Big Lots & Dollar Tree Haul

When nouveaucheap posted that there were sightings of China Glaze, Zoya, and OPI and even Essie at Big Lots, I knew I had to hightail it over there ASAP. There is only one big lots around me (a few more if I'm willing to travel a bit) and I had never even thought of looking there for makeup! I didn't realize that they have actual brands, not knockoffs or cheap no-names. They have nice brands there! For CHEAP! 

Unfortunately in my venture I did not find any Zoya, China Glaze, or Essie. But the trip was not a bust! I still got all these great products!

First I found this lovely emerald shade of nail polish by Julie G cosmetics called *****. I have also seen this brand be called Jesse's girl so I really don't know which to call it. The packaging says Julie G, though, so we'll go with that.I have seen lots of bloggers talk about this brand but since it is only sold in Rite Aid and online, I figured I would not be seeing it anytime soon. There are no Rite Aids around me and I am not one to order online very often (this is usually because I am broke) . When I saw this shade for only a dollar I couldn't pass it up! 

I have since used it on my nails and can definitely say that I am pleased with the formula so far!

 

I have never tried any magnetic nail polishes before. But for $1.60 who can resist? I figured it was worth trying!

 

I have had one experience with "shatter" or "crackle" nails and let me just say, it was not a good one. I was not impressed at all. However when I saw this OPI Nicki Minaj **** polish for only $1.80 I had to snatch it! I am a sucker for a good deal. I am hoping the effect works, and it's cool to have a novelty polish like a Nicki Minaj one.

I got another magnetic polish, this time from Sinful Colors. Mostly what drew me to this was the pattern it has...unfortunately, I didn't realize until I got home that it didn't come with the magnet! I am still going to try using the Sally Hanson magnet, but it won't give it the same pattern it has on the tag :(

So that was my haul from Big Lots. 

Luckily (unluckily for my wallet) there is a Dollar Tree right next to my Big Lots...so of course I had to stop in! and I found more goodies there!

This is my favorite find. It's a gorgeous purple with gold shimmering purple glitter in it. It's beautiful, and it looks great on the nails! It is Milani brand which I have never tried and it is the shade totally cool . That it is, Milani. That it is.

 

I'll admit this was a little of a goofy buy. I don't have any hope whatsoever for the polish in there, but I couldn't pass up those cute little stencils, for only a dollar. 

This is another fun color called Treasure Island by LA colors. Another brand I've never tried but I really liked the color so I hope the formula is nice!

I picked up Elf's shimmering facial whip in lilac petals and I think it might be a little to pinky to work as a highlighter for me. I haven't tried it on my face yet though!

That's it for my dollar tree haul but I have ONE more item that I found at CVS on clearance. I know that most people don't like or prefer black lipstick of any kind but I am really into the vamp-y kind of look.  I got this lipgloss for only 1 dollar and some change!

Rimmel Stay glossy in black

Ignore the extreme closeup of my lips. But here is the gloss on my lips alone, without anything underneath. 

This is layered on top of Urban Decay's sellout. As you can tell I layered the product a bit more this time. It tends to pool at the edges so maybe a lipliner would help prevent this?

This is the gloss layered on top of CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain in Saucy Plum 450

I layered it over this because it's darker and I felt would accent the black more. It's still spotty in places as you can tell on my upper lip.

The 3 lip products next to each other for comparison (sans flash)

I am still searching for a true black lipstick or gloss. They all seem to be spotty and sheer at best. The search continues! But for a buck and some change, I'm not complaining.

I advise everyone to go to their nearest Big Lots and see if they can score any high-end polishes for the low! Let me know in the comments if you found anything good at your local one!

Follow your bliss,

Ember Darling

Birthday Haul

As I mentioned in my previous post, I just had a birthday! (let's not talk about how I'm getting old)

One thing that I am ecstatic about is the gift(s) that I received from my boyfriend's family. They are usually pretty good at giving gifts but this one blew all others out of the water! It's like my bf's mom knew exactly what I needed. 

So without further ado, here is all the goodies! I can't wait to try them all out! Expect some reviews in the near future!

First up we have the Onyx quick dry spray. I have only seen this in salons. I've mentioned before how I NEED to use Seche Vite because I ALWAYS mess up my nails before they are dry. Hopefully this spray will help out!! After reading the ingredients I will be sure to wash my hands after every application..yuck!

 Starting from the left we have a product that I have been in (lazy) search of for a while! the Sally Hanson manicure corrector. As you can probably tell from my pictures, I have issues with coloring outside the lines..I can't WAIT to try this product (in fact, I plan to tonight! and I will let everyone know how it is!). Second is the Sally Hanson Cuticle eraser+ balm. Alright, I've got a confession. I SUCK at taking care of my cuticles. It was one of those things that never even occurred to me until I started beauty blogging and realized that I really do need to start taking care of mine. So along with the eraser, there is also Sally Hanson Instant cuticle remover...very interested in trying these products so that I can have a more professional looking manicure!

 For makeup my boyfriend (and you guys!) know that I have been lusting after the Naked palette but I have yet to be able to afford it. Well, my boyfriend's mom was really sweet and ended up looking up online some dupes! and she found this physician's formula Nude palette. I don't know if it's an exact dupe but I'm still pretty excited to try it out and see how it looks! She also got me some Milani eyeshadow primer. I'll admit I don't know much about the Milani brand, and I don't own anything from it. I don't know how the primer will work but since I'm almost out of Urban Decay Primer Potion, I am excited to have something else to use.

I am excited for a new Sally Hanson base/top coat...my Seche Vite base coat broke, so I have been using Rimmel and I am not all that impressed. We'll see how the Sally Hanson brand holds up! Last but not least is a package of Nail rock nail caviar. I have never heard of this brand but I am interested in the caviar trend! this will be my first foray into the world of 3D manicures!! 

As you can see I was slightly spoiled! I am so thankful that my boyfriend's family treats me as one of their own. I can't wait to try each of these products and share the results with all of you!

Follow your bliss,

Ember Darling

*Disney Inspired* Snow White Nails!

I have a confession to make: I am obsessed with Disney.

In fact, I have an annual pass to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.

I go as often as possible, and love to do my nails a new way each time I go. 

So today I bring you my Snow White nails. I was inspired by Pinterest (aren't we all?) I no longer have the inspiration picture but I think you can get what I was going for. 

These aren't perfect. I don't think I've posted manicure pictures yet but you will soon see that I am definitely in the learning curve right now. I have virtually no skill when it comes to nails. Actually, the majority of the problem is in waiting for them to dry. I literally always mess them up. I even use Seche Vite fast drying top coat -and those suckers dry fast-and they still get banged up. It's basically a lost cause. 

As you can see, my fingers are inspired by her dress, and my thumbs are apples! 

Here are all the products I used for this look! On the top is the Sinful Colors nail art polish I got from Dollar Tree in My Day. From left to right- Seche Vite fast drying top coat, Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby, Revlon Nail art expressionist in Night & Degas, Sinful colors in Unicorn, Sinful Colors in Irish Green, Sally Hanson Instadri in Blue By (also from Dollar Tree), and Rimmel Basecoat/topcoat pro (I use as a base coat because my Seche Vite basecoat broke)

I will say that I was unsatisfied with Sinful Colors Unicorn. It was super streaky and had visible nail line after 3 thin coats. Luckily it didn't matter for this manicure since I was painting the ends. 

Here are some pictures of me meeting Snow White and showing her my nails! She quite liked them.

Any other Disney lovers out there? Have you ever done any Disney inspired nails? Would love to hear from you :)

Follow your bliss (especially if it leads you to Disney World),

Ember Darling

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