Sephora Haul

I picked up some new things from Sephora the other day. There was several items I had been wanting and decided to go ahead and get them. Also I want to apologize if some of the photos are dark or the lighting is off. As I'm sure most of you know I like to take my photos in natural light and the day I took these photos it was cloudy than sunny than back to cloudy so some photos turned out better than others.

First off I was start with samples I got both of these. Yu-Be Moisturizing Body Lotion and Dr. Brandt Dark Circles Away.

I also got a sample size YSL mascara, which I'm very excited to try because I've never purchased any YSL cosmetics before.

One of the things I've been wanting since August was the Benefit Posietint. During one of my shopping trips the sales clerk gave me a small sample size of Posietint. After trying it I fell in love with it and just HAD to have it, so I went ahead and purchased it the other day.

While I was picking up Posietint I noticed Dallas which I had never really paid any attention to before. Being that I've been going crazy for the Benefit boxed powders I decided to swatch it on my arm. Well needless to say it was love so I grabbed it up and put it in my basket.

This is the one thing I'm most excited for and one of the reasons why I wanted to go ahead and make a bigger purchase. I got the Too Faced Sweet Dreams palette! I've been wanting this ever since it popped up on Sephoras website and been drooling over it ever since, I'm so happy i purchased this! Given that I believe it is a Holiday item i figured I better go ahead and purchase now if I wanted it, because I have a feeling this wont last long.

I also decided to go ahead and purchase another Holiday item (I think it is anyway) that I've been wanting since I saw it and that is the Urban Decay Mariposa Palette. I love the packaging of this palette it's so pretty and I believe the tin is reusable.

Sticking with Urban Decay I purchased the 24/7 Travel Size Set of 5 in Electric. I also believe this is another Holiday item that appeared the same time as the Mariposa palette did, again ever since I saw it I HAD to have it. They also have several other sets of liners I'm wanting but if I don't get to buy them before the sell out at least I have this one. The colors in the Electric set are Woodstock, Perversion, Ransom, Radium, and Junkie.

I also decided to pick up the small size of The Body Shop Mango Body Butter, which smells fantastic!

Than I bought a Sephora Nano Liner in Precious Silver. I've been needing a new silver liner so I picked this one up. I also purchased a Sephora Glossy Gloss in Rock Candy which I have been wanting since August as well.

Finally the last thing I purchased was the Benefit One Prime Day. I've been wanting to try the Benefit Porefessional because I've been interested in purchasing it but hate to spend $30.00 before I know if it works for me or not so this is the perfect way to try it.

Last is a photo of everything I purchased together.

Small Nivea Haul

I decided to purchase a few new Nivea products the other day and this is what I decided to get.

I decided to pick up two more Nivea Creme tins. I already have one of these and LOVE it so I purchased two
more. I plan to buy the full size product eventually.

When I was picking up the Creme tins I saw the small Nivea Soft Creme and decided to purchase that as well.

Than i purchased the Nivea A Kiss of Milk & honey lip balm, which I have been wanting for awhile and finally decided to get.

E.L.F Studio Kabuki Face Brush Review

E.L.F Studio Kabuki Face Brush

Grade: A

Purchase Price: $5.00

Places to Purchase: eyeslipsface.com

HINT: ELF occasionally has the studio brushes on sale for a percentage off.

Plus: Anti-Bacterial, can be used wet or dry

When I went though a ELF cosmetics obsession awhile ago I picked this Studio Kabuki Face brush up one day during one of my buying sprees. It was a spur of the moment purchase and was only $5.00 so I thought why not? I already had one Kabuki face brush that was a no name brush my mom had gotten in some sort of makeup set and gave me. I loved the no name brush and it got the job done just fine so I figured  the ELF cosmetics Kabuki could just be a brush I'd have as a spare and carry around my purse to apply powder with. The first time I used this cute little Kabuki i instantly fell in love with it and it has currently became my favorite Kabuki brush to use and my no name brush has become my purse brush. The first thing I love about this Kabuki is how soft it is, I was very surprised by how soft it is. The second thing that made me love this little buki is that I find it picks up just enough product on the brush and I never get to much with this brush, it gives me just the right amount and applies the product very nicely. I really have no complaints about I've never noticed any shedding or black color transfer and I use this little brush nearly every time I apply makeup and I've put it though several washings and it still looks as well as performs great.  I know that many people prefer using more expensive brushes but for me this little ELF Kabuki does the job and does it well. If you have bought and liked any of the ELF Studio Brushes I highly recommend checking this out. I also recommend checking this Kabuki out if you don't want to spend a lot of money but still get a good brush. 

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Review

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation

Grade: A

Purchase Price: $7.99

Purchase Place: Ulta

SALE ALERT: Today (9/24/2011) Ulta.com has the Dream Smooth Mousse foundation on sale for only $5.00

I bought this foundation on a whim one day when purchasing some makeup from Ulta. I wasn't really sure what to expect from it being that at the time I purchase I had never used it before. I am glad I bought it because I ended up loving it so much that I purchased a second one when my first one started to get empty. It is a decent sized product that twists apart in my middle. The top container houses a sponge applicator while the foundation is in the bottom half. When i apply the Dream Smooth Mousse I use the little sponge that came with the product and lightly apply all over my face. I've found that when using this product a little goes a long way especially when using the sponge applicator. I've found that it's very easy to apply, but you do need to be careful how much you put on the sponge because it is easy to apply to much. This foundation gives me great coverage especially when used with a very good primer. Don't let the name fool you, this products consistency is not like the dream matte mousse foundation. I actually like the consistency of Dream Smooth I think is much better than the Dream Matte. The Dream Matte Mousse felt like whipped air and when I used the Dream Matte it seemed to sit on top of my skin and separate during the day and leave noticeable patches on my face and looked horrible after a few hours. The Dream Smooth Mousse however does not do that at all, the consistency is hard but slightly creamy in the pan and when I wear this all day it always looks good on my face, gives me nice even coverage, is lightweight, and leaves a nice matte finish. I also use the Dream Smooth Mousse with a translucent powder which gives it a even nicer finish. Overall I'm loving this foundation and will continue to use it for awhile. If you are looking for a nice drugstore foundation you might want to check out.

L'Oreal True Match Roller Review

L'Oreal True Match Roller

Grade: B+

Purchase Price: $13.99

Purchase Place: Ulta

When I saw the L'Oreal True Match Roller for the first time I instantly wanted to try it. However due to the price I put off buying it for awhile, hoping to find it on sale one day. The last time i purchased from Ulta I decided to go ahead and purchase it even though it wasn't on sale. I have found that I really love the True Match Roller, however it does take time and patience to work with. When I first used this the first thing I noticed when I used the foundation is that the product is very hard, and it takes several rolls to get any product on the roller. Also it does take awhile to load the roller especially the first time around because the roller does soak up some of the product. It also takes more than one application to get full coverage. However after you do achieve full coverage it's wonderful. This is the best full coverage I've gotten out of a foundation since the max factor pan stik. To me the L'Oreal True Match Roller is worth all the work it takes to apply it. I absolutely love the little roller I think it does a good job at applying the product and was very pleased with it. After the foundation was applied it gave me not only great coverage with a nearly flawless look but it also gave me a very matte finish which I loved. I'm happy with the product especially because I think the benefits outweigh the time it takes to apply. It lasted all day but I must say I did use a good face primer and set it with a translucent powder. When I used this foundation I didn't notice any smell to the product and the foundation didn't irritate my skin. This product claims to give you a smooth airbrushed finished with no streaks and I feel i got exactly that, so i do feel it lives up to the claims. Overall I do like this foundation and probably will repurchase in the future when needed especially if i can find it on sell. If you have been interested in getting this product I recommend trying but only if you have the time and patience to work with it.

Benefit Sugarbomb Review

Benefit Sugarbomb

Grade: A+

Purchase Place: Sephora

Purchase Price: $28.00

Above: photo taken in natural light without flash

photo taken in natural light with flash

Sugarbomb is something that I debated on getting for awhile but wanted really badly. Seeing as how it's a shimmery peachy pink shade I was never sure it would show it well on my skintone. Most peachy colors especially peachy matte shades never seem to show up well on me, and I generally use them on days where I don't want my makeup to be very obvious. I swatched Sugarbomb in Sephora at least 5 different times on the back of my arm on different occasions. When I swatched it sometimes it would show up well and sometimes not, so I was always kind of on the fence with it. When I did my last Sephora haul, I thought what they heck? I wanted it so I went ahead and purchased it. Let me tell you something, I sure am glad I purchased Sugarbomb. On my cheeks with my skintone the way it is right now, it's simply stunning. I absolutely adore Sugarbomb, it looks great without being overdone. It's a very nice peachy shimmery color and I must say I've never owned anything like it before. I decided to use a regular blush brush with it instead of the little brush it comes with, which worked out very nicely for me. I lightly applied Sugarbomb to the apples of my cheeks and blended out along my cheekbone to my hairline and it looked fabulous. As you can see from my photos Sugarbomb is a combination of 4 colored triangles. A peach shade, a light pink, a coral color and a lavender shade. Now given the shade combinations you would think  that if you swatched all the shades they would all be different colors but with this blush no matter what shade you swatch they all come out a peachy pink color, which is odd but cool. Of the Benefit boxed powders that I own I have a feeling this will be the one I use the most and repurchase the most, I love it that much! Benefit boxed powders are always very good quality and this one is no exception. I found this product to be very easy to work with and didn't cause me any skin irritation. I do notice this product has a smell and to me it smells like something I have smelled before and the closest scent I can relate to it is citronella candles or a acne wash I used to use as a teenager. It don't smell bad to me I just think of a citronella candle when I smell it generally. The only time I do notice the scent is when i put my nose to it and sniff I don't smell anything when the product is on my face, so thats good. Overall if this is a product you are interested in purchasing I say go for it especially if you like shimmery peachy pink shades, you will love it!

Sephora Haul

I decided to stop by Sephora and pick up a few things and this is what I decided to purchase...

First up is the samples I got: Benefit Porefessional, Urban Decay eyeshadow primers (sample of all four), Clean Cotton T-shirt perfume, Sephora super supreme body butter, and Clarins UV Plus HP sunscreen

 I also decided to get the Stila Cool Lipgloss set of 3. I bought the warm set not to long ago and loved it so I had to have the cool set as well. Which to me these are a really good deal you get a set of 3 or only $12.00 and i believe if you would purchase just one of these they are something like $22.00 each so seems like a good deal to me especially since I like having a variety of colors to pick from.

 Next up i got some more lipgloss i picked up the Buxom Fashion Show & Tell set. Which contains seven mini lip glosses and even though they are small I only paid $15.00 for this so still seems like a good deal considering I believe the original price of these was around $30.00. Now these are very small but I wanted them any way because given the fact I don't wear the same lipgloss all the time these should last me awhile and the colors look really pretty!

Now this is the thing I'm most excited about I got the benefit little look goods set for FREE. I had 500 points in my beauty bank and when I saw this I knew this was worth the points. I'm so excited about this I've been contemplating getting dandelion for awhile now but haven't picked it up until now. Now I admit the Dandelion that comes in this set is NOT full size. The box is the same size as all the other benefit face powder boxes but this Dandelion is 0.25 Oz while the full size is 0.42 Oz. However given the fact that it wasn't full size I was a bit disappointed however, I'm still very happy I got it. The set also came with a small That Gal face primer as well as a small Bad Gal Lash mascara and I've very excited to try all of these seeing as how I've never purchased any of these before.

Next up is something I'm also very excited about I purchased Benefit Sugarbomb. I've also wanted this awhile but was always afraid it wouldn't show up on my skin very well. After swatching Sugarbomb on at least ten different different trips to Sephora and it showing up decent about half the time I decided to go ahead and purchase this.

The last thing I decided to pick up is a mini body butter by the body shop and I got it in Cocoa Butter, which smells fantastic but it don't seem to be nearly as full as my mini coconut body butter I bought not to long ago, but I still love it!

Anyone interested in purchasing these products? Anyone own any of these products? Let me know what you think!

Sephora Jumbo Liner Review

Sephora Jumbo Liner 12Hr Wear Waterproof

Grade: A+

Purchase Place: Sephora

Purchase Price: $10.00 each

top to bottom: taupe, turquoise, and violet

left to right: taupe, turquoise, and violet

left to right: taupe, turquoise, and violet

left to right: taupe, turquoise, and violet

I first decided to purchase one of these liners because I was looking for a bright blue liner and I saw these and liked the price so I decided to purchase one. I had never tried these before I bought the blue one and didn't really know what to expect out of them. After trying the blue liner for the first time I was hooked and knew I just had to purchase more. These liners are absolutely wonderful, in my opinion you can't buy a better liner especially for the price! I LOVE these liners and can't say enough good things about them. The first thing about these liners is that as you can see from my swatches they are highly pigmented. I swatched each of these colors on the lightest part of the inside of my arm and swatched them lightly and look what beautiful pigmented colors. Another great thing about these liners is that aside from being a liner you can also use these as eyeshadow colors or even as a very nice eyeshadow base. These apply really easily, they are smooth and easy to use. When I use these they don't tug at my eye or hurt my eye in anyway they don't cause any irritation either. Also the best thing about these liners is that they are totally 100% waterproof, budgeproof and smudgeproof. When you apply these they are not going anywhere. When I've used these liners they stay all day and look perfect at the end of the day. When I swatched these colors i ran my finger over them many times at first softly than much harder and these liners staid put, no color transfer, no smudging, and no budging. I went to wash them off and I was just going to use soap and water since I didn't want to use makeup remover. However soap and water did nothing to take these liners off they are very waterproof! I ended up having to use eye makeup remover with a cotton ball and I not only had to clean it once but twice to fully remove the color. In my opinion these are a excellent liners and seeing as how they can be a shadow liner to they are well worth the money. These also make a great alternative to the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Shadow Pencil. I had in mind of trying Urban Decays pencils but not now. Why spend $20.00 on one liner when I can spend $20.00 and get two liners that is equal to or better than the quality of the urban decay shadow pencils! These come in many different colors from brights, to neutrals. I plan on purchasing many more of these in the future I currently have my eyes on the gold one, which looks like it will be really pretty. I highly recommend purchasing at least one of these and adding it to your makeup stash, you wont be disappointed!

Escada Taj Sunset Review

Escada Taj Sunset (Deluxe Sample)

Grade: D

Purchase Price: Free

Purchase Place: Sephora

Full Size: 1.6 Oz  Price: $55.00 (other sizes available)

This is a deluxe sample that I received from Sephora for free. I was really excited about getting this sample because I had heard a few things about Taj Sunset before and was curious about it. I recently decided to use my deluxe sample the last two days and while the scent is a very beautiful scent, it has NO staying power. When i first opened it I really liked the bottle, it has one of tops that you kind of have to work a little and be careful with to pop off and than you just dab the bottle where ever you choose. To me the scent is very nice it smells very strongly of peach and citrus, very summery. I loved it at first smell and put on a lot. I put this very heavily on my chest, and wrist and arms. As much as I put on someone close to me should have been able to smell it. However after i got it on and it dried I couldn't even smell it unless I put my wrist to my noise and than it was a very faint smell. I even asked my husband if he could smell my new perfume and he said "no I didn't even know you was wearing any, I don't smell a thing". I generally apply my perfume and body sprays pretty heavy especially in the summer or if it's a summery scent since they tend to be lighter so it should be smelled. However I couldn't smell it either day i put it on. I even applied it twice on one of the days within a hours time and both times of putting it on I applied it heavily and still couldn't smell it. It seems that once I put this scent on it just disappears because within five to ten minutes of applying i could no longer smell it and it was like I never put any on. Overall it is a pretty scent especially if you love summery citrus smells but I don't recommend purchasing especially if you are like me and want others as well as yourself to smell the scent your wearing. I'm pretty disappointed because had it have had staying power I would have purchased the full size for sure because I love the smell.

EOS Smooth Sphere Lip Balm Review

EOS Smooth Sphere Lip Balm - Honeysuckle Honeydew

Grade: A

Purchase Price: $3.29

Purchase Place: Ulta

Plus: 100% natural flavor, not tested on animals, petrolatum & paraben free, contains shea butter and vitamin e, goes on clear

This is one of those products that everywhere I turned online I saw. From YouTube, to message boards, and other blogs. Everywhere i went everyone was raving about this product in various flavors. Just given all of the hype and how cute it looked I absolutely HAD to have this lip balm. However I never could find this product to purchase locally. I looked everywhere from drugstores, to wal-mart, target etc and no one seemed to carry this lip balm. Until one day Ulta got this product in and I picked one up. I was so excited to have my little EOS lip balm i looked high and low for. As soon as i got home I opened it and tried it out, and yes to me it lives up to all of the hype. The flavor / scent alone is enough to make me adore this little lip balm. The flavor and scent is beyond wonderful to me. I've always liked Honeysuckle, and when i saw this flavor it was something I had never came across before yet just seemed to be something I would love despite how odd/rare the flavor combo is. I find the actual product it's self to be great, it's moisturizing and seems to last longer on my lips than any lip balm I've ever used before. I tend to apply my EOS lip balm a lot just simply because I love the flavor and want to keep it on my lips all the time. I also adore the packaging it's the cutest lip balm I've ever seen and yet slightly odd as well. It comes in this little sphere that is flat on the bottom. When I twist the top off it reveals this big dome shaped lip balm that's sure to last me a long time. It's very travel friendly, It's small, the top fits securely and I never seem to have a problem finding this in the bottom of my purse. I have nothing bad to say about this product. It's a decent price and a wonderful product that to me more than lives up to the hype. If you are interested in purchasing one of these I highly recommend them. They come in four flavors summer fruit, sweet mint, lemon drop, and honeysuckle honeydew. 

Too Faced Primed & Poreless Bronze Tint SPF 20 Review

Too Faced Primed & Poreless Bronze Tint SPF 20 (Deluxe Sample)

Grade: D+

Purchase Price: Free

Purchase Place Sephora

Full Size: 1.0 Oz Price: $30.00

with flash in natural light

without flash in natural light

I got this free when I made some Sephora purchases in the spring. I saw a code to get the deluxe sample for free and decided it was something I wanted to try. I've been using this since May and honestly I'm not that impressed. Now I do love many Too Faced products but this just wasn't one that I loved. I think this product has both good qualities and bad qualities. As for the good in this product is that you only need to use a little to fully cover your face. My tube has lasted me since May and it's September and I'm only a little over half way though the tube. I use this nearly every time I apply my makeup and I apply makeup anywhere from 2-3 times per week, sometimes more sometimes less. I do notice that when I apply this my face does feel softer and it does give my face a nice bronze tint and seems to help with discoloration. I also notice that it tends to make my makeup look good when I first put my makeup on, or at least better than it would if I would apply my makeup by it's self. However that is about where the good in this product ends for me. It does not seem to minimize pores, or achieve a flawless look. It does nothing for deep scars left by acne and does not seem to minimize oil. When I arrive home after a few hours of being out my foundation is all but gone, I'm shiny, and my pores and overall complexion look horrible. Now I have used several primers and this one seems to be the worst of the ones I've tried. Now you may ask yourself why I use this all the time if I do not like it. For me I do like the bronze tint and it helps amp up my tan on my face and cuts out the need for bronzer and mainly I've just been wanting to continue to use it for review purposes and mainly just to use it all up before the summer is over, because I can't get any use out of it in the winter. Plus I'd rather go ahead and use this all up and save my better primers for another day. I did not notice any skin irritation from this but it does have a scent. To me it smells very much like suntan lotion, which I do like, but if you hate the smell of suntan lotion you will not like the scent of this product. However after I apply makeup over the the primer I do not notice the smell any longer. If you are still interested in purchasing this product if I was you I would go with a sample size or a deluxe sample size if you can find it to see how you like it first before making the $30.00 purchase. To me the product isn't worth the $30.00 price tag, there are better primers out there for the price.

Nivea Creme Tin Review

Nivea Creme Tin

Grade: A

Purchase Price: 99 cents

Purchase Place: Ulta

This is one of those products that was such a good price that I pretty much just had to have it. With Fall and Winter rolling around I was needing some good moisturizers for both home and on the go and when I saw the Nivea Creme Tin I knew this had to be one of my purchases. Now I will admit it has been many years since i bought a Nivea product, mainly because i generally have a stockpile of various lotions from Bath & Body Works and Victorias Secret that I don't feel the need to buy lotions often. Now I still have what I call my stockpile of lotions but I decided to branch out this year and purchase something different and I sure am glad I did. This Nivea Creme Tin is small but it packs a punch. The first thing I noticed when I used this product is how thick this cream is, and how smooth and soft it felt to the touch. When applying this it almost absorbed into my skin instantly with very little rubbing. It is a creme that can be used everyday but would be wonderful on extremely dry skin, it's highly moisturizing. It does have a scent but to me it is not offensive it just smells like a soft fresh scent that drugstore lotions seem to have, I actually like the scent. However it's not something you can smell floating in the air after you put it on, in order to smell it I actually have to bring my hand to my nose and sniff. That being said though I have only applied to my hands and no where else so applied more extensively the smell could be a little stronger. I also love the little tin it is in, however I do not think this would be very travel friendly unless you find a way to secure the top maybe with a rubber band. The top is very easy to come off, so I think that if thrown in a handbag or makeup bag it would be a very big mistake. Overall It's a great product for a great price, I don't really see where anyone could go wrong purchasing this. I wish I could find a bigger size in this, I did look at Ulta but I didn't see it in a bigger tin or tube but I could have somehow overlooked it. This will be one of those products that I will purchase again in the future, and probably will purchase more than one when I do purchase it again.