Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
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LOOK WHAT I FOUND AT TJ’s!
This 12 Days of Beauty gift box is $20, and it comes with 12 beauty minis exclusive to Trader Joe’s. Everything it comes with is listed on the back (and reproduced below), so it’s not a super-hard-to-figure-out surprise…but if you don’t wanna know what it comes with (SPOILER ALERT), look away meow.
I’m serious, look away!
This is your last warning…
Question for ya: Have you arrived at that point in life when you don’t care if the world sees the weird things you do to bend your hair to your will? Although I’m not quite the lady at the supermarket with the giant pink curlers in her hair yet (because she don’t give an eff what people say when she’s buying frozen breakfast burritos!), I’m almost there. I’ve taken to wearing these long hair clips when I’m chillin’ at home, or driving in my car, or taking a walk around the neighborhood. I use ’em on wet hair, along with half a pound of flexible hairspray to smooth and flatten out my roots (which are getting progressively more wiry and untamed with each and every new gray hair) as they air dry. El Hub says I look a little crazy, but I’m like, “Hey, man, you gotta do what you’ve gotta do.”
Speaking of the shameless things we do in the name of beauty, I was waiting in line at TJ’s last week when I noticed the woman in front of me had four bottles of this lotion in her cart — and absolutely nothing else. No food, no Joe-Joe’s cookies, NOTHING. Of course, then I asked her to watch my wagon so I could run to the beauty section and grab a bottle of my own.
They’re only $3.99! For a big 16-oz. bottle! I may or may not have done a victory dance in the middle of aisle. 🙂
I have lizard lady skin, but a few pumps of this lotion makes my legs look and feel smooth and moisturized without making my skin feel slick or greasy. Even my heels are happy!
Heads up: Even though the label says it’s unscented, I think it smells a little like a kale, spinach and apple green smoothie…which I don’t mind at all.
And that wasn’t the only new thing I tried last weekend. I also took this It Cosmetics foundation for a spin.
The foundations in the It Cosmetics line are famous for doing a little bit of everything and then some, and their CC+ Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream lives up to that multitasking rep. The It crew packed seven products into one tube — a full-coverage foundation, a physical sunscreen with SPF 50, a brightening color corrector, a hydrating anti-aging serum, a pore-less finish primer, a dark-spot concealer and a moisturizing day cream. Plus, a tiny bit goes a long way.
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My meal mantra for this week is “eat your vegetables,” but woman cannot survive on rabbit food alone, so I had to sneak some chocolate and cheese onto this list, ha ha!
Just Beets: These dehydrated beets can kindasorta take the place of chips on my plate when I’m eating a sandwich…
I actually like beets, and I think these taste really good. They’re a little sweet and a little salty. They’re also CRUNCHY and surprisingly filling.
Seasoned Kale Chips Dressed With Cashew butter Tahini: I’m still not all aboard the kale train yet, but I actually don’t mind these gluten-free kale chips.
They’re crispy, which hits the spot sometimes, amirite? And they taste a little cheesy, too.
Oven-Baked Cheese Bites: Mm… Crunchy medallions of cheesy nirvana…
These baked cheesy bits are gluten-free and protein rich, and they have a strong, sharp flavor that tastes like a mix of cheddar and Parmesan to me.
Five or six of ’em, and I’m a happy camper.
Mini Milk Chocolate Bars: There are five individually wrapped bars per box, and the creamy, smooth chocolate melts on your tongue.
I don’t know how they squeezed so much chocolate flavor into these bars, but however they did it, they definitely don’t just taste like sugar and butter. If you like Lindt truffles, you’ll probably like these. They also come in a dark chocolate version, which I haven’t tried yet because dark chocolate tastes like punishment to me.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: Ever since El Hub was diagnosed with Celiac disease last fall, I’ve tried to keep an open mind about gluten-free baking…
I mean, I’ve tried…but to be honest, most gluten-free stuff just depresses me, especially the gluten-free bread, UGH. But some of the gluten-free cookies I’ve tried aren’t half bad, like these.
They’re crispity, crunchity buttery cookies have a very satisfying snap, and the chocolate is droolingly flavorful.
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Sticks: When you want bougie cheese sticks that taste more special than basic string cheese, these are pretty good. Sometimes I chop a couple of them up with some cherry tomatoes and drizzle balsamic vinegar on top.
Mmm…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Found any yummy TJ’s treats lately? Do share. 🙂
The Trader Joe’s beauty section should have a big-@ss warning sign above the aisle — something akin to “BEWARE! YOU’RE ENTERING SPUR-OF-THE-MOMENT SPENDING TERRITORY!”
That would work, or better yet a huge LCD screen with winged dollar bills floating away, since we’re moving toward a world where we will soon be communicating solely through emojis. ? ? ? ? ?
I’ve always had trouble saying “no” to anything having to do with makeup removal, especially face oils, because what goes on, must come off, so grabbing this facial cleansing oil was a no-brainer. Somehow, TJ’s found a way to make it smell like the most heavenly mix of eucalyptus, lemon verbena and roses, although, from a quick scan of the ingredients, it doesn’t appear to have any of those things in it!
And speaking of the ingredient list, it contains different types of oils, too, not just argan and coconut. I also see sunflower, crambe abyssinica seed (which is new to me) and capyrylic/capric triglyceride.
It doesn’t look like this will replace my beloved DHC Deep Cleansing Oil anytime soon. I mean, it’s fine for removing mellower makeup — basically anything non-waterproof is fine — but it can’t handle heavy-duty, long-wearing stuff on its own. It’s $7 for a 4-oz. bottle, though, so the price is right, and it doesn’t break me out or make my combo skin feel dry, so I’m not too crabby about it not being all that effective on long-wearing makeup. But still…I’m not about to go into hoarder mode for it. I’ll save that for when the Rose Hand Cream comes back!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
It’s that time of year again! — that time when you go into Trader Joe’s intending to only get a loaf of gluten-free sliced bread (El Hub highly recommends the one in the green bag. He says the one in the pink bag tastes like sawdust.) and leave with a cart filled with snacks and holiday gifts “allegedly” for other people, but really they’re just for you.
This is SO GOOD. I bought three tubes because #hoarders, and I’m going back for more. It smells exactly like Origins Ginger Souffle Lotion. If you’re unsure about ginger scents, ask someone who works at TJ’s if they can open a tube so you can test it out first! That’s what I did, and the sales clerk mentioned that he ended up getting one for himself, each of his aunties, his sisters and his mom.
Good man!
A lady I was chatting up in the beauty section said that she bought this duo last year, and she 100% recommended it if you have dry lips.
Another recommendation from my homegirl in the beauty section. It smells just like a gingersnap!
How cute are these little soaps? You might have to tell anyone who uses your bathroom not to eat them though!
I’m so intrigued by the Rose Gel Mask! Pro tip/hack: If you see something in a gift set that you wanna keep for yourself, just break up the set and give away the things you don’t want as stocking-stuffers. 😉
I have a full-sized exfoliating body scrub from TJ’s that I love, and I bet these minis in different scents are just as great.
Each basket looks different, and they feel sturdy, too.
