January Beauty Bag

These are all the items that I am using in the month of January. I am hoping to use up some of these items, but I want to see progress on everything this month and every month. If I don’t use it, I declutter it. If I don’t like it, I declutter it. I have a serum, a primer, a blush, an eye shadow trio, an eye liner and a perfume. Oh, and a lipstick! I really am enjoying the blush and I have already popped the stopper out of the liquid lipstick. I will let you know if I use up anything, hit pan, or declutter in my February bag post. The liquid lipstick is a my lips but better color and is so easy to wear. It fades naturally and doesn’t look awkward at all.

With Love,

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December Sephora Play!

The last box of the year and it came on December 23rd. Seriously. I usually get my box from 10-20. I feel like it took FOREVER! Okay, I’ll stop complaining. lol. I really do love the Sephora Play subscription that I get every month. Some months are better than others, but overall, I think you get good bang for your tenner. I might not use everything immediately, but I am happy to try everything that I can. I am rotating through my makeup collection and making it a big priority next year that if I don’t love something, I give it away. If it is too old, throw it out. If I’m not loving it, it isn’t worth the effort to use it up or pan it.

I love the bag! It is very cute, but I really don’t have a need. I usually just donate these bags away to be recycled and proceeds goes towards a local charity. I’m actually going to be using my card, because I am hitting up Sephora. I want to buy something during the 20% off sale and possibly cash in some points.

Drybar Triple Sec, 0.35 oz for $2.17

This is a 12th of the full size, so to me it seems like a tiny sample. I would have at least liked to have seen a half of an ounce for a hair product. This will probably only be a couple of uses. I have to use a lot of dry shampoo to soak up the second day oil in my hair. It gets oily super fast. I think it smells nice and I cannot wait to use it once I use up my Not Your Mother’s dry shampoo. So far, I really love the Amika Perk Up dry shampoo for my hair. I don’t have to put a ton in and it really works.

Stella McCartney perfume sample

I love that this is a natural rose scent. I’ve been really into rose scents lately. I would love to receive a foil packet instead of a perfume every other month though. I haven’t gotten one yet and I would really like to. I have too many perfume samples at the moment since I’m trying to work through a bottle of perfume.

Clinique Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen, 0.34 g for $7

I’m going to say that this is a third of the full size, since I cannot find how much is in a pen anywhere. I look forward to using this when I don’t currently have an eye liner open. I am trying to use up a black and glitter eye liner. I’m pulling it out in January, so we shall see if it is still good or not. I’ll be blogging about my makeup clearing journey, so you guys won’t miss a beat. Subscription bags are great, but if I don’t like it, I’m not going to be keeping them around anymore.

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Matte Au Natural, 1 g for $17.40

This is more than half of a full size! It is pretty close to a full size and way more than half. I am very pleased with the amount of product in this one. This is a nude color that I will be using all of the time. I actually prefer to work with cream shadows, so I am excited to try this out in my January rotation. If it wears nicely on my eyes, I will be very happy. Eye shadow creases on my hooded eyes like crazy, especially creams. I had a hard time getting rid of the swatch so I have high hopes for this one. I would work this on the lid and crease and pop a bright eye shadow on the lid.

Caudalie Vine[Activ] Energizing & Smoothing Eye Cream, 0.16 fl oz for $13

This is a third of the full size of eye cream, so I am happy that it is a really decent sized eye cream sample. It takes me a while to go through eye cream. I almost never need to buy it, because these samples carry me throughout most of the year. I am curious about this brand, but I feel like the beauty world is over it. I’d like to try more of it. I really love the beauty elixir, but I can buy a Smashbox Primer Water for less and get more. I feel like they are overpriced and trying to be luxury.

MUFE Artist Rouge Creme Lipstick Fuchsia Pink, 0.04 oz for $7.34

Another generous size for being a third of the full size. This lipstick is super soft. While I love the purple pink color, the bullet is already being smashed around inside of the tube. I would not buy a full size of this. I will be pulling it out in the spring and summer, but this really isn’t a winter color. I would have appreciated a soft pink or a winter berry.

$46.91 is the total value of this box. I would give this box 3 out of 5 stars, because of the great value and I’m not excited for the lipstick and the black liner. I am excited to see what the next year brings to the Sephora Play! box. I have been really happy with the items that I have received this year. I plan on going through my collection soon and getting rid of the samples that I didn’t enjoy.

With Love,

VS Haul

Yes, I am finally getting around to showing you my VS haul. I had two $20 off of $40 gift cards and I decided to use them both. I shopped online, but this time, it took TWO WEEKS to ship out and get to me. Like, I got both o my boxes on December 18th and I ordered on it on the 3rd. The good news is that the one clothing item that I bought fits. It is a little big, but I tightened the straps and that seemed to do trick.

My first haul, I only bought 1 thing and I paid $22.50.

VS Satin Romper in Antiquela in Medium

This originally would have been $42.50, so it was a total steal with $20 off. I love the soft purple color and a romper is going to be great in the summer. It’s a shorts and cami combo. I can wear with around the house with a pair of pants and still be decent around my family. It is so comfortable and silky. Hands down my favorite bedtime clothes right now. I love pairing it with my Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 pants.

My second haul, I bought 8 things and I paid $32.52 for a haul that was worth $52.52.

Pink Coconut Hand Cream, 1.4 fl oz for $5

I bought this hand cream, because I don’t have any and now I have two. It has a pleasant scent and I look forward to trying it out.

Pink Sweet & Flirt 2-in-1 Wash & Scrub, 10.1 fl oz for $4.90

I needed some more body washes and scrubs. This is both, so I think it is a great two in one product and it’ll save time in the shower. I love this scent. The notes are sugar berry and pink grapefruit. It is sweet and a bit tart. It is also purple, which is a huge bonus to me. I should be alright for 2018 now that I have this one and the wash from B&BW. I also have a couple of soaps and a Lush shower jelly. I just didn’t want to be without, but for less than $5, I can forgive myself since it goes for $18 normally.

Pink Sweet & Flirty Body Lotion, 16.9 fl oz for $7

I didn’t really need a body lotion, but I wanted the matching body lotion and I will use it. I am currently trying to use up my body lotion stash and I hit a slump. I usually can finish an 8 ounce bottle a month. Once the cold weather hit, I haven’t wanted to sit in the cold after a shower or bath and apply body lotion. I need to just suck it up and do it. I know that as soon as it warms up, I’ll be going through my body lotions again. At least, I know that I do clear out at least 6 8 ounce bottles a year. That is 48 fl ounces of lotion a year. Wow. This bottle is almost half that. I should take about 2 months to finish this bottle up. Whenever I use the body wash, I will make sure to use this matching lotion.

Pink About Last Night Face Mask, 2 for $5

I have never tried a VS face mask before and I was really curious about them. I’ve never spent this much on a face mask, so hopefully I see results. If not, I bought it to try, so it’ll be fun either way.

Pink Let’s Glow Face Mask, 2 for $5

Again, I bought this for the fun aspect of it. I cannot believe that I spent $10 on 4 sheet masks. It’s that time of year to splurge a little, you know.

VS Martha’s Lip Kit for $15

The liquid lipsticks alone go for $14, so this kit was a no brainer. For just $1 more, I got a lip liner and lip gloss. I got the Velvet Matte liquid lipstick in Adored, the lip pencil in Nearly Nude, and the glitter gloss. I’m a nude lipstick lover, so this will be great. No swatches, because it is my Christmas present to myself. I love the magnetic closure on the box and I’ve never known that VS does makeup before.

That is the end of my VS haul. I hope you guys enjoyed and if you want to see swatches and hear a first impressions on the lip kit or anything that I own, let me know. I’d be happy to give you thoughts with the swatch. Happy Christmas Eve and everyone have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

With Love,

October Makeup Bag

Instead of doing project pans and I’m about to call it quits on my Pan That Palette Challenge, I thought that I would focus on 5 makeup products every month with a bonus perfume item and see what kind of progress I can make in a month on the items. This is also a way for me to rotate through my products and give them all the love that they deserve instead of just focusing on one palette. I’ll probably announce my defeat next week. I’m just tired of the same palette. I need the spice of life: variety!

I’m pretty happy at my first attempt of a flat lay. Everything looks pretty good on the makeup bag. I’ve used every product in the picture so far, except the eye gloss. Everything else has been used a few times. I’m going to try to wear the eye gloss next weekend. I had to be somewhere every morning this weekend and I wasn’t going to be putting on a full face at 6 in the morning. I don’t have time for that. I did manage to put on some concealer and lipstick though. Priorities people.

The liquid lipstick is definitely more on the nude/orange/brown side. It looks more brown farther away than up close, but I really love this color on me and it goes great with the nude Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Paarty. Oh, the liquid lipstick is the Tarte Lip Paint in Birthday Suit. I haven’t used either of these before, so I’m starting the month with brand new lipstick and blush. I’m hoping to hit pan on the blush and to go through about half of the lipstick. I might even wear it at work. It’s a good neutral color. Just need to remember my mirror for touch ups.

The perfume is With Love by Hilary Duff and I just love this perfume! It is such a good warm scent for Fall and I will be sad when I finish this off. It’s a 0.5 fl oz bottle and I have about 60% left. I have no goal for this except to enjoy it before it goes bad in my collection. I am almost done with my Cover FX primer oil and I just want to finish it off. It isn’t my favorite and I don’t enjoy it that much. If I finish it before the month is over, I’ll replace it with a primer of my choice that I already have in my stash.

The only thing left to talk about is my Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla. I think I’ve used 1/4 of this already. I’m showing windows in the tube. I want to use it up as I have two other concealers in my collection and I don’t particularly care for this one. I think it’s overpriced for what it is and Nars is no longer cruelty free. I think I’ll purchase an Urban Decay concealer next. Drug store concealers have NEVER worked for me. They are way too yellow and the Nars matched me perfectly. It never oxidized either. High end concealer is where it’s at for me and you don’t need that much. I use concealer under my eyes and around my mouth where my smile lines are to brighten that area.

This is what my everyday (and night!) makeup shelf looks like in my medicine cabinet. It is A LOT less cluttered and I can grab everything easily. I have my every day setting powder, my night lip balm, my eye primer, and setting spray out as well as the products I chose. Oh, and mascara! Never forget mascara. I feel like at least two of the products that I’ve shown will be used up by November. In November, I will show you the progress of October and move right into the November picks.

With Love,

❤ Selena Hannah ❤

Model Co

For Model Co Lip Lacquer in Viva

I ended up really enjoying this lip gloss a lot and I would be happy if I got it again. I would purchase, but I haven’t found a store that carries this brand around here. The gloss was very pigmented but easy to wear. It was more peachy than pink. I removed the stopper to get out every last drop. It probably had 5 uses after I took the stopper out and now, I get to have the satisfaction of looking at an empty see-through tube. I am happy to have another gloss out of my collection. It gets me one more closer to buying a few lip oils. Has anyone tried a lip oil? I’m interested in the Clarin’s, Too Faced, and YSL lip oils. They seem to be popular.

With Love,

❤ Selena Hannah ❤

Essential Enhancer

For Jouer Essential Lip Enhancer Conditioning Lip Treatment

I don’t know if it’s full size or sample size, but this tube lasted me forever. I use this as my night time lip balm and it was good. It was a bit gritty especially if I got some on my teeth. I would not purchase this, but I would use it if I got it in a box again. I don’t recommend it, because I don’t like the grit that it has which is similar to the grit that I feel with all natural toothpaste. I liked it, but I didn’t enjoy it. It didn’t live up to my Aerin balm, which is my holy grail.

With Love,

❤ Selena Hannah ❤

Just Kissed

For Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip & Cheek Stain

I only used this as a lip balm. It left my lips feeling moisturized and pink (for the pink one and reddish for the orange one). It was a very pigmented pink or reddish hue on my lips after reapplying it about 3 or 4 times during the work day. It took about 3 to 4 weeks to go through this deluxe size. I liked it, but I would not purchase it. I have found my holy grail lip balm already. I also have the peach and I finished that one. It was a good lip balm and I would use it again if I received it again. I like easy to use products and this one was fuss free.

With Love,

❤ Selena Hannah ❤

August Empties

Well, better late than never, huh? I was busy over Labor Day weekend and it didn’t leave much time for blogging. I’ve been trying to get a lot of posts scheduled to go up this weekend and next week. There are so many posts that I want to write, plus a lot of products are piling up in my basket to review. I have a very busy end of year for me. There are so many appointments for Dean to go to and my dad is having foot surgery at the end of the year. I’m going to get in as much blogging as I can, because I might be off and one at the end of the year. I’m taking time off to take care of my dad and Dean, because he won’t be able to take care of Dean for a bit. This is such a busy year for me. Also, it has been the most productive year as well.

I decided to sign up for the next Insurance course to get an Associates degree in Insurance Data Analytics. I’ll be getting my books in a couple of weeks. I might be blogging less. I’m going to take the exam sometime in Jan to March, which is my exam window and I get to chose the day and time to take it. Two Associates degrees kinda equal 1 BA degree right? I didn’t get to interview for that job, strictly on the basis of no BA. Talk about discrimination in the workforce.

I basically felt degraded by the HR manager that talked to me about having no degree and once I told her that I had an Associates degree (in the job description it said you could have an Associates with 4 to 6 years of documented work HISTORY, not specific work experience), she said I needed a BA and work experience to get this job. Quote: “You don’t go from down here to up here. Do you understand?” Oh, I understood perfectly. You just didn’t want to give me a chance to prove that you don’t need a formal education to work in IT.

But, let’s get to my empties post.

6. Gerber lil’ Beannies

8. International Delight Coffee Creamer

9. Boston’s Best Breakfast Blend Coffee

10. New England Coffee Colombian Supremo

11. Dunkin’ Donuts Dunkin’ Dark Coffee

12. Garnier Micellar Mattifying Cleansing Water

13. Dial Spring Water Antibacterial Hand Soap

14. Swisspers Cotton Rounds

15. Lab Series Daily Moisture Defense Lotion

16. Davines Natualtech Repluming Hair Filler

17. Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip & Cheek Stain in Orange

18. Ice Breakers Cool Blasts Wintergreen Chews

19. Roloxin Lift Instant Skin Smoothing Masque

20. Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Clay Cleanser

21. FAB Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer

22. Palmer’s Luminous Hydration Facial Oil

24. Perfume Samples: Chloe & Oscar Delarenta

Not as many empties this month, but still quite a bit. I already have quite a few for September, so I think I will have more empties for this month. I am glad to be using up more of my collection. Eventually, I would like to buy some new stuff that I have been DYING to try. I’m really trying not to be a hoarder and to use and enjoy what I have. I think I have been very successful, despite splurging for my birthday and tax money treat. I need to treat myself sometimes, right? I’ll be treating myself to clip in hair extensions soon enough. I’m embracing my darker, natural hair color. No more bleach. No more blonde. Just…..me.

With Love,

14 Before Fall: Update #2

Just a reminder, this project ends on September 22nd.

Okay, so on the last update I finished 5 products and I need to use up 9 more to call this project a success. I still feel like this is a reachable goal and if I had to guess, I think I’ve used up another 4 or 5 products. I feel like that sounds right but it could be more like 2. I don’t remember exactly what I used up except for 2 products. It could be that 5 other ones are on their last legs. I cannot remember for the life of me. I feel like the results of this post is going to remotivate me to finish up as much as I can by the end of this project.

Last month, I had 14 products in the project and at this update I still have 14 products. I did add 5 more products to the project though. Wondering my progress and what I used up? Then, keep reading. I am not mentioning anything that I used up at the previous update, so if you want to hear about those, go back and read that update.

Roloxin Lift Instant Skin Smoothing Masque

I still have yet to touch these. I think I will use one on Sunday. I currently have a pimple on my forehead, so I don’t want to irritate it. Once it’s gone, I will use up one of these packets. I have four masks, so my goal is to use up at least 1 every week.

Medicell Eye Mask Duo

I am thinking about using these today, since I don’t feel good enough to wear makeup and that pimple. I don’t know what’s up with me. I’ve felt sick off and on this week. Dean and I have been using the pool every weekend so I haven’t worn eye shadow and other makeup in like a month. lol. So no, update on my pallet this month.

MJCARE Snail Essence Mask

I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared. I need to just bite the bullet and try it. If it’s disgusting, I’ll just throw it out. Gawd Hannah, grow up!

Palmer’s Coconut Oil Luminous Hydration Facial Oil

I used this up and I’m not a huge fan of this. A little goes a long way, but I feel that it’s no different from the original, except it’s not a dry oil. I would not purchase this, but I would buy the original again.

Model Co Lip Lacquer in Viva

I used up this gloss and I ended up really liking it. I wouldn’t go out and purchase it. I would gladly use it if I got it again though. I brought in a few replacement lip products to replace it. I cannot believe that I seem to be flying through these.

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in K-Dub

No visible progress on this one. I’ve been using it whenever and I have no intention of using this up. I just wanted to be able to use it freely without interfering with using up other lip products and it hasn’t interfered at all.

Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow in Pearl

I’ve only sharpened this up 1 or 2 times, since I haven’t really been using makeup all that much. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the pool with Dean. I don’t want to worry about wearing makeup in the pool. I’ll probably end up putting this in another project. I don’t think I’ll be able to use this up.

B&BW White Citrus Eau De Perfume

I’m making steady progress with this perfume, but I don’t think I’ll be able to use it up in a month. I’ll try to use it up next summer for sure. I really love the scent, but it doesn’t last. Within an hour, it is gone. Maybe, I’ll try to use it up as a bathroom freshener.

Davines Natural Tech Replumping Hair Filler Superactive

I have completely used this up and I will be replacing it with a different product in this project. This was alright, but it didn’t give me volume. I’m happy to have another mini hair product out of my collection. These minis really pile up and I’m try to go through a couple of full sized hair products right now. Next year, I need to focus on my hair products, which the pile is getting too much. I also have a huge skin care pile right now.

Hang Ten Dark Tanning Oil SPF 8

I am almost done with this after forgetting about it for a month. I am sure that this will be gone by the next update, since I have been using the pool every weekend. It is very quick to cover my body and head out the door. It is also water resistant which is a plus.

Jane Iredale Just Kissed Ph Changing Orange Lip Balm

I only have a couple of uses left, so I will call it done for this update since it will be in my August empties. I really liked this balms, but I would not purchase them. They are just okay and I don’t really use balms except at night. I’ve already found my dream balm.

Temptu Highlighter

I am almost done with this guy. I’ve been applying it every work day and it gives a strong glow to the cheeks while still keeping it work appropriate. My company’s policy is really loose though. You can have purple hair and no one would bat an eye lash.

I’m bringing in four replacement items. Three lip products and a backup highlighter. Why 3 lip products, you ask? Because two of them are so mini, I think they might only have about 2 weeks worth of products each at most. I cannot find the photo of the highlighter, but I am also throwing in a spray in hair replacement. I’ll update you guys on the progress in my finale and you’ll know exactly what these products are. I felt like the post is getting VERY long.

So, I finished up 4 during this update bringing up the total to 9 items used up. I just have to use up 5 more to call this project a success. I can do this! With the face masks that would be four and a lip product would make it 5. I’m going to see if I can finish up more!

With Love ❤

$200 Before 2018 Update #4

I feel like I used up quite a bit in July and so far, I feel like August hasn’t been as successful. We shall see next month. But this update is a big deal for me. I finished a ton of perfume samples and I am still steadily going through them. I’m using up all of my sprayer samples first and then going onto the dabbing ones. I finished up 4 deluxe sized makeup products as well. It’s very hard to go through a lot of makeup, so I’m very happy with the results that I see here. So at the end of June, I used up 7 out of 20 products with the total adding up to $78.74 out of $200. Let’s see what I can add to that.

Perfume samples: 5 = $5

I enjoyed how sweet the Brittany Spears Midnight Fantasy is. I would pick that one up if I came across it as Marshalls, but I’m on a no perfume buy. It is so crisp and fresh and sweet like candy. I just love it. If I see a bottle at Walmart, I might just have to buy it. The rest of the samples were okay, but nothing that I would purchase for myself. There were no scents that I couldn’t wear. I just didn’t care for them.

Jouer Essential Lip Enhancer Conditioning Lip Treatment = $8

I liked using this as a night time treatment, but I would not purchase it. It felt grainy if I got it on my teeth and I don’t like that sensation. This lasted me forever! I already found my dream night time lip balm, so I’m just trying to use up my balms.

Model Co Lip Lacquer in Viva = $6

I really enjoyed using this and the peachy color pay off. I took out the stopper and used up every last drop. I would not purchase this, but I am glad to have moved it out of my collection. I’d much rather buy a lip oil. I thought that I wouldn’t like this though and I did. It had a lot of pigment for a gloss and I used this up at work so very appropriate.

Josie Maran Surreal Skin Argan Finishing Balm = $7.20

I am considering buying this in the full size. I want to use up the rest of my primers first, but when I get down to 1, I really want to buy this. It was very moisturizing and gave my skin a nice glow. I used this mostly on its own and my skin looked flawless with this on. I got a lot of compliments on my skin when wearing this. I need to use up what I have first though. I’ll revisit this next year.

DERMAdoctor DD Cream = $8.76

This was WAY too dark to use on my face, so I used this on my legs when I wore a skirt to work. My legs looked tanned and toned. It was too dark for my face, but not only that, it was too greasy as well. I’m glad that I used it up and it’s gone. I need to do this with the rest of the creams that I bought/received that are way too dark for my face. It also didn’t moisturize my legs very well. I cut it with some body lotion to help with that.

Okay, I am pretty impressed with the monetary value that I used up in July. I have used up 11 out of 20 makeup items with the total being $113.70 out of $200. I am over halfway there now! I really think that I have a chance at completing this project. Next year, instead of project pans and this series, I will be doing a Finish 100 by 2019 and monthly makeup bags. This series is going so well that I want to pull in all of my other categories like hair and skin care for next year. The makeup bags will be fun, too. Every month, I’ll focus on different items to use up.

With Love,