Month: September 2016
Sephora Play! September 2016 – The Unbasic Basics
Finally…on the last day of the month, I get to the last subscription box of the month…just a matter of days before I start getting a new batch of boxes.
“The Unbasic Basics” is this month’s theme – no basic bitches with this month’s picks. I am most excited about Living proof. Perfect hair Day night cap overnight perfector. I’m absolutely in love with the Living proof. 5-in-1 Styling Treatment from this month’s ipsy bag. Can I please continue to get Living proof. products in every box?
I also received Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in “Trooper” (number 4 or 5); Sephora CollectionRouge Brilliance Rouge Shine Lipstick in “Love Spell” (so pink); Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel (I don’t know that I have enough brows for a gel); Dr. Jart+ Water Drop Hydrating Moisturizer; and Tory Burch Jolie Fleur Verte (smells so green – love it).
If you haven’t signed up yet – you are missing out! This is by far the best subscription box I get every month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
Pining for the Fjords
Julep “Acacia” has me pining for the fjords. (Or maybe I just feel like I’m dead because of this sinus infection?)
I’m pining because Julep describes “Acacia” as blue fjord chrome – I was like huh? Then I had to google fjords – I was thinking that the tall cliffs themselves where the fjords, but technically, the fjord is the water-filled inlet. Well fuck – my whole life is a lie…or at least the geography part.
“Acacia” is a true one-coat polish – I really could have gotten away with just one coat…but the perfectionist in me required two coats – just to be sure. For some odd reason, I got bubble…in the base coat. I used Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and I’ve never seem that bubble before. A few of the bubbles were visible through the two coats of “Acacia” and “HK Girl” – I don’t know what’s up with that. Am I going to have to get all anal and start using alcohol wipes on my nails before painting?
I also used “Acacia” on my toes. I had promised my husband “Danica” on my toes, but I decided that he gets “Acacia” instead. He LOVES blue toenails.
This is it – I am all caught up…I think. This is the color on my nails RIGHT NOW. Aw shit, I still have one more subscription box sitting on the counter…
Vogue
Strike a pose…there’s nothing to it…
Great, now I’m going to have that song stuck in my head all night…
Sinful Colors “Strike a Pose” was the first polish I grabbed from my big sale haul. It’s from the new “Luxe Fragments” Collection – a jelly base filled with glitter shards. I’m in love with glitter shards, I think. I was drawn to the black and gold…plus, it also matched the ipsy bag I just got.
Sinful Colors Base Coat and then two coats of “Strike a Pose”. I was afraid that it wouldn’t be opaque enough after the first quote, but the second coat came through for me – it sure covered up my stained green nails. “HK Girl” sealed the deal and provided a ridiculous amount of shine.
I feel like my nails are getting shorter and shorter. My unpacking and cleaning has slowed WAY down – maybe they’ll get a chance to grow without breaking and peeling?
September Ipsy Bag – Glamazon
I am LOVING this month’s ipsy bag – top notch products that I will actually use!
The theme is “Glamazon” – too glam to give a damn. Yes, these products are glam to the extreme: Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme (Ooooooh it tingles like Lip Venom – it’s the capiscum AKA the same shit in pepper spray; I just put it on and my husband noticed a difference within 60 seconds…arghhhhhh, it BURNS); Eau Thermale Avène Hydrance Optimale Hydrating Serum; Dr. G Daily Safe BB in “Fair” (So many “Dr.” products these days); Living Proof Perfect hair Day (PhD) 5-in-1 Styling Treatment (I’ve loved the other products I’ve tried); and Dirty Little Secrets Cosmetics Eyeshadow in “Teaser” (orangey tan).
Oh, and did you see that the girls on the bag are YMCAing “ipsy”? So clever.
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
An Offer I Can’t Refuse
I know, I know…I just bought a shitload of clearance Kylie Sinful Colors…but 2/$3 is an offer I can’t refuse. Not when my work Walgreen’s has all the new collections.
I started my hunt looking for the “Guise and Ghouls” Halloween polishes. I didn’t get all of them – I’d been burned by their elusive glitters and didn’t feel like playing Go Fish again. I did pick out 5 though: “Cloak and Swagger”, “Play Dead”, “Dead On”, “Where O Werewolf”, and “Nice Guise”. Lots of silver and gray this year.
I also picked 5 polishes from the new Luxe Fragments Collection: “Strike a Pose”, “Walk the Walk”, “Don’t Flake”, “Gold a la Mode”, and “Silver Slivers”. This collection wasn’t even on my radar, but I’m glad I spied it on an endcap.
Oh, and I found the clearance polish I had been looking for – Barbie “Little Pink Dress”.
Lots of people on Instagram are waiting for these new collections to hit their stores…be patient! The Beauty Advisor at my store had just put out these displays on Tuesday morning, the day I was there…the 2/$3 sale ends tomorrow, so get your ass to Walgreen’s and looook…
Precious Kargo
Sinful Colors “Kargo” is just…WOW.
My nails were already stained green from “Peggy”, so I figured I would stick with the theme and go with a blue or green. I had a suspicion that “Kargo” would be a textured polish. My suspicions were correct…plus, it’s a matte glitter texture. I am loving the Sinful Colors matte formulas.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat, then two coats of “Kargo”. The formula was rather thin for a textured polish – I was quite pleased that I didn’t end up with a case of the goopies. No top coat.
“Kargo” is very, very similar to Julep “Jennine” – but a bit less glittery and iridescent. It also had better staying power – I was able to make it Sunday to Thursday before repainting my nails.
September Birchbox – Top-Rated Time Savers
I’m so predictable – I picked the featured box again this month. It’s called “Top-Rated Time Savers” and lord knows that I need to save all the time I can…
Let’s see what we’ve got…There’s Milk Makeup Ubame Mascara; amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo (I have at least 2 other cans of this); Supergoop! Shine-On Lip Screen SPF 50 (interesting); Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45+ (I think this is the one a tried a few years ago that made me look like Data); and Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuventor (love this stuff – main reason I chose this box).
What am I going to do with all the time I save? Write the great American Novel? Sew another quilt? I’ll probably just sleep in five extra minutes…
If you would like to try Birchbox, click on my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join.
Peggy
My first grab from this month’s Julep box – Julep “Peggy”.
Again, another surprise. I was expecting a rusty brown shimmer, but “Peggy” is charcoal with rose shimmer – basically a dark grey duochrome that flashes rust and pink in the light. You can see it much better on the bottle than on my nails, but whatever. What will they think of next?
After Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, I painted two coats of “Peggy” and topped with “HK Girl”. It was one of those quick school night jobbies, but it turned out fantastic.
The most surprising thing about “Peggy” is that it stained my nails…GREEN. I was totally shocked that it stained both my cuticles and my nails a faint froggy tint. I was able to get rid of it with Julep Vanish…and trim those cuticles, too.
September Julep Maven Box – Cheers to Five Years!
Happy fifth birthday, Julep!
“Cheers to Five Years!” is this month’s theme and in addition to a whole new Wonder Maven polish collection, you could also choose curated set of three polishes, eye liners or lipsticks. I actually didn’t change a thing about my “It Girl” selection – the “Cheers to Five Years!” polish set. It included “Genevieve” – red rock chrome, “Peggy” – charcoal with rose shimmer, and “Acacia” – blue fjord chrome (it’s pining for the fjords). I debated changing up my selection, but these were the polishes for me.
No candy this month, but a new nail file was included – I can always use nail files.
November will be three years I’ve been with Julep – not counting mystery boxes and other purchases, that’s at least 108 polishes right there…WOW!
Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!
Konstellation Chalkboard
Okay, we get it – those Kardashians like the letter “K”.
This is Sinful Colors “Konstellation”, my first pick from the handful of Kylie Jenner polishes that I picked up on clearance at Walgreen’s. I thought it would be a shimmery duochrome charcoal, but I was wrong…it’s a matte polish! The charcoal did shift from purple to green, almost like a puddle of motor oil in the driveway – but not shiny. I know what it reminds me of – a chalkboard! Something my children will never, ever see…
This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat. Like most matte polishes, it dried extremely quickly. It pulled back from the tips a bit as it dried, but it doesn’t look too bad. It did tend to stick to my skin – be careful with this polish. If might take a few strips of skin off if you try to peel it from around your fingernails.
If I had a more careful hand, I could use “Konstellation” as a background for some chalkboard themed nail art…I might have to experiment a bit to see how it works out. Or maybe I should try stamping over it…Hmmmmm….