Shining and Sparkling Beauty

My Ipsy Glam Bag has finally arrived and I can say I was completely shocked at how heavy the package was when I took it out of the mailbox.

The question that seems to be asked the most is “what’s the difference between Ipsy and Birchbox?”

In my experience Ipsy sends full sized products and sticks with the lower end and more affordable brands like NYX. In comparison, Birchbox’s samples are of higher end products and come in smaller sized samples. The price of full size Birchbox products are also a little higher. All around I love both companies and enjoy all of the products. I like the variety and choices that I receive each month and that’s why I am subscribed to both.

In this month’s bag each item took on a festive and more glamorous look along with the bag itself in all of its shining golden glory, let’s see what’s inside!!

em michelle phan pillow plush cushiony lip balm in Berries-Retail $15.00
As much as I love lip balm I thought $15 for the size of this product was a little extreme. The lip balm does leave your lips silky smooth and shiny but not worth the price. As dark as the lip balm may look the color was a subtle and nice shade once I applied it on. 
                                              

Be a bombshell Lip Crayon-Retail $14.00
The last Bombshell lip crayon I received was a bright pink so it comes at no surprise that this sample would be any different. Only now in a red shade! It is definitely a bright red. I have actually kept these lip crayons for when Madison needs bright lip shades for her dance recitals. I even in the best shade of light can never pull off these colors!

Nailtini Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer-Retail $13.00
I love my nail polishes so I am a very happy camper when I receive Nailtini products! This shade is perfect for winter and for the upcoming holidays! It took about two coats to retrieve a nice smooth covered look, not bad. 

Pixi Beauty Bronzer-Retail $5.00
I love how subtle this bronzer is! I have purchased bronzers in the past that leave my skin orange and three shades darker than my neck. Yuck! This product leaves your skin with a light glowing layer of color.

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil-Retail $14.00
All of my eye pencils are black and I have never worn anything else. I feel a little washed out if I am not using a black eye pencil. Although this item is a fun product to play around with I don’t see myself using it unless I blend it into an eye shadow or wear it to an event for the holidays.

TRESemme TRES Two Extra Hold Holdspray Travel Size-Retail $0.50 1.5 oz.
I love mini hairsprays! Especially in the winter when I find my hair experiencing static. I throw a can in my purse and I am on my way! I also use TRESemme’s Dry Shampoo spray as well! I haven’t had a bad experience with TRESemme products!

The value of this bag came to $61.50 which is amazing! If you haven’t subscribed to receive Ipsy’s monthly glam bag I suggest you do! Look at what all was received for just $10! A hair product, 2 lip products, 1 eye product, 1 face product, 1 nail product and the monthly “glam bag” which happens to be one of the best things about this subscription! I love all things beauty and I love Ipsy!

The ELF Delivered!

I’m so excited to share my most recent shopping excursion with you!

via

Why you might ask? Well it was a beauty product haul from the company E.L.F (eyes, lips, face)!

I seem to be a little behind in the blogosphere when it comes to the latest fashion and beauty products but I manage to keep a nice wardrobe and makeup bag nearby.

Here lately I have been obsessed with watching tutorials related to beauty products.

Emily blogs over at Beauty Broadcast and she has been my go to girl for the last few weeks now.
Her step by step instructions are amazing and the makeup she uses ranges from E.L.F to MAC.
She has tutorials for anyone at any age. Her wide range of advice and tips makes putting on makeup and finding the right products that much easier!

Here is one of my favorite tutorials from the Beauty Broadcast YouTube channel:

If I were better at tutorials and could manage to not look absolutely ridiculous behind the camera I would say my blog could 100% be beauty related.

I am a girly girl! I love all things pink, anything related to looking good, taking care of yourself and improving your self esteem. Who doesn't want the best and most affordable products on the market?

 

E.L.F is the place to go if you are looking for extremely affordable yet good quality cosmetics and tools.

This past week after indulging myself in countless hours of beauty tutorials I decided to make my way to Target who sells E.L.F Cosmetics and bring home my very first E.L.F haul!

 

So let's see what I picked up!
 

 

From left to right:

 

e.l.f. Essential Clarifying Pressed Powder in light beige: $1.00

 

Now let me tell you, I cannot live without powder! My t-zone area tends to stay a little oily and the powder helps calm that down leaving my face with a matte finish. I was very pleased with the powder and the amount of coverage it provided. I will continue to purchase this product. If you see in this picture my nose and face was covered quite well by the powder.

 

e.l.f. Studio Flawless Finish Foundation: $6.00

I was not very impressed with this foundation. It was a bit watery and left my skin oily. It didn't have the coverage I was looking for which caused me to use more concealer and powder.

 

 

e.l.f. Essentials Concealer Brush: $1.00

 

This was the first time I had ever used a concealer brush or concealer. Since I bought Loreal Visible Lift foundation I have had no need for concealers or liquid foundations. Loreal's foundation is hard to beat and I don't find myself finding a better product. I loved the concealer brush and the use of it but the e.l.f. foundation itself left be disappointed. I now use my concealer brush with the e.l.f. concealer or Loreal product previously purchased.

 

e.l.f. Studio Concealer: $3.00

 

As you may see I have a couple of dark spots under my eyes, above the cheek bone. After putting on a good amount of the e.l.f. concealer and foundation you can still see the dark spots. I was let down by the concealer. Emily used the concealer in one of her tutorials and it seemed to cover everything up, not so much for me. She also used the Revlon Photo Ready concealer so I may have to try that next. The product did go on smoothly and wasn't cakey. If you are looking to hide a small blemish or reddish area then this product will work for you. If the area is darker you may want to try something that provides more coverage.

 

e.l.f. Essential Eye Shadow Brush: $1.00

 

I am loving this brush! It is so easy to use and blends all of my eye shadows so well. Whether it be a color for the crease or lid the brush allows for the color to go on smoothly and enhances the look of your eye makeup!

 

e.l.f. Essentials Foundation Brush: $1.00

 

I decided to go out on a limb here and purchase this foundation brush. One might say well it's only a $1 but a dollar is a dollar. I usually use a larger powder brush for my foundation so it felt a bit odd using this kind of brush. I was impressed at how well the brush blended the foundation into the appropriate areas, especially around the eyes.

 

e.l.f. Professional Studio Lengthening and Volumizing Mascara: $3.00

 

Now, everyone knows what a mascara snob I am. I am picky and only like a handful of mascaras. Let me tell you, for $3.00 e.l.f. has hit it out of the park! This mascara lengthens your lashes and isn't clumpy at all. I give this product an A++! Yay for a cheap awesome product!

 

 

 e.l.f Essentials Eyelid Primer: $1.00

 

I started using an eyelid primer at the beginning of the year when I signed up for Birchbox and Ipsy beauty boxes. I had yet to find one that didn't cause my eye shadow to crease and wasn't so greasy and oily feeling. Well, I struck gold with this one! The primer stays on all day and I even noticed myself looking at my eye makeup the other night shocked that after an 8 hr work day and night that my makeup was still as fresh as when I first put it on!

 

e.l.f. Essentials Flawless Eyeshadow in Beautiful Browns: $2.00

 

I am a HUGE fan of eye shadows and e.l.f delivers every time! The shadows are highly pigmented and long lasting! I couldn't be more pleased with the product! I love the colors on my eyelids and the shimmer the color leaves, enhancing my eyes!

 

What have you brought lately?

Do you have a favorite go-to beauty product?

How well do you like e.lf. products?



Ipsy Glam Bag Feb 13'

Like myself, most of you have signed up with Birchbox for their monthly beauty samples.
Have you heard of Ipsy? If you haven't, it is the same sort of thing. $10 a month for 4-5 beauty samples. Now I do love Birchbox but so far the Ipsy glam bags have beaten out my Birchboxes. I do tend to compare the two just to see which has the better quality products and which products I would buy at full size or keep at a sample size.
I do have to say what won me over with Ipsy were the adorable little beauty bags you receive each month. Each one has a different color and a different design. And anyone who knows me knows I LOVE my bags! Do you have an obsession for anything?
Okay I have kept you waiting long enough, let me share with you what I received in this months Ipsy glam bag.

I opened my bag, peeked inside and found all of these great items! This month’s theme is “Red Carpet Ready”. Ipsy wants you to channel your inner celebrity with star-worthy products from Coastal Scents, MicaBeauty, Lash Card, Pixi, and POP.

1. Smokey Lash Kapow Mascara from Pop Beauty: I loved the brush style of this mascara. I always have trouble brushing on mascara on the outside corners of my eyes so this type of brush helped. However, the lengthening and thickening that I prefer in a mascara was not there. Have I mentioned I am a mascara snob?

2.Gel Eyeliner in Black from MicaBeauty: Ipsy sent the eyeliner in black! Yay! This adds bonus points for me. The eyeliner has a really nice pigment and is very easy to use. It was missing the little brush that usually comes with the eyeliner but overall the quality and the staying power was there! It helped with nice tight lines and only took about a minute to dry.

3.In The Spotlight Eyeshadow Sample Set from Coastal Scents: So cute! If you know me, anything "mini" sized makes me smile. I love that four colors came in one palette, giving me the chance to try multiple colors. All of the colors went on smooth and blended easily.
The colors I got in my sample are (top to bottom left to right) Dark Goldenrod, Sunbeam, Golden Globe, and Dark Golden Olive.

4. The Lash Card from Lash Card: I really think these little pieces of cardboard are pointless. I have to say it makes putting on mascara a little more difficult rather than helpful. I would prefer to not ever receive another one of these again.

5.Flawless and Poreless Primer from Pixi Beauty: Another great sized sample to try. I can usually make my judgement call based on a 1/2 tube of primer. I am always on the hunt for the latest and greatest and I would say this primer works great! The only downfall is it leaves your skin looking a bit shiney. It is advertised as having a “beautiful no-shine, cashmere finish” however I found that it’s actually substantially light reflecting, creating shine where it wasn’t previously.

Are you signed up with Ipsy?

Do you have any favorites from this glam bag or previous glam bags?

Birchbox or Ipsy?

Send me comment, I would love to hear your opinions!

Birchbox Review Feb 2013

It seems like I was one of the lucky ones to receive my Birchbox ahead of everyone else.
I can say that I am very pleased with this months box!
If you are new to Birchbox here are a couple of details about the subscription:

First you go to Birchbox's website and sign up for their monthly subscription, $10.
Birchbox then sends you this cute little brown box filled with the latest up and coming or well established beauty products.

Some items come full size and most are travel sized and smaller.
This gives you the opportunity to test out products you might have heard about or wanted to try without spending a ton of money on something you might end up not liking.
Sound like something you are interested in? Click here and sign up, it is totally worth it!

So let's see what I received in my little box of goodness:

1. This was the first item to excite me. BB (Beauty Balm) Cream.
Do you have a makeup bag full of creams, moisturizers, lotions, primers, serums and a variety of items that are "tinted", yea me too! This product is supposed to get rid of all of those pesky items and act as the one and only item you will need. Basically instead of slopping on 10 different items on your face, you use this and only this.
I have only used this one day so far but I can say that I did like it. It didn't leave my skin oily or greasy and it did act as a primer and moisturizer. I could see myself buying this in the future.

 
2. I also received a perfume sample from Juicy Couture called Couture La La. It seems like Birchbox has made it clear that there will be a perfume sample in every box sent out. I am not very fond of the scents I have received to date from Birchbox and I am not a fan of this one either. It smells more like baby powder or something of that nature rather than a good smelling perfume.

 
3. Oh Birchbox, they make my day when I receive a small little token of delicious goodness. This little treat from Ghirardelli made me smile. I love the smoothness and the sweet taste of the carmel. They couldn't of picked a better treat for myself, unless it was Dove or a box of Whitman's but who's keeping track?

 
4. As a daily user of a flat iron, I am always looking for a protectant for my poor hair. All that heat and damage to my ends starts to really show without the special tools to protect and treat the damage. I was very excited to see that Birchbox included a sample of this new and upcoming product, Beauty Protector's Protect and Detangle. It smelled tropical and left my hair feeling very soft and silky!

 
5. Who doesn't love nail polish! Color Club nail lacquer in Wild Cactus caught my eye as soon as I opened the box. The color is hard to make out from the picture but it is a teal/green eye popping mini bottle of cuteness! I can't wait to do a little mani using this new color!

 
This is the info card displaying the name, a brief description and the full retail price of the product. Very informative!

I love "mini" sized anything, I have an obsession with samples and I love beauty products as well. Every time I see my Birchbox sticking out of my mailbox I do a little happy dance. $10, it is totally worth it!

Happy Happy Tuesday!

 

Secrets Revealed

I started this post Tuesday night, intended for today and well I got a stomach bug or had a reaction to my medicine from the surgery. I have been down and out since 3pm yesterday.

I am glad to say that I am feeling much better and able to share this post with you.

I knew since around the age of five that I was interested in other girls purses and makeup bags.

I have always been fascinated about their favorite things and what they like to buy as far as beauty products.

I have always been interested in beauty items more then toys.

I am a girly girl.

So when I started blogging and got to read all of the reviews on beauty products I was on cloud nine. So if there is anyone out there that can relate to what I'm saying I am sharing my beauty secrets.

Well not ALL of them but my main ones.

So beginning from product one through my whole morning makeup process, here goes nothing....

This is once my face has been cleaned with my daily Mary Kay cleanser.

I apply a thin layer of Mary Kay's combination (dry to oily) moisturizer. I usually have no break outs, it smells great and never leaves your skin feeling like you have lotion caked to your face.

I then apply my Mabelline NY shine free loose powder (medium). It easily blends into your skin and removes the shine.

I then apply my Cover Girl loose powder bronzer (translucent honey). Unlike other bronzers, this blends into your skin well and leaves you with a tinted look.

Now this people is my magic eraser for blemishes. Loreal Visible Lift. It seriously makes all fine lines, pimples, redness and blemishes disappear.

I absolutely love my Victoria's Secret eyeshadow. My favorite shade is Sparkle (brown). You can tell by my palette, this shade is almost gone.

I received this wonderful item in my Ipsy glam bag and loved it. Urban Decay 24/7 glide on eye pencil in black. It goes on smooth and lasts all day long.

I am a mascara snob. There I said it. I am very picky about my mascara and it seems like more times than not I end up disappointed in the mascara I try out. This mascara has passed the test. It leaves no clumps and it is also waterproof. Revlon's Grow Luscious by Fabulash

Whoops skipped a step, I also sometimes use Mary Kay's medium coverage foundation to cover up blemishes. I also use it as a primer for my eyeshadow.

I have learned that accenting your cheek bone area really helps to bring out your features. I use Wet and Wild's Heather Silk blush. This is the first blush I have bought to just test out the look. I was very pleased with it and it is fairly cheap.

I then apply a thin layer of Wet and Wild's Fierce Wild Shine lipstick. It is a subtle, simple shade that smooths on nicely.

I finish my lips off with Mary Kay's Satin Lips. Your lips will feel like pure satin after using this product.

And we all know once our makeup is on that with a snap of the finger our hair is done and our clothes are put on. Right?!!??!

What are your favorite makeup products? What's in your makeup bag? I love seeing all of the beauty posts so keep sharing!