Small Hauls: NARS, Dose of Colors, and Nordstrom

I’ve racked up quite a bit of lip product before the year’s end. I apologize if the shades in the swatches look identical. If you’ve not already known yet, 1) I am a sucker for neutrals, and 2) Majority of the time when I’m looking at lip product shades, I tend to gravitate towards these colors. And yes, I probably have a grip of dupes. Here’s what I’ve purchased within the past month.

 

NARS

As a result of constant testing during my visits to Sephora, I finally decided it was time to get their Radiant Creamy Concealer. Macadamia and Ginger were the closest matches, but the latter “disappeared” into my skin after blending. I also tried out their Velvet Lip Glide in Bound (rose pink) and loved the shade. The finish is semi-matte, which was comfortable.

Swatches under room lighting

Swatches under natural light

Swatches with concealer blended

 

 

Dose of Colors

I had an eye on this brand for a while after following them on social media. One of their best selling items is their Liquid-Matte Lipstick in the shade Stone. It’s sold out on several occasions, so I made sure to jump on it once it was back in stock. I also wanted to check out their Classic Lipstick, so I chose the shade Ditto (muted mauve taupe). The lipstick has a creamy satin finish. I wore it during Christmas and it lasted a good couple of hours, even after eating and drinking.

Top to bottom in room light: Stone, Ditto

Top to bottom in natural light: Stone, Ditto

 

Nordstrom

This was part of my Black Friday haul. Jouer was a brand that I wasn’t able to check out during Gen Beauty in November. One beauty influencer I follow on social media swatched their Long-Wear Lip Creme in Tawny Rose and I knew I’d have to get it. The Charlotte Tilbury lipstick in Very Victoria (rosy brown nude with matte finish) was bookmarked on another site since it was sold out. Luckily I found it elsewhere. So far I’ve only worn the lip creme. It turned out a little lighter than the swatch. The wear time was average (3-4 hours) and didn’t dry out my lips.

Top to bottom in room light: Very Victoria, Tawny Rose

Top to bottom in natural light: Very Victoria, Tawny Rose

 

Have you tried any of these products or have them on your wish list? I feel like I’ve made a good investment in these, and with the exception of the concealer, they’ll probably last me a while. Time to throw them into my heavily rotating collection!

Project Life – November 2016

I didn’t have too many photos to document with for last month, so I had to improvise with my last page. Thank goodness for my alpha punch board!

 

Highlights:

Generation Beauty in SF

Disney 10K/ SoCal trip

RCubed Eats – Spruce Cafe & Patisserie, International Smoke at Michael Mina Test Kitchen, Honey & Butter, The Low Key Poke Joint, Pop Pie Co.

Tea Under the Tree With Crown & Crumpet

A few weeks ago, a few friends and I headed to downtown SF to take part in a holiday tea event. Although it was pouring rain outside the whole time, we still had a blast. Crown & Crumpet in collaboration with the Sir Francis Drake Hotel is holding a holiday tea service for both adults and children throughout the month of December. The area where the event was held is wonderfully decorated, and the large Christmas tree in the middle was the site of many photo-ops.

Our party of 3 started off with cider and sparkling wine (just me), and later each ordered a tea of our choice. I had my usual favorite (Strawberry Fields) while the others tried the holiday teas. The hostess gave us some party crackers to open before indulging in our selection of tea time treats. The crackers contained mini trinkets, a joke card, and a paper crown which the hostess insisted we wore during our session.

Afternoon tea (or in this case “brunch” for me), makes me smile.

Party of 3 at table 3. Too appropriate.

Close up of the tea time goodies. We finished everything.

 

Before leaving, we each received a specially made ornament as a memento of the event. I’m glad I was able to partake in it this year and hope to do so in the next. The holiday tea runs through December 30th. More information can be found on the Crown & Crumpet website.

Lime Crime Haul

Due to recent accumulation of product, I wanted to have my hauling tendencies chill out a bit before writing about this brand. Lime Crime was founded by Doe Deer, who has a thing for colorful wardrobes and unicorns. The brand is also certified vegan and cruelty-free.

The first product I tried was their Matte Velvetines liquid lipstick in Teddy Bear. It’s one of the darkest lip colors I have, and I love it! The formula of the Velvetines doesn’t dry my lips out (I apply a very thin layer of lip balm and blot before putting them on, which helps a ton). A few months later, they released their Girls Girls Girls collection, which featured 5 nude shades. This was sold both as a set and separately. I bought 3 shades as a result.

L – R: Elle (Apricot nude), Gigi (Taupe mauve), Sasha (Toasted rose)

Top to bottom: Elle, Gigi, Sasha

Swatches with flash

One of their Velve-tins gift sets was part of my Black Friday purchases this year. I chose the blue one, which has 2 matte and 1 metallic shade.

The packaging of this is adorable!

Vibe (Mauve metallic), Cindy (Terracotta matte), Beet It (Berry matte)

Mini compared to a regular sized Velvetine for scale.

Top to bottom: Vibe, Cindy, Beet It

Swatches with flash

I was pretty content with what I’ve received so far, until they decided to release a free exclusive shade with any purchase. You probably already know where this is going, so yes, I bought 1 more thing. This time it was one of their Unicorn lipsticks in Hoodie (Tea rose).

Unicorn lipstick in Hoodie and Riley (Warm coco-brown) exclusive Velvetine mini

Check out this case design!

Top to bottom: Hoodie, Riley

Swatches with flash

All of these have been thrown into my current rotation of lip products. If you’re not familiar with this brand and are interested in giving it a try, you can get $5 off your first purchase of $30 or more by clicking here. You can also find some of Lime Crime’s products at select Urban Outfitters stores and other online retailers.

Sanrio Small Gift Crate by Loot Crate

If you’re a fan of the super cute world of Sanrio, then you may/may not have heard that they now have a collaboration with Loot Crate for a quarterly box subscription. Those that subscribe will receive a box containing $75 worth of Sanrio merchandise. The first of these crates was shipped this month, and I was very excited to receive it.

Kawaii overload!!!

 

What’s inside:

Hello Kitty bag charm – The iconic kitty herself holds a huge red bow in this charm that you can attach to anything you want.

Hello Kitty sparkle figure – This was one of the teaser items shown on social media to promote this crate. Her outfit is a metallic blue and silver glitter adds an extra dazzle to this exclusive collectible.

Hello Sanrio notebook – Inside of this notebook is an adorable sticker sheet featuring various Sanrio characters. The pages themselves are almost too cute to write in. Almost. I also like how there’s a stretch band on the side of it to keep everything together.

Hello Sanrio Friends pen – This deserves a “yay” because it’s a black ink ballpoint pen (my favorite), and hopefully it doesn’t smudge on my hand when I use it. A good amount of Sanrio’s pens come with charms attached to them. The 3 character one with this is an added bonus.

Hello Sanrio scented erasers – Man, I used to lurve the scented erasers I’d buy from my local store and bring them to school. My favorites always smelled like bubble gum, but these are strawberry scented. I felt pretty nostalgic when I saw these.

Hello Sanrio Pouch – Yet another item in this box with a 3 character charm. No complaints here though, especially since it has my favorite character Badtz Maru on it! I don’t have  a main purpose for this bag, so for now it holds the small items I received in the crate.

Hello Sanrio Pocket Tee – If you’ve subscribed to any Loot Crate, they’ve always been known to include shirts in most if not all of their boxes. I’m glad they’ve decided to add apparel as well to this one. I really wish I could carry these cuties in my pocket. Not weird at all, right?

Gudetama extra – Anyone remember having some type of trinket taped to your Sanrio bag whenever you made a purchase? I loved the different ones I would get. I liked this even more because I’ve gotten a bit attached to this lazy egg character over the summer. This is just another addition to the small collection of items I have of it.

The price for this crate is $39.99 USD (includes shipping) before tax, and crates are sent within the US and also internationally to select countries 4 times per year. There hasn’t been any word of the first crate selling out, so you might be able to get a hold of it if you like what you’ve seen in this post. There are 3 subscription plans to choose from for this crate. You can get information on them and find out more about the Small Gift Crate on Loot Crate’s site.

Urban Decay Haul

UD has been on my list of favorite cosmetic brands since I tried out their Naked 2 palette. This has by far been the most I’ve purchased from them at one time. Let’s check out the goods!

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1 palette, 2 nail colors, and 3 Vice lipsticks. Yep, I'm good with this UD haul. 👌 😆 #urbandecay #NakedUltimateBasics #vicelipstick

A post shared by RCubed (@lehea1212) on Nov 20, 2016 at 4:50pm PST

A long standing item on my wish list, the Naked Ultimate Basics palette consists of 12 matte neutral shades. As a self-proclaimed neutral freak, I’d be a fool not to have this! Thankfully it’s finally in my hands.

 

Naked Nail Color is exclusive to the brand’s website. I got 2 of the 3 shades I had my eye on (unfortunately the shade Instinct is currently sold out). I totally dig the skull detailing on the cap.

Commando on the index finger and Walk of Shame on the middle (1 coat, pardon my non-model like hands =P).

 

Of course I picked up some more of their awesome Vice Lipstick. After this splurge, I only have 1 other shade to get from Sephora. I have yet to wear any of them, but I am loving these shades!

L – R: Amulet, Ladyflower, Rapture

Top to bottom: Amulet, Ladyflower, Rapture

 

I’m pretty much set with my UD collection. It’s enough product to last me all through next year at the least. Are you a fan of Urban Decay? I’d love to know your favorite product(s).

Pre and Post Turkey Day Hauls

A good number of items I had my eye on were already available to purchase either prior to Thanksgiving Day or by midnight on Black Friday. Online shopping and free shipping, FTW!

Nordsrom haul

Nordstrom– I had an eye on a Kate Spade crossbody bag (Cobble Hill – Mini Toddy) for over a few months and jumped on it when they marked it down 30%. There’s a very slim chance I’d see this at their outlet stores, so purchasing it was a no-brainer. 2 lip colors were also added to the haul. The Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips lipstick in Very Victoria was out of stock on one of the beauty sites I frequent. Nordstrom seems like the only retailer that sells the Jouer brand, so I also threw in their Long-Wear Lip Creme liquid lipstick in Tawny Rose. I’ll have swatches of them up in a future post.

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft – It was about time I made some upgrades for my occasional Project Life activities. That paper trimmer finally got checked off my wish list. I can never have enough alpha stickers and sticky notes, and it only made sense to get the page protectors I use the most in a bundle (not having it right now with the long lines at craft stores this time of the year). Also decided on another core kit to get an early start on my album for next year.

Amazon – Amy Tangerine is a designer who also has a love for scrapbooking. Her video on photo printers she often uses for her pages had me interested in the HP Sprocket. This uses Zink technology to print 2 x 3 photos directly from a mobile device via Bluetooth. I’ve used it a few times and like how it adds a bit more variety to my documenting. The device itself is portable, so I could even take it with me when I travel.

Lime Crime – Seriously, the amount of lip products I’ve been purchasing within the past month alone almost makes me want to gag. I think I now know how you beauty junkies feel. 5 different tins each containing 3 mini lip products were released for the holidays, and they’re pretty darn cute. Luckily I only purchased 1. I’ve accumulated quite a few things from this brand, so more information about those, including this item, will be in a separate post.

Did you happen to do any damage during Thanksgiving week and/or Black Friday? Feel free to share in the comments.

Kira Kira Crate, Volume 1

A new Japanese beauty box has joined the lineup of subscriptions from Japan Crate. The Kira Kira Crate brings a variety of popular beauty products directly from Japan to your door every month.  The subscription is $29/month with free shipping worldwide.

What’s inside:

Choosy Lip Pack: Peach – I’ve seen a few social media posts about these. They feel like jelly when taken out of the packet and are said to make lips smoother and fuller after use. I can already picture how silly I’m going to look with an enormous lip shaped mask on my mouth.

Family Honey Soap – This contains honey essence and Royal Jelly extract to help soften skin. The size of this looks like something I can take with me when I travel, but I’ll probably just end up using it as a hand soap.

Hotto Mie Eye Mask – A popular Japanese beauty item, this mask heats up when exposed to air to relax the eye area. It also contains lutein, collagen, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides. Sounds like an eye spa treatment that can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. It’s been getting colder lately, so I’ll most likely be using one of these real soon.

Naive Peach Face Wash – This was the product I was most excited to try (and is the only one I’ve tried since receiving the box). I’ve come across this several times when visiting Asian stores/supermarkets. I was hoping to actually smell peaches with this since that’s how it was described. It does smell good though, but not like that. I’ve used it in the shower and it works into a nice lather and leaves my skin soft.

Nonkuma x Hello Kitty Eye Patch – When I saw this as a spoiler item for the box, it pretty much reeled me in. This also uses heat to help promote circulation to lessen puffiness and dark circles while also moisturizing the skin. Featuring Hello Kitty using them on the back of the packaging is just too cute.

Puresmile Cherry Blossom Essence Mask  – This sheet mask will nourish and make skin more supple with cherry blossom extract, Vitamin E, collagen, arbutrin, and hyaluronic acid. I confess, I’ve been falling behind on using the sheet masks that I currently own, so hopefully I won’t wait too long before getting around to this.

Super Exta Eyelashes – I received these in SE-02 Sweet & Natural. My eyelash applying game is not very strong, but I wouldn’t mind improving it by practicing with these.

Yuzu Bath Tablets – I’m hoping these tabs will fizz when you toss them in water just like the bath bombs a la Lush. Plus I like citrus scented bath products. I’ll be saving these for a day when I’m in dire need to unwind and actually have time to chill out in the tub.

I like the products that I received in this box and will see what next month has to offer. However, I don’t see myself staying with this sub for very long since I’m once again trying to cut down on the beauty hauls. I will say that this is worth checking out if you’re a fan of Japanese beauty. There may possibly be an integration of Korean beauty products into this crate in the future as well.

Right now for a limited time, use the code HELLOKIRA to receive a Hello Kitty bag bonus with any new subscription. The type of bag(s) received varies depending on the subscription type chosen. If you’re also a fan of Anime, use the code WINTER to receive $10 off of all subscriptions on the Japan Crate site and receive a free Anime crate with any multi-month subscription. Not too bad of a deal, but I’m not sure if both codes can be used together.  (Codes courtesy of My Subscription Addiction)