Matte Lipstick Review

Matte lipsticks have become super popular lately. There are not only lots of brands to choose from, but they also come at many price points.  I tried out the following three different brands:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick $20

Bite Matte Creme Lip Crayon $24

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip $6

Here's the scoop (from left to right):

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Spicy (beautiful bright orange)

It has a thick, pasty formula. On the lips it's moderately drying.  The color payoff is pretty good and it's easy to layer.

Bite Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Framboise (bright berry color) and Blood Orange (pinkish orange)

They are smooth with a creamy application and formula. They are also very comfortable on the lips and are easy to layer.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Teeny Tiny (mauvey, brownish nude) and Lumiere 2 (pinkish nude)

The formula is watery, but drys quickly. Unfortunately it is very drying and uncomfortable on the lips. They are also hard to layer.

Regardless of the brand you choose, it is very important to exfoliate your lips before using matte lipsticks.  I highly recommend the Fresh Sugar Lip Polish. It's made out of natural ingredients that smell yummy!

Sephora VIB Rouge

Happy Thanksgiving, yall!  There's so much to be thankful for.  One of the many things I'm thankful for is all the goodies I've been getting from Sephora since I became a "Rouge" member.

I have apparently spent a small fortune at Sephora over the last 12 months, thus elevating my status past VIB level.  Besides the shiny new rewards card, I also got a beautiful red lipstick (which is super moisturizing and beautiful).  Please excuse the scrubs and bonnet, I'm on call.  As a Rougie (my own word), I also get FREE shipping, gifts, and free makeovers.  In fact, I was doing some Christmas shopping at Sephora yesterday and got a bag full of goodies, just because!  Free goodies are great since I decided to start saving for a house :)  What's your beauty addiction?

Obligatory neglected blog post

I have neglected my blog.  It been a long, long time since I've written.  I have so many ideas and goals for this blog but have not had the time to post them.  Why?  Because I was studying for my anesthesia oral boards.  It's the last test I will have to take for the next 10 years.  Yes, 10 years!!!! Whew.  Thank God I passed.

Holy Grails for under $10

As I was getting ready I thought about all the beloved products I use on a daily or almost daily basis. These are holy grail (HG) products or the “gold standard” by which all other products are judged by.  I learned about these products through friends, YouTube, or by chance.  Many of them are extremely affordable and easily available (for those in the US).  Here are ten of them under $10:

Blistex Daily Conditioning Treatment $2.49

Neutrogena Blotting Sheets $5.97

Neutragena Makeup Remover $5.99 

The Body Shop Detangling Comb $7.00

Maybelline Define-A-Brow $7.99

NYX lipgloss $5.50

Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Palettes $4.99

Milani Liquid Eyeliner $7.49

Essie Nail Polish $7.79

EOS Hand Cream $4.39

Let me know if you have tried any of these or are planning on try them.

I love TJ Maxx (post #1)

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a puppy and that I love to shop a TJ Maxx (it would be a dream come true to be a buyer for TJ Maxx).  Anyway, browsing the aisles of TJ Maxx is the ultimate retail therapy for me.  Every visit is unique.  There are so many treasures to be discovered.  I finally broke down and bought an iPad.  I quickly discovered that an iPad needs a cover.  And a good one at that.  The ones at the Apple store were too expensive and uninteresting for my frugal tastes.  So I ordered one on Amazon. Big mistake.  It was cheap, cheap looking and cheap feeling.  So imagine my surprise when I came across this beauty at TJ Maxx:

Alas, it was $99.99.  I was sad because I felt it was overpriced, despite it being marked down from a whopping $198.00, real leather and made by Rebecca Minkoff.  So I walked on by.  Foolish pride.  I thought about it every time my iPad almost fell out of my cheap-o-rama case.  Every time I had to take my iPad out the case to charge it because there weren't convenient charging slots...yeah.

On a random visit to TJ Maxx with my little brother (a fellow Maxxinisto), I came across the case again.  This time it was on clearance for $79.00.  Yes!!! That's 61% off the original price and 20% off the original TJ Maxx price.  I was sold.

Da-da-da-da-da-dut dut-da TJ Maxx!!!

Multiple Streams of Income

At the beginning of 2013 I began hearing about creating multiple streams of income.  A quick Google search led me to a variety of blogs and websites that gave ideas about creating other sources of income.  Some were very vague and some very specific.  Nonetheless it got me thinking about expanding my one, lonely stream.  I just so happen to be employed by a group that has a non-compete clause.  At first I viewed this as a obstacle.  Later, I realized that this is a prime opportunity for me to think outside the box.  Here are a a few ways to start creating fresh new streams of income:

The Internet 
Fill out surveys
Sell stuff on Ebay, Amazon, or Etsy
Write an Ebook
Teach an online course

Real Life
Mystery shopping
Personal shopper
Teach a weekend course
Medical writing
Tutor

These are just a few ideas that my brain + Google came up with.
In the words of Jay Z, this is "food for thought, you do the dishes"

Saving Money With Rewards Programs

American Express, Ulta and Sephora

What do the three of these have in common?

Besides amassing large portions of my monthly income, they have amazing points programs.   First, let’s start with American Express (AMEX).  For $40 a year you can earn points on your purchases.  The point dollar ratio is one to one.  Things add up quickly and before you know it you can buy gift cards, beauty items, and vacations.  You can even buy MAC and items from Sephora using Shop AMEX.  Yes, the circle of life continues!  I try to charge as many items of my daily life to my AMEX as possible.  As long as my charges are paid off by my next statement there are no interest fees.  The other day I received a $50 Flemings gift card “just because”.  Flemings just so happens to be my favorite steakhouse.  It also made up for the yearly points program fee.  Yay, American Express!

Now onto Ulta and Sephora.  Both stores sell makeup and I am part of their loyalty points programs.  Ulta sells beauty and hair products that range from drugstore (i.e. Maybelline and NYX) to high end brands (i.e. NARS and Ole Herikson).  For the frequent shooper, Ulta has a platinum points system that allows you to keep your points forever.  These glorious points allow you to get money off purchases and salon services.  Ulta has weekly coupons that sometimes give you double and triple points.  Sha-bang!

Sephora has the infamous VIB.  After spending a certain amount as a "beauty insider" you can become a VIB.  It’s the crème de la crème of point levels.  You earn extra discounts off purchases and get to carry a shiny card.  Points from Sephora also allows you to choose amazing samples (as pictured above). 

The next time you go shopping, ask if there are any loyalty reward programs where you shop.  And pay with your AMEX.  You’ll get awesome deals.

Happy shopping!