Showing posts with label Haul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haul. Show all posts

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Sephora and Beauty.com Haul

Most of this stuff I bought before I moved and I've already included a couple in my May and June favorites, which I've yet to post. I'm just trying to catch up on things since moving and it wasn't happening. I'm going to try posting more, but no promises as I feel like I'm running out of things to talk about other than empties. I should actually probably do a project pan because there are quite a few things I'm trying to work through and finish up, mainly because of expiration dates. 

I'm going to breeze through this post in a "hey look what I bought!" manner.


Paula's Choice Skincare: I'm going to go through a skincare routine post soon since I've overhauled my skincare. I've had to replace most of my Korean products with American products because I really can't get a ridiculous amount of packages at this address. 

Since I'm a huge advocate of good toners and not ones that strip the skin, I stocked up on repairing toners. I really like all three of these and I would probably continue to repurchase them all. 

I also bought the 2% BHA for morning exfoliation and the 8% AHA for evening exfoliation. 


Paula's Choice Skincare: I also am replacing my retinols with Paula's Choice. I have this first one to use at night and the pink squeeze tube for every day. This is actually what will replace my Missha night ampoule. 

I also have the 10% AHA that I rotate with the 8% AHA so my skin doesn't get too irritated. 

I use two different Paula's Choice suncreens, one with a tint and one without. The tinted one dries down to more of a matte finish and I prefer that one when I don't have a lot of time to get ready and need to put on foundation immediately or when I don't want to wear makeup to leave the house for a bit.


Estée Lauder Bronzed Goddess: Holy hell this bronzer is huge. I really like it and I had this in my April favorites which just tells you how long I've had this stuff ready for a post.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone: This is a super pigmented highlighter that I absolutely love. I got this on sale or I wouldn't have paid $38 for it, but I love it.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat: Also something else from April favorites. This is such a nice highlighting blush.


Marc Jacobs! I'm not going into a lot of detail because I want to eventually do a post for these, but I bought these two lemmings due the Sephora sale. The top is the Instamarc contour and highlight compact. It's my favorite thing ever. I love setting my undereyes with the first powder and the contour powder is the perfect color.

The bottom one is the Tantric O!Mega Bronzer. This is also a great color, but I reach for this less because I tend to contour with the top compact.


Sephora Bronzers: I tossed these in my cart just because. I don't really like the top one, but I've used it for all over bronzing. The bottom one I thought was too light, but since it's matte, I've used it as a contour powder.


Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks in Beige and Lilac Rose: I cheated a little. I picked up Beige at Nordstrom Lilac Rose at the CCO, but I'm lumping these into the haul because I bought them at the same time. I love my Copper Diamond Shimmer Brick so much that I knew I needed more. I got a 20% discount on the Beige Shimmer Brick and the Lilac Rose one was a limited edition and I got a good deal from the CCO so I needed it. I'll use the top two strips in the Beige one or mix all the colors together, but to highlight with the Lilac Rose one, I tend to stay around the second strip.


Boots No7 Stay Perfect Primer and Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer: These were both on sale, so I figured I'd give them a go. At the time, I was running out of my MAC primer and the Smashbox primer was too drying for me, so I needed a backup plan. Both of these are good, but I don't think they'll bring me into the winter. I was really excited for the Hourglass primer, but I don't love it the way I thought I would. Good thing I didn't spring for the huge expensive size!


One last quick thing I forgot! I finally bought an Anastasia Dipbrow! This matches my hair better than my MAC brow gel creme, and I got it on sale. This has been my only brow product since purchasing it. I only wish the Auburn shade was a little redder, but it still matches better than the Blonde one from MAC.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Perfectly Posh | Haul & Mini-Review

So I recently ordered some items from Perfectly Posh, a Direct Sales website that sells skin care and body/bath items. I was really excited to try this stuff out, especially because I had heard really good things about them.

First and foremost, I want to disclose that I am a Direct Sales person myself. Perfectly Posh doesn't compete with Jamberry in terms of "We sell the same product, so I'm giving this a bad review for the sake of a bad review", but some of the opinions I have of the company and the products come from my experience with Jamberry. I also want to say that I will be including prices on some of these things, because I think it's relevant to share what I paid for it in relation to the size I received. Anyway. ONWARD.


First, I will talk about the party experience. The party was on Facebook, and it was for a friend of mine (and Reggie's) as a fundraiser. This friend had thrown a party with Jamberry as a fundraiser as well, so I thought it was only appropriate to return the favor, especially for the good cause. I also knew it gave me a chance to review some products and to get some fun stuff for myself. So it was a win-win. The consultant at the party was very fun and lively. I will say that she didn't provide much information about the products at all except for bits and pieces in answered questions, and to inform us about a buy 5 get 1 free deal. But she was definitely enthusiastic and fun.

The day of the party comes, and we played a few games. There was an unscramble word game, a "What's your Posh name?" game, and then a scavenger hunt. The Scavenger Hunt, which I won, earned me a free lip balm. After I placed my order, I will say that the consultant never thanked me for my order. She did pitch throwing a party for all of my friends, but in all sincerity, I want my friends to have a different experience. It's like as soon as I pulled out my credit card, the interaction stopped. I don't mean to be entirely critical, but that's where my bias comes in. I try really hard to make my parties fun and engaging for everyone, and I love making a big deal of when people order. I tag them in a Facebook post and compliment their choices. It makes people feel like their money is well-spent, especially if some of it is commission going to the consultant.

Anyway. Here's what I got:

Product #1: Make-Out Magic Sugar Lip Scrub | $14, 0.5 oz
I tried this on my lips and it felt nice. I will say that some parts of it felt scrubbier than others, if that makes any sense whatsoever. It feels good on my lips and it feels moisturizing. It feels like I won't have to reapply after an hour. But I will also say that for a "Lip Scrub", I expected a little more... scrub. Not really a complaint, but I do wish I got more scrub when I dipped my finger in for the first time. It smells really good, though, The website says it's grapefruit vanilla scented. I can smell tiny hints of both of those, but neither is overpowering by any stretch.

Product #2: Calm Down! Oatmeal & Banana Face Mask | $16, 2 oz
Admittedly, when I opened up the box and saw this, I was disappointed in the size. The Body Shop sells face masks that are about 3.5 oz for this price or a little under, so I was expecting a little bigger. However, it smells incredible. I left it on my face for about 7-8 minutes, since the instructions said between 5-10 minutes. It started tingling a little toward the end, but nothing super intense, and no burning or itching. When it started to tingle, I rinsed. It was tough to rinse off. It reminded me of when I bake and I get frosting all over my hands, and how hard that is to wash off. It took a good minute and a half-two minutes to rinse. And I will say I was a little disappointed that I got out of the shower, sat around for a few minutes, and my face was in desperate need of moisturizer. I probably wouldn't repurchase this, given the size and the price as well as how 'meh' I am about it other than the smell.

Product #3: Wakey! Wakey! Skin Stick | $13, 0.5 oz
This is definitely interesting. It smells like peppermint, which is interestingly nice. I thought the smell of peppermint would turn me off, but I did enjoy it. I tried rubbing it on my forehead, and it didn't seem to do much. Granted, I didn't apply it as liberally as the instructions say, but it didn't get rid of my dull headache. The website claimed this was great for energy, tension, and headaches. So tomorrow morning when I drag my sorry butt out of bed at 6:30 AM, I'll give it another fair shot.

Product #4: Good Morning, Beautiful! Big Bath Chunk Bar | 7 oz, $9
The price on this is really good compared to the price on the other things. The bar is substantial, and it seems like it would last a long time. Apparently you can use this from head to toe, which means you can also use it as a shampoo? I think I read that somewhere. I don't quite think I would go that far with it, but it's nice to have a big hunk of soap that smells pretty good. The scent on this one is supposed to be lemon and green tea. The lemon isn't super strong, which is nice. When I used it, I could only really smell the lemon. It does lather up really well and it seems like it would last a long time.

Product #5: I've Been Set Up Makeup Setting Mist | 4 oz, $13
I will freely admit that I bought this 1) because I didn't have a makeup setting spray, and 2) because the website said it smelled like chocolate. When I open it up and take a whiff, it smells strongly of mint. Which is fine, but where is my chocolate? I can't speak to how well this works in setting makeup, because I just took my makeup off, as you can tell by the fact that I said I tried the oatmeal mask in the shower. But I will try it tomorrow and see.

Product #6: The Healer Shea Butter in a Tin | 0.6 oz, $10
I haven't tried this yet, mainly because it's a remedy butter for burns, bites, dry skin, etc. But knowing me and the amount of random bug bites and sunburns I get, this will be handy to have around. I really do want to give it an honest shot before I review it. We will see.

Product #7: Scrumptious Sunshine Lip Balm | 0.08 oz, $4
I won this in a party game, so I didn't pay $4 for this. I would pay $4, though. It smells like oranges, and it's not an off putting orange. The lip balm itself is hydrating, not too sticky, and easy to apply. The smell is not overpowering and it's about the size of a drugstore lip balm or similar item.

Product #8: Walk on the Beach Pedicure Grade Sand Scrub | Free Sample, 0.15 oz
This was a sample included in my order. It was really nice to open my package up and see this! I love samples and I love trying new things, especially a foot scrub! It says it's a beachy scent, which is white frangipani, jasmine, and plum. I opened it up and I was dying to figure out whether I could smell the plum; I've never owned a beauty product that smelled like plum before! I will say that I was so excited that it was a SCRUB. It had sandy stuff in it and I SCRUBBED my feet. It smelled amazing! I could definitely smell the jasmine. I would probably purchase a full size of this if it were easier to get a hold of.

I will also say that the shipping is pretty hefty. $8 shipping is kind of bonkers, especially if you're just getting a couple of things. Yeah, $8 shipping for all of those items seems legit. But if you're getting one face scrub or one soap, $8 is insane, Granted, if you spend $100, you get free shipping, but I couldn't justify spending $20 more to save $8. I'm sorry. I'm not sure how new Perfectly Posh is as a company, but they may want to look into getting their shipping costs down. Even Amazon ships for less than that, and they're notorious for shipping things in absurdly, comically large packages.

So, overall I was pleased with some aspects of my purchase and not so pleased with others. I may try more items from Perfectly Posh in the future, but I will be sure to maximize my purchases to make it worth the shipping cost. I do want to try some more of the lip balms, and the chunk bars. Maybe even some of the masks. I've heard good and bad things about the Stripper and the Sea Witch, but considering their warnings for sensitive skin possessors, I figured it would be best to pass for me.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Huge Bath & Body Works Haul

I recently hauled a bunch of items from Bath & Body Works. I had a couple coupons, a gift card, and a $10 off voucher from PayPal. There are actually a couple things missing because this is a collective haul. There's three candles that I didn't want to fish out and three body mists that are hanging out in various purses. 


We're moving back in with Shaun's mom at the end of the month, so I wanted to buy some soaps since they were 5 for $18 on sale. She's the kind of person that dilutes hand soap to make it last longer and I'd rather just bring my own. This was also part one of the hand sanitizer haul.


I like to keep hand sanitizer in my apron at work so my hands are always clean, but I also keep one in my bathroom because I touch my phone a lot during my night time routine and pop a little on so my hands aren't germy when I touch my face. I think I'm actually missing a couple in this picture because when I took it, there was one in my purse and one that was already empty.


I've been trying to use lotion every time I shower, so I've already killed one of these and another is almost gone. I don't think I'll have trouble finishing these up and there are a couple other scents I'm considering because I got a coupon for the semi-annual sale. 


These are little mini lotions that I keep in my purse and my apron. They smell really good and they have aloe in them. The lotion also absorbs quickly so I don't have to worry about having sticky hands at work.


I bought some mini fragrance mists for my purse, mainly to spray all over the place after I go to the gym. I've also been keeping one in the bathroom and I sometimes take them in my purse just in case. I'm missing the Maui and Kauai one that I bought after smelling those lotions.


I went a little ham on scrubs for some reason, but they were buy 3 get 3 free and I realized how fast I was plowing through the first one I bought. I definitely don't regret buying so many because they will definitely get used. I can use a good summer scent all year round, but winter scents are a different story.


Last but not least, my candles. There's also three more from a past order. I have plenty of candles, but there's still more scents that I want. I burn candles in my place all the time and I recently finished up five candles, so there's room for more!

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Surprise Haul | Makeup from Reggie!

So I've been stressed out to the max lately. Basically I am either always working, sleeping, or in school, and I barely have the energy to play with my makeup. But Reggie was so sweet to send me a care package full of stuff that I can't wait to try! It quite literally made my day so special that day, and I hate that it has taken me so long to haul!


Okay! So let's get started on one of my favorite things in this package!

The Balm Nude 'Tude Palette


From top to bottom: Serious, Sexy, Sophisticated, Selfish, Stubborn, Sassy


From top to bottom: Sleek, Silly, Seductive, Sultry, Stand-offish (can't really see it), snobby (can't really see it)
These shadows are gorgeous. I think Sophisticated, Sexy, Sultry, and Stubborn are my favorites at the moment. I will be sure to post some looks with these now that I have some more time! This palette is GORGEOUS and I can't thank you enough, Reggie!

Sincerely by Harvey Prince

Humans, I have found my perfume designer. Harvey Prince stuff smells incredible. This and Hello have both been awesome, as has Ageless. I don't love this as much as I love Hello, but this is PERFECT for spring and summer! It's got a floral scent to it without being too perfumey, and I don't smell like the elderly woman who lives next door to me. It's not overpowering, but it's smell-able. Love.

MAC Lipstick in Fresh Salmon


This is actually much more pigmented than the picture shows.  I adoooore this shade. I will be wearing it a lot. For real. How pretty is that? It's the perfect blend of peachy and salmon and pink, without being too orange and without being Barbie Dream House Pink. Very, very pretty.


Pacifica Eyeshadow in Ethereal

That is the most gorgeous color right there. It looks great on my eyes, too. I haven't used it a ton, but I love it. Plus, I love Pacifica products in general. I'm trying to incorporate cruelty free products into my regimen, and this is a great way to do it. Pacifica products are ones I've never been disappointed in. This didn't disappoint, either!

Starlooks Lip Gloss: Guilty Pleasure | The Balm Lip Gloss: Read My Lips
Top: Starlooks Guilty Pleasure
Bottom: The Balm Read My Lips Lip Gloss

These colors are so pretty! They're right up my alley! The Balm one was actually one I received in my Birchbox for February (Which I'll get to posting eventually), and I liked the color a lot. They're a tiny bit sticky for my tastes, but I may mix them with something else to get that goop to go away. The colors are too pretty to waste!

Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette Samples

I feel like a turd because I can't find this to swatch individually (the hazards of living with a cat and a part-time dog who love to knock things off desks...), but I remember loving it. I did receive the Revealed 2 in a Boxycharm (which again, I'll get to posting eventually), and I have adored it. I will be using these samples up post haste. Once they're found. Probably under a bed or a nightstand. Doesn't mean I didn't love them.

Coastal Scents Liquid Eyeliner

I have never been a liquid eyeliner gal, but I love Coastal Scents, so this may be the product to convert me! I'm so excited to give it a shot. I've wanted to branch out a little with my makeup as well, so that will be the perfect way to do it! 

Benefit Fake-up Concealer

I have wanted to try this for sooooo looooong, and I finally get the chance to do so! I will get right on it, and I'm ashamed that I haven't yet. It's the perfect size for me to decide if I love it or not, and I'm so stoked to experiment. Very very pumped.

So, this was a really nice package to come home to that day. It's a late haul, but it's so appreciated. It made my day and continues to make my day when I use one of the products in it. So, thank you Reggie, for your kindness and thoughtfulness! 


Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Bath & Body Works Candle Haul

When you live in a stinky household like mine where there's a man with socks and underwear all over the place in addition to the three little rodents, you need candles. My parents always purchased and burned candles when I was growing up, so I was accustomed to always having them around. Shaun doesn't understand that it's nice to have a candle burning because it scents the house and gives it a little light.

I love the Bath & Body Works candles, but they're really expensive at $22.50 for a three wick. I always wait until they're on sale and I usually purchase a bunch at one time. This time around, I happened to be holding onto the 20% off coupon that shipped with my Christmas candles and all the candles were on sale for $12.50 each. That's when I decide to stock up.

Because these are the spring and summer scents, there's a lot more to choose from than the winter scents. I really had to narrow down my list because I probably would have bought 10 candles and not even I can warrant that purchase. I do two more 20% off coupons, one for in store and one online. I'll probably end up getting maybe one or two more in store because they don't have shipping fees, of course.


Since I've only sniffed all these candles and currently only have one of them lit, I'll take the descriptions from the Bath & Body Works site.

Watermelon Lemonade: Quench your thirst for long summer days with a refreshing blend of watermelon ice, sparkling water and freshly squeezed Meyer lemons.

Love & Sunshine: Fill a room with the juiciest fruits, the brightest blooms and sunny, cheerful citrus.

Caribbean Escape: Dive into a blend of tropical melon, raspberry nectar and lemon mellowed by creamy coconut milk and sugarcane.

Oceanside: A blend of sun-ripened citrus, juicy melon and refreshing ocean air brings you to a perfect day on the shore.

Cherry Blossom Sangria: Celebrate spring with the sweet scent of sangria made from fresh cherry nectar, crisp apple slices and a hint of wild raspberry.

Mango Dragon Fruit: The ultimate tropical fruit blend of rare and refreshing dragon fruit mixed with juicy mango.

I'm about to do an empties post, but you'll see that I finished up a few candles this time around. It's finally time to move on to summer scents because I'm sick of winter!


Sunday, January 4, 2015

Missha Thanksgiving Sale Haul

I am so behind on posts that I seriously can't believe it. This has been sitting in my drafts forever and a day. Five of these products alone are featured in my favorites post that I haven't drafted yet and I've been using some of these since purchase.

At first, I only made one purchase, which is the first two pictures of products. But then I fell in love with cleansing oils and needed to buy more, which lead to the second order and the last picture.


Super Aqua Perfect Water Deep Cleanser: This is supposed to be a makeup remover, which is marketed as a cleansing water. I'm really intrigued by this, but I've been using something else before I break into this baby.

Super Aqua Hydrating Toner: I've been using this toner in conjunction with the second toner all month. The only thing I dislike about these toners is that they're in glass bottles, which makes me really nervous because I feel like I'm going to drop it.

Super Aqua Pore Correcting Toner: I bought this toner because it was just so damn cheap and I'll always be using toner so it won't go to waste. I can't really say if it does improve pores at all, but I like it so far. This is also in a nerve wracking glass bottle, but that's the only con.


Creamy Latte Chocolate Cleansing Foam: I don't know what it is with Korean products and chocolate, but they just seem to go together. This smells so good and I don't feel like my skin is going to dry out after washing my face. 

Flower Bouquet Skin Fresh Cleansing Oil: This is seriously the single best makeup removing product ever. I'll talk about this more in my favorites post, but just know that I bought another one, which I'll talk about down below.

Pomegranate Fermented Cleansing Foam: Because I've been loving the Chocolate Latte Cleansing foam so much, I haven't even broken the seal on this cleanser. I can't imagine it will be any short of amazing though. I just don't want to have 15 cleansers open at the same time.

Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule: This is my holy grail night serum, and I only purchase it during Missha sales because it's so damn expensive. I bought two during this sale and I contemplated buying a third but held back. I only use this at night so it does last a really long time and I love it.


Creamy Latte Strawberry Cleansing Foam: Obviously I liked the chocolate one so much that I needed to get another cleanser. There were only three "flavors" in this line, the chocolate, strawberry, and green tea. I'm sure I'll like this one just as much as the chocolate, but I have yet to open it.

Flower Bouquet Skin Fresh Cleansing Oil: I loved the Cherry Blossom one so much that I decided to buy the Maylily scent while it was still on sale. Again, I didn't want to have everything open so I haven't tried this one yet.

Super Aqua Fresh Cleansing Milk: Like I said above, I'm on a cleansing oil kick. I figured this might be a neat addition to the ones I already have. I tried this out once, but I definitely like the oils better for taking off things like mascara. I'll have to explore this further, but I don't want too many cleansing products in circulation all at once.

Near Skin Extra Renew Cleansing Oil: Another cleansing oil. Surprised? I did a search on the Missha site for cleansing oils and pretty much bought all of them under a certain price point. This is another one that I haven't tried yet, but I think I might go for this one next.

Super Aqua Pore Correcting Refine Serum: I haven't used this yet because it's in the big box of cleansing oils, but I think I might break this out and give it a go. I don't really expect much from things like pore refining serums, but you never know.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Beauty and Skincare Haul | Korea | Japan | Taiwan

I've been hoarding a few of these products for a couple months now. The top picture of items is from one order from SaSa, where the bottom ones are sort of a mish mash of things from KoreaDepart and eBay. I thought I had more, but it's possible that those are just sample sizes that were included or the fact that I have a Missha haul I want to do separately because there's so much Missha.

As many of these items are still in the packaging, I can't really say whether or not I like them. Mostly this post serves as a show and tell and I'll try to do a hauled it but how was it type post like I say I'm always going to do.


This is my recent SaSa haul. Out of all the online retailers, SaSa is my favorite. In addition to the Korean brands they carry, they also have brands from China, Japan, and Taiwan. Most of the time they offer free shipping to the states over $29, which isn't difficult to spend. I decided to try out a bunch of new things during this haul. I've never used anything from these brands before.

I picked up two items from Mentholatum from their Acnes line. I use the cleanser at night. It smells really nice and it isn't too foamy. I just wish the tube was a little bigger. I feel like I'm going to run out quick! I also got a moisturizer which has an SPF of 15. I've been using this when I work in the afternoon and will probably only see 20 minutes of light instead of wasting my SPF 35 moisturizer.

From Shiseido I purchased a cleanser called Perfect Whip which seemed to have pretty solid reviews online. I've only used it once because I'm hooked on my Missha cleanser, which I'll talk about in a different post. I also purchased an eyelash curler because my Missha one was starting to get a little loose and creaky around the hinges. I love this thing. It took a little getting used to the different shape, but I'm convinced it's the best curler I've used so far.

I did buy a curler from Shu Uemura, but I haven't tried that out just yet. It was the most expensive item from this haul, though, so I'm not going to let it go to waste. Thankfully, it isn't something that's going to go bad if I don't open it.

Something new that I've never tried even from American brands are oil blotting sheets. I purchased these from two different brands, Hakugen and Katani. I've used the Katani ones a couple times and I like them. I don't really see a huge different between these papers and using a napkin, but I guess these are supposed to just take off the oil and not the makeup. I do notice that when I blot with a napkin that I can see my powder products, which isn't the case with these. I've yet to use the Hakugen sheets because I feel like I'm going to love those and they're no longer for sale at SaSa so I can't repurchase them. I have to add that the Katani ones have little pandas on the sheets and I think that's a cute added bonus.


I purchased more sheet masks from My Beauty Diary that I haven't used yet. I don't know why, but I've sort of fallen off the sheet mask train and the only explanation I have for that is that I generally wear sheet masks for a minimum of 20 minutes and I don't have time for that when I'm getting home at midnight. 

From Sulwhasoo, I have an sample size of the Ginseng eye cream. I haven't tried this yet because I've been using other eye creams that I bought around the same time. I'm sure if this is anything like the Ginseng face cream that costs approximately two thousand dollars, I'll love it. (Complete exaggeration. The face cream is $220 and the the eye cream is $180)

I picked up two Nature Republic eye creams. One is tagged as wrinkle improvement and the other is brightening. I've been using the wrinkle improvement one and I like that one. I've used the brightening one a few times, but I'm committed to using up a few things and not having 15 eye creams open at the same time. 

At one point, I was obsessed with my Tony Moly Latte Art Milk-Cacao Pore Pack. Some time between using up my last container and purchasing this one, I started using the Queen Helene mask. It isn't that I like that one better, but I haven't touched this new one just yet.

My Innisfree Pink Beam Mineral Pact was featured in one of my favorites post. I really love this little guy, but I haven't been setting my under eyes because they tend to get drier in the winter. This gives a nice gleam on my cheeks but isn't as intense under my eyes.

Last in this bunch is my Skinfood Black Raspberry eye cream. This was also in a favorites post. I really like the scent of this cream and also how moisturizing it is. I've been using this off and on since purchasing and it's already half gone!


These two guys are just hopping on for the ride because I just received these in the mail. I don't know how long it will be until I do another Asian or Korean haul, so I thought I'd just toss these in this post.

I've been missing my Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder. I really didn't know how much I actually loved this until I ran out of it! Nothing compares to this powder. I'm psyched it came in the mail so quickly since I ordered it on December 1st. 

I'm almost out of my Mizon ampoule that I use daily, so I thought I'd try something new. I probably have less than a week of uses left in my Mizon one, so I'm glad this arrived even quicker than my Innisfree powder. I got this It's Skin ampoule in the brightening formula with vitamin C because your skin gets dull in the winter. This ampoule seems really nice and thick, so I can't wait to try it out.

Mentholatum - Japan
My Beauty Diary - Taiwan
Hakugen - Japan
Katani - Japan
Innisfree - Korea
Nature Republic - Korea
Shiseido - Japan
Shu Uemura - Japan
Skinfood - Korea
Sulwhasoo - Korea
Tony Moly - Korea
It's Skin - Korea

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Cocoa Pink Early Black Friday Haul

I think I've mentioned it before but, when it comes to Indie companies, Cocoa Pink is one of my favorites. I try not to shop with them too often only because the cost of shipping gets high since they're shipping heavy containers. That's why I like to get them during a sale.


My orders from Cocoa Pink are always packaged nicely. There was also a layer of packing peanuts on top, but I had to get rid of those in order to even take this picture. It just goes to show how much care is taken when they ship orders.

You'll also notice three small sample size products. I've always had a couple tossed into my orders when I get my package. This time I got a shampoo sample, a scrub sample, and a lotion sample.

When I order, I mainly stick to the Coco Mango Body Butters. Another thing I like to buy is conditioner. I received a sample of the Junket Creme Conditioner last time I ordered, so I knew I needed to pick up a full size. The Shine Sweetie is another conditioner they offer and that was my favorite before using the Junket Creme Conditioner.

Cocoa Pink does make other lotions, one of which being the Voluptuous Body Butter, but I prefer the Coco Mango Body Butter over those. They also offer a Goat's Milk Lotion and a Whipped Body Butter.


Here are the scent descriptions from Cocoa Pink's website:

Apple Popcorn Balls – Buttery melted caramel squares coat crimson gala apple slices and warm gobs of melted marshmallow drizzled over hot kettle corn make this delicious fall treat.

Caramel Popcorn Balls - Melted marshmallow buttery caramel popcorn balls, a delicious Halloween treat sure to evoke memories of childhood.

Fear of Ghosts (Phasmophobia) - Glowing marshmallow orbs and smoky vanilla spectral mists swirl aimlessly around an old bonfire in the Crisp October night air – Fresh vanilla puffed marshmallows, toasted marshmallows, hints of bonfire smoke among scattered sharp grains of white rice to ward unwelcome spirits away.

Fear Of Witches (Wiccaphobia) – Warm baked bread fresh from the oven, gentle wisps of bonfire smoke drifting through the frigid autumn air and smooth buttery caramel sprinkled with coarse black sea salt is your best bet in keeping them at bay.

Pumpkin Caramel Latte - frothy pumpkin latte with gooey caramel sauce and whipped cream with nutmeg sprinkled on top.

Smashed Pumpkins - The scent of decorated pumpkins and Jack o Lanterns strewn about smashed to pieces by mischievous children on Hallows Eve: Raw pumpkin flesh, pumpkin pulp, fresh crimson apples dripping with warm caramel, steaming hot buttered rum and sticky melted marshmallows. 

Toffee Apple Crunch - The aroma of granny smith apples with creamy, buttery caramel; dipped in crunchy toffee chips.

Witches Delight - Brimming with the true olfactory essence of the fall season! Soft buttery vanilla cookies dusted with orange and black sugar, fresh cranberries, blood orange oil, dark brown sugar, Turkish mocha whipped with shards of bitter almond, roasted hazelnuts tempered with a cool blast of iced vanilla.

The scents of my free samples per the site:

Cherry Cola Float - A frosted glass filled with ice cold cherry cola with waves of sliced wild black cherries and vanilla bean ice cream.

Midnight Hag - Tart Blackberries, Vanilla Bean Noel, and a splash of Spiritueuse Double Vanilla. 

Maple Bacon Cupcake - I am addicted to the food network’s cupcake wars, so I wanted to create my own version of this usual but tasty treat. Yummy mapley bacon cupcakes topped with buttercream frosting & bacon crumbles.


As you might be able to tell, I prefer sweet foodie scents when it comes to lotions. Cocoa Pink makes some of my favorite scents. Many of these I wouldn't wear as perfume, but I really like them as a lotion scent. I'm also a huge fan of their conditioners and I use those as a deep conditioning treatment in the shower. 

There are other scents I wanted to order, as I had yet to try some of the espresso and coffee based scents, but I couldn't spend like $70 on lotions and I think seven tubs of body butter will last me a long time.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Recent Collective Haul - October/November

I have some things that I've purchased over the last month or so that have collected enough to do a haul post. I just want to preface this post by saying that I definitely went overboard with the NARS blush palettes. I set out to purchase one of the past three, the one pictured here, and the brand new one, also pictured here. But I did end up buying the other two past palettes because I got them for a good deal on facebook. Those aren't pictured because I think I'll do just a post comparing all my NARS blush palettes and I had already taken the pictures for this post.

I'm also probably not going to go into great detail because a few things are going to be included in my favorites post and I'm planning on doing a hauled it but how was it? type post.



I've been blush crazy lately, so that's why all the blush. These are also the last two bronzers that I plan on buying, because unlike blush, they're all pretty much the same. I found that the Estée Lauder one is a bit too dark and orange toned for the winter, so that is getting pushed aside. The Vincent Longo bronzer is perfect for the winter because it isn't too dark and bronze, which is what I'm looking for.

This is the NARS blush palette from Nordstrom, the Joie De Vivre limited edition from a couple years back. I originally wanted the Guy Bourdin one more, last year's release, but found this one first. I will seriously never need to buy a full size NARS blush or bronzer with all these palettes.

These are my Tarte blushes in Fearless, the purple one, and Achiote, the top one. I haven't really worn Fearless because it's so dark. Maybe soon!


I got these two Sigma brushes for a fantastic deal on facebook. I rotate my F50 blush brushes now and I really like this F30 powder brush to blend out my blush and bronzer.

I picked up two more NYX matte lipsticks in Pure Red and Whipped Caviar and got free shipping on Ulta by finally buying this Urban Decay sharpener everyone raves about.

I also bought one lipstick from MAC's holiday collection in Salon Rouge. I haven't worn it or the NYX lipsticks yet.


Everyone keeps comparing the Mario Badescu Rose Water spray to MAC Fix+, so I decided to give it a go. I haven't used a spray since the summer though, so this might sit for a while longer.

I stopped into Bath and Body Works for the first time in ages and bought these two lotions, which I've been using all month. I would consider purchasing other scents, but I have a Cocoa Pink haul to do and I bought six or seven body butters so I definitely don't need any more of those.

I bought two heads for my Clarisonic because I needed to change those out. One is for normal skin and the other is acne prone skin and I've been rotating them.

I also bought another Alpha Hydrox AHA Souffle because it was half off on Ulta and I knew I'd need another one at some point.


Little Clinique haul included here. Nordstrom was doing 10% off a ton off high end brands either early November or late October and I thought that was the perfect time to buy a full size of the Moisture Surge. I should have bought that Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick I was lusting over, but that was $40 and I decided to spend wisely and get some Clinique Acne Solutions instead because my skin had been freaking out.

I still want that Shimmer Brick.

The Repairwear Laser minis were a gift with purchase and I have yet to use those.


These goodies are my latest. I talked about the Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask in my favorites last month and I recently bought the scrub because I liked the mask so much.

I bought another Smashbox Photofinish Primer because I'm almost out of my mini. It was on sale for 20% during Beauty.com's friends and family sale.

I also picked up that NARS Virtual Domination Cheek Palette because I found it new for almost $20 off the original price on Facebook. I was going back and forth about getting it, but who was I kidding? I was going to kick myself for not getting it at $50 and wanting to pay like $80 in a few months.

Then also from Beauty.com, I finally bought the NARS Ita brush! I've wanted this for the longest time, but didn't want to pay the $50 for it. So I waited for a 20% off sale and nabbed it.

Then probably one of the most exciting things I've hauled this month: beautyblender! I've always wanted to try a Beauty Blender, but I had bought a few Real Techniques sponges that I enjoyed for a while. My last order had some really weird sponges in there though and it jacked up my makeup to the point where I spent more time fixing it then actually applying it. So I decided to spend the money on the real deal. I do prefer beautyblender to Real Techniques, but I wouldn't pay the full price! I liked getting 20% off so that they were only $23 for the pair.


Whew. That's it for now! I have a couple separate hauls I wanted to do because it's a bunch of things from one brand. I'm sure the random couple things I buy until next month will collect enough to do another post eventually. After all, cyber Monday is soon and I'd rather buy things at 20% off, especially when I'm going to buy them anyway.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

My First Haul: NYX Butter Lipsticks (First Impression/Swatches/Etc)




From Left to Right: Taffy, Sweet Tart, Fizzies, Little Susie, Fireball, Mary Janes, and Pops.
After reading Reggie's favorite lipsticks post, she convinced me to get some NYX butter lipsticks on sale at Ulta. I got 7 of them, and let me tell you, swatching them was like a rite of passage. I got NERVOUS over it. There's something about a brand new lipstick that looks pretty and like, "oh, so this is what my money was spent on" rather than, "oh, here's a tiny nub of red stuff that I've used." So, I sucked it up and swatched.

L-R: Taffy, Sweet Tart, Fizzies, Little Susie

L-R: Fireball, Mary Janes, and Pops
I can say right off that these aren't drying or icky feeling. Some lip products I use are just gunky and feel weird. But I was impressed with these. I like that they're glossy rather than matte (I'll eventually try some mattes, but for right now, I'm just venturing into colors other than nudes), and I like the color variety I ended up getting.

My favorites so far are Mary Janes, Fireball, and Sweet Tart. Well, I basically LOVE every one except Pops and Taffy. Taffy ended up being too pink for me. It looks almost bubblegum-y, and I'm not a fan of that type of color. Pops is pretty, and I don't hate it. It's not as dark/pigmented as I expected, I think, but it definitely isn't BROWN like the package indicates. I was nervous about that when I saw it, and was pleasantly surprised when I swatched it.

These are bold but safe colors to try out in order to venture into the world of "lipsticks that aren't nude". I'll be excited to try some! I work tomorrow morning, so I'll give either Mary Janes or Sweet Tart a try, and then I'll see if they have staying power. For the price, though, I'm really pleased and pleasantly surprised. No one goes through lipsticks in a crazy-fast timeframe, and this was a great way to "start" my collection and see what I truly will and won't use.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Sephora Mini Haul + Unboxing!


Boom. Look what I got in the mail! This isn't going to be huge haul. I technically only bought two things, which were holidays sets. 


Here's my unboxed Sephora order! My two holiday sets are underneath all the samples. I also got my birthday gift from Make Up For Ever and a mini Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara.


Here's a better view of my two holiday sets. This is actually the only picture of the box my Kat Von D lipsticks came in because I opened them immediately.


Ooooh. That Tarte palette! This was seriously the only thing I was going to buy at Sephora, but it was $42 and I needed $50 for free shipping and then I just happened upon those Kat Von D lipsticks...


There are 3 matte colors and 2 shimmery colors. I'll do a full swatchfest of the colors later. Embraced and Bashful, the second and fourth colors, are the shimmery ones and the others are matte. I don't think there's a standout color as one I wouldn't wear. I'm especially loving the look of Breathless and Bashful, as those are the colors I've been reaching for lately.


All nine of my Kat Von D lipsticks! I was super stoked for this mini set because it was $39 and just one of the studded lipsticks are $21. These lipsticks are itty bitty, but I knew that when I ordered them. Of course they weren't going to value pack and price full size tubes. I was kind of surprised at just how small they turned out being, but I'm sure it will still take a long time to finish them.


You can see that the awesome studded tube is shorter than my finger, and I have pretty small hands.


Next is my birthday gift for being a Beauty Insider. I was really excited that it was from MUFE, because I've never tried the brand. 


The mini set includes a sample mascara and a sample lipstick. I can't comment on the performance of either because this is my unboxing and I haven't tried anything yet.


The lipstick is teeny and has the same amount of product as the small Kat Von D lipsticks. I can already tell the color is more of an every day one, but I'm sure I'll get some use out of it.