How I Rocked Woodstock with the Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette

The Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette was the company's summer palette last year and when it went on sale around the holidays I added it to my Christmas List since I have a well established compulsion to BUY ALL THE URBAN DECAY PALETTES!!!!  I've had the palette since then and sadly I haven't really touched it.  I mean, what the hell am I going to do with a bright ass pink shadow, I would ask myself, let alone the shades all having shimmer in them.  So a few days ago I made myself sit down and figure out how to incorporate all 4 Rollergirl shades into one look and still be able to walk out of the house.  To see what I came up with, take the jump!

Summer Fun In Store For Me With NYX Blushes!

NYX Blushes are just plain out great.  They have a wide range of colors, all pigmented and smooth.  Personally  I own 4 and they make my face look sooooo much brighter and glowing.  Check out the 4 shades I own after the jump!

Avon Supershock Liquid Lip Shine: It's Not the Size that Counts...Or is it?

Top to Bottom:  Lilac Attack, Tickled Pink, Popsicle, Pink Indulgence

These Avon Supershock Liquid Lip Shines are some big mamma-jamma's!  For whatever reason I just LOVE oversized makeup products and these glosses do it for me.  Of course, once I get over the initial awe the question comes back to:  Is this a good product?  Find out after the jump!

Some Quick Swatches of Urban Decay's 15th Anniversary Palette!

When Urban Decay's 15th Anniversary Palette first came out for some reason I wasn't interested.  Of course when it became unavailable I decided I just had to have it and as luck would have it, Sephora brought it back in stock so I jumped at the chance.  Just like theBalm's Nude Tude palette, I'm not going to give a formal review, just a quick batch of swatches for you since this product has been out on the market for a while and I'm sure you've read plenty of reviews already.  In a later post, I will also do a comparison of these shades and other UD shadows in case you're wondering if the palette is worth the purchase if you're like me and already have a ton of other UD palettes already.  So without further adieu...take the jump for more swatches!

KILLER DEAL ALERT!!! Get All 3 TheBalm Shady Lady Palettes for the Price of 1!!!!

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I was hella pissed when I found out about theBalm being at TJ Maxx way late and wasn't able to take advantage of the awesome deals.  If you're like me though, you have a second chance because today, and today only, you can go to theBalm.com and get all 3 volumes of the ShadyLady palettes for the price of one.  That means you get 3 palettes for $39.50, or about $13 each!  You can't get much better than that, especially since when theBalm makes appearances on Hautelook the ShadyLady palettes tend to be around $20.  But remember, if you want this you gotta get over there today!

Claw Candy: Revlon Colorstay Polish in Coastal Surf!

And so continues my love affair with Revlon's Colorstay Nail Polish line.  This time we have Coastal Surf, a drop dead gorgeous medium sky blue.  It's vibrant without verging into neon territory (it's not quite as loud in real life as it is in the photo).  Perfect for the summer!  One thing I've really been appreciating about these polishes are the kind of unique shades Revlon's injected.  When you have as large of a nail polish collection as I've accumulated over the years, it's hard not to duplicate colors eventually, but fortunately all the polishes I've tried from Revlon Colorstay have been nice, new additions to my own polishes.  Check out this shade and others at Revlon.com

My #1 Favorite, Tried and True, HG Moisturizer: Garnier Moisture Rescue Gel-Cream!

The title pretty much sums it up:  I love this guy.  I've been using Garnier's Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream for over a year now and couldn't be any happier.  Take a look!

DEAL ALERT!!!!! Lorac on Hautelook!!!

Just a heads up:  that LORAC Croc palette I raved about last week?  It's on Hautelook now for $12 (I got it for $18, dang it! lol) along with several other LORAC goodies like the....

• Bejeweled Day & Night Jewelry Box Collection from this past Xmas - was $56, now $29!
• Unzipped Nude Collection with the shadow quad, full sized mascara, gloss & blush - was $34, now $20!

There's tons of steals available for all tastes and as of now nothing's been sold out so if you're looking to get your hands on some LORAC head on over to Hautelook.com!

Drumroll Please...Yu-Be Giveaway Winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to Rachel R.!!!  And check out her blog at http://allrachels.blogspot.com/!!  

If you didn't win this time, don't give me the boo boo face because I'm going to be hosting another giveaway next week featuring the Minerals Mate I reviewed a few days ago.  So look out for that!  And thanks a bunches to all of you who participated!!

Sorry, I Just Have to Laugh at This For a Moment...Yankee "Man" Candles

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This has to be a joke, right?  A kind of tongue-in-cheek thing?  Yankee Candle has come out with a line of what they are referring to as "Man Candles".  What is a Man Candle, you ask?  Well apparently men just can't stand the idea of having to go into a Yankee Candle store and being seen buying a candle that smells like fresh laundry or sweet strawberries.  Those universally accepted pleasant smells?  That's girly shit.  But they don't mind going in and grabbing a big jar of "Riding Mower" and "2 X 4".  


I want you to know that as I'm typing this I'm laughing my ass off.  It's actually not the scents themselves that I find amusing.  I actually know people that enjoy the smell of fresh cut grass, so no judgment there.  But I really hope they aren't actually making an effort to market this specifically to men to expand their consumer base.  If a man likes candles but doesn't feel comfortable enough popping his head into Yankee Candle to buy himself something, it's not because there aren't scents available that appeal to him.  It's because he, mistakenly, perceives candles as a feminine purchase and doesn't want people (read: stupid people) thinking he's a sissy or something.  That kind of guy isn't going to go in the store....ever.  Yes, maybe his girlfriend will buy him something, but probably not.  A majority of the time when a girl buys a candle for her guy, its because she's trying to make his place smell better, so the purchase is really for her.  


And the type of guy that doesn't mind going into the store?  You can't convince me he'd rather the smell of sawdust than fresh laundry.  If he does, it's not a gender thing, it's just because he's that type of person or he associates that scent with a pleasant memory.  Plus, he's already been coming into the store and has a pre-interest in candles, so you're not getting any new customers here. 


So do you think this effort to get men into candles is going to ignite or fizzle?  You can also check out the different manly scents at YankeeCandle.com

I'm So Freakin' Mad Right Now about this Sephora + Pantone Palette!

The other day I'm just minding my own business and stalking the Sephora website when I come up on the Strokes of Nature Palette from Sephora + Pantone.  It's love at first sight, except for its $55 price tag.  So I scroll down to reviews to see if people are saying it's worth the price or not and I stumble upon the most infuriating thing ever:


SEPHORA SENT THESE OUT FOR FREE TO V.I.B.'s!!!!!!!


Now, I'm not mad that V.I.B.'s were rewarded with this palette, I'm pissed that when I was a V.I.B. last year I didn't get jack shit except a 20% off sale that regular beauty insiders would get 2 weeks later anyway!  And now that I'm broke and couldn't maintain my V.I.B. status any longer Sephora wants to make the program all awesome and what not.  Yea, I'm a little salty....


But seriously, if you've gotten your hands on this palette already (free or purchased) let me know how you like the palette.  What caught my eye about it was it's awesome range of color, but I'm wondering if the quality is typical of Sephora's usual blockbuster palettes or not.  If it is, I'm definitely not even going to think about dropping $55 on it.


EDIT 5/18/2012:  Down in the comment section, Amanda informed me that not all V.I.B.'s got the free palettes, that in addition to being a V.I.B., you also had to be a top contributor of the Sephora forum or a "special client".  Thanks Amanda!

Pretty Decent Deal Alert for Beauty.com!! 33% Discount!!

Recently I heard that Beauty.com was having their Family & Friends 20% off sale, which I wasn't all that excited about.  When you add it up, 20% isn't really that much for me to spend money that I really shouldn't be spending in the first place.  But while wandering through Ebates I noticed that they had Beauty.com as 13% back!  That means you will be getting a total 33% discount off of your purchase.  Obviously the savings is not immediate, but Ebates pays out quaterly as long as your balance is $5 or above I think so you won't have to wait too long for the full discount to take effect.  I'm definitely checking the sale out now!  The site also has free shipping over $25 and 5% back rewards :)  They have many of the same brands and products that Sephora and Ulta carry.


Beauty.com's sale ends 5/18 and I'm not sure if the Ebates 13% back special will last through the week or if it's just for today, so you may want to hurry if you're interested!


You can check out the Friends and Family Sale here on Beauty.com, and if you don't have an Ebates (it's basically just an online rebates program, no catch) account already and want more information, you can sign up here at Ebates.com! 

More Milani Baked Blush Swatches :)

You guys know I love me some Milani Baked Blushes (first set of swatches here), and I couldn't hold off anymore on grabbing more shades from Walmart last week.  Keep reading for swatches of Fantistico Mauve, Bellissimo Bronze, and Dolce Pink!

Say Hello to My New Best Friend! LORAC Croc Palette Review

Ok, I'm totally OBSESSED with this palette!  This is by far not a new product, but it was recently on sale (for a very short time) on Sephora's website for $18 so I grabbed it, and boy am I glad I did.  It's the perfect everyday, on-the-go palette and I have, in fact, been using it everyday since it arrived on my doorstep!  Check it out!

Minerals Mate Makes Me Feel Like Bob Ross! + Coupon Code!

Have you ever gotten a product that it never would've occurred to you that you needed, but once you have you don't know you functioned before it?  That's what Minerals Mate is to me right now.  The super sweet Molly Badgett from Minerals Mate sent me their star product a couple weeks ago and I've been loving it ever since.  It's basically a mixing tray for your makeup, and makes it a cinch to contain and reduce any potential mess that comes along with that.  It also reminds me a bit of that artist palette that Bob Ross would use while painting those gorgeous landscapes.  While I do my makeup I can do a little make believe that I'm an actual artist lol.  Check it out after the jump!

The Best and the Rest: April 2012

I swear I didn't forget to do my April favorites, I was just having trouble compiling a list of favorites because I've been using a lot of the same products from previous favorites post, and I didn't want too much of a repeat. So here's my new favorites (and not so favorites) for the month of April.  As usual, make sure to tell me what your favorite product(s) of April were too!

Yu-Be Skincare Review

If you've entered my giveaway you already know this, but the great folks over at Yu-Be sent me some samples of their line of skincare products and I've finally played with them enough that I feel comfortable sharing a review with you.  I was more than excited to try them when I found out they were geared toward dry skin, which I suffer from year round.  You can read up on the history of the Japan-based company, which is actually very interesting, here. Check out the products out after the jump!  (And don't forget to enter in the giveaway to get your own travel set of Yu-Be products!)

Buzzkill....Can't Get the Sleek Matte Palettes in the US :(

Encircled text reads:  Please Note:  Due to FDA regulations this palette
cannot be sold in the US.  We apologize for any inconvenience this causes

I was too excited when I saw all the headlines on Facebook that the Sleek Matte palettes everyone's been talking about were finally available for purchase on their website.  So I rush on over to the site to scope it out and plop it in my cart.  Only there's a small hitch - US RESIDENTS CAN'T BUY THE MATTE PALETTES!!!  Apparently the FDA won't allow them to be sold here :(  


Now, I'm not really mad at Sleek or the FDA.  I'm sure it was an important ingredient used if Sleek used it in spite of losing possible revenue from the US market.  And the FDA exists (supposedly) to keep products safe for our consumption.  But it's still a major bummer....


Good news is you can still snag them on Ebay, albeit for a bit of a price hike.  You can window shop the new palettes at SleekMakeup.com.

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Fortifying Shampoo & Conditioner Review

So I just wanted to give you guys a quick review on Garnier Fructis's Triple Nutrition Fortifying Shampoo and Conditioner for dry, damaged hair.  I'm a member of BzzAgent (find out more about the BzzAgent program at BzzAgent.com) and was selected a few weeks ago for the Garnier Campaign.  I have to admit, (and if you've read my prior review on the Triple Nutrition 3 Minute Undo Dryness Reversal Treatment you already know this), I was not excited to try these for a number of reasons.  But having low expectations turned out to be a good thing since I was that much more surprised at how much I liked it!

Claw Candy: Maybelline Express Finish Polish in Peachy Petal

Maybelline Express Finish Nail Color in Peachy Petal caught my eye a few weeks ago at Rite Aid when I saw a nice, big clearance sticker lying next to it, along with the rest of this limited edition polish collection  I can't remember what collection this was a part of but I'm going to go out on the limb here and say it was a spring collection for this year...just a guess.  Anywho, I've been looking for a polish this exact color for quite some time now and didn't twice about it.


The color did not disappoint in the least and was opaque in 2 coats, which makes me happy.  However, remember when I mentioned that although I loved Revlon's new Colorstay polish line except application was a bit of a pain?  This polish from Maybelline made Revlon's applications seem like a dream.  Good God was this an asshole to deal with!  It was supposed to dry in 50 seconds......50 seconds my arse!  And the streakage going on was more than I could deal with.  It also didn't take but a few days for this to start chipping something crazy.  


I did love the color though....just definitely not worth the effort.  Don't know if all the polishes are like this, but I did pick up another shade so I'll let you know how that goes.  *fingers crossed*  You can check out more shades at maybelline.com

NYX Round Lipsticks Swatches!

You all know my love for NYX's Mega Shine Lip Glosses (reviews here and here), but I haven't yet raved about the company's other wonder:  their Round Lipsticks!  Aside from them being even cheaper than the glosses already are, they go on incredibly smooth and remain lightweight and creamy throughout wear.  And like the glosses, the lipsticks come in a multitude of colors, boasting an unprecedented well over 120 shades!.  I'm talking, any and every shade you can imagine!  I have started my collection with only 3 since I'm not a big lipstick wearer, but that soon may change....  Swatches after jump!

Beauty Sins Confession: I Don't Throw Away My Mascara When it Expires!

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If there's one product that I can't stop buying, it's mascara.  God help me, there's nothing better than taking your lashes from womp womp to WAM BAM!   I love trying different ones all the time and currently have well over a dozen different mascaras in my collection at this very moment and I'm in lash heavean.  Only buzzkill here is that apparently mascara has an expiration data.  I say "apparently" because I willingly choose to disregard this fact for myself, lest I end up wasting a good chunk of change throwing away product every month.

[CLOSED] My 1st Giveaway! Yu-Be Skincare Travel Set! [CLOSED]

So Yu-Be sent me some product samples a couple weeks ago for me to try out and also offered to sponsor a giveaway to my awesome readers!  I've been testing the skincare products out for a while and feel like I'm finally ready to review them,  so I'm opening the giveaway today and will have the reviews up throughout next week while you guys get your entries in :)