Sephora September Play! Box

August 24, 2017

Greetings! Happy Sephora September Play! Box Day! The happiest day of the month. It’s kind of like Rex Manning Day, only for adults…and about makeup…and not sucky. Okay, it’s nothing like Rex Manning Day. And if you don’t know what Rex Manning Day is, please go watch ’90s classic Empire Records immediately and report back.

This month is doubly exciting because I made a video to accompany the post! It was nerve wracking, so I hope it’s not terrible. It accompanies the launch of the new YouTube channel, and I welcome feedback. Just not too harsh, please!

So what do we have in the Sephora September Play! Box?

First, the cute makeup pouch with “A Change of Face” on it. I love these little pouches. They’re so handy when you need to just throw a bunch of stuff together and go. As I apply my makeup, I throw it into one of these bags and then just tuck the bag into my purse for the night. Easy peasy.

Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12HR Wear Waterproof

Guys, it’s like Sephora knows exactly what I want. I would say they’ve bugged my house, but I don’t think I’ve said this out loud, so perhaps they’ve bugged my brain. The thing is, I’m incapable of wearing black eyeliner without it getting all over my under eye area and making me look a) incredibly tired and b) kind of old. I chalk it up to having oily skin. But I’ve never tried a waterproof eyeliner, so I’m very excited to give this one a go.

Algenist POWER Recharging Night Pressed Serum

I had to go to the Sephora website to look up what a pressed serum was, and discovered that this stuff goes for $95 a pot. See, the Sephora box is awesome. I never would have purchased a full sized container of this because, what if I didn’t like it? Then I’m out a hundred bucks. This way, I get to try before I buy.

Serums have seriously become one of my favorite skincare products. They do so much with so little. This one promises a radiant and smooth complexion in 10 days, so I’m hoping there’s enough in this lil’ guy to get me to 10.

IGK Hot Girls Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner

I have to admit, I find this packaging odd. There are photos of girls whipping their hair around and swimming. And yes, while I would like to look like these girls, this packaging looks like it’s targeting men, TBH. On the plus side, it is vegan and cruelty free, and promises to revive stressed hair. Since my hair constantly takes a beating from hot styling tools, I welcome any product that can restore its shine and softness.

Belif – The True Cream Aqua Bomb

This one I had to look up as well, just because I’m unfamiliar with the company. So this stuff is cool because it’s oil free, which is great for skin like mine which is oily and has large pores. According to the Sephora website, in clinical tests subjects experienced a 70% increase in their skin’s hydration levels. I wonder how they test that…

Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Amulet

Another waterproof wonder, this lipstick shade is described as a matte brick rose. While I love the brick rose color, I’m personally nervous about a matte lipstick. I don’t wear it very often, as it usually dries out my lips and leaves that weird rim around the edges when I eat or drink anything. Still, the reviews are great, so I’m happy to try it out.

Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow

Y’all, I’m very, very happy to get this one. Benefit’s big thing is brows these days, and although I haven’t visited their brow bar yet, I have been eyeing Gimme Brow for a while. The packaging promises that it will volumize and tame brows while staying natural looking. I’ve seen some pretty messed up brows before, and I usually stay away from any kind of fillers for that reason. It would be just my luck that I’d leave the house thinking my brows looked amazing, then getting out into natural light and realizing I look like a mental patient.

That’s it for this month’s haul. If you liked the review, please share it! What do you guys think is the most promising product in here? Leave me a comment or message me here!

Beauty, Hair Care

Madam CJ Walker Beauty Culture Wonderful Deep Conditioning Mask

August 10, 2017

In the immortal words of Eugene Levy as he sits in the dentist chair in “Splash,” what a week I’m having. I will get into it more later, but first, a review of Madam CJ Walker Beauty Culture Wonderful Deep Conditioning Mask. What is with these products and their titles lately? I feel like everything is a novel.

In all seriousness, between the Sephora Play! boxes and my Influenster box, I’ve tried some great products in the last couple of weeks.

The Madam CJ Walker Deep Conditioning Mask came in my Sephora July Play! box, and I have used it a couple of times. As a side note, as I write this the mama foster cat, Kiki, is sitting next to me on the couch purring and staring adoringly at me. It’s too precious.

Kiki - Beauty Chaos — How do you not just put that in a pita pocket?

Back to the Madam CJ Walker Beauty Culture Wonderful Deep Conditioning Mask.

This mask promises to deep condition and rehydrate dry, damaged, and/or color treated hair. It has notes of white flower and warm vanilla listed in the scent description and I have to say, it does smell delicious. It is free of all the parabens, sulfates and phthalates that clog up a lot of other hair products. But seriously, I have no idea what those things do. I just know that they’re bad.

For optimal results, the mask is to be used once a week. You’re supposed to section towel dried hair and saturate it from roots to ends. Then, you wait 15 minutes, rinse out, and voila! Perfect hair. I followed these instructions to a T and also applied some light heat from my hairdryer for deeper conditioning.

Afterwards, my hair felt amazing.

My hair isn’t in really bad condition, but I do blow dry it every other day because when I don’t I look like the Fear the Walking Dead kid (see Carol’s Daughter Leave In Conditioner Spray for an explanation). That coupled with the fact that I haven’t had a haircut since … I can’t remember the last time I had my hair cut. So it’s been a long time.

Needless to say, my hair needs some care and this mask does the trick. My hair felt silky and smooth even after a blowout, and that softness lasted all week. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Cost and Where to Buy

Madam CJ Walker Beauty Culture Wonderful Deep Conditioning Mask can be purchased at Sephora for $32. I got the little bottle in my Play! box, but I think the product is worth it and will definitely purchase a full-sized bottle when I’m ready. I also found the conditioner on Amazon, but it’s listed for $52.99 so, yeah, go to Sephora. I’m also interested in trying Madam Walker’s Pre-Wash Protein Treatment.

Now, onto my week.

Or I should say, last couple of weeks. Husband and I decided to rent out our guest room, which was always the plan when we bought the house. We didn’t want to get a permanent roommate, so we decided to rent out the room for temporary stints through a website. Let’s call it LandCoC.

These guests were supposed to be here for a month. However, we had to evict them after just under two weeks. They were awful. Two guys, they never left the house, didn’t follow our “House Rules” (which are not unreasonable. Just, you know, don’t eat our groceries and try not to die in the pool which means no diving because it’s shallow, dummies.) and were just generally rude.

I’ve been feeling kind of depressed as a result of being in the house with them. Since I work from home, there was no escape from the madness. Although it did get me back to Cardio Barre, so I suppose I owe them a thank you for that. Seriously, best workout ever.

The final straw came on Sunday.

One of the men left for a while and came back really drunk. He hit on me and was trying to get me to go in the pool with him. Husband was at work, but he was not pleased when I told him about this. We went out for dinner and frozen yogurt, and when we came home we discovered that the same man was running around our house in his underpants. Not modest ones, either.

I don’t know about you ladies (or gentlemen), but the thought of being in a house with someone who gets drunk, hits on me, and strips down to his underwear every day while my husband isn’t home does not sound pleasant. So I contacted AirBNB, who advised that they were going to remove him.

But did they go gently into that good night?

No. No, indeed. They had to be threatened with police intervention. Can’t make this stuff up, people. Finally we got them out, but that was a huge problem as well.

So yes, I missed Monday’s post. I also need all the wine. I’m still reeling from the experience as it was, you know, our first one. Not sure if we’re going to do it again.

Aaand that’s my story for the week! Got any horror stories of your own? Leave me a comment or message me here!

Beauty, Cosmetics, Hair Care, Skincare

Sephora August Play! Box

August 7, 2017

I’m just as excited to have received my Sephora August Play! Box as I was my July one. Perhaps it reminds me of being a kid, when getting mail felt magical. Less so now; now it just feels like bills, LOL.

My apologies for being absent last week for my second post. Husband and I are hosting our first Airbnb and it’s…interesting. I have had a lot on my plate.

So now, onto the Sephora August Play! Box

The box again arrived with a cute little “Makeup Geek” bag, as well as an “Elements of Beauty” periodic table. Adorable. As I described previously, there are specifications you get to enter when you subscribe for the Play! box, so they’re kind of individualized, which is awesome.

beautyblender micro.mini This thing is just adorable. I have wanted to try the beautyblender for a while, and this little teeny bugger is the perfect size for a test run. Reading the description in the pamphlet, I’m surprised to find out that beautyblender has been around for 15 years. Clearly, I’ve been missing out! It’s a great shape to get into the under eye area for concealer, or dab on little blemishes (not that any of us get those). The description promises it will double in size when wet.

Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil I almost can’t believe it took a company this long to invent a mascara remover in a mascara wand form. Sounds elementary, I know, but after years of rubbing at my lashes with makeup remover and scrubbing my face, something I apply directly to lashes before wiping is innovative. I usually wear a coat of waterproof mascara over my regular mascara so I don’t get smudges, so I’m excited to try this one out.

Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer Creme Concealers are a difficult area for me, I have to admit. Either they don’t provide enough coverage for my Italian-heritage under eye circles, or the coverage is so heavy that when I smile it creases and I end up looking at least 10 years older. I’m not sure I need the 24-hour coverage that this concealer promises, but the “high-pigment, crease-proof formula” is a definite plus in my book.

Kopari Coconut Melt So…this one confuses me. The pamphlet shows it as a cream, but mine is completely liquefied. I’m puzzled, because it’s been inside since it arrived. The instructions are to “melt a dollop in your hands and apply,” but it’s already melted. And leaking. Not great. Hopefully, the product will be good enough that it’s worth it. This jack of all trades promises to function as a lip balm, nighttime moisturizer, makeup remover, and more.

Kat Von D Saint & Sinner Perfume Two perfume types to try here, folks. Between Sephora Play! and Influenster, I have perfume coming out of my ears. SAINT is a more floral scent, with notes of mandarin, jasmine, and tiare flower, with a base note of musk. SINNER is in the warm and spicy family, with orange blossom, cinnamon, and vanilla. Sounds like smelling like a scone. In all seriousness, they both smell pretty good, so hopefully that’ll translate into smelling good on me.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo OMG, I could not be more excited about this one! All I’ve read is that this is the BEST dry shampoo on the market, bar none. Supposedly there’s a “new patented molecule” that allows Living Proof’s dry shampoo to absorb oil more effectively than any of the competitors out there, leaving hair truly voluminous and refreshed. Will it make me look like Jennifer Aniston? It’s worth a shot.

That’s it for the Sephora August Play! Box

I’m super excited to try out these products and see which ones work, especially the two in here from my “try” list. See, this is why I joined the beauty box program. I knew that at some point, they would send me something I’ve been wanting to try.

What was your experience with subscription boxes? Leave me a comment or message me here!

Don’t forget to check out my 30-Day Pamper Yourself Challenge!

Beauty Chaos

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