Month: February 2016
Mermaid’s Dream
Deborah Lippmann “Mermaid’s Dream” is the #1 reason I picked up Sephora Favorites Summerstash! Just look at it…such a perfect polish for summer. I don’t care if it’s February – it’s feeling like summer in Texas!
“Mermaid’s Dream” is a light turquoise shimmer, with flecks of gold and dark turquoise glitter. In a word – it’s amazing. Every girl needs this in their collection. After Sinful Colors Base Coat, it took just two coats for full coverage. The polish is thin and covers perfectly. I finished with “HK Girl” and was left with a slightly pebbley finish. It’s been over 24 hours and I haven’t gotten a single chip or edgewear – is the Deborah Lippman curse broken?
Julep “Shay” is somewhat similar, but without the dark turquoise glitter.
Oh…and I trimmed my nails down to nubs again. Several nails on my right hand had peeled and broken (probably from opening the shrinkwrap on all the new makeup I’ve been buying) and I went ahead and made them all match.
The New Normal?
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So is this the new normal at Walgreens?
The Sinful Colors sale is 2/$3 now? Pfffpht.
Even so, I went ahead and picked up a few – it feels like it’s been forever since Walgreen’s has had a Sinful Colors sale – this is the first one of the year!
I picked “Gold N’ Roses”, “I’m All In”, “Feeling Lucky?” and “San Francisco”.
I also grabbed another Sinful Colors Base Coat – can’t risk running out.
Just a warning…this Walgreen’s deal ended yesterday…you’ll have to wait for the next one.
Of course, the first one I grabbed was the rose gold – “Gold N’ Roses”. Plus…the name!!! Guns N’ Roses was my very first concert – a gift for my 16th birthday.
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First – Sinful Colors Base Coat. “Gold N’ Roses” went on like a dream – it was smooth as buttah. This is a super high quality polish – comparable to the Zoya shimmers. There is a bit of glitter in the polish, not too much. I finished with “HK Girl”.
“Gold N’ Roses” would look really fantastic matte – I’m going to try it soon.
The Makeup Revolution
I’ve been curious about Makeup Revolution since it launched in the US at Ulta last summer. It’s a UK brand, famous for their prestige dupes and ridiculously low prices. Seriously – palettes for $5-$10 and lipstick for $3-$5. I hadn’t gotten around to trying out the brand…until my fellow makeup enthusiast in the UK, Sally, placed an order…then I had serious makeup envy.
I was out shopping with my big sis this past weekend, so of course there was a stop at Sephora and Ulta. I didn’t see anything new at Sephora, but I went directly to the Makeup Revolution display at Ulta. It was pretty well picked clean, but I managed to find a few things…
The first thing I grabbed was the Makeup Revolution Salvation “Girls on Film” palette. 18 eye shadows – 12 shimmer and 6 matte – for $10! The colors are smoky neutrals, leaning towards copper and bronze. It’s not a dupe of any well known products, but it reminds me of the Urban Decay “Mariposa” Palette.
For the last few years, I’ve been dutifully detailing my purchases, but I’ve decided to try branching out and swatching some of my purchases. My palette is no longer pretty after swatching, but I have already used it the past three days, so it was no longer pristine anyway.
After three days, I’ll say that the quality is fairly decent. The shimmers are buttery and blend well. They do tend to fade through the day, but I haven’t been using any primers – they tend to feel heavy and itchy on my eyes when I wear them through the work day. The matte shades aren’t as vivid as I would like, but still better than the usual drugstore or store brands.
I also tried one the Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquers in “Vamp” ($5). I wore it today and it applied smoothly and dried matte…but disappeared on my inner lips right after coffee. I tried to perk it up with lip balm, but the balm totally dissolved it, so I had to wipe it off. I am not thrilled with the staying power, but it would work for going out.
I also found a single NYX Lip Lingerie in “Exotic” ($6.99) – just one in the entire store, stashed among the Soft Matte Lip Creams. I grabbed it quick! I wore it Sunday – it is an almost perfect dupe for Kat Von D “Lolita”! It, too faded after a hearty Taco Bell meal…but I was able to revive it with lip gloss. Since it is a lighter shade, it still looked good with gloss on top and didn’t dissolve.
I was rather irritated that the current coupon was 20% off one item – I only got $2 off my palette.
I’ve also been spying on the Makeup Revolution Website…so much more than what launched at Ulta! They have Too Faced Chocolate Bar, Urban Decay Naked/Electric and LORAC Pro dupes, plus well-reviewed foundation. I am having a hard time stomaching the $12-$15 shipping, so I signed up for their emails…hoping for a sale that makes the shipping worth it…until then, I’ll just have to buy EVERYTHING available through Ulta.
Daddy’s Soul Donut
…and this is the only reason I bought Funky Fingers “Cupcake Sprinkles”: to make ‘Daddy’s Soul Donut’ from The Simpsons. D’oh!
I switched it up and started with Orly Bonder. I then painted two very careful coats of Trust Fund Beauty “I’m Kind of a Big Deal” from this month’s ipsy bag. It is the perfect Pepto Bismal pink. It’s thick, but if you’re very, very careful – you can avoid getting it in the cracks at the edge of your nails and making a mess. It only took one coat of “Cupcake Sprinkles” to get all those sprinkles on my nails. Of course, I finished up with “HK Girl”.
What other kind of desserts can I make with “Cupcake Sprinkles”?
Sephora Play! 06 – February 2016
February’s Sephora Play! theme is “Now & Later” – beauty essentials for all day and all night.
As soon as I opened the box, I knew I would be giving the Tom Ford “Black Orchid” to my big sis – Tom Ford is her favorite. She also bought a few Tom Ford rollerballs when we went to Sephora over the weekend. Also inside this month’s box: bareMinerals Pop of Passion Lip Oil-Balm in “Plumberry Pop”; Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencil Longwear eyeliner in “Noir Intense”; Bumble and bumble. Pret-A-Powder (I am intrigued to try this different take on dry shampoo); Make Up for Ever Rouge Artist Natural in “N9 Copper Pink” (this color looks BANGIN’); and tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara.
Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
She’s Gonna Kill Me, Oh Celeste
Julep “Celeste” lives up to it’s name – it’s a real Timebomb. She’s gonna kill me and I don’t mean softly.
Julep describes “Celeste” as cosmic gray iridescent glitter, but it comes across as really dense purple/green flakies. It’s absolutely celestial., like looking into a faraway galaxy.
After starting with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, I did two coats of “Celeste”, which was tricky – it’s super goopy. As long as you keep the brush from getting gooped up, it applies smoothly. “HK Girl” finished the job.
Summerstash
Oh Nouveau Cheap, you are so dangerous to me…the moment she posted Sephora Favorites Summerstash on sale for $30 (regularly $45), I jumped all over it.
Even though this set came out a year or two ago, I neeeeeeeded it. Inside the sassy gold canvas bag: Buxom Divine Goddess Luminizer in “Venus” (the product I am least likely to use); Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer in “Mermaid’s Dream” (yassss); Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee; Marc Jacobs Beauty Mini Lash Lifter in “Blacquer”; Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Pencil (my big sis called dibs); NARS Travel Size “Laguna” Bronzing Powder; Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Stained Gloss in “New Wave” (AND it came with a brush!); stila Cosmetics Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eye Shadow in “Kitten” (YASSSS); and Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray.
I finally used some points to get some goodies – Buxom Objects of Obsession (500 pts), which includes Mini Vanity Lash Mascara in “Show-Off Black”; Mini Hold the Line Waterproof Eyeliner in “I’ll Be Waiting”; Mini Full-On Lip Cream in “Kir Royale”; and Mini Full-On Lip Polish in “Sophia”. I also got two 100 pt items – Pink Gel Coat Nail Strengthener & Brightener and Liquid Blendercleanser.
I also used a code to get two extra samples – NARS Audacious Mascara in “Black Moon” and First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream – in addition to the three regular samples, Marc Jacobs “Decadence” (smells like the inside of a rich old lady’s purse); Dr. Dennis Gross ferulic + retinol wrinkle recovery peel and Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer.
I may have too much mascara now…
February Ipsy Bag – Pretty in #ipsyPink
Is it me, or are the ipsy bags getting cuter and cuter? My purse is filled with a series of bags, holding all kinds of different things – I can’t figure out what to do with all the cute bags I have. Ideas please!!!
“Pretty in #ipsyPink” is the theme for February and the bag is pixelated envelope – like a valentine, I guess? Inside: MOR Emporium Classics Hand & Body Lotion in “Candied Vanilla” (smells like vanilla pudding – weird); Trust Fund Beauty Nail Polish in “I’m Kind of a Big Deal” (plastic-y pink, but I think I know what I am gonna do with it…); Naked Cosmetics Mica Pigment in “Sierra Nevada #02”; Smashbox Cosmetics Photo Finish Primer Oil (I also got a sample of this with my last Ulta Goody Bag, but I haven’t tried it yet); and Jor’el Parker “Eau So Divine” (not bad – better than the last one I received).
Another decent bag – but I really wanted that Ciate Polish…
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Queen of Hearts
FINALLY! I can get the fucking glitter out of the bottle! Thank you, Funky Fingers “Queen of Hearts”.
Seriously, it only took a bit of brush swirling to fill the brush with hearts. I had to do a fair bit of dabbing and dragging to get them flat on my nail, but at least I could get them out of the bottle. Funky Fingers does NOT skimp on the glitter. “Queen of Hearts” is a clear base with black, white and red (several different shades of red – so one of them is sure to match whatever you’ve got) hearts. SO many hearts.
Starting with Sinful Colors Base Coat, I used Sinful Colors “Black on Black” and “Under 18” – two coats each. After two coats, the hearts seemed to “sink in” and are not totally flat, but I think it looks kind of cool. A coat of “HK Girl” smoothed it a bit, but I can still feel the edges of the hearts.
So…Valentine’s Day s tomorrow…2 more days until 50% off candy!
Target Retail Therapy
I’ve had a rough week…so a little lunchtime retail therapy at Target was necessary…
I remembered to use my $3 off coupon…I stocked up on up & up dip-its (they’re only $1.49 now!) and got another St. Ives Green Tea Scrub – I’ve been out for a while. My splurge was another NYX Ombre Lip Duo in “Hearts & Spades”. I don’t know where I’m going to wear black and red lipstick to…work? Why not?
I also bought a bunch of hangers…Huggable Hangers were 25% with Cartwheel, but I was so distracted that I forgot to scan the barcode. SONOFABITCH!