Thursday, April 7, 2011

First Post = HAUL

I thought it would be fitting to have my first post consist of a haul. Often times, after a hard day of teaching (aka too many kids not listening to you!), I always relax by buying things, of course! I went to Target, Ulta, and CVS. I also made a purchase at another store, but it wasn't beauty related, so I'll just leave it for last.

Let's get rolling....

@ Target

1. Sonia Kashuk Blending Sponge ($9.99) - I really wanted the original "Beauty Blender" but I didn't feel like ordering it --I'm simply too impatient!--and I've found that this is a GREAT alternative. If only I can bring myself to wash it more. Either way, it puts my foundation on flawlessly. How I never tried the "stippling" effect before is beyond me; I'll never look back!


2. e.l.f. All-Over Stick in Golden Peach - I have recently bought one too many luminizers/highlighters (helloooo, new high beam & girl meets pearl) but I thought this one would be good for summer...and after all, even if it makes me look like a cheap hooker, I can toss it and just accept my loss of a whole dollar. That's the one reason I love e.l.f. They have a lot of products that are worth trying, and you're never losing more than three bucks if it looks terrible. I discovered a great eyeliner pen and a gel eyeliner (brush included!) and both are great. In fact, go buy those NOW and while you're there, pick up the all-over stick!


3. L'Oreal One Sweep Eyeshadow in Playful for All Eyes - I saw this in a magazine and thought, "This looks stupid, next ad, please!" but alas, when I saw it in the store, my tune changed to, "Whatever, let's do this." I brought it home and my final song finally rang with what I had originally thought, "This is really stupid." I, perhaps, just have terrible hand-eye cooridnation, but the brush that sweeps across the colors is shaped to fit your eye, but you have to use both sides of the brush to make it work, and really, it ends up looking muddy. The first eye looked "Eh, not terrible" but when it came time for the left eye, I was left with a golden brown lid. This is great, but not what I signed up for when I had the "One Sweep" in mind....more like "minesweeper" because this eyeshadow is just as hard as that ridiculously prententious computer game!

4. L'Oreal Eyeshadow Quad in Autumn Leaves- I always like the fool-proof "put this color here and this here and...." so when I saw this one after already having the One Sweep in my hand, I figured why not just go for it. I am extremely pleased with it so far; it has similar colors to the Too Faced Neutral Eye Palette (which I still plan on buying, damn you, makeup addiction!) but this is a great substitute for now.


5&6. Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Kitty, Kitty and Laced Up - Now, long gone are my days of floral stickers and rhinestone hearts on my nails (I'm a middle school teacher, not a middle school student!) but these salon effects are so very close to the very popular Mynx collection you can get in professional nail salons, so I didn't mind indulging my teeny-bopper past. Why not cut the cost of a manicure/pedicure, avoid the awkward conversations of people talking about you in another language (believe me, you know you've felt odd about this!), and give myself a Mynx-esque manicure/pedicure at home for TEN dollars. Sure, it's more expensive than any normal nail polish bottle, but then again, wearing animal print on your nails is never normal, darling. Buff before, lotion your hands up afterwards and you just gave yourself a (nearly) fool-proof manicure without having to calculate a tip on your blackberry with wet fingernails (ok, maybe I'M the only one who does that....math is never going to be my strong suit!) LINK!


Then I strolled on over to CVS where I tend to always buy things I never need.

1. Conair 1' 1/4" Curling Iron - I am a gal who goes for the easy things in life (just not easy men....I at least have class!) That being said, curling irons were never my thing. The clamping, the twirling, the holding, the waiting, shall I continue on? When I discovered the "curl-your-hair-with-a-tool-that-makes-your-hair-straight" I thought, "Hell yes, this is easier than easy!" And it WAS (or is...whatever). However, my new layers (Thank you, Tyler....he dresses like Gaga on the weekends!) don't bode well with the easy curling method. I then swallowed my lazy pride and invested in the curling iron. I have taken it out of the box but have yet to use it. I'll keep you posted on how my lazy-ass does with it; if it makes my hair look fab, the pain and longer mantience is worth it.

2. AcneFree One-Hour Pimple Patches - For those times where you randomly look in the mirror and go, "What the hell just happened on the side of my face?" these tend to fix that problem, and it does it quickly! Put it on for an hour, take it off, add a bit more of the medicine to it and off you go to bed. There are 4 in a pack for $15, but they are great to keep for those just-in-case moments. Note: Not recommended for faces prone to more than the occasional one-pimple breakout, as I do not think it would be smart to apply these bad boys all over your face!

3. CVS Brand Mint Masque - I'm a sucker for anything that exfoliates, buffs, or sweeps away impurties. I am currently obssessed (which is quite the understatement!) with Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant, but this masque is great to put on your face during a bubble bath while John Mayer coos his way into your heart. It soothes, feels cooling, and wipes away easily. Your skin instantly feels softer and more refreshed, and for only three bucks, you can't beat it.

Last stop...my home away from home....(or just a great store): ULTA!

1. Loofah on a stick - No fancy name, nothing glorious about it....it is what it is....a loofah on the end of a stick. And, let me tell you, my love....it is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. For a great exfoliation or just a deep-clean shower, go and buy a loofah-on-a-stick. Sure, a normal loofah does the job, but why not feel extra pretentious in the comfort of your own, hot shower and scrub your back and every last inch of your body with a loofah....attached to a stick. It's great, end of story. Next chapter, please.


2&3. Essie Nail Polish in Turquoise & Caicos and Lapis of Luxury - Not typically an Essie fan, but these colors are "gawh-gus, dahling, just gawh-gus," or at least the lady at the counter said so.  She was right, sans the New York accent. These colors were gorgeous! I love the Tiffany blue-ness to the Turquoise color and even though Lapis is, actually, a dark purple, the essie polish is a pretty light purple-blue. I already had Turquoise on my nails (basically faster than my new shopping bags dropped on my bedroom floor!) and I had so many compliments on it. While pointing out work with my students, a lot of my girls were exclaiming, "Miss Smith, your nails are soooo pretty, omg." (Yes, adding the omg just puts the cherry on top of my job that is educating our youth). I underestimated Essie...I definitely plan on buying more of their colors for the upcoming summer for more "omg" enducing moments.

4.Revlon Makeup Mirror - I just recently turned my desk into a make-shift vanity. I had the option of just tossing the desk and buying an actual vanity, but after speculation, I decided it'd be best to just buy a makeup mirror with a light because, even with a vanity, I'd still need the makeup mirror for lighting purposes. I love the look of it, too, so it was a great final decision to make. My old desk didn't have to be left for dead, either, so there go my karma points building up again ;)

5. Mini Hand Lotion - Damn you, small "travel-size" section that is placed so conveniently at the checkout. This type of marketing was made for me; I'm such a sucker and a terrible impulsive buyer. But, my so-completely-normal-or-not-really-at-all brain said, "You need hand lotion by your bed and you will use it every night...buy it, buy it, buy it." The damn palm-sized bottle was more expensive than my loofah-on-a-stick, so I wasn't entirely happy that I didn't check the price before diving in, but as I type this, my hands look pretty freaking soft.



Last, but certainly not least, I went into TJ Maxx because I was already on a roll. I left with a pair of shoes that are PERFECT for spring/summer. Girly and adrogenous...and they're pink. I don't even like pink. Clearly it was time to stop the haul there because I had obviously made the most impulsive purchase of all time. You know what, though, they're ridiculously cute. (Note: My pair came with pale pink laces, too, which make them a bit more girly.)

7 comments:

  1. adoree your blog so far! keep the post coming!!

    what is the name of the L'Oreal quad??!

    http://fashionaffair08.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. thanks for the comment! the eyeshadow quad is in autumn leaves; it's under the section for blue eyes, i believe, but i think the colors will flatter anyone!

    i'll be sure to follow your blog, as well!

    ReplyDelete
  3. oooh i want to check out the AcneFree One-Hour Pimple Patches. i randomly get pimples sometimes, which drives me nuts (i have a nasty one on my chin at the moment). i'm trying to see if i can get them in Australia:) Those sally hansen nails are super cute, i want the laced up ones
    xk
    http://alazygirlsguidetobeauty.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. those shoes are just too cute!


    http://missneevaloves.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love those shoes and the two Essie nailpolish colours. I wish that I could get Essie nailpolish where I live.

    I love your blog and I would love it if you could check out my blog and follow back pubicly: jaciwalker.blogspot.com

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. i really like the bamboo heels from Forever 21 !! they look so nice !
    xx

    ReplyDelete

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