Sephora Haul

I've been so good about trying to "shop" in my own makeup drawers lately but it was my birthday this past month and I decided to splurge. I've been trying to find a good foundation since I've moved back to Texas and the weather is drastically different than in Missouri. My skin has uneven tone, large pores, and very oily, and the heat and humidity down here don't help matters. I've gone through 5 (yes, FIVE) different foundations at the drugstore but I gave up and finally ordered through Sephora. I don't mind buying drugstore products if they work well but I've spent three times as much as I would have if I had just purchased a more expensive foundation.

ANYWAY.

I LOVE bareMinerals Bareskin Serum Foundation and finally broke down and bought it. I bought the kit since I also got the full-size brush and a small mineral veil compact for a great deal. I'll buy the larger foundation size later. My color now is Bare Natural 07 (which is kinda crazy since last summer I was Bare Latte 11 - guess I was out gardening more than I realized!). 

CoverFX Mattifying Primer was a love of mine before I moved, but it hasn't been playing nicely with the bareMinerals foundation. Previously I used this primer with Make Up For Ever foundation, maybe I'll go back to it? It was the best combination I found for my skin type down here by the Gulf. I do like that it matifies, smoothes, and has some salicylic acid in it for my troubled skin.

The other stuff are free samples and my birthday gift. 

The birthday gift from Sephora were the NARS pencils. The NARS pencils are fantastic - one in Cruella, a deep matte red, and Rikugien, a beautiful neutral satin pencil. I'd ever tried the pencils before but I really like them!

Buxom Show Me Some Skin and Urban Decay naked foundation samples were free with the order. I'm interested in trying the Buxom foundation since the bareMinerals one is giving me trouble. I remember it covering better (or maybe my skin was better) and if I apply enough for good coverage I can't get it to set, even with lots of powder. Sigh. Oily skin problems.

And of course a small perfume. I love these - easy to travel with so I don't have to take 5 million bottle with me.

Can't wait to share some swatches with yall! And if you have any suggestions on the primer/foundation issue, let me know! I'm all ears!!

iHerb Order

I placed an order recently from iHerb as I'm out of conditioner. I like a site that only carries cruelty free and mostly natural and organic products. They even carry Real Techniques, e.l.f., and other every day names. I've been using them for body soap and shampoo/conditioner for awhile and there was a recent discount that I couldn't resist so I stocked up!

How about some Real Techniques products to keep it real? Love their brushes. I already have one set of the eyebrushes but another set can't hurt.

Real Techniques Nic's Picks 5 Brush Set

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

Real Techniques Stippling Brush (found after I took the pictures, sorry!)

Real Techniques Your Eyes/Enhanced Starter Set, 5 Brushes + Case

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Line Smoothing Cream because I feel like I'm getting old and the lines around my eyes are ridiculous. And I love the smell of cocoa butter.

iHerb Stainless Steel Snap Mesh Tea Infuser (very excited about this! I've ben growing my own herbs for cooking and I'm excited to make mint tea!) On sale for $0.50!

Some awesome smelling massage oil. I have the regular almond oil I use as a moisturizer and I love it.
Now Foods, Lavendar Almond, Massage Oil

I bought four different conditioners as I tend to go through conditioner quickly with long hair and dry ends. I'm not sure which to try first! I think the Honeysuckle Rose went in the shower first because I really love Honeysuckle, it blooms wild here and smells amazing.

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner

Everyday Shea, Conditioner & Detangler, Lemon Lavender

Nature's Gate Conditioner, Hair Defense, Pomegranate Sunflower

Nubian Heritage Repair & Extend Conditioner Evoo & Moringo

Nature's Gate Pomegranate Sunflower, Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose, Everyday Shea Lemon Lavender, Evoo & Moringa Repair & Extend

And some lip stuff. I bought two of these (Hurraw! Black Cherry and Benecos Pink Honey) because of Viola and Killer Colours. The others were on sale and you can never have too much chapstick!

Benecos Natural Lipstick in Pink Honey

Hurraw! Balm, Tinted, Black Cherry

Sierra Bees Organic Lip Beeswax Lip Balm with Vit E, Pomegranate (on sale for $0.50!)

Sierra Bees Organic Lip Beeswax Lip Balm with Vit E, Honey (on sale for $0.50!)

Sierra Bees Organic Lip Balm, Mint Burst (on sale for $0.50!)

Sierra Bees Organic Lip Balm, Cocoa Butter (on sale for $0.50!)

Of course I have a discount code for you! Let me know if you place an order, I want to know what you got!

If you click here or use code TQQ430 to save $5 on orders less than $40 or $10 on orders $40 or more.

Road Trip Haul

I recently went back to Texas for a few days to spend time with friends and colleagues down there and of course I had to drop by all the available stores and drug stores to check out makeup and nail polish!

Here's my haul!

Specifics:
Essie For The Twill Of It
Essie The Lace Is On
Maybelline Clearly Spotted (Color Show Polka Dots)
Maybelline Lasting Lilac (Limited Edition Color Show Vintage Leather)
Maybelline Mod Moss (Limited Edition Color Show Vintage Leather)
Maybelline Vintage Violet (Limited Edition Color Show Vintage Leather)
Nicole by OPI I Lilac Gumdrops (Gumdrop collections)
Nicole by OPI My Cherry Amour (Gumdrop collections)
OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go
Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Ravish (057)
Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Red Diva (024)
Rimmel Lash Accelerator Serum with Grow Lash Complex
Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in Kiss of Life (111)
Rimmel SandalEYES Waterproof Kohl Liner in Nude (005)
Sinful Colors Cold Leather (Leather)
Sinful Colors Daddy's Girl
Sinful Colors Get It On (leather)
Sinful Colors Laced Up (Leather)
Sinful Colors Leather Loose (Leather)
Sinful Colors My Turn (Leather)
Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby
Sinful Colors Super Star
Wet N Wild ATTEN Hut! (Textured)
Wet N Wild Beauty Is A Battlefield (Textured)
Wet N Wild ColorIcon Eye Shadow Trio in Hard Being the It Girl
Wet N Wild ColorIcon Eye Shadow Trio in I'm Seeing Triples!
Wet N Wild ColorIcon Eye Shadow Trio in To Muse and Carouse
Wet N Wild Fatigue Glam  (Textured)
Wet N Wild Femme Trouper (Textured)
Wet N Wild Left, Left, Left, Right, Left (Textured)
Wet N Wild Tough Girl (Textured)

Rimmel Serum I've seen good reviews online and it's no available in my town and OPI Avoplex I've heard is awesome but I've never tried it. I have such issues with dry cuticles if I find something that really helps, I don't mind spending some extra cash.

I know Essie For The Twill Of It is gorgeous, my mom got it on her toes on a recent pedi and it's fantastic so I've been hoping to get it. Looks like it's a dupe for OPI Peace, Love, & OPI.

Image Credit: www.thedailyvarnish.com

I have a few I've worn and even used in nail art so far for the 31DC2013 challenge, but if you see any you'd like to see first, let me know!

Haul!

I haven't done a haul post in awhile, mainly because I haven't really bought anything recently. I went to a few local stores and got a few things, so these will be coming up soon!

Out of Town Haul

I went out of town recently for a family matter and I decided since I was going on a road trip back to Texas to stop at every Walgreen's and CVS on the way to see what I could find! Thankfully for my wallet there were only 2 on the road, and 2 within the vicinity of the hotel, so it wasn't toooooo bad, but I did find lots more than I was expecting!

I'm going to keep this short since there are a ton of items, but if you want to know the colors, let me know!

Haul at Walgreen's

Recent Haul!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I went to the "city" earlier this week and I was hoping to convince my husband we needed to stop at a drugstore so I can check out the polishes. I was hoping to see the new Sally Hansen collection, but I didn't see it. We hit Big Lots (Noveau Cheap has mentioned some readers have seen awesome polish deal there!) and Walgreen's.

Total haul at both stores.

Recent Hauls & Nail Mails (pic heavy)

Hellow lovelies! I've just got some random hauls today. Nothing fancy but I realized I may as well tease you with all my goodies! These have come in over the past month or so...

Walgreen's Haul

Moving to a small town has really put a damper on my hauling. Now I have a single Walmart. The closest Walgreen's is 40 minutes away.While I had to go take some photographs for my new job awhile back, I of course took the opportunity to stop at the Walgreen's on the way to see what they had.

THIS is what happens when you deprive someone too long from being able to window shop. I bought so many things that just looked interesting...

Haul + Mail

Loving my mailman right now! I have so many new goodies to share I don't know where to begin!

I got a few polishes from Peace, Love, and Polish's blog sale - including Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure! I know there are a lot of dupes out there, but I felt I NEEDED to own this one, despite having the Essie and Finger Paint's dupes. I have a sickness. Don't judge me. They were all wrapped up safely in little bubble wrap cocoons of love. Check out her blog sale if you haven't and see if you can pick something up!

e.l.f. Haul and Swatches

Hey beautiful! I recently purchased a few items from e.l.f. and I got some extra goodies! This is a PIC HEAVY post. Just warnin' ya!

This is what I purchased....

Haul + Mail

I got some packages in the mail recently - my Zoya polishes from their recent promo and a few polishes I ordered and I went shopping yesterday looking for the new Wet N Wild glitter polishes which I didn't find (anyone know when those are to be released?) and I grabbed some other polishes I really didn't need, but it feels so strange to walk out of a store without at least ONE polish ... Right? Or am I the only one? Please don't say I'm the only one...

First up we have Jessica's Iridescent Eye from the Peacock Queen Collection that I purchased from Ninja Polish for $6/bottle. It was cheaper than buying from any other e-tailer and shipping was quick. It's a Chanel Peridot dupe (see Scrangie's comparison).

Jessica Iridescent

Next up is my Zoya order from their recent promo (Buy 3, Get 3 Free). I seem to really like purple ...

Faye - Mimi - Savita - Dannii - Phoebe - Jules

Wait, Zoya Faye looks kinda familiar to a polish I recently bought ...

Dangit! I always do that. They aren't dupes, but definitely in the same neighborhood. Blah. I seem to have a weakness for this color. Oh well. They're both pretty...

And my drugstore haul! I wasn't too bad. I did have a giftcard to CVS so I used that, so I was nice!

My only Essie ... Nothing really caught my eye in their display, but this one was sitting by itself by the cash register, and when I picked it up, it had the prettiest shimmer! So soft and feminine. I tried to capture the shimmer, but the photo is pretty washed out.

Essie Peek-A-Boo

A single Maybelline that looked pretty - apparently coral is in this season. So I thought I'd fall victim to a trend!

Maybelline Tulip Tango

Some Milani from the new Beach themed spring collection... Sorry for the blurry photo, I didn't realize it until I loaded the pictures, and I'm too lazy to go back and get another one. =)

Beach Front - Sail Away

Some Sally Hansen VitaSurge products, one to strengthen my nails and one cuticle gel. I hadn't heard of these until I saw Sarah @ Chalkboard Nails cuticle care post and I thought it was interesting that it dried clear and matte, so it can be used before clicking pictures for swatches! They were BOGO, so I grabbed two different products!

Sinful Colors new Sheer Shimmer Collection. They remind me of Cinderella with the beautiful shimmer ...

Sweet Dreams - Flutter - Morning Star

And some Spoiled polishes that caught my eye. I actually had like ten of these in my hands, but I put a lot of them back because I had similar polishes or I knew I'd never actually wear them.

Cougar Attack - Shrimp on the Barbie - Club Rat

And here are my dilemma products! I have been grabbing Revlon Whimsical and Sinful Colors Cinderella whenever I see them, and I'm up to EIGHT Revlon Whimsical and SEVEN Sinful Colors Cinderella. I'm not sure if I should do a short blog sale or do a giveaway ... What do you guys think?

Whew! Lots of new polishes! And I'm not sure what to do with all those Whimsicals and Cinderellas ...

Nail Mail + Haul!

Weee! I'm so excited! I was out of town for vacation visiting family and of course I stalked the local stores for new polishes. Whew. I found a lot of goodies. I also received a swap package from the awesome Theodora at Red Hair and Black Nail Polish (love her!).

First, my swap package! Look at this haul! I totally lucked out!!

Target Shopping

I swear, I can't go anywhere without buying more makeup and nail polish. I blame it on the blogs I stalk, they use products or recommend items and I'm like, "Yeah, I NEED that!" Sigh. I'm a victim. Hehe.

I have family in town so my house has been taken over by my dogs that stay with my parents, so we had to make a quick trek to pick up some dog food. On the way to the dog food aisle, I passed by the makeup. Big mistake. So I decided to take the long route to the dog food and check out Wet 'N Wild nail polish for the new ColorIcon Ice Baby Glitters, but was unable to find them. So to soothe my poor deprived soul, I bought other stuff!

Here's what I got...