Tuesday, January 11, 2011

SiJCP steals

My SiJCP has Buxom Lipgloss on sale for $9! The shades Isabella and Carmen are the only ones a part of this at mine but they are pretty.

Jumbo Korres Showergel and Body Butter duos are $15.

Check the brushes and see if the travel brush sets are $10 (regularly $39 and $44). I'm not sure why they were marked down so cheap at mine.



This was at my FS but I forgot to mention it in the prior post: Thanks to my friend Laci, I had to go grab a sample of the new Korres Mineral Foundation. Thanks to my friend Demetrius, I have quite the generous sample so I will be giving a detailed review of that soon. Let's just say I already know what I'm buying when my foundation runs out...

New Year, New Loves

My camera has decided to part ways with us. Sooooooo the hunt was on for a new one--and then I got distracted by pretty things, smelly things and fun things so it kind of got shoved to the back burner.

I ordered from Lush during their Boxing Day Sale. This isn't as fun when I can't show you...
Snowglobe Body Soap
The Godmother Soap (uh, I can't stop smelling this. It's kind of a problem)
Snowfairy Lip Tint
Snowcake Soap
Satsuma Bath Bomb
Candy Cane Bubble Bar
Coal Face Sample
Godmother Soap Sample

They currently have a few items back in stock if you hurry, you can take advantage of their BOGO sale. The wrapped gifts have a 15% off coupon in the ones under $25 (or $20) and the ones above have a 25% off coupon on 3 skincare items.

Zoya recently had a promotion to celebrate their reaching 20000 fans on Facebook before January. Three free nailpolishes but you pay shipping. So buy 1 get 2 free! I've only tried Zoya polish but never owned it and I'm not sure why I waited so freaking long. I had a few of my friends and my sister take advantage of this great offer and we all got different colors so we could share. I ordered Ki, Veruschuka, and Kelly. I'm wearing Veruschuka right now and I'm blown away by the quality of this matte polish--it's way better than my Sephora by OPI in Metro Chic! Also, I can put clear polish over it to make it "normal" or glossy whereas with the SbOPI it always looked weird.

Lately I've been experimenting with quick and easy recipes/ideas to eat quickly and cheaply and feed my friends. I'm completely addicted to making my own tomato sauce now whether it be for pizzas or pasta. So stupidly easy, I kind of kick myself for not doing it sooner! The results are a trillion times better and you get to choose whatever to put into it based on what you enjoy so the possibilities are endless!

Most recently I made french bread pizza. I'll make it again and take photos but basically:
1. Slice french bread in half long ways.
2. Put some olive oil on it but don't go all the way to the edge.
3. Mince some garlic (uhhh my friends and I like a ton so I minced 8 cloves. Yup, 8) and throw it into a saucepan with some olive oil. No need to brown the garlic. Don't have the heat on too high. I typically have it around medium or medium low.
4. Add in some red wine (if you're like me, you'll add in a decent amount over time). I used the Cabernet Sauvignon from Trader Joe's--cheap and works well for cooking. :)
5. Let most of the alcohol reduce out for a little bit.
6. Throw in a can of tomato sauce. Just the most basic. Or if you have fresh tomatoes you can use that too. I have some canned with onions from the garden (the ones that Wesley did not eat).
7. Pour in some Italian Seasoning. I start out with 2 teaspoons but end up adding more over time along with wine and cracked black pepper. You can also add vegetables, meats or whateverrrrr!
8. Once the sauce is ready, spread some onto the bread and then put on some mozerella but don't put either all the way to the edges if you want the "crust" crispy. The olive oil you put on it before not only helps with flavor but I'm told it keeps the tomato sauce from running into the bread.
9. Add pepperonis/ham/veggies/whatever on top and then cover it with a little more cheese (because who doesn't like cheese)
10. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

It's just one of those things that you read what to do once and you just kind of modify it when you actually do it. I made this for the BCS game at a friend's house and it was quite delicious. :)

Products I'm about to try/Products I've used up
Last year especially for the last 2 months things got extremely dramatic and hectic. Since then I'm more than happy to leave 2010's drama in 2010. I'm sure 2011 will have plenty of its own but I'm enjoying things as they are now. I'm expecting the Josie Moran Bear Naked Wipes to arrive soon as my beloved Ole Henriksen Truth to Go Wipes are nearly out. I used up another Badgal mascara and I'm currently using Cargo's Lash Activator mascara. This would be great if I needed more volume! I only need length and I have noticed my lashes are a lot longer since I started using it but it's so hard for me to keep using it given the formula makes my lashes clump.
I finished another Mineral Veil. I really do like it a lot more than the Laura Mercier finishing powder. That's probably why I've yet to finish the LM powder...
I'm halfway through another Bare Minerals foundation and almost out of my LM Tinted Moisturizer in Sand--which is okay because I'm too light for that color now. I dropped my MUFE primer halfway through the bottle and I honestly cannot find where it rolled to! Wesley? Did you take my primer?? But I liked it enough. I still prefer Korres but I'm glad I'm using (or losing) my primers.
For lips I'm addicted to the Korres Cherry Oil Lipgloss. I got a set for Christmas and wow. Why didn't I use the ones I got from their sale more before? They smell good, they are moisturizing and they look amazing. I actually like it better than my Buxom glosses (which I still love and use most days).
Still not using any blush. Wooooo!
I've started using MAC's MSF in Refined again and just as before it breaks me out still so it's a good thing I have a gazillion illuminators (Lorac being the other one I use right now). My TFSI keeps on giving. Which is fine considering when I try other primers I'm typically disappointed.
I hated the Origins Ginzing eye cream.
For concealer I'm looooooooooving the Everyday Minerals Abbotts Pick Me Up.  I use my ecotools concealer brush to apply.
I got 2 nice brush sets from SiJCP for $10 each (from $39 and $44) and am using one to do makeup of my friends. And I love my Clinique Brush Cleanser still--no fragrance.
I used up my Bliss Triple Oxygen moisturizer which I'm a little bummed about but I get to start using Fresh Soy Face Cream so expect a review on that and the other newbies in the next month or two (once I get used to them and can give a detailed review).
For face wash I'm almost done with Origins Never a Dull Moment and still using Korres Pomegranate Scrub to make my skin awesome. The Origins wash is alright. Smells okay but kind of plastic-like sometimes. It cleans but I don't feel like it's doing much else.

Those are pretty much all the things you didn't really want to know about me. :) Yay for 1/11/11!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Jewelry Box Swatches!

So I learned I have no patience with swatching AND that I can not for the life of me swatch in anything remotely close to a straight line...yeah. Next time I swatch things I'll be a bit neater, I promise! lol. THESE ARE BETTER THAN NOTHING :D I promise that primer makes all of them way more vivid--especially if you do more than 1 stroke lol. But I wanted you to get the idea of it without primer!


Quickies:
The shimmers are naturally the easiest to work with but they all felt so silky and nice. The first 2 or 3 in the matte were the most difficult but that might be due to my skin tone. The lip glosses were absolutely WONDERFUL. I popped one onto my lips right away and so moisturizing and soft! the color pigmentation was phenomenal! The lips were really difficult to remove lol. I think that is promising to staying power! It actually stained my arm and it looks like I have a rash now...
I used the underside of my arm because it's paler because I'm awesome and unevenly tan like that.


All swatches are 1 stroke.


The shimmers without primer (okay I ran out of space at the end and popped them on the top)

The Mattes! Top row is with primer, bottom row is without primer! Can you  see what I mean about keeping in a straight line? 

Closeup of the matte shadows. I loooooooove the fourth color! SO much.

Another closeup of the matte shadows.

Luminizer, Park Avenue Princess and the lipglosses! Look at how pigmented they are! ONE SWIPE!

The eyeliners! I kept tilting them funny so it is a bit messy. Shimmery black, shimmery olive, shimmery bronzey brown, matte plum and matte black.

After 3 swipes of a makeup remover wipe. Not bad! 

So there you have it! sorry they are messy!! 

Friday, October 8, 2010

Tarte The Jewelry Box!!!

Quickies: 
$52 USD, $637 US value
16 all new shimmering eyeshadows and 16 all new matte eyeshadows
8 all new lipglosses
park avenue princess mineral bronzer
all new soft pink luminizer
5 all new long-wearing eyeliners
detachable multichain necklace


Swatches will be in another post!


I was semi-catching up on youtube videos (which I totally have been slacking on for months and months) and noticed that Loraine had the new Tarte holiday palette (last year's was the Treasure Chest and I totally missed out and have been bummed about it for a year...)
I called my FS Sephora and they had it in the back! They don't even have it on sephora's site or tarte's site! So I jumped. 
I plan to attach some black ribbon to make the necklace longer (I think it'd look nicer that way) and I can already see myself wearing it a lot! I'm also super excited to try out the new eyeliners since that's a love of mine! 
Anyways, after I've actually used some stuff I'll post a review of that as well as swatches. Of everything. WOOOOOOOO! Do you feel the excitement? Do you??? 


I need to go pee now. Picture incoming! Click to see them large and in charge!!


To the left is the other set I got for a friend. It has 3 mini cheek stains and a ring for $25!

Necklace. Don't you think it'd also look cute long? with black ribbon...



Without flash, the shimmery colors

Shimmery colors with flash

Matte colors without flash

Matte color with flash (seeing a pattern?)

eyeliners without flash

eyeliners with blinding flash

luminizer, park avenue princess and lippies without flash

yeah you get it by now.

EOS Honeydew Lip Balm

So I went to Walgreen's because the EOS lip balm is on sale for 2.99 and you get a register reward for 2.99! The only flavor they had at my store was honeydew which is fine, it smells delicious! So here's the quick lowdown:


EOS stands for Evolution of Smooth.
Paraben and Petrolatum free.
USDA certified organic (95%) and 100% natural.
Gluten Free.
Not tested on animals.


First of all, the container is interesting. It's a ballish egg looking thing. The lid twists off to reveal a ball and you just apply it like any other chapstick! I'm surprised at how much I like it, I almost feel bad for my Korres Lip butter! You get .25oz of product and it has no taste that I could tell. The texture is smooth and not at all sticky or super shiny. Your lips feel instantly hydrated after one swipe and if you like melon, you will want to eat it! The packaging feels nice--kind of like nars packaging only it won't do that I get dirty easily thing. At least I hope not. As nice as it is and interesting as it looks, the packaging is probably the downfall. It's bulky, you can't fit this in your pocket unless you wear really loose pants and you can't throw it in a thin clutch--but I can't do that with my korres lip butter either! 


If you have a walgreen's with you then act on this one, it's worth a try!! 


Ingredients: Olea europaea  (olive) fruit oil*, beeswax*, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil*, simmondsia chinesis (jojoba) seed oil*, natural flavor, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter)*, stevia rebaudiana leaf/stem extract*, helianthus annuus--LOL (sunflower) seed oil*, tocopherol, cucumis melo (honeydew melon) seed extract*, lonicera japonica (honeysuckle) flower extract*, limonene**, linalool**
* organic
**component of natural flavor



evolutionofsmooth.com


I could post pictures from google. Or I could take my own. I'm not really sure which to do haha! If there was something to swatch I would do that..uh, here is what it looks like anyway so you get a better idea:


Tuesday, August 31, 2010

My style is really sophisticated...

Sooooo just got back from the mall. I was wearing the same shirt as a 7 year old! LOL! Awkward moment :) she tells her mom, "MOMMY! That girl has the same shirt as me!!!" This is what happens when the plaid at the Target kids section looks cuter than the plaid in the women's section :p


SiJCP Deals:
MD skincare line is 60-80% off! They are no longer going to be carrying it!


Ole Henrikson African Red Tea foaming cleanser 1.5 fl oz is the sweet steal at $9.50 (from $15)!


Also in case anyone was interested according to the Petsmart ad I just received, you can get a "Regular Ball Python" for $59.99! I am going to pass.


If you have not already, you should sign up for Procter & Gamble's sampler packs. I often get those travel sized shampoos and conditioners, coupons and other things. The current pack isn't that great but sign up anyway, it is free! Procter & Gamble Samplers

Monday, August 30, 2010

My Skincare Routine

I've tried a lot of products, slowly but surely I'll put reviews up. This entry is going to be about my current skincare routine!!




1. Face wash: Korres White Tea Cleanser-smells nice and really cleans! 





2. Face Srub: Korres Pomegranate Scrub-I love this scrub! Without it my face suffers! It is a bit on the abrasive side but it does not irritate or hurt me. I actually like it because I feel like it's really scrubbing off dead cells! My skin is ever so soft afterwards!! It also smells delicious!





3. Moisturizer: Korres Pomegranate Gel-Not my favorite by them. I prefer the Wild Rose but that is too moisturizing for me in the summer. It's perfect for winter though! I also sometimes use RareMinerals by Bare Minerals.





4. Toner: Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2-I try not to use this too often because it strips too much of your natural oils and then makes you overproduce oil. But sometimes I feel like it's fine to use. I've actually noticed an improvement in my skin now that I only use it sometimes (I tried not using it at all and using it everyday).