Monthly Empties: February, March & April 2015 & A Personal Update

Somehow I managed to turn it into quarterly empties again, but work and personal life has definitely taken a toll on my time! I just got engaged! ^_^  Even though it's only been a month, so much has already happened. We've taken the plunge and already made an offer for our new home! Hopefully everything will work out so we can move forward and onto home decor. So exciting!

With a new home in the horizon, I really need to start downsizing on everything I own, not only on makeup/skincare but also on clothing and bags and shoes. I'll be posting a lot of items on my Poshmark (@mellie_closet) and on Ebay. Check it out if you're interested, mention my blog and I'll offer 10% discount!

Now I'm really on a mission to empty out more products, there should be more products going into these posts.

February 2015 Monthly Empties 

February we have mostly skincare and samples used up!

Monthly Empties: January 2015

We're off to a very good start for 2015! January called for an end to a lot of products including very rarely seen makeup items! Brace yourself, this is going to be a long ride (on in our case - post =D ).

January 2015 Empties - this Glossybox was definitely overflowing this month

Let's go through the makeup/color items first since I barely ever show any.

Monthly Empties: Aug & Sep 2013

My long awaited monthly empties! There's so many products to show for Aug and Sep, ironically, there's probably only 2 items for Oct that I see so far. I guess I used up things quick for the summer time.

Aug 2013 Empties

Swatches: Essie, Revlon, Lancome, Laura Mercier

Happy New Year everyone!  I've been itching to post these nail swatches up, but have been too lazy gazy. So here they are!

Essie's Muchi Muchi with Revlon's Stunning

Essie's Muchi Muchi with Revlon's Stunning

Here's I have 1 coat of Essie's Muchi Muchi, which is quite sheer and streaky in 1 coat but I really love the pale pink shade, spiced it up with Revlon's Stunning Nail Lacquer only on a few fingers to make it more unique. The Revlon Stunning polish is top coat of silver glitter with bigger sphere shapes. It is absolutely stunning! (no pun intended ;p ) Only complaint I have is that it was quite hard to pick up the bigger circular glitters with the brush. And as with all glitter nail polish, this was horrible to take off. But it's just so pretty!  What do you think?

Lancome's Vernis in Love in Gris Angora 407N

Lancome Vernis in Love in Gris Angora 407N

No flash

Saw Raeview's review of the new Lancome Vernis in Love and I fell in love with the colors. Picked up this greyish violet color and I was dancing! Perfect fall/winter shade. It's a beautiful creme finish with 2 coats. (1 coat leaves it very streaky). These nail polishes are $15 a bottle and smaller than the regular full size but it makes it a little more affordable to play with. Not like I've ever finished a bottle of nail polish. Plus the polish was quite long lasting (almost a week.)

Lancome's Vernis in Love in Rose Plumeti 300M

Lancome's Vernis in Love in Rose Plumeti 300M

No flash

Here's another Lancome Vernis in Love that I purchase in Rose Plumeti. Color is a neutral pink with a shimmery sheen. Here I have it on with 1 coat. It was a little weird, this dried out to a matte finish. I was slightly disappointed that it didn't have the same jelly like finish as the Gris Angora.

Laura Mercier's Cabana Nail Lacquer

Laura Mercier's Cabana

Here's a throwback from the summer collections, Laura Mercier's Cabana. This was a highly sort after polish when it first came out. The perfect coral red/orange you can find! Perfect jelly creme finish. You have to apply 2 coats for the coral red to show up. I have only 1 coat on my ring finger in the picture and the color looks very washed out. Very long lasting and no chips at all. You can see that the tip wears off first.

Since spring is coming up, what do you think is the new "it" color for spring?

Nordstrom Anniversary Beauty Haul July 2011

July marks the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and with that a bunch of Nordstrom Exclusive beauty must haves! Meaning you won't be able to find certain colors and sets anywhere else but at Nordstrom (just to justify my shopping habit. =)  Here's what I've hauled XD

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2011 Beauty Haul

All this was a total of $223.78 including tax! I probably wouldn't have even attempted to spend so much if it weren't for the $8 shipping cost, so I made a $200 purchase to get free shipping. XD sigh... shopaholic, I know. Thank goodness Nordstrom now offer FREE SHIPPING & FREE RETURNS for ALL purchases! (ok, maybe that's not a good thing for my wallet either, haha)

Possibly the most worthy item and biggest fail item I got from this haul was the Estée Lauder 'Double Wear' Makeup Lesson Set which is a $105 retail value for $37.50. 

Estée Lauder 'Double Wear' Makeup Lesson Set

Comes with a full size Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10 (1 oz.) and deluxe size Double Wear Stay-in-Place Concealer SPF 10 (0.06 oz.), a full size Spotlight Skin Tone Perfector (1 oz.) (primer) and a Foundation brush. But the failure on my part was that I got so excited seeing this set that I didn't realize I got the wrong color!!!! >_____<  And since there's no Nordstrom near me, I can't do anything about it.

Estée Lauder Gift With Purchase

The best part might have been that there was a gift with purchase with this Estée Lauder purchase. Comes with a blush palette with perfect fall colors cool pinks and corals and bright berry lipstick and lip gloss. Swatches later when I finally decide to use it. Am not a fan of the snakeskin/reptile skin cosmetic pouch (but hey it's free) so I might put that up for sale on my eBay account.

Lancôme 'Définicils Precious Cells' Mascara Set (Nordstrom Exclusive)

Next was the Lancôme 'Définicils Precious Cells' Mascara Set (Nordstrom Exclusive) which retails for $88 but was sold at $39.60 at Nordstrom.  This set includes a full size Définicils Precious Cells Mascara, Le Crayon Khol Eyeliner in Black Ebony, and Cils Booster XL Super-Enhancing Mascara base.

Color Design Sensational Effects Eyeshadow Smooth Hold in Filigree

Also included in this set is a beautiful eyeshadow in Filigree and deluxe sample size of the Bifacil Eye Makeup Remover. The eyeshadow's a great neutral color with a hint of shimmer to brighten up the eye.

And of course Lancome purchase also came with a gift with purchase! The tote I'm probably going to put up on eBay as well, but the eyeshadow is so pretty!

Lancome Gift With Purchase

Lancome Sensational Effects Eye Shadow

Lancome Sensational Effects Eye Shadow - Color Codes

Beautiful eye shadow colors! I think the shimmery white and silver will work best for elegant looks. If you look carefully, the black also has silver shimmers in it. =)

Next up, the biggest splurge of makeup I've ever done: Dior 'Fall Ready-to-Wear' Palette.

Dior 'Fall Ready-to-Wear' Palette

Dior 'Fall Ready-to-Wear' Palette - Comes in a beautiful velvet pouch

Dior 'Fall Ready-to-Wear' Palette - the beautiful packaging

Dior 'Fall Ready-to-Wear' Palette - individual brushes

Dior 'Fall Ready-to-Wear' Palette - SUCH BEAUTIFUL SHADES

The palette is so beautiful. It is definitely a luxury item, with its velvet pouch, sleek dark blue packaging, individually wrapped brushes... ahhh... so beautiful!! Haha, I can't stop gawking at it. The colors are very neutral with earthy browns and pale pinks. I've been looking at reviews for this palette, most complaints are on the face that the lip glosses are so close to the shadows and blush. I can see why it would a little unsanitary, I guess I'll have to watch out for it. =)  It's still too pretty for me to swatch.

M.A.C. Purchase

M.A.C. Semi Precious Mineralize Blush - Warmth of Coral, Select Sheer/Pressed Powder NC25, Surf Baby Lipglass in Strange Potion

Picked up some of M.A.C.'s limited edition collections. The lipglass in Strange Potion is part of the Surf Baby collection and was also part of the Villians collection that came out earlier. A coral peach color with gold shimmers.  I wanted to get a pressed powder that I can carry around with me so I ordered the M.A.C. Select Sheer Pressed Powder in NC25. Very finely milled but I'm not sure how much I like it yet.

M.A.C's Semi Precious Mineralize Blush in Warmth of Coral and My Highland Honey

My favorite item from this haul must be M.A.C's Semi Precious Mineralize Blush in Warmth of Coral. It's the most flattering coral peach color with just a hint of bronze shimmer for a natural glowy flush. Here I compared it with the My Highland Honey blush.

Evian Facial Water Spray Set

Nordstrom brought this Evian Facial Water Spray Set back during their semi annual sale. It's $15 for a $27 value set. Comes with 2 travel ones that usually sell for $14 at Sephora. These water spray bottles sprays out a very light mist that feels really hydrating. It doesn't mess up my makeup, but these are definitely not very good a setting makeup. Is it worth $15 to get water in a spray bottle? Probably not, but I don't think there's any refillable spray bottles that you can find that can spray out as nice of a mist.

That's it for my haul post! A very long long post that is way overdue!

Review: Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate & Eye Concentrate

I finally finished up the Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate and now am in search of a new serum. It wasn't bad, but I don't know if I'll repurchase it.

Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate & Eye Concentrate

I originally bought it back in October as part of a gift set for $88 but retails for $137 (haul post here).

See how little I can pump out from the dispenser??

The clear Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate serum

Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate Facts

• Packaging - Nice sleek glass bottle with pump/drop dispenser so you never have to touch what's inside.
• Size - 1.7 oz is the biggest size available. Sephora has it available in various sizes.
• Price - retails for $98 for the 1.7 oz.
• Specifications - Evens skin tone, brings radiance to skin, boosts gene activity to make your skin look more youthful (from Lancome's website). See a difference within 7 days.
• Directions - Use daily in the morning and at night
• Ingredients - Need to add later

Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate Review

• Scent - Lightly fragrance, not obtrusive at all
• Serum Essence - Clear serum that makes you think it's one of those really high tech products. Very easily spreadable so that I can smooth it all over my face and neck. 
• How I Use It - I normally use it only during the night time because I have another product that I use during the day. I take a few drops and it is enough for me to spread all over my face and neck.
• Overall Experience - I tried some of their sample packets and loved them. I love how it brightens my skin tone immediately. But for some reason the full size product was disappointing. First off, the pump didn't work. I'm not sure if my bottle was defective, but every time I try to pump the serum out, I would only get 1-2 drops maximum. So in order to get enough product in my palm, I had to repeat it multiple times. After using the concentrate for 3 months, I feel like nothing really happened to my skin. The first few days had a nice effect, but it didn't seem like it lasted. I don't really have that much of a problem with fine lines and wrinkles to speak for its anti-aging aspects. 

It was an overall nice experience, I wonder if it's because I didn't use enough? A quick tip, if you can get your hands on their 7 day deluxe sample, there is at least 25% worth of the full size product in there. =) Well worth it if you want to try. I've also started using the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, I'll see how it compares.

As part of the gift set, I also got the Génifique Eye Youth Activating Eye Concentrate. This I definitely would not repurchase.

Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Eye Concentrate

Very lightweight (excuse my dry hands)

Lancôme Génifique Eye Youth Activating Eye Concentrate Facts

• Packaging - Nice sleek glass bottle with twist cap.
• Size - 0.5 oz
• Price - retails for $59
• Specifications - Also suppose to brighten the eye area in less than 7 days diminishing dark circles and fine lines
• Directions - Use daily in the morning and at night
• Ingredients - Need to add later

Lancôme Génifique Eye Youth Activating Eye Concentrate Review

• Scent - Lightly fragrance also kind of pleasant
• Cream Essence -This is a very lightweight almost souffle-like cream. It's not heavy on the eyes
• How I Use It - Because this is so light weight, I only use it during the daytime after my Shiseido White Lucent Eye Treatment to keep my eyes moisturize. Normally just dabbing it with my ring finger and patting it into my eyes.
• Overall Experience - I don't think this eye cream really does anything for me. If I leave it on my eyes longer without spreading it out, it starts irritating the skin under my eye. At one point my under eyes were red and "rashy". I like that it's very lightweight and provides a bit more moisture than my Shiseido Eye Treatment but I don't see much effect on my crazy dark circles. =(

The eye cream lasted a long longer than the serum, I've used it for almost 6 months! But also only once a day. Coming up next would be my reviews on the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair for both face and eye.

Macy's & Sephora F&F Hauls Oct/Nov 2010

Crazy Crazy HAULS! Stupid sales that are constantly going on.. haha.. I blame them! =P

Macy's Lancome & Clinique Haul

First up, I have my Macy's haul of Lancôme and Clinique products. I ordered these on Gene Day (Oct 22, 2010) when every purchase of the Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate, $7 will be donated to the St. Judes Research by Lancôme. Also Clinique was still having its wonder gift with every $21.50 purchase.

The Macy's Bill

Total came out to be $120.31 after tax, not too bad considering all the things I got.

Very pretty packaging

Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate & Eye Concentrate

This special Lancôme Génifique Value set (sold out on macys.com and sephora.com now) contains the full size of both concentrate which retails for $137. Macy's was selling this set for $88 and Sephora had it for $100. I heard YouTube gurus fuzkittie and raeview raving about it and I really wanted to try it out. Most importantly, I recently noticed these lines under my eyes, not sure if it's really from lack of sleep or my biological age kicking in. =(   I tested the eye cream at the Lancôme counter and really like the smooth mousse like texture. Hopefully it works out!

Clinique with freebies. Haha, I only paid for 1 thing in this picture.

I ordered the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion 4.2 oz. I got the one without the pump, I don't really see the point of spending another $1.50 just to get a pump that I wouldn't use by the end of the bottle. This purchase was really a splurge to get the gift set! Haha XD  I sound so retarded. But it was true, nevertheless. I needed to make a $100 purchase so splurge + free gift it is! I've used this lotion from the sample sizes in my other Clinique gift sets. I normally use this as a hand lotion, so I can justify this purchase by leaving this bottle at work.

And now for all the great freebies!

This Berries Eyeshadow Trio looks so pretty!

I really wanted this eyeshadow trio the most from the gift set! Isn't the berry pink colors beautiful? So soft and elegant. Plus I love how they have all the numbers on the brushes and applicators to let you know what you should do with each. There was an instruction card too.

Freebie #2 Clinique repairwear laser focus wrinkle & UV corrector

 Got this as freebie deluxe sample with any Clinique purchase, didn't try it out yet, but it's a decent size.

Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate 7 Day Sample

This 7 day pack was part of the purchase. But on Oct 22, 2010, they were giving these out at the Lancôme counters. Got a total of 3 packs of these. There are 7 little packets in each. Very very decent size packets with a lot of product. Not going to put the packet sizes here, they don't make sense. Lol.. because according to the package sizes, this 7 day sample can fill a full size bottle of the Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate >.<  makes no sense at all.

Macy's Free Goody Bag

I was surprised to find this goody bag with my order. Haha, I guess Macy's is trying to be like Sephora and Ulta and give out freebie samples too. The ziplock bag's cute though. The crazy random things that I like.XD 

Now to my Sephora F&F Hauls. Yes hauls with the "s" because I made 3 different orders! Probably getting another during the VIB sale... sigh...

Sephora F&F Oct 2010 Haul # 1

Only got 1 item during this haul, I've been eying the Laura Mercier Flawless Face Kit sets for a while. I controlled myself till the F&F sale. =)

Laura Mercier Flawless Face Kit ($159 Value) for $65

Ingredients for the Flawless Face Kit

Got the tinted moisturizer set in Nude. Comes with a 3/4 size of foundation primer and their tinted moisturizer. Includes 2 brushes and powder puffs. Also comes with the full size Undercover Pot. The Undercover Pot has both the famous LM concealers and camouflage. I'm really loving the camouflage right now, very creamy, but the concealer is very dry.

Now for Sephora F&F Haul #2. Got this very close to the end of the sale, I wanted to see what they were going to add to their Sale section.

Sephora F&F Haul #2

Sephora F&F Haul #2 Bill

Made a purchase just slightly over $50 to get my free shipping and 3 samples. =)

NARS Blush in Sex Appeal

I purchased my first NARS blush! Got it in Sex Appeal versus the cult favorite Orgasm. It's a very pretty pale peach! Gives off just the slightest hint of color. Definitely love, but it's not as pigmented as my Rock & Republic blushes.

Stila Make An Impression In Moscow Travel Palette $10 ($65 value)

Also bought the Stila Make An Impression In Moscow Travel Palette for $10! This is part of the 5 travel sets that Stila has been coming out with on a monthly basis. I saw an actual picture of this on Luuux and was immediately in loved! The colors are so soft and pretty. The blush/lip color is very creamy. Love the colors.

Smashbox Instant Eyes Shadow & Liner Palette $15 ($67 value)

Also got this Smashbox Instant Eyes Shadow & Liner Palette for $15. It was Sephora's weekly special and still available. I never tried a cream liner and wanted to give it a try. The eyeshadows aren't pigmented at all. All they have are shimmers, but that doesn't bother me because I don't like shadows with color anyway. =)

Also the other weekly special, Perricone MD Cold Plasma Face and Eye for $15 (a $61 value). These were really really small. You can probably see how small they are compared to my NARS blush. I just wanted to give this a try, more like paying $15 for a deluxe sample size. =T

Now for my last Sephora F&F Haul (haul #3). I submitted my order at 11:50PM EST on the last day of the sale. Haha, splurging way too much. =P

Sephora F&F Haul #3

Sad thing is I loved the Stila Make An Impression In Moscow Travel Palette so much, I decided to get a backup! These are limited edition so I rather pay the $8 (after F&F discount) now than regret not having it anymore. In fact I liked it so much I bought the Stila No. 1: Road to Radiance - Across the USA - Collectible Travel Palette too. It has very pretty pinks, the other palettes are more ehhh.

Also bought First Aid Beauty Be Fabulous Kit for $35 ($70 Value). I wanted to try the moisturizer since my hands has been so dry and it even started cracking. I hate this time of the year. XP

Sephora was having a sale on the NARS eyeshadow duo, so I got another NARS product! They are full size products and I got it in the color Wicked for $10. The colors aren't as flattering as I had thought. The greens are actually very very pale. But I'll swatch it next time. I think Sephora will keep it on their site for a while.

Okay now what to get with my VIB discount? Haha, if you are a VIB at Sephora, you can use VIB20 to get 20% off your purchase from now till Nov 15.