Product's I've Repurchased

Instead of doing a post on what product's I would repurchase I thought I would first instead share with you what I have already repurchased. I think its easy to say what you think you would buy again but showing what you actually have purchased multiple times speaks volumes. It says a lot for someone who is always looking for something better when it comes to makeup. These are products that I pretty much use on a daily basis and continue to repurchase.

Product's I've Repurchased

Boscia 25% Off Back to School Sale

Boscia is running a "Back to School" special of 25% off of any $20 purchase or more. The promotion code is School25. I love Boscia skincare. I highly recommend the Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil. I also like their Balancing Facial Tonic.

Terms and Conditions
Enter promo code in the promotion code box at checkout to receive the promotion on qualifying purchases. Promotion is only valid in the USA and we only ship promotional offers to U.S. addresses. Not valid at retail stores, on previous purchases or purchases of gift cards. Cannot be used in conjunction with other promotion codes and cannot be combined with redemption of boscia rewards. Limit one promo code use per household. Promotion is valid until 9/3/12 at 11:59pm PST/PDT.

Do you all plan to pick up anything from this sale? What are some of your favorite Boscia products?

xx
Meredith

OCC Lip Tar Collection + Swatches

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics is a 100% vegan and cruelty free company based in NYC. They are best known for their lip tars but also sell loose pigments, tinted moisturizer, concealer, airbrush foundation, nail polish, and other beauty items. To learn more about the company you can visit their website here.

I first purchased my lip tars at the NYC IMATS this past year. I picked them up since they were discounted. Normally the lip tars sell for $15 USD each and you get .33 fl oz of product. I picked up two more recently through beauty.com since they were giving you a free one if you spent $10. I believe that Sephora is going to be selling them soon as well. They have over 30 colors so you can really have fun with these products. They have blue and purple for example which you can mix with reds and pinks to change the color for your lips. The possibilities are endless. They are highly pigmented and really do stain your lips without feathering as long as you use a lipliner. 

The lip tars are a liquid/cream consistency and the packaging is great so that only a little bit of product comes out of the tube. These are the most pigmented lip product out there. The lip tars can be a bit intimidating but are so much fun to use. You can wear these as a full on lipstick or as a stain if you blot your lips after you apply it. These wear pretty well and last quite a while on your lips. The stain will be there throughout most of the day. 

September 2012 Limited Edition Maybelline Color Tattoo Giveaway

So up for grabs in September are two limited edition Maybelline color tattoo eyeshadows. I have both of these colors myself and love them so much. These are very popular right now and everyone is loving them so much. To find out how you can enter check out my giveaways page here. Below are some photos of my own shadows that I own.

Left to Right: Rich Mahogany, Barely Beige

Maybelline Color Tattoo Rich Mahogany vs. Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream 15 +Swatches

So I decided to do a quick post comparing Maybelline Color Tattoo in Rich Mahogany to Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in 15. The Maybelline Color Tattoo is limited edition in this color so pick this up while you can. I got mine at Rite Aid so they should be available there if there are any left at your local store. I think I paid somewhere aroun $7-8 for this product. You get .14 oz of product and this comes in a glass jar.

After buying this at the drugstore I started to think that this might be similiar to my MUFE aqua cream in number 15. I have had this aqua cream for at least 1 year now but never reach for it. The MUFE aqua cream retails for $23. You get .21 oz and it comes in a plastic jar.  Here are some photos of these products and then I'll let you know if they are dupes or not.

 

What's in My August Glossybox

I just received my August Glossybox this past weekend and wanted to share with you all my thoughts on it and what I got in my box. Most of the boxes are pretty similiar unlike Bircbhox where there is much more variety between what people get in their boxes. I was half ok with my box and half not so happy. So I think 50% isn't so bad. I pad almost $22 for this box which is a good value for what I got but I just wish I liked the products that I got more.

The theme of the August box is "Pure Luxury". Here is what the card says, "A balmy summer has come to a close and your body is in need of genuine TLC. Pamper yourself in this month's GLOSSYBOX by nourishing your body form head to toe with rich, technologically advanced products infused with vitamins, natural oils and sublime color. The exquisite selection of cosmetics will preserve your sun-kissed beauty, leaving you looking healthy and radiant. As the season comes to an end, wrap yourself in pure luxury." Here's what I got in my box for August:

August Favorites

I have purchased a few new products this month which have quickly become my favorites but also I have been doing a little bit of shopping my stash too to find some new loves in my collection. I think I'll be doing a shop my stash post soon since I have a ton of makeup that I need to give more love to. So here are my August favorite.

August Favorites

Favorite YouTubers of August

My obsession with all things beauty and makeup grew a lot when I found Beauty Guru's on YouTube. I like to watch my favorite YouTubers while I'm getting ready in the morning or when I'm getting ready for bed on my ipad. Sometimes YouTube can become TV for me. I certainly am behind on a lot of my TV shows but this is just way better. So here are my favorites for August in no particular order...

makeuptia
I really enjoy watching Ashley's videos and love her red hair. She does amazing tutorials, favorites videos, empties, product reviews, and so much more. She is great at reviewing current products and I really trust her opinion when it comes to what she likes and doesn't like. She is really relaxing to watch and has a calming voice when you listen to her. Here is her most recent video:

Jurlique 27% Off for 27 Hours

Another great deal. Jurlique is offering 27% off for just 27 hours. I might pick up the Rosewater toner. Just use the code Birthday for the discount. I think Jurlique makes some great products. This will end on August 23rd and 9:00 p.m. PST.



Do you plan on picking anything up from Jurlique? Any product recommendations for me?

xx
Meredith

Caudalie Friends & Family Sale

If you are a fan of Caudalie, which how could you not be, you will be super excited to know that they are having their annual Friends & Family sale from August 23rd till August 27th. Enter code FF2012 at checkout. I plan to buy a few things but I won't go crazy since Sephora does 20% off too in the Fall so unless a site offers more than 20% or unless Sephora doesn't sell it I don't go nuts. I'll probably get another Elixir though as a backup and maybe one or two other things. 

Do you guys plan to pick up anything from this sale?

xx
Meredith

August Empties

I'm so excited to be finally putting up this post. I can't wait to throw out some of these containers. I think I finished quite a bit of products this month compared to last. I tend to go through products pretty quickly though (other than makeup). I don't know if I use them up faster knowing that I am doing these empties or if I normally be going through them quickly anyways. I'm going to try to highlight in this post the products that I really enjoyed and/or would repurchase. If I don't mention it that means that I didn't really like it or it wasn't anything special for me. Also don't make fun of me for cutting my products. I am a cutter when it comes to products. I know there are some others out there like me. We like to get our moneys worth. So onto the empties....

August Empties

Nars Blush Collection + Swatches

I have a large blush collection so I thought I would start off by sharing with you my Nars collection. I really enjoy Nars blushes. They are nicely pigmented but when used with the right brush can either be very soft or you can build up to a lot of color. I have fair skin and all of these colors work well for me. Nars has a nice variety of shimmer, satins, and mattes in their blush collection. I think I have a nice variety here to show you as well. Nars blushes retail for $28 USD. You can purchase them at Sephora or on Nars website.

Nars Blush Collection

How I Deep Clean My Makeup Brushes

Let me start off this post by saying that I hate cleaning my brushes but try to do it about once a month. For spot cleaning I use the spray brush cleaner from Sephora. I just try some toilet paper and rub my brush back and forth to remove the makeup from it. But cleaning your brushes is really important to remove the makeup, dirt, and bacteria (you don't want to be putting that all over your face). Cleaning your brushes regularly helps to keep up the condition of your brushes. The longer that the makeup sits on the brush the worse off the brush will be in the long run. I currently have almost 50 brushes so it takes me about 30-40 minutes to clean them all. This is just how I clean them and there are several different ways. This just works well for me.

Makeup Brush Collection

Most Worn Things Tag-Summer Edition

I decided to do the most worn summer things tag that I've been seeing a lot on YouTube and on some people's blogs. I wasn't tagged by anyone to do this but I'm going to do it anyways. This was kind of hard for me since I don't really switch things up too much for Summer. My most worn things tend to be things I wear a lot year round but I'm looking forward to sharing this with you all so that you can get a better sense of  some of my favorite things and get to know me better. So here are my 11 most worn things:

1. What is your most worn nail polish?

I really like Essies Cute As A Button for Spring/Summer and have worn this a lot. I tend to switch up my nail polishes every couple of days so it was really hard for me to pick a favorite as I love them all. This one just stood out to me though and I feel like I wore it more than some of my others. It's a pretty peach/pink color which I love. I don't like Essie's brushes as much as OPI but I make it work. 

Essie Cute As A Button

My Cream Blush Collection + Swatches

This is probably one of the smallest's parts of my makeup collection. For some reason I haven't gotten obsessed yet (yet is the key word here) with cream blush. I think I'm afraid to go crazy with these since I know that they take forever to go through and also since they are a cream product that they will go bad faster then my powder blushes which I probably have 30 plus of. A collection post to come soon on those too.

I tend to wear cream blush everyday under whatever powder blush that I am wearing. I think it helps to make the powder last longer. Half of my cream blushes are high end and half are drugstore. I have my eye on a lot of high end ones at the moment, especially the Bobbi Brown pot rouge formula. Also I do want to point out that I am pretty fair skin so these colors work well for me. So here is what's in my cream blush collection:

My Entire Cream Blush Collection 

New Items Added to Blog Sale & Prices Reduced

I am adding new items this weekend to my blog sale and have also reduced a lot of the prices by like 50%. Please check out my page as I have a lot of great products, many of which have never been used. Enjoy shopping my sale and hope that everyone has a great weekend!

I plan on trying out my new gel manicure kit from Sephora called GelShine. I'll be doing a review on it and will let you all know what I think of it after I try it out for a bit. I am also on the hunt for the Dior Amber Diamond since I heard its being discontinued.

If there is anything that you all would like reviewed please let me know as I'm always look for new blog post ideas.

xx
Meredith

What's in My Sephora VIB Bag

Today I received an email from Sephora about the VIB bag if you are a VIB and you made a $35 purchase this weekend. I wanted to get this post up right away since this is only for this weekend. I stopped into Sephora today after work and picked up some stuff. I didn't want to buy a lot since starting on Monday it is double points on everything that you buy. I was really looking for the Amber Diamond from Dior since I read a blog post today that they are discontinuing it. If you want it you better get your hands on it now if it's really true that they are not selling it anymore.

New Dermalogica Product Launches

I was recently notified by Dermalogica that they are going to be coming out with two new skincare products. I really enjoy Dermalogica products so I wanted to share this information with you all. They are going to be holding a Spreecast on August 22nd to let everyone know more about the new products. Below is a flyer with more information.  You can RSVP for the Spreecast at www.spreecast.com/events/pearlpower. All guests who attend will be entered to win a $350 gift basket from Dermalogica. 

Do any of you plan on participating in this? What are some of your favorite Dermalogica products? 

xx

Meredith 

Product's I've Hit Pan On

This post is dedicated to the products that I have hit pan on which are very few. For those of you who are not familiar with the term to hit pan it basically means that you have used the product so much that you can see the pan.  I have a ton of makeup so if I hit pan on something that means that I really (and I mean really) love it. I also want to discuss in this post products that I would like to hit pan on. There are few products that for one reason or another I want to use them up or I just love them so I'm trying it see some pan.

Whats in My August Birchbox

This is my August Birchbox. The theme is Beauty School Supply Kit which fits in well with going back to school for some. This doesn't really fit well for me since I'm not in school but I guess for those who are it's cute. The yellow outside is a fun change from the usual pink. Instead of the usual card they gave us a square booklet. It says,

"We all remember the excitement of back to school shopping and the thrill of stocking up on fresh notebooks and pens. This month, we're helping you refill your beauty supply kit with must-try essentials and new products that will take you through the fall. Plus, we've put together a Beauty 101 series to ensure that you ace every class. Read on, and have a great semester."

Outside of August Birchbox

5 Beauty Products I'm Currently Dying to Get My Hands On

My wishlist is always growing and changing. Here are just 5 things I'm currently wishing to get in the month of August. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these products if you have tried them in case maybe they aren't worth purchasing. These are all products that I have heard really great things about though. Also, I haven't picked up anything yet from my July wishlist post but hope to do so this Fall or as soon as I get a Sephora coupon. 

1. OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest (Germany Collection)

This color looks absolutely beautiful for the fall and winter. Since I have so much nail polish I try to really pick out unique colors and I think that this is. This has purple, red, and beautiful shimmer. It's a very vampy color which I love but its not too flat. Love this. What colors do you like from the Germany collection? I think this retails around $8.50.

What's in My Summer Shower

It seems like there has been a tag going around on YouTube and a lot of bloggers have been doing this as well. I love knowing what products people are using and its fun to kind of get to know people through their products. I try to switch out seasonally my candles, shower products, etc. So starting in September you will see my fall stuff and then again in December you will see winter. Since I use a lot of Bath & Body Works products this works out well for me but not so much for my wallet. I am for sure a BBW addict! If I have fellow addicts out there please say hello. So lets get onto whats in my summer shower....

Nuance Salma Hayek Cucumber & Rosewater Dual Phase Makeup Remover Review

I wanted to do a review of this product since I know a lot of people are always looking for good drugstore eye-makeup removers and thought I would let you know my thoughts on this product. I picked this up at CVS on a whim and this is actually my second time buying it. I paid around $8.49 for a 4.3 oz bottle in NYC but I'm sure you can get it cheaper outside of NYC. I believe that this is only sold at CVS.

Revlon Kissable Balm Stain Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to the winner, Mikeandleahmom who has won the Revlon Kissable Balm Stain.

 Thank you to everyone who entered. The winner was selected today through random.org as you can see below from my screenshots of those who had entered the contest. I will also announce this on Twitter as well and will notify the winner via Twitter.  Best of luck to everyone in future giveaways. 

Liebster Award Blogger Tag

I was recently tagged by Kristen from Beauty Moxie to do the Liebster Award blogger tag and answer some questions about myself.  She is super sweet and has a great blog so I recommend checking her out. 

The Liebster Award seems to be a kind of tag that tries to help introduce you to up and coming bloggers. Hopefully through this post you will learn a little bit more about me and also have the opportunity to discover some new blogs. The rules for the tag are: 

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.

2. They must also answer the 11 questions the ' tagger ' has set for them

3. They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.

4. They must then choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and tag them in their post.

5. These lucky bloggers must then be told.

6. There's no tag backs.

What's in my July Glossybox

I received my July Glossybox about 2 weeks ago. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get this post up sooner but hopefully you all are still interested to hear my thoughts on the July box. Glossybox costs around $21 a month for a month-to-month subscription. You can also get 3 month, 6 month, or 12 month subscriptions which will save you some money. The thing that I find with these monthly beauty box subscriptions is that some months they are amazing and some months they are duds. This month was eh for me but I know other people who loved their box. In addition to the beauty products that I received in the box they also includes a mini Glossy Mag that included information summer must haves, beauty talk with make-up artist Miriam Jacks, city guide with the most beautiful beaches, and starlook and party make-up. I didn't really read the magazine and didn't feel that this added any value to the box.

August is VIB Month at Sephora

This month is VIB (Very Important Beauty Insider) month at Sephora. For some reason I never received any emails about this even though I am a VIB but lucky for me when I was in a local Sephora this past weekend, I spotted a flyer about this. I love being a VIB as you get some really great perks such as private event invitations, 1 point for every $1 you spend (you can get sample products with your points and points never expire), special discounts during the year such as 10-20% discounts, and access to exclusive rewards. You qualify for a VIB is you meet the following critera according the Sephora website:

"V.I.B. status is conferred on those registered Beauty Insider members who spend a minimum of $350 at U.S. and Canadian Sephora stores (including on Sephora.com and in Sephora inside JCPenney locations) during one calendar year. V.I.B. status is good for the calendar year in which the BI member qualifies and the following calendar year; annual requalification is required. All aspects of the V.I.B. program are subject to the Beauty Insider Terms and Conditions. Sephora may, in its sole discretion, alter, limit, or modify the V.I.B. program rules, regulations, benefits, eligibility for membership, or any other feature of the V.I.B. program or may terminate the V.I.B. program at any time in its sole discretion, without prior notice. For additional program details, click here"

Sephora Broadway

Whats on My Face?

I love learning what are people's favorite Foundations, BB Creams, and Tinted Moisturizers. Basically what does everyone love to wear on their face? I got the idea for this post from A Little Bit etc. You should check out her blog as she does some great posts. I am only going to be talking about what I currently own and use and what I currently like that I own. I have some other BB creams that I am not 100% sure yet so I didn't want to talk about them in this post. I do want to mention that my favorite all time foundation is Nars Sheer Glow in Deauville. I plan on picking this up as soon as I finish up some of my other foundations.

Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer, Neutrogena Healthy Skin, Bourjous Healthy Mix, Maybelline BB Cream

Birchbox Event at the Caudalie Spa

On July 31st I attended another Birchbox event at the Caudalie Spa. This was my second time at the Caudalie Spa through Birchbox. This event was held after work and is a great way to meet other girls who love beauty  and makeup. 

Caudalie Products

Weekend Beauty Haul

So this weekend I did a little bit of shopping. I tend to do most of my beauty shopping on the weekends since during the week I'm always at work. I shopped at Target, the Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale, Harmon Beauty, Lush, Bath & Body Works. I also went to the dentist and got some goodies (well if you are into dental hygiene then yes they are goodies) as well as some skincare gifts from my family who were recently in Colorado. I hope that you all enjoy taking a little look into what I picked up this weekend. I can't wait to dig into all of it.

Weekend Beauty Haul

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Since Fall is quickly approaching us I wanted to start doing some posts on some of my favorite fall/winter must haves. I purchased this a while back at my local drugstore. I have the travel size but you can buy the full size on Burt's Bees website here for $6 USD. The travel tin has 8.5 g while the full size is 17g.  I had heard a lot of great things about it so I wanted to try it out. I'm so glad that I did. It is a great product and for a very reasonable price. You only need a tiny bit so this tin does last a while.

Fresh Food Truck Beauty Event Recap

On July 25th I attended a beauty event in NYC hosted by Fresh. I found out about the event through twitter. They were setting up a food truck outside of their store and were giving out free Fresh tote bags with a travel sized soy face cleanser as well as a free mini fresh sugar lip treatment. Blueprint was also giving out juice as well which was really nice. This was a quick fun event that I enjoyed attending. Thanks Fresh for offering this! You visit can the Fresh website here to learn more about their products.

Fresh Sugar Food Truck

Most Expensive Makeup Item

This post is all about my most expensive makeup item. I didn't include any eyeshadow palettes. I tried to just pick one item that I paid quite a bit more. Any guesses which Chanel product this might be?

Nail of the Day- Zoya Jolene

I love the formula of Zoya polishes. They apply really well. I did do 3 coats as this color is kind of sheer but you could probably get away with two if you don't mind it being a little more sheer. The color is a really pretty bright pink but not neon or hot pink. I think you could wear this to work and it would still be appropriate. These retail for $8 but Zoya is always having promotions. You should make sure to follow them on Twitter, Facebook,etc so that you know about their promotions. You order these polishes on the Zoya website here. 

Beauty Gadget Review: Every Drop Beauty Spatula

I'm the kind of girl who likes to get every last drop out of my beauty products, especially if I paid a lot of money for them. While I have been known to cut some of my containers in half to get the product out I don't like using my finger to transfer the product into a new container. That's where the Every Drop beauty spatula comes in. It's like a spatula for beauty and not food. How fun!

Review Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Highlighter Rose Illumination

It's finally here, the Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Highlighter in Rose Illumination. I first heard about this through Michelle1218 on YouTube. She always has the best product recommendations so I had to try this out. I regret not buying the Laura Mercier Illuminator so just felt that I couldn't pass this up. Well it ended up being sold out at Macys Herald Square and when I checked online it wasn't available. Then I got lucky and it came back in stock so I placed an order with the 25% discount code through ShannnyBannny (another YouTuber) and also used Ebates to get a little more off. If you don't know about Ebates and would like a post on it just let me know.

5 Minute Makeup with 5 Items

So today I was thinking to myself if I only had 5 minutes to do my makeup what 5 products would I use. There are certain things for me that are without questions products that I couldn't leave the house without having on. Sometimes this is what I'll wear on the weekends too. This was not easy to eliminate to just 5 items but somehow I was able to mange to to do it. Here are my 5 essentials for a quick makeup look:

5 Minute Makeup with 5 Items