Discounted Stila Palette & Individual Sigma brushes

Hey ladies, I have to start out by saying, "wow, it's been a long time!"  Sorry about that... life has kidnapped me, so it has been very hard to stay in touch with all of you :).  I'm back for a quick post, though, and I hope you'll find it useful. 

If you're like me, you take every available opportunity to look at cosmetics online and hope to find a great deal.  Well, our software at work is down right now, so the only thing I can really do is surf the web.  I started out at Sephora and noticed on their homepage that they have a sale going on for Stila's Backstage Beauty Eye Shadow Palette - The Runway Look.  It was originally $40, but now it's on sale for $20... BUT WAIT!!!  I have better news :). 

I remembered seeing this palette on 2 other websites:  www.beautycrunch.com and www.allcosmeticswholesale.com.  At Beauty Crunch, the palette is being sold for $15 and All Cosmetics Wholesale is selling it for $16.99.  I've heard a few things about the reliability of Beauty Crunch, so I decided to purchase it from ACW.  Yay for $3.01 cheaper than Sephora! :)

ALSO... (yes, there's more!), if you haven't noticed, ACW also sells Sigma brushes, including the brushes from their new Pro set.  I was super excited when I stumbled upon them and decided to order a couple of the ones I've had my eye on.  I ordered the SS138 (tapered face brush) for $18.99 and the SS275 (angled shader) for $8.50.  I have no idea why Sigma doesn't sell these brushes individually on their website, but I find it kind-of upsetting.  I'm sure they want people to pony up and buy the entire Pro set, but I can't just drop $149 on brushes.  After all, if you bought any of the other sets (like I did), you probably don't need or want every single brush in the Pro kit, which means they will go to waste because they'll just be collecting dust.

Another thing I really like about ACW is that their shipping is reasonable.  I paid $5.50 for the 3 items, which isn't too bad.  They also ship Internationally and I don't know what their rates are, but I do know they have a lot of information posted on their website for International customers.  So far my experience with them has been a positive one.  If that changes, I'll let you know :).

Happy shopping and I'll be back soon with some "favorites" posts and possibly even a couple of hauls :).

200 SUBSCRIBER CONTEST!

Yay, I finally got everything together! :P  It only took me 6 months... sorry!  Below are the pictures of the palettes, blush, lipstick, and nail polishes.  I hope these help.  I really want to dig into these palettes, but I'm saving them for you! :)  Good luck!

CATWALK

ROMANCE

STRIKE A POSE

VERSUS

ANGEL BLUSH

HARMONICA LIPSTICK

ZOYA, JESSIKA

SEPHORA BY OPI, I'M WITH BRAD

In and Out: February

I love reading when people post these types of blog entries, so I finally decided to do one myself:

In:
Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation - I wore this for a couple of years and have since then been trying other foundations.  I decided to get a sample of it and I still LOVE it and will be converting when my Revlon Colorstay runs out.
Creme Cup lipstick from MAC - my new favorite lipstick.  It's not too dark against my pale skin and is very pretty, feminine, and flattering :).  I can see this getting repurchased over and over again.
Sparkles! - Resort Life lip gelee from MAC is my new favorite gloss.  It's so sparkly and fun :).  I'm also loving shimmery Bare Escentuals eyeshadows as well as MAC pigments.  They make me happy :).
2010 Winter Olympics - I loved sitting on the couch all weekend with my husband watching the Olympics.  There's something so fun about watching athletes come from all around the world to compete.  (BTW, Amy, I cheered when Ireland's team came in during the opening ceremony... Jason looked at me like I was crazy, ha :)).
MakeupAlley Swaps - I've completed close to 35 swaps in the last 3 weeks...while the packaging and shipping is a pain, it's so much fun to get new goodies! :)

Out:
Dry Skin - I'm horrible at moisturizing my skin on a regular basis, but I have to make this itching stop!  My arms and legs are the worst areas and I have to remind myself every morning to slather the moisturizer on :P.
Cold Weather blahs - Once I get home from work, I just want to snuggle up in a blanket and veg out for the evening.  While this is fun, it's also lazy and I'm not going to lose weight sitting on the couch!  The cold weather keeps me from doing any outdoor activities, though.  I guess I need to stock up on Biggest Loser workout dvd's :).
Growing hair out - My hair is at an in-between point that's very annoying to style.  Most days, I end up throwing it in a ponytail, which is just boring.  I want my long hair back!  Please remind me about this if I ever decide to cut it again ;).
Maintaining highlights - I love having my hair highlighted, but they're such a pain to maintain.  I don't have the time or money to go get them touched up every 2 months, but then I end up with 2 inches of dirty blonde roots.  Maybe I can teach my husband how to do it so that I can chill out at home while he does my hair, ha :).
Unused Cosmetics - I feel bad because a lot of the makeup I buy rarely or never gets used.  My husband has taken notice of this lately and keeps commenting on my stash... I think my hauls will probably slow down considerably for a while :(.

Well, that's all for now.  Leave a comment below with your In and Outs for this month :).  I'm always interested to see what people are into :).

The Perfect Concealer?

I'll start out by saying I know that concealer preference is just about as personal as foundation.  It really depends on your skin type and your needs (cover dark circles, blemishes, etc.), price, and lots of other factors.  That being said, I've recently been on the hunt for the perfect concealer. 

I've mainly been using concealers in pot-form, such as Benefit's Erase Paste and MUFE's Camouflage Cream.  However, after using them (rather, not using them much at all) for about 6 months, I've come to the realization that they don't really work for me.  The only concealers that I use on a regular basis are from Everyday Minerals.  I use the Multi-Tasking Concealer and the Intensive Fair Concealer.  These are nice for covering slight discolorations and the occasional under-eye circle, but I'm still looking for something better.  I really hope it exists :).

The 2 concealers I have my eyes on now are "liquid" form and I think I may be on to something really great!  They are MUFE's Full Cover Concealer ($30) and Amazing Cosmetics' Amazing Concealer ($42).  After doing a lot of research and reading a LOT of reviews on both of these products, I think I'll be starting out with the MUFE concealer.  First, because of the price (even though it has less product).  Second, because I think MUFE's concealers are formulated more with different skin types in mind, whereas Amazing seems to be more universal.  While that may work fine, I want to be catered to and I feel like I have more of a choice with MUFE.

Have you tried either of these concealers?  Would you recommend them or is there another one that blows your mind? :)  Please let me know!  Not that I need to spend more money, but I'm itching to test these out :).

MakeupAlley Swaps

Sorry I've been MIA again (and again and again...), but I've been clearing out all the makeup products I never (or rarely) wear and posting them on http://www.makeupalley.com/ for swaps.  I've gotten a huge response and have been spending a lot of time after work on putting packages together.  Yesterday I shipped 7 packages, tonight I will ship 4, and tomorrow I already have another 3 swaps planned that I need to put together and ship.  It's madness, really, but it's also a lot of fun.  I'll get a lot of products that I've been wanting to try and I'll even get some products from overseas, such as dazzledusts, Jemma Kidd (which we have some of in the US, but not as much as they have available), and a Sleek palette.  I'm really really excited, but behind all that enthusiasm is a tiny bit of worry and skepticism.  A lot of trust goes into swapping and I'm hoping that everyone I've made "deals" with is honest and will follow through with their end.  I have taken some precautions, but still... it takes a lot of faith to do this!

Have you ever done a swap on makeupalley and what was your experience like?  Good/Bad?  Have you ever come across a swaplifter?  Let me know if you've ever tried it and how it went :).

MAC Goodies

The drought has ended!  I haven't purchased a MAC product from their collections in the past 5 months.... until yesterday.  I ordered a few things online from their MAC in Lillyland and All Ages, All Races, All Sexes collections and I'm so excited!  I also got a few things from their permanent line that I'm really happy with too :).  I'll film a haul video tonight and post it here :).

Did you buy anything from either of these collections?  What do you think about them?

Apology

Good evening, everyone!  I just wanted to stop in really quick and let you know what's been going on.  I realize I haven't posted in a while, but I was extremely busy with Christmas and New Year's celebrations... and then my dog passed away last week :(.  I've been devastated and haven't been able to wear any makeup besides foundation and waterproof mascara... so I look kind-of like a mess right now.  Plus, all of the crying has given me bags under my eyes and I've been having trouble sleeping.  All-in-all, it's been an awful past 4 days, so I hope you all understand.  Every time I start talking or thinking about our puppy, I start crying, so it might be a couple more days before you hear from me again.

Thanks for your kind words (on twitter) and support during this hard time.  It's crazy how much of an affect animals have on our lives, and how much it hurts when they're gone :(.

Rest in peace, Magnum.  We love you.