Sephora Freebies - Kat Von D

I really wanted the Kat Von D Sephora tote because it looked cool. Well, it isn't that great of quality, but it looks cool! Haha! Spend $25 and get the tote. LoL!

And I finally redeemed my points for the Kat Von D palette for 500 points. Yay! The last 500 point items weren't that great and thought this was the best trade-in they have had in awhile.

The compact has a cute design and a mirror on the lid. I am partial to the 2 middle pearl shadows - groupie & confessional. The 2 glitter shadows - believer and motorhead would need a base for the shadows to stick to. They have a bit of a grainier texture due to the glitter.


Swatches: confessional, believer, groupie & believer. I love how groupie has a bit of a blue inference. Can't wait to do an EOTD with this palette!

Hello Kitty Order Freebie

I ordered my iPhone cover today and along with the order came a free 2010 Sanrio Datemate. I got really excited. My gawd, how old am I? Hahaha!

Freebie: Givenchy Eyelet Edition Couture Makeup Palette

My fellow blogger Look Rich Bitch had posted blog about a Elle Givenchy Giveaway! All you had to do was send in a receipt with a Givenchy cosmetics purchase to the Elle address and you would be sent this palette! I turned my receipt in LATE. LRB posted on 121609, I turned my receipt in way after that and didn't receive my package until sometime around January? Who knows when this actually came in because this was sent to the ex's address and I didn't pick up my mail/packages until late January. The box was slightly mangled since it was sent only in a manila envelope, but who cares?! It was free! Sure the dang zipper doesn't close well, but who cares?! It was FREE!


Included in the palette are:

-Eye Fly Mascara
-Pop Gloss in Crystal
-Prisme Again ! Eyeshadow in Purple Couture
-Prisme Again ! Visage Compact Powder in Elegant Beige 03

Not a bad freebie! I'm hoping for some other specials like this again! :)

Mario Badescu Skin Care Trial - I give up!

Yesterday I did the AM routine but in the evening, I gave up because my skin has just been feeling so tight and itchy! I don't want to aggravate it even more and have decided to conclude the testing. I have decided to use the cleanser, scrub and mask every now and then since those are items that are washed off rather than applied and left on and I don't believe that my skin has reacted to those products. I hope some of you have had great results with Mario Badescu products!

Belated Birthday Haul from Sephora

I forgot to mention some last minute birthday goodies that I picked up at Sephora. I wanted to get my birthday bubbles first and foremost! I haven't tried these yet because #1 I don't have time to take a bubble bath & #2 I need to find a worthy enough tub to sit in. Some of you know why. LoL! I needed another NARS Turkish Delight because the one I had began to get a funky smell. As if it doesn't have a weird enough scent as it is - its not bad, but I loooove the way my MAC lippies smell! I also picked up NARS Orgasm lipgloss because, well, just because. I know my girl Casey loves this color and I like it on but just never felt compelled to buy it. Since I had 100 points in my beauty bank, I redeemed them for a sample of Make Up Forever's Aqua Eyes eyeliner. My girl Joanie who is a MUA there told me to get that out of the assortment of samples they had.

Swatches of the lipglosses and the liner. Turkish Delight can be a strange color on some people, myself included. It can be the perfect pale lip to compliment a smokey eye, but it can sometimes just look like cream sitting on your lips. Acck! I also pair this up with MAC Spice lip liner if I don't want to use it on its own. Orgasm on the other hand is a beauty on its own! The past few times going out, I have kept this in my purse/bum bag and reapply it all night long! Not sure if I will repurchase more of this after I'm done, but it is a nice addition to my ever growing collection!

The liner sample is a generous size in a basic black. I don't have much luck when it comes to tightlining and my liner ends up either smudged or just disappears because on constant blinking. I wouldn't say this is budge proof on me, but it does hold up pretty well. I don't think I will be purchasing a full size of this liner because I am happy with the wear of my MAC Technakohl liner.

Mario Badescu Skin Care Trial - Day 2

Routine Day 2
Morning-
Cleansed with Enzyme Cleansing Gel
Applied Special Cucumber Lotion
Dabbed Hyaluronic Eye Cream around eyes
Applied Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Intensive SPF 20

Evening-
Cleansed with Enzyme Cleansing Gel
Used Cucumber Tonic Mask
Applied Special Cucumber Lotion
Dabbed Hyaluronic Eye Cream around eyes
Applied Seaweed Night Cream

The skin around my eyes, mouth and my neck are still irritated from what I believe was caused by the Collagen Moisturizer. I did the swatch test last night and noticed some redness where I applied the moisturizer, but nothing else today. A patch test is not 100% effective since skin on different areas of your body can have different sensitivity to products. Instead of the Mario Badescu moisturizer, I used the new Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Intensive with SPF 20, which I have been using for about 2 weeks now. I will do a review on that later, but so far, so good. I rarely have any problems with Neutrogena products! I'm glad I didn't have any other reactions so far because I have an interview tomorrow!

Mario Badescu Skin Care Trial - Day 1

I am constantly on the quest for great skin care that is #1 anti-aging/prevents wrinkles and #2 is gentle on my sensitive skin. I tend to react to products due to my eczema, especially new ones, but on some occasions I will break out into a rash to products I have already been using! Its frustrating and not to mention expensive because I will usually toss out whatever my face can't handle if I can't find someone that could utilize it. I have read on a few other beauty blogs that Mario Badescu will send generous samples of skin care products catered to your skin type after completing a questionnaire. I'm all about free and this was a great way to try Mario Badescu products! Head over the http://www.mariobadescu.com/ and fill out the questionnaire today! You will receive your products in about a month. I actually received my samples some time ago, but only got around to trying them today. I wanted to give these products a full week's trial to decide if I want/needed anything.

My skin type is combination/oily in the t-zone / sensitive. I was sent the following: Enzyme Cleansing Gel, Special Cucumber Lotion, Hyaluronic Eye Cream, Cucumber Tonic Mask, Collagen Moisturizer (SPF 15), Seaweed Night Cream, Drying Cream and Strawberry Face Scrub. They also include a Product Guide and a personalized product application guide.

Routine Day 1

Morning-

Cleansed with Enzyme Cleansing Gel

Applied Special Cucumber Lotion

Dabbed Hyaluronic Eye Cream around eyes

Applied Collagen Moisturizer to face and neck

Evening-

Cleansed with Enzyme Cleansing Gel

Exfoliated with Strawberry Face Scrub

Used Cucumber Tonic Mask

Applied Special Cucumber Lotion

Dabbed Hyaluronic Eye Cream around eyes

Applied Seaweed Night Cream

My skin felt squeaky clean after cleansing and toning. The moisturizer seemed a bit heavy on my skin, but maybe that was because I applied too much. I will have to apply it more sparingly tomorrow. I did notice throughout the day that my skin did get a bit bumpy and itchy. I will have to do a swatch test overnight tonight with all the products to see which one is making my skin react. :\ I have noticed that I do react more to all natural skin care. My skin fares better with chemicals I guess. Bah! I really like the Strawberry Face Scrub so far! But I don't know if I'm willing to fork over $15 for 4 oz of scrub! The Cucumber Tonic Mask left my skin feeling refreshed and the Seaweed Night Cream feels very moisturizing and softening. So far so good, but I'm kind of disappointed that my skin is already reacting to something!

**09-16-08 12:24 AM - I am convinced that I am allergic to the moisturizer. :( I didn't wash the front or back of my neck before doing the evening routine and have now broken out in a rash. I should have done a swatch test before hand! Arrgghh!

Sephora Purifying Brush Shampoo & Freebie bag and How I clean my brushes using Loew Cornell Brush Cleaning Jar

I picked up some of Sephora's Purifying Brush Shampoo and I love how this shampoo makes my brushes feel! I can really tell the difference that this shampoo conditions the bristles and it really deep cleans versus baby shampoo which I normally use. $14 is a good deal for this big bottle! I use about 6 squirts for my larger face brushes and 2-4 for my eye brushes if I wash each brush separately by hand. I will show you how I use the Loew Cornell Brush Cleaning Jar in conjunction with the Sephora Purifying Brush Shampoo below. I received the free makeup bag because I was a Beauty Insider and received the coupon to redeem at the new Sephora at Westfield Southcenter Mall back in July. That bag is pretty big! I use it to hold my brushes when I have to do my make up on the go. I know a few other beauty bloggers have received this bag, but they also got a gift card with $10! I should have gotten to the opening earlier!

How I clean my brushes -
I saw that Vanessa on http://www.nessasarymakeup.com/ had used this to clean her brushes and I had to get one for myself! For about $5 at Michael’s you can pick up this jar to help clean your brushes! The sponge on the bottom of the jar has hairs that can help scrub your brushes clean! I normally just use my hand to suds up the brush, but this will help save time as well as the cleansing shampoo!

Brushes? Check! Shampoo? Check! Brush cleaning jar? Check, check!


I put about 10-15 pumps of Sephora’s Purifying Brush Shampoo into the jar and mixed with warm water.

You don't need to fill the jar up entirely with water. Just enough to suit the brushes you're cleaning.

Take your brush and swish it around in the solution and along the sponge to remove product from your brushes.

Rinse it clean and then lay it flat or hang upside down to dry overnight. The water can get pretty grimey so for my large brushes that I use for face products, I followed up with a 2nd cleansing by hand to ensure they were clean.

Accckk! Look at the dirty water!

Afterwards, rinse the sponge in the bottom of the jar until clean and rinse the jar well. Allow to air dry before replacing the lid back on.

If the sponge gets worn or grundgy after several uses, you can pick up a replacement pack for $3. Be sure you are cleaning your brushes frequently. They say you should at least once a week and I'm guilty of not cleaning them enough, so in between washings I use Sephora's Daily Brush Cleaner. I got the smaller bottle for $6 at the Sephora in SFO on my way to Cabo. It reminds me of Brush Off cleaner which we used to use at VS Beauty in between clients to clean and disinfect brushes. You can also use make up remover wipes to clean your brushes between too! Remember, cleaning brushes will help prolong their life and also help prevent the spread of bacteria. Dirty brushes and sponges can also cause breakouts. Yuck! Keep 'em clean!