Finished It!!! Volume 10

Disclaimer: Most of the products in this post were purchased by me. A few were giveaway prizes, were given to me by a friend, or were promotional freebies. All opinions are my own. I have included my referral link for The Honest Company. 

I'm working on editing pictures from my big holiday set hauls. Sadly, there seem to be some that I need to retake because they are blurry. I hate when that happens. I wish I had been able to get more of them up during Sephora's VIB sale, but that's life. 

In the meantime, I've been trying to clean my office (again). One of the things that I need to do is get rid of the pile of empties that have accumulated. 

The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel - I bought this during The Body Shop's Cyber Monday sale last year. The smell was okay. I wasn't in love with how well the lather lasted. I don't plan on repurchasing.

Dr. Bronner's 3-in-1 Hemp Almond Pure-Castile Soap - I use this for hand soap. I put it in a foaming bottle with about 1/2 to 2/3 of the bottle being water, which means this huge bottle lasted a long time. I recently started using Dr. Bronner's soap as a face wash too. I'll get back to you on how that works for me.

Macadamia Rejuvenating Shampoo - Over the summer Target had Macadamia sets that were essentially by-one-get-one free. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought the shampoo because I need shampoo that combats a flaky scalp, but I came up with the solution of adding tea tree oil directly into the shampoo in order to use it. Since this shampoo is quite expensive (retail is $21 for this size bottle) and it doesn't meet my hair needs, I won't be repurchasing it. 

Alba Botanica Very Emollient Cream Shave in Mango Vanilla - I stopped using a special shaving product several years ago; I just use my shower gel to shave. I'd heard good things about this cream shave on YouTube, so I figured I would give it a try. While I an understand why people like it, it wasn't for me. It was really thick, so it accumulated on my razor. Using a separate product to shave with also added a step to my shower routine. I won't be repurchasing.

Luxury Lane Soap Triple Care Hemp Wash in Vanilla Oak - This was a really nice body wash made by an indie company. I reviewed it here. I really liked it. The product is currently being reformulated, and I do plan on trying the new formulation when it becomes available. I also want to point out that Luxury Lane Soap is offering free shipping from now until they close for the holidays, so it is a great time to give their items a try.

Silk Naturals Kiss Cleanser - This has been my regular face wash for several years now. I love how gentle it is. It does a decent job removing the majority of my makeup (stubborn mascara and eye liner tends to stick around). I already had a back-up bottle ready to go when this one was finished. 

Mario Badescu Acne Facial Cleanser - For a few months, I used this with my Clarisonic Mia after I did an initial wash of my face with Silk Naturals Kiss Cleanser. I got lazy though and haven't done that in a while. I did have a back-up bottle ready to go though when this one was finished. Sadly, I heard recently that Mario Badescu products are being sold in China, which means that I no longer consider the brand cruelty-free and will not purchase from them any more.

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Foaming Scrub - This was in a bag of products a friend gave me that she didn't like. I used it on my body instead of my face to use it up because I didn't want to be wasteful. Neutrogena is not a cruelty-free brand, so even if I did like this product, I wouldn't purchase it again.

CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion AM and PM - I picked these up because CeraVe is one of the few cruelty-free skincare brands that I have easy access to and because the day lotion had an SPF of 30, which is a requirement of mine. I liked both of them. The only thing I didn't like is the packaging. I dislike products like this with pumps because it makes is really hard to impossible to get the last of the product out. Because of that, I didn't repurchase them, but I might in the future. 

Maybelline Expert Eyes Moisturizing Eye Makeup Remover - I bought this a long time ago, mostly because of the bottle. I hate the eye makeup remover bottles with the caps that have the cardboard at the top because half the time the cardboard disintegrates before the product is gone and the bottle starts to leak. I didn't particularly care for the product itself (and rarely use an actual eye makeup remover anyway), and Maybelline isn't cruelty-free, so I won't be buying this again. I might keep the bottle around though because I think it could be handy.

 

The Honest Company Shampoo & Body Wash - This was part of the free trial set I got from The Honest Company (referral link) over the summer. The scent is Sweet Orange Vanilla, which was okay but not my favorite. I did buy a full size in one of my bundles I have received since my trial kit. I may or may not repurchase this in the future. It is a good body wash, but I like others more.

The Honest Company Face & Body Lotion - This either came in a box I got from Totalbeauty.com or from the free trial set I got from The Honest Company. It was okay as a body lotion. I didn't try it on my face. I didn't notice anything special enough to repurchase it. 

Mario Badescu AHA Botanical Body Soap and Citrus Body Cleanser - I got a $10 gift certificate from Mario Badescu for my birthday back in September (they do this for everyone registered on their site), which I used to pick up one of their toners, and these were two of the samples I got with my order. Again, I no longer consider Mario Badescu to be cruelty-free, so I won't be buying a full size of either of these. 

Tata Harper Rebuilding Moisturizer - I attended some sort of Facebook "party" where Tata Harper Deluxe Beauty Sets were being given away as prizes. This was a nice enough moisturizer, but I don't think it was special enough to justify the $100 price tag for a full size. 

John Frieda Conditioner (from a hair dye kit) - I have been using John Frieda hair dye for a while because I thought it was cruelty-free (but now I'm not so sure). I have a couple more boxes left in my stash. I think my goal is to get myself through the summer and then try a henna hair dye. If you've got any suggestions for cruelty-free hair dye options, please let me know. 

Kiss My Face Peaches & Creme Moisturizer - I have dealt with lots of bumps on my legs for years, and now I'm getting them on my arms. I have self-diagnosed myself with keratosis pilaris. I've tried multiple ways of exfoliating to get rid of the bumps, including this lotion with AHA. I liked the scent, but it didn't solve the problem. I think I have another one of these tubes that I need to use up. I probably won't repurchase it. 

EVOLVh Shampoo and Conditioner - These came in a box I got from Totalbeauty.com. The brand is expensive, so I wouldn't consider repurchasing. I don't know their cruelty-free status. 

Holika Holika Essential Petit BB Cream - I liked this BB cream. I bought it because Phyrra reviewed it. Our skin tone is essentially the same, so when she reviewed this and said that it matched her, I figured I would give it a try. I've got too many foundations to work my way through before I might consider repurchasing. I'm also not positive on Holika Holika's cruelty-free status since it is an Asian brand (Phyrra reviewed it a long time ago before she went cruelty-free). 

Silk Naturals Sleep in a Jar Light Peach - This is a staple product for me. I use it daily under my eyes. I do find it a bit drying sometimes, but I keep using it to hide my dark circles. 

Silk Naturals Maybe Baby Blush Sample - This is a clone for MAC's Blushbaby, which is a nude toned blush with a hint of pink. It was an okay color, but it wasn't anything special enough for me to repurchase it. 

Paula's Choice Barely There Sheer Matte Tint SPF 30 in Level 1 Fair/Light Sample - This was a nice tinted moisturizer. The color match was good for me, and I liked that it had SPF 30. I might buy a full size at some point, but I won't be purchasing it right now. 

Make Up For Ever HD Powder - This came in a value set I purchased from Sephora last year. It was okay, but it is expensive for what it is (100% pure silica). I can buy the same thing from TKB Trading for a lot cheaper. Make Up For Ever is not cruelty-free.

Meow Uncharted Eye Shadow Sample - This is a sample from Meow's Caribbean Escape collection that is only available during the summer. Meow describes it as a neutral beige taupe with gold shimmer. I already have a full size of this shade in my collection.

Silk Naturals Bone Eye Shadow (the empty pan) - This was a matte highlight shade. I had pressed it, which is why it is an empty pan. I think I added too much binder to it when I pressed it because it was a bit too hard. I also prefer Wet n Wild's Brulee for my matte highlight, so I don't plan on repurchasing. 

Alima Pure Foundation Sample in Neutral 1 - I had this for a long time. It was a little too dark for me, so I mixed it with the MUFE HD powder to use them both up. I won't be buying a full size.

bareMinerals Original Mineral Veil SPF 15 - This was in another Sephora set I bought a long time ago. I wouldn't go out and buy a full size, but I would use it again if it came in another set.

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara - I've had major issues with mascaras. They seem to want to flake on me, and at the end of the summer, mascaras were smudging onto my browbone all the time. I liked this one when I was using it. It didn't flake or smudge. I wasn't using it in extreme heat though, so I don't know how well it would have held up then. I've got another one of these in my stash (I got them in Tarte QVC sets) that I'll pull out eventually, but I've got a couple of mascaras that I'm already using at the moment.

Silk Naturals White Chocolate Macadamia Lip Balm - I enjoy Silk Naturals lip balms. I really like the texture. I don't always keep them on hand, but when there is a flavor that catches my interest, I make sure and pick it up. 

A Bunch of Random Samples - I've been trying to work my way through a backlog of skincare samples lately. None of these really stood out to me since there's really not enough of any of them to decide of I liked them. I will say that I didn't care for the La Fresh wipes. Several of these are from brands that aren't cruelty-free. 

theBalm TimeBalm Juniper Oil-Free Face Moisturizer - This was okay. It should have been in the other picture, but I missed putting it there. 

Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Cleansing Towels - I primarily using these types of wipes to remove swatches. These did the job okay, and they were free in a sample box from Walgreens. Neutrogena is not cruelty-free, so I wouldn't repurchase them. I'd love to know of some good, inexpensive, cruelty-free wipes if you have any suggestions. 

Another load of empties gone! I'm happy to see so many products leaving my stash, especially all of the ones that aren't cruelty-free that won't be coming back into my stash. 

Do you have any suggestions for cruelty-free hair dye or makeup remover wipes? 

Disclaimer: Most of the products in this post were purchased by me. A few were giveaway prizes, were given to me by a friend, or were promotional freebies. All opinions are my own. I have included my referral link for The Honest Company. 

Urban Decay Ocho Loco 2 - Review and Swatches

Disclaimer - The products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

I placed my orders that I was debating a couple of posts ago, and they've all come in. It's exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I just spent my evening editing pictures, and I haven't even photographed most of my new things, let alone started testing them.

However, since most of my recent purchases are limited edition items out for the holidays, so I want to try and get as many of them up as quickly as possible.

That being said, I figured I would start with something that is relatively easy to review, Urban Decay's Ocho Loco 2 set.

Price

The Ocho Loco 2 set retails for $59, but I picked mine up from Sephora with a 20% off coupon during their Employee Appreciation Sale. The set contains 8 full size 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils ($19 retail value each) and a Grindhouse Double-Barrel Sharpener ($10 retail value), so the retail value of this set is $162, making it an awesome value.

Packaging

There's really not to much to comment on here. The set comes on a foam tray. The variegated color scheme that matches the liner shades is really pretty. My only complaint is that the liners are a little bit difficult to get out.

Product

These liners are considered by most to be one of the best on the market. They are really creamy, generally really pigmented, and long lasting. I already have quite a few of these in my collection, and they are the liners I reach for most days. I don't have any problems with smudging and only experience a little bit of fading throughout the day, mostly in the outer corner of my eyes, which is where all liners fade on me.

Swatches from left to right: Roach, Twice Baked, Crave, Perversion, Deep End, Mars, Ultraviolet, and Tornado.

Shade descriptions according to the listing on Sephora.com:

Roach (deep copper brown shimmer)
Twice Baked (rich brown satin w/gold micro-sparkle)
Crave (deepest, darkest brown-black matte)
Perversion (blackest black matte)
Deep End (bright metallic peacock shimmer)
Mars (bright metallic green shimmer)
Ultraviolet (bright blue-violet shimmer)
Tornado (dark eggplant pearl)

I love the variety of colors in this set. Just like the set from last year, there are four neutral colors and four bright colors. The only shade that is a little bit lacking for me is Ultraviolet. When I swatched it, it looked a little patchy. Another thing that really drew me to the set is that two of the brights are still dark enough to make them relatively easy to wear to work.

I've only used a couple of the colors so far, but I think one of my favorite colors is going to be Crave. Being a blackened-brown gives it the effect of a black liner without being as harsh, which is perfect for fair-skinned girls like me.

The Grindhouse sharpener is a good-quality sharpener. The top collects the shavings, so there's no need to use is right over a garbage can. The bottom also pops off for cleaning, and it does have a cleaning pick built into the design. It's a nice addition to the kit. I like when sets include a tool that is necessary to use the product (like liner pencils that need to be sharpened).

Final Thoughts

What can I say, these are really good liners being sold at a fantastic price. Yes, it is pricey as a whole, but when you break it down, it is about $7 a liner, which is getting to be on-par pricing with drugstore liners. If you are going to use 4 or more of the colors in this set, I suggest you pick it up. It's sold on Urbandecay.com and Sephora.com. If you want to get a bit of a discount, Sephora's VIB sale is from November 7-11, and the code for 20% off your purchase is VIBTOPIA. I don't know if the code will work for non-VIB members, but it is worth a shot.

Will you be picking this set up? Are you going to take advantage of the Sephora VIB sale?

Disclaimer - The products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

Face Buffing Brushes - Comparison and Review

Disclaimer: All the of products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

My renewed blogging motivation has caused me to start digging back through my older files looking at pictures of products that I got but never got around to reviewing.

This particular review is actually going to be well-timed because we are quickly approaching Black Friday sales.

Last year on Black Friday, I ordered both Midnight Lace sets offered by Sedona Lace because they had a 50% off everything sale that day. It was a great opportunity to try out brushes like the SigMAX sets offered by Sigma, which I had always wanted to try.

Then over the summer, I saw similar sets offered by Royal Care Cosmetics being sold through Amazon. Their price was even better, so I picked those up as well to compare the sets. Please ignore the fact that some of the pictures have dirty brushes. When my Royal Care set came in, I was too excited to get pictures taken to worry about washing my Sedona Lace brushes first.

Basic Information

Sedona Lace's Midnight Lace Collection comes with (from top to bottom) an angle top brush, a flat top brush, a round top brush, and a kabuki brush. It retails for $49.95, and shipping on this set alone is $3.26, but if you get your order up to $50, you can get free shipping. If Sedona Lace has a 50% off sale for Black Friday again this year, you can get the set for $24.97 plus shipping.

The Royal Care Cosmetics brush set comes with (from left to right) a round top brush, a flat top brush, a pointed top brush, and an angle top brush. According to Royal Care Cosmetic's website, these brushes have a regular price of $38.95 and are on sale for $19.95. However, every time I have looked they have been on sale, so I think that is just a marketing tactic. Shipping from their site is $6.45. Currently,if you order them through Amazon.com (just search for Royal Care Cosmetics), this brush set is selling for $17.95 with $5.17 shipping; when I ordered them, they were $14.95.

Quality Comparison

Construction - The basic construction of these two sets of brushes is nearly identical.
Density - The Sedona Lace brushes are marginally more dense, but not enough to notice while in use.
Softness - The Sedona Lace brushes are also a little bit softer than the Royal Care brushes, but they both sets are nice and soft to the touch.
Shedding - I may have had a few bristles shed from the Royal Care brushes when I initially washed them, but I haven't had any since. I don't remember any shedding with the Sedona Lace brushes.

The one area where the Sedona Lace brushes really stand out for me is in the cut of the bristles. There were some obvious imperfections with the Royal Care brush bristles when I got them.

There were small areas of bristles on the Royal Care angle top brush that were visibly uneven with the rest, and there are a few bristles on the flat top brush that are longer than the rest. I went ahead and pulled out a pair of scissors to carefully trim the bristles on the angle top brush. I believe I pulled out a couple of the longer hairs in the flat top brush using tweezers, but I didn't worry too much about those.

The Royal Care brushes also had a plastic-y smell to them when I first got them. It did take a few washes for the smell to disappear.

Brush Shape Comparison

The shape of the angle top brushes are quite a bit different between the two brands. The Sedona Lace brush is much flatter. I have used it for contouring. The more rounded shape on the Royal Care version is really nice for applying powder all over the face.

The shape of the flat top brushes is practically identical. The bristles are the same length, and the diameter looks to be the same as well. I have used these for both liquid foundation and powder. I prefer using them for powder.

The only real difference between the two round top brushes is that the Royal Care brush has bristles that are a little bit longer than the Sedona Lace. It isn't something I notice while using them. These have become my go-to brushes for applying liquid foundation.

The last brush in each set is so different that they aren't really worth comparing, but here's a closer look at each.

The Royal Care set comes with a pointed top brush. I honestly don't think I've used this one yet. I've gotten so used to a buffing motion when it comes to applying foundation, and I don't think this would work well for that. I don't know how else I would use this brush.

The Sedona Lace set comes with a traditional kabuki brush. My favorite way to use this brush is to blend out my blush, which is habitually over apply.

Customer Service Comparison

I purchased my Sedona Lace Midnight Lace Set last year during their Black Friday sale. Unfortunately, they were woefully unprepared for the number of orders they received during that 24-hour sale. In 2011, they got 300 orders during their Black Friday sale, and last year they got over 3,000 orders. It turned into quite the debacle. Even though I placed my order within the first few hours of the sale, it took two months for my order to ship to me, and the free gift that was part of the Black Friday offer didn't ship until nearly a month after that.

I tried to remain patient throughout the process. I did get irritated by the fact that their shipping department did not ship out orders in the order they were received. According to a post done by Sedona Lace on their Facebook page, " The shipping department has their way of efficiency to get orders shipped by location-product-weight etc.. Thank you for being patient we know you will love your products when you get them." Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but their "system" is likely what caused me to have to wait two months for my brushes, as I made my order within the first hour or two of the sale. 

I genuinely believe, though, that the Sedona Lace team meant well and did their best to deal with the over-whelming number of orders they received. I have faith that they learned from their mistakes last year and their Black Friday sale will go more smoothly this year. I would be hesitant to order brushes from the sale in the hopes of giving them as Christmas presents though, just in case there is another shipping delay.

I did not have any issues with Royal Care Cosmetics in terms of customer service. My brush order shipped out quickly, and I didn't have any need to contact them directly about anything. 

Final Conclusions

I really like these two sets are both good options if you are looking for face brushes like this for liquid foundation and/or powder. The Sedona Lace set is normally quite a bit more expensive, but if you are able to take advantage of the Black Friday sale that I assume is coming, it isn't that much more expensive than the Royal Care Cosmetics set. The quality of the Sedona Lace brushes is better, but it isn't enough to make a huge difference. I use the flat and round top brushes from the two brands interchangeably and don't notice a difference in application. Since three of the four brushes are nearly the same, the fourth brush in each set might be a deciding factor. If you're like me and aren't really interested in the pointed top brush, the Sedona Lace set might be more appealing. 

Will you be picking up either of these sets? Are there any Black Friday/holiday sales that you are looking forward to taking advantage of?

Disclaimer: All the of products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

New Series! Beautybabbling at Home

Disclaimer: The product mentioned in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

I'm hoping to start a series of posts on my blog about getting organized, in part to actually help me get more organized. I'm not going to make any promises about how often I'm going to do these kinds of posts because I will inevitably break that promise.

I'm no expert at being organized. I try, but things always end up going a little bit crazy around my house. Over the past few months though, I've made some discoveries that have really seemed to help.

Tip #1: Declutter before you buy organizing items. If your house is full of stuff, organizing that stuff isn't going to help all that much.

Tip #2: Don't rush into buying a bunch of items to help you get organized. Use cardboard boxes or other items that you already have lying around the house to see if your new organizing system is going to work. Also give yourself time to find the right item for the job. Settling for an item that will work for the time being can just be a waste of money and can just add more stuff to your house that you have to deal with.

That leads me to my example.

This bar area in my kitchen had been driving me nuts for months! It had become too much of a catch-all for cereal and snacks. My kitchen doesn't have a lot of counter space, so I like using that area for food prep, and all the stuff was starting to make that impossible.

I wanted to find a shelving unit to go on the wall to the right of this counter, but I wasn't finding anything I really liked and wanted to buy. I almost bought one of those cheap particleboard units like this:

Picture from closetmaid.com

The thing that made me hesitate was that this would have been a temporary solution, and at somewhere around $30-$40, it wasn't a cheap one either.

Instead, I kept my eye out for something I really liked. I scoured the internet. Then one day, while out shopping with a friend, the heavens opened up when I saw this:

We were walking through Hobby Lobby when I saw this baker's rack. It is an antique bronze finish (even though it looks black in the picture), and it was around $100. It can fold up (the shelves fold up and the sides fold in), which made it possible for me to get it home in my 2-door Cavalier. The only thing I would change is making the shelves a bit thicker because they have a little bit of bend in them when I push down on them. I stashed a few of my cookbooks elsewhere because I was worried about the shelf permanently bending from the weight. Other than that, this has solved my cluttered counter problem, and gave me the added bonus of being able to store my cookbooks closer to where I actually use them (they were previously in a different room).

Now, if I had caved and gotten the particle board shelving unit, I would have had to deal with finding a new place for it in my home or get rid of it. The first option isn't ideal since I have no idea where I would have put it, and the second is just plain wasteful.

What is your best home organizing tip? Is there a solution that you've come up with that is working really well for you? I'd love to know!

Disclaimer: The product mentioned in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Deal Alert! The Honest Company is on Groupon!

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. I have included referral links for both The Honest Company and Groupon. 

I stumbled on a great deal this morning that I thought I would share with all of you. There is a Groupon (referral link) deal for $20 that gets you a $40 coupon code for The Honest Company (referral link).

Image taken from TheHonestCompany.com

I learned about The Honest Company when I received a couple of their products in a box I got from totalbeauty.com. I fell in love with the idea of a cruelty-free company that makes home and body care products without nasty chemicals.

From their website:

Our list of toxic offenders is always growing.

While each product has a unique guarantee, as a company we keep a master list of toxic offenders we'll never consider for use in anything. Period. We confirm, to the best of our knowledge, based on information from our raw material & packaging suppliers and manufacturing partners, that our products are

Honestly FREE of: phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DMP, DEP); PVC; formaldehyde; alkylphenols; benzene; TEA (Triethanolamine); MEA (Monoethanolamine); parabens; phosphates; chlorine; chlorinated or brominated solvents; ceteareth 20; polyethylene glycol (PEG); resorcinol; bronopol; quaternium 15; nanoparticles; triclosan; sulfur oxides; organohalides; hexavalent chromium; DMDM hydantoin; organophosphate pesticides; 1,4 - dioxane; SLS/SLES (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates); optical brighteners; mineral oil; petrolatum; BPA (bisphenol-A); a-chlorotoluene

After trying the products I got from Total Beauty, I ordered their Essentials Bundle free trial for $5.95 shipping, which included mini sizes of their shampoo + body wash, face + body lotion, laundry detergent, healing balm, and hand soap. This automatically signed me up for their bundle deal, which is 5 full-size products for $35.95 plus shipping. Their bundle program sets me up to receive a shipment every 4 weeks (but can be adjusted to ship every 5, 6, or 8 weeks). I have mine set to ship every 8 weeks because I don't need a shipment every month. I can change the contents of my bundle every month, so I'm not stuck getting products I don't need or don't like.

On top of the 5 products in the bundle, I have the option of adding 3 more products to each shipment for 25% off. If my bundle total is $50 or more, I get free shipping. If I decide to cancel my bundle subscription, I can call them and cancel at any time (I wish they would make it possible to cancel through their website, but it isn't a huge deal).

Since I learned about The Honest Company I have switched over to using their laundry detergent (in both liquid and pod forms), their dishwasher pods, and their toothpaste. I have several other products that I've added to my bundles that I plan on switching to when I finish off the products I already had.

While I'm far from perfect about it, I really love that I have found products that are cruelty-free and more natural than what I can get in my town.

Do you use any natural or cruelty-free cleaning products? Are there any I should try or avoid?

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. I have included referral links for both The Honest Company and Groupon. 

Girlactik Matte Bronzer in Cabo - Review and Swatches

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post were purchased using a gift code sent to me by Sindulge.com. I got the code because I am subscribed to receive their newsletter. Everyone who was signed up when the newsletter went out got the code. I have used my referral link in this post. All opinions are my own.

I figure this is a good post to follow closely on the heels of my one about trying to go cruelty-free.

Sometime around a year ago, I heard about a website called Sindulge.com (referral link). It's a shopping site that carries only cruelty-free items. I haven't purchased much from them yet because it is a still a relatively new site and has a limited selection (that does seem to be growing every time I check there), but I love the concept of a site like this.

Back in July, Sindulge sent out an email to all their subscribers with a $20 coupon that didn't have a purchase minimum. It was an amazing deal, and I spent quite a bit of time browsing their site trying to pick a product to order.

What I ended up stumbling upon was the Girlactik Matte Bronzer in Cabo, which is a light-toned, matte bronzer. I've seen Girlactik products before when browsing websites online, but I hadn't heard much about them or tried any of them myself. This was a great opportunity to try a new brand for an amazing price. The bronzer retails for $26. When you factor in my coupon and shipping, I paid less than $10.

Packaging

The packaging for this bronzer is quite simple, which I really like. I love the brown and pink theme on the box, and the chandelier detail is subtle but feminine. That detail carries over the the compact, and the compact itself has a metallic pewter color. It shows fingerprints a little bit, but not as bad as more reflective packaging does.

There isn't a brush included with this bronzer, which is perfectly fine with me because it keeps the size of the compact small and well....compact.

Product 

As mentioned above, this bronzer is a lighter-toned, matte bronzer, and I have to say that I am really loving it! It doesn't have any orange tones in it, but it isn't so cool-toned that it looks muddy or grey. I can use it as both a contour shade or a bronzer shade on the high points of my face. It looks good both ways.

For those of you with darker skintones, Girlactik has a darker shade of bronzer as well called Casablanca, but it is not available on Sindulge's website.

Final Thoughts

If you are fair to light and are looking for an easy bronzer to work with, you might consider picking this one up.

Even if this particular bronzer doesn't catch your eye, I would suggest giving Sindulge.com (referral link) a look. It really is a fun site to check out for cruelty-free products or just for brands that aren't as common (like Girlactik, armour beauty, and tini beauty).

Have you tried anything from Girlactik? Have you found your perfect bronzer?

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post were purchased using a gift code sent to me by Sindulge.com. I got the code because I am subscribed to receive their newsletter. Everyone who was signed up when the newsletter went out got the code. I have used my referral link in this post. All opinions are my own.

Holiday Collections! What to Buy?

Disclaimer: There is nothing to disclose. 

It's the time of year again when makeup brands come out with amazing value sets and palettes for the holidays. It's also a great time of year for beauty sales.

I'm itching to place orders since I was able to get my hot little hands on a Sephora Friends & Family 20% off code, and I just got a 20% off (nearly everything) code for Ulta. My only problem is deciding what the heck to buy!

Here's what I'm considering getting from Sephora:

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things - Picture from Sephora.com

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things Palette - I have to confess, I haven't been overly impressed with the Too Faced eye shadows I've tried. However, the soft neutrals that make up most of this palette keep calling me, and I've read some good reviews on it.

Urban Decay Ocho Loco 2 Set - Picture from Sephora.com

Urban Decay Ocho Loco Set - I'm addicted to these eye liners, and I really like the colors in this set. I think I'll get a lot of use out of the neutrals in the set, and the brights (barring Deep End) are deep enough that I think I could pull off wearing them on a regular day.

Those two are the things I'm just about positive I'm going to pick up. There's other things that I'm eye-balling, but I'm trying to resist.

Nars Guy Bourdin One Night Stand Cheek Palette - Picture from Sephora.com

Nars Guy Bourdin One Night Stand Cheek Palette - This is really tempting. There is such a hype over Nars blushes, and the colors do look really pretty. I have a hard time justifying it though since I already have the Nars Danmari palette, which has 2 of the 6 colors in this palette, and I don't reach for that one as often as I should.

Tarte Off the Cuff Blush Palette

Tarte Off the Cuff Blush Palette - When I first saw this palette, I thought I HAD to have it, and I would buy it in a heartbeat if I didn't already have 2 of the 4 blush shades and a mini of the bronzer shade in this palette. Instead, I'm waiting for a set of 4 mini blushes that is supposed to be released on QVC to get my Tarte blush fix.

Sephora Favorites Glitz & Glam Set - Picture from Sephora.com

Sephora Favorites Glitz & Glam Set - I'm a sucker for these kinds of sets. Surprisingly, this is the only set this year that has really caught my eye. It isn't in my cart right now because I'm only really interested in the Urban Decay shadow, the Josie Maran Cheek Gelee, and the Too Faced 3-Way Liner. Beyond the Cheek Gelee, I can see using most of these products once or twice before letting them collect dust.

My plotting for my Ulta purchase is a bit more troublesome, but in a good way. Thanks to some strategic purchasing and Ulta's rewards program, I have $131 in Ulta rewards to use on top of the 20% off coupon. I want to go ahead and use all of that. I've got a couple of things that are definite purchases, and there's a couple of items that I'm debating.

bareMinerals Mix Master READY 12 Shadow Palette - Picture from Ulta.com

bareMinerals Mix Master READY 12 Shadow Palette - I love the concept of this palette! That combined with the fact that the READY eye shadows are really good has me buying this palette without seeing any reviews on it. It will be mine!

Urban Decay Shattered Face Case - Picture from Ulta.com

Urban Decay Shattered Face Case - An entire look all in one little palette? Yes, please! I love that they didn't put the lip product in pan-form. The colors are neutral enough to make them easily wearable for me. I'm tempted by the Anarchy Face Case too, but the colors aren't as tempting to me, so I'm showing restraint. (Side note: I already have the Vice 2 Palette, which is why it isn't on my list.)

Here's where my order gets tricky. I want to buy value kits or palettes because they give me the most bang for my buck. There's several that I'm interested in, but they aren't saying, "Buy me now!" I'm also not having luck finding reviews for most of them yet.

bareMinerals Perfect Ten Palette - Picture from Ulta.com

bareMinerals Perfect Ten Palette - I'm drawn to this because of the READY products, but I'm unsure about it because I haven't been able to find any swatches of it yet. That makes me hesitant, and I can't get to an Ulta store easily to check it out there.

Urban Decay Black Market Set - Picture from Ulta.com

Urban Decay Black Market Set - I love these pencils, but the colors aren't jumping out at me as much as the Ocho Loco 2 set.

Anastasia Catwalk Palette - Picture from Ulta.com

Anastasia Catwalk Palette - I've read good reviews about this palette, and I haven't tried anything from Anastasia yet except for a mini of her brow gel.

I've considered a couple of items from Stila's holiday collection too, but their holiday collections seem to be of lesser quality than their regular line.

If you had the $131 and a 20% off coupon at Ulta, what would you pick up? What holiday collection items have caught your eye? Is there anything I should give a second (or third, or fourth) look?

Disclaimer: There is nothing to disclose.