April Play! by Sephora Unboxing

Published on by Demetra Marie3 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s that time of the month again where I show you what I got in my Sephora Play box. This month’s theme is Step It Up. Everything that came in this month’s box is meant to step up your makeup, skin care, hair care, etc. This month’s box I was excited but a little underwhelmed. Let’s start out on a good note, and share the items I was excited to receive.

I was really excited to see the Sephora Collection waterproof eye make up remover. I heard that this is comparable to the Neutrogena eye make up remover, which is my go to remover. I’m looking forward to see how the Sephora one compares to the Neutrogena one. Retails: $7.50-$15

Next up we have the Philosophy Purity facial cleanser. I have used this in the past and works amazing with my facial cleanser brush. It cleans my skin well with and without the cleanser brush. When I finished up my previous bottle I knew that when it was time to buy another face wash, I would repurchase this one. The one thing I’m not such a fan of is the scent. It is a fresh flowery scent. It doesn’t smell horrible, but it is definitely not my favorite. I am willing to look past this just because it does such a great job at cleansing my skin. Retails: $11-$55

The last item that I am really looking forward to trying out is the Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Serum. I am constantly looking for different things that will help improve the texture and balance out the moisture in my skin. I am hoping that this isn’t too heavy for my skin. Anything that is too heavy always results in my face being an oily mess. I don’t know too much about this product, but I am very interested in learning more. Retails: $65Now, on to the products I’m neither here nor there about. First there is the Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Eye Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner in M10, which is their black. The one thing that I like and dislike about the brand is that they use a letter and number system. As far as the product itself. I already have about 4 black eyeliners that are currently waiting in my stash. It will probably be awhile til I actually try this out. I would like to try this out in a waterproof makeup test post, and see how well this holds up. Retails: $21

The other product is the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. I had use this primer a few years ago, and I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it. Part of it was not knowing really what I was looking for in a primer. Now that I am more knowledgeable about my skin and what I’m looking for, I’m interested in seeing how this will work for me. Retails: $16-$49

Last up is the one item that I am definitely passing on to someone else. It is the Miu Miu L’eau Bleue. I love the smell of lilies, but in this specific fragrance, it is extremely strong. I think if you really love floral scents and it works with your body chemistry then I think you really enjoy this. The fragrance sample this month missed the mark for me. Retails: $28-$118

That is everything. I hope you enjoyed peeking into my bag this month. This was probably my least favorite box that I have received. If you haven’t noticed Sephora has somewhat customized the boxes each month. Everyone can receive one of 2 or 3 different fragrance, beauty, skin care or hair care samples. I think this adds a nice touch to the experience. Overall, I think the Sephora Play box is a great value. You get decent size samples, however sometimes I wish the some skin care items were a bit larger so you can get a little bit of a better idea if you like the product. That’s all for today. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you in my next post, where I share what I got from the Sephora VIB spring sale.

Top 10 Sephora VIB Spring Sale Recommendations

Published on by Demetra MarieLeave a comment

Hello everyone! Today I’m sharing a few items that I think are worth picking up during the VIB spring sale. First a little bit of info. VIB Rouge members can start shopping today the 18th until the 24th, VIB members can start shopping on the 19th until the 24th and Beauty Insiders can shop the 20th until the 24th. VIB Rouge and VIB members will be able to get 15% and Beauty Insiders will be able to get 10% off of their purchases.

Generally, I suggest picking up items that may fill the holes in your collection OR picking up a few of those splurge items you wouldn’t normally pick up. I think this is a great time to pick up foundations, concealers, and skin care. This may also be a time where you would pick up eye or face palettes.

In no particular order, my top 10 picks for the VIB Sale:

  1. Anastasia Modern Renaissance Palette $42
  2. Beauty Blender $20
  3. Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation $43
  4. Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector $38
  5. Anastasia Glow Kit (any of them) $40
  6. NARS Orgasm Blush $30
  7. NARS Laguna Bronzer $40
  8. Bite Beauty Lipsticks (any of their lipsticks, they are fantastic!) $24-26
  9. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick $20
  10. Buxom Full-On Lip Cream $20

That’s everything! I own or have tried out everything on my list. Some of these things are on my wish list and I hope to pick this week, and some may just be re-purchasing. I know I mentioned skin care and concealers before, however I don’t have enough experience with any from Sephora that I can suggest. I have yet to find my perfect concealer shade and am hoping to find one that will work. Would you like to see what I pick up from the sale? In a post? On Instagram as a pic or an InstaStory? Let me know in the comments below. Anyone else shopping the sale? What are you going to pick up? Any recommendations?

Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Haul

Published on by Demetra Marie1 Comment

Hello everyone! A little while back I shared with you what I thought would be good picks during Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty sale. I know because of my project pan I am on a no buy, but when I do my shopping, I do try to shop when there’s a deal. First, I looked at what I have and then looked at what deals were going to be happening at Ulta. So let’s see what I picked up during the sale plus a couple other bits that I picked up at the same time.

First up are the Philosophy Purity made simple one- step facial cleansing cloths. I picked up two packages of these. I thought because they are cleansing and not makeup removing wipes these would be great for at the gym. After a good workout just to cleanse the skin quickly until I get home.

Next I picked up two Stila eyeliners. Both are shades of brown. The lighter brown is the shade of Espresso which is a medium shade of brown. The darker brown is the shade of Damsel which is a dark black brown. When I did my last clean out of my stash, my brown liners were old and definitely expired.

Last items that I picked up from the sale were two Tarte blushes and a highlight. The blushes that I picked up were Exposed and Dollface. Exposed is a nude shade. I picked this up because I was looking for s nude shade that could possibly work for those no makeup- makeup days. Dollface is a beautiful light pink, which I think is similar to the shade that my cheeks naturally flush. The highlighter I picked up is in the shade Exposed Highlight. It is a nude shade that can easily be used as a highlight AND an eye shadow. I think it would look beautiful as an allover sheer wash of color for a quick 5-minute look.

Now on to the items that I picked up that weren’t part of the sale. On one of the trips to Ulta, I brought my boyfriend with me. While I was looking at whatever the deal was that day, he was insisting on getting something for me. I continually told him no he didn’t have to. As we were walking out he saw the display for the Urban Decay Vice Waterproof Long Lasting Liquid Lipsticks, the metallic ones specifically. He told me to pick a color out and I chose one of the nude, light pink shades, and he goes how about this one. This is the one that ended up coming home with us. He chose the shade Big Bang. I love this shade! This is the shade that I would love everyday, but I am not confident to rock it everyday.

The last couple of items I picked up from Target. My Target is right next to Ulta and well, I have the I see a Target and I must go in and see what I can pick that I don’t really need. They had the Wet n Wild stuff buy one get one 50% off. I picked up the coloricon blush in Rose Champagne and the megaglo Contouring Palette in Dulce De Leche. I thought that the blush would be a nice drugstore option for a nude blush, however after I swatched it on my hand it may be better as a highlight or an eyeshadow. The contour palette I have yet to swatch. I am hoping because I am so fair that it will work or at least be a nice bronzer option for the summer.

That’s everything! I love everything that I have picked up. I can’t wait to really use these things and test them out. If you want to know my thoughts on any of these items let me know. I hope that you have a great weekend and a Happy Easter to those that celebrate. See you all in my next post.

17 Products to Use Up in 2017

Published on by Demetra Marie2 Comments

Hello everyone! As you know by now I love to clean up and clear out my things. On top of my project pan that I am currently doing, I decided to do a products to use up for the entire rest of the year. I tried to choose  a few items in different categories in order to have almost a whole routine. There is obvious holes in the items needed to complete a full look, but that’s ok. The rules for the products to Use Up by the end of the year are…

  • Use up as many by the end of the year.
  • Replace with a similar item
  • Live life and have fun!

The last one is just a reminder to have fun and live your life. I have items from hair to nails, skin/body, and beauty. With that said let’s jump in to see what I am going to try and use up by the end of the year.

HAIR

Aussie Heat Protecting Shine Spray

Matrix Silk Wonder Smoothing Oil

SKIN/BODY

Simple Moisturizing Facial Wash

Aveeno Skin Relief Gentle Scent Lotion

Bath and Body Works Exotic Coconut Body Lotion

NAILS

Sally Hansen Instant cuticle Remover

OPI Natural Nail Base Coat

Essie The Girls Are Out (I know this is my current project pan, spoiler alert!! it won’t be done in that time frame)

Orly Argan Oil Cuticle Drops

BEAUTY

Rimmel Match Perfection 2-in-1 Concealer & Highlighter in230 Fair/Light

NARS Laguna & Orgasm Duo

NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee

Avon Candylicious Lip Gloss in Candied Peach

Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama Waterproof Mascara in 307 Very Black

E.L.F. HD Under Eye Setting Powder

NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder in Translucent

NYX Matte Finish

There you have it! My 17 products to use up in 2017. Would you rather you see me just do one big yearly project or a bunch of project pans? Let me know! Have a great rest of your week and I’ll see you in my next post.

Milk Makeup Sunshine Oil First Impressions

Published on by Demetra MarieLeave a comment

Hello everyone! Today I thought I’d share with you my first impressions of the Milk Makeup Sunshine Oil. I received this as part of a Sephora Play box, and I have had yet to use it. This is supposed to be your multi-use cure everything oil. You can use this on your body, face, and I think if you have extremely dry hair, I think this would work well on the ends too. The oil has has grapeseed and avocado oils, grapefruit peel, tangerine peel, mandarin, lemon peel, and other essential oils. It has a beautiful citrus scent, and the lemon is very prominent. The scent alone has me hooked.

I put a small drop in the palm of my hand and dipped my cuticles in it. I rubbed it in and it sinks in within a few seconds. There is no residue on my fingers and the oil doesn’t transfer on to anything that I touch. You can smell it a bit if your hands are near your face but it isn’t overpowering. When put into the bottom 2-3 inches of my hair, it adds moisture and smooths it out.  I think my hair isn’t as dry as I thought it was because the ends looked slightly oily, but not bad. I would suggest to just put this lightly on the ends of your hair.

I think just about everyone would love using this in some capacity whether you use it on your body, face or hair. I chose not to test this out on my face because the skin on my face tends to be sensitive to certain things. Those are my thoughts. If you are interested, I suggest that you grab a sample first. If you have sensitive skin, I highly recommend that you test it out first before you purchase it. I do think that this is a good all around product and you should definitely check it out. That is all for today. Have a great weekend!