Mail Haul: Birchbox and Ulta

Today both my Ulta box and my Birchbox came in the mail! I was super excited about it because I had been wanting to get a Naked palette for some time. When I went to the Ulta opening on Friday they were "all sold out". I'm very curious how you sell out before you open because I was the second person in line. But whatever, I came home and order it on their website. So there. I'm sure everyone and their mother has seen this palette and the swatches but here's a picture just in case you've been living under a rock.

It's so pretty! I can't wait to try it out! I was nervous I wouldn't know which colors to pair together but it seems pretty foolproof. They all go well together! I don't know if I'll keep the mini primer potion. I've got a big one and I've been thinking I might let my sister try the mini one.

Obviously it was packed better but I was so eager to open it up and see what was inside!

Redken Shine Flash 02

philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser

Korres Japanese Rose Showergel

Pur Minerals 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup in Light

Pur Minerals Chisel Brush

Kind Almond and Apricot Bar

After I took this pic, I ripped into that Kind bar. It was so delicious! I'd love to get some more but the website only sells them in cases and I don't know if I want that many right now. I love Redken so I'm kind of excited about the Shine Flash! Their styling products are always nice, I've never regretted buying one. The Pur Minerals brush is very small and kind of scratchy so I probably won't use it. Other than that, I'm thinking I'll put the philosophy cleanser and Korres soap in my shower and try them out but I doubt I'll buy the full sizes because they seem expensive and I already have a HG face cleanser. Oh and just in case anyone's on the fence about trying Birchbox, here's a little math for you:

I had been on the fence for a while but I'm happy to at least try everything I got in my box and it was a fun treat for how little I paid for it.

Pregnancy Update: 26 weeks, 2 days. I went to the doctors' office today and they are very impressed with how controlled my weight gain has been. I had a little extra weight prepregnancy and I actually managed to lose some first trimester. So we are in the home stretch and they don't expect me to gain more than 10 pounds in the next 14 weeks. October still feels like a lifetime away.

I'd love to hear what you got in your Birchbox if you got one this month, as well as favorite combos and looks from the Naked Palette! Leave me a comment!

Love, Jessica

Skincare Products: Current Favorites 7/18/2011

pHisoderm Cream Cleanser for Sensitive Skin

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Resurfacing 3-Way Cleanser

Garnier Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Lightweight UV-Lotion

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

Garnier Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream

So today I thought I'd share with you my favorite skincare products. I have super sensitive skin so these products don't get replaced with different products that often. Once I've found something that doesn't break me out, controls oil and doesn't dry me out, I'm wary to try anything new. On top of that, pregnancy skin can be sensitive as well. I also have to watch ingredients because things like salicylic acid are banned during pregnancy.

I use the cream cleanser twice daily most days. Prepregnancy, I exfoliated once a week during the winter and slowly moved to three times a week during the dog days of summer. My first trimester I exfoliated once every two weeks. Now I'm back to once a week (unless I'm sunburnt :P). As weird as this sounds, I use the gel cream moisturizer in the morning and the UV lotion as an eye cream in the morning and all over at night. The lotion is very deeply moisturizing but doesn't sink in very fast so it tends to make me look oily. I still feel like I need the extra moisture on my undereye area so I've been using that instead of springing for an expensive eye cream. The eye makeup remover is not HG for me but it gets the job done so I'll use it up before trying something new.

The pHisoderm was something I picked up on sale at Meijer more than a year ago. When I started to run out about a month ago, I went back to get more and they didn't have it. I've hunted in other stores and couldn't find it at all. So I just bought three bottles on drugstore.com. I did email the company so if you're interested in buying a pHisoderm product, they told me they're available at Rite-Aid, as well as a few places I've never heard of. This really is a HG cleanser for me. It gets my skin clean without drying it out. My skin feels smooth and soft after I use it and it helps clear up break outs. Only complaint is that the pump tends to clog up but it only cost me about $4.

I hope this isn't too long or too rambly. If you have any other questions, let me know. Share with me what your favorite products are! I like seeing what other people like to use and their routines!

Love, Jessica

Haul: Ulta Grand Opening, Bath and Body Works, MAC, Target

So I'll spare you the details of why the Ulta opening was disappointing. Instead, I'm trying to focus on the positive: I got a $10 off card. My sister got a $50 off card and was nice enough to buy me a polish. They didn't have the UD Naked Palette so I proceeded to buy a couple things at the MAC counter when we went to the mall. I also went to Target and Bath and Body Works. When I got home, I discovered shipping confirmation of my Birch Box. And tonight, my wonderful boyfriend is taking me to see Harry Potter in IMAX tonight!

So this haul is all of what I bought at Ulta, the free samples, one thing from Target, Bath and Body Works and my first ever purchase from the MAC counter.

Ulta: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Bourbon, Benefit Erase Paste in No. 1 Light, NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses in La~ La~ and Beige, OPI Nail Polish in Shorts Story.

I've heard lots of good things about the NYX glosses so I really wanted to try them. I also wanted to try the Jumbo Eye Shadow Pencil in Milk but they didn't have any in stock.

The samples in the goodie bag: Ulta Moisturizing Body Lotion in Fresh Lilac, Exuviance Heel Repair, Kinerase Cream, Ulta Eyeshadow in Mink.

These are all the samples from the goodie bag they gave me at checkout. I've never heard of Exuviance or Kinerase so we will see. I'm also interested in seeing if the eyeshadow is good quality or not. I have such sensitive eyes that a lot of drugstore shadows make them itch and burn.

Target: Suave Dry Shampoo Spray

My sister let me try hers and I'm totally hooked. Not expensive either which is awesome!

Bath and Body Works: Mini Body Sprays in Sea Island Cotton

They were having one of those 3 for $10 sales on the mini and honestly, I didn't like the other scents. I'm obsessed with finding the perfect body spray for smelling like clean laundry. It's my all time favorite smell. So it's cool that I got three. One for my vanity, one for my purse, one for the car!

MAC: Eyeshadows in Shroom, Mulch and All That Glitters

I went with three totally different colors in mind: Vanilla, Naked Lunch and Satin Taupe. But I walked out with these. The MAC counter was pretty intimidating. They're all pretty swatched next to each other. When I left Macy's my arm was a swatchy mess but I already know what my next purchase will be!

Also, a quick pregnancy update: I'm 25 weeks, 5 days! When did that happen? Times flying by so fast and I can't even fathom October yet. I've contemplated a belly picture for you guys buuuut I'm short so being pregnant has taken over my whole body. I look like 5 times the size I was when this started. I'm starting to feel so embarrassed. I thought I would feel a lot prettier pregnant because so many people told me they do but I don't. And maternity clothes only add to the problem. Oh well, I only have 3 months left to go!

I hope to get a few more posts up soon. I haven't been keeping up with this at all like I thought I would. :P

Love, Jessica

ELF Haul

So last week ELF (eyeslipsface.com) had a little 52% off studio sale for their facebook friends! I have a whole list of ELF stuff I want but I tried to restrain myself because an Ulta is opening about 20 minutes away in just 2 weeks (which is super awesome because the nearest Ulta until now is a good hour away depending on traffic). My sister and I will be right there for the grand opening so I'll definitely have some pictures for that. But for now I've got my ELF haul and some first impressions for you.

I got the Studio HD powder, 2 Studio powder brushes, Essentials lippies in Fearless, Flirtatious, and Sociable, Studio blush in Candid Coral, Studio cream eyeshadow in Dawn, Essentials travel mirror and Essentials eyelash curler.

Studio High Definition Powder: This just wanted to photograph all dusty looking. Yeah, it definitently isn't all dusty looking on the OUTSIDE. This was a great setting powder. I felt like it just made everything look perfected and smooth. My face felt incredibly smooth and didn't look cakey. The inside of the package got DUSTY super quickly. But other than that, totally worth it!

Studio Powder Brushes: I already own one of these and love it for powder. It makes my powder look less cakey around my chin and nose than my Sigma F30 can. I heard some good things about using it for foundation and blush...yeahhhhh. I feel like I used twice the amount of product and it only looked like medium coverage. As for blush I couldn't tell you but that's the fault of the blush not the brush.

L to R: Sociable, Flirtatious, Fearless

Essentials Lippies: So I already owned one of these lippies in the color Classy and wanted to try some other colors. Pigmentation is awesome but staying power is only mediocre. Fearless is RED. I still haven't figured out how to red without looking like Bozo so I'm hoping this will be a good starting point. I wore flirtatious today and it was kind of bright but very pretty!

Studio Cream Eyeshadow in Dawn: This is a very nice pigmented cream shadow. I wore it today with UDPP and my WnW Color Icon palette and it looked very nice as a base. I'll need to wear it again to know staying power.

Studio Blush in Candid Coral: I got so many recommendations on this color and I had such high hopes. As you can see from the swatch its a super light golden color. It seems so close to my skin color that I felt like I put on a ton of it. I tried it with one of my new studio powder brushes but I switched to my Sigma F40 and still couldn't tell. It gave a kind of golden glow but not what I was hoping for. I'll try again tomorrow.

Studio Lip Lock Pencil: This is supposed to keep your lipstick in place and I have to say it did a good job! It's kind of a waxy stick and the directions say just outline your lips with it. That's what I did and my lipstick did not bleed off of my lips at all today.

Essentials Eyelash Curler: I didn't have an eyelash curler and I heard this was a good one. I wish it was a teeny bit smaller because I had a hard time getting the outer lashes.
Travel Mirror: I needed a purse mirror but I'll probably order another one because I have such a hard time doing my eyes in my vanity mirror because I have to lean over the top of the vanity to get close to the mirror.

So that's what I got. These are just first impressions but if you want a full review on anything let me know and I'll try to get you one within a week or two. If you've got some ELF recommendations or even Ulta recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

Love, Jessica