Final 2017 Ulta Haul

It's gotten so cold in Florida that I've actually gone and emergency ordered Cupid a medium weight blanket from Amazon (thank you same-day shipping!!!). So, while I sit here and wait for it to be delivered I figured I'd write up my final Ulta haul from 2017. Thank you, platinum 20% off coupon! I got lucky and the box arrived on the 30th, but I had other posts planned for that timeframe. So the poor box has been sitting in my guest room/office, waiting to get unpacked and shared!

The first two items I received were the Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in Dark Chocolate and Really Black. Black and brown are the two eyeliner colors I typically wear during the week so to get these for 20% off was exciting!

The next two items I received were the Origins Checks & Balances Frothy Face Wash, and Origins Ginzing Energy-Boosting Gel Moisturizer. I had received these two items as travel sizes in one of my November orders and loved them. So when I received the 20% off coupon I knew that I wanted to get the full sizes of these products. The face wash really works at making your face feel clean, without feeling dry, and the moisturizer is perfect for the morning before you apply primer and makeup.

The freebies that I received in this box were a travel size of the Origins Drink Up-Intensive Overnight mask and the Clinique Pop lip color in Cherry Pop. Both of these are new items to me and I'm super excited to try them out!

Now, I've got to go dash out to the barn and throw Cupid's new medium weight blanket on her. Not entirely sure she'll appreciate it but I'll sleep well tonight knowing that she won't freeze. Florida ponies, can't stick them in the backyard, can't stand having them out of sight.

Ulta Cyber Monday Haul and NYX Lippie Countdown Day Eleven

I swear this is my final Ulta haul post of the year. Late last week I finally received my Cyber Monday order which was fairly small in purchases but heavy in samples and freebies.

The first items are the Stila One Step Correct and One Step Prime primers. I had run out of my Smashbox primers earlier and decided to try these since they were on sale.

 Because I purchased the primers I also received a sample of the Stila Magnificent Metals Liquid Eye Shadow in Kitten Karma.

The second items purchased were the Mario Badescu Chamomile Night Cream and the Mask & Mist Duo. The Mask & Mist Duo includes the Facial Spray with Aloe, Cucumber and Green Tea, and the Cucumber Tonic Mask. I have loved the Mario Badescu products that are currently in my skincare stash so I'm really looking forward to trying these.

Because I purchased the Mario Badescu items I also received two separate gift bags. The first back was the Mario Badescu Holiday Bag. This bag included samples of the Seaweed Cleansing Soap, Seaweed Night Cream, and Seaweed Cleansing Lotion.

The second Mario Badescu bag was the Mario Badescu Cyber Monday White Bag. This bag included samples of the Aloe Moisturizer, Cucumber Cleansing Lotion, Seaweed Night Cream, and Enzyme Cleansing Gel. Both bags contain products that I have never tried before so I'm excited to see how they work!

The final purchased item was the Body Shop Tea Tree Anti-Imperfection Night Mask. I have already used this several times and am super pleased by it.

Like always, I selected the skincare products for my free samples. I received the Vichy Laboratories Aqualia Thermal Mineral Water Gel and the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer. 

Because it was Cyber Monday, and I have a slight Ulta addiction, I also received the Cyber Monday Peppermint Beauty Bag. 

I received samples of the Becca First Light Priming Filter and Backlight Priming Filter, along with the All Nighter Liquid Foundation samples. 

The fragrance samples were Acqua Di Gio by Giorgio Armani, Sexy Ruby by Michael Kors, and Bloom by Gucci. 

The hair samples included Bed Head Screw It Curl Hydrating Jelly Oil, Sexy Hair Color Lock Conditioner, Hask Biotin Boost Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner, and Klorane Color Enhancing Anti-Fade Shampoo and Conditioner. 

Makeup included was the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer, Dermablend Loose Setting Powder, Ulta Super Blender, Tarte Lights, Camera Lashes Mascara, Philosophy Time in a Bottle Repair Serum, and Stila All-Day Liquid Lipstick in Rubino.

For skincare, I received the Clarins Multi-Active Yeux & Multi-Active Jour, Proactive Green Tea Moisturizer, Bliss Grapefruit and Aloe Body Butter, and Cotz Flawless Complexion Mineral Sunscreen. 

Finally, I also received the Savvy Travelers Speakeazy Teeth, Lip & Mouth cleansing wipe, and Vitabath Asian Orchid & Coconut Body Wash. 

After yesterdays successful color, I was excited to see that today looked to be a reddish pink color. 

 After opening the tab, I was happy to see that this color was part of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream line I have really enjoyed the wear on the colors I've sampled from this line so far.

Today's shade is called Sao Paulo, which plays into the city theming in the Soft Matte line.

This color applies nicely and has a super pretty raspberry shade. It is easily corrected and does not settle into lines. This is a long wear color and only needed to be reapplied after lunch. I really like this shade and fully intend on repurchasing it after I run out.

NYX Lippie Countdown Day Nine

It’s official. For me, this is the craziest week in December. Between work, making sure Cupid gets worked properly, making sure the cats receive adequate attention and remembering to get to the orchestra concert on time, I am officially a chicken without its head. Because of this, I do apologize but today you’ll be left with only my feedback on the NYX Lippie Countdown day nine.

Before we get started with today’s color I figured I would share my social media accounts with you in case you wish to follow them. My Facebook for this page is Run, Ride, Read, Repeat. My Twitter is Equestrian Bookworm. My Instagram is Laura under @EquestrianBookworm. Finally, my Pinterest is Laura @RunRideRead. Feel free to follow me there and reach out if you’d like!

When I saw the tab for today I was extremely dismayed. It was another purple. It has been officially decided that I do not look good in purple.

Popping the tab revealed that this was from the NYX Matte lipstick collection, which I was pleased with on the first.

 This shade is called Up The Bass which is super cute and totally appropriate for the last night of Once Upon A Time.

It is a pretty shade but applies unevenly and requires two coats. This is a long wear lip color and only needed reapplication after eating.

Passion Planner Review and NYX Lippie Countdown Day Eight

I'm one of those crazy planner people. I live out of my planner and panic just a bit if I can't find it. If something isn't in my planner then it isn't a priority, and if something has to be erased from my planner or moved to a different time/day then I get slightly irritated.

Back in high school, we were provided planners, but my biggest issue with them was the lack of time segments. I love planning out my day minute by minute. It helps me stay organized and on top of things if they have a specific time to be worked on and time to be completed by. It took me a few years but I finally found a planner than meets my hourly requirement while still looking cute! Enter the Passion Planner.

The Passion Planner is not your typical planner, it is more of a yearly roadmap and goal map than just a simple planner. The year starts out with the Passion Roadmap which helps you map out your goals for the next three months, the next year, the next three years, and lifetime goals. I love using this roadmap because it helps me figure out where my priorities should be for the entire year.

Each month in the Passion Planner is laid out in an overall month format and a week format. The month format has spaces for the monthly focus, in both personal and work life, people to see, places to go, a not-to-do list, personal projects, work projects, and a blank space for whatever you feel like entering this month. I like using the monthly format to track when major things, like credit card payments, are due, along with figuring out what my focus should be that month with Cupid.

The week format has space for a weekly focus, good things that happen, work and personal projects, and a blank space for other items. It also includes a new quote each week, and some motivational advice. My favorite part of the weekly format is the 30-minute increments under each day between 6:00am and 10:30pm. This has really helped me stay organized between work, running, Cupid, crochet orders, and orchestral rehearsal and performances.

The final unique section of the Passion Planner is the Monthly Reflection. Throughout the month I'll use this to keep track of everything major that happens. At the end of each month, it allows me to sit down and figure out if there is anything I should change or keep the same with what I have been doing.

It's hard to believe that I'm already on day eight of the NYX Lippie Countdown. Today's preview showed a nice pale pink which is almost the complete opposite of yesterday's purple shade.

When I opened the tab I was a bit disappointed to see another butter collection item. This time the lip color was from the Butter Gloss collection.

This shade is called Creme Brulee, and I after thinking about it for a minute I suppose the name does make sense

Once applied this color is a nice, soft, pale pink. It is more of a tinted gloss than a lipstick, but it is very appropriate for almost any situation. This does retain a bit of a tacky feeling for quite awhile, but once that feeling ends it leaves behind a nice soft hint of color. This is not a long-lasting lip color, but because it is so subtle it is not one that is super obvious that it has worn off.

SmartPak Cyber Monday Haul and NYX Lippie Countdown Day Seven

So I do apologize for today's post being another "haul" post. I was planning on reviewing the virtual scavenger hunt that I participated in for a work event, but I'm not sure how to phrase what I thought of it.

So, if you haven't seen from recent Instagram photos, Cupid has begun to crib. She has had a collar put on and had her feed changed from a sweet feed type to something more fiber based. In addition, we've also discussed the possibility of ulcers. Because she does not show any other signs of ulcers, putting her on an ulcer/digestive supplement has been discussed. After much research and discussion, I decided to try Uckele Equine's G.U.T. supplement which was available through SmartPak. I was excited to see this included in their Black Friday sale so quickly threw it in my cart.

Because I try to get free shipping whenever I use SmartPak, and the deals were fairly good, I included a few extra items in this order. The first item was dewormer. Every equestrian dreads having to deworm their horses and I'm no exception. But Cupid is due soon so a tube of Quest Plus was added to my cart. Thankfully, this was included in the sale so the price wasn't as painful as usual.

The third item was also for Cupid. Because she needs to be dewormed I need to get an accurate weight on her. Enter the SmartPak Weight and Height tape. Hopeful, y this will give me a fairly accurate weight on her so we can avoid over or under-dosing with the dewormer. I like that this tape includes height measurement on one side so that I can determine if she really is 14.1 hands or if she's gone from the large pony to a small horse classification.

The final item is something that I've had my eye on for awhile. I love the Kensington SmartPink line and have been trying to gather all the items. So far I have a grooming bag, fly mask with ears, and light turnout sheet (which might be for sale soon as it's a bit too small for Cue). The tall boot bag was discounted and included in the sale which brought the price down a considerable amount. After thinking about it for a few hours I added it to my cart and hit the purchase button. Even though my tall boots are from eBay I would still like to keep them as nice as possible. By storing them in a boot bag they should hopefully avoid unnecessary scratches and bending. I like that this bag has a divider in the middle to keep the boots from rubbing against each other too much.

Today on the NYX Lippie Countdown I was a bit dismayed to see the preview as a bright purple. I'm starting to settle into the fact that purple lipstick will never be a color I can successfully pull off so I wasn' too happy to see that was today's color.

Upon opening the tab I was a bit surprised to see that I liked the purple shade that was on the tube. Between the metallic cap and the collection name, Intense Butter Gloss, I knew this would be a shiny and bright purple.

The shade is called Berry Strudel, and if this were a lipstick from the 90s it would probably be scented. One item that I found a bit strange was that the application is flat on two sides and not a doe foot like NYX typically is.

After applying the color I was surprised to see that I didn't hate it. It is more of a gloss than a lipstick, and the shade is definitely not professional. But this would be a good color for having fun or a costume. It is extremely glossy and does not dry, which means that it gets on every glass that I use and needs to be reapplied several times throughout the day.

Overall, this isn't a color that I would buy again but I do plan on using it while the sample lasts.

Crowdtap Unilever (14) Box and NYX Lippie Countdown Day Six

*It should be noted that the products provided by Crowdtap were provided to me free of charge for promotional purposes. Outside receiving the products for review, I have received no compensation from any of the companies involved*

I recently joined Crowdtap after hearing about all the fun sample offers that are available through them. One of the first "sample" surveys that I filled out was for the Unilever (14) sampling. Much to my surprise I was accepted into this sampling and received my box today! **As a side note, I totally forgot to set tracking reminders for this package so I was honestly surprised when it appeared in my mailbox!**

The Unilever (14)  box included samples of the Degree Clinical Protection Anti-Perspirant in Summer Strength, Degree Dry Protection Anti-Perspirant and Deodorant in Fresh, Suave Essentials Body Wash in Mango Mandarin, Suave Essentials Lotion in Wild Cherry Blossom, and Suave Volumizing Mousse Max Hold.

Out of all these products I'm most excited to try the Wild Cherry Blossom lotion. The bottle compares it to the Bath & Body Works Cherry Blossom scent, which I love, so I'm interested in seeing if this has the same lasting power as B&BW. If this works well then it would be a great replacement at a cheaper price!

Overall, all these products are super useful and will be super fun to try. I look forward to possibly reporting back on my impressions of them!

As I neared the end of my first six days of the NYX Lippie Countdown I was excited to see that today was another pink. This time what looked like a nice soft pink as opposed to the bright bold pink of yesterday.

After opening the tab I was surprised to see exactly how soft this pink appeared. Today's color is from the NYX Butter Lipstick collection.

The shade is seashell, which seems like a bit of a strange name for a pale pink. The color is extremely pale, ranging almost to a frosty pink. It's not exactly the most flattering color for my skin tone but it honestly isn't horrible. With the right eye and contour, I feel like it could be an interesting statement color. It applies like butter and wears like you would expect butter to wear. Overall, I don't hate this color but I don't know if I'll replace it when the color wears out.

After the first six days of the NYX Lippie Countdown, I can honestly say that this has been a lot of fun. I've tried a few shades that I normally wouldn't dare to try and a few that I have been extremely excited to try. My least favorite color would be from day three, the Simply Vamp Lip Cream in She Devil. My favorite shade from this section of the Countdown would be from day two, the NYX Liquid Suede in Soft-Spoken. I can't wait to see what the next six colors have in store for me!