Play! by Sephora | December 2016

I've been subscribing to Play! by Sephora for just over half a year, and it's no surprise that I'm still loving it. December's bag had a slew of good things, setting me back only $10! If you're interested in signing up, click here. (not an affiliate link)

Here's what came in December's box...

• Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Always Red - A Sephora house brand lip stain that actually kicks a lot of ass. It stained my lips without making them feel like the Sahara and the lasting time was amazing. They are a little pricey though, ringing in at $14, which I feel is a little steep for a house brand product.

• Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Primer - Aims to balance skin and perfect makeup application. Also assists with skin tone and increases wear time of foundation. A full size retails for $37 for 1 oz, which is not cheap, but this will probably last you ages. 

• Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo - A dry shampoo to absorb oil and add body to the hair. Drybar is a great brand, but their products don't come cheap. A full size retails for $23 for a measly 3.3 oz. 

• Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray - A setting spray that makes your skin look more natural after makeup application and increases wear time. I swear by this stuff and never go without it. It costs $31 for 4 oz, but you can often find sales on this elsewhere (2 for $50 is a common sale at Macy's and Nordstrom).

• Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara - A mascara that touts added volume and "super-saturated length" for dramatically poppin' lashes. $30 freakin' dollars for a full size! #toocheapfordat

• Elizabeth & James Nirvana Bourbon perfume - Ya'll already know this is one of my favorite newer perfumes, worth every penny. For a full review click here. 

As you can see, the full sizes of all these products are pretty spendy. But that's what I love about Play! by Sephora. You get a chance to try out all these products (for just $10/mo) before splurging on an expensive full sized version! Gotta love that!

What do you think of this month's box? Let me know in the comments!

Ever wondered what's in a swag bag from the Grammys??

Possibly unbeknownst to us normal folk, those of us who don't get to attend award shows and fancy celebrity events, all those people who go to the Grammys also go home with KILLER swag bags. And I got one....

How? You might ask... Well, I have the coolest boss on the planet and she had an awesome opportunity to go to the Grammy's this year, as well as the MusiCares event honoring Bob Dylan that same weekend. She knows of my love of all things beauty-related and she actually gifted me the swag bag she received (fear not - her husband also got one, so she still has all these goodies, too!) Seriously.. the most generous gift ever! I thought you might like to see! Here's what comes in the Grammy swag bags..

• 2015 Grammy Nominees CD - I've always loved these compilations of the year's best tunes. 
• Starskin Coconut Bio-Cellulose Second Skin Facial Mask - I don't know anything about these masks... the brand is totally new to me. 
• Essie Nailpolishes - These two colors are Summit of Style and Rock at the Top, from the Luxeffects line. Gorgeous bronze and gold chunky glitters.

The bag came with OPI nail polishes galore! The top three in the Rollin' in Cashmere pack are all from the Gwen Stefani line which I absolutely love and adore. The Get the Gold Treatment pack includes a matte top coat and one of the Sheer Tint polishes, as well as some nail decals. The pink box includes four mini polishes that go with a fun set that I'll mention a bit later...

• Redken All Soft Shampoo - I've never used a Redken shampoo, but this smells amazing and I can always use extra softeness in my tresses.
• Garnier Deconstructed Texture Tease - This stuff has that typical Garnier smell. It works really well to "dirty" up your hair and give it some oomph! I love it!
• Nick Chavez Starlet Shine Spray - I don't often use shine sprays, but I'll certainly give it a whirl. This is a new brand to me.
• Hairart Matte Perfect Volumizing & Texturizing Spray - I'm loving texturizers more and more, as my hair is prone to being limp and lifeless. This will be fun to try. Again, another new brand to me.
• Drybar Triple Sec 3-in-1 spray - This smells like cinnamon rolls!! And I love the classy packaging. This can be used as a texturizer after blowout and a dry shampoo for second day hair.

A whole slew of NYX goodies are in here, too. The NYX Suede Collection palette, which has a ton of awesome autumnal shades. There's also a mega-glittery Glam Aqua Luxe lipstick in the shade Divine - not really my thing, but I'm sure it'll find a good home. There's also The Curve liquid liner, something I've always wanted to try and quickly found out does not match how I like to hold my eyeliner wand. I love the thin tip of the pen though, so I'll make it work! There's also a full-sized Boscia BB Cream in bronze. It's entirely took dark for my face, but will work good when I get spray tans and I can mix it with my foundation to make it a tad darker. I love Boscia BB creams!

There's also some doggy items which Winnie will love by I Heart Pet Head. The first is the Dirty Talk Spearmint Lemongrass Deodorizing Shampoo which smells amazing. The second is the DeShed Me Fresh Watermelon Miracle Deshedding Rinse, which goodness knows we need. Winnie sheds like a beast!!

And also, my boss grabbed me this which I think is so hilariously awesome! It's meant for little girls, but hey.. I'm a kid at heart. Who can say no to a mini nail salon? Once I get a bookshelf for my beauty room, this is proudly being set out on display!

I don't know about you, but I'd go to the Grammy's solely for the sweet swag bag! But luckily, I got to watch from the comfort of my own couch and still get one! Let me know if you've tried any of these products! I love to hear from you all!

Wishin'

I've been pretty good lately - only buying things I see for a great deal, or on a rare occasion to splurge and treat myself. This is the life of a beauty blogger (re: accumulating things... lots of things) and it's my goal to use some stuff UP before I go on and purchase MORE beauty goo (as the hilarious Jenna Marbles calls it). 

So, instead of buying these things right this second (although there was a rather close call just a second ago where I literally almost purchased all of the LA Girl lip paints....) I thought I'd just share them with you and refrain from filling my amazon shopping cart.

• First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Overnight Mask - I don't even know why... I've never tried any FAB products to even justify my want for this. But it just sounds nice. And I'm a skincare junkie... and I really don't need another overnight face cream. But I want it....

• DRYBAR Gold Mine Shimmering Leave-In Conditioner - Another brand I've never tried, but the packaging is so on point and who doesn't want shimmering gold hair?

• Zoya Nail Polish in Autumn - I'm such a sucker for Zoya and their shimmery nail polish. Seriously, no one does it as well as they do. And just when I thought I had all I ever needed from them (but really, my shelves are jam packed) they release this gorgeous new coppery orange shimmering polish and I am head over heels in want. 

• B&BW candle in Wasabi Apple - This sounds disgusting. I thought it was maybe the grossest candle fragrance I'd ever smell... until I smelled it. And it smells AMAZING. I absolutely hate wasabi, but apparently I love it when paired with apple?

• L.A. Girl Glazed Lip Paints - I literally almost just bought all 6 of these because they're on Amazon for just $16. But I refrained because my lippie drawer is FULL. But really... they'll probably be on my Christmas list. These look SO good from all the reviews I've seen and I'd much rather pay $2.50 per lippie than whatever ungodly price Too Faced is charging for their Melted lippies which are pretty much the same thing. 

• Carol's Daughter Almond Cookie Shea Souffle - I love all things almond, and I can only imagine this body souffle would make my skin smell and feel absolutely silky and amazing. Has anyone tried this?? Let me know your thoughts! (GOD HELP ME... it's on sale!)

Have you tried any of these products? What are you lusting after? Let me know!