CVS Physicians Formula Deal, How I Got $20 of Makeup for $5 Out of Pocket

I wanted to get this post up as soon I could so some of you guys might be able to take advantage of the deal. If I manage to get the full retail price of the primer back I scored over $20 worth of stuff for only about $5 out of pocket in store. I will say that I had $10 in credit which paid for half of the deal but even then it's still possible to get this for cheap.

First off, Google has this new app called Google Wallet which is exclusive to Sprint, specifically on their Nexus S 4G, a phone I recently got. Google Wallet makes it so your phone acts like a payment device, similar to Paypass which is a little device in your debit/credit card so you could just tap a console to pay. Since I set up my phone with Google Wallet, I got $10 in credit.

Now this week, CVS has this little deal on their site where if you pledge not to be a "Money Trasher" and have a CVS card, you can get $2 in printable Extrabucks. They also have a deal now where if you purchase $10 worth of Physicians Formula products, you get $7 in Extrabucks.

I used the $10 credit from Google Wallet to purchase the Physicians Formula Gel Cream Liners which retailed for $10.99 and paid $1.84 up front and received $7 Extrabucks. I then purchased the Mineral Wear Correcting Primer for $10.99, used the $2 Extrabucks coupon in addition to the $7 Extrabucks I just got and paid $2.69. The primer has the little "Try It Free" sticker on it for the rebate.

I'm not sure if I will get the full retail price of the primer back but either way, paying about $5 for over $20 of product is always nice yeah?

Take advantage of the CVS moneytrashers deal while you can, I believe it expires on the 2nd or 3rd.

Taupe Matters EOTD

This semester I've been so lazy lately about wearing makeup and so when there was an event at school with my major's pre-professional group, I decided to dust off my makeup and attempt to wear something sparkly.

Nothing too complicated while I'm getting back into the swing of things but hopefully you can see the multicolored glitter around the edge of the eyeshadow

Sorry, no open eyes pictures because they all turned out poorly. Still, I think you can enjoy Jeweled Taupe in all its glory.

Needless to say, I love love love Jeweled Taupe and cannot recommend it enough!

Eyes:
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
Darling Girl Glitter Glue
Darling Girl Jeweled Taupe on the lid
Aromaleigh Dark Matter in the outer crease
Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof mascara

No Matter,Dark Matter EOTD

*Quick announcement that won't be quick but I only now noticed that when you clicked on my pictures it doesn't allow you to zoom in to the picture which for me is a problem if you're trying to look at swatch pictures. I've cropped and reuploaded a bunch of my last swatches so they're a little more zoomed in and I hope that it makes it easier for you guys*

Anyway, I just wanted to do a post to show off how awesome Aromaleigh's Dark Matter is. It looked so much better in real life, a little less khaki.


Can you see the multicolored sparkles?


Eyes:
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
Darling Girl Glitter Glue
Aromaleigh Dark Matter
Physicans Formula Eye Booster liner in Ultra Black
Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof mascara

Aromaleigh Eyeshadow Swatches

Ugh I would get some Aromaleigh eyeshadows and like them AFTER the brand is essentially gone. Still, I hope you find my swatches useful and you still have the chance to buy some of the limited edition collections from here. The full size jars from the Wonderstruck, Astronomical, Mythos, and Spells collections are available for $4 a jar.

The swatches are a mishmash from several different collections. Fingerswiped over Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Matte Primer. These all have the most perfect texture, smooth, pigmented and utterly amazing. These pictures were taken under an Ottlite.

From left to right: Aqua Nightmare, Dark Matter, Ephemeris

These pictures were taken under an Ottlite.

Aqua Nightmare, from the Gothic Lolita collection: Ughhh so much prettier in real life, a little more green toned.

Dark Matter, from the Astronomical collection: This is Ravenclaw in a jar. It's a brown-bronze with multicolor glitter but the blue glitter really stands out and I immediately thought of Ravenclaw colors.

Ephemeris, from the Astronomical collection: A pale tan taupe. This would be perfect as a wash over my eyes.

From left to right:Fiddlesticks, Party Dress, and Regifted

Fiddlesticks, from the Wonderstruck collection: A fawn pinky bronze, super shimmery and metallic with blue glitter/sparks. I remember seeing this in the bag and being meh about the color. My opinion completely changed after wearing it, I love love it.

Party Dress, from the Holiday Blast collection: My god how can you not like this metallic molten gold ever. I've compared this and Sugarpill Goldilux at the end of the post.

Regifted from the Holiday Blast collection: It's kind of an orangey copper with a pinky copper glitter. Just as awesome as Party Dress.

Aromaleigh Party Dress is on the left, Sugarpill Goldilux is on the right. The difference is subtle but Party Dress is a yellow-gold whereas Goldilux is a true molten metallic gold.

I honestly hope Kristen decides to come back in some way but I don't foresee it happening. Anyway, pick up the Aromaleigh eyeshadows while they're still available!

What were your favorite Aromaleigh shadows?

theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 2 vs The Balm and the Beautiful/Cast Your Shadow Palette Comparison

I noticed that there were a couple of shades in the Shady Lady Vol. 2 palette that did similar to shades in The Balm and the Beautiful/Cast Your Shadow(Muppets) palette so I thought it might be handy to do a comparison post. Remember, the Balm and the Beautiful palette is the same as the Cast Your Shadow (Muppets) palette, just without the Muppets theme. Here's the link to swatches of The Balm and the Beautiful palette if you wanted to see the whole palette.

I had the Balm and the Beautiful/the Cast Your Shadow eyeshadow on the left against the Shady Lady Vol 2 eyeshadow on the right and I'll name them in that order. Only a couple of shades were nearly the same, the rest of it is different enough to warrant owning both! These were finger swiped over ELF Mineral Eye Primer

Swatches in daylight. I'll be talk about each pair from left to right.

The Bad Boy/Mahna-Mahna vs. Caught in the Act Courtney: Very similar looking but I felt that The Bad Boy/Mahna-Mahna was more red toned and also had a lot less glitter than Caught in the Act Courtney.

The Brain Surgeon/Kissy Kissy vs. Feisty Felicia: Not close at all.

The Guy Who Died But Didn't Really Die/Celebrational vs. Insane Jane: The picture makes it seem like they're similar but in reality they aren't. The Guy Who Died But Didn't Really Die/Celebrational is not as frosty and darker whereas Insane Jane is frostier and a little more silver-brown.

The Southern Belle/Sensational vs. Bossy Bobbi: Not similar at all, The Southern Belle/Sensational is lighter than Bossi Bobbi and isn't as dusky.

The Step Brother/Woman-Woman vs. Makeout Mary: The Step Brother/Woman-Woman is less olive toned than Makeout Mary and has less of a yellow sheen to it. Similar but not the same

The Coma Patient/Curtain Call vs. Just This Once Jamie: Not even close.

The Supermodel/Meep Meep vs. Mischievous Marissa: Not close. The Supermodel/Meep Meep is a super metallic copper whereas Mischievous Marissa is more of a muted shimmery orange.

The Stock Broker/Lab Coat vs. Tempting Tara: They're both shimmery whites but The Stock Broker/Lab Coat is so much more opaque. The texture is a bit softer too. Tempting Tara is a little sheerer and stays that way, I wasn't able to build up any more coverage.

The Basket Case/Hiii-Yaaa! vs. Devilish Danielle: Sort of similar but The Basket Case/Hiii-Yaaa! is more of a champagne pink whereas Devilish Danielle has a more peachy tone.

Anyway, I hope this was helpful to those of you who may have been trying to find the palettes. I had a hell of a time trying to do this post because I kept forgetting to swatch one eyeshadow so I had to redo it twice because I forgot my 2nd time around.

More Darling Girl Cosmetics Eyeshadow and Holo Gloss Swatches

Darling Girl was having a flash sale for 15% off and so I used that as an excuse to make an order. I mostly ordered to get a full size order of Jeweled Taupe and Curious and I got another Bloggers set.

Everything laid out. The four eyeshadow samples plus the gloss sample were in my Blogger set, the two jars on the right side were my full size jars, the jar at the bottom was my GWP and the two sample bags were free. Note the cute Darling Girl Halloween sticker. Also, the gloss sample normally comes in a clamshell but Susan just ran out of them so she put mine in a 3 gram jar.

I already swatched Curious and Jeweled Taupe but I thought I would reswatch it anyway. I think the pictures of it turned out better than my other swatches of them. Hopefully you can see the slight pink tinge in Curious.

Fingerswiped over Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Matte Primer and taken in daylight.

From left to right: Curious, Daydream, Gloom

Curious: A neutral taupe with a slight pink shift in some lights. I got a full size after ordering a petit jar so I think you get how much I like it.

Daydream: Unfortunately this is discontinued but it was a pretty grey with some pink tones.

Gloom: Also discontinued unfortunately. I have neutral feelings about this color, I think it's a little muddy but the texture was excellent.

Jeweled Taupe, Luxe, Peacemaker

Jeweled Taupe: If you had to get one eyeshadow from Darling Girl, make it this one. Because it's so glitter packed it is slightly gritty and you'll need to use a eyeshadow fixative to make the glitter stay. A bronzeish taupe with pink and purple glitter.

Luxe: Not a pure molten gold but a yellow-gold. It's metallic and has gold microglitter running through it!

Peacemaker: This was a GWP. This reminds me of a darker denim blue.

Polaris, Smoking Gun, Witch and Famous

Polaris: My camera seems to want to eat up the green sheen in the eyeshadow but the last picture shows it off well! It reminds me of a taupe-brown version of Club.

Smoking Gun: Love love this one. Silver brown taupe with red sparkles and I'm happy happy happy with this one.

Witch & Famous: From what I can tell it's a slightly purple toned brown. I was smart and lost my sample baggie of this after I swatched it so I can't really look at it in person to give a better description.

Peaches Holo Gloss

For reference, my bare lips.

Swatch in daylight


Swatch in direct sunlight to show off the holographic sparkles

Disclaimer: I got Smoking Gun for free but everything else was purchased/a free sample in my order. My opinions are honest and my own.

theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 2 Palette Swatches/Review

I know that theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 2 was sold a long time ago but since it's been popping up in TJ Maxx and Marshalls now I thought I might do swatches in case other people were interested in buying it. My next post will have a comparison between The Balm and the Beautiful palette (otherwise known as the Muppets palette but in a soap opera theme) and the Shady Lady Vol. 2.

Anyway, if you're lucky enough to get this palette please do. I was happy to find it at TJ Maxx for $16.99 when it retailed for $39.50 while having a value of $108. I got a 57% savings off the retail price and 84% off the value price ! I'm hoping to find the Balmbini palette to round out my collection. If you're still looking for some more of theBalm, you can definitely try asking one of the sales associates to see when they get weekly stock in and just come right when they do to ensure that you've got first dibs on everything. Here are links to the other theBalm things I've found at TJ Maxx/Marshalls.

This palette has five shadows that also double as a liner and four regular eyeshadows. You can use all nine wet to get more pigmentation but specifically the first five double as liners. You get .067 oz for each shadow which is more than some brands' full size.

The inside of the palette.

Swatches galore! I finger swiped these over Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Matte Eye Primer and I swatched row by row, left to right. The pictures were done under an Ottlite.

From left to right:Caught in the Act Courtney, Feisty Felicia, Insane Jane

Caught in the Act Courtney: A reddish brown with copper shimmer. This one doubles as a liner. I actually didn't like this much for an eyeshadow. I felt that the texture was rather dry and it needed to be built up to get good pigmentation.

Feisty Felicia. A dark purpleish black with pink shimmer. This one doubles as a liner. I had the same problem with Feisty Felicia as I did with Caught in the Act Courtney. The texture was dry and it needed to be built up.

Insane Jane: A frosty/metallic taupe brown. This doubles as a liner. Oh baby do I love me some taupe. You can do no wrong by having this eyeshadow and I hope they decide to release it as a permanent color.

From left to right: Bossy Bobbi, Makeout Mary, Just This Once Jane



Bobby Bobbi: A frosty denim blue. This doubles as a liner. This color is what I think of when I think of medium wash blue jeans. It's a dusty blue that I think would suit a lot of eye colors.

Makeout Mary: A frosty golden olive. This doubles as a liner. I loved this color. I think olive colors always suit brown and hazel eyes so it was fab to see it in this palette. In my opinion, olives are always a good neutral but better color for people. When I saw this I was reminded of MAC Golden Olive pigment but Golden Olive has a brighter metallic finish to it (I don't have pictures but I can include one if you want me to)

Just This Once Jamie: A shimmery mauve-y pink. I personally didn't like this color because I don't think it'll suit my skin tone well but it had good texture and a nice softness to it.

From left to right:Mischievous Marissa, Tempting Tara, Devilish Danielle




Mischievous Marissa: A light frosty/shimmery orange. I liked this color, not too bright of an orange but not too muted into a peach or anything like that.

Tempting Tara: A frosty white. A white that isn't too richly pigmented so it looks stark white on your skin. A color that would like nice in the inner corner (if you're into that sort of thing)

Devlilish Danielle: A frosty slightly peachy beige. I can see this as being a color you use on your lids to pare with a contrasting brighter lower lashline color. Definitely one to use if you want a wash of color so you can be lazy and still have makeup on.

The eyeshadows (excluding Caught in the Act Courtney and Feisty Felicia) have a soft texture but not too squishy soft (like Wet n Wild's eyeshadows can be). They're firm but soft enough to get great pigmentation out of them. Tempting Tara and Devilish Danielle are the best for sheer but not too sheer washes of color on your eyes.

Since five of the shades double as liners, I did swatches of them wet with an angled brush just to show how well or not so well they work as liners.

From left to right; Caught in the Act Courtney, Feisty Felicia, Insane Jane, Bossy Bobbi, Makeout Mary

Caught in the Act Courtney and Feisty Felicia has that semi-matte with sparkles texture that I think works much better wet than dry. Feisty Felicia especially would look great if you wanted a dark liner but not necessarily a matte black one.

Using Insane Jane and Makeout Mary wet just intensify the metallic frost finish and it works so well.

Bossy Bobbi was the only shade I was meh on when it came to being used wet. I think it didn't make it stand out as well as the other shades.

Anyway, have you tried out theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 2 palette?

Quick Poll on Commenting Systems

So I've been going back and forth about switching commenting systems from Disqus to IntenseDebate. There have been a bunch of issues with Disqus and I've heard of IntenseDebate being a better system to use overall.

Thus, I've installed a poll in the sidebar under "Pages" so I can get your opinion on whether I should just stick with Disqus or change to IntenseDebate.

Thank you for your input!

French Pharmacie Essentials Haul

When I went to France earlier this summer, I was so enamored with French pharmacies. The amount of skincare they have is amazing, and knowing how the French pay good money for good food I imagined the same stance with their cosmetics and skincare.

While I was there I didn't spend a lot of time in the pharmacies but I did get Embryolisse. I mean, it's touted as a makeup artist favorite and so I knew I had to have it. Needless to say, I love it and had to get a backup when my dad went to France 2 weeks ago. I also picked up Homeoplasmine, a vaseline balm similar to the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream but with extra plant essentials. I've always liked Aquaphor and Vaseline as a lip balm so I'm glad to find another kind.

I love the foil squeeze tubes. There's something so satisfying about using something with such a malleable container. As nice as it looks unused, it doesn't look as great all bent out of shape.

Still, I hope to see more brands adopting the foil tube. It's pretty satisfying to pierce the top with the cap.

And in case you were wondering, my Dad did bring home a pile of French foods :D

Sacred Velvet Vampires EOTD

Oy for California weather. We've been suffering through a heat wave this week and then today we had massive thunder, lightning, and rain. There were even reports of hail a couple of miles away. I know I know, California is relatively lucky when it comes to weather but I can't help but whine about the change. Anyway, I apologize about the lighting, my camera phone can't compare to my normal camera but I should be back to my normal picture quality in a couple of days.


I was also a little lazy about curling my eyelashes. I only wish I could do Velvet Vampire justice. It's so much better in person! This picture was taken in direct sunlight and it shows off the colors best.



Eyes:
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Fyrinnae Sacred on the lid

Fyrinnae Gilded Wings over Sacred

Fyrinnae Arcane Magic in Velvet Vampire in the crease

Inglot 493 as a highlight

Wet n Wild Juicy Lip Balm in Watermelon Review

I recently won a giveaway from Wet n Wild's twitter and got a bunch of assorted products from their line. I wanted to review this first because it looked the most intriguing and I know it's exclusive to CVS (if your CVS carries Wet n Wild)

I didn't intend to photograph the French side but it does look rather fancy. This has SPF 15 in it which is great for the summer months (and necessary for all year round!)

I've gotta say I don't like this. The scent isn't nice; it smells like grass with a slight overtone of watermelon and the taste isn't great. I can't detect the smell when it's on my lips but it's prominent enough when I'm applying it that it's unpleasant. It's got a thin texture to it and personally I prefer more emollient balms. This is sheer on me, but I've seen that you can get a slight green tint from this if you apply it heavily.

This retails for $2.99 for .26 oz or 7.5 grams.

This isn't a negative thing, just an observation but maybe it's the vacuum in the large cap but there's resistance when I put the cap back on, none when I take the cap off.

Would I repurchase this flavor of balm? No I wouldn't just because of the scent. I don't know if I'd try the others if they've all got the same texture.

Disclaimer: I won this product in a giveaway and my opinions aren't affected by the fact that it was free.

Another Quick FOTD With Sleek's Pout Paint

Here's another look featuring Sleek's Pout Paint in Pin Up. An excellent pigmented red that applies super smoothly on my lips. I've been experimenting with using MAC Studio Sculpt concealer and I'm pretty happy with it, especially in conjunction with the Sonia Kashuk Beauty Blender dupe. Again, forgive the colors, my camera phone washes me out a bit.

I hope Sleek comes out with other colors because I would snap them up in a heartbeat.

Quick FOTD with Sleek Pout Paint

The lighting is a bit off because I used my camera phone for this but I wanted to show off one of the Sleek Pout Paints I got in a CP. This is Port, which is described as a wine color but in reality it's brighter and more fuchsia. Although you can't see well I'm also wearing Darling Girl Cosmetics' Smoking Gun eyeshadow. By the way, Port stains your lips afterward but you can use an oil based remover to get it off.

For those of you wondering, I passed my interview yesterday! Thank you for all the well wishes :) Now I have to wait for my oath ceremony and I will be an official American citizen along with being a European citizen (even though America technically doesn't recognize dual citizenship)

Jeweled Ember EOTD

I've said this a million times on Twitter but my citizenship interview is today :) Wish me luck! I will probably be lax on blogging for the next couple of days because my pop pop took my camera to France and won't be back for nine days.

Anyway, onto the EOTD.

Darling Girl's Jeweled Taupe is a bronzey-taupe with lots of multicolored glitter but the red and purple glitter show up predominant and I thought it would fare well with Dark Ember, which is a burgundry color. I wish the multicolored glitter showed up better in the pictures but either way I think it was still a nice EOTD.

Sorry about my eyebrows, I've been a bit lazy about tweezing/threading them.

Eyes:
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
Darling Girl Glitter Glue
Darling Girl Dark Ember in the crease
Darling Girl Jeweled Taupe on the lid
Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof mascara