Recent Purchases – Bits and Bobs

I think it’s been a decent amount of time since my last haul and I’ve been slowly gathering things here and there. This is all spread up over May and some were purchased by my boyfriend.

First are some clothing and accessories. I got three pairs of shorts this month and a pair of jeans.
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I got really good deals on these! The top two shorts were from AE and we got them at 40% off over Memorial day weekend. The bottom pair is a $12 pair from F21 and the jeans were purchased with a 35% off coupon!

I also picked up a leopard print button down for $13 and a cute jean shirt that I’ve been wanting.
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And then I picked up some bandeaus from AE at 40% off to go under tops and tanks with big arm holes.
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I also picked up two bright purses.
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I sat on this blue one for a while, since March I think. I never bought it because suede material always scares me because it’s hard to clean but I love the structure and color and I finally gave in!
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This neon pink one was a love at first sight. I love how its a play on the classic quilted shape but the material makes it very causal. I’m not quite sure what material this is, it feels like a windbreaker type of fabric if that makes sense.

I also picked up this cute little wallet from Target.
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I’ve been lazy lately and I’ve only been using card holders or wristlets but now I want to get back into wallets again so I got this one because my old one is from 2 years ago.

And then I only picked up one piece of jewelry.
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I just feel like on my last haul I picked up all the jewelry pieces that I wanted and haven’t been able to find anything I liked more since but this necklace is something I’ve been looking for and I really like that one blingy accent ring. I do wish the sizes didn’t get bigger at the bottom but I compromised because it was only $7.

I also hauled a bit of makeup this month.
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First I picked up this Dior Blush that I could not get out of my mind.
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In the pan it’s the most beautiful pink and right up my alley but apparently it adjusts to you ph and moistures levels so the color looks different on everyone and on me it looks red which I don’t like. I’m still deciding on this one because I love it but I can’t use it if it continues to look red on me. My skin is not light or dark enough to pull off red blush.

I also picked up a blush from the new Hey Sailor Collection.
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It is the only thing I got from that collection. I wanted more because I like the limited edition packaging but I’m not really interested in any of the stuff from that collection, only the blushes and bronzers. I wanted a lipstick so badly but of the four released, I only liked the red and orange and I dont need another red or orange. I bought this blush because I’m currently really into very light blushes right now and this one is a really pretty flush on my skin. I didn’t get any bronzers because I was just overwhelmed at how many there were.

I also picked up a NARS eyeshadow duo in Charade.
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I really love the purple-taupe color and the soft brown rose color. They’re perfect for everyday wear and I plan to pick up some more duos when I go back.

I also picked up a MUFE rouge artist natural lipstick in 41.
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It looks quite bright in the picture but on the lips it’s softer and more muted. These lipsticks are super creamy and comfortable on the lips. I really like the formula so I plan on picking up a few more. I’ve already found a light pink and a hot pink one that I want.

This past month I also dropped by the CCO and picked up a few things. These are not all CCO discounted stuff. I got two creamsheens.
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Five lipglasses.
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I really love pink lemonade. It’s a coraly orange color that looks really cute for summer.

And then I picked up three lipsticks.
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I am slowly, but surely building my Mac lipstick collection.

From Target I picked a few beauty and misc. items. I got two brushes, an elf powder brush that I love for foundation and powder products and a Sonia kashuk synthetic buffing brush that I used a coupon for.
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The elf one is always a no fail for me and I use it for so many purposes that I picked up another. I probably have 5-6 of them. The Sonia Kashuk one is great for foundation so far. It’s very soft and dense.

I also picked up my first waterproof mascara in a long time.
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It’s probably been years since I’ve bought one but lately my lashes have really been bothering me the way one side stays up and one doesn’t so I thought I’d try to see if waterproof will help the droopy side 🙂 So far, I don’t like the way it applies as much as the regular one. I feel like it’s not as volumnizing as the normal one.

Also, Target now has those great BOGOFree deals with some of the salon/ higher end hair products so I picked up this hair mask that I’ve been meaning to try.
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I love the smell of it but I’ve only used it once so far so I can’t much say how it performs yet.

And finally I picked up some misc. stuff from Target. I just love Target.
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Bonus: I bought scissors!
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And that is all for my very long long haul!


Recent Purchases 4/9/2012 Haul-iday Weekend

This is quickly becoming a trend. More hauling coming your way. Like I said in my last haul, this past weekend was crazy chocked full of sales so I had to take advantage. I told you guys about the 20% off Ulta haul but it actually didnt start until Friday which is when I went. We had a whole day of shopping planned and I planned my makeup purchases carefully because of the sale and I’m trying to cut back on buying makeup and buy more clothes.

So first I went to ulta to use my coupon and I got a lot less than I originally planned. I did pick up a lot of polishes though. Here is my entire Ulta Stash for the day.
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First, I got something I’ve been wanting for a long time, Essie’s Matte top coat.
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It’s so awesome! I totally missed out on the matte collections so I’m glad I found this baby for an instant muted nail look! It’s originally $10 but I got it for $8 with my coupon.

Next I got an OPI polish in Samoan sand which I’ve also been wanting.
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It’s a light soft brown nude color that’s lighter than my skin but opaque.

And then I picked up Orly’s Cotton Candy.
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It’s a cotton candy pink with a coral undertone, super cute!

I also had a bit of a decision dilemma at the Essie display. I originally intended to go in for Essie’s Van d’go but when I put it up against my nail with the Orly swatch of prelude to a kiss that I bought in my last haul, it looked identical so I ended up not getting it and instead getting Haute as hello which is actually the tone of orange creamsicle that I thought van d’go was going to look like.
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I don’t know, I still want to see more Van d’go swatches before I completely let it go as an exact dupe for my orly one.

For my last polish, I picked up a Revlon one for dirt cheap. This is in Sweet Tart.
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Revlon was 40% off plus my 20% so The polish was something like $2.30. This is probably my favorite of the bunch because I’ve been wanting a bright Barbie hot pink and this fits the bill.

Since Revlon and Nyx were 40% off as well I picked up a few other things. I picked up a Revlon colorstay foundation in True beige.
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I’m trying this color for the first time. I haven’t quite found my perfect shade yet from this line. Currently I have two that are too light and one in natural tan that is too dark. It made my face look muddy rather than a nice tan color. I wore this foundation yesterday and it actually matches me quite well. My cheeks are still lighter than the shade but it evens out my skin tone in such a way that it matches my neck perfectly. I think this might be the closest to my shade I can find.

I also picked up a Revlon concealer stick in light medium.
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I’m trying this for the first time as well. I wanted another concealer because I have a makeup bag that I like to keep multiples of and my undereye concealer in there is running low so I wanted another one. On my vanity I use Maybellene’s sponge tip one and I really like it but mine recently cracked at where you turn it to bring up more product so I didn’t want to get another one in case the same thing happens because it is currently a pain to get my concealer out every morning. And of course this one was on sale. This is actually quite nice and creamy. I tend to like stick concealers better than liquid cause they’re just more manageable. And as an undereye concealer, the color’s perfect.

Nyx was also 40% off so I picked up three things. I got a lipstick in blush.
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This is actually a really pretty color and the perfect bright pink shade. It’s sort of like my MAC Nicki Minaj but not so matte and bright. This one is more wearable but still a nice bright pink.

I also picked up another jumbo eye pencil in a grey silver shade called pots and pans which I think is such a cute name.
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I haven’t used it yet but I always like this little guys. I just use them as bases for when I need my shadow to pop.

Then finally I picked up a matte lip cream in Tokyo.
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I don’t know what’s going on with the bottom sticker, I didn’t even notice when I picked this up. I’ve tried this, it’s lighter than I like but I’ll probably keep it because there will be times when I want a lighter lip color. As far as the feel and texture goes, I’m not completely sold on it. I didn’t love it like I thought I would. I still prefer a lipstick or gloss.

Then Of course when we went to the mall I picked up a few more things. I went to Sephora to use my 15% off coupon and I got the Smashbox brow tech in taupe.
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I wanted to get this at Ulta with my 20% but they didn’t have any and I was literately out of my brow pencil on my vanity. I had to use my pencil from my makeup bag everyday and then put it back. Don’t let the name Taupe fool you though it’s not ashy or grey or anything. It just looks brown to me. This is actually my favorite brow product I’ve ever tried because I love the shape of the tip. It works so well to draw and this product is waterproof! I really wanted to try the Tarte waterproof pencil too but it’s one of those with a tiny tip and I don’t literately want to draw my browns in. I want to color them and tint them with a pencil and this Smashbox one is really good for that. I’ve noticed it’s always out at Sephoras and Ulta though so either they’re phasing it out or people just love it as much as I do. It’s originally $26 but I got it for something like $22 which is still pricey for a pencil but I have ridiculously thin light brows naturally so it’s worth it to not look browless.

I also dropped my MAC to pick up some things from the new Tres Cheek and Reel Sexy collection but lo and behold, it was all sold out! This is after one day of the release date! I was only able to pick up one thing from the collections. It was a blush from the Tres Cheek collection in Peony Petal.
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Luckily for me it was one of the two that I wanted. The other one was the light orange in Immortal Flower. I’m still on the hunt for it. This color though is so pretty! It’s a light lilac pink shade that I’ve been wanting. I wore it yesterday and it was still on my cheeks after about 11 hours so that’s awesome. I also picked up a lipgloss.
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And that is all for makeup. I also picked up a few other things at the mall. First I got some great accessories. My highlight find of the day is this starfish wrap ring from H&M!
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It’s a little big but it was such a great last minute find cause I’ve been googling this type of ring and it’s been coming up in the $50 price range which is too much. I’m so glad I found this. It was about $4 I think.

I also picked up a pair of men’s aviators from H&M because I like my shades to be really big.
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I picked up some bracelets from F21.
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This one is just nice for spring and summer.
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And these are going to be for stacking.

I also picked up this pink one for stacking but I didn’t even look at the sizes and now I’m stuck with one that’s too big. I don’t remember F21 having bracelet sizes. Now I need to be more careful.
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This one I can only wear at the bottom of the stack or it will fall off my hand.

And then I picked up three little short necklaces. These were super cheap and will be cute for simple outfits.
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As far as clothes go, I didn’t find a whole lot but I did get some nice things. I got a pair of magenta pink pants and some neon pink shorts.
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Then I picked up two t-shirts in light heathery grey and dark heathery grey.
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I also found a thin chiffon type top that will be great over tanks this summer.
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It kind of has a blazer feel but it’s not structured and it’s really thin so it won’t be too hot to wear.

I also got a polish from F21 that I forgot to post in my last haul. It’s a neon yellow glow in the dark color.
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I tested it out this weekend when we went out for Xti’s birthday and it did sort of glow. Here’s how I wore it.
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That’s it for my haul. I’m certain I’ll be hauling more. I just haven’t finished my spring shopping yet.


Recent Purchases – Love is in the Air

I don’t shop too much these days but over a few weeks I do pick up things here and there. First, my favorite buy!

Nicki Minaj Viva Glam lipstick!
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I waited so long to pick this up and rushed out to get it as soon as it hit stores! I have been wanting a non-shiny bright pink lipstick for so long! It’s a satin finish so it looks sort of matte which is really cute with this color. I tried my best to edit the picture to show what the lipstick really looks like in person but my lip swatch is still a little lighter than what it looks like. It should be brighter and less milky.

I also stopped by Sephora and picked up three things, two lippies and a Bobbie Brown concealer.
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First let’s talk about the concealer. This is the second time I’ve exchanged it because of the color now and I’m finally satisfied. I kept having to go back because the two previous colors were too dark for me. My skin is lighter on my cheeks and jaw than on my forehead so the colors never matched perfectly because I kept going for darker colors. I think I had natural tan and natural before and now I have warm biege which is the perfect match. I realized that I need to start picking lighter concealers because the majority of my concealing is on my cheeks.

Ok now onto the good stuff! First I got a Sephora lipstick in the beautiful fushia color!
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It’s the color R11 Love test and it’s so pretty! I don’t have any other colors like it. My Nars Schiap is sort of in the same hot pink color category but this is is less of a hot pink and more of a almost purple tone. I actually discovered this color why waiting for my boyfriend to get a haircut at the salon. I was browsing through a february issue of some magazine and came upon a model with this color on for an article about valentines makeup looks. So of course I texted myself the color and pulled out the text as soon as I got into a sephora 🙂

I also picked up my very first YSL rouge volupte in number 26 Tender Peach.
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It’s not really a peach, its more of a nude. I love the feel of these lipsticks, they’re super rich and creamy and apply like a cream paste rather than a lipstick. And the color payoff is great but the color selection at Sephora didn’t really stand out to me. If I want to start collecting these I would have to look for more colors because the only other colors I liked at Sephora were Opera Rose and Red taboo.

I also picked up some accessories over a few trips to the mall.
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I got this ring from Forever 21 and it’s so cute! It makes me feel like doing battle!

I picked up this lime green neon wallet from Target a few weeks ago.
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I’m planning to use this as a clutch instead because something this cute needs to be showcased not shoved into a purse!

I picked up this purse from F21 in anticipation for spring.
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I love that it’s classy and orange. I also love that’s softly structured and not so boxy.

And then I picked up this necklace from H&M along with some other goodies.
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They were still doing the buy one get one free so I picked these two pieces up.
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I love the peter pan neck on the black top and the scallop bottom! I also love the classic pink color detail on the white button down.

Bonus:
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A Valentines post will be coming up on how I celebrated with my friends!


[ ♡ ] Mini Mall Trip Haul – 12/11/11 Sephora & F21

I must seem like I’m hauling like crazy but I’m really not, it’s just the season is presenting me with all these sales and coupons! So I got this free $20 gift certificate from Sephora so I went to the mall to redeem it because it was going to expire soon. I also picked up a few Christmas gifts as well but won’t be showing those just in case. But first I went to F21 and picked up a few things:

All cosmetics and jewelry were 30% off so I got this little pouch. Turns out this was part of the sale too so that was a good deal. And I also bought a little nail set because I needed the tiny scissors in there to trim the hair around my dog’s eyes so she can see and I didn’t want to use big scissors because I didn’t want to accidentally poke her.

Some leopard print mary janes on sale:

A little yellow tag scarf that just reminded me so much of Christmas:

A bracelet for New years:

And then some random cheapy scrubbing tool and a shower cap:

Now onto Sephora. I used my little coupon and also returned my Laura Mercier Face Polish for this new Philosophy Microdelivery exfoliator.

So far it’s ok. I’ve used it twice now and I plan to use it Sundays and Wednesdays in place of my cleanser. It’s sort a gelly consistency and it’s got tiny beads in it that you can’t see when you push the product out. It exfoliates well and I like the way it’s working so far but the only thing I don’t like is the smell. It’s got a sort of weird manufactured smell to it and that’s just so odd because philosophy is famous for their yummy smelling body washes. I guess it’s good because you’re not supposed to put fragrances on your face and I can stand it well enough for now so it’s not a huge deal. I’ll continue using it. I do like it more than the Laura Mercier one though.

I also got a mini straightening iron in hot pink.


I have this forehead sweating issue (I know gross.) When it gets hot, my forehead sweats like everyone else but the problem is in how my hair responds. If I have hair on my forehead which I almost always do, once it touches sweat or moisture it goes crazy and decides to frizz up and wave and do all sorts of crazy things so I’m planning to carry this baby with me in the summer to do touch ups.

I also got three more things, one for my birthday and two using my gift certificate:

I got a little bottle of philosophy’s birthday cake body wash which I love! It smells like you’re rubbing vanilla cake all over you and vanilla cake is my favorite!

Then I got a Fresh Sugar Lip treatment balm:

It’s the brown packaging but it’s just the clear one because I plan on using this as a balm under my lipsticks and glosses. I think I’ve talked about this before about how I get allergic reactions to lip products from certain brands like Maybellene and Covergirl so I’m always iffy about trying new lip products. I also have super dry lips that always crack, especially under lipstick so I’ve tried tons of balms and moisturizers. I usually use a tube of vasaline cherry which works well to quickly moisturize but it doesn’t last long so I’ve decided to try more expensive treatments to see if they’ll work. This Fresh Sugar one is the first one I’ve tried that’s over $7 and so far I’m loving it. It really keeps my lips moisturized and it smells so good, like lemons! Problem is I don’t know how well it’s penetrating my lips because I feel like its forming a thin layer of film over lips as it protects rather than going into my lips to protect. Again, I have to test it out a little longer to see how I’ll feel about it. If I do like it I’ll probably go out and get the mini set of 3 so I can throw them in my purse and office.

Lastly, I got something I’m super excited about!


I’ve been in search of a new cream based concealer for general spot concealing but I haven’t found a color to match my skintone perfectly and I think I’ve found a close one with this Bobbi Brown creamy concealer. I got it in Natural Tan and it blends in perfectly with my skin if I’m not wearing foundation. The problem is if I wear foundation, you can see it’s a little bit tanner than my color. But blended out it looks fine so I’m glad I got this. I’m still searching for a heavier coverage concealer in my skin tone because on my cheek I’ve got this tiny blue vein that you can kind of see and I want to find something to cover it.

Ok so that’s it for my hauling over the weekend!

♡ PaNhia


[ ♡ ] LA (2) Haul – Beauty

I told myself I’d go for new experiences this time and not for shopping and I thought I was sticking to my resolution pretty well and then I got home and realized I still bought a lot of things. So again, I have to split my LA haul into parts. The first part is beauty. I didn’t go NYX crazy this time, in fact, I didn’t buy a single NYX.

First, I got a tweezer from F21. I just bought this one because I like the wide part at the bottom for picking up and putting on lashes and I only have one other wide tweezer so I thought I’d buy one to keep in my makeup bag for on the road lash applications. Not the most flattering design but it was either this or polka dots (which I hate) or rhinestones (which I can tolerate but still don’t like much.)

Then I got this little foundation mixing dish from little tokyo to mix my two colorstay shades:

I also got some hair stuff from F21. First, a comb set and I just got it because I couldn’t resist the color! Its just such a cute shade of pinky purple!

I also got this Betsey Johnsonesque brush that I again, could not resist. I don’t even brush my hair much but it was such a cute pink!

I also got some nail covers from faceshop to keep things from touching your nail and protect your nails while drying.

And then I went to santee alley and did some damage. I got a set of nail dotting tools:

Some nail stickers

And 12 klean color polishes. I was iffy last time about buying santee alley polishes but then the salon we went to had this brand and my cousins actually chose this brand for their nails and it turned out really nice so I thought I’d try some. They were 12 for $8. What a deal! When I get a chance I’ll put them all on a wheel so you can see their quality.

I chose this silvery black because I only have a black and no variations.


Next is a sort of shimmery dark green. I was thinking ahead to st. pattys 2012 lol.


Then I chose this salmon colored called sheer peach.


I also got an ivory champagne type of color in sandstone.


Then this next color I got because it was the exact color my cousin chose for her salon manicure and it looks so awesome and metallic on her nails that I had to get it! Two coats made her nails look like gel nails.


Then I got this sheer pink, I don’t know why. Lighting in my room is definitely not the same as in the store lol.


I also chose this next color because its awesome! It’s another black but with gold infused glitters! I saw this as a new years nail once and never forgot it.


Then I got another pinky shade.


I got this really pretty dark tone red /plum color that I’d actually really like for a cardigan lol.


Another more plain wine tone color.


I got a neutral orange tone one.


Lastly, I got this redish orange tone one.


And of course I stocked up on lashes. I bought maybe 40 pairs 🙂 I’ll post those up in a separate post but here is a shot of my newly organized lash drawer.

Whew! That was a lot. Next post featuring fashion & accessories.

♡ PaNhia