CVS Memorial Weekend Haul

Here is my CVS haul from Memorial Day weekend. This haul is all about L’Oreal and Milani products.  I ended up buying a backup of one of the L’Oreal eyeshadows – Baby Spice. It is a gorgeous sheer taupe color that is going to be a fave!!!

The entire haul:

Milani Lipsticks:

Glamorous: (Coral), Delicious (Pink)

Swatches:

Milani Quad: Wild Violets

Milani Crystal Gloss: Innocent (Clear Shimmer), Plush Baby (Mauve Shimmer)

L’Oreal Colour Juice Stick: Strawberry Fields, Plum Crazy, Watermelon Ice, Chai Love You (2x)

(Forgot to take a solo picture of these)

These are my favorite lipsticks. The scent is amazing and they are extremely glossy. These are backups for my favorite colors.

L’Oreal Bare Naturale Eyeshadow: Bare Gold, Bare Lavendar, Baby Spice (2x), Bare Olive

This whole haul came in around $23. I was super excited!!

Dupes: MAC Oh Baby vs Milani LipMixer in Lip Mingle

I took these pictures a few months ago, and my camera wouldn’t allow me to download these into my laptop until last night. I personally can’t remember which lipgloss is which, but since they are absolutely identical – it doesn’t really matter.

If my camera and my laptop continue to work well together, then I should be able to post more swatches in the future.

Various Hauls

This is basically a composite collection of hauls from this past week.

Target:

Milani:

Glimmer Stripes in Pink Glimmer

Milani Nailpolish in Raspberry Fusion

Studio Tools Dual Finish Brush – A better than dupe of the 188

Rimmel Underground Nailpolish:

Hard Edged

Night Life

Walgreens:

Wet N Wild:

Mega Glo Powder in Strike-A-Pose-Rose, Spotlight Peach, Catwalk Pink, and Starlight Bronze

Speed Glosses: Untamed, Manic, Frantic, and Fired – Up

Silk Finish Blush / Bronzzer:

Pearlescent Pink

Acapulco Glow

EcoTools:

Retractable Kabuki

MAC:

Rubenesque Paint Pot

Circa Plum

I think I bought too much crap! LOL. If you want a review of anything let me know please

High End / Low End Comparables: Eyeshadows

This is somewhat of a continuation of my previous post on products that I’ve loved that I haven’t found a comparable lower priced item to. This post is all about the products that have a cult following, that actually HAVE lower end comparables, that I have personally used and loved. I haven’t used all of the higher end products, but I have tested them on several occasions that I feel I have a good idea of how well they work for me, anyway.

Eyeshadows – This is a biggie. I am torn on this one, because I’m in love with MAC’s Mineralized Eyeshadows, but I feel that there are many eyeshadows out there that are just as good, or even better than MAC and other Higher End shadows for a lower price:

• Ben Nye Eyeshadows – These range from about $6-10, and are available from costume shops, and speciality online stores.  These are almost twice as big as MAC and Urban Decay shadows, and are pigmented like no one’s business. I use my Ben Nye shadows more than my more expensive ones.
• Wet N Wild Ultimate Expressions Palettes. These palettes have 8 huge colors, and are extremely pigmented. I own 6 of these palettes, both permanent and limited edition. The eyeshadows are soft and extremely blendable. These palettes have mostly neutral colors that are wonderful!
• NYX Shadows – NYX has many different types of shadows, and the vast majority of them are wonderful, they are pigmented, and dirt cheap. The price of these range from $1-6, depending on what you pick up. I’ve tried them all, and I have loved almost all of them.
• L’Oreal HiP Eyeshadows Duos – These are simply some of the best drugstore eyeshadows that you will easily find in the drugstore. Each duo has two cordinating colors that are simply amazing, and some can be considered as dupes to higher end colors. These often go on sale BOGO Free, so it’s well worth your time to pick some up. You can easily get four huge, pigmented colors for the same price as one MAC shadow during a BOGO Free sale.
• L’Oreal Wear Infinite Singles – I recently tried my first eyeshadow from L’Oreal – apart from the HiP line, and I was flabbergasted when I used it. It is extremely soft and pigmented, and it blended like dream on my skin. I am looking forward to trying more in the future. I haven’t tried the quads though. So those maybe different.
• Milani – Milani makes some amazing eyeshadows. The ones that are very comparable to MAC and other brands were their little regular singles. These were amazing smooth and more pigmented than you can imagine. Unfortunatley Milani decided to get rid of these, but they are still available in some places. I’ve seen them in select Walgreens. These cost around $3-4 and were totally worth the money. Another good choice from Milani are the quads, they for about $6-7 and have four huge colors with tons of pigment and are really soft. These are available everywhere.
• TKB Trading Pigments – These are pure pigments of color, that you buy from TKB Trading for $1.50 per sample. Samples are a full table spoon of pigment – this is about the same amount of product that you get in a full sized MAC jar filled. These are definitely worth your time to check out for cheap, but not cheap quality pigments.

So far, these are the shadows I’ve used that are comparable to higher end products. These may not be as smooth as higher end shadows, or they may be slightly more sheer, but the money that you save is worth it. I feel that the price difference and more than decent quality makes these shadows the better choice than the higher end ones.

Small CVS Haul

I hit up CVS after work today, because I had some coupons that were about to expire today, and I wanted to use them while I had the ability. I hit up the sales that start today, because I feel that getting to the store on the day it starts, gives me the best selection of products. Today I took advantage of the Milani Buy one Get One 50% off sale, and the Physician’s Formula 40% off everything sale. I love the 40% off sales, because that allows you to get a good discount off of something without having to purchase items in pairs. I also really dislike the BOGO 50% off sales, because to me, that’s a pretty lousy sale – but brands like Milani NEVER go on BOGO Free sales, so I just have to suck it up and deal with it. LOL.

I almost bought some of the big domed wet dry singles that Milani released, but most of the reviews I had read of them basically say that they are terrible in performance and quality.  So I decided against those and I went for something else instead.

Here is my little 4 item haul! LOL…

Milani:

Earthly Delights quad – this has some GORGEOUS Greens colors in it.

Glimmer Stripes in Berry Glimmer – I already had two other colors – Bronze and Honey – which are more bronz-y than the Berry color. Berry is very cool toned with lots of pinks and purples. I have been eyeing it for a while now. I think it will make an awesome blush and eyeshadow. I can’t wait to use it!

Physician’s Formula:

Baked Collection Wet / Dry Eyeshadow in Baked Oatmeal & Baked Sands. I have a thing right now for baked / domed eyeshadows. I have been loving my MAC and Stila baked shadows and I wanted to get more to add to my collection. Since CVS had these 40% off and I had a $5 off coupon for PF, I decided to splurge and pick up two of these trios. I have never used these before, but I had heard some vey good things. Both of these trios have very pretty neutral colors, so I’m looking forward to trying these babies out!

In My Opinion: Best Drugstore Lipglosses

I hope to make this a new series in where I post lists of products that I think are the best. This one is all about lipglosses. You don’t have to agree with me, that’s one of the great things about having your own opinion!

Wet N Wild Speed Glosses ($3.99): I these are some of my newest acquisitions, but I already love them a lot. These come in a squeeze tube with a hard plastic applicator, that spreads the product easily. These are slightly sticky, and are very pigmented. There is a distinct minty taste in these glosses. They remind me of the B&BW C.O. Bigelow squeeze glosses.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss ($6.99): These have long been a favorite of beauty junkies around the world. They are non sticky, long lasting and come in a wonderful selection of colors. These glosses are pigmented, but can also be applied sheerly as well. I find that I can wear these alone or paired with a lipstick. There is barely any taste or scent to these glosses, so they are perfect for people who do not want or like taste or fragrance in their lipglosses.

Milani Crystal Gloss ($3.99): If I didn’t know any better, I would think that these glosses were MAC lipglasses in a different tube. Crystal Glosses have the same texture, scent and staying power as the lipglasses, only with a much, much smaller price tag. I only have one of these right now, but I absolutely adore it, and it has proven itself to be a wonderful, high quality gloss.

Milani Lip Mixers($6.99): Even though these are brand spankin’ new on the market, I already feel that these are some of the best glosses available. The idea behind these glosses, is that you mix the three different layers in the tube to get one shimmery, highshine color. I love these glosses, because they are heavily pigmented, and that they last for a good while on the lips. The scent is pleasant to me, it’s a grape-y scent that some people may like or dislike. The taste and scent goes away after a few minutes though, leaving a gorgeous gloss behind. I have four of these, and I love every single one of them. It’s a good thing that these are permanent.

NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss($4-5): For the longest time, these glosses were the only ones that I wore. The texture was smooth and non sticky, and they were long lasting compared to other non sticky glosses. They are also quite pigmented, only a few of them are sheer. The scent to me, is very pleasant, it reminds me of cherry lollipops. My HG nude gloss is in the shade Natural, which is the perfect brown / pinkish color. Even though I have these glosses listed under drugstore, NYX isn’t really found in many drugstore/ chain stores. They can be found online, and at random Beauty Supply stores. They are well worth the search.

Sally Hansen Lipnotic Gem Gloss ($6.99): Two words: DAZZLEGLASS DUPES! These glosses came out last year around the time MAC’s DazzleGlass lipglasses came out. I feel that these glosses by Sally Hansen are really good, cheaper alternatives of the expensive MAC ones. Both glosses are sheer, while being overloaded with shimmer and shine. Many people are split on these glosses, some like the Sally Hansen ones, while others do not feel that they are good alternatives. I personally love these, and they work well for both day time and night time.

Sally Hansen Natural Butter Lip Shine ($5.99): Last, but certainly not least, are these glosses. The texture is interesting, it reminds me of a jelly gloss, so it’s not quite as liquidy as other glosses. These apply sheerly, so they are not a pigmented as the Milani or NYX glosses. The glosses are down right tasty, they remind me strongly of fruit punch, so I feel like I have drunk some punch every time I apply this gloss. These are not long lasting at all, but I still think they are worth it just for the mirror like shine they babies give off!

You can find all these glosses at your local drugstore. Always be on the look out for sales!!

Milani vs MAC: Battle of the 3 toned lipglosses

As most if not all of you know that MAC’s upcoming collection Sugarsweet has a new lipglass in it, called Tricolor Lipglass. These glossess have three different colors in the jar, and you mix all three colors together when you pull the wand out of the jar.

The main problem I have come across with these glosses, is that they basically have no pigment. These glosses are priced at $17.50, and they have no pigmentation. Needless to say, I am seriously disappointed right now in MAC, if these are truly as sheer as I am led to believe.

Tricolor Lipglass (17.50):

On the other side of the cosmetic spectrum is Milani’s new Lip Mixer three color lipgloss. Unlike the MAC lipglasses, I have heard nothing but good things from these glosses. Infact I even purchased four of the six glosses available during the Milani BOGO 50% off sale that CVS had last week. I got all four for $20. These are the same concept as the MAC Tricolor lipglasses, except these have more pigment, and are $6.99 compared to $17.50.  So if you want a cheaper version of the Tricolor lipglass, or if you are disappointed in the quality of them, then check these out.

Dupe Alert!: MAC Nymphette Lipglass

I have been lemming MAC’s Nymphette lipglass for a while now, and
I came across a dupe on MUA.

Milani’s Summer Baby Crystal Lipgloss $4.

This color is an even BETTER version of Nymhette in my opinion. It has the same pinky color with the same gold shimmer, only Summer Baby is more pigmented as you can see from the swatch picture linked below.

You can see the picture HERE

I actually prefer Summer Baby over Nymphette, not only because it’s one fourth of the price, but because it’s more pigmented than it’s higher end counterpoint. However I have heard that this color is somewhat hard to find, but as far as I know, it hasn’t been discontinued yet.

So if you see this color on the shelf, grab it and try it out!

Walgreens Haul and Ramblings

I have decided to take advantage of my gym’s fitness classes. So for the past week or so since starting them, I’ve basically been in lots of pain. LOL. But the classes have been tons of fun. I’ve trying a variety of them, yesterday morning I did an ass-kicking body sculpting class that is becoming more addictive every time I’ve done it. I also took a yoga class last night, and I couldn’t believe how flexible I was. I just lost my balance a couple of times, but I managed to do almost all of the poses with only a medium amount of trouble.

However, my legs are pretty damn sore right now. LOL. So onto my Walgreens Haul. I actually scored all this loot for about $20. So YAY me!

Sally Hansen Mineral Lip Treatment

Royal Romance

Champagne Toast

Pink Bouquet

Brilliant Blush

Elegant Congac

Rose Petals

Chocolate Chiffon

Antique Bronze

Lavender Marquis

Milani Sunset Duos

01 Sunset City

04 Sunset Shores

L’Oreal Colour Juice:

Iced Latte

Watermelon Crush

Caramel Creme

Bubble Gum

Tutti Fruity

Melon Punch

I rock when I go shopping.

Rant: Why don’t makeup companies update their f*cking websites?

Okay, Wet N Wild just released their new collection of eyeshadow quads and eyeliners to the stores and I am across them this evening at a local Walgreens. However when I came home to get more information about these new goodies, and there wasn’t any mention of the new eyeshadows on the site. In fact, the Wet N Wild site is now just promoting their mineral foundation that came out last summer! WTF?!?

Wet N Wild isn’t the only company that has this problem. Prestige Cosmetics also does not update their website either. Prestige is still promoting their Lash Matrix mascara as their newest product. That particular product came out OVER A YEAR AGO! How wrong is that? Since then, Prestige has released many different items and collections ranging from new lipglosses to new eyeshadow collections and more mascaras. But you wouldn’t know that if you browsed their website.

Milani Cosmetics is also guilty of not updating their website. Their “What’s New” page is showing all the new products that are being released in February and March… 2007. The Runway Eyeshadow palettes STILL haven’t been put onto the website. And as every beauty buff knows, those came out over a year ago.

So can anyone explain to me why these companies, have not put in the time to update their sites? They pay for these sites, and the purpose of said sites is to promote their new products, and yet nothing. Fortunately not all brands take this attitude when it comes to the internet. NYC Color is actually quite good at keeping their site updated with their newest collections, which makes it easier to decide on what you want to look at before you head out to the store.

Does this practice of not updating websites annoy the piss out of anyone else? Hit me up in the Comments with your opinion.