Birthday Haul

by

The last month – sheesh! A great giveaway, my birthday, Independence Day, my freaking wedding, and another giveaway! I cannot believe how busy I’ve been.

Birthday HaulBirthday Haul

Pictures/descriptions aren’t in order. Bear with me!

Sephora Birthday Haul

I had a gift card from a friend that I took for-ev-er to decide what to use it on.

Purity – I’ve tried a tiny sample of Purity cleanser by Philosophy, but I wanted to try it a little more, so I got a little duo of two 2oz bottles to try. So far, I dig it.

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light – Because it is summer and I think the regular stuff might be a little heavier than I liked, I got a bottle. I was hoping I can use it for daytime – I can, but not on full-face days.

Benefit they’re Real! Push Up Liner – This is a deluxe sample and I am so dang lucky to have got it before they ran out. I have only tried it once so far, early in the morning and in a rush; but I am really excited to play with it more and share my thoughts with you guys once I have. So far, I can definitely say it is a very unique product.

Deborah Lippmann – in Boom Boom Pow (not pictured) – I didn’t have an obnoxious yellow gold glitter. This one was on clearance for $5, is 3-free, cruelty free, and all that jazz.

Beauty Insider Birthday Gift from MUFE – Unboxed already, they give you an eensy mascara and a little Aqua Rouge lipstick. I like the color, not the formula.

Ulta Birthday Haul

Lorac Pro Palette 2 – You’ve already seen it but though I gave one away, I likely would not have gotten one if not for my (then upcoming) birthday. Really though, it rocks, you basically need it, and congrats x1000 to the winner.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream – in Stockholm (not pictured again because I am a spazz) – This is my third SMLC so far, and I still love how they wear. This one is nude on me without corpsifying my face. Woot!

Real Techniques Retractable Lip Brush – I didn’t have a lip brush! I needed one for tomorrow.

Ulta Rewards Birthday Gift from Calvin Klein – Engineering? In MY mascara? I haven’t cracked this sucker open yet, but the wand has a dial that you can use to change the configuration of the applicator’s bristles. Amazing.

Bonus: Amazon

ORLY Go Deeper (not pictured) – I got this over a teal-blue polish during a recent pedicure, and it is only the second color, to date, that I have purchased due to having had it used at a salon. I. Love. It. I redid my pedicure last night with it. Cameras have a hard time picking up how complex and awesome the glitter is in this ORLY FX polish, and the other great thing is that the glitter isn’t super-gritty – it lays pretty flat, only one layer of top-coat to cover! Basically, you need it in your life if you are into any kind of glitter polish.

Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this Birthday Haul post are affiliate links (not all of them, of course) – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome. Ethical blogging FTW.

Consider Beauty Students

by

I got married last week! Yay! Thank you for bearing with me through my dearth of posts as I’m slowly returning to, “real life,” post-madness.

Early on, I knew I didn’t want an elaborate updo. I have a ton of hair (which you can see in my shine treatment post) and an updo would take too long, require approximately 3.46 cans of hairspray and roughly 27,483 bobby pins. I opted for a curled style with the sides pulled back slightly into a waterfall braid across the back. Woo! I cannot do this myself, however, so I knew I needed help. Here’s what I was going for, originally:

Consider Beauty StudentsConsider Beauty Students

A friend of the family was a stylist, and there was pressure to ask her if she would be able to do it. I did, she said she would do it free BUT she couldn’t do the braid. Well…okay. The braid wasn’t that important. We settled the day and all that stuff, all was well. Two weeks later she called back saying oh, no, I didn’t realize the date, sorry, can’t do it.

…cool.

I then start looking into other options. On-site hair wasn’t a requirement for me, and frankly I was happy to save the money by going, “to them.” My now-husband actually found a Paul Mitchell partner school in our area and suggested I look into it and consider beauty students. At first I thought, “Do I really want to trust my hair to students? I know everyone has to learn somehow, but I take pride in my hair and would hate to have it messed up due to a novice’s mistake.”

Then I thought, “Well, you haven’t having it cut, colored, or otherwise chemically processed, so why not?” I found that their rates were substantially cheaper than those of regular salons (whose eyes, I’m afraid, seem to light up with dollar signs when they learn it is for a wedding – even though they might do the same style for any other occasion…or no occasion at all), and it wasn’t terribly far away. They were willing to do a trial (not included, but the price + stylist tip it was still FAR cheaper than what it would’ve been for juts the day-of bridal style at a regular salon, let alone for a trial and day-of, let alone on-site).

Read more

Tan Talk: Million Dollar Tan Review

by
Million Dollar Tan Cabana Tan and Cabana Tan Extreme LotionsMillion Dollar Tan Cabana Tan & Cabana Tan Extreme

So I mentioned in last week’s favorites post that I have been using Million Dollar Tan sunless self-tanning products recently. I avoid tanning in the sun and do not tan in a bed any longer – I actually had no intention of getting any color this year, but by April I already didn’t match my fall/winter foundation quite right. My wedding was come up so I figured, “Oh hell, I’ll just self-tan since I already need different foundation anyway.”

I previously wrote about Jergens Natural Glow Self Tanners, but I wanted something that packed a little more punch that I didn’t have to apply every single day. The last couple months leading up to most weddings are pretty hectic (mine was no exception), and ain’t nobody got time for that. I’ve tried sample packets of the towelettes – I had one from Kate Somerville 360, but towelettes aren’t for me. Years ago I had tried a spray-on variety and wasn’t a fan either. I compiled a list of requirements and ventured forth to see what Google could share.

My requirements for a sunless tanner:

1. Please for the love of cats do not be perfumed/scented*
2. Wash off my hands easily, please.
3. Not a towelette.
4. Not a spray.
5. Not super thick or goopy.
6. Fast-drying.

Optional:

No green tint
No color guide
No shimmer/glitter/nonsense

Call me picky. It’s okay – I know I am when it comes to this. To touch on these – I’m not a fan of fragranced lotions to begin with; I definitely do not want a perfumed sunless tanner, as the fragrance will almost surely not be cute once the DHA starts reacting and the, “tanning smell,” starts*. I just plain don’t like the towelettes – they may be a good option for you if you are traveling a lot, but I’d still rather have lotion. Sprays can be messy – that isn’t to say they’re bad, just not for me. 5 & 6 coincide – I don’t want to sit there for a half hour waiting for my self-tanner to dry before I can get dressed or go to bed. As far as the optional stuff – some tanning products have a green tint or dye which helps counteract the orange that sometimes occurs. This isn’t a bad thing, but it coincides with the second optional point – I do not need instant gratifications. I do not want dyes or bronzers in my lotion; I can wait the 4-8 hours for the color to develop. Also, as I am not Ke$ha, please skip the shimmer/glitter. If I want something like that, I’ll get a Soap & Glory Body Butter.

* Now, really quick, let’s talk about that asterisk next to the scent remark. I want a lotion that does not have ADDED FRAGRANCE or perfume because I am very picky about scents. I am not asking for a miracle-lotion that does not produce a, “tanning smell. Let’s chat about the science of the sunless-tanner odor before you lose your mind.

The smell that so many people get mad about and say, “boo,” to tanning lotions over is going to happen to some degree with any lotion that contains DHA..which is most of them. DHA, or dihydroxyacetone, is a compound derived from beets and from sugar cane (not scary), and when applied to the skin it reacts with the amino acid in your skin – this is what produces the color you seek, but a side effect is that this reaction also produces a smell. The strength of the odor will depend on your own body chemistry and the concentration of DHA in the particular product you choose – but it isn’t that the lotion smells that way, it is actually your body producing this smell.

Read more

June 2014 Favorites

by

Beauty Skeptic - June 2014 Favorites

June 2014 Favorites
Million Dollar Tan Cabana Tan $20 / bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara $18
Aussie 3-Minute Miracle $4 / KMS Hair Play Makeover Spray $20 / Gena Callus Off $10

 

1. Because I don’t tan in beds or outside any longer, I need to fake it (especially because I’m not trying to look washed out in an ivory gown). I’m going to have a lot of pictures taken soon, so I needed it to be convincing and not a pain to deal with, either. I bought a bottle of Million Dollar Tan’s Cabana Tan and Cabana Tan Extreme lotions a while back after some recommendations were made to me. I’m pretty happy with it and plan to have a post up soon. In addition to their lotion products, Million Dollar Tan carries spray and mousse versions, which you can find here.

2. The original bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara is my holy grail mascara (so far, anyway). I often go without because $18 for something that you need to replace so frequently is too much for me – but I snagged two (one regular, one waterproof) when Ulta had them half off as a part of 21 Days of Beauty event this spring. It does on sale on the bareMinerals website, too, every now and then, but if you don’t care about it being on sale you can get it there, Ulta, or Sephora.

3. The original 3-Minute Miracle (“Moist Deeeeep Conditioner”) is my favorite conditioner, period. More than I loved the Tigi Moisture Maniac conditioner, and this is a hell of a lot cheaper. They have new versions of it now, too, but I haven’t tried them yet. You can get it at drugstores, mass merchants, online – pretty much anywhere, this is very accessible.

4. Got a sample-size can of this Dry Shampoo with from a Gift with Purchase bag and it is easily the best dry shampoo I have ever tried. One or two short bursts takes care of my whole scalp, it is not strongly scented at all, it feels nice, ugh. So good. Alas, with a $20 price tag, I’ll be stretching my sample and ultimately sticking with Psssst! unless I can find it on sale. (You can get the travel size for $7, however). I could only find it at Ulta.

5. Credo blades aren’t safe and daily pumice stone use only get you so far. Despite my DIY pedicure efforts, sometimes you have to break out the big guns. This is also carried at Sally Beauty as well as a similar product that is slightly cheaper (haven’t tried this brand though). Be careful not to leave it on too long, and be both grossed out and amazed by what it does to stubborn calluses.

Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this June 2014 Favorites post are affiliate links (not all of them, of course) – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome, which is kind of the point of a favorites post. Ethical blogging FTW.

Glambot Experience and Haul – Part Three

by

UPDATE, NOVEMBER 21, 2014:

I discovered that one lipsticks I purchased and that is shared in this series, MAC Cosmo, had gone bad after detecting a foul crayon-like smell. I checked with Glambot to see if they check the batch numbers of products they put up for sale to ensure they aren’t selling extraordinarily old products…they don’t, the lipstick I received was over seven years old.

 

Disclaimer: The following post was sponsored by Glambot (www.glambot.com). I was not paid to write, but let it be known that I did receive discounted product for consideration. My content, thoughts, and words are my own. I would not have accepted a discount if I wouldn’t have written about my experience with them anyway. You can visit my Legal page for more detail.

Welcome back to Part Three of my Glambot Experience series! Check out:
Part One
Part Two

On Wednesday, I left off having removed the shadows and pigment from their packaging. Next up is blush. I had been wanting Fleur Power for a while after seeing a Redditor on /r/MakeupAddiction use it, so I was really excited. Up close:
glambot13MAC Fleur Power, opened. There is a small foam round protecting the product with another vellum Glambot paper on top. They come right out.

glambot14

It is difficult to tell here, but the product is scarcely used. Swatched-only to three uses at absolute most. The outer packaging, though it was also hard to tell, looks as if it sat amongst a well-used makeup collection (though it is by no means in bad shape – but you know how you sit a shiny plastic thing around things you use and grab often? The plastic will lose its luster. No big deal, no bothers given by me). glambot15

Lipsticks! I’m not sure if the, “GB,” logo on the stickers is heat sensitive, but they looked a bit more vibrant before I grabbed them. No big deal though, you can still (sort of) see them.glambot06

MAC Syrup annnnd…glambot_macsyrup

MAC Cosmo! They both definitely have the right weight for MAC lipsticks.glambot_maccosmo

Caps off. These products were sterilized before being shipped, but you can do it again yourself if you’re concerned. As you can see, Syrup has only a little left, but Cosmo is almost full (YAY!) – just for giggles, I took my existing MAC lipstick (Brave, purchased from a MAC counter) and compared the packaging, logos, bottom sticker, etc – they’re legit!glambot16

So that’s it for the haul from Glambot.com and my overall verdict is that they’re worth a shot, especially with promos like 10% off (click here to get that discount!). Understandably, they aren’t for everyone (not everyone is comfortable with pre-owned, sterilized cosmetics – not unreasonable), but they’re definitely a great way to try something out without paying full price for it and possibly not liking it. There are certain things that I would not, under any circumstances, buy pre-owned – false lashes, lipgloss whose applicator goes inside the product, mascara (and I do not believe they sell any of these in used condition) – as I am not convinced that these can be sterilized effectively, and I lack the equipment to verify otherwise.

The rest of my thoughts:

  • The Glambot.com site is reasonably responsive, but not without improvement opportunities.
    • Personally, I would really love if they had an option to display more than twelve items per page; I am not a fan of having to go through, for example 145 pages of product. If they introduced a 48-items-per-page option, for example, that would knock that 145 pages of MAC products down to 37 – this would make browsing and shopping more efficient, and would be even better with 60/72/96-items-per-page options.
    • I also wish unavailable items did not show up in searches or category listings.
    • Additionally, although you can filter by brand once you’re in a specific category, but it would be fantastic if there were a straightforward way to shop by brand. You can search for a brand and find items that way, it would be nice if the top bar had a, “Brand,” subsection that you could mouse over and click, “Tarte,” “Urban Decay,” etc.
      • Taking this a step further, the brand filters on the left side of the site once you’re in a product category (eyes, face, etc) has a couple duplicates; NARS and MAC appear twice each and have different products. This is because their filter is case sensitive so, “MAC,” and, “MAc,” return different things, as do, “NARS,” and, “nars.”
    • Another thing worth noting is that Glambot uses URLs for their discounts rather than promo codes you enter at the end – you can get 10% off at Glambot.com by clicking here.
  • Glambot has an FAQ, as well as a section of pages detailing what can be sold, how to estimate your earnings, and how to package your potential items-for-sale to them. I do not have anything I am interested in selling at this time, so I have not experienced this process. This route is nice if you aren’t sure how to sterilize or don’t want to/cannot take the time to do so. Based on their earnings chart, you may make more money selling that only-swatched lipstick that doesn’t flatter you to a friend – but that does not mean Glambot is trying to cheap out on you. Remember that it is providing a service – they pay for the shipping from you-to-them (yes!), they verifiy its authenticity, and they sterilize the product. When you take those things into account, it isn’t a bad deal.
  • Standard shipping was quick, but I did not receive a shipment/tracking notice – I’m not sure if that was just my case or if that is the norm, but keep that in mind. Standard shipping, at this time, is USPS Priority.
  • They package their items really well. The time they take and materials they invest in to do so speak to their commitment to delivering quality products. I think so, anwyay.
  • The contents of my order were accurately described, I am satisfied with what I received. I don’t need to wax poetic on this, it is pretty much what the bulk of the series and photos discussed.

In all, I would do business with them again. I can’t say they will always be the first place I hit when I am looking for a product because my preference is for new items. That said, if the new version of that product is more than I want to spend OR I cannot find that product (sold out, limited edition, discontinued, etc) I will make a beeline for Glambot.com. If I want a MAC blush or eyeshadow refill pan, though, I’m checking to see if Glambot has it first.

 

Worth it? Benefit Brow Bar

by
Benefit Brow Bar
Benefit Brow Bar

I visited a Benefit Brow Bar at my local Ulta to whip my eyebrows into shape for the first time. I plucked for years (more on that in a minute) but was ready for some professional help. But first, here’s why I eschewed it until my mid-twenties.

Prior (Jaded) Experience

Let’s rewind a handful-or-so (cough) of years. I was getting my nails done and my nail technician offered a brow wax. I had no idea what the heck to do with my eyebrows. For only $7, I figured it would be fine. (Narrator: It was not fine.)

She whisked me to the rear of the salon and plopped me into a chair next to a few vats of warming wax. She grabbed a coworker and spoke to her, gestured to her own brows, and directed her back to me – evidently not everyone was qualified to perform waxing services. Fair enough.

Wordlessly, this new employee tilted my head back in the chair and grabbed a popsicle stick. She didn’t speak to me, ask what I wanted, if I had done it before; immediately, she dipped the stick in the wax and spread it around my brow, applied a cloth, and ripped with no warning. She did this several times, then moved to my left brow. She repeated the same process on the left. When she moved to the tail area of the brow, she pressed the cloth down and yanked again. It was far more painful than the other previous yanks of cloth-and-wax. I opened my eyes, wincing, and noticed her eyes were wide and concerned. “Oops…” she said.

So…that’s how you end up with half of an eyebrow. From the arch to the tail – gone. Thankfully, I wore side bangs at this time (because I had neither the product or the skill to fill in my now-misshapen brows). I eschewed waxing for years and plucked instead. Can you blame me?

Get in Shape

I was scarred (emotionally) for YEARS, so I plucked on my own. I later noticed that reputable area salons and spas in my area offered brow services along but couldn’t help but wonder:

Although someone knows how to effectively rip hair from your body with sticky goo, do they know shaping best practices?

Legs, underarms, and Brazilian waxes don’t exactly require much shaping; many cases like a closeout sale everything must go. That isn’t the case with our eyebrows, though, as they serve to frame our eyes and face.

I discovered that Benefit offers select waxing services at their Brow Bars located in Ulta stores, Macy’s locations, and a half dozen other places. Members of /r/MakeupAddiction on Reddit passionately instruct newcomers to take their their untouched brows to a Benefit Brow Bar to fix them up.

Read more