Holiday 2019 Haul

December 19, 2019 | Beauty | 24 Comments »

Another year another holiday haul post! I didn’t really purchase much this holiday season. There were definitely a few splurge items, but I’ve been doing very good at not splurging on every single new release. But it is the holiday season where the sales are everywhere and we all know I can’t pass up a good deal. So here is what I hauled this year…

Duchess Of Soapshire

I was excited to see some new holiday themed soaps added to Duchess Of Soapshire’s Etsy shop. I picked up a few that I thought me and the guys would all enjoy.

Gingerbread Cold Process Soap
Gingerbread was an easy choice. Who can resist gingerbread this time of year? It smells like a delicious gingerbread cookie.

Vanilla Bean Noel Cold Process Soap
This one is my absolute favorite! This soap smells so good! Too good! This scent needs to be turned into a candle because I could smell this all day long. I love how soft my skin feels after using this soap. Seriously, if there are any left you need to try it!

Sugar Plum Fairy Cold Process Soap
I’m a sucker for anything purple so of course I had to try this one. It’s such a cute bar of soap and smells like delicious berries.

Bath By Bex

Of course my holiday shopping wouldn’t be complete without a few of my favorite bath bombs! Bath By Bex always has a deal going on so I make sure to keep an eye out so that I can buy even more bath bombs. Plus shipping is free. It can take a little while to ship, but it’s worth it. Sometimes they even throw in an extra for the wait which I totally appreciate. I mostly picked up some of their newer holiday releases, but I included a few trusty favorites as well.

Sexy Time
Sexy Time is one of those trusty favorites.

Wintermint
I thought the Wintermint would be nice to have on hand for when I’m sick.

Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin Spice was a must try! I really liked it, but it didn’t smell a whole lot like pumpkin. I feel like the vanilla maybe overpowered the pumpkin spice? It was still nice, but I would have liked it to be more of a pumpkin fest.

Baked Apple
This is another one of their newer holiday releases.

Candy Cane
I plan to save the Candy Cane for a sick day as well.

Citrine Stone inset in Citrus Sunrise
The Citrus Sunrise is a new favorite of mine. I love the addition of the Citrine Stone. I have a small collection of these bath bomb stones now. No idea what I’ll do with them. Maybe I can turn them into necklaces? I’m not that crafty so it’s the best I can come up with. The bath bomb is amazing though and easily one of the most relaxing yet!

Black As My Soul
Black As My Soul will always be included in every order. It’s a huge favorite of mine!

Bed Bath & Beyond

Ok so this isn’t beauty related, but there was such a great deal that I couldn’t pass it up.

Nespresso® by Breville® VertuoLine Coffee and Espresso Maker Bundle in Chrome
For the longest time I’ve had 2 machines taking up precious counter space. I didn’t mind since they both did something different. My trusty Keurig made the best coffee and iced coffee. My old trusty Verismo made the best lattes and Americanos. The problem is Starbucks did away with their online store a while back which made it so difficult to obtain the pods. The local stores were of course never in stock. The only other retailer that had them in stock was Bed Bath & Beyond. I couldn’t even order pods on Amazon! It just became too much trouble. So I started looking into another espresso machine. I’ve been eyeing this Nespresso machine for a while. I was so close to getting this over the Verismo years ago. I settled on the Verismo because it seemed easier to obtain the pods. It was nice while it lasted. Anyway, this machine was originally $249.99 and I was able to get it for just $106.24! It makes both espresso and coffee. This bundle also came with a frother so I was able to finally replace my old one. If you’re interested in a full review please let me know.

I’m in the process of setting this up so that it looks much nicer. But I’m happy with this for now. It doesn’t take up a lot of space and I don’t have to jump from one part of the kitchen to the other. Everything is together in a neat little spot.

Aveda

I’m sure by now y’all are probably tired of hearing about my hair. I’m doing much better these days. My hair included. My ends are still dry and split, but the rest of my hair is looking and feeling like hair these days! But the ads must have known I was in a bad place so when I spotted one for the Aveda Damage Remedy line, I had to click the link and read some reviews. Most of them are positive with people claiming they noticed a difference after the first wash. I didn’t believe it, but I bought it anyway. It’s shampoo and conditioner. I buy the stuff anyway. No harm in trying something new, right?

Aveda Damage Remedy Hair Repair Trio
The Aveda Damage Remedy Trio contains a full size bottle of Damage Remedy Shampoo and Conditioner and a travel size tube of their Daily Hair Repair. I didn’t feel like the shampoo lathered up a whole lot, but my husband claims it lathered up just fine. Maybe I wasn’t as generous as he was with it? The conditioner was rich and silky smooth. I found that they both had a chemical lemon scent which I wasn’t too fond of. It wasn’t horrible, but I feel like it could smell a lot better.

So did it make a difference after just one wash like so many have claimed? I’m surprised to say it, but it did! I seriously wasn’t expecting much. I was hoping it would at least leave my hair feeling a little softer. Not only did it leave my hair feeling softer, but it helped my ends too! I’ve been using so much on my hair and while I did find some products that help, not much has truly penetrated enough to make a big enough difference. After my husband straightened my hair he passed me the ends and told me to feel. They were almost as smooth as the rest of my hair. I was shocked. Aside from these products, nothing else has changed. At this point I don’t care how it smells. It does what it claims so I’ll continue using it.

Gap/Old Navy

Any time I ask for suggestions on what to share on Midwest Glam I’m told to either share food or fashion. Food I get. I like to cook and I like to eat. I do both very well. Fashion? Yeah, no one comes to me for fashion advice. I’m a strictly jeans and t-shirt kind of gal. If you were to see me out and about I’d be wearing jeans/jeggings/leggings paired with a graphic t-shirt or henley complete with my Dr. Martens or shoes (and nothing with heels because I’ll break something). Once in a while I’ll pick up a fancier looking top and kid myself into thinking I actually know what the heck I’m doing. I don’t. So I keep it simple. When I saw that Gap and Old Navy were having a huge sale, I took advantage and stocked up. I won’t link every single thing. I grabbed a few jeggings, a few leggings, a few henleys, and a few t-shirts. I basically got a new Winter wardrobe for a little over $100!

Green Roads

One of my favorite places to shop for CBD oils and edibles. They had a bit of a sale going on so I just grabbed a few essentials.

CBD Oil 100 mg
My go-to oil. This stuff doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as the StraightUp CBD Oil, but it’s not the worst tasting oil either. I opted for the Green Roads this time around because it was on sale.

Relax Bears
I couldn’t remember if I tried their Relax Bears or not. I had purchased a few of their gummies in the past. Some I liked and some I didn’t. I actually liked these bears. They’re a little sweet, but they really helped me on the days my stomach was giving me problems. They really do help me to relax and ease tension. I’ll have to buy the larger size next time.

Sleepy Z’s
I’ve been wanting to try these. They used to have these Gummie Men that contained melatonin in them. They were amazing! They did away with them for some reason and claim these are the same. They definitely are not the same, but they do the trick.

Ulta

I know that I’ve pretty much sworn off Ulta and I still hate my local store, but they have started to become a one stop spot lately. They keep adding more and more brands too! And I can’t deny that their rewards system is much better than Sephora’s. Anyway, I needed a few essentials and I tend to stock up around this time.

Clinique More Than Moisture Set
This is actually sold out and no longer listed on their website. I’m so glad that I got it when I did. Moisture Surge is my go-to moisturizer. I was planning to just get that when I stumbled upon this cute little set. For the same price as a jar of the Moisture Surge I get to try a few other products from the line. Including the Moisture Surge Overnight Mask, Moisture Surge Face Spray and the Moisture Surge Eye.

Clinique Pretty Easy Liquid Eyeling Pen
Every year I pick out a new liquid liner to try and every year I’m left disappointed. I’ve only tried this out on my bare lid. I’m going to fully prep my lids and give it another try before swearing it off. I had it on for 15 minutes before I noticed it was suddenly gone. Disappeared. My lids aren’t exactly oily so I have no idea what happened. It didn’t apply intensely. It was barely black. More of a gray color. I don’t know if I maybe got a bad one or if this is how they are? I’m surprised because it’s rated so high.

IT Cosmetics Je Ne Sais Quoi
My go-to lip balm. I buy a few every year.

Clinique My Happy Cocoa & Cashmere Perfume Spray
I remember loving my deluxe sample of Clinique Happy. I had tested the Cocoa & Cashmere in store, but they were sold out. I finally got my hands on it. It smells so nice! It’s not the most lasting scent though. It fades within a few hours. But for $23.00 I guess you can’t expect much. It does smell wonderful while it lasts and the bottle is really pretty.

CeraVe SA Cream
I picked this up to try for my arms and legs. I’ve heard so many rave reviews claiming it left them feeling silky smooth. I’m all for that.

Sephora

I thought I was done with my beauty purchases and then I remembered I had a Sephora coupon to use. So I picked up a few more essentials.

Sephora Collection LashCraft Big Volume Mascara
I have so much mascara laying around, but I loved this one so much I had to at least grab a sample size.

Caudalie Grape Water
I absolutely love this facial spray! I buy a few every year.

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner
Since my Clinique liner just wasn’t cutting it, I decided to get an extra Tattoo Liner to have on hand. At least this one never lets me down.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream
I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this cream on here or not. I purchased it shortly after I got diagnosed with rosacea. It’s one of the very few moisturizers that are gentle enough to use daily. It’s so gentle and all around wonderful.

bareMinerals Mineral Veil Setting Powder
After my trusty Make Up For Ever HD Microfinishing Loose Powder suddenly let me down, I turned to my Mineral Veil sample and instantly fell in love. I had to purchase the full size.

I guess this really is quite a bit. There are a few other things I haven’t mentioned. A cool massager that attaches to your chair which my husband surprised me with one day. I also got a bunch of cute pj sets from Target. We even decorated outside our home. We don’t usually decorate the outside. This is our first year decorating. Now I remember why we never cared to. It’s a lot of work! It’s worth it though. We have a cute little setup going on. And how can I forget the best present of all. Baby; my Jeep. My dream car. My husband surprised me with her for my birthday. But it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Usually when we get snow and it ices over my husband is stuck at work. We live in a more country setting where they hardly plow/salt the roads. Luckily his mother lives down the street so he stays there until it’s safe to drive back home. This year he took the Jeep and was able to make it back home safely. We were also able to go grocery shopping later on which is something we wouldn’t have been able to do with the car. We would have gotten stuck. It’s nice to know that the snow won’t hold us back this year. Being snowed in for days/weeks is not fun.

I’ll try my best to come back with full reviews of each of these products. Is there something you’d like to hear about first? What did you haul this season?

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