Collective Haul...A little bit of everything

Here's a random haul from a few different stores with items I picked up within the past couple of weeks.

I'm so glad that we now have a Nordstrom Rack in town and I finally got a chance to check it out. I was in a bit of a hurry at the time so I only got to check out the beauty section. I picked up this Essie Nail polish in the shade Sable Collar and Urban Decay nail polish in addiction.

From Sally Beauty Supply:

• Out the Door top coat ($4.99) 
• China Glaze Loco-Motive ($3.29). Found this at the clearance section. 
• Orly Mirrorball ($6.79). I found this at another Sally store. It is part of their 2014 holiday collection. 
• Orly nail lacquer remover (free with purchase of an Orly nail polish)
• A twizzer ($0.99)

From Ulta:

• Essence All About Sunrise Eyeshadow palette ($4.99). I was intrigued by this new palette from Essence. Just thought I had to try it. 
• Essence Effect Nail Polish Glitz & Glam ($2.99). Another cute glittery shimmery nail polish for me to play with. 
• OPI Comet in the Sky (2 for $16.00). This is from their new Holiday collection with Gwen Stefani.  
• OPI Snowglobetrotter

Burlington Coat Factory Haul:

• Ciate Tree Trinket set ($14.99). How cute is this set?!! Each of these mini glitter polishes come inside a clear ornament. Perfect for stocking stuffers. 
• Tres Chic Collection Bag Hanger ($6.99). I thought it was so pretty and figure I should get one to give away as gift and keep another one for my greedy self, lol. 
• Tres Chic Collection Bling Pen ($6.99). This was the last one that they had on display. I was pretty disappointed cause I wanted one for myself too. 
• ELF crystal eyeshadow brush ($1.99). It's super cute and so affordable. It's dense and just the right size for eyeshadow application. 

Rue 21 haul:

• 2 Rolls of Nail Foil ($3.99)
• 3 Pack Nail Art Wheel ($6.99)
• Pink Ice Multi (2 for $5.00)
• Pink Ice Multi Dark

Alright...that's it for now. Will have more to show once I receive my Black Friday goodies.

Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer Citrine - Review and Swatches

Hello all!

I hope you had a happy and delicious Thanksgiving, if you celebrate Thanksgiving that is. I'm thankful to have a long and relaxing weekend. Have you started your Black Friday shopping yet? I got my hands on some Tarte blushes already, he he he.


Packaging

• I like the clear tube since I can see the color of the product. What I found interesting is that on top of the cap, there is a clear rhinestone. I wonder why they didn't had the same touch to the Revlon Ultra HD lipsticks.
• It has a brush applicator with short bristles. I'm usually not a fan of brush applicator, I find the doe foot applicators apply more evenly.
• .20 oz or 5.9 ml

Product

• Citrine is a medium coral with greenish gold shimmers running through it. It's so pretty!
• The pigmentation is medium to almost full coverage. The gloss feels a little thick and tacky. 
• The sad thing is this gloss doesn't last very long either. I'd say 2 hours at the most. As it fades, I also notice that some of it goops at the corner of my lips. Eh weird! 
• It has a sweet, caramel-like scent. 

Final Thought

The color applies evenly and looks beautiful. The formula is a little tacky and uncomfortable for me. In spite of that, I am surprised at how quickly it faded. I don't think I'd be repurchasing these.

Rating: 7.5/10

Price: $8-$9
Availability: Walgreens

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick Snapdragon - Review and Swatches

Few days ago, I saw a new Revlon lipstick and lip gloss display. Most of the lipstick colors didn't really call out to me but I was intrigued about this new HD formula so I had to pick one of each to satisfy my curiosity. 

Packaging

• I was not thrilled with the packaging from first glance at the product. The silver tube and clear plastic cover looks plain and cheap but the bright side is you get to see the color of the lipstick inside. Also I didn't like the fact that the lipstick doesn't twist all the way down so you'd  have to be very careful when removing and replacing the cap. 
• .1 oz or 3 g

Product

• Snapdragon is a warm medium nude brown with a cream finish. It looks dark in the tube but it's actually a very flattering shade.
• The first thing I noticed when I applied the lipstick is that it is very soft, creamy, and slippery. Even with a gentle pressure, it almost felt like it was gonna melt. I'm guessing that may be due to the wax-free formula. 
• The pigmentation was alright. You can get sheer to medium coverage when layered. It like that it has a smooth coverage.
• It was light-weight, comfortable, and slightly moisturizing.
• It wears about 2 hours and is completely gone in 3 hours.
• It has a very weird scent. Kinda sweet, kinda fruity, but in a very artificial way. The scent fades fairly quickly and it doesn't have a funny taste. Doesn't really bother me but can't say that I like it. 

Final Thought

I'm not a fan of the packaging. The formula has a decent pigmentation and is smooth, creamy, a little slippery, and slightly moisturizing. My main disappointment is how quickly it faded. A few sip of water and 50% of it is gone. 

Rating: 8/10

Price: $8-$9

Availability: Walgreens

What do you think of this shade? Have you tried these yet?

Second Sephora VIB Haul

We got some light snow yesterday! Sure came down early this year. Normally, we don't see the first sign of snow until almost Christmas. It's freezing...Brrrr! The snow didn't even melt.

Here's my second haul from the VIB sale. Still did some damage but most of the stuff I got was things I needed like skincare.

Boscia Tsubaki Cleansing Oil-Gel ($28) - I got a little sample of this and decided to get the full size bottle. It feels more like a gel but has the slipperiness of an oil cleanser. I'm not crazy about the scent. Almost smells like Windex. Perhaps not as strong. Will do a full review when I get a chance.

Shiseido Ultimate Cleansing Oil ($25) - Yep, another oil cleanser. The reason I like oil cleanser is because they are effective at removing makeup while being gentle and non-drying. I did a smell test and it has a much more pleasant scent than the Boscia Tsubaki oil gel. It smells fresh and mild.

L'Occitane One Minute Hand Scrub ($24) - This scrub contains sugar with shea oil, almond oil, and grapeseed oil. This is a must have for winter. My hands get extremely dry around that time and this helps tremendously. I use it every night before bed and follow with hand cream and cuticle cream.
This is a repurchase. If you'd like to read my review and can check it out HERE.

Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial ($48) - I was looking for a night cream. The brightening element makes this attractive and the positive reviews made me want to try it. As usual, I had to smell it and wheweee! It has a lovely rose scent but it is very strong and overpowering. It's like perfumed lotion. If you're sensitive to scent you probably want to skip this.

Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover ($14) - Awesome remover. Very effective and won't break the bank. Just had to grab one.

Clinique Chubby Stick Super Strawberry (100 points) - I redeemed my points for this lip pencil.

I received a packet with fragrance samples, which is nice.

Also received some product sample. Definitely look forward to the UD Revolution lipstick samples. There's 4 different shades.

How To Rock a Grey Makeup Look Like A Badass

Because sometimes, you wanna feel or look badass...Right? Or it is just me?

A smoky grey eyeshadow look is no doubt a very common and overdone look...BUT if you want to make it a little more interesting, pop some red contacts on, add some blue false lashes, and smack on some grey lipstick...Yes, I said grey lipatick, and voila! No longer a common look anymore!

What I love about this look is that the eyeshadow is not a flat grey but a greyish purple with some gold shimmers. The blue lashes and liners add some contrast and dimension. And lastly, the grey lipstick gives this more of a futuristic flair. I know it may not be for everyone but if you dare to wear grey differently, I hope this look inspires you. Don't have a grey lipstick? I bet a bright orange lipstick would look fabulous as well. Otherwise, if you wanna look normal, you can pretty much wear grey with any of your favorite lip colors and still look gorgeous. Then again, if badass is what you're going for then grey lipstick is the way to go and the one featured on this look is pretty inexpensive.

Products Used

Face

• Sally Hansen Luminous Matte Pressed Powder Deep
• Sephora+Pantone Color of the Year Blush Duo

Eyes

• theBalm Put a Lid On It eyeshadow primer all over lid
• NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil Slate all over lid
• Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Purpura #3 over Slate
• Blue Fizzle from Sleek Makeup i-Candy palette on the crease
• From the Urban Decay Naked Palette 2, I used Blackout on the outer V and Bootycall on the brow bone. 
• theBalm Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner on upper lash line
• Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12 hr wear Waterproof Baby Blues on inner lower lash line
• Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner Navy on outer lower lash line
• Anastasia brow duo Ebony
• Ardell Color Impact Demi wispies Blue

Lips

• MBA Cosmetics lipstick Fog'et About It all over lips
• MBA Cosmetics lipstick Kohl on the outer corners of lips

Thoughts comments? Would you try this or what would you change about this look to fit your comfort zone?
What is your badass look?

Orly Sparkle Holiday 2014 - Explosion of Fun, Steal The Spotlight, Bling

Here comes more holiday nail collection swatches. These are from Orly and I also got them from Sally Beauty Supply.

Explosion of Fun is like a party on my nails. It's got fine pink and purple shimmers and sparkling red glitters. You can get almost full coverage with 3 coats. I suggest you layer it on top of another polish if you don't want to do 3 coats. It's not too thick or thin and was easy to even out. It looks amazing on the nails and the red glitters are very reflective and look like they're glowing. It's the kind of nail polish that doesn't go unnoticed.

Steal the Spotlight is a lovely teal glitter with slightly larger holographic pink glitters. You can get good opacity with two coats but it's very thick and hard to get an even application. I highly recommend you thin the base with a nail polish thinner. I'm also wearing a clear topcoat on the swatches.

Bling is a gold scattered holo. It's very similar to Sparkling Garbage. The base is slightly thick but I didn't have any issue working with it. It's also a bit sheer so you need at least 3 coats if you're going to use it alone. I love the depth and dimension it has. I used a clear top coat on the swatches.
It wanted Mirrorball from the collection but they didn't have anymore at the time so I'll have to check back later or see if I can hunt it down at another Sally Beauty Store.