Finally made the leap!

Hi everyone!!

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! After a super long hiatus, I faced one of my fears and finally filmed my first video! It's a huge Sephora haul from when they had their VIB sale and when they offered a $25 gift card on a $50 purchase. Please feel free to subscribe to my channel as I'm hoping to do more of these types of videos in the future.

Here are the items I purchased in the Sephora Haul:

1. L'Occitane Hand Cream Collection
2. Sunday Riley Power Couple Duo: Total Transformation Kit
3. Chloe Chloe Signature Gift Set
4. Lancôme La Vie Est Belle Gift Set
5. Prada Prada Candy Florale Gift Set
6. Sephora Favorites Liquid Luxuries Perfume Sampler
7. Cartier Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose
8. Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Night Cream
9. Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream
10. Kate Somerville Daily Deflector™ Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 50+
11. Too Faced Primed & Poreless Pressed Powder
12. MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation in Golden Beige
13. tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Skintuitive Blush - Energy
14. boscia Pink Peppermint Blotting Linens

Hope you guys enjoyed the haul and I'll see you soon in the next one! Please comment below with any good products you've discovered or recommend! Thanks for reading and watching!

Sephora 15% Off Beauty Insider Haul

I posted a picture on Instagram of a few things I hauled from Sephora and some of you had asked what I liked most and my opinion on some of the products so I thought I'd do some mini-reviews on some of the products I've tried for the past few days. Hope you enjoy! Did you buy anything in the recent Sephora Beauty Insider sale? Share your purchases in the comments section below!


1. Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette 
I've heard a lot of beauty gurus talk about how they like this palette more than the 1 & 2. I thought I'd check it out for myself. When I opened up the package there it actually looked like it was used for one of the colors :/ and there was also quite a bit of fall out. I actually really like the palette. I haven't used it very much yet but I've been using "Nooner" every single day!

2. Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Intense Black
When Ingrid (missglamorazzi) first mentioned this in her video, I knew I had to try it because she always mentions how oily her eyelids are (mine are probably about the same) but I completely forgot about it. So when Estee (essiebutton) talked about how her mom had swatched it on her hand and the staying power of it, I was reminded that I must get this product. I tried it out this past weekend when I was in LA and oh-em-gee, it's amazeballs! It literally stays on all day and it doesn't smear at all!

3. Benefit the PORE fessional - Agent Zero Shine
One of the 3 samples I got. It actually came with a little small brush. Haven't really heard much about this one so we'll see.

4. Benefit Bigger Than BB Big Easy Liquid to Power
Another one of the 3 samples I got. Still haven't gotten to trying it out yet.

5. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion
I think Holly (hollyannaeree) has talked about this one a lot so I'm finally getting around to trying it. I tried it out on Friday and there are 2 things that really bug me about it. First, why haven't they made it a twist up?! (yes, I'm probably the laziest person on Earth). Secondly, it somehow got smeared on my contacts and it's a freakin' mo-fo trying to get that stuff off! *Sigh* I had high hopes.

6. Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter with softening shea butter and aloe vera
OMG. This stuff smells so freaking good. It doesn't smell like you just slathered yourself in fragrance though. It just smells like you just came out of the shower. It's also extremely moisturizing (not as much as a those super thick creams). It also doesn't feel heavy like some of the thick creams do.

7. Origins Clear Improvement Active charcoal mask to clear pores
I really like this mask so far. I've tried it once last week since my skin has been having a field day. I've been having a lot of breakouts and I do feel like this has helped a little to dry out those super oozy one (TMI I know lol).

8. Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil
My first time purchasing the actual oil. I had the lotion (I think) before. I've only used this once since I've gotten it but I'm not a real big fan of the scent :/. I'm not sure if it's just me but it smells like they tried to get rid of the scent but it smells like they put something into it to get rid of it and it just smells plain weird!

9. Caudalie Vinosource Serum S.O.S. Desalterant
There's probably a reason why my favorite bloggers/vloggers love this stuff. I love it too. Super moisturizing without feeling heavy. I actually follow Claire's (heyclaire) skincare routine video where she uses the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence first and then puts the serum on. My skin is pretty oil and acne prone (same as hers) and I really do feel like my skin looks and feels smoother after using these two products together.

10. NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Medium 2 Ginger
This was another oh-em-gee product for me. Like seriously where has this product been all my life?! I've been buying all these drugstore concealers and they are always so drying. The whole point of me needing concealer is that I need to cover up those nasty pimples and hyperpigmentation and not draw more attention to them because of the dryness. This concealer is great because it's super creamy (as stated in the name). I don't think I got the right color though... it's a tad darker than my current skin color so I think I'll probably repurchase a shade down the scale but I think it'll be a perfect shade for summer.

11. Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial
Super moisturizing and it does feel a little greasy. I used this 2 days in a row and I kinda felt it made my skin break out because it clogged up my pores O_O. So I'm not sure what to think of it. Maybe it was just user error lol.

12. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence
My final oh-em-gee product. Now, I'm not 100% sure it's this product by itself or just my current skincare routine but I've definitely noticed my pores getting smaller (especially the ones around my cheek area). It's gotten to the point where I don't even need to use my Benefit PORE-fessional O_O (I know!). I hope it's something that'll actually keep working though and not something my skin will just get used to.

13. Soap & Glory Clean, Girls Skin Softening Creamy Body Wash
Haven't started using this yet but I heard it smells like Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (which is my fragrance of choice) so I can't wait to try it!

14. First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Polish
Haven't tried this yet either but it's just a deluxe sample that I used my Beauty Insider points for so we'll see how it goes!

ULTA Haul - 20% off entire purchase & 10% off fragrances (plus free robe!)

ULTA had a 20% off coupon as well as 10% off any fragrance (plus you get a free robe) and there was also $5 off $10 for non-prestige products so I pretty much had a field day. I had been waiting all year for the Sephora Friends and Family sale and they decided to make it exclusive for only VIB members so I decided to take my business elsewhere lol. Although they did send out a $15 off $50 purchase which I did end up using.


First thing I got was a fragrance. I've been looking for a new fragrance since my Chanel one is almost gone. It's hard for me to pick another fragrance because I love that one so much and my friends have already associated that scent with me. Also that scent seems to stay on me for a long time. I was actually looking for Flowerbomb but they don't carry that at ULTA and the lady recommended this one. She said it smells very similar to Flowerbomb and she was saying so many good things about it. I sprayed the Noir and the regular Viva La Juicy and ran around the store buying all my other stuff before going with the Noir. I would say the Viva La Juicy is more on the floofy side (like light and flowery) whereas the Noir smells a bit warmer? (If you can't tell I'm SUPER good at describing scents ;) lol). I really love the scent of the Noir but I'm a little bit disappointed by the staying power of it :(. I honestly can't smell it on my wrists after a few hours (if you ever see me sniffing my wrists, you now know why lol).

viva la juicy noir

One of my holy grail make up products is the Urban Decay Makeup Setting Sprays. I've used all the different ones and I love that it makes my makeup look less powder-y and makes it stay all day long.

urban decay all nighter make up setting spray

I've heard a lot of good things awhile back about this Elizabeth Arden 8-hr cream from a lot of YouTubers so I decided to pick it up. My skin hasn't been it's best recently (probably because I haven't been diligently using my Clarisonic) and I heard that this stuff clears up acne and really moisturizes the skin as well. Apparently it contains salicylic acid which works a lot better for my skin than benzoyl peroxide. Plus benzoyl peroxide tends to bleach everything insight so I tend to try to only save that for a more massive attack for the more stubborn pimples. I guess we'll have to see how this works.

elizabeth arden eight hour cream

Yet another holy grail product. Seriously, I must have been living under a rock because I don't know why I didn't buy this earlier. It completely masks any large pores you have. I have a lot of large pores on my face especially in my cheek area and under the eyes so this has been amazing for that. The consistency of this stuff is similar to the Smashbox primer but tinted and creamier so it's a lot easier to apply all over. The Smashbox primer works super well but it breaks me out every time so I only use it for super special occasions. Would highly recommend this product.

benefit - the pore-fessional

Anastasia Brow Wiz pencils. Gotta stock up on this sucker because it probably lasts me less than a month. Super convenient because this is the twist up one. I got it in Brunette.

anastasia brow wiz skinny brow pencil in brunette

I've heard so much about this Benefit Hoola bronzer and decided to pick one up to see what it was all about. I haven't started using it yet but I have high hopes!

benefit - hoola bronzer

I also picked up this Urban Decay single eyeshadow in Buck (which is in one of the Naked palettes, I forget which one). I wanted the single eyeshadow because I pretty much use this as a base for my eyes and I don't really want to carry my Naked palette around.

urban decay eyeshadow in buck

And then to get the $5 of $10 on non-prestige item, I bought these Revlon lip glosses which were BOGO 50% off. The one on the left is Super Natural which I've heard a lot of people talk about and the one on the right is Pango Peach. There are a lot of micro sparkles in the Pango Peach and I feel like it's a really cute color for the holidays if you are more conservative and don't want to do red lips or vampy lips.

revlon super lustrous lip glosses

Ever since I went crazy at Walmart and bought a ton of the Real Techniques brushes which I've been loving, I've been wanting more! Went back to get this shading brush. Hopefully this one will be just as good as the other brushes!

real techniques shading brush

Almay eyeliner pencils are my favorite drugstore eyeliner. It goes on fairly dark and isn't as breakable as the Milani liquid eye pencils. I decided to stock up since they were also BOGO 50% off and they were able to apply the $5 of $10 on it.

Last thing I picked up was yet another thing I wanted to try since it looked like it would be a good base color for my lids. It's the Stila eyeshadow in Puppy. Now that I've opened up both Puppy and the Urban Decay Buck, they look so similar that I'm thinking of returning one lol. I didn't realize they were pretty much the same thing.

Hope you enjoyed this haul! I probably won't be posting anything until after the holidays since I work the next couple of days but I wanted to wish you all a Happy Holiday!!

NYX Cosmetics Labor Day Haul

A few days ago I saw that NYX was having a 30% off sale their entire site O_O. My Target recently started stocking NYX which seriously got me so excited! I would usually have to go to Ulta for NYX and it's just really out of the way. Ulta still has way more selection but Target has enough to keep the cravings at bay... for now lol. They actually gave me at puff for free! Gotta love free stuff (even if I probably won't use it lol).

So the NYX Butter Glosses came in a pack of 3 called "Enchanted Kiss". I pretty much bought the entire thing for the middle one in Creme Brulee. The Apple Strudel color looks like it would've been a good color for Summer but we'll see what the color looks like on my lips.

l to r: merengue, creme brulee, and apple strudel

l to r: merengue, creme brulee, and apple strudel

Black eyeliner is a staple for me so I wanted to take this opportunity try the different finishes. I've been using the Matte Black Liner. I feel like I may like the Glossy one better so that's why I bought it. The Matte liner feels kind of rubbery when you're trying to put another layer on so that's the only thing I didn't like about it.

This is by far my favorite NYX product that I bought. It's the NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Beige. O. M. G. Seriously, you can apply this lip gloss without looking at mirror and it'll look perfect and the way it catches the light is just perfect. Love love love! I actually heard about this product from both Claire (from heyclaire) and Ingrid (missglamorazzi). Love their videos so if you have some time, please check them out.

nyx mega shine lip gloss in beige

 
So when I went to Target, I got one of their powder blushes in Terra Cotta (top right). Love this blush! I use it for contouring sometimes it really gives you a summer glow. I was really surprised when Bethany (macbarbie07) mentioned it in her August Favorites video! Twinsies! Haven't tried the other colors out yet but all the ones I did get were matte shades.

l to r, top to bottom:  mauve, terra cotta, peach and amber

I have yet to add a concealer in my daily routine so I decided to try this one out. It's their concealer stick in medium with olive undertones. I always feel like concealer makes my foundation look cakey so that's why I've never used it. I think the next concealer I will invest in will be the Bobby Brown Corrector that again both Claire and Ingrid use.

concealer stick in medium beige with olive undertones

And that's it for my haul! 

Happy Friday everyone and I'll talk you guys soon!

Haul - Brushes, Make up, and Random Home Stuff

note: I took these pictures with my phone and they look horrible. I blame my sweaty palms so I apologize in advance for how nasty they look. 


Went a haulin' the other day on my day off. I've heard so much about these Real Techniques Samantha Chapman brushes. I actually had to go to 2 different Walmarts to find them so if you're in the San Diego area, they have them at the Walmart off the 805 behind Boomers. I've tried a few of them and they are ok :/. They don't shed though so that's a plus. I've only used them for a day so we'll see how I end up liking them lol.

I also bought a new "Scentsy" type wax melter thingy mabob from Better Homes and Gardens. I was really surprised that  I'm currently using the Tranquil Garden Spa and it smells absolutely heavenly! I would highly recommend it.

I stocked up on my Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser. I use this with my Clarisonic and it's done wonders for my skin. When it comes to benzoyl peroxide vs. salicylic acid, I'm a salicylic acid gal. And it doesn't bleach your stuff! I also saw the Electric Baby Lips and of course, had to get them. Also stocking up on my Goody clips 'cause mine almost have no claws left.

That's my haul for ya! Hope everyone has a happy Tuesday!

Beauty Haul!

It's quarterly ExtraBucks printing time and a great week for a Beauty Haul!

Face:

• Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream in Light to Medium ($14.49)
• 6 skin perfecting Benefits: Refreshes, Brightens, Evens Tone, Hydrates, Smoothes, Protects
• Revlon Photoready Foundation in 005 Natural Beige ($14.99, spend $15 on Revlon products, get $7 ExtraBucks)
• Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation in 825 Buff Beige ($8.99, BOGO 50% off Covergirl Products)
• Milani Baked Blush in Coralina ($9.79)

Hair:

• Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Volumizing Root Boost Nourishing Shampoo ($4.99)
• Panteen Pro-V Fine Hair Solutions Volume Silicone Free Shampoo (2 for $6)
• Panteen Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Strengthening Shampoo (2 fot $6)
• Vidal Sassoon Pro Series VS Volume Shampoo Boost and Lift ($4.99)

Nails:

• Seche Vite - dry fast top coat ($9.99 not on sale)

Eyes:

• Almay Intense i-color Eye Liner in Black Pearl ($5.99 on sale with $3.00 ExtraBucks Rewards)
• Covergirl Clump Crusher by Lashblast in 825 Very Black ($11.99, BOGO 50% off Covergirl Products)

Lips:

• Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Lemonade (new), Sugar Frosting, and Wild Watermelon (new) ($8.49 ea, spend $15 on Revlon products, get $7 ExtraBucks)

I had a few coupons, in combinations with all the ExtraBucks, the entire purchase came out to be $54.26. I'll be super stocked up for a long time!

The other two items I got were from TJMaxx. The blue item is the Pure Moroccan Argan Oil Moisturizing Body Lotion in Fig Apricot. Smells soooo good! Love the smell of apricots. The other item was the Yes to Cucumbers Calming Facial Mask. I'm actually using it right now. I didn't think it was going to be a clay mask which I have plenty of. I thought it was going to be more of the moisturizing masks but oh well. 

november makeup haul

So now that I have a decent discount at CVS (and because of the sales during Black Friday, etc), I've been purchasing A LOT and I mean A LOT of beauty products. My beauty products have grown exponentially in the last couple of months.

Item: Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 001 transparent

Cost (at Target): $4.99

Promotions: 5% off if you have the Target RedCard

Thoughts: I've been using this as a setting powder for my foundation and it does the job. I haven't really tried anything else so I can't really compare it to anything. I like that it's very sheer (obviously being that the name is transparent lol) and makes it sets my makeup pretty well. I haven't had any problems with it so far. I use this pretty much everyday and it doesn't break me out. I think I want to try the MAC Studio Fix Foundation next so I can compare. For the price, I think this is a good product especially since I'm just starting out using make up. 

Item: NYC Bronzer in Sunny

Cost (at Target): $2.74

Promotions: 5% off with Target RedCard

Thoughts: This product is super beloved by one of my favorite YouTubers, Holly, so of course I had to try it. It was actually quite hard to find but I just happened to stumble upon it at Target (this is exactly why you end up spending well over $50 every time you go!). I use this for contouring and it works really well. I've stopped using this one and started using the Rimmel one that I bought/got for free at Ulta (also available at Target and other drug stores) and to me, I can't really tell the difference :/. I've been really loving the way the Rimmel one comes out though. Now that I think of it I feel like Sunny bronzer comes off quite a bit darker than the Rimmel one so maybe for people with more tan skin, sunny bronzer might be better. I'm getting pretty light these days being that I pretty much stay inside for work so I think that may be the reason why I like the Rimmel one better. 

Item: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in 130 Pink Whisper and 010 Shine City (respectively)

Cost (at CVS): $8.99 orig (I believe these are like $5.74 at Target)

Promotions: I paid $8.38 for both the lipglosses because I had ExtraBucks and my employee discount. They were also BOGO 50% off. 

Thoughts: LOVE LOVE LOVE these lipglosses!! I love the packaging because they feel really high quality. I keep both of these in my purse. I like using Shine City on top of any lipstick that I use because it really hydrates my lips. I want to reiterate that these lipglosses are super amazing and I'd highly recommend them. I usually hate all lip products unless it's like Chapstick or something because my lips are very peel-y. If I put any kind of lip product on it, there will inevitably be white clumps where my lips meet (like I'm foaming at the mouth or something) but not with these lipglosses. I find that the MAC lipglosses that I had before were super sticky and these are definitely not like that. 

Item: Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Gloss in 015 Born With It

Cost (at CVS): $7.99

Promotions: BOGO 50% off Maybelline cosmetics

Thoughts: I'll have to admit I only got this because of the name lol. "Maybe she's born with it... maybe it's Maybelline..." So fricken catchy! Anyway, this doesn't really compare to the Revlon lipglosses. This color is really nice though. It's actually really close to my natural lip color is if I was going for the "I didn't use any lip stick, just clear gloss" look, then this would be perfect. I guess this gloss is pretty good too... I think it just seems to be way less product than the Revlon one and the packaging is nicer for the Revlon one too lol. Darn.. I'm judging a book by its cover lol. 

Item: Revlon Nail Polish in Starry Pink 

Cost (at Target): $3.99

Promotions: 5% off with Target RedCard

Thoughts: Love this color and the sparkles! I had to get it when I saw it because it was the only one left and $3.99 really isn't bad at all! You definitely need a top coat for this one. The sparkles kept scratching me because I was too lazy to use a topcoat lol. 

Item: L'oreal True Match Super-Blendable Powder in Buff Beige

Cost (at CVS): $10.99 orig (with coupons and my discount, I paid $1.75 for this :))

Promotions: Spend $10 on L'oreal cosmetics and get $3 Extra Bucks.

Thoughts: Before my recent venture into liquid foundation, this was my go-to holy grail product. This product seriously does wonders. It looks extremely natural on skin and is light enough so you can just carry it in your purse for touch-ups (although this product doesn't stay on skin for very long). This product seriously makes your skin look really flawless and covers up any discoloration. My skin is super discolored because of all the acne and my freckles (they could be sun spots too... but I'll pretend they're freckles lol). Liquid foundation definitely without a doubt covers 100x better but if you don't have a lot to cover up then this is the perfect light foundation for you. 

Item: elf Blush in Tickled Pink and Mellow Mauve

Cost (at Target): $3.00 each

Promotions: 5% off with Target RedCard

Thoughts: Like seriously, I might as well have been stealing these right off the shelves! So fricken affordable!! Tickled Pink is a very light color and looks really natural. It gives you that "I pinched my cheeks" look although sometimes I feel like it's so light that you can't even tell it's there. Mellow Mauve is much darker and is almost purple-y. It's perfect for fall but I don't feel like I can use it for everyday.   

Item: Revlon Nail Polish in Facets of Fuchsia

Cost (at Target): $3.74

Promotions: 5% off with Target RedCard

Thoughts: I haven't used this one yet but I'm sure it'll be just as pretty as the Starry Pink one.   

Item: Revlon Lip Butters in 095 Creme Brulee and 035 Candy Apple

Cost (at Target): $6.39 each

Promotions: 5% off with Target RedCard

Thoughts: I'm pretty much IN LOVE with Revlon Lip Butters! They keep my lips so moisturized and the colors are very buildable. I think I might have at least 10 of these lol. Anyways, I was trying to get a neutral one for everyday and a kind of out there one. Creme brulee is definitely very neutral and I love using it for every day. Candy apple came on a lot darker than I expected. It's pretty red on me and maybe I just haven't gotten use to this much color so it looks a little weird on me. I just love the consistency of this product and I can't wait to purchase even more! I really want every single color!

Item: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Pearl Plum

Cost (at Target): $

Promotions: 5% off with Target RedCard

Thoughts: Great color for fall and just love everything about this product!

Item: Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Nail Polish in Steel Grey

Cost (at Ulta): $3.99

Promotions: Buy 2 Rimmel Items, get one free

Thoughts: So I just bought this because I needed to get something to get the free item and I figured Grey would be nice for fall. It didn't stay for 10 days without chipping but it was pretty darn close! It lasted longer and was in better condition than OPI polish after a week of wear and tear. 

So I haven't had much time to update recently because I've had to fill in since people have to use up their vacation hours or else they become void. So excited that the end of the year is already here! Love the holidays! Hope everyone has a great week!

sephora friends & family haul

So I ordered quite a few things from Sephora for their Friends and Family 20% off sale. 

So much in fact that my package came in this gynormous box. O_O 

As you know, you get 3 free samples for ordering online. I also had a 100-point perk from my order last Christmas so I got the "hope in a jar" moisturizer. Is it just me or does it have an awful stench?! I used it once and it smelled all chemically. Haven't used any of the fragrance samples yet since I am not exactly lacking in that department with my other orders (see below).

Stocking up on a favorite. I never use to use moisturizer except for the Clean & Clear Oil-Free Dual Action Moisturizer which contains salicylic acid for my acne and then when I was living with Tanya in Stockton, I noticed she'd always use the "Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion" so I decided to give the moisturizing gel a shot. I got the gel when it first came out with their 3-step skincare line but it didn't do much for me so I stopped using it. The moisturizing gel actually works really well. I bought the extra large bottle (the one with the pump) last year and I barely finished using it so it was time to re-stock.

I've always been interested in the use of "highlighters" so I decided to give this a try. I've only used it once so far so I can't really give a too great review. I don't really notice a difference though :/

So after getting a tiny sample of the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion with my Naked Palette I decided to get the full size version with the new packaging. 

Since my birthday was coming up, I also got to add the Birthday Gift with my order :). 

Smells very good.

One of the 2 fragrances that I bought. I bought the gift set since it was more bang for the buck.

I started watching a lot of YouTube make-up gurus lately and all of them rave about the Clarisonic Mia. I decided to give it a try. I started using the Mia on Monday and I've been using it twice daily. It takes some getting used to though because it's so fricken ticklish on and around the nose! So far I've noticed that the pores on my nose have shrunken dramatically! I feel like the spinning of the bristles actually loosens all the blackheads and whiteheads so that my pores can shrink. I was worried that it would break me out since I heard that there's a test period where the Clarisonic will actually bring up all the dirt so that you end up breaking out. 

This is the fragrance I've been wearing for the longest time. Just getting my second bottle. I like this fragrance a lot but it is quite strong and Tony says it can smell old-lady-ish lol. I think it's 'cause it's Chanel. But either way, I love that this scent is super long lasting. 

And this concludes my Sephora Friends & Family Haul! 

Hope you enjoyed!