CVS grand opening

June 19th, 2010 . No Comments »

CVS has been making a move into Memphis to compete with Walgreens. I am SO GLAD! I’ve been dying for CVS to open stores in my area since they have a better selection of beauty products and the best refund program if you decide to return the product. Walgreens completely sucks when it comes to getting a refund on a beauty product if you’ve only used it once and realize it’s the wrong color for your skin/etc.

The new CVS store is located near my house. We had received a flyer in the mail, letting us know that the grand opening would start on June 19. I ventured out in the heat and humidity to the store. The parking lot was packed! They had a live band performing and they were serving free pepsi drinks & hot dogs.

In the store, they were aggressively getting people to sign up for their Register Rewards program. There was a long line for that. I had already had my card as I had signed up at their first location which was located near Lakeland.

There were coupons in the flyer we had received. One was “get any CVS brand item up to $3 for free”. I used it to get their cotton rounds. The other was “Get 2 two liter Coke products for free”. So, I got 2 diet cokes!

There was another coupon for “Spend $20 and receive $10 back”. I haven’t used that yet but I will as I want to get the Essence of Beauty brushes!

One thing I noticed is that CVS doesn’t carry NYC products. The Walmart near my house used to carry the entire collection but seems to have cut down on it. The only other locations I can find this brand are Rite Aid and Ulta.

Anyhow, I’m just really glad that CVS has finally opened! No more shopping at Walgreens for beauty products again! I might go their to spy on what they have that is brand new but all my beauty shopping for drugstore brands will be at CVS or Rite Aid!

Posted in CVS
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NOTD & nail care aisle

May 26th, 2010 . 6 Comments »

$1 polish from Dollar Tree

My nail of the day is from L.A. Colors Color Craze Line. This is Atomic! I love this color! Picked it up for $1 at the Dollar Tree closest to me. They had other colors but I resisted and got this because I didn’t have anything like it. It’s definitely a summer color and looks even better when you’re tanned (I’m naturally tanned so yeah!)! I’m debating if I should put Hidden Treasures over it.

Nail polish display at Walmart Market

Same day I went to Dollar Tree, I had to go to the Walmart Market near my house to pick up a pizza for my family. We like the Walmart deli pizzas. I ran over to the beauty department just to see what they had that was new. Nothing new but I did see an almost completely stocked aisle of nail polishes! Wow, that’s a rare site to see!

Posted in L.A. Colors, Manicures, Walmart Market, nail polish
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Local shopping haul

May 19th, 2010 . 4 Comments »

As PJ is being slave driven by her 3 different bosses, I’ve literally had no money to buy beauty products so this is why you get no posts from me!

With some extra cash I did have, I was eager to get some stuff this week.  First, I went to Big Lots:

Closeout at Big Lots

I’m amazed that they still have more of some big drugstore closeout and no one has been really buying it! This closeout has been in the store since…February, I think! My mom bought some items and gave to me so I really don’t need anything from it. The major score was the Maybelline Dream Matte powder for $1.50 each! She bought 5 of them and gave me one to try.

Lipsticks are $1, liquid foundations are $2 and blushes are also $2. There are some nail polishes but they are mostly colors I would never wear. All the brands are either Revlon or Maybelline. Some Cover Girl and Almay too.

Nail polish haul

Since I didn’t find anything I liked at Big Lots, I went to Super Walmart. I immediately went to the Beauty aisles and saw a big sign saying that all Sallly Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes were just $5.68! THAT’S way cheaper than buying at Walgreens, even if there is BOGO 50%. Now, I didn’t get too excited since they only had the regular line of colors. As I walked further down the aisle and looked on the opposite shelf, I noticed a couple of Sally Hansen polishes. I gasped when I saw 2 bottles of Hidden Treasures!!! Whoa! I didn’t know they were selling the limited edition ones at Walmart! I’ve only seen those at the drugstores!

I immediately grabbed one and ran to a price scanner to see if that bottle was really $5.68 and sure enough, it was! Now, I was originally going to buy one Pure Ice nail polish for $2 and one of the newer Petites polishes for $1.50. I put both of those back and got Hidden Treasures instead.

My last stop was a local beauty store near Walmart. Local beauty store is your typical african-american hair store owned by vietnamese/cambodians. This one has the full line of Nyx products so I never have to order anything from Nyx online.

I went to this store to look at the Ruby Kisses nail polishes. Ruby Kisses is a line I only see sold in these types of beauty stores. They are only $1 and have an amazing selection. Next time I go there, I’ll take a picture of the entire display.

I wanted a lighter blue and a green color so I picked Caribbean (blue) and Neon Green. The green isn’t very neon once you try it. I also got the Rasberry that looks good against tanned skin. It’s summertime and I tan sooo easily so I thought I would try this on my fingernails.

All 3 colors are a more jelly, opaque consistency which is nice than the usual cremes that I love wearing.

Well, I’m not used to wearing a color this light and bright in the red/pink tones. I decided I’ll use this on my toes. Meanwhile, I painted Caribbean on my nails and it’s such a gorgeous blue! I layered Hidden Treasures over it and I’m just so in love with this manicure!

Once I get some decent pics of my hands, I’ll post them. I am not used to taking pictures of myself or parts of my body (LOL) since I tend to look from behind the camera so often so it’s going to take a lot of experimenting to get the pics just right.

Posted in Big Lots, Ruby Kisses, Walmart, nail polish
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Annabelle Volumelip Lip Plumping Gloss + Mineral Pigment Dust

May 8th, 2010 . 1 Comment »

*slowly crawling out from mountains of files and folders*

My three bosses have been slave-driving me for the last few weeks (or months?  I lost track of time).  And last week the lady from the cancer society I’ve been volunteering has been calling me to do something for them.  That’s why I’ve been MIA.  I was drowned by work!

*deep breath, relax~*

I received a package from Isabel of Marcelle a while back but never had the chance to write a review about them.  Sorry!!! :P

Volumelip Lip Plumping Gloss

From the Annabelle website:

“Get full, pouty and sexy lips with Volumelip plumping lip gloss. Available nationally in limited edition and permanently offered at Pharmaprix, this powerful gloss gives your lips a gorgeous boost, no pain involved! With Volumlip plumping lip gloss, you can pout all you want. Choose from 5 captivating shades with bold names such as Iced Spice, Vivid Volume…

Suggested retail price: $8.50″

Come in 5 colors, I received Cherryoke (shown above) and Sweet Tweet.  My initial thought was, wow, Cherryoke is too red/orangy for me and Sweet Tweet is too pale for me.

Then I tried them on.

Cherryoke applied here.  (ps OMG please excuse the awful lip shot.  This is my first ever lip shot and I don’t understand how people can do it so elegantly beautifully good.  Perhaps I have ugly lips.  Oh well… *weeps*)

It’s actually quite a sweet sheer color when applied.  Not dramatic as I anticipated at all.

Sweet Tweet.  It gives a nice pearly sheen to your lips.  But if  apply too much it does give a pale look to my lips which is something I think that doesn’t suit me.

Texture is quite nice.  It is not sticky at all and I really like that.  But because of that, I feel it is not very moisturizing.

Now, the plumping factor.  Ummm.  I… don’t see/feel it at all :(   I was given the chance to try Marcelle’s Vita-Lip Plumping Gloss (in Desire) so naturally I’m comparing the two.  The texture and color of Vita-Lip is very, very nice, but after 3 weeks of use (it’s advised that you have to use it continually to see the effect) I don’t see a difference.  Sadly, it is the same with Volumelip.

But then again, when it comes to lip plumping/breast enhancing/Brow Growing products, I don’t usually keep my hopes too high D:

Color and texture-wise, I highly recommend Volumelip.  I think Vivid Volume looks nice too, I might go buy one soon :)

Oh, about the packaging.

Haha!  Dumbdumb me.  Instead of just pulling the cap, I unscrewed it.  Does that mean we can refill the tube?  Brilliant idea!!!  The applicator is a soft rubber which is nice and can be washed and disinfected easily.

The tube itself is hard to squeeze, but Isabel explained that there will be a new packaging which makes it easier to squeeze.

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Now, Annabelle Mineral Pigment Dust in Violet Vibe:

From the website:

“Let there be light! These highly pigmented loose eye shadows are made with fine pearl particules and minerals to create incredible shine and shimmer.

Use just a little for a more subtle effect or apply wet in a bold stroke for incredible luminescence. Available in convenient and fuss-free compacts, they contain the most beautiful shades. Be as mild or as wild as you wish!Suggested retail price: $8.50″

In the container, again I thought, wow sharp purply color!  But when applied, it is quite pretty.  Smooth and easy to apply, staying power is good too.  I like it a lot!

However I don’t like the packaging:

Ummm… am I supposed to dip the brush in through the tiny opening, or shake the powder out?  The lid is tight, so while it can be closed tightly to avoid spillage, it’s difficult to open at the same time.  A few times when I popped it open, I spilled the lovely dust everywhere.  What a waste :(

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Coming up:  Annabelle Mineral Blush in Sugar Rush (it’s so pretty!!!)

Posted in Annabelle, Company review, Lip Glosses, Marcelle

Dislikes about Youtube beauty vids & beauty blogs

April 13th, 2010 . Comments Off

I’ve been reading beauty blogs online since 2008 and watching Youtube videos by beauty gurus since last summer.  Here is a list of annoyances for both:

Beauty blogs

  1. I hate it when I see a really good beauty blog that was full of fantastic reviews and personal insights in the process of learning about makeup application become nothing but a “Look at the freebee I got from this sponsored event”.  *rolls eyes*  Seriously.  Do you think anyone really cares that you went to yet another event given by a company that gave you free stuff?  I’ve seen a couple of beauty blogs become nothing but platforms for other companies (the same companies) because the writer got shitloads of free stuff.
  2. A beauty blog where there tend to be more negative reviews than positive ones.  There is this one beauty blog that I’m about to unsubscribe to on my Google reader where the writer is constantly giving bad reviews to just about everything she’s been buying!  It’s kind of like, “why are you even bothering to spend your money if you’re never satisfied????”
  3. I absolutely HATE people that snub drugstore makeup.  PERIOD!  I know there are  A LOT of good things about department store and higher end makeup.  Been there, done that but seriously, drugstore makeup is 100 times better than what it was like 20 years ago!  I have no problem with people that have had some bad experience with drugstore makeup (like they broke out or whatnot) but to consistently put down drugstore makeup like it’s worse than putting dirt on your face is just wrong!
  4. People who buy skincare/makeup that was made specifically for a particular ethnic type and then complain about it.  I’ve seen just a few people (who are not asian) buy BB creams, use it and then complain how it doesn’t work for them because the color is off.  Um, HELLO!  Fucking do more research before you buy!  BB cream (especially if it’s got korean or japanese on it) was made specifically for asian skintone.  Even more particular, it was made for lighter skinned asian skin tones!  I’m asian (filipino) and I can’t even use 99% of the BB creams made because I’m a darker skintone than most japanese and koreans!  I know that I can wear BB cream yet I’m not going to bitch about how stupid the company is for not making one that matches my skintone.  It would be like me buying african american hair products and using on my hair and then complaining about it.
  5. I hate it when MAC releases new shit.  Why?  Because every other beauty blog I subscribe to is going to post like they are the first ones to break the news.
  6. Beauty blog contests and how to enter them.  I think there are just too many steps to entering a contest these days.  Consequently, I never enter them.  I don’t mind the adding of  Google Friend but I sure as hell don’t want to clutter my Twitter list and add plus having to join a Facebook Fan page.
  7. Really crappy pictures.  Sorry but the excuse of not knowing how to take better pictures doesn’t fly with me anymore these days.  There is a reason your camera came with a manual.  READ IT.  There is also a wealth of information online on how to take better pics.  Even more so, don’t bitch about your cheap camera being crappy or taking crappy pics when you’re trying to take pics of your 2-3 hauls that add up to the price of a new digital camera.  Photography goes hand in hand with beauty blogging these days.

Youtube

  1. Disorganized haul videos.  If you’re going to film a video, fucking have all your shit out of the bags and ready to show.  Even better, have the fucking receipt on your desk!  Nothing annoys me more than watching a video that says it’s 10 minutes long and basically 2/3 of the video, the person is fumbling in the bag, pulling stuff out, trying to find the receipt, can’t remember the price and or worse, talking to someone that keeps coming in their room while they are filming.  OMG, be better prepared when you shoot your video!
  2. Crappy lighting which can mean too little or too much.  I think I’d rather deal with too little than too much because when people use too much lighting, it washes things out so much you can’t tell what they are wearing or how color are supposed to look like!
  3. Sound too low on video.  This one is frustrating!  I know there are digital cameras out there with crappy microphones so it can be hard to find a fix for this.  But those using webcams on laptops, GET A MICROPHONE!  It’s not expensive to get one and seriously, it will make a big difference!

Yeah, I’ll add more to youtube when I think of more.  Meanwhile, I’m closing comments as I have a feeling there are going to be some people that get pissed off by this post.  *shrugs*

Posted in Rants

Nail polish sets @ Ross

February 12th, 2010 . 6 Comments »

I got dragged to Ross yesterday by my mom.  It turned out to be a good thing as I was able to see some cool nail polish sets for very cheap prices!

Color Club @ Ross Color Club at Ross Check out the price

Color Club set for $7.99.  I have never used this brand before so I’m curious if it’s good.  What stores sell this brand?  I’m talking, other stores that aren’t discounts like Ross/TJ Maxx/Marshall’s?  The colors are too bright for me but I do like that they are creme and not sparkly.

9- polish set at Ross 9- polish set at Ross 9- polish set at Ross

These were interesting!  I’m sure PJ would like these as they are small bottles!  9 polishes for just $4.99!

7- polish (Four East) set for $1.99 @ Ross 7- polish (Four East) set for $1.99 @ Ross 7- polish set for $1.99 @ Ross

Here is the best set!  Clearance marked $1.99 for 7 nail polishes!  I took this picture and put the set back on the shelf.  My mom saw it and snatched it right away!  LOL!  They had 2 more sets but they weren’t marked down.  We are going back later and see if we can get them for the same price.  She’s going to give them as gifts to people in the Philippines when she goes later this year.   I’ll post here if the polishes are any good after she opens the package.

Posted in Ross, nail polish
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New Big Lots closeout

January 23rd, 2010 . No Comments »

I was in Big Lots yesterday and was surprised to see a huge makeup closeout in the cosmetics section.  I believe the stuff came from Walgreens as the items had the same yellow “clearance” stickers that Walgreens uses.

I was too busy digging through the bins to take a picture but I might go back later today as there is a 20% coupon from Big Lots that’s been posted up.  Click here and print it out!

The closeout items were a TON of lipsticks, pressed powder, liquid foundation,  nail polish and lip glosses.  They were mostly from L’oreal, Maybelline and Revlon.  There was so much stuff that even my mom was diving through the bins as it was all…$1 EACH!!!

I didn’t really get anything for myself as I was too busy helping my mom get stuff for herself.  She bought 2 pressed Mineral powder compacts from Maybelline, 6 lipsticks from L’oreal and 3 nail polishes.

Was kinda weird how it was all $1 and the stuff was in excellent condition.  We are going to another Big Lots to see if they have the same closeout.  Wish us luck!

Posted in Big Lots
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