Vegas Haul

I think R did a swell job of popping my cherry on my behalf down below, haha.

Alike R, I love my commas.  Also, I have a tendency to make up my own words... it's pretty bad awesome.  It's to a point where I have to use spellcheck to be certain whether the word in question actually exists.  Something else is I tend to ramble and get distracted very easily.  This is a fair warning.

Recently, I was spending Christmas in Vegas, and obviously, shopped my face off.  I want to share my haul of beauty products with you.

L'OCCITANE apres-shampooing hair conditioner

I'm used to mountain wind chills, not desert crosswinds, so I was so dry the whole time.  I don't think I've ever used so much lotion and lip balm in my life!  This product was my saving grace for my super static-y hair.  I bought it at the North Outlets in a desperate attempt to help my tortured hair, and it ended up being a definite repurchase (hopefully, I can find it again. I can't seem to find it online).  It has a very light scent that reminds me of Dove shampoo, but lighter.  I've tried other leave-in conditioners in the past, but I've always found them to be too thick, so my hair ends up feeling really heavy.  This one's a bit like a light lotion for the hair.

DUO eyelash adhesive glue (Dark Tone)
ARDELL fashion lashes (124 Black)
THIS IS BIG.  I popped my false eyelash cherry in Vegas (ya, it ain't staying there)!

I found both at CVS.  My friends' girlfriends were saying how cheap was the selling price (I didn't think they were, but then I found out they're reusable).  I commented on how I've never used them before, and they insisted that I glammed it up for our Christmas dinner.  I chose the most natural (read:  non-spider) looking ones.  The instructions on both products were super easy to follow, but I took a ridiculous amount of time getting them on.  They ended up looking SUPER GORG.  I'll slave for them again when a special occasion comes up, but definitely won't be a regular thing.

NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base
This was a repurchase.  This primer works to make my eye makeup pop and last forever.  I've tried the Urban Decay ones, but have gone time to time back to this one.

SMASHBOX limitless liquid liner pen (Jet Black)
R knows this.  I have issues with eye liner.  I have an insane variety of liners, and need more eyes to wear them all.  When I don't have time to meticulously line my eyes, this is my go-to.  It's basically a thin felt tip pen with an insane point for precision.  And, when it says that it's waterproof, it actually is.  This is my third re-purchase and will continue to do so.

YSL volupte sheer candy (4 Succulent Pomegranate)
This is a dupe purchase of my (discontinued?) YSL Gloss Volupte.  Sorry, I don't remember the colour name, but it says 6 on the bottom.  It is definitely a dupe, but with more pigmentation and way bigger packaging.

It's not as moisturizing or long-lasting as the Chanel Coco Shines, but it's a super pretty glosser, and I luuuuurve reapplying it.

Hmm, It photographed more coral red.  The bullet's actually more light cherry red in real life.

TARTE amazonian clay 12-hour blush (Dollface)

Ok, so I didn't know this was the blush when I bought it... until R told me.  I think this allowed me to give a really good honest opinion about it before drinking any koolaids.

I've been meaning to replace the beloved blush (Tender Blush in 102 Pink Kiss) that's in my ancient Estee Lauder travel palette that was a part of a bonus gift years ago.  I can't seem to find the EL blush anywhere, so, pretty sure it has discontinued :(

Since then, I've been on a hunt for a perfect dupe blush.  At the Forum Shoppes' Sephora, I swatched the entire collection of amazonian clay blushes, and thought Dollface matched my skin tone best.  (I don't remember my reaction to the super-hyped Exposed, but I doubt it impressed me much since I ended up with Dollface.)

 Without Flash

With Flash

Dollface is a gorgeous neutral, nude light pink that is so flattering and natural.  I am very happy with this purchase!

MARC JACOBS Daisy rollerball

This is a repurchase.  I have ALL of the Daisys.  Yea, yea, issues, I know.  I think I'll do a post in the future with pictures of my entire collection of Daisy products...

I'm a musk base with slight fresh floral top tones type of girl.  This will always be my favourite perfume, and a rollerball just makes it easier for me to wear it on the go!

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Ok, so, since I've poured so much money in Sephora over this past year (and last year, sigh), I had a VIB 10% off your entire purchase to use for this entire purchase.  I was able to keep $9 out of the red (wooo).

I had been saving a whole lot of my points for this Vegas trip, because the rewards in Canadian Sephora stores are absolute shit.  Thanks for making us millions!  Here's some vaseline in a condom-wrapper-like package for spending hundreds!

(Yea, I've exposed myself as a Canadian.  You should've caught on to all of the additional O's in my -OURs.)

Anyway, this is my 500-point reward, a Laura Mercier package:

• Tinted Moisturizer SPF20
• Foundation Primer
• Flawless Face Polish
• Eye Basics Concealer
• Long Lash Mascara

L-R:  Eye Basics Concealer, Tinted Moisturizer, Foundation Primer

I've only tried the eye concealer so far, and it's seriously a dupe of my Chanel Correcteur Perfection (shocker!).

I think it matches me better than the Chanel one too.  I'm kind of in between the 10 and 20, and it's more yellow toned than my actual skin colour.

Only thing with this Laura Mercier one is that it dries a lot faster, so I have to sponge it quickly.  I've been dap-sponge-ing instead of my usual dap-dap-dap-sponge-all-ing.

It's half the price of Chanel, so I think I'll be repurchasing it as a dupe of Chanel!

I chose the CLEAN Cotton T-Shirt perfume as my 100-point reward:

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I went to Nordstrom at Fashion Show Mall the afternoon before my flight to look for some Deborah Lippmann boat coat, as per Princess R's request.
There, I found something for myself (of course).  I snagged their last Philosophy 'Purity Made Simple' value set.  The set was such a steal at $39!
I love love love love love the Purity facial cleanser.  I initially tried it when a huge (16 oz, maybe?) bottle was gifted to me by Sephora, during their old face products superheroes marketing promo (?) -- Anyone remember that?  A few months ago, I just purchased a 24 oz bottle.  This will be a backup weee!
I think I'm going to do an in-depth review of it when I do a facial routine post in the future.  Look out for it!

After my flight, I stopped by a Walmart, where I grabbed a pack of the Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes.  In Vegas, one of my friends gave me some to remove my Christmas makeup and DUO glue residue, and I loved it!  It was super gentle on my ultra sensitive skin, and worked great to remove all of my makeup!

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Wow, that's it!  I hope you enjoyed reading my post, as I had so much fun writing it.
If possible, please say hi and let me know what you think in the comments box - I would really appreciate it :)

Practically yours,
M.