Saving on Makeup

Hi all... and Happy Wednesday to you! I wanted to do a little post today about saving on cosmetics through savings programs, sales and coupons. With everyone jumping on the couponing train lately, it's not surprising to see those affiliated with cosmetics companies joining in on that as well! Since, there's a lot to absorb with this topic, I'm just going to take a little at a time. Today, I want to talk about the deal I was able to get last night and how I did it. 

Last night, I did a good shopping trip at Publix for groceries, but I also had some Cover Girl coupons and wanted to take advantage of those on some eye shadow singles. 

Publix have these priced (in Auburn, Alabama) for $2.99 each. Our Publix coupon policy states that you can use 1 manufacturer coupon and 1 store coupon per product. I had a $3 off 2 Cover Girl products coupon from the July 29, 2012 P&G coupon insert from the Sunday newspaper and I also had 2 store coupons from the Publix green advantage flyer that were $1 off 1 Cover Girl or Queen product. So, when I stacked those coupons I was able to get both eye shadows for just .98 or .49 each. After tax it was $1.07 for both full size eye shadows! 

 *Sorry about the right pic. Haven't figured out how to flip it on here yet!*

So the 2 colors I picked I consider both to be "highlight" shades. I picked up #620 in Snow Blossom and #540 in Pink Chiffon. Both are very light and frosty looking. Here are some swatches! (PS: I have a ton of the cover girl singles now. If you are interested in seeing swatches of all the colors I have now, just leave me a comment!)

My skin is light and pink colored as it is so these didn't show up particularly well, but they are both very nice. Snow Blossom, on the top, is a little chalky where as the Pink Chiffon is a really silky feeling. The Snow Blossom also has a little less shimmer than then Pink Chiffon. Both seem to be easy to blend and if they compare to the other Cover Girl shadows I have, they will be long lasting as long as they are used over a decent eye primer. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

- Yours - Jessica -

Julep Maven Subscription - August 2012 Box

<<< Click the link to the left and enter "COLOR2012" in the coupon box to try Julep for just a PENNY!

It's here! 

My August 2012 Julep Maven Subscription Box! 

(Above, you see all my Julep Polishes to date in order of latest received from left to right!)

GASP! Look! It's a bigger box than normal!!

It's Julep's birthday!! (I swear Julep, I didn't know! Otherwise I would have gotten you a gift!)

Inside the box, Julep thanks its' customers for helping them make their first year a success and to enjoy the special tote! <GASP!> I love a tote!

At first glance!

So adorable! Thanks Julep!

Now on to my subscription items:

This month's "Classic With A Twist" box included the following items:

1. Julep Acetone Free Conditioning Nail Polish Remover

2. Hands free pump for nail polish remover

3. Julep polish in the color Felicity

4. Julep polish in the color Alfre

I was able to use the polish remover immediately as I had some ugly chipped polish in serious need to be removed. I thought it felt a little drying at first, but the feel you get afterward is definitely one of softness. The remover works really well and doesn't have a horribly strong scent like so many polish removers. The hands-free pump is AMAZING! I have never had a pump for my remover before and I feel so spoiled now, even wondering how I got on without one before!

On the left is Felicity and on the right is Alfre.

Like the other Julep polishes, these are of excellent quality. These to shades are very opaque and would look great with even just one coat of polish. Felicity is a beautiful shimmering gold color with a very yellow undertone. The word that first came to mind when I put it on was "sun-kissed". Alfre is a very complex color and much more beautiful in person than it is in the picture. In the bottle, it looks like any other silver metal but when you apply the polish, it has a beautiful purple (almost plum colored) undertone. 

The theme of this month's box was "Metallics & Chromes". I definitely think Julep was able to match that description with these particular colors! 

On another note, this month's inspirational card reads as follows:

"What can you celebrate?

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." - Oprah Winfrey"

Nail Look of the Day

This weekend's nail look I am calling "Forgiving French".

Those of you that know how shaky I can be may understand that title! HAHA!

The white part of the manicure, on the tips of the nail, was achieved by using Kate by Julep. The white really only needs 1 coat of polish, however I am very rough on my hands so I used 2 coats. Then I tried to clean up my lines as best I could by using Julep's polish remover from the August box and an old eye shadow brush. After Kate dried, I applied 2 coats of  Audrey by Julep. Because I do not own a Julep top coat yet, I finished the look by applying 1 coat of #120 Diamonds by Sally Hansen Diamond Strength. 

Have a blessed day!

-Yours - Jessica-

Recent Julep Add On Purchase

I got my add on purchase from Julep the other day and wanted to share those 2 colors I added on to my monthly subscription. I purchased Kate and O Canada in addition to my June Julep Maven box.

                   

Kate is a beautiful creamy white color that has just a very slight gloss to it. Sometimes it's nice to have something that isn't matte but isn't insanely glossy either! O Canada looks similar to America in the bottle, except it does not have any blue. When applying O Canada to your nails, the polish has much less large pieces of glitter than America does so it would look very nice over another polish. I also found the glitter pieces a little more difficult to move around with this one, but I did ultimately still enjoy the finished look.

 These pictures show one coat of each of the polishes, O Canada on the left and Kate on the right.

So, I decided to go ahead and do a full manicure with both polishes and was very pleased with a outcome. For this look, I used 2 coats of Kate, 1 coat of O Canada and 1 coat of  Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Color in #120 Diamonds (simply because I couldn't find my plain clear polish).

Here is my belated "Canada Day" nail look, for my hubby! :-)

*A note about the Julep glitter polishes: When I used the America polish I did not apply a clear coat of polish over top and what I found was that some of the glitter pieces are so large that they can snag on things and peel your polish off. Applying the clear coat over O Canada has prevented this from happening and I have not had any issues with snagging! I can't wait to do it right with America next time!*

-Yours - Jessica-

A Couple Product "Don'ts"

For me it's rare to find a product that I dislike enough to tell people that I wouldn't recommend buying it. Usually I can find something I like about it enough to at least say, "Eh... it's worth a try." Today, however, I'm bringing you reviews on 2 products that I will never consider purchasing again and I cannot recommend them at all. 

The first product, is the Marbella Permanent Eyeliner Pen. I received this product in my June bag from My Glam and had high hopes for this product. I am always looking for another great eyeliner and more specifically I have been looking for an eyeliner that will give me the look of a liquid liner but something that's easier to apply and will stay put on your eye. 

 I guess the word "permanent" is what convinced me this pen was going to be a success. Unfortunately, this eyeliner is hardly permanent. When you rub the line you've created, you have a slight amount of product rubbing off but this isn't the biggest problem. If you introduce any moisture to this product, you have a big mess. Any tears or sweat will cause this eyeliner to immediately smudge and run all over the place. I used the product once on a day where moisture wasn't an issue and aside from the fact that I had to go over my lines several times to make it a true black, I was fairly pleased with the wear. So, I decided to give it a try again. I wore it to the fireworks. God bless the kindness of the people around me because when I looked in the mirror I saw a raccoon before me! A hint of this product's epic failure should have been that it states on the pen to not use it at all if you wear contact lenses. I do not wear lenses, but I still think that should have been a clue. Shame on me... never again will I use this product. 

The next product I'd like to talk about is Revlon Photoready Airbrush Makeup. If you follow my other posts about foundation, you'll note that I purchased this the same time as my other Revlon Colorstay foundation. The colorstay has been working really well for me for the most part, but I figured I would give the airbrush foundation a try since I already purchased and swatched it. There is nothing I like about this foundation from the packaging to the application to the coverage. 

 To start off with, the pump for me is very difficult to push down while having any kind of control as to how much product comes out. If you have any kind of arthritis, shaking or pain in your hands, this pump is very difficult to use with any kind of accuracy. 

Next comes the application of the product. As with the other Revlon foundation I use, I used the Sonya Kashuk blending sponge to apply this foundation. Not only was the product very difficult to blend and not look splotchy but the coverage wasn't very good at all. It seemed like the more I applied to try to increase coverage, there was no difference in actual coverage at all. It just looked more splotchy!

The next thing that is kind of annoying about this foundation is that there is a shimmer to it which is borderline
"glittery". I say this because some places even seem to have pieces of glitter as opposed to a shimmer. This is personal preference, but I believe any shimmer or glitter should be left to other products as opposed to being directly in your foundation. 

So, that's my take on these 2 products. I hope at least someone has had a better experience than I have!

-Yours - Jessica - 

Oysters, Burgers and Wings... OH MY!

Not much to say about Jefferson's other than YUM! My husband and I took our 4 children out yesterday in search of a restaurant that might be open. It was 4th of July so pretty much everything was closed. Then, we were pleasantly surprised to see a newer restaurant in Opelika was OPEN! What made is awesome is that I love oysters, my husband loves burgers and we all love wings... so, in we went to try it out!

Let's start with the surroundings and staff. We were the only ones in the restaurant. I'm assuming that we're the only ones that grill out on a regular basis so not grilling out on the 4th was no big deal. All the staff welcomed us and our waitress came over immediately and was very attentive during our entire visit. She was kind, helpful and just had a great over-all personality. We also were able to chat with the owner who was kind and gracious as well. Upon walking into the restaurant you'll find booths to your right, high-top tables each with 6 tall stools to your left, tables and chairs in the center, and the bar straight through to the back. We chose to sit at a booth on the right and one thing that's great is the tables are movable to accommodate those growing bellies! It frustrates me when restaurant booths are all glued down therefore forcing all larger guests to only sit at the tables in the center. Our table was very clean as was the floor and any other surfaces we came in contact with.

One of the interesting things in the restaurant, is the collage of dollar bills on the wall. You can read the story about how that got started in their menu which contributes to some interesting meal conversation!

This restaurant would also be great for sports enthusiasts! I counted about 6 flat screen televisions that each boasted a different sporting event.
As usual, we began our ordering with drinks. The drink specials on the table said "June" but our waitress said they would honor them because they were still on the table. 

I ordered a Bahama Mama and water and my husband a Lima-a-Rita as well as sprites all around for the kids. The drinks were properly made and tasted fantastic. Our waitress came out with the drinks and explained that my husband's drink was the last of its' kind so that was disappointing, however, there is definitely something to be said for her telling us right away! There is nothing worse than having a drink and going to have another only to find out they are out! Along with the kids' drinks, they all received a balloon that came with their meals! SO CUTE and BRAVO to Jefferson's for realizing how a child can be glued to a balloon for hours thus allowing the parents to enjoy meal time too! HAHA!

Next came the ordering of our appetizers which came out VERY fast from time of ordering! We ordered a 12 piece hot boneless buffalo wings with blue cheese and a full size order of fried pickles with blue cheese dressing. 

For a minute there, I almost forgot that fried things were supposed to be crispy! Jefferson's hit it out of the park with both of these appetizers. The chicken was crisp yet still soft and full of flavor and I had yet to even taste a fried pickle that was crisp until now! The boneless wings we ordered were "hot" flavor and I'd say they were that. There was one level of heat above what we ordered which I probably would have enjoyed even more! The blue cheese dressing they used was great as well offering pungent chunks of blue cheese in a rich and creamy mayonnaise based dressing. 

For our entrees we ordered 6 meals, one for each of us. Two of our children had corn dog kids meals and two of them had chicken finger kids meals.  Each basket had the choice of french fries or apples and of course all 4 of my children chose fries. Their meals looked fantastic with all items appearing crisp and juicy!

My husband chose the double burger with Jack cheese and bacon and it was HUGE! He described the burger as juicy and filling. I've never seen him not be able to eat his whole platter before, but alas, the left the french fries!

 *He apologized for plopping the mayo before I could take a picture! HAHA!*

And OH, happy day for me! I ordered the Jefferson Baked Oysters. 12 fresh oysters baked to perfection with Parmesan cheese, hot sauce and jalapenos served with cocktail sauce and lemon. This was the perfect dinner for me, as I still am on a no-chew diet and everything else I had to chop up very fine in order to taste to make this review. The oysters themselves were so soft and delicious while the hot sauce and jalapenos added just the right amount of heat and the Parmesan cheese provided a creamy tang to the oysters. I chose not to eat the jalapenos so that I didn't have to chew them, but the flavor was very much there even through the hot sauce flavor. 

In the end, we truly enjoyed our experience at Jefferson's and will be all too happy to eat there again! I can't wait to try the other flavors of oysters as well as some of the other flavors of wings! Next time you go to Jefferson's check out our contribution to their local collage... a couple booths down on the right!

Check out http://www.jeffersonsrestaurant.com/ for menu, locations and more!

*This blog post serves as an unbiased restaurant review of Jefferson's in Opelika, Alabama.*

*For just over $70, we purchased 2 full size appetizers, 3 bar beverages, 4 children's meals with 4 soft drinks, and 2 adult entrees.*

Julep Maven Subscription - June 2012 Box

Each month I continue to be impressed by the customer service, quality of products and the perfect packaging offered by Julep! As a recap, Julep Maven is a monthly subscription service that focuses on nail color and care. You can get a month for a penny by checking out the link to the left or staying til the bottom of this post!

This month, again, I chose to stay with the "Classic With A Twist" box. The card included reads, "It's your time to sparkle. Classic with a twist. This month is all about matching lips and nails. The trend is back and hotter than July! We've done the work for you with our eye catching colors so you can step out with confidence and get your glitter on."

I love the little quotes and treats they include with each package! "We need less posturing and more genuine charisma. It's about a sparkle in people that money can't buy." - Marianne Williamson ... Also 3 yummy fire balls! What a cut throw back these candies have been! Last month pixie sticks, this month fire balls! (How sad some of us can remember when they were just a penny! lol!)

Here are the 3 colors I received with the box. On the left is Audrey, middle is Freida and right is America. Audrey and Freida are part of the subscription and America was included free. Since my husband is from Canada, I also purchased separately "O Canada" which should be arriving any day now and also "Kate". Here are my first swatches of the products, just 1 coat each.

Polishes are shown in the same order as the bottles above. Audrey is a beautiful cream color with a pink hue and some gorgeous shimmer when the polish hits the light. The pictures of Freida online, in my opinion, didn't do it justice. It's almost like a light magenta, more on the pink side than purple, also with that beautiful shimmer when it hits the light! The America is in a class of it's own! I am SO impressed with this polish. I have typically steered away from glitter polish because it never looks on my fingers how it looks in the bottle and I always end up very disappointed. Also, with other glitter polishes, usually they require about 10 coats for me to get the same glitter look you are seeing above. In the picture that is ONE coat. What's even more fabulous about America is that it is still quick trying, however it's not so quick that it is unforgiving. The polish remains tacky for a couple minutes to be able to move the glitter around as you so choose. BEAUTIFUL polish this month, Julep!

This next product is a full size Lip Gloss in the color Camellia that matches the Audrey polish to a tee. I was a little skeptical about this gloss because of the fact that Julep is primarily nail products, however I was pleasantly surprised with the color, texture and packaging of this product. 

It has a very light, sugary scent, but no taste that I can tell. I am very impressed with this gloss and I plan to purchase the one that matches my Freida polish as well!

Total value of everything I got in this box is $60.00 (That is not including shipping). My box, as usual, was $19.99 and that included shipping! Total savings this box was over $40.01 or 66%!

As stated before, I also purchased "O Canada" and "Kate" polishes at a discount to go with my box. Value of those polishes are $28.00 plus shipping and as a Julep Maven, I got them for $9.98 including shipping. 

Total out of pocket cost for my products and shipping was $29.97. Total retail value, not including shipping was $88.00. Total savings: over $58.03 or 65%!

Become a Julep Maven by clicking this link!

HTTP://JULEP.COM/?R=20360627

Use Code: COLOR2012 to get your first box for just a penny!

- Yours - Jessica - 

My New Foundation Routine: Initial Feelings

Hi friends! I know I was supposed to update you all the next day after the big foundation test (the summer outdoor children's party in Alabama heat) but I believe I still may be recovering from that! LOL I have continued basically the same foundation routine the remainder of the week and today I was not planning on going anywhere so I have slapped on my Philosophy "Take A Deep Breath" and am using this opportunity to clean my brushes and sponge.

So here's my thoughts about the different products I have used this week each day:

1.  Philosophy "Take A Deep Breath" (sample received as part of my $10 June Glam Bag Subscription) : I am very pleased with this product. It doesn't seem to really help with any redness I have (Although I've seen they do have a moisturizer to help with that and will probably try that next.) however, this gel-like moisturizer has a lovely cooling feel when you apply it and does not feel greasy at all to me. The little sample sized tube has been wonderful and with using I would say a double pea-size amount each time has lasted me about 10 uses and maybe has 1 or 2 left in there. I will give my final review and decision to repurchase when it's completely empty!

2. Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer: Ultra Light Formula ($8 - Walmart): This is another product I am very pleased with so far! I will start by saying the one thing I would change about this product is that it feels EXTREMELY greasy when it goes on and frankly I was really worried about that making me break out (which is not normal for me) or increasing my redness. I wish they could change this initial feeling because I think it could scare some people off but when the product dries it leaves your skin as silky and smooth as a newborn baby's bottom!! LOL There is no feeling of greasiness when it dries at all and it really does make a nice smooth layer for you to apply your color cosmetics on top of. This product is white in color and is clear when you spread it so this product would not be used to help conceal anything, just help make a smooth surface. I had hoped that whatever primer I chose would help to conceal my redness without having to use an actual concealer so again, this is another product that I have not decided yet if I will repurchase and will give a final review and decision to repurchase when it's completely empty. 

3. Revlon Colorstay Makeup in #250 Fresh Beige for Oily/Combination skin ($9.99 - Target): This product has lived up to ALL expectations to me thus far AND lived up to it's name for me. I already have serious issues with facial sweating when it's not 100 degrees out in Alabama, but now that it is actually that, I have an even greater need for a long-wearing foundation through the heat and sweating. When I bought it I was not sure about the color and I also didn't realize I had picked up the one for Oily/Combination skin and I have dry skin. I have been very pleased with the color choice for me, I usually have to pick the lightest shade of foundation as I am fair skin and I tend to avoid the sun as much as possible during summer months but this color, a couple shades away from the lightest, seems to suit me well and looks natural when blending down the neck. Also, I was afraid the Oily/Combination product would be bad with my dry skin and hasn't been too bad thus far. My dry patches haven't gotten worse, but that being said, I do not think this type of foundation is helping to make those patches less dry either. My plan is to go ahead and work on finishing out this bottle and to keep an eye out for Revlon sales and my Revlon coupons and see if I can't pick up one pretty cheap for dry skin. As far as coverage, I would say this is a medium to heavy coverage foundation. When using a blending sponge to apply (thoughts on that coming next) you really do have the option to control the coverage more than say using your fingers or brushes (in my experience) to apply. I consistently went over each area and then would go back again to my reddest of areas. I found that 95% of the time my redness was well covered. As posted in #2, I will probably be on the search for a concealer in the next week  or so that is light and can be of help to me just during days I really need it. 

4. Sonya Kashuk Blending Sponge ($10.49 - Target): This product has been fabulous for me. In my opinion, this product, blends well, holds well in the hand while applying, is able to be used on all areas of the face thanks to the different sized ends, helps you control your coverage and rinses out well daily. I had previously seen several reviews where the reviewers had trouble rinsing our their sponge, but I have not encountered that. I am about to do a full washing with some foaming face wash so will let you know next review how well that works out. I have used the same process every day with this sponge to get the results I've had. I get the sponge wet under the faucet and I squeeze out really well until you can't really tell if it's wet or dry. I then put a dime size amount of foundation on the back of my hand, I dab the sponge in the foundation and then I use a light stippling motion all over my face. I truly feel like this product helps me to achieve an even application and airbrush-like finish. This will be my LAST review on this product until it comes time to replace it to let you all know how long it lasted for me. As stated in my last blog, I currently have no intention of trying the Beauty Blender (the pink, egg-shaped one). FABULOUS PRODUCT!!!

5. Mary Kay Loose Powder in Ivory #1 ($14.00  - Local Mary Kay Rep): This will be my last thoughts on this product until the winter months as I have made the decision to put this product away until the weather gets cooler. When I wore this product the other day out in the heat, once I did start sweating quite a bit, the powder did start to clump up again (not pretty). I spent 90% of the time at the party blotting my face. Since that day I have chosen to go without the powder and I have not experienced that again. As I stated before, I did really enjoy the powder when I wasn't sweating so bad, so I will give it another go when it gets cooler out. 

And that's it folks! I have been pretty pleased as well with the wear of my eye makeup, but I do think I will go back to using the Tarte Eyelid Primer that I was using when the True Blood palette came out. It really helped with any creasing and the over all look and wear of eye products. As usual, the STAR of all my face products HAS to be the Tarte Eyelash Primer and Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara! I will never go back to anything else! I am a very emotional person and that mascara has held up though everything... Tears, Sweating, and even unintentionally rubbing my eyes after a long day. FABULOUS PRODUCT TARTE!!!

If anyone has any questions, let me know! :)