february 2018: sephora play!

hi guys! it's march. not that you didn't already know that.... anyway. here's what i got in my february sephora play! box! (theme: feel the love) ~Lindsay ^.~

always red, rebel chic

rebel chic

(here's a circa 2016 photo for ya!) always red

1. sephora collection cream lip stain in always red -- yay for a repeat product. as mentioned just above, this actually came in the december 2016 sephora play! box. the idea for this box was that you'd get two lip colors to share one with a friend. well if most people have gotten one or more samples of this lipstick 🙋, they've been and done passing this along to a friend. that's beside the point. this lipstick stains and stays there, my arm swatch took quite a while to wear away! i haven't worn them regularly enough to remember how well these last throughout the day (i have a few colors now), but i do remember liking them. and this red's really pretty.
   repurchase? other colors
2. sephora collection rouge matte lipstick in rebel chic -- i really did not like how this applied. it was so dry feeling from the tube, and after a few minutes of wearing (i had to take it off..). it does have some staining power, but i'm not about this formula to find out how long it'd last.
   repurchase? no
3. lancome monsieur big mascara -- i just talked about this in a recent empties! yay for another sample!
   repurchase? yes
4. belif moisturizing eye bomb -- this smells exactly the same as the aqua bomb. feels like it too. whether or not it's working, i'm not sure, but i think so? either way i'm probably not going to repurchase, but i appreciate the opportunity to try it out.
   repurchase? nah
5. first aid beauty ginger & turmeric vitamin c jelly mask -- the one thing in this box that i haven't tried yet. i hear turmeric is often used in DIY face masks, so i'm definitely interested in trying this!
   repurchase? undecided
6. viktor & rolf flowerbomb -- i cannot count on two hands how many times i've received a sample of this. everyone raves about this perfume, but i don't like florals.
   repurchase? no
7. 'coupon' for an extra 50 points on the next in-store purchase

july 2016: sephora play!

hi guys! this month sephora came out with two versions of this box, and i got the oily skin one. (theme: effortless summer) ~Lin-chan ^.~

1. beautyblender blotterazzi (mini?, $20 for compact with two [$10?]) -- so i intentionally did not buy this when it first came out because, it's kind of gimmicy and i'm not a huge blotter. this card came with one blotting sponge and a sample of their liquid cleanser (which is only ok). not huge on the presentation of this 'sample' considering the point of their compact is to keep it semi sanitary..and this is just an open piece of card stock.....anyway, i might give an update at a later time.
   repurchase? probably not
2. too faced chocolate soleil bronzer in medium/deep (.08oz--mini, ret. $30 for .35oz [$6.86]) -- yay! this is like the 5 bajillionth one of these i've gotten. i'm still using my very first sample of this. so this is going to be passed along.
   repurchase? at this rate, won't have to
3. smashbox photo finish oil free pore minimizing primer (.25oz--mini, ret. $39 for 1oz [$9.75]) -- i'm interested in trying this out. i usually enjoy using their clear one, but this one is nice too. this has no scent, and is more or less similar to benefit's porefessional, but smooths out a lot thinner and more evenly.
   repurchase? maybe
4. ouai wave spray (1.7oz--mini, ret. $26 for 5oz [$8.84]) -- i'm not sure how i feel about this product, mostly because of the scent. but i'll try it out and i'll report back some other time.
   repurchase? probably not
5. first aid beauty skin rescue deep cleanser with red clay (1oz--mini, ret. $24 for 4.7oz [$5.11]) -- this is actually my second (or more?) sample of this and i haven't even used the first yet. so i'll try to make an effort to use the other one and make a decision on what to do with this one later.
   repurchase? undecided
6. nest citrine (sample, ret. $68 for 1.7oz) -- at first i kind of liked this scent, but as it dried down, it was a little too floral for me. not only that, this is super strong. so this will get passed along
   repurchase? no
7. 'coupon' for an extra 50 points on the next in-store purchase

approximate product value: ~$40

end of may to mid-june hauls

hi all! we are getting this post up early..or is it late? lol. so i ordered a few things to the in-laws' house while we were gone, plus i've got a few things i picked up before the trip until now. i wanted to get this post up because i've got a swatch of a new loreal color riche quad in absolute taupe, a new maybelline leather color tattoo in chocolate suede, and a maybelline baby lips crystal in mirrored mauve. later! ~Lin-chan ^.~

candles by victoria ($1.50 shot sale): create a scent 16oz country jar (lovin lemon + garden mint), scent shots in bergamont & herb and sweet angel dust (freebie), soap shots in vanilla sandalwood & rosemary mint

• i was hoping the lovin lemon and garden mint mixed together would somehow be bbw lemon mint leaf, but it's totally off. i'll still burn it anyway, but i don't recommend this combo.

swatched without primer

• loraccosmetics.com: little black palette (on clearance)
• sephora.com (multiple orders): clinique great skin great deal set, samples: alterna bamboo kendi oil dry oil mist, benefit fake up in light (fully dispensed), first aid beauty skin rescue deep cleanser
• the great skin great deal set is $26, which is the cost of a 4.2oz of the ddm gel anyway, so why not get a mini of my toner and a meh face wash for free?

(swatched dry)

charlotte amalie, st. thomas, us virgin islands
duty-free store: loreal color riche quad in eau de rose
del sol store: blue dolphin keychain

orlando, fl

h&m tops

container store: lip spatula

shimmering sands trio, absolute taupe quad, hocus pocus (1 swipe!) [all swatched dry]; chocolate suede, mirrored mauve

walgreens/bbb: nyx angel veil primer, covergirl shimmering sands shadow trio & #midnightglow glosstini (not pictured, see notd post here), loreal color riche quad in absolute taupe, total intensity by prestige shadow in hocus pocus, maybelline color tattoo in chocolate suede & baby lips crystal in mirrored mauve, the shine brush by wet brush -- supposedly good for dry shampoo..we'll have to see!

• holy cow that hocus pocus swatch is amazing. for reals that is one swipe, dry. no primer. nada! that's exciting!
• mirrored mauve has a slight shimmer to it, but it's almost negligible and gets lost in the shine from the glossiness of the balm
• angel veil is ok. makeup seems to last all day. but i'm not a huge fan of the texture and for the price, i'd rather get the black radiance primer. $16 (1oz) vs. $6 (.84oz).