Collective Haul | March 2015

Ooops, I did it again... For some odd reason, I thought I was doing really well by not buying too many things this past month because I was busy for at least half the month with no time to shop...  But that all changed once I put everything I've purchased throughout the month all together for the collective picture to realize that I purchased a lot more than I had intended to.  I blame my hoarding this past month on stress!

Sooo as we can all see, a good chunk of the products are actually lip products.  I am a lip product addict and I just love to try new products.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

The lip products I picked up are:

• Softlips Cube in Fresh Mint
• Softlips Cube in Pomegranate Blueberry
• Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Colour Rush in All You Need Is Pink
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Colour Rush in Give Me a Cuddle
• Rimmel Show Off Lip Velvet in Meteoric Matte
• ELF Lip Balm Tint in Peach
• Milani Power Lip Lasting & Moisturizing Gloss Stain in Cabaret Blend
• Almay Smart Shade Butter Kiss in Nude-Light/Medium
• Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick in Matte Classy
• Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick in Matte Dare
• Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in Fresh Fig
• Hard Candy All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Pout
• Hard Candy All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Mauvelous
• Hard Candy Plumping Serum Lipstick in Victorious
• Hard Candy Plumping Serum Lipstick in Infamous
• Hard Candy Plumping Serum Lipstick in Wanted
• NYC Smooch Proof Liquid Lip Stain in On Everyone's Lips

I also managed to snag up some nail products.

• Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Laced Up
• Essie's Fiji
• NYC's Strip Me Off
• Nail Aid 1st Acetone Power Gel No-Rub for Glitter & Nail Art

Some impulse hair products:

• TRESemme Perfectly (un)Done Wave Creation Sea Foam
• Batiste Dry Shampoo in Clean&Classic Original

Also some face products:

• Freeman Dead Sea Minerals Anti-Stress Mask
• Rimmel BB Cream Radiance in Light

And lastly, the miscellaneous products:

• L'oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intenza Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black (x2)
• Covergirl Full Lash Bloom waterproof in Very Black
• Jergens BB Hand

I will admit, I did overdo it by a lot in March.  I'm really hoping that I will purchase exponentially less products in April, especially since there's the Sephora sale and I'm already eyeing two things I want that are quite expensive.  Let's hope for a more controlled spending in April!

Wishlist | February 2015

It's that time of the month again, where I'll be talking about products I've been itching to hoard.  This time I have a list of drugstore-ish lip products that I've been lusting over since I found out about them.  I mentioned that these products are drugstore-ish because although they have drugstore prices, you can't find all of them at your local drugstores.

First up on the list is Colour Pop's Lippie Stix.  I have no idea where and when this brand came out but I noticed back in October of 2014, a BUNCH of youtubers were raving about the brand.  There're so many shades that I would probably spend a good amount of time looking up swatches.  I think the best part about this brand is that all their products are all affordable!  I couldn't believe their Lippie Stix is only $5 each!  That is cheaper than some lipsticks we have at the drugstores!  The one downside is that you have to order their products online.  I'm most likely going to get my hands on these some time later this year, and I'm super excited for it!

Next we have Jordana's Modern Matte lipstick.  I believe these are new products that started appearing at Walgreens and Kmart back in January while the official launch date is actually February.  Honestly these matte lipsticks are the reason why I haven't allowed myself to step inside Walgreens lately.  I know that if I see them, I'll be too tempted to get it so in order to avoid buying it, I just don't go to the store at all.  

Then there is Hard Candy's Plumping Serum Gel Stick.  I believe I heard about these from emilynoel83 on youtube, if not another youtuber, raving about this.  I was intrigued but unfortunately I don't have a Walmart near me (closest one is actually about 30 minutes away!), and Walmart doesnt sell it online!  I'm sure I'll eventually make it to a Walmart that sells Hard Candy eventually, but until then I'll just be lusting over these.

Lastly it's Milani's Color Statement Moisture Matte Lipstick.  I believe these just launched this month but people have been finding them since January.  There are 8 shades and I'm eyeing the red one in Matte Confident.  I currently have a weak spot for red lippies, especially matte ones.  For some reason I just think matte red lips are so classic.  

I honestly see most, if not all of these, in my hoard collection before the year is over.  I can feel that I will be hunting these down sooner or later.  My challenge to myself is to see how long I can go on before I cave and purchase any one of these.

Have you tried any of these?  If so, what are your thoughts on them?

Empties | 2014 Vol. 2

I decided I want to start this year with a clean slate and get rid of any empties I have from 2014 so I can keep track of how many products I used up in 2015.  So here are the last few products I used up from last year.

I know it's not that much, but I'm actually pretty bad about using things up.  I like to buy things, but they just sit there most of the time.  Hopefully I'll start using more things up this year so that I'm not wasting my money anymore.

Body products
Softsoap Pure Cashmere Body Wash.  This was actually my sister's.  She gave it to me to finish because she didn't really use body washes.  I thought it was ok; the scent was light and it lathered up pretty nicely on my loofa.  What more can I say about a body wash?  I might consider (re)purchasing this if it were on sale and I had coupons for it or something, but I won't go out of my way to look for it.
The Body Shop Loofa.  I received this in a gift set from The Body Shop a few years ago as a Christmas gift from a friend.  I actually really like this loofa better than the one I'm using currently. It's a lot softer and I don't feel like I'm scratching my skin every time I'm using it.  It also lathers body washes pretty well.  I would probably not repurchase this, seeing as it most likely cost a lot more than what I would like to spend on a loofa.

Moisturizers
Josie Maran Argan Oil Light Sample.  Got this from Sephora, duh!  I have to say a little goes a long way and these samples lasted me at least a few weeks.  You should also know that I'm terrible at moisturizing my skin every day.  This sample absorbed into my skin pretty well and doesn't make my face too oily.  The only thing I wish the sample came with was the droppers so that I am only using about 3 drops per using rather than random amount every time.  I have repurchased the travel size of this.
Tarte Maracuja Oil Sample.  Another sample from Sephora.  Apparently I'm Captain Obvious today.  The Maracuja oil is a lot thicker than the Argan oil light.  It does leave my face pretty oily after each use, but that doesn't really bother me that much because I use this at night.  I've repurchased this and am currently using it at night.

Makeup
L'oreal Lash Out Butterfly Mascara.  This is probably the first mascara (I'm a late bloomer in the makeup world) that I really loved.  It made my lashes look voluminous and fluttery.  I like my lashes to look more on the natural side so I usually don't layer mascaras or even wear multiple coats.  I want to do a review on this soon so I will talk more about it in the review.  Have repurchased multiple times.
Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara.  This was a hand-me-down from my sister.  I know you're not supposed to share mascaras with anyone, and I usually don't, but for some reason I feel it's ok with my sister.  We don't do it often, and it's usually just letting the other person try it once to feel the hang of the mascara before going out to purchase it for themselves.  I didn't use this mascara often but it was just sitting in my collection for the longest time, so out it goes.  I will most likely (re)purchase this in the future to see how I like a new tube of it.

Others
INM Out The Door Topcoat.  This is currently my favorite top coat.  It beats Seche Vite in my book because it is not only cheaper (I got it for $3.99 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond!), but is also free of some of the bad chemicals that are included in Seche Vite.  It dries just as fast and leaves your nails just as shiny as Seche Vite.  It also does not goop up as early as Seche Vite.  I actually noticed it started getting thicker about 2/3 of the bottle.  I have repurchased this and will always repurchase unless I find something better.
Bath & Body Work Twilight Wood Pocket Bac.  Another hand-me-down from my sister.  I don't know how to describe hand sanitizers besides from their scents.  This was a pretty strong scent and I won't repurchase in this scent.  I have repurchased the Pocket Bac from Bath & Body Works in other scents though.
EOS Strawberry Sorbet Lipbalm.  This was the lip balm that kept going on.  I purchased it to try, then gave it to my sister who gave it back to me.  I swear I was trying to use this up for over several months but it just would not end!  It felt like I went through my Lemon Drop one so much faster than I went through this.  I have another Lemon Drop one to use, but after that one is done I don't think I will be repurchasing EOS lipbalms again unless I find an amazing deal I can't pass up.

I've already used up some more products since the beginning of the year and will probably do another empties post either after I finish using a certain amount of products or every few months.

What are some of the products you've recently used up?