Sephora Double Points Haul

Sephora had a promotion a couple weeks ago where Beauty Insiders could get double points, VIBs triple points and VIBRouge quadruple points for anything bought/ordered. I couldn't pass this up so I just bought a few things, including the Becca Beach Tint I've been eyeing forever!

People were saying the color wasn't listed anywhere. They must have changed the packaging.

The tube is VERY tiny, but trust me when I say you don't need a lot.

Seriously, this is enough for both cheeks! Super pigmented!

Becca Beach Tint is a lip and cheek product. I guess they call it a stain, and it is supposed to be waterproof, but I don't think it lasts as long as I'd hoped. I think Dragonfruit is their most popular color, so I figured I would go with that. It's a great shade. The texture of the product feels more like a primer than a cream blush, sort of silky. If you looked at all the pictures, you can see that you really only need to use the tiniest dot of product for a lot of color. I usually spread it out over my cheeks with a stipple brush just because I have a problem spreading cream blush out evenly with my fingers. I really like it on my lips too. It's a soft color and texture but doesn't really wear like a stain. I am glad I finally bought it and am excited to actually try it at the beach!


Then I bought a 'travel size' of Tarte's BB Tinted Primer. I looked at this while I was out buying my Benefit Big Easy BB Cream and decided if I was buying the one, I didn't need to also buy the other. I'm a little sad I waited because this stuff is awesome!

I really like the idea of a tinted primer, instead of just another BB cream, though they still had to put the "BB" in front of this. Sometimes I want to have a primer if I know the weather will be gross, but my skin is uneven, and my powder just doesn't always fix that. This feels like other primers, in that it's sort of silky, but has a nice light coverage to even out skin. I bought the color "Light" but I almost think I could've mixed the light and the medium for my summer skin. This primer works really well on my oily skin and seems to last all day.

Also, a 1oz tube of this stuff is $35, but this 0.5oz travel size was $10. You can do the math on that one...


I cashed in 100 points to get this sample-sized Sephora Rouge Infusion Lip Stain. It came in the color Red Essence, which I would not have picked for myself but I'm glad I got it.

The shape of the tube is very unique and easy to find in a bag. It comes with a doe-foot applicator and as you can see, it's very pigmented! I don't often wear a red lip, but it's nice to have such a deep stain when I want to! I wore this out one night to a comedy club and it lasted through a beer, some fries, laughing and chatting, and a margarita after. And I'm pretty sure there was still some color on my lips when I woke up the next morning. I had to go out and buy a more "everyday" color. Review on that here.


I was also able to get a promotional item, so I chose a sample of Sephora's Color Reveal Lip Balm.

This is just like those "mood" lipsticks from back in the day... yes I had them too. It contains a dye that reacts to moisture and turns pink. It's supposed to turn into a perfect shade for each person, and I don't know if that's true, but I loved the color it turned on me. Just a nice soft pink. The texture of the balm is really nice and moisturizing, and the smell is amazing! Some people may not like it but I love it. It's supposed to be a honey flavor but I get a bit of vanilla too. I will probably buy the full size when I'm all done with my sample :)


And of course I got 3 samples with my online order:

Peter Thomas Roth CC Cream

Amazing Cosmetics Concealer

They didn't have one of the samples I wanted so I got sent this one instead: Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black and Nirvana White fragrances.

Benefit Sale Haul

Benefit had a big sale on their website a couple weeks ago (I'm a little behind on posting) where some things were 50% off and I had to take advantage! I ended up finding 3 things I really wanted, plus I tried to limit myself since I just started working again. Here's what I got!

Posiepal: Benefit took their Posietint and put it with their California Kissin' lip gloss for a nice travel duo. I've been wanting to try another one of their tints for a while, so this seemed perfect. The website also says that it's a limited edition product. I don't remember how much it was originally ($24 maybe?) but I got it for $16.

Immediately after application. You can see the blue in the lipgloss.

After wiping off the Posietint. Nice stain!

The Posietint has a nice pink finish, more than I thought I would like, but it has definitely grown on me. I don't feel like it shows up very well on my cheeks and that I need to put a few layers on to get the color I want. I do, however, really like it on my lips. I haven't worn a pink like this before. It does seem to wear away oddly in the middle of my mouth, like it gets whiter? It's hard to describe.
The California Kissin' is a slightly blue tinted lip gloss that is supposed to make your teeth look whiter. I think the blue is just in little shimmery specks and is definitely clear when you put it on. I think it also enhances the color of the Posietint a lot too. Very happy with this purchase :)


Next I got two creaseless cream shadows. I got a sample size of a brownish color and I love it and have been wanting to buy more. They retail for $20 but I got these half off! They were selling the old packaging so the colors were limited. I wish I would've had the money to buy all 5 or 6 they had but I just couldn't do it, so I went with the basic colors: gunmetal gray and white gold.

"Strut" is the gunmetal gray color I chose. You can see the old packaging was darker but had a cute card with a picture and a saying on the back. This is a nice darker color with lots of shimmer, which I love. The formula doesn't seem to be any different than the sample I got, meaning it still wears all day with no creasing!

Then I got "Tattle Tale" which is a nice bright white gold. I have a color like this from a different company but that product is definitely not creaseless. I love the color but was always frustrated with it. Benefit's color leans more white than gold, but does have that warmth to it. I've been wearing a lot of plain sparkly whites and golds lately so I couldn't pass this up! It's also a perfect base for any other color you want to wear.


With any order from benefitcosmetics.com, you get 2 free samples. They only have a selection of a few different ones to choose from that change all the time. The two I chose were the Total Moisture Facial Cream because I had never tried it, and the Agent Zero Shine finishing powder because I love it so much!

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

I had never heard of cleansing balms before my Birchbox this month. I received a sample of Cailyn Dizzolv'it Makeup Melt Cleansing Balm and I loved it! I've been using makeup wipes for years now and it wasn't until this past year that I realized how much makeup was left behind. I started using an astringent after the wipe and the cotton pads just kept coming away with more makeup. When I tried the Cailyn balm sample, there was nothing left on my face. I really want to buy a full size of it, but it's $36 for 100ml on the Birchbox website and I have to wait for shipping... blah blah blah... So I checked out my other options. I found this Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm on the Sephora website for $28.50 for 125ml so I figured I would give it a try, since I was going to Sephora that weekend anyway.

The product comes in a large squat container that is a lovely shade of purple with a silver cover. The original texture of it is very stiff, some people have said it looks like lard. I think it reminds me of a solid coconut oil, but at the point that you can still scoop it out with your fingers. The first time I used it, I used a spatula that I have. Some people prefer this because of possible contamination, etc... I am not one of those people. It's much quicker for me to just dig in with my fingers. I wash my hands before touching it anyway. There is no scent with this product whatsoever. That may make this a better product for some people than the Cailyn balm with a very distinct (though, amazing!) scent.

This balm should be applied with dry hands to a dry face. The thick product will melt into an oil to rub into your skin. Wait! An Oil?! On my Oily face?! ... Yes. Don't be afraid. The oil takes off all the makeup then rinses completely off your skin. If you want, you can follow it with a toner or other cleanser. What I do is take some out of the container, about the size of a quarter, then rub it between my hands to spread it out - not so much that it's a liquid, just to get onto my fingertips, then rub all over my face. This is a great time to give yourself a facial massage. It's safe to use around eyes and works wonderfully at getting all of your eyeliner and mascara off, though it does make a mess. Sometimes I will use a different cleanser to take off most of my eye makeup first (if I'm wearing a lot) then let the balm get the rest of it. Then rinse my face with warm water and pat dry. I usually follow it with a quick swipe of witch hazel on a cotton pad, just to make sure the oil is gone, then my night moisturizer. It's actually a lot faster than what I was doing.

I am officially a cleansing balm convert now. I used to not want to take the time to put my hair back, get my face wet, etc... but it just works so much better taking off all my makeup that I take the time now. This is a really gentle product that is available everywhere, since it's Clinique. This will be very easy to travel with too, since I can just put some in a smaller container to take with me.