Friday, August 1, 2014

Swatches - Elf - Disney's Snow White - Fairest of Them All Collection

A few nights ago, I regrammed a picture of the new elf and Disney collaboration for the new Snow White collection.  Tonight I was lucky enough to find the collection at my local Walgreens before any of the pieces were missing.  There are several pieces to this collection, just like it's predecessor the Ariel collection.  I spotted makeup bags, the beauty book, an eyeshadow palette, a lipstick trio, a brush set, and a face powder (or blush/contour).  I picked up everything but the brush set and face set, though the packaging was pretty enough I may end up rounding out the set.

A quick aside about the brush set though.  The brushes appear to be from the $1.00 elf line.  They are not the best brushes in the world.  It retails for $9.99, which isn't bad, but I wouldn't pick up the set thinking that you were going to get MAC quality brushes.  Elf brushes are hit or miss.  I would pick up the brush set because the brush holder looks so awesome, not for the brushes.

I am actually quite happy with the purchases I made.  The packaging is gorgeous.  I personally like it better than the Ariel set, but I'm a sucker for red, white, black, and gold.  There is just a timeless, classic look to it. This is Snow White we're talking about, it is meant to be timeless and classic!

Here is what I got:


Look at that packaging.  Beautiful!

Let's start with the bag.  This was not the only bag in the collection.  It was the largest and had a different design than the others.  The other bags had the black and white style.  The picture is adorable and the inside of the bag has a design similar to the one on the other makeup items in a deep blue.  The pictured scene is also one of my favorites from the movie.  I couldn't help not getting it.  It's large enough to be a good carry bag for my makeup or my brushes.  Suffice to say I'm excited about it!  This bag retailed for $9.99.

(Outside of the bag)

(Inside of the bag)

There is a lip trio in this collection.  Red, red, red.  Very red.  The lip gloss is an elf Essential Shimmer Lip Gloss in "Ruby Kiss".  The lip stain is named "Crison Crush".  That is not a typo, but what the sticker on the bottom of the tube states.  A quick look at the elf website does show that this should be "Crimson Crush", which is a permanent shade by the brand and can be found here.  Lastly, there is a elf Essential Lip Balm tint in "Berry".  This is part of the permanent range as well and can be found here.  I have heard pretty good things about the lip balm tints, so this might be worth it to try.  The lip set retailed for $4.99 and is pictured below.





Next there is the eyeshadow palette and mascara.  The eyeshadow palette has six colors, while the mascara is the standard black.  I was surprised by the way the palette swatched.  These shadows were pretty smooth and swatched nicely without primer.  The clear miss is the darkest shade, but with a primer it will probably be workable.  All the shades appear to have shimmer, not a matte in the bunch.  The eye collection retails for $4.99.





Last, but not least is the Snow White story book.  Again, I am very taken by the artwork on the front.  And surprisingly, I am not completely disappointed with the quality of the products on the inside.  The eyeshadows were not quite as great as the one in the eye collection palette, but most of the shades are workable.  The darkest shade, again, was lackluster, but the rest would work well with a primer.  Beyond the eyeshadows, the story book includes a lip gloss, eyelid primer, a black eyeliner, and a pinkish/coral blush (which I could not get to photograph without it coming off completely orange which was not the true color at all).  The story book retails for $9.99.




There we go folks.  The Snow White collection by elf.  What do you think?  Will you be picking up any of the products?

Sometimes Life is Crazy

I have dropped off the face of the planet for the last few months.  I have been MIA on the blog, Facebook, Twitter, and have the rare post on Instagram.  I haven't had a thing to swatch, though I was not in a no buy.  No ... life has just been crazy.

At the end of March, my husband changed jobs and it put us in a bit of a bind for a little while.  In the middle of April, I had to take care of some extended family business which lasted until the last week of May.  In June, my husband and I started the process of moving into a new house.  We have been dealing with the not having internet, not having our furniture put together, losing things, breaking other pieces of furniture, my husband's illness, and generally everything being in a state of chaos.

Finally, now on August 1st, things are not perfect, but they are getting better.  Half of my office is put together.  I've spent two nights organizing eyeshadow into a small Alex drawer and have more organizing yet to come.  Slowly, but surely, things are coming together.

With that being said, I am hoping to have more posts up as I get my office more put together.  I have made some new recent purchases that I am excited to show off.

I hope that everyone is well.  I will be with you soon.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Swatches - Revlon - Limited Edition Lip Glosses - Electric Chrome Amazing Spiderman 2 Collection

Hello, everyone!

Yesterday I put up a post about the Limited Edition display for the Electric Chrome Amazing Spiderman 2 collection.  In that display were three limited edition lip glosses.  Today I decided to pick all three of the lip glosses up.  The lip glosses have a lot of shimmer, so I am a little unsure of how often I will use them on the weekdays, but I bet I will have a lot of fun with them on the weekends.  Yes, even the blue one.

Please click through to see the swatches!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Spotted - Revlon Limited Edition Electric Chrome Collection - Amazing Spiderman 2

Hello, everyone!

I hope you are doing well today.  While I was at HEB today, I was lucky enough to find that they had two new Revlon displays out.  The one that I wanted to talk about in this blog post was the new Limited Edition Revlon collection.  This collection is a tie-in with the upcoming movie the Amazing Spiderman 2.

To find out more, please click through.

Texas Girls - HEB Deals - 3/12/14 - 3/18/14

Hello, everyone!

Time for another HEB Deals Roundup.  There is some good stuff this week in the ad.  I'll be stopping by HEB later to see if there are any sneaky deals they didn't put in the ad this week.

We have:


  • 40% off any Revlon Cosmetic Product with in-store coupon
  • Save $10 when you spend $20 on Garnier Hair Care, Hair Color, or Skin Care Products with in-store coupon
  • Save $5 when you buy 3 Organix products with in-store coupon
  • 40% off any Physicians Formula Cosmetic product with in-store coupon
  • $1 off any 2 New York Color Cosmetics Products with in-store coupon
  • Buy HEB Cotton Squares (160 count), Rounds (80 Count) or Cotton Balls (200 Count) get Hill Country Essentials Nail Polish Remover (6 oz varieties) FREE
Sadly, you can no longer stack coupons at HEB.  However, with the cheaper prices here than the drugstores these are still some great deals.  Happy shopping!

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Monday, March 10, 2014

YMMV - Target Clearance - Maybelline Eyeshadows

Hello, everyone!

While at Target this afternoon, I took a quick stroll through the beauty department.  It is that time of year where they are starting to clearance out a lot of the beauty goods.  I was prepared to leave with an arm full of goodies or, as often happens at my Target, in disappointment.  I was not prepared to see what I did see, which was all Maybelline Eyeshadows being put on clearance.

I am sure by now we are all aware that the old Maybelline quads, trios, duos, and singles are going away for the new slimline boxy packaging.  Those  are being clearanced at almost every store across the country.

(Left: New, Right: Old)

This afternoon I noticed something totally odd.  The entire Maybelline eyeshadow display was pretty much empty.  Including the Eyestudio quads.  These quads normally retail for $7.99 and have been marked down to $5.48.


Flabbergasted and thinking this was a mistake, I took a few of the ones I did not own to the register and sure enough they rang up for $5.58.


I ended up with four eyeshadows for $17.75.  I don't know if this is going on all over, but it can't hurt to check it out.  The Maybelline Eyestudio quads are some of the best quality eyeshadows at drugstore prices right now.  Good luck and remember, your mileage might vary!



Sunday, March 9, 2014

03/09/2104 - Beauty Coupons and Ads

Here is a quick run down of coupons and ads for the week of 03/09/2104.  I have included stackable coupon ideas next to the sale items.

Ulta
There was a small Ulta ad today.  Don't forget the $3.50 off $10.00 coupon good on most items that are not mid to high end makeup products.

  • Buy 2, Get 1 Salon Professional Hair Product Free including Paul Mitchell, TIGI, Nioxin
  • Buy 1, Get 1 Item 50% Off Including:
    • Red Carpet Nail Lacquer
    • Neutrogena
    • Mineral Fusion
    • Organix
    • Jane
    • Jergens
    • Maybelline
    • Covergirl
    • Real Techniques
    • EcoTools
    • Pixel Cosmetics
  • Buy 2, Get 2 Free Ulta Bath, Smoothies, Anti-Bacterial, Haircare & Suncare
Walgreens
There are lots of great deals at Walgreens this week!
  • Get 5000 points when you spend $25 or more, coupon in Sundays ad.
  • 50% off Rimmel products
  • 25% off Wet n Wild Cosmetics ($1.00 Coupon for Wet n Wild Fergie products in Sunday Ad)
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Revlon cosmetics
    • Buy 3 Revlon products get 3000 points
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off L'Oreal cosmetics
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Neutrogena Suncare products
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Almay Foundation, Primer, Concealer, Blush, Powder, Eye Cosmetics, and Makeup Removers
  • 20% off L'Oreal SkinCare, Advanced SunCare, or Sublime Bronze products
  • $3 off Banana Boat or Hawaiian Tropic Sun Care  ($3.00 off 2 Banana Boat Sun Care products over 3 oz, $1.00 off Banana Boat Sun Care products over 3 oz, or $2.00 Hawaiian Tropic Sun Care products over 4 oz in Sunday Ad)
    • Buy 2 of these products and get 4000 points
  • Get $10 in Register Rewards when you purchase $20 worth of select Eucerin or Aquaphor products
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Aveeno Personal, Baby, or Skin Care products ($1.00 off Aveeno product or $2.00 off 2 Aveeno products in Sunday Ad)
  • $1.00 off in Coupon Book for Clean & Clear products  ($1.00 off Clean & Clear product or $2.00 off any Clearn & Clear Night Relaxing products in Sunday Ad)
  • 2/$8 Vidal Sassoon Hair Care products - spend $10 get 1000 points
  • Buy 2 Scunci or Hype Hair Accessories get 1000 points
  • Herbal Essence hair care products 2/$6  ($3.00 off 2 Herbal Essence Hair Care products in Sunday Ad)
  • Spend $6 on Suave Antiperspirant/Deodorant, Body Wash, or Lotion get 2000 points ($0.25 off for Suave deodorant or $2.00 off Suave Professional Moroccan Infusion Body Lotion 18 oz, or $1.50 off Suave Professional Moroccan Infusion Body Lotion 10 oz, or $1.50 off Suave Body Lotion 18 oz or larger in Sunday Ad)
  • Possibly next Saturday only:  Get 5000 points when you spend $20 on Garnier Skin Care products
  • Possibly next Saturday only:  Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Garnier Skincare products
  • Possibly next Saturday only:  Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Maybelline Foundation, Primer, Concealer, Blush Power, and Eye Cosmetics

CVS

And great deals at CVS too!
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Revlon Cosmetics (Limit 4)
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Covergirl Cosmetics (Limit 4)
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Neutrogena (Limit 4)
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% Aveeno products (Limit 6) ($1.00 off Aveeno product or $2.00 off 2 Aveeno products in Sunday Ad)
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% Scunci Hair products
  • 2/$6 Herbal Essences or Aussie Hair Care products ($3.00 off 2 Herbal Essence Hair Care products or $1.00 off 2 Aussie Hair Care products in Sunday Ad)
  • 2/$4 Suave Body Wash
  • 2/$7 Pantene Haircare
  • Buy a Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Product fir $6.99 receive $4.00 in ExtraBucks
  • Buy 2 Revlon Nail Polishes get $4.00 in ExtraBucks
  • Spend $10 on Maybelline get $3.00 in ExtraBucks
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Physicians Formula Cosmetics
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Milani Cosmetics
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50 off Wet n Wild Cosmetics ($1.00 Coupon for Wet n Wild Fergie products in Sunday Ad)
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off All Eyelashes or Artificial Nails
  • Buy 2, Get 3rd Free CVS Cotton, Nail Polish Remover, Spoiled Nail Color, Essence of Beauty Cosmetic Brushes, Applicators, or Accessories
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off All Trim Beauty Products
  • Spend $12 on L'Oreal Face, Eye, or Lip products, get $4.00 in ExtraBucks
  • Spend $10 on Sally Hansen products, get $4.00 in ExtraBucks
  • Buy 2 Neutrogena foundation, powder, blush, or concealer, get $8.00 in ExtraBucks
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% off Almay Cosmetics (excluding intense i-color shadows, liners, or mascaras)
  • Buy 2 Almay intense i-color shadows, liners, or mascaras, get $6.00 in ExtraBucks
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% Nivea Lip Care products
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% Pond's Towelettes 30 ct, BB Cream, Facial Cream
  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% Neutrogena Facial Care, Specialty Bath, Men's products, Hand Cream, Sun Care, Sunless
  • Spend $15 on Olay Age Defying, Anti-Wrinkle, Complete, Active, Hydration, Moistruzier, or Facial Cleanser, get $5.00 in ExtraBucks
  • Buy 2 Cetaphil products, get $5.00 ExtraBucks
  • Buy 2 Clearsil, get $5.00 ExtraBucks
  • Spend $10 on any Nuance Salma Hayek Cosmetics, Body, Facial, Hair Care get $3.00 in ExtraBucks
Notice any other great deals this weekend?  Let me know and I will add them to the list!!!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Swatches - New Maybelline EyeStudio Quad in Plum Passion

Hello everyone,

I do apologize for not posting more routinely.  I have been busy with work and school, but I am back today to talk about a lovely new limited edition item I found last night.  While shopping at my local Bed, Bath, and Beyond store I saw this wonderful Maybelline display.


It is called "A Whole New Twist on Black".  Which is interesting, as there is only one black product in the whole display (the mascara on the right).  The display contains four mascaras in four different colors: blue, purple, green, and black.  It has three eyeliners also in blue, purple, and green.  And the star of the show in my opinion are the three new Eyestudio quads, also in (you guessed it) blue, purple, and green.  Now we have been seeing the mascara show up in a separate display which you can see at Nouveau Cheap's site.  The mascaras are in the Mega Plush formula, which I find to be a little wet but work in a pinch if you put some effort in to it.  I did purchase this mascara in the purple from the other display.

From this display, I did buy the purple Eyestudio quad in Plum Passion because ... well ... purple.  I have to say that I really like it though.  The eyeshadows are very smooth and buttery.  For glittery eyeshadows they are not rough at all.  I have not worn them on the eye yet, but I believe they will be the same quality we have come to expect from the Maybelline Eyestudio line.  Below are swatches for the new quad.

(Front)

(Front Open)

(Back)

(Swatch)

As an aside, I shared these pictures with Gianna at Nouveau Cheap so she may share them with the readers of her blog.


Saturday, January 11, 2014

Spotted - New Physicians Formula Products - Shimmer Strips and Sexy Eyes

Happy Saturday!  Today I bring pictures of a new display I found at CVS.  I saw this among the other new Physicians Formula displays that are out there.  This display includes new Shimmer Strip and Sexy Booster eyeshadows and eyeliners.



I was getting odd looks while taking pictures, so I left off the third eyeliner on the right.  My apologies.  I did get pictures of all the products though.  Let's see what we have.

Sexy Booster Ooh La La Sexy Eyes Trio

Sexy Booster Oh So Sexy Eye Shadow Quad

Shimmer Strips Nude Palette in Natural Nude

Shimmer Strips Nude Palette in Warm Nude

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Warm Nude Eyes

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Natural Nude Eyes

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Brown Eyes

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Green Eyes

Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio in Blue Eyes (sorry this is blurry)

The new Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trios all state that they're shimmery and have silver sparkles on the eyeliner packaging.  I own some of the old Shimmer Strips eyeliners and they do not have the sparkles on the packaging.

Has anyone else seen these?  Tried any of the products?  What do you think of them?


Thursday, January 9, 2014

Swatches - New L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows


Hello everyone!  I hope you are all well.  It is almost Friday!  Can't wait to get into the weekend.

Today I stopped by my local HEB and picked up two more of the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows in the new colors.  I had purchased shade 756, Always Pearly Pink, late last year.  To add to my collection, I picked up 758 Purple Priority and 759 Burst Into Bloom.



These shades are very pretty and very shimmery.  They are very smooth, almost creamy to the touch.  They are lovely in their pigmentation as well.

Always Pearly Pink

Burst Into Bloom

Purple Priority

These colors came out great in swatches.  Purple Priority, the deep purple color, came out a bit more flakey than the other two, but it appears that it will be workable.  I'll take it just for the color.

Here are swatches.


I have not tried these on the eye yet, but Temptalia did a review and an eye look with these three shades, so I wanted to link to her here.

Have you tried the new L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows?  What did you think of them?  Any others in the set I should try?

Have a lovely Friday everyone!


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Products I Want to Use Up in the First Quarter of the Year

Hello everyone!  I hope your week is going well.  Today I wanted to do a post about products that I want to use up during the first three months of the year.  Some of these items have been in my collection for awhile and need to be used up before I move on to other items.  Other items are ones that I got as samples with other kits that I would like to try and work through.

This post is inspired by one of my favorite Youtube beauty gurus, Kristin Gehm.  She is so down to earth and fun to watch!  I have gotten a lot of inspiration and ideas from her.  So, thank you, Kristin, for being an inspiration!

On top of my makeup vanity is a small basket that I am now keeping products that I want to use up.  This will be a good reminder to use them when I pack my makeup bag in the mornings.  I have filled it with different products, mostly primers and mascara that I received in sample kits.

The basket...


Saturday, January 4, 2014

Swatches - Maybelline Master Hi-Light and Master Glaze Blushes

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to make a quick update to my original post showing the display and products of the new Maybelline Master series for blushes.  You can see that post here.

I purchased a few more of the products tonight, so I wanted to share some more swatches with you.



First up, I re-swatched the Pink Rose Master Hi-Light blush.  I have worn this once and I used too heavy a hand.  My cheeks looked sunburned!  Because of that, I do suggest using a light hand with these blushes.  I have noticed that all the blushes have a lot of shimmer to them, so if you do not like shimmer you will want to avoid these blushes.

But I digress, swatches!


Master Hi-Light in Pink Rose

Master Hi-Light in Nude

Master Glaze in Just Pinched Pink

Master Glaze in Make a Mauve

So far I have found the glazes to be very nice and creamy, but need a little bit of work to blend out.  Everything is highly pigmented, so a light hand will really do the trick.

I hope you find these swatches helpful!

New Products - Physicians Formula - Nude Wear Products

Hello everyone!

I found new products at Ulta today.  I saw a post by Physicians Formula on Instagram about these products just a few days ago.  They retail at Ulta for $14.99, so I am going to wait to purchase them until Ulta is running their Buy One Get One 50% off sale or some other sale.  I did snap some pictures for you guys, so you can see what the new set contains.

The Display - Physicians Formula Nude Wear Products


There are six face powders and one concealer in this display.  The pinkish colored powder is in the display twice and is called Rose.

Here is a closer look at all the items:

Glowing Nude Powder in Light

Glowing Nude Bronzer in Light Bronze

Glowing Nude Bronzer in Bronze

Glowing Nude Blush in Rose

Glowing Nude Powder in Medium

Concealer/Highlighter


Have you seen any of these displays at your local drug or beauty stores?  What do you think of the products?


Friday, January 3, 2014

New Products - Revlon by Marchesa Beauty Tools

Hello everyone and happy Friday!

I wanted to share with you pictures of new products I found while out tonight at my local Walgreens.  This is a set of beauty tools by Revlon done with the Marchesa designs on them.  I thought they were very cute.  Sadly, the display I found did not have the price listed on them.

There are five products in the collection.  Two sets of tweezers, a nail file, a compact, and a box of six nail files.

The display looks like:



And I have pictures of each of the items:


Box o' Files

Slant Tip Tweezers

Slant Tip Tweezers

Mirror Compact

Nail File


On the last item, the nail file, it looks as if you can peel off the top layer and there are multiple files.  Seems interesting.  Has anyone else seen this display out yet?