Beautified, or I will be.

I'm having a blast with family here on the east side of the state.  I've seen my sister's play twice, eaten some delicious (mostly) homemade food, and gotten in some shopping.

I'll be back with more about the weekend, but I thought I'd share the shopping with you.  And it actually has nothing to do with shoes.  Though when the six women stopped by DSW, four of us did end up buying something.

I just held out for Ulta.  I had hoped we'd have time for a visit and had compiled a mental list of things to pick up.

I also love when other bloggers talk about their top beauty products, so I thought I'd combine the two into one post, since my purchases today combined things I can't live without and things I've wanted to try.

Some old faves:

- Maybelline the Colossal Volum Express: Why the ridiculous spelling, I have no idea.  But this mascara has become a favorite.  It gives me thick, wonderful lashes and doesn't leave them dry and brittle.  What's not too love?!

- Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer (with spf 30): Now that I'm older and wiser, I know that sunscreen is kind of important.  But I have no interest in wearing the thick, greasy product of the summers of my youth.  This lotion is light and doesn't cause my face to freak out.  An all-around win.

- Any nail polish by OPI or Essie.  I purchased a couple options today, in fun, springy colors.  I can't wait to try them all out.  But probably not all at once.

- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat: I love wearing nail polish, obviously, but always smudge my nails when applying it.  Always.  Then some friends on Twitter suggested Seche Vite to me.  A. May. Zing.  Truly.  It dries to polish quickly and leave a nice protective layer.

New Stuff I'm Trying:
- Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo: This purchase is mostly for my Europe trip, though I've wanted to try a dry shampoo for a while now.  It comes well recommended and will help me wash my hair even less than usual.

- Stila One Step Correct: I was excited when Stila released this product and have put off purchasing it due to the price.  It's a primer, corrector all-in-one, that's supposed to deal with everything from redness to large pores.  Fingers crossed it works as advertised.

- Garnier Nutrisse in Dark Intense Auburn: I've been getting my hair professionally colored for almost two years now.  And I love it, but it's kind of expensive.  Ultimately, I plan on transitioning back to my natural brown, but I couldn't resist staying a red head a little longer.  I've loved the red and am not quite ready to let go so I'm giving the at-home dye job a go.  Just to put off the inevitable a little longer.

So there you have it.  If I remember, I'll try to let you know what I think of the new products.

**These were my own purchases and not sponsored in any way.  All links are to Ulta since that's where I made my purchases, but most of these products can be found any number of places.