Weekly Beauty Edit 4.12.2015

The ends of my hair are so dry! I'm wearing my hair longer than I have in years, maybe decades, which means the ends of my hair are very old. They've been through a lot. I will not give up blow drying and or using my flat iron. Ordered a new blow dryer that is supposed to dry hair faster from some magical technology or minerals or unicorn tears. Continue to search for a deep conditioner or leave in or overnight mask along with regular trims.  I use a heat protectant, too. I'm newish to hair spray and I think that might be a contributing factor to this dry feeling.

I've been a little crazy this week trying to use samples from Sephora I've gather over the past few months. It's Sephora VIB Rouge sale week and I'm trying to decide what to buy. First world problem. To maintain some semblance of sanity, I'm trying to select products only available at Sephora such as Marc Jacobs, Bite Beauty, Buxom, CoverFX and Sephora Collection or brands that never go on sale elsewhere such as Dior, Guerlain, Hourglass, YSL and all their friends. That's the plan, at least.

Sephora VIB Rouge Wish List (if dreams came true!)
Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stains in 04, 05, 07, 08 and 09
Buxom Pink with Envy Full On Lip Polish Set
Dior Rosy Glow Awakening Blush
Dr. Gross Clarifying Colloidal Sulfur Mask
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Luminous Light
Alterna Bamboo Smooth Kendi Dry Oil Micromist
Replica Beach Walk Roller Ball
CoverFX Custom Color Drops N50 (shade darker for summer)
Marc Jacobs ReMarcable Full Coverage Concealer 03 Youth
Marc Jacobs Beauty Remedy Highlight Pen in 00 Bright Idea

Haul-A-Lulu

Marc Jacobs Understudy

Marc Jacobs New Nudes Sheer Lip Gel in Understudy - this was described as a Terracotta Pink. In my book this is a Peach.  Pretty color that is a very light shade for me. I'm trying to be fair, truth be told I'm on the fence. I've been putting it on each night when I get home from work, trying to ease into this light shade. Maybe if I have a little more self tan color, it will have a bit more of a Brigitte Bardot look. Nah. Maybe I need to use a lip liner in a slightly darker shade. For those who care, this is not at all a long wearing formula, it's very different than his regular line. This is more slippery and wears off very quickly. I crack myself up....Brigitte Bardot.

Ipsy April Subscription Box - Love this $10 monthly surprise. I think these subscription box are about having the right attitude. If you want $10 box with a value of $100 all in perfect colors and formulas, you either need to learn to live a bit more spontaneously or better yet, skip the subscription box trend. This is about fun, a little surprise, a little swatching and testing and then most likely never using the items. Which is fine by me. This month's box was probably one of the best I've gotten in two years but I have no doubt, someone else is saying this is the worst box they've ever gotten.

April Ipsy Subscription Box

Set of 10 Makeup Brushes from Amazon - I'm going to include a link (not affiliated!) because for $9.39 and free shipping, this is outstanding. I'm not saying these are IT Cosmetic, Suqqu or Wayne Goss, I'm saying these are outstanding for $9.39. They are synthetic, soft, good handle weight, and so far no shedding. I think they may be about as soft as Real Techniques. The eye brushes are soft but a

little firm for these aging lids - you know how the skin moves with the brush. Ugh. But 3 of the 5 eye brushes are thumbs up. The 5 face brushes are very nice. They are not as dense as IT Cosmetic brushes, they have more give. Denser than e.l.f. brushes. I like cream blushes, these are great. I also like them with thicker foundations because they don't move the foundation around. I used it with Laura Mericer Oil Free Supreme, Dior Star and Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse which is as cream foundation. Today, this brush set is $8.59.10 Piece Brush Set

Soap & Glory Hand Food in Sugar Crush - this is a sweet lime scent and thought it would be nice for the Summer. Not in love with the scent and I'm all about scent. If I don't love it, I won't wear it.  That's why I love philosophy shower gels so much, because they are an "in shower" only scent
experience. Love smelling like a Cinnamon Bun in the shower but have no desire to smell like one all day! How did I get off topic? Me and shower gels. Heavens! Back to this hand cream, eh. What happened to the days I didn't need a hand cream? You know, back when  I had nice firm lids. Nice firm everything. Oh well. When I hear a woman say, "I want to grow old gracefully" I swear I just want to smack her up side the head.

Urban Decay Melted Metal Liquified Lipstick - love this puppy! I'm a huge fan of the original Urban Decay Melted line and this new Metal line is right up my alley. The high metallic foil finish hides all my lip wrinkles! Bought this in Peony, expecting it to be a bit darker but this is fine. It's a beautiful light to medium neutral pink. To me this is light but for most, this might be a medium pink. Gorgeous!

Urban Decay Melted Metal in Peony

Empties
Philosophy Microdelivery Triple-Acid Brightening Peel 24 pack - sad this is gone. This was a supersize deal on QVC and hoping they do it again. The price was ridiculous wonderful. I was on auto-delivery but the program has now ended. There are lots of "peel" pads out there but this one has azaleic acid, along with other exfoliating acids, which is excellent for brightening.

Zoya Nail Polish Remover - I've heard good and bad about this remover. Some say it causes nail to peel after continued use, others say it has saved their nails because it is so gentle. I got this free with a Zoya order. I'm a 100% acetone girl.

Abreva - a miracle product for me. I've been cold sore prone for as long as I can remember. I get them 6 or 7 times a year, usually during times of high stress. The minute I feel that tingle, I grab for Abreva and apply it constantly. Since discovering Abreva about 5 years ago, my cold sores rarely turn into a full flown glob. I have tubes in my desk, in my purse, in my car, on my nightstand. You really do need to use this as soon as possible when that tingle starts for Abreva to be fully appreciated.

The Balm Staniac - one of the original lip stain products, almost identical to Benefit Benetint. Now that stains are available at every price point, no need to repurchase.

8 Sephora Custom Samples - Sephora knocks it out of the park with  their very generous sample on request policy. It has saved me tons of money and has helped me spend tons of money. Most of the time, though, it saves me money because I find the product does not match me or work for my skin type or whatever.

Anna Sui Cotton Pads - complete luxury item, what can I say? These are similar to Shiseido cotton pads but are lavender. I still use store brand cotton pads for nail polish removal but if a cotton pad is touching my face, it will be Shiseido or Cotton Clouds from amazon.

Manicure News

Essie Madison Ave-hue

Essie Madison Ave-Hue - Spring has sprung on my nails! This is a pink that leans purple but not quite bright enough to call is fuschia. In the bottle, it appears to have a micro-shimmer which does not translate on the nail. First coat is a bit streaky but cleans up nicely on the second coat. No puddling in the cuticles, one of Essie's better formulas.  Base coat was Revlon Colorstay and Top Coat was Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in the red bottle.

Cheers,
Lulu

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