April 2013 Favorites

Another month gone and I've got just a few favorites to share with you. April was an especially difficult month for me so I'm happy to get it over with. Here's to May being full of lovely springtime and lots of good things.
Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser - I love this concealer! I don't just use it under my eyes, even though it is my all time favorite under eye concealer. I use it just like an eraser for my problem areas. Just rub it over problem areas and they basically disappear. I blend out with my Sigma F80 and it looks flawless.
Skinfood Good Afternoon Rose Lemon Tea BB Cream - This is the strangest product I've ever put on my face. It come out of the tube like a cream but as soon as you touch it, it melts into a liquid. It feels like I'm rubbing water on my face. This BB cream makes my skin look like skin but brighter and more fresh and lovely. This with the concealer was my "no makeup" look all month.
Maybelline Color Whisper in Pin Up Peach - This lippie is great for days I don't want to think about what to wear. It's super low maintenance and looks springy and young. Can we sense a trend with all of these products yet?
Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie - I'd pop a little bit of this on the center of my lips, over Pin Up Peach. Berry Smoothie just tones it down and makes the whole look pretty and natural. I don't know how to describe why I loved it but I loved it so much that I was just carrying both lippies in my purse all month.
MAC Blush in Melba - This was my go to blush for just subtle definition. It goes with everything and it's practically impossible to overdo. Melba warms me up so I don't look lifeless but it doesn't overpower my face. Probably in my top 3 blushes of all time.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - No surprise, I broke down and bought this at the beginning of the month. And I've used it every day since. It makes a simple easy look on it's own but it's also the perfect sidekick to any palette. I don't regret picking it up as I'm definitely getting my use out of it.

Any favorites of the month to share? Can you believe it's May already?!

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.

Four or More

I saw this just a couple times on youtube but I really liked the concept so I figured I'd blog it! The idea is simple, show all the products you own four or more of.

If I haven't said it enough before, I love the NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses. They are a perfect gloss formula and really inexpensive. The shades I have are La La, Beige, Crystal Soda and Tea Rose.

I also have four NYX Lipliner Pencils. The formula is ok. I got four because they were on sale and I didn't have any other lip liners. If you want some, this range is a great place to start because there are a lot of colors, they are pretty good quality and inexpensive. The shades I have are Rose, Peekaboo Neutral, Bloom and Hot Red

I have six of the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters! I've heard them described as the lipstick girl's alternative to lipstick and I think that's pretty accurate. They feel buttery and smooth on the lips and are not high maintenance like lipsticks tend to be. I have six shades, Pink Truffle, Candy Apple, Brown Sugar, Berry Smoothie, Raspberry Pie, and Sweet Tart.

Four ELF Essential Lipsticks! This is a great pick for those who don't know what works for them yet. The selection of colors isn't the biggest out there but at $1 it's a great jumping off point. I have Classy, Sociable, Flirtatious and Fearless.

Seven MAC shadows! MAC's eyeshadows definitely deserve at least most of the hype. The line is HUGE and while they are on the more expensive side, they are generally very good quality. I have Shroom, All That Glitters, Mulch, Motif, Jest, Woodwinked, and Copperplate.

Finally, I have the entire line or Rimmel Glam'Eyes HD eyeshadow palettes. I did win the full set in a giveaway. They are nice shadows but in poorly thought out packaging. Still, I would highly recommend them!

And that's it! I did leave out my ELF Hypershine lipglosses because I figured I bought them in a set so they don't really count. It was surprising how many products I had three of. If this had been called Three or More, this post would have been twice as long. Overall, I find that I do like to experiment with different formulas and brands so if I do collect four or more of a product, I have to really like it. If you are interested, go ahead and do this tag and post a link in the comments so I can read it!

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!