New Stila sparkle waterproof liquid eyeliners- Swatches

My sister was here over the weekend (along with my parents for Easter- busy busy, but lots of fun!), and the two of us together equals lots and lots of shopping.  The best part is that she enjoys looking at makeup, too, so we love going to Sephora and Ulta to play around.
I hadn't really been shopping much the last couple of months (THE HORROR!), so I had yet to see the new spring makeup collections in person- only online!  I'm sure you can imagine my delight when I was finally able to swatch and see a lot of them for myself.
I was really excited when I spotted these new Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid eyeliners at Ulta- I received the email from Stila a couple weeks ago, and thought the colors looked really pretty.  Yep, they're just as pretty in person, and my silly camera phone pictures don't do them justice.  But I really wanted to share them with you all anyway!

(via stila.com)

Top to bottom:  Flash, Royal, Bora Bora (I think! I can't remember if it was this or Electric exactly), Rock Candy

The four I swatched were my favorite- very sparkly and pretty.  Once they dried down, they didn't move at all, that is until I removed them using a Philosophy Purity Made Simple facial wipe (Stila recommends using an oil-based makeup remover, FYI).

Have you guys tried these yet?  I'm definitely interested- they look gorgeous for spring/summer!

Quick stop at ULTA to use my coupon!

Hey guys!  I finally bought some makeup today (Does that sound crazy or what?)- I've had this $5/$10 coupon to ULTA sitting in my wallet for over a week now and I've been dying to use it.  I did buy the mascara and lipstick last week, but it was out of pure necessity.  This trip was just me deciding I wanted to try out this foundation that's been on clearance for forever, and using up my coupon.  :)

I bought this L'Oreal Feel Naturale light softening one-step makeup in Pale 228, and Revlon Beyond Natural blush & bronzer in Pink.

(I'm pretty sure this foundation is discontinued, I'm sorry about that!)

L'Oreal Feel Naturale makeup, Revlon blush/bronzer

This is the lightest shade I think (Pale 228), and although it shows up very light on my finger, on my skin it seems to be a pretty close match.  I think it's too light.  >:( But anyway, it's super creamy!  The consistency reminds me a little of Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse, in that it's really pigmented and smooth.  I haven't tried it yet, though, so fingers crossed I like it (It got pretty good reviews on Makeup Alley).

I'm hoping I like this, because I want to try a different bronzer from my ELF Studio one (I keep breaking out around my temples, so I'm not sure if I'm allergic to the mica in it.  I'm thinking I'm not, though, because this is fairly recent and I've been using that bronzer for a long time).  It seems sheer enough for my liking.  I also love that you can swirl the two colors together to get a light flush.  I'm hoping this is light enough to use all over my face, so I don't have to use a separate blush and bronzer (I go through love/hate phases with blush, LOL).

(Left to right: L'Oreal foundation, Revlon blush/bronzer blended, blush alone, bronzer alone)

*Click to enlarge to see better

Oh!  And on my walk back from ULTA I stopped into Walgreens to see if they had these popsicles I recently discovered:

They had them, and priced down from $2 to only $1!  I bought two boxes, haha.  They're only 15 calories each so I just go through them like no one's business.  ;)

That's it for today.  I'm working on some posts about the new products I've gotten, so again, thanks for bearing with me in the mean time.  You guys are amazing!

<3

Mini haul from ULTA (My favorite!)

I love doing haul posts, or just sharing with you guys new things I've recently purchased.  Today I made a little trip to ULTA to "treat" myself, yet again- I've done well not spending too much this month, so I thought I deserved this!  And I also had that $3.50/$10 purchase coupon they always have floating around. That combined with the deals they have going on this week and you can get a great deal!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (FINALLY!), Prestige Total Intensity eyeliner in Strong Slate, Maybelline eyeshadow quad in Time For Wine

After my last sub-par experience with Maybelline eyeshadows, you'd think I would have stayed away from this.  The colors were too pretty in person to pass up!  The eyeshadows aren't the softest, but after testing out several of these in the store, I found that it varies palette to palette.  The quad Enchanted Forest was MUCH smoother.  This one I can work, though.  

I've heard raves about these Prestige eyeliners for the longest time, but I hadn't looked close enough in ULTA to know they were there!  For $5.50 I figured I should just try it.  I got mine in Strong Slate, which is a metallic-y grey, and I just love it.  Smooth and doesn't rub away when I test it on my hand.

Lastly, this is the highly popular NYX JEP in the color Milk.  I used it under the Maybelline quad just a few minutes ago when trying out the shadows, and it really does help make them more vibrant.  I'm going to need to invest in a big pencil sharpener, but I'm glad I finally got this!

The Maybelline eyeshadow was on sale for 40% off, bringing it down to $3.47, the NYX JEP was also 40% off making it $2.51, and the Prestige eyeliner was regular priced at $5.50.  After my $3.50 off coupon, my total was only $8.76!

I'm definitely going back for more of those Prestige eyeliners- which other colors should I get?  

Best Makeup Deals of the Week!

Hey guys, today I'm going to do another small post about some great deals I've seen so far this morning.  It's a typical Sunday morning for me to devour my favorite drugstore/makeup websites for the new ads, coupons, and deals of the week (Specifically Target/coupons, CVS, Walgreens, ULTA, Sephora, Redplum.com, and Coupons.com).  I've seen some pretty good deals so far, most especially at ULTA, so I thought I'd let you know about some of them.

ULTA

- Revlon, Maybelline, NYX, Physicians Formula 40% off

- ULTA brand buy 3 get 3 free

- OPI, Essie, China Glaze, Piggy Polish, CHI Orly BOGO 50% off
(Click HERE to print off a $3.50/$10 purchase coupon!)

Walgreens

- Wet 'n' Wild 50% off (Great time to stock up if you want to try some of these products! See my label "Wet 'n' Wild" for a bunch of posts)

- Revlon BOGO 50% off

- Neutrogena BOGO 50% off

CVS

- Covergirl BOGO 50% off

- Covergirl Clean foundation $4 each

- Revlon Double Twist mascara and Colorburst lipstick $7 each

- Revlon Custom Creations foundation $12 each

- Revlon spend $15 get $6 ECB

- Rimmel Lash Accelerator $8.99 get $2 ECB

- Physicians Formula bronzer or powder $5.99 each

- Sally Hansen BOGO 50% off

If you have any other good deals/coupons you'd like to share, feel free to add them in the comments!  

Review: Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends sheer highlighting blush in Fresh

I wasn't sure how to shorten the full name of this blush, so I decided to just spit it all out.  I'm so happy to finally own one of these!  I purchased mine at ULTA on clearance the other day, and have had a few chances to play around with it.

(Click on pictures for bigger/better quality)

I got mine in the color Fresh, which is a combination of bright pink, rose, and baby pink colors.  They all blend together to give a nice light pink pop.

What Neutrogena claims: (Via neutrogena.com) 

Healthy Skin Blends sheer highlighting blush provides sheer illuminating color.A sweep of the brush illuminates your face for a naturally healthy look. This dermatologist-developed blush is made up of a collection of shades that blend together for sheer color with subtle shimmer and natural-looking results, regardless of your skin tone. Multi-vitamins and a botanical conditioner soften and smooth skin.

Price: Between $11-13, depending on where you go.  I got mine on clearance at ULTA for $5.49, which is about 50% off Target's price.  It has 0.2oz of product.

I want to talk a bit about the pigmentation first.  These claim to be sheer, so they're not for people looking for a highly-pigmented blush.  I didn't realize that when I bought it but now it makes sense why it isn't as vibrant in swatches as it looks in the pan.

These are buildable, though, so you can achieve a stronger color payoff based on how many layers you apply.  I love my blushes to be buildable.  I think I look silly with too much color on my cheeks, so this was a total pro for me.

Here are a few pictures to show you the pigmentation:

Above, lightly swatched

Another layer added

So this blush really leaves it up to you how much color you want, which I think is great.

I never talk about packaging, so I also wanted to touch on that here.  It is a little bulky because it's large, but it feels sturdy and definitely not cheap.  I hate having to mess with a lid that won't close or keeps separating from the hinge.  The only reason the packaging is bulky is because Neutrogena includes a brush- and I threw it away.  It's not terrible, but nothing I'd ever use in place of my ELF or Walmart blush brushes (Which are really soft, btw!).  

Here's what it looks like on my cheeks:

This is one light application.  I'm a huge fan of sheer blushes, so this is awesome for me.  And I didn't have a pink blush this "bright" looking, so it's a nice addition to my collection!

I also love that this has those baby pink colors in it so it works as a highlight as well.  I'm all for products that do everything in one!

Pros:

- Sheer but buildable pigmentation

- Mosaic colors so you get a nice blend

- Come in a variety of colors (6 in all)

- Feels like a quality product/you get what you're paying more for

Cons:

- A little pricey for drugstore

- Bulky packaging

- Not recommended for those who want a really pigmented blush

Have you given these a try?  Let me know how you like them if you have!  

Finally- A (mini) Haul & Swatches!

I'm so excited to finally have enough new products to (just barely) qualify as a haul!  I've only bought random makeup products here and there since being at school, so this has been long-awaited.  And I must clarify that I'm sure to many of you this isn't even "haul" material, but for how cheap I am it's the closest I get to an actual haul, haha.  Each item I'm really excited to finally have.

I got the makeup products from ULTA (as a little birthday present to myself!), and the body spray from CVS.
I will being doing individual reviews of the three makeup products, but I've included some swatches for now.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends blush in Fresh 20, NYX eyeshadow palette in Champagne & Caviar, NYX single eyeshadow in Flamingo, Essence of Beauty body spray in Dreamsicle

NYX Flamingo, Champagne & Caviar

Swatches of the palette and Flamingo (Click to enlarge!)

Swatch of Flamingo

I wanted the Champagne & Caviar palette for the longest time, but I hadn't seen it in person (There are no ULTA stores where my parents live).  When I first went to the ULTA here I wasn't in love with it, but this week NYX products are BOGO 1/2 off so I decided to just buy it.  The pigmentation looks lovely so far!  

As for the Flamingo single eyeshadow, the color is really understated but just gorgeous, in my opinion (although I am a sucker for purples with gold sheen).  The pigmentation isn't crazy, but I think it will make an awesome all over lid color for when I want a little color.

Neutrogena blush in Fresh

The only reason I got this was because it was on clearance for $5 and some change, and I've always passed by these in drugstores and been curious.  Speaking of clearance, ULTA currently has a bunch on clearance!  I was quite surprised.

This is a pretty vibrant pink in the pan, but it's buildable and sheer- one layer will give you a nice subtle pink, and another will be more of a pop.  I have a review in the works and I'll explain more then.

Essence of Beauty Dreamsicle body spray

The darn security label wouldn't come off!  That's so not cool in my opinion.

This smells like a 50/50 bar, though, it's yummy- I really wanted the Pixie Tangerine body spray, but the EoB displays are so picked over at my CVS locations and I can't find it.  This was my second favorite.  I used my $3 in Extra Bucks that I got via email for my birthday- thank you CVS!

My total cost for all of this was only around $18 (although I bought it over the course of two days).  For the makeup, the NYX products were BOGO 1/2 off like I said, and then I printed the coupon off ulta.com for $3.50/$10.00.  The blush was on clearance, and then the EoB body spray was originally $5.99 but after my $3 in Extra Bucks I only paid $3.00 and some change.

Thanks for reading!  <3