Month: November 2018
Cyber Fundays 2018
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This Xmas, I did my Ulta shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving, during the “Cyber Fundays” event. They had some smoking deals that I couldn’t pass up! There were also some decent Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but mostly on stuff I already had, like half price Modern Renaissance and Naked Heat. Boo!
If you’re thinking that this order looks skimpy…it’s because I pulled out the gifts I ordered for my daughter. She doesn’t come here, but her brother does – and I trust him about as far as I can throw him with one hand.
I was excited to snatch the NYX Lip Snacks Soft Matte Metallic Lip Cream Set ($15, down from $25) for myself. It’s a set of 12 minis of my favorite lip formula from NYX, specially scented like buttercream. I’ve onlhy sampled 2 so far, but they are the BEST. I also got a half-price Urban Decay Razor Sharp Water-Resistant Longwear Liquid Eyeliner in “Demolition” ($11, down from $22) – I think a shiny brown cat eye will look good on me.
The biggest bummer was a broken bottle in the China Glaze The Grinch Grinchworthy Nail Art Duo ($10). It wasn’t the “Grinchworthy” polish itself, but the “For Rhinestones Only” adhesive – the stem of the bottle broke inside the cap and it leaked everywhere. I called Ulta Customer Service and they sent me out another one immediately, no questions asked – so now I have 2 bottles of “Grinchworthy” and 2 pots of green felt. I cannot wait to make my nails look like Astroturf! Oh, and I got another tidbit from Customer Service – they won’t be including samples in orders again until January. Cheap bastards.
I added a bottle of Zoya Remove+ to get me over the $65 mark, to get the glittery pink 18-piece Cyber Fundays sample bag. The sample bag was STUFFED – it had: Too Faced Glitter Glue (saving for a special occasion); Cover FX Blurring Primer; Urban Decay Perversion Mascara; Patchology Flashpatch Restoring Night Eye Gels (this is the third set I’ve gotten – I guess I should use them); philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar; Clinique Happy; 2 Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Glosses in “Vintage” (2!!!); Lime Crime Unicorn Hair in “bunny” (ugh, another one); bliss lemon & sage body butter; Biolage Hydra Source Shampoo & Conditioner; L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Primer/Base for Mascara; philosophy Amazing Grace; Armani Code Cashmere; Skin Laundry Hydrating Cream Face Wash; L’Oreal Paris Pure-Clay Cleanser Detox-Brighten (this black one is my fave); MAC False Lashes Mascara in “Extreme Black”; and Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate. There were also 2 hot coupons – $15 off $75 (only good in December) and another $5 off $15 Ulta Beauty Collection (good until 2/1/19).
I was also able to use a $10 off coupon, bringing my order down to $64.49 before tax – but I still got the bag. I was sweating for a hot minute! Just $301 to Diamond…I do predict another order before the end of the year, but not that much!
November 2018 Julep Maven Box – Hand of Plenty
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Oh no! I almost forgot this month’s Julep Maven box!
I’m not sure how to wear rose gold eyeliner – but I picked one for this month’s box anyway. “Rose Gold Shimmer” is a new shade of when pencil met gel Long-Lasting Eyeliner. I keep forgetting to grab it and try it, so tomorrow is the day!
I also picked two polishes: Classic with a Twist “Nehali”, rich paprika metallic, and Wonder Maven “Sandee”, oxblood shimmer. I cannot resist shimmery reds!
I was also able to add a sheet of gold diamond decals to my box. I’ve amassed a nice collection of nail decals from Julep…
No candy…maybe next month I’ll get some Xmas candy?
Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!
Wine with Ice, Garcon
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This polish looks almost as black as my heart…which is pretty black.
The polish isn’t black though – it’s a deep, deep wine. Pretty Woman “Wine with Ice, Garcon” was in my ipsy bag this month. Now, I don’t drink wine – I have a reaction – but I am pretty sure you never, ever, EVER put ice in it. Fairly sure.
This is two coats of “Wine with Ice, Garcon” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
This polish looked FANTABULOUS with “Triggered”, one of my new Jeffree lippies.
ALIEN
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I’ve skipped a lot of Jeffree Star’s more recent collections/palettes – but this year’s holiday collection and palette really caught my attention.
I set an alarm for noon on launch day – November 9th – so I didn’t miss it. I was on the phone with my boss, frantically ordering on my phone. Luckily, my order went through before everything was sold out! It took over a week to get a shipping notification, but once I did – it got here really fast.
The Alien Palette ($52) is shaped like an alien head! It’s hot pink pleather and flips open to reveal 18 out of this world eye shadows. Of course, the first ones I played with were the yellows and greens – “Abduction” looks like a yellow highlighter and “Alien” is a sparkly neon green. I was also able to do a more subdued family-friendly look for Thanksgiving with “Titan” (matte nude) and “Phone Home” (matte mauve). I’m looking forward to playing with the rest of the shades.
This is also the first time I sprung for the entire Holiday 2018 Velour Liquid Lipstick Bundle ($105). I wasn’t too excited about “Karma” (a lizardy khaki green) or “yOu’Re sTiLl oN thE pRoPeRty” (dark blue metallic), but if I was gonna spend $108 on 6 lipsticks…why not spend $105 on 8? Also in the bundle: “Can’t Relate” (a nude, similar to “Mannequin), “Jeffree Who?” (looks like a cross between “Calabasas” and “Rose Matter”, but with extra KvD shade thrown in), “Scandal” (mauve sparkle), “Hi, How Are Ya?” (I love this cool red – it’s like “Masochist” with sparkle), “Triggered” (a nearly black plum color, I was surprised that glitter appeared halfway through my wear today), and “Clout” (lavender metallic).
I did not order any of the new Lip Ammo shades or Lip Scrubs – I was really turned off by the thought of scrubbing my lips with “Eggnog” or “Pumpkin Pie”.
Product Review – La Mer Moisturizing Cream
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It’s been a while since a mysterious sample made its way into my mailbox…
A week or so ago, I received a fancy green box in the mail – it contained a tiny little sample pot of La Mer Moisturizing Cream. The cream has a rabid celebrity following – it’s widely known as being a part of Kim Kardashian’s ridiculous beauty regimen. I used it for 4 days (that was all that was in the little pot). Spreading it on my face was not unlike spreading cold cream cheese on my face – it was THAT thick. The smell was not unpleasant, but it was a bit weird. Unfortunately, I haven’t noticed any major differences in my skin – the fine lines are still there, yet moisturized? I was afraid the thick formula would clog my pores, but I didn’t get a breakout, so that’s good. It’s a perfectly good moisturizer.
Ultimately, it’s a bit – no, A LOT – too expensive for me. $175 for a single ounce! It’s a perfectly good moisturizer, but hardly worth the price.
I think I solved the mystery of how it appeared in my mailbox – the fine print mentioned Conde Nast, so I’m going to assume it’s a perk from my Allure Beauty Box. Thanks, Allure!
In case you’d like a little background info on the Estee Lauder-owned La Mer, here’s a good article from Vox that describes the hype behind La Mer and their current lawsuit in China, regarding their outrageous skin claims.
November 2018 Allure Beauty Box – Mask Anything
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Holy cow – this month’s Allure Beauty Box is almost ALL masks! Well, except for the gold encrusted Invisibobble…
The masks in this month’s box are Lapcos Pearl Brightening Metallic Sheet Mask (never heard of this brand); Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Jelly Sheet Mask (or this brand); Kocostar Rose Lip Mask (or this brand); Glamglow Supermud Clearing Treatment (yay – Glamglow is good stuff); Patchology Flashpatch Rejuvenating Eye Gels (I’ve gotten these in a sample bag before, but never used them); and Starskin Exfoliating Double-Layer Foot Mask Socks (never heard of this brand either, but been wanting to try foot peeling socks).
Also included in this month’s box – a code for $10 off any beauty purchase at Anthropologie. Yeah, not gonna use that.
My skin is really looking forward to this box!
The Allure Beauty Box is $15/month, but they give you $5 off your first box. They also offer an option for $150/year – a savings of $30. Sign up via my referral link..
November 2018 Ipsy Bag – Happy Friendsgiving
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Oh hey, it’s glam bag time!
So, I’m not positive from the insert what this month’s theme is…and their website doesn’t make it any clearer, so I’m going with “Happy Friendsgiving”. The bag is pretty cute – you cannot tell from the picture, but the inside is lined with hot pink nylon.
This month’s bag is an odd assortment of products: Doucce Punk Volumizer Mascara; Pistache Skincare Whipped Pistachio Body Butter (it smells like pistachio pudding – I love it – I left it on the coffee table to use, but my kids better keep their paws off it); Pretty Woman Nail Polish in “Wine with Ice, Garcon” (I don’t even drink wine); Ciate London Mini Translucent Setting Powder in “Hideout”; and theBalm Cosmetics Nude Beach Eyeshadow in “Brave”.
Like I said, the products don’t seem to go together this month, but they each seem great individually.
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
We Will Spock You!
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Have you ever bought a polish based on the name alone?
That’s how I ended up with essence cosmetics “We Will Spock You!”, from the ‘Out of Space Stories’ Collection – I was browsing Ulta the other day, while my kids were getting haircuts. I saw the name and had to have it. The fact that it was being clearanced out for $1.49 was a happy coincidence.
This is THREE coats of “We Will Spock You!” over Glisten & Glow Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. I barely got full coverage with three coats. The polish is very thin and easy to work with though.
I was thinking that I don’t already own a silver holo, but then I remembered Julep “Tin Man” – it is very similar, but whiter? Does that even make sense?
Just $301 to reach Diamond status – this is after the haircuts, even! That means I’ve spent about $899 at Ulta this year – wow!
Sephora Play! November 2018 – Merry and Bright
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This is an…interesting…box.
First off, Commodity Gold straight up smells like donkey ass. Unwashed donkey ass. Someone come take this shit out of my house.
Everything else is less controversial. I’m a big fan of Philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser. I’m also happy to get Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder, Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain Liquid Lipstick in “Pink Tea”, and Lancome Hydra Zen Anti-Stress Moisturizing Face Cream. I was, however, really confused when I looked at the Christophe Robin Cleansing Volumizing Paste with Pure Rassoul Clay and Rose Extracts. At first, I assumed it was another mud mask…great! Then I read the directions – this shit is for your hair. What? I’ll let you know.
Sephora Play is THE best beauty box I receive every month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
You’re the Shade That I Want
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I know, I know, this teeny tiny bottle makes my already large hands look ginormous. It is what it is – I was cursed with E.T. fingers, at least that’s what my mother used to call them. She would be amused that I purposely post pictures of my long, strange fingers on a nearly daily basis.
I had forgotten about the set of Grease nail polishes I had picked up at Ulta, but I found them stashed in a cabinet. The first one I grabbed was OPI “You’re the Shade That I Want”, because I was going to paint my toes and thought the bright pink creme would look nice…but it was freezing fucking cold and I did not dare take my socks off. It’s supposed to be up in the 70s in a few days, so I’ll do it then.
This is two coats of “You’re the Shade That I Want” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Phone home.