Small Birthday Haul

I normally buy myself something more expensive for my birthday. Last year  it was Guerlain powder. This year I just wasn't feeling like I really needed anything from the higher end of the spectrum. I've also been on a bit of a concealer kick lately. So I decided to pick up Benefit's Erase Paste ($28) from Sephora. 

Everything else was free! I opted for the Benefit Birthday gift from Sephora. I'm already a fan of They're Real. I'm not a big user of highlighters but I'd like to try them out more. The Shiseido lip gloss was a freebie with $25 purchase. I love the Erase Paste! I'll have to a full review of it soon. I've use Watt's Up a few times and really like it. I'm not sure I'd ever use it enough to purchase a full size. I've yet to try to the Shiseido but I love the color.

Kat Von D Star Kissed Lipstick Set

This set retails from Sephora for $28.50.  I received mine as a Christmas gift. I'm excited to try these out because these are my first lipsticks from this line. It contains six shades of lipstick weighing 0.042 oz. There are three shades from the Painted Love formula and three from the Foiled Love. The full size versions retail for $19 and contain .11 oz of product. That seems a tad bit pricey to me. So this set is definitely the economical route to go.

The exuberant, high-pigment formulas paint lips with brilliant color and finish with a matte or metallic effect. Natural moisturizers and anti-aging properties keep lips healthy and promise comfortable, long-lasting wear. “A shade for every occasion.” —Kat Von D

Looks like foam but it's black velour

L to R : Rosary, Lolita, Underage Red, Beranice, Forever & Never, and Valentine

Rosary & Lolita

Rosary is a dark berry/burgundy red. Lolita is a peachy/pink color. They describe it as "dusty rose."

Rosary & Lolita Swatched

Underage Love & Bernaice

 Underage Red is a true red. It photographed very orange for some reason. It is pretty similar to MAC's Ruby Woo but is creamy. Beranice is a dark shimmery pink. They describe it as "metallic poppy red." It looks more pink to me. I'll have to see how it wears.

Underage Love & Beranice Swatched

Forever & Never and Valentine

Forever & Never is a shimmery nude. It's described as a metallic peach which seems pretty accurate to me. Valentine is a shimmery pink. These two are the most sheer out of the six. I had to swipe Valentine four times for the swatch below. Forever & Never I swiped twice. Everything else I swatched in one go.

Forever & Never and Valentine Swatched

Star Kissed Lipstick Set Swatched: Rosary, Lolita, Underage Red, Beranice, Forever & Never, and Valentine

 I have to agree that there is a shade for every occasion! Have you tried any of the Kat Von D lipsticks? What's your favorite?

Collective Holiday Sephora & Ulta Hauls

I took advantage of some holiday sales but didn't go too crazy. I also have upcoming MUA and e.l.f. hauls to post but first my latest Sephora and Ulta hauls. I fell in love with the L'Occitane hand cream from November's Sample Society Box so I wanted to try more. L'Occitane has a holiday set featuring 1 oz tubes of five of their hand creams.  They are Lavande, Pivoine Flora, Classic Shea Butter, Fleur Cherie, and Cherry Blossom. Unfortunately it was sold out a BeautyBar.com. So I picked it up from Sephora (where it is also now sold out). These retail indiviually for $10. I picked up the set for $40 and I believe I got 8% cash back from Ebates.

L'Occitane Hand Cream Confections Set

I can't decide if I'm going to keep them all or send a couple to my mom and sister with the beauty goodie bags I'm putting together for them.

Sephora Freebies

Sephora Freebies

I got a pile of free stuff with my order.First up are my picks for the usual three free samples. Benefit So Radiant which features samples of the Triple Performing Face Emulsion, Total Moisture Facial Cream, and It's Potent Eye Cream. I've try the eye cream in the past and liked it. I wasn't amazed by it but I did like it. Clinique High Impact Mascara was my second choice because I'm always up to try a new mascara. Third choice was Lady Gaga's Fame perfume. I have to admit I was curious. The scent reminds of Liz Taylor Poison from back in the day. Sephora was also offering mystery bags of samples. Mine included two cards of Sephora foundation in Light and Medium, a foil pack of Sephora Instant Moisturizer, Clarins High Definition Body Lift, DDF Amplifying Elixir, and a mini bottle of Versace perfume. I had a sample of the DDF before but it traded it. I may keep this one and actually try it out. I'm pretty sure I'm sending the Versace to my mom though. I'll definitely try the rest.

Ulta was still doing a buy one get one 50% on Real Techniques brushes so I took advantage of that. I picked up the Expert Face Brush and the Stippling brush. I also decided to try a new moisturizer and eye cream. I'm not really loyal to any particular moisturizer and I still haven't found my HG eye cream yet. I like the Eucerin so far but haven't been impressed with the Neutrogena eye cream.

Ulta Holiday 2012 Haul

My Ulta order also contained several items for my Mom but I won't post them on the off chance that she reads this. There was a mix of makeup and skincare products for her. I also scored cash back from Ebates for my Ulta purchase.

Overall, I managed to rein myself in a bit. I'm really trying not to go crazy with my spending lately. I managed to stay mostly on budget as far as gift buying is concerned and only bought a few things for myself. YAY.

What were some of your holiday hauls?

May Favorites

This month I indulged and bought myself some more high end items for my birthday but other than that I haven't been buying many products this month. I've actually been using a lot of things from my subscription services and   from free samples with purchase.

NARS Orgasm, AmorePacific Tinted Moisturizer, Bond 9, StriVectin, e.l.f Angled Blush Brus

• NARS Blush in Orgasm  I have to admit this is very similar to the Milani Luminoso blush which was my favorite blush in February. I like the formula of the NARS a little better for some reason I can't really describe. It just has the feeling of a higher quality product.
• AmorePacific Tinted Treatment Moisturizer I got these samples with my birthday haul. Generously sized I got multiple uses out of the first little pod I tried. Fell in love with it! The lightest color works well for me. I tried out Fair today and it's just a tad too dark. Unfortunately the full size of this product is $70!  So I don't see myself buying it anytime soon. I will have to admire you from afar AmorePacific. I still have the Light-Medium and Medium samples if anyone is interested.
• Bond No.9 Nuits de Noho This came in my May Sample Society Box. It smells slightly exotic and indulgent. I absolutely love it. I don't wear it everyday because I'm trying to make this sample last. I wore it recently for one of my belly dance performances just to give myself that extra boost. 
• StriVectin SD Intensive Concentrate for Stretch Marks & Wrinkles also from May Sample Society and the QVC Test tube. I was using this for a few weeks prior to my performance. It definitely lessened the appearance of my belly stretch marks and the scars from my recent surgery. I'm a believer.
• e.l.f. Angled Blush Brush I originally bought this brush with contouring in mind but I like it for general blush application. Besides I still haven't quite figured out that whole contouring thing. The fibers are really soft and seem to pick up just the right amount of product. I just looked and didn't see these on e.l.f. Hopefully they aren't discontinued. This brush is cruelty free. 

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog. I did get sucked into Diablo3 but I also really got sucked back into belly dance. I had an amazing weekend last week at a festival. I may blog about it.  Would you guys be interested in a performance video?

Happy Birthday to Me Haul!

So I tend to buy myself pretty indulgent birthday and Christmas presents. No one knows what I want better than me right? So this year for my birthday I gave in and bought myself my first high end cosmetic purchase. I went for the Guerlain Meteorites Powder in Teint Rose (#10). I also picked up a cute little set of brushes that is going to work out great for throwing in my purse.

I can't wait to try out this powder. I'll post a full review in the future. The packaging is beautiful!

 Sephora also sent me a large batch of goodies for free. The Beauty Insider free birthday gift is a small duo of Sugar Lip Treatment and a Tinted Lip Treatment. I've heard really good things about the Sugar products and I love tinted lip balms!

Sephora Freebies

 In addition to the normal three free samples with purchase, Sephora was offering six perfume samples in different themes which I got a booklet about in my last Sephora order. The choices were addictive, casual, playful, and chic. I chose addictive because I really liked the two fragrances featured in the booklet. They were Balenciaga and Angel by Thierry Mugler. Sadly, I didn't get samples of either. The perfume samples came in nice black pouch which I wasn't expecting. This would be good to throw a few makeup items in or maybe to throw some jewelry in for travel.

List of freebies:

• Sugar Lip Treatments
• Shiseido BioPerformance Serum
• Dr. Dennis Gross Daily Face Peel (this is a substitution. Pretty sure I selected the Ren mask because I love it)
• Amore Pacific Tinited Moisturizer (this came with four shades to sample)
• Hanae Mori perfume sample
• Prada Infusion D'Iris
• Betsey Johnson Too Too
• Michael Kors perfume sample
• Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb
• Calvin Klein Euphoria (not pictured)