Tag Archives: haul

Jul18

Violet Voss Le Macaron Palette Swatches Pt. 2

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Violet Voss Le Macaron Palette Swatches Pt. 2

Hi! Today, we are going to continue with our swatches from the Le Macaron eyeshadow palette by Violet Voss. I considered this ten shadow palette to be a steal for just eighteen dollars and have been very impressed while taking a closer look. Both the Rare Beauty and Le Macaron palettes that I purchased are metallic because it is my favorite type of eyeshadow to wear. For the most part, my makeup routine is fairly basic and metallic hues on my eyes add a fun pop with minimal effort. You don’t have to do too much to make eyeshadows this pretty look good! Check it out:

^^^ Since there are no names for these eyeshadows, I’ll do it! Let’s call the burnt orange “Flame” and the amethyst one “Bejeweled”.

Although there are a handful of colors in the Le Macaron palette extremely similar to those of Rare Beauty, a majority of them are new to me hues. Like the Birthday Cake eyeshadow we discussed yesterday, Flame was one of the selling points of this Violet Voss palette for me. Burnt orange reminds me of all things fall and Flame immediately brings a bonfire with friends to my mind. I can definitely picture myself rocking it come autumn!

If you recall, I wasn’t blown away by the Purple Haze swatch in yesterday’s post as the undertones of it were too warm for me. I wasn’t expecting much out of Bejeweled so I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up really liking it! I am not a huge purple fan, but the cool undertones of Bejeweled will pair so nicely with my pink hair and I live for the fairy princess vibes it gives me. ❤

Two successful swatches down, two more to go! Tune in tomorrow for the final post from the Violet Voss palette to take a better look at the second eyeshadow from the top right and the first shade on the bottom left. 🙂

What color are your eyes? Which eyeshadow shades compliment it best? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul17

Violet Voss Le Macaron Palette Swatches Pt. 1

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Violet Voss Le Macaron Palette Swatches Pt. 1

Hello! During my last Sephora Haul, I purchased two new eyeshadow palettes: Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez and Le Macaron by Violet Voss. I wanted some beginner level palettes to play with but I also didn’t want it to cost an arm and a leg, either. Rare Beauty was twenty-five dollars and Le Macaron was only eighteen! I was comfortable with these prices and the large amount of positive reviews made me feel confident with my online order.

Today, we are going to be taking a closer look at two of the eyeshadows in the Le Macaron palette. There are some colors that are similar to those in Rare Beauty so we will be bypassing them! Now, let’s get to it with the top left and bottom right shades:

^^^ There are no names for these eyeshadows so I guess I will do the honors. Let’s go with “Purple Haze” and “Birthday Cake”.

The only negative reviews I noticed on Sephora’s website for the Le Macaron palette were complaints on the pigment quality. Happily, I did not find that to be true in the slightest while swatching these shades. While the eyeshadow may have been drier in comparison to the Rare Beauty palette, which was quite creamy, it still applied easily and in a rich hue. You just can’t beat that for eighteen dollars!

I can’t say that I will be wearing Purple Haze very often because warm undertones don’t look the best on me now with my red and pink hair. However, I absolutely adore the eyeshadow in Birthday Cake and it was actually one of the biggest selling points of this palette for me. It reminds me of fairy tales, bubblegum, and all things sweet! Purple Haze is a swing and a miss but Birthday Cake is a definite home run. 😀

What is your favorite eyeshadow palette? What are your favorite makeup brands? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Jul13

Face Mask Festivities: LANEIGE Berry Lip Sleeping Mask Edition

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Face Mask Festivities: LANEIGE Berry Lip Sleeping Mask Edition

Hello! At the end of June, I had an online Sephora haul just in time to get my birthday freebie. For my gift, I went with a skin care set by LANEIGE because I have always been interested in trying their products. While I can’t wait to test out the moisturizer and sleeping face mask by LANEIGE, I was most looking forward to using the Berry Lip Sleeping Mask. I see their lip masks all the time at TJMaxx but I could never justify the fifteen dollar price tag. After a few uses, however, I will happily be purchasing a full sized jar because I am obsessed! Let’s discuss:

In a world of skin care that revolves around moisturizers, serums, and eye creams, it is a rarity to find a product solely dedicated to the lips. While I do apply moisturizer to my lips, I have never used a treatment specifically for them, which is why I was so eager to test the Berry Lip Sleeping Mask out. I am very prone to chapped lips and after just three uses I have noticed a huge difference in both the hydration and appearance of my lips.

My first impression of the LANEIGE lip mask was how pretty the seashell pink packaging and product was! It also smelled amazing – just like the mixed berry Lip Smackers. The jar I received was, of course, a trial size but just a small swiping of it went such a long way and I have hardly made a dent in it after three uses. The texture of the mask is rich and creamy without feeling thick and I have been applying a small amount after my nighttime skin care routine every other few days.

When I used the Lip Sleeping Mask for the first time, I couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning to see the results! After washing it off, I couldn’t believe what I saw and felt. My lips had never felt so hydrated and cared for before and they looked fuller and healthy. I even think that the natural color of my lips has improved too from the berry tinged mask. The best part? My lips still were highly moisturized and had a supple, color tinted appearance after a handful of days without using it.

The LANEIGE Berry Lip Sleeping Mask is literally everything and I never realized how much I needed a product just for my lips until testing it out. I highly, highly recommend it!

What is a skin care essential for you? What are your thoughts on this mask if you have used it before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul11

Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Elevate & Trust)

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Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Elevate & Trust)

Hello! Today we are going to conclude our swatches for my new palette by Selena Gomez called Rare Beauty. I am so pleased with this purchase – everything from the colors and quality to the packaging and price (A mere twenty-five dollars!) made this the perfect beginner palette for me. I am not a huge makeup gal and didn’t want a palette with an overwhelming amount of colors. However, a little variety would be nice and I found it with Rare Beauty. Check out my final swatches and tune in tomorrow to see my turquoise and orange acrylics!

^^^ The silver eyeshadow is called Elevate, which makes the pink one Trust!

Originally, I thought I was going to really like the silver shade in Elevate because I assumed that it was going to be a pure silver metallic. Swatching it was an entirely different story, though, as it appeared very yellow on my skin. Because of this, I can’t see myself wearing just Elevate as an eyeshadow. But this is not to say that I won’t use it! I plan on applying Elevate to my tear duct and waterline for a little extra sparkle. I actually used to do this all the time with a similar shade but never repurchased it once I ran out so Elevate will work just fine.

Upon first sight of Trust, I also felt like I was going to love it and my instincts were right! The metallic watermelon pink is oh so sweet and I think it is an ideal summer eyeshadow shade. While I wasn’t crazy about Elevate, I thought it looked awesome paired with Trust. This palette purchase is all about being able to experiment and I can definitely see myself attempting a combination of the two in the future. Will it look good? Maybe. But I’ll never know if I don’t try!

Despite a few misses in terms of color (And that is just my opinion!), I still highly recommend the Rare Beauty palette by Selena Gomez. It will not break your bank and will give you the opportunity to play around with the different shades as they all pair well together, for the most part. The quality and pigment of these colors for the price is excellent too!

What is your favorite eyeshadow palette? How do you learn different makeup techniques? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul10

Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Gutsy & Strong)

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Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Gutsy & Strong)

Hello! During my recent Sephora Haul, I purchased my first eyeshadow palettes. Today, we are going to continue discussing Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty palette with swatches in Gutsy and Strong and will finish up with the remaining two shades tomorrow. Be sure to keep it posted because there are still many a swatches to come from the Le Macaron palette by Violet Voss too! Now, let’s get to it:

^^^ The bronze shade is called Gutsy, which makes the gold one Strong!

As you all know, Lil Red loves a gold metallic eyeshadow and it is the main color that I use in my three shade rotation lol. I have been running low on my gold eyeshadow from The Body Shop so it was a must for whichever palette I chose to have a gold option that I could get behind. Don’t tell TBS, but I think I like Selena Gomez’s gold more! When I use eyeshadow, I apply it wet to get a deeper pigment. It simply blows my mind that the Rare Beauty shadows provide such a high quality of color with a mere swipe of my finger – no water needed.

Ever since I began experimenting with makeup as a teenager, I have always liked metallic eyeshadows the best. Metallic hues offer a great pop of color and you don’t have to do much to make it look good, either, which makes it the perfect choice for me. So, of course, I am loving the bronze shade in Gutsy too. I haven’t worn bronze eyeshadow in a while because the ones I have in my makeup collection are ancient so I know I am going to get a lot of use out of Gutsy, as well.

Purchasing the Rare Beauty palette by Selena Gomez was an easy decision to make as it has some of my Old Faithful shades and new favorites too. I absolutely adore the chartreuse shadow and am happy to have higher quality gold and bronze hues. Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of the Rare Beauty palette with swatches in the silver and pink (Elevate and Trust)!

What is your favorite color from this palette? What is your go to eyeshadow shade? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul9

Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Boost & Will-Power)

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Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Palette Swatches (Boost & Will-Power)

Hi! Ever since getting my makeup professionally done for my wedding, I have become more interested in experimenting with makeup. Shocking, I know, considering all I do is alternate between three different eyeshadow colors lol! I have never bought an eyeshadow palette before and, at twenty-seven years old, it’s better late than never. While online shopping with Sephora, I purchased two eyeshadow palettes in lovely metallic hues: Le Macaron by Violet Voss and Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez.

The Rare Beauty palette boasts six beautiful and highly pigmented shades and we are going to be discussing two per day, starting with Boost and Will-Power. Check it out:

^^^ The chartreuse eyeshadow is called Boost, which makes the sparkling sapphire Will-Power.

While browsing through the palettes on Sephora’s website, I was immediately attracted to the Boost color. I absolutely love to wear green and now that my convertible hair has cooler undertones, I thought that the chartreuse shade would look striking. When my hair had ultra warm undertones, I could never get away with a color so light as it would wash me out!

I can’t say that I have ever worn blue eyeshadow before and, to be honest, I don’t plan on using the Will-Power shade often, if at all. It is just a bit too loud for my liking. However, Boost and Will-Power together make for the ultimate mermaid combination which might be fun to try. This palette purchase was all about experimenting, after all.

The Rare Beauty palette by Selena Gomez seemed like the perfect one to try for a beginner. Most of the colors would pair well together, eliminating the guess work out of finding the best combination. This palette was very reasonably priced at twenty-five dollars, which made me a bit nervous for the quality. I am glad I took the risk, though, because these shades are incredibly pigmented. I hardly needed any eyeshadow to make the swatches on my hand and the texture was rich and creamy, providing for easy application.

Although we are only two swatches into the Rare Beauty palette, I can already say that I completely recommend it. I know that I will be using each color but Will-Power and that makes the purchase well worth it. Tune back in tomorrow for more swatches in Gutsy and Strong!

What is your favorite eyeshadow palette? How do you learn new makeup application techniques? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul8

LANEIGE Birthday Gift From Sephora

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LANEIGE Birthday Gift From Sephora

Hello! I celebrated my 27th birthday on June 7th, got married on June 4th, and celebrated my husband’s birthday on June 1st. Needless to say, it was a whirlwind of a month! So much so, that I completely forgot about cashing in on birthday freebies from various stores and rewards programs. Thankfully, I remembered my Sephora birthday gift right in the nick of time and was really impressed by their different gift options. In my opinion, the choices were much better than last year! 

If you are a member of the Beauty Insider program at Sephora, you could select from a LANEIGE skin care set, a lip balm and bronzer by NARS, hair care from MOROCCANOIL, or two Rare Beauty lipsticks by Selena Gomez. For my freebie, I picked the LANEIGE skin care set because I have always wanted to try their products. TJMaxx usually has their skin care in store and online but I can never justify the fifteen dollar price tag for something that I might not like. Sephora’s birthday gift will allow me to test them out free of charge! Check it out:

While I love a good sleeping mask and moisturizer as much as the next person, I am most excited to try the Lip Sleeping Mask in Berry. While I haven’t used it yet, it smells amazing and has the prettiest ballet slipper pink hue. I am a member of a lot of rewards programs and Sephora definitely takes the cake for the best birthday gift. I also like that Sephora offers a freebie option for each beauty category: makeup, skin care, hair care, and occasionally perfume. And, of course, it’s nice that you don’t have to make a purchase to receive your gift.

I have discovered many a favorite product thanks to Sephora freebies and I have a feeling that I am going to fall in love with my goodies by LANEIGE!

Which birthday gift from Sephora did you select? What are your thoughts on LANEIGE products if you have used them before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Jul7

Sephora Haul

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Sephora Haul

Hi! During my birth month of June, I love taking advantage of all of the free birthday gifts from the various rewards programs that I am signed up for. Between mine and Johnny’s double birthdays and our wedding this past month, I had all but forgotten about getting my freebie on until it was almost too late. While I missed out on the day of my birthday freebies, I placed an order with Sephora just in time to receive my gift from them.

I was in desperate need of more Better Than Sex mascara and I also bought two eyeshadow palettes to play around with. The palettes are absolutely fabulous so be on the look out for swatches soon! Equally as fabulous, is the fact that I also got five free items with this order. 😀 Check out my Sephora Haul:

The Haul:

  • 2 Better Than Sex mascaras by Too Faced
  • Le Macaron palette by Violet Voss
  • Rare Beauty palette by Selena Gomez
  • LANEIGE birthday gift set (FREE!)
  • Innisfree Pore Clearing Clay Mask (FREE!)
  • GlamGlow BrightMud exfoliating treatment (FREE!)
  • Volition Snow Mushroom Water Serum sample (FREE!)
  • Korres Pomegranate Resurfacing Mask sample (FREE!)

It took me a while to get hip to Sephora and I could never justify buying anything from there while shopping in store because they never have any promotions. Online shopping, however, is a totally different story! Sephora offers free shipping with purchases over fifty dollars, two free samples per order, and promotional freebies with purchases over twenty-five dollars. I don’t order with Sephora very often but I make the most of it whenever I do, as you can see!

Multiple free items per order make me feel like I am getting way more bang for my buck and I cannot wait to pamper myself with all of my new face masks. I am also very excited to test out my new palettes. After getting my makeup done professionally for my wedding, it inspired me to be more adventurous with my makeup. It will be fun to try colors that are way different than the three that I alternate between (lol) and I know my sister will be proud because she always makes fun of me for that. 😀

Tomorrow, we are going to take a closer look at the LANEIGE birthday gift with three test size products. Then, it will be onto Face Mask Festivities and eyeshadow swatches galore! Keep it posted. ❤

Which store offers the best online promotions or rewards programs? What are your thoughts on any of the products above if you have used them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Jul6

TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

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TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

Hellooo! Today we are going to finish up my TJMaxx Haul by discussing some skin care that I couldn’t pass up. I know, I know – I literally just got a bunch of skin care from Amazon but when in Rome… Or in TJMaxx! Despite an overflowing beauty stock pile, I have no issue buying products that I know for a fact I am going to use. So, I ended up purchasing the following old favorites and new to me face washes:

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love face scrubs and it has been a long while since I used one. I was tickled to find St. Ives scrubs for only three dollars at TJs and I considered it a steal as they are usually around five bucks at full price stores. The Apricot scrub by St. Ives was one of the first skin care products that I can remember trying as a teenager and it always hits right in the nostalgia whenever I use it. The Apricot and Coconut & Coffee scrubs will be great in the summer while the Oatmeal one will be soothing for dry winter skin. You can’t beat three scrubs for under ten dollars!

Pre-pandemic, I was using SkinLab products purchased from TJMaxx exclusively. I have always been highly impressed with their skin care and was paying seven dollars or so for the moisturizers and eye gels. During the pandemic, I didn’t do any in store shopping that wasn’t grocery related and turned to Amazon for my skin care needs. I was so disappointed to see that my SkinLab products were priced at twenty dollars and once I used up the SkinLab brand items I had, I never bought them again.

While TJs didn’t have my favorite SkinLab moisturizers, they did have gel cleansers in the Lift & Firm and Revitalize & Hydrate formulas. This was the first time I saw SkinLab cleansers at TJMaxx and, obviously, I had to give them both a shot since I’m writing about it now! I haven’t tried a new to me product in so long and am eager to test out these cleansers. I have a feeling that they are going to be incredibly refreshing in the morning and I think the colors are so pretty too! 😀

Every TJMaxx trip with my mom is my favorite but the one from this haul is very high in the ranks. We had the best time shopping together and I can’t wait to do it again! ❤

What is your favorite skin care brand? Do you remember the first skin care product you tried? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Jul5

Celebrity Pink Shorts

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Celebrity Pink Shorts

Hi! Today, we are going to be wrapping up my clothing haul from TJMaxx by discussing some shorts by Celebrity Pink. Then, tomorrow, it is onto all things skin care, makeup, and a whole lot of Face Mask Festivities so keep checking back in for more of the latest and greatest. 😀

When my mom and I had our TJMaxx trip, I was really hoping to find a new laundry hamper as well as another pair of shorts. My old hamper has been falling apart from the bottom and I only have two shorts from American Eagle that I had just been alternating every day lol. Needless to say, I definitely needed another pair! I asked the TJMaxx gods and I received with a woven wood hamper and a pair of Celebrity Pink shorts. (#blessed) Now, let’s get to it:

During my shopping, I found the TJMaxx shorts selection to be lackluster at best and struggled to find anything in my size and a mid rise. For those of you who don’t know, high waisted shorts just aren’t my thing and it is so difficult to find a regular pair of mid rise anything in a sea of high waisted. When I had all but given up, I found my Celebrity Pink shorts tucked away on the rolling rack and hoped for success because it was the only pair that I thought might work.

I was so relieved once I tried these shorts on and they fit like a glove, especially because of the junior’s sizing. My Celebrity Pink shorts hit slightly above my natural waist and were short without feeling overly revealing and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I was also a huge fan of the medium wash of the shorts too since my only two other pairs are black and dark wash. Variety is the spice of life, as they say. 😀

I love everything about my new shorts but the coolest part is that they are made out of recycled fibers from plastic water bottles! I didn’t even notice this on the tag until I was taking blog pics at home and thought that was the neatest thing. Celebrity Pink delivered on the “Honey” style shorts and they are eco-friendly, to boot. GREAT SUCCESS!

What are some other eco-friendly brands? What is your preferred rise for shorts and pants? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah