Free for Haul Friday, Volume #378
Share your recent beauty purchases or rediscovered favorites in your stash (for those on low/no-buys!), chit chat about weekend plans, and learn a little more about each other!
Let's Chat!
Share your own answers in the comments!
- Haul: Kat Von D Everlasting Nudes Liquid Lipsticks, MUFE Liquid Lipsticks
- Weekend plans: More Gilmore Girls, and then Super Bowl on Sunday!
- Do you prefer the city or the country?: I like suburbs; I like being close enough to the city that it isn’t an inconvenience to go, but I don’t think I’d want to live so rural where it was just me for a few miles (or even just a few acres!).
This week's doggo photo/video...
Share your pet photos to the Temptalia Pets flickr group!
Ah hang in there Mellan (and Christine)!
Haul: I’ve had a very nice makeup lesson at Mac (we did a very on trend eyelook, inspired of some of your orangy-golden-burgundy-red-sunset kind of looks Christine) and I took home some kind of boring but useful products: a kajal liner in Swamped (I wanted a dark warm green eyeliner to pair it with a bronzy one-shadow-eye-look), an eyebrow pencil (looking forward to try this, since people seem to be enthousiastic about it) and a 221 small crease brush. 🙂
Weekenplans: relax, might go to an exhibition (last week I discovered that this is something I can do despite my concussion: going to a museum!), cleaning the house, attend to a breathing session and some yoga. Oh, yeah, and I need to die my hair, hmpf. Always such a hassle.
City or country: both have their nice things, and I love the space, fresh air and the green on the country side, but after nearly 20 years in the capital I must admit I am a city girl!
So glad your makeup lesson at MAC went well and you tried a new look! 🙂
Sounds like the MAC lesson was productive at least. Bet the dark green paired with a bronze looks amazing on you too!
Yes it was good! These warm colours suit me but I am not used to wearing them. And I am wearing the eyeliner-eye shadow combo today, very happy with how it looks. Thanks Michele!
Oh, you reminded me! Have to color my hair too. Bummer and a nuisance. But necessary. 🙂
That’s exactly it… But always soooo happy when it’s done! (Which is now!) Good luck Linda!
Haul: No new orders or purchases- I’m on a roll! I did receive my VIB points reward of the Aerin Mediterranean Honeysuckle. I’m not sure I would have purchased it had I smelled it in store, but I don’t dislike it and I think it’ll grow on me. I don’t regret using my points for it, I was glad to be able to get something nice!
Weekend plans: I’d like to do some deep-cleaning at home. I’m sure we’ll turn the game on but neither my husband nor I are very interested in football.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: Suburbs for the win! I find them to be the perfect happy medium- easy access to amenities, but I still have my big yard and attached garage. Luckily we’re reasonable driving distance to Chicago (about 45 min) and walking distance to the commuter train, but I don’t think I’d be as happy living there. I like my space. And I get a taste of the country when I visit my parents- it’s nice to get away for a few days but the long drive just to get to a grocery store drives me crazy!
Happy to hear you don’t regret cashing in your points for the new perfume, Julia!
Haul: 2 tubes of Cargo concealer (it’s being phased out of the one drugstore where I can get it and it’s been marked down as well but I figured I’d better grab some backups NOW), a big jug of Bioderma shower oil (I’d been waiting for this to arrive)
Weekend plans: a friend is coming to stay from out of town so we’ll probably do either dinner on Saturday or brunch on Sunday. Shoppers Drug Mart is having a bonus points event so I want to get in there to purchase a few things and run up my points
Do you prefer the city or the country: definitely the city. We live in a nice old part of a university city and I can walk to the library, the drug store, a bunch of fabulous restaurants and cafes, bakeries, etc. I’d have having to drive everywhere. My children never had to ride a school bus except for school trips…their elementary school was 3 blocks away and their high school only about twice that distance. We are a 5 minute drive, tops, to TWO hospitals and, believe me, at least in Canada, the lack of specialized medical care in resort areas is a big problem for the aging population (many of whom seem to want to move there and leave the big city behind, only to realize that they cannot get the specialist care they need).
Is Cargo being phased out entirely or just that particular product?
The whole line is being pulled from that particular location (and there are pitifully few other places that carry the brand). Mind you, when I asked the cosmetics clerk, she said that while it’s being discontinued at that location, they are still being sent shipments all the time from the warehouse. Still, I thought it made sense to get a backup of each of the 2 shades I use and I want to go back to get a blush or two, as I have seen really good reviews of them.
Oooh, that sounds like my kind of city, Mariella! Yes, I am still seriously looking into moving up North. But will need to find out about whether (or not) my life sustaining medical care would kick in seamlessly and without interruption.
Getting older and medical care…that is exactly why I want to stay city bound too. A couple we know just moved permanently to Costa Rica and he has a pretty big heart condition. From Boston to Costa Rica? That’s going to be a big medical care shock is my guess.
I’m VERY interested in visiting CR and perhaps staying there for a few weeks or months.
I’d love to hear what your friends say. Medical care in CR is supposed to be quite good and VERY reasonable, as they are on the medical tourism lists.
I hope your friends are in an area close to a hospital or something. No matter where you live, time can be if the essence with most medical emergencies.
Oh my, I hope Mellan will get better in no time!
Hey, Christine, do you plan on reviewing the new Lip Pencils by Bite Beauty? I’m curious about the giant range of colors.
Thank you for your hard work! 🙂
Me too, Glenda! 🙂
Haul: SEPHORA FAVORITES Give Me Some Nude Lip, and a Glam Glow 500 point kit.
Weekend plans: Work, resumes. I just got over a wicked virus that started weekend so I haven’t done much this week.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: I like larger cities like KW area. Where I live there is not much happening other than the movies and family-oriented events. lol But I can plan a Trip to Toronto or KW when needed. 😉
Cross my fingers for Mellans adjustments.
Glad to hear you are feeling better! 🙂
Yeah I just have lingering symptoms now. But I was so weak for 5 days even coming back to work I was feeling pretty useless just sweeping the floor. lol
Mellan is looking quite perky — eyes are alert, sitting up nicely. This is great.
Haul — nothing this week, unusual for me but am waiting for Viseart Warm Mattes to get to Beautylish and the new Hourglass lippies to get to Sephora, and maybe some shopping in duty free next week.
Weekend — travel to Europe on business tomorrow, so ahead of that just the usual cleaning, laundry, oilates, etc.
City or country — I need a dose of each now and then, so I live in the suburbs with access to each and close to an airport so I can fly to big city at will.
He is a fairly mellow dog, but he will try to get you to play – he hasn’t been very playful since starting all the new medications, so I hope that changes soon!
Hope you have a nice time in Europe 🙂
Mellan, hang in there, we love you!
*Haul-nothing came this week but will next week
*Weekend – dinner to celebrate friend’s birthday, then nap and relaaax -has been very stressful week at work
*City girl all the way- I grew up in San Francisco, love the hustle and bustle of a city. Suburbs are a lot less exciting, but there are advantages-cheaper housing, better schools, safer
Have a lovely time with your friend! 😀
Haul: A lip oil from Burts Bees and Maybelline 24 Karat Nudes.
Weekend Plans: Elroy is cone-bound and has to have special food, I have to take care of him and it’s a lot of work right now, spoonfeeding my dog. I don’t have plans other than food shopping. I got some troubling news from my doctor yesterday 6 months after a CT scan, so I’m pretty much mentally and emotionally overtaxed. I think I will sleep most of the weekend other than keep the dog cared for.
City or Country: I only like to be in a city on my terms, I can’t afford that lifestyle, though. I like living on the edge of the burbs and the country right outside a big city. that way you have easy access to groceries and services but are like an hour or less away from events and big city offerings. When I lived in the Portland Metro had that. I had a nice view of mountains, fields, and trees but 30 minutes from downtown.
I hope you get some better news/a treatment plan for whatever you and Elroy may need, Erin! I’m sure Elroy will shower you in love and gratitude for spoon feeding him!
He’s trying but he’s just cutting me up with the cone edge. I’ve got bruises and holes everywhere from the cone. The backs of my thighs look like I sat on a barbed wire couch! We’re waiting on biopsy results for Elroy and possibly something kidney related now too 🙁
As for me, I need to get more tests, hopefully it’s just lung scarring and fibrosis or cancer.
I’m not sure if it’s a possibility for Elroy, but Mellan wears the Comfy Cone, which is easier on the walls and the like. https://www.amazon.com/Comfy-Cone-E-Collar-Large-Black/dp/B000XY7CKE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486175773&sr=8-1&keywords=soft+ecollar
The only downside is that it is opaque, so they lose more sight.
We’ve also used the Kong Cloud E-collar, which is kind of like a donut – https://www.amazon.com/KONG-Cloud-E-Collar-Collar-Large/dp/B0045Y1JGG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486175773&sr=8-2&keywords=soft+ecollar
That one works if your dog has a shorter snout and/or you aren’t trying to protect say the tail or hindquarters. Mellan wore the Kong one post-liver biopsy as he couldn’t get to his incision sites with it.
Fingers and paws crossed for you both!
Praying for you both.
Oh no!! Hoping for the best for both you and Elroy
Erin, I am thinking of you. Stay strong!
Oh no, not the Cone of Shame for Elroy! Poor baby. My cat trouble says he feels is pain and send him some kitty love. Wishing for the best results for him.
Don’t want to dip into your business, but if you care to chat, just pm me on FB…sometimes with all that going on, you really just need to vent.
I really hope you and your beloved dog will be getting better soon. What a wonderful, caring doggie mummy you are. And I hope the results from future testing prove to be that you are OK. Sending you my thoughts and prayers Erin.
I hope Mellan’s okay. We had a bit of a liver problem scare with the family dog dog a couple of months back; it’s a really stressful thing.
This week, I got a load of Kiko’s Longlasting Eyeshadow Sticks which are fantastic! I find them quite similar to the Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks, just a bit quicker to set, but also longer lasting. A few shades seemed iffy when I swatched them but the 10 or so I have perform really well.
Hopefully, your family’s dog is doing well, A!
What have you used to apply the eyeshadow sticks to your lid, A?
I love KIKO so bummed I can’t pick up some items from this sale they having plus I am excited about their new colorful lipsticks.
Yeah, I still need to try these shadow sticks! Their long lasting eye liner (not for the waterline – I know now what that means, heheh) is great as well: pigmented and super long lasting. Also wonder what you use to apply them.
Haul:
Amazon (Used a $50 gift card): Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil
ASOS: Paul & Joe – Eye Makeup Remover (2), Definition Brush, Eye Color Brush, Compact Case (2), Limited Edition Pearl Foundation Primer, Limited Edition Powder Blush (Mon Chou 004), Limited Edition Feminine Eye Color Trio (Mon Prince 001)
Beautyhabit (15% off): Darphin (Wrinkle Corrective Eye Contour Cream, Uplifting Serum Eyelids Definition, Exquisage Beauty Revealing Serum), The Laundress Stain Brush, Oribe (Foundation Mist, Grandiose Hair Plumping Mousse). All backups since getting 15% off Darphin and Oribe is rare.
Beautyhabit: Paul & Joe – Emery Board, Limited Edition Powder Blush Refill – Mon Lapin 002, Compact Case (2), Limited Edition Eye Color Trio Refill – Mon Nounours 002, GWP (Paul & Joe Mug)
Dermstore (20% off): Gehwol Foot Care Soft Feet Cream (2), Besame Cosmetics (1930 Delicate Rouge – Raspberry, Brightening Violet Powder, Rouge Brush)
Illamasqua: Anti Matter Lipstick (Eclipse, Physical), Powder Eye Shadow (Livid, Inception)
Kylie Cosmetics: Kiss Me Mini Kit, Smooch Mini Kit
MAC: Lipglass Viva Glam Taraji P. Henson, MAC Select 2017 Obsessed Anniversary Gift (Tote Bag)
Nordstrom: Butter London Pantone Trend Nail Lacquer Travel Size (Buttercream). I had a $10 online VISA gift card from completing a survey and had to find something exactly $10 so I could use it.
Target: February Beauty Box
Ulta (20% off and $33 off with rewards): Sally Hansen Color therapy Nail Polish (Theapewter), Makeup Revolution Strobe Highlighter (Moon Glow Lights and Gold Addict – Buy One, Get One ½ Off), Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Double the Lip (Lusty Rose), BECCA First Light Priming Filter
Ulta: Z Palette Mini (3) – Thanks to Katherine for reminding me they exist!, Nyx Duo Chromatic Illuminating Powder (Lavender Steel, Twilight Tint)
Urban Decay ($10 Kickback Used): Eyeshadow (Punk, Spike)
YSL: Baby Doll Kiss & Blush Duo stick (4 – From Me to You), Volupte Tint-in-Balm (No. 6 Touch Me Red, No. 11 Play Me Fuchsia)
Weekend plans: Not really sure. It’s been a very very busy week. I think I’m going to try to keep the weekend low-key.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: Country. I used to be very much of a city person. I still like the city for certain aspects – like culture and fine dining. But nowadays on a daily basis I prefer the slower pace of the country – and of course the innate beauty.
Great hauls as always, Michele! Have you found any new favorites yet?
The Darphin Wrinkle Corrective Eye Contour Cream and the Gehwol Foot Care Soft Feet Cream will be repurchases. I haven’t gotten the Paul & Joe yet. There are some good color cosmetics in the haul (that I love) but since brands keep releases new things, I will probably keep trying the new releases. 😉
Haul: Kylie Valentine’s Day collection (the Diary and Kiss Me kit), Melt Cosmetics Blitzed (on sale!!)
Weekend Plans: Study, study, study! Then going to my university’s theatre on Sunday.
City or Country: City! I grew up in the country and it just wasn’t for me, but my boyfriend lives in Chicago and I love visiting him!
Oooh, how fun! Hope you love the new Kylie kit!
By the way, Christine, are you planning on swatching/reviewing anything from the Kylie V-Day collection? Or was the Royal Peach palette review like a one time thing? I’d love to see dupes so stuff because of how large your database, but I totally understand if not!
It really just depends! I did receive the Kylie Valentine’s day items, but there was no time to get everything photographed/swatched before launch so I did not try. It’s hard to review products that sell out so quickly without a bigger lead time. I had a lot of other products I needed to photograph/swatch on the same day so I gave deference to those as I’m never sure if Kylie Cosmetics will restock or when.
I understand, was just curious. Thank you so much for responding 🙂
Seriously, I hesitated to buy the two mini kits I bought (my first Kylie purchase)! Frankly, I was stunned that anything was left since I logged in and looked hours after launch time. i truly expected everything to be sold out. I think it’s funny that they’re all Valentine’s Day kits but with the shipping, there’s no way I’ll actually even have my order by Valentine’s Day! I think that’s kind of poor planning from the company.
I’m glad Mellan seems to be tolerating his meds well enough, and hope that you get some results soon!
Marya is doing well, but still not eating really hard foods; I still have to pulverize her hamster food, so she’ll likely need more teeth-trimming in a few weeks.
Haul: a lot! I went a little crazy, I think.
ULTA 20% off: Urban Decay Nocturnal Vice lipsticks in Backstab, Lawbreaker, and Fireball; Tarte highlighter in Stunner; and several NYX pigments and glitters at BOGO 50% off + the 20% off (so they really came out to $3.60 each: Pigments Egotastic, Nightingale, Insomnia, Kryptonite, Henna, Old Hollywood; Glitters Violet, Blue, Crystal; and the glitter glue.
Sephora: Dior Nude Air Luminizer in color 04; Make Up For Ever Star Lit Powder in Frozen Purple; Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in Protector; Touch in Sol Metallist Foil Lipstick Duo in Sophie; First Aid Beauty Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer; and Peter Thomas Roth Professional 3% Retinol Plus.
MAC: Paints in Win, Overnight Sensation, Holy Holy, and Sublime Notice; Kajal Crayon in Flourish Me Bold; lipsticks in Bloodstone, Jasper, and Peach Blossom; and Crystal Glaze Gloss.
The Dior Luminizer in 04 is the best, most beautiful neutral blush on me ever. Neutral blushes are really challenging for me, because they tend to turn orange against my complexion, which looks clownish on my cheeks. This product is wonderful. I ordered Tarte Stunner because the dupe I have, MUFE #01 Golden Pink, looks mostly golden on me, and I’m hoping that Stunner won’t do the same thing. I was even considering returning the MUFE product, as it wasn’t what I was looking for, but it looks completely different, and perfect, when I wear it with the Dior luminizer used as a blush! Stunner definitely swatches different on my arm (I’ve been looking for it at my local ULTA for a couple of weeks and they don’t have it), so I’m hoping it will also look different on my cheeks.
I got the Star Lit Powder in Frozen Purple to try with the MUFE Artist Acrylip in Dark Purple, which I was initially disappointed in. Second time around I got some thicker, more opaque product out of the tube. It is really dark (even a year ago I would have considered it way too dark for me — I am getting more adventurous with lip colors), and the Frozen Purple gives me a nice, lighter, metallic-ombre effect in the middle of my lips.
I’m still experimenting with the Paints — they are a lot of fun 🙂
The Hourglass Girl Stylo in Protector looks (and feels) fantastic on me. Icon is up next. I’m trying to hold off on some of the bright pinks until I see reviews of the new Chanel crayons, in case I also love that formula and there are dupes.
Backstab, Lawbreaker, Bloodstone and Jasper all look great on me. Bloodstone is a really good red for me. Lawbreaker I would not have tried without your review, Christine; warm plums and browns don’t usually flatter me! To my surprised delight, Fireball does work — barely — due to its sheerness and metallic sheen. An orange lip color I can wear! Peach Blossom on its own is barely wearable on me. I tried it because the one in the Chinese New Year collection is kind of a “cooler” peach. Not really flattering, but not absolutely horrible. However, layered with Lawbreaker (on a whim! they were both right in front of me), and applied fairly lightly, it becomes a warmish, neutral-ish color that actually looks kind of intriguing on me.
The Touch in Sol lip duo in Sophie is a deep, cool reddish plummy metallic that looks good on me. Haven’t tried it for longevity yet.
Backstab, Jasper, and Sophi are all variations on a theme; I need to watch myself there! They are all different from each other on my lips, though.
I haven’t tried all the Pigments and Glitters yet. Saving them for platime.
Haven’t tried the Kajal crayon for long enough to really see if it’s going to last on my waterlines. At least it went on, which many products don’t! I haven’t really worked with the gloss, yet, either.
I’m pleased with the FAB priming moisturizer — it works great as a one-step primer + moisturizer under my Dr. Jart+ Black Label BB cream, which doesn’t get along well with my usual winter primer, Hourglass No. 28 Serum Primer.
And *I love* the PTR 3% retinol! It must be very well formulated, because I’ve used it four nights in a row now, with no irritation to my sensitive, rosaceic skin. Thank you to the reader who recommended it! I may have to try out some other PTR products 🙂
Weekend plans: Superbowl weekend is a great weekend for getting a lot of knitting done. And we’ll try our third Blue Apron recipe tonight or tomorrow.
City or country? Both, of course! My ideal would be to live in the city someplace where I could have a big garden. I had that situation years ago, but moved out to the suburbs when my son was ready to start school, because the public schools in Philadelphia would not have worked well for him… but I love the little college town we live in, and we’re two blocks from the train station, so getting into the city is easy 🙂
OMG, my Burberry Silk ‘n Bloom blush, which I ordered from Burberry late in the afternoon on Wednesday, arrived this morning, and so far I’m really pleased with it! (still have to check it in natural lighting, but I’m feeling confident.) I was afraid this was going to turn out like Modern Mercury for me, something I’d regret that I’d missed out on it, since warm and neutral blushes that are truly flattering on me are few and far between, so I took a chance and just ordered it straight from Burberry (which might even take returns on used makeup, I’m not sure from their FAQ.) It comes out as a rosy plum on me, and doesn’t turn orange even if I wear it with a cooler eye (NARS Usbek and Thessalonica) and lip (Urban Decay Backstab, and, yes, I know that’s a lot of color I’ve got on my face today — the weather around here needs brightening up!). 🙂
Wow, haul AND review in ONE! 🙂
I love it when people say how the products are working for them 🙂
Amazing haul Fran! Also really appreciate the detail/your thoughts on the products. I’m curious to hear about Tarte Stunner when you receive it and can try it out. That’s interesting that the Touch In Sol is a reddish plum on you. I know it’s kind of described that way, but to me it looks like it would be more of a metallic purple. After you try it, I’d love to know whether you feel the matte portion is drying.
Hey, Michele! I love it when people describe their experiences with the products. Stunner is very interesting, on my NW 20-ish with cooler than that undertones arm swatch it’s not as much of a dupe for MUFE 01 Golden Pink as it was for Christine; it’s more of a champagne beige with a hint of pink; it’s darker, too. I quite like it and am glad I have both products.
The Touch in Sol is definitely a metallic reddish plum on me. But even the MUFE Dark Purple is a reddish purple on me. Purples usually look more warm/red on me than they do on other people, a purple has to lean really blue to look straight-up purple on me (Bite Lavender Jam manages to look actually purple on me). In a similar way, pinks usually look warmer on me than they do on other people; neutral pinks usually look warm on me, and warm pinks can look positively orange. So keep that in mind. But even Sephora’s website describes it as a “Black Cherry” (it does look more purple in their photo to me, too, which is one reason why I chose it to try first); I also want to also try Lucy, which they describe as purple, but that looks like a purple-leaning pink to me in their photo. I haven’t found the metallic portion drying, but haven’t yet worn it by itself for several hours at a stretch.
I try to not describe the items in my haul as i don’t want to completely commandeer Christine’s page! I do always respond to questions on products when I post my swatches though.
Stunner sounds interesting. I’ll have to keep that in mind. Lucy is the shade I was looking at for just the reasons you described. I think Sophie might pull too dark on me but Lucy may just work. I may drop it in my bag for my next Sephora order. Thanks!
Yikes! I certainly don’t intend to commandeer Christine’s site! I hope I don’t come across that way inadvertently! Maybe I should start my own little blog, but I feel that my photography skills need to improve a lot first.
And yes, Sophie is pretty dark — darker than I would have been comfortable with even a year ago; my tolerance for dark lipsticks on myself has been expanding.
Happy to hear that the 004 Luminizer is working so well on you! 🙂
Thank you for all the insight into the products you’ve tried from your hauls so far!
I love it when other people say how they’re using/how much they like or don’t like new things they’ve gotten 🙂
The Silk ‘n Bloom is really interesting on me, it appears to change color to match the color of lipstick I’m wearing. It swatches a neutral rosy plum on my arm. Backstab brought out more red in it, Fireball brought out some orange, Sophie brought out a deeper plum — it’s pretty cool! The effect shows up more in flash photos than in my mirror.
Hahahahahaha – no Fran – I meant ME taking over, not you! LOL. I buy so darn much and I know my haul list always takes up so much space. I didn’t want to be a hog!
I used to have a blog. But with working full time, I felt I couldn’t dedicate the time necessary to do it right. so now I just post swatches daily on my social media. If you have the time, it is fun…sometimes challenging (setting up the web pages, etc.) but still fun.
Thank you, Michele! I think it would be fun, and I hope to get there 🙂
Fran, I was reading through your post, not seeing anything that caught my attention, and then bam, you’re talking about your MAC order! I want those eye paints and Kajal liners so badly but I’m trying to behave. We’ll see how long I can resist!
The Paints are fun if you like to play with your makeup — and of course the liners work with them 😉
Wow Fran, what a great haul!! You sound like you are enjoying so many things. BTW, I got your comments last week –glad you found affordable vets for your pets, keeping fingers crossed for Marya
I was a bit naughty, but at least I’m having a lot of fun with my purchases!
Marya seems like a pretty happy girl. She devoured an egg noodle covered with cheese sauce last evening, which she couldn’t have done a couple of weeks ago (she would have just eaten the cheese sauce off it). She’ll try to gnaw on a hunk of hamster food, but she doesn’t get anywhere with it. She snarfs down the hamster food I pulverize for her, though, and she’s holding at 48-49 grams, which is plenty of weight for her 🙂
Haul: Got a new Estée Lauder lippie today!
Weekend plans: Not sure… Probably a combination of work + play!
Do you prefer the city or the country?: Depends. I prefer to live in the country, but I do like to hit the city every once in a while 🙂
Enjoy your weekend!
Haul: NARS Audacious lipstick in Apolina (this completes my purchase of all the new Audacious colors added in the fall) and my MAC Taraji Glow, which actually came in almost two weeks ago but I forgot to post. So happy with Taraji Glow, I’ve been wearing it a lot.
Weekend: Super Bowl party with my very pregnant daughter. She has nine weeks left in her pregnancy, and it looks like she is going to have a big boy. She’s in a total panic today over the size of the baby. I had two 10 lb babies so maybe that’s what’s happening to her.
I like big cities and suburbs. Born in Los Angeles and lived in Phoenix for 16 years. Now I am in a smaller community (300,000) and I’m a little out of my element.
Nice job on getting all the new Audacious shades, Tammy!
Poor daughter! Hopefully, she gets over the panic soon since there’s still nine weeks to go!
Love Apoline!
Haul: Replacements only! Ouai Hair Oil, UD Naked Skin Concealer, KVD Tattoo Liner in Trooper. I also got a bunch of samples (Hourglass Ambient Light Primer, June Jacobs Pumpkin Peel, Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer, a moisturiser and a Skin Inc sample).
Weekend plans: I’ve got a sit-down family lunch on Saturday and then visiting some friends on Sunday.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: I always prefer whatever I’m not currently living in, haha. A true ‘grass is greener’ problem!
How do you use the hair oil / what do you use it for?
It’s a really nice frizz control and smoothening product on my dry, colour-damaged hair. I apply it after every wash to the ends but it works great on dry hair too.
Thank you!
Haul: I finally broke down and purchased Kat Von D’s Pastel Goth this week from Sephora. I am so happy I did, because it sold out the next day. Whew!! I also purchased a Tweezerman ProMaster Lash Curler for my very hooded eyes.
Weekend Plans: Church, Mickey Mouse shaped waffles tomorrow morning with my Mickey shaped waffle maker.
I prefer the city.
Ooh, thank goodness you were able to get your Pastel Goth palette before it sold out!
OMG, thank goodness you said something! I had no idea Pastel Goth would sell out so quickly, as it’s only been in store 1/27. I saw your post Friday night, and as soon as the Sephora stores opened on Sat morning, I speed dialed them, they were OOS too, but finally found it at the 3rd Sephora. Thank you!
Although I’m sure it is emotionally draining for you to write these updates, so many of us appreciate them because we’ve watched Mellon grow into the great guy that he is. Continuing best wishes for his improved good health and enduring happiness.
It’s no problem! 🙂
Thank you!
So glad that Mellan has a manageable condition and is adapting to his medications. Keeping him and your family in my thoughts, Christine, as you await the last test result.
Haul: Nothing. Awaiting upcoming sales (20% off at my local CCO Feb 6-28 with coupon) and launches (Tom Ford, Chanel) and enjoying my Fall/Winter purchases and Xmas gifts.
Weekend plans: Watching Deadwood with spouse, and celebrating spouse’s birthday and watching the Super Bowl, both of which are on Sunday.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: City but not in the most bustling part and never in a high density part (city or suburbs). I like to be close to what makes a city special so it part of what I enjoy daily without living so far away from that, that it feels like you could be living anywhere (less special). I also don’t want a long commute.
Happy birthday to your spouse, Tracey!
What are you most looking forward to from Tom Ford/Chanel?
Thanks for the birthday wishes for my spouse!
From Chanel, I’m looking forward to the cherry tweed blush and maybe the Plisse Lumiere highlighter. For Tom Ford, I’m curious about the blush duos and quite curious about the 3 new blush shades being introduced and how the reformulated blushes compare to original formula. Will look to you for guidance on that front, Christine!
Keep feeling better, sweet Mellan!
Haul: I expect the Chanel Empriente du Desert quad to arrive today. Looking for to that. Ordered some new skin care I’ll check in about next week.
We are all so different, it’s nearly impossible to say “you must get this,” or “never get that.” But I’ve got one. I got an Estee Edit mini lipstick GWP in the color Wrapping. I was excited to try a purple-y shade, since I don’t usually use that color. O. M. G. I will say, unequivocally, never, ever buy that shade! To be sure, I tested it again in Sephora and it was the same, patchy, dry, ridiculous nightmare I had at home. I will say it ranks as absolutely the poorest quality product I have tried, maybe ever.
Weekend: Swim, dogs, tidying, dinner with friends tomorrow. That’s it.
City! All the way! My husband and I have one thing on our bucket list. To live for a year in Paris. We are near Boston where we live so I scoot in and out of the city all the time. At this point in my life, I’d actually love to live in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay. We’ll see what the future brings…
Can’t wait for you to try the Chanel quad, Linda! It’s such a pretty one.
Mariella, Nancy T, Tammy, and anyone else who has the Empriente quad, how do you use it? What shade do you put where? The green is throwing me, and it’s the color that I can’t wait to use!
Hi Linda, one way I’ve gotten vibrancy from the green is to apply it with the sponge applicators. It was a tip passed along to meband it works well for me.
I typically wear the light bronze on the outer 2/3 of the lid, the gold on the inner 1/3 and corner of eye, a light use of the brown in the outer v and eyes lined with the green.
My fave way to wear it is on Green Bay Packers game day, with green across 2/3 of the lid and the gold on the inner 1/3 of the lid, with both shades used to line the bottom of the eye.
Christine’s look is about the best I’ve seen using all 4 shades. Hope it helps.
I have to add additional shadows to use mine. Since I have hooded eyes, the shimmer isn’t flattering in my crease (created crease) and/or transition area. Since I’m adding other products to use the quad, I actually mix it up and have used all of the shades on my lids.
Sorry – forgot to mention – I’ve also used the shadows as liners.
Thanks, for the advice and I experimented with the tips this morning. Only two seasons behind picking up this quad, but am I glad I did. Everything you all have been saying about it is true. Just beautiful. So easy to use. This is a 5-star shadow event in my life.
Another time when Temptalia enabling makes a great choice possible! xoxo
Glad you’re enjoying the quad! The shades really are quite lovely (and usable) year-round depending on how you pair them up. That’s a nice added bonus when you invest in a quad. 🙂
Great to hear you are enjoying the Chanel Empriente du Desert quad! Glad to help/enable 😉
Linda, I also like to use the foam applicators that come with the quad. I put the lightest color in inner corner, 2nd lightest in 1/3 inner lid, green in middle, then the darkest on the outer V.
Linda, I have used mine in 2 main ways usually. The 1st one is a slight variation on how Christine did her color placement when she reviewed it, except that I first lay down a matte transition shade before (or even after) I use Empriente du Desert. Typically, MAC Soft Brown.
Or, I do a more green concentrated look, using the gold in the inner corner, the coppery shade on the inner lower crease, green in an upswept winged shape over my whole lid, but with that deep brown underneath it only to define a faux crease because my eyes are very hooded. This just makes the green have a deeper, murky look on the outer V.
Linda, I didn’t see your question until days later, sorry! Like others have mentioned , I use the lightest gold on inner 1/3 of mobile lid, the next lightest on middle 1/3, and darkest gold on outer 1/3. I line my upper lash line with black liquid liner (no wing, thinnest possible line), and immediately above that I do a thin line of Urban Decay’s Heavy Metal glitter eye liner in Midnight Cowboy.
I then line my lower lash line and water line heavily with the most pigmented green eyeliner I can find (which in my stash is the LE Urban Decay liner in Mars, and can be duped with Sephora’s Good Mood eyeliner). I then use a dense shader brush to work the green eyeshadow from the Chanel quad into the green eyeliner I placed under my lower lash line.
I wore this look with NARS blush in Impudique and Guerlain’s Rouge G in Rouge Saphir (a stunning holiday red lipstick) all throughout the holiday season and it never failed to garner many compliments.
I am not saying I consider this a holiday look only, as I will wear red lipstick and glitter on my eyes any day of the week. What I am saying is that this look was SO GOOD that I chose it above all other looks for Thanksgiving, Christmas, all holiday parties, and New Years.
Thank you everyone!!!! You will all understand this — I’m going through each of your looks and experimenting with them. I know you’ll get it and not think it’s weird or stalker-ish. LOL 🙂
I wanted this quad for such a long time, and everything you all said about it is true. I will tell you, I already got a dupe. I have never, not once, in all my makeup buying years bought a dupe of anything. It’s getting harder to find online so I decided to do it. I swear I could cull my collection down to this and Viseart mattes and be done. Thanks again. Fantastic advice!
Haul: Kat von D Alchemist palette.
Weekend plans: work on the dumb bathroom more. Also it’s Chicago Restaurant Week so we got a reservation at Morton’s Steakhouse on Saturday.
City or country: I currently live in the suburbs but I grew up in rural North Dakota and I’ll always be a country girl at heart.
How long until the bathroom will be done, do you think?
Restaurant Week is AWESOME! Arizona has a really good one – so many deals!
Hopefully we’ll be finishing it this month. We only get to do a few hours of work on it per week which is why it’s taking so long, between my severe chronic joint pain and him commuting 2.5 hours/day for work it’s hard to find the energy.
Oh my goodness, it’s impressive you guys are taking on that project at all!!
Haul: I bit the bullet and bought MAC Selena No Me Queda Mas eyeshadow and Dreaming of You lipstick from Nordstrom on the last sale day. I didn’t want to regret it later so I splurged.
Weekend plans: Take care of a few financial loose ends, clean up the apartment and hopefully finish watching “Inside Men”.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: City to live in, country to visit. 🙂
Hope you love both of your new Selena products! 🙂
Haul: Sachajuan shampoo for the hubby; niacinamide, marula oil from The Ordinary; maternity pjs to wear for when I deliver (due in 6 weeks!)
Weekend: straight up nesting. I’m dreaming of sleeping in and then scrubbing my kitchen floor.
City/country: I don’t know, I really do love them both. I live n the ‘burbs and that makes sense for me. I dream of owning homes in both places someday, though. I love nature, but get SO BORED. And I love going into the city (lived in it for 10 years, currently work in it), but the commute is really torture and I hate crowds- crowded sidewalks, subway, etc.
What do your maternity PJs look like, Sarah?
We are ALL pulling for Mellan. Being on heavy duty meds for a serious, even potentially life threatening illness will take the steam out of you. Particularly at the beginning as ones system adjusts to it. Poor guy. I know how he feels. May his blood work come back showing some solid improvement. I also know how difficult of a time this has had to have been for you, too. I’m praying for your furbaby family and you.
Haul: *Just* ordered the VG Taraji P Henson lipstick and Lipglass. Got a free Patent Polish in Kittenish. Yep, the same one I returned a few years ago. Not for its color, but the lasting power. Don’t mind it for a throw & go to keep in my bag.
Weekend plans: Per my usual: hair, nails, Sunday meeting, then attempting to get a STRONG signal for the Superball on the 62 inch t.v. a friend gave me! This thing is BIGGER than me!?
City or Country: BOTH!!! I prefer *living* where I’ve got a little bit of both worlds. Old Town Scottsdale is fairly urban, and the street I live on is incredibly busy for a “suburb”. Too busy, really. Northern NJ seemed much more like the best of both worlds. NYC within 10 miles, but woodsy areas were very close to home, too, and so much greenness!
Yeah, it’s just a ton of new meds, and we lucked out that they ended up staggered (slightly) but a lot of changes. He doesn’t like his new food (though he ate a 5lb box of it fine, the new, 10lb box I bought isn’t going over well), so that is the new challenge! He is not a picky eater at all.
Enjoy your new TV, Nancy 😀
I actually love the feel of Old Town. It’s busy enough that there’s some vibrancy and things to do, but it’s not like a crazy downtown where you have to spend a half hour looking for parking.
Why prescribed foods usually seem to turn their noses up is a mystery, for sure. I wouldn’t imagine it tastes too different, but Idk? Going off their food is a major problem with sick furbabies. Hopefully there is something they could add to make it more palatable.
Looking into cable…or dish. Antenna just ain’t doing it.
True about this end of town; never a *too* dull moment. Having the mall and eaterys so nearby has been great for boredom relief, but bad for my wallet!
My only guess is that he’s been on a dog food that’s about 40% protein all his life, and the switch is putting him at 20% protein – so maybe scent/taste are lower with the higher veg/carb matter? It’s also possible he doesn’t care for the texture of Honest Kitchen, as it’s dehydrated and he’s always had dry kibble!
We have DirecTV and like that! Been on that service for the last six or seven years (in CA and in AZ).
Well at least you didn’t get a free Carbon shadow 😉
Katherine, I would have died laughing (and crying at the same time!)!!! Carbon oughta be BANNED. ?
Kittenish is actually a really nice mlbb shade on me. The night I bought it, I had tried it on with the tester in store, by the time I got home roughly 2 hours later, if that, it had all worn off. And I hadn’t even eaten!
Haul: Nothing this week. That will change next week when I make a trip to the “big city” Missoula, Montana.
Weekend Plans: Nothing much. Still watching my roof for leaks and don’t want to be gone too long at a stretch in case it starts pouring here.
City or Country: I spent most of my life in the city. I loved the city and really never saw myself moving to the country. Following my Dad’s passing in 2011 d my Mom living in the country I decided to move closer. I live in a tiny little town in Western Montana. The population is about 250. The closest little town is 25 miles away and I am about evenly split between Spokane, Washington, Missoula Montana and Kalispell, Montana. My daughter is at the university in Missoula so I go there most frequently but still not much happening there. I do prefer the country but as someone mentioned finding good health care is a problem.
Range: closest hospital 56 miles
Closest Sephora 135 miles
Closest Movie Theater 126 miles
Closest Restaurant that isn’t a café is 126 miles
What made you fall in love with the country after being a city girl for so long, Deborah? It was nice of you to move closer to your Mom!
Haul: NOTHING! I’ve JUST COME OUT OF POCKET SO MUCH FOR DENTAL because my ins sucks that I can’t even buy the new Wet & Wild Catsuit liquid lippies that I saw. 🙁
•Weekend plans: I refuse to watch anything Brady related so no Superbowl. The new guy I’m “Seeing” who lives in Canada but works in NV is flying in tomorrow from Canada before he goes back to NV so that is something to look forward to and sleep.
•Do you prefer the city or the country?: I dream of living deep in the country or on my own acres of land surrounded by trees and nature with just me for miles. I’d love a home built around nature (like with not cutting down trees and building my house around them – google tree houses … ugh gorgeous). I’d like to be so secluded that you’d have to fly in or boat in to get to me. one day….
Oh nooo! I hope your teeth are okay and you were able to at least get everything you needed done!
Have fun with your new guy 🙂
Thanks Christine. Dental wasn’t so bad, about $590 but my teeth feel better finally.
I did have money stolen from at the gym yesterday by a teen so I couldn’t and wouldn’t out right acuse her but we all know. My fault for forgetting I had cash on me which i rarely do.
I don’t have much time with Canada boy lol but he’s definitely a highlight to my day.
So glad Mellan is feeling better!!
I live in the land of Brady and I refuse to watch the guy too. Or do anything construed as support for Belichick. Or Kraft. Or Gisele for that matter.
Omg I can’t stand Brady or his wife. I got an ESPN magazine with his face on it and trashed it. I love football, I hate cheaters of football so I wouldn’t even think of watching him play anything. I’m glad u feel the same lol.
I love your country home. I want one too!
UGH – so sorry for the dental work. At least it sounds like you’ll have a nice weekend. Oh my gosh your dream home sounds amazing!
It’s only once I read your comment, Mo, that I finally knew why my son, who is a serious football and baseball fan, has NOT been going bananas over the SB this year. He cannot stand Brady and Belichick! Neither can I. They disgust us both, especially after Deflategate! ?
Mellan is adorable <3 hoping the results will be helpful..
Haul: 15 shades of Medusa's Makeup Eye Dust that I bought from a wholesaler ? Some Elf eye brushes and their shimmering facial whip.
Weekend plans: Working on a project, cleaning house, and Superbowl at a wing place with dad.
City or country: I like vacationing in the country and living in the city, for convenience's sake. It's definitely relaxing to be near the forest/farms…though I got my first tick bite this summer ? no diseases luckily!
Vacationing in the country sounds like an excellent way to go!
Haul: Charlotte TIlbury Magic Night Cream — Seems like this is a love it or hate it product. So far I love it. I’m in my mid-40s with skin that seems to be becoming increasingly dry with some really delightful hormonal breakouts and I live in an extremely dry climate. I use just a teeny tiny amount at night — it does have a sticky texture initially but if I don’t overdo it that goes away. It seems to be doing a nice job of providing a barrier to help keep my skin from drying out overnight. I wake up with plumper, more hydrated skin than I think I’ve had in the 12 years I’ve lived here. Not causing any breakouts either which I was afraid of given how occlusive this product seems to be.
Weekend plans: painting some rooms in the house, doing some cleaning and purging on Saturday, massage/facial/nails on Sunday which will be a serious treat after my stressful week at work
Do you prefer the city or the country?: I like to live in the burbs with relatively easy driving distance access to both a city and the country.
Enjoy your massage/facial/nails, Shelley! That sounds like a nice treat 🙂
Haul: My Birthday is next Saturday (the 11th!) and my best friend paypal’d me some money and said for me to buy the “stupid red eyeshadow palette you’ve been drooling over” so I ordered the Modern Renaissance pallet!!
And I ordered a travel sized spray of my new favourite perfume, Atelier Cologne’s Bergamote Soleil (It starts off smelling like a fresh cut lemon, then morphs into a masculine scent in an hour or two! It’s really beautiful!)
I also ordered a backup of my all time favourite highlighter! I saw it’s on sale at sephora, and panicked that it’s being DC so even though I have a brand new one, I ordered a back up, (But I know I will go through it. Because I’v totally finished one pan of this highligher before!)
Weekend Plans: SIGHS. I saw my surgeon yesterday, and my infection is going down, so YAY! But my tumor is very “Rare and Special” according to him. So rare, that they had to ship it off to the head diagnosing lab in all of CANADA. So I still don’t know exactly what my tumor was/is. But I should know by the 21st!
This weekend is going to be a laundry, and dishes kind of weekend. Because of my surgery I’v fallen behind!!
City or Country: I was born and lived in a big city for a few years (I was born in Toronto!) and then moved up to a very small country town. We are surrounded by trees and forests, and creaks and lakes!! It’s very beautiful here.
But I think I prefer city. Simply because (at least for my small town!!) Small town equals less accepting. So I feel very unsafe here. and judged!!
Hope you love your new Anastasia palette, Shannon! Happy early birthday (I’m sure I’ll say it again next FFHF!).
Fingers crossed that you get your results soon!
Thank you so much Christine!!! 😀
Iv been drooling over the palette since the summer, but I couldn’t ever justify the $55, PLUS shipping or tax for it, with my dental bills piling up. So when my friend offered to buy it for me I totally cried LOL.
Side note, I think this story will make some laugh. My best friend, who bought the palette for me. Tried to go into sephora in her university town, and she immediately freaked out, got scared and left. Then proceeded to text me and say “How the F can you go IN that store?!”
Haul – I got products I’m running out of, clinique even better essence lotion, ptr retinol fusion pm, clinique even better moisturizer, estee lauder mattifying primer, doublewear mascara, benefit brow pencil, too faced glitter glue. And I’m itching to get the new LE chanel harmony blush & elegance shade blush.
WEEKEND PLANS – going to our lakehouse for family time
CITY or COUNTRY – I like the suburbs too. Although the I live in South Florida so land is expensive. I’m about 20 minutes west of Fort Lauderdale. I would like more land though. But I’m close to tons of good restaurants and just a highway drive from stores. I would like if our neighborhood was a more calm slower pace like our lakehouse.
Enjoy your visit to the lakehouse, Twyla! Do you have any specific things you do while you’re there or is it mostly relaxing?
Haul: I branched out with some purchases from Anastasia and Charlotte Tilbury. I got the Anastasia Modern Renaissance Palette with an Ulta coupon and picked up a couple of K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipsticks (Hepburn Honey and Bitch Perfect) and Filmstar Bronze & Glow from Nordstrom. I tend to shy away from new-to-me brands and stick with my favorites, but I couldn’t resist all the good reviews for these products!
Weekend plans: Spend some quality time with my husband and bird. I just wrapped a big project at work that’s been keeping me away from home 12-hours a day plus weekends, so I’m looking forward to finally downshifting for a couple of days.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: The city! I grew up in the country and moved to the city as soon as I could (ie, college). I enjoy going home and not having to hassle with traffic, parking, and long lines for a few days, but I get restless for the city after about a week.
I look forward to seeing if the products you picked up live up to the hype for you, Chelsea!
Congrats on finishing up your big project — bet that feels SO good!
Hi,
We have a 13 1/2 yellow lab. Her name is Precious and she also has copper storage disease. I’ve never come across anyone else whose had a dog with that. If you ever want to talk about anything we went through with it (meds, changing her food, etc.) please feel free to contact me.
Thank you, Christie! I appreciate the offer 🙂 I hope Precious is doing well with all of her meds/food changes. If you have any food recs, I’ll gladly take them!
Haul: nothing right now, but I’m going to do some extra point double-dipping at Ulta tomorrow since it’s my birthday month and also the last day of 3x points on all purchases for Platinum members. I’m mainly going to get makeup remover, It Cosmetics CC Cream, and other random things I’m out of.
Weekend plans: Mostly ordinary weekend stuff like playing catch-up on laundry, hanging out with the kids, and getting my daughter to practice riding her bike. Probably going out for dinner tonight, definitely going to Ulta tomorrow. On Sunday, I’ve got to do something difficult that I’d rather not do and that I won’t try and explain fully in a public forum, but it involves my daughter and I’m already stressing about it.
City or country? I like both for different reasons. That said, unless it involves living on a beach, I wouldn’t want to live too far out. My general preference is to live in a city, at least in theory.
I actually live in a suburban area where many of us (including me) drive half an hour to the closest city for work. I’m not a fan, but I stick around because it’s reasonably affordable and the schools are reasonably decent (considering the state where I live, anyway).
I’d rather live in the closest city or (better yet) a larger one about an hour and a half from me where my brother lives, but the nearby city has public schools that are bad enough that the state is intervening. The larger city has schools that aren’t much better unless you live in one of several municipalities around the city (that would be neighborhoods in any other city) that have their own school systems… And I don’t have that kind of money.
I hope that whatever you needed to do for your daughter went as well as it could and that you’ve been able to de-stress from it!
Haul: TF Sweet Peach palette, Papa don’t Peach blush, Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer, Exfolikate, Lanolips 101 ointment in Peach, TFSI (the packaging is driving me nuts!) UD Vice lipstick in Ravenswood and a Mario Badescu mask.
Weekend plans: Was meant to be going away to the beach with my husbands family but stuff came up and I need to work, so he is going without me. I’m just gonna hang with the cats and chill 🙂
City or country: Country, definitely. I grew up on a farm, moved to town for school and currently live and work right on the outskirts of a reasonably large city surrounded by farmland… traffic, crowds and giant shopping malls ten minutes in one direction and pasture, forest walking tracks and lakes ten minutes in the other direction. I am currently designing the house we’re planning on building in the country in the next 3 years!
Designing a house! Building! So jealous 🙂 Tell us more about your plans!
Haul: I purchased some new styling products from Kenra for curly hair, and I ordered the new EcoTools face brushes.
Weekend plans: No plans tomorrow, but hitting the casino on Sunday.
City or country: I agree with you about the suburbs. I love being so close to DC but there’s still lots of woods around. If I had to pick one or the other, though, I say city. I love just walking around the city when things are busy and people-watching.
Good luck at the casino 😀
Darling Mellan!
Haul, from Colour Pop Blush in Rain, eyeshadows in Dare, Lace, Sailor, Shameless, Babykins, Small Gift, all Super Shock. Lippie Sticks in Elarie and Flawless, Gel Liner in no shame and for free, Milli
That was what I got this week, I also have some stuff from last month, from the sales I got a package of lip glosses from By Terry, They smell heavily of roses, don’t they!?! I also bought a little box of five or six glosses from Bare Minerals, I really like them a lot, they are small so I might actually finish all of them 🙂
MAC had a 20% off after Christmas, yes, I know that was a long time ago. I bought woodwinked, I’ve wanted it for years, but with all the LE’s I forget about the good permanent stuff. I also got lipsticks in Marsala, On and On and Hot Gossip.
I’m having a lot of fun with all of my purchases, mostly with the Colour Pop things and with On and On, what a fun lipstick that is. The Bare Mineral glosses are very versatile, natural ones, great for the kind of eyemakeup I wear todey. Shimmery purple, so much fun!
Weekend, grooming the dogs.Follow the bidding on a house I think I want, going to look at it on the 6th if it’s not too expensive by then.
City or country, can I say both? I live in a subarb, I want to move to a small city/village preferably to the outer part of it. I do want a huge garden.
Good luck on the house that you’re eyeing! I hope it works out for you 🙂
I’m glad Mellan has started his meds, as the earlier the better. Hopefully he’ll adjust to them well. I’m sending positive thoughts his was as you wait for the results in the hopes that there is as little damage as possible.
Haul: I did quite a big one, but it was all planned as I budgeted for February and made my purchases pretty much as my monthly budget switched over. I got both NARS Unfiltered Palettes (the pinker one via Sephora, the warmer one via Nordstrom as who knows when/if Sephora will restock) and the MAC Viva Glam Taraji Lipstick and Lipglass (my first time buying a lipglass!). I also bit the bullet and subscribed to try out StitchFix.
Weekend plans: OMG sidenote I love Gilmore Girls. Not much planned for me this weekend as Portland has decided to weirdly freeze over once again. It rained ice yesterday. Not hailed. Rained ice. WTF.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: I’m exactly like you Christine in terms of the ‘burbs. I like that I am not in a huge city that’s super loud and crowded, but I like being able to get to one and all it has to offer, so rural life ain’t for me. I think that’s part of why I miss both the SF Bay Area and Metro Vancouver as I was living in more suburban areas where I could garden (and stealth-garden in the communal area as I did in Vancouver…) and the nights were quiet, but I could hop on transit easily and get into SF or Vancouver within 30 minutes if I wanted. I could also get to the coast in max of 45 minutes which is also a must for me (which is one of the reasons Portland feels so claustrophobic)
Rained ice! Oh my goodness! That just sounds awful, lol!
What do (did) you enjoy most about Gilmore Girls?
What a trooper, Mellan! I’m glad things are beginning to stabilize for him.
Haul: MAC – The Shining Hour quad, Glamorize Me cream eyeshadow palette
Weekend plans: Saturday is Phase 2 (of 3) of backyard re-model (new sprinkler system, repairing/replacing the lines, new drainage), meeting with a decorator for bedroom and bathroom ideas, lunch with my best friend and Sunday is visit with my parents and Super Bowl! Somewhere in there I’ve got to cook a few things for the week.
Do you prefer the city or the country?: Outskirts of the city – I like to be close to all wants and needs. I wouldn’t like to be too far out into the country because I’d feel cut off from everything. I like secluded places for vacation spots, though.
Sounds like you had a busy weekend, Pearl! I hope you enjoyed your lunch with your BF!
Shoot, forgot to add Bite Beauty Blood Orange as a dupe for MAC Mangrove and another MAC Creme in your Coffee (one of my most favorite of all time lipsticks) lipstick. I have Mangrove but I think I might just throw it in my Back2MAC tub because it is so drying. I like the texture and feel of Blood Orange so we’ll see.
Haul: I bought a Groupon for laser hair removal (I already had 6 sessions on my underarms a couple years ago but not much result, hopefully with 6 more I’ll be close to hairless!), and I managed to find Lancome’s Rose a Poudrer highlighter! It came back in stock at Lancome’s website early this week, I missed it but now it’s available at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, if anyone is interested.
Weekend plans: a run of Saturday, Super Bowl annual gathering at a friend’s place, and we really need to clean the house!
City or country: definitely city. As much as I love spending time out in the country to relax and explore, I feel alive in a city. Being able to walk places, the energy of the crowd, those are things that make me happy.
Give Mellan a nice cuddle for me!
Hope the laser hair removal goes well, Lulle!!
Haul: I bought 4 MAC lipsticks and liners in their sale. I got Whirl, Velvet Teddy, Twig, and Taupe. I also bought 2 lipsticks, but I can’t remember the names. One is a nude frost that looks great as a topper and the other is a bright pink for spring. I got a coordinating liner too. From Ulta I picked up a Makeup Revolution baked highlighter in Golden Lights, but I’m not as fond of it as I am of Radiant Light and Peach Light. It has more noticeable gold sparkle, almost as if it’s separating from the base product. From Sephora I finally purchased a Marc Jacobs blush in Lines and Last Night which I really like. I also got a Supergoop Perfect Day lotion SPF50 with an SPF50 lip balm in the lid. And another Z palette.
Weekend Plans: Going shopping with my sister in law who is really more of a sister. We’re quite close and always have a great time. Sunday is a day to relax.
City or Country: Country. We own 15 acres. My nearest neighbors are more than a city block away and it’s perfect. We have a huge garden, an orchard, and a shooting range. I grew up in a large city. The transition was an adjustment for sure, but now I have more trouble adjusting to my time in the city. I work in a college town and I’m only an hour from a shopping mall, though I have to order my MAC online…. I’m 2 hours from my nearest MAC counter lol.
Wow! 15 acres 🙂 That’s very cool. My dad has always wanted a lot of acreage! When I first saw what an acre looked like, I was overwhelmed, lol.
I hope the results of the last test are encouraging. Hang in there!
*Haul*
– Elemis Skin Energy Secrets Set: containing Biotec Cleanser 200ml (full size), Biotec Day Cream 30ml (full size) and Biotec Night Cream 8ml (quarter size). I really wanted to try the Biotec range and this was an LE set for Christmas, now on clearance. All Beauty still has it I think.
– Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm: I got both stick and pot. They were 40% off and I plan on using these as a base for modifying my OCC Lip Tars that I otherwise find a little hard to play with and am trying to use up.
– By Terry Impearilous Ombre Blackstar Gift Collection: Cult Beauty still had these in stock plus I got VAT off and additional 15% off on my birthday voucher. I like a bit of shimmer on my eyes and these were perfect when I swatched them in store.
– Charlotte Tilbury Instant Face in a Palette in Seductive Beauty: Finally! I have been waiting for this for a while (ever since their last palette sold out actually). I am NC37 and decided on this because Natural Beauty might not have shown on my skin tone.
*Weekend Plans*
This is my first weekend since starting the new job and I’m kinda at a loss what to do. I simultaneously want to sleep it all away or do my never ending chores or spend the entire weekend outside. There’s definitely some sleep involved though. I don’t want to wake up at 4am on a Sunday.
*City or Country*
I sort of seesaw between the two. I like the ‘buzz’ of city life but it gets to me after an while and I crave the quiet and wide open spaces. I have never actually lived in country proper, always in big cities. I think I would like to have a place I could escape to from time to time. Or alternatively can travel to city frequently and easily.
Congrats on the new job! I hope that’s going well for you 🙂
Haul: Last week i bought an Essence eyeshadow primer. it was on clearance for $3. I’m almost out of my UD primer potion and I hope this Essence stuff works, cuz I don’t wanna pay UD’s price. And I re-purchased my black Inglot gel liner after losing it last summer 🙁 I refuse to use anything else.
Weekend plans: trip to Toronto visiting my little cousins. I already went to the Inglot store, the only one in the country. And I plan on going to the NYX store. I’ve never been to one before. so I’m excited.
City or Country: I’m a city girl. But here’s the thing: Right now I live at home and i’m lucky that it’s a big place. I have an extra bedroom as my beauty room/walk in closet. but if I go live on my own, I likely won’t be able to afford a big space. City living tends to mean smaller spaces for the most part and I’m realizing I can’t deal with that. but for now i’m ok cuz I live in the city and have a big space. it wont last forever though.
I don’t think I could handle really cramped quarters (well, not with working from home / having this much stuff, lol) – I do like some space as well!
Have fun in Toronto!
Haul: Stumbled across Hourglass Whisper lipstick and Nars Doucuer blush, both have been discontinued, on the ACW site. From the grocery, OPI nail polish-the army green color- from the Washington D.C.collection and Milani’s new Contour and Highlight stick. The Hourglass lipstick is my favorite shade and formula and I have wanted the Douceur blush ever since I fell in love with Madly. It is lovely! Very impressed with the contour part of the Milani stick, the highlight part of the product reminds me of Becca liquid in Opal. I have only swatched it on my wrist though. The nail polish, i’ll use this weekend.
Weekend plans: Depending on the weather we will try to get some yard work done. Sunday will be Super bowl.
I’ve lived in the suburbs for the majority of my life and I would love to try both city living (when I say city I mean Austin) I’d so enjoy being within walking distance to all that our downtown has to offer. I also would relish a country place too. It would be wonderful to enjoy the peace and quiet and to be able to expand our animal family.
Good wishes to your baby Mellan, I hope he continues to get better and get his bounce back!
Great haul, Karen! Madly is easy to wear.
Haul: some stuff I really like!! From Ulta I got Fiona Stiles Artist Eyeshadow Palette, Nars Audacious Grace, Laura Gellar Blush-N-Brighten, Tarte Don’t Quit Your Daydream ( I couldn’t help myself- I love Tarte with all my heart, lol ), Tarte Maneater eyeliner, MAC Selena purple eyeshadow, MAC Selena Dreaming Of You lipstick, and the darker MAC Ariana Grande lipstick.
How is the formula for Fiona Stiles’ palette?
I hit send too soon! Weekend plans: i was off today so I spent some time with my son in his group home. I did a little shopping, got some mirrors. Work tomorrow and Sunday. Do you prefer the city or country: I grew up in a rural area and am currently back to living in that same county. I’m in a small town now but I liked living in the city just as much.
Haul: Chanel Empriente du Desert quad (ahhhhh! So much money for four shadows! But so beautiful! And I waited so long to make sure it wasn’t just an impulse purchase!), TheBalm Manizer Sisters palette (I ordered it awhile ago when Ipsy had an amazing promo, but it arrived yesterday and I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet).
Weekend plans: Homework, housework, and work-work. I was sick and I have a ton of catching up to do. No lazy weekend for me!
Do you prefer the city or the country? I like both, depending! I lived in a tiny rural village in an isolated developing nation and loved it; I work and go to school in a city now and like that, too. I think the only thing I don’t like is keeping-up-with-the-Joneses type of suburbs. (Not all suburbs, obviously! But I’ve known some doozies.)
Have you had a chance to wear the Empreinte du Desert quad yet, Heather? Hope it lives up to your expectations!
I’m sorry it’s taking so long to get Mellan’s test results back.
Haul: Some Paula’s Choice toner and moisturizer.
Weekend plans: I promised to take my sons to the new Yu-gi-oh movie.
Do you prefer the city or the country? I’m also happiest in the suburbs, or a small city.
Have fun with your sons 😀
Mac Goldmine, Greensmoke and Honey Lust Shadows made their way home with me.
Working on Saturday. Sunday is a free day, so anything is possible.
I live in a small town with enough around me that I do not get bored, and I can see the New York City skyline in the distance.
Enjoy your free Sunday!
Christine: Just reading about Smellan.. Keep up the good work finding a solution. My JRT Maggie was diagnosed with some serious undetermined source bile/liver issues a number of years back. We had her in emergency care for quite awhile and then palliative care at home. We thought we were going to lose her. She did get better only to seriously relapse about 6 months later. Over time we spent about 10K trying to get to the bottom on if and never did. She underwent so much testing, biopsies, etc.. To the point where my frustrated Vet team decided enough torture testing and suggested straight up pallative and supportive care; a change in diet: I was cooking and making her food (all lean non fatty proteins and rice and veg) and a couple of liver support supplements ‘Zentonil’ for about a year and a half. Also Milk Thistle?, I believe. She got better and now has normal bile and liver function. I know there is treatment for copper storage issues. Hope you get to the bottom of Mellan’s problem and most of all wish him a speedy complete and full recovery. Xoxo. The liver is an amazing organ and can repair and heal.
Wendy!!!!!! We missed you!
Thank you for sharing your story about, Maggie, and I am so relieved it has had a happy ending! Haven’t heard of Zentonil, but I know SAM-e and Milk Thistle are often included in the liver treatment regimen. My vet hasn’t had us include either yet, though I’ll be asking about it in his upcoming follow-up visit. I don’t know the specific quantity of copper, but that final report did at least get seen or discussed with our vet. I’m waiting to get the actual report next week.
We’re working on figuring out the food. He was on Orijen Six Fish (and was for years), which he loves, but they specifically add 10mg/kg copper to that food (of course!). The vet doesn’t think a prescription diet is necessary at this time (he feels commercial diets are still better balanced for long-term use), we switched him to Honest Kitchen’s Force… but he hasn’t been so keen on eating it in the last week so I picked up some raw patties along with a dry kibble brand that doesn’t quite have the quality level for ingredients that I’d choose… but it’s one of the lowest in copper on the market so the plan right now is to transition him from Honest Kitchen to a mix of dry food and raw.
Mellan did have elevated bile levels, too, so here’s hoping that will go down as well.
Hope you are well!
Glad to have you back, Wendy!!!! How have you been?
Yup, Milk Thistle and (I think) Sam-E are what my vitamin/supplement store mgr. daughter mentioned that I should take for NAFLD. They do something for the liver, but I forgot what exactly. Makes perfect sense that these would also work on our pets.
I am glad to hear that Mellon is responding well to his treatment. 4 new meds at once will take a bit of time for his body to adjust to this, but hopefully up coming tests will be positive. What a trooper he is!
Haul: Nothing really this week.
Weekend plans: On Saturday morning we had Lachlan’s first birthday celebrations with friends and family at their local park. So I was up early to make the ribbon sandwiches for the event. Lots of his extended family came, laden with gifts (which his older sister Olivia was more interested in opening than him) and it all worked out well. The morning was chosen because children are at their best then and the day was going to be hot. Nonna had a good rest in the afternoon!
Sunday – we are going out for lunch down by the beach.
City/Country: I prefer to live in the suburbs of a major city (as I do in Melbourne Aus) as we have all the amenities available to us. But I love visiting the country side on week end drives. We don’t live far away from the mountains, so it is great to get away and enjoy the scenery.
Sounds like Lachlan had a great first birthday! 😀
I hope Mellan continues to progress well and gets back to his playful self soon!
Haul: restock of my Ole Henriksen face wash and the sheer transformation mouisterizer, the Glamglow Multimasking set (I haven’t used them before, and my Sephora never has any testers), the Kat Von D Pastel Goth palette (I may try to recreate your look today, Christine), and I picked up the Laura Mercier Editorial Eyes Intense Clay eye palette for my best friend for her birthday. She’s been eying it for a while, so I was happy to be able to surprise her!
Weekend plans: yesterday I did our grocery shopping, shipped a package, got my hair done, painted my nails, and we had dinner with two of our great friends. Today we will likely have a lazy morning with some house work thrown in before watching the Super Bowl. Our team isn’t in the game, but I’ll watch for commercials and Lady Gaga.
City or country: I have been blessed to live in both and different points of my life, and I agree with Christine. I need a nice balance of both. The country is beautiful and peaceful, but can have its drawbacks. The city is interesting and always moving/changing, but sometimes you feel like you need to catch your breath.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!
Thank you, Erica!
Wow, you got a ton done yesterday — nice work! 🙂 Enjoy the Super Bowl!