Ulta goodies!

Hey there! So Ulta has sent out this quarter's rewards (20% off of your purchase) which includes 'prestige brands' so of course, I had to pay them a visit.  To be honest, I actually do not have anything on my make-up wishlist right now, so it was really hard to come up with something to purchase. :(  So I chose the following:  

Basically U's version of the beauty blender sponge.  So I'm REALLY happy with my current method of applying foundation (I actually use a flat top brush by E.L.F. studio or by Sonia Kashuk) but I did want something to absord any excess foundation instead of a Kleenex.  I've heard great reviews about the beauty blender sponge but at $20 a pop, I knew that was not going to happen so along comes Ulta's version for $4.99 - YAY!

Iman cream to powder foundation in Clay #2 My holy grail foundation is Make Up Forever's HD foundation (OMG) so I'm not looking to replace it.  I do however, want something a little cheaper to wear on the weekend when my plans are just to trot around town running errands.  I don't feel like wearing a $45 foundation while I stroll the aisles of Target looking for toilet bowl cleaner.  I've tried looking around my local drug stores but they don't seem to think that people in this town need anything darker than 'beige'.  My local Ulta just recently got Iman's items and I have to be honest - I was impressed, especially at the price point (this foundation was only $16 - just $5 more than a Maybelline foundation I was considering).  Fingers crossed that this works!  

Physician's Formula Lash Booster + Eyeliner in Ultra Black So the original Physician's Formula Lash Booster liner is my HG (holy grail) of all liners so when I saw that it now also comes in a bold felt tip version (which is on sale at Ulta for $6.99) I had to swoop it up.  Watch out world, my cat eye look is about to get even bolder.  

NYX pencils For the price, I like NYX's products.  Worn on their own, they are a hot smudgy mess, but used as an eye shadow base, NYX's jumbo pencils are the bomb.com!  I also bought the light brown liner pencil since it was on clearance for $1.29 and when does a brown liner NOT come in handy?

Talk to you guys later!

First day of spring and I'm back!

Hi everyone! My apologies for taking forever and a day to update my blog. To be honest, after the Christmas holiday, I had decided to stop updating my blog and move things over to YouTube. I originally wanted to start a channel where I could do videos of make-up tutorials, plus size OOTD (outfit of the day), hauls, etc. but I've decided for right now to stay with the blog. I'm not sure if I'm ready to expose myself to the world just yet. Anywhoo, stay tuned for an update later this evening.

Long time no see!!

Hi bloggers! Sorry I've been gone for a while but work and personal commitments have kept me busy. In the meantime, I have been buying a few things thanks to Sephora's recent Friends & Family sale as well as their current V.I.B. sale that is going on now (hey - a girl loves 20% off!). I have a haul to show you soon, so be on the lookout!

In the meantime, why don't you do a little shopping yourself? Here are a few deals I've found:

Sephora V.I.B. Sale - Nov. 10 - Nov 14.
Must be a VIB. 20% off purchase. Use code VIBDREAM

Clarins Friends & Family - now through Nov. 25th
20% off purchase. Use code CLARINSFF

Ulta has a $5 off coupon in November Glamour magazine.


Happy Shopping!

Cargo lip gloss = no bueno!

Dear Cargo lip gloss,

I wanted to love you - really I did. I love all glosses and there are very few I don't love, however you are now in that category.

Sincerely,

Averagejosie



Don't expect any swatches of this gloss. After wearing it for one day, it is now on it's way back to Sephora. I overlooked the gloppy formula...or the fact that the color payoff was small and it seemed to disapear from my lips after about 30 minutes (it is a gloss after all). However, I couldn't overlook the fact that the moisture/formula seemed to evaporate from your lips after about 30 minutes as well, leaving nothing but small chunks of glitter behind. Very irrating pieces of glitter that you could feel and reapplying the gloss just made things worse.

Oh well....

A quick haul from Sephora

Hola! I hope everyone has been well. Every September is the "busy season" in my job so I've been putting in long hours at work. Well today, I was actually able to sneak out at 6pm so I decided to stop by Sephora on my way home. I did walk out with 3 items but in all fairness, I did go in with the intention to just buy one (which they didn't have - so really, it's Sephora's fault.... hehe).

Well I've been wanting to try some metallic shadows so I decided to purchase Sephora's Moonshadow baked pallete. These 10 metallic shades come in neutral/nude tones so these would be perfect to wear to work. For $28 (which comes to about $2.80 a pan) this is also a great bang for your buck.

Of course, I'm a total lip gloss junkie so when I saw this color (Belgium) by Cargo, I had to try it! More to come on my experience with this gloss as it will be my first time trying a Cargo product, which cost $14.

And finally....as I'm waiting in line to check out, I start smelling all of the rollerball perfumes and my fingers pick up Lady Million by Paco Rabanne. I take one whiff and fall completely in love. Home it comes for $20!

So there is a quick summary of my haul. What make-up goodies have you bought recently?

Head over heals for NYX

Well, it is official.....I *heart* NYX Cosmetics! I dabbled my skeptical toe into the pool of NYX a few posts ago when I purchased a Mega Shine Lip Glosses (of course). After having such a great experience with it, I decided to try their shadows, purchasing their 10 Color Eye shadow Palette in Jazz Night. OMG! These are soooo pigmented (which is a plus since I have a darker skin tone). I wore these on Friday and they lasted all day - with no creases or smudges! Now in the spirit of disclosure, I do wear an eye shadow primer with ALL shadows no matter the price point, but I do have to say that these wore just as well as my Chanel and Dior shadows. Needless to say I went back to Ulta and bought more today :) (see photo below for the haul).

Not only does NYX offers lots of quality shadows in a variety of colors, but their price point is VERY affordable. Single shadows are about $5 and palettes start at $8. In fact, right now at Ulta, lots of NYX products are on sale (glosses and eyeliners are buy 2 for $8!).

Seriously....an addiction has started and given the fact that NYX is so cheap, I don't see it ending anytime soon! lol Talk to you later!

My Friday/Saturday NYX haul



The 10 Color palette in Jazz Night


Triple Eye Shadow 'In The Woods'


Mega Shine Lip Gloss in 'Ice Princess'

DEAL ALERT! Ulta Nail Polish

Just wanted to let everyone know that Ulta brand nail polish is on sale for $2 (regularly $5) so grab them while you can! Here are the two I purchased:

Femme Fatale (left) and Alter Ego (right)

Urban Decay Lip Junkies

Hello. Hope everyone is recovering from the long holiday weekend. Well as I've mentioned before, I have this insatiable appetite for lip gloss - if someone sells it, I'm trying it. So while browsing the aisle at Ulta, I ran across Urban Decay's lip junkie gloss and decided to give it a whirl. I grabbed one in 'Jilted' and went to work.

The lip junkies deliver sheer color as it cools your lips (it says that it also plumps, but I never notice - my lips are already full). It has a plastic applicator (no brush here) that easily glides across your lips. In my opinion, it wears longer than your average lip gloss which is always a plus in my book. These sell for $19, which I think is money well spent!

Urban Decay Lip Junkie in Jilted





Jilted swatched