Month: January 2021
The Roaring 20s
The 20s aren’t roaring yet…but I still have hope.
My sister-in-law was in town a few weeks ago and I picked up a few full sheets of Color Street Nail Decals. There were some really cool sets! My favorite is “Drop the Ball” – black and gold chevrons – very 20s Art Deco.
I wanted to mix polish and decals, so I applied the decals to 6 of my fingers – I was able to cover two fingers per decal, by using a thumb size on my thumb and sideways on my pinky (thanks for the idea, Becca). My middle fingernails are always pretty short, so it was easy to cover two nails with one medium decal. These decals lasted a week and looked perfect! The nail polish chipped before the decals.
For the polish, I couldn’t decide on shimmer or glitter, so why not both? The glitter on my index finger is Butter London “Tart with a Heart” and the shimmer on my ring finger is Nicole by OPI “On a Gilt Trip”. This is two coats of each over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I wanted them to be matte to match the Color Street, so I topped with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
Instead of holding a bottle of polish, I decided to showcase a member of my daughter’s Octopi Army – she made it herself!
I Want to Smell Like FOOD
Ignore the bag, the Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale is OVER.
As soon as I got the Valentine’s Day mailer, I knew I would be hitting the store again to pick up those delicious scents. I decided on “Chocolate Covered Cherry” (it’s SO chocolatey), “Strawberry Pound Cake” (a re-promote that I’ve been lusting after), and “You’re the One” (soft rose, winter woods and strawberry nectar – I couldn’t describe any of those scents individually, but together they’re heavenly). I was torn between “Strawberry Pound Cake” and “Raspberry Jam Donut”, but strawberries won out. I’ll keep an eye out for “Raspberry Jam Donut” in the next Semi-Annual Sale.
I got doubles of “Chocolate Covered Cherry” so Lily could smell good, too.
Body products were Buy 3, Get 3 and with the 20% coupon from my mailer (and a coupon for a free Wallflower), I only spent $78. I saved $111!
Ghosted
Color Club “Ghosted” was an ipsy add-on from last summer. It was patiently waiting for me…
Color Club polishes are so thick and smooth – for most people, this would be one coat coverage…but you know I always gotta do two. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat, except for the pinky…which got a coat of Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
I have no idea why this polish is called “Ghosted” – at first, I thought the name was trying to be spooky, but maybe it’s referring to “ghosting” a dude?
Smash Hit
Sinful Colors “Smash Hit” has been sitting in my living room nail cabinet, waiting its turn to be used, since the end on 2018. I’ve been trying to work my way through them, but there at least a couple dozen still in there, as well as a couple dozen in my bedroom.
I was feeling like something cold and icy, so I decided on this icy, sheer blue. This is two coats of “Smash Hit” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat. The glitter is iridescent dots, with a few flakie shards thrown in for interest.
This polish reminds me of “Wrapped in Plastic”. It also reminds me of Bumble, from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
First Ulta Haul of 2021
Remember how excited I was about NatureLabs.Tokyo Perfect Shine Shampoo & Conditioner? Turns out that it was the wrong product. I had sampled Perfect SMOOTH Shampoo & Conditioner. Oops. I bought a bottle of the NatureLabs.Tokyo Perfect Smooth Conditioner ($14) and I like it much better than the Perfect Smooth. Ugh. I’ll buy more Shampoo, I guess…
I am a sucker for Urban Decay foundation. Every time they release a new one, I’m all over it. Their newest is Urban Decay Hydromaniac Glowy Tinted Hydrator Foundation ($29). I was expected something like a tinted moisturizer, but it was a medium to full coverage foundation. I just put on on my face with my fingers and was like…oh NO. I grabbed my Beauty Blender and buffed it out. It gave nice, smooth coverage. If I left my house more than once a week, I’d use the hello out of it.
I also added a pack of Kitsch Face Masks ($12.99). My kids like these masks best, so I keep on buying them.
A few nice Platinum/Diamond freebies came with this order. I got a Too Faced Damn That’s Sexy Mascara set with my $25 makeup purchase and a deluxe sample of BareMinerals Original Liquid Foundation in “Fairly Light 03”. I haven’t tried either yet.
$1,145 to Diamond for 2022!
…and that’s how I went to the prom with Geena Davis
…but you probably already read about that in People.
I will buy you a socially distanced beer if you know what I am talking about…
The star of my first 2021 manicure is Julep “Geena – Rose Quartz for January”. It’s sheerer than I expected – I thought it would be a textured glitter – but it was a smooth jelly glitter. I like it, although I’d like it more if my nails weren’t so stained.
This is two coats of “Geena” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. So shiny!
Sephora Favorites Hello! Greatest Beauty Hits (and more)
Ooooh! Sephora Sale on Sale! An extra 20% off sale items…so tempting.
I’d been eyeing the newest Sephora Favorites Hello! Greatest Beauty Hits set. $8 on sale is better than $10…but $6.40 is even better. I was most interested in Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa ’62 Eau de Parfum – it was so summery. Also in the set: It Cosmetics Lash Blowout Volumizing Mascara; Tarte SEA Jelly Glaze Anytime Lip Mask in “Strawberry Jelly”; BareMinerals Gen Nude Powder Blush in “Call My Blush”; First Aid Beauty FAB Pharma Arnica Relief & Rescue Mask; and Sephora Collection Ultra Glow Serum: Glow + Strengthen Vitamin C Serum. As usual, the set comes with 15% off vouchers for each product – I might actual used the Cheirosa ’62 one.
While browsing the sale section, I found a few other smokin’ deals. I splurged on a Fresh Rose Hydration Skincare Essentials Set ($55, down from $63 – $44 after discount). I also picked up the tarte SEA Yours & Mine Quench Lip Rescue Duo ($17, down from $19 – $13.60 after discount). I really like the Lip Rescue I got in the Give Me Some Balm Set – all the mask wearing has dried out my lips! The Milk Makeup KUSH Triple Brow Pen ($11, down from $22 – $8.80 after discount) was a bad purchase. The first time I used it, it was GREAT. The color “Dutch” was a perfect match to my brows and each stroke was like a little hair. The second time I used it though, it did not work at all. It’s like all the color went out of the pen after one use! Ugh, if I wasn’t so lazy, I’d take it back.
For my samples, I got Kiehl’s Calendula Water Cream and amika Flash Instant Shine Mask.
I made this purchase in 2020, but it wasn’t enough to put me into VIB status – I still needed like $65, but I didn’t want to buy something dumb. I feel like such a peasant.
Semi Santa
Santa, I’ve been a good girl all year and have worn my mask and washed my hands SO MUCH…it’s time for more soap!
I only got 13 soaps at the Semi-Annual Sale, not many at all! When I put them under my sink, they didn’t even fill up the whole soap section.
I meant to get $40 of stuff, so I could use my $10 off $40 coupon, but I ended up with about $80…oops. Some of the soaps were 50% off ($3.75 – not a great deal) and some were 75% off ($1.87 – much better). I also got 8 Wallflower Refills ($3.50 each) and a few body scrubbers.
A light haul…I’m sure I’ll be back before the sale is totally over.