Nail polish haul

A quick post on the nail polishes that I picked up! On a Facebook group for selling things at my university, there were a couple of girls selling nail polish. I received these three, which was really the main reason that I bought them (both girls threw in a couple of extra polishes, like some "Dior" (I put it in quotes because from the quality, I am not sure how authentic it was) and a random off-brand polish. 

All in all, I got these three polishes and three other polishes, as well as a bonus costume necklace, for $10. Considering that these three alone would retail for around $24, I definitely think it was a steal! Plus, none of these polishes have been used that much, they were basically full. 

I know people who don't like to buy used polishes, but I don't think it's a big deal. If it's thickened, as old nail polish that hasn't been used in awhile often does, Seche makes a great restoring product. If you're really concerned, you could always clean the brushes in Acetone before using it (I have never done that, so don't take my word for it). 

From left to right: Essie Luxeffects in Stroke of Brilliance, OPI All That Razz-Berry, and OPI Tutti Frutti Tonga. 

I'm not sure how I feel about the All That Razz-Berry because I'm not a huge fan of deep purple-reds like that, but the Tutti Frutti Tonga and Stroke of Brilliance are just my type. Expect to see a design with them soon! 

December 2014: Target Beauty Box--For Her

Target has beauty boxes that go on sale every once in a while (monthly or bimonthly?), and this time I managed to snag a couple! The boxes differ from subscription services like Ipsy or Birchbox because you have to order them when they go on sale on target.com; they're not automatically sent to you. This December box was $10, limited edition, and is currently out of stock online. This was my first Target Beauty Box, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The website said that it has a value of $50. We shall see! 

The packaging. Very pretty and holiday themed, but in the end, it's just a cardboard box. 

The two cards included in the box. The white one on the left has a list and description of the 7 (!) full-sized products included,as well as two coupons: One for 20% off Women's Apparel on Target.com, and one for $3 off a Beauty purchase of $15+, either online or off. The red one on the right is another coupon, this one for $10 off a purchase of any size on Dermstore.com. I've never ordered from there before, but a free $10? Hard to resist. 

The products! The eyeshadow was flashed out, which I didn't realize until after I had already unpacked everything in the box. But this box had 8 products, most of them full-sized as I mentioned earlier. Most of these are drugstore products or products from Target's beauty section, but just from looking at it (without adding up any of the value yet), it looks like a much better value than the Ipsy glambag or Birchboxes (I say this having been a long-time subscriber to both of them). 

COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers in 286 smokey nudes. The website does not list the price since it's not sold online, but at my local Target, it was $5.99. It seems to run between $4.99-$5.99, but we'll just go with the local Target price. Value: $5.99

ChapStick Total Hydration 3-in-1 Lip Care in Sweet Peach. This is a Target exclusive. It smells incredible, and it actually works on my lips to moisturize, which is surprising because I have only ever found one chapstick that works. Value: $2.99

Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum. This is a .1 fl oz sample, so it rings in at about: Value: $2.99

Clairol Hair Food Moisturizing Hair Mask in Apricot Honey. This has an awesome smell and it left my hair feeling incredibly soft and smooth, even more so than my conditioner and previous Aveda hair mask. I will definitely re-purchase this in the future, if I ever run out. It's a 6.3 oz bottle and you don't need that much, even with my thick and long hair. Value: $11.99 

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask. My picture makes it look much bigger than it is, it's actually 20 mL whereas the full-size bottle for sale is 80 mL. Even this small size has a lot in it, and I can't wait to try it. Laneige is a very popular South Korean brand, and I love Korean skincare products, so it's neat to see that Target carries it. Value: $5.75

L'Oreal Butterfly Intenza Mascara in Black Noir. I have not tried this out yet, so no idea on how it is, but it claims to "[give] instantly glamorous lashes with a formula that stretches and lengthens to create the perfect winged-out look." Value: $7.99

Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer in Strawberry Topaz. I actually already own a couple of these glosses, so I was happy to add this to my collection. It has a beautiful red color that I love in my lip products, and it's not overly sticky. Plus it's beautiful and shimmery in the tube. Value: $7.99

Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Black Noir. This eyeliner is incredible. I tried it on when I got it, and it stayed almost the whole day, even when I rubbed at my eyes (the pain of wearing contacts). It's a crayon liner, but thinner than most other ones. The color is very intense. Value: $6.10

All in all, this box was amazing. I'm glad that I was able to grab one before it went out of stock! Although the products were not super incredibly high-end stuff, and it didn't include any nail polish, it was still a great value: worth $61.79, much more than they had advertised! I also bought the Target Beauty Box For Her Natural Version, so I will post a review of that soon!

(This box was purchased by me, and all thoughts and opinions are my own. The links lead to the Target site, as that is where the box was purchased, but none of the links are affiliate.) 

Black Friday Haul: Sephora Part 2

Part 2 of my Sephora haul from Black Friday shopping! (Part 1 is here). Sephora has the most incredibly makeup deals during Black Friday, usually involving awesome samples. This order was much smaller than the first one that I posted, but it still wasn't a bad haul. Here is what I ordered:

Anna Sui Mini Coffret. I have the Anna Sui Forbidden Affair rollerball that I actually ordered last Black Friday. I love Anna Sui's scents, so I had to get this set, which includes .14oz sizes of Flight of Fancy, Fairy Dance, La Vie de Boheme, Secret Wish, and Forbidden Affair. The bottles are glass and the toppers are plastic. Behind the bottles is the packaging that it came in; this is another one of the gift-ready sets that Sephora offers! It was $50, which I think was a good price for owning samples of Anna Sui perfumes, in a form that looks fancier than the tiny samples or rollerballs. 

The three free samples that come with every order. I chose Lancôme NUDE MIRACLE, Marc Jacobs Daisy, and KP Duty Body Scrub. I always try to test out all of their perfume samples but they sadly did not have many at the time. 

They had a code for different grab bags, but by the time that I placed the order, a lot of the Black Friday specials were out or the codes had disappeared. Since I am obsessed with manicure and nail polish, I figured I would try the Manicure Bag they were offering. I probably would go for one like I ordered with the other package instead, this one was a disappointment. 

• Josie Maran Bear Naked nail wipe  
• Butter London Scrubbers 2-in-1 Nail Prep & Remover Wipe 
• Formula X ERASE Cuticle Cream
• Formula X Quench Cuticle Oil
• L'Occitane Hand Cream with Shea Butter

Actually, I take that back. It wasn't bad, I just would not order it again. I always carry around different beauty bags (since I can never remember to switch the bag, and I have so many products that it doesn't matter too much), so these are the perfect size to toss in your bag. I might re-order on the nail remover wipes, they're just so handy. I remember having to keep a full-size bottle of acetone and a bag of cotton balls in my locker at school because colored nail polish was against the school's uniform policy, but it was hard to resist (and I was already blogging at that time). This would solve that problem! Plus, if your nail polish is chipping (like mine currently is) and it bothers you when you don't have a bottle of remover handy, this is a quick fix. 

So that is that for makeup splurges! I paid $53 with tax and (free) shipping, so I think that overall it was not a bad deal. 

(No affiliate links are included in this post, I just wanted to provide an easy way for you guys to check out the products. All products listed were paid for by me.) 

Sephora Black Friday haul: part 1

I am a major shopaholic, especially when it seems like a really good deal. Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are some of my favorite things.

I did all of my Black Friday shopping online because a) I'm not crazy enough to go to crowded malls and b) I like to overthink my purchases. 

I order a lot of Christmas gifts at this time, but since I'll be living alone next year, I also bought a lot of kitchen essentials. I have made it a tradition to splurge on makeup from Sephora every year though! 

This is the haul that I was most excited for (I made two orders). 

A quick list of everything, with small descriptions and also the value (not the price I paid), starting with the ones that I paid for: 

• Hello Kitty The Red Bow Beauty Diaries ($49 value). If you know me at all, you'll know that I am a huge Hello Kitty fan. It was listing at $49 on the site which I wasn't very eager to pay, but it suddenly changed to $25 when I added it to the cart! Lucky day. It comes in a gorgeous box, and would be a perfect gift for a Hello Kitty lover!

• Tocca Beauty A Touch of Luxury Gift Set. (~$22 value) This was a special gift set that was being sold on Black Friday, which is now permanently out of stock. It includes two 1 fl oz. hand creams and 2 0.10 fl oz fragrance rollerballs, one in Giulietta and one in Stella. Although the gift set is out of stock, you can buy the hand creams here and the perfume rollerballs here. 

• TokyoMilk Dark Femme Fatale Collection Lip Elixirs in Salted Caramel. ($7) I love TokyoMilk products and even though I have drawers that are literally chock full of lip products, I can't resist but add to the collection. 

• Shiseido Honey Cake in Green ($9.50) My mom uses the Shiseido brand, so it was very common to see the products in my house. I actually just needed something to push me over the free shipping minimum, and since I am planning a spa care-esque gift for her, this did the trick nicely. 

The three free samples that I ordered:

• Prada Luna Rossa ($2 value) They actually accidentally sent me two, which was a nice surprise. I love perfume samples, and some reviewers on Sephora had actually said that this scent seemed more unisex than "pour homme." 

• Agave Oil Treatment ($1 value) Because if you're not helping your hair, you're hurting it. 

• Radical Skincare's Skin Perfecting Screen SPF 30 ($2 value) Basically just a filler sample because there were not that many good ones available. 

And then finally, the freebies that came with my order: 

• DKNY MYNY Rollerball ($2 value) This was because I had finally reached 100 points! I basically only order once a year, so thankfully they accumulate... otherwise I would never know what the Beauty Insider prizes are like. 

• 2014 Make Up For Ever Birthday Set that includes their Smoky Extravagant Mascara and Rouge Artist Natural Lipstick. You receive this if you are a Beauty Insider and it is around your birthday. My birthday was actually at the beginning of November and I did not want to go pick up my gift myself, but I did not expect that the time still had not passed. So yay! 

• The awesome makeup kit that they were giving away with $25 purchases, a Black Friday exclusive, that included a bunch of samples. The bag is really cheap and low-quality, and if I ever re-gifted it (as opposed to tossing it out), I would probably regift it with some shower items inside because the outside seems relatively water proof. Some items that were included in this were:
• GLAMGLOW POWERMUD Dualcleanse treatment. This tiny little bottle (.24 oz) is worth around $10! 
• Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil ($5 value)
• Cover FX Calming Primer ($6 value) 
• Living Proof satin hair serum ($3 value) 
• Benefit Stay Flawless 15-Hour Primer ($2 value... but it seems like more. I really love Benefit packaging.)
• Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish ($4 value)
• NUDE Skincare Perfect Cleanse Omega Cleaning Jelly (>$1 value) 
• Lancôme Advanced GÉNIFIQUE Youth Activating Concentrate ($2.5 value... somehow) 

I think that Sephora has the best Black Friday deals, because who doesn't love bags full of makeup samples (which is why I subscribe to different beauty subscription services). I paid $54.59 after tax, for a box that was worth around $127, give or take. Not bad! 

By the way, none of these links are affiliate links. I just wanted you to be able to find out about the product quickly, instead of having to search yourself. Stay tuned for the second haul (which was much smaller, but still quite awesome). I usually take my time going through beauty products when I buy them new, so if you want to see how something works out for me, just ask! 

And yes, the layout changed! I am working on re-vamping the blog and making it into something portfolio-worthy, which I just have not had the energy for since school started. Now that the semester is winding down (I have finals next week!), I will be posting more regularly.