(mini) Sephora Haul!

I have a whole bunch of excuses ready as to why I placed this Sephora order. It was my birthday (month...), I got my tax return, I really wanted one of the new Bite lipsticks. All of them are 100% valid because I'm trying not to guilt myself for shopping! I kept the bill in check, at least.

First up is Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner. A repurchase! I love this stuff. It isn't a replacement for a good brush washing, but it's perfect for spot cleaning when there's a brush you really need and it's already been used. This is my favorite spot cleaner by far - I've tried a couple and none measure up to Cinema Secrets. 

Bite Beauty recently pulled their Luminous Creme lipsticks to much disappointment. However, they then dropped an entirely new line! I picked up the new Amuse Bouche lipstick in Pickled Ginger. As soon as I saw swatches on their instagram I knew I needed it, since I live for bright, pink leaning corals. When swatched, the formula felt smooth and creamy, and had great pigmentation. I can't wait to wear it!

After receiving Burberry Light Glow blush in Cameo for Christmas (which I haven't reviewed because I'm actually the laziest AND the worst), I knew I wanted another blush in the Burberry Light Glow formula. After poring over the shades, I wound up with Earthy. I was lucky it was in stock, as it has been out of stock ever since I started lusting after it (...on December 26th.) It's a beautiful light pinky brown. Since I'm on the lighter side, the pink shows up a bit more when applied, but just barely. It blends out like a dream, and is not powdery in the slightest.

A new beautyblender was in order as well, since it had been well over six months since I replaced mine. With daily use, it gets pretty grungy. It may seem like a boring item, but I'm super excited to have a newly squishy sponge to bounce on my face each morning. 

I also used a promo code for a 3 pack of Dr. Dennis Gross Extra Strength Alpha Beta Peel Pads. These things are so expensive to actually buy, with a box of just five being $16. I think I've used this code like four times now, since I really like the product but don't want to drop the cash on actually buying it. Maybe during the next sale. Maybe.

I'm sure I'll come up with more excuses to pick up some more goodies soon. (Easter?) Have you picked up anything cool lately?

May 2015 Favorites!

Happy June! Time to list out my favorites from the month of May. I've decided to start doing my own shots for the favorites post, so I can include indies and what have you. I used to just cobble together a picture in paint, but no more! Now we're fancy.

1. Cinema Secrets Brush Cleanser - I raved about this a few weeks ago where I showed how great it was at degunking my nasty concealer brush. I reach for this almost daily, it's a total godsend in between brush cleanings. I've recommended it a lot to people as well, the little spritzer bottle is so handy. It definitely is now a staple on my vanity, and I'll be repurchasing it once I'm out!
2. Bdellium Tools 777 Bambu Brush - I picked this up at the Bdellium booth at IMATS earlier this year. I wanted a synthetic brush to use with my Colourpop shadows, since I wasn't enjoying needing to use my fingers, and my natural hair brushes weren't cutting it. This brush is great! It picks up cream products really well, and deposits them and is even able to blend a little bit. This is one of my first of three Bdellium brushes, and I really want to pick up another few.
3. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin - Okay, I know this is a super popular eyeshadow, but I've been reaching for it a lot lately. I destashed my Naked palette, and I repurchased this eyeshadow single since it was the only one I really missed. It's a great all over one eyeshadow look shade, a perfect champagne beige. I didn't do a full review because there's honestly a review everywhere for this. Urban Decay has a great shimmer formula.
4. Arcana Jabberwocking perfume oil - Ever since I got a full bottle, this has been my go to in between reviewing new scents. I was iffy on it when I first reviewed it but it has definitely grown on me! The freshness of the musk mixed with the chai and ginger is just really speaking to me right now as spring is racing into summer. It sucks this is LE, but I'd rather use this up than Fluffing the Bunny aka The Precious.
5. Hello Waffle blush in Blush Honey - This is a blush that I've had for a while, sent to me by the lovely Jamie of After the 9 to 5. Christine from Hello Waffle managed to make a beautiful neutral matte blush reminiscent of NARS Douceur. I reach for this whenever I can't be bothered to think of a blush to go with a look, and it ties my look together perfectly every time.

Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner!

So I wanted to pick up Cinema Secrets brush cleaner during the Sephora sale, but of course it was sold out. When I saw it came back in stock, I jumped on the chance to pick it up! I try my best to wash my brushes once a week, but some of my brushes get more nasty more quickly than others. I tried to remedy this by buying extras of my most used brushed (Zoeva Concealer Buffer, Hakuhodo J5523) but nothing beats a nice, clean brush. Cinema Secrets is supposedly one of the items that the big bad pros use between clients on their brushes to keep everything clean and sanitized, so why not keep a bottle on my vanity?

To test this stuff out, I decided to clean up one of my concealer brushes. These are easily the gunkiest of my brushes, since the concealer I use is a a thicker consistency (NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer.) The brush pictured has about four days of concealer yuckiness built up. The directions say to spray the brush while holding it 1-2 inches from the spray nozzle and rotate to be sure you get the whole brush. Wipe it off on a clean tissue, and then wait for the brush to dry.

My brush looks great! I don't think anything replaces a good deep cleaning, which I intend to keep doing, but I think this will be great for mid week de-gunking (look at that before shot...urgh.) 

Look how much concealer was in that brush!! I also cleaned up one of my fluffy blending brushes, the brush I use for swatching (oh god the amount of stuff in that brush...) and the base shadow brush I use daily - all looked great! When the brush is dry, it also smells like vanilla.

The spray bottle is 2 ounces, and is $8 at Sephora. You can also get bigger sizes of this, and there are instructions available for dunking and swishing your yucky brushes around, too!