Maurices mini haul

I love the store called Maurices! They carry up to a size 24. Before my weight loss I was wear a size 2/3 or 20/22 in this store. Since then, I’m not 100% sure of the size I wear but I decided to try them out anyway.

Here is what I picked

Not only did I score a great deal but if the items fit I will be estatic! I went with a 7/8 in the jeans because they have a lot of stretch in them and I like the more fitted style. I picked up a large in the star top because I have bigger arms and I thought the medium might be too snug on them.

Have you ever shopped maurices.com before? If so, what did you purchase?

Simply Be

Just before the new year I made a few purchases. One of which came from a store called Simply Be. Simply Be carries sizes 6 and up. 

With the losing of weight, I needed a few items. I couldn’t leave my mom out so I got her a few things as well. I absolutely love this store. I’ve been shopping there when I was a size 20/22 and now that I’m a size 6/8, I’m lucky to be able to still shop there!

Here is my haul:

I was able to score some amazing items for a very low price due to an awesome sale! I’ve been wanting the gabi fresh line of lingerie for a while but couldn’t afford them on my budget. This sale made it possible! Hopefully they will fit since I had to get a 12 in the panties. The rose gold heels were to die for. I’m usually a size 10 in shoes but that size was out of stock. I ended up going with a size 8EEE which I believe is a triple wide shoe. They fit perfectly. I also picked up a pair of Chloe jeans as I have very few pairs of jeans that I can wear now. The velvet jeans, Shapewear and sneakers are for my mom.

Have you ever shopped simplybe.com? If so, what did you pick up?

Poshmark

Join me on poshmark to shop my closet. Most of the items I am selling are brand new! You can get first dibs on them by searching for me on poshmark @charmming or click the link https://poshmark.com/closet/charmming

New Year, New Plans

With start of the year I can see how neglectful I’ve been to my blog I intend to lay out everything and revamp my blog. I want to concentrate on getting more people to use my blog as inspiration of some sorts. I’m not 100% sure how I’m going to do the reorganization but  I’m sure it will come to me. I thank everyone whom has visited the blog and left comments. Hopefully I can turn my blog around into some better and be more consistent with content.

Happy New Year

Here is what I wore on my face to bring the new year in. I used the urban decay vice 4 palette and a glitter that I purchased from Walgreens. I hope you like!

Lorac Cosmetics Alter Ego 20th Anniversary

When I found out that Lorac was going to produce a limited edition lip set of 20, I got excited!

This stunning collection includes 10 Alter Ego Lipsticks and 10 matching Alter Ego Lip Glosses all house in a Collector's Edition keepsake box. This unprecedented collection features limited edition 20th Anniversary decoration and includes 7 new, exclusive, and limited edition matching lipstick and lip gloss shades along with 3 of our best-selling matching lipstick and lip gloss shades from soft nudes to deep hues to create any look you covet. Embrace your every identity, LORACstars, and dress up your lips with LORAC.

Here's to another 20 years!

Bombshell

Visionary

Secret Agent

Free Spirit

Beauty Guru

Party Girl

Hot Shot

Celebrity

Dominatrix

MUA

ALL HOUSED IN A COLLECTOR'S EDITION KEEPSAKE BOX

I love the colors that are included for the most part. The lighter colors will definitely need some sort of lip liner on my brown skin but the dark colors are beautiful! The set is priced at $75 and at the time of

This post is somehow still available!

MAC Giambattista Valli Collection

MAC seriously dropped the ball on this launch. The collection went live at about 9am EST but it moved so slow that it was literally impossible to purchase. Now I'm no stranger to any kind of limited edition release so I understand there will be a higher than normal amount of traffic but this was ridiculous!!

After 2 hours (yes TWO!) I didn't know whether my order had gone through because the site kept timing out. I tried the regular check out and paying with paypal. To avoid a double order I called customer service. The wait time wasn't surprisingly long (about 7 min) to speak with a representative. She checked to make sure no order had been placed but since I couldn't order myself I wanted to place an order with her. She then dropped the bomb on me and said they couldn't place orders because their system was down! Whet!!!!?!!!!?

I really wanted this collection because I tried for another hour to place my order. Finally at around noon, it went through!!!

I ordered all of the lipsticks and the gloss. My total with tax and free shipping was around $117. 

I will update my post with swatches when the lipsticks arrive!

Did you purchase anything from this collection?

Having a blue day...

I found this gorgeous dress from forever 21 and had to have it...

I've decided to let this dress be my birthday dress. The problem now is that I need to come up with a makeup look.

Any suggestions?

MAC Alluring Aquatic Collection

So MAC released the new summer collection a day early to pro members and I was able to snag a few items. I debated on getting more but according to my stash, I don't need anything else. I'm trying to stay strong and avoid going back to the site for more!

I decided to get three of the lipsticks. I purchased Mystical, Enchanted One, and Goddess of the Sea. A post with swatches will be up as soon as they arrive! Be sure to subscribe so that you are notified!

LA Girl Pro Concealer

All the rave is about the LA Girl Pro Concealer! It is said to be comparable to MAC pro Longwear concealer but at 75% of the price!

L.A GIRL Pro Conceal

HD High Definition!!

Crease-resistant, opaque coverage in a creamy yet lightweight texture. 
The long-wearing formula camouflages darkness under the eyes, redness and skin imperfections. 
Provides complete, natural-looking coverage, evens skin tone, covers dark circles and minimizes fine lines around the eyes.

This concealer comes in 18 shades to match a variety of skin tones. Now you can get all 18 shades for $31.99 or individual shades for $1.99 each from ikatehouse.com. If you use code Egg2014, you can save an additional 10% off. Right now shipping is free with a $39+ order or $3.95 with anything less.

I've ordered a few from cherryculture.com and loved them! Since none of my local beauty supply stores sells it, the ikate deal came just in time!

I Do Makeup

I am a Winston Salem, NC based amateur makeup artist. I hope to one day turn my love of makeup from a side job into a full time career. I have been fortunate to have a couple of friends whom have let me practice and practice on them but I hope to expand my clientele. As of right now I will only travel within the triad for gigs. Please email me at makeupbytnicole@ymail.com for more information.

Can't wait to hear from you!

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

Recently I made a post about how you could get your own Too Faced Cosmetics Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette with full sized eyeshadow primer for only $29!

I jumped on the bandwagon and picked up my own palette. I've been wanting one for a while but I didn't want to dish out the $49 for it. When I saw the chance to get if for $29, with free shipping AND a full sized eyeshadow primer, I felt as though the makeup gads had made my choice for me!!

At first glance it looks just like a candy bar. From the beautiful cardboard packaging to the actual chocolate casing, too faced hit it right on. It is suppose to smell like chocolate. Although it does have a sweet smell, it doesn't smell like the chocolate I'm use to but that doesn't bother me at all.

Here's what everything looks like:

This was such an amazing deal. With tax I only paid $30.96! The palette itself sells for $49 while the shadow insurance sells for $20. That's $69 for both items. Before tax!!! I saved more than $40! I'd definitely say SCORE on this one!

Too Faced Chocolate Bar

If you haven't already picked up your too faced chocolate bar palette, then head over to nouveaucheap.blogspot.com to find out how you can get yours for only $29!

I got mine! With tax it came to $30.96. Considering you get the palette that sells for $49 an a full sized primer that sells for $20, that is more than a steal!

Something Different

I usually post about makeup but this time I wanted to make a nail post.

I am apart of a program by Influenster, tht allows you to test out products. Sometimes even before they hit shelves.

My last vox box contained some new Sally Hansen nail polishes.

I decided to keep the mint green one and the dark purple one and have the red one to my mom.

I have to say that I actually like this polish. It's suppose to be an all in one type of Polish where you have a base coat, top coat, it levels itself, and low drying time.

I would have to say that it lives up to its claim. I tend to wash my hands many times throughout the day and use hand sanitizer. Despite that, the polish still lasted about a week before it chipped out. Usually polish barely last a day or two. I'm not sure of the price but if you are a real deal polish girl, this one is a winner! For reference, I own more than 50 polishes and I like this one the best. My only con is that the mint green one required three coats before I felt it was opaque. 

Makeup of the day

This look was done using my coastal scents hotpots!

For the lips I used a combination of a nude maybelline lip butter and a pink milani cosmetics lipstick.

Merry Christmas

And happy holidays to you and yours!!!

Real Techniques

Just about everyone knows what I mean when I say pixi woo on YouTube! Well Samantha Chapman has (well a while ago) come out with a brush line. I decided to finally take the plunge and purchase some when the real techniques site had 50% off!

I decided to purchase the sets so that I could try more of the brushes out at once. The sets usually run about $14-$18 depending on sales and where you purchase them from.

I must say that they live up to all I'd the hype I've heard! I really like that the sets come with their own brush holder/travel roll to make storage easy. In addition to that, you can fit extra brushes in the cases as well. 

I ended up only spending $50 for all of my brushes with the 50% off deal. If anyone would like to see a full review please let me know.

Coastal Scents Black Friday

Coastal Scents has some of the best sales year round so I did not need much but I just couldn't say no to buying something!

The entire site was 50% off!!!! I have a bunch of the hot pots but I just had to have more. Lol. I went through my stash and picked up some new colors. I already have the creative me palette, and a bunch of neutrals so I added a few more bold colors (and a few more neutrals). I picked up:

1. Persian Green

2. Deep Viridian

3. Medieval Gold

4. Black Berry

5. New Penny

6. Chocolate Berry

7. Nude

8. Amber Bronze

I also have been wanting to try some of the beautiful glitters. The glitters all come in a sifter top jar with a screw lid. I picked up:

1. Starburst (yellow)

2. Black Out (black)

3. Bejeweled (teal)

4. Sparkling Chrome (silver)

5. Ruby Slipper (red)

Last but not least, I picked up three brushes.

1. BR-C-S16 (angled eyeliner brush)

2. BR-C-S17 (small angled brush)

3. BR-250 (pro blending brush)

Including shipping I was under $30 for everything. Take that MAC! Lol.

Sedona Lace

Sedona Lace is an awesome company that sells some amazing makeup brushes. One set in particular has been calling my name for the longest. The MakeupByRenRen Vortex brushes to be exact. Because these brushes were $90, I was a bit iffy on making the purchase. I'm not by any means afraid to purchase quality but being since I couldn't touch and feel them before purchasing I was a little apprehensive.

On Black Friday, Sedona Lace had a repeat of its last years sale. 50% off the entire site! I decided to take the plunge and buy this brush set. I'm kicking myself for not purchasing the one with the zipper brush belt but since I have a MAC brush belt that I like, it's okay.

The shipping was extremely fast! I made the purchase late on Thursday thanksgiving night and received them on the following Monday afternoon!

I haven't had the opportunity to use them for long but I can tell you that they are very well made and sooo soft! At only $45, I'm glad I made the investment!

I also picked up one of the brushes from the midnight lace collection called the synthetic eye shading brush #305. It is soft as well. As a free gift for being one of the first 4,000 orders on Black Friday, I received a black liquid eye liner pen.

If Sedona Lace runs this sale again, I will purchase ALL of the brush sets.

Recollections Rainbow Rolling Cart

I was in need of something to store my cosmetics. I wanted something with wheels so that I could put it in a corner and roll it to wherever I wanted.

After searching I came across a rolling cart at Walmart. Instead of purchasing it there I ended up getting mine from Michaels Arts & Crafts store. It was marketed as a cart for stationery and other crafts.

I purchased the cart for $29.99, which was the cheapest I found. There were reviews that the drawers fell out and wouldn't hold anything heavy. I will say that the drawers definitely do fall off track. Periodically you will have to tighten the screws so that the cart doesn't lean. The leaning is what causes the drawers to fall off track.

I have my drawers full. The heavy items are towards the bottom which are mainly nail polishes and a few hair care products.

Overall I like it but I would not repurchase. I will née to find something a little more sturdier for my liking. I did not have a problem with the wheels rolling over smooth surface but I did notice I kind of had to pick it up when tiling across carpet.

So to reiterate:

Pros

1. Color code different drawers

2. Has wheels for easy traveling

3. Has a top surface that will support additional items

4. Sleek and compact

Cons

1. The drawers do slide off track if overfilled or if the bars need to be tighten

2. The space between one drawer to the next is minuscule so you can't fit odd shaped objects in the drawers (i.e. Bottles like setting spray) unless you lay them sideways

I hoped this helped someone! How do you store your makeup?