Free~ Target Beauty Samples 8D

My Samples finally arrived in mail a week ago, so sorry that I'm posting a whee bit late. Even though you CAN'T take advantage of the free beauty bag anymore because they ran out pretty fast awhile ago anyway. ^^; Well, funny-ish thing happened when I got it, or should I say my mother did. I arrived home from school to see it busted open and sprawled out on the coffee table, probably my my mom to check if nothing "weird" was in there.

Anyways, here are the things I received:

Apparently according to other peoples posts, I'm pretty sure everyone has received the same items.

Sonia Kashuk Makeup Bag: To be completely honest the thing I was most Excited about was this bag; mainly because I've been wanting to get on for awhile, it looks cute plus its Free.

Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm: 2nd Favorite thing~ I'm actually pleasantly surprise on how natural it does looks on lips and moisturizing. By natural, I been there isn't really a glossy-ness to your lips after you apply it. Doesn't hurt that its Organic too. It also smells faintly of mint.

Relvon Colorburst Lip Gloss in "Hot Pink": I've yet to try this but looking forward to it.

Fekkai Shampoo and Conditioner: Happy to try a new shampoo and conditioner. Looks Promising?

Pantene Color Preserve Shine Shampoo: Meh. My least favorite sample. I know beggars can't be choosers, but after hearing how damaging Pantene is, I'm Not really thinking about ever testing it out, even though a sample probably wouldn't hurt much.

Nivea Express Hydration Lotion: Smells Pretty pleasant to me, its also a light but nicely moisturizing.

Target Beauty Coupon Book: <3 Definitely looking forward to take advantage of these.

Well let's all hope Target does one of these again. :)

Oh, and THANKS to NouveauCheap for Blogging about it and getting the word out. 8D

Haul: ELF, NYX, and a little more. :P

Okay, I've been getting a little too much stuff lately. Sure, they're all cheap products, but it adds up... And before any person says anything, this is a collective haul. The store I've visited were Target, Ross, The Dollar Tree and a little beauty supply shop near my dad's work. 

My Eyes Lips Face Portion of My Haul:

I went a little Elf crazy, My Reason: Because my Target FINALLY got an ELF display and I've been DIEING to get some things, since I can't buy online. I usually Only Buy Products if they're on sale, but I made an exception for ELF. Reason being since everything was either a $1 or $3. So yes ALL of these products were purchased at full price.

Studio Bronzer in "Golden": $3~ I was hoping for the warmer bronzer because I'm too dark for this and I knew that, but I still got it because I was hoping it could be a nice highlighter or Maybe still give me a "sun-kissed" sorta look still.

Essentials Eye Primer: $1~ I sorta got this confused with the Mineral Primer. ^^; I didn't notice there were 2 versions till I remembered that the shape was different then the Raved about one. I guess I was too Excited when I saw the Display. XD

Facial Whip in "Lilac Petal": $1~ I wanted a highlighter so I for a buck why not? The only 2 choices of facial whips on the display were this and "Spotlight" but, I thought spotlight would look too light so I chose this. In Reality, its not lilac at all in my opinion, more like a light beige.

Essentials Lipstick in "Fantasy": $1~ Its a nice brown color, but goes on sheerer then my hand swatch. Turned out to be a nice nude lippy on me. Definitely buying more of these.


Studio Cream Liner in "Black": $3~ I've recently have been obsessed with Cream/gel liners. I have to say, The mini brush it comes with is the Best free brush so far, its not scratchy and JUST as soft as the other studio brushes.

Studio Powder Brush: $3~ a.k.a. the Flat Top brush. Holy Crap... I'm in LOVE. I've been dieing to get a flat top because I want that "flawless airbrushed finish" everyone's talking about too. D: I was really debating to get the either the Sonia Kashuk $15 brush or the $13 highlighter brush OR the Face Secrets $13 one, after losing hopes on getting this since I can't buy online. You BETTER believe I immediately grabbed this when I saw it at my local Target.

Dollar Tree: 

Studio Lip Stain in "Lucky Lady" and "Mysterious": $3 - selling for $1~ I really wanted to try out a lip stain, and for a dollar at the Dollar Tree, again why not? After trying it out its definitely not a lip stain and more like a long wear lip stick.

Ross:

Beauty Book in the "Eye Brights Edition": $5 but $4.29 at Ross~ I was so happy to see this at my Ross after I saw a Video comparing this to one of the Urban Decay Book of Shadows. To be honest, I'm not impressed. The colors looked pretty, but its REALLY bad. I mean after the Wet N' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadows for the same price, this in Horrible quality...

The NYX Portion of the Haul:

From a Local Beauty Supply Store near my Dad's Workplace, in Tampa 40 Minutes away from me. This was the ONLY place I've ever seen that sells Nyx products. So since the first time I discovered it I was itching to go back and get me some more stuff. And so a couple months later, I finally got this chance.

Concealer in a Jar in "Glow": $4~ I really wanted to try a jarred concealer for awhile and hear this was quite good.

Round Lip Gloss in "Peach": $2~ My Favorite Lip Gloss Formula EVER. I've never tried the Mega shine ones though. These are completely somewhat hydrating, smooth and not sticky. I wanted the peach or apricot one because I'm really into the mindset of wanting to buy corals/peachy shades lately. I ultimately chose the Peach one since I wasn't sure I wanted to go so bold so fast.

Jumbo Eye Pencil in "Dark Brown", "Yogurt", and "Cottage Cheese": $3~ Now what is a Nyx hauls without these? after getting Milk, I Really wanted to get these. Dark Brown for a smokey look base. Yogurt for a shimmery nude base. Cottage cheese for a inner highlight.

Now for the Extra Things I've Purchased:

From Target:

Nivea, A Kiss of Recovery: $3ish - sale for $1.99~ I've loved Nivea Lip Balms for a long while now and I wanted to try this out HOPING it'd be my savior form these random serious chapped lips I've been getting. And so far its Pretty nice.

Nivea, A Kiss of Smoothness: $3ish - sale for $1.99~ My SECOND kiss of Smoothness. Keep in mind that THIS was the ONLY chap stick I Ever finished in my entire life. I Love this stuff.

Pixi, Eye Bright Kit in "No. 3 Tanned/Deep": $24 - Clearance for $6~ WHOPPING six dollars!!!! :D That's 18 bucks saved people. My first semi-high end product. But to be quite honest from first impressions, I'm not too impressed... Not worth the Original $24, maybe okay for 6 though.


 And with THAT I end my Haul. 
My Last Haul for awhile too. ^^;

Review: NYC Blushable Creme Sticks

These have been out for awhile now and I've also had these for a while. Though I really do regret not getting the limited edition ones while they were still out. ):

Here's my take on these Blushable Cream Sticks:

Left: South St. Seashell

Right: Big Apple Blush

Retailed Price: $2-4
Amount: 0.28 oz/ 8 g
Available Colors: Berry Newyorker, Urban Spice, Mauvin’ Uptown, South St. Seashell, Big Apple Blush, Plaza Pink, *Pink Flash, *Wild Berry
(*Limited Edition)

Yes, I'm aware the Limited Editions are gone, but I still want to include them.

~They blend easily and into a semi-powder finish.
~Very Easily Buildable.
~They last maybe 3 hours Or a little more by themselves. But Setting them with a translucent powder with make them last all day. You could also set/ layer a powder blush over to prolong that Powder Blush you used.
~A little does go a long way. Depending how light you want it or fair you are.
~Amount: You actually get a very decent Amount, compared to the Hard Candy Creme Sticks. I think they could also last me for Quite a bit of time.
~Packaging: Extremely Practical. Sweep, Blend, and ready to go. It's not all that flimsy either. Sure its plastic, but it's definitely not fragile.


Color One by One:  
South St. Seashell: Solid Slight peachy/coral Pink. Looks almost too natural for me. ):
Big Apple Blush: Silver shimmery Pink. The Brightest of the Permanent Collection. Universally Okay for all skin colors. My Favorite of the 2 I have, since it shows up well on me.

Overall:
4 out of 5  
Buy again? YES, and sometime hopefully soon. This is my Favorite NYC Product. <3

Haul: Target Clearance!

There's been a Target Clearance Sale going one for a couple weeks. There weren't an extreme amount of clearances like CVS, but I recently went and there were still quite a few items there. It seems like the only foundations on Clearance were the darkest ones; so if you have a deep complexion, go check your local Target. If your a Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner fan, packs of 2 are going on Clearance for (if I remember correctly) $6.23! Even some of the Pixi, Jemma Kid, Neapolitan Perdis brands, Sonia Kashuk, are on sale.

 My Mini Haul (purchased about 1-2 weeks ago):

 Total Cost: $4.83 w/o tax

Would-be Cost: $19.42 w/o tax

1) Maybelline - Expert Wear Single in "Emerald": $2.94, But on sale for $0.73! I had to get it! SOOO Cheap, so I thought meh what's so bad about getting it. I mean seriously, 73 CENTS. Its a very misleading name, its actually a sky blue. Like the packaging suggests, its shimmery but I definitely wouldn't say is that shimmery at all.

2) Sonia Kashuk - Retractable Foundation Brush: $11.99, But on sale for $2.98. You saw right, flipping $2.98!!! I had to get it. Its not big enough in my opinion to be a foundation brush, but as a Concealer brush. <3 then again retractables are usually smaller for a reason right? XD

3)Maybelline - Expert wear Blush in "Romantic Plum": $4.49 but on sale for 1.12. >___< Fail. Fail. FAIL. No one get it!!! No color payoff at all, pressed to hard, and if you get a bit of product off its Chalky. I was hesitant about getting it in the first place because it was so light and I'm probably and NC 35-40 for reference, but I thought, why not, just a dollar and I could try to work with it? WRONG. to be honest I doubt it'd even show up on the fairest of fair skin.

Haul: Sally's Beauty, Bath and Body Works, & Forever 21

I've been stalking Sally's Beauty Supply a smidge too much lately huh? ^^;

And after I went to sally's, I decided to go to the my local mall for the first time in AGES *Cough* Winter vacation *Cough*. So many things have changed at my local mall. Its turning really popular and high end-ish now, with the new renovation,Wifi Booths/tables and the new stores coming in. Apparently, JcPenney's getting a Sephora build in. Sear's is getting a cosmetic , but the brands are your everyday drugstore ones like Maybelline, and Loreal. Three Stores closed down so they're getting replaced with a MOVIE THEATER? O_O' This is absolutely mind-boggling for me, considering I've basically been going to this mall since I was 3 years old. I'm pretty happy with these changes. 

 On to the Haul:

Total cost: $7.52 w/o tax

Would-be cost: $35.52 w/o tax

How, might you ask? Its due to sales, Coupons and gift cards. My BBW gift card from my mother, and 5 off receipt discount from becoming a member. 

From Sally's beauty supply:

Femme Couture - Mineral Effects Makeup in "Honey Bisque": $6.99 - I'm Pretty Excited to try this, despite the very small container. Looks promising to me.

Face Secrets - Professional Facial Cleansing Brush: $1.99 or $1.79 with card - I was so happy I got this! I've been hearing about the Clarsonic and Olay cleansing brushes like crazy! I want one so bad, but there both WAY too expensive for me. So I was happy to see this cheap Non-automatic tiny version of them. Although after I've felt it, I think it might be too soft to do anything... But I can't judge a book by it's cover right?

Sally Girl - Shimmer Stripes in "BRB": $.99 or $.94 with card - Dupe Alert of Bobby Brown or Physician's Formula please? Probably not, But I wanted to give it a go anyway. It gives off a pretty peachy coppery color swirled together, but its really weird... When I swatched them they flaked off my finger? O_o

From Bath and Body Works:

Liplicious in "I Love Stillettos" and "Sangria": $8.00 - I swatched these in the store and these were the one ones I've found to Not be shimmery, menthol scented, or too sickly sweet. PLUS they were on a buy 2 get 1 free sale.

C.O. Bigelow - Rose Salve: $5.50 - Another Highly raved about product. Smells strongly just like roses, go figure. I was hoping that it'd be way better for moisturizing my lips then just slathering pure petroleum on them. Plus i was thinking about getting a cuticle oil/butter thing to help after I use my pure acetone polish remover. Like hitting two birds with one stone.

Pocket Bac in "Citus Crush": $1.50 - I really wanted a hand sanitizer from BBW ever since I was 6 y.o. when I saw this girl have them all the time. I've also always passed them every time I walked into that store and I've never bought one, till now. Smells like Limes and Grapefruits. To me honest, I wanted to get the "I Love Boys" since I'm a berry lover, but my brother was there and I didn't feel like being questioned. XD

From Forever 21:

I was there to buy 3 Tank tops, but at the counter I saw...

Mood Struck - Polish in "Purple to Light Pink": $2.80 - I've heard and seen these before and always have been intrigued by the concept and finally got the guts to buy it. I put it on right when I got home and tested it. Its a magenta purple color with a lot of silver shimmers and with heat it turns into a Rosy pink with silver shimmers.

Review: China Glaze's Crackle Nail Polish in "Black Mesh"

 Here's my 2 cents about one of the recently most Raved and wanted nail polishes on the market. Everyone and their grandmother have been raving about these. And Yes, I'm talking about the Shatter Nail Polishes.

I was so freaking ecstatic when I found this at my Sally's Beauty Supply on the 26th, since I never found OPI's Black Shatter. Then I died a little on the inside when I noticed the whole display was basically sold out, so I was all panicked and asked the sales clerk if They had more. Thankfully, there were still black meshes in the Back. (SO don't be afraid to ask if there more). Apparently I came right on time, since the sales person was saying how they just put them out the day before and sold 8 of them and mind you, I was there at 11 Am. XD

My Nails of the Week:

 OPI's Conquistadorable and ChinaGlaze's Black Mesh

Without Flash:

With Flash:

 
I really love the idea of these, very cool and entertaining. Probably the most fun I had painting my nails ever.
And to clear things up, China Glaze wasn't first to think of this, neither was OPI or Barry M. It was actually in fact Covergirl, who in the 90's came out with a variety of them, but discontinued them long ago too.


These Crackle Polishes $6.49, but a Sally's Card it's $4.99.
China Glaze has come out with 6 shades: Black Mesh, Heartbroken, Lightning, Concrete, Crushed Candy, and Fault Line.

The first time I tried it I sorta failed because I was too slow with it and used too thin of a coats. So I suggest getting a good amount on your brush and working fast. It also gives you a texture on your nails, meaning that it isn't smooth. It Dries Pretty Fast. It also dries matte or semi-matte. So use a top coat if you want it shiny(Obviously).

I honestly can't tell you how long they hold up considering I'm wearing a top coat and another nail polish under, but if you still wanna know, its been 7 days and there still going strong with minimal chipping. which is amazing considering I'm in a ceramics class so my nails go through a lot of abuse during the week days.


The ONLY Problem I found...
~ Is that it does sorta Goop up on the brush shaft a bit.

Overall:
5 Out of 5 Stars.
I completely recommend you to go for these. They're amazingly cool.

Review: Sally Girl Baked Eyeshadows

The first time I ever walked into Sally Beauty Supply I was completely in Awe of all the Makeup, Nail ,and Hair supplies provided; I was like a kid in a candy store, figuratively and literally because I was 14. Even though 15, my age now isn't much different. ^^; 

Anyways back to what I was saying... I sorta went unprepared for everything so I didn't wanna buy anything too Pricey and it turn out horribly wrong. Then I noticed the cute display of Sally Girl Stuff for a dollar, and I bought these baked little cuties because they should out the most to me. 

AND since I've had these for a pretty long time (some longer then others),I think I can give a pretty good  review.

 

Colors shown: Shadow Rose, Gunmetal Grey , Dark Purple, Dark Aqua, Gold, Bronze, Silver, Pearl White

Now here's a better view of all of them:

 Honestly, Look at these. They're Adorable! :3

Now for the Swatches:

(ALL swatches applied Dry)

Now to the actual Review:

*PROs*

~They are very true to color.
~Pretty bendable.

~No fallout

~Decent pigmentation, People complain about swatches being more pigmented then if you put in on your eyes with a brush but why not just use your fingers? I find that's the best way to apply it dry.
~They all are shimmery ,but NOT overly shimmery. OR actually, Metallic is a better term.

~CHEAP: 99 cents Or 94 cents with a sally's card. 

~Product Amount:  Don't let the small packaging/dome product deceive you, I've had these for awhile, but I haven't made even the slightest dent in ANY of them.

*CONs*

 ~Now for the packaging. Although it is very cute, many people have breaking problems. I've went to a sally's where they were all broken in the display but that was a pretty crappy Sally's. At another that was cleaner, they were completely fine. Mine though have survived a couple of dramatic falls and with should breaking.

Color One By One:

(They are all metallic, as you can tell from the flash picture)

Gunmetal Grey: Its just that, A gunmetal grey. The least metallic. I personally don't really think its that great, since it doesn't exact show up on the eyes extremely well and give that "wow" factor, so I've been neglecting it. (skipable)

Silver:  Its a bit of a darker silver. On the Opaque side.

Gold: Definitely a must have. Although it isn't the most opaque, its a beautiful gold; much like the color of 14 kt. gold, but shimmery. Sadly due to my crappy Camera, and my yellow tan undertone the Gold swatch is a bit washed out, so it is actually more pigmented then what is shown.

Pearl White: The worst. The Least pigmented, most fallout, and chalkiest of the bunch :T (SKIPABLE)

Bronze: My personal 2nd favorite. Absolute gorgeous dark bronze color.

Shadow Rose: It's a pink with a golden sheen. Odd thing is that Mine is a very soft and smooth texture in the pan, different from the others actually, but it probably is just mine. You think this would be the one named "Pink" in the collection but Nope, the pink one look more like a lilac color. 

Dark Aqua: I Agree with its name. Very Bright and "Wow" factorish.

Dark Purple: My Favorite. A Very Bright True Purple.

Overall:

4 Out Of 5 Stars

Buy Again? I would for sure. I mean for a dollar or technically less, they're a total steal, without breaking the bank.