{Sephora Favorites} Lash Stash To Go

I love trying new mascaras, but nothing bothers me for than spending money on a product that I think is going to be fantastic... Just be disappointed.  Insert the Lash Stash To Go, a Sephora promotion I swear by and what I believe to be the best value for high end mascara you can find!

"Lashstash To Go [retails for $30CDN and] includes five beloved, must-try mascaras for thicker-looking, voluminous, and perfectly separated lashes. From the ultranourishing, to the long-wearing, and from the multidimensional to the blackest black, each luxurious formula builds voluptuous perfection. Try them all, pick your favorite, and then bring the enclosed voucher to your local Sephora store to redeem for a full-size version."

Too Faced Better Than Sex "An intensely black, volumizing mascara with an hourglass-shaped brush that separates, coats, and curls each lash to voluptuous perfection"
This is my second mini tube of this mascara and it is one of my all time favorites.  I actually went in to buy a full size version when I found the Lash Stash instead.  The wand has an hourglass shape that creates thick, beautiful, black, voluminous lashes and builds really easily. Retail: $30.00

Lancome Hypnose Drama "The ultimate instant-volume mascara for lash drama."
Hypnose Drama is also a volumizing mascara but I found it to have a very wet formula.  The wand is curved and tapered which makes application on those itty bitty lashes easy, but also messy if you're not careful.  The color is "excessive black" and that it is!  Perfect for thick, dramatic, voluminous lashes.  Retail: $31.50

Blinc Inc. Mascara "The famous pioneering, tube-technology water-resistant mascara."

I can honestly say that this is my least favorite mascara out of the five.  I found it messy to apply and apposed to tubing individual lashes, it gripped small bundles and tubed them all together which gave me a look as if I had applied mascara and then cried immediately after.   Plus, in order to remove it I ended up literally pulling tubes off of my lashes.  Which I did not like!  Retail: $30.00

Bare Minerals Lash Domination  "A do-it-all mascara for larger-than-life lashes."
This is the only mascara in the collection with a plastic wand, which I don't usually gravitate towards.  The wand is chubby and twisted in it making it perfect for the "twist in blink" application method and getting close to the root of you lash.     Retail: $23.00

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes "A lengthening, curling, volumizing, and conditioning mascara."
This is a great go- to mascara.  I wouldn't say it gives incredible length but a good combination of subtle length and full buildable volume.  A deluxe sample this size retails for $12.00 Full size retail: $24.00

I can honestly say it's been a really long time since I've owned any full size mascara.  I guess I would rather have five minis than one full size!  I find that deluxe samples last a really long time and considering that mascara is supposed to go bad after three months they're the perfect size to allow you to use up the product before it gets sticky or dries up!

I am still undecided but will probably opt for a full size of Better Than Sex or Lights, Camera, Lashes when I'm ready to redeem my voucher.  The best part is it doesn't expire- just make sure you don't lose it!

  Have you tried any of the mascaras included in the Lash Stash To Go?  

Is this a promotion you'd be interested in? 

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xoxo

8 Useful Ways to Reuse Sample Pots

Talking about depotting lipstick last week got me thinking about other ways that you could reuse little jars you get from Sephora, MAC, or any other cosmetic counter.  When I have used all the product I always clean mine out using water, makeup remover and a Q-tip, then I reuse them for a variety of different things.  

1. Get more use out of those "single use" foil packets:  this is my favorite way to recycle sample pots.  Often times when you get a foil sample there is enough product for more than just a single use but after opening it it just gets thrown away. Transfer the remaining product into a small jar and you'll be able to prevent it from drying out before you use it again.  I did this with the Urban Decay "Primer Potion" samples that came with my Naked3 palette and I've been using them quite regularly since Christmas - there's a lot of product in there! 
2. Travelling: instead of bringing a whole bottle of concealer or foundation pump the amount you need into a pot- they should hold enough concealer for a week or more and foundation for a weekend.  This will not only free up space in your bag but also make it lighter!
3. Similar to this, if you're one who likes to carry some makeup with you on-the-go, instead of constantly putting products in/ taking them out of your purse just keep a small pot in there permanently and refill it as you need.  Or, what I like to do is keep small amounts of products at my boyfriends house so whenever I'm over there I don't need to worry about remembering my daily makeup/ skincare products.  
4. Customizing shades: I love this.  I sometimes mix a liquid highlighter directly into my foundation or concealer so I once again reuse my baby sample pots instead of doing this on the back of my hand and wasting product.  What's great about this is if you're really creative you could mix  lipgloss/ lipstick to customize your look, and you can do the same with loose pigments. 
5. Speaking of lip products, you can always depot your lipstick!
6. Make your own samples to share with friends/ family. 
7. They make great mini pill boxes to stash in your purse, car, or for travel.
8. And finally, for those DIY Queens out there- they are the perfect container for home-made lip balms!

Is this something you already do? What are the ways you reuse your sample pots?

 Happy Tuesday everybody!

February Faves

Happy Friday ya'll!

I've been looking forward to writing this because I feel like I've tried so many great things lately that I wanted to share.  It was actually a challenge to narrow it down to a manageable sized list.  Here are five of the products I've been using this month- almost all of which have become an everyday part of my beauty routine!

...these are a few of my favorite things

1. This month was a great for concealers because I actually found two that I've been using like crazy.  I found the perfect under eye concealer- I honestly don't know why it took me so long to try it because I know I'm not the first one to rave about it but the MAC Pro Longwear (NC20) is everything you've ever heard about it and then some.  I'm a full time student, and a part time employee so I don't always have enough time as I would like for my "beauty sleep." This concealer is great for not only concealing my under eye circles but highlighting as well making me appear more awake then I usually am.  If you're a little unsure for whatever reason go to your local MAC counter and ask for a sample!  The samples they give you last quite a long time (long enough to get hooked) This is what I did and I ended up going back for the full sized product immediately.

2. I discovered another concealer recently that I haven't heard anyone talk about- which is the Sephora collection "8 HR Wear Perfect Cover Concealer." I bought mine in the shade 26 medium peach.  I love this for covering random spot blemishes and reducing redness that I tend to have around my nose.  The blend-ability of this product is flawless! I used my BB and it buffs right in.

3. Speaking of the BB... Let's just take a minute to appreciate the Beauty Blender Solid Cleanser. It was recommended to me by a Sephora sales associate when I initially bought my Beauty Blender- but I passed on it at first because I figured soap is soap. Right? Nope. I starting using just regular Ivory soap and I found it left that grimy soap scum feel on my sponge. I would not recommend it.  However when I finally caved and bought it I discovered this solid soap is amazing! You just swirl your sponge into the bar and massage your BB until its residue free.  I also cleaned my other brushes with it and its incredibly simple to just swirl a wet brush on the surface of the soap and rinse it out.  It cut my cleaning time in half! Amazing.

4.  I had been eyeing up the Too Faced Better than Sex mascara (mainly because the gorgeous rose gold packaging) but was really hesitant to spend $30CDN on a mascara I'd never tried before.  When I looked into it it's reviews were kind of all over the place so I went to Sephora looking to see if it was possible to buy a sample size but instead I found a "Beauty Blogger Favorites" little promo pack filled with samples of all the most popular Too Faced products (for less than the cost of just the mascara!) The pack included the mascara, their Chocolate Soleil Bronzer (Medium/Dark), their "Primed and Poreless" primer, and "Shadow Insurance".  While I haven't had the chance to play with either primer I am loving the mascara- it does exactly as it claims and makes my lashes thick and voluminous- plus I'm in love with the hourglass shaped brush. I read reviews that said they thought it was clumpy but I promise it's not.  I like to apply one coat of the Better Than Sex and then one coat of Benefit's "They're Real" to get the best of volume and length. Holy lashes batman!

What was even more exciting (and unexpected) for me was that I loved the bronzer too! I normally lean towards more shimmery bronzers so the matte finish was different than anything I already had.  Initially I hated the chocolate smell but after using it a couple times I find myself reaching for this more than my NARS Laguna bronzer (usually my go-to)! I even love the smell now and the shade (medium/dark) is perfect- I use it for an everyday contour and also as a crease color when I'm in a rush for a quick and easy natural eye look.  If you've been wondering about any of these products I highly recommend this set- the primer samples are small but the price is worth it for the mascara and bronzer alone!

5. Finally, if you follow me on Instagram you know I went a little crazy this month at MAC so not surprisingly my last favorite is another MAC product.  I first saw a swatch of their "Nymphette Lipglass" on Pinterest and fell in love.  It's a pinky-peach shade with golden shimmer in it (the MAC website describes it as a "sunny golden pink").  I've been wearing the hell out of it- sometimes on it's own but mostly layered over top of lipstick.  It makes a killer combo with Fabby Frost lipstick (which is a very similar color but Nymphette seems to just give it that extra oomph it needs) but my all time favorite lip combo is Nymphette layered over Coral Bliss.  The combination of the coral and the pink is perfection.

Have you tried any great products lately?