LUSH Bath Bombs

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In September, I visited a LUSH store for the first time. I’m familiar with the brand, of course, but had never tried their products – shopping for such things requires at least one physical visit before retreating to the internet for future purchases.

I rarely take baths, but I knew I wanted bath bombs. From there, I had no idea. Luckily for me, I encountered a friendly, knowledgeable employee (whose name, I regret, I do not remember) who asked me some questions to make recommendations:

“Do you like glitter?” Woman, is that even a question? Of course it is – plenty of customers don’t care for glitter. That’s fine, more for me. “What kind of fragrances do you like? Clean? Warm? Vanilla-y? Citrus? What else?” There were a few more – but she led me to two. The Experimenter, which is vanilla and tonka…

LUSH - The ExperimenterLUSH Cosmetics – Experimenter Bath Bomb

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Essie Penny Talk & Other Metallics

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Essie Penny Talk

Essie Penny Talk, $9

I haven’t been buying a ton of nail polish lately, but a few different trusted sources recommended Essie Penny Talk. I saw swatches, really liked it, so I picked it up on sale.

The color is really lovely, but Essie Penny Talk isn’t for me.

Somewhere along the way I forgot how much of a ridiculous pain in the ass frosty, metallic nail polish is. It streaks like a drunkard who managed to get onto the field at a sporting event. I stopped buying polishes like this ages ago; even when I was in the thick of my polish obsession (color changes every 1-2 days, spending hours, etc), I couldn’t get over how annoying application was. Seriously, what’s the secret? What mystical sacrifice is required to get this polish, and others like it, to apply well?

If I didn’t have bothers to give then, I definitely don’t have the time or bothers to give now!

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Off Topic: Candles

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Are you even a beauty blogger if you don’t talk about candles? /s

Anyway, I can’t resist. Not because of the oddly pervasive stereotype that I just poked fun at, but because I really freaking like a few so I’m going to share. I can deviate from time-to-time, damn it. Call it beauty-for-the-home, if you will.

Yankee Candles

I tend to buy a lot of Yankee Candles when they’re on sale. They carry a lot of fragrances that:

  • I enjoy
  • My husband enjoys (or at least tolerates)
  • Do not give either of us headaches

motheroceancandle

Mother Ocean from the Margaritaville collection is … everything. It’s fresh without being overpowering. I think the ozone component is responsible for my obsession with this fragrance. It’s incredible, and if money were no object I’d clear the shelves at my local Yankee store every time I saw it in stock. This is my absolute favorite candle, period. I will grieve when they end the line.

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September 2016 Favorites

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September 2016 FavoritesUrban Decay All Nighter, $29-39 / MUJI 5 Drawer Acrylic, $35 / EcoTools Eye Enhancing Duo, $5 /
Hot Tools Titanium Digital Flat Iron, $60 / OPI Bubble Bath,$8

It’s October! I got my Halloween decorations up over the weekend. I went to Starbucks on Saturday around 10AM – when it was 65+ degrees in my area – and facepalmed at all the hot PSLs taking up the baristas’ time. Well, at least it’s legitimately seasonally appropriate, even if it isn’t weather-appropriate.

Note: My ribbing of PSL-drinkings is in good spirits – if you enjoy the drink, that’s awesome. I’ve got to say, though, give a flat white a try – they’re tasty. You can add your pumpkin spice goop to it, too, and I bet you’d like it at least as much.

Details on my September 2016 Favorites…

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Batiste Dry Shampoo

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Batiste Dry Shampoo
Batiste Dry Shampoo / Tropical / $6

For several years, I was a devotee of Psssst! dry shampoo. It took me a long time to find and settle on it, sifting through failures from Pantene and Dove, the lackluster one from Not Your Mother’s, and through an incredibly-awesome-but-usually-out-of-my-budget KMS Hair Play. Psssst! was out of stock when I went to replenish, so I decided to try Batiste. If you caught my August Favorites, you saw that it earned a place as one of them.

Application

That pressure, though – depressing the nozzle of a Batiste bottle releases a quick, forceful burst of product where you want it to go. No wimpy, aimless mists here – Batiste’s fine, powdery spray is targeted. Batiste is on a mission. This is awesome if you’re like me and tend to need to concentrate dry shampoo in certain areas – for instance, towards the back of my crown is the spot that usually needs the first, and repeat, attention. Being able to direct product there means less product goes to waste – and it means that areas that don’t need help aren’t risking unnecessary build-up.

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NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

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Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, $29
pic from the NARS Instagram

I neglected to give NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer a shot, dismissing its praise as fangirl hype. As one of the higher-priced prestige (not quite luxury) concealers out there, it was low on my list.

Then, fortunately, Sephora started carrying a travel size. What better way to try NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer than to pay only $12 (.05 oz) for a tube rather than $29 (.22 oz)? Sure, the price-to-product ratio is better in the full-sized, but it takes me forever to get through concealer. This time, overall value loses out to gross spend.

Shades

The diminutive tube only comes in Vanilla and Custard. The two, respectively, are the second- and sixth-lightest in the line. Overall, the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer line features sixteen shades, including five deeper ones that would suit some people of color. As for me, I picked up Custard – a yellow-toned concealer for light-to-medium tones.

My gripe with the line? Make some of the travel sizes for people of color, damn it.

More after the jump.

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