Sleek!

So, I know that here in the US, we have tons of products that you can't get overseas and vice versa. And of course, one of the latest loves of beauty bloggers everywhere has been Sleek palettes. Inexpensive and pretty with loads of colors. I know I have pined over them ever since lipglossiping posted very pretty pictures of her recent acquisitions.

Well, US ladies, I have found a site that sells Sleek palettes for their regular price (not outrageous like you might find on Ebay) AND they ship worldwide! They also accept paypal!
http://glamr.co.uk/shop/

Not only that, but they charge what I feel is a rather reasonable amount to ship large bulky palettes overseas. I paid £5.00 to ship 3 Sleek palettes. Yes, I just hauled again. Don't tell DH.

I got:
Divine Safari
Divine Chaos
Divine Original

And I paid right around $34 for all 3 including shipping! Yay! I will post pretty pics when I get them!

VIB Haul

My VIB "gift card" haul arrived!  If you've been keeping up with me on twitter, you should know by now that I have a sinus infection so sorry for the lack of recent posts!

Anyway, here's the loot:

NARS Silent Night eyeshadow (special $9, regularly $22)

I'd heard on the makeup board that this was not very pigmented. I think my swatch shows otherwise. My guess is on the eyes this is a very nice pearly gold sheen, which is a great my lids but better look, especially applied with a fluffy brush. To get maximum payoff, you'll probably need a sponge tip applicator.

Next up, Benefit Lust Duster trios. Guys, this is an amazing deal! If you even barely like loose eye shadows, get these!  These are $18 each on the Benefit site and $10 for 3 on Sephora.com - that sounds like a no brainer to me. Plus, they come in little gold mesh baggies which are great if you are giving them as a gift. Personally, I am keeping them for myself. I'm selfish like that.

 

Aren't they pretty? I grabbed some other stuff, but I might be gifting the rest. If not, I'll be sure to swatch and post my thoughts.


I want to wish all of my Jewish followers a very Happy Hanukah! DH and I are celebrating tomorrow with my parents. I bet I will return home 3 pounds heavier with all the latkes and brisket! Cham Sameach*!

*This is Hebrew for Happy Holidays

Tarte Refillable Palettes

I love Tarte Cosmetics. I own several of their palettes, several single eyeshadows. Tipsy is my go-to blush in the mornings. While the packaging is generally adorable, I'm not a huge fan of how bulky it is. And a lot of it isn't exactly what you would call travel friendly. Tarte is changing that! Recently, we saw their refillable pre-made palettes (great but still enormous in my opinion). Now, they have come out with smaller empty refillable palettes!

image from http://www.tartecosmetics.com/

Tarte currently has their palettes for $1! The Verve blush is also only a $1 (I hope they come out with more colors) and each eyeshadow pan sells for $10 a $4 savings from their regular single eyeshadows. And don't forget the 40% off code good till the 13th (FFDEC). So basically for about $25 plus tax with the sale, you can get 1 refillable pallete, 1 blush AND 4 eyeshadows of your choosing! Unfortunately, it looks like they are only offering a few colors from the regular line; hopefully there will be more to choose from soon.

Personally, I already have all of the colors they are offering (what can I say? I'm a bit of an addict) so I ordered a couple palettes to depot the singles I have for travel.

Will you be picking up one of these refillable palettes?

Laura Mercier Deal (ends tonight!)

I just heard about an awesome deal on the newly updated Laura Mercier website! Until midnight tonight (the 9th) they are giving you a FREE full sized foundation primer AND FREE shipping with ANY purchase. No code required. This deal is on the main page on the website and the primer will automatically be added to your cart after you add your first or only item!

That's right, you can buy a $3 sharpener and get a full sized foundation primer and only pay $3 plus tax!

I actually have been wanting to try their powder puffs. So I bought the 2-pack for $8. Paid $8.48 and got a free foundation primer and free shipping! Considering the primer is usually $30 this is an amazing deal!

Borba: Does It Really Work? Day 5

For the past 5 days, I've mixed 1 packet of the BORBA drink mix in 20 oz water (directions say 16oz of water but I don't like things super sweet). The drink is a slightly of-putting green color and takes awhile to dissolve completely, until it does you're left with little green blobs that look like mold is growing in your water (not very appetizing). It's not what we in the makeup world would call finely milled.

DH refuses to be around when I drink the murky green concoction. I don't really blame him.

I have noticed no real significant changes in my skin. I am getting my usual breakouts around my chin. My cheeks may be less rough/dry, but I might be imagining things. And this morning I woke up with what might be the beginnings of a nasty cyst/pimple on my right cheek. Super! Hopefully this isn't any indication of how my skin reacts in the future. I'll keep on chugging away, if only to use this stuff up!

L'oreal Infallible (Plumping) Glosses

A Beautiful Sentiment gushed about these glosses a few months ago and since Rite Aid is currently BOGO for all L'oreal lip and eye products, I decided to get some. I accidentally picked up 2 of the non-plumping variety which I heard are awful but I'm not sure I'm going to deal with the hassle of returning them. I think I'm going to go back for the rest of the (plumping) line tomorrow when I pick up my prescription.

Anyway,

I actually just tried the non-plumping variety and they weren't nearly as bad as I was expecting. Fairly sticky but wearable in my opinion. But be warned, they feel really nice and non-sticky going on but turn on you after a few seconds pass.

Comparison between Plumped Rose and regular line Bloom.

Tarte Friends & Family

Right after their Cyber Monday 40% off deal, Tarte offers another code and another freebie with your order. Code FFDEC gets you a free card case and 40% off! Free shipping after discount over $50. There are some great deals to be had; they have lots of gift sets and palettes in stock. Code is good through December 13th.

Will you be hauling anything?

NOTD: Sally Hansen HD Opulent Cloud

After Nouveau Cheap showcased this shade in her blog, I knew I had to have it. After hitting several sold out drugstores, I found this at Rite Aid. Of course I snatched it right up even though it was a little on the pricey side.

I love the color of this, but I hate the packaging. No matter how you remove the brush from the bottle, you get a load of polish on the wand and it slowly drips down to the brush which can overload it and make application tricky. I also found it a little on the thick side, but it is a beautiful color. This is 2-3 coats.

See the little bump at the bottom? So annoying!

*Edit*

This picked a gorgeous lavender hue (with goldish looking shimmer) at my office! I guess fluorescent lights are sometimes a good thing?

Borba: Does It Really Work?

image from Borba.com

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to find Borba drink packettes on super clearance at ULTA. Prepared to be shocked and amazed. Each of these 60-count boxes generally retails for $100. I bought 2-60 count boxes for $9.99 each. I know, right? I'm one of those people that hates the taste of water by itself and I'm contantly on the look out for drink mixes that I enjoy. To combine that with some skincare benefits would be awesome (and at a price even less than I pay for Crystal Light at the supermarket)!

Well, I've finished my supply of regular individual drink mix packettes and started drinking the Borba, though not regularly. However, I'm going to start religiously every day and see if I notice any major changes in my skin and document them right here on Jeweled Thumb! Aren't you excited?

"Lychee Fruit: High in Antioxidant Vitamins C & E
Contains essential nutrients indended to diminish skin's dryness sensitivity and roughness"

For reference: I have combination skin with rosecea, dermatitis and hormonal acne. Dry cheeks, oily chin, switch between oily and super flaky and dry forehead and nose.

12/4/09: I start the test with a few blackheads on my nose, small patches of breakouts around my chin and some flaking around my eyebrows and cheeks.

Disclosure: I obviously purchased these myself. =)

Sephora VIB/BI Coupon

All these coupons and sales will be the death of me, I swear. Next up, Sephora. Sephora hinted at a gift card for their VIB (very important beauty insiders AKA those of us that spend more money than we should there!) back when the program first launched. For months, people buzzed about getting a percentage back on a gift card and how much it would be - I think at one point we heard it was 1% which would have been laughable. Anyway, well, Sephora has come through and sent 2 different "gift certificates".

$20 off $35 for VIB
$15 off $35 for regular Beauty Insiders

Look out for these in your e-mail. They act as gift cards so they are unique 1 time use codes and I've heard word that it doesn't make you spend the minimum $35 to get the coupon to go through. So you could in fact buy something for $20, use a free ship code and pay nothing (or a tiny bit for tax if anything).

I'm sure I'll figure out something to get with my code but I can't make up my mind yet. What is everyone else hauling?