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Blog Health + Beauty

Sephora VIB Rouge Haul 2017

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

I showed you what I was planning on getting during Sephora’s 20% off sale, but what did I actually get? Here’s my Sephora VIB Rouge Haul 2017:

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Blog Health + Beauty

Anastasia Brow Duality | REVIEW

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

Now that my eyebrows are cleaned up, I wanted to buy a highlighter stick to help define them. Of course, I had my eye on High Brow by benefit — I loved it when the esthetician used it on me — but I couldn’t decide whether to go for the matte color ($20), or the shimmer ($20).

MuffinChanel Anastasia Brow Duality Benefit High Brow Matte Shimmer highlighter eyebrow

I swatched them both in Sephora but couldn’t decide….but then I found the Anastasia Brow Duality ($23) and I didn’t have to! The Brow Duality pencil has both a matte and shimmer color in one pencil! Yay!

MuffinChanel Sephora haul anastasia brow duality review pencil

I bought the Matte Camille / Sand Shimmer color and it’s awesome. It’s a great highlighter and the consistency is nice. I prefer it over an eyeshadow because it’s slightly creamy and I can blend it out better for a more natural look. Plus, it’s compact and easy to throw in your purse for an on-the-go brow lift.

I’m really pleased with this purchase. I also bought a sharpener separately, as the pencil is chubbier than a “normal” pencil. The color/highlight lasts all day and isn’t greasy or chalky.

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Blog Lifestyle

Holiday Travel Essentials | Beauty

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

Many of you may be traveling for the upcoming holidays. It’s always fun to go somewhere new or see friends & family, but it can be difficult deciding what to pack or just carrying everything you want.

I always try to pack just the “essentials” so my bags aren’t loaded down and I’ll have room in case I get a few souvenirs. You really need to ask yourself what you want; try to only bring products that have multiple uses. For example: with makeup, see if you can find a blush you like that can double as an eyeshadow. Or a dark eyeshadow that you can also use to fill in your brows. With beauty items, it can be a little more tricky. You don’t want to neglect your skin while you are on holiday, but you don’t want to carry your full sized bottles either.

This is where those sample sizes from Sephora or little mini bottles of products come in handy. I always save the samples for traveling because they hardly take up any room and you can just discard them when you are done. If you don’t have the sample sizes of the product you want to bring with you, there are always those mini travel bottles you can buy at the drugstore.

Here’s my travel makeup bag:

muffinchanel makeup holiday travel essentials genius gel marc jacobs naked palette urban decay laura mercier secret brightening powder they're real mascara lancome hypnoses drama star the porefessional prier face brushes mack amazonian clay blush tarte flowerbomb viktor rolf mars eyelash primer watts up highlighter fresh lip target bag

This bag is actually a clutch from the Marc Jacobs collaboration with Target last year; it’s a shiny metallic pouch that’s fairly large and fits all you see here ^ very nicely.

Here’s my skincare and toiletries bag:

muffin chanel victorias secret clarisonic mia samples lancome genefique vissionaire neutrogena sunscreen josie maran argan oil light 100% altoids toothbrush beauty essentials makeup bumble and shampoo conditioner serum purity philosophyThis bag was a gift with purchase at Victoria’s Secret a few years ago. It’s metallic gold, but has vertical pink stripes inside and it’s pretty large.

What’s inside?

Let me know if you have any holiday travel plans coming up and what your must-have beauty travel essentials are! ❤

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Blog Lifestyle

Top 10 – October Favorites

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

  • Oliver

oliver 1968 muffinchanelI love this movie and not just because I like musicals. This 1968 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist is fun while touching on serious issues. If you haven’t seen the movie or read the book, I definitely recommend it. This used to be on Netflix, but they’ve taken it down since 🙁

  • Philip Glass

muffinchanel october favorites philip glass days and nights big sur californiaEarlier this month, we saw Philip Glass play at the Days and Nights Festival in Big Sur, California. It was a beautiful day and the festival was so much fun. If you aren’t familiar with Philip Glass, check out some of his solo piano HERE and HERE.

  • Josie Maran – Whipped Argan Oil

muffinchanel josie maran whipped argon oil best ever yay dry skinYou already know how amazing this has been for me! Of course I had to make it one of my October favorites 🙂

  • Josie Maran – 100% Pure Argan Oil

muffinchanel october favorites josie maran argan oilSo excited about this. Review HERE, but you can use this organic oil for so many things! It’s amazing and it is perfect for all skin types! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Historically, Argan oil has been used to treat acne, stretch marks and skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis!

  • Benefit – The POREfessional

muffinchanel october favorites the professional primer benefit cosmeticsI first got a sample of this with one of my Sephora purchases and I loved it. I recently picked up the full sized version, and I got a great deal! I use this on top of moisturizer but underneath foundation. It give a smooth canvas to apply your makeup and it reduced the appearance of pores — it’s gives an airbrushed effect.

  • Sephora by OPI – French Manicure Gel Nails

october favorites sephora by opi gel french muffinchanel

I love the classic look of a French manicure; it looks great with everything. This kit from Sephora is a great value with 2 full sized gel polishes, a detailing brush, and nail decals for just $29. I’ve only had this on my nails for 3 days, but the gel formula is amazing and will last up to two weeks. Super easy to apply and several colors to choose from in-store and online.

  • Pretty Little Liars

muffinchanel pllThis show makes me think of fall. I had a Netflix marathon last year in October and tried to keep up on the most recent season online. With the most recent Halloween special, I’m excited all over again to solve more of the mystery! Are you watching? Do you think Ezra is A?

  • GLAMGLOW SUPERMUD mask

muffinchanel october favorites glamglow glam glow face mud supermud tingling exfoliate clearing hollywood californiaI got this mask in a set in my last Sephora haul. I have used it twice and there is a full review HERE, but so far I really like it.

muffinchanel the plant organic cafe october favorites vegetarian lentils avocado beets mushrooms fries mixed greensmuffinchanel the plant organic cafe october favorites vegetarian lentils avocado beets mushrooms fries mixed greens 2This organic, vegetarian “burger” was awesome. With avocado and white cheddar, the lentils, mushrooms, beets, cashews & bulgar wheat pattie was delicious. It was served with a side of mixed greens, roasted potatoes, and pickles. Yum!

  • Watt’s Up – Benefit

october favorites watt's up benefit muffinchanelThis is my go-to highlighter for that gorgeous winter glow. I like the way the product glides on and it blends very easily with your fingers. The highlight is natural looking, but you can definitely see it. Perfect for holiday party time or year round.

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Blog Health + Beauty

Sephora Haul!

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

My last Sephora Haul was back in August when they were having that promotion to earn 3x’s the points for VIB’s. This time, I had a 10% off coupon code from the “Beauty Fall” promotion and a gift card that my Prima gave me for my birthday. Thanks Prima 🙂

sephora beauty fall muffinchanelSo, I bought a couple of things, redeemed some beauty insider points, and of course got some free samples! Yay!

sephora haul muffinchanel opi gel benefitBENEFIT COSMETICS – It’s A Love Fest

This set is Limited Edition and Exclusive to Sephora. All I really wanted was the POREfessional face primer (because I got a free sample in my last Haul and loved it), but for only $6 more dollars, I get a full sized POREfessional, a full sized They’re Real mascara, a mini SunBeam highlighter, and a mini Coralista lip gloss! Yay!




sephora haul muffinchanel opi gel benefit love fest porefessional Such a great value. And it all comes in a cute “collector’s” tin which I can use to store things in. I’ve never used the SunBeam or Coralista so it’s nice to get to try out new products.

SEPHORA BY OPI – Gel French Manicure Kit

I selected this kit because it was a great value as well. Also Limited Edition, it comes with 2 gel polishes (White Hot and True Romantic), nail decals, and a applicator tool.

I prefer gel nail polish to regular polish because they’re easy to do and they last so much longer. (See application process HERE ). Plus, with this kit, I get everything for less than the two gel polishes would cost separately! (See what I used to create French Manicure gel nails HERE)

VIKTOR & ROLF – Flowerbomb

sephora haul flowerbomb muffinchanel opi gel benefit flower bombI redeemed 250 points to get this mini sample of my favorite fragrance. This is a great little travel size and it comes in the same signature bottle. Super cute!





Samples

I always like selecting the three free samples when ordering online. This time I got:

  • LANCÔME ÉNERGIE DE VIE Dullness Relief & Energy Recharge Daily Cream
  • Bumble & Bumble – Thickening Shampoo
  • BENEFIT COSMETICS – The POREfessional

P.S. I’m about $100 away from VIB Rouge.…kind of excited!

Categories
Blog Health + Beauty

What’s In My Makeup Bag?

muffinchanel make up what's in my makeup bag

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

This is pretty much what I wear on days when I wear makeup! My go-to bag of goodies!

From Left, up, then Right, down:

Categories
Blog Health + Beauty

Glow, Baby! Glow! | Highlighters/ Luminizers

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

I love a nice ethereal glow on the face during winter — really all year long, but there’s something really pretty about a nice shimmer right above the cheekbones during the holidays.

Highlighters can give your skin a more youthful appearance. Not only can you apply it to the cheekbones, but also under the eyes, on your brow bone, down your nose, right above your lip — in your cupid’s bow, and along your clavicles.

Here are a few products to use to give you that holiday glow!

High Beam – Benefit

High Beam muffinchanel

I’ve used this for years and it’s great for a pinkish, metallic silver highlight. It’s a creamy, kind of watery consistency that comes in what looks like a nail polish bottle. A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY with High Beam. I dot a small amount onto my cheekbones, under my eyebrows, and down my nose to highlight and just blend it out.

galadriel too much highlighter muffinchanel
Too much highlighter can give you an unnatural, frosty “glow”

Since it is very metallic, you may want to mix it with your moisturizer or some foundation before applying, to give it a more natural look.

Watts Up – Benefit

watt's up benefit muffinchanel

I really like this highlighter. It comes in a gel-like creme stick — like a chap stick. The consistency is similar to a chap stick too, maybe a little grainier and not sticky, but then it turns into a powdery feel. You can apply the product directly on your face and then use the opposite end of the stick, which has a little foam pad, to blend it out. I prefer to blend it with my fingers. The color is a kind of champagne gold with shimmer — a deeper colored highlighter. This might be a good highlighter for you if you have a tan complexion or if you prefer a highlighter without a pink undertone. Application is easy and it’s very forgiving if you apply too much.

Hello Light – it Cosmetics

muffinchanel it cosmetics

This gel/creme highlighter comes in a silver compact and is very subtle. I apply this with my fingers and as it comes in contact with your fingers, the product warms and becomes very easy to smooth on. It’s a pale white/silver shimmer color that gives a very natural, youthful look. Perfect for that happy, natural glow without looking like you are wearing a highlighter.

Candlelight – Too Faced

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This highlighter is a powder that comes in a mirrored compact. With real gold flecks in this slightly yellow powder, you’re sure to get a warmer glow to your complexion. It’s slightly sheer, but in the sun, you’ll see the subtle gold glow.