Ulta Haul - 3/25/2012

How is everyone doing on this calm Sunday night?

We had a quirky weather weekend here in the land of Michigan.  Rain, sun, cold, heat, you name it, it was here. It was also a busy weekend for Mr. R and I as we went shopping, cleaned the apartment, hung out with friends, ran errands.

Saturday brought about a small window of me time and that equaled to a haul at Ulta.  They are having their 21 days of Beauty.  To learn more about it, GO HERE.

Here is the damage... :)

Haulage - Ulta 3.24.12

They had a ton of big name kits on sale!  I decided to go with LORAC's Lashes, Luster, Liner kit ($29 usd) and Cargo's Fresh Face Complexion kit in Medium ($32 usd) This was on sale for $10 off!  [i will be making more in depth posts about these kits]

For skincare, I picked up Exuviance's SkinRise Bionic Tonic pads.  These are a part of my routine and cannot do without them.  From H2O, they had a b1g1 for their products, and I picked up the Oasis mist.  Just a normal mineral spritz I like to use in the summer or to remove any powdery look.

To end with the makeup, Urban Decay's Last Call shadow made it into my basket!  Along with lip liners and a soft matte lip cream from NYX, a LORAC Behind the Scenes primer that was $10 usd this weekend!!!!!  Benefit's Benetint balm was on my wish list...sorry for adding the Fresh Sugar lip treatment, that was from a Sephora haul two weeks ago that I had cast aside.

For the Urban Decay purchase, I received a deluxe De Slick facial spray.

As stated above, I will do individual posts about all the products shown.

What did you guys and gals haul this weekend?

July Favorites 2011

Hello guys and gals!  GAH!  I feel like I have been away for too long...and I have.  I know this is beating a dead horse, but it has been sooo hot!!!  To top it all off, I live an apartment where the AC likes to blow a fuse every week...ugh!

Enough of that, let us get on to favorites.  This month, with the heat being what it was, I noticed a change in what I usually I use.  I started using a new gel liner (clinique), got my hair cut from it being down to my butt to just above my shoulders(ahhhh), and made my routine quick and summer easy.

I have broken my favorites down to eyes, face,lips and brushes.

Face:

FACE - July Favs

FACE:

• Benefit Cha Cha tint (double duty on lips this summer as well)
• Smashbox Face and Body highlighter in Allure
• Stila Sun powder bronzer in shade 02
• MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Eversun
• Urban Decay Primer Potion in Pore Perfecting (light despite being thicker formula)
• MUFE HD powder
• Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer

Lips - July Favs

LIPS:

• Urban Decay Lip Junkie in Wallflower
• Soap & Glory Mighty Mouth Exfoliator/Balm
• Maybelline Colorsensation Pop balm in Fruit Punch 130 LE (I wish more people liked these, I love the balm formula and the color it deposits).
• NYX ip liner in Bloom (fuchsia)
• Softlips lip balm
• Stila Long Wear Lip Color in Intriguing (a gorgeous matte Fuchsia...I cannot stop using this!)
• Dior Lip glow
• Revlon SuperLustrous Lip Balm in Peach Crystal LE
• Tokidoki Gelato Lip Balm and Stain in Donutella

Eyes - July Favs

EYES:

• MUFE 12 color Flash Palette (amazing for cheeks and as eye bases)
• Smashbox eye shadow single in Nude
• Smashbox Waterproof shadow liner in Ideal Eyes
• Stila Prime Pot in Taffy (nice under shadows, but really nice on its own, so pigmented for a base)
• MACPRO Pigment in Steel Blue
• MAC Pigment in Spiritualize LE
• Clinique Brush on Liner in True Black
• WnW Color Icon single in Nutty
• LORAC Behind the Scenes primer 
• Benefit Instant Brow
• LORAC Special Effects Mascara

BRUSHES:

• Smashbox #33 smudger/precision 
• Sonia Kashuk small tapered face
• Revlon All over shadow 
• Sonia Kashuk small duo fiber 
• Bobbi Brown ultra fine eye liner
• Stila double ended 
• Smashbox #28 shadow
• Ecotools flat concealer

Alright guys, let me know if anyone has any questions about the aforementioned products.  I also am working on a hair care product favorites post...this new haircut has me using all different sorts of stuff.  Hope everyone is staying cool!

Cha Cha tint Swatch/Review!

Hey there!  Finally, after way too long of a wait, I have some swatches/pix of Benefit's Cha Cha Tint.  This tint can be found exclusively on hsn.com for 29.00 USD.  I have heard that this will be released at other stores later on this year.

Benetint Cha Cha Tint

 The consistency of this tint is more like Posie Tint and less like Benetint.  Cha Cha is thicker and more viscous than Benetint.  Its creamy and opaque.  Like Benetint, it has a pretty quick dry down time, so working quickly is highly suggested.  This can be used on both lips and cheeks.  Benefit describes this as a mango colored tint.  I do find that this is quite orange and, when layered, can turn almost orange-red (at least on my skin tone).

T - Cha Cha blended / B - Cha Cha swipe

I find that on cheeks, this gives an incredible flush.  I love that it leaves the tiniest touch of sheen on the skin.  On lips, this milky color gives a bright pop of mango/orange.  I have built this up on lips to be a very orange-red.  The wear on lips varies depending on what you eat/drink, but it lasted throughout most drinks and meals, leaving the slightest tint.

All of you Benefit tint users are well aware of the dry down time.  I stress to work quickly with these.  I  have found that I wait just one second to much, and end up with a streak or a few dots on my cheek. :)   I have been obsessed with this tint since I received it a few months ago.  I have yet to make a dent in the bottle.  A very tropical flush...you almost want to eat it!

Swatch and packaging

What are some of your favorite summer multi-use products?

May Favorites!

Hey guys and gals!  Here is the best of the best for the month of May.  Some of these products I use all the time, others I have just started obsessing about in May.  

Just a few things to obsess about :)

May Favorites:

1. Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray - This stuff locks your makeup DOWN!  No joke!

2.  LORAC Tantalize Me Baked Bronzer - bronze/gold, ultimate cheek sheen

3.  Fresh SUGAR Rose lip treatment - Def in my top 3 favorite lip balms

4.  Make Up For Ever Smokey Lash in Extra Black - Fake lashes in a tube.  Amazing formulation.

5.  L'Oreal MagicSmooth Souffle in 530 Sun Beige - Major coverage for something so light and airy

6.  Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in #15 - The most summer friendly shadows!!!

7.  Anastasia Brow Powder duo in Brunette/Dark Brown - I have yet to find something better.  HG!

8.  Tokidoki Gelato lip balm stain in Donutella - coral, moisturizing, and leaves a stain like no other

9.  MAC pigment in Rich Life - Dark espresso brown with silver reflects.  Easy to blend, amazing for smokey eyes

10.  Tarte Amazonian 12 hour blush in Tipsy - This is an orange creamsicle on my cheeks.  Pictures do not do this blush justice

11.  LORAC eyeshadow in Cappuccino - the most adorable, teddy brown neutral

12.  Benefit boxed powder in Dallas - plummy, glowy color for my cheeks.  Contours well!

13.  Amazing Cosmetics Concealer in Medium Beige - I keep coming back to this.  Great opacity, blendibility, and good color range

14.  Urban Decay Lip Junkie gloss in Wallflower - cools, plumps and the prettiest nude

15.  Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel eyeliner in 27 Caviar Ink - Smooth and inky

16.  Wet N Wild Color Icon shadow single in Brulee - HG highlight

17.  Make Up For Ever #55N large Duo Fiber brush - For cheek color, highlight, it cannot be beat!