Beauty Products Haul

 Hi, everyone! How was your weekend?

Here's everything I bought, was gifted, or was sent for review recently!

Redken Blondage Color Depositing Purple Shampoo

I received a gift card to Ulta for my birthday, so I ordered this since I was in need of a new purple shampoo. I've never tried this one before so hopefully it's good!

The Creme Shop x Hello Kitty Ready To Glow! Printed Essence Sheet Mask

I ordered this from Ulta as well. I love Hello Kitty and this was too cute to pass up.

Lancome Advanced Genifique Night Cream sample

This was the free birthday gift from Ulta this year. I feel like June always gets small gifts compared to other months? I've seen people who have birthdays in other months post their free gifts and sometimes they're full size products! This is tiny! I suspected this year's gift was going to be small again, but this is smaller than I was expecting. And then they charged me for it! $9.50 for this dinky thing! It literally said "free birthday gift" but they charged me for it for some reason? I had to contact their customer support for a refund. What a letdown!

Verb Feeling Fine Hydrate & Shine Kit

I also received a gift card to Sephora for my birthday, and when I saw this kit I knew I had to add it to my basket. I really like this line of shampoo and conditioner. This set also includes their Ghost Oil which I've never used before.

Ouai Birthday Gift

Sephora always has a few different birthday gifts to choose from, and this year I chose the gift from Ouai. It contains their Detox Shampoo mini, Leave-In Travel Conditioner mini, St. Bart's Body Cleanser mini, and the Melrose Place eau de parfum mini. I've used the leave-in conditioner before and it's nice, but the scent isn't the greatest. It's not bad necessarily, but it's not great either.

Concealer Sample Set

This was offered as a free gift with any order over $35 (I believe) and I'm currently in the market for a new concealer so this was perfect timing! It includes 10 different concealer samples as well as a mini Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray and mini Laura Mercier setting powder.

ILNP Nail Polish in Evermore

I really love this brand of nail polish, and was given this as one of my birthday presents. Their holographic polishes are insane! This shade is stunning.

Revlon Dry & Shine Hair Dryer

My current hair dryer has been on the fritz lately, so I got this one to replace it. It works pretty well. I really want to get the Dyson hair dryer, but those are so expensive! I'll make do with this for now until I save up some extra money to buy the Dyson.

That's everything I got this time! Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a great week!

Spring Book Haul - 2023

 Hi, everyone! How has your holiday weekend been?

All of these books (except for the last one) are books that I received for my birthday at the beginning of the month.

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

This is the second book of the King of Scars duology. I already have the first book and was gifted this for my birthday, so I'm ready to start reading this mini series!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

I've heard great things about this series, so I can't wait to start reading this!

Crumbs & Doilies by Cupcake Jemma

The recipes in this book are incredible. I'm excited to try to recreate some of them.

The Skinny Taste Air Fryer Cookbook by Gina Homolka

We just got a new (and bigger) air fryer recently, and I'm ready to try out some new air fryer recipes.

The Witch's Feast A Kitchen Grimoire by Melissa Jayne Madara

The recipes in this cookbook are stunning. I don't believe in witchcraft or anything, but the recipes in this book are beautiful and rustic. I think these will be amazing for the upcoming autumn and winter seasons.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

 

This ended up going on sale for less than $6 on Amazon so obviously I snatched it up! It was brand new and still wrapped in plastic.

 

 

That's all the books I got this season! What are you currently reading? I'd love to know!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a good week!

Spring Empties & Review - 2023

 Hello, everybody! How was your weekend?

Here are all of the products I was able to use up this past season.

Lancome Clarifique Refining Brightening Dual Essence

I wouldn't repurchase this. The product itself fine, but for almost $100 a bottle I expected more. I received this for free from BzzAgent, I believe, so thankfully I'm not out that much money. The packaging is a big sore spot for me. It dispenses too much product, and it leaks. As you can see in the picture, the sliver coating on the lid has also been flaking off for quite some time now. This was a major let down.

Clarins Extra-Firming Jour

 

I didn't mind this. It made my skin feel hydrated and soft. The scent of this reminded me of something I used a long time ago, but I haven't been able to put my finger on what exactly it is! I'm almost considering purchasing a full size of this just to try to remember. lol!

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Firming Collagen Cream

As you're well aware, I love FAB products, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed this. I didn't notice any firming though, but I did have a small sample size of it, so it's possible I just haven't used it long enough to see any changes.

 

Ahava Deadsea Water Mineral Hand Cream

I really enjoy this hand cream. This is my third or fourth tube of it, so you know it's good! I need to purchase another one soon, but I want to use up some of my Bath & Body Works lotions before I purchase anything else.

 

 

Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream

 

This is nice. It's thick and takes a while to sink into the skin, but it made my face glowy and hydrated. I have another slightly bigger sample of this that I'm still using, and my skin still looks healthy and smooth. That said, I still don't think I'd purchase this over my trusty First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream.

 

Lancome Advanced Genifique Yeux

 

This was good. It has a thin consistency and sinks into the skin rather quickly. It kept my eye area looking hydrated and youthful. If it wasn't so dang expensive I would purchase this again.

One/Size Secure the Blur Makeup Magnet Primer

I really liked this primer! It blurred my pores very well and it didn't disrupt my foundation or concealer.

Clinique High Impact Mascara

I liked this too, but not more than other mascaras I've tried. When it's time for me to buy another mascara, I'm not sure I'll remember this one.

Moroccan Oil Hydrating Styling Cream

I didn't really like this product. The scent isn't my favorite, and I don't feel like this helped my hair stay frizz free.

Bath & Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom Ultimate Hydration Body Cream

I like this scent a lot, and I like the B&BW lotions. I've cut myself off from purchasing anymore lotions for a while though.

First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Face Cleanser

I'm sure you already know that I love this brand and specifically this cleanser. I already have another backup of this ready to use up.

Perricone MD Maximum Strength Clearing Treatment

Have you ever used a product that worked wonders on your skin only to stop working after a couple of weeks? That is how this product was for me. I was astonished by how well this worked after two weeks of use. My acne mostly cleared up! Then it just stopped working. My acne was back. Such a bummer!

That's everything I was able to use up this time! Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a great week!

Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale Haul - 2023

 Hello, everyone! How was your holiday weekend?

The B&BW sale was going on recently, and you know I had to pick up a few things! I don't have a lot of fresh, spring and summer scents of candles, lotions, anything really, so I made a conscious effort to pick out spring/summer appropriate scents. Without further ado, here's what I picked out!

Pink Lilac & Vanilla 3 Wick Candle

This is a nice floral, but warm scent. It's not sickly sweet or overly floral. I'm excited to start burning this in my house.

Gold Glitter Pocketbac Holder

All of the pocketbac holders that I have are either Halloween or winter/Christmas designs (I've been using the wiener dog wearing a Santa hat on skis holder up until this point lol), so I decided to order a simple one that I can use anytime of the year.

Hand Creams in Pink Pineapple Sunrise and Bahamas

These smell incredible. I was able to get one of them for free as my birthday gift, so that's even better!

Ultimate Hydration Body Cream in Dark Kiss

I've never seen this scent before, and I'm glad I ordered it. It smells wonderful and I love the deep colors on the packaging. However, I realized I've got quite the stock pile of body creams from B&BW so I'm officially cutting myself off from buying any more (aside from the upcoming Halloween line...) until I use up some of what I have.

Mahogany Coconut Wallflower Refill

I already put this up in our small bathroom and it smells amazing!

Turtle & Snail Wallflower Plug In

I'm using this plug in in our small bathroom as well. The wallflowers that I have are (again) all Fall/Halloween or Christmas themed designs, so I needed something I could put out for the rest of the year. This turtle is adorable.

Mahogany Teakwood Body Spray

This was one of my husband's Father's Day gifts. He doesn't wear cologne or body sprays very often (mostly just on our date nights), but the one he currently has is almost gone. I really like this scent, it smells warm and musky.

That's all I ordered this time. I'm anticipating the release of their Fall and Halloween collections next month! It's never too early to be thinking about Halloween for me. Did you pick up anything from the sale? Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a fantastic week!

 

New Beauty Haul

 Hi, everybody! How was your weekend?

I have a new beauty haul to share with you! Like I mentioned in my last post, its been hectic around here lately, so I haven't purchased too much this time around. Here's what I did get though!

OPI Repair Mode

I received this (and the Nail Envy) complimentary from BzzAgent for review. I feel like these two products actually did help strengthen my nails! My nails have been brittle and prone to breaking lately. However, after using these products for two weeks, my nails feel and look stronger and healthier! They don't break as easily now either. I think these are definitely worth a try.

OPI Nail Envy

Dyson Air Wrap Complete Long

This was a gift from my husband and son for Mother's Day. I have been wanting this for a long time, but I hate how much they cost. I never planned on buying one because of how expensive it is. I was shocked when he showed this to me! I've used it a few times since I got it and it is definitely a little bit of a learning curve, but once I figured it out it made curling my hair go by fast. The curls look really nice, but they don't last nearly as long as my curling wand from Nume. That's to be expected though since the Nume wand heats up to something crazy, like 400 degrees. The curls I get with this still look really pretty though and I'm looking forward to trying out all of the other attachments that come with it.

 

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

 

I love this sponge. It's been my favorite for many years. My old one was starting to tear so I picked up a new one.

 

 

That's everything that I bought/received this time! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have an amazing week!

Minion Themed 4th Birthday Party

 Hello, everyone! How was your weekend?

I know its been a while since my last post. We've been crazy busy around here with work, getting everything ready for our son's birthday, spring cleaning/decluttering, doctor/worker's comp appointments for my husband (it's looking like he's going to need another surgery), a bunch of other birthdays this month, and we recently found out that my husband's step-grandmother will be passing soon. It has been a very hectic and emotional month.

I know its been almost a month already, but I wanted to share everything I did/made for my son's 4th birthday party. He's very much into the minions from Despicable Me right now, so that's what we went with for this year's party theme. I didn't do a lot because it was going to be a very small gathering this year, but here's what I did do!

Minion cake

He insisted on having a cake that was half yellow minion and half purple minion. Trying to get an even, straight line down the middle was such a pain! It isn't perfect, but he loved it so that's all that matters. He told me he wants me to make this again...lol noooo, thank you, child.

Minion balloons

I purchased these off of Amazon. It also came with 3 other small circle balloons and 2 star shaped balloons.

Silly signage

I came across this party rules sign on Pinterest and thought it was perfect, so I printed one out for our party.

Food table

I didn't do too much here within the theme aside from obviously the cake, the yellow and blue plates and napkins etc., the "cookie robots", and the pineapple and blueberry "minion" platter.

That's everything I did this year. Like I said, it was a small party, so I didn't want to do too much this time. We also spent most of the time out in the backyard since it was nice out. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a great week!

 

Beauty Haul - March 2023

 Hello, everyone! How was your week? Work was crazy busy this past week, so I'm looking forward to the weekend even though it's going to be cold and rainy.

I haven't been buying makeup lately, so I don't even know what's new. I need to go around and check out all the new makeup. I've been in a makeup rut lately and I want to get out of it. Anyway, here is everything I've bought/received this month.

Divi Hydrate + Restore Shampoo & Conditioner

I received these from either BzzAgent or Influenster (can't remember which one!) back in late January/early February, but apparently I never put them in a blog post? I even checked back to December just in case I forgot when I received them, but I can't find them in anywhere other than my declutter post. Anyway, seeing as I've already de-cluttered them, I obviously didn't like these. I used them once and my hair immediately felt dry and straw-like. These are a hard no!

Kitsch The Satin Heatless Curling Set

 

This is one of those "Tik Tok made me buy it" products. It actually works pretty well! I'm glad I was influenced into trying this. lol

Kitsch Ceramic Thermal Rollers

I've been wanting some rollers for a while now, so I ordered these at the same time I ordered the heatless curling set. These work alright. I might just need a little more practice with them to get the curls to look good.

Aimike Shampoo Brush

I also ordered this at the same time as the previous two products. I got sucked into those hair oiling videos on Tik Tok so I purchased this to stimulate my scalp. It feels nice. I haven't been using it for very long though so I can't say if it helps or not yet.

Clean & Clear Blackhead Eraser Scrub

 

I have a lot of blackheads that I'm trying to get rid of, so I wanted to try out this face scrub again. I haven't used this in many years, so I can't remember if this helped or not.

Cle De Peau Beaute Correcting Cream Veil

 

I received this complimentary from Influenster for review. This is fine. It feels nice on my face and I like that it has SPF in it and that it evens out my skin tone a bit, but it really accentuated the few dry spots I had on my cheeks. I wouldn't purchase this if you have dry patches on your face, especially for $85!

Lancome Advanced Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate

I received this complimentary from Influenster for review. This is a thin serum, so a little goes a long way. The glass packaging is nice and it has a unique dropper. This makes my skin feel really soft and smooth. The only downside is this is fairly expensive. This 1.69 oz bottle costs $132!

 

That's everything for now! Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!