Sephora Haul! ~Special VIB Event!

So, this last Thursday I went shopping at Sephora with my mom for this special VIB event they had going on. We got 15% off our purchases and a Sephora tote with samples! Of course, the samples were all just foil packets (I was secretly hoping for a deluxe sized or two!) but it was still nice. I didn't want to spend too much so I only picked up a few small things to try.

                                               My Julep Foot Scrub plus Some things I bought...

The first thing I bought was Coral My World! by Benefit.

It included Coralista - A "Rio" Pleasure face powder and Sun Beam highlighter.

Coralista is a shimmery pink powder that gives your face a nice glow when applied and blended.

                                                               Coralista - A "Rio" Pleasure
I tried it out on the back of my hand and it looked pretty. I think it would work nice as a blush but only if you applied it lightly. I think the shimmer could be a bit much if you apply too heavily.

                                                Unblended (Try to ignore the penguin PJs! lol)

                                                                          Blended

The Sun bean was nice too. I like the applicator for it. It's a lot like a nail polish bottle.

 

Sun Beam Applicator

 

                                                                        Unblended

                                                                           Blended

It looks very similar to the Coralista face powder when blended but with more gold undertones than pink. I think between the two I like the Sun Beam more because it blends more easily and I can use it as a highlighter (which I desperately needed).

The next thing I got was Lorac TANtalizer. It is a "body bronzing luminizer", which basically means tinted lotion. I really like this a lot! I have extremely pale skin and don't tan well so this lotion is a godsend when I want to wear tank tops without looking like Gollum/Smeagol.

I tried it out and at first I was really worried that this was not going to work for me. It came out darker than I expected.

Then, as I started to blend, my fears intensified.

                                     My Thoughts: 'Oh God! I'm going to look like Snooki with this on!'

But, fortunately, my fears were misplaced and it gave my skin a nice natural glow when fully blended in.

                                                              Ta Da! Slightly less pale!

Overall I think it was nice but I paid $12 for a small 1.52oz bottle. I'm not sure about the full size but I think it'll be a bit out of my price range!

Next up is Smith's Strawberry Lip Balm.

It has an awesome strawberry scent that reminds me of my old house (we had strawberries growing in our backyard). It works pretty well too. I tried it out and it made my lips super smooth.

Next is Watt's Up! by Benefit. I didn't actually buy this. My mom got her birthday gift from Sephora and it included this and the They're Real! mascara. She didn't want this highlighter so I was lucky enough to get it!

This is a really cute highlighter! It's shimmery,goes on smooth, and blends well.

Shimmery Light Beige

                                                                         Unblended

                                                                       Blended in

I'm a big fan of this one. : )

Last but not least, my Instant Warming Foot Scrub from Julep!

This is really cool! Granted, I've never tried a warming scrub before this one so I'm not sure if this is really that impressive or not but I like it! When you rub it into your feet it feels like you just slipped them into a warm bath for a bit and gives them some nice exfoliation.

                                                                Comes out thick....

                                                   Exfoliates and gives awesome warm feeling!
All in all, I really enjoyed my shopping trip. I picked up some new goodies to try and got some small sample packets of Sephora Super Loaded Age Defy Serum, Sephora Age Defy Moisture Cream SPF 15 Sunscreen, Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel, Sephora Perfecting Ultra-Smoothing Primer, Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation Oil-Free Brightening Moisturizer, Philosophy Hope in a Jar Moisturizer, Too Faced Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer, and Versace Bright Crystal Perfume.

Until next time!

Julep Polishes - Eva and Sienna

So a little while back I learned about the Julep Maven program but didn't think I would ever try it. I'm not really that huge into nail polish and $20 a month seemed a little steep to me. Then, a few days later I saw a deal where you could get your first box for $0.01 (plus shipping). I decided I might as well give it a try since $4.00 is really a steal for a $20 box. So I placed my order and a few days later...Voila! It came! In my box I received two polishes (Eva and Sienna) and a bottle of Instant Warming Foot Scrub (which I will review in a later post).

The polishes are really amazing colors! I especially love Eva, which is a bright pink. Sienna is a gorgeous sparkly beige color. Here is a picture of the two together:

Eva is on the left and Sienna on the right

 

I've read on other blogs that a big complaint about Julep polishes is that they chip really easily or go on streaky. Maybe I just got really good polishes but I didn't have those problems at all. I used Eva for my pedicure a week ago and still no chips. Though I did use a top coat from Ulta over it. I haven't actually used Sienna on my nails yet but I plan to soon. I thought that the polish went on really smooth and I got good coverage in just one coat.

                                                     This is what one coat of Eva looks like

                                                    One coat of Sienna

Both look absolutely gorgeous!

If you're interested in joining the Julep Maven program you can at http://www.julep.com/ or if you're feeling especially generous, you can join using my referral code at http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/153744/.

Hope your experience with them is as good as mine!

My Very First Post!

Hello! Welcome to my blog! My name is Melanie, a.k.a Empress Melanie.

In the future I will be writing about beauty finds, my travels, life, and whatever else I'm feeling like writing about at the moment. Currently I have subscriptions to Birchbox and Beauty Army so I'm hoping to write about those as I get them.

So, a little about me to get started...
I am a computer programmer, an avid reader, a gardener, an artist, a beauty addict, and a bit of a neat freak. I love trying new things and meeting new people (even though I'm a bit shy at first!). I'm a bit addicted to anything related to the Horror genre. I love movies, books, short stories, and TV shows. I don't really watch much TV but I do make some exceptions. My favorite shows are The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, and Face Off.

I'm really looking forward to writing more and seeing where this blog goes!