Haulin' v. 2 - Brown Sugar and Creamsicle Lip Butters plus Pink Pop Lip Gloss

I finally located a CVS where the sale items were clearly marked and still available!  I picked up 3 items - the lip butters Brown Sugar and Creamsicle, and the Pink Pop Super Lustrous lip gloss - all marked down 75%.  Two I really like and one not so much, buy hey - that's not bad!

Creamsicle

Let's get the one I'm not crazy about out of the way first - Creamsicle.  I've seen swatches of this online where it looked pretty good, but it does nothing for me.  I do think it will work for blending with other lipsticks, but on it's own, it washes me out and has a tendency to settle into my lip lines.  It did do a good job of illustrating the hazards of living with a dog that is shedding her winter coat - or molting as I affectionately call it.  Check out the dog hair on the left hand side of the lip swatch:-)

Brown Sugar

I honestly was expecting Brown Sugar to be the one that wouldn't work for me, but it is nowhere near as brown as I was expecting.  It looks very natural on and makes for a nice "tanned" look, I think.  Both Creamsicle and Brown Sugar were not colors I was willing to pay full price for, but for $1.99 each, I'm willing to take that gamble.

Pink Pop is a medium pink cream that is very nice!  It feels smooth and hydrating on my lips and has good staying power for a gloss that is not that sticky.  I like, especially at $2.07!

I have no idea if these colors are being discontinued or what, but the huge discount makes me think it's highly likely.  Even more importantly, I now know which CVS to hit for makeup shopping, as everything was organized, clean, and clearly marked. 

My "faux tan" look, wearing Brown Sugar

Any great deals that you have found lately?

Disclaimer:  I purchased these.

Urban Decay 24/7 Deep End Eye Liner

Previously an exclusive color but now part of Urban Decay's new lineup of 24/7 eye liner pencils, Deep End is a bright metallic peacock blue shimmer.  I've seen turquoise jewelry this dark, as well as ocean water in the West Indies that was this shade.  Such a stunning color and perfect for warm weather and summer outfits.

I paired a thin line Deep End over stila's limited edition turquoise smudge stick (if you can find it, get it), and I thought the two together made for such a pretty look!  I've been trying to venture outside of my usual neutral eye looks by using more vibrant eye liners, and this is one I'll definitely revisit.  The formula was smooth and easy to build up for more intense color. 

Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliners are definitely some of the best out there, and the color selection is unsurpassed.  Since I bought the 24/7 pencil vault, I've been playing with colors I wouldn't normally gravitate towards.  Deep End is a color I probably would not have bought on it's own, but it's really lovely!

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Maybelline Vibrant Mandarin Color Sensational Vivids Lip Color

Well, if you are going to venture into vivid lips territory, might as well go all the way!  The Vivids Color Sensational lipsticks by Maybelline have been getting rave reviews across the board, and I chose Vibrant Mandarin to start with.  No sticking my toe in the water here - Vibrant Mandarin is a orangey tomato red with fantastic pigmentation. 

What surprised me - beyond the bold color - was how very comfortable Vibrant Mandarin was to wear!  Lightweight and creamy, I felt no need to top this with gloss, as it has it's own sheen.  Wear time was a very respectable 5-6 hours, or until I ate a late lunch.  My lips started to feel a bit dry towards the end of that time, but considering I usually apply some type of lip gloss or balm every few hours and had not while wearing Vibrant Mandarin, I'm not surprised. 

Yes, I'm still self-conscious wearing lip colors this bold, but I ran several errands sporting Vibrant Mandarin.  As I was walking into CVS, a 70+ year old woman with crimson lips was walking out, and she smiled at me.  Maybe there is sisterhood of the vibrant lips that I was unaware of?  I do seem to notice women's lipstick choices more now when I'm out and about.

So, I've since acquired a few more of the Vivids that I've yet to try out.  At about $7.50 each and with frequent BOGO deals that make them even less expensive, it was hard not to :-)

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Empties! Products I Used Up in May

Lots of used up products this month!  Starting from the left, we've got:

• Blissoma Vegan Adaptive Energy Facial Tonique Toner (deluxe sample):  liked it, although the spritzer was a bit wonky.  Interested in checking out more from this company

• DHC Acerola Gel (full size):  a summer staple for me, as it's a very light weight gel based moisturizer with a high vitamin C content for antioxidant protection.  It's also reasonably priced.  You can see my original review here.
• Eminence Strawberry Rhubarb Exfoliant (full size):  I didn't actually use this all up, but moisture had gotten into the bottle and it went bad, so I needed to throw it out :-(  You can see my original review here.
• Nexxus Youth Renewing Rejuvenating Elixir (deluxe sample):  This smells great and did seem to make a difference when I used it.  I'm considering purchasing, perhaps with my Birchbox dollars.  Fitting, as it was a sample from my April Birchbox.
• Somme Institute Transport:  This was a GWP from beauty.com and was full sized with 50 pads.  They are supposed to exfoliate and unclog blocked pores via glycolic acid, as well as deliver vitamins deep within the skin's surface.  I liked them, but not enough to pay $58.
• Suki Exfoliating Cleanser (sample):  Love!  Planning on purchasing a full size.
  
  

• Philosphy Bananas Foster shower gel:  okay, found the scent a bit cloying.
• Peter Thomas Roth Unwrinkle:  I broke the pump on this so had to remove it from it's outer packaging in order to use.  All of Peter Thomas Roth's products sound amazing, but I can't say I've found them worth the hefty prices (thus far).  This was a deluxe sample size (.5 oz?)  - 2 ounces retails $190.  Yeah, I know.
• Klorane Dry Shampoo (deluxe sample):  I thought it performed well, but more expensive than I want to pay ($18).  I go through too much dry shampoo to get hooked on a pricey one :-)
• YonKa Vital Defense (full size):  I really, really liked this.  Almost verging on love.  Kind of how an ex-boyfriend felt about me, as he always used to tell me "I really, REALLY like you."  He's married to someone else now, thank goodness.  I'm considering committing to YonKa.

• Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Barely Legal (full size):  Good stuff!  I'd like to get more of these.

• Lancome Genifique serum (deluxe sample):  I can't really tell what this is doing, but I'm committed to using up all my serum samples.  I'm currently on a second bottle, so maybe I'll be able to tell more after that.

Two of the foil packets didn't make it to second use, as the Supergoop Serum broke my skin out, and the Elizabeth Arden Prevage Day moisturizer was too greasy for my skin.

So there you go, some really good stuff in there, a few which may reappear at some point!

Disclaimer:  I purchased these.

Sunday Haulin', v.1

As I'm sure you are already well aware, drugstore sale circulars run Sunday through Saturday.  I've started checking out the weekly ads as part of my early Sunday morning drink coffee/surf the web routine, as this helps me better plan what items to get.  So, I'm going to attempt posting any Sunday hauls I may have going forward, as well as point out any really good deals I see.

This was actually a lacklaster week for me as far as drugstore sales are concerned.  I'm on a concerted search to find the Milani Naturally Chic Shadow Eyez in Almond Cream and Cafe Au Lait, but they are nowhere to be found.  Exclusive to Walgreens or online from Milani.  I've been to three Walgreen's and nope, not there.  Walgreens did have Batiste dry shampoo on sale, so I picked up a bottle.

I hear that CVS is in the midst of their big beauty sale, but the only evidence of that I could find was a few bottles of polish marked 75% off.  I left with this container of sponge eyeshadow applicators, as they are good for swatching.  

Rite Aid was a big zelch and I picked up nothing there.  I did get some facial wipes (60 ct) from Big Lots for $2, and the ingredient list looks decent.  I like using wipes for cleaning my arm after swatching, so this price for the amount can't be beat.

I've also been on the search for a dupe for the discontinued Urban Decay 24/7 liner Honey.  Milani apparently has one called Gold, but nope, can't find that.  So, I got Precious Gold from Rimmel using the 20% off coupon for a single item at Ulta. 

Any items you've got your eye on this week?  I'm off to watch the premier of The Killing, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Summer Hair and the Livin' is Easy

My hair is straight with a very faint wave in certain sections, and does not hold curl very well.  Factor in the pea soup humidity in Mobile, and finding a style that works consistently can be an issue.  Hence why you usually see me with my hair pulled back.  Well, also because I'm always running late and would rather play with makeup then fix my hair.

So, I frequently pull my hair back in a modified French twist and use a claw clip to secure.  It's usually still damp, and at the end of the day when I take it down it's actually got some wave to it.  The proverbial light bulb goes off in my head and I think "what if I could amplify this and get beachy waves for second day wear?"  So, I've started sectioning off and twirling my hair and then wrapping one twirl around another prior to putting it up, hoping this will produce more defined waves.  I think it's working, although it varies from day to day depending on the humidity.

I may blow out once a week, and on days I do will use products like the Nexus hair serum, Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle, or John Frieda's Fine to Full Volume Blow-Out Spray.  Honestly, it just depends on what samples I've received as to what I'm using, but those three have stood out to me. 

Here is my hair in the clip - and it turns out a bit different every day.  On this day a section wanted to fall down so I stuck one of those Julep bobby pin flowers in it.  On days that I put it up, I usually use some sort of hair oil or leave in conditioner such as Orofluido Beauty Elixir (my favorite) or one of the many samples I've got on hand. 

And wallah, wavy hair! For second day hair I need to use a dry shampoo on the roots, as my scalp is quite oily.  This means running some gel through and scrunching to redefine the waves after brushing out the dry shampoo.

A rare low humidity day in Mobile = good hair day

What are your secrets for easy summer hair?  Do share, as I'm always looking for new ideas!

Lastly, a great rendition of "Summertime" by Janis Joplin, enjoy.

The All Natural Face Lip Glosses in Peppermint Stick, Copper Kisses, & Sassy Cherry

I've accumulated 3 glosses from The All Natural Face (TANF), so I thought it was time to do a review on them.  If you are not familiar with TANF, they make vegan cosmetics and bath and body products that are very reasonably priced.  I've become a fan of a lot of their products, but one of the biggest criticisms I've seen online and I've got to say is rather accurate, is that their online color photos and swatches are, um, not very helpful.  So, I'm slowly working my way through products I have to help add to the rather sparse swatches available online.  Hopefully they will help others in their shopping selections.

Peppermint Stick, Copper Kisses, Sassy Cherry

First off, TANF glosses are not my favorite.  They are thinner than I care for and last less than an hour on my lips.  However, if you hate sticky glosses, these may just be your cup of tea, as they are not sticky AT ALL.  Hence their lack of wear time, however.  On the plus side, they do not dry out my lips and I find them comfortable to wear for as long as they do last.  The ingredient list is quite simple:  Cold pressed castor oil, Candelillia wax, Mica, Oxide.  Peppermint Stick also contains peppermint essential oil and stevia, which makes it smell and taste quite nice.  I can't detect any smell or taste in the others.

Peppermint Stick, Copper Kisses, Sassy Cherry (shade)

Peppermint Stick, Copper Kisses, Sassy Cherry (sun)

These are sheer glosses that provide a bit of color with shimmer.  Sassy Cherry has the least amount of shimmer, but you can detect a bit in the tube.  I'm thinking I might use these more as a layering gloss over a creamy lipstick or perhaps my OCC lip tars, as the two combined may solve the short wear time.  TANF lip glosses are $4.60 each, and I got two of mine as part of my Eco Emi subscription box and purchased the other from TANF on sale for $3.25.  I'd like to see a bit more lasting power before I'd invest in any more.

Sassy Cherry

Disclaimer:  I purchased these.