Haul: Sephora & Ulta

Sephora:

ULTA: 

Mostly, these purchases were made for the upcoming weddings in my family. I'm in charge of doing my little sister's makeup for her wedding in Hawaii, somewhere I've never been, and in a climate completely different from the one in which we live. I also do not claim to be good at doing others' makeup so I am feeling the pressure! However, the countless hours I've spent watching YouTube videos has led me to these products that I have tried and have fallen in love with. The Bite Beauty lipsticks are strictly a splurge for spring/summer in some fun, season-appropriate colors.

I just got some Makeup Geek shadows in the mail today, so tune in for some looks using those soon! Thanks for reading! :)

Ulta & Walgreens Haul

This haul seems to have a hair theme haha. I recently heard castor oil is good for your eyebrows, and after a little more research I've also come to find that it has many hydration benefits as well. I bought it at Walgreens along with the spray bottle. I plan to try a few different application techniques for it, so I'll update you on what works best and if it even works! What random things do you get when you decide to go shopping just for an excuse to get out of the house?

Ulta Haul

The Sephora VIB Sale got me good, but there were some bareMinerals things I wasn't able to purchase through them, so I leaned on Ulta to get them, and I avoid paying for shipping like the plague, so I always throw stuff in until I reach the bare minimum for free shipping. I usually go way over it though ha! Here's what I got:

Empties

Most of these products are tried and true, but a few are some staple items that I tried in new brands. The first one I can think of to mention is the makeup removing wipes. The Dollar Tree brand failed miserably. They aren't thick, moist or large enough to get the job done! The Swisspers brand of cotton rounds aren't my favorite either. I believe I bought a value pack of three sleeves from Walmart and I've gotten used to them but I think I'll spend a little more to get a thicker cotton round that will give me more bang for my buck. Are you familiar with the Yes To brand? I had heard a little but about it, and understood it was a pretty natural line of products. I picked up the Yes To Cucumbers facial wipes which are for normal to sensitive skin, and my skin would turn beat red afterwards. I didn't figure out what was causing it at first but eventually ruled out other things as this was really the only variable and new product I was using. I have never had a reaction to cucumbers so I don't know why I reacted the way that I did, but sure enough, I would react every time. Terrible! The Calgon body wash is to die for! I have stuck with Sweet Pea for a good 10+ years, but I was trying to use up products I've had forever, so I made myself stray from the usual and I really like it! The Victoria Secret perfume in Pure Seduction is also a favorite and became my summer scent. I've always loved the scent and it's perfect for summer, as it is so fresh and floral, so I finally used this bottle up that I've had forever. The last product I haven't reviewed yet is the floss. Random, I know! I got this from my dentist and it is the worst! It shreds and becomes useless after just a few teeth. Any suggestions for a good quality floss? :D

Thanks for reading!

Beach Waves

I have been loving the trendy beach wave look! I also feel like I only ever curl my hair the same way, and with summer just around the corner, I was itching for a change that was more carefree looking! At first, I bought a Remington wand from Target that claimed to create waves, but it did not achieve a look even close to what I wanted (my hair just looked kinked or as if I had been electrocuted!), so I returned it and continued to shop around. I watched so many YouTube videos that I ended up more unsure of what to buy. I decided to go to Ulta because I had a 20% off coupon and found a Hot Tools Curling Bubble wand that also claimed on its box that it was for beach waves, and I love Hot Tools' line of hair tools, so I bought it knowing I was getting a quality product, but I could always return it if it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I immediately went home and tried it out and turns out, I loved it! I also bought some Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray to help make my hair more messy and to aid in separating the waves better. I will be honest, the words 'sea salt' weren't appealing to me, as I could only think of gargling salt water to get rid of a sore throat and how nasty that smelled and tasted. This spray is the complete opposite and has sort of a coconut smell and is something I want my hair to smell like everyday! I'm glad I couldn't have been more wrong! The first day I used the bubble wand I left a good inch or more of my hair at the bottom straight but today I tried to get the ends more today. I like it both ways and appreciate the options!

Here are my beach waves from the first day:

And from today:

I hope this helps you get those highly sought-after beach waves! As always, thanks for reading! :)

Haul: Ulta & Sephora

Today I went shopping with the BFF and bought a few things for a birthday gift but this is what I ended up getting for me:

I can't wait to try the Living Proof hair protectant and the Olay hair removal cream. Here's to hoping I look like Jennifer Anniston afterwards! Haha

LOTD: Peachy Pink

How did I get this eye look you ask? I used all Urban Decay eyeshadows but first I used Urban Decay's Primer Potion. The first eyeshadow I used was from the original NAKED palette called Side Car. Then I used Sin as a highlight. I used a flat shadow brush with MAC Fix + sprayed on it and pat Dust from the NAKED 3 palette over Side Car. I used Side Car as a base to ensure my eyes didn't look super pink because my blouse and skirt were more peachy, pale pink. Over Dust I pat Buzz and Burnout over, using the same Fix +'d brush. As a crease color I used Nooner and as a transition shade I used Limit. It's a different look for me because I would normally use a darker shade in my crease, but I wanted this to be really subtle and soft. I finished the look with Sephora's Full Action mascara, Blinc Mascara over that, and Ulta's automatic black eyeliner.

For my face I used Urban Decay's NAKED Skin foundation, bareMinerals foundation, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Frosting with Milani's Baked Blush in Dolce Pink over it. For my lips I used an EOS lip balm first and then Bobbi Brown's Rich Color Gloss in Pink Sorbet 9.

I thought it was a lovely Sunday pretty pink! What are you wearing today?

LOTD: NAKED Mustard Yellow & Tan

I've had this shirt for a couple of years and really like how cheerful it is. Below is the look I do when I wear yellow using Urban Decay's original NAKED palette, but today I used my MAC Fix+ to enhance Half Baked. I think it added a nice pop of shimmer. It transformed the look and I will definitely be doing this more often—even when I'm not wearing yellow!

For my face, I used my bareMinerals Skin Rev-er Upper and Purely Nourishing for Normal to Dry Skin as moisturizers. Next, I used NAKED Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup foundation in shade 3.5. I then buffed bareMinerals foundation in Medium and Too Faced's Chocolate Soleil Bronzer over my skin. For blush I stippled Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Frosting on my cheeks and swept Laura Geller's Blush-N-Brighten in Pink Grapefruit over that. As I'm sure you've noticed, I had quite a few blemishes, so I used Benefit's Fake Up for those. From there I curled my eyelashes, applied Sephora's Full Action Extreme Effect Mascara in black, and then curled them again. I applied Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion on my eyelids and then pat Smog on my lid up into my crease slightly. Then I applied Sin from where Smog left off above my crease up to my eyebrows. I even dotted some in my tear duct area. After that I pat Darkhorse in the outer one-third of my eye and my crease. Then I applied Ulta's Automatic eyeliner in Black/Brown on my upper lid, making the line thicker towards the lateral side. I then used the same eyeliner in Black on my lower waterline. After that I applied a coat of Too Faced's Better Than Sex Mascara. Then I sprayed a brush with Fix+ and applied Half Baked to the center of my eye, just above my iris. This transformed Half Baked! The one with Fix+ is on the left. It was also harder than the other to get off my arm. I am really loving this Fix+ stuff!

I filled in my eyebrowns with MAC's eyebrow crayon in Lingering. Once all the dust settled I sprayed Urban Decay's All Nighter long-lasting makeup setting spray over my fave. On my lips I used a little travel-sized Sephora lip gloss in Rosy Glow. Thanks for reading! I'll be sure to do more looks with Fix+! I think it's a cool concept.

Haul: Ulta

Haul: Ulta

So excited to try these out! The eyeliner is a staple, but the rest are products I have only heard good things about! Perfume samples are hit and miss for me, so we'll see how I like those!