Empties

Speaking of empties, how awesome would it be if other companies besides MAC would give you a free product if you brought in empties from the line? Very awesome.

I had planned to do a fairly big post of things I've used up recently but I didn't expect the last little bit of my foundation to last for ages and my lip balm to twist up forever (I think part of this is I love it so much and I'm not going to replace it till I use up some others since I'm swimming in lip balm and a part of me doesn't want to finish it!).

Anyway, onward.

* BioInfusion Professional Tea Tree Shampoo - I suffer from eczema and dandruff on my scalp and have pretty much tried every shampoo on the market for dandruff. I picked up this one on sale at Walgreens for $3.99 (reg price $7.99). It worked decently enough but I am trying desperately to find a shampoo that doesn't smell like tea tree oil that works (as my husband isn't a fan of the smell). Anyway, I bought a few of these for rotation purposes. Would I repurchase? Yes.
* Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion - I was introduced to Murad when I worked at ULTA. No matter who sat down in my chair to get their makeup done, I would invariably pick a Murad moisturizer (usually pomegranate) to prep the skin. Everyone's skin seemed to love this moisturizer and it wasn't long before I picked it up myself, which was unfortunate only because my skin really likes it. I've gone through several tubes of this stuff and try to find a cheaper brand only to come back to Murad. Right now I'm using the  Essential-C Day Moisture SPF 30 cream (smells like citrus) which is a jaw dropping $60  and I see that they've recently increased the price of their moisturizers from $30 to $33 for an itty bitty amount of 1.7oz. I hate you Murad! But I will continue to buy your products because they unfortunately work for me. Would I repurchase? Have and will continue to do so even though my wallet cries each time.
* Christian Dior DiorShow mascara - This is one of those deluxe sample sizes that I think I received from Sephora's Beauty Insider program. I am so happy to be finished with this little tube. I think the rose smell only increased the amount of tearing that my eyes do on their own. It did elongate and thicken my lashes with 1 coat but considering the price - $24 - and the stench smell, I'm not a fan. Would I repurchase? No. Aside from the luxe name and packaging, most of my mascara come from the drugstore thankyouverymuch.

Have you used up anything recently? Would you repurchase?

Sally Beauty Sale

I know there are varying opinions on Sally Beauty Supply. Their prices have gone up, their customer service in store is not always the best, but I really have nothing but good things to say about them. For instance, Friday after work I stopped by to check out their sale (info shortly) and bought a few things (post coming shortly). I then go home to find out I was sent a 20% off total purchase coupon. I shared my woes on the nail board and was told to go back to try to use the coupon on said purchase but that I might be dealing with a rather catty sales associate. Not only did the girl not give me any grief for returning and rebuying but she was rather nice about it.

For those unaware, Sally's doesn't use the most up-to-date electronic system. The sales associates must manually key in every item. Honestly, I understand why they would be a little put off with returns and especially rebuys. Either way, I left saving a good hunk of change since the 20% was good on the clearance sale going on.

So the main point of this post is to share the Sally Beauty sale going on. I'm not sure exactly how long this is going to be, but you can take 50% off all already reduced clearance items (items with a red sticker). Thus far, I've been finding:

China Glaze holiday polishes $1-$2 after discount

Face Secrets Brushes $1-$4 after discount

Among other things. So a pretty decent deal! If you have a Sally's, I'd recommend popping by for a look.

Giveaway #100 Winner Announced

The lucky winner is...

~Lisa aka xMaterialGirlsx

Lisa, you have 48 hours to contact me at at jeweledthumb@gmail.com with your mailing address! Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone who entered. 

NOTD: Wet N Wild Disturbia & Colorama Ruby Rays

You know in makeup there are things that are long discontinued that are hidden treasure. Women would do a lot to get their hands on that item. Nail polish is no different. The board has been a flutter regarding Maybelline Coloramas. I bet you are scratching your heads. Yeah, I hadn't heard of them either. Well, obviously they are long discontinued hard to find polishes that are gorgeous. There are tons of different types the most popular being the top coats and even more so than that flaky top coats. Well, I was lucky enough to swap for some and here's the result.

First, Wet N Wild Disturbia. I like this color, though it's your typical vampy purple almost black shade. It is also a little on the thick side but I do like the brush. Also, for $1.99 or the $1.19 I paid? Not going to complain about having to add a little thinner. This is about 2 coats once I learned how to work it.

 

And then, Hammer I mean flaky time!

 

As with all my indoor artificial light pictures, this pulls more orange than the orangey-pink it really is. But oh my gosh, isn't it gorgeous? Everyone needs a bottle of this.

Another Deal: Rescue Beauty Lounge

Notice the increase in nail polish posts lately? I know I know. I'm sorry. I've just been stalking the nail board on one of my favorite sites and it's addictive, possibly more addictive than makeup since it's generally cheaper. One of the brands that seems to get a lot of love is Rescue Beauty Lounge. The Beauty Look Book shows a few of their polishes on her blog but there are tons of other shades. Anyway, at the faint-worthy $18 a bottle, I had no intention of ever buying the polish. Not when there are gorgeous shades in other brands under $10 and some even under $1!

Oh wait, you already know what I'm going to say next, aren't you?

But there was a sale...

Are you patting yourself on the back since you're so clever?

Anyway, RBL is having a sale on 7 discontinued colors. You can't actually get to the sale from the main page so you should count your lucky stars you have me around.

- Sheer pink
- Opaque pink
- Pink shimmer
- Sheer natural
- Squarepants
- Lulu
- Ani

All 7 will only cost you $50 plus $8.50 shipping so just around $8 a bottle. Oh, you want the link too? Fine. Apparently this is a 48 hour sale (not sure how far into we are) so act fast if you're interested! Just a PSA - I've heard international shipping prices are ridiculously high so might not be worth it for international buyers.

Sales, News & Rambling

First of all, I want to apologize for the lack of posts this week. I have been dealing with a sinus infection and general malaise. However, I will definitely be posting more in the next few days and one of those posts will be the Sleek palettes review which I have been meaning to do for ages!

Now, some sales/deals:

[*] ELF is having a 50% off Studio sales till March 15th using code STUDIOSAVE - as most of you know, I am a big fan of the ELF Studio line. Their undereye concealer is my HG (holy grail)! They are also still having their 50% Mineral line sale with code MIN50. One code per order. Shipping is extra or free after $75.

[*] Rock & Republic Beauty is going to be on Hautelook again on Monday, March 1st! Sales start at 11am EST.

[*] Spend $50 on meetmark.com and get a free golden IPOD Shuffle for mark with code GOLD2010
And I almost forgot!
[*] Sally's Beauty Supply is having an additional 50% off their clearance items! Go thee and grabbe thee Mango Mend for thou will love thy Mango Mend and flourish (also, several holiday polishes)
[*]


And news:
[*] Sleek Cosmetics is launching it's site in a little over 16 days! I read somewhere that they will be shipping internationally!

[*] Essence Cosmetics has launched at ULTA and on the ULTA site. This is a very inexpensive brand from Europe (I believe Germany specifically) that makes adorable and cheap products! I'm eyeing a few of their nail polishes - 99 cents a piece!

Also, in general blogging news, don't forget that my 100 followers giveaway ends tonight right before midnight! Click here to enter.

Drugstore Jewels: California Mango Products

This isn't so much a "Drugstore Jewels" as a "cheap products you may not be able to get at your local drugstore but are still awesome Jewels". California Mango is the company that makes Mango Mend among other Mango products. I had been hearing about "mend" and the line for sometime but never actually picked it up to try it out. What made me pick it up this time? Oh, obviously the magic word: sale! The Mango Mend holiday set was clearanced at my Sally Beauty for $4.99 so I picked one up to try.

My reaction? Why have I waited so long to try this amazing stuff? Winter seems to be unending in the DC/Metro area. Snow followed by rain followed by possibly more snow followed by dry & windy (with snow still on the ground, mind you) followed by the desire to crawl into a warm bed and never leave the house again. I also commute via the train, so I often have to stand out in the cold shivering and trying to remember that driving sucks a lot more than the $100/monthly ticket, 60% of which my company subsidizes.

Ok, back on topic; Because I get to deal with the elements, I often get dry sometimes scaly hands. Loading them with lotions and creams when I get to the office is great in theory, but many leave a greasy film on my hands that makes typing an unfortunate experience.

But no longer!!!!! I'm currently obsessed with the "natural hand and body lotion" which does not create a greasy film on my hands. It doesn't require me to run to the bathroom to wash my hands and undo the good that the previous hand cream had done. Once this stuff sinks in, it's gone.

Now, a word of caution, when they put mango in the title of this, they weren't messing around. This is super mango-ey. I love the smell, taste and all things mango. My husband on the other hand, hates it. He refuses to use this hand cream. He refuses to be near me when I apply this hand cream. So if you dislike the smell, or stench as my husband eloquently puts it, I would not buy this product. But you'll be missing out.

California Mango Mango Tango products can be purchased at Sally Beauty Supply. The lotion will only run you $3.99, Mend $7.99-

disclosure: This post was the result of extreme exhaustion and a sinus infection. All products were bought by the reviewer but she is slightly insane.

Would You Like Some Lipgloss With Those Oysters?

On Friday I received a rather peculiar catalog. DH and I spent dinner reading the interesting descriptions and laughing hysterically. Well, when I saw this, I had to share. I spent about 20 painful minutes with our scanner and finally got a clear image!

 

"Mistress of Pheromones: A Cosmetics product unlike any other we've ever offered; Each of these rich, moisturizing lip glosses contains patented pheromones - Infusions of "invisible scents" - formulated to trigger and heighten sensual awareness, and to noticeably arouse your lover. Twist off applicator. Made in USA." Price $21-

What do you think? Kind of wish I would have gotten this a week ago so it could have been my Valentine's Day post.

Review: Wet n Wild Color Icon Vanity #249

As promised, I have my first set of reviews for the Wet n Wild I hauled earlier this week. First the Color Icon palettes. I'm only going to be reviewing one for now: Vanity #249 (far left below).

 

I'm fairly impressed with the packaging Wet n Wild has put together for these palettes. They have a history of making quite bulky palettes. Namely the Ultimate Expressions (which according to sources is getting discontinued) palettes. Large, unwieldy with a pull out mirror on the bottom? Even though we ultimately "lose" 2 shades, I much prefer the slim new Color Icons.

 

Much much much easier to fit into my overflowing packed excellent selection of an eyeshadow palette drawer! These new palette contain 3 matte shades and 3 'effect' shades. Now a word about the 'effect' shades. In this particular palette, they are metallic but have no visible and/or chunky glitter. In the other 2 palettes I hauled, there is one 'effect' shade in each palette which obviously has glitter. 

Each palette has an example look on the back. Unfortunately, I hope buyers of this palette don't follow this one, because the line for the brow bone is quite low and appears to be closer to the crease? And the eyelid line is point towards the actual eye itself! Oops.

 

 

These probably look the same to you but since they are at slightly different angles, I thought I would include them both. Obviously the matte shades are on top and the 'effect' shades are on the bottom. I actually applied all of these shades with the included brush! I did not use a sponge applicator (which tends to give the most color pay off). This is on my hand, with no primer or anything. I was quite impressed with the pigmentation of these shadows, especially the 'effect' shades. Though they are a touch warmer than I usually wear, they are shimmery, non glittery metallic shades that would probably suit many and they are not crumbly or powdery, just soft enough to pick up the pigment. 

My only complaint is that the matte shades are a touch powdery. There is a bit of powder that is left on the eyeshadow itself after you pick it up from the brush and then it goes on a bit less smoother than the shimmer shades (if you enlarge the picture below, it's especially apparent on the darkest matte shade). Of course, some of my favorite high end brands do this as well (Stila is perhaps the worst offender but I love the brand anyway) and for the price (only $4.99 compared to upwards of $20 for 1 shade??!), I am not complaining. 

Have you tried one of the new Color Icon palettes? What did you think?

Zoya Haul

Have you made your Zoya order yet? Well, after hearing about mega delays in shipping with a few of their previous promotions, I was pleasantly surprised to get my Zoya order yesterday. Today is the very last day to use the promotion and the code will end at 5pm EST.

I've never tried Zoya polishes before so I'll be sure to do a review when I try one of these guys. I bought:

 

Roxy, Yasmeen, Adina & Pasha

I'm really excited to try them out!

Beauty Blog Link Love - 2/20/10 - #4

Rae from theNotice shares her skincare secret to flawless, pore-free skin.

Phyrra gives you an exclusive interview with Fyrinnae Cosmetics in February's Indie Spotlight.

Betty's Dragon Fruit Eye Look is now up at Betty Girl Makeup. It's her first tutorial and she's wicked excited!

Arianne at Glitter Geek is absolutely smitten over her new drugstore superhero -- Aveeno Hand Cream.

Krasey Beauty takes New York Fashion Week by storm, and goes backstage with L.A.M.B, MAC, CND, and MoroccanOil.

Lisa Kate attempts her first Konadicure...please help her!

Jellyminx goes shopping again and again and again and again!!

Sarah at I Heart Cosmetics hunted high and low, and finally managed to purchase the Estee Lauder and Michael Kors Very Hollywood Collection.

Thought you found your HG red lipstick? So did Hell Candy Make Up until she discovered this oh so glamorous lippie!

There be lemmings-a-plenty when Lipglossiping shows off NARS Purple Rain this week!

Tarte ReCreate Anti-Aging Foundation just so happens to be the answer to Prime Beauty's prayers.

Melovemakeup shows how gorgeous the eyeshadow in the Trucco Angelface Palette is - duochrome heaven!

Say bye bye to dark circles and hello to bright eyes with Liparazzi!

Maggie gets electrified by L'Oreal HiP's Black Shock.

This week on Get Lippie, Louise goes a little bananas at the makers of "Chemical Free" products and hopes she'll be forgiven.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed gets super excited by Chanel's new Fast Track Orient Extreme mini collection!

Interested in joining Beauty Blog Link Love? Check out this information page and give us a shout!

Now Staring the Borghese Brush

One of my readers commented on my NOTD about my comments on the brush. Well, I've gone ahead and snapped some quick shots of the brush and then compared to a brush on the base/top coat I've been using (YSL La Laque).

I don't know if you can tell just by itself, but it is super short. The next picture is compared to the YSL where it's pretty obvious just how short the Borghese brush is. I'd say it's about a 1/3 the size of a normal brush/wand.

BTW- Said manicure looks pretty darned good considering I did it Tuesday evening; no chipping, just a little tip wear as per usual. Pretty pleased I picked a few of these up especially at the price!

It's a Bird It's a Plane It's New Wet n Wild!

I've been hinting both here and on twitter (if you aren't following me yet, you should) that I scored big at Rite Aid yesterday. Since my grad class is turning out to be one of those frustrating mind numbing ones (in a word, accounting), I didn't have the energy or brain power to do this post last night, but I've been dying to show you all what I scored. Since Nouveau Cheap tempts me so with all the new drugstore collections and my neighborhood Rite Aid doesn't seem to get or put out new collections, I hit up the Rite Aid near work in hopes of finding something. Well, color me surprised when I found not only part of the new collection, but the Craze nail colors that everyone has been raving about for months in the permanent display! Considering that Wet N Wild is 40% off at Rite Aid this week (sale ends on Saturday) now was the perfect time to haul everything I've had my eyes on (and there's even a $2 rebate at Rite Aid). In my excitement, I totally forgot about the coupons that I had from the holiday palettes, but I think I may just go back tomorrow!

 

I grabbed the very last 3 eyeshadow palettes in the temporary display: Vanity #249, Lust #248 & Greed #246 - regular retail is $4.99 but I only paid $2.99 with the sale price!

New Megalast nail colors: Through The Grapevine #208A, Disturbia #217 & Candy-licious - These were the only ones left in the temporary display so I grabbed them! Regular retail is $1.99, I paid $1.19 on sale.

 

Craze nail color. I was so so so psyched to see these that I grabbed every color that they have in stock! I believe I'm only missing the bright green one, Jade. Regular retail is $1.99 and I paid $1.19 on sale. 

The only thing that I'm a little surprised with is the size of these suckers. Granted, I don't think I will ever use up a polish but these things are tiny. The Megalast colors are only .3oz and the Craze are .34oz - most standard bottles are usually 1/2oz. Here the bottles are lined up next to a Borghese bottle, which is .4oz.

 

Not to put a fine point on it, but anyone remember when Wet N Wild polishes and most of the color products were 3/$1 on sale? My mom used to treat me when we had to make a quick stop at the drugstore and I would almost always pick out sparkly nail polish or lip balm. Ah, the memories. I'm assuming milk was also a lot cheaper in the late 80s/early 90s, and gas and all non-sparkly things, but kids don't really think about that stuff, huh?

Anyway, you think I stopped there? Ha! Well, I noticed Revlon was on sale BOGO AND they actually had the Ivory Photoready that I've been dying to try. Because I wanted something the same price to get the best deal possible, I picked up one of the new Age Defying Face Illuminators (pink light #20). I have no idea how this is. It might suck but there will be a review either way shortly. Both retail for $13.99 which is getting rather high for drugstore, don't you think?

So there you have it, my awesome haul. Reviews forthcoming!

Zoya Deal

Zoya is once again having another promotion, which is great since I'll finally be able to try their nail polishes.

"In honor of NYFW(New York Fashion Week) Zoya, The New Color of Fashion,
wants to give a "Fashion Reward" to all our followers and fans.

Place any Zoya or Qtica order of $10 (on http://www.zoya.com, http://www.qtica.com or http://www.artofbeauty.com/)
and get any 2 Zoya Nail Polish shades (0.5oz bottles) as our Free gift to you.

Simply add all the items that you want to purchase online to your shopping cart.
Enter the code NYFW in the "code" field and press the "update" button.
A $14 discount will appear in the shopping cart for the value of the 2 Zoya Nail Polishes.

Offer valid from Wednesday, 2/17/2010 Friday, 2/19/2010, at 5PM ET. Standard shipping charges apply.
Offer valid for consumer online orders only. Free ground shipping for orders over $55 in Continental USA only.
Not valid with any other coupon code or offer."

Even though my Zoya wishlist is probably 20+ shades long, I picked up the following:

Roxy
Adina
Yasmeen
Pasha

Good choices?

Stay tuned this evening when I get home from work because I seriously scored at Rite Aid yesterday!

Lipstick Queen @ Gilt

You know those boutique brands that are hard to find? Well, I always want them. We all want what we can't have of course. Well, in about 15 minutes, Gilt will have Lipstick Queen for sale. I have no idea of what the discount will be or the specific products, but since I've never tried the line before, I will certainly be logging in and checking it out. And so can you! Har har har, this is what happens when I sound like an ad. Isn't it hilarious and awful sounding? Anyway, if you click on my referral link we'll both get a $25 credit and DH won't be as mad when makeup yet again arrives on our doorstep.

disclosure: This post includes a referral link

NOTD: Borghese Che Bella Red

While I was out this weekend, I stopped at a Ross Dress For Less. Like other discount stores, the inventory changes pretty rapidly. I lucked out when I saw a random pile of Borghese polish for $1.99 which sells at CVS for $7.99. I had never tried the brand but had heard good things about it and the classy colors caught my attention.

This is a rather pigmented cream that is opaque in 1-2 coats. I say 1-2 because it took 2 coats for me because the brush kind of freaked me out. It's super short and kind of stubby. Not just the brush, the wand itself is also very short. I was really impressed with the formula. I hope to get used to the brush!

This is 2 coats on most fingers, 1 on some of them. The color is much more blue than in the pictures. It's a fairly "true" red. Of course, DH thinks he is hilarious and said I should be on a street corner. I responded that red is a fairly "tame" color by polish standards. I just tend to wear darker and/or more muted tones.

 

  

  

The last one is the most accurate swatch, though it's still pulling a bit more orange than the polish actually is.

Review: Fyrinnae Lip Lustres

As I mentioned in my haul post, I ordered 4 of the mini lip lustres. Each is 3.5ml and sells for $2.50. I ordered colors that were described as having minimal or no shimmer or glitter.

 

Bloodstains || Pink Guitar || Flavor of The Day || Deceptive Innocence

As I previously mentioned, I was rather impressed by the packaging of these inexpensive "sample" products. The tubes are very substantial. They come with a silver lid and there is a nice wand doe-foot applicator. The product itself is quite thick, although it seems like some of the colors are more thick than others. For example, here is the wand applicator of Bloodstains. It's so covered with product that you really need a separate lip brush to apply. 

 

And here it is compared to the Flavor of The Day wand. Notice that the FOTD wand is not so heavily coated in product. You can definitely see that the wand (and even the mouth of the tube) is cleaner than Bloodstains.

The lip lustres are scented with a variety of foody and fruity scents. Flavor of The Day smells like fruity candy while Deceptive Innocence smells like caramel. The particular scent for each of the colors is indicated on the Fyrinnae site if you are sensitive to them.

 

swatches are in the same order as tubes above

These do have a buttery feel to them upon application, however, I wouldn't assume that the oils and butters in the product are sufficient moisture. After applying Bloodstains to unconditioned lips, it settled into the lines and dryness of my lips. My lips felt a little tight after the initial application; they definitely need a little extra for such a deep color since it will enhance every flaw. I also wish Bloodstains was tiny bit more red. I do adore the colors of Pink Guitar and Lip Of The Day! Beautiful. But again, after the initial buttery application, they get a little dryer and need a bit more moisture either under or applied after. Bloodstain blotted and then topped with a moisturizing gloss like MAC jelly babe lipgellee is gorgeous but I would hate to cover up how pretty the others look to keep my lips moisturized.

 

Hopefully I'll get these to work. Have you tried Fyrinnae Lip Lustres? What do you think?

Fyrinnae Haul

My Fyrinnae order arrived yesterday but we had a bit of an emergency here at JT Headquarters. Our Master bedroom windows starting leaking and formed large puddles on our newly stretched carpet (of course) which then seeped into the ceiling and now we have lovely water stains in our living room. I spent the afternoon going to Home Depot and then caulking the windows (architecture school comes in handy sometimes). My husband spent the afternoon trying to sop up the water and switching out and washing towels. Super fun times!

I can't believe this is my first ever Fyrinnae order. I don't know why I put off ordering for so long as I have heard nothing but good things about this company. I ordered January 30th and received my order yesterday, February 13th. It was shipped on the 10th. That amounts to 11 days which is less than the site says.

I ordered:
Full Size Pixie Epoxy
Mini Sizes of 4 Lip Lustres
*Flavor of the Day
*Pink Guitar
*Deceptive Innocence
*Bloodstains
I haven't tried any of these yet but I'm really impressed with the tubes for the price. Mini sizes of the lip lustres cost a mere $2.50 but the tubes feel sturdy and substantial and I really like the metal caps as well. Hopefully I'll like the formula.
11 sample eyeshadows
* Snow Leopard
* Polar Bear
* Platinum
* Angel's Tale
* Newcastle
* Changeling
* Knickers In A Twist
* Species 8472
* Dokkálfar
* Beholder
* Atomic Afterglow

and a freebie of Daemon's Tail

Hopefully soon I'll have reviews of some of these products. I have a pain in the neck homework assignment due tonight for grad school that I have to start ASAP so I can enjoy the Valentine's Day dinner that DH is taking me to. I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day!

NOTD: Diamond Cosmetics Cherry Tobacco

My nail of the day night since I literally just got my hands on my Diamond Cosmetics haul. Oh yeah, I hauled again. Diamond Cosmetics has super inexpensive polish - each will set you back just $2.25 and they have a ton of colors (and very reasonable shipping). I had a hard time deciding to be quite honest. For the price, I was pleasantly surprised. Most of my nails only required one coat. I only did two on my thumb which is has (sleepy fail) a very uneven texture and the few nails that I bumped mid-application. Anyway, what's so great about this polish is that from a lot of different lighting/angles it's your typical dark nearly-black vampy red. But put it under light and bam! There's your cherry!

SpaRitual & Bloom Sale

SpaRitual is on Billion Dollar Babes again! You can get both the Cherish & Awakened sets I posted about here and of course a few other items from the brand (individual nailpolishes priced at $2.50 each and some skincare and other sets). Shipping is a little on the high side ($10 is how much I usually pay) so if you are only interested in one or two things it might not be worth your while however the polishes usually retail for $10 so even with the shipping the price turns out to be fairly discounted if you buy a few things.

Bloom is also on sale on the site, though the discount is better on sale items if you go through the Bloom site and use one of the discount codes I posted about here.

Happy Shopping!

disclosure: this post includes a referral link

Cookies!

This obviously has nothing to do with makeup, but I thought I would share some pictures of some of the cookies I just baked. I always love creating more lemmings!

 

  

DH has already eaten 6! I know, I lem his metabolism!