Sephora/MAC/Etc. Haul

[MRC0806]

I had a $30 Sephora gift card (and I got paid today- yay!) so I decided to get some more Bliss products. I am totally obessed with this line. The scents are original and the products do exactly what they claim to do. Even though they are expensive, they are so worth it. I got:

lemon + sage body butter - I'm not one for overly-citrusy scents, but this lemony one is light and the sage keeps it from being too tart. It doesn't smell like I just sprayed myself with Lemon Pledge. I already own the vanilla + bergamot body butter and the naked (unscented) body butter, so I definitely needed this one to add to my collection. There is one more body butter called plum plum that I do not have and that Sephora doesn't carry. It's on the Bliss website and I am definitely going to order it with my next paycheck. Then my collection will be complete! Even my hubby loves this for his dry skin. He uses the unscented one, and he's been using it a lot because my tube seems to be disappearing rapidly!

super minty soap 'n scrub - This got 100% I-would-buy-it-again ratings on MUA. It's a thick, minty scrub paste in a tube that smells delish (and I am also not one to like minty body products). I'm currently using up a jar of the vanilla + bergamot body buff and while I absolutely love it I like my products to be in tubes rather than jars. I feel like less gets wasted with tubes.

steep clean moisture lotion - This also got rave reviews on MUA. It's an oil-free mattifying moisturizer with smartsponge spheres that control excess oil and retinol to brighten, smooth and reduce visible pore size. The consistency of it is unlike any moisturizer I've used before. It's a cream-gel formula.

superbalm lip conditioner with spf 15 - I needed a new lip balm and loving everything Bliss I had to have this. It's a flat twist-up tube with an oval base. It's really cool looking! It's not waxy like regular lip balms.

After Sephora, I decided to head to the MAC store to check out the new Danse collection. You were right, Christine - the MSF's were way too shimmery for me. I use matte blushes so right away when I swiped Glissade on my hand and saw the glitter I knew they were a big no-no. The blue pigment wasn't the type of blue that I would wear. I like turquoise undertones in my blue shades or smokey navy (I love Azreal Blue and Naval Blue, for example). Silvery-blues like this new pigment look horrible on me because they clash with my neutral skintone. I did, however, pick up the new green pigment called Pastorale. It is gorgeous! A khaki green with golden shimmer. Does this look anything like Golder's Green? I don't own Golder's Green so I'm wondering. I also picked up the new Corps-De-Ballet lipglass. A lot of people had described this as a plummier version of VGV and it's beautiful! VGV is my favorite lipglass - I have two backups still in the boxes. If I like this lipglass just as much, I might see if I can pick up a backup of it as well.

I also went to CVS and to a local hair salon to pick up some needed essentials: Sleek.Look Shampoo and Conditoner (1 Liter bottles), Sleek.Look Water-Free Hairspray, Gillette Dry Skin Shave Gel, Kleenex, and a tube of St. Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub.

I had a $25 gift card to Victoria's Secret as well so I got six new pairs of hipster cotton panties.

I'm sooo bliss-fully happy tonight! :p

[cutie123]

Great haul!

Those hipster undies are my favorite style! They don't show up underneath my clothes and are sooo cute.

[MRC0806]

cutie123 - I'm going to try my new hipster undies today. They do look wicked cute! I was wearing the low-rise bikini style, but wanted something different.

[FiestyFemme]

Marisa, is Pastorale anything like Night Light? I'd heard someone say they thought it looked similar, so I was hoping to get your opinion.

Great haul, btw! :)

[MisguidedRoses]

Awesome haul! :D

Erica, I'm pretty sure Pastorale is much more pastel than Night Light. I don't have it (yet!) but these pics on Specktra (http://www.specktra.net/showpost.php?p=633360&postcount=22) definitely make it look a lot lighter.

Edit:
Here is a pic of Nightlight and Pastorale side by side. Way different.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b278/blueeyedgirl20/591201.jpg

Credit goes to ccricket at MUA.

[JennRoss]

Great haul! Enjoy everything!

[LipstickChick]

Awesome haul there! I'm liking the sound of the Bliss Super Minty Soap n' Scrub!

Glad I could help, too, with the MAC MSFs! I'm also starting to having slight buyer's regret over my Glissade MSF ... it's absolutely beautiful, but when I apply it, I don't get as much color payoff as I thought I would. As it is, most of my blushes have a shimmer effect to them, so this is proving to be a bit useless (why does it have to be so pretty, though?) :(.

Enjoy your goodies! :)

[Miss*Sephora]

Great haul! I'm tempted to try some Bliss now. ENJOY:)

[MRC0806]

I just wanted to update on my haul after using everything.

lemon + sage body butter - I love this, but then again I love all of Bliss' body butters LOL. I still want to order the Plum Plum scent off of the Bliss website, and then I'll own them all! I like to wear these out when I'm in the mood for only a bit of scent - otherwise I wear my B&BW stuff. These are also divine after I shave my legs!

super minty soap 'n scrub - OMG! I used this in the shower yesterday and it was an experience unlike any other! I decided to put it on my shower pouf and use it all over my body to exfoliate. I had no idea how minty this stuff actually was! My whole body actually felt cool and mentholated! It says on the back of the tube to "soap 'n scrub until you can't stand it" and I was wondering why it said that. This would be absolutely awesome in the summer on a hot day, but for the winter I'll stick to using it only in certain places rather than all over my body at once. I was literally cold! I recommend trying it though. I really like it. It's definitely different.

steep clean moisture lotion - I'm returning this. It was $48, and it feels more like a silicone primer than a moisturizer. It balls up when I apply my makeup too, and even when I sleep with it on at night. It didn't do much to control shine either. I like Origins Matte Scientist much better. I love Bliss, but their bath and body products are much better than their face products. I'm going to exchange this for either the lemon + sage soapy sap or the lemon + sage body scrub.

superbalm lip conditioner with spf 15 - I'm returning this as well. While the oval shape is kind of cool, it's also kind of annoying. It also wasn't as moisturizing as I thought it would be. I love my Origins lip conditioner with white tea much better. That stuff is fabulous!

Verdict: If you want to try Bliss, go for their bath and body products.

MAC Pastorale pigment - I wore this for the first time yesterday and I love it! It's been talked about enough on these boards so I don't feel the need to elaborate. It's a beautiful pastel green with golden shimmer.

MAC Corps-De-Ballet lipglass - I really like this, but I don't think I will pick up a backup as I still like VGV more. VGV is my favorite any-day-of-the-week, any-occasion lipglass. Corps-De-Ballet is a lot plummier, but I also feel it's less pigmented. I mixed it with some Benefit lip cream that I have in the Dallas palette that is a tad too plum for me and it looked great, so now I found a way to use that up. :)

I will have to write more on the Origins products later. It's a line that's not talked about much on these boards, but I discovered some really great finds recently!

[Shannara]

Thanks for the reviews! Too bad everything didn't work out for you, but it was a nice haul anyway. ;) I'm glad you're enjoying most of what you bought though!

When I first read about the Minty Soap 'n' Scrub, I thought it sounded like a contender. I'm getting into creamier, pastier body scrubs these days, as opposed to the oil-based one I usually use (and make myself). Then, I read your follow-up post about how strong the mint scent was, and wow! Mentholated, eh? LOL! I guess if you need a morning pick-me-up, just use this in your shower. ;)

Funny thing I thought I'd mention since we're talking Bliss - I have a friend who works in the industry, and products just get sent to him in droves. Whenever we see each other, he usually brings a box of things he thinks I might like since he knows I love beauty products. He's very thoughtful that way. Well, I saw him not long ago, and we hadn't seen in each other in months, and so he brought me a huge box of stuff. There were several Bliss products in it. I've been slowly trying out everything, but one of the items he gave me was the Steep Clean moisturizer. I didn't like it either. I received some other products from the Steep Clean line as well, and they're OK. The cleansing cream is pretty nice. The mask is nice as well.

I got tubes of the body butters, the Vanilla + Bergamot body buff, one of the bar soaps, and a couple of body washes, and these are nice too. Beware though, the scent of the Plum body butter is strong! I think it's a bit too strong for me, actually. I do love the body buff though. I doubt I'd purchase when/if I run out, but I'm definitely appreciative that I got to try them. :)

[MRC0806]

Thanks for all of your input, Shannara! :)

It's not the minty scent of the Soap 'N Scrub that is so strong, but it's the actual cooling sensation on your body. It literally gives you chills, that's why I said it would be awesome in the summer. I just wanted to clarify that. ;)

Let me know how you like the samples of the body butters, body washes and the body buff. I love that body scrub, but I just prefer products in tubes rather than jars. I don't know if I actually will order the plum plum body butter now that you're saying the scent is very strong. We'll see.

[FiestyFemme]

Thanks for the updates, Marisa! I hope to check out Pastorale tomorrow. :)

[Shannara]

No problem! :) Hm, don't necessarily want to scare you off from the Plum Plum body butter. If you like strong fruit scents, you may like it! I wish you could smell it before buying. I don't know why Sephora doesn't sell this particular one. I think Neiman Marcus sells Bliss, so maybe they sell it?

I'm liking everything so far. I love B&BW's Like Butter shower cream, and it was hard to tear myself away from it and start using the Bliss body washes! LOL. Thanks for turning me on to Like Butter. I've used the Naked body butter before and prefer this to the scented ones. I gave the bar soap to my SO since I don't like those, and he's enjoying it. ;) It's the Big Blue Bar, and yep it is big and blue. LOL. I like them and will use these up, but I am not sure I buy them for myself. Maybe the body buff. I love this, though there are creamy body scrubs out there that aren't as pricey.

I don't use a lot of body moisurizer at a time, and I can still feel myself going through the tube of Naked body butter kind of fast. I would hate to have to shell out $32 a tube so frequently when there are others on the market that works just as well for me for less.

The Steep Clean skincare is still just OK. I'll use these up too, but I definitely won't buy these for myself. I'm happy with the products I currently buy.


It's not the minty scent of the Soap 'N Scrub that is so strong, but it's the actual cooling sensation on your body. It literally gives you chills, that's why I said it would be awesome in the summer. I just wanted to clarify that. ;)


Ah, I get you now. Gives you the chills? That sounds odd, but kind of intriguing too. Now I want to try it, LOL! Yeah, it might feel nice after a workout and/or during the summer though. I can imagine it being a little much in cold MA right now.

[Blinkers345]

Nice haul! I really want to check out Pastorale, its so pretty in pictures..

[MRC0806]

Shannara - You're right, I'm not going to try the Plum Plum body butter unless Sephora gets it in. I would hate to have to order it from the Bliss website and then find out I don't like it and have to ship it back. Unfortunately, there's no Neiman Marcus near me. Does anyone know if Nordstrom sells Bliss? They are opening a couple of Nordstrom's in my area, but not until 2008! :(

I returned the Bliss skincare products that I didn't like and got some Clinique skincare instead. I'm going to post about it in this section. I also got the Bliss lemon + sage soapy sap. I'll use up the Super Minty Soap 'N Scrub, but I probably won't repurchase it because I'm not the biggest fan of the cooling sensation. I want to try the lemon + sage body scrub next. As much as I loved the vanilla + bergamot body buff, I used it up last night and won't repurchase because I prefer my shower products in tubes rather than jars.