About Me: Tag!

The gorgeous Tink at Casual Lavish tagged me! So without further ado:

Six Unimportant things/habits/quirks about myself:

1. I sleep a lot, from about 12:30am-1:00pm (about 12 hours) every night. I know it probably isn't good for me, but I can't help it :(

2. As much as I rave about finding places with good return policies, I've only returned/exchanged two pieces of makeup in my entire life.

3. If I could be any person or animal (or person/animal), I'd want to be a mermaid.

4. One of my favorite types of food is Dim Sum, so much so that I named my cat after one of the dumplings, Shumai.

5. I don't ever really dream about winning the lottery for some reason.

6. The one item I can't be without at all times is my cell phone. Even when I'm at home I keep it by my side, just in case.

And I tag the blogs: Daily Dose of Coffee, Beauty Girl Musings, Fabu-Less Beauty, Some Dance to Remember Some Dance to Forget, Beauty's Spot, and Phantom Goddess's Beauty Obsessions.

Check Out The Beauty of Life!

I'm so excited to be featured on one of my favorite blogs, The Beauty of Life. Jamie is super sweet and put an interview with me on First Look Fridays. Check out the interview here! And please don't forget to keep reading The Beauty of Life, it is a great blog with tons of tips, first looks, and even a section called Wallet-Friendly Wednesdays (my favorite).

Haul: 3/28/08

I'm finally posting the haul from the Gilroy Estee Lauder and Lancome Outlets! Check out the picture above while I go over what I got.

The first stop was the Estee Lauder Cosmetic Company Outlet. There were many MAC items there like brush sets, fluidlines, lipglasses, lipsticks, and one or two pigments and an eyeshadow. There was tons of Estee Lauder, with some Clinique and Bobbi Brown (I almost bought the two shimmerbricks there). Nothing much caught my eye there besides two MAC lipsticks, one in Lure and one in Sashimi Mimi, and a fluidline in Royal Wink (a gorgeous royal blue). I bought those three items and paid $10 for each lipstick and $10.25 for the fluidline.

When I got to the Lancome outlet, I was amazed. The prices were so good there! They had sale tables of things for only $15, like an 8 pan palette full of coordinating shadow or the Lancome Destiny Cube thing that everyone raved about in the fall. I got a three pack of Juicy Tubes for $15, which comes out to $5 a Juicy Tube! I also bought my first Shu Uemura makeup items. The shadows were 2 for $10, which is like $5 for a shadow that was originally $20! I bought 6 of them. Also, for $7.50 with purchase I got a Shu Uemura makeup bag packed with full sized lipstick, lipgloss, and lip liner. Totally worth the trip, and lucky for me there is a Lancome outlet closer to home that I might go back and visit! If you have any cosmetics outlets near you, go!

Note From Me: Reminders

Sorry todays post is a boring one, but it must be done!

1. If you leave me a comment, I will do my best to get back to you. I usually respond to everyone who comments, either in the post they commented on (usually below theirs) or back on your blog if you have one. If you do not have one, look back on the post where you commented, a reply will usually be there. I try to get to every comment, but sometimes I miss a few.

2. I will be starting a new section called Worth the Splurge. I know that this blog is dedicated to inexpensive cosmetics, but if I find something that is a really good value or really worth the money, I will let you know. These posts will be found under the Try This tag.

3. Please take the time to join my contest and you may win 10 brand-new full sized makeup items! If you promote me at even one place, you still have a shot at winning. I have only had a few entries so far, so your chances are good. Remember that you must e-mail me (kgraulty@gmail.com) the locations of where you linked my blog in order to qualify. This contest ends March 31st, so please continue to participate. Check here for complete list of rules and a list of what you can win!

Haul: 3/15/08-3/16/08

I hauled this weekend, but this time I hauled discontinued makeup from TJMaxx, Marshalls and Nordstrom Rack. I love those places, it can be a great way to get makeup, but always check the packaging to make sure nothings broken (I had to exchange a shattered blush) and no one swiped anything with their fingers, because usually there is a lot of that. Also, be sure you like the product, because if you use it and you don't, you may not be able to return it.


Anyway, I picked up 3 Too Faced Blush Duos that I love, I'm going to get the fourth later. Each were $6.97 from Nordstrom Rack. I also got a Too Faced Glamor Gloss for $3.99 and a Too Faced Good Girl Bad Girl palette for only $7.99 from TJMaxx. For $12.99 I got a one ounce Hilary Duff With Love Perfume (Marshalls). I love those purchases and am glad I made them.

As for the other stuff, well... I have no opinion on Kimora Lee Simmons, I don't like her or dislike her. I found some of her makeup for dirt ($2.99) cheap at TJMaxx and bought a bunch. I like the packaging, to some it may seem tacky, but I don't care, I like what I like. What I am worried about is the products themselves. I have yet to find a thorough review of this makeup. It is mostly either, 'I hate her, so the makeup sucks' or 'I love her, it rocks'. I don't care if you hate/love her, I just want to know about the makeup! I am afraid to try it, because if I use it I can't return it, but I want to try it because it might be great. I think I'll just try it and if it isn't good I'll take the hit. So if it sucks/rocks I'll let you know!

Haul: 3/2/08

I love weekends, because every Sunday you get new ads for drugstore cosmetics. And Saturdays are great days to catch the deals you found the previous Sunday. Here is my super deal filled weekend haul.



On Saturday I picked up 2 HIP shadows for $6.99.
Later that day I picked up 2 more for $6.99.
On Sunday I got 2 HIP Liquid Lip Colors for $11.49,
a Loreal Voluminous mascara with free HIP shadow for $7.49
and two Rimmel lipsticks for $3 (on clearance then buy one get one free).

I got 5 shadows, 4 lip things, and one mascara for around 36 bucks. That comes out to like $3.60 a product!

I will post many new reviews, looks, etc. using these products this week. I already know I'll be going back for more buy one get one HIP Liquid Lip Colors!

Haul and Review: Eyes Lips Face

I just got an order I placed on the E.L.F. website, and boy am I excited! Along with a few brushes, I got these!


They are E.L.F.'s Candy Shop Lip Glosses ($1) and E.L.F.'s new Duo Eye Shadow Creams ($1). I was most excited about the lip glosses, so I tried those first. The packaging is super cute, and you get a lot of product for only $1. Though they all smelled like the flavor on their package, some were stronger than others. Mocha Maniac and Berry Pop were the strongest smelling out of all of them, the rest were kind of light. The levels of glitter varied between them as well. Cherry Bomb had no shimmer, Mocha Maniac, Frosting Fanatic, and Candy Fix had a shimmer to them, and Berry Pop, Melon Mayhem, and Coconut Crazed had more pronounced glitter. All were creamy, moisturizing, and had a slight shine to them. The shine wasn't glass like, but it was there. The glosses tasted sweet, but with no particular flavor. Though they look like they have color in the tin, there was not much tint to my highly pigmented lips. Some went on clear. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Berry Pop because the smell is strong and the color
tints my lips the best. I have yet to try the Duo Eye Shadow Creams, but look for a review of those in the near future.

P.S: My Valentines Day was great! My fiance/date took me to an Italian restaurant and got me a box of See's and some MAC cosmetics! For my makeup I went with a smokey taupe eye with thick cat eye liner, bronzed cheeks, and a rose colored lip. I wasn't able to get a picture, I was running late for the reservation :( Oh well, it was still a fabulous day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope it ends up a good one! My Valentines Day is going great because I am now a part of Total Beauty. Check me out on Blogs We Love, along with several other great blogs. While your there, review a few products or pick up some great beauty tips. You won't regret it! Check out the link above or button on the left of the page.

About Me: My Stash Pt. 4: Brushes

Before we get to the brushes there will be a quick detour through eyelashes and glitter. Here are some fun eyelashes that I haven't used, some regular ones I have used and glitter, mostly Tony and Tina.



Now for brushes. We have here my less expensive brushes, my E.L.F., a few Ulta and my Sonia Kashuk brushes (the set in pink).



Here are my other brush sets, with my Lancome brushes, Too Faced Teddy Bear Hair brushes and kabuki, Lola brushes, and an appearance by my Beauty Blender Sponge (the hot pink egg).



And last, but not least we have my MAC Special Edition brush sets, and my Sephora Brand Prestige Brush Set.



It has occurred to me that my Shu eyelash curler is not in any picture. I love it just as much as all the things pictured though. Oh, well! I hope you enjoyed looking at my makeup. I enjoyed organizing it all, as painful as it was sometimes. Now that it is all over, I'm going out to buy more!

About Me: My Stash Pt. 3: Lips

And I will continue on with the lips portion. Unfortunately, my camera decided to be evil, and a few picture are blurry. The colors are still visible though.

First I have the boring yet very important lip liners. They are mostly Wet n Wild and MAC, a few others.



Next are lip balms, again, boring, but it gets better.



Lip plumper, both high and low end. To tell you the truth, half of them don't plump, just make my lips tingle.



All of my squeeze lip glosses are on display. I have a lot of Victoria Secret Beauty Rushes and Bath and Body Works Liplicious, with a few Color Juices and Juicy Tubes thrown in. See I told you it would get better!



Now for my other lip glosses, including Stila Lip Glazes (all unused so far) Urban Decay Lip Gunks, and Wet n Wild MegaSlicks.



Here are misc. MAC lip products, mostly Lip Glasses.



Here are lipsticks, from NYC to Lancome, with Victoria Secret, Wet n Wild, Sephora, Rimmel and NYX in between.



And my favorite, my MAC lipstick collection. 30+ lipsticks with more on the way soon.



Oh, and here are some lip palettes.


Tomorrow, to finish everything off, I will show you my brush collection. Then it is back to your regularly scheduled Budget Beauty Loving. Yay!

About Me: My Stash Pt. 2: Eyes

Continuing with pictures of my stash, I've moved on to the eye group.

First up we have mascaras, lash glitters, shadow transformers, and brow kits. Surprisingly, only two of the mascaras have been opened.



Next we have bases, MAC Paints and Shadesticks, UDPP, Wet n Wild Cream Shadows, and Loreal bases.



Here are all my liners, high and low end, from cream to glitter.



My NYX shadow, trio, pearl, and palette collection.



Misc. drugstore shadows, the palette with the colored stripes is Jane, by the way.



Wet n Wild, Milani and Hip shadows.



Loose eyeshadow, including my favorite Jesse's Girl stuff.



My MAC shadows, quads, and pigments.



Misc. higher end shadows, Stila, Urban Decay (in the 4-pan palettes as well), Pout, Lancome and lots in between.



Mixed media (shadow, blush, gloss) palettes. Hard Candy Punk and Princess Palettes, Sugar Storybook, Iman palette, and Eyeko palette.



Hope you enjoy this photo filled post. Next up is lips!

About Me: My Stash Pt. 1: Face

I'm about to embark on a crazy, confusing, and frustrating adventure. I'm going to update and organize my makeup stash. On the way, I thought I would share some pictures. Here is Part 1, all face products.

First up we have all my foundation, powder, mineral makeup, primers, and foundation mix ins.



Next we have my MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes, Pearlizers, and Cream Color Bases.



We now have my Nars blushes, Stila Convertible Colors, Tarte Cheek Stains, Smashbox...things, Lancome and Bourjois blush, and an Eyeko Fat Balm.



Last are my NYX blushes, Wet n Wild 3 in1s, Wet n Wild bronzer, Hip bronzer and highlighter, and Revlon Floral Affair blushes.



Stay tuned next time for the eye products!

Haul 2/1/08

I got a chance to go to the Ulta Friends and Family Sale last night from 9pm-10pm. I got an Urban Decay Primer Potion, two Stila Shadows in Barefoot Contessa and Golightly, two Stila Shadow Pots, a Stila Convertible Color in Petunia, and a L.A.M.B. Perfume all at 40% off! The Neutrogena Wave Refills were at 25% off! If you have a chance to go to this sale tonight (the last day) at 9p.m.-10p.m, go! You will get 40% off high end cosmetics and 25% off mass (drugstore cosmetics. You will need the name of someone who works there, plus their store number, but those can be found on certain message boards and other blogs. (I do not want to give out other people's information without their permission, so I can't tell you anyone's name on this blog). Can't make it to Ulta? Try going to Nordstrom Rack. (You do not need anything special to get in). I found Tarte Smooth Operator there, originaly $35, marked down to $13.97. I found a $28 Tarte Cheek Stain for $9.97 and a Pout Eyeshadow Duo for $6.97. My location had tons of DuWop, Tarte, and hard to find Pout. Some people have claimed to see Too Faced stuff there. You can get tons of high end makeup for drugstore prices!

About Me: Beauty Quiz

I never really got around to posting anything about myself. While I'm sure I will go into an in depth about me someday, here is a short little beauty quiz I found online. It might give you some insight into...well, me. Feel free to fill it out and comment back!

What five beauty products could you not live without?
Translucent power, mascara, lip gloss, tweezers, and cleanser.

What’s the worst beauty mistake you’ve made?
Too orange foundation. And eyeliner gaps. Ugh.

What’s your skincare regime consist of?
I use my Neutrogena Wave every day and my Lush Ocean Salt occasionally. I tone with Lush Tea Tree Water and moisturize with Lush Imperialis.

Favorite beauty treat?
Eyebrow waxing, which I currently cannot afford.

What’s your favorite beauty store?
Sephora, for having a huge range of cosmetics and for hiring the fiancé over the winter holidays.

Favorite budget brand?
Right now it is NYX because of the huge range of eye shadow.

Favorite premium brands?
MAC for having a lot of new things to love every month, and Stila because it is my new brand obsession.

And what about skin care: favorite premium and budget brands?
See skincare routine. Though I don’t think Lush is premium…

And hair care?
I jump around from Lush to Bath and Body Works to Yes to Carrots.

What’s your ‘every girl must own one’ item?
Wax/Powder brow set. I love mine to death.

And finally, best beauty tip?
You can never have too much confidence or red lipstick!