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Influenster VowVoxBox!

Influenster is a point based. You get points based on your presence on the various social media sites and however many reviews you do on Influenster.

(If you would like an invite to Influenster just let me know by leaving a comment with your email address.)

Every so often Influenster sends out what they call a VoxBox. It's a box full of free goodies! And who can say no to free stuff?! Not this girl. When you get the box, you just have to check in and then do any bonus activities to get even more points. Pretty simple just to get a box of stuff!

The theme for this box is the VowVoxBox as in Weddings! Not sure how I got picked for this one since I'm not getting married and no one I know who is engaged even has a date set. It's probably cause I spend most of my time in the beauty section of Influenster.

Here's what we got:

 

Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward

I swear I'm not ignoring this blog. I just had nothing to write about. Then I read this book. Then I read another. Then I did an awesome makeup look. And I just forgot that "hey, I have a blog I can write about this in!"

So here I go. 

I've read books with more than one author before. One of my favorite books of all time is Good Omens by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett. I'm not sure how they handled the dual authorship but let me tell you, it was a million times better than Lisa Lutz and David Hayward did. 

And that sucks. I wanted to love this book. I love The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz and it always upsets me when an author I like just bombs. And this felt like a bomb to me. 

Simple enough, odd chapters are written by Lisa Lutz and even chapters by David Hayward. Between each chapter is correspondence to each other. If this was supposed to be endearing... It wasn't. Turns out they dated in the past and if that wasn't clear in the beginning of the book, it's made clear by their snipping at each other. Childish banter between adults is bad in person and felt even worse in writing. Especially when one writer than decides to write a chapter as if it's a "See Spot Run" book to get back at the other. 

What I took from it. Nothing good. Ego and insults galore. Lisa killing off David's characters. David being a smart ass in his chapters to get back at her. 

And the story wasn't good. I could not tell you the names of the main characters (except Sook who isn't even a main character and only cause his name was uncommon). The story was so back and forth, and you could tell that it was written by two different people, which would've been fine, I think, if they had an actual plan. I feel like every other letter from Lisa mentioned how they needed to focus on "this part" but she wouldn't focus on it in her own chapters! 

All in all, not good. 

Ipsy May 2014 Unbagging! "Fresh Picks"

What is Ipsy?

Ipsy is a beauty subscription service. For $10 per month, subscribers receive a makeup bag filled with 4-5 beauty items each month. Some sample sizes, some full sizes. The item's values always add up to more than $10 so that you always get you're money's worth. You can subscribe on a month to month basis for $10 each month or subscribe for a full year for $110 (meaning one month for free).

If you want to check out Ipsy and sign up, just click HERE. (That is my referral link.)

This month was sparse on makeup. There were more hair care and skin care items. I got three skin care items, a nail polish, and one makeup item. Here's the thing. I'm cool with that. I signed up for Ipsy knowing that I'd be trying new beauty products, not just makeup products. I do agree with some of the complaints on their social media that it should have been a little more spread out (not so much skin care in one bag), but it was still a decent bag for me so I can't complain.

Here's a look at what I got in my bag!

Haul + Review: Sephora Sol de Rio Bronzing Powder

This has been a week of cleaning and shopping for me. I'm doing a major spring cleaning of my room which includes moving all my makeup over to my desk and ordering a stand up mirror (which should arrive tomorrow) so that I have an actual makeup station. No one knows how excited I am.

Plus! Ebates (a cash back site that I swear by, just got my check the other day for the previous three months) is having a Ebates birthday celebration where a bunch of online stores are at 15% cash back. That is amazing. Included in this is Sephora, Ulta, Lancome, Drugstore.com, and a whole bunch of other awesome online stores. 

If you have not signed up for Ebates, you should because who can say no to free money for shopping. If you want to sign up, please click this link. Yes, it is my referral link. If you don't like referral links, you can head over to ebates.com, sign up, and shop!

With that said! Here is what I ordered at Sephora:

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette sample, Make Up Forever HD Pressed Powder sample, Make Up Forever HD Primer sample, and Sephora Sol de Rio Bronzing Powder full sized

Adventures In Getting My IPhone 5s

This whole situation was just too ridiculous not to type out. 

A little over a week ago, I ordered an iPhone 5s using my upgrade. Best Buy had it on sale for only $50 with an upgrade, so I went for it. 

On Monday 5/5, I got the dreaded "we tried to deliver" notice from UPS. Ok fine. I call up UPS and ask about picking up my package either then or before work the next day. And I am told "the sender [Best Buy] restricts you from picking up the package". 

Fuck. Well, I work at their prime delivery time (everything gets delivered to my house at like 3:30pm). 

I complain in a Facebook status and a friend mentions calling the sender to see if they can change it. Ok, I call Best Buy. And they are no help at all. They restrict it cause they need a signature. Why I can't just sign when I pick it up? Who knows! Ask Best Buy what my options are and it's basically the package will be returned to them and I can have them resend it. /fml

The next day, I took a mental health day from frustration. And waited around my house until around 4pm when they finally delivered my phone and I could sign for it. 

Two hours later, my phone is set up. It's perfect. I'm thrilled with the phone especially the camera. 

And then I shake it a little (don't even remember why) and I hear a rattling. Again, fml. It's coming from the power button which was loose. I could push it around. I could've dealt with it. IF it didn't make noise while trying to take a video. If I moved the phone while recording, you could hear it rattle. 

So, Wednesday after work, my mom and I head to Best Buy to exchange the phone. The girl helping me was sweet as could be and had a Dalek sticker on her name tag. I was hoping the Doctor Who thing would bring me luck, but no. We go through the process of returning my phone and exhanging it for a new one.

Now, you have to go through this whole process before even opening the box. Cause Apple products come in a box surrounded by plastic. And god forbid that plastic comes off before the phone is sold. 

So the phones are switched and I take it... And the rattling is worse. 

No fault to the girl at Best Buy cause it's not her fault. She even said our best bet was going straight to Apple. When I got home, I immediately made an appointment with the Apple store nearest to my job. 

And after work the next day, Mom and I trudged to the Apple store. 

Now, I love the Apple store. I've bought two iPods and an iPad at the Apple store. It's the quickest process I've ever seen and everyone always seems nice. 

And our helper was nice. The guy was actually helping me and someone else at the same time, but was paying attention to both of us enough that it was perfect. 

He listened to my phone and apologized like crazy. Even pulled out his own 5s to show me that they are not supposed to make that sound. Great! He pulls out a new iPhone and gets started on charging it so we can switch everything over. 

After a while, everything is switched. All of my information and apps are on the new phone. Only thing left is to make sure I can make phone calls. 

SIM card failure. 

The guy is on the phone with Sprint going through SIM cards and none of them are working. No clue what's going on. So, he turns to us and says in the nicest way possible that we have to go to a Sprint store and have them switch out the SIM card which should be easy peasy. 

Ok. There's a Sprint store next to the mall, so we head over. 

But they're not a repair center so they don't have any SIM cards. 

25 minutes later we're at the second Sprint store that does have SIM cards. I explain the situation to the woman helping us. She first scares me by warning me that Apple may have tried to "flash" a Verizon phone so it could be used at Sprint. Then she types on the computer for a while, then says she's going to talk to their tech. Which she does except they aren't only talking about my phone, so it's taking a while and I'm getting irritated for the first time in this process. 

She comes back and types a lot on the computer while saying that it looks like Apple never actually put this phone on my account. They never switched the new one with the old one with Sprint. (I swear he did, but maybe the person on the line at Sprint effed something up). And that was the only issue. SIM card was fine. Phone was fine. 

We left work at 4:30pm, got to Apple at 5pm. 

We did not get home until 7:30pm. 

The phone is awesome, but if I'd known the work I was going to have to put into getting it, I wouldn't have. Because I'm lazy. 

Before and After

I got a new phone and the camera is amazing so I wanted to do a before and after. This is using the front facing camera which is usually HORRIBLE. 

Products:

Face:

Pixi Correction Concentrate in Brightening Peach

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser

Urban Decay Naked Skin in .5

Pixi Blush in Purest Peach

e.l.f Studio Golden Bronzer (lightest shade as a highlight)

Eyes:

Lorca Pro Palette (Taupe to fill in my brows)

Urban Decay liner in Smoke

Clinique High Impact mascara

Lips:

NYX Butter Lipstick in Hulk

NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee

Book Review - The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

This is the kind of book where you come way with more after reading it a second time. The first time I read it, I processed the information but didn't see the little hints here and there that really tied it in with the first book. 

The Year of the Flood is told with 2.5 different points of view. Explanation of the .5 to follow. This book focuses on the lower class, the non-Corp class, specifically the God's Gardeners - a religious group that predicts the "Waterless Flood". 

The two main characters, Toby and Ren, tell their stories separately as they remember their pasts living with the Gardeners and live their present, after the waterless flood. The book is interspersed with speeches given by Adam One (leader of the Gardeners) before, during, and after the flood. (And he is the .5 I referenced.)

Margaret Atwood is my favorite author for a reason and here it is. The way she builds her characters is amazing. Especially women. Toby, who thinks she's weak but never shows it to others. Ren who is childlike and naive but survived even on her own. And Amanda, who shows only strength to other people until the very end of the book. 

The story takes you through more of the aftermath of the flood and introduces more of MaddAddam and its beginnings. It also reveals who the characters were at the end of book one. Needless to say, I have the third and final book with me now and can't wait to read it. 

Book Review - The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. 

It was okay. 

And that's not meant to be an in-joke from the book (cause the word okay is kind of a code word from the book). That's my opinion. It was okay. 

I guess I expected brilliance because of all the hype surrounding this book, but I should learn not to trust that (hello, Twilight). I did like it, but that's a lowercase L, liked not loved. Maybe because I don't know any teenagers with cancer? Maybe because I roll my eyes at teenagers who believe they're in love? (Then again, I guess when you don't have all the time in the world, you're bound to move quick.) I don't know. 

Some parts I did love. Isaac was by far my favorite character. He was real. Hazel's dad too. Maybe I just love side characters. Hazel's mom bothered me a little only because who keeps the fact that they're in college from their daughter?

Unfortunately, a lot of parts made me cringe. Every scene involving Lidewig and Peter Van Houten made me want to stop reading. I read their voices in my head as these high and low pitched fake voices because I could not picture actual people as these characters. They just screamed FAKE to me. And yes, I know it's a fictional book, but I like a realism when the story is set in a non-fantasy modern day. 

I am not saying it's a horrible book that no one should pick up. I'm actually glad I did because I did like it. 

And yeah, I cried. There is a funeral scene and anyone's who's lost someone they cared about can relate to the feeling of final goodbyes.

And yeah, life is finite. You feel sympathy for characters that have to live (even briefly) with the fact that their finite is not as long as everyone else's.

I'll see the movie. I'll probably cringe a little and cry a lot. And I'm sure I'll like it at least as much as I liked the book. 

Book Review - Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

One thing I'll say first off is that I usually do not like overly descriptive books. I like dialogue. I like everything and everyone moving around and talking to each other. When I first read a Margaret Atwood book, I thought I'd hate it. Because flipping through the book, you don't find too many quotation marks. The Handmaid's Tale ended up becoming one of my all time favorite books. The descriptions aren't forced and they are important. (Don't describe the tree to me if I don't need to know about the tree.)

Oryx and Crake is a post-apolcalyptic story told in present time and flashbacks. We never do find out exactly how far in our future "the flood" (as called in the next book) takes place, but there are hints here and there. References to historical events or items.

We follow Snowman aka Jimmy as he remembers his family, friend(s), and his own role in the events that caused him to be (1) alone and (2) the somewhat-leader of a group of man-made humans he calls "Crakers". 

That sentence makes it sound like this could be a humorous novel but it's not. Society builds itself up throughout the book only to be brought down in mere moments. Cures for diseases and aging galore, animal splices that can be downright silly (rakunks, pigoons), but once the world ends it doesn't matter. Don't let the silliness of the names fool you.

I won't spoil how the apocalypse actually happens as it includes a great build up throughout the book. You'll look back and wonder how you and Jimmy didn't notice. 

And just like The Handmaid's Tale, I look back and go, "yeah, society could really end this fucked up."

Ipsy April 2014 Unbagging! "Beauty Rocks!"

April 2014 Ipsy bag.

What is Ipsy?

Ipsy is a beauty subscription service. For $10 per month, subscribers receive a makeup bag filled with 4-5 beauty items each month. Some sample sizes, some full sizes. The item's values always add up to more than $10 so that you always get you're money's worth. You can subscribe on a month to month basis for $10 each month or subscribe for a full year for $110 (meaning one month for free).

If you want to check out Ipsy and sign up, just click HERE. (That is my referral link.)

With that said, here's what I got in my April Ipsy bag!

 First up! 

Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush

Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush, Full sized, Value $2.49

Ipsy Deal: 25% off any purchase

The brush is soft, no strays that I can see. I have a few shadow brushes, but it's always nice to have an extra one for when I'm lazy and don't want to clean them.

Turns out that some people received this exact same brush in a previous Ipsy bag. Those that did got an email from Ipsy telling them to let Ipsy know if they'd rather have 500 points or an extra item in their May bag.

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil Swatch

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil, Black Velvet, Travel Sized .03oz, Value $15

Ipsy Deal: Free deluxe sample of B6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray with $35 purchase.

I'm not impressed. Now, I'm sure that I'll use this. But it feels harder than usual for an Urban Decay liner. It took a few swipes to get a decent line. I have Urban Decay's liner in Perversion as well, and that one is incredibly smooth and takes one swipe to get a clear, black line.

dr. brandt microdermabrasion

dr. brandt microdermabrasion, Travel Sized 7.5g, Value $9.75

Ipsy Deal: 20% off the full sized microdermabrasion and free gift for first 10k purchasers

I'm sure that this will work just fine. It actually feels nicer than the exfoliant I'm using at the moment. But the full sized is $78. No. No no no.

No.

Elizabeth Mott pop! goes the shadow

Elizabeth Mott pop! goes the shadow swatch

Elizabeth Mott pop! goes the shadow, Champagne, Full sized .07oz, Value $12.99

Ipsy Deal: 50% of any purchase

I love champagne-y colors! It is the most loved color in my Lorac Pro. This is probably what I was most excited to get in my bag. It is a little powdery, but I didn't see much fall out while doing the swatch. Then again, I do my eyes first so that I don't have to worry about fall out.

Starlooks Lucious Longwear Lip Pencil

Starlooks Lucious Longwear Lip Pencil swatch

Starlooks Lucious Longwear Lip Pencil, Naked, Full sized .2oz, Value $14

Ipsy Deal: 20% off any purchase

I know it says that you can wear this by itself, but I don't think so. Putting it on my lips, it felt very drying, which is fine for a pencil. But I'd basically use this as a lip liner and put a lipstick or gloss over it.

The value of all the items in my bag is $52.23. Seriously, worth $10, don't you think?

Items in other bags:

• benefit lollitint .8fl oz
• Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm .14 oz in either Apple Pink or Acid Pink
• Cover FX Mattifying Primer with Anti-Acne Treatment .5oz
• Rainbow Honey nail polish 5mL in Midnight Fountain
• City Color White Gold Shadow & Highlight Mousse .092oz
• Demeter Jasmine Perfume Oil Roll On .29fl oz
• KISS Looks So Natural Lashes in Shy, Pretty, Flirty, Sultry, or Vamp
• Mary Kay At Play Jelly lip Gloss .32fl oz in Teddy Bare or Berry Me
• Sexy Hair Root Pump Volumizing Spray Mousse 1.6oz
• St. Tropez Gradual Tan Plus Anti-Aging Multi-Action Face .5fl oz
• Such A Tease So Seductive Lashes

Nails of the Week ft. Essie, Sally Hansen, Revlon

 Quickie post!

Color: Essie's 'Hide & Go Chic'
Top coat: Sally Hansen's Big Matte Top Coat
Tips: Revlon's Base+Top Coat

Ulta 20% Off Haul!

Yes, I am still on a no buy, but every time I start a no buy, I'm still waiting on orders! After this, I'm just waiting on a NYX order from Hautelook, but they take forever to ship. So, we'll see when I get that.

Anyway! Here's what I got with my 20% off coupon at Ulta:

benefit's B. Right Radiant Skincare 6pc Intro Kit. Urban Decay's Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup.

Both came out to $54.75 (including tax) after the 20% off coupon. Plus I got their 3 piece sampler and a free set of perfume samples with a $25 purchase.

 benefit's B. Right Radiant Skincare 6 pc Intro Kit, $24.

From left to right: Total Moisture Facial Cream (.1oz),  Moisture Prep Toning Lotion (.3 fl oz), Foamingly Clean Facial Wash (.3oz), Refined Finish Facial Polish (.3oz), Triple Performing Facial Emulsion (.3 US fl oz), and It's Potent! Eye Cream (.1oz)

Now, I got this partly because I needed another $24 added to my cart to get free shipping. I hate paying for shipping. But does anyone else notice how cute these freaking bottles are! They are literally just a mini version of their full sized. The full sized bottles are nice, but these just make me go "aww" for some reason. I just love their packaging. Actually, I go on a packaging love affair with this haul.

For the past couple days, I've used the facial cream and the eye cream. I love the facial cream. Feels moisturizing, but not heavy. The eye cream, I haven't noticed a difference in my under eye area, but here's hoping.

Funny thing about the eye cream. I open everything and smell it (because who wants to put something that smells like poop on their face?). When I opened the eye cream, my first thought was "this smells like beer". And that first thought has not changed. Every time I open it, I just want to go out for wings while drinking the It's Potent! Eye Cream.

 Urban Decay's Naked Skin, $39

My love for Urban Decay continues. First, the packaging. Very sturdy and sleek. And a pump! Foundations need to all come with a pump, in my opinion.

I have trouble matching myself to foundations. I'm extremely pale with a cool undertone. Majority of the foundations I've tried, have warm undertones and make me look yellow. Guys, I don't want to look yellow.

So, I've wanted to try this since I found out that they specifically have cool and warm shades and actually differentiate between them. If you look at the numbers, the warm shades all end in 0 while the cool shades end in 5.

I waffled between the shades .5 and 3.5, but ended up getting the .5. Nothing like standing in Ulta, making my boyfriend look at the swatches on each wrist to help me choose. He's such a good sport.

 I said I was pale. Left is a swatch, right is blended in.

I wouldn't say this is a full coverage foundation right off the bat. But! I do believe you can build it up. So far I've only tried one layer on my face, but I'm loving it. It's a very lightweight foundation. No one wants to leave the house feeling like they're wearing a weight on their face.

 Free samples! (Free with $25 purchase) The site actually said 8pcs, but I guess they weren't counting the two "For Men" samples.

Guys, I'm no perfume expert. I like scents, but if you ask me to describe them, you're in a world of trouble. I smelled all of these and none of them made me want to throw up (or throw them out). I gave the two "For Men" ones to my mom's boyfriend. The rest went into my shot glasses with my other makeup (perfect perfume sample storage!).

More free samples! These are the samples I got when I chose Ulta's "variety sampler" pack. Guess they had some Matrix left over cause I got those same samples last time I ordered. Eh, it's shampoo and conditioner. I have straight hair, so I'm probably going to give the DevaCurl to my mother who has really curly hair.

All in all, I'm excited to try everything including the perfume samples.  I'm hoping that at some point I can start doing an "Empties!" post of things that I loved and ran out of. Pretty sure a lot of this will be in that post as well.

Mini Unexpected Target Haul!

Unexpected because my no-buy was supposed to begin, but I had a "have to have" moment. I'm waiting an Ulta order to arrive and then my friend and I are on a makeup no buy until June 21st.

But anyway, here's my mini haul.

elf Golden Bronzer and Pixi endless silky eye pen kit

The elf Golden Bronzer was just a random pickup (I have one bronzer that's years old). It was really the Pixi eye pen kit that had me in a frenzy. I bought one of their silky eye pens a while ago when some of them were on clearance and *loved* it. They aren't kidding with the word silky.

We'll start with elf.

elf Golden Bronzer, .44oz, $3

Before I even get to the bronzer, let me tell you how much I love this packaging. I wish my eyeshadows were packaged like this. This is travel proof packaging done right! It's a hard, plastic case that clicks shut with a decent sized mirror on the inside. You don't even know the love I have for this mirror. I am going to have no doubts putting this baby in my overnight bag.

Anyway, the bronzer.

Golden Bronzer swatches. No flash.

Golden Bronzer swatches. With flash.

These are one of the least powdery products I've seen from elf. Now, it's still powder. But I didn't feel like the entire bronzer was going to fall apart when I tried to do swatches. I wish I'd done a swatch of all four colors mixed together, but I didn't - sorry.

I do not like blushes or bronzers that are incredibly pigmented. I am pale. Even the tiniest smidge of color looks like I'm overdoing it sometimes, so these are pretty freaking perfect for me. They are pretty, but not overly... there. I don't know. Excuse my brain farts please.

And now to the eye pens.

Pixi endless silky eye pen kit, 5 x .03oz and sharpener, $25 regularly, $18 at Target

The link above is directly to pixi's website, which has this kit at $25 (like it says right on the box). But when I was browsing Target, I saw the price tag for this kit said $18. It was my "have to have" moment.

Here's some swatches:

Pixi endless silky eye pen kit swatches. With flash.

Pixi endless silky eye pen kit swatches. No flash.

Pixi endless silky eye pen kit swatches. Natural light.

The colors are:

Black Noir - a basic black eyeliner. Took one swipe for a clean, fully black line.
Black Cocoa - a dark brown.
Sage Gold - a sage color with gold shimmer.
Deep Plum - a deep purple. Did take two swipes for a thick line.
Oyster Glow - a frosty cream/nude shade.

I am most excited for Oyster Glow. That is going on my bottom waterline tomorrow.

These were insanely smudge proof. When I do swatches, I tend to rub my arm on my pants to get any color off. So, like I usually do, I rubbed my arm on my pants and went about my business not realizing that these hadn't come off AT ALL. We'll see how it goes getting the liner off tomorrow after work.

And that is my haul. I'm extremely excited. And I think I'm going to have fun while on my no buy.

BONUS

Got this baby at artscow.com for 99cents. I had to google the picture and fit it on the bag, but I am in <3.

Quickie Post - LORAC Pro Palette Swatches

The LORAC Pro Palette contains 16 (.02oz each) shadows and comes with a 'Mini Behind The Scenes Eye Primer" (not pictured) for $42. It's available for purchase at Ulta, but was available at Kohls. I can't find it on their website anymore, but that's where I purchased mine (and was able to use Kohls cash on it).

The top row is all matte shades while the bottom is all shimmer.

Top Row: White, Cream, Taupe, Light Pink, Mauve, Sable, Espresso, Black
Bottom Row: Nude, Champagne, Gold, Light Bronze, Pewter, Garnet, Deep Purple, Slate

White, Cream, Taupe, Light Pink, Mauve, Sable, Espresso, Black

Palettes that have half matte, half shimmer are quite possibly my favorite palettes. I want a palette that I can use to create a full look. Without matte shades, I can't do that. As you can see, Cream and Light Pink blend into my skin far too well, but these were also taken without a primer or a base underneath.

Nude, Champagne, Gold, Light Bronze, Pewter, Garnet, Deep Purple, Slate

To me, these are the creamiest shadows I've owned. This is one of my first non-drug store palettes and it's totally worth the higher price. You can probably tell in the second photo that I've used this palette quite a lot. Mauve and Sable, I mix those together to use for my eyebrows. But Champagne is my favorite shade in this palette. It's a very "me" color whether I'm going to work or out that night.

In a nutshell: Worth it.

I've been lazy...

I've been a little lazy re: this blog the past week. But I'm back. The boyfriend and I are watching the Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary on Netflix, so I figured why not post while I listen. It's his favorite musical and I've only ever seen the movie (which, honestly, compared to this show, the movie was just bad).

Hand model: Nikki

My friends and I made a mall trip last Friday. A lot of time was spent in Ulta and Sephora. Above, we were swatching basically every red lipstick Sephora carried, attempting to find one that Nikki liked. Failed. But I'm sure we'll find one soon.

From Sephora, Ulta, and Walmart

From Sephora, I picked up Urban Decay's travel liner set. It comes with three of their 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils. One each of Perversion, Smoke, and Sabbath.

Sabbath (far left) is a navy blue. Smoke is grey. Perversion is pure black. I've wanted to try their liners for a while now. I tend to have trouble with pencil liners since they tend to be too hard and drag my eyelids. These are insanely creamy. I'm not too excited about Sabbath since my green eyes don't tend to look good with blue liners, but I'll definitely try this out a bit.

At Ulta, I picked up a few NYX items.

NYX Butter Lipstick in Sweet Tart, which is a lovely pink. NYX Butter Lipstick in Mary Janes, an almost pure red. I feel like there's a tint of pink in it when I tend to look at it. And a NYX Hi Definition Photo Concealer Wand in Green.

For those that don't know, green concealer is used to neutralize redness. I don't tend to have much redness in my face, but get the occasional breakout. A little bit of green concealer underneath my foundation and bye bye red spot. This is probably my favorite green concealer I've used. It's very smooth and blends out extremely easily.

As far as the lipsticks, I already had one of NYX's Butter Lipsticks and loved it. They're much more moisturizing than any lipstick I've owned, but I do find myself re-applying more often.

First group of items picked up at Walmart are a few of Maybelline's Eye Studio Color Tattoo Eyeshadows.

From left to right: Pomegranate Pink, a shimmery pink. Painted Purple, not really shimmery but a very bright purple. I'm not entirely sure the name of the last one. Pretty sure it's Pure Gold.

Next was Revlon's Age Defying CC Cream in Light.

 
I've mostly been using either my Covergirl Tru Blend foundation or my Maybelline BB cream, but I wanted a little more coverage than the BB cream and a little less heaviness than the foundation. So here came the CC cream. Perfect. I've been wearing this basically every day for the last week. Very light on the face, but enough coverage that with a little concealer, my under eye circles are gone.

Next purchase was Lush's Bubblegum Lip Scrub. My cousin's girlfriend, who now works with me, also works at Lush, so she picked this up for me the other day.

I seriously want to just eat this out of the jar. Which, while it won't kill you, would give you a stomach ache. It's sugar. I know I could just make this on my own, it's all ingredients you can grab at the supermarket, but I'm lazy. This tastes great and works just as well.

And my last, but not least, purchase was actually made before everything else. But it's my favorite!

Olay Fresh Effects Everything Off! makeup removal wet cloths. I had to pick up some makeup remover wipes prior to last weekend since I didn't have any at the boyfriend's house. Only grabbed these because they were on sale at CVS. I've used Burt's Bees and elf's makeup remover wipes and was afraid that I'd never find a wipe that didn't kill my eyes no matter how "gentle" the package said they were.

These? These are my holy grail right now. My face and eyes feel perfectly fine after using these. Nothing stings, my eyes don't water, and they are so soft.

I love them. That's all.

So yeah, I picked up a handful of things over the last week or so. My no buy ended, NYX went on sale. I'm still going to keep myself on a low-buy at the very least.

Shannon out.