Monday, December 30, 2013

December 2013 Top ??

I hope that everyone had a fantabulous Christmas!!

Welp we've made through another year. Seriously where did 2013 go?? Lawdy! I've included some products I did not like for the month. There's a lot going on in this post and it's quite long. I tried to group stuff together. Also tried to do some formatting stuff but Blogger isn't cooperating *sigh* So I'm sorry that this is long but here we go!

Eyes


I played around with Tarte palette from the Bow & Go collection as part of my "Palette Play December 2013". I really enjoyed playing around with this palette. It's a great everyday palette where you can do a complete look and not reach for additional eyeshadows. Tarte eyeshadows are smooth, buildable and easy to blend. They are definitely in my top 5 for eyeshadows. I kinda of didn't want to put this away to use the next palette on the list.

Lips

I have mentioned this lip combo before. I reached my good old trusty Heroine lipstick by MAC this month along why Mary Kay's Nourishine Plus lipgloss in Berry Tart. These two pair nicely together. Also if you have been wanting to try Heroine, it is now a permanent lipstick to the line and no longer limited edition. Which is nice but for those of us who went through hell and high water to get it, I'm like -______-. Ok not really but if you have ever tried to purchase limited edition MAC products when they launch, then you know what a bitch it can be. I especially feel for those who went the eBay route and paid a lot more. I got both of mine at the regular price.

I pulled out two of my favorite Revlon lipsticks that are my instant favs when the cooler temps set in. Black Cherry and Va Va Violet are just bomb.com.

In the video Partition by Beyonce, she's wearing a dark vampy purple lip which is right up my alley. So I went and pulled out a couple of Maybelline lip products that were a part of their fall collection and are limited edition (booooooo!). I pulled out Midnight Plum lipstick and Purple Royale lip gloss. I enjoyed both but the lip gloss baaaabbbbaaayyee gave me LIFE EVERLASTING! These Maybelline glosses are fantastic. If you're looking for a good inexpensive gloss then try these. They have a definite favorite for year (that post is coming as well).

Face


I had this listed as a surprise product of the month but decided that this was a hands down favoriteI picked up Revlon's Nearly Naked foundation at CVS during their winter beauty sale. It was 75% off. I got for $2.39 or something like that. So my feelings would not have been hurt if it didn't work out for me. I got the shade Cappuccino which reminded me somewhat of the Warm Almond shade I wear in one of Bobbi Brown's foundations. So I put it on and it blends into my skin nicely. It doesn't look cakey, it is somewhat buildable, held up nicely on my skin and didn't break me out. I was really impressed. So much in fact that I went to another CVS and picked another bottle. I mean for $2 and change, how could I not?? Dare I say that I have found a foundation at the drugstore!!??!?! Color me shocked.

I've had Mally's Invisible Bronzer in Deeper for a while now. I got in in a TSV kit. I've mentioned in previous posts that Bobbi Brown's Bronzing Powder in  Deep Chocolate is my holy grail bronzer. I've hit pan on it but still have a good amount of product left. Buuuuut I got it when I wasn't really checking for items being limited edition which this bronzer shade was and I haven't lucked up finding another one online. Anywho...I pulled out Mally's bronzer around the middle of the month. I swatched it next to Bobbi Brown and it's a little lighter but not much. Like Bobbi Brown's, it is a matte bronzer that doesn't run red or orange. I use it to bronze the outside of my face and to contour. I've been loving it this month. I looked online for giggles (QVC and Mally's website) to see if it's available for purchase but of course I couldn't find it. But again between the two bronzers I have, I am good and don't need another one for a while.
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Milani's Baked Blushes in Fantastico Mauve and Red Vino were in heavy rotation this month as well. I saw Fantastico Mauve on sale at CVS. I think with a 50% off sticker on it. Both blushes are nicely pigmented, brown girl friendly and give a nice glow to the cheeks.

Nails


The Good Tidings We Bling Sephora polish was probably a favorite last December and will probably be a favorite every December until I use it up. It's the perfect red and green glitter polish from Christmas nails manis.

Another polish I enjoyed this month is Butter London's West End Wonderland. I think this is my favorite gold glitter polish because you can build it up. It's also easy to remove unlike some glitter polishes.

Body


Funny I mentioned Korres Mulberry Vanilla Body Butter in my January Top 3 post. I tried this out original in the Ultra Hydration Trio set that was a Today's Special on HSN and opted for auto ship. "It combines the scent of fresh mulberries with warm vanilla". I love pairing it with philosophy's Falling in Love fragrance.

I picked up Carol's Daughter Angel Cake body cream and shower cream in a set from HSN. It came with two of each product. I had debated on whether or not if I want to keep the second set of  body and shower cream. I had toyed around with the idea of giving it to someone for Christmas. Well let's just say I'm keeping the second set lol. I love this scent. The notes of it are nutmeg, Moroccan rose and Tahitian Vanilla. It's a sexy scent but not overpowering at all. I liked paring it with Kate Walsh's Boyfriend.

I got the Josie Maran Agran Balm in a set that was a Today's Special Value on QVC. I wasn't reaching for it since I was trying to use the Cocoa Butter Vaseline I had up. Once the Vaseline was done I went back to using the Argan Balm. I use it mainly on the drier areas on my body. I enjoyed using it this month and I like it. But when I use it up I don't plan on repurchasing it. For one, the price of this product is $42. Plus I get the same results using Palmer's Cocoa Butter and the Cocoa Butter Vaseline and they are waaaaaay cheaper. There a Shea Butter with Cocoa Butter product that I've come across that I'm interested in trying that's cheaper as well.

Other Stuff


Beyonce...Beyonce...Beyonce! If you've been living under a rock and hadn't heard, Beyonce dropped her 5th album on Friday, December 13. The internet and everything was a blaze that day. I mean who drops and ENTIRE album with no word? And videos. Still don't know how she pulled that off. Anywho...I gave it a quick listen and Partition became an instant favorite (judge me alllll you want *insert grin*). Rocket is another fav with my baby daddy Justin Timberlake harmonizing in the background, Then one morning I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep. So I popped my headphones in and gave it a thorough listen. I love it. It's definite something I can listen to from beginning to end and not skip a song. Love her or hate her, the chick is bad and doing the damn thing.

My favorite coffee creamer was back in stores. It usually shows up around Thanksgiving. When I saw it I was all over it. Been buying them two at a time. One for work and one for home. Peppermint White Chocolate is so good!

A Christmas Story!! Every year TBS airs it for 24 hours and I pretty much watch it for 24 hours. Alternating it with whatever channels are showing Elf and Home Alone, Home Alone 2 all day.


I made some white chocolate chip red velvet cookies this month for a cookie exchange and ended up making some more on Christmas Eve. They were so good and a crowd pleaser!

Surprise Product of the Month


I ordered the Lancome Tresor fragrance set from HSN when it was a Today's Special. The set came with the Tresor perfume and body lotion.  It's hard ordering a scent online you haven't smelled before. But currently HSN has an extended return policy. So I was fine with ordering it. The moment I got it and smelled it, I was like I've smelled this before. Then I got to thinking if one of my aunts or grandmothers wore it. I couldn't put my finger on it. The scent is described as "the elegance of rose, the sparkle of apricot blossom and the sensuality of sandalwood". Vanilla is one of the notes in this fragrance as well. If you haven't guessed I'm a sucker for scents with vanilla in it. So far I'm enjoying it. There are some other scents in the Tresor line that I'm curious about. May give them a smell next time I'm in Ulta.

I also picked up the Too Faced Pretty Rebel Eye Collection when I ordered the Tresor fragrance set. The set came with a quad, eyeliner and mascara. So needless to say I "cheated" during Palette Play December lol. I didn't put it together that the four shadows in the quad where from the Pretty Rebel eyeshadow palette. So I thought that was cool. The eyeliner is in espresso which is my favorite eye liner shade. I loooove a deep dark brown liner more so that black. The mascara is amazeballs! I'm talking one coat and you have lashes for days!!! One doggone coat!!!! I have never tried a Too Faced mascara. The wand is a rubber was with shorter bristles which I feel works best for my lashes. My lashes feel like my lashes which is the biggest thing for me when it comes to a mascara and it's easy to remove.

I had a sample size of Supersmile Whitening Toothpaste in Original Mint from a New Beauty Test Tube. I forgot I had it. I like the way my teeth felt after using it. It's a pricey products, so I doubt I'd get a full size tube.

I'on Like it at ALL!


I never really mention and products that I'm not like for the month since this is favorites. But there were a couple of products that got the strong side eye from me this month.

I picked up one of Maybelline's new eye makeup removers. They've been out for a while but they are still somewhat new. There were 3 kinds and I got the one that was more of a gel. I used it as directed with a cotton pad and just with my fingers. This joker irritated my eyes! It wasn't unbearable but it was annoying. When I opened my eyes they were red. I'm like really? Really!?!? I have yet to find an eye makeup remover that I like and I'm not looking anymore. Usually whatever face cleanser I use gets the job done. So I'm sticking with that and not wasting anymore money!

I picked up two bottles of the L'Oreal True Match foundation. They were on sale at Ulta for $2.50. So for $5 I wouldn't be hurt if I didn't like them or if they didn't end up working for me. I picked up shades 9.5 and 10. I am terrible at matching myself when it comes to foundation. This was no exception. Both shades were too dark for me. 9.5 may work for me in the summer *shrugs*. I just didn't like how it applied and the finished looked once I applied powder, bronzer, etc. I am SOOOO used to my Bare Minerals foundation and being BEAT TO THE GAWDS with little effort. The only liquid foundation that I LOVED was Bobbi Brown's Natural Finish Foundation but it was discontinued last year. I may go get a sample of her Skin Foundation. But then again I might not. But now that I've found the Revlon one, I'm good.

Another product I don't like is the Walgreens Textured Cotton Rounds. I ended up getting these when they were on sale. I like the premium ones with the black label. So I get these home and use them with my witch hazel toner and they pretty much fall apart on my face! I'm like really!?!? How do you jack up a cotton round! I didn't realize until recently that they were textured. Both sides are textured. I'm used to the ones were one side is smooth and the other is textured. Won't be buying these again.


Phew.....FIN!!!!!!!

I think for 2014, I'm may go back to categories. Who knows.  I probably will still do "surprise products" The top 3 things was cool but I felt liking I was restricting myself at times. But on the flip side I don't want to have a long list of things either. We shall see if I can find a happy medium in 2014.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has read, commented and shared my posts. I just get on here and babble. Didn't think folk would actually read what's going on in my crazy head and there's quite a bit ;) "See" you all next year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Bag of the Moment - Kenneth Cole Reaction Painted Lady Tote

Excuse my pillows :)

I got this in the mail today. It retails for $50 but I got it for $24.50. It's is gorg! When I ordered it online the color option said brown combo. Of course I was like huh?? It's taupe and faux leather. It doesn't have an odor like some faux leather bags tend to. There's a pocket on the front and one zip pocket inside the bag. The lining on the inside is light which you know I love. The one downside is that the lining is plasticy. But for the price I can over look that. It doesn't look like it'll tear easily. About to put my stuff in it and test this baby out!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Book Lovin - 2014 Reading Goals

(Courtesy of Microsoft)


I'm such a nerd right lol.

Anywho....for 2013 I read 80 books. Not bad. I was messing around creating my reading spreadsheet for 2014 and a few random things popped into my head (like they always do) on how I wanted to tackle my reading for 2014.
  • I am going to limit myself from rereading books unless it's for a series that I need to refresh my memory on. A lot of the time if I can't decide what to read, I'll end up rereading a favorite book. Nothing wrong with that but when you have a crap ton of unread books then well yea, it can be a problem. Now if I do end up rereading something, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Keyword here is try.
  • Speaking of series books, I have quite a few that I've only read the first 2 or 3 books or none at all. So I need to incorporate at least one book into the mix each month. Or for shorter series books, read the whole series in a particular month.
  • I also need to review my wish list for book purchases and update it accordingly. Some of these books have been on my list for a while now. If I haven't picked it up by now then it ain't gonna get picked up. Or look and see if my library or the Kindle Lending Library has it.
  • I donated 343 books to the library. I also gave some books away to friends in 2013. I still have a good amount of books left (both read and unread). I am going to make an effort to pull from the unread books that I have. I think maybe come the summer of fall, I will go back through what I have and maybe do another purge of the unread books that I haven't gotten to.
I think that's all for now.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

A Proud Moment

**Sorry if this is a bit jumbled. These thoughts just came to me, so this is on the fly.**

Sooooo I was out and about yesterday and I stopped by CVS. Mainly to check out a couple of items from the current sale that is going on for beauty products. I went to get another nail polish (purchased 5 earlier in the week) and a foundation that I stumbled upon (you'll hear about in December favorites). Now mind you I had already picked up an extra bottle. If I had picked up the one I had in my hands on yesterday, then that would have been bottle number 3. As I was going back and forth scanning stuff, with about 4 items in my hand, I was like hold time. Now if I had gotten the items, it would have been less than $10 which is cool. BUUUUTTTT it would have been adding more to the mass of products I already have. I've made some good strides in getting rid of a lot of stuff. Doesn't meant that I don't still have a lot of stuff.

So I turned around from the scanner machine, put everything back and walked right out of CVS! And you know what? It felt good not buying stuff that I honestly didn't need. I went to Ulta earlier that day to use a 20% offer coupon I had. I got one hair item that I actually needed and I did get on "want".  That item was on sale and I had some reward dollars to use. So I don't feel bad getting it. Progress people progress. Now to keep this mindset going into 2014.

I came across this on Instagram this morning and I was like YAAAASSSSSS!!!! LOL! Overall I did good this year getting rid of stuff whether it was to friends and family or various donations. NOOOOOW I have to work on not bring more stuff in, being content using what I have and stick with the products and brands I like/know what works for me. A new shiny thing here and there isn't a bad thing. Just not ALLLLL the time.


Onward and upward!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!


Friday, December 13, 2013

Dear 2013 & Dear 2014

(Courtesy of Microsoft)


Dear 2013,
I'm over you.

Dear 2014,
Not really looking forward to you either because I'm not expecting anything different from 2013.

Usually I look forward to the new year but now I'm like whatever. This year overall has been crappy. But I can't sit here and say that xyz is gonna happen and it's gonna be a GREAT year. You know what I mean? Not trying to be a Debbie Downer. Just how I feel at the moment.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Palette Play December 2013

Another random thought that came to me while sitting on my bed. In an effort to get use out of this crap ton of palettes I have, I've decide to use a particular palette for a week. Of course my type A self wants to go ahead and decide which palettes I'm going to use for each week. So why not do a post to keep myself on track right? If I decide to use duos, trios or quads then I may use two for the week.  But for the larger palettes, the plan is to use that one palette for the week.

Here's what I planning to use in December:


Week of  December 1 - Tarte Palette from the "Bow & Go" Collection

Week of December 8 - Mally Citychick Celebration Shadow Palette

Week of December 15 - Too Faced Natural at Night Palette

Week of December 22  - Smashbox Mega Photo Op Palette

Week of December 29 - Tarte True Blood Palette

I'm also going to rotate through some Bare Minerals mascara this month as well (Flawless Definition, Volumizing and Curl & Lengthen).

Haven't decided on single eyeshadows and how to incorporate them in the mix since I have a lot of those too (mainly Bare Minerals loose shadows). Maybe starting in January, I'll use certain single shadows for a week. We shall see.

Let the fun begin!