Someone take this dadgum packet of chipotle Gardetto’s away from me. The more I eat, the more I want, and the more the bag seems to replicate itself. It’s like a neverending supply. Sounds like a dream, but honestly, I’d rather spend my money on new makeup not new clothes. And at the rate I’m going, mama’s gonna need a different pair of pants. Of the stretchy variety.
In the meantime, here is more birthday goodies:
First of all, can we appreciate the quality and sheer artistry that is my photos? If you told me it looks like I sat these products on top of a Little Tikes plastic picnic table that’s missing its umbrella, I’d tell you you were WRONG. Clearly, that’s not what I did.
Anyway.
Cashed in an Ulta gift card and finally got my hot little hands on the Carol’s Daughter shampoo and conditioner. And then to make it an even better day, I got a 4oz size of the shampoo and conditioner for FREE. So I’m all set for the next 6 months probably and that makes me var var happy. The smell of this stuff is exactly like the hair mask that I’ve loved and adored for months, and I’ll be honest and say it’s the smell that sucked me in. I don’t know what Monoi is, but it’s a magic potion as far as I’m concerned.
Also at Ulta, I picked up the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. Not for any eye makeup related reason, mind you, but because I might be the only person in the universe not owning this. And we CANNOT. HAVE. THAT. However, my curiosity got the best of me so I tried it on my eyeball anyway. It’s surprisingly creamy and blendable. Like it blended out so well it looked less like white eye makeup and more like a matte sheer wash. I figure I will use it when I want my paler eyeshadows to show up better. Because anytime I go for a light pink, I might as well not put anything on at all. Obviously, the struggle is real.
Not to leave Sephora out or anything, so I spread the love a bit and picked up the new YSL Fusion Ink foundation. I got color matched to B20 Ivory which is also an exact color match to Make Up Forever HD in 130, NARS Sheer Glow in Vallauris, and Estee Lauder Double Wear in Dusk 3C1 – for those curious. The applicator on this very liquidy foundation is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s a hard plastic wand that has a tip like a calligraphy pen. You dip the “pen” in the product and then rub it all over your face. Well that’s fine and all, but the pen goes back into the product where it lives all day long and hopefully doesn’t contaminate anything with vile face germs.
Now, aside from all that, I liked this foundation. It provided sheer coverage but was easy to build. I found it looked best on me when I used my fingers to blend it into my skin. It dried down to a nice powdery finish in a matter of probably less than a minute. Maybe even less than 30 seconds. Either way, it was very quick. So we have texture (check), setting time (check), and buildability (check). It’s YSL (check). Other than that, it’s just an average, decent foundation. I wasn’t speechless over it. I didn’t stare in mirrors incessantly. I didn’t get overly excited about the application process (trust me, I’ve been overly excited before). But I don’t wanna give it back. Mostly because it’s YSL and looks fancy on my bathroom counter. Is that shallow? Probably.
Got a tiny sample bottle of the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation for free. I love free things. Granted you have to buy something in order to get the free something, and if you weren’t planning on buying something then I suppose technically the free something isn’t free. But I’m always planning to buy something, so this doesn’t apply to me. So, free then. Anyway, I chose the shade Honey (I’m So Money), and it was a big fat guess as I’ve never tried to match myself. Turns out, I’m pretty good at this guessing game cuz I picked out a pretty good match. Skills. Also, PROFESSIONAL.
This little bottle is going to last light years. I’ve used it at least four times already, and still looks almost full. The coverage is probably about a medium coverage, so that fact alone makes me like it. You know it’s hard to cover up splotches, freckles and scary bits with a sheer foundation. It says it’s a brightening formula, and that may be true although I found it hard to tell. I wasn’t glowing or anything. But I certainly wasn’t matte. Just natural looking and nice. I’d buy a full size bottle for sure.
One of my favorite things about Sephora is their rewards program. I cashed in 500 points and got this:
Ahhhhh, I’m in love. I’ve never felt the desire to spend my points on a kit until now. So here is the Caudalie Vinosource set that includes the moisurizing sorbet, S.O.S. serum and S.O.S. eye rescue cream plus a little travel size bottle of cleansing water. I’ve used the moisturizing sorbet before and really liked it. Partially cuz it has the word sorbet in it, but also cuz it’s a nice moisturizer. It goes without saying I expect the other items to be just as fab. I’m taking the cleansing water to Vegas next month, and then who knows when I’ll use the others. I have a few other kits stashed under my sink I need to use first. Like maybe six, seven. Possibly eight. You know, a few, like I said.
And then I got these two Korres products:
I got a free sample of the Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Face Primer because I was told it was one of the best in this genre. Always on the search for that perfect matte face that hides my pores and makes me flawless. May be on the journey for awhile, or at least until my old face gets replaced with a new face (via surgery, magic or any other kind of means). So the texture of this primer is kind of like a wet lotion. It’s a nude color, but blends out transparent. I used this maybe a handful of days and I didn’t notice any difference whatsoever in my face. No mattifying, no pore hiding. But what I did get was this horrendous smell that made me feel as if I had buried my face in wet dog fur. Not sure if this was a spoiled tube (which is why it was free), or if all of them smell that way. I read reviews on it and no one complained about the smell. Although no one raved about it either, and certainly no one mentioned pomegranate. So I don’t know. I gave this to my mom to try. Don’t worry, I already told her it stinks and could possibly be poison. She took it anyway.
Last product in the haul is the Korres Volcanic Mineral mascara. I got it from the sale page on Sephora’s website for $10. I was curious about it because volcanic minerals sound exotic, and I love anything that sounds exotic (or French, or Italian, or made out of snow from the Swiss Alps). However, this mascara didn’t do anything more special that a lot of my other mascaras. It fanned them out, lengthened somewhat, volumized a little. Other than that, it was pretty average. Sneaky trick though, that whole volcano thing. According to the Paula’s Choice website, it pretty much tells you you’re an idiot if you fall for the whole volcanic minerals spiel. Apparently, they are no more magical than regular minerals. Well, poo.
Birthday haul is not done. I have one more part to do so hopefully I’ll get to it by the end of the month. I also have like 4 boxes to review as well. And surprise, surprise – there’s only a week left in the month. I’m really good at blogging. I swear I am.
Snacks On Rotation 