I recently ordered some Pure Luxe Eye Shadow samples and a Soothing Calamine Facial Bar (rec'd by Vanessa of Nessasary Makeup) from the Pure Luxe website. My goodies arrived today so I took some pictures and swatches to share with you all!

Here is my Pure Luxe Haul:


Shadow swatches (the combination reminds me of NYX's Hippie Chic Trio!) applied wet, with flash:

Earrings from Amuse:


What do you think of the new site layout, by the way? Are there any categories you would like to see more of, or less of? Let me know!

Tonight at Target I hauled a few new goodies, including a cute hoodie (can't beat $22), Pure & Natural hand soap, and some facial buff puffs.

Most excitingly though, I snatched up NP Set's Pasarella Powder Foundation (in Light)... which is simply amazing. I wasn't even looking for a new powder foundation when I found this little baby. I swatched the tester and applied it sparingly to a blemished area that was troubling me. Under the fluorescent Target makeup test area, which is new by the way, I expected to see a very unattractive face in the mirror. I was shocked to see this foundation had smoothed over my blemish without highlighting any flakiness, and without looking caked on. It even appeared about 80% concealed. It was a miracle!!!

NP Set Pasarella Powder Foundation comes in a cute white compact that has a separate area to hold the powder puff it comes with. I prefer applying my powder foundation with a Kabuki brush, but for a quick touch up, this puff isn't so bad. There are some cute star designs on the powder itself. The powder is layerable, so you can get medium to maximum coverage. This is awesome on all skin types because it does not highlight dry areas, and it seems to moderately soak up oil. Apparently, there is shea butter and pomegranate in here as well to moisturize and deliver antioxidants. Score!

Anyway, considering I bought this foundation quite recently, I know it isn't quite fair to review it without giving it a little time to see how my skin likes it. That being said, I like it so far. The $30 price tag is definite steep for the discriminating drugstore shopper... but if you are a drugstore/cosmetics counter drifter like myself, it could certainly be worth the price.

My only concern is that the NP Set line could be a flop entirely and then Target will be getting rid of it. But, if that happened, I could just stock up at a discounted price! So, no biggie.

Give it a shot :)

Check out NP Set by Napoleon Perdis at Target.com or at your local Target store!

I have been so busy being sick and decorating and moving in to my room/office in my new house this past week that I haven't really had time to post about this haul! I can't wait to share before/after pictures with you all to show you what I've been up to. It's still a work in progress though, so for now... I will just be showing you my most recent haul.


I purchased these items from my local Designer Fragrances & Cosmetic Co. Outlet last week. I got:

The true superstar of this haul is definitely the Shu Uemura blush! I absolutely love the duo and the subtle glow it gives. This product truly lives up to its name. As I mentioned earlier, I've been under the weather this past week and the one day I decided to actually wear makeup, I wore this blush. Surprisingly, it gave me a wonderful healthy, tawny flush, even though I was truly pale and pasty. The base shade is a deep peachy bronze, and the white part is like a sheer, built-in highlighter. I just swirled my blush brush around in both to get an awesome, slightly shimmery glow. LOVE IT!

Unfortunately, I'm a total dunce and I didn't realize that the Shu Uemura Fiber Xtension mascara I purchased was grey. Doy. What am I going to do with a grey mascara?! Anyway, I have been using it as a primer since it is fiber enhanced, and it seems to be working pretty well. It has excellent staying power and does not flake, crumble, or smudge. Also, the grey-ness seems to be a plus because at least it isn't like you are trying to cover up a white primer.

I have yet to use the lashes, and I gave the Lancome lippy to my mom. As usual, the Designer Fragrances & Cosmetic Co. Outlet fails to disappoint, as my total for this entire haul was around $26.

Have you done any bargain makeup shopping lately? Have you been splurging or saving? Let me know!

I usually do not post about nail polishes, but I made a little Sinful Colors haul at Walgreens last week, so I decided to report about it. I really like Sinful Colors because they are super cheap, there are many gorgeous shades, and they seem to dry quickly and last a while.


Here are the colors, from left to right:

I don't usually paint my nails in general, but I always do my toes. Since I've had my LCNs off for a while, I decided to paint my nails for once! I used the shade "Flirting Nails" which is a shimmery ash taupe shade.


What do you think of my haul? Have you used Sinful Colors Nail Lacquer before? Any colors to suggest?

Good news! Upon strolling through my local Bath and Body Works store yesterday, I discovered that select makeup was 50% off. I bought three lip glosses and one lip balm from the Vincent Longo collection (regularly about $22 each) for half price!


The shades I bought were:

• "Love Berry" Baby Balm: a twist-up lipstick tube of a nice, light and sheer berry shade that looks glossy and healthy on
  
  
• "Traviata Pink" Diamond Lip Gloss: a sparkling, glossy, pigmented pink that feels smooth, not gritty or sticky
  
  
• "Via Veneto" Diamond Lip Gloss: a fiery red gloss with a similar texture to the previous shade
  
  
• "Baci XXX" Perfect Gloss: a great everyday gloss, looks milky light pink in the tube but shows up sheer and natural, great soft feel

Like my color choices? I tried to get items that were a little different than my normal nude/pink family of gloss shades. I have worn "Traviata Pink" all day and loved it so far, its truly a beautiful and wearable color.

All of the Vincent Longo items were half price, not just the glosses, but these were just what I was drawn to! They did have some impressive lip stains as well, and some nice eye shadows. If you normally use Vincent Longo foundations or powders, now is your chance to stock up!

Head over to your local Bath and Body Works immediately to snag some of these high quality cosmetics! They are phasing out the Vincent Longo and Awake lines so they won't be in B&BW much longer.

Hey there gals! Hope you are all off to a great start this week.

I recently stopped by my local outlet center and took a gander and what they had in the Lancôme-Designer Fragrance & Cosmetic Outlet. I was super excited to see a bunch of Shu Uemura goodies, so I picked up some eye shadows (for the RIDICULOUSLY low price of $4 each) and a Shu Uemura Depsea Treatment Lip Balm for around $13.

Yay! Here are some photos so you can share in my joy :)

This is my first experience with Shu Uemura makeup, although I do cherish their coveted eyelash curler. I am pleased to report that the eyeshadows are EXCELLENT quality. They have awesome staying power even without a primer. I am in love with the bright yellow color (boringly named ME YELLOW 300). The shadows are super blend-able and feel great to the touch, very soft and almost creamy, although they are pressed powder. They are made in Japan, which is pretty cool.

The lip balm seems to be good quality as well, and I'm glad that it has SPF 15 so I can wear it out in the sun. The only thing I dislike about the lip balm is that the tube is solid white so you can't see how much you have left, and it is slightly hard to squeeze out. It has no real fragrance, which can be good, and there is a slight sweetness to the flavor. Also, there are minimal ingredients according to the package, which I like, and NO petroleum.

Next time I am in the area, I will definitely be heading back in hopes that these eyeshadows are still priced so low! I will be STOCKING UP. I might even venture into the Shu Uemura lipsticks. If you have one of these cosmetic outlets near you, I'd highly suggest checking them out. You never know what amazing bargains you can find!!!

Any Shu fans out there? Got any recommendations of Shu Uemura products for me to try out? Let me know!

In the past few weeks, I've hauled some NYX products and I figured that since I had some time on my hands, I would post up swatches for you guys!

I swatched everything dry with no primer, with flash:

I am loving the Tinted Lip Spa and the blushes. I don't really like the scent/flavor of the Sheer Gloss, but that's just me. It's a little too faux-fruity for my taste. I have been using more mineral shadows lately so I've rarely used these, but they seem to be ok so far.

Use NYX? Love it? Any recommendations or favorites? Let me know!

Have a great weekend :)

I wasn't really feeling like spending too much money, just enough to cover the coupon! I bought C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Cream ($7.50) and an Acrylic Massager in "Royal" ($4.00). With the purchase, I received a free "Spring Time Pretty Tote" and I chose Enchanted Orchid Body Splash as my Signature product.

I really, as I stated in my last post, am not that fond of B&BW's Signature scents... but Enchanted Orchid was not bad. They just released the fragrance today... it's a very floral orchid scent, much different from my usual foodie choices. I like it though. The tote was very spring-y and floral as well, and I'm sure it will get some use.

I really, really, wish I didn't hesitate yesterday when I passed on the C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Cream! There was no tester for this product at the store I went to, so I decided against buying it "blindly". I went home and looked up the reviews, and it seemed to be raved about enough so I figured I'd go back and buy it. I LOVE THIS LIP CREAM! It's like a soft balm in a squeezy tube, and it smells/tastes just like lemon meringue pie filling. Mmm.

C.O. Bigelow, I never should've doubted you!

Have you tried any of these products yet?

Head over to your local Bath and Body Works to test out their new scent "Enchanted Orchid" and their True Blue Spa products I mentioned last time! The tote is free with any purchase, as long as supplies last :)

Happy shopping!