My Minimalist Makeup Collection

Despite the fact that I absolutely LOVE makeup, I really try not to own TOO much of it. 

1. It expires.
2. I don't have a ton of room to store it.
3. It's easier to travel with less.
4. I save $$$ if I don't buy too much.



Here's what I currently have in my capsule makeup collection:

• Blush
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush
• Tarteist Blush Palette 
• Bronzer
• NYC Sunny
• Sample Tarte Park Avenue Princess
• Highlighter
• The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

• Powder
• Rimmel Stay Matte in 004 Sandstorm
• Foundation
• MAC Pro Longwear Compact Foundation in NW25
• Concealers
• Maybelliene Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Medium
• Stila Stay All Day Concealer in Light 03

• Primers
• Sample Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
• Sample Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer
• Eyeshadow Palettes
• Urban Decay Naked Palette
• ELF Prism Palette in Naked
• Eyeliner
• Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencil in Noir Intense
• Lipstick
• Sample Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Kimchi
• Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Rapture
• Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Ladyflower
• Lipgloss
• Dior Addict Lipgloss in 643 Diablotine
• Eyebrows
• NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Brunette

I don't use mascara because I have permanent false lashes.  

If you reduced your makeup collection to 20 items or less, which products would you need to have?



Play! By Sephora - May 2016

I'm thrilled to have finally received my first Play! By Sephora subscription box after being on the waiting list since September of last year.  Play! is Sephora's monthly beauty box, which includes 5 samples delivered to your door for $10 a month.  

Here's what I received in my May 2016 Play! By Sephora box:

 This really cute bag came in my box, which will be great for storing these Sephora samples!

To help explain all of the products in the May box, there is a piece of paper that gives a description of each sample!  It also came with a card that gives you 50 extra reward points when you make any purchase at a Sephora store (limited time to use it though!).  

I have to say, I'm really impressed with this box!  It came with a mini Bite Beauty lipstick in Kimchi!  This is a bright pink color, perfect for Summer!  

The box also included a mini Tarte Tarteist Lip Crayon in Latergram, a Korres Wild Rose Sleeping Facial sample, a Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask, an Altelier Cologne sample in Orange Sanguine, and an Origins Maskimizer sample with a sample of their Charcoal Clear Improvement mask and their Drink Up Intensive mask.  

Of the samples I received, I've only tried the Origins Clear Improvement mask before so I'm really excited to check out all the others!! 

Do you prefer travel size products or full-size products?

Do you receive any subscription boxes?

Love With Food - May 2016

Around Black Friday 2015, I saw an ad for Love with Food and decided to sign up!  Love with Food is a subscription box that delivers organic and all-natural snacks each month. 

I was browsing the web for a unique Christmas gift for my mom (who can't have gluten because she has celiac disease).  Love with Food offers a snack box that is completely gluten free!  After signing my mom up, I decided to purchase the regular snack box for myself.  I absolutely love the charitable aspect of the company too.  For each box sold, Love with Food gives a meal to help fight hunger in America.  Over a million meals have been donated already!

I paid $81.50 for December 2015-November 2016 for the "tasting box," which so far I have really enjoyed! 

Here's what I received in my May 2016 Box:

• I was surprised the Smarty Pants gummy vitamins tasted as good as they did, but the package said you should eat 6 of them a day!  Seems like a lot of candy to eat each day vs. taking a single vitamin tablet.
• I nice surprise was the GLEE gum pop.  I didn't think I would care for it, but I actually really enjoyed the Green Apple flavor that was in this month's box.  Unfortunately, there is a bit of terrible gum in the middle of the sucker.  If it hadn't been for the gum, the candy would have been perfect. 
• I didn't care for the bag of Skinny Pop popcorn dusted with dark chocolate.  While I appreciate that there were only 70 calories in this snack, I think I prefer my popcorn to be chocolate free (just a personal preferences). 
• I also wasn't a big fan of the Chickpea Snack in Rockin Ranch.  They reminded me of Ranch flavor Corn Nuts so if you like those, you'll probably like these chickpea snacks.

• I took the Surf Sweets Jelly Beans to work for someone else to have since I've never really liked Jelly Beans. I may do the same with the Smooze Coconut and Pint Guava Fruit Ice.  It looks like it might be a nice Summer treat for a child, but I don't think I'll enjoy it very much.  The Emily's Trail Mix also looks like a good afternoon snack for one of my co-workers.
• The Kutoa Peanut Butter and Jelly looks dense & similar to a clif bar.  It's the perfect size to put in my purse and eat when I'm on the go.  I like that it has chia seed, flax seed, and 6g of protein!  Also, the company has partnered with the World Food Program USA so that every bar purchased helps feed a child in need.
• My favorite snack was the Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle.  These are small, crunchy chocolate cookies that definitely satisfied my sweet tooth.  Each bag only has 120 calories so I didn't feel too bad about munching on the sweet treats.  There was a coupon in the box for 20% off their website, which I may just use.  If you're interested, the code was LOVE4BB.

• The box also came with numerous coupons and even a sample of the Simple Micellar water.  I've actually heard a lot of good things about this product so I'm excited to try it out!

I also saw Love with Food was featured on Groupon, if you'd like to try it out at a discounted price!

*This is not a sponsored post.