Jan Marini Holiday Sale

You might be able to tell from my blog that Jan Marini is my favorite skincare line.  It's the only skincare I've ever tried that I can tell an immediately difference in my skin, like miracle difference in my skin from the first use.  I don't know how it's so amazing; I just know that it is.  It's pricey, but it's worth it.

I just received a 20% off code.  This stuff never usually goes on sale, so it's a deal!

Here's the promo code: HOLIDAY20. Valid Nov 25 through Dec 6.

If you're trying to decide what to try, the Transformation Face Cream moisturizer is my everyone should be using this product.  I also like their Bioglycolic Cleanser, Bioglycolic Bioclear Cream or Lotion, and their Bioglycolic Body Cleanser (first thing that's ever truly helped with the little bumps on my elbows).

What 15 Items Would be in Your Essential Make-up Kit?

I saw this question on Temptalia today, and I thought I'd share my answers.  The question is what 15 items would bein your essential make-up kit?  This excludes skin care, fragrance, and hair care.  Just make-up.  Here's mine:

1. Dolce &Gabanna Perfect Luminous Foundation in Classic
2. Bobbi Brown Setting Powder in Porcelain
3. Revlon Powder Blush in 03 Blushed (discontinued but my HG blush and this is my dream list)
4. Hourglass Hidden Concealer in Fair
5. Almay Get Up and Grow Mascara in Brown
6. YSL Golden Gloss in 02 Praline
7. YSL Glossy Stain in 04 Mauve
8. Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper in Blonde
9. Benefit Rockateur Blush
10. Bobbi Brown Navy and Nude Eyeshadow Palette
11. Bobbi Brown Rich Chocolate Eyeshadow Palette
12. Stila Liquid Eyeliner in Brown
13. Em Cosmetics Highlight and Contour Stick in Fair
14. Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Sandy Gold
15. Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Stone

If we were doing skincare, my can't live without are:
1. Jan Marini Transformation Face Cream
2. Jan Marini Bioglycolic Cleanser
3. Jan Marini Bioglycolic Bioclear Serum
4. Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream
5. Caudalie Cleansing Milk (I use it as a gentle eye make-up remover)
6. Jan Marini Bioglycolic Body Scrub

Hair
1. Aveda Blue Malva Shampoo
2. Aveda Smooth Infusion Conditioner
3. Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-in Conditioner
4. Aveda Phomollient Styling Foam
5. Aveda Glossening Straightner

Fragrance
1. Prada Candy L'eau--I honestly think I could be happy with this for the rest of my life if I had to.

Urban Decay Sephora 500 Point Perk

Trying to decide what to do with 500 points in the Sephora Beauty Inside Program?  How about the Urban Decay perk?

It comes with travel sizes of the vitamin prep spray, make-up setting spray, anti-aging eye primer, and a sample size eyeshadow in Mushroom.

As far as free things go, I think this set is pretty nice.  I find a lot of the points perks not worth spending points on.  The Dior one looks cheap to me, but this one has four items I will actually use, and seems worth the 500 points to me.

The only part I'm disappointed in is that the eyeshadow is so tiny.  If you look at the outside of the box or even before you open the eyeshadow, it looks like it's a normal Urban Decay eyeshadow size, just thinner.  But it's actually only a small dot of shadow.  There's still plenty to use, but that's about the size of a brush, so it's going to be hard to get on the brush.  I'm a little disappointed in that.

The above picture is a swatch of Urban Decay Mushroom on my pale skin.  I actually really like the color.  I was worried it would be too dark on this pale girl, but I think it will make a beautiful eyeshadow on me.

SirenPrincess Beauty Rating:  B+

Disclaimer:  I received this product for free with the use of points.

Ipsy November 2013

I'm finally off the waitlist for Ipsy!  Here's my first bag, the November 2013 bag.

This month's bag is all about glam.  The bag itself is a gold snakeskin-like bag with a hot pink zipper.  It's sort of cute, but not something I personally will be using.

The products I received are:

EM Cosmetics lash gallery mascara volumizing mascara in Brown--Okay, I have mascara sensitivities and would turn it off if I could, but I'll try it.  I'm still always on the lookout for one that will work for me.  And I actually LIKE brown mascara.  Considering how pale I am and that I have blond lashes, I consider brown more everyday mascara for me.  I'd also pick volumizing over lengthening, so this is a good pick for me as long as it doesn't bother my eye allergies.
UPDATE--This mascara is actually good for my sensitive eyes!  Only minor irritation, which is good for me.  The brown looks plenty dark and blackish on me.  The formula, however, does nothing for my eyes.  It seemed really hard to get on.  Maybe it's the brush.  If you don't have mascara sensitivities, you can find something that will work a lot better.

Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in Shameless--The formula is nice, but the color is magenta.  I suppose it could be worse, but this color is too bold for me.

Nailtini in Champagne--Will go to a friend or a traveling box. I don't use nail polish because I get mine done with gel manicures at the salon.  This is a very beautiful color, though, and if I used nail polish, I would love this.

Pixi Bronzer--This is a very LIGHT bronzer with a bit of sparkle.  It's just right for a touch of sun for pale girls.  I like this but wish it didn't have the sparkle.

Star looks gem eye pencil in Topaz--I hate eye pencils and this one is silver, SILVER.  I would never wear silver eyeliner unless it was for like Halloween or Cos play maybe.  This will be going in a traveling box.

BH Cosmetics Galaxy Eyeshadow Sample in Asteroid--I was so excited for this one as I love eyeshadow.  Opening the box, though, the color is woah, bold and different.  It's like a copper with blue veining.  Not something I would ever purchase.  But it doesn't seem to swatch that crazy.  I'll try it.  I'm a little bit excited to try it.
UPDATE--I actually love this eyeshadow!  It turns into a bit of a shiny taupe when you apply it.  If you pat it on, it looks a bit more silvery-blue but not really blue.  If you brush it through, though, it's more of a brown taupe.  It's not coppery on my eyes at all.  More like a slightly lighter and more brown version of Urban Decay Mushroom.  It really is a very pretty color on my eyes.

I have to keep reminding myself that this bag was only $10 compared with my Wantable box which is $36. So really I only have to like ONE product to make it worth it.  I still really wish I had more options to customize this.  My bag had a lot of bold color choices I'd never wear, some items I know I'd never use.  That being said, I am excited to try to the EM mascara, the Pixi bronzer, and the crazy-colored eyeshadow.  The fun factor alone of the surprise and seeing what you get is worth the $10 for me.  But I do wish I'd gotten the Neptune eyeshadow and the Amethyst eyeliner.  Oh well.

SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: B

Disclaimer:  I paid for this bag with my own money

Ipsy Referral Link: http://www.ipsy.com/r/2dsy

Darla Eyeshadow

I have a new favorite easy eyeshadow.  LadyKorana and I both got Darla eyeshadows in our October Wantable boxes, and we both agree that they are super easy to use.  Just dot your finger on the shadow, rub it on your eye, and you're done.  And it looks great on!

I got one in Baby Dot (left) and my friend got hers in Rolled Oats (right).  I have to say that I got the better color, but they are both nice. They do blend together well too.  I definitely recommend this brand.

Promo Code: Use SAVE25 to get 25% off your next purchase at DarlaMakeup.com.

SirenPrincessBeauty Rating: A

Disclaimer:  I bought this and my friend bought hers as part of a subscription box.

Thierry Mugler Angel

Are there any perfumes you hate, hate, hate?  Mine is Thierry Mugler Angel.  In theory, I should like this perfume.  It's in the same category as ones I love like Dior Hypnotic Poison.  I like warm spicy perfumes in general.  But this one just turns to something awful on me.  It smells like a mix of tobacco, spice, and dirt.  There is zero sweetness whatsoever.

I'm thinking it might just be my body chemistry.  I have a friend who loves this one.  And it's supposed to have a cloying sweetness to it with notes I would like such as chocolate, caramel, honey, vanilla, and cotton candy with musk and amber.  These are all things I like.  The patchouli just greatly overpowers everything on me.  I can handle mild patchouli like in Katy Perry's Killer Queen, but this is just so intense and ... nasty!

I really wanted to love this.  The lovely folks at Thierry Mugler were kind enough to send me samples.  They really were so nice when I asked.  And I like Alien.  I should like the notes of this.  But even when I tried to wash it off, I washed and washed and washed and could not get the stink off of me.  I guess that's good news if you like this fragrance and are looking for something that lasts a really long time.

Thierry Mugler Angel available at Nordstrom's for $79 for 0.8 oz.

SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: F

Disclaimer--A free sample of this product was provided to me by the company when I contacted them as a consumer interested in their product.

Do you have any perfumes you hate?  Tell me about them!  What's your take on Angel?  Love it?  Hate it?  Tell me.

LadyKorana's October Wantable Box

My best friend LadyKorana sent me a picture of her October Wantable box so you can see how different people get different things.  She loves eyeshadow, lips, nails, tools and likes eyeliner and blush.  We have similar coloring, but she likes some brighter-colored eyeshadows than me and has her nail polish turned on.  Here's what she got:

A Japonesque smudger eyeshadow brush--My friend Esdee got this in her Oct box too, but I did not.

Darla eyeshadow in Rolled Oats--I also got a Darla eyeshadow but a different color.  Esdee didn't get one of these.

A loose powder blush--I don't know anyone else who got this.

A Rainbow Honey glitter nail polish in Koi Pond--I don't know anyone else who got this.

A Manna Kadar Lip Gloss in Lip Candy--LadyKorana got a long-wear one where I got a regular one and she got a different color.

A Skiin sample firming lotion--everyone got this.

Here's a close-up of a couple of her favorite items from September and October:

Sephora VIB Sale 20% Off

It's that time of year.  Sephora's having a 20% off sale for VIB and Rouge members.  You should have received a coupon in the mail if you're VIB.  If you are VIB and did not receive your coupon, you can use the code VIBTOPIA online to get your 20% off and a free tote bag.  The code can be used as many times as you'd like.

If you're not VIB, I have 1 and only 1 share with a friend coupon I can send.  I'm going to be sharing this coupon with 1 lucky reader.  The first person to leave a comment with their e-mail address gets it!  It's good for a one-time use of 20% off.

I went Thursday for makeovers with my mother.  We went Christmas shopping for each other and had a wonderful time.  My Sephora did give a few samples in their bags too.  Not a ton, but some. The store was packed but they also had a ton of employees there and they were all super excited and friendly.  Wonderful shopping experience!

Did you shop the VIB sale?  Online or in store?  How was your experience?  What did you get?

Botrytis Ginestet

I purchased a sample size of Botrytis Ginestet from Luckyscent for $4.  Again, this is one I should like the notes of but was disappointed in.  The notes are honey, fruit, amber, quince, gingerbread, grapes, and white flowers.  It actually smells very vanilla to me and not too much honey.  I like vanilla notes, so that's fine.  But the dry down is very medicinal to me.  If you're looking for a honey-scented perfume, I'd stick with Marc Jacobs Honey.

SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: C

Disclaimer--I purchased a sample size of this product with my own money.