The Little One and I Went Shopping :)

Yesterday, my daughter decided I decided to drag my little one to Ulta to spend our 20% off coupon that came earlier in the month.  (If you haven't received one, you should see it on Ulta's Facebook page if you Like them!  They've also been sending them via email.)

I didn't grab too much stuff since I did go a little makeup crazy in November, but I picked up a few items to share.  Plus you'll get to see my Christmas tree and meet my black lab, Molly, in the video :)

Products Mentioned
Anastasia Clear Brow Gel ($22)
Seche Base Ridge Filling Base Coat ($7) (all Seche products are B1G1 Free until 12/24/13!)
Seche Nail Lacquer in Contemporary ($7.50)
Sally Hansen Salon Gel Base Coat ($12.99)
Sally Hansen Salon Gel Polish in Sheer Ecstasy ($12.99)
Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume Waterpoof Mascara ($8.99)  (all Cover Girl is B1G1 50% off until 12/24/13!)
Cover Girl TruBlend Pressed Powder in Translucent Fair 1 ($8.99)

Have you tried any of these?  I'd love to hear some opinions on the Sally Hansen kit!  

(Not-so-funny story...after I filmed the video, that night I went to try out the gel polish system and my little UV light broke!!  The part that the a/c adapter plugs into came loose and the connection is now rattling around inside of the light.  I contacted Sally Hansen to see if they would send me a replacement, but I haven't heard back yet.  If and when I can ever get it working again, I plan to do a review of all the Sally Hansen gel products!)

Thanks for stopping by!!

As always, everything in this post is my honest personal opinion.  No affiliate links were used.  I have not accepted any consideration for sharing these items with you.  Unless indicated otherwise, all products were purchased by me with my own money.

Sephora VIB Sale Haul!

Happy Weekend Lovelies!  Before the Sephora VIB sale ends tomorrow (Monday, November 11) I just wanted to share with you all quickly the items I picked up and my first impressions on what I've tried so far.  Sorry for the all-text post, but I'm trying to beat the fast-ticking nap time clock right now!

In super exciting news, I made VIB Rouge!!  I bargained with my hubs and I think now he's just happy he doesn't have to battle the mall for a Christmas gift for me :)

First off, I did grab my extra Clarisonic Sensitive Brush Heads ($25 for 1; $40 for a 2-pack) and the Shiseido Facial Cotton ($9.50) that I am obsessed with.  Both of these items were in my recommendations post, and they're both items that I use regularly so I take advantage when I can pick them up at a discount.

From my wishlist, I got Dior Diorskin Shimmer Star in Amber Diamond ($45).  I grabbed the last one they had in store, and last I checked it was sold out online, but keep your eyes peeled.  I haven't used it yet, but it's just the prettiest highlighter.  I can't wait to dig into it!  I also grabbed a few more Formula X Nail Polishes ($10.50 to $12.50)...another red, a purple, a grey, and a glitter.  You guys know I LOVE these polishes.  I also grabbed the topcoat thinking that it may leave my "normal" nail polish with as good wear and shine as the Formula X does.  After I test it out I'll be sure to post about it!

Other wishlist items I purchased:  Touche Eclat ($40) and the GlamGlow Gift Sexy Supermud Set ($69).  (Quickly...I tried the Supermud mask last night and I wasn't left overly impressed, especially for the price.  I am going to try it a few more times, and try the exfoliating mask it came with, in the hope that more regular use will leave my skin in better condition.  I'll do a full review, but for now I can't say I would recommend spending the money on it.)

I also grabbed a few other impulse items...

This Soap & Glory Lip Balm in Peppermint ($10), which I LOVE, may be my favorite item!  It is seriously like Christmas on your lips.  It leaves the prettiest shimmery sheen and smells absolutely amazing.

This Bumble & Bumble Dry Thickening Spray ($29).  Jury's still out on whether I like this or not.  It did really volumize my hair after I sprayed it in, but it fell flat in a short amount of time.  Re-fluffing through the day helped, but for the price, I'm just not sure how I feel about it.

This Wen Healthy Hair Kit ($42.50).  What can I say...I totally fell for the informercial I saw a few weeks ago.  Have any of you guys tried Wen??  Give me your thoughts and tips please!!

Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray ($29 for 4 oz., $14 for 1 oz.)  I grabbed a small bottle of this to compare to some other setting sprays I have.  I'm going to do a full post on these in a few weeks once I've fully tested everything, but here's a preview...don't waste your money on this one.

And that's about it!  I'm on a SERIOUS makeup no-buy after this haul, but I'm happy to use my new products and shop my collection a bit.

Lovely readers...what did you get at the VIB sale?  Share your goodies :)

As always, everything in this post is my honest personal opinion.  No affiliate links were used.  I have not accepted any consideration for sharing these items with you.  Unless indicated otherwise, all products were purchased by me with my own money.

Ulta Haul!

As promised, here are the items I picked up during Ulta's 20% off sale!  I actually didn't go too crazy at Ulta, as I am trying to save most of my purchasing for Sephora's VIB sale (details here) to try to make VIB Rouge by year-end :)

The one item I skipped was the Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Styling Heat Protect Spray ($23).  I do use this regularly when I curl my hair with a curling iron, and I love it, but I have a few other heat sprays that I need to use up, so I couldn't justify the purchase right now.  (Plus, I didn't realize that Sephora sells this, too, so I would rather get it there anyway!)

More details on what I grabbed below!




Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara ($20)
As I mentioned in my wish list post, I saw this on QVC one night and have been dying to try it.  I'm a total sucker for a new mascara, so this was my must-have item.  I can't wait to give it a shot!

Loreal Voluminous Full Definition Mascara ($7.99)
When I placed my order, Loreal products were B1G1 50% off, so I decided to grab this.  Tiffany D claims it's the closest drugstore mascara to the Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara, which I haven't splurged on (cough*yet*cough), so I just had to add it to my cart.

Prestige My Biggest Lashes Mascara ($6.99)
Yes, another mascara!  Like I said, I'm a total sucker!  I loved Prestige My Blackest Lashes, but I prefer lengthening formulas, so I figured I'd try this one out next time around.

OPI All I Want for Christmas (is OPI) ($9)
So as I mentioned in my video, when I took this out of the box, I realized it looked an awful lot like OPI's I Got the Blues for Red and other shades just like it that I already own.  The swatches I had seen online made this polish look warmer toned than the polishes I already have, which is why I grabbed it.  However...as promised in my haul video...here it is swatched with other shades:

I can't even make this up.  These 4 polishes are identical.  Like, not even similar...identical.  Oops.  (Click for a larger image, but L-R, it's OPI All I Want for Christmas (is OPI), OPI I Got the Blues for Red, China Glaze Adventure Red-y, and Sephora Formula X Ignite).  So yeah, All I Want for Christmas is getting returned!

Essie Toggle to the Top ($8)
The swatch of this in Polishaholic's post on the Essie winter collection made this shade look incredible, so I grabbed it.  I don't have any sparkly or glittery holiday reds in my collection, either, so now I do :)

Jane Cosmetics Water Resistant Eye Liner in Black ($6, but on sale for $4 right now!)
After filming my haul video, I gave this liner a run for its money.  It actually did stay on my waterline ALL DAY.  I think I may have actually found my Holy Grail liner for my waterline.  This stayed better than anything else I've ever tried by far.  It's super black, transfers so easily, and hello...it's $6!  I have to give a huge thanks to Tati/Glam Life Guru for mentioning this one!!

Loreal Colour Riche Caresse Aqua Lacquer Lip Stain in Endless Red ($9.99)  This was the other half of my B1G1 Loreal purchase.  I grabbed it on a total whim, since I don't wear bold lips that often.  However, I've been really feeling red for the holidays this year.  This is also supposed to be a drugstore version of the YSL Glossy Stains, which I've been dying to try.  For 1/3 the price of the Glossy Stains, though, I figured I should start small and try this one instead.  Happy to report that I LOVE the red color, and it lasted me about 3 or 4 hours before I had to reapply.  I purposely brushed my teeth with it on (it was still perfect afterward) and drank a latte.  It was a little worn off after the latte, but I went another 2-ish hours without needing to reapply.  I'm a big fan!  (As promised in the video, here is a great post comparing the YSL and the Loreal stains!)

That's it!  Please let me know what you picked up during the sale in the comments!  I'd love to hear what you're going to try out :)

As always, everything in this post is my honest personal opinion.  No affiliate links were used.  I have not accepted any consideration for sharing these items with you.  Unless indicated otherwise, all products were purchased by me with my own money.