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

I am sick

Small, quick post. I am sick. Not sick of anything, just sick. Congested and just feeling all around crappy. And have been since Thursday night. Took Friday off, slept most of the day away. Got my hair cut Saturday, then slept the rest of the day away.

I am awake today. But I wish I wasn't. I'm congested, cranky, and achy. When I am sick, I get whiny. Be happy you are not with me in person, I could whine you're ear off.

Since I just did my nails on Thursday, I won't be doing a Nails of the Week today. I still have on Nicole by OPI's "On What Grounds?". Day 3 and still no chips. That's something to me. Granted, I haven't been doing much of anything, so I haven't really put it to the "typing test" as I call it (it being my job).

Picture is from Thursday's ipsy post.

I've gotten used to the texture of the nail polish. It's different. Plus, after a day or two, the rough texture gets a bit smoother as it rubs against things. My nails are definitely not as rough as they were on Thursday. When these come out officially, I'll probably end up getting the other colors.

In other news, I'm currently re-reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I got the third book in the series for Christmas, so I need to re-read the first two. Margaret Atwood is my favorite author and if you haven't read any of her books, you need to get on that, starting with Handmaid's Tale. Seriously. Nope, stop reading this, go get one of her books.

March 2014 Ipsy Unwrapping! "Destination Beauty"

From the tag: "The print of this exclusive ipsy makeup bag is a selection from artist Klari Reis' geography-based series, "Street Anatomy," and showcases San Francisco, CA (Reis' hometown and ipsy headquarters). To view more from Klari, please visit her website at www.klariart.com."

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 March Ipsy bag!

 

Nicole by OPI Roughles in On What Grounds?. Be a Bombshell eyeshadow quad in Bora Bora. bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in Get Ready. Pixi Beauty Flawless Beauty Primer.

These bags are always a hit or miss with a lot of people, but I'm on my second month and I've loved everything. I like trying new things and even if I don't like it - the bag was $10.

To prove that I got my money's worth and more, here's a run down of each item plus the exclusive deals that ipsy subscribers get this month.

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in "Get Ready" .05oz.  The full sized version is worth $18 at .12oz, which makes this sample size worth around $7.50. 

Deal: Free Lash Domination 10-in-1 Volumizing Mascara sample and free shipping on any purchase.

I've been wearing this lipstick for a little over an hour now and I think I love it. The color works on me, it's not overly drying, and I love companies that send decent sample sizes(!).


Nicole by OPI Roughles in "On What Grounds?" .5 fl oz. This is full sized and worth $8.

No deal.

I feel like I'm wearing the beach on my fingernails. Can't decide if I love it or not. The color is amazing, but the texture of it is going to take some getting used to. I run my fingers through my hair a lot, so I'm a little worried about it catching. But we'll see.


Be a Bombshell eyeshadow quad in Bora Bora. This full sized quad is worth $18.

Deal: 40% off any purchase and a free fuchsia lip crayon.

When I first found out I was getting this in my bag, I texted my friend, "Dude, the quad alone is almost double the bag!" So, there's that. I'm excited to try this baby out. The shadows are smooth and pigmented, not much more I could ask for.

Pixi Beauty Flawless Beauty Primer 12mL. A full sized bottle is 30mL and $22, so this should be worth about $9.

Deal: 25% off any purchase

When I first put a dot of primer on my skin, I thought "Oh no, another tinted product too dark for me," but it blended into my skin perfectly. Will be using this one tomorrow to see how it works out.

My bag altogether is worth $42.50 not including the makeup bag itself!


Here's a list of what else was available:

• NYX Love in Rio Eye Shadow Trio Deal: 25% off NYX Butter Lip Balm
• Pacifica Body Butter Deal: 20% off any purchase
• bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss Deal:(same as above bareMinerals deal)
• Chella Indigo Blue Eyeliner Deal:25% off any purchase
• Klorane Smoothing and Releasing Patches Deal:15% off any Klorane purchase
• Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream Deal: Free gift with any purchase
• Vita Liberata pHenomenal 2-3 Week Tan Lotion Deal:Buy the 2-3 week Tan Lotion, get 3 free gifts ($99 value) and free shipping

Over all, I'm extremely happy with what Ipsy chose to send me.

Again, if you want to check out Ipsy's site and sign up, just click HERE.

Ulta Haul!

I ordered this stuff a little over a week ago, got one box last week, and finally got the second box!

 

 This entire group was $55.05 which includes samples and two free bonus bags.

Ahava Mineral Body Lotion, Purifying Mud Mask, and All in One Toning Cleanser

 Free bonus bag number one! (Oddly enough, all my free stuff came in the first box I got.) I have never heard of Ahava before this, but thought "hey, it's free, why not?". The cleanser I'll get some use out of, but I'm giving away the lotion and the mud mask. I tried out the mud mask yesterday and it smelled like my cat's litter box. No joke. I'm pretty sensitive to smells, so it might be just me. But that's going to friends.

Benefit's Fake Up in Medium. Lorac's POREfection Mattifying Face Primer. Anastasia's clear brow gel. Butter London Polish in Snog. Pur Minerals Big Blink Extreme Mascara.

Free bonus bag number 2! I was so beyond excited for this. I love love love trying new things, especially for free!

 

Benefit's Fake Up in Medium.

This is *so* going to a friend. I am not "medium" in any sense of the word. I am pale, fair, white, ghost... whatever other word you can think of.

 

Butter London polish in Snog.

Love the name! This is the pinkest polish I now own. (This was originally going to be next Sunday's "Nails of the Week" polish, but I'm expecting my Ipsy bag any day now and want to use the one I'm getting in there.)

Ulta Shampoos and Conditions - Smooth & Protect and Volume & Strength.

 I'm trying to get more into haircare and it seems like the first stop is getting rid of sulfates. Now, I have no idea what that does for hair really. But I figured, let's try it!

 

Ulta cotton swabs, Batiste Dry Shampoo in Original, Capelli New York headbands, Red Carpet Manicure's Purify, NYX Butter Lipstick in Hunk, and Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat.

Miscellaneous! Guys, the cotton swabs I have right now are so freaking flimsy it's insane, that's the entire reason I ordered these. How in the world can I clean up my lipstick if the swab is bending every which way?!

 

NYX Butter Lipstick in Hunk

I'm in love. This formula is amazing. I have a major dryness issue when it comes to lipsticks. I constantly apply lip balms and lick my lips (a habit I'm trying to stop), but my lips feel dry all the time. This lipstick felt like butter (haha, it's in the name). They feel moisturizing like a balm, but have the pigmentation of a lipstick. I need more. THIS is why my no buy is until NYX goes on sale.

Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat

This surprised even me, but this is my favorite thing of bunch right now and all I did was test it on the Butter London polish I just got above. I knew matte polishes existed, but when I saw the top coat, I had to have it. At first, it looked like it did nothing, but then as it dried, the polish lost it's shine entirely. I love the look just because it's something different, every polish and top coat I have is shiny.

But my friend, Nikki (over at Defined by Nikki), explained it better after I sent her a picture of my nails: "That is awesome as a night time look I think. I love bright colors but at an evening dinner, it just doesn't mesh well. When you dumb the shine down I think it's more suitable!"

Benefit's Laugh With Me Lee Lee car perfume hanger, Matrix shampoo and conditioner, Yes to Carrots body butter

Free samples! I'm excited to try these. The car perfume hanger will probably end up in someone else's car at some point (again, sensitive to smells) but I'm willing to try it out.

 

Well, my loves, that's all for today. You can now picture me typing this out, laptop on my lap, and surrounded by all the products you see here, along with the Ulta box and all the plastic that everything (seriously, they wrapped pretty much everything separately!) was wrapped in.

:)

Nails of the Week ft. Maybelline

Say hello to Maybelline's Color Show Holographic nail polish in Mystic Green (introduced in yesterday's haul post!). 

So I woke up too early like I always do and thought "F it. Let's do this." I took off my previous polish (Essie's Hide and Go Chic), filed, pushed some cuticles, and did the works. Used Revlon's Base+Top Coat. 

And here's the result:

I kinda love it. It was very easy to work with. No wonky lines while I polished. This took two coats, one looked okay but I'm not a fan of too sheer a polish. 

I ended up messing up my thumb like ten minutes after I took the picture. Go, me! But it looks fine, my nail is still all green but it looks like the polish just got scrunched up. 

Going to attempt to keep track of how long this lasts before chipping. Fair warning, I type a lot (my entire job is typing all day) so the tips of my nails tend to chip very easily. 

Aaaannnddd already thinking about next weeks color. /sigh

Target Clearance Haul

So, I am currently on a "no buy" meaning that I am not allowing myself to purchase any more makeup products. My time limit on myself is just until NYX goes on sale somewhere (a good sale!). But that doesn't mean I can't accept presents. ;) 

My boyfriend was promoted at his job a couple weeks ago and just got his first promotion paycheck. While in Target, he offered to buy me a few things, so I searched Target's clearance and here we are.

 Top Row: elf Kohl Eyeliner, 5 Maybelline Color Show nail polishes, a Covergirl Outlast nail polish, Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen

Bottom Row: L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow, Pixi Beauty Blush, L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Bottomless Java - $3.48

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Infinite Sky - $3.48

These were utterly creamy. I'd say a cross between a regular eyeshadow and a cream eyeshadow. These are the type of shadow where I'd do my eyes first before my face routine as there might be more fallout than normal. They're both pretty shimmery. But we'll see.

elf Kohl Eyeliner in Black - $2.55

Pixi endless silky eye pen in Iridescent Iris - $4.50

RE: Pixi - Holy creamy eyeliner like whoa. So that was my first impression. It looks pretty black when I first put it on, but once I tilted my hand towards my window, it turned extremely purple. Can't wait to try this one out.

The elf liner was a little tougher to get a thick black line from. I'm hoping that if I warm it up on my hand or something that it'll be a little easier to work with. This one did come with a smudging sponge at the end of it, so that's always a plus.

Pixi Beauty Blush in Rosy Rouge - $4.80

 I cannot wait to use this. I only have two other blushes (I think) in my collection. This one applied really easily, so I can't wait to see how it goes with a brush.

I did not swatch the nail polishes. The Maybelline polishes were $1.48 each and the Covergirl polish was $2.48. I'm probably going to start doing a Nail Polish of the Week on the weekends so that I can get some use out of more of my polishes. Be tuned in tomorrow for the first one. Now I just have to decide what color to use...