May Favorites

This is a bit of a departure for me. I almost never do favorite posts, but since I only used up 1 full sized item in May, I thought I'd talk about some of the items I've been loving lately. I am going to combine my May and June empties into one post coming your way early July.

I found myself reaching for easy options this month. My allergies have been bothering me and my skin has been a bit of a mess but the weather has made heavy foundation uncomfortable.

I went back to using my Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in No #13. I was absolutely thrilled when Missha introduced this pale neutral shade. I covers better than a tinted moisturizer and somehow stays put even when I sweat. The SPF 42+++ is also a great for sunny days. Missha almost always runs deals on their website, so you should be able to get this for far less than the retail price if you're interested in trying it.

The Body Shop Born Lippy Stick in Strawberry has been my lip balm of choice at nighttime. The slightly waxier consistency means that it stays on my lips through till morning and doesn't slide around during the night. My lips feel soft and moisturized when I wake up and a plus, it smells like strawberry Bubble Yum.

This L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Eternal Sunshine has been a great swipe and go color. It instantly brightens the eye area and remains subtle for day time. It can be applied with either a finger or a big fluffy brush. Even if I don't put on a base, you barely notice the creasing unless you look at it up close due to the light color (as an aside, I do get creasing with these).

I've had mixed thoughts about the Real Techniques brushes but this one is great. It's the Real Techniques Setting Brush and is a fairly new edition to the brush line up. This little brush is absolutely perfect for highlighter. I've also used it for setting my under eye concealer, cream blushes and even putting on an all over eyeshadow color. I believe this brush retails for $7.99 and it is definitely worth it. I'm thinking of picking up another one the next time the line goes on sale at ULTA.

If you have sensitive skin like I do that tends to be drier, I highly recommend using a men's facial shaving balm for shaving your legs. I've been using one from a small Etsy seller Ophelia's Apothecary. I don't know why I even mention the name of the shop as the customer service I received was absolutely horrible. I ordered in November and only after opening a complaint via Etsy did I finally get my package in January. Seriously, don't order and I'm not linking them. This is more of a general favorite anyway. Using a thick balmy product for shaving has really helped on cutting down the irritation on my legs. This one has shea butter but there are a ton on the market at different price points. If the constant shaving for shorts/skirts weather has your legs in agony, try a mens shaving balm.

I know this isn't a makeup favorite, but I have absolutely loved this little necklace I received in a previous Little Black Bag. It's by the brand Gorjana which I have been absolutely obsessed with and due to the price point of their store, getting things at a fraction of the retail price through Little Black Bag has been amazing. This piece is simple and is on a longer chain and looks awesome with practically everything. I wear it at least once a week and I get a ton of compliments on it.

Um yeah, another non makeup favorite but I am obsessed with my new toy. I was contemplating buying one of these and was deciding between different brands and models when a box wound up on my doorstep. Apparently, my dad got tired of me talking about this whenever I came over and oo-ed and ah-ed over theirs so he bought me one out of the blue. I love my Keurig. I now know what all the hype is over and it has cut down my coffee expenses tremendously. I used to buy a coffee practically every morning at Starbucks, which at the minimum was $3 if I bought a regular iced coffee, now my daily coffee tab is more like a buck.

So those were my May favorites. What did you love in May?

Disclosure: Referral link utilized.

Addicted! Little Black Bag

The Little Black Bag videos were making the rounds on Youtube and honestly, this was one of the few times I got hooked in right away. In case you didn't already know:
a. I love a bargain
b. Apparently I'm addicted to these sample programs
c. Variety is the spice of life?

So, I signed up. This is quite a bit more expensive than your average sample programs. It's $49.99 a month and it involves handbags, makeup, some skincare items and jewelry. As with any of these sites, you select your style. Each month (unless you skip by the 5th of the month) you pick out the one item that you'd definitely like in your shipment. Stylists pick out the other two. You can pick out things that are as inexpensive as $10 or some items that retail for over $100, just know that the price of the item will generally impact the other items that the stylists pick (if you pick out a $140 necklace you're probably not going to get another $100 item selected for you).

So, the idea of that was ok. What made this something I actually wanted to spend money on is trading. Everyone on the site can see other members' items. And you can offer to trade for items you want and people can offer trades for items they want. Trading is how I wound up with all this loot. I started off with the standard 3 items, but then someone would trade me 2 items for one of mine and I eventually worked up to a nice set of stuff. Trading lasts for a week and the items you have can change drastically. One piece of advise is don't ship your bag right away. You never know what someone will offer up! Granted, now receiving the bag, I'm not thrilled with everything but more on that later.

One thing I want to stress, is the prices listed on Little Black Bag are manufacturers suggested prices. You may be able to find something cheaper on a site such as Amazon, Ebay or Zappos or stores like Marshalls and TJmaxx. However, even though I found the necklace below for $75 on Zappos, I still paid way under that in combination with the other items in my bag. Also, no going through piles of scattered purses in TJmaxx (you have to be in the mood for bargain shopping). Another thing is some of the brands are from wholesalers. It isn't bad in theory but something to keep in mind while you're trading.

I received the following items:
Kenneth Jay Lane Leatherneck necklace, this was my 1 pick (found for $74.99 on Zappos)
Steven Madden earrings
Danielle Nicole mini jelly purse* ($48 on the Danielle Nicole site)
Sanrio Hello Kitty Watch
Cargo Triple Action Mascara ($20 at ULTA)
Cargo High Pigment Pencil  ($16 at Beauty.com)
Umbra Wallflutter Wall Decor


* I now need the willpower to carry less stuff to actually use this everyday this summer!

I really love the necklace, the purse and the 2 makeup items. I am not digging the earrings (they seemed a lot smaller online). Honestly, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the other things. As we speak, I am learning more about their exchange/return program because technically, they do allow exchanges in a way:

"Exchange Credit for similarly priced items

Return your merchandise and you will receive an automatic Exchange Credit for a new and different item of approximately the same retail value. Simply mail back your items to the address listed below. We will email you when your return has been processed and the Exchange Credit will automatically be applied to your account upon receipt of your return and we will select a similarly priced item to put in your next bag."

But so far I'm quite pleased. I'm not sure if I'm going to do this every month. $50 is a lot of money and my husband gave me one of those looks when he carried the box inside today. Nonetheless, so far I would highly recommend this program and I am totally addicted to trading. I have a bag going right now and I'm obsessively clicking refresh refresh refresh.

Little Black Bag is only currently available in the US.

Feel free to leave any questions below!


Disclosure: I paid my hard earned cash for this bag but I did include my referral link in this post.