Sephora Hauls: Friends & Family and VIB

It's that time of year again. Where the sales run rampant and it's hard to say no. This is evident in the amount of purchases I've made lately. I'm sure my bank account will hate me for it at some point but I have lot of new lovelies to play with so I'm currently okay with that!

Friends & Family Haul:






I've already been using these products for a couple of weeks now and some are instant loves.

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in 3.5- I'll do a full review on this soon but I am very disappointed in this foundation.
Lancôme Hypnose Drama Waterproof mascara- <3 The first mascara that I have repurchased in a very long time. Full review to come.
Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Mat in Rouge Rock- After one use it became my favorite red lipstick. Beautifully matte but not drying in the least.
Clinique Take The Day Off Eye makeup remover- This a staple product. I use it every day and rebuy it often.
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder
Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Stawburn- This is a great match to my red hair!
Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo- This is the best one I've used so far but the scent is very strong and that turns me off from it.
Yves Saint Laurent Glossy Stain in #4- This shade is lovely! Slightly vampy but wearable for every day. I'm a fan of the formula as well.







L to R- YSL Rouge rock, YSL Glossy Stain #4 one layer, two layers



VIB Haul:





Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trio in Fire
Sephora Pro Smudge Brush #11
BECCA beach tint in Dragonfruit
Guerlain Lingerie Du Peau Foundation in 31 Ambre Pale
Illamasqua Rubber Finish Nail Polish in Prosperity and Devotee
BI 100 point reward- Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray


I also placed a second last minute order to purchase a secret Santa gift and I also threw in another YSL glossy stain (#10!) three more shades of Illamasqua rubber finish nail polish and Diorshow iconic Mascara for me.


What about you? Have you started partaking in any of the holiday sales yet?

Sleek MakeUp Haul, Review & Swatches!

Be jealous, all of you non-Europeans, I was finally able to get my hands on some Sleek Makeup products!  *squeal*



Okay, so it's not actually that hard to acquire Sleek since they do ship international, but the $10 shipping is a bit of a turnoff if there isn't a sale. Fortunately I was online when they were having a flash 20% off sale and decided to order a few things.
I had a few problems with the website, every time I would go through the checkout it would dump my cart. It was a huge PITA and finally I sent an email over to customer service and they put in my order for me. Apparently website problems are a common occurrence each time they have a sale but I can't say enough good things about their CS.
I also have a fabulously awesome friend who was willing to pick up a few things that were sold out online and send them to me. <3


















First up are the blushes!

L to R: Suede, Life's a Peach, Pomegranate, Rose Gold

 The love for Sleek blushes is pretty apparent over on my favorite makeup board and since I have a new-found love for blush I was pretty stoked to try these out. I've always had blush issues with my oily cheeks; finding a blush to last more than 3 or 4 hours is a hard job so I end up tossing them or giving them away. I will NOT be getting rid of any of these, I want more!

Suede

Life's A Peach

Pomegranate

Rose Gold

• Suede: A warm light brown matte blush, this is my new favorite contour color. It makes a great natural color for the cheeks as well.
• Life's A Peach: The color is in the name of this one, a matte peach blush that looks scarier in the pan than on your cheeks.
• Pomegranate: A very pigmented berry toned shimmer blush. I am loving the color on this one
• Rose Gold: This is a shimmery pinkish-coral blush which many say is a dupe NARS Orgasm. (Post comparing the two to come.)

L to R: Suede, Life's A Peach, Pomegranate, Rose Gold

All of these shades last 7-8 hours on my cheeks, with the exception of Rose Gold which only lasts for about 5. (Disclaimer: Shimmery blushes never seem to last as long on me, so it's not unexpected.)
My ONLY problem with these blushes is the packaging. I love the simple black rectangular design but the clasps are a little hard to open. I'm always messing up my polish when I open them. :( I believe a de-potting is in their future.


Now on to the eyeshadow palettes!
All eyeshadow swatches are two swipes over Urban Decay's Primer Potion.

The Au Naturel Palette is part of the Nude Collection and has 12 mainly cool-toned shadows. This palette has a variety of both matte and shimmery shades. The bottom row on this palette is full of wonderfully pigmented shadows but the top row has colors that are really meant for transitioning or a very natural look to the lid.

Sleek Au Naturel Palette

Sleek Au Naturel Swatches

I've used my au naturel palette several times and I really like it. I have a love of neutral palettes and this one is no exception.

Can  you tell what her favorite face for photos is? I swear, I do NOT put her up to it.

Next up is the Me, Myself and Eye Palette which Sleek made in collaboration with PPQ, a Bristish fashion store. This palette is packed with great pigmented colors and fabulous names like Barry White, Lilac Allen and Salt 'n Peppermint.
I did a FOTD with this a couple days ago and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.You can check it out here.

Sleek Me, Myself and Eye

Sleek Me, Myself and Eye Swatches

The Oh So Special Palette makes me smile when I look at it because the colors are so pretty and feminine. It contains pinks, plums and neutrals- a must in every girls collection! My picture does quite capture how pretty this is in the pan but I assure you that it is.
I've not used this palette yet other than for swatching but if I needed to carry a palette with me for a day-to-night look, I would definitely choose this one.

Sleek Oh So Special Palette

Sleek Oh So Special Swatches

The Acid Palette. The name of this one really says it all. WOW. It's wild and bright and certainly takes some balls to walk out of the house with any of these shades on. Every shadow in this palette is seriously pigmented with the exception of the matte white shade.
One of these poor shadows had a bumpy ride in transit so I had to preform emergency surgery to save it. No worries, the procedure was a success!
According to US FDA regulations, this palette cannot be sold in the US so if you want one, you need to know somebody who will pick it up in-store.

Sleek Acid Palette

Sleek Acid Swatches

I couldn't help but dive right in to this palette because the colors scream, "PLAY WITH ME!!" I wasn't at home with my brushes so I had to use the sponge applicator for both of these looks. It made me appreciate my brushes even more, haha!

You can find Sleek Makeup products on their website and they are sold at Superdrug stores in the UK.
If you have any questions about particular shades please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.

Do you own any Sleek products? Which are your favorites?

Rainy Day Out FOTD

On one very rainy day last week, I looked down at my hand while I was driving and noticed this big orange spot. Now, this certainly isn't the first time I've forgotten to wash off my hand after applying foundation, but it was the first time I couldn't just go to the sink and wash it off. For the next hour or so I kept glancing at my hand, hoping maybe it would magically disappear. No such luck! It kept driving me crazy but I didn't have any baby wipes with me or anything that would take it off.

It's very faint, but it's there.

I haven't been posting many FOTD's because I keep reaching for the same look lately. Gold/Bronze eyes with pink or red lips. This day I mixed it up with a plum lippie instead! Try to contain your excitement.

Face:
MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC15 mixed with Revlon Colorstay in Ivory
Benefit Erase Paste in Fair
Clinique Stay Matte Pressed Powder
Sleek Pomegranate Blush
Sleek Suede Blush to contour
Shiseido in White Beam to highlight

Eyes:
UDPP
Urban Decay Naked Palette:
Half Baked- inner third of lid
Smog- middle third of lid
Darkhorse- outside third of lid
Virgin- highlight 
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack- lid
UD 24/7 liner in baked-bottom lashes
UD 24/7 liner in zero- tightline
Maybelline Colossal Mascara layered with Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus (LEFP) Mascara





Lips:
Clinique Cream Shaper for lips in Mulberry
Bare Escentuals lipstick in Plum Brulee


I picked up a few things at Ulta while I was out as well. I live 90 minutes from anything more than Walmart or a drugstore so I try to make every trip count.

 

• Essence Gel Eyeliner in London Baby and Berlin Rocks- Both of these are very creamy and have good pigment. I can't attest to the wear-time of Berlin Rocks but London Baby (brown) lasts all day on my oily lids.
• Maybelline Colossal Waterproof Mascara- Okay volume but a tad bit flaky.
• Maybelline Great Lash Big Mascara- Haven't tried yet.
• Redken Color Extend Shampoo- Bought this in the travel size, seems to be very moisturizing. (not pictured)
• Biolage Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner

Haulage!

 I got all of this stuff in the past few weeks so I thought I would share. I've also got a haul from Sleek, *squeals* but it's getting it's own post and review.

It must seem like I'm constantly hauling, but I swear that's not the case. :D I'm pretty much done for awhile and I'm putting the finishing touches on a low/np-buy 2012. Still working out the details on it though, I seem to do better if I have a structured situation. 

Sephora Friends & Family Sale:
I only have a cell pic of this haul since I needed to get it put away before the hubs got home from work.

Haulage!!

• Shiseido Luminizing Satin Face Color - Beam White
• Illamasqua Powder Blusher - Panic
• Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection
• Art of Shaving The 4 Elements of the Perfect Shave™ Carry-On
• Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake 
• OPI for SEPHORA Nail Colour - Sale - Going Nude, Eh?
• OPI for SEPHORA Nail Treatment - Base Coat
• Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover For Lids, Lashes & Lip
• Shiseido Foundation Brush 
• Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15 
• Anastasia Classic Stencils

• Happy Birthday - Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath
• Philosophy Purity Facial Cleanser

The last two products were both free! The Philosophy 3-in-1 was my Beauty Insider Birthday gift and they were offering deluxe full-size bottles of Purity as a BI 100-pt perk!

Illamasqua Panic; Shiseido Beam White

I love this little brush. It's like my baby. <3

Walgreens

My mother needed to run by and pick up some things that she had rain-checks for, so being the most awesomest of daughters that I am, I obliged to go with her.
The Sinful Colors nail polish was on sale for $.99 each so I bought 9 shades. Willpower is not my strong point, of this I am aware.

Left to right:

Easy Going

Unicorn

Boogie Nights

24/7

Cream Pink

Ruby Ruby

Lying Nails

Mint Apple

Rise and Shine

I saw a clearance sticker on this Wet n Wild eyeshadow in Penny and then did a quick google search and saw that a few said it was a dupe for MAC's expensive pink, so I picked it up for $.99 as well. I don't have expensive pink to compare, but it's a great shade regardless.

Two swipes on top, heavily swatched on bottom

Not a bad trip to Walgreens, IMO!

What have you been hauling recently?

Mail Time, Drugstore & Big Lots Haul!

Last week was pretty good as far as cosmetics go. I made two trips to CVS, received some international goodies, did a 20% off haul from my local Big Lots and had my first swap over on MUA!

CVS & Mail Part One

Yes, I ate the whole candy bar. Jealous?

Revlon ColorStay Foundation in Ivory- I wanted this to mix with my Studio Fix Fluid to make the shade wearable for winter. As my summer color fades it's becoming too dark. :( Bonus points for getting $4 bucks back at CVS!

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Fuchsia Fusion- My first Fuchsia lip. Wdyt?  It's a bit faded in the pic below, but I'm really loving it.

Don't mind the DH in the background

Fairy Drops Platinum Mascara- wanted to compare it to the US version. Oddly enough, it was cheaper to buy on eBay plus shipping than to walk into Sephora and buy the US version. :/

Canmake Gokubuto Mascara- Another from Japan. I'm a mascara junkie, I want to try them all.

Not pictured is the Revlon Photoready foundation that I received in a swap.

CVS Part Two

CVS pt 2!

Wet N Wild Knock on Wood close-up

I went back to CVS because a certain eyeshadow trio caught my eye in-store, but I put it back. When I stumbled across some ladies talking about it, I just *had* to go back and get it.

Swatched L to R" Eyelid, Crease, Browbone

Wet N Wild Eyeshadow Trio in Knock on Wood- These colors are fabulous for Fall!!

I also picked up some Halloween makeup. Alex and I are both going to wear dia de los Muertos skulls this year. :D

Big Lots

Big Lots haul!

Big Lots had 20% off of EVERYTHING  in the store for rewards members, so we stopped by.  Apparently they've already done this a couple times this year, but this was the first time I've heard about it. Several of my items were beauty related so they count as part of my haul. ;)

Sterilite 3 drawer storage unit- I needed this for the bathroom,  as the one I currently have is overflowing.

Plastic Shoebox- this is for nail polish, as every other container that I've tried isn't tall enough for those darn OPI bottles.

Nail Polish Remover

Bumble & Bumble Hair cleanser- This retails for $20+ at Sephora but I found it for $6!

Ecotools Wooden Foot scrubber- At only $3, how could I say no? 

Bonne Bell Vanilla Lip set- will make a perfect stocking stuffer for Hannah since she loves lip stuff.

3 pack scented chapsticks- this is for Hannah as well.

2 pack Revlon nailpolish- only $2, this one is ALSO for Hannah, I'm planning to make her a little "beauty bag" as one of her bday presents. She's such a diva.

CG nailpolishes- These were only $.50!! Too bad I could only find 2 shades. You guessed it, another Hannah gift.
Navy headband- I am 24 and I have a thing for headbands. No shame here!

Princess Plates- Because Hannah saw them and HAD to have them. That's what I get for taking the two year old with me!!

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Luminous Pink- only $2!

Luminous PInk

Very sheer, but a gorgeous shade!

Didn't I previously say something about a Project 10 Pan? Yeah... totally failing that one. :/ I am still trying to use up those products, but I currently can't fight the urge to buy. I shall blame this week on the fact that Adam was out of school for Fall break and then he got sick, so I needed a pick-me-up. :) Whatever works, right? ;)