Sephora Deals Under $10

As I was walking through Sephora yesterday, I had no intention of buying anything (I was just passing through to get to the parked car). But as you all know, when it comes to us beauty junkies, it's hard to resist a sale and great deals. Upon walking in the store, I saw a "$10 deals and under" table and I thought to myself...these are great deals. There were many things that caught my eye, and I could have bought everything on the table...ultimately spending over $100, but I did not. I did, however, get my hands on 4 of these awesome deals.

The first thing I picked up was the Tarte Go Go Goji Double Dose Lipgloss. According to the Sephora website: This treatment gloss contains skin invigorating ingredients such as acai extract, an antioxidant-rich super fruit that promotes cell regeneration and has known anti-inflammatory and skin softening properties, and goji berry extract, a nutrient dense berry referred to as a "superfruit." It's also formulated with pomegranate extract, which has a high concentration of antioxidants and vitamin C, acerola extract, which helps to brighten skin, and maracuja extract, which has been known to reduce redness, irritation, and inflammation of the skin. I really like this lipgloss, and the packaging is very eye attracting with the pigment in the middle tube and gloss on the outer tube. VERY CUTE!


The next item I picked up was the Nars Custard; Ginger Duo Concealer. This is a steal at $10 as the original price is $30. According to the Sephora website this camouflages blemishes and dark spots and evens out the skin's tonal variations. Enriched with Vitamin E, this lightweight, non-drying formula won't settle into fine lines or creases. I tried both shades out on my hand and they seemed to match my skin tone. I'm hoping it helps out with under eye circles as mine tend to get horrible at times.

Another deal I grabbed was the Stila A Couple of Crushes Cheek and Lip Stains. According to the Sephora Website this must-have duo includes two stunning shades of the best-selling Lip and Cheek Stain formula. Infused with naturally staining superfruit extracts, this multitasking formula reacts to your pH levels to create a perfectly customized shade. It builds and blends with ease, and creates a fresh, youthful flush. I must say that the 2 colors, Mango Crush (sheer, shimmering coral) and Pomegranate Crush (deep berry), are gorgeous! I love them. After playing with them on my hand as a cheek stain, I knew I had to have these. They are both full sized products as well, which makes this something I couldn't pass up.

My last $10 deal I grabbed is my absolute favorite. It is the Benefit To Go Beauty Bestsellers ($30 Value). For only $10, who could pass this up. Granted, these are not full sized products, but it is perfect to try out Benefit's best sellers. This perfectly portable set of mini Benefit faves has everything you need for a gorgeous, glowing complexion anytime. This set contains Posietint: A poppy-pink tinted lip & cheek stain, Some Kind-A Gorgeous: The foundation faker, That Gal: A brightening face primer, and High Beam: A luminescent complexion enhancer. If you would like to try out some of Benefit's best sellers, this is the way to go. I bought this set mostly for the That Gal and Some Kinda-A Gorgeous. I really wanted to try these out before buying the full sizes as Benefit can get quite pricey.

You can not only take advantage of these $10 and under deals in store but online as well. There are also many more deals $10 and under to choose from. The link to these great products is here: http://sephora.com/browse/section.jhtml?categoryId=C21850&view=all

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Huge Lush Sale

So as many of you know if you've seen my Day After Hauls on youtube, there is a huge lush sale going on.  I've been getting many questions as to when the sale will be over. Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to that question.  I've been hearing many different things.  My sales associate in the store told me they would continue until they ran out of items.  I also heard it was going to last until January 16.  The best thing I can tell you guys is if you want to take advantage of the sale, do so quickly.

The sale consists of buy 1 get 1 on all prewrapped holiday gifts and regular gifts made before December 1st.  Also my store was doing the buy 1 get two on all the holiday items and all soaps, not just holiday soaps.  It was quite fun shopping at lush yesterday; however many of the things I wanted were sold out.  In hind sight, I am kind of upset that when I took advantage of the buy 1 get 2 soaps, I stuck with the same soaps.  I should have mixed them up. I was thinking..."I have that one already, and I'm out of these" so I got 3 bars of Sandstone and 3 bars of Bohemian.  Both of these soaps smell of heavy lemon and citrus.  Sandstone has a layer of sand on the top which is great for cleansing and exfoliating. 

I did do well with the bath bombs and Christmas prewrapped gift part of the sale.  I think I have enough lush to last a while.  I will not be shopping at Lush until mid January when my husband (who is a DJ) will be playing at their annual birthday party.  I am really excited about this party as they are going to have retro only products at my store to celebrate the anniversary of their Grand Opening.  I hope all of you had a great holiday!  Please stay safe for New Years celebrations. 

Bare Minerals Foundation

I hope everyone is finding themselves in the spirit of the season and enjoying their holidays.  My break starts today and I am exstatic that I do not have to go to work for two weeks.  I find myself wanting to go shopping, but sadly the money has been used up for Christmas presents already. I have nothing more to buy for Christmas and cannot justify spending money on anything else. 

Just recently for my birthday, I got the Bare Minerals Matte Foundation and Concealer. My foundation color is light while my concealer color is bisque. I've really wanted to give this a try for a long time. Acutally I bought a friend of mine Bare Minerals Foudation for Christmas as it was what she requested.  She absolutely raves about how much she likes it, so I thought I would give it a go. 

After purchasing it, and trying it numerous times, I feel that it's just "OK" in my opinion. I realize many people like this foundation so I'll tell you the pros and cons in my opinion.  One thing that I can say is that I was amazed at how this product is a powder but covers like a liquid foundation. My only turn off is that the coverage didn't last throughout the day for me.  I tried applying different primers to combat this problem.  I've used MAC's Prep and Prime, NARS Face Primer, and Under Your Spell Face Primer from Spell Cosmetics. None of these helped the Bare Minerals Foundation stay on all day.  I do however the idea that I only have to apply a powder instead of liquid and powder.  If I would be a person that would reapply makeup throughout the day, this would be a product I would love; however, I am not a person that has the time for that with the job I have.

Bare Minerals has a variety of shades of their foundation to match just about any skin tone.  In my opinion that's a good thing.  So my questions for you are:
Do you use Bare Minerals?
What do think are the pros and cons of it?

Which primer do you use with it, if you use one?

What are your thoughts?

Benefit Cosmetics Favorites

Do you ever realize that you reach for the same thing everyday in terms of makeup.  I find myself applying makeup in the morning, with little time to spare, looking at the array of items at my disposal and saying, "Hmm, what to do?"  Many days I end up reaching for the same things, and to be honest, I have found that those tend to be my products by Benefit Cosmetics. 

I was introduced to Benefit Cosmetics when I first starting watching other beauty gurus on You Tube.  The first item I ever bought from Benefit was Coralista blush, which I still reach for on a regular basis; however, since then, I have added to my benefit collection.  I thought I would share of few of these items with you and give you an overall "Tknokitten" review on them.

The thing I find myself reaching for the most is the "Smokin Eyes" palette.  This palette seems to be my go to when I am in a rush. It seems to have everything I need. It contains 3 eyeshadows, an eyeliner, a brush (which to be honest I really don't use), a Brow Zings eyebrow wax, Eye Bright, and a tweezer.  For me this is a perfect palette for those days when choices are not in the running for me.  I really like the colors of these shadows as they can be used heavily for a really smoked out look, or lightly for a daytime affect. As a teacher, I can't step into class to teach my 4th graders with bright purple eyeshadow.  I need to tone it down somewhat, and these shadows are perfect for that.  The eyeliner is OK.  It's your typical black eyeliner for me, and isn't very soft or creamy as some eyeliners can be.  It applies easily, but tends to rub off during the day. I usually keep my regular MAC fluid lines handy as those tend to hold up for me throughout the day.  The brow zings are my favorite part of this little palette! The color is suitable for all hair colors. My hair is highlighted blonde and this color does not look bad at all. It actually looks quite natural.  The eyebright (the pink rectangle on the palette) usually comes in a pencil form, but was put in this palette for easy use and travel when you don't want to lug around your whole makeup drawer.  This can be used in the corners of your eyes to brighten up the most tired eyes. I always tend to have that problem. Sleeping is definitely an issue for me.  You can also use it under your eyes if you have really dark circles, or on the brow bone as a highlight.  Let's just say I grab this often, especially if I am in a rush...and it is worth it.

Another product that I have grown to love is the eye primer.  Sadly I have heard that the F. Y... Eye is being discontinued. I was lucky enough to get one of the last ones at my benefit counter as Sephora was completely out of it and did not plan to re-stock.  This primer is great. I hate pumping up the benefits of it (no pun intended) as it is discontinued, but I need to tell you that this primer is unlike any I have used before. I have tried Too Faced Shadow Insurance (which does not work well for me), Urban Decay Primer Potion which had been my go to primer for the longest time, Magnetize by Spell Cosmetics, and Coastal Scents Eye Poxy primer. For pigments, I would say Magnetize by Spell is the way to go; but, if you are going to be using pressed eyeshadows I love my F. Y... Eye.  It dries to a nice powdery finish and your shadows are very easy to blend on top of. Most other primers, at least in my experience tend to grab onto eyeshadow, enhance the colors (which is not always a bad thing), and stick them to your lid making it very difficult to blend.  Benefit's F. Y... Eye allows you to really blend your shadows and keeps my shadow on all day.

I have found another primer, though that is a close runner to Benefit's F. Y...Eye that seems to basically do the same thing.  That is Ulta's Professional Eye Primer. If you have seen my last haul on You Tube, I talk about both of them. The Ulta Professional Eye Primer is a lot cheaper as well. It's only $12 as compared to Benefit's $28, but as I tested it in Ulta, and played around with it on my hand with shadows, I found it to do the same thing.  I would rather Benefit's but as it is being discontinued, I will try this one out every now and again.  If not, I can always go back to my Urban Decay Primer Potion (which I love as well)

I could go on and on about Benefit's products. The only downfall I have found is that their eyeshadow colors are quite limited. The few that I have tried I absolutely love.  I find myself wishing they were more like MAC with unlimited shades and finishes, but sadly they are not.  MAC does a great job of allowing their customer base loads of choices when it comes to eyeshadows and blushes.  I do like the three blushes I have from Benefit: Coralista, Throb, and Dandelion (which is more of a luminizer than a blush). 

So my questions for you are:

Do you use any benefit products?

Which ones are your faves?

Which products would you recommend to others?

What are your thoughts?

Lip Stuffies

Ok so we all know that it's the winter season. One thing that lets us know is our lips. Even though I don't live in the coldest section of the country, it does get cold and windy, and the air gets dryer; hence, my lips get very dry and at times chapped. I have come across some great products to treat this and some other lip favorites I wanted to share with you. Some of these items I have bought from Sephora, some from Ulta, and some from Suds-n-Sass.

So first let me start off with Suds-n-Sass. This is a great small business online bath and beauty site that I have come to love!!! The owner, Beth, sells a variety of makeup, bath, and fragrance items. Suds-n-Sass sells one of my favorite things...Jelly Balms, which are her lip balms. They are full of wonderful moisturizing ingredients for your lips and are also tinted for a hint of color. My favorite two are Bitten and Lucky Penny. Definately check those out!

Another product that has become a love of mine over the last 3 weeks is the Korres Lip Butters. These are amazing. If you haven't tried them yet, head over to Sephora or Ulta or wherever else Korres is sold in your area and check them out. They are $9 a jar and are totally worth it. They are made with shea butter which really helps dry, chapped lips. They come in a wide range of colors and scents. The Jasmine one is completely nude on your lips. They give your lips a nice shine and are worth the money in my opinion. Korres also has lip glosses. I have the Cherry set and really like it.








I have also found that the lip balms from Avon work really well. I've been getting these from my students as Christmas gifts over the past week and find I really like them! If you don't have an Avon consultant near you, you can always order them online. They are amazingly cheap. Some of them only cost 99 cents. Can you beat that?




So the last item I have come to love over the last week that is lip related is by Fusion Beauty. The Lip Fusion Plumper and XL Plumper are totally worth the money in my opinion. I bought the double ended one to try them both out. One is their normal lip plumper...on the other side is the XL plumper that really plumps your lips without that stinging feeling that you get from most lip plumpers. My next purchase from Fusion will definitely be some of their plumping glosses. They can tend to be expensive, but I really like mine and do not regret the purchase.



My questions for you are:
Is winter taking a toll on you lips?
What are your favortie lip stuffies?
How do you beat those dry chapped lips?

Laziness, Anxiety, and My Neglected Blog

So I'm sitting here at my computer tonight and came over to my blog. I am so sorry I have been neglecting this blog for so long. I am making a personal challenge to myself to keep it up. Life has been so hectic. I do plan to post more on my blog and keep up with it.

Let me start by telling you guys about a personal journey that I've been through over the past year. Last year in January, I was diagnosed with Panic and Anxiety Disorder. Actually writing it out is an embarrassment to me; however, I was told by one of my greatest friends Natasha Neagle that blogging about it may help. So here goes.

My anxiety started with a single panic attack that was so horribly bad, I felt like I was dying. I remember telling my husband, I think you should call the ambulance, I'm having a heart attack. Needless to say, he recognized the symptoms as panic and help to calm me down. That single panic attack that night left me feeling totally drained over the next few days. I felt as though I was walking around with a horrible hangover. It made me very afraid that something was physically wrong with me as I had never felt that before.

I visited my doctor who did numerous tests to find out if there was a physical problem. It turned out that I was healthy. I remember the words "I think it's all in your head. I will refer you to another doctor who can help treat panic disorder." I WAS IN SHOCK! What? Why me? I have nothing to panic over I kept thinking. In between the first attack and subsequent others, going through medical tests with no result of illness threw me over the edge. I became agoraphobic...not wanting to leave my house, had anticipatory panic (which is the supreme fear of having another attack) and felt like my insides constantly wanted to jump out of my body for weeks. It was not a great feeling.

I remember sitting on my bed one morning with my husband looking on helpless and realized that this was "REAL". What I was feeling needed to be treated. I took my original doctor's advice after 3 weeks and saw another doctor who has been treating me for anxiety and panic disorder. I have good spurts and bad spurts. I have just recently come out of a bad spurt about a month ago.

For me it is so debilitating. After 3 panic attacks in one day, I feel as if I cannot function for a week or two; however, I have to keep going. I have to go to work, I have to take care of my daughter and my husband, and life goes on.

I understand that this is totally unbeauty related (if there is such a word), but I thought keeping track of it here, and opening up this personal side of me may help my anxiety levels. Just know that letting you guys know this is a huge step for me. It is something I have been thinking about a lot because to let you know this, lets you into a personal piece of my life. It opens up a side of me that you may not have known existed. For me it is a crutch, and I really need to get out of that way of thinking. So there you have it.

I'm wondering if any of you have ever had a panic attack...
How did you feel?
What brought it on?
Do you still have them?
Do you have any advice for others who go through this?
How do you feel about knowing I have horrible anxiety...does it not phase you at all?
Let me know

Lush Halloween Goodies

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So I went to Lush the other day to get Halloween items. When I had gone a few weeks ago, they were not in yet. To my surprise, not only were the halloween items in, but so were the Christmas items (which will be posted probably later).

The first item I bought was the Cobweb Bath Bomb. This is one of my favorite bath bombs. It has the same scent of the Black Pearl Bath Bomb that was released last year for limited edition. I bought three of these. They are scented with lavender, chamomile , and blackcurrent for a relaxing yet fruity sweet scent. Just the perfect thing to relax you after a "Night of Frights".

The second item I bought was the "Ghost" Shower Gel. This shower gel is scented with gardenia, dove orchid oil, rose absolute, and ylang ylang to leave you smelling of lillies. It smells exactly like Lush's Lily Savon soap which I believe is either a retro item or now discontinued. I love this shower gel! It makes me feel like I have just run through a patch of flowers and has an extremely lily floral scent, so if you are not a floral person, this will not be the shower gel for you. I've had many people ask me what this smells like. It smells of staright lillies!

I also picked up two of the Jacko bath bombs which are out of this world. I love the scent of these. I heard someone describe them as smelling like your bag of halloween candy after you dumped it out when you were a child so your mom could check it. Boy are they right. It is a spicy, cinnamon scent. It contains cloves and spearamint, which in my opinion is a great combination. This bath bomb is a great treat for all during the fall. If they restock them at my local lush, I will definately buy a few more.

The last thing that was left on the Halloween table was the "(The Great) Pumkin Soap". This soap smells exactly like their Spice Curls Soap. It is wonderful. I was never a fan of Spice Curls as I did not like the consistency of it. Spice Curls was very abrasive, almost exfoliating, and I didn't like the feel of it much. Pumpkin soap on the other hand is the total opposite. This soap is extremely creamy in texture, so much that it almost melts in your hands when you are holding it. It is scented with cloves, cinnamon, and slight hints of mint and other spices. I love the scent, almost like Big Red gum.

Did you buy any lush Halloween goodies or plan to?
What are your plans for a fightening Halloween?
What do you plan to be for Halloween?

Coastal Scents Creative Me #1

The Creative Me #1 color palette consists of 12 vibrant basic shades in matte. These colors are extremely bright while others are extremely dark. It has a great variety of shades that would best be used if you want to go for more than an everyday look. I like this palette as it has a light and darker shade for each color. It is also magnetized. You can switch colors in and out of this palette as you like. I think it would be great if Coastal Scents came out with more creative me palettes that had more neutral colors or colors that were wearable for almost any working girl. We don't always have jobs where we can wear outrageous vibrant colors. On the other hand the colors in this palette are absolutely gorgeous and some can even be considered dupes for Mac or Makeup Forever. Coastal Scents has always been a great alternative to those who cannot afford high end makeup. Their prices are extremely reasonable and perfect for someone who is just starting out with makeup or freelancing.





The price of this palette is $21.95 which is a great deal in my opinion. Once you hit pan on these, you can return to http://www.coastalscents.com/ to purchase more hot pot shadows to fill up your pan. I have swatched the colors below. Keep in mind that these were swatched with not primer at all. The colors are very bright and vibrant even with primer under them.

Can You Tapas That? By OPI

First let me just say that I have been a fan of OPI Nail Laquer for many years. When I saw the new winter fall collection had come out, I ran to my local Ulta to see them in person. I purchased Can You Tapas That? This is a gorgeous shade of deep brown with brick red undertones. It applies extremely easy as most OPI polishes do. Application is always easy for me with OPI. The consistency is pretty thick, not runny as some polishes can be. I love this color. It is a perfect fall winter color that I think looks great on any skin tone. If you do not like dark colors, this one is not for you.



What new polishes have you purchased for the fall/winter?

Today is the start of a new thing!

So Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my Blog! I hope that you find this useful and interesting and visit often. I will be showing swatches and sharing my personal opinions on makeup, bath, and beauty related things. Hopefully I can keep up with this. I'm glad that you stopped by. If you have any requests of reviews or swatches you would like to see on my blog leave a comment below.

It seems like this will be a very fun experience for me. I hope you find it fun too, and I hope that you can feel this is a resource you can come to if you have questions. In time, I am hoping that I get as good at this as I am at other new things I have tried in life before.

I am thinking that my first post will be on my new nail polish. OPI's Can You Tapas This? So look for that in a few days. I will also post my thoughts and swatches of the new Style Black collection from Mac Cosmetics. Look for those posts coming in the next few days.

I would love it if you would subscribe to my blog and pop in from time to time. I love hearing from all of you!

With Love as Always,
Tknokitten (Toni)