Black Friday & Cyber Monday Haul

It’s that time of year again! No, I’m not referring to Christmastime exactly. More specifically, I’m referring to the several weeks where your inbox is bombarded with the endless onslaught of emails advertising this BOGO or X% off or free shipping or whatever sale companies have concocted up for the holiday season. Black Friday alone I had upwards of 100 emails, and that was just on Friday.

Doesn’t mean I didn’t still take advantage of a few of them. 😛

As I’ve pointed out in the past in my post “A Frugal Beauty’s Guide to Not Making Your Wallet Cry”, sales, unlike Santa, don’t only come once a year. This is something I definitely had to remind myself of when I was in “BUY ALL THE THINGS!!!” mode. I didn’t even take advantage of all the sales I had initially looked at going into Friday (this includes Sigma, which you’ll see soon in an upcoming post why I chose to skip that one), and plenty of those were brands that were having great sales but on products that I didn’t need quite right this second. However, this is a great time of year for sales on particular brands that typically don’t offer as great of deals at any other point in the year, and taking that into account as well helped me pare down where it was best to put my money.

Without further adieu, here’s my haul!

*This is solely the products I got from the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend. As many of you know, Sephora also had their sale shortly after where Beauty Insiders, VIB and Rouges got a certain dollar amount off a $50 purchase. Those I’m saving for future posts.

Target – Rise by Beyoncé

I would like to welcome you into my bedroom. That is indeed a stuffed animal Golden Retriever in the background. His name is Doug, like the dog from Up! He says hello.

I fell in love with this scent as soon as I smelled it in the Target display over a month ago. What I wasn’t in love with? The price tag. $30 for 1oz. Luckily I waited on it. Target was taking 40% off their celebrity fragrances, and that was all I needed to snag this immediately. From the description: “Top notes: Italian bergamot, golden apricot, ice basil sorbet. Heart notes: gold symphony orchid, freesia blossom, natural jasmine sambac. Bottom notes: autumn woods accord, cashmere musk, vetiver extract.” It’s a really great all-day scent but is really perfect for a night out. And the bottle is awesome.

How this perfume makes me feel:

Urban Decay – Electric Palette and 24/7 Liner

I could not resist this. I had gone back and forth so long on this palette because it is truly beautiful but the price point kept me from picking it up right away. Even with 20% off at Ulta or Sephora, it was still $40, and at the time of those sales I didn’t see myself using it until spring or summer so I couldn’t justify the purchase. Then UD put it at $35 and I said f*** it, it’s now or never. Then, thanks to Nouveau Cheap’s Instagram, I saw the code for an extra 20% off, putting this baby at just under $30! Now that I could justify, plus having this little liner on hand will be great for doing some smokey eye looks in the future. I’m excited! It’s so pretty and I’m happy to finally call it mine.

Black Velvet swatch

Ulta – LORAC Champagne Dreams palette and NYX Wicked Lippies

I had already settled on getting the palette when Ulta sent an email saying their Cyber Monday deals were live and that they were giving 3X points on purchases. That only sweetened the deal! I love my LORAC Pro and this little baby was calling my name as colors in the champagne range suit me very well.

I can’t say that I was totally wowed by the pigmentation of these on bare skin without any base but I went into this knowing that this would be a good palette for creating neutral looks for myself so I’m not in the least disappointed, and as well as they perform over a base as well as their Pro big sisters, I’m content. Plus it was only $15, so no regrets here.

Wrath, Sinful, Power

The NYX Wicked Lippies were a welcome addition to my order to round it out to $25 for the free shipping. I’ve fawned over this collection for a good long while and am so ecstatic to play around with these three babies!

Wrath, Sinful, Power

Coastal Scents – 252 Ultimate Palette and Pro Blending Fluff Brush

Technically I placed this order on Tuesday when Coastal Scents extended their sale for one more day but I’m still including it here.

I had gone back and forth on the 252 Ultimate Palette for months as a way to add color to my collection after seeing so many rave reviews about it. It has been on sale for 50% off a couple times during my deliberation but I bit the bullet and have happily not looked back. It may seem silly considering I also bought the Electric palette yet this gives me even more variety on top of that for a bargain price. It was also a better way to see what colors I actually like on myself without overspending on single shadows that I never get to try until I have them in my hands, which is kind of what I was doing before and certainly wasn’t effective.

The pots are small, which I know is one of the complaints about the collection, however you’re getting 252 of them–and in my case I got them all for about $13 before shipping–and many only differ slightly in shade that if you run out of one, you’ll no doubt find something close nearby. I love the simple black packaging with the three different palettes, and while it certainly isn’t the most travel friendly collection, that’s not what I’m looking to do with it, and I can always build my own palette in the future once I see what I like from here. That is my only complaint is that there’s no key or names to the shadows for if I do find something I like, as Coastal Scents does sell their individual “hot pots” or making it easier to be led to a dupe in another brand. Oh well, I think I can manage.

I also picked up the Pro Blending Fluff Brush which has been touted as a cheap alternative to the Mac 217. It was a little over $2 with the discount so it really didn’t hurt to add this guy on. I’ll see how it holds up to the Mac 217 but for now it’s a nice soft brush that will be welcome amongst my blending eye brushes. You really can’t have too many of those in my opinion!

Lastly, CS sent along a four shadow sample of their Revealed palette with a $5 off coupon code on the back. I’m pretty impressed with the swatches from this little sampler, and while I passed on both the Revealed palettes for now I may have to reconsider in the future!

Quest Nutrition – Bars, Chips and Pasta

This is also a food blog after all, and even among my beauty goodies I could not wait for this Cyber Monday sale most of all!! I have had a lack of Quest Protein Bars in my life and this was the perfect time to restock. Seriously, I love these. They’re my favorite protein bar. If you’ve never understood the saying “Cheat Clean”, try one of these and you will. Quest Nutrition was giving 25% off orders between $39.99 and $250.00. With a box of my faves costing $25, it was easy to meet the minimum. Ugh, babies, I’ve missed youuuu.

Quest has also expanded their line to include Protein Chips and Quest Pasta. I’m intrigued. And a little scared. Thus why I only bought a bag of each to start. I plan to taste and review these, so be on the lookout!

Whew, that’s it for the big sale weekend haul! I’m really excited to get around to playing with all my goodies after the holidays when life slows done a bit. I hope you all got some great deals as well! Please feel free to share your Black Friday/Cyber Monday experiences in the comments below 🙂

Until next time, stay well, stay beautiful, Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!  xx

My Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale picks

Happy Thanksgiving morning to my US readership, and Happy Holiday Sales Weekend to everyone else! No more where you are, I hope that you have a wonderful day and that you take some time to be grateful for friends, family and others in your life as well as the abundance of things, material and otherwise, in your life. While we excitedly make grabby hands at all the products we wish to buy, we must first remember what we already own and be grateful that we have the means to make these purchases. I must also say that I’m grateful for all of you. My readership may be small yet, but the fact that you guys keep coming back makes this all worthwhile 🙂

I’m not going to list every sale that’s going on mainly because someone else has already done that! For the most comprehensive list of what’s going down this weekend, check out this post on Nouveau Cheap’s blog. G is hard at work keeping that list as updated as possible, and that’s another thing for which to be grateful! And when I say comprehensive, I mean comprehensive. Go check it out!

I’ve already shared the Coastal Scents sale with you which started yesterday, and if you haven’t already checked out the website, get on that! The following are some of my other top choices for sales that you should be aware of and definitely check out over the next few days:

Anastasia Beverly Hills
I loooove my Dipbrow. I was fortunate enough that when I started makeup was around the same time as the release of the Dipbrow Pomades. The SA at Sephora recommended it in Blonde to me and I have never looked back. Her brow products are truly my favorites, and starting tomorrow, 11/28, her brow products are all 25% off on the Anastasia website. Also on the Anastasia website starting 12/1 the Contour Kit is 25% off. From what I can tell, that only applies to the original Contour Kit, not the custom ones you can build.

theBalm
From 7am PST 12/1 to 7am PST 12/2, the entire theBalm website will be 50% off. I’m hoping to finally pick up their Mary-Lou Manizer and their Overshadow in No Money, No Honey that I keep seeing everywhere on everyone. I’ve also seen their Meet Matt(e) Nude palette recommended quite often to those looking for a good, affordable all-matte palette. I also just love their packaging!

e.l.f.
One of my favorite inexpensive brands. Valid now through 11/30, they’re having a BOGO 50% off sitewide sale with a free Limited Edition Kabuki Brush and free shipping on orders $35+ using code BLACKFRIDAY on their website. They will also be having a deal on 12/1 using code CYBERMONDAY for 50% off orders $30+ plus free shipping on orders $35+. This means that you order needs to be $30 before the discount to get 50% off but needs to be $35 after discount for free shipping, therefore your best bet is to get at least $70 worth of product to get both deals.

LORAC
This deal is great if you haven’t picked up either of the Pro palettes yet, have one Pro palette and not the other, or want to send these out as gifts. I highly recommend any of these above options because I adore my Pro palette. Starting at 8am PST on 12/1, the original Pro and Pro 2 palette will each be 25% off (down to $31.50 each from $42 each) on the LORAC website. All orders will also receive a free red eyelash curler. LORAC also does every day free shipping, no code required. BONUS! LORAC has two special Black Friday palettes, the Sultry Starlet Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette and the Vintage Vixen Matte Eyeshadow Palette for $12 each in Ulta stores and on the Ulta Website. AND they will have a Cyber Monday palette, the Champagne Dreams Eyeshadow Palette, for $15 on the website. If the Pro palettes are still out of your budget but you want to try out LORAC shadows, I highly recommend snagging one of these little guys.

Sigma
It may finally be time to treat myself to some Sigma brushes and up my brush collection game. Valid 11/27-11/28, Sigma is offering free worldwide shipping on all orders with code BF2014 on their website. Then on 12/1, they’re doing 20% off sitewide with code CM2014 once again on their website. There’s a lot of recommendations out there for plenty of their individual brushes but particularly their Mr. Bunny and Mrs. Bunny Travel Kits if you’re looking for a quality brush set.

Too Faced
Oh, Chocolate Bar Palette, how I love thee, how I want to each thee… Between that and the Melted lipsticks, Too Faced has a good place in my collection. On 11/28, if you buy 1 Better Than Sex mascara, you get one item of your choice 50% off on the Too Faced website. From 11/29 to 12/1, all sale items are 50% off on their website, plus get $10 off of any $60 purchase, $15 off of any $75 purchase and $20 off any $100 purchase. Then on 12/1, get a mystery grab bag for $35 on the Too Faced website. I’m excited to see what ends up in the grab bags!

Urban Decay
UD has a handful of specials up its sleeve starting 11/27 and rounding out on 12/1 on their website that I’m going to bullet point for you now:

• 11/27 – 12/1: Free shipping on all orders
• 11/27: 6-Piece Badass Lip Set $90 (Revolution Lipsticks in shades Anarchy, Catfight, F-Bomb, Naked, Native and Turn On)
• 11/28: Ammo Palette $10, Smoked Palette $20; buy BOTH for $30 and receive a free deluxe sample of Perversion Mascara
• 11/29: Any 2 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils for $20
• 11/30: Any 3 eyeshadow singles for $36
• 12/1: Electric Palette + travel size Black Velvet 24/7 Velvet Eye Pencil for $36

I’m already setting a a reminder for that Cyber Monday deal because I’ve been lusting after that palette for a long, long time. From what I can tell, the deals go live at 10pm PST the night prior (so 1am EST the day of the deal) so take that into account if you’re setting reminders!

Indie companies are also doing their own deals this weekend, and a comprehensive list of those can be found here on the Indiemakeupandmore subreddit.

Remember, this isn’t a comprehensive list, just my own personal picks based on my wishlist or brands I’ve used and loved. There are plenty more out there, including other major brands, superstores, department stores and drug stores, and they all be found at that link I provided to Nouveau Cheap’s blog post.

And don’t forget to use Ebates wherever it applies!!! Seriously, you’ll thank me after the holiday season when you get that cash back.

What holiday deals and steals are you looking to take advantage of over the next couple days? Are there any that you know of that you haven’t seen get enough love yet? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy shopping, my dears! I love forward to spending this holiday season with all of you 🙂 Stay well, stay beautiful! xx

PSA: Free shipping today on ANY Ulta order!

Good morning beauties and foodies and Happy Friday! We’ve made it through another exciting week, and as we dive on in to the holiday season, I know I’m going to have plenty to report on! Today is absolutely no exception.

Source: Ulta.com

Today only, Ulta has free shipping on any order. That’s right, any order! No code, no minimum, just place your order and away you go! As an added bonus, there’s currently a $5 off of any $10 purchase coupon*. Have an item that’s ~$10 that you’ve been wanting to try? Use the coupon, enjoy the free shipping, and then just worry about tax! This is a great deal for picking up some stocking stuffers and other gifts, or something for yourself.

And Ebates users can enjoy 8% cash back from their order!

This is a great deal, especially for lovers of NYX. I know how hard it can be to find certain items in store sometimes from the brand, or how terribly picked-over the display gets. It’s also a great deal if you’re looking to pick up from the drugstore-brand side of things, or for any orders you’ve had in your queue that you were waiting to be large enough for free shipping.

I’ll keep updating you with my choice holiday picks and deals on top of the other things I’m working on. If you’re looking to stay completely up to date on deals at Ulta, Sephora, Target, etc., I would definitely recommend following Nouveau Cheap. Gianna is always on her game finding deals, and I found out about this deal through her Instagram. Her mission is saving you (and herself haha) money on the products you love, and if you’re a drugstore product super fan, you definitely cannot live without her.

Until next time, stay well, stay beautiful! xx

* Exclusions do apply. Please see the coupon for more details.

Edit: I almost forgot one last added bonus – through tomorrow, ULTAmate Rewards members get 2X points on purchases, and Platinum members get 3X points. Make sure you have this offer activated if you decide to order today! To check if you already have it activated, log into your rewards account on Ulta’s website, click on My Rewards and at the bottom of that page will be your Bonus Offers. Happy shopping!

#WCW: NikkieTutorials

Good morning everyone! It has sadly been close to a month since I’ve last posted and I apologize for that. My posts are going to be much more sporadic than I anticipated due to a very busy upcoming summer that includes moving out of my current apartment.

A quick update: It’s probably not obvious but the URL for my blog has slightly changed. Instead of “palatesandpalettes.wordpress.com” we have become “palettesandpalates.wordpress.com”. The switch-up is due to me wanting to eventually make this blog its own domain, and palatesandpalettes.com is already taken. Plus what I’ve changed it to now just…sounds better in my head? Something about the slight variation in the pronunciation of “palette” vs “palate” and the order it’s in now. Anyway, be on the lookout for this blog becoming registered! It won’t happen for another couple months but I want to do it.

Now on to today’s post. As I do my beauty research and practice, practice, practice, I come across many fabulous talents who deserve plenty of recognition for their abilities, whether they’re already well-known or not. Borrowing the trend from Instagram, I would like to do an occasional #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday) or #MCM (Man Crush Monday) to show these artists some love.

My WCW this week was someone I came across when a user on reddit suggested her review to me of benefit’s they’re real! push-up liner when I was considering pre-ordering it (speaking of, if you would like to have the chance to be one of the first to own this product, visit https://thelinetofine.com/). Not only was her review extremely helpful in my decision-making process (I passed for now) but I noticed that she, like me, has hooded lids. So I continued watching her videos and immediately fell in love.

The beauty blogger I’m referring to is NikkieTutorials, a beauty guru out of the Netherlands. Not only is she gorgeous and extremely talented but she is hilarious. I love seeing how vloggers inject their personality into their videos and just have fun with it while being informative. She does it so well and is hilarious. I watched her video “May Hits and Oh God No’s 2014!” and definitely snort-laughed at one point. Getting me to snort-laugh is one of the best compliments I can give you, trust me. The biggest thing that won me over, though, is that she herself has hooded lids and does gorgeous things with them. Anyone who has hooded lids knows the trials and tribulations that go along with them. You sigh looking at some of the beautiful eyeshadow looks that people do with them and begin to quietly sob, knowing you’ll never be able to recreate them. Not to mention how we’re told to comply solely with matte shadows, which, you know, is awesome when I have palettes like UD’s Naked 3 and Too Faced’s Chocolate Bar that have gorgeous shimmers…

Forget that noise. You want some sparkle? You want color? I’ve found a girl who can give that to you.

If nothing else, her eyebrows are perfection and I’m obsessed with her current filming setup with the twinkle lights and shit. So much love.

You can find her on her YouTube channel that I linked above as well as on her blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Even if you don’t have hooded lids, definitely check her out. I’m already in love after only viewing a couple videos.

That’s all I have for you for right now, but be on the lookout because I do have another post planned that I’ll be publishing soon! Until then, stay well, stay beautiful 🙂

The Wayne Goss Method + Happy Easter!

Hello everyone! Let me start off by wishing those who celebrate this holiday a Happy and Blessed Easter to you and yours. If you don’t celebrate, that’s okay, just remember that all the candy goes on sale tomorrow so treat yoself!

If you’re yet unfamiliar with what I mean by the “Wayne Goss Method”, quick check out the video below:

The beauties of MakeupAddiction (and I’m sure other beauty subreddits) have been going nuts over this for the past few weeks, and I decided to give it a shot.

It’s a Saturday morning and I’m going into work yayyyyy

Products used:
– Mosturizer: Whatever Target’s version of Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Mosturizer is because I’m cheap
– Primer: Monistat Chafing Relief Powder -Gel*
– Powder: NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder
– Foundation: Urban Decay Naked Skin Shade 3.5
– Concealer: Neutrogena Skinclearing Blemish Concealer in shade Buff (09)
– Mascara: Revlon Lash Potion
*Before you get weirded out that I’m using a Monistat product on my skin, first, IT’S NOT A VAGINA CREAM (even though it’s in the vag care aisle). It’s meant for the inner thigh and bikini area, for chafing, just like it says in the name. Second, it’s been thrown out there as a dupe for Smashbox Photo Finish Primer because the ingredients between the two are almost identical. I’ve never used Smashbox but I was willing to give this a shot because I’m playing around with primers. You may continue.

This is how I started off the day. Had to go into work to help someone feed their cells. Not the best quality photo since it’s the front-facing camera on my phone but I was pretty happy with the results overall. You’ll be able to tell in a photo I post at the end of this that I have some blemishes on my forehead and cheeks. You barely notice them here. I’m still dealing with dry skin recovery from this brutal winter so my foundation isn’t always perfect and I’m struggling with that, but whatever, this looked pretty damn good in comparison to the usual.

A few hours later…

More products:
– Eyeliner: NYX Super Skinny Eye Marker in Carbon Black
– Blush: NARS Orgasm
– Bronzer: NARS Laguna
– Brows: Wet n’ Wild Color Icon brow pencil in Taupe & Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde
– Lips: NYX Butter Lipstick in… Fireball? I think this was Fireball, not Hot Tamale. Still NYX regardless. And then Urban Decay Naked Lipgloss in Streak on top.

I worked for three hours, got lunch at Culver’s with the coworker I helped out, then went to the mall when my dad called me asking hey, want me to bring you home for Easter then take you back tomorrow? The man can’t stand not having his little girl home for the holidays. In total, I was gone for about 5 1/2 hours before I got home and added on all the other stuff. So this photo was taken approximately 7 hours after initial foundation application.

Hey sexy

Ohhh dem brows. Dat wing.

A moment to appreciate my stupid, oily hooded lids

The brows are still a work in progress, ladies and gents. Give them time.

You can probably notice in the eye closeup photos the lovely areas of dry skin I have. And the freaking patches of blonde-white hairs I have all over my face. Overall, though, I’m still pretty satisfied with how my foundation has held up, and my skin still feels nice and not oily, other than my eyelids which I didn’t put anything on since I opted against eyeshadow. (For reference, I have normal to dry skin, with maybe some oilyness in my T-zone. I swept on a little extra powder in that area after putting on foundation just in case.)

And then I went on a motorcycle ride.

Post-dinner, it-was-a-freaking-frigid-ride face.

Again, I apologize for the horrible front-facing camera photo. There was no natural light left outside and I was too freaking cold to care. Wind sucks.

Anyway, obviously the lipstick has faded off which I totally expected it to, but even after my face was battered by the wind for over an hour and a half, things look not all that bad. The foundation did look a little patchy upon closer mirror inspection, but seriously, I was whipped in the face by the wind for almost two hours, what do you expect?

I’m a pretty big fan of this method of application if I’m looking for my makeup to last extended periods of time, albeit through less-extreme conditions. If you haven’t tried it yet, definitely give it a go. I’m looking forward to testing this out more myself.

“That is some really bright lipstick.” THAT WAS THE POINT, MOM.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, a nice pre-church selfie featuring Revlon Lash Potion mascara, Covergirl Clean Pressed Powder in Buff Beige, and NYX Butter Lipstick in Little Susie for some festive color. Since we were on the motorcycle, I had a to pack a small bag to take home with me, so I only brought a couple products back to use. I cared 0% about impressing anyone at church anyway.

My hair also sucks because I showered the night before and then slept on slightly damp hair. Again, 0% caring. Deal with it.

I did a little mini Ulta haul on Saturday since they were doing 40% off some drugtstore brands that included Revlon and Maybelline, so those products may be introduced soon. I also picked up the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge which I’ve been dying to try! I currently use their Expert Face Brush as well as a Beautyblender for applying my foundation. I’ve heard the RT Sponge is as good if not better than the Beautyblender, so I’m super excited to give it a go.

I’m probably going to wait a bit before posting anything. I just ordered a new makeup mirror that will hopefully make practice much easier (I’m currently doing stuff in my bathroom, which works but isn’t the most practical) so I’ll probably wait until that arrives in the mail to do anything. I’m also participating in the Crazylegs Classic 8K next Saturday so this week is all about making sure I’m prepped and ready for that. I’ve only really gotten into running in these past six or seven months so this’ll be my first race and I’m super excited!

Now if you excuse me, there are some chocolate bunnies calling my name.

Until next time, stay well, stay beautiful!