Sep
2016

Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil Review

categories: Beauty, Eyes, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands, Review, Skin

Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil Review

Is it just me or is it extremely hard to pack makeup and skincare? Most times when I pack for vacation, I bring an abundance of makeup and skincare products to cover my bases. No matter how much stuff I bring I always seem to leave something behind. Or forget about something completely. When I wash my face at home, I like to double cleanse with a cleansing oil and then a regular ol’ foaming cleanser afterwards to completely remove all of my makeup. Somehow, I almost always forget about double cleansing when I pack because I never remember to pack a travel cleansing oil. Ever.

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Sep
2016

Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Haul: Day 10

categories: Beauty, Haul, Lips, Lipstick, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands, Swatches

Butter London Provocative Plush Rush Lipstick, Fireworks Plush Rush Lip Gloss, Buzzed Plush Rush Lipstick, Rebellious Plush Rush Lipstick, Free Fall Plush Rush Lip Gloss, !!! Plush Rush Lipstick Swatches on Dark Skin

If you feel like you’re being bombarded with hauls here, you’re right. If you’re judging me, don’t. You don’t understand my struggle! Trying to resist not buying everything you see when you work at a beauty store is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. It’s like being a sweet tooth bandit and getting locked into a candy store. The end result will be tragic! That was exactly my dilemma working at Ulta during 21 Days of Beauty. I literally had to make a game plan complete with highlighted Beauty Steals and Hot Buys plus pricing after tax. It got real serious, real quick!

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Sep
2016

Blush for Days with the New Tarte Color Wheel Amazonian Clay Blush Palette!

categories: Beauty, Blush, Face, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands, Review, Swatches

Tarte Color Wheel Amazonian Clay Blush Palette Swatches on Dark Skin

Is it just me or are holiday collections coming earlier and earlier every year? We haven’t even made it to Halloween yet and we’re already seeing new holiday palettes and sets. I’m not complaining. But dang! Can I go trick or treating and get through Thanksgiving first before these beauty brands are digging all in my pockets? Sheesh! I could have used a short break after Ulta’s enticing 21 Days of Beauty but it looks like that’s not happening since many brands, like Tarte, are already flashing their new holiday goodies in our faces.
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Sep
2016

Ipsy Gen Beauty NY Swag Bag & Haul Part One

categories: Beauty, Beauty on a Budget, Haul, High End Brands, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands, Skin, Swatches

Ipsy Gen Beauty NY Haul & Goodies

For the past week, I’ve been working on sharing my experience and goodies from Ipsy’s Generation Beauty New York but I’ve been so tired! Not just because I spent hours walking around mingling with other beauty bloggers and waiting in line to meet amazing brand reps. It’s mostly because I spent the majority of my weekend exploring New York (on foot 😩) and partying with my best friends who are avid members of #teamnosleep on vacation. In between mixing and mingling at Gen Beauty, I was up until around 5 a.m. (or later) soaking in the city and partying with my favorite girls in the world. I had a blast! However, I’m still incredibly tired an entire week later. I could absolutely go for some hibernation right now. LOL!
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Sep
2016

Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Haul: Day 3

categories: Beauty, Blush, Face, Haul, Highlight/Bronzer, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands, Swatches

LORAC Starlight Light Source Illuminating Highlighter, Twilight Illuminating Highlighter, Technicolor Color Source Blush, Aura Color Source Blush, Cinematic Color Source Blush, Chroma Color Source Blush, Infrared Color Source Blush Swatches on Dark Skin

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Should I buy new clothes? Or this makeup I really want?” I literally had to ask myself this as I was preparing to head to New York for Ipsy’s Gen Beauty. Lord knows I needed new clothes (and shoes) but Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty just kept hitting me with these amazing one day only Beauty Steals. In real life, makeup doesn’t trump real life responsibilities. But in this instance, a one day only sale on makeup I’ve been wanting for months trumped the other shopping I needed to do. You can go shopping for clothes and shoes on any day, right?

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Sep
2016

So I found a Neat Beauty Buy at Target…

categories: Beauty, Makeup

Makeup Palette Organization

And life has been given ever since! You know that extra tempting (and sometimes messy) dollar section of Target when you first walk in? That entire area is my weakness. On any given day, you can walk in and find anything from snacks to travel cups to stationery goodies. It’s always a huge mash up of random products that no one really needs but it’s so darn cheap that you can’t help but to wander those 4 aisles forever searching for something to senselessly buy.

That’s why I have a love-hate relationship with Target. I can never walk in, buy one thing and leave. Especially not with that pesky dollar section! The last time I went to Target I had my mind set on getting another (much needed) planner for my site. But, of course, I barely made it through the doors before I was perusing the dollar aisles. That’s when something pink caught my eye.
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Sep
2016

Ulta 21 Days of Beauty: Day 2 Haul

categories: Beauty, Blush, Concealer, Face, Haul, High End Brands, Highlight/Bronzer, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands, Swatches

Becca Lantana Mineral Blush, Flowerchild Mineral Blush, Opal Shimmering Skin Perfector Poured, Bare Minerals Bare Skin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer in Dark to Deep

There’s been a lot of exciting things happening in the beauty community these days but the most epic has to be Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty event. It’s rare to catch a discount on Prestige brands of makeup and skincare from any retailer. But I think it’s especially hard to do at Ulta because 99% of their coupons exclude the higher end brands. However, Ulta makes it up to us twice a year by giving us some pretty steep discounts on certain brands and products during 21 Days of Beauty.

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Sep
2016

MAC x Mariah Carey Collection Coming this Holiday!

categories: Beauty, Collection, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands

MAC x Mariah Carey Sneak Peek

Another MAC x Mariah Carey collaboration? Yaasss, MAC! Bring it on! Last year, MAC teamed up with Mariah Carey for a limited edition pale, sparkly nude lipstick for holiday that was nice but didn’t quite interest me enough to buy it. This year, MAC and Mariah are going all out with a new limited edition holiday collection that’ll feature glittery special packaging and a golden bronze highlighter with Mariah’s mug on it. A sneak peek leaked on Instagram showing off the highlighter, a nude lipstick and sparkling rose gold lip gloss recently and it set social media on fire. I was at home trying to hit Mariah’s legendary high notes when I saw it while blasting Fantasy on repeat. Yeah, it was that serious! There’s no word yet on a release date or prices but I’m hoping that we see Mariah’s sparkling new collection by Christmas because I’m dying to buy a few pieces to light up my vanity with.

What do you think about the upcoming MAC x Mariah Carey Collection for holiday?


Sep
2016

MAC x Taraji P. Henson Collection Haul & Swatches

categories: Beauty, Blush, Face, Haul, Highlight/Bronzer, Lips, Lipstick, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands, Swatches

MAC Taraji Glow Mineralize Skinfinish, Highlight the Truth Mineralize Skinfinish, Strip Me Down Lipstick

Heeeeey, girl! It feels like it’s been forever since I updated you on my latest haul or favorite new product ’cause I’ve been so busy. Like incredibly busy. I spent most of last week preparing for Ipsy’s Generation Beauty Conference in New York which was rough. Trying to shop for clothes, shoes and makeup in between work, shooting and blogging was a lot. Needless to say, I’m pretty backed up on hauls, swatches and reviews but now that I’m back it’s time to get back to business!

Before Ipsy Gen Beauty NY, I’ve been shopping my butt off at Ulta and ordering things left and right so I have a ton of new goodies I want to share with you. First up, is the MAC x Taraji P. Henson Collection that had me dancing in my seat since MAC let the cat out of the bag on Instagram. Taraji P. Henson is testament of #blackgirlmagic with her sassy, witty personality, killer style and down to earth demeanor. She’s such a beautiful woman inside and out that I couldn’t help but to support her with her limited edition MAC collection.
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Sep
2016

Smashbox is Expanding to a Legendary 120 Lipstick Shades!

categories: Beauty, Lips, Lipstick, Makeup, Mid-Range Brands

Smashbox Be Legendary Lipsticks now in 120 Shades

When Urban Decay decided to unleash 100 shades of Vice Lipsticks on us unsuspecting lipstick lovers their sole intent was to provide makeup junkies with every lipstick shade imaginable while spiting MAC in the process. I’m sure they had no idea that they’d open the floodgates for other brands to bombard us with another round of massive lipstick releases. Now we have Smashbox joining in on the fun by expanding their Legendary Lipstick line to include a whopping 120 shades. I don’t know whether to be scared or excited. Even more lipsticks to choose from? Please help me makeup gods!

The new Smashbox Legendary Lipsticks haven’t even landed in stores yet and I’m still trying to wrap my brain around how I’m going to process another 120 shades of lipsticks. Will I buy them all? Will I exercise self control? We shall see! The new (and current) Smashbox Be Legendary Lipsticks are now available online at Smashbox and will be hitting stores very soon.

Will you be adding a few shades to your collection?
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