Haul: Sephora VIB Haul!

I think one of the biggest things I look forward to is the Sephora VIB sale. I mean, 20 percent off is a pretty big thing, especially for some middle to high end brands! Some may argue that Ulta has 20 percent off almost once a month, but remember, the discount doesn't apply to certain brands which always defeats the purpose for me. 

With this purchase, I was able to unlock VIB Rouge. I have to admit I was excited and horrified at the same time. Excited because I unlocked the ultimate tier of VIB but horrified because I had spent a certain amount of money to get there. Anyway, on to the haul!

1-Benefit Gimmie Brow: I had been on the fence with this for a while especially since I do enjoy the Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil and gel. I decided to read some blog reviews to help aid me in my decision to purchase or skip. It's obvious what the decision was. I've been testing this out for a bit since I've gotten it and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. I can use this on a daily basis without looking too done up but when I want to look really polished, I use this in combination with the Brow Wiz pencil.

2-Benefit Fake Up: After hearing from my friends how amazing this is, it was clear I had to try this as well. This is definitely one of the best concealers I have used, especially with my current skin condition (dry). There is no settling into fine lines and I look awake and refreshed. I will say, that if you do have extremely dark circles, this will still be too sheer for you.

3-Too Faced Lip Injection Color Bomb in Never Enough Nude: It wouldn't be a complete haul with at least one lip product! To be honest, I had about four more lip products in my cart but removed them after reminding myself that I have way too many. The product itself is lovely and the color is a perfect neutral nude to compliment many skin tones. That being said, it does sting upon initial application. So those who are sensitive to any lip plumpers should definitely stray from this. 

4-Diorshow Iconic Waterproof Mascara: Since it was the VIB sale, I decided to try a higher end mascara instead of the usual drugstore faves and I have to say, I'm not that impressed. I just feel that this doesn't really do much to my lashes. I may play with it a little more and try layering this with other mascaras and see what the result it.

5- Origins Clear Improvements Active Charcoal Mask Pods:  Woo, what a name! This was one of those, "you might like these" last minute adds to my cart. I've already tried a pod and liked the results it gave. The amount of product they give is plenty, I only needed about half of it for my entire face. I saved the rest of it in a small container for a future use.

6- Sephora Outrageous Prisma Chrome in Golden Taupe- This little stud of an eye shadow was on clearance so I decided to give it a shot. It swatches beautifully and will probably be fantastic for a neutral, smokey eye.

6- Hourglass Ambient Lightning Palette: Raved about by so many bloggers and YouTubers, I had to get this. I had this already placed in my cart waiting for checkout once the VIB sale was live. However the morning of the sale, Sephora stated it was sold out. Despite being disappointed, I kept checking back to their website and got lucky! I saw that they restocked the palette and did the fastest online checkout ever. One of the main reasons I wanted this palette was due to the amazing deal. Each powder is over 3 grams and you get three powders (two permanent, one limited edition).

7- Hourglass Ambient Light in Diffused Light: Since the palette was sold out initially, I decided to purchase one of the permanent Ambient powders. Diffused Light is great as a setting powder and gives my skin this beautiful "glow from within" look.  

8- Sephora Formula X The Twenty Two- Last but not least are this gorgeous polishes from Sephora's new nail polish line. I was so impressed with the 100 point polish I got previously I decided to give this a shot. I haven't really tried them all yet, so I can't give you a full review. I will say that the speckled polishes are very impressive.

Hope you enjoyed the haul and hope you all scored some great goodies during the VIB sale!! Happy Sunday!

A New Beginning

No, I am not leaving my beauty blog. But I am starting a new blog to chronicle my fitness journey. After some thought, I decided it was best to separate my beauty and fashion posts from my workout ones. Just because I realize some of my readers may not have an interest in working out or vice versa. So if you are interested in this lifestyle of mine, please follow Weightlifting Babe! I hope to see you there!

By the way, I will be posting my Sephora VIB haul tomorrow or Friday!

Haul: Beauty.com Family and Friends Sale

The first haul of many to come! I took advantage of Beauty.com's Friends and Family sale to try some new skincare items I had been eyeing. I tried to resist any makeup related items since I already had my Sephora cart filled with plenty of goodies, but found that I could not resist this cute little Tarte set and it ended up in my cart. I also ordered a NARS brush but it's currently back ordered (insert sad face). Anyway, here's what I got!

Korres Showergel in Jasmine: I've been kicking myself for not taking advantage of the Korres Hautleook sale a few weeks ago. Instead of 20 percent, I could have gotten these body washes for half price. I guess you live and learn. Onto the item itself, it smells just like a jasmine plant, which I absolutely love. It reminds me of when I was younger and my grandmother used to pluck the flowers from her jasmine plant for me to put in my little treasure box to scent it. The fact that it conjures such a happy memory for me definitely makes it a keeper.

Ren Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Balm: After watching a favorites video from HeyClaire, I told myself this was a need. While I am meticulous and on top of taking off my makeup every night, I hate all the steps I have to take. This makes cleansing the face a snap and even takes off waterproof mascara! I've been using it since I got it and absolutely love it. 

Tarte Thoughtful Treasures Best Sellers Set: I love Tarte products, especially their Amazonian Clay blushes. I just haven't continued to purchase the regular sizes because, seriously, I think I have enough blush to last me for years, if not my lifetime. So I thought this limited edition mini would be great for travel. The LipSurgence skintuitive lip tint was something I had been wanting to try, but not enough to actually buy the full size. So the set was perfect. The maracuja oil I'll eventually try, I'm sure I'll be impressed.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream: The full size jar of the cream I mentioned in my October Favorites. This stuff is just simply amazing if you have dry, flaky skin. 

Once I get in my Sephora haul and my Too Faced haul I will post those as well!! Happy Monday and Happy Veterans Day!

Friends and Family Sales!

While I may not enjoy the colder weather in November, I do enjoy the plethora of sales it brings! There are quite a few sites that are having their friends and family sale this week! I don't know about you, but I do like being able to save a few bucks, especially with some of my beauty favorites. These sales are the perfect time to stock on favorites, get Christmas gifts or just to treat yourself. Don't miss out! Here are the three major ones having 20 percent off the entire purchase. Also, if you haven't signed up for Ebates, what are you waiting for? You get cash back with your purchases! If you already have Ebates, just go ahead and click the links to get your shopping on! **The Sephora sale does not begin until tomorrow!

Beauty.com's Friends and Family Sale

Too Faced Friends and Family Sale
Type in code: FAMILY20 at checkout

Sephora VIB Holiday Event

Type in code: VIBTOPIA if you are a VIB member

Review: Benefit They're Real! Mascara

I have heard such wonderful things about Benefit's They're Real! mascara so when I got this sample version in my Sephora VIB birthday gift I was pretty excited to try it out. Now, as many fellow Asians know, we have some sparse, short lashes that don't really hold a curl unless it's waterproof mascara. So I usually steer away from non-waterproof formulas don't even bother with regular formulations. If a mascara interests me, I just wait for the waterproof version to come out. 

What do I think of this mascara? It does almost everything for me. The only thing it doesn't do is hold my curl. As you can tell from the picture, you will see the curl drop dramatically the moment I put on two coats. Putting aside the curl hold, this mascara lengthens and adds volume. You can see how much longer my lashes are after the mascara has been applied. The brush is exceptional. It separates and combs through all my lashes. The spiked end on the tip is great to reach the inner corner of my lashes without smudging the mascara all over my lid. Perhaps my only gripe about the brush is that it picks up a tad too much product but I just wipe it off with a tissue. 

Since this mascara doesn't hold my curl, I probably won't use this on a date night when I line my eyes, but I will use it when I'm out running errands. I can probably layer this over a waterproof mascara if I really wanted to, now that I think about it to add some more volume and length. If you don't have any curl concerns and what that Va-voom effect, try this out. I know that there is a mini version of this if you don't want to fully commit 23 dollars to a mascara.

Pros:
-Lengthens
-Adds volume
-Lashes don't feel hard
-Easy to remove

Cons:
-Doesn't hold curl (for me)
-Too much product on brush
-Expensive

Repurchase: If Benefit makes a waterproof one then yes!