Ulta & Dollar Tree Haul!

If you're addicted to beauty products *ahem, CHEAP beauty products* and haven't been down to your local Dollar Tree lately...you're messin' up!!

I used to think that Dollar Tree makeup had to be trashy and cheap, right? WRONG! They now have brands that might sound mighty familiar to you! such as Sally Hanson, Sinful Colors, NYC, ELF, Revlon, and Milani!

Here's some pictures of what I picked up on my latest trip to Clearwater Mall, which has an Ulta and Dollar Tree right next door to each other! The best part about the Dollar Tree is that since everything is so cheap, you can buy shades that you might not normally purchase or try. That's what I did! 

 First up, Ulta haul

I finally got my hands on the Nyx Jumbo eye pencil in Milk. This is a product that most consider a mainstay in their collection. It's versatile, it's cheap, it's high quality- what more could you ask for?

I got two shades of the Nyx matte lip creams. I have heard many good things about these so I was so excited to snap them up! The one on the left is Amsterdam. I unfortunately don't know the name of the one on the right. I tried it on and it was more nude than I expected, and I gave it away to a friend.

From the dollar store: One weird thing about the dollar store is that all the makeup is packaged- even the makeup that isn't normally in a package. It's strange but what can ya do?

elf brightening eye color

baby wipes! No, I don't have a baby. These things are vastly underrated as far as makeup removing/touchups go. And for only a buck, I couldn't resist.

from L to R: Rose in Your Nose, Bonjour, My Day

Can't wait to try these out! Reviews coming soon! :)

Blue By, Orange Impulse

Gone Platinum, Ciao Bella, Cream Pink

I am SO pleased with Ciao Bella. I hate buying dark sapphire colors because they almost always turn out black. But this one is definitely blue on the nail! I highly recommend it.

My two favorite finds were the Sinful Colors nail art polishes. These were discontinued and I've never seen them anywhere else before! But for only a buck you definitely can't go wrong. The other favorite find is Sally Hanson Insta-dri polishes. Word on the street is that these nail polishes ALWAYS work with stamping kits (which a friend of mine has that I use frequently) so I snatched up a few to use for that purpose!

I can't wait to use these products! 

What about you guys, have you found any gems at your local Dollar Tree lately? Are you going to go searching for some bargains now? Because you should! 

Follow your bliss,

Ember Darling

4/20 makeup

I know this is a belated post but better late than never! Here is the look I threw together on Saturday. I got a little festive. No offense to anyone else who doesn't celebrate :)

This look was created with my Profusion palette. I have come to love this palette- be on the lookout for a review video coming soon!

I tried something new and put sephora kohl stick eyeliner on my eyelids before applying the eyeshadow. I really liked the result!
Excuse the raggedy look and flyaway hair. I didn't get any good pictures at the beginning of the day so I tried again at the end of the day. Thus, these pictures are after hours of wear!

Products used for this look:
Covergirl LashBlast mascara
Profusion palette
Sephora Smoky Kohl eyeliner in black
I always finish my looks with Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray

Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to which face products I used but I think the main focus of this look is the eyeshadow anyway.

Hopefully you like this green-friendly look!

Follow your bliss, 

Ember Darling

Wet n Wild Limited Edition Spring Forward Palettes: a journey

Every once in a while in the beauty world, something Big comes along. People have different ideas of what qualifies as 'big' of course, but the biggest thing lately is the Wet n Wild Limited Edition Spring Forward Palettes.

(Photo courtesy of NouveauCheap .)

Specifically, the Nude Awakening palette. It's been gaining attention because it is being widely regarded as a dupe for Urban Decay's Naked Palette (which everyone basically knows is holy grail of eyeshadow)

So most bargain beauties know that wet n wild has some great quality, especially for the price. This baby will only set you back $4.99.

Now I'm a casual stalker of  Nouveaucheap and G was so kind to provide an interactive map that allows people to place a marker when they find a limited edition product.--this is an invaluable tool that helped me track down the ELF Disney Villains palettes. If you are ever looking for a limited edition or hard to find item- this blog is the first place to check. Run by a great beauty, and frequented by kind souls!

So, when the palette was first announced I casually looked at drugstores. Then I found myself checking the interactive map AND the local Walgreens every other day

Inconsistent reports said that they would be only at CVS, others said only at Walgreens. What to believe!? I watched as little dots showed up slowly across the country....everywhere but down here in Florida!

Literally weeks have gone by at this point and I am still bugging the shit out of my local drugstores...I began to lose hope.

Most of the places it was showing up in other states don't exist here in Florida. 

But then! there was a breakthrough when spots started showing up near/in Florida (but not near me) at Winn Dixies.

Now, I am not a frequenter of Winn Dixie. (I'm a Floridian, hello, I go to Publix) but I trekked out to two different ones near me to try and hunt them down.

I ended up leaving the stores empty handed.

AND THEN

Someone posted a marker on theWinn Dixie near me! Hallelujah!

The next day (being, today) I went to the one that was marked

alas! There was the display!

I could have cried. with joy.

Then I quickly saw that the display was basically empty, with not a Nude Awakening in sight.

I could have cried. Not with joy.

So, here we sit. Empty handed. If there's anything this experience has taught me is that I am going to go ahead and finally take the plunge and purchase Naked (or Naked 2...haven't made THAT decision yet..I'm a very bad decision maker).

Which, in a funny way, is what this blog is all about! Trying to be financially responsible when I can, but splurging when it counts. and I'd say after weeks of searching and being let down, I deserve to splurge and reward myself with the real deal, not the dupe. 

Save when you can, splurge when it counts. My own personal motto.

Follow your bliss, (My other personal motto...got it tattooed on me!)

Ember Darling

Bloglovin

http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6899301/?claim=8jwwryvsxdm">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>


There's a bad joke in there about showing my blog some lovin....etc, etc. I'll spare you and just say: FOLLOW ME ON BLOGLOVIN! :)

since Google reader went bye-bye and the future of GFC (which I use) is uncertain, the masses are stampeding to Bloglovin! Don't be left behind! Follow all your favorite blogs there! It's easy, and you can even import your current Google Reader list! It probably couldn't be simpler, to be honest.

Follow your bliss,
Ember Darling

EDIT: OF COURSE I copied/pasted directly what blog lovin told me to.....and of course it shows up like tihs, instead of integrated as a link. anybody have any ideas on how I can fix this?

either way, the link still works so you can still click it to follow me! :)

New favorite website!

Alright, Budget-splurgers. I will be the first to admit that I have a problem keeping up with my online presence. I would much rather be seen than heard, so many times! I come on the web and consume so much information and hardly ever put any new content out there.

Well enough is ENOUGH, I say! I'm going to get back into the swing of things. I am, I am, I am.

So my OFFICIAL first post (yes I have an unofficial first post. I typed it up completely and then left it in drafts. Oops. Clearly I am still getting into this "blogging" thing.) goes a little something like this:

Do you love Pinterest? Do you spend hours hounding the "hair & beauty" tag on Pinterest just to have it bombarded with things that are neither hair, nor beauty? (Lookin' at you, diet and exercise tips)

Well then you, my friend, are in the same boat as me. So you should be as excited as I am about this new website.

It's called Bellashoot, and it is ....well, freaking awesome.

It's like pinterest and beauty blogging had a perfect love child. It's set up similarly to pinterest,  where you can upload links, pictures, videos etc! But it's COMPLETELY dedicated to beauty!!
As if that wasn't enough, their Facebook is always giving away tons of beauty goodies! As a beauty on a budget, that is something I like to hear.
Uh HELLO beauty bloggers of the world, this is right up our alley!

My name on there is B-sbeautyEmber , so go find me and follow me!

This site is definitely in need of some fashionistas to lift it off the ground, so head your tails over there and get to postin'!!

Follow your bliss,
Ember Darling