Category Archives: Bargain Beauty

Bargain Beauty, Lips, Maybelline

Maybelline Color Elixir Lipgloss in Vision in Violet Review & Photos

maybelline elixir vision in violet

Vision in Violet, Target, $6.99

I know I’ve been on a lip color kick lately. I know this. I just can’t help myself! I love lip stuff! Lipstick is mostly my jam, because I HATE getting my hair stuck in a sticky lipgloss pout. But, BUT….this new lipgloss from Maybelline has me rethinking my lip life choices.

Maybelline has really stepped up the drugstore lip game as of late. After I loved their Vivids line, I was really excited to try out this Color Elixir line. Maybelline Color Elixir Lipgloss is a FABULOUS lip product. It has pigmentation like lipstick, slides on like lipgloss, and hydrates like a lip balm. The gloss feels cushiony without feeling too sticky. It does leave a little bit of transfer lines when you press your lips together, but I’ve found that after the gloss sits on your lips for a few minutes, that problem sort of goes away. Wear time isn’t crazy long, but when a gloss feels this good to apply, that’s ok! The wand’s mega soft tip makes for easy, precise application, and the color has a slight perfume smell that I actually like. I usually hate that kind of thing, but this one smells really good! It reminds me of something, and I can’t place it. It’s making me slightly crazy, but I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.

maybelline elixir vision in violet swatch

Indoors and in the sun.

I picked up this particular color, because of course I did. I pass by lip displays, I go into a trance, and my hands act on their own; just grabbing all the purple lip products. When I come to, they’re in my basket, and I’m like, “YEAH. GOOD WORK, ME!” Then, I move on to semi-consciously buying thousands of nail polishes that I’ll never wear. I might have a problem. Well, I guess it’s not a problem for me. I like it.

maybelline elixir vision in violet face

Model mouth, civilian hair.

I freaking love this color. Vision in Violet is a sort of pink, orchid purple. It’s bright, it’s gorgeous, it’s eye catching! I wore it out running errands with a friend who’s colorblind, and he said, “Whoa! That lipstick is PURPLE!” I was like, hell yeah, it is! So, it healed him. My beautiful, bright, shiny mouth healed his colorblindness, and now his whole life is so much better all because I can’t stop buying lipgloss. HALLELOO!

The price on these colors is great, and totally worth it. Even when they wear down, and don’t look as glossy, the color is still really pretty. Also, I did not get a bunch of hair caught in my lips. That’s the worst, because then I’m walking around all unaware about the lashes of lipgloss color flicked all around my mouth and cheeks by my idiot, unruly hair. I can’t have that. I gotta keep rep, bro!

Pick up these colors at Ulta, Target, and most likely wherever else you can buy a better than usual array of drugstore cosmetics. CVS, probably? Yeah, get some ice cream while you’re at it.

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Bargain Beauty, Lips, OCC, Sephora

OCC Lip Tar All-Star Mini x 4 Set: Anime & Black Dahlia

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Sephora, $20

Yesterday, I told you about this exclusive to Sephora set of OCC Lip Tars.  Four of OCC’s amazing Lip Tars in the perfect size, at a great price. Long wearing, deeply pigmented, super sexy, ultra awesome liquid lipstick for only $20!

occ lip tar sampler

I showed you the neutral pink and the primary red yesterday. Let’s finish up the set!

occ lip tar set arm swatch 2

Anime is a hot, blue based fuchsia, so I was in love right away. It’s a vibrant, bubblegum pink that’s eye catching and bright.

occ lip tar set anime

Anime has great coverage, and it doesn’t crease or show lines when you press your lips together. The color was easy to work with, it applied beautifully and left a pretty stain. I loved this color! I definitely see myself wearing it often. A bright lip like this is more wearable than people think. It looks pretty and unobtrusive when you pair it with a light eye.

Black Dahlia is a deep, blackened red. It’s a beautiful wine color that’s great for fall and winter. I was super into this color, and it inspired me to create a whole witchy look.

occ lip tar set black dahlia

DO YOU LOVE IT?! I love it! It looks so much darker in the tube, but on the lip, it was much lighter. Black Dahlia was the most difficult to work with out of the set. The color moves around quite a bit, and it will settle into lines and cracks. A little patience and a steady hand with the little brush will get you through. Remember dark colors will make your lips look smaller. If this is a concern for you, blot the color down and/or use a concealer or highlighter color on your cupid’s bow, above your lips, to make your lips look fuller.

To get the best results out of your Lip Tars, be sure to prep your lips before you wear them. You’ll get a smoother application and better wear time if your lips are lookin’ and feelin’ right.  I try to keep my lips prepped at all times. You never know when you’re going to be in an emergency that calls for your well hydrated and exfoliated lips to look on point! YOU LITERALLY NEVER KNOW.

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I figured out a way to show scale! DUH!

I think this set is a really great buy. Crazy long wearing, you only need a tiny amount, and the price all combine to make an amazing deal. This is an excellent starter set for anyone new to OCC’s Lip Tars. I’m totally thrilled they made it, and I hope they do the entire Lip Tar collection in this size!

Buy the Sephora exclusive OCC Lip Tar All-Star Mini x 4 Set HERE.

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Bargain Beauty, Lips, OCC, Sephora

OCC Lip Tar All-Star Mini x 4 Set: Memento & NSFW

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Sephora, $20

Well, this is freaking brilliant.

This set is proof positive that dreams really do come true! Ever since I bought my first Lip Tar, I’ve wished for a smaller, cheaper tube. The pigment in their formula is so intense, a tiny bit goes a really long way! How was I ever going to finish a tube?

occ lip tar sampler

L-R: Memento, NSFW, Anime, Black Dahlia

The tubes in this set are small, 0.08 oz each, and they’re exactly what I wanted! Large enough to be useful, but small enough to feel like I didn’t pay for a ton of wasted product. I’m trying to show scale here with my little paw, but, you have no idea how big my hands are! Let me just say that the iPhone is almost getting too tall for my hands now. Does that help? The colors are good for a wide range of looks, and I think they show the vibrancy of the OCC Lip Tar formula really well. This set is a Sephora exclusive, and at $20 for four small tubes, when a full size tube is $18, it’s a really great deal.

To me, these four colors seem really accessible – they’re a good choice for anyone new to the line. They might seem really bright, but they can be easily blotted down. Besides, come on! Live a little! Are you going to go your whole life without wearing some insane lipstick? Brother, that ain’t livin’.

We’ll do two colors today, and two colors tomorrow. Starting with, what I think, are the two most useful colors, Memento and NSFW.

occ lip tar set swatch 1

Memento is a neutral, medium pink/plum. It’s bright, and sweet, and it would be a really beautiful day to day color.

occ lip tar sampler 1

You could wear this color with so many looks, in so many different settings. It’s versatile, and the most wearable of the four colors.

NSFW is a balanced, true primary red. This color means business and it is GORGEOUS. I have a super special place in my heart for red lipstick, and NSFW is about as straight up red lipstick as it gets.

occ lip tar sampler 2

Red lipstick makes me feel like everyone should look at me. ALL HAIL MY POWER COLOR. Red lipstick is my can of spinach. I put it on, and my beauty muscles pump up! I even commandeered my own attention in the mirror in this color. I’ll tell you this, I was very compelled to take a ton of pictures of myself wearing NSFW.

occ lip tar sampler diptic

ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME.

Let she who is without a thousand pictures of her own face in her phone cast the first stone. There’s a reason that self facing camera is there, ok?

As usual, you’ll get hours of wear time from these Lip Tars. They stain like crazy, so if you don’t use a slow and steady hand WITH the recommended tiny bead of product, you could very easily end up looking like some dirty, Kool-Aid mouthed hillbilly child. That’s not a cute look. We want super sexy confidence power mouth, not “nobody cleans my face and I think Kool-Aid is the same as juice” mouth.

Part two tomorrow!

Buy the Sephora exclusive OCC Lip Tar All-Star Mini x 4 Set HERE.

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Bargain Beauty, Links, SALE

Beauty.com Friends & Family Sale 2013

Beauty.com’s 20% off Friends & Family Sale starts today, 11/5, and goes until 11/16. They have a lot of the same brands Sephora does, so if you weren’t able to get in on Sephora’s F&F sale, you still have the opportunity to pick up some new products. I bought the Kevyn Aucoin powder. It was a little bit of a splurge, but it looks so beautiful, I need it on my cheeks.

The sale link was sent out via email, but mine didn’t show up. So, you can use Temptalia’s link HERE or The Muse’s link HERE.

And you KNOW I have purchase suggestions for you!!!

Beautyblender Makeup Sponge Applicator

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick

Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder

NARS Blush in Orgasm or Super Orgasm

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

You HAVE to use the sale link to access the sale, so be sure you click through to one of the other bloggers to get the 20% off. After you do that, you don’t need a code or anything.

Happy shopping!

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Bargain Beauty, Links, SALE, Sephora

Sephora Friends & Family Sale UPDATE

The Muse over at Musings of a Muse has all the info on the upcoming sale!

“Every VIB and Rouge members get 20% Off their purchase in store or online at Sephora.com. Cards are in the mail and should arrive by November 4th or some folks don’t get a card via mail but one via e-mail instead so keep checking your inboxes and regular mail boxes this week and next week for your code. They’ll be a code for yourself as well as one you can share with a friend but you must be with your friend for them to redeem it in store along with your VIB membership card. You’ll also be able to get your hands on the traditional Sephora tote bag that is free with your purchase while supplies last. The promo code is VIBTOPIA.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like regular Beauty Insider cardholders are going to get the 20% off coupon. That really eats balls, because I’m only $50 away from VIB status. This one is on me for not buying enough makeup, I guess. But, shit, man! My kid needs shoes! She has four feet, after all! I don’t know if you know this, but that’s double the amount of feet most kids have. Double! Double the school shoes, double the church shoes, double the summer sandals, double the sneakers!

It’s just a good thing she doesn’t eat that much.

Anyways! If you’re a VIB, congratulations! If you’re just a BI, like me, then kick rocks, I guess.

***YET ANOTHER UPDATE***

Sephora tweeted they’re doing something special for regular BI cardholders soon! I’ll keep an eye out, and post the information as soon as I see it.

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Bargain Beauty, Sephora

Sephora Friends & Family 2013 Sale

Lace up dem shopping shoes, babies! The Sephora Friends & Family Sale is coming soon!

If you know a Sephora employee, you can get an early coupon code now. But, for the rest of us, BI and VIB cardholders will be able to access the sale sometime in November. There isn’t an exact date available yet, so keep your eyes on your email! And if you haven’t signed up for Sephora’s Beauty Insider card, I don’t know what you’re doing with your life. It’s the rare store loyalty card that really pays off, and considering it doesn’t cost you anything to sign up for it, you’re really coming out on top! That’s a return of, like, a million percent on your investment of $0. Look at you, business lady! Buy! Sell! Graphs! Changing out of your sneakers into your heels at the office! Shoulder pads! Working hard for the money!

Get your lists together now. I’m working on mine! Don’t get in my way though while I’m shopping with a coupon code. I might be in a frenzy and I can’t be held responsible for the actions of my teeth or fists. I suggest going into this sale with a solid list, your hair in a ponytail, and your earrings off. That way if you have to smack someone over some Marc Jacobs lipstick, you’re all ready for it.

Besides the (hopefully) 20% off F&F discount, it’s almost time for the holiday appreciation gift cards to start showing up in the mail. I LOVE those. $15, $20 off! You can’t beat it! Get yourself signed up for the BI card, watch your email, watch your mailbox, then gets to shopping! By the time the sale starts, all the holiday sets and products will be out, so you can pick up some great stuff! I’M SO EXCITED!!

**UPDATE ON THE F&F 2013 SALE HERE!!!**

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Bargain Beauty, Lips, NYX Cosmetics

NYX Cosmetics Matte Lipstick in Indie Flick

NYX Indie Flick 1

NYX Indie Flick 2

Ulta, $5.99

This is another foray into drugstore lipstick for me. I’ll be honest with you, over the last 10 years or so, I really haven’t bought a lot of drugstore cosmetics. Once you get the sweet, sweet taste of prestige brands on your tongue, it’s hard to look back.

NYX Indie Flick face

“Could you be…the most beautiful girl in the world…”

As long as you crop out my lazy eye!

Yep. I’m a reeeeaal buttereye.

Also, I’m a butterbody. As in, body by butter.

LIPSTICK! How gorgeous is this color? So gorgeous! It looks like such a fierce orange in the tube, but on the lips, it’s a super pretty sort of coral color. Poppy colored? I kept thinking of poppies while I was editing these photos, so maybe that’s right. It’s not crazy orange. It’s punchy, right? So surprisingly wearable! I like to see how things look on people with different coloring that mine, so I had a pale, redheaded friend try it too. She bought one because she looked FLY.

For $6, this is a helluva lipstick. You could put it in a higher end tube and charge more for it, fo sho. It’s super creamy, and easy to control. Since it’s matte, it does have a little drag on it, but that’s ok. It’s to be expected with a matte lipstick. Although I don’t think this lipstick is drying, you’ll want to make sure your lips have been properly prepped before you put it on, because it will show every ragged bite mark you’ve chewed into your poor mouth.

Being matte, the wear time is pretty good. Without eating or drinking, you’ll get a few hours of use out of one application. It won’t slide around or transfer outside your lip line either.

I love this lipstick. I can’t believe I’ve been walking past the NYX displays for years. Not just walking past, but, like, actively turning my nose up at them. Well, joke’s on me, because I could have cheap, rad lipsticks all this time.

Will this put a stop to my snobbery? NOPE.

Did I learn a lesson? I DON’T KNOW. MAYBE. BUY MORE LIPSTICKS? IS THAT THE LESSON?

Buy this lipstick, for sure. That’s the lesson for you.

You can get it online, but you can get it at Target too, so why wait?!

Buy NYX Matte Lipstick in Indie Flick HERE.

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Bargain Beauty, Dupes, Lips, MAC, Maybelline

Maybelline Fuchsia Flash Color Sensational Vivids Review

Maybelline Fuchsia Flash diptic

Target, $5.54 (!!!!!)

I totally used this lipstick before I took product photos. I was just so excited!

I don’t buy a lot of drugstore lipsticks. But, for the sake of diversity, and my bank account, I’ve come around. So far, I’ve been pretty pleasantly surprised! This lipstick by Maybelline is so great, it gained entrance into the back pocket of my purse alongside my Givenchy lip gloss. Which means I like it so much, I’m willing to carry it around with me all the time. It also means I loved the color so much, I want to have it available as an option at any time. Yes, sometimes I leave the house without finishing my face. But that’s because I know I have a wide array of lip colors in my bag. Really, all the best stuff is in there.

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Fuchsia Flash is an electric, bright fuchsia with blue undertones. It goes on creamy, glossy, and even with great coverage. The creamy texture does mean you’ll be able to see some lines if you press your lips together, but it isn’t noticeable, and it’s easy to even out. The glossy finish wears down to a satiny finish over a couple hours of wear. It’s not going to stick around through eating and drinking, but that’s ok. I don’t always need that. You do get quite a bit of hydration from the formula which is a great trade off for it not being super long wearing. If you’re not eating and drinking, you’ll get about 4 hours of wear out of an application.

The neon color is crazy on trend for summer 2013, so if you don’t see yourself as the kind of person who will keep on wearing an electric magenta lipstick forever, this is a great option. I AM the kind of person who will wear an electric magenta lipstick forever, so the killer price has got me excited. Another great thing about this particular color is that it’s a nearly dead on dupe for MAC’s Candy Yum Yum. The finish on the MAC color is matte. That’s pretty much the only difference. You could blot down this Maybelline color easily to get the same look without the drying effect you’ll often get from a matte lipstick.

Maybelline Fuchsia Flash photo

My hair looks long!! Bonus!

One of the best things about bright lip colors like this, is you can leave the rest of your face pretty bare, and you still have a finished look. It’s awesome. Mascara, blush, lipstick, BAM! Out the door looking SUPA FLY.

I just found a $2 off any Maybelline lip product coupon in a magazine, so I’m going to go snap up another one of these. It’s a good thing they only have the one blue based bright fuchsia. I just can’t seem to stop myself.

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