Are you ready? Because this is going to be long...
Purchases.
I bought a bunch of new makeup during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, plus a few drugstore finds and eBay purchases PLUS I received a few different beauty boxes in November and December in addition to my usual Ipsy bag. Rather than sharing the details of each shipment/purchase or beauty box, (there were 6 of those, oops...) I'm going to just share my favorite things!
First up- Lorac's Black Friday and Cyber Monday Limited Edition Eye shadow palettes. These were amazing deals at just $12 and $15 each so I couldn't resist buying all three. And I was not disappointed. These are awesome palettes. I use my E.L.F. glitter primer daily for eye shadow and with that primer the wear on these shadows was excellent. I used and still use these palettes at least 5 times a week. I didn't have a chance to properly shoot either of these palettes before I starting using them BUT Amber at BeautyJunkies did an excellent job of reviewing all three. I bookmarked both pages and drooled over her images of the palettes until I received mine in the mail. You can find her reviews here and here. Thanks Amber for the awesome work!
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I also gave in and finally ordered a 500ml bottle of Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Cleansing Water on eBay. Don't worry, I used a trusted seller, the bottle came with a seal and the expiration date is years out. Nouveau Cheap just did a great post on a Micellar Cleansing water by Simple that's now available in the U.S., link here, but I had already bought the Bioderma. If you haven't tried the Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Cleansing water before, you really should. I had no idea how awful drugstore eye makeup removers were until I ran out out of this and tried to find one. They just don't work in comparison. Prior to using Bioderma, I had used Mary Kay's eye makeup remover for years so I didn't have a lot of experience with drugstore brands. I can easily remove my makeup, it doesn't sting or burn my eyes and it doesn't leave a greasy film on my skin. I have seen reviews where people didn't like it but for me it's Holy Grail. I can't imagine not using it.
Beauty Bags and Boxes.
My November Ipsy bag included a sample of the itCosmetics Bye Bye Undereye concealer in Neutral/Medium. If you read my review of the bag here you know I love this concealer. I love it so much that one of my favorite purchases this season was the full size from Ulta. I did use my 20% entire purchase Ulta coupon so it was only $19.20 less my $3 points reward made it $16.20. Not too bad and so worth it....I also bought my first flat iron that day. Also worth it. =)
The December Ipsy bag was great but I haven't reviewed it yet because I simply had no time. I was especially excited to receive the Crown Infinity Shadow/Crease duet brush, tarte deluxe lights, camera. lashes 4-in-1 mascara and a NYX Butter Balm. I haven't tried the tarte mascara yet but am really excited to and I've been wanting to try NYX Butter Balms but hadn't gotten around to it. I received the color Ladyfinger which is a pretty fuchsia-mauve color. It's a great "my lips but pinker" color. I really like it. The Crown Brush I already have but because I love it so much I was thrilled to receive another one. I didn't get a chance to review it the first time because I received it in a swap rather than my actual bag. Here is an image of what I received that month:
For my birthday I received a 3 month gift subscription to Beauty Box 5. I have really enjoyed their boxes in the past but so far the first two were just okay. It was kind of disappointing actually. I had pondered switching from Ipsy to Beauty Box 5 but since Ipsy has been consistently better I will stick with them for awhile. (I finally was able to cash in my reward points with Ipsy so hopefully I can do a fun review of the January bag plus bonuses!!)
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Target had a three Limited Edition Beauty samples boxes and I was able to score two of them. The third box was a men's box that I wanted, you know for stocking stuffers and such but they were sold out. The two other boxes were a For Her box for $10 that claimed a $50 value and a Natural box for $5 that claimed a $25 value. Both of these boxes were great deals and I'm thrilled that I got them before they sold out. As of today Target still has the listing up so you can see exactly what was in each box. The For Her box is here and the Natural box is here. I haven't sampled anything out of the Natural box yet but I will try to post if I do.
My favorites out of the For Her box were the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask and the Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Black Noir.
The Laneige Water Sleeping mask is a night treatment that put on after washing your face. It's a semi translucent blue gel that goes on with a slight cooling sensation. It does have a watery feeling when you apply it but I can tell the mask is still there when I wash my face in the morning. I cannot vouch for long term benefits as it's a small jar and I've only used it a couple times but I would consider repurchasing.
The Pixi eyeliner goes on incredibly smooth and claims to have a liquid liner effect. I can attest to the fact that this eyeliner pencil does not act like a pencil. It really does simulate a liquid liner, The pigment is solid and opaque with one stroke and the line is as sharp and precise as your pencil is. It's really incredible. I definitely recommend trying it out and I will likely purchase more.
Some of the other items I gave away and some I haven't tried yet. I really was overwhelmed by new stuff this year and to list and review all of them would take forever. I am working on some New Year's Resolutions and that will affect some of the posts I decide to put up on the blog. You may start to see more "life" posts and some of my own musings. I will continue to do DIY and beauty related posts but I notice myself becoming more materialistic and insecure when I focus too much on the latest trends and my own personal looks. In an effort to be better at thinking of others instead of myself, the tone of the blog may shift. I think it's a good thing and something I need to do. Life is always a work in progress.
So stay tuned!
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