mascara

Sephora Play June 2016

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Sephora Play June 2016Sephora Play June 2016

Never having jumped on the subscription box bandwagon, in May I signed up for Sephora Play! I received my first box in mid-June, and finally have time to talk about it what I got!

Tocca Florence

I’m highly picky about fragrances. When I realized this was a floral, I nearly tossed it out without popping the cap off the vial. I decided that wasn’t fair, so I removed the stopper and…was pleasantly surprised! For the first time since the Marc Jacobs Daisy line, I’ve found a pleasant floral. That said, I’m not going to rush out and buy a full sized, $68 bottle of Florence. I will enjoy this sample vial, but juggling several bottles of perfume is not for me. I would consider buying a rollerball. If you like subtle florals and are in the market, give this a shot.

Tarteguard

I’ve always thought that the packaging for Tarte’s sunscreen was cute, but I didn’t give the product much consideration. If I was going to drop $32 on a sunscreen, I’d probably go Shiseido, Clinique, or Murad…or I’d go with a BB Cream product. So far, I’ve used Tarteguard on my hands and forearms only – where it has done a good job. I was reluctant to introduce change to my routine so soon after finding a routine that my skin is responding well to (plus I <3 my Biore one!). Furthermore, the reviews this sunscreen has received have indicated a high incidence of breakouts in relation to use. Unfortunately it isn’t going anywhere near my face anytime soon. It DOES has a faint, pretty scent that I can’t place and none of that nasty, “sunscreen smell.” For what it’s worth, a fellow, makeup-obsessed friend swears by this stuff and reports that it doubles as a good primer.

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2015 Holiday Gift Guide – Under 25

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Those of you in the United States, I hope you had a delightful Thanksgiving. I’m still working on my tryptophan coma. No, I did not go shopping yesterday (I vehemently disagree with shopping on Thanksgiving). No, I did not line up or go shopping today (as someone who, in a past life, worked Black Friday at a big-box store… never).

ANYWAY. The $25 and under price point is where value really starts to kick in. Admittedly, I was wanting to add most of these to my own cart (especially the candles & Black Honey set!) – but I’m on a bit of a no-buy for myself for the time being.

2015 Holiday Gift Guide – Under $25

LORAC Pocket PRO and Pocket PRO2, $18 ea

I’ve hosted giveaways for each of these, because, frankly, they’re a great sampling from their big sister palettes, LORAC PRO and LORAC PRO 2 (which I also reviewed & gave away). They’re a great value, and a nice way to expose someone to prestige-quality products without busting your own budget. Quite stuffable, as far as stockings are concerned, too.

2015 Holiday Gift Guide – Under 25

Primal Elements Santa’s Cookies, $20

This one is the scent of warm cookies (side note, who’s ready to put those holiday baking skills to the test?!) and it is divine. Really, practically anything from Primal Elements. I found Primal Elements years and years ago – Ulta.com actually carried some of their smaller candles on their site back then. I picked up a small pair of their Tahitian Vanilla candles – the’re so unique, a blend of wax and that weird, fun-colored jelly-goo… and they smell amazing. Most of the candles in my house are Yankee due to the sheer accessibility and price-point, but I’d say Primal Elements candles are my true candle love.

More of my 2015 Holiday Gift Guide – Under 25 after the jump…

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July 2015 Empties

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I try like hell to be consistent, but sometimes life gets in the way. I needed to prepare graphics for this post, which I intended to publish yesterday but had a hell of a migraine yesterday and the day before. So thanks for being patient, and here are my July 2015 Empties.

July 2015 Empties

I’ve been wanting to do an empties post for a while, but for months I’d only have 1-2 empty items and who is writing a post about 1-2 empty things? The stars aligned this month and I actually finished up a good bit of stuff.

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June 2015 Favorites

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June 2015 Favorites June 2015 Favorites
1. Hawaiian Tropic Island Sport Spray Spf 30, $7 / 2. L’Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black, $7 /
3. Equate Sensitive Cleansing Wipes, $3 / 4. ORLY GelFX, $9 / 5. Tip2Toe Electric Callus Tool, $45

This past month was super busy and flew by, but I somehow managed to get my June 2015 Favorites together on time!

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Worth it? Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

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The makeup industry often has weird (OCC Technopagan) or even oddly sexualized names. To name a few? NARS Orgasm and Deep Throat (duh). Urban Decay Rule 34. I could go on.

Too Faced, however, has no bushes to beat around, and no bothers to give. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. Bam. Shock value!

Too Faced Better Than Sex

Well, aren’t you cocky?

I’m here all week, folks. Anyway, it isn’t a new product, but I’ve noticed a bit more buzz around it lately. I got a deluxe sample tube with my Everything Nice palette and finally decided to crack ‘er open.

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ck one mascara by Calvin Klein – First Impression

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ck one mascarack one mascara

The Ulta Rewards member birthday gift for 2014 was a full-sized tube of Calvin Klein’s ck one mascara. I ran through my last test subject, Guerlain Maxi-Lash pretty quickly and this one was next in line.

ck one mascara wand

Available exclusively at Ulta, ck one mascara features a wand that can be adjusted via a twist of the cap depending on what effect you wish for your lashes – definition or volume. Before actually opening it, I was under the impression that when the cap was twisted that an additional set of bristles would protrude from the wand; I was intrigued by what I perceived to be a cool meetup of engineering and beauty. When I opened it, it was the first thing I examined.

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