Candles By Victoria Haul #3

Ok, so technically I bought these during the AUGUST 1st sale. Yes, August. But I still wanted to show you guys because it's been quite a while since my last CBV haul. I didn't get around to making a video for these so I'll do my best to be concise and short with my descriptions. I've also included a number rating. ALSO, CBV got a new website recently! I'll link my scents to their respective pages on her new site so you can see the official description as well as reviews from other people.

I chose to go with minis this time because they have become my favorite size to try out new scents. Affordable but a great throw and plenty of burns to allow me to form an opinion.
Left to right, top to bottom
Stress Relief - I bought this because it's the most often recommended for headaches. As the name implies, it's super relaxing. I love it and I'm definitely considering getting it in Bath and Body products as well. (4.5)
Rice Crispy Treats - I think this smells dead on for perfect rice crispy treats. It's sweet and has a hint of butter to it. (4)
Serendipity - This is my favorite of all the new scents I ordered this go round. It smells like crushed maraschino cherries, coconut and a touch of nuttiness. So basically the basis of every fruit based salad I had as a kid. (5)
Sweet Snow - This was the other scent everyone reccommends for headaches. I like but not as much as Stress Relief. I'll give it a shot for Christmas though because I think it will be really well suited for that. (3.5)
Emperor's Love - The product this is duping is one of my favorite products from that particular company. Victoria's scent smells perfectly like it. Dried fruits (raisins, currents, blackberry) and light florals. (3.5)
Marshmallow Banana Dream Cake - This was the only one I'm not too keen on. The banana and cake get lost behind an overwhelming powdery note. I'm hoping that they come out more when I burn it. (2)
Honey Spice Cake - Fall in a jar! Very spicy and warm with pumpkin in the background. It smells good enough to eat. (5)
Irish Cream - I'm not much of a drinker but one of my favorite liquours is Irish Cream and this smells exactly like it. Good strong coffee, some sweet creaminess and a touch of alcohol. It's something I'd have to be in the mood for but it's a really good cold weather scent. (4)
Bora Bora - I wasn't planning on getting this one but because the reviews were so great for it, I got it and I'm glad I did. It's just a really tropical, juicy fruit scent. I can't pull any specific fruits from this but I highly recommend giving it a shot. It's awesome! (4)

I also got a Cylinder Candle which is very similar in size to the Bath and Body Works 3 wick candles. This is the scent Bath Time With Pooh, which is currently my all time favorite scent from CBV. I'm actually burning the last of my mini jelly jar of it right now. 

I always try to include one of the specialty decorative candles, since they're what drew me to CBV in the first place. It being fall time I got one I've been lusting after forever, the Maple Butter Pumpkin Frap. My boyfriend was actually more excited if possible because he loved how seasonal and fall like it is. It smells strongly of pumpkin, cinnamon and butter with a touch of coffee in the background.

My free scent shot was Sunburst. It smells like Sunny D. Just a super strong, slightly sweetened orange juice scent. Not my favorite but not bad either. (2.5)

So that's it for my August CBV haul! I promise I'll try to not these get so far away from me next time! 

Fortune Cookie Soap Box Fall 2013 Haul and Review

I've said many times on this blog that I really wanted to do a subscription box again and I think I've finally found one that fits for me! This is the Fortune Cookie Soap Box for Fall. FCS is an indie bath and body company that puts out a box quarterly. The box is $20 but you get a $10 coupon. Each box contains all the new fragrances for that season and they usually put those scents up 2 to 3 weeks after the boxes are sent out so that you have time to pick and choose which scents you want to order.

Fortune Cookie Soap in Autumn Daze (full size) -  FCS says this scent has notes of apples, cardamom and pecans. I do get the apples and pecans but I don't know what cardamom smells like. I'm not a huge fan of this scent and I'm not sure if it's the cardamom or the soap that's not doing it for me.

Whipped Cream in "I Yam What I Yam" Said the Marshmallow (sample) - This smells exactly like what you would assume it would smell like, yams and marshmallows. In the container it has an odd sort of pungency but it goes away on the skin and just smells like sweet goodness. Bonus, I freaking love the formula of this. I'm not really a lotion person but I can't get over how much I love this one.

Bath Oil in <Insert Cookie Cutter Name Here> (sample) -  This smells like a lemon vanilla cookie. Not too much of either note and the citrus doesn't smell like cleaner. I like the scent ok, I'm just not a lemon scent person.

Personal Space in Pick of the Patch (sample) - Tis the season for pumpkin scents but this one is a bit different. Most pumpkin scents are a spicy cooked type of pumpkin and this one is more of a sweet fresh pumpkin. It's a great scent but I'm iffy on the product. Maybe I'm not spraying enough but the scent doesn't really spread out or linger. 

OCD Hand Sanitizer in Indian Summer (full size) - The scent description says notes of blueberry, woods and musk and that's so dead on. The musk is obviously the strongest note but the blueberry and woods hold their own. To me it's a manly scent. I like it, just not enough to want it in a body product. 

Milk Bath in You're Insecure, Donut What For #fall (sample) - If you're looking carefully you'll notice the label is upside down. That's because the bag came with a small hole in the bottom that quickly grew into a giant hole. The scent is delicious. If you've ever smelled Vanilla Bean Noel from Bath and Body Works (or CBV!), this is a slightly sweeter version of that. I can't tell if there is cinnamon in this or not but FCS says there is.

Bath Fizzy in Leeeaaf Piiiile!! (sample) - I love this scent! It's an apple and acorns scent that's just perfect for fall! The apple is juicy and fresh smelling and the acorns give it some depth and woodiness that almost makes it a bit perfumey. This was my immediate favorite of the bunch and it still is.

Wax Tart in Cranberry + Apple = FTW (sample) - Again, as the name implies, this is an apple and cranberry scent. It smells like Thanksgiving or Christmas. You probably already know that I'm not a wax melter so this product isn't going to get any love from me but I do quite enjoy the scent.

I did use my $10 off coupon and this is what I got! I chose two of the whipped creams in Leeeaaf Piiiile!! and You're Insecure, Donut What For. I also decided to try the Sugar Scrub and I got that in I Yam What I Yam. My free sample was Gin Gimlet bar soap. It smells like a men's lime scent but I like it. It does lean a bit towards kitchen cleaner but not enough to be offensive. I probably won't make another purchase before the winter box arrives but if I did I would buy something in Pick of the Patch or Cranberry + Apple = FTW. I also want to get a full size of the Milk Bath and try some more of their body products, like the body mists or the shower gel.

Thanks for sticking with me through this super long post! Has anyone else tried FCS? What products do I just have to try from them. If you haven't and want to get the next box, SIGN UP ASAP! They've warned on their FB page that it will sell out quickly! They do ship internationally!

Candles By Victoria Haul #2

I hope you are cool with another CBV haul even though I just did one last week! This was the order I placed during the April 1st sale and it shipped super fast, just 2 days later. I probably won't place another order until at least June. For one thing, I now have quite a few candles to enjoy and really don't need any more. For another thing, they will be on vacation in May so I'm sure they will be quite busy and turn around time will be long. Again, I did a video review for this and I think that's the way I'll keep doing CBV reviews.

My free scent shot was Trix Are For Kids. It does really smell like Trix cereal. I don't really have a problem with Trix but I'm not sure I'd want my house to smell like it. I ordered Zucchini Bread which I'm on the fence about. I'd like to give it a warmer so I can give it a fair shot.

L to R, T to B, I'll Have What She's Having, White Nectarine and Pink Coral, Tokyo Spring. Bite Me, Cinnamon Donuts, Captain Crunch Berries.

I got another No Frills Sampler and honestly I love every single one of these scents. If I had to pick favorites it would be I'll Have What She's Having (a mix of her Bear Claws scent and her Chocolate Chip Cookies scent), Cinnamon Donuts and Captain Crunch Berries. But all of them are awesome!

L to R, T to B, Hurricane in Vanilla Bean Noel. Minis in Texas Summer, Granny's Pie Crust, Bath Time With Pooh.

The hurricane candle is for my mom, who fell in love with Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel and didn't think to get any extras before they were gone for the season. I chose to get three minis because I don't melt and these were scents I was more timid about. I shouldn't have been because I love them. Bath Time With Pooh is my favorite scent that I've tried so far from CBV. I'm planning on getting a big candles of that and Granny's Pie Crust in my next order.

I had to get a couple more of her cute candles. The bowl is a Banana Coconut Cha Cha candle and it smells like if you took a banana cream pie and coconut cream pie and mixed them together in a bowl. The glass is Hawaiian Colada Sweet Treat candle. I want all of the Sweet Treats but this one smells like a delicious fruity summery drink so it seemed seasonally appropriate!

And here's the video:

I'm loving all my new goodies but I'll definitely cool it on the CBV for a while. Anyone else smitten with her lovely candles?

My First Candles By Victoria Haul

I mentioned in my collective haul post that I had also placed an order with Candles by Victoria. Well I received it a couple weeks ago and they've had time to cure so I figure I'd do a review. I don't know that writing out a scent description would be helpful so I did make a short video review as well!

Victoria includes a free Scent Shot with every order! She gave me Kiwi Kicker, which is basically a straight up kiwi scent. Scent Shots are 2oz and are meant to be melted in a warmer.

L to R, T to B, Pink Sangria, Bahama Mama, Go Go Juice. Bella Swan, Blushing Peaches, Caramelized Pralines.

I decided to start out pretty simple with a No Frills Sampler, which is six 8oz candles of your choosing. My favorites are Bahama Mama, which smells like a pina colada, and Go Go Juice, which is a mix of her Mango Sorbett scent and her Strawberry Margarita scent.

I also wanted to get one of her pretty candles so I got a Blueberry Cheesecake Sweet Treat candle. It's sooo cute and it smells just like blueberry cheesecake!

I also made a video! I've never made a video before and I was very nervous so please be gentle with me :)

So that's it for my first CBV haul. I'll definitely post another one soon because I just received my April 1st order but it was way too many goodies to compile into one post. Has anyone else tried Candles By Victoria? Any favorite scents I need to try? 

Collective Haul: March 2013

So when I said at the end of February I wasn't going to get too crazy...yeah, that went out the window! March was a month of retail therapy for me and I don't regret it one bit. So let's just dive right in.

Color Club Halo-Graphic and Angel Kiss, Studio M Spring Fling, Illamasqua Fragile and Mottle

So I randomly found the Color Club halos at Meijer and of course Studio M is a Meijer brand so Meijer was an all around win this month! I broke down and ordered Mottle from Sephora but found Fragile in store and got that one too! Both of those will be up next week (and I'm so proud of myself for not letting all of these languish in my untrieds for months on end!)

Skin79 VIP Gold Super Plus BB, Skinfood Good Afternoon Rose Lemon Tea BB, Holika Holika Moisture Petit BB, Mac Mineralize Moisture foundation

YAY for Asian BBs! I ordered the Holika Holika on Ebay at the very beginning and loved it so much I ordered the Skin79 and Skinfood. They just arrived yesterday so I haven't been able to do anything other than swatch but I'm so excited to test them out. I'm hoping to get a review of the Holika Holika up some time this month. MAC's Mineralize Moisture foundation was something I was so interested in as soon as I saw the PR so after some adventures at the counter trying to find the best shade for me, I got a bottle in NC15. And it's perfect!

Nars Amour blush, MAC Melba blush

So I noticed during March that I don't actually own any matte finish blushes and only a couple satins. MAC Melba (which I keep wanting to call Peaches for some reason) was recommended to me at the counter but I'd had my eye on it for a while. Nars Amour was a complete impulse purchase at Sephora. When the mua put it on me, it was pure love at first sight. 

Revlon Lip Butters in Juicy Papaya and Wild Watermelon, Cover Girl Lipperfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Blush Twist

I happened upon the new Revlon Lip Butters in Target one day and picked up three of them. I already passed along the third, Pink Lemonade, to my sister as I just couldn't pull it off. If you're looking for them, check the permanent display. I decided I had to have another of the chubby lip pencils from the drugstore (just not a Revlon one) and went with this one from Cover Girl, Blush Twist. It's been my favorite everyday lip color lately!

Wet N Wild Nude Awakening palette, Smashbox Entice Me palette and Full Exposure mascara (deluxe sample size)

I found the WNW palette at Meijer at the very beginning of March and it was the last one in the display! See, I told you Meijer was full of win this month. It's a great palette for sure, but I don't find myself reaching for it as often as I thought I would. The Smashbox goodies were a prize from their Love Me promo! I also got my entry on their billboard in Hollywood, even if it was for like 30 seconds.

Zoya Remove+, Bath and Body Works Beautiful Day fragrance mist, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry scent, Beautyblender

I needed new nail polish remover and justified the cost of Remove+ because I had a gift card and I can reuse the bottle. I've used it a couple times and it's ok but not incredible. I had a coupon for BBW and decided to get Beautiful Day because I hardly ever see them have scents with green apple in them, which I LOVE. I threw the FAB cream in my Sephora order so I could get free shipping but it's so awesome! I got the Batiste with my gift card as well and I love it! It does exactly what I thought dry shampoo should do and it smells nice. Also in my Sephora order, I got a two pack of beautyblenders. Yes, they are worth all the hype they get.

So that's it. April shouldn't have even have half this amount because damn, that's a lot. I did place my first Candles By Victoria order a couple weeks ago but that shouldn't arrive until tomorrow. I also ordered during their April 1st sale so I guess I'll try to get a collective haul for you together whenever my sale order gets here. If you want a review of anything, let me know!

Disclaimer: The Smashbox things were sent to me for free from Smashbox for participating in their Love Me promo. Everything else was purchased by me with my own money.

Recent Purchases

I hesitate to call this a haul because it's a few new things I accumulated over the course of January. I did mention that I struggled to jump back into restricting my spending but I feel like it is worth showing what I've picked up.
I kept seeing the display for the Maybelline Color Whispers and I admit I was sucked in! I got Pin Up Peach and I've worn it just a couple times. I love it so far but like most lip products I feel like I need a lip balm before application. I loved the original Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser for dark circles so I had to pick up the one for dark spots. I like it but I've only used it once so I can't really give it a full review. Everyone talks about how awesome the Maybelline Color Tattoos are (geez, Maybelline got a lot of love this month) and Temptalia gave it an A+ rating, so I had to pick it up. Then Zoya had their three free promo so I got Mimi (which I'm hoping is everything I wanted Sally Hansen Loves Me Not to be), Zuza and Aurora. Meijer had a ton of polish on sale and this Sally Hansen Gem Crush polish in Lady Luck was just calling out to me. Finally, Jenn had one of these and let me try it and I had to get all three with Bath and Body Work's buy two get one free promo. These are the C.O. Bigelow Organics Moisturizing Lip Shines. They smell (and taste) AMAZING! They are super moisturizing too. The apple jelly one is such a nostalgic scent for me. If you've ever been to one of those little cider mills that sells donuts and fresh cider, that's what this smells like. It's a little sugary donut and a little fresh apple cider.
So not a whole lot this month. I'm definitely feeling a lot better about jumping back on the no buy wagon for February. I'm definitely thinking March I'll pick up another Color Whisper, anyone have any favorite shades?

Birthday and Christmas Haul!

It's been a while since I've actually purchased more than one thing at a time so I'm so excited to show you guys my birthday and Christmas haul! You probably already know that I've been doing project pan since September so my purchases were pretty far and few between. This month I went a little crazy but I'll still be working on project pan.
First, we started with a little pre-birthday shopping at Ulta to get some Skyfall polishes

Moonraker, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, GoldenEye, The Living Daylights, Tomorrow Never Dies, Top Coat (free from an Ulta promo)

If I'm not getting them all at once, I have a strategy. You can't be sure that certain colors won't sell out or I will even have the extra cash later to go back for others. So I pick my favorites on the first trip and I don't get my heart set on any of the others. So these 5 were the colors I was most excited for.

Then, on my actual birthday, my present was to go shopping after dinner. So we went to Macy's (which for me is just the MAC counter) and Ulta.

The Spy Who Loved Me, Skyfall, Die Another Day, The World Is Not Enough, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Skip The Gift Wrap, Gift Cards for Everyone!

Ulta didn't have The Spy Who Loved Me or Skyfall so I did have to get them at a salon. The last two are Ulta Holiday Exclusives, so I got them for free for buying 4 OPI polishes.

 

Also at Ulta, I got my first Real Techniques brush, the blush brush! At the MAC counter, I decided to get my first MAC lipstick, Speed Dial. I had heard my very very favorite youtuber, Amarixe talking about it and it looked so perfect on her. I just had to check it out and it ended up being beautiful on me.

On my birthday, I placed a Sephora order for my Christmas present from the boyfriend. I had a promo code for a bag full of samples, I wanted to get my VIB birthday gift AND one of the girls from the group Sam and I are in gave me a gift card so I threw in a little something extra.

Sephora Anti-Shine Foundation Primer, Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish, Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch, Sephora Instant Moisturizer, Benefit Coral My World! kit, Fresh Sugar Kisses VIB gift, Tarte Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder, Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara, Urban Decay De Slick makeup setting spray

  Acqua di Gioia, J'adore Dior, Thierry Mugler Alien, Hello Kitty, Kate Walsh Billionaire Boyfriend

I'm not very good at using up samples but I'm hoping I can fix that soon. The perfume will be a little more difficult to use and form opinions on, simply because many perfumes give me a headache.

The thing I was most excited about was my Christmas present!

The Sephora In The Glow Kit! It comes with nine mini sized highlighter, bronzers and blushes (3 of each). Except for Benefit and Too Faced, these were all new to me brands and eight of the products were brand new to me. The highlighters were Lorac Perfectly Lit in Spotlight, Benefit High Beam, Bare Minerals All Over Face Color in Pure Radiance. The bronzers were Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Golden Mosaic, Nars Laguna, and Too Faced Chocolate Soleil. The blushes were Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Splendor, Tarte Natural Cheek Stain in Flush, and Stila Convertible Color in Peony.

Let's move on to stuff I got on the actual day of Christmas. I won't show you everything because that would be ridiculous but I do have a few things I want to share with you!

If you remember my October Wishlist, I specifically posted a pic of this. Well my sister ended up getting it for me! I'm such a Benefit fangirl and I'm super excited to try all of these! This comes with It's Potent! eye cream, The Porefessional primer, Hoola, Badgal Lash, Stay Don't Stray, Ooh La Lift, Cha Cha Tint, Sunbeam, Bella Bamba, and That Gal.

I also got this Burt's Bees set. It comes with four of their lip balms in peppermint and vitamin e and a little keychain pouch. Burt's Bees lip balms are so awesome! The mint is crazy cooling but my favorite of their scents! I also got an Ulta gift card. Not sure what I'm going to get yet so I'll be holding onto it for a while.

Lastly, I got this beauty. My sister introduced me to Vera Bradley at least a year and a half ago and I've been in love ever since. This is the mini hipster in my current favorite pattern, English Rose. I'm just so excited! I haven't carried a little bag just for me in a long time.

I also got some cash for Christmas but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. If I get anything awesome, I'll be sure to tell you guys about it.

I love seeing what other people got so post a comment about what you got or a link to a blog post or something! Have a happy New Year!

Polish Debauchery Haul!

What happens when two polish junkies spend a week together?

This! We ended up going to three different malls, one Cosmetics Company Outlet, Ulta twice, and Target three times (I think). We did other things besides shop but this is what I have to show you today. You might want to get a drink and settle in, this is a LONG post.

 Zoya Charla, Sally Hansen CSM Loves Me Not, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue, Wet N Wild Megalast Through the Grapevine, Wet N Wild Megalast Bite the Bullet, Revlon Colorstay Top Coat

The first three were lemmings, especially Pacific Blue. I've hunted for Pacific Blue for a while. The Wet N Wilds were buy one, get one 50% off but they aren't that expensive at full sale price. I know I've said this a few times but I really just needed a new topcoat and I've heard good things about this one.

Nails Inc. Topping Lane, Nails Inc, Sweets Way, Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe, Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream, Butter London No More Waity Katie, Butter London Lovely Jubbly

All of these were major lemmings for me and my firsts from these brands! 

Lush Mask of Magnaminty, Bubblegum Lip Scrub, Heavanilli Massage Bar, Sultana of Soap, (not pictured) Cosmetic Warrior Fresh Face Mask

My first Lush items! There are two near me and even then they are both more than an hour away. We ended up visiting both. The only things I was absolutely determined to get were Bubblegum, Sultana of Soap, and a fresh face mask. The first Lush didn't have any of the fresh face masks so I ended up with the Mask of Manaminty. It's the only thing I haven't used yet. I love everything else. It all smells wonderful (except Cosmetic Warrior).

Benefit Sugarlicious set, Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, MAC Fix+ mini, Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup, MAC Lipglass in Pink Lemonade, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Lovesick and Honey, MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in In Anticipation

AHHH! I'm such a Benefit fangirl and I'm LOVING this set! Pretty much everything here has been major love even though half of it was unplanned. It's been a struggle to find the right match for me in the Invisible Fluid but this one is perfect (1N1, if you are wondering).

MAC 15 Pan Pro Palette, Motif, Jest, Woodwinked

Well, I got caught up in being at a MAC store for the first time and ended up with a palette. MAC is quickly turning into one of my favorite brands. I have 4 other shadows that I already owned that I need to depot.

Overall, I was happy with everything I got. I'm definitely going to be on a no buy for a while. I'm not really sure the terms of my no buy but we have so many things coming up in September and October that it probably won't matter that much anyways. If you want a review or swatches of anything in particular, let me know!