I WON!! Thank you ANNE DI @BEAUTYBITTEN!!

If you know me pretty well, you'd know I have the suckiest luck a lot of the times. I am blessed in countless ways, but I was also cursed with poor luck. LOL.

When +Anne | beautybitten put out a giveaway on her snapchat yummiebitez, I entered thinking I would never win. I've been an avid YouTube watcher for years, entering numerous giveaways of my favorite YouTubers and never winning. But your chances are zero if you don't give it a shot, right?

The prize was the new Benefit Cosmetics Brow Kits. She was giving away two of the Soft and Natural kits and two of the Defined & Refined kits.

I entered Anne's giveaway. A day or two later, she was announcing the four winners on her snapchat. The first winner was not me. The second winner was not me. The third winner was not me. What were the chances of me being the fourth winner?

LO AND BEHOLD she said my YouTube name. Ya'll don't even know how crazy excitedly I shrieked. I have a naturally soft tone to my voice and was heard

rooms away ;)

My package came in the mail today! I was crazy crazy excited! 

I quickly opened it and was so surprised. Even though I saw her snapchat of her packaging the prizes, it was still so surprising and exciting to see it live. She is so thoughtful putting a lot of effort and creativity and love into her packaging. 

When I first opened the package <3

WHY HELLO THERE!

She even snuck in extra goodies. I love mini notepads for my to-do lists! <3

Tips & tricks + the tin kit. Digging the packaging so far

HOW BEAUTIFUL!! Totally beauty drooling <3

The back of the tin (blurry, sorry. Lighting was not in my favor)

The contents:

- Mini BROWVO! Conditioning Primer

- Full size Precisely, My Brow - Brow Filling Pencil

- Full size High Brow Highlight & Lift Pencil

- Mini brow mapping tool

- Tips & tricks

GAHHHH!!

Cannot wait to use these bad boys!

Moral of the story: NEVER say never. I was the Queen of Never and Queen of Bad Luck and look what happened <3

Thanks, Anne! Maraming salamat! <3

Xoxoxox

Mini Sephora VIB Sale

Happy Wednesday everyone!

We are at the middle of the week, half way to the weekend! YAAAASSS!!!!

I'm sure you have been seeing Sephora VIB hauls lately as Sephora had their VIB sale about two weeks ago. VIB-ers get 15% all purchases. Sephora does not typically have sales so people definitely go buck wild and take advantage.Who wouldn't?!

I'm kind of broke and trying to not hoard much makeup like I used to so I did not buy much.

This haul might actually be pretty boring, LOL. But a haul is a haul and I love sharing :)

Sorry for the poor, unblog like picture quality. I still haven't quite figured out how to take beautiful pictures of products. Bear with me!

Tada!!! LOL. Only four products (one not pictured) that I purchased

Benefit Hoola Zero Tanlines

I can't wait to try this. Quick backstory: I tan easily, but because I have Lupus, I can no longer be in the sun for too long. Thus, I am pasty and ghostly! I used to use tanners, but got over it because it was really smelly and took forever to dry. I will definitely post an update on this product!

Please see my review on the Lorac Island TANtalizer if you're interested on my thoughts on that.

Chloe by Chloe Eau De Parfum

I am happy to add this beauty to my collection. This is my second perfume ever! My first perfume ever was Burberry Brit Sheer. I felt like such a grown up! How beautiful is this packaging though??

(If you're curious, the fourth product I purchased was for my mom. It was also perfume: Prada Candy Kiss)

Clinique Scrub Cream + Moisturizer in travel size. 

I bought this for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas to see JLo :D I never bring proper face wash - only face wipes - so I figured this would be a great, practical buy. It was only $10 pre-15% discount.

First Aid Beauty Flawlessy Fab Skin 

This was a points perk. I have heard such great things and decided to give it a try. I also included the many samples I received. I am most excited to try the dr. brandt oxygen facial mask as well as the Caviar CC leave-in perfecter. 

That's it for my mini Sephora VIB sale haul. I hope you enjoyed :)

Xoxoxox

Ulta Haul: First-Time Products

Interesting fact about me: As much as I love makeup, beauty, and all that jazz, I am very wary of trying new face products in fear of a massive breakout...

HOWEVER, in my last trip to Ulta, I bought three never-tried-before face products. Look at me living on the edge...kinda...LOL

Rimmel London 

Fix & Perfect Pro Primer

I know, I know. I'm late to jump on this bandwagon, but I have always stayed away from primers because I did not want to add one more product to my face. When it comes to makeup, I want less on my face and more on my eyes and lips. Bold eyes are more my style. 

As I get older and as it gets hotter in our Los Angeles summer (we're going through a heatwave right now), my skin tends to get oilier faster. I know there's a Stay Matte primer, but I opted for the Fix & Perfect because I do want some fresh faced dewiness. 

I shall keep you posted on how it works out for me :)

L'Oreal Paris

Revitalift Eye Cream Moisturizer

Okay, so this isn't exactly living on the edge. I do have the regular Revitalift Moisturizer. I purchased this after reading an online article (I know, great source, lol) that said women in their mid 20s should start an anti-aging regimen. Whether this is legit or not, it prompted me to do the same. 

My mom is also a big fan of anti-aging products. Maybe I inherited it from her. When I was in high school, she bought me Estee Lauder's DayWear moisturizer which helped with anti-aging. Like mother, like daughter?

I've been using it for a week and have not noticed a difference yet. It feels like the regular moisturizer. I suppose knowing that it has a purpose is comforting enough to me at this point. 

Benefit 

The POREfessional Mini

To be honest, I didn't know what pores were until I noticed them on my ex-boyfriend's face two years ago. Haha. Then I saw them on my own face on a small patch of my cheeks by my nose. My pores, thankfully, are not big, but you can still see them when you look closely. 

I decided to try this out. I think it works? I always forget to use it and I'm not sure if it makes a big difference for me, perhaps my pores are not too big? Maybe I should try it on my ex. LOL. 

Eco Tools 

Skin Perfecting Brush

In my RIP Sigma post, I talked about my favorite face brush - Sigma F80 - being on its deathbed. Hairs were falling out in chunks. 

I decided to buy something much cheaper. I did my research and found that the Eco Tools brand was a good set and also good for the environment. So why not? The description read that it was good for BB/CC creams and tinted moisturizers, which I use on a daily basis when I step out of my home. 

My verdict: It's okay. It does get the job done. Cons: It is quite prickly which makes a smooth buffing motion difficult.

Sally Hansen

Miracle Gel in Street Flair

If you know me, I am a sucker for nail polish and even bigger sucker for muted purples. I heard great things about this nail polish and decided to give it a go. 

My verdict: LOVE! I only wore it for 3 days (instead of the usual 5 - 6) before taking it off. It was smooth and stuck on strong. I hear the Miracle Top coat does wonders to it. I'm thinking of trying that too because Ulta does sell them in a duo of a gel nail polish and top coat. I almost bought the set in store but I did not like the color in the duo. 

I just love Ulta and any makeup store really. What's going to kill my wallet is that Ulta is having a 21 Days of Beauty sales events. OH ULTA. WHYYYY +ULTA Beauty <3 

<3<3<3

Ulta Haul: 21 Days of Beauty Steals

My temptation: Anything beauty related.

My weakness: Anything beauty related...ON SALE.

So I knew that when Jerlyn Phan's (aka Makeupfreeek) video Ulta 21 Days of Beauty video went live, my credit card would be taking a blow. As much as I love beauty products, I do pride myself in being able to control myself...most of the time. Check out what's on sale here.

There was only ONE thing that I really really wanted from this Ulta sale. It was the 4oz IT'S A 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner Plus Keratin. This bad boy retails for $19.99. For me, that's expensive, especially when it's considered a drugstore product. The beauty of this Ulta sale was that if you spend $20 between March 16 and April 5, you got this IT'S A 10 leave-in conditioner for free...FOR FREE!!! I've been wanting to try this line of hair products, but never wanted to splurge. I needed a few essentials (moisturizer, toner, and concealer) that would easily add up to $25...but of course, I left with way more than that...oops.

This is what I walked away with...As you can see, I left with way more than just moisturizer and toner (they were out of stock for my concealer).

Let's first look at the products I am overly excited about:

Benefit's Hoola Bronzer. I have been wanting to purchase this for years...yes, years! But spending $28 for a bronzer just did not seem justifiable for me. Though, not too long ago, I told myself that I can buy one after I finish my current drugstore bronzer...obviously, I didn't wait. You have all seen this all over YouTube and beauty blogs. This is one of the beauty community's favorite bronzer. 

Benefit's Posie Tint and High Beam. I bought this trial size duo. Benefit was having  promo of spend $35, get a free makeup bag. This was the cheapest product that I could get that would bring me to $35. I have always wanted to try the tints so I was happy to purchase this. I gave the High Beam to my mom. 

Mally Beauty Perfect Prep Lip Scrub. I have been in the market for a lip scrub. I love lipstick, but my application gets a little bit crusty looking throughout the day (TMI?). I wanted to exfoliate for a smoother look. The sales representative showed me a lip scrub by Tarte, which I actually really liked. To my dismay, Ulta was sold out. 

Red Carpet Manicure French Tips. I saw this on clearance for $.99 so why not? The reviews on Ulta are awful. I do not have high hopes for this product. Who knows? Can't knock it til I try it.

ARDELL. Lashes. MMmm. I have been loving lashes since the first day I wore the in July 2013 for a wedding. I was a bridesmaid. That was the first time I have ever worn lashes and I have been addicted ever since. These lashes aren't as va va voom natural as I typically go for. They're just natural. I shall see and for $2, can't be the price to try.

Argan Oil of Morroco. Trial size for when I go to the Philippines in a week and a half. The weather there is so humid, my poor dry hair will need some help for hydration and protection.

The essentials:

Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer. My daily moisturizer that evens out my skin tone. I have been wearing this for years and it works for me.

Neutrogena Clear Poor Oil-Eliminating Astringent, aka toner. I use this daily at night after washing my face. 

And last but not least, my freebies!

IT'S A 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner Plus Keratin.

Benefit's Cosmetics Bag. 

Happy shopping!

<3<3<3