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Collective Beauty Haul: Birchbox, Ulta, Target

July 20, 2015

I’ve done quite a bit of stocking up in the beauty department these past few weeks, and I must say, I should be set for a while! From Birchbox, I got this lovely collection of summery items, along with some new scents. From Ulta, I restocked my favorite drugstore foundation in it’s new formula, and some new tinted moisturizer from Bare Minerals a brush to apply them all with. Target held for me mostly basics – sunscreen, hand and body wash, and my favorite shave cream. I grabbed a deep metallic gunmetal cream shadow at The Cosmetics Company Store. And surprisingly enough, when I was at Nordstrom rack, I came across this set of 3D liquid shadows from LORAC that I’ve been using almost every day.

From Birchbox, the Lovely Day Set. I waited until I had a 20% off coupon to use, to take off a bit of the sting that comes with the $62 price tag.

Oribe Cote d’ Azur eau de toilette
Tocca fragrance samples
MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Dangerous Cuvee
Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume
Not Soap, Radio sample

From Ulta:
Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue in 02
Bare Minerals Smoothing Face Brush
Urban Decay Mascara Resurrection
Maybelline Fit Me! Matte & Poreless Foundation in 115
Maybelline Fit Me! Dewy & Smooth Foundation in 115
(also grabbed some cotton balls and double-ended cotton swabs)

From Target, I grabbed some essentials..
Olay Body Wash (which is going back, it smells like plumeria, yuck!)
EOS Shave Cream
Burt’s Bees Sugar Scrub
Honest Co. Honest Hand Soap
Maybelline Rocket Volum Mascara
Cover Girl Last Blast Fusion Mascara
Pantene Smooth & Sleek Conditioner
Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub in Passion Fruit & Guava
Neutrogena Clear Face Sunscreen
Sensodyne Extra White Toothpaste

In LOVE with these LORAC 3D Liquid Lustre eyeshadows I picked up at Nordstrom Rack. They were only $12 and I would have paid that for each one! So good.

April Beauty Buys

May 11, 2015

This last month has definitely seen a wide variety of beauty buys.. I picked up some necessities like my all-time fave shaving cream and citrusy hand soap to some pick-me up items like cheery floral-print bobby pins and a roll-on perfume that makes me nostalgic for days spent beachside.
I’ll start with a new subscription box that I’ve started receiving, from the French-inspired brand, Jouer. It’s called Le Matchbox, and it’s full of skincare and cosmetics, delivered quarterly. It’s $45 for the ongoing membership, or $65 for a one-time box. I’ll be doing a full review once I’ve had a chance to use the products a bit more.
There was a note inside offering their apologies for being out of their trademark box, so they included this great makeup bag for the inconvenience! I love good customer service..

The details.. a gorgeous mini blush/bronzing brush, Daily Repair Treatment Oil (a $48 value!), Crème Eyeshadow Crayon in Abstract, a shimmery charcoal, Hydrating Lipstick in Whitney, travel eyelash curler, a sample of their gorrrgeous smelling Perfume Oil, Mineral Powder Blush. Overall, this box was a great value. I am already in love with the perfume oil and the lipstick. The blush is gorgeous, but is not glued to the pan, and the eyelash curler is VERY tricky to get undone, like I feel like I’m going to snap my fingers inside of it! I will be doing a full review soon 🙂

Next up, some summer essentials…
from Planet Beauty, Redken Extreme Anti-Snap.. This stuff was recommended to me by a friend, who shared that it was the best product on the market for repairing split ends.
From Amazon, Sun Bum’s SPF 30, Cool Down after sun lotion.. I love these products not only for their effectiveness, but for their incredible beachy yet luxe scent.
Lilly Pulitzer for Target bobby pins.. Literally the ONLY thing I got from this collaboration. I had my sights set on much more, but like so many others, got shafted with the online ordering at 1 am and didn’t want to ruin a Sunday morning with my honey by standing in line at 7 am. They’re super cute, so I’m not mad at it. From what I did see, the quality of the dresses was very subpar. I saw a caftan with the design completely off-center and some of the items with stitching coming undone. Meh.
EOS Shave Balm.. My absolute favorite shave cream. I will NEVER go back to foaming shave gel, this cream is the SH!T.
J.R. Watkins Grapefruit hand soap. Maybe it’s because I love sugary, citrusy scents in summer, maybe it’s because I enjoy saying Pamplemousse. Either way, I adore this stuff.

From Sephora –
Maison by Martin Margiela Replica Roll-on.. As soon as I smelled this beach-driven scent, I was taken back to some childhood memory I couldn’t quite place. It must be a good one, because I can’t stop sniffing my wrist whenever I wear this.
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel.. An old standby and staple in my makeup bag.
Sephora Tinted Self-Tanning Body Mist.. I was going to try this today after my shower but noticed there were not instructions on the can! Not that spray tanning is rocket science, but it’s nice to see should I rub it in, how far away to spray from, how long before dressing, etc., so I’ll definitely have to look that up and report back.
I grabbed a couple skincare samples, along with a vial of Tory Burch’s fragrance, which I’d been waiting to try since it’s release.

Ok, so its not beauty-related, but I wanted to include these stationery items I’ve just gotten from Rifle Paper (Botanical Card Set/Hello Darling Stationery Set). They were purchased through one of the Lucky Breaks deal at 50% off, and I feel like this is just the start of my grown-up paper goods arsenal. The cards can be send to friends or colleagues for thank-yous, and the correspondence cards will come in use for a casual note that still makes a great impression.

Thanks for reading,
Kristin
😀

February Beauty Buys

February 28, 2015

I love that so many online retailers put their summer beauty sets on sale in the beginning of winter, because it’s no longer warm weather time in most parts of the world. I, however, live in Southern California where it’s summer about 8 months out of the year! I’d had this set from Sephora in my cart for months before I finally clicked “check-out.” The bronzers, bright lip colors and fun nail polishes are welcome in my makeup kit all the time, but it’s awesome that I can buy pretty little sets at great discounts and start using everything right away.

From Macys.com
Benefit Cosmetics Bronze N Dandy cheek/lip set
MAC Pro Longwear lip pencil in More to Love
MAC Miley Cyrus Viva Glam lipstick
The lipliner and lipstick combo was recommended to me by a friend who works as a makeup artist for MAC. The liner is a great slightly darker, cooler base for the lipstick, and helps it stay on for hours upon hours.

From Sephora.com
Josie Maran 100% Light Argan Oil
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel
Sephora Favorites Summer Stash Set including:
Canvas makeup bag
Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray
Deborah Lippman Glitter Nail Lacquer in Mermaid’s Dream
Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape
NARS Laguna Bronzing Powder
Stila Magnificent Metal Foil Finish Eyeshadow in Metallic Pixie Dust
Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes liner in Iridescent Navy Blue
Buxom Divine Goddess Luminizer
OCC Cosmetics Lip Tar in New Wave with brush
Marc Jacobs Lash Lifter Gel Definition Mascara in Blacquer

And then, all of the lovely skincare and fragrance samples Sephora sent to me!

CA Gift Show

February 8, 2015

A quick warning, this post contains a gratuitous amount of pictures that I shot recently in LA at the California Gift Show and the Reef. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the Gift Show is not open to the public, but only to those who have reseller’s permits (the majority of sellers are offering their goods at wholesale prices). My mother owns a gift basket company and she frequently incorporates jewelry and décor in to her designs, which led us to our first gift show, 17 years ago.
A few things have changed since then, such as the name of the LA Mart (now, the Reef), but some are exactly the same.. Every time we walk in to the cash-and-carry portion of the show, I know it’s going to be a fun, exploratory time, and that I will leave with some great new pieces to add to my collection. This time around, I tried to take as many pictures as I could to capture all that the Gift Show (at the LA Convention Center) and the Reef have to offer.. I hope you enjoy!

Rows and rows of perfect layering necklaces for $5.

Clutches and miniaudieres in every possible creature and color.

This breathtaking art deco piece in the middle caught my eye and held it. Such gorgeous detail. It also happens to be made with real diamonds and thus the $25K price that’s attached to it is slightly outside my price range (OMMGGG).

Some pretty little displays at one of the Reef’s showrooms.

These stacks of enamel, leather and gold bracelets are such great inspiration for stacking!

We hit a wall around lunchtime (so much walking!) and were happy to discover food trucks waiting for us right outside the doors at the Reef! I went with shrimp tacos and guac & chips, yumm!

I would love to be able to say that D.L.&Co. are my favorite candle company, based on their scents alone, but alas, I am not rolling in dough and cannot afford the $85 and up price tag that they command. So pretty though..

In lust with this rainbow display of home fragrance goods.
I
Everything from this jewelry line was just calling out my name! Unfortunately, they had a minimum order (including how many of each piece you had to purchase) so I didn’t buy any of them, but a girl can dream!

House of Harlow Collection candle sets.

I love this bag! It’s fun and fresh and big enough to hold all the makeup and tools you’d need for a trip.

We finished our day with some sushi at one of my mom’s favorite spots. This is the schwarma roll (how they named it that, I have no clue!) but it has jalapeno, cilantro, and spicy tuna on top which make for quite a hot little bite!

Whew! I had so much fun at this year’s winter show and picked up some great little finds (such as my recent post on the necklaces I got from Kyle Chan!) and can’t wait for the next one in July… Who knows what that one will have in store for me!
Which leads me to the question I’m curious to hear your response on… Would you prefer just making a couple of multi-item or haul purchases a year (such as at a big sale or event) or do you prefer to make multiple small purchases throughout the year on random items?

😀