After I made the decision to renew VIB Rouge for 2016, I received an email from Sephora letting me know that my “Rouge Status is solid until December 31, 2017” and that I could pick up my VIB Rouge renewal gift if I haven’t already. And they showed a picture of the Nars blush that I wanted! 
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I first gained VIB Rouge status in 2013 with the inception of Sephora’s Rewards Program’s highest tier. I was really excited to see what exclusive perks were in store as a VIB Rouge and all that came with this elite level.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I absolutely love the Comforter Bubble Bar – hands down, number 1 favorite. I’m super sad they keep raising the prices, but I really love the smell, the pink, the bubbles — pretty much everything. Last time I was at LUSH, they gave me a sample of the Comforter Shower Cream but when I smelled it in store, I didn’t really care for it. Boy, was I wrong!!
On Cyber Monday, I bought a new bottle of Purity Made Simple facial Cleanser by Philosophy from Sephora. It was their $15 for 12oz. bottle; a pretty good value (although $5 more than it was in previous years).
In the checkout, I saw some super great holiday “rewards” from the Rewards Boutique for 250 points and 500 points. I know the rewards are limited quantities (did someone say Epic Rewards/ Epic Fail?), so decided to use my 3000+ points to redeem a few things.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I just completed another juice cleanse (my second), and I am feeling great! Last June I did a Jus by Julie 3-day Juice Cleanse which was alright. There were things I liked and didn’t like about the Jus by Julie, but I did enjoy the “cleanse” part and was excited when my mom told me she had a Groupon for a 3 day cleanse from Juice From The Raw.
What I liked about the Juice From The Raw (aka Juice In The Raw) is that the juices are Organic, Cold Pressed, and Raw. Yay! The Juice From the Raw 3 Day ORGANIC Juice Cleanse – Whenever Cleanse – 18 Bottles
We order the juices to arrive on Thursday for our “Weekend Cleanse”. It’s really nice to do the cleanse with someone else because you can encourage each other and support one another when you might be feeling hungry.
The juices arrived frozen in a cooler bag insider a box. Rock hard frozen. We were starting the cleanse on the Friday so I put all my juices in the refrigerator to thaw. Then realized that it wasn’t going to be enough to have Friday’s juices ready to drink in time, so I left them on the kitchen counter overnight to thaw out. Juice From the Raw recommends leaving them out until they are mostly thawed & then putting them in the fridge to thaw completely.
We each got the Forever Cleanse which I prefer because I don’t care for pineapple or other “fruity” juices that their other types of cleanses include. The Forever Cleanse has the most green juices, a Spicy Lemonade, and a Coconut Juice.
These juices aren’t numbered like other Juice Cleanse bottles are. There is a little card stock included in the box with the recommended order to drink the juices and they have it on their website.
You drink the same set of juices each of the three days:
My favorites were the Detox Greens and the Spicy Lemonade
These Juice From The Raw juices were really flavorful and filling. I preferred them over the Jus By Julie juices and I would love to do this cleanse again.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
We went to Sephora’s VIB Rouge “Beauty Before Brunch” event this morning and we had a great time. The Beauty Before Brunch event was an exclusive VIB Rouge shopping event to launch the 15% off spring sale. I attended last year’s spring event, and overall, I would say that this event was better.
I RSVP’d right away for myself and a guest. We arrived today at around 9:30am and they checked us in at a table near the entrance — everyone was super friendly and energetic. I was really fun to be around people who are all excited about beauty, skincare and makeup.
For the Sephora VIB Rouge event there was a small setup of food in the back of the store — way smaller than last year’s spread. It was kind of disappointing, but I didn’t come here for the muffins & bagels…
I already had a list ready to go…with a few minor changes. And I found everything on my list! Yay!
I got the new Marc Jacobs #InstaMarc Light Filtering Contour Powders in 40 Mirage. This was the main reason I went into the store instead of ordering online. The 40 Mirage shade has been sold out online for a while but they said it was available in store. I went to the Marc Jacobs section right away and they were out of this color….I was super sad until I turned around and saw it on a “Contouring” podium. hallelujah!
These powders are so soft and the brush is mega soft, plus the compact is HUGE!!! I can’t wait to use it!
With 15% off, I picked up another Tarte Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation. I love the coverage of this foundation and how easy it is to apply. I first picked this up at Sephora’s Spring Sale last year!
I picked up the Dior Lash Plumping Serum as an eyelash primer and I got the waterproof version of my favorite mascara — Lancome Hypnose Drama!
I’m really happy with my purchases and the sample baggie we got. Great customer service today as well — really makes VIB Rouge feel a little extra special. We got a ton of awesome samples and color matched for two great foundations. Everyone was awesome today and I’m really happy we went.
What did you pick up today? Or what will you be getting during the sale? 🙂
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
Sephora usually has their VIB Spring sale at the end of March/beginning of April. Last year’s Spring Social was so much fun! VIB’s got 15% off and I picked up some great Tarte foundation and a NARS matte multiple.
I’ve had a few things in my Sephora cart for a while now, but I am waiting for the 15% off before I buy anything. Until then, I thought I’d share my wishlist!
I really like this “skin corrector” by Lancôme. I’ve used it for years on and off, but lately I’ve really noticed an improvement in my skin. My face feels hydrated and smooth and looks brighter.
This has been my go-to facial moisturizer for a while. I like how it has SPF 15 and is so light weight. I’m really running low, so I hope that 15% off comes soon! 🙂
This lip pencil looks like the perfect dusty pink color. It’s a creamy matte lip stain/crayon that looks like the NARS pencils in this year’s VIB birthday set. I think this color would be great for spring/everyday.
NARS – Radiant Creamy Concealer (Custard)
I’ve heard a lot of good things about this NARS concealer. I’ve been looking for a brightening concealer for my under eyes, but something that won’t crease or look too light/chalky. I’m not sure if this is it, but I’m interested in trying it out.
Smashbox – Layer Lash Primer
I’ve been out of this for a while and have been getting along just fine, but I feel like it helps my lashes from drying out with different mascaras. I like how this primer doesn’t have those “fibers” and it glides on smoothly.
Marc Jacobs Beauty – #Instamarc Light Filtering Contour
There’s a lot of hype around contouring the face lately and I’ve been using my NARS matte multiple to define my face more, but with spring/summer approaching, I prefer powders over creams (foundation/highlighters/bronzers).
tarte – The Slenderizer Bamboo Contour
This brush would be great to apply the contour powders and it looks really fun.
What’s on your wishlist? Are you excited for Sephora’s VIB spring sale?
*word on the street– VIB Rouge will get early access to the spring sale discount. April 12th!
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
Like the Fitbit Flex I had before, The Fitbit ChargeHR is a fitness band that mainly tracks your steps and is a motivational tool to help you be more active throughout the day. The Fitbit app for the phone and the main dashboard on the website are very user-friendly and make it easy to monitor your progress during the day.
I’ve had my Fitbit Charge HR for just over three weeks now and I’m ready to give my review! The Fitbit ChargeHR comes with a USB charging cable and a wireless syncing dongle.*
The Fitbit ChargeHR has textured wristband that is soft and smooth underneath. The band is .83 inches wide & has a watch-clasp closure that feels very secure. 
The display is larger than the Fitbit Flex display and will show your daily activity stats and real time heart rate.
I got the Fitbit ChargeHR in size Large. There is a sizing guide on Fitbit’s website to help you determine the best size for you. I picked the Large size because Fitbit recommends wearing the ChargeHR higher up on your wrist for a more accurate heart rate reading. They suggest about 2-3 finger widths above your wrist bone which is pretty comfortable to me. I probably could have been great with the Small size band — I’m wearing the Large at the 3rd to tightest hole in order to wear it higher on my wrist.
The Fitbit ChargeHR was about 50% charged out of the box. I fully charged it before using it and the battery lasted about 4.5 days before I got an email to let me know the battery was low. I’ve consistently gotten between 4-5 days between charges. Charging the ChargeHR takes about 1 hour. The charger plugs into any USB power source and then into the underside of the Fitbit ChargeHR display.
There is a small button on the left side of the display which lets you toggle through the time display, daily steps, distance walked, calories burned, stairs climbed, alarms, and heart rate. You can customize what categories are displayed and in what order they appear. You can also set a shortcut for a specific display by double tapping the Fitbit ChargeHR. I have mine set to display the heart rate since that was what I was most interested in purchasing the ChargeHR.
I really thought the sleep tracking data from the Fitbit Flex was great, and I think it’s even better with the ChargeHR. The ChargeHR automatically records your sleep without having to do anything. With the Flex, you had to tap it to tell it you were going to sleep, but the ChargeHR detects it on it’s own & it’s super accurate. The ChargeHR will tell you how long you slept for and how many times you were restless in the night. It’s awesome.
The heart rate monitor is accurate. I compared it with a pulse counting app and each time it is within 10 BPM which is great for me. The Fitbit ChargeHR uses LED lights to reflect off your skin to detect changes in your blood. When your heart beats, your capillaries expand & contract, the ChargeHR measures those changes with special algorithms to display your heart rate.
The display shows you live heart rate monitoring and what “zones” you’re in while working out. The three zones — Fat Burn, Cardio, and Peak — are calculated based on a max heart rate of 220 BPM minus your age, but you can adjust it and make your own custom zones. I like to check my heart rate and see how intense my workout is.
If you press and hold the side button, the Workout mode will begin and track your exercise activity. I like to review the workout data because it isolates your heart rate data for the workout and helps me stay motivated throughout the day. My workouts are mostly jogging/running so the Fitbit ChargeHR is tracking my steps as well.
Overall, I love my Fitbit ChargeHR. The heart rate monitoring is the main reason to get this fitness band; it’s accurate and easy to view your data. The band is comfortable and it has good battery life. The sleep tracking feature is better than before and also very accurate.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I am loving all of the limited edition Lush Valentines Day products. The Lush Heart Throb Bubbleroon is no exception.
This red, heart shaped Bubbleroon is so pretty. With shimmery gold glitter in between these two heart halves. I only used one half, but you could probably use just a third or even a quarter and have a great, bubbly bath.
The Heart Throb Bubbleroon smells so wonderful. With Ylang Ylang Oil and Vanilla absolute, the bath was full of bubbles and so fragrant. The bubbles last forever and the water turns a rangy-red color.
Give your heart to the bath with this Heart Throb Bubbleroon. Skin-softening shea butter and beautiful ylang ylang and geranium essential oils will turn your bath into a silky haven while the bright red heart will make the water a passionate red – perfect for setting the mood! This bubbler also shares its intoxicating, delicately floral scent with our African Paradise Body Conditioner to leave skin delicately scented.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I’ve had the Fitbit Flex for just over a year and a half and I’ve loved having a lightweight fitness band to track my steps and help me stay motivated about staying active. When I heard about the new fitness bands from Fitbit, I was curious. I’ve always been interested in tracking my heart rate, but I didn’t think a chest strap monitor was right for me. So, when I saw that Fitbit had a new fitness band that could track heart rate — the ChargeHR and the Surge — I thought this would be perfect for me.
I started researching the Fitbit ChargeHR but I wasn’t getting all my questions answered. How accurate is the heart rate monitor? How often do you need to charge it? How can I transfer my data from the Flex to the ChargeHR? I kept checking my local Target to see if they were available (at fitbit.com, there is an 8-10 week backorder) and I got very excited when I found the Fitbit ChargeHR at Target yesterday. I decided to buy it today and here are my first impressions.
I bought the Fitbit ChargeHR in Large in the color black. I thought I might like the Plum color, but it wasn’t available in store and the Plum display band seemed a little to pink for my liking. I plugged the ChargeHR into my computer to charge it while I went through the setup process.
Some of the first things I noticed:
I synced up the Fitbit ChargeHR very easily through my computer and Fitbit asked me if I was replacing the Fitbit Flex. I clicked “Yes” and that was it — all of my data was ported over very easily. The entire process took maybe 7 minutes. I’ll do a side by side comparison post soon between the ChargeHR and the Flex.
The Fitbit ChargeHR was 50% charged out of the box, and just having it plugged into my computer while I did the setup, took it to 100%.
I then wore it for a treadmill workout to see what the heart rate monitor was like. I ran for 30 minutes and the heart rate seemed very accurate. I also have a Heart Rate monitor app for iPhone that has you key your pulse beats for 10 seconds and it tells you you BPM. Both heart rate numbers were with in 5 BPM each time I tested it.
The band was very comfortable during my workout. Fitbit recommends wearing the band higher on your wrist for more accurate heart rate results. I wore it about 1.5 finger lengths from my wrist bone. I’m excited to see more of my heart rate data throughout the week.
A more in depth review to come after I’ve had time to really use the Fitbit ChargeHR for a while. Let me know if you have any questions so I can include them in my review post. So far, I like the ChargeHR and it’s very comfortable. 🙂
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
It’s that time of year already! Lush’s Valentine’s Day 2015 products are available now and they are super pretty! I’m so excited for this little haul! This year’s collection is so much more fun than last year’s…..although I did love the Neon Love soap from the 2014 collection.
Here are all of the Valentine’s Day 2015 items I got. There are a couple of lip products, soap, Love Locket, and the Prince Charming shower gel that weren’t as interesting to me. I was most excited about the Unicorn Horn bubble bar; so colorful!
Floating Flower
Heart Throb
Lonely Heart
Unicorn Horn
I can’t wait to try out these new Valentine’s Day products! Reviews to come!
I also picked up a Comforter and Sex Bomb to round out this haul. I think Lush may be my favorite store….so excited!
Have you tried any of the new Lush Valentine’s Day 2015 items? What are your favorites?
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
It can be difficult to incorporate your New Year’s resolutions to be healthy while at work. These 4 tips will help you to stay healthy at work and help you to take care of your body so you can stay on track with your personal goals.
What are your tips for staying healthy at work? What do you think about the new FitBit line?
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
Cold weather can make my skin feel dry and irritated. So to help my skin feel better especially in the winter, I like to take a nice warm bath. I’ll use some of my favorite Lush products, a few drops of argan oil, and my new Josie Maran Argan Sugar Scrub!
Josie’s Whipped Argan Body Butter has helped heal my super dry, itchy skin in the past so I knew this argan sugar scrub would be a great exfoliant without causing irritation.
First off, this Argan Sugar Scrub has Josie’s signature Argan Oil. It’s smooth and smells a little like vanilla. The sugar melts into your skin as you rub it in. It’s not scratchy and burn-y like a salt scrub or those little plastic beads in some scrubs.
You only need a little bit. The sugar scrub is smooth and creamy. 
Once you wash it all away the water kind of beads off of your skin. There is a layer of oil or whatever is in the balm part of the scrub that locks in the moisture. Your skin feels soft and smooth all day long.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I don’t usually get excited about the seasonal items from Lush — I love the classics (the Comforter is my favorite). But this year, I wanted to try out some of the Lush Christmas products. I bought Northern Lights bath bomb when it came out a month or so ago and I loved it; the colors were super pretty and it smelled great.
So naturally, I wanted to grab another one when I ran out of my “Lush stash”. I’m super excited because I got to stock up on everything with this Lush Haul — classics and Christmas!
The Northern Lights bath bomb wasn’t out on its own — apparently they’re all breaking during the shipping process, so one of the Lush girls pointed out the Poptastic gift box which has Northern Lights and Sparkler. 
Unfortunately, my Northern Lights was broken when I opened the box. It’s fine though, I know the bath will still look and smell amazing!
The rest of my Lush Christmas looks equally amazing. I’m so excited because I’ve haven’t tried any of these products except the Snow Fairy shower gel.
The Snow Fairy shower gel is such a pretty pink color. I love all of the pink things at Lush! Actually, when I first used this gel, I didn’t like the smell at all. I’d gotten it in a gift box and I remember not liking it or the Rock Star soap. But I like it a lot now — it’s sort of like a cotton candy smell. 
When I saw the Holly Go Lightly bubble bar — with silver glitter all over — I knew I wanted to try it out. Mostly because it looks so pretty, but also because it smells warm and cinnamon-y. It’s a large sized bubble bar which is nice — you could definitely break this up for multiple uses.
The Wizard bubble bar looks super cute. There is a little yellow star at the top of his wizard’s hat. Mine is a little more pink looking than other’s I’ve seen. I think this might be part of the Halloween collection, but either way, I’m glad I got to buy one before they ran out.
The Luxury Lush Pud bath bomb looks like it has a little bit of everything. There are lots of fun colored polka dots within the mostly pink bomb. It smells like soothing lavender and doesn’t appear to gave any glitter or things that will make clean up difficult.
And then I picked up some of my favorites:
Dragon’s Egg, Creamy Candy bubble bar, Sex Bomb bath bomb, The Comforter, and Think Pink bath bomb.
Did you pick up any of Lush’s Christmas items? Which are your favorites?
