Birthday Haul!

In a bid to save some money, I have not been able to go out and buy new beauty products (or anything else for that matter.) We had a little extra cash and it was also my birthday, so I have a bit of a haul to share.

I've been on the search for a cheap makeup site and found All Cosmetics Wholesale. They have tons of high end and drugstore brands at super low prices. They are able to sale everything cheap because they are discontinued colors or packaging, overstocked items, or my favorite find, "factory blemish." Factory blemish products are those that have not passed quality tests for minimal little issues such as wrong packaging, slight damage, mislabeling, etc.

Here is the big list of what I got:

1. Mary Kay Compact
1. Mary Kay Mineral Eye Shadow in Cinnabar
1. Mary Kay Mineral Eye Shadow in Hazelnut
1. Mary Kay Mineral Eye Shadow in Sweet Pink - I could not find this on the website.
2. KORRES Pressed Eye Shadow in Golden
3. E.L.F. Eyelid Primer in Sheer
4. E.L.F. Clarifying Pressed Powder in Ivory
5. E.L.F. Essentials Foundation Brush
5. Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes in Dark Grey (Yeah, I know, there are two fives.)
6. KORRES Natural Products Eyeliner Pencil in Green
7. Dior DiorShow Mascara Deluxe Sample 
8. Pixi Water Blush in Chestnut Stain No.2 
9. & 10. Benefit Real Birthday Turn Ons - Includes deluxe samples of They're Real Mascara and Watt's Up Highlighter
11. Bath & Body Works Signature Collection Body Lotion in Pure Paradise 
12. KORRES Guava Shower Gel
13. Mary Kay After-Sun Replenshing Gel - I couldn't find this on the website.
14. Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream
15. Mary Kay Satin Hands Hand Cream 
16. Aveda Phomollient Styling Mousse
17. Bath & Body Works Signature Collection Body Lotion in Beautiful Day
18. Aveda Stress-Fix Soaking Salts
19. Bath & Body Works Signature Collection Body Lotion in Malibu Heat
20. Sephora by OPI Nail Colour in Bright as a Feather 
21,22,&23. Hard Candy Nail Polish - In Mr. Wrong, Hot Pants, and Rumor Mill - These appear to be discontinued.
24. Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya
25. MAC Lipstick - I don't have a name on these MAC lipsticks, the bottom stickers are missing.
26. MAC Lipstick 
27. L'Oreal Colour Riche Caresse Wet Shine Stain in Lilac Ever After
28. Sephora Collection Volume Booster Gloss Serum in Under a Spell (Permanently out of stock) 


Damn. When everything is typed up it looks a little ridiculous. I'll be writing reviews of most of these products soon.

June Favorites

June has always been a kind of bland month for me. It's getting hot and all the neighborhood kids are running around and acting stupid. The kids in my neighborhood will literally lay down in the middle of the street and then give you a dirty look when you honk at them or patiently not run them over. Not sure why I'm babbling about dumb kids on a monthly favorites, but apparently I am. I've got a handful of favorites for June and they are random. 


Essie Ballet Slippers - A long time ago I had a bottle of light pink Essie polish that I loved. I'm not even sure where I got it. My bottle dried up and I was never able to find it again. At the time, Essie was not readily available around here, I couldn't just drive to Walmart and pick up a bottle. I forgot about it until a few months ago and went searching at Walmart and there it was! I don't usually go for light pinks but this is girly without being overt and also makes me looked tanned.

Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Perfume - I wrote a little about this in my May Ipsy review and have continued to use this throughout the month. A friend of mine also receives Ipsy and got the same sample and hated it. She brought me her sample (Hooray!) and seemed surprised that I liked it so much. I had her smell it on me and she was amazed at how much it changed, she liked the way it smelled on me. I know that most perfumes will interact with your own chemistry and but I have never had one that changes as much as this one does. I love it!

Voluspa Japonica Baltic Amber Candle - My mother-in-law received this from a co-worker and passed it along to me. I'm very picky about amber scented things, they can often smell odd and be unpleasant. This candle, however, is amazing! The scent is sweet and warm and smells homey. The Japonica line is inspired by Japanese art and features a gorgeous floral design. The box is so pretty that I had to keep it, I couldn't bear to throw it away! This 6.2 oz candle costs $18.00 and there are several other sizes, including some in pretty tins. The burn time for this size is listed as 50 hours and although I didn't time it, it definitely burns for a long time. I'm going to have to check out the other scents in this line.

Nyx Cream Blush in Natural - I really haven't used cream blushes before and I do like this blush from Nyx, although it doesn't seem to last all that long. The light pink color is perfect for my skin tone and its quite easy to apply and blend. Getting a picture of the actual color is damn near impossible, just google search for it and see how different it looks in just about every picture.




Aztec/Ikat Print - I've never been a fan of this sort of print until this new crop of brightly colored patterns starting getting popular. Now I am obsessed! I've been working on a print of my own and thought I would share a little sample of it. I might try to incorporate it into this blog.


This year seems to be flying by and I honestly could not be happier. 2013 has been pretty tough so far and although it has started to level out I still just kind of want it to be over. One good thing is that my birthday is next week and hopefully the husband and I will be able to get away from it all for a couple of days.

DIY Oil & Water Makeup Remover

I'm at it again, making my own beauty products. I've been using a couple different oil & water makeup removers that I received as samples and I'm running low. As I've said before, I have been trying to save money and this makeup remover seemed easy enough to make.

What I Used:

Apricot Oil
Water
5-6 Drops Rose Hip Oil
Splash of Melvita Orange Blossom Floral Water

Preparation was very simple, I boiled the water and rose hip oil and then combined the apricot oil and water 50/50 in a small dropper bottle (I bought a pack of 12 a few months ago from Amazon. Check them out here.) After shaking well, I let the mixture sit overnight before using. It worked great to take my makeup off but I felt like something was missing. I added the splash of Melvita Orange Blossom water for a little extra nourishment and scent and I'm very pleased with the results.

What an exciting photo!

My homemade makeup remover takes off all of my makeup and leaves my skin feeling so soft! It's much cheaper than other makeup removers and I can tweak the formula in the future to meet my ever changing skin care needs. I have noticed that as I use it, it seems that more of the water is disapearing quicker than the oil. I think this may be partially do to the dropper bottle, I may need cut out any plastic pieces in the spout. I also suspect that it could also be my mixture, I need to look up the ingredients in other makeup removers and see if there is anything that might affect the formula.


I'm excited about my little creation! I think my next DIY beauty product might be a homemade cornstarch pressed powder. If it works out, I'll write up a post!

Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Color in Just Peachy

 

I was at my local Dollar General to get cat food and (with no real intentions of buying anything) took a little detour down the makeup aisle. Well, I bought something.

I picked up a tube of Wet n Wild's Megalast Lip Color in Just Peachy. Peach lip color seems to be all the rage this spring/summer and since I'm slightly obsessed with lip color, I thought I'd give it a go. Also, the DG Wet n Wild display was so understocked that the only other choices were a boring pink and several darker brown shades.


My initial reaction was a little miffed, I came home and put it on immediately and it looked terrible! But then I realized that I had been lying around all day and hadn't even put on lip balm. I have also been dealing with allergies, causing me to be a creepy mouth breather and drying my lips out. I tried it again, this time after exfoliating my lips and putting on some lip balm, and it did look much better.

The color is gorgeous, pinky peach without any orange, which is something that I was a little worried about with peach lipstick. After wearing this for a few days this last week, I have seen a few problems. Since I have naturally dry lips (dry enough that I often sneeze and split my lip) and it being allergy season, this does dry my lips out and I HAVE to use lip balm with it. Without it my lips just look flaky and gross. It definitely does not last four hours, as advertised, but most lipsticks (even stains!) don't last all that long on me.

I've read a couple reviews of people griping about the packaging. I didn't find it all that cheap looking. The tube is plastic, of course, and is simple black with a clear cap and accents, and it seems to hold up just fine thrown in my purse.

The price is great at $2 and I think I can make it work, as long as I have lip balm and keep my lips properly hydrated. The color is so pretty, I'm contemplating using it as a cream blush.

Has anyone else tried this lipstick line? What are your thoughts?

Sample Vs. Full-size Products

I love samples. I will gather them up as quick as I can find them and it's not just beauty samples. Cleaning products, toothpaste, noodles, FLOR tiles (which I paid for and if you've never heard of them, check them out. Right now.)  Since I started receiving Birchbox and Ipsy each month, my yearning for them has turned into a bit of an obsession.

Samples have come a long way since you were getting a smear of lotion out of a magazine, noting the small print explaining that what you are currently rubbing into your hands is a product "similar" to what you can buy at the store. Not only was this a little disturbing, but you could never get a feel for what the product was supposed to do. Lucky for us, companies have seemed to wise up to this issue. Deluxe samples, as some companies call them, are rapidly becoming the norm.

I know these samples are supposed to lead to buying the full size product, but more often than not, I will use up a sample and be so infatuated with something new I have received that I'll pretty much forget about the other. That's not to say that I never purchase the full size after trying a sample, there are several items that I've bought.

My number one sample turned purchase has to be The Balm Stainiac. I received this sample in my very first Birchbox and I am now working on my second (purchased) tube and have two more that I have bought on backup. Stainiac is a lip/cheek stain that comes in three different colors. I originally received Beauty Queen, a berry red stain but bought Prom Queen, a pinker stain. I also have purchased Homecoming Queen which is a pinky-peach stain, but Prom Queen is my favorite. I love the natural flush that it gives and the fact that it last all day. Seriously, all day long.

Samples have certainly changed my beauty life. Sometimes beauty life can get a little repetitive and I love having the ability to change things up, sometimes daily, without spending tons of money. I have a few friends that also receive beauty boxes and love samples and that makes everything that much better. If I get something I don't like, I know I can just take it to a friend and trade for something I do like. Everyone is happy!


Most people probably don't think as in depth about samples as I do, but now that it has been brought up, what is everyone's feelings on the matter? Does your beauty routine include a ridiculous amount of samples like mine?

DIY - Pumpkin Spice Coffee Scrub and Herbs & Oils Face Toner

I've been feeling a little down because I haven't been able to go out and buy a lot of new beauty products. My husband and I are trying to cut back on our spending and since I have tons of stuff that I can use, I've held back on buying anything new. Today I was really feeling the urge to buy things and decided that I would make a few products instead. Spend exactly 0 dollars and get new, custom stuff? Score!

Coffee scrubs have been all over the blog world lately and I thought I would make one of my own. At one point in time I had a coffee scrub from Bath & Body Works that was amazing. I love coffee, the smell, the taste, pretty much everything about coffee and I loved using this scrub. Then it decided to leak all over the place and make a huge mess. Not cool. I kept this little issue in mind when making my scrub so that I can hopefully avoid a mess.

Another popular product that I see so many people talking about is toners. I don't think I've ever bought a toner before, all of the good ones seem too expensive for something that I don't think would make a huge difference with my skin. I started looking up recipes for toners and as I had guessed, they are incredibly simple, mostly containing water and a few other natural ingredients. Well, I can surely make that! So I did.



I've had a tub this size for almost
a year and have only used half.

On a side note, how amazing is coconut oil? My sunburn that I got over Memorial Day weekend was a little worse than I originally thought and I've been slathering myself with coconut oil since I got home. I can really see a difference in how my sunburn has healed, it started to tan in just a couple of days and although it did peel in places, it did not peel nearly as much I would normally with a sunburn. It's also great for general moisturizing, especially after shaving my legs. I do have to use sparingly on my face because I've got naturally oily skin. It does work great before or after we take the motorcycle out to protect against the wind whipping in my face. I've only tried coconut oil once in my hair and I had to wash it 4 times to get the oily feel out of my hair, so I only plan to use it if my hair is begging for moisture. Regardless of this, I cannot recommend coconut oil enough.

*I had all of the ingredients below on hand. If you don't have any of these and would like to find some, I would suggest Amazon. Great deals and a huge selection. If you have a locally owned store that you can buy these items at, do that! Support your local business!

Herbs & Oils Face Toner Ingredients

Water
Dried Rosemary
Dried Mint
Dried Chamomile
Coconut Oil
Rose Hip Oil*
Sweet Orange Oil*
Argan Oil*
Avocado Oil*
Apricot Oil*
Almond Oil*

* I only used a few drops of each of these and mixed them together in a little squirt bottle.

There were alot of different ways to make toners, most being "mix ingredients together, spray on face." Because I did not have filtered water and I was working with dried herbs, I decided to boil my water and create a sort of tea with the rosemary, mint, and chamomile.


And...that looks gross.

The finished product. Again, gross.

 I added a few drops of the oil mixture and a few drops of coconut oil as it was boiling. Once I thought it was good and tea-like, I took it off of the heat and let it sit for a bit to cool. I drained all of the herbs out in a coffee filter and poured the liquid into a small spray bottle that I had. The toner is currently sitting in the fridge to cool and I'll post a little update once I've used it to let everyone know how it turned out.

I would love to make a toner with fresh herbs to take full advantage of their healing properties. I love using herbs in cooking and my mom has always used herbs for health reasons. Everytime I had some sort of ailment, my mom would have teas and herbal supplements ready for me. If I wasn't such a terrible gardener, I would grow my own. I'll have to make a trip to my grandma's house because I know she always has fresh herbs in her garden.


Pumpkin Spice Coffee Scrub Ingredients

Not the best picture, the lighting in my kitchen sucks.
But aren't my counter tops gorgeous?

1/8th cup coffee beans
1 k-cup of Pumpkin Spice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon coconut oil
apricot oil
cinnamon

*Note: None of these measurements are exact, I pretty much did everything to fit the containers that it would be in.

While digging around in my cabinet for supplies, I noticed I had a couple of Pumpkin Spice k-cups for my Keurig and got excited at the thought of a bit of pumpkin in my scrub. (I also have been wanting to cut open a k-cup to see exactly what the insides look like, thus killing two birds with one stone!) The coffee in the k-cup is ground very fine and to add a bit more scrubby to the scrub, I ground the regular coffee a little more coarse. The coffee, sugar, and coconut oil were all put in the container and then I added apricot oil until it was moist, but not runny. (Hopefully this will keep the mixture from seperating and making a mess. The Bath & Body Works scrub was very oily.) I then added a little cinnamon, no specific amount, just dumped some in and mixed well.


I, of course, immediately used it on my hands and they are now soft and smell of wonderful coffee with a hint of pumpkin. I'm glad that I decided to grind the regular coffee up coarsly, I like my exfoliaters to be a little rough.

I'm excited to use this scrub tonight in the shower. I don't often do full body scrubs. I'm really not sure why, the skin on my body is prone to being dry and itchy. There is also the added benefit of coffee apparently helping to minimize the appearance of cellulite (I'm not sure if I believe this, but it can't hurt to try) and who couldn't use a little cellulite reduction? I'll also post a little update to let everyone know how I liked this scrub.


I hope that my little projects have inspired others to make their own. DIY beauty products are an amazing, fun way to treat yourself and not bankrupt yourself. They also work great as gifts for friends and family. I only wish that we had more places around here that you could buy the fresh ingredients and other DIY beauty essentials. Thankfully, there is always Amazon!

(I know this post is kind of ridiculous in its length, I was very excited about my little projects!)

May Birchbox

 





This month I was not terribly impressed with what I received in my Birchbox. There were a couple things that I have enjoyed, but nothing that I can't live without. Because of my indifference, this is going to be short and sweet.

 

Pilot Acroball PureWhite - $6.24 for 4, available at Walmart & Target - As far as pens go, this is a nice one. I'm a little torn on receiving this though. On one side, it's a pen. I could have had a better sample in it's place or even some chocolate. And on the other side, I use pens all the time and I like to carry several in my purse because I always need one. I compare this to getting clothes for Christmas when you're little, it's going to get used but you really would have preferred a toy or a bike or something.

 

Coola Classis SPF 30 Cucumber Moisturizer for Face - $32.00 - I haven't actually tried this yet, I'm planning to throw it in my pocket the next time we take the motorcycle out. I'll update once I've used it.

 

Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner - $11.00 - I'm always in the market for new eyeliners and was happy to see this sample. I'm not too sure of the color, meaning I don't know exactly what color I received. It appears to be a dark brown, yet I cannot find the matching color on the website. Oh well, the eyeliner goes on smoothly and blends very well. I love receiving eyeliner samples because I have a real problem spending alot of money on eyeliner.

 

Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle - $21.95 - I quite like this leave in spray. It smells amazing and seems to work well so far to keep frizz at bay. I honestly have been grabbing it in the morning simply to make my hair smell lovely.

 

Isaac Mizrahi FABULOUS Eau De Parfum & Rollerball - $69.00 - I really don't like this perfume. It smells like a weird combination of something a grandma would wear and cleaning chemicals. Per the Birchbox website, the following smells make up this perfume:

 

"Bright opening notes of citrus, peony, and musk unfold to juicy middle notes of mandarin and nectarine. Top notes of smoky bergamot create depth, while jasmine sambac, tuberose, and peony add a touch of femininity. Warm base notes of vanilla, patchouli, and sandalwood complete the alluring mix."

 

First of all, that is a ton of different scents to make up one perfume. I usually prefer my scents to be much more simple. I can't seem to pinpoint any of the specific smells except for the citrus and very lightly, the musk. It's just way too complex for my nose and I don't want to smell like I've been scrubbing kitchen counters all day.

 

I'm working on my Ipsy review which will hopefully be a little more exciting.

 

 

Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang

 

I think everyone has heard the hype about Rimmel's new Apocalips Lip Lacquer. I have read multiple blogs exclaiming over this lacquer and I've been waiting patiently to hear anything on when it will be released here in the states. I was doing a little research online and found that ASOS would ship to the US...for free! So of course I couldn't resist. I ended up ordering Big Bang, which is really branching out for me. I've been looking for a gorgeous red lip color and I've heard raves on this color.

First off, I'm very impressed with ASOS. I ordered on the 24th and received the package on the 2nd. Seeing as it came from the UK, that's very quick shipping. I have never ordered anything from ASOS but I will have to browse around in the future.

 

Please disregard the smeary stains, I'm a bit messy.

 

On to the Apocalips...I'm a bit torn on this product. The color pigmentation is amazing and the formula is so smooth, not sticky at all. It smells lovely, but it's messy. Or atleast for someone like me who is messy to begin with. I pranced around the house wearing this product for the night and smeared it on my face multiple times. I wore it to work the next day and did a little bit better because I was aware that I could accidentally look like Joker with a single smudge, although I did make a big mess of my coffee cup.

 

 

I think that I will use this product VERY sparingly over another lipstick or stain. Due to this, it will last quite a while longer than if I wore it thickly (and reapplied often after I made a mess of myself.) I am glad that I purchased it because it is gorgeous.

 

 

Inspiration - Ulyana Sergeenko

 

 In the May 2013 issue of Harper's Bazaar, I discovered a radiant, inspiring, fashion-forward beast of a women. Ulyana Sergeenko is a Russian designer, photographer, and couture collector. Her style is quirky and traditional, historic and avant garde. She obviously takes risks and I respect and adore that.



Her style is so interesting and unique without being outlandish. How adorable is that polka dot dress with the red buttons down the back? I love that she can take a plain black poufy dress and make it her own with minimal accessories. She looks so sophisticated and put together but with a touch of whimsy.





I've included a little sample below of her couture lines. Her most recent line for Spring/Summer 2013 was a part of Paris Fashion Week. All of her clothes are made exclusively in Moscow, Russia and from what I can tell, very hard to get your hands on. Atleast for an unwealthy girl from Oklahoma.



 

 

Fall/Winter 2011/2012

Fall/Winter 2013/2013
 



Spring/Summer 2013

 

If you would like to check out her runway shows, I've linked the videos below.

 

Fall/Winter 2011/2012

Fall/Winter 2012/2013

Spring/Summer 2013

 



Current Favorites

There are a couple of things that I am loving right now and I thought I would put together a post to ooh and aah about these products. I hope to make this a pretty regular post, but it may take me awhile to find new things that I love enough to blog about.





Peach Parfait, Cherish, & Sweetheart

Revlon has really impressed me recently with their lip products.  I have been trying to branch out on what I wear on my lips because I normally only wear chapstick. The Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains are pretty amazing. I have Cherish, which is a light, almost frosty looking pink and Sweetheart, a bright, in your face pink. I've been too chicken to go for a red, but I'm working up to it.  

I also have the ColorBurst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait. I love the coloring on this one, a peachy pink that is close to my natural lip color with a little bit of shimmer.



I received a sample of Stila's In The Light palette a few months back and immediately became obsessed with it. I put off buying it for awhile because I thought that $39 was alot for eyeshadow. When I finally broke down and bought it, I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner. I've now had the palette for a month or two and I don't know how I lived without it before. The shadows are gorgeously pigmented and last all day (with an eye primer of course.) The colors are perfect for my skin tone and hazel eyes and I like that there are options for combining the colors. My two favorite colors are Bubbly (2nd row, 1st one) and Sunset (1st row, 4th one.) The smudge stick that is included is amazing and the dark brown color looks great without looking too heavy. I love this palette!

 

I usually have some sort of fiber bar in the morning for breakfast and I have discovered the Kashi Cherry Dark Chocolate Chewy Granola Bar and I am in love. Our vending machine at work had them and I've had one for breakfast everyday for just about the last week. I finally found them at Wal-Mart for about $3 a box, which is much better than the $1.10 I was paying each time I got one out of the vending machine.

In an attempt to be healthier and lose weight, I've been eating alot of fruit, especially bananas. I've also rediscovered my love of dried pineapple. Yummy, natural, and sweet, it keeps me from eating candy bars and other junk I don't need.


Another current favorite is my new haircut!  My hair had grown out from my last haircut to be a couple inches below my shoulder and almost all one length. It was a huge pain in my ass and I usually kept it in a bun because it was difficult to make it do anything. I wanted to get some layers cut into it. My friend/neighbor came over to cut it and after talking about what I wanted, I agreed to go a bit shorter and a lot more layers than originally planned and ended up with an awesome, 80s-ish mop that is easy to style, easy to wash, and fits me and my personality.

With a new haircut comes a need for new hair products. I picked up got2b playful creme pomade at the store and didn't expect much, I've used alot of pomades and there is always something that goes wrong when I use them. This is a different story, a better story. Since this is a creme pomade, it doesn't feel waxy and gunky like alot of other pomades. It gives me the texture and chunkyness that I want and it smells pretty good as well. Bonus...it only cost me $4! I love a good deal.




That's it for now, but I do have some fun news. I've ordered a Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang! I have been shopping around for it online since we do not have it here in the states yet and ASOS had free shipping so I couldn't pass it up. I will do a proper review once I receive it.

April Birchbox - Motorcycles!



Hot, eh?

Warm weather is here (for the time being) and that means it is getting to be motorcycle riding season! We have a 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 and we have taken it on quite a few road trips. We have several planned for the spring and summer, with most recent being a trip to Table Rock Lake in Missouri over Memorial Day weekend. My husband's father recently passed away after a long battle with cancer and he asked for his ashes to be spread over the lake. He was a huge motorcycle fan and the reason my husband is also a fan and we wanted to take him on one final ride before he's put to rest.
Motorcycle rides are exhilarating and so much fun, but they also can be tough on the face, hair, and body. I always wear a bandana to keep my hair from turning into a tangly mess and try my best to remember sunscreen. I was happy to find that my Birchbox this month had several products that went along with the start of motorcycle season. 

 

Sorry for the blurry picture, too low of light and too shaky of hands.



No. 4 Non-Aerosol Hairspray - $32.00 - I've heard so many good things about this brand and I'm excited to have received this sample. The bottle is the perfect size to throw in my bag for hair refreshes after being on the motorcycle. I haven't used this much yet to really get a feel for it because I just got my hair cut and haven't been experimenting much with styling it but I am glad that I received it and will use it in the future.

 

Ruby Wing Color Changing Nail Polish - $10.00 - I was so excited to see this nail polish and I immediately put it on. The color changing is pretty cool, it started off a peachy pink and turned a bright red. From here things started to go a little wonky. First, the formula is quite goopy and didn't go on smoothly. As I've said before, I am the most impatient person when it comes to my nails and I ended up jacking up what was on my nails and smearing half of the rest all over my fingers. I put a top coat on, not sure if I was supposed to, but since the color change worked I imagine it was okay. Out on the motorcycle, after being in the sun for awhile the color change stopped happening and it started to go neon peach and get some weird spots. Could have been the sunscreen I sprayed on myself, I imagine that would interfere with something affected by the sun. So after this long, rambling explanation of my trials with the nail polish, my final review is that it is a cool effect but messy and could be affected by other stuff you use. 

 

Whish Shave Crave Shave Cream - $20.00 - I don't normally use shave cream when I shave, I've been stuck on the Venus Embrace razors for several years now. Occasionally I will use a shave cream, especially if I have especially dry skin. This cream smells nice and it worked as a lotion as well. I'll keep it around for those extra dry skin days.

 

Supergoop! Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream - $32.00 - BB creams, CC creams and the like are beginning to feel like big fat gimmicks. After using several I've found that they really aren't new. They've been around for awhile, but boringly called tinted moisturizer. People want something that sounds fancy, so they gave them fancy names. But enough about my issues with current marketing trends. This is another thing that I will use, but probably would not buy. I had already done my eye makeup before going on our ride but hadn't put anything on my face besides blush. I hate spraying regular sunscreen on my face because it feels so greasy. This was a quick alternative that made my skin look nice as well.

 

Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-On - $10.99 - I was pretty excited to see this full size eye roll on this month. I have been using Simple makeup remover wipes and do enjoy the brand. This eye roll on is nice and refreshing, although the other day I used it when my eyes were especially affected by allergies and it did burn a little. All other times I've used it I haven't had a problem. I'm always looking for good eye products to help with my sensitive skin and dark circles. The skin around my eyes also gets dry and irritated after being on the bike and this is easy to toss in my bag for a quick refresh. This product also came with a $1 coupon for any Simple product and I used that on a new package of makeup remover wipes. Win win!

 

 

All in all, another nice month from Birchbox. I do think that I enjoyed April's Ipsy more and will crown it the winner for this month. Keep up the good work Birchbox, I did like these products, but Ipsy really pulled out all the stops this month.

 

 

April Ipsy

This month's Ipsy theme was pink, which I at first had some concerns about. I like pink but it can go a little too kiddie or Barbie. Or it can just make me look washed out and sickly. I was pleasantly surprised when I received my bag, these products are wearable and pretty. The bag itself is of nicer quality then the last couple had been, but I've already got it looking dingy...white bags, clothes, etc and Heather do not go together.

 

 

 

Be A Bombshell Blush in Sweet Cheeks - $16.00 - I had never heard of Be A Bombshell Cosmetics before I received this blush. Sweet Cheeks is a gorgeous shimmery pink blush that is very pigmented. It doesn't take much on my fair skin to provide a gorgeous glow. It can be amped up a bit for a brighter cheek. To sweeten the deal, it's full size! This is my favorite product this month and will be put into rotation with my other blush and cheek stains. I tried to get a more accurate depiction of the color in the picture below. I need to find my (multiple) digital cameras and stop using my phone for my photos.



Be A Bombshell - Sweet Cheeks

Sation Nail Lacquer in Love at First Byte - $5.00 - I've read a few reviews about this lacquer and the main complaint I can find is that it takes too long to dry. Which I will have to agree with. I painted my nails and then ruined them (as I usually do) by trying to do laundry when they weren't as dry as I assumed. I don't know if this is necessarily the lacquers fault or mine. I do like the color, at first I thought it was going to be too orange for my skin tone, but its a perfect mixture of pink, nude, and pale orange. Very springy!

Mica Beauty Mineral Eye Shadow in Earth - $14.95 - I love the gel eyeliner from this brand that I received from Ipsy a couple of months back and I was happy to see another product from Mica Beauty. I don't normally like mineral eye shadows or any sort of loose eye shadow but the color on this is perfect for highlighting all over the face. Perfect for a nice summer glow. This is another full size product this month.

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Nourishing Styling Treatment - $21.95 - I actually received the Big Sexy Hair Powder Play Volumizing Powder but traded it with Clara for the oil treatment because I really don't use hair powders too often. This oil smells lovely and does well to tame my frizz. I think I like the Macadamia Oil Treatment better that I have, but this is much cheaper. The packaging on this is a little iffy, the bottle leaked on the bag (see...I should never have anything made of material that is white) and therefore it would not be great to throw in my purse, as I had originally intended.

All in all, I was impressed with this month's bag. I have not yet received my Birchbox (what's up with that BB?) so as of right now, Ipsy is the April beauty box winner. Once I receive my Birchbox I'll get something posted and we can see if Ipsy reigns supreme.