Month: September 2022

 
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Just Say It

Ooohhh…hot pink lip glitters!

This is Sinful Colors “Just Say It”, a light purple sheer shimmer, with gold starburst and hot pink lip glitters. The glitters are very sparse – it took a lot of fishing just to get two glitters per nail. Ugh…I hate glitter fishing.

This is two coats of “Just Say It” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber and Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

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Lip Bond vs Everlasting Hyperlight

I was bored last week, so I paid FULL PRICE on two new lipsticks. FULL PRICE!

I have been very curious about Urban Decay’s new “Lip Bond” product, so I ordered Urban Decay Cosmetics Vice Lip Bond Glossy Liquid Lipstick in “Once Strangers” ($25). I was expecting a product similar to Colourpop’s Glossy Lip Stain…but I was so wrong. This product is a full-on liquid lipstick. It is full coverage and it stays ON those lips. There was NO transfer onto cups, yet it didn’t dry and crack my lips like the original Vice Liquid Lipstick. It looks glossy, yet is only slightly tacky and NOT sticky. Urban Decay has a winner with this formula! My only issue was that I picked a color bad for me…”Once Strangers” is a dark chocolate brown. I was expecting more of a dark red, but it looks like I rubbed a melted Special Dark bar on my lips. At least I got a free keychain.

KVD Vegan Beauty is FINALLY getting around to re-imagining their products after Kat Von D left the brand. Not only have they reformulated the Everlasting Liquid Lipstick, they’ve renamed them all. I tracked down the counterpart to my beloved “Lolita” – it’s now KVD Beauty Everlasting Hyperlight Vegan Transfer-Proof Liquid Lipstick in “Queen of Poisons” ($22). The color is right and the formula is amazingly light. I’m not planning on replacing all my old lipsticks quite yet…but it IS tempting.

If I had to choose, I would choose the KVD formula, but the UD formula is close behind…

I cruised through the sale page and picked up a Freeman Purifying Cream Mask ($3.49, down from $4.99 – not exactly what I was expecting, I thought it would be a creamy clay mask…but it’s more like a thick moisturizer); a loofah ($2, down from $4), and a WHIM by Ulta Beauty RosΓ© Shower Flower ($1.75, down from $3.50).

Oh, and I got a nice Beauty Break from it Cosmetics, with Brow Power in “Universal Taupe”, Confidence in a Cleanser, Hello Results Baby-Smooth Glycolic Peel + Caring Oil, and Confidence in Your Beauty Sleep…all in a nice big branded makeup bag.

$186 to Diamond in 2023.

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Feel the Hotness

Ooohhh…more color changing polish!

Nails Inc. “Feel the Hotness” is labeled as a “heat reactive” polish, but it takes a bit of work to see the effect. As you can see, the polish is blue at room temperature in the bottle, but white on my nails. My body heat is making it turn white…but I ran an ice cube over my nails for the second picture, and you can see how it turned blue. This would be a GREAT polish on long nails – my nails are not quite long enough for the tips to get significantly colder than the base.

This is two coats of “Feel the Hotness” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. This polish was particularly long lasting – I loved how long it lasted on my nails!

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Good Apple, Super Mud

I love Ulta’s “21 Days of Beauty” sales – every day they have amazing deals on a wide range of products.

I jumped on the deal for 50% off KVD Beauty Good Apple Skin-Perfecting Hydrating Foundation Balm in “Light 010” ($20.25 instead of $40.50). It’s basically foundation in a compact. I’ve only had a chance to try it once, since it is still hot as FUCK here in Texas. For my first try, I applied on bare skin – no primer – and used an Urban Decay Foundation Brush. It sure is full coverage! It went on very thick, but I was able to get fairly smooth full coverage. It came off as a thick coat though, as my husband said it looked like “kabuki makeup.” I topped with Kat Von D Lock-it Setting Powder, which gave it a nice matte finish. The next time I use it, I’ll experiment with primers and a beauty blender for lighter coverage.

Another smoking deal was 50% off Glamglow SUPERMUD Charcoal Instant Treatment Mask ($30 instead of $60). I am sucker for facial masks, especially luxurious ones.

Although it wasn’t on sale, I need conditioner, so I got a NatureLab.Tokyo Perfect Smooth Conditioner Refill ($23).

Oh, and there was an AMAZING gift with purchase – a 14 piece sampler with my $60 purchase. There are 4 deluxe perfume sample! Little cute bottles – not tiny sample vials! The fragrances are Moschino Boy Toy, Versace Yellow Diamond, Viktor & Rolf BonBon, and Ralph Lauren Polo Earth. I haven’t tried any of them yet. Also in the gift: Ellis Brooklyn Bee (small vial, not deluxe); First Aid Beauty Bump Eraser Body Scrub; Sacheu Beauty Slick Skin; Florence by Mills Up in the Clouds Facial Moisturizer; it Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream; Banila Co Purity Therapy; Maelys B-Tight Lift & Firm Booty Mask (ooooh kay); Sun Bum 3 in 1 Leave In Treatment; Kiehl’s Super Multi-Corrective Eye Zone Treatment; ThisWorks Deep Sleep Pillow Spray; Murad Rapid Dark Spot Correcting Serum; Kopari Coconut Crush Scrub; Derma e Advanced Peptides & Collagen Serum; MAC Fix+ Spray; Living proof. Full Dry Volume & Texture Spray; Urban Decay Perversion Mascara; Love Wellness bye bye bloat Supplement; Derma e Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner; NatureLab.Tokyo Perfect Repair Shampoo & Conditioner; OUAI Detox Shampoo (no matching conditioner?); Grande Cosmetics Grande Gummies Vegan Collagen Booster (I just ate them – yummy); vor Sunset Rituals Conditioner (heyyyyy, no shampoo); and HASK Tea Tree Oil & Rosemary Hair & Scalp Treatment Mask. That is 27 samples, not 14…score!

Just $244 to Diamond in 2023!

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Blushing Rose Quartz

More Color Street? Cool, cool.

My sister-in-law was in town Labor Day Weekend, so since she sells Color Street, I always want to have a Nail Party when she’s here. Lily chose these wraps for me – they’re called “Blushing Rose Quartz.” I am getting better at applying, but I’ll admit…my Cinderella hand looks like a trainwreck.

Rose Quartz is beautiful. I’ve started to see it cited as a birthstone for January, along side the traditional garnet…but I also see it attached to Taurus, which is mostly May birthdays and emeralds. Gemology is wild, ya’ll.

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National Guacamole Day

When I was doing my nails last night, I had NO idea that the next day was “National Guacamole Day.” I just wanted to use the new Color Street Nail Strips that I got from my sister-in-law…but I googled it, and September 16th IS National Guacamole Day.

I started with Color Street “Let’s Guac and Roll” on my thumb and middle finger. After a coat of Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat on the rest of my nails, I used Sinful Colors “Taco Tuesday” on my index and ring fingers, and Sinful Colors “Lil Beast” on my pinkie. No top coat for scented and textured polishes.

“Taco Tuesday” is THAT scented polish. Yup, it still smells like tacos. It’s been about 24 hours and my fingers still smell vaguely like I’ve been eating Doritos. “Lil Beast” is an alien landscape textured polish and really does look like the outside of an avocado.

I’ve been missing doing fun stuff like this with my nails…Hmmm, need more (stupid, made-up) holiday ideas…

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Influenster Vox Box – Conair Cool Air Styler

I am BAD at hair.

Let me rephrase that…I can grow hair, lots of it. I am also pretty good at coloring my hair. I am REALLY FUCKING BAD at styling my hair. I acquire tool after tool, looking for the holy grail tool that will make hair styling easy for me. Will it be the InfinitiPro By Conair Cool Air Styler???

I was pumped to get another Vox Box so soon after the last one. (Oh yeah, I received this product complimentary from Influenster and Conair in exchange for my honest review.)

Well, right off the bat, I was annoyed that I had to blow-dry my hair first. Ugh, it only works on dry hair. Okay, I can deal with that…I dried my hair and got to work…it absolutely did not help that it was rainy outside. My hair doesn’t hold a curl well on a normal day, but forget about it when humidity is involved…

As you can see, the end results were mixed. I was able to get a nice way going on my right side, but this tool is not ambidextrous like the Beachwaver or the Dyson Airwrap. Doing the left side of my head was very AWKWARD and I must practice. It also made a far better wave on tiny amounts of hair (less than half an inch), than the usual amount I try to curl (an inch or so). I feel like it would take three hours to curl all my hair that way. It was however, FAR more comfortable to use than a regular curling iron because of the cool air blowing on the shaft. It supposedly locks in the curl, but if nothing else, keeps your scalp from sweating while you are holding it up to your head.

Sigh. The Conair Cool Air Styler is not MY holy grail, but it is an improvement over most old fashioned curling irons. It takes some practice to get the hang of it, and there are three different heat settings. It normally retails for $64.99, but Amazon has it for $49.97!

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August 2022 Sucreabeille Mini Subscription Bag

This month’s mini subscription bag breaks out the fall scents…It won’t be fall in Texas for at least three more months (December-ish maybe?), but it’s the thought that counts.

August’s unreleased scent is “It’s All Science if You Write Down What Happened” and it is a bit confusing to me. It’s got a hot apple toddy type of scent, but muted…and there are no notes of clove or cinnamon. I guess it’s just hot apple cider?

“Spiked Cider” smells like flat apple juice, perhaps left inside a toddler’s sippy cup. If you ask me – and I know you did not – the names of “Spiked Cider” and “It’s All Science if You Write Down What Happened” should be swapped.

“Dead Ringer” might be my favorite of the whole box – and the site tells me it is discontinued! I love spooky scents, and this one is heavy with musk and myrrh. Arghhhhh…

According to the website, “Lodestone” is supposed to smell like Chocolate Peppermint Fudge (and figs?)…but I get “new car smell air freshener”. What is WRONG with my nose?

“Pumpkin Creme” smells exactly like you’d expect – every single Pumpkin Spice Latte you’ve ever drank. It’s too damn hot in Texas to be thinking about Pumpkin Spice right now. I really WANT to be drinking a Pumpkin Spice Latte right now, though.

“Memento Mori” is an old favorite…smells like every funeral home I’ve ever been to, and I love it.

I subscribe to the Mini Subscription Bag at just $15/month (shipping is extra), but there’s also a Medium Subscription Bag for $40/month and a Full Size Subscription Bag for $70/month. Click here for a $5 off coupon (for you AND me)!

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Green Apple Craze

THIS IS NOT WHAT COLOR GREEN APPLES ARE!

I mean seriously – have the folks who name Sinful Colors Nail Polish color blind? Have they ever seen an actual piece of fruit? Or do they just eat tacos and pizza???

ANYWAY, this is Sinful Colors “Green Apple Craze”, a glossy polish that looks rather MINTY if you ask me…

This is two coats of “Green Apple Craze” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I used Glisten & Glow Top Coat on all my nails, except the pinkies. I used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on my pinkies – doesn’t it look like chalk?

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Kirra

As I was preparing to attend my son’s Senior Night last week, I thought, “Why not show a little school spirit?” His school colors are purple and black, so I dug around for a snazzy purple…

Julep Bombshell “Kirra” is icy purple multidimensional glitter from the Hypnotic Frenzy Set – a bit more sheer than I expected, but buildable. I feel like I got decent coverage in two coats. It was a BITCH AND A HALF to get off, though.

This is two coats of “Kirra” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber and Glisten & Glow Top Coat. Maybe those five layers is why it was so hard to get off?