I had anticipated April would have been a crazy month of haulage due to the Sephora VIB sale but that didn’t turn out to be the case. I had $252.74 in my April budget to start off with.
In the Sephora sale, I bought only 4 items, and I ended up returning one of them:
My original total was $83.30 but after returning the busted BITE Beauty Agave Lip Mask, I only ended up spending only $52.70 at the VIB sale.
MAC strikes again this month with an order for the online exclusive lipstick, Finally Free ($21):
And this week, I wrote about a new to me brand called Teeez Cosmetics, and I bought 4 items to try:
My total came to $89 and I had Bay Rewards points so I only paid $9. 😀
From the drugstore, I picked up:
• L’Oreal Color Riche Mono eye shadow in 207 Pain au Chocolat $5.10
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude by Kate lipstick in #43, for $3.99
• Revlon Volume + Length Magnified mascara $7.99
• Revlon Ultimate All-In-One mascara $7.99
• CoverGirl The Super Sizer mascara $5.99
• L’Oreal Sublime Gentle Micellar Solution
• Clarins UV Plus Day Screen High Protection Tint SPF 40
• Rusk Wired Flexible Styling Creme (this wasn’t from the drugstore but from a sidewalk sale at Trade Secrets, it was on sale for only $5, and it normally retails for $22)
Skincare trade-ins: there were 2 skincare swap events in April that I participated in as I mentioned in my Trash Stash post. I brought in nearly empty containers and received 50% off these:
• Consonant Skincare Ultra Moisturizing Organic Face Cream. I also picked up a travel size of their Perfect Sunscreen which I’m planning to bring on my trip.
• Pure + Simple Lactic Acid Plus 10%
My sister gave me this set of OPI minis from a Major League Baseball (MLB) inspired collection called Fashion Plate.
The set includes:
• Umpires Come Out At Night
• Girls Love Diamonds
• 7th Inning Strrretch
• Short-Stop!
• Orange You Going To The Game?
• Love Athletes In Cleats
Cute, heh? Thanks for this! ❤
I went a bit crazy at Dollarama (L to R):
• Wet n Wild nail polish $1.50 (this is made in Luxembourg as noted by fivezero!)
• Sephora by OPI: in QVC What I Mean?, Shiny Dancer, Queen of Everything, and Already Famous $3 each
I just can’t say no to nail polish! Especially discounted ones. 😛
And I snagged this Bonne Bell kit which includes a liquid lipstick in Mai Tai, a nail polish in Key West, and an eye shadow palette in Prom Queen for only $3! I have another Bonne Bell nail polish and I have to say, the quality is quite good.
Plus, in April I was the lucky recipient of not one, but TWO giveaways! 😀
From MyStyeleInsideOut:
• BH Cosmetics Carli Bybel Eyeshadow and Highlighter Palette
• Milani Color Statement #33 Rose Amour
• Wet n Wild Large Eyeshadow Brush
From Sandie’s Stash:
• NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette
(…and I received another epic prize in the mail this week! I’ll be posting about it tomorrow! 😮 )
My makeup spend for April was $130.26. (To clarify: I don’t count skincare, hair & body care or makeup tools – only actual makeup including nail polishes are counted – any time you see me list the price of a product, it means it’s being tallied)
That means I have $122.48 to be carried over – I was surprised I didn’t go over my budget! I will have $172.48 for makeup spending in May. 🙂 How was April for you in terms of makeup spending?
stash matters 
Great article! So many great make-up goodies!Kisses!
https://alexamakeupbeauty.wordpress.com/
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Thanks! 🙂
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I love when dollarama has some sweet scores! I always check for products there because sometimes they have some amazing stuff!
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It’s true, they’ve been getting some awesome brand name items. None of them are a dollar anymore though… but for $2 or $3 it’s not bad.
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Yeah I’m not sad about in market Maybelline and Essie stuff for a couple bucks
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Aweeesome haul this month!
What! I have never seen Sephora polishes at Dollarama before! You got some really nice shades too.
Pain au Chocolate looks really pretty. Have you tried it yet? I’ve heard mixed reviews about the line.
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It’s really hit and miss at Dollarama. Luckily, there are a few within walking distance between my work and home so I can check them regularly. Kind of like Winners!
I wore the L’Oreal eye shadow a couple of times and…. unfortunately I’m not a fan! It’s not very pigmented and it fades / creases badly. I’m going to play around with primer / bases to see if I can make it work. I was SO excited to try them too because they feel super smooth when I swatched them in the store.
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I don’t feel like I should bother adding up this April’s spends! Great score on those SOPI finds! very occasionally I’ve spotted them in TK Maxx’s here but never in shades I’d use! Already Famous looks fab!
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I love Already Famous the most out of the ones I got. They had a few other sheer glittery colours but I passed on those. I’ve not seen the Sephora by OPI at Winners (our version of TK Maxx) but I bet they’d sell them for a few bucks more.
I think May and June will be a write off for me since I’m away – I already decided that whatever makeup I haul in Japan will not count since out of country expenditures don’t qualify for low buy…. right?
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Well I also have that rule for my reuniting with Sephora in valencia, totally legit! Need to be good in the next two months though as I did total everything up and let’s just say I went 10 times over 🙈
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LMAO! TEN TIMES over?! 😛
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Not quite, but disturbing close to that number haha!
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Haven’t heard of teeze before. Keep an eye out for your verdict on those.
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So far so good – I’ve tried both the eye shadows and they perform wonderfully. I’m looking forward to wearing the nail polish soon. I will do reviews with swatches on them eventually… I’m so backlogged with reviews!
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Wahaha true sign of a dedicated blogger~~ back logs lol
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I love these posts you do…it’s like I wish I could have your discipline so I live vicariously hehe I am seriously considering a low buy/no buy for May/June. So far I haven’t purchased anything lol Seriously though, since January I have accumulated quite a few new goodies to try and talk about…that they really should keep me plenty busy the next several weeks 🙂
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I find it comes in waves for me with makeup sending. Some months I’m all about high end stuff and that adds up quickly. Then I gravitate toward drugstore stuff and think, “why would I ever pay more for makeup ever again?” Then I succumb to some limited edition collection or a new shiny item… and the cycle begins again! I’m currently gearing up for my trip to Japan and I know I will be hauling like a mad woman there!
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Lots of good ones honey
my beauty buying for april was like zilch
I can’t wait to know EXACTLY WHAT u think of teeeeezzzzzzzz
xoxoxxoo
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We’ll have to go to the Teeez counter together! I’ve used just the eye shadows so far and they’re fabulous! Pigmented and very long wearing. 🙂
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Yes Let’s do that 🙂 i would love to try their LIPSSSSSSSS of course xoxoxo
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I love that you are on a low buy but your budget is still like $250 lol 😉 since new york I am so poor that I probably don’t even have that amount full stop lol. You got some great things! Would love to hear about the Carli Bybel palette as I have seen it quite a bit online but was not sure whether it was worth it or not so let us know if you can 🙂 xx
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Yeah $250 for April was meant to account for the VIB sale. My low buy amount for the other months have been $50 a month. 😛 I’m going to increase the amount up to $200 per month come October just because of all the holiday stuff. 😛
I’ll post about the Carli Bybel palette soon! 🙂
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Great buys! That Mac lipstick looks so pretty! Well done for being under budget, I did not too bad with budgeting over the last couple of months for beauty stuff and then I basically went crazy in April so yeah I think I will have to cut down this month, Oops!
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It’s funny how it goes though, with the spending. In April, I was in my “drugstore makeup is just as good as high end makeup, I don’t know why I bother with Sephora” phase. But I know I’ll succumb to some special limited edition packaging and fall back into high end makeup… 😛
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Haha I know so true! I am so like that as well, one minute I am all for drugstore makeup and the next I need all the high end makeup! Think we all have to accept the fact that we are just always gonna be buying makeup haha!
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You got some awesome deals. Paying only $9 from $89 is so awesome! 🙂
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Yes I had points because I had been buying lots at Hudson’s Bay lately. We also bought our luggage there recently so that helped with collecting more points. 🙂
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It’s a win-win. 🙂
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Fun fun fun!!! Nice deals, too, esp that Rusk hair thing.
Hey, I found a $OPI at Dollarama, too! Same as one of yours – Shiny Dancer (LOL love the name). My store didn’t have any real selection, though. You got some pretties.
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I’ll be honest, I bought Shiny Dancer 60% for the name and 40% for the colour. I’m not much of a metallic blue polish person but I love Tina!
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Hehe!!! I never associated it with Tina but it makes sense, too! I was thinking it was a play on Elton John’s Tiny Dancer 😀
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Oh right. I don’t know why I was thinking Private Dancer, duh!
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Haha, well it still works! I’m afraid that every time I think of Tiny Dancer, I remember the joke that some people mishear one of the lines as, “Hold me closer, Tony Danza…”
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I need those baseball polishes. NEEEED!!!! 😱⚾️
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I knew you’d be all over those! I’ve seen them online on Amazon!
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Your post on the Mac lipstick made me want it to, so an order went in that week! I am pretty sureI have blown my budget for April, I just had to pick up some of the UD lipsticks when they went on sale!
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I totally missed out on the UD sale and now all the shades I was interested are gone. Probably for the best! 😛 I hope you’ll like the MAC lipstick!
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Wonderful post! You have some great products there. 🙂
Those Rimmel lipsticks are absolutely amazing! I never leave home without mine in 45.
That Wet n’ Wild nail polish also looks like a wonderful nude!
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I got the Rimmel in #45 back in February and that’s what made me want the #43 as well! I’m so impressed with the Rimmel formula – they honestly rival that of higher end brands!
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They most certainly do! They are very similar to Chanel lipsticks in formula. They have that same creamy formula which just glides on like a dream. That, to me, says a lot about their quality because I am Chanel-lipstick obsessed. 😂 I think I will be trying 48 next. It won’t be a nude on me but Sam Chapman from Pixiwoo on YouTube made me want it. Rimmel has really been doing so well in terms of quality lately especially with their lip products!
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I’m always so amazed at how you spend so little but end up with so many things! It’s impressive! Half the time I forget to pull out my points card. Need to get better at that.
Have you tried that L’Oreal Micellar Water before? I tried it last year and I was just meh. Hated the packaging but I like a pump.
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Yes, points is where it’s at! I used to not take advantage of them (not even the Optimum Points, it really wasn’t until a couple of years ago it dawned on me I should collect them!)
I’ve not tried the L’Oreal micellar water before. I wanted to give some drugstore brands a try since I use less mainstream micellar waters from Yves Rocher and Reversa (both I love) I wanted to see how these ones stack up! Fingers crossed! (although I will say that my expectations are low. I did try the Simple micellar water and I didn’t care for it)
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What a neat haul! I love the look of the mini OPI Major League Baseball set and the Sephora by OPI nail polishes 🙂 can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the new Revlon mascaras!
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I kept seeing reviews of those Revlon mascaras and hearing good things about them so when I saw them on sale, I decided to take a plunge. I love testing out mascaras! 😀
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That is absolutely smashing Stashy and I also carried a very low buy in April as I hardly purchased an item and saving some money to be spent on my birthday which is approaching in a month’s time.
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Oh that’s good to treat yourself for your birthday! 🙂 No one else knows what YOU want like you do! 🙂 Have fun shopping for yourself!
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Thanks dear
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I’ll always walk int the drugstore wanting to buy something but I NEVER do!!! Sigh… Perhaps if I was in America or Canada I’d go mad… 😛
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Aww I think it’s all a matter of what my mood is. Or if there’s a good sale on. I never shop at drugstores unless something is on sale (or if I have no impulse control and something is BRAND NEW). Some days I go and walk out empty handed.
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My spendin was all over the place! I couldn’t contain myself but I kept purchasing more makeup stuff! (I need to start sharing them though.. Life is just super busy nowadays) and Yeah! I have my eyes on the Tease eyeshadow palette since forever though.. Seemed great for an on the go makeup routine!😍
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I’ve not tried any Tarte eye shadows so I thought the Tease palette was a good way to try it – I’m so glad I did! It’s really good quick eye look and it’s so compact. I’ll do a review coming up.
Yes you should share your makeup hauls! I love seeing those. 🙂
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yeah.. soon.. one step at a time.. HAHA
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Awesome buys!! The Caitlyn Jenner x MAC color is beautiful and I’ve been thinking about getting the NYX highlight and contour kit! Thanks for sharing. x
http://avecvalerie.com
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What I really like about that NYX Highlight and Contour kit is that you can refill the individual pans, so if you end up using one colour up more quickly than the others, you won’t have an empty spot in the palette. Genius!
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I didn’t know about that but that’s awesome! I’ll definitely have to purchase it.
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You’re doing so good with your low buy!
For makeup in April I picked up some items from the Wet n Wild summer correction and then just the two items from Sephora for the sale. Not too bad!
However I made up for it already this month with crazy indie purchases.
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Ooh will you show what you bought from Wet n Wild? What sort of fun stuff did you buy from indie brands?!! 😀
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I think at this point I probably won’t do a wet n wild post just because everything is sold out. I wad much too slow I’m afraid 😨
I will do posts on the indie stuff though! I place a rather enormous order with Femme Fatale and I placed another order with My Pretty Zombie. So so so many duochromes 🙂
I hope you’re having an awesome vacation!
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