New Year’s Resolutions, Home Fragrance Haul, and Lots of Rambling

Happy New Year, everyone!  For those of you who are new readers, or for those of you who have been commenting since The Wigeon was born, thank you for all of your support in 2011.  I’ve so enjoyed getting to know new beauty bloggers (and Lipstick Bandits), and I hope 2012 brings even more beauty-blogging-related-wonderfulness.

I took a look at my resolutions from last year, and I’ve done pretty well with them overall.  Except for the one where I said I would be less lax about washing my brushes.  If anything, I’ve gotten even more lazy about washing them every week.  I know, I know, I’ll go off to a corner and hang my head in shame.

Yesterday, I rang in the new year as planned (my plans were to read The Hobbit under an electric heating blanket.  I lead an exciting life).  I also got to see one of my closest friends for the first time since summer, which made me really happy.  All in all, it was a good day.

But I started thinking about the past year, and I realized that I don’t have quite as much energy lately.  Now, I’m going to chalk that up partly to college applications (the ultimate scapegoat) and the fact that I’ve cut back on caffeine, but I don’t think it’s just that.  If I look back at the past year, a few things happened that made me feel slightly disillusioned, and I let them affect me.  In all honesty, I shouldn’t have let any of it get to me (eek, steering this post into happier pastures).  So for 2012, I’m going to start throwing myself into things again.  I know that I still work hard, but I don’t have that insane drive I did before, and I want to feel like everything I do is 100% fulfilling because I go for it 110%.

That’s my resolution for the year  Oh, and washing my brushes.  But let’s be realistic here, the first is much easier to stick to.  Anyways, I would love to hear your resolutions for the year!  And if anyone has any tips for sticking to a weekly brush-washing routine, I would love to hear those too (unless the tip is: just do it!  That hasn’t worked so well for me).

Onto more lighthearted things, I’ve recently become obsessed with home fragrance.  If we’re playing the blame game here, I wholeheartedly blame Larie and Liz.  That’s right ladies, I would never have sniffed that first candle if it weren’t for the two of you!

As I was wandering around the mall with my friend yesterday, I spotted a Yankee Candle store.  Now you have to understand, I thought I was seeing things.  Up until that moment, I was positive that there was no Yankee Candle store in the mall.  So of course, I had to go in, just to confirm that I wasn’t hallucinating.

The first thing I saw when I walked in were wax tarts.  For $0.50 each.  Fifty cents.  I did the rational thing, and grabbed 11 of them o___o

Frosty Air, White Christmas, Harvest, Amber Glow, Farmer’s Market, Pumpkin Pie, Gardenia, Lakeside Birch, Maple Pancakes, Sweet Honeysuckle, Autumn Leaves

I haven’t had the chance to use these yet, but let me know if you want reviews on any of the scents.  And in the meantime, need I even say that this is a good deal?  If you have a Yankee Candle store near you, go take advantage of it!

Er, that sounds slightly inappropriate.

Did I just make it worse?

I give up.

~Makeup Morsels

It’s Haul-iday Time!

(Weak grin)

Blame it on the approaching festivities, blame it on the fact that CVS slashes their prices twice a year, or simply blame it on the fact that I’ve reached the end of my willpower leash.

I hauled.  Yes, I did.  When drugstores give me the opportunity to buy things 75% off, what am I supposed to say?  No, thank you, I have quite enough makeup as it is?  (I really should, actually).  Anyways,when I heard about this *still ongoing* event, I moseyed on over to CVS,and put a little dent in my summer savings.

As soon as I walked through those automatic doors, I headed straight for the lipsticks.  Into my basket they went (not all of them, although I did have 5 or 6 in there at one point.  Luckily, I had enough common sense left to narrow it down to 2).  The finalists were Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Cherry Ice and Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Demure.  After verifying the prices at the magical scanner box, I took both of them home with me.

The tally: Cherry Ice at $2.62 down from $10.49, Demure at $2.37 down from $9.49.

I have a thing for gel liner.  I also have a thing for anything that comes in cute packaging.  So when I saw gel liner pots in cute packaging, I sidled up to them, and asked if they would like to live on my vanity.  They said yes.

You can snap these together, or take them apart.  Physician’s Formula has single-handedly satisfied my inner 5-year-old.

The tally:

Jewelmint Haul & Brief Review

If you’re wondering what Jewelmint is, here’s an overview I did awhile back.

Now this post is mostly for Larie, who declared, “Pictures or it didn’t happen!”  So, here you go, Larie!  Enjoy!

Yes, that is me sitting atop a Jewelmint box.

I originally purchased the Aurum necklace, which was just as gorgeous as it looked on their website.  However, the second I took it out of the box, the chains tangled up, and I foresaw a lot of unnecessary chain detangling if I were to wear it.  So back it went, and I sat patiently in wait for something even better to come ambling by.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if I would like the Bird Cage Bangle when I first saw it online.  But the unique design, plus the fact that I was getting a sweet deal on 24K gold-plated jewelry ($8.99 with the promo code and free shipping), finally sold me.

At some point, I’ll do an outfit post so you can get a feel of what this looks like on, but here’s what the Bird Cage Bangle looks like alone (this shot does not do it justice):

I absolutely love this.  It has a nice weight and is extraordinarily well made for the price tag.  I don’t think I’ve gotten so many compliments on a piece of jewelry since my dragon ring.  I dropped by the mall over the weekend, and a couple of SAs stopped their sales pitches midway to gawk at my bracelet.  Not kidding.

Keep in mind that you probably won’t be able to get it for $8.99 right now, but I believe there are lot of 50% off codes floating  around for first time users, which would mean $15 with free shipping.

I read some reviews online that said the 2 and 3/8″ opening was too small, so I was initially worried that I would encounter the same issue.  My hands and wrists are normal, not tiny, but I was able to slip this on and off no problem.  If it does happen to fit tight on you, I’ve heard of people slipping it onto their hands over a plastic bag, so you could always try that.

One last thing I want to address is that their customer service is very accommodating.  Don’t expect speedy replies, as I have a feeling they get inundated with mail, but they are definitely helpful.  Both times I emailed them, I felt that the person on the other end genuinely wanted to make my Jewelmint experience a positive one.

On a sidenote, if you like the look of the Bird Cage Bangle and want to buy it, the best way to find it is through google, as it may or may not be in your Showroom (depending on the results of your style quiz).

And that about wraps it up!  Here is my referral link, if you would like to use it: http://jmnt.me/rgCkPE

Have you purchased anything from Jewelmint?  What are some of your favorite pieces?

~Makeup Morsels

My Sephora Haul: Dior Addict Lipstick Review + Swatches

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘transformation?’  A hungry caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly?  A college essay concerning a significant experience that transformed your worldview?

I don’t know what you think of, but I think $50 Sephora gift card (a big thank you to my summer employers who obviously know me well) transformed into 2 Dior Addict lipsticks.  Oh, that’s real deep, I know.

I forgot to ‘test the sound’ the day I bought these (you know, the thing where you close the lipstick to see whether or not it makes a satisfying click), so I actually got up in the middle of the night, walked in the dark to my vanity, picked one up, and clicked it next to my ear.

I am a strange cookie.

Anyways, I decided that Dior Addicts don’t make the best click I’ve heard, but they’re good enough for me.

The duochrome cases, which previously looked like this (top), have been redesigned.  Personally, I prefer the old tubes, but the new ones are pretty as well.

Weekend Haul

Ever since I saw mood polishes on Lulu’s blog, I could not get them out of my head.

So today, when I finally had some time to hit the mall, I braved Claire’s.

The colors were so pretty, I couldn’t leave with just one bottle…

And besides, they have this perpetual buy one get one 50% off thing on polishes, so it was practically an invitation to buy these.  If you think about it.

The one on the end (Mermaid) isn’t a mood polish, but it’s got some insane pink duochrome.  I lovee duochrome.  I’m actually wearing it on my nails right now, and it’s gorgeous.  Which is a good thing, because the formula is so sheer and runny (and thus takes forever to dry) that if it weren’t for Seche Vite, I’d throw this thing right out the window.

Speaking of which, my old bottle of Seche Vite has turned completely goopy and unworkable (I opened a new bottle today, and was amazed at the difference).  What do you guys think about thinning drops?  Is it worth it for me to go out and spend the money, or should I just keep replacing my Seche every time I hit the halfway mark on a bottle?

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything fun?

~Makeup Morsels