Another Looky-Loo! Nuance by Salma Hayek at CVS

I've been pretty much on a no-buy for the last several weeks (with the exception of some lotion), and I've resisted temptation by just not going to Ulta/CVS/Walgreens/Sephora. Well I had to switch brands of contacts a couple of days ago and ended up with $8 and some change as the refund. I gave myself permission to use that on makeup. I decided that I would look out for WnW Dream Weavers, which I found at Winn-Dixie. I spent $4 on two trios. I also wanted to keep an eye out for Salma Hayek's new line for CVS. Celebrity lines are generally not at all what I go for, but I thought a lot of the products seemed to look really pretty and neutral (no glitter chunks) and grown-upish in the pics I'd seen online. I went into a couple of CVS's this week with no luck, but the CVS I checked today had a display! They obviously weren't done stocking yet, but I did pick up one Ultra Shine Lip Gloss. With my $2 Extra Bucks, it ended up being $5.

The shade I selected was 115 Nectar, which looks like a pinkish-peach in the tube. I didn't notice any shimmers or glitters through the tube, but when I swatched it later at home, I did see some very fine micro-specks. The products are all paraben-free with no animal testing. The gloss also contains some natural ingredients like: Mimosa Extract, Mango Seed Oil, and Vitamins A C & E.

My thoughts for this shade: I like the consistency. It's sticky, yet not thick, so it applies easily with the slanted applicator. I hoped it would be opaque, but it's actually pretty sheer. It feels good on my lips and seems to be fairly long-lasting for a gloss. There is a very noticeable scent/flavor that I would describe as a Sweet-tart scent. I'm not terribly sensitive to that, but I know some people are. I probably would've preferred a less synthetic and less youthful scent, but oh well. Overall, I like the product and would be interested in buying other shades, although I'd probably wait for a sale or more Extra Bucks. This will be a good gloss to keep in your purse because you don't need a mirror or the assistance of possibly dirty fingers to apply it evenly.

Globbed on swatch. Enlarge to see micro shimmers.

Very sheer when spread out

Looky-Loo What I Found! Wet'n'Wild LE Dream Weavers

Yep, at the same random Winn-Dixie. I got We're Blasting Off and Dancing in the Clouds on sale for $1.99 each. Nouveau Cheap has some good swatches here.

Not About Jock Itch, Heehee-- Gold Bond Sheer Ribbons Body Lotion

I have to admit that for probably 12 years, I've gone for the fragrance (like BBW and VS) over the moisturizing ability of lotions or body creams. If I ever wanted extra sheen or something, I might layer baby oil or a gel cocoa butter. However, my mom introduced me to Vaseline Intensive Moisture lotion (love) a few months ago and I've realized that I need to go for moisturization over scent.

I feel like Gold Bond has the grossest association of all lotion brands I can list. Walgreens had a tester for this new lotion in a fun dispenser that looked appealing and girly until I noticed the brand. I tried it anyhow and was really impressed with how nice and silky my arm felt. There are 2 kinds, one with shimmer and the one I purchased without. At $9.99 for 7.1 ounces, it's not exactly cheap, but drugstores tend to have sales. It has a soft, sweet floral scent that isn't too synthetic smelling (hate that fake, stale scent of some lotions). There are some really nice natural ingredients on the list like: aloe, shea butter extract, lavender extract, rosemary leaf extract, and others.

I quite like this! It dispenses in a really thick cream-- you can turn your hand upside down and it doesn't drip, kinda like a blizzard from Dairy Queen, haha. It's easy to spread and soaks in very quickly. My skin really does feel like silk (one of the claims).

Fun canister dispenser

Yep, actually dispenses in a ribbon

L'Oreal Colour Riche Le Gloss Thoughts

I spotted this display at Walgreens (not having seen any ads or heard any hype yet) and bought one tube in shade 151 Baby Blossom for $7.99. For the most part, I wear nude/ pinky-peach shades so truthfully, none of the other colors were all that tempting. It seemed like a lot of the shades had frost or shimmer which I'm not into either. Here's J Lo's ad for the product. It might just be me, but I'm not a fan of her lips or her makeup in the first one!

And here's the tube I bought with swatches outside:

Globbed on, haha

Blended out

My thoughts:
I'm not really sure if it's the shade or formula, but it doesn't blend easily until it starts to melt with my body heat. Also (again not sure if it's the shade or formula), it clumps on my lips and accentuates any flakes or lines. I feel like it holds up okay for a gloss and is somewhat sticky, which I like. I also like that the shade has some actual pigment and doesn't end up going on like a clear gloss. My last like is that Baby Blossom doesn't have any shimmer, frost, or glitter. For $7.99, I wouldn't buy it again or try any other shades unless there was a BOGO or something. My fave drugstore glosses lately are Revlon Super Lustrous and L'Oreal Color Juice so I'm sticking with those for now!

Summer Fun

I thought I would turn to blogging again to document our summer activities, knowing that it will absolutely whoosh by! School was officially out on Wednesday the 8th.

End of the Year Party

Playing limbo

We've pretty much been hanging at home the last couple of days and swimming in Angel's pool. Right now, his house is empty and we can swim whenever we want, but I'm sure it won't be empty long.

Today was Monica's birthday party at the Wesmere subdivision community pool. Zale has an earache/possible infection, so I didn't let him swim. I wasn't sure how long he'd be able to last just running around and playing with his water guns while Raine was splashing and playing, but he didn't get too miserable about not being able to get wet. We stayed for about 3 hours I guess. Jack was the only other kid there that we knew, so my social time with the other parents was pretty limited.  There are days when I just don't have much adult conversation at all, and those days seem to be more frequent in the summer. I don't mean to whine, just venting to no one!

Wet'n'Wild at Winn-Dixie!

For some reason, a random and quiet Winn-Dixie near me always gets the Wet'n'Wild Limited Edition collections that Walgreens and Walmart don't. I stopped in this morning and found a Go for the Gold display. I got both The Gilded Age eyeshadow trio and Everything Under the Sun bronzer for only $2.99 each.

Here are the eyeshadow swatches:

With flash

Natural light

And the bronzer swatch:

My verdict:

I love the trio! I think they are so summery and shimmery and pigmented and fun! I wasn't so sure about the bronzer since I never know how those bronzers with a bunch of different shades will end up looking when swirled together. I find it hard to use a single shade, so I just do a big circular sweep to pick it all up. It's definitely way shimmery. I'm only in the mood for shimmery cheek products infrequently, but it's a pretty color and I'm sure I'll use it on occasion. I wore The Gilded Age trio today. This pic is post-gym sweatiness with crazy lashes and taken with my phone so it doesn't look the best, but when I first applied it, it was really pretty (promise)!

Inglot Swatches!

I will reiterate just how much I love drugstore makeup, and how infrequently I buy any higher-end cosmetics. I read all the love for Inglot and saw some luscious-looking swatches. Seeing that their prices weren't too high ($5 each for 3.5g), I decided to place an order: 409 Pearl, 402 Pearl, 423 Pearl, 395 Pearl, 360 Matte,  and 49 AMC (Advanced Makeup Component, whatever that means). Here are the pics of the initial swatches on bare skin with no primer in various types of lighting. I'll review more thoroughly once I've had a chance to actually use them.

Sunlight (obviously)

With flash

Lower natural light

Better Homes and Gardens Wax Cubes Review

I am ALLLLLL about smelly-good things! I've used (and currently use) plug-ins like Wallflowers. For home fragrances that need to burn, I started with scented candles, then moved to tarts, then to fragrance oils. BBW has really started to disappoint me with their oil selections. There are some that I've loved but they've discontinued, and it seems like the variety of oils available has started to dwindle. Even if a scent is introduced in Wallflower and candle form, it might not be available in the oil. The Body Shop will occasionally have a scent I like, but they usually only have maybe 8 scents available at a time. Also, there isn't a store that close to me so I'm less likely to duck in and sniff. Boo and boo.

Anyway, I was at Walmart a couple of weeks ago looking for plain ol' tealights to use with my warmers when the display of Better Homes and Gardens Wax Cubes caught my eye. The packages weren't sealed, so I was able to sniff guilt-free. At only $2.00 each, I thought it couldn't hurt a thing to grab a few scents and try them out. I picked up 4 packs: Pomegranate Passionfruit, Soft Cashmere Amber, Lemongrass Verbena, and Ginger Spice Cake.

Before breaking the cubes apart

One popped out... a total of 6 (duh) in each package

What I like: unlike tarts, the cubes are small enough to use 2 in one warmer, allowing you to customize scents. For my first test, I used 1 Soft Cashmere Amber and 1 Ginger Spice Cake. I really liked this combo. I also used a single Lemongrass Verbena that smelled yum. I think the throw is pretty good with these and the lasting power is decent. I'd say that the Amber/Ginger mix lasted about 4-5 whole tealights. Not bad! I'm also pleased with the actual scents. They don't smell too fake and are fairly layered and complex for a home fragrance.

What I dislike: one of my reasons for giving up tarts is that they're such a mess to change. Also, unless you pop out the wax to save for later, you're stuck with the same scent until you use it up. So far, that's my only dislike!

Zale's Room Redo in Progress-- Boyish on a Budget

I guess it's fortunate that poor Zale doesn't have to wear hand-me-down clothes since his room has always been a collection of hand-me-down furnishings. The crib, then the twin from Raine, then the queen from Raine (which was ours when we first got married!), the toy boxes, etc. His dressers and chest were new to him, but craigslist buys. Side note: not only do I love snagging a bargain on craigslist, I also thing it's the green and responsible thing to do. And, you don't feel so bad when you want to change your decor since you haven't spent much!

So we've been in our house for 4.5 years now, and it was time to repaint the kids' rooms due to scuffs and wear. I also decided to spruce up Zale's furniture because it was slightly banged up. I got his matching chest and dresser on craigslist for $80 including delivery. They're unfinished pine and very sturdy and very manly and very rustic-y looking. I truly try to let him be a boy and not make his room too soft and matchy and shabby-chic (he-ek? for a boy) like I'm tempted to do, but I was over the furniture. So, this past weekend I painted his room and some of his furniture. He previously had a pale aqua blue color on two accent walls. I painted the entire room a light green (Olympia River Reed). You can see the old paint color on the left and the new on the right. I love it!

His furniture I'm trying to rework or revamp includes a wood headboard, stained wood dresser, white cabinet that we use as a bookcase (Raine hand-me-down, it's gonna go), plus the unfinished chest and the matching dresser (that lives in his closet).

Headboard as-is

Leaving this as-is

I really didn't want to carry his furniture down the stairs and outside, so I opted to use a primer that doesn't require sanding (Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 Primer). Here's the chest before, which actually looks nicer in the pic than in real life:

And here it is after a coat of primer:

I first decided to paint them blue, because I felt like it complimented the cottage style and duh, was boyish. I used Olympia Mountain Stream. I actually liked the furniture a lot this color but I felt like it didn't flow in the room. 

My funny feet

Paint's just paint, right (?), so I made a quick run to Ace (because it's closer than Lowes) to pick up a creamy yellow color. The chest goes in his room, but since the dresser goes in his closet, I just left it blue. I want to eat the chest! I really like it. The lighting was weird in this pic but I guess it looks accurate enough. I am planning to get a different placemat to go under the plant. Probably a wood, chain link looking one to incorporate the wood tones. 

And here's the blue dresser in his closet:

I'm still working on pulling together the rest of the room and finalizing furniture placement, wall art, etc. I don't really plan to spend much more. I need a cabinet or short armoire for books that I'm keeping an eye out for on craigslist. The white one from Raine has to go! Maybe I'll get a throw pillow and a new piece of art. I'm also craving new linens, but I'll probably hold off. I'd really love a simple down coverlet, so we'll see if I come across a good deal or sale somewhere.

Lip Stuff and Nonsense

I'm not a fan of lipstick much. By far, I prefer glosses. Revlon has a much-hyped, limited edition shade called Fashion Night's Pout that I never heard of until I randomly saw the display at Ulta. It was only after purchasing that I looked on MUA at the reviews and saw all the hoopla. One of the few lipsticks I own and wear from time to time is Fairest Nude by L'Oreal and this shade looked to be in the same family. PS- Revlon Colorburst Soft Nude is considered by some to be practically the same shade, however I bought Soft Nude a while back and hated it immediately and returned it. I think Fashion Night's Pout is pinker.

Swatch in low light

My thoughts are mixed. I don't feel like my lips are terribly peely, flaky, or crusty, but this kinda emphasized all of that. I also felt like it needed a gloss on top (but I'm like that with practically all lipsticks). The shade is pretty nice and flattering so I suppose overall I like it. I used Sally Hansen's Lip Inflation in Mocha on top of Fashion Night's Pout in this pic.

Moving on to some Etsy... I assumed the lip balm I also ordered from TMTM would have been in the same package as the perfume samples, but it wasn't. I waited about a week to contact Lysa, in case she'd shipped it separately for some reason. She replied within the same hour and was profusely apologetic and mailed it the same day. When the package arrived today, she'd sent an apology note along with an extra lip balm! What great (proactive) customer service. The balm I ordered was Sweet Cream and Honey and the extra was Peach Cobbler. These smell great and taste great and I love the little oblong tubes. The ingredients are: beeswax, shea butter, sweet almond oil, cocoa butter, vitamin e, and a blend of essential oils and fragrance oils. They feel very nice on the lips, but I mostly think they are great fun to use!

ETSY Perfume

I love Etsy because I love:
Handmade items
Organic and/or natural items
Supporting small business owners
Supporting WOMEN small business owners

I don't love Etsy because I don't love:
Not being able to see, smell, or fondle (hehe) the items
Paying for shipping
Not always being able to purchase samples

Several months ago, I purchased some perfume samples from Wiggle Perfume and Sundries. The fragrance descriptions were so colorful and enticing and the samples arrived quickly with a nice hand-written note. Unfortunately, even though the perfume smelled nice in the vial, all but one of them turned into a soapy smell on my skin. They were also a little too feminine for my liking. The one that did work was Nicosia. I liked the concept and the individual notes, but it was still a little too sweet and light for me. Here's the description from the store:

A blend of fig, olive blossom, clove, golden honey and sandalwood, this scent is all fresh breezes and dusky-haired women draped in sun-bleached cotton.

So when I had the Etsy urge again about a week ago, I did a search for some of the notes in Nicosia to try to find a figgy perfume that was a little darker. Athelia from The Morbid the Merrier is the one that struck my fancy. Now, just keeping it real, it's a good thing I didn't notice the name of the shop first, because that would've turned me off AND make me assume they all smelled like straight-up incense and patchouli. But, the fact that I'd already swooned over some of the other fragrance descriptions from the shop in addition to the fact that she offered samples won me over. I looked online for reviews and blog posts about TMTM, and although I didn't find too many, the ones I did see were mostly positive. I ordered the Pick 5 Sampler with the following scents and descriptions.

Athelia
It's the blackest fig, accompanied by spice, wood smoke, earth and moss... softened and sweetened with lotus flower. 
Aurora
The first notes out of the tin are definitely chocolate and coconut, but soon the sweet, smoky woods and amber emerge, balancing with a delicate sugar. 
Baltus
Pumpkin (it IS part of the Sleepy Hollow set, after all), black fig, 3 musks and 2 sandalwoods, swirled with bittersweet cocoa and a drop of espresso. 
Katrina
A trio of white flowers, smoky almond, and spiced pumpkin. Sweet, but somehow really earthy, especially on the dry-down.
Natali
Sweet, ripe orange marbled with creamy vanilla and a hint of sandalwood, cloaked in rich black chocolate.
Maximo (free sample Lysa included)
A complex and beautiful blend of sweet cocoa, spicy black pepper, earthy patchouli with a heart of vanilla and wood.


The samples arrived in 3 days, beautifully wrapped, with a hand-written note.

I tested them all once, with a highly favorable first impression, but I waited to review until after the second round. Overall, I was soooo impressed that none of these turned fake, chemically, or synthetic on my skin. That never happens. Second point, they lasted only about 3 hours, but that's not a huge factor to me since they are very reasonably priced. Which brings me to my last point-- since they ARE so reasonably priced, I imagine that the ingredients used are not of the highest quality in the world. But... I don't give a care, as long as they smell nice on me! Now for each scent more specifically, keeping in mind that I don't "do" too much perfume technicality:


Athelia
Yes, yes, yes. Fig is yummy. Spicy and warm without being too heavy. I plan to order the full-size.


Aurora
This worked okay for me. Amber usually turns a mess on my skin. After the dry-down, all I really detected was amber. Not a bad smell, but I wanted the other notes to last!


Baltus
This was pretty delish, too, but as with Aurora, it quickly ended up losing notes and settling into patchouli with a touch of chocolate. I liked it for sure, but not enough to order a full size.


Katrina
The other winner! So pretty without being frilly. 


Natali
Accurate description of chocolate and orange. I liked it, but with only two notes, it wasn't complex enough to order a full-size. This would be a great candle.


Maximo
This was the free sample, so I'm not complaining, but this didn't work. It smelled like aftershave with a hint of chocolate and maybe a little BO. It didn't smell BO-ish in the vial, so I'm thinking it was my chemistry.

Blogging When No One is Looking

I initially thought to try blogging to document our vacation, and I have to say that I am soooo glad I did. Even just a few weeks later, it's amazing to be able to look back and re-live it all. I wasn't really sure if I would continue blogging or not, but... I think I shall.

I don't care that it's likely no one will read it. I am, after all, a bit of a private person, not ever really putting my affairs out there or seeking attention; I don't really do status updates on facebook and lordy knows I am way too dull to twitter. I think part of my reason for continuing is my freaky-deakyness about being 29-- my last year in my 20's, what?. It's not so much that I'm worried about getting old (okay, well, kinda); it's more about not remembering how I got here because time sure does go by too dang fast. So I figure blogging-- even if I'm writing about nonsense, or perfume and makeup (which both make me so happy), or random daily drudgery-- will help me recall.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio-- Review and Swatches

Eyeliner is tricky. You really can't tell by looking much about the product or performance, so... I've been through a lot of eyeliners looking for ones that work well for me. Physicians Formula new Shimmer Strips Eyeliner trio was $10 at CVS with $7 back in extra care bucks. I bought the trio for Hazel Eyes inside of Blue because I have been really wanting a taupe liner. This set came with a basic black, pink, and taupe. The pink is horrid, but the black and taupe are amazing! There's a sharpener built-in the end caps, so that's another plus.

This wears very well on my waterline, it doesn't smudge or goop up my contacts, and is cheapy-cheap! I definitely plan to purchase other trios.