secret Santa! If you want to see closer photos of the products and some swatches, keep reading!

Secret Santa Haul!

I am so, so, so excited about this!! Although it's been a few weeks since I received it, I opened my secret Santa package yesterday! I have never tried any of these products before, and some of them are impossible/difficult to get in the US. I can't wait to start using them! I'll definitely post swatch posts soon.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my lovely secret Santa!!! I am seriously so excited to start using these!

Kmart Haul - Jordana and Wet n Wild

I stopped in Kmart today and saw that Jordana was buy one get one 50% off, so I figured I would see if there was anything I wanted. I've been  hearing a lot of positive things about the Best Lash mascara lately, and I've had good experiences with blushes and single eyeshadows before, so I chose a few colors that looked nice.

L-R: Blush in Redwood, Blush in Tawny Beige, Eyeshadow in A Classic

Best Lash Volumizing Mascara

In addition to the Jordana products, the Wet n Wild section at this Kmart had many more of the Megalast lipsticks than any other stores I've been in lately, so I was able to get a few of the newer lipstick shades I hadn't seen yet.

L-R: Dollhouse Pink, Pinkerbell

I'm really happy with all of these things, especially the Jordana products! The eyeshadow looks like it might be quite similar to MAC's Coppering eyeshadow, which I've been wanting for quite some time - but at just $0.99 after the sale, I'll definitely take this one! 

I noticed a few similarities to products in my collection that I thought I'd share with you as well:

Top: Wet n Wild Megalast - Pinkerbell
Bottom: Covergirl Lip Perfection - Temptress

Left: Jordana - Redwood (blended, then heavier)
Right: Milani Minerals -  Mai Tai (heavier, then blended)

Have you tried any of these products?

What are your favorite Jordana products?

P.S. In case you missed it, check out my previous post, which puts a few of these new things to use!

Recent Hauls (with swatches!) - NYX, Wet n Wild, Urban Decay, Coach

Cream eyeshadows in Purple and Pinky Beige, Matte lipstick in Hippie Chic

Coach Poppy rollerball, Shine Killer primer, stay matte but not flat powder

Urban Decay 24/7 concealer

Wet n Wild lipsticks

Mini CVS haul, review, and face of the day

Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quad - Inspired
Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick - Spellbound, Eternal

Face of the Day using the Revlon quad over Palladio primer and the Covergirl lipstick in Spellbound. (among other products, but those are the new ones)

I love the lipsticks - I have two others that I've had for quite awhile so I knew I liked the formula, and these colors are so pretty! The eyeshadow quad is so disappointing, though. The colors look so lovely and vibrant in the pan but just barely come off. You can't even tell I used the green at all, and the blue is after trying to pack on several layers. I should have known better considering how poorly pigmented the Revlon quads in the older packaging were, but I hoped the formula would be different as well as the packaging and color choices.

This haul was extremely affordable! Covergirl products were buy one get one 50% off and I had a $2.50 off two Covergirl products coupon from the newspaper. Beyond that, when I scanned my card at the machine, I had $5 extrabucks from the Beauty Club, $4.50 in extrabucks from something else, and a $5 off of $25 coupon that I'd put on my card from the website. After all that, I paid less than $3!

Even though the quad was essentially free, I'm still going to return it and get something else instead. Why keep something around that I'm not going to get any use out of? I'd rather try some other new products instead.

Target/CVS Haul

Target haul: Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in Fuchsia, on clearance for  $1.94
Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow - Pomegranate Punk - $5.99

 Since I have kind of an obsession with hot pink lipsticks, I've had my eye on this particular one from Revlon for awhile, but was hoping it'd go on sale at CVS. It wasn't there, so when I found it on clearance at Target I knew I had to get it! Plus I gave in and got one of the Tattoo shadows from Maybelline because I was curious about them.

CVS clearance haul: Wet n Wild Greed Palette - $2.49, Revlon Colorstay Aqua mineral finishing powder - $3.49, Physician's Formula Organic Wear Bronzer & Blush - Light Bronzer/Soft Ginger - $3.75, Sally Hansen Natural Beauty cream blush - Bloom - $2.37

 Since they're 50% off I finally got the last 6-pan palette from Wet n Wild. The other products I know basically nothing about but I'd been curious about them and for the prices I decided to try them.

If any of you have tried any of these I'd love to hear your thoughts or how you use them! Especially the cream blush as I've never used a cream blush before and don't really know what to expect!

Milani Cyber Monday Haul & Swatches - plus a high-end comparison!

Definitely click this one to see it bigger!

Paint Palette
Red Vino blush
Earthly Delights quad
Atlantis and Java Bean singles

All swatches done over NYX white eyeshadow base and applied with sponge-tip applicators.

I'm really excited to try this stuff out!! If you've tried any of these, I'd love to know your thoughts.

Also, while swatching the Paint palette I noticed some similarities so I tested it out:

L-R: Paint Palette, Makeup Forever #92, Paint Palette, Makeup Forever #75

#92 is definitely more pigmented and a bit cooler, but the pinks are extremely similar. And to think - the Paint Palette is about $8 (I got it for $4 with this sale) and the MUFE shadows are around $20...

Sephora Haul and Swatches!

About a month ago, I won a contest on Erica's Facebook page with this look. (She also has a fantastic blog here.) As the prize, Erica mailed me a $100 Sephora gift card! I was so shocked to have won at all, and then there was such a fantastic prize. I've bought a few small items from Sephora in the past, but never anything over $10. I never thought I'd actually be buying full size items from there, despite how often I'd wander through and dream about what I would get if I could. After I made a list of some things I wanted to try, I went to one of the nearby Sephoras to get samples and otherwise try products out on myself. I also knew I was going to buy Stella McCartney's perfume in a rollerball since I've been wanting that fragrance for so long - I  would spray some on myself every time I went to a Sephora - but I didn't want to use up more than half of the gift card on an actual bottle. I've been using it most days since - I just love that scent!

Besides the perfume, I knew I would get the Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box and the 24/7 travel set as soon as I saw them. I also was considering MUFE Mat Velvet + foundation (which I decided I liked but not enough to pay 3x as much as my current foundation), a MUFE Aqua Cream (maybe in the future - this is something I'd be more likely to use in the summer), MUFE Smokey Lash mascara (I will DEFINITELY buy this in the future! It's amazing! But I have quite a few mascaras open right now so I'm going to wait until I've used up a few of them), and NARS Pure Matte lipstick in Carthage (an amazing color and product...but $25 for one lip product was a bit much for me...especially since I have so many pink lip products)

My eyes after going to Sephora to try things out - MUFE Aqua Cream #13 all over my lids, UD 24/7 liner in Ransom , and MUFE Smokey Lash mascara. I didn't have my lashes curled at all beforehand and I was using the disposable mascara wands, and I was still really impressed with the way my lashes looked. Plus it didn't flake or transfer AT ALL and it wasn't even the waterproof formula!

After I'd narrowed down my choices, I found out that the Friends & Family sale was coming up, so I decided to wait for that to take advantage of the 20% off and maybe be able to get something else! I ended up getting two MUFE eyeshadows instead of just one. So here are the things I got in my order!

The samples that came with my order - I'm excited for the perfume samples, but none of the Clinique samples are the options for my skin type! They're meant for dry skin but mine is oily.

These Makeup Forever eyeshadows are SO bright and fun! It was really hard to get them to photograph correctly in pan - the swatches are a bit closer to how bright they are in real life. The purple is #92 and the pink is #75. I also love the packaging on these. I wish all shadows came magnetized in their containers!

I love colored eyeliner so when I saw this set I knew I had to have it. It's the  24/7 Travel Size set of 5 in Electric.

This is one thing I have been eyeing at Sephora for quite awhile. I love bright colors and wanted a palette that had a good variety of them and I've always heard such good things about Urban Decay eyeshadows. Plus since it has a few neutral shades, including the black, I think it would work well as a travel palette for me. It also came with a small Primer Potion.

If you have any thoughts or experiences with any of these products or the ones I didn't end up purchasing, please share them! 

October: Haul and Swatches

ELF glitter eye Beauty Book from Target

Wet n Wild I <3 Matte palette from Walgreens

Milk of Magnesia (to use as a primer) - I am really loving this!
L'Oreal go 360 cleanser for sensitive skin - I don't have sensitive skin but I love this because I can put it over my eyes and it doesn't burn at all, which makes it easier to get all the makeup off.
Bottom left photo: Wet n Wild blushes in Pearlescent Pink and Heather Silk.
Middle set (from CVS) L-R: Milani Infinite liner, Miliani Liquif'eye liner, (accidentally switched the order of the eyeliner swatches but the lipsticks are in the right order) Milani HD Advanced Lip Color in Vivacious Fuchsia, Wet n Wild lipstick in 908C
The lipstick on the right is Rimmel Lasting Finish in In Vogue - LOVE this color! I found this at Walgreens.

If you have any questions on my thoughts on any of these products, let me know! I'd love to know what you think about any of them too.

Haul - Walgreens and Marshalls

The danger of going to the Target downtown is that there is a Marshalls and a Walgreens (among other stores) in between my bus stop and Target. Sometimes I end up going in the other stores before getting my groceries...today was one of those times...whoops!

From Walgreens I saw they had a lot of the Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Halloween stuff out - including this crazy holographic glitter! I'm going to try using it on my nails - it looks amazing. I also noticed a bunch of Jordana products I hadn't seen in a store before, including the eyeshadow duos and the Lip Out Loud glosses. I decided to try some of the eyeshadows since I've been happy with the singles I have from them. I got another LipShine in Pink Grapefruit. I love these glosses because they're not sticky at all and they have a brush applicator. I got a clear Lip Out Loud gloss as well because I don't really have a plain clear lipgloss. The scent is kind of obnoxious but I'll get over it. The last thing I got at Walgreens was the got2b POWDER'ful volumizing powder because it was on sale for $3.99.

Then I stopped in Marshalls and saw the Tweezerman set marked for $10. I like the small tweezers - the regular size Tweezerman tweezers I got last week seem SO big to me! My brows are much darker than either of the powder shades but I'll still give them a shot to see if they blend in okay. On the way to the checkout I saw the L.A. Colors nail polish set - 7 crazy fun colors for $6.99! Being both a nail junkie and a lover of all things bright I could not resist.

If you've tried any of these products I'd love to hear your thoughts! I'm new to a lot of these items so I'd like to know what to expect!

Collective Nail Polish Haul & Swatches

Since I've gotten quite a few new nail polishes over the last month or so, I figured I'd just make a collective haul/swatch post. I got the Sinful Colors polishes when they were on sale at Walgreens for $0.99. The three Ulta polishes with the old packaging were on clearance for $2 each and the one with new packaging was the one I chose as my reward this round.

Sinful Colors and Hard Candy
L-R: Innocent, Rise and Shine, Nail Junkie, Neon Melon, Dream On, Easy Going, Beetle

Ulta
L-R: Smoke Screen, Limelight, Blue Streak, Jaded

CVS Haul and Review- 5.24.11

Products I got:
Wet n Wild Glassy Gloss (clear)
Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick - 860 Rosette
Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara - waterproof
Essie nail polish - Coat Azure
Revlon Colorstay Mineral Lipglaze - 542 Continuous Coral
Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat
Revlon nail polish - Oh My Magenta
Revlon Top Speed nail polish - Guava

Total cost: $23.45. Total savings: $32.08.


L-R: Guava, Oh My Magenta, Coat Azure

I've used Guava and Coat Azure on my nails so far and they are both gorgeous! I left both on my nails for several days - which must mean I love the color, since I usually change polish pretty often! They apply beautifully, also - even and opaque.
Guava is a creme finish, while the other two have shimmer.



L-R: Rosette, Continuous Coral

I haven't worn the lipstick out yet, but I have used the lipglaze and I really like it! It feels really nice and smooth and it's pretty longwearing, plus it has amazing pigmentation! I also like the packaging, as it's not unnecessarily bulky.





Since my clear Jordana lipgloss exploded all over my stuff several weeks ago, I got the Wet n Wild as a replacement. It's your standard clear gloss, and it's less sticky than the Jordana, which is definitely a plus.
The Sexy Curves mascara has become one of my favorites!! I like the way my lashes look with it, plus it's waterproof but still easy to remove! I think that will officially make me quit using my Covergirl Lashblast, since I only used it because it was waterproof, but it is impossible to remove!
I also really like the Revlon base coat. It does dry really fast! When painting my nails, I always do one hand, than the other, and by the time I've finished the second hand the first one is dry! With other base coats I would have to wait a bit for it to be completely dry.

Collective Haul: Makeup, etc.

Queen Helene Cleansing Cream. I've been using this to remove makeup at night and am LOVING it.

Essence Denim Wanted Palette, Palladio Tinted Lip Balm - Orange, Milani Blush - Mai Tai, Palladio Baked Eyeshadow - Green Apple

Revlon Colorstay Undereye Concealer

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush - Natural

Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick - Fairytale, Physician's Formula Healthy Wear Powder Foundation SPF 50, Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush - Rose, L'Oreal True Match Powder, Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipliner - Splendid

Eyeshadow Haul/Swatches: Dollar Tree

ELF Studio Eyeshadows: Coffee Bean, Charcoal

Revlon Matte Eyeshadows: Tempting Teal, Luscious Lime

These shadows were mostly disappointing; I’m definitely glad they were only $1 each. I do like Tempting Teal. I tried several things to get Luscious Lime to show up at all, but nothing really worked. Charcoal just sheers out as soon as I blend it at all. Coffee bean does too, but not as badly. I just don’t love the color of coffee bean. I wish the glitter in both the ELF shades showed up better on the eye; that might make me like it more. It’s beautiful in the pan but much more subtle on.

Nail Polish Haul and Swatches

Here are the nail polishes I've gotten recently. Mostly holiday colors. I got China Glaze Sacred Heart for $1.99 and Orly Halley's Comet for #3.99 in the clearance bin at my Sally's. 

L-R: Milani Ruby Jewels, China Glaze Sacred Heart, China Glaze Mrs. Claus

 Sacred Heart is a lovely opaque creme classic red polish. It's called a neon on the bottle, but it isn't matte. I wish Mrs. Claus was more red than pink, but it's still a nice polish and I think it has some potential for interesting layering combinations. It's very sheer.

L-R: China Glaze Party Hearty, Milani Silver Dazzle

These Milani "one coat glitters" all look AMAZING. I decided to just get this one. This is two coats, but it's totally opaque. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it is totally matte and you can feel the glitters, so you may want to use a topcoat with it.

L-R: Milani Hi-Tech, China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses, Finger Paints Mistletoe Mischief

 Mistletoe kisses is definitely one of the coolest polishes I've seen lately and the one I'm most excited to use for the holidays. Mistletoe Mischief is sheerer than I hoped - this is 3 coats - but it's still a lovely green.

Orly Halley's Comet

I could NOT get this one to photograph well at all. It's an amazing color. It goes on fairly sheer but after 2-3  coats it's just fantastic. It looks mostly blue in this picture, but it has a lot more of a teal effect in person, and it's much more glittery looking in person as well.
Scrangie has a much better looking photo of this on her blog : http://www.scrangie.com/2010/09/orly-cosmic-fx-collection-fall-2010.html

Overall I'm very excited about all of these! It'll make for some interesting Christmas manicures!

Collective Haul: Summer

Here's some stuff I acquired over the summer. Most of it is from Ulta, but a few items I picked up at Target.

 

I was attracted to the Essence products at Ulta because they were so cheap. I liked the yellow and salmon-colored nail polishes since they were so unlike the other colors in my collection. The yellow (Sundancer) is more opaque than the salmon (What Do U Think?) but they both have decent color payoff. They chip very quickly, though. They were only $0.99, after all. I was attracted to the "Nail Stampy Set" because it looked like a cheap dupe for the Konad stamper. It was only $2.99 and seems to work pretty well. I don't love the images on the plate, but I could easily get some actual Konad plates to go with this set. The mini Orly nail polishes were right at the checkout, and I just couldn't resist. The dark navy blue (Witch's Blue) was also different from other colors I already had. 

I picked up the top two items in the photo at Target. Both were in those two-for-one packs. I've liked Maybelline's The Colossal Volum' Express for quite awhile, but the Almay was a new one for me. I'd never tried any of the products available for specific eye colors before (I have green eyes), and I figured I could use a neutral-but not black- shade of mascara. It's a nice reddish brown color. I like the mascara's formula pretty well, too. Everything else was picked up at Ulta: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Purple (love these. I have 10 colors), Essence eyeliner pen (felt-tipped kind...not very black and seems to dry up quickly, but only $1.99), Ulta eyeliner in Raisin (good color, not too long wearing), Ulta lipliner in Beet (love this color), NYX brow pencil/brush in Dark Brown (LOVE this. best eyebrow pencil I've tried). 

Last two items: this Ulta blending sponge looked almost identical to the Sonia Kashuk version (http://www.target.com/Sonia-Kashuk-237-Blending-Sponge/dp/B00149XKOY) but $5 cheaper. I really like the finish and coverage it offers, plus the shape makes it easy to get every little area of the face. The Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Creamliner (again, for green eyes) I got at Target. I LOVE THESE. The colors show up really well and last a very long time. This is also by far the creamiest cream liner I've used. The one for green eyes has a green, a purple, and black with fairly unnoticeable green glitter.

That's all for now. In general, pretty successful. The only items I didn't love were very cheap, so it's hard to complain.