Need Help Spending Your Gift Card? Sephora Sale Alert and Wishlist 2013

Hey you!

Did you get a Sephora Gift Card for Christmas? Did you know they're offering a 20% off additional discount on all their sale items? Well, lucky duck, let me save you some scrolling time and show you my suggestions on what to get! Their sale section is dwindling down so I wouldn't wait long if I were you. AND I also did the math so you know exactly how much you're paying with the sale price. 

The One with This Week's Monday Post

**Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, I write The Monday Post aiming to bring a little bit of beauty inspiration so we have something to look forward to during almost everybody's least favorite day of the week, Monday.** 

The One With The Monday Post That Happened On Tuesday

Favorite beauty read/ viewing: This week, I've been enjoying G's posts over at Nouveau Cheap. I found her through instagram and love following her posts. Her blog is all about inexpensive makeup and sales which, if you know me, is just right up my alley. She writes

Subscription Haul and First Impressions: Ipsy/ My Glam September 2013

Today, I bring you the September Ipsy (My Glam) Bag. If you didn't know yet, Ipsy is a beauty subscription service headed by one of YouTube's most successful beauty people, Michelle Phan. It's for $10/ month and you get about 5 products (mix of sample size and full size). This month's theme is Classic Beauty.

I'm really happy about this month's products so without further ado, here they are:

Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner (Retail: $6.99) - This is one of the products I'm really excited about. I haven't had any luck finding a felt tip pen liner that I really love so I have high hopes for this one. I've only tried it on the back of my hand and so far so good. It writes a very fine line so it's perfect for subtle eye liner looks.

Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple (Retail: $19.00) - This lip balm has the same exact packaging as the gel eye liner I got a couple month's ago from Ipsy (see here). I really like this as it has a more opaque color payout than a regular lip balm and the lasting power (at least when I tested it on my hand), is pretty impressive. 

Nyx Eyeshadow in Cryptonite (Retail: $4.50) - This is my first single eyeshadow from Nyx and I now understand the rave about it. The pigmentation is beautiful! This particular color is a very nice grayish black with green and gold sparkle.  This would make a really pretty smokey eye look. I think Nyx is one of the best inexpensive makeup brands and I'm happy to add this to my collection.

It's So Big Volumizing Mascara from Elizabeth Mott 4ml (Retail: $19.99/ 10ml) - I'm looking forward to trying this out. This is from the same company that brought us the Lash Card that I also got from one of my Ipsy bags that I honestly never used. They're just in a drawer, chillin'. Anyway, the mascara looks really black which is what I prefer. The wand isn't shaped in a particularly exciting way, just your regular, good old straight wand with a little bit of a skinnier middle. 

J. Cat Fantabulous Lipstick in Honeycrisp (Retail: $2.49) - For this last item, I have to give a special shout out to the Ipsy Customer Care Team! My lipstick came in damaged and so I emailed customer care to get a replacement. I received a reply less than 48 hours later and my replacement was shipped a couple of days after. Fantastic service! Anyhoo, This lipstick is a nice, creamy, nude color - as in erase my lips kind of nude. At first I was like, "Meh. I don't think I'll ever use this." but then I realized that it's prefect for layering over a brighter, bolder color for that papow! my lipstick in your face! effect. It's super creamy and the color pay off is really nice. I love that a lot more inexpensive lipsticks are coming out with the quality that is way beyond their price point.

Overall, I'm really, really pleased with this month's bag. There's not one item that I don't like or I'm not excited to try out. I have to say, I think Ipsy has been getting better and better lately.

Here's the coupon codes for this month if you're interested:

Jesse's Girl: 20% off your purchase with code IPSYSEPT2013 (valid through 10/15/13)

J.Cat Beauty: 25% off your purchase with code FABIPSY (valid through 10/15/13)

Nyx: 30% off eyeshadow bases and HD eyeshadow bases with code IPSYPRIME (valid through 10/15/13)

Elizabeth Mott: 50% off your purchase with code IPSYBIG (valid through 10/30/13)

Cailyn: 30% off your purchase with code IPSY30 (valid through 10/15/13)

So, what did you think of this month's bag? Anything you're particularly interested in?

The One With The Monday Post (September 23, 2013)

Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Will Work For Makeup, I'm doing The Monday Post.

Turns out, I'm not the only one who's not crazy about Mondays. Tiffany's on point with writing a Monday post to help us all get through the week. Here's to a little beauty motivation and some inspiration!

Favorite beauty read/ viewing: Of course, this week, it would have to be Will Work for Makeup. As someone who just very recently gotten into makeup, I appreciate helpful blogs like Tiffany's. I LOVE reading her reviews and hauls. She makes me want to experiment with makeup more!

Beauty Goal: Wear orange lipstick for my day look at least once this week. As I've mentioned, I'm very new to makeup and beauty so I'm still easily intimidated by wearing color outside my room! I'm slowly getting into bolder lip colors and I think an orange hue lipstick is an unexpected but nice twist for a fall everyday look. 

Product (Re)discovery: This weekend, I was finally able to fix my Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter from The Balm. I got it early this year and it came in the mail broken. I've been meaning to fix it but it's been sitting at the back of my drawer for the longest time! It's finally ready now and I'm pretty excited to use it. 

Beauty Lust: Tiffany wrote about her Nars blush collection and I've been dreaming about Mounia ever since. Unfortunately, it's discontinued but I'm hoping that it will come my way somehow. I'm also really liking Sin. I don't have anything Nars in my collection yet but I'm definitely looking at these two!

Most Looking Forward To: Writing a few beauty posts this week! I have a couple more haul posts of my subscription boxes (read about Beauty Box 5 here) but I also have a Fall season blush list coming up. I've already taken pictures and just need to do the write up. Yay! 

Isn't The Monday Post such a fun idea? Leave me your links if you decide to do it too and I'll come visit! And of course, all credit goes to Will Work For Makeup. :)

Cheers to a good week ahead!

Subscription Haul and Review: September Beauty Box 5

So this is it. I have decided and acted on cancelling my Beauty Box 5 membership. If you've been following my hauls, you'd know that I have always been on the fence about this subscription. For $12 a month, the products I have been getting have been hits and misses and lately, it's been a lot of misses. I've been talking about cancelling but always felt like I needed to give it a chance. After about a year (I think), I've finally cancelled my subscription. Just like the past few months, this month's box has just not been my cup of tea. I'm just not impressed especially if I compare it to my Ipsy subscription which I've been loving lately. Noting that the Ipsy subscription is also $2 less.

So here it is, my last Beauty Box 5 Haul. Read til the end for the coupon codes that you can use for this month's products.

First we have this 4-PACK OF ELASTIC HAIR TIES FROM FLY TIES (Retails $7.95 for 4-pack) - Ever since the original ones came out, I've been irritated at how companies have been selling these at ridiculously high prices. You can easily DIY this for about 24 cents a piece! I'll give it to whoever first came up with using fold over elastics, it's a great idea. It doesn't dent the hair and they hold up pretty well. This has been mostly all I've ever used since I started making them. What I don't appreciate though is the insane markup when you put a brand name on it. These ones aren't even singed! And let me tell you, making sure that the ends are nicely done plays an essential part on making sure that you can keep these babies for a while!

.08OZ BELLA PIERRE COSMETICS CELEBRATION SHIMMER POWDER (Retail: $15/.08oz) - This is a really pretty rose gold loose shimmer powder. I imagine it would look fantastic over eyeshadow. I'm not a big fan of loose powder because of how tricky it is to work with but I'm definitely keeping this in my stash for when I need a dash of fancy!

3ml SKIIN SOOTHING & SMOOTHING EYE CREAM (Retail: $49.95/ .5oz) - There's also this teeny tiny sample of an extremely expensive eye cream. I'm continuously on the hunt for good eye creams but I don't get excited about really small samples like this because I don't think I can't really tell if I like a product based from a tiny amount. This packaging is also very unappealing. It reminds me of medicine and I don't think it's meant for more than one time use.

5-PACK EVERY BEAUTY MAKEUP REMOVER PADS WITH ARGAN OIL (Retail: $6.99/ 50ct) - I love trying out new make up remover pads. This one is pretty interesting since they're dry and you just add water to activate it. I'll try this out tonight and see how it goes. I'm hoping to get good results since it's promising Argan oil properties and since winter is coming, I need hydrating properties from as many products as I can get!

Last is a BODY DRENCH LIP DRENCH LIP BALM (COCONUT LIME) (Retail: $4.99/ .15oz) - I'm a big lip balm hoarder and this one's pretty decent. It's hydrating but I'm not keeping it only because I cannot stand coconut flavored products. I'm passing it on to my sister. 

There you go. I think out of the 5 products, the ones I like are the shimmer powder and the makeup remover pads. The lip balm to if it was a different flavor!

Did you like anything from this month's box? What are your thoughts?

Ooooh, but before I go, let me share with you this month's coupon codes!

Bella Pierre: Use code beautybox5 to get 50% off Get the Look Kits (exp. 10/15/13). Check out the Purple Storm Kit! So pretty!

Fly Ties: Use code BB20 to get 20% off site wide (exp. 12/15/13). I don't think I'm Boho-chic enough but if I was, I'd totally get this feather accessory.

Skiin Shop: Use code BOX5 to get 30% off site wide (exp. 10/5/13). This Skin Tightener and Line Filler's intriguing.

See you next time,

Subscription Haul and Review: July Beauty Box 5

I've mentioned in a post before that out of all my subscription boxes, Beauty Box 5 is my least favorite. I feel like the past few months, they were sending very similar products in the boxes. They were mostly small sample sizes too. I find that I end up enjoying very few of the products coming from there. Additionally, the subscription is $12/month while Ipsy(subscription that it's most comparable to), is only $10. I feel like it wasn't worth it. I was gonna cancel my membership but when I went to the website, the server was down and they were asking me to call customer service if I needed to do anything. And of course, I was checking very late at night and so I decided I'd call the next day. Well, I forgot and so I got billed again. Well played, people. Well played.

Anyway, I wasn't expecting much from this particular one. I was actually annoyed when it didn't come mid month like it usually does. It came towards the end of July. When I finally got my package, I was pleasantly surprised that this month's products were a little bit different and I found myself actually looking forward to using them. Nothing special, just basic products but I feel like these are products that I would actually use.

The product I'm probably most excited about is this EVERY BEAUTY FOOT SMOOTHER. My feet need to be pampered very badly. Haha! (Retail: $4.99)

Then there's LA FRESH TRAVEL LITE ANTIBACTERIAL WIPES (8 WIPES). See what I mean when I said they're products that I would need? (Retail: $1.99)

There's a couple of JEAN PIERRE NAIL POLISH REMOVER WIPES (2 WIPES)  Again, one of those basic things that everybody needs. (Retail: $3.99/10 pieces)

Also, a teeny tiny sample of H2O PLUS FACE OASIS HYDRATING TREATMENT (8ML) (Retail: $36/50ml)

Lastly, there's a BE A BOMBSHELL LIP GLOSS IN SUMMER LOVIN' (FULL SIZE) - I think this is my 3rd lip gloss from this brand. I think they're alright. Super glossy. This one is a really pretty orange-y coral color. It's sheer and sparkly. (Retail: $14)

There you go.  Again, I was pretty pleased with the July box mostly because I wasn't really expecting anymore. The items are pretty basic, nothing mind blowingly good  but I think I'll give Beauty Box 5 another chance and see what they send me next month. Anything in particular you liked?

Til my next post,

June 2013 Summer Favorites

Hey Beauties!

I know it's kind of late into the new month but I still wanted to share with you my favorites from June. I only have a few but these are things that I really, really enjoyed. 

First of is The Balm's Balm Shelter tinted moisturizer in medium (cheaper on Amazon*). I got a few The Balm products from Hautelook and I've got to say, they're sooo good!  I can't stand wearing anything heavy on my face for everyday. I usually stick to BB creams but for days when I need something even simpler, I turn to this. I just use my fingers to apply quickly and I'm good to go.  It's really moisturizing, light weight, has sun protection, and gives just the right amount of light coverage for a more even skin tone. 

Next is this Milani Illuminating Powder in 03 - Beauty's Touch. Along with the Balm Shelter, this has been my saving grace for real quick everyday looks. It's a multipurpose powder that you can use for highlighter, bronzer and blush. I don't get a lot of use off it as bronzer but it's definitely a great highlighter and blush in one. After applying the tinted moisturizer, I just use a powder brush to sweep this all over my face and then I use a blush brush and sweep on the pinks on the pan and apply on my cheeks. It gives a smooth, radiant glow that's perfect for the summer. The color is not too overwhelming and not too made up. It just gives a natural, healthy look.

Next is this old favorite, the Maybelline Great Lash Water Proof Mascara in Very Black (cheaper on Amazon*). This is one of the first mascaras I've ever used and even when I steer away, I always find myself coming back to it. It's perfect for these hot summer days because it really is waterproof. It stays on all day and I don't have to worry about having raccoon eyes midday. This is not a volumizing mascara so if you're going for that heavy fake lashes look then this is not for you. It's very natural looking and opens up my eyes for a more awake, brighter face look. I love that it's true to color. It is very black which is what I want in my mascara. It doesn't clump my eyelashes but separates them really nicely to really open my peepers.

And the last one for makeup favorites is this Mirabella Eyes and Face Primer that I got from one of my My Glam/ Ipsy bags. Like everybody else, I was at first skeptical about what primers can do. I have received different brands from my subscription boxes and also a lot of random samples and this is my favorite. It's clear out of the tube and is denser as opposed to very creamy primers. When you put it on, you can immediately tell that its's prepping your face for makeup real good. It feels very matifying and leaves your skin with a just powdered feel. It makes my makeup stay on for so much longer and my skin feeling matte throughout the day.

And then on to skin care favorites, first is my Suki Face Exfoliating Foaming cleanser (smaller quantity available on Amazon*). I got this from a New Beauty Test Tube and I absolutely love it! this is probably my most favorite thing from this month. I LOVE exfoliating my face. My skin is not very sensitive so I can take a little bit more aggressive scrubbing and I've been a long time fan of St. Ive's Apricot scrub. I don't do it everyday (and you shouldn't either!) but I really enjoy that fresh face feeling that you can only get from exfoliating.  I try to exfoliate about twice a week and I have so fallen in love with this Suki cleanser that I haven't used my St. Ives ever since I got this! After wetting my face, I use two fingers to scoop up a little bit from the jar. I rub my fingers together to activate the product and I then proceed to scrub my face. From a brown sugar like texture, it melts into a pretty smooth foam cleanser. I love, love, love the smell of it too! It has a fresh lemony scent which adds to feeling that my skin is really fresh and clean!

And lastly, I've been loving this Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer* in Aloe Fresh. Ever since I saw this featured in a magazine, I've been wanting to get it. Putting on lotion is probably my least favorite thing to do and I skip it most of the time. I can usually get away with it but my legs have been so dry that I can't ignore it any longer. Now, before you get too excited and if you're like me who took the "Spray and Go" label too seriously, it's not like the commercial! Haha I was kind of disappointed about that but it definitely is a lot easier than having to put on lotion the regular way. It's just like applying spray on sunscreen. You spray it on and then you have to rub it into your skin for a little bit. Good news though is that it absorbs super quickly so you don't feel greasy for very long. Spraying is so much more convenient too. It's not messy and is very moisturizing. There are other varieties available but I picked this one because of aloe's cooling properties. I figured that this is what's best for summer.

That's it for my June favorites! I can't believe that it's gonna be time to do July favorites pretty soon. I always feel like summers go by super quick but this one has been especially fast, I can't even process it! How's your summer going?

Did any of these products stand out to you? Have you tried any of them? What products have you been enjoying lately?

Talk to you later!

PS. Follow me on Instagram for more updates!

Beach Babe (My Glam by Ipsy July 2013) + A Special Package

Hey fellow Beauty fans!

I received my July Ipsy bag today and I'm sharing it with you guys! I have to say, I'm a little bit disappointed this month not because I didn't like the products but because I was expecting something else. In my post about my last Ipsy bag, I mentioned that I heard that there was gonna be Benetint and a lip crayon in this months bag. Well, both products were featured BUT I don't know why I didn't realize that there was a possibility that I would get just one of the two "featured" products. See, sometimes, they give out different products in each bag. Not all the products are different but just maybe one or two. I got really, really excited about the Benetint. Lots of people have been raving about it and I wanted to try it out for myself. But of course, life had different plans. Lol I got the Pop crayon instead. Not a big deal but... ya know. I got my hopes up.

Anywayyyy, I think my favorite part of the whole thing is this month's bag. It's a transparent, neon pink, rounded purse. I think it's my new favorite one from Ipsy. Well, no. Maybe it's a tie between this and the chevron one I got last year!

If you're new around here and have never heard of Ipsy, it's a subscription service that send you about 5 beauty products a month for only $10. It's a great way to try out new products before purchasing them full size and to find out about products you wouldn't normally pick up.

Here's the July 2013 bag -

COOLA MINERAL FACIAL SUNSCREEN (.23 fl. oz.) - Happy about this. I need a new travel sunscreen for my purse for days that I need to reapply or when I'm rushing and forget to put sunscreen on. Additional details FYI: mineral, unscented and organic. (Retail: $36 for 1.7 fl. oz)

BIG SEXY HAIR WEATHER PROOF SPRAY (1.4 oz) - I'm not a big hair person but this is handy to have around. I've used Sexy Hair products before and they seem to do their job. This spray is supposed to fight humidity and frizz. Hmmm, interesting. (Retail: $18.95 for 3.4 oz)

POP BEAUTY POUTY POP CRAYON in CORAL CRUSH (Full Size) - Aaaah, this just reminds me of the product I couldn't have. Oh, Benetint, when will you come my way? Haha Anyhoo, I've been hoarding more lip products lately. I'm a fan of CoverGirl chubby sticks and find that lip crayons are so much easier to use and they're not too overwhelming like lipsticks sometimes are. They're sheer but still give your lips a nice hint of color. This one by Pop is a really pretty coral color on the stick but I find that it's a lot more pink when I applied it. I wished it was the same color as on the stick but oh well, it's still nice and you can't really have enough lip colors, can you? (Retail: $25 for a set of 6 crayons)

DERMA E MICRODERMABRASION SCRUB (1 oz) - This is probably the one I'm most excited about from this month's bag. I love facial scrubs! I try to exfoliate my face 1-2 times a week to get rid of dead skin cells. I am deeply in love with my Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser so this one by Derma E has some pretty big shoes to fill. It's a white cream in the jar with very fine crystals that kind of remind me of the texture of white sugar. I think I'm gonna use this tonight.  Additional details FYI: gluten free and vegan (Retail: $26.99 for 2 oz)

BH COSMETICS CALIFORNIA COLLECTION EYESHADOW PALETTE SAMPLE (3 pans) - Honestly, this was such a let down for me. I've been eyeing the California palettes at the BH Cosmetics website for the longest time and I was quite disappointed to find that they have very poor color pay off. When I first tried to swatch them with my finger, they didn't show up at all. I could only see sparkle on the back of my hand. I tried 2 different brushes on my hand and even tried it on my eyes but again, it didn't show up as pigmented as they were in the palette. I know a lot of people who use BH cosmetic palettes and are quite happy with the products so I'm hoping that this palette is just a bad egg. (Retail: $9.95 for each palette)

The last photo is the product card that came with my bag this month. 

There you go, my 5 products for this month. Have you tried any of them before? Are you an Ipsy subscriber? If so, what product are you most excited about? Did you get the Benetint?!

Let me know!!

And if you want to join Ipsy, click here.

OOOOH. And PS. I posted this photo on my Instagram today!

I'm se excited to share that I'm one of Influenster's recipients of the new Ponds Luminous Finish BB Cream. There's a special project coming up so stay tuned! I'm trying this out tomorrow and hopefully film a video on it. Yay!