Birthday Binge (Haul) + Mini Reviews and Swatches Part 2- Sephora & Macy's

Welcome back Cosmeticholics!

As I promised you guys in the last post, here is the continuation of my birthday haul. These are the beauty related gifts my mom gave me for my birthday and I finally got my Lancome La Vie Est Belle about a week ago! It smells amazing :)

 

Sephora Goodies:

There had been some new items I had been lusting after for a little while and I figured my birthday would be the perfect time to ask for these products. Let me tell you, I am crazy about Urban Decay. It’s definitely my favorite high-end makeup brand. I’m sure many people would disagree with me, but I like it way more than MAC. Don’t get me wrong, of course I like MAC too, but I wouldn’t run out and buy something from MAC just because it’s part of a new collection. I would with Urban Decay though and I get very excited anytime they come out with new stuff, especially their palettes. That being said, when I found out they had a new line of lipsticks coming out with their Fall 2013 collection, I had to try one. Especially since I have never owned a lipstick from Urban Decay. I also fell in love with the new Tarte Limited Edition Coral Crush Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette the minute I saw it online. I knew it had to be mine and the packaging is gorgeous!

 

 

Pictured left to right- Limited Edition Tarte Coral Crush Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette ($38), Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked ($22), Sephora Beauty Insider Lancome Loves Lashes Travel-Size Mascara Set (Free with coupon code- I don’t believe they are still running this offer)

 

 

 

Tarte Coral Crush Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette swatches left to right- Champagne (Highlighter), Park Ave Princess (Bronzer), Carefree (Blush), [Following are all eyeshadows] Paradise Pink, Lilac Mist, Golden Getaway, Sandy Grey, Tropical Suntan, and Cocoa Cabana.

 

There is no denying how beautiful the Tarte Coral Crush Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette is. It is packaged in a large round dark brown compact with an orange and gold scale pattern in the middle and a raised gold starfish in the center. On the inside, it contains a HUGE mirror. The face products and eyeshadows are excellent quality. The highlighter (Champagne) is a beautiful, shimmery champagne shade; the bronzer (Park Ave Princess) is a matte mid-tone tan brown; the blush (Carefree) is a shimmery bright mid-tone pink; Paradise Pink is a shimmery light pink with small flecks of silver glitter; Lilac Mist is a satin lilac grape kind of purple with small flecks of gold glitter in it- it’s a very unique shade; Golden Getaway is a beautiful shimmery champagne bronze; Sandy Grey is a shimmery grayish taupe; Tropical Suntan is a matte caramel beige; Cocoa Cabana is a matte dark chocolate brown. As I said, everything has great color payoff. The palette also comes with a little instructional chart which gives you a day and night look you can replicate step-by-step.

 

 

 

 

Urban Decay’s new Revolution Lipsticks are part of the new Fall 2013 collection and come in 22 shades. Since I gravitate more toward the pink/nude spectrum of lipstick shades I chose the shade Naked which is described on Urban Decay’s website as a Nude-Pink. It is the perfect MLBB shade (it leans on the pinker side of nude) and it wears beautifully. It seems to have some kind of a staining property because after hours of wear, although I couldn’t feel the formula on my lips, the color was still there and it looked really natural. I can’t wait to try other shades and I’m already eyeballing Native.


 

 

 

The Beauty Insider Lancome Loves Lashes Mascara Set was a free gift with a purchase of $25 or more and was a coupon code I got from Retailmenot. This cute little set includes travel-sized versions of Lancome Definicils High Definition Mascara in Black, Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes Wide-Eye Look Mascara in So Black!, and Lancome Cils Booster XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base. I think this set is a great way to sample Lancome mascaras and see if you like them first before you shell out big bucks for them. I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to spend $25 on mascara, I want to know for sure that it works for me and I like it before spending that kind of money. But then again, I’m perfectly content with several different drugstore mascaras that I like.  


Macy's:

 

 

 

Ever since I got a sample of the Lancome La Vie Est Belle perfume, I knew I had to have it (especially since my boyfriend complimented me every time I wore it and he is very sensitive with perfume due to his asthma). It works so well with my body chemistry and it lasts all day on me. You know how some perfumes fade after a couple hours? Well this one doesn’t and I can still smell it on me at the end of the day. It reminds me of Jimmy Choo but it lasts so much longer. I’m not good at explaining scents but I would describe this as a warm scent with sugary and floral notes. It’s hard to explain but I would highly recommend testing this one out the next time you are at a perfume counter. If you like perfumes like Jimmy Choo, Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb, Coach Poppy and Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy I think you would enjoy this one too :)

 

Lastly, are all the samples I received with my orders. At the time my mom ordered my perfume, Macy’s had this free 15-piece beauty sampler bag and lots of other samples came with my order also. I got a lot of great stuff I can’t wait to try out along with some favorite perfumes I have used for years. Before I show you guys my samples, I wanted to rant for a moment about something that annoys the hell out of me. I do not understand why they feel a need to put man cologne in with my sampler bags. I literally got 4 or 5 man colognes and I don’t know how Macy’s expects women to use this crap. I think it should be common sense that if a customer is ordering a woman’s cologne that you should send samples that are for women, not man cologne that a woman can’t use. I understand a lot of women will probably give those samples to their significant others and some woman actually enjoy using man cologne (to each their own) but I don’t like how they are assuming I’m going to have a use for those man colognes because I don’t. As I mentioned before, my boyfriend is sensitive to perfume and cologne due to his asthma so he never wears cologne. I have a good friend I can give these to but that is beside the point. Sephora is also notorious for doing this; they have a plethora of man colognes amongst the samples you choose from for your three free samples. I understand that some men buy their cologne from Sephora but Sephora is a beauty store and women are the main clientele so I think it would be smarter on their part to include more samples targeted toward women. That’s all I’m saying. Now onto the samples…

 

 

Samples left to right- Ralph Lauren Romance EDP, (X2) Marchesa Parfum D’Extase EDP, Escada Limited Edition Cherry In The Air EDT, Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue EDT, Versace Bright Crystal EDT.

 

Samples left to right- Michael Kors EDP Set (Sexy Amber, Glam Jasmine, and Sporty Citrus), Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDT, Cartier Baiser Vole EDT, Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio EDT, Calvin Klein Euphoria EDP, Marc Jacobs Daisy EDT.

                                           

Samples left to right- Giorgio Armani Armani Code EDT, Calvin Klein Euphoria For Him EDT, Lancome Renergie Lift Multi-Action Reviva-Concentrate Serum, Lancome Renergie Lift Multi-Action Lifting and Firming Cream, Lancome Renergie Lift Multi-Action Night Lifting and Firming Night Cream.

 

 

Samples left to right- (Top Row) (X3) Ole Henriksen Perfect Truth CC Crème in Light, Bare Minerals Multi-Wrinkle Repair Treatment, Benefit The POREfessional Balm, Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate, Lancome Genifique Eye Youth Activating Eye  Concentrate, Tocca Beauty Cleopatra Crema Da Corpo Body Lotion, Bumble and bumble. Bb Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner, (Middle Row) Dior Capture Totale Multi-Perfection Concentrated Serum, 21 Drops 11 De-Stress Essential Oil, Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm with Alguronic Acid, Estee Lauder Advanced Time Zone Age Reversing Line/Wrinkle Crème, Soap & Glory The Righteous Body Butter, (Bottom Row) Korres Quercetin & Oak Face Antiageing Face Primer, Lab Series Skincare for Men Pro LS All-In-One Face Treatment, Origins Plantscription SPF 25 Anti-Aging Cream, StriVectin-AR Advanced Retinol Night Treatment, Clarins Paris Lisse Minute Base Comblante Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch.

That concludes my birthday haul! I hope you enjoyed it and I plan to post more in-depth reviews on some of the products shown. Stay tuned for my next blog post coming up- I’m planning to review some of the new Jordana Blush shades that just came out! They are awesome and very affordable! :)