Category Archives: Beauty

Aug14

Sephora Play! Unboxing

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Sephora Play! Unboxing

Hii everyone and welcome to my very first Sephora Play! Unboxing! This subscription box was ordered simply to get me over the free shipping price during my online shopping extravaganza on Sephora. And, I enjoyed all of my goodies from the box so much that I’m definitely considering getting it for the entire year! Check it out:

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Survival Of The Chillest Play! Box:

  • Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara
  • Origins Clear Improvement Active Charoal Mask
  • IGK Mistress Hydrating Hair Balm
  • Sephora Rouge Cream Lipstick in The Red
  • Caudalie Vinoperfect Concentrated Brightening Essence
  • Burberry perfume sample in Blush
  • 50 Beauty Insider points with a purchase at Sephora coupon

I was so completely impressed with my box of travel sized treats from Sephora and I simply adore the Me O’Clock bag that it came in. My sister has an Ipsy subscription and I always eagerly anticipate when she opens her bright pink envelope. But, I daresay, I think that this ten dollar deal from Sephora is even better than Ipsy. The high end products that I get to sample are such a treat and it’s so fun to be able to test out brands that I would never have tried before.

So far, I have used the IGK hair balm and have been loving it. In fact, I want to get it in full sized so that I can continue using it every day! I have also used the Origins face mask, which you can read about on Face Mask Festivities tomorrow and have been mixing my Caudalie essence with my micellar water to make it last. And, as I’m not a huge perfume girl, I gave my mom the Burberry sample and it smells awesome on her! It smelled very floral and powdery on me and it smelled energizing and citrusy on her. Crazy how that works out, huh?

I am looking forward to trying out the Marc Jacobs mascara and will be swatching my Sephora lippie soon, so keep it posted for that. And, definitely be on the lookout for more on the Sephora Play! boxes on lifewithlilred, because I have a feeling that it will become a monthly thing really soon!

Who else gets the Play! boxes from Sephora? Are there any other subscription boxes that I should look into? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug13

Sephora Haul

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Sephora Haul

Hey everyone and welcome to a new week here on lifewithlilred! My most recent online shopping stint with Sephora has been nothing short of wonderful and I can’t wait to share all of my new goodies with you. From awesome products to amazing customer service, this haul had it all. Take a look and let’s discuss:

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^^^ Peep that gorgeous Better Than Sex glitter packaging for Too Faced’s 20th birthday!

The Haul:

  • Too Faced Better Than Birthday Sex mascara
  • Too Faced Melted Matte lip paint in Queen B (Free!)
  • Sephora Play! box in Survival Of The Chillest
  • Givenchy Le Rouge Liquide sample (Free!)
  • Belif Hydrating Eye Bomb sample (Free!)

And, before we talk more about my haul, I have to commend Sephora’s customer service. Two of the samples that I ordered were out of stock and was replaced with the Belif eye cream sample. I called the customer service number, because I was unaware of that, and I got to talk to someone immediately. Yasmine solved my problem quickly by offering to add TWO HUNDRED Beauty Insider points to my account. It was such a generous solution to a little issue and I am so thankful for that. Thanks again, Yasmine!

And, finally, the haul. I am so pleased with everything that I received in my latest order. I LOVE the packing on Too Faced’s Better Than Birthday Sex mascara. Nothing screams ultimate girly girl like some baby pink and glitter! So cute! And, it was so nice to receive a free lip paint for purchasing something that I needed to buy, anyways. It made me feel like I got a lot of bang for my buck and I really like that since the BTS mascara is the most expensive thing in my makeup arsenal.

We will be discussing my Play! box tomorrow, but just know that I am freaking obsessed and already want another one! I am also very pleased with the Belif eye cream sample that I got. It has about three uses in one little packet and it felt so nice on the delicate skin around my eyes. I might just have to give it a try if the price is right once I finish my Nutriganics eye cream from The Body Shop.

And, can we please talk about the Givenchy lippie samples?! It came with an application wand and three single use colors. How nice is that?! I’ll be sure to do some swatches of each color, as well as the Too Faced lip paint and the lippie that came in my Play! box, so keep it posted!

I consider this haul to be money well spent. I got a lot of good stuff for about sixty dollars as well as free shipping on my order. I’m looking forward to online shopping with Sephora again once I need a reup on my products and it will be so fun to share them with all of you! 🙂

Which store offers the best freebies and rewards? Have you ever had a really successful customer service experience? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug11

Posh Polishes

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Posh Polishes

Hey everyone and happy weekend! Lil Red is the ultimate girly girl and nothing pleases me more than caring for my tresses, skin, and having gorgeous acrylics on my nails. But, gorgeous acrylics need gorgeous polishes to top them, which is where Londontown comes in to play. Londontown features a wide array of colors, treatments, and goodies to keep your nails looking lovely one fab shade at a time. Including some of the following:

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And, if the colors Chim Cher-ee, Briolette, and Opal look familiar, that’s because they’re on my acrylics as we speak! Experimenting with different nail polishes is always fun, especially if you can’t find the shade you’re looking for in store or at your salon. That’s why it’s such a treat to enjoy some new colors exclusively at Londontown. And, to make the feeling of luxury even sweeter, the website frequently offers wonderful promotions to save you money. And that’s something Lil Red can always get behind! 😀

What is your favorite shade of nail polish? What color is on your nails today? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug9

Sephora Shopping Steals

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Sephora Shopping Steals

Hi everyone! I regret saying this, because the last thing I need is another store to obsess over – BUT, I am definitely doing that over Sephora! Seriously, their online deals are FABULOUS. I recently got an email saying that if you spend over twenty-five dollars on Too Faced products, then you could get a free mini lip paint with your purchase. I needed to reup on my Better Than Sex mascara, anyways, so I figured that I might as well get it online.

After spending just five minutes on their website, I decided that I will be doing all of my shopping online from now on. You get three free samples with your order, free shipping if you spend over fifty dollars, and there is almost always a promotion to get a freebie gift with your purchase if you spend over twenty-five dollars. Shopping in store is fun, but you get nowhere near that value when you are in person. And, why not get free stuff if you have the option to?

I’m lucky, because I haven’t fallen too deeply into my Sephora shopping to be spending a small fortune on beauty products. Normally, I just get my sister’s prezzies from there for gift giving occasions and stock up on my BTS mascara. But, that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t get maximum savings when I do so. If I ever feel the urge to explore makeup more closely, I will definitely shop in store and then make the purchase online.

I ordered a Sephora Play bag to get myself over the fifty dollar free shipping mark, so maybe the day will come sooner than later where I feel like experimenting with more of the products at Sephora. And, if that ever happens, it’s nice to know that I will be getting a lot of bang for my buck by shopping with Sephora online!

Which stores offers the best freebies or rewards programs? What are some of your savings tips for when you shop Sephora? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug6

Quick & Easy Skin Care Tips

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Quick & Easy Skin Care Tips

Caring for your skin doesn’t need to be complicated. You simply need to adopt the best skincare routine, use the right beauty products, and avoid items that could cause an unwanted reaction that could damage your skin and dent your self-confidence. If you want to enjoy a clear, radiant complexion day after day, find out how to look after your skin easily with these tips:

Wash Your Face in the Morning and Evening:

If you want to have a clean and healthy glow every day, you must wash your face in the morning and once again in the evening. It should be the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning, and one of the last things you do before bed to keep yourself radiant. Once your skin is properly cleansed, then it can more fully accept the products you put on afterwards. As you build your beauty routine, research different options like skin-nomad.com or must try brands that your friends recommend. If you stick to your regime, you will be rewarded with a more radiant complexion.

Choose the Right Cleanser for Your Skin Type:

You also should pick a facial cleanser that is right for your skin type. For example, avoid products that contain benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid if you have either oily skin or acne. However, if you are living with dry skin, pick up a gentle, fragrance-free face cleanser for optimum results.

Turn Down the Heat in the Bath or Shower:

Hot water can damage your skin because it can strip away its natural oils, which can lead to dryness – so turn down the heat in the bath or shower. Try to only use warm water in a bath, and you would also be wise to limit your bathing time to just twenty minutes.

Try to avoid using fragranced soaps, as well, as they can be harsh on your skin. Once your bath or shower time is over, pat your skin dry instead of rubbing, and leave a little water on your skin so that it can soak up the excess moisture.

Buy Nickel-Free Jewelry to Avoid Irritation:

If you want to avoid an unwanted skin reaction, you should only buy hypoallergenic jewelry. Unfortunately, people living with a nickel allergy can struggle to find the right necklaces, bracelets, and earrings for their skin. Don’t make the mistake of triggering a flare up and turn to Blomdahl USA for fashionable, nickel free jewelry to complement your personal style.

Limit Exfoliation to Only Twice Per Week:

Many people make the mistake of believing that the key to healthy, clean skin is to exfoliate every day. But, this can be a huge problem, as it can seriously dry out your skin. If you want to scrub away dead skin cells to enjoy softer skin, you should limit exfoliation to twice per week.

Give a New Product Time to Work:

Unless a beauty product has resulted in an adverse skin reaction, such as a rash or redness, you should give it time to work. It can take time for you to feel the benefits of a fragrance-free moisturizer or cleanser, so have a little patience before you start seeing the desired results. If you use the product multiple times and experience little or no change, you should then look for a different option for your skin.

Skin care doesn’t have to be difficult and, with the steps above, you will be well on your way to a beautiful complexion in no time.

Jul27

New Black & Opal Nails

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New Black & Opal Nails

Hiii everyone and TGIF! After having my acrylics on since October of 2017, it was finally time to get a new full set. My talons were overgrown, lifting, and getting super uncomfortable. But, now, they are obscenely short for my liking, which is uncomfortable in a different way! I’m still getting used to typing with tiny talons, so hopefully they’ll start growing out to reach their full lengthy potential soon! Check it out:

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Although it cost me a pretty penny to get my new nails, it was a necessary evil, because my old ones were breaking constantly and it was stupid annoying. For short nails – well, short by my standards, my nails look good. But, I definitely won’t be completely happy with them until they grow some extra length! Despite my complaints, it was sure nice to spend a morning at the salon after five weeks in between nail maintenance. I spent more than what I would have liked on this set, but for nails that won’t break and a morning to myself, it was so worth it!

What length do you prefer to keep your nails at? What color of nail polish do you have on right now? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul25

July 2018 Finishes

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July 2018 Finishes

Hello everyone and happy Hump Day! Can you believe that another month of 2018 is nearing an end? Before we know it, we’ll be ringing in the holiday season and celebrating the start of 2019. Time continues to fly, and you all know what that means! A monthly finishes post, of course! Take a look at my empties and let’s discuss:

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Would I Use Again?

  • Le Petit Marseiliais Vanilla Milk shower cream: YES
  • Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water: YES
  • The Body Shop Strawberry scrub: YES
  • The Body Shop Oils Of Life serum: YES
  • 40 Carrots moisturizer: YES

Why/Why Not?

LPM Shower Cream: Although this brand name might be a bitch to spell out, this shower cream is so not a bitch to use! As all of you know, I looove all vanilla everything and this cream had the most richest, delicious vanilla scent I’ve ever used. The cream was hydrating as all get out, and my skin was left feeling silky smooth after every shower. It took me about two months to finish this product.

Garnier Micellar Water: Am I the biggest fan of micellar water? No. But, is it a cheap alternative to buying a toner and makeup remover? Yes. Garnier easily has the best cleansing water that I’ve used thus far and it lasted me a decently long time considering I use it daily – over a month and a half. It’s a good value and it’s an all in one product and I can definitely get down with that.

TBS Scrub: A scrub is an essential part of my routine when I’m shaving and I literally couldn’t imagine taming the Woolly Mammoth legs without it. We all know this by now. I got about six full body uses out of the mini sized scrub, which is not bad at all!

TBS Serum: I really, really like this product, and I was super happy because after using my other bottle, my mom gave me hers to finish up. The Oils Of Life serum hydrates the living hell out of your skin and it sits amazingly well under makeup. This serum ranges on the more pricey side of products from The Body Shop, but a little lasts a long way and it took me over two months to finish half of a bottle of it.

40 Carrots Moisturizer: My beauty queen sister gave me this moisturizer out of her reject pile of products and I enjoyed it well enough. I liked how hydrating it was and that you didn’t need to use a ton of it to make your skin feel well taken care of for the day. This moisturizer was thicker in texture but it sat under makeup with no problem. It took me over a month to finish half of a jar of the moisturizer so, from a value side, I would definitely use this again.

July brought along some new and old favorites for me to enjoy and I am satisfied with each product that I finished up. I would recommend all of the above empties and would gladly use them again, myself.

Have you used any of the products seen above? What are your thoughts on them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul24

Face Mask Festivities: Nubian Heritage Mud Mask Edition

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Face Mask Festivities: Nubian Heritage Mud Mask Edition

Hello everyone and a happy Tuesday to all of you! In today’s surprise edition of Face Mask Festivities, we are going to discuss a mud mask by Nubian Heritage. I say surprise, because I wasn’t expecting to have another FMF post for a while but, then, my mom bought this mask ON THE CHEAP at Target! How can you say no to an originally fifteen dollar mask for five bucks?! Lol, take a look at some pics and let’s discuss:

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In all honesty, this mask was not my favorite and I feel disappointed by that, because I LOVED the texture of it. It felt so cool to the touch and the consistency was like BUTTAH! It was so smooth and creamy and it felt amazing when I applied it. And, then, it remained that way on my face for the entire ten minutes that I had it on. It didn’t dry, it didn’t harden, and it felt like it didn’t do NOTHIN. When I washed it off, it felt exactly how it felt when I first put it on my hands, so it left me feeling like it didn’t even work. It was really weird.

I will say, that the blackheads on my nose look a bit better, and the scent of the mask was nice and earthy. BUT, its lack of a change of consistency when the mask was supposedly doing its thing left a lot to be desired. And, now I see why this was marked down to five dollars! #smh

Has anyone else used this Nubian Heritage mask before? How did you feel about it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul21

Londontown Pampering Party

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Londontown Pampering Party

Hello everyone and happy weekend to all of you! As we all know by now, Lil Red is a nail girl and I would be nothing without my beloved talon acrylics. I think this deep love for being pampered in terms of my nails comes from my beautiful grandma, because I can always remember how much she enjoyed having her nails painted with lovely shades of seashell pinks.

I am lucky enough to be pampered every four to five weeks or so when I get my nails filled. My mom, on the other hand, doesn’t get to enjoy the luxury of a manicure, because with the intense medical treatment that she’s under, she wants to avoid any more chemicals on her body than need be. This is perfectly understandable, of course!

But, this doesn’t mean that sweet JANE doesn’t want her nails looking as nice as possible, so I decided to treat her to a fabulous cuticle treatment by Londontown. Londontown is an amazing nail and hand care brand that is dedicated to strengthening nails and nourishing hands in the most natural way possible. Their products use a variety of different oils and essential vitamins to show your phalanges some love, and I knew that it would be the perfect surprise to give to my mom. Take a look:

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^^^ In order, you can see my mom’s nails without treatment, with the treatment on, and after the treatment was finished.

Londontown’s Nourishing Cuticle Oil treatment worked wonders on my mom, and she has now deemed herself “obsessed” with it. We had a blast playing beauty shop together as I applied the product and we watched as it worked its magic. Our first impression of the treatment was its scent. It smelled herbal and sweet without being overly pungent or perfumey. This was so nice, because that’s actually one of my mom’s favorite scent styles and it made us eager to apply it and see if it works as good as it smells!

Before using Londontown’s Nourishing Cuticle Oil treatment, my mom’s cuticles were really dry and brittle. They looked so ready to be removed, and I was really hoping that this product would be as good as anticipated, because if anyone deserves to be pampered – it’s my mother. Lucky for us, we didn’t have to wait long to see if this treatment was the one for her, because almost instantly upon application, she could feel it moisturizing the problem areas on her nails.

Not only was the treatment so nourishing, but its consistency did so in a non-greasy manner, which is so important to both of us when it comes to our beauty products. Its texture was not thick but, rather, quite thin and it stayed on the nail well without running onto the towel under my mom’s hands. #wastenotwantnot

After the Nourishing Cuticle oil was on my mom’s nails for a few minutes, she pushed her cuticles back, removed them as best as she could, and then I applied some more treatment. Neither of us are nail experts, by and means, but in just one use her nails looked so much better. My mom said that she felt so spoiled to be using the treatment and it made her nails look pretty without polish, which was the goal all along. ❤

Be sure to tune in next week to see my new acrylics featuring some gorgeous nail polish shades by Londontown!

How do you pamper your hands and nails? How do you create a spa night in? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: I can’t make this up. As I write this, my mom literally walked down the stairs while rubbing in the cuticle treatment and goes “Sarah, I’m addicted to this. I just feel like my nails look better”. So it definitely has the Sarah & Jane Seal Of Approval! Thanks, Londontown!

Jul19

Backyard Beauty

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Backyard Beauty

Hi hi everyone and a happy Thursday to all of you! If you follow my page, then you know that my beloved dad, CHARLES, is a gardening extraordinaire. He can literally make something grow out of nothing, and every year the splendor in our front and back yards multiples tenfold from his hard work and amazing talent.

Not only does my dad boast two green thumbs, but he has also gotten quite good at using his camera and enjoys taking pictures of his handy work and the wildlife that basks in its glory. I love featuring talent on my page, and it’s even more special when something so beautiful comes from a family member or close friend. So, without further ado, take a look at some Backyard Beauty compliments of my dad:

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It always touches me so deeply when my dad wants to share one of the photos that he was proud of taking with me, and it makes me even more proud to show them off to all of you! I love you, dad! Your talent knows no bounds! ❤

What is your favorite picture from above? Who else has green thumbs that they’re proud of? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah