Lips

Birthday Haul

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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.

Glambot Experience and Haul – Part Three

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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.

 

Glambot Experience and Haul – Part Two

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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.

Continuing from Part One last Saturday, I left off at having received my Glambot package only two days after ordering (though I did not receive a shipment confirmation, so I wasn’t sure when to expect it.) I tore open a the USPS Priority Bubble Mailer that arrived open to find a shiny, cutely-adorned Glambot bubble-mailer insider. It is slightly smaller, but fit snugly within the USPS envelope.

Glambot - Inner Bubble Mailer OpenLook! Bubble wrap! A thing! Looks like a little pigment vial, but let’s empty ‘er out:

Glambot - Bubble-Ception 1

Five little bubble pouches. Bubble-ception! The bubbles obscure the contents a little, but not entirely. Up top are two lipsticks, at the bottom, a blush and two shadows (in one bubble-pouch), to the right, the pigment vial.

Glambot - Bubble-Ception 2

Why yes, that is yet another protective bubble pouch. My joke about it being bubble-ception may be a little more realistic than I thought. But hey – at least my order was safe. Glambot really seems dedicated to keeping your purchases protected from damage during shipping – these items are packed better than NIB items often are!

Glambot Haul

You will notice that the lipsticks and pigment vial have a small Glambot, “GB,” sticker on each to keep them closed. This is done after sterilization and keeps the cap secured during its journey. The two shadows on the bottom left and right are secured within two plastic sleeves and then surrounded with this cute, circuit-board-printed vellum-esque Glambot paper, and also secured with the same type of, “GB,” sticker to hold everything in place. In the bottom center is a blush, and it has a small foam pad on top of the blush and a piece of vellum-esque Glambot-printed paper on top of that, under the lid.

Here’s everything after I have removed it from bubble-ception. This is the entirety of my order, from top left (pricing is before the discount I received, for full disclosure):

  • MAC Lipstick in Syrup – 30-50% full, in Good condition – $9.00
  • MAC Pigment in Rushmetal – 80-100% full, in Good condition – $10.80
  • MAC Lipstick in Cosmo – 80-100% full, in Good condition – $12.00
  • MAC Eyeshadow Refill in Motif – 50-80% full, in Good condition – $9.00
  • MAC Blush in Fleur Power – 80-100% full, in Good condition – $21.60
  • Urban Decay Eyeshadow Refill in Freelove – 50-80% full, in Good condition, $8.25

Realistically, the blush was not priced at less than retail. Glambot.com suggests that it is regularly $23.50 new, but MAC has it on their site for $21 (maybe it used to cost more? I have no idea, maybe one of MAC’s devotees can clear that up for me). I don’t really care how much the pigment normally is, as I am certain this is a discount and will probably have it until I die. Cosmo and Syrup are reasonable discounts. Motif came at a discount of $1 and I don’t think Urban Decay offers refill pans, though it was labeled as such. It did come at a hefty discount as compared to the full product.

To date, I have owned only two MAC products – MAC Brave (lipstick), and MAC Soar (lip liner). I’ve wanted to try more, but I have trouble swallowing $15 for lipstick, $21+ for blush. Since I had nearly no experience with the brand, I wasn’t exactly clamoring to try it. I found Glambot, however, and checked out their site, which claims to have the largest selection of verified legitimate MAC products out there. Realistically, I lack the time to scour their site to confirm that statement, but I can tell you they have 145 pages, twelve products per page, of MAC products.

Moving on:
Glambot - MAC Motif This is MAC Motif. You can see the circuitry art a bit better; I thought it was pretty cute. When you remove this paper sleeve, there is a plastic sleeve inside, and then another:

glambot10

This is Urban Decay Freelove, still safe inside of plastic sleeve-ception. (This is actually the second plastic sleeve. The right part folds over, then it was in a slightly larger pouch of the same material, then the paper was around that.) They each had their own sleeve.

glambot12

This is to show wear. UD Freelove on the left, MAC Motif on the right.glambot11

And again. You can see that pan has been hit on Motif, but just barely – there is still a lot of product in the pan. Freelove has a bit of a gouge out of its right side (I suspect it had been dropped), but is also still very full. It will take me some time to finish these.glambot07

My first pigment! Kind of coppery looking in the tube. (Pardon my needing-to-be-redone nails.) I was particularly thrilled for this one, as I hear it is virtually impossible to actually run out of these pigments (hence why I got a tiny vial and not a whole tub). glambot17

Still coppery looking with it open. I’m amazed it didn’t go everywhere when I opened it. I only barely tapped my pinky to the inside of the cap and got major color payoff. Score!

So far, I am extremely impressed with the speed of shipping, the care taken with regard to packaging, and the fact that these items were represented so well on their website. Take Freelove, for example. I do not know if Glambot photographs each item they put up for sale (I certainly wouldn’t hold it against them if they didn’t), but look at this:Glambot - Urban Decay Freelove Listing

Glambot.com Example Item Listing Page

Here we have the listing for Freelove. Look at the photo of the shadow – that is literally what I received. I know it is a little harder to compare with my photo, but you should still be able to see that line where it kind of dips down into that, “gouge,” area. I think it would be huge for them if they were able to photograph each item they had up for sale.

This image also shows what I mentioned in Part One about having items appear available in searches and in browsing, but clicking through and finding them out of stock (this screenshot was taken after I had received my order). I could see keeping listings for things that are NIB (new-in-box), like Mascaras (Glambot does not appear to sell used mascara – which is GOOD because they shouldn’t!) since you won’t need to show its wear, but for specific items that have specific wear, it would make shopping easier and more enjoyable if listings for specific pre-owned items were immediately removed from searches and categorical listings.

My items were well-packed and thoroughly protected, with eyeshadow having a total of SEVEN layers of protection (two plastic sleeves, paper sleeve, two bubble sleeves, inner bubble mailer, outer bubble mailer). Although there was a bit of packaging-ception going on, it was reassuring to know that that much care had been taken in keeping the items safe en route to me. All of the items arrived undamaged, despite suffering the rigors of USPS transit. Furthermore, even though there was a lot of protective packaging, it was not difficult to remove and was not time consuming. (Those plastic clamshell packages that come on stuff, usually electronics, takes WAY longer to open!)

If you’re interested in checking out what they have to offer, I have a promo link for you. Their site is kind of weird about promo codes, however, so instead of entering that at checkout, their site is setup in such a way that you follow links to get whatever promo they have going on. BeautySkepticLove10 will get you 10% off all items on glambot.com. (This is not an affiliate link – I do not get kick-back from your purchase – just wanted to give you a heads-up!).

Part Three

Glambot Experience and Haul – Part One

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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.

Like me, you may have had a product you were interested in trying but were wishy-washy about pulling the trigger and making the purchase. That’s how it has been for a lot of things for me – biting the bullet and trying gel polish, BareMinerals, Stila Stay All Day liner, etc. especially when it comes to mid-range or higher products. It is easy to commit to a $2-5 lipstick, but a bit harder to commit to a $15-20 one.

Enter Glambot.com.

Glambot

The simplest way to relate this is to say that Glambot can be considered the Plato’s Closet of cosmetics and tools. Someone buys something, maybe it doesn’t work out for them. Maybe they bought it from somewhere with a less-than-generous return policy. Maybe they question the ethics of returning something just because they had Buyer’s Remorse, and want it to be used by someone who digs it instead of being discarded (which is often the fate of opened-but-unused products). They sell to Glambot, who verifies the authenticity of the product, sterilizes it, and prices it based on its condition (fair, good) and how much product is left (80-100%, 50-80%, 30-50%).

Someone else comes along wanting something and they find a product they wanted to try cheaper than retail, they then order from Glambot.com as you would any other website. They receive their verified, sterilized, carefully packaged product in a few days.

Glambot carries and verifies products from MAC, Urban Decay, Lorac, Benefit, Too Faced, Stila, Nars, Buxom, Tarte, Sigma, Laura Mercier, and The Balm – amongst others, including premium labels. They seem to be expanding their options, but seem to be following the, “slow and steady,” approach rather than compromising quality and delivering anything less than a safe, legitimate product.

After I did some research of my own, I went ahead and decided to give Glambot a shot. I literally spent a couple hours perusing the site to see if they had anything I was specifically seeking. I was just matched to Nars Sheer Matte foundation in Punjab – but they didn’t have any in stock. I am definitely not interested in paying full priced for MAC brushes, but I wouldn’t mind a gently-used 242 – they didn’t have them. It is the nature of the business to have a constant revolving door of products, after all, so I pressed on.

I actually saw a Naked palette on there for something like $47, and Too Faced palettes for $32. I already have Naked and am not looking for another palette, but I thought that was intriguing. They have a lot of, “vintage,” Urban Decay – not true old school, but prior to the current formulation. Lots of 24/pencils. They have a veritable ton of MAC products – though I could not get through all of them, I sifted through quite a few. There were several lipsticks I wanted to try, but many of them (though they had a listing), were marked as sold out when you clicked through to it. Same with the shadow refill pans – I found the sheer volume of products that appeared to be in stock that actually weren’t a little discouraging. For a little while, it seemed like out of every 5 products I was really interested in, only 1-2 of them were actually available for purchase.

I finally filled my cart and placed an order on the 16th; I was surprised when, on the 18th, this showed up in my mailbox via USPS Priority. Although I received an order confirmation immedoately, I did not receive a confirmation of shipment. For reference, Glambot.com ships from California and I am located in Pennsylvania.

Glambot - Shipment PackageObviously, the reverse side has important info. The dimensions of this envelope are larger than I was expecting – 9.5″ x 12.5″ standard USPS bubble mailer. It felt pretty full, not haphazardly filled with jumbled contents. I opened it up:

Glambot - Inner Bubble MailerGlambot Inner Bubble Mailer

Inside, I found a super-shiny chrome bubble mailer. It is slightly smaller, and covered with a Glambot sticker and carefully sealed with branded tape. I am pleased that it isn’t just nondescript, lame packaging picked up from Staples. Carrying your branding into the details is, I think, one of those little things that will make people smile. All in all, pretty cute.

I am thoroughly pleased with the speed of shipping, even in spite of not having received a shipment confirmation (though two business days is not an unreasonable time to box-and-ship for a company without a giant warehouse with warehouse people pulling picks and so forth).

After I finished concocting this post, I realized how insanely long it was – so I am breaking it into three separate posts (and yes, part one was this long). If you’re interested in looking into Glambot, they have a couple promo codes up on their site, but you can snag 10% off with this link!

Part Two
Part Three

May 2014 Favorites

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I did a Favorites post last month, but it seems like it has been a while! May 2014 Favorites:

May 2014 FavoritesMay 2014 Favorites
1. China Glaze – I’m With the Lifeguard, $5 / 2. Lip Smacker – Dr Pepper, $2
3. Etude House Drawing Eye Brow, $2-7 / 4. Marc Jacobs Dot Rollerball, $22

China Glaze I’m With the Lifeguard – When the weather gets warm, I like to resort to unreasonably bright and ridiculous nail polish colors. Don’t worry, I use them when it isn’t warm, too – but I use them more often when it is toasty. This awesome, bright, shimmery neon green is what I’m wearing on my toes (with peep-toe shoes…at the office). If your polish collection is bereft of ridiculosity, please consider investing for your own amusement. I bought mine from Sally Beauty, but you can also get it on Amazon.

Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers lip gloss – Not just for kids, dangit. I maintain that this is the best product Lip Smackers has ever released. I just bought a new one, judgment be damned.  Realistically, it doesn’t do much for chapped lips – but that’s fine. It was never really meant to, despite having a chap-stick-esque format. You can buy this directly from Lip Smackers, on drugstore.com, or in stores at Wal-Mart.

Etude House Drawing Eye Brow – Korean cosmetics companies have done some pretty cool stuff. BB creams, cute lotions, lip gloss with adorable bunny-shaped caps…and these brow pencils. Capped at both ends, this guy has a spoolie (with soft, friendly bristles, not the ridiculous Brillo that some included spoolies are) and an angled, chisel-tip twist-up pencil. Some western brands have products that I can only assume were inspired by this design (Hourglass brow products, Bite lip products) because it is awesome. I’m sure this can be found elsewhere online, but I always buy from Amazon.

Marc Jacobs Dot Rollerball – Lately, I’m of the opinion that buying a whole bottle of perfume is pointless. I got this as part of a coffret I purchased around the holidays and have been wearing it more often lately; I’ve barely made a dent. Very season-appropriate. It is currently available at Sephora, but there’s a spray pen variety at Nordstrom, Ulta, and Macys.

 

By the way, have you entered my L’Oreal Infalliable Never Fail Lacquer Liner 24H giveaway, yet? If not, go for it – there are only two days left! All you have to do is comment on that post and you’re entered. Who doesn’t want free liner?

 

Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this May 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.

Nude Lipstick – Maybelline Stormy Sahara

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I tend to play up my eyes more often than my lips, so tend to stick to relatively neutral or muted lipcolors (despite my love for Kat Von D – Adora and Stila Stay All Day – Beso). Most often, I wear an, “MLBB,” or My Lips But Better shade, but sometimes I want something a little more neutral than that. Problem is, I feel like a lot of, “nude,” lipcolors match the skin too much (or, in my case, are too light!) and therefore lend themselves to a corpse-y appearance when applied.

Noooope (I hope you read that as Lana Kane from Archer. If you didn’t go back and re-read it that way.)

Maybelline has been pretty awesome with their lipstick formulations recently (if not their color names), and added some nude shades to their Color Sensational line – this new family is called The Buffs. Living on the edge again, I picked a color (sale + coupon, ha!) simply by looking at the chart under the display (where it gives you an approximation of the shade).

Maybelline Stormy SaharaI chose Maybelline Stormy Sahara

I twisted the bullet up and observed the tan hue and recall feeling skeptical. I slapped it on my face and was immediately pleased – it is nude! It is a tan-ish nude with just the faintest hint of pink – not light enough to make you look corpsey. Dark enough to make your lips still look like LIPS but not steal the show. The consistency feels creamy, and the lipstick glides on effortlessly (no stupid, annoying skips or tugging) and is a creamy-ish finish that is not super shiny – very natural. Maybelline Stormy Sahara does not have a strong smell or taste.

Lasting power is typical for this line, but I’m forgiving of lipsticks I have to reapply more often (2-4 hours) when they are neutral hues. This shade is universally appropriate – day, work (even in conservative professions/offices), night (just go crazy with the eyes!), etc. I cannot see myself going any paler with a so-called nude-lip, but I would go a bit more pink.

The Maybelline Color Sensational – The Buffs line can be found in drugstores, mass merchants, and online for $4-7ish, but frequently goes on sale and has coupons available. If you would like to see swatches of this shade, leave a comment!