It's A Haul Y'all! - Lush-o-ween

Hey There!

I went to Lush for Lush-o-ween! I was excited because I love indulging in the bath products that they have. I'm a bath girl so I really enjoy bath bombs and bubble bars and bubblers. The new Halloween Lushes came out on October 3 (in some places before that date). I try to high tail it into Lush when new collections come out. Halloween was no exception.

I made it out of the store $42 poorer. Or, 5 Lush-ious products richer. You decide. Whichever descriptor you decide on, I ain't mad at it!

The first thing I picked up isn't a Halloween item. It's their Bubble Gum Lip Scrub ($9.95). The kiddo and I split one of these between us. I love using this scrub. It smells good and tastes good and exfoliates your lips gently. I only use the scrub about once every two weeks. I find that more than that is too harsh. I exfoliate and then slather with aquaphor. Ta-da! Smooth, sexy lips.

The Sparkly Pumpkin ($7.95) is the prettiest, sparkliest, orange pumpkin I've ever owned. And it's a bubble bar. And it's supposed to turn your bath water into a gold, glittering pool of energized joy. I wonder how I'm gonna clean that outta the tub.

The Lord of Misrule Bath Bomb ($6.95) is a green ball of herbal fizz. One word - Patchouli. I wasn't sure what Patchouli was until I started spending time (and money) in Lush. Now every time I walk in, I leave with something with Patchouli as an ingredient. It smells fantastic and because this is a bath bomb, it's a green, fizzy foam and it's fun and refreshing.

Yuzu and Cocoa ($7.95) smelled like orange chocolate. It's sweet and is supposed to make frothy bubbles. It's a bath melt (similar to the bubble bar). I am excited to use this because it reminds me of Terry's Milk Chocolate. I love Terry's Milk Chocolate.

Avobath ($6.45) is a lemongrass bubble bar. I love the smell of lemongrass. It's such a fresh scent. It reminds me of clean and fresh mornings. Now the shimmery water, again, how am I going to clean the tub?

No one thinks about cleaning the tub when they use Lush products. The only thing they think about is how wonderful a soak in the tub is going to feel and how fragrant the bathroom is going to smell.

Did you pick up the Lush-o-ween products? Have you used them yet? What did you think about them?

Empties!

Hey there!

Wow! Do you see this bin o' empties? I can't remember the last time I had that much stuff to throw away! It's like I really concentrated on using up products.

Ok, so I did do that.

I finished an Avon Bubble Bath in Orange & Honeysuckle. It's a really nice scent. It's not strong and as always bubbles up very nicely. I don't think I'd purchase it again. I haven't used my Avon lady for a long while and I've been playing with other bubble baths. Also, I've been bubbling up with my Lush products and really like the Lush Bubble Bars.

I finished several shower gels. Yes, I did it on purpose. I had sooo many half used bottles that I needed to try to use up what I could. I finished a bottle of Nivea Moisturizing Body Wash Touch of Happiness in Orange Blossom. This smelled great. I loved the scent. I felt fresh and clean afterwards. This one is definitely on my repurchase list. I also finished a Nivea Touch of Serenity mini body wash in Hibiscus Blossom. It smelled nice but the consistency wasn't my favorite. It was too creamy, if that makes sense. It took a lot to lather up and if it didn't lather it would fall of the towel. Crazy. I got this in a subscription box and I wouldn't purchase it.

I also got an Olay Fresh Outlast Cooling White Strawberry shower gel in a subscription box. It smelled great, lathered well and I'd certainly repurchase it. There was also a Bath & Body Works shower gel mini in Moonlight Path. I love this scent. I have a full size and the mist. It smells sexy. Philosophy Have a Cherry Christmas did not smell sexy. If you simply sniff it, it smells like a cherry dream. When you put it on your body, it stinks.

I finished another of my holy grail face wipes Wet n Wild Under The Sheets. You know the deal. These are amaze balls. I used up a Secret Deodorant. No secret there. And, there is an empty Crest Tartar Protection toothpaste. Love it. I also finished a Neutrogena Oil-free Moisture Sensitive Skin Moisturizer. I like it pretty well. I've repurchased another one in a slightly different formula. I'm on the hunt for something better though, so don't get attached.

I used up two Ogx products. I used a Thick & Full Biotin & Collagen Shampoo and Smooth Hydration Argan Oil & Shea Butter Conditioner. They were ok but not the best Ogx products that I've used. I probably won't try them again. I also have to toss a bottle of Almond oil. A few days ago I did a post on essential body oils and I realized I've had this particular bottle for quite a while. So I did a quick sniff test and, yeah, it went rancid. I will, of course, repurchase it though.

Another item that went rancid is my bareMinerals Loud & Clear lip sheer in Berry Remix. I got this as a promotional item. I kinda think that it was already bad when I got it. I also tossed an Aquaphor tube because it went all liquidy. My bag of facial buff sponges did not go rancid or liquidy. It went empty. Love using them to exfoliate a few times a week.

So that's all the craziness that is going on in my trash can! Quite a bit, I dunno, maybe what I always have. It just seems like a lot.

What did you use this month? Was it a lot or about the same? Anything interesting? Tell us about it!

What's In My Makeup Bag?

Hey there!

It's been a minute but I thought it was probably time to revisit "what's in my makeup bag". This is the bag that I always take to work and have with me in case I need a touch up during the day or go somewhere after work. I always take my little pink bag with my makeup of the day but I always have certain things that stay in the bag.

First of all, my pretty (but dingy) pink bag is a Mally bag that I got with a purchase a year or so ago. I like it because it's nice and sturdy. It's small enough to fit in my work bag and big enough for the makeup that I might need.

I always have my face powder and lip products that I used that morning and for some reason, a spare lipstick. It's usually the lippie from the previous day.

I always keep a Sephora sample bag with my perfume sample of the week. Sometimes I forget to spritz before I leave home and this way I can smell good anyway!

I always keep a tube of Aquaphor and a Maybelline Baby Lips in my bag. With all of the lip care that I keep on hand, you'd think my lips would be baby soft. They are reasonably soft but not super soft.

And randomness is a hair clamp, lubricating eye drops and 2 adhesive bandages. The hair clamp is for days when all the cute curls go away. The lubricating eye drops are for refreshing tired eyes. The bandages are leftovers from when I had a very small keloid on my upper chest area that I was trying to treat.

If I know that I am going out, I will bring my blush, bronzer and a brush for refreshing. But, most of the time I just do without. I'm a pretty natural girl.

And that's it really. Sometimes I remember to touch up my lipstick, sometimes I forget. I might refresh my bronzer or blush if I'm having dinner with friends but most of the time I don't. I do pull out the hair clip frequently and you always need eye drops.

What's in your makeup bag? Does it need refreshing or is everything in it ok?

Quickie Review - Wet n Wild Megalast Liquid Lip Color

I've said before that Wet n Wild products are hit or miss for me. When I saw these Wet n Wild Megalast Liquid lip colors (Cherry on Top & Raisin The Roof) I thought that they would certainly be hits! The colors looked fabulous and you can't go wrong with a liquid lip color can you? Well, maybe you can.

All of the Wet n Wild Megalast Liquid Lip Colors are not new but the two that I purchased were. The Wet n Wild website has 13 colors in all. Most stores that I visited have had at least 8 of them on their shelves so there hasn't been a run on these colors. I kinda know why.

These are lip stains. I mean stain for real! When I swatched my hand to take photos, I had to take a 15 minute phone call before I could take my picture. Then I tried to take the swatches off my hand. BIG MISTAKE! That color wasn't going anywhere! I used makeup remover pads, Purity Makeup Remover, eye makeup remover, Dawn dishliquid, makeup brush cleaner...sigh. I finally removed most of the color but that made me really scared to wear them.

And I should have been scared. The color was very pigmented. They were super colors. Cherry on Top was a deep, wine colored red. The paddle foot applicator (that I really like) glided across my lips and glistened for about 3 minutes. Then the color got dull. I had to add a lip balm on top. Raisin The Roof was the same experience. The sparkling copper color was rich and vibrant and then dulled quickly. But the color lasted.

And lasted...way longer than I wanted it to. My lips felt dry and I kept adding lip balm. By the afternoon I added enough balm to begin trying to scrub the color off. It didn't wear off evenly and I didn't want to look crazy. That night I had to slather on Aquaphor for moisture.

I won't be buying these again. They do last but I didn't really want them to.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Most of the year I live in very pleasant weather. I like the heat so when winter comes, I cringe. Apparently, my face does too. My normally normal skin gets dry and flaky during the very first cold snap of the year and doesn't straighten out until 72˚ shows up and stays put. Right now by 7 pm my face feels so tight and dry that my skin soaks up night cream. There are nights that I slather cream on my face twice.

Because I'm probably not the only person that has searched the web for good skin care products, I thought I'd let you in on my skin care routine. It's pretty simple but if I stick to it, I'm usually ok. If I deviate from it for more than a day or two, there's trouble ahead and it takes almost a week to get things right again.

My search for good skin began 7 months ago when I tried a Philosophy Purity Made Simple trial size face wash. I had been using facial wipes but after 2 or 3 weeks of each type of wipe, my face would get red and bumps would appear. Once I began wearing heavier eye makeup (mascara, colored shadows, etc) and foundation with more coverage, I needed a stronger face cleanser  than the one I had been using. Eye remover was another puzzle for me. Each type that I tried made my eyes sting and a few even left a film on my eyes! I researched other folk's skin care routines and came across Purity Made Simple and I fell in love. This cleanser is gentle on my skin but boy does it melt eye makeup off! I mean it really does without a residue or anything. You see I have a gigantic bottle of it (and a spare in the closet). I use a face scrub pad on my face (not my eyes though) and that seems to exfoliate very well. I know about the expensive scrubbers but this works for me.

My day time face moisturizer is Garnier Moisture Rescue. I've used it for almost 2 years and it's pretty good. It has an SPF of 15 and feels good under my face powder or foundation. I have no complaints but I'm participating in my Sample Bin Series so that could change.

My night time moisturizer is Lacura Q10 night cream. I found it at ALDI on the recommendation of a few youtube vloggers. Again, it works but I'm not in love with it. I'd be open to other moisturizers. I've tried different gels and creams before and wasn't impressed. This is the first cream in a while that I've liked well enough to keep using it. Not sure that I'll repurchase it. I might find something new and well, spring is near (If I keep saying that, it will get here faster).

I have 2 little extras that I use several times a day. I had a huge growth on my face for about 2 years that I named Henry. Well, it wasn't really huge. It was a small cyst that you couldn't see because I wear glasses most of the time. But, it needed to be removed. Once I built up the courage (and my doctor assured me it wouldn't leave a deep scar that I would need a plastic surgeon for), I had it removed about 4 months ago. Yes, I have pictures, no, I won't show them cause some of you might be eating dinner. It was kinda gross.  Once the scar healed, I began using 100% cocoa butter on it. Amaze-balls, it faded it no time. So now I use cocoa butter on a multitude of sins.

And out of everything I use each day, my most beloved item is my Aquaphor. Cuts, scrapes, chapped lips, jacked up feet, you name it. I was introduced to it when my daughter was born. The nurses sent her home with a big tub of it and I've always had some on hand ever since. I have a large tube next to my bed, 2 tubes in my desk drawer at work, 1 tube on top of my desk, 1 tube in every purse, 1 tube on the book case, 1 tube in the remote holder next to the sofa...you get the picture. If you haven't tried Aquaphor you really should invest in a tube. Yes, you can go with the store brand because it is a bit pricey but if you are okay with making a few high priced cosmetic purchases a month, then you should be okay investing in this. It really is the best.

So I'm married to my Philosophy Purity Made Simple and my Aquaphor, I'm engaged to my Garnier Moisture Rescue and my 100% Cocoa Butter and I'm dating my Lacura Q10 night cream...

... until something better comes along.