Glitter Tipped Nails

Glitter tipped nails using OPI by Sephora True Romantic and Essie Set in Stones

I don't know about you, but I fell in love with this nail technique when I first laid eyes on it.  I call it classy sparkle;)  I just love the effect, and it was so simple to do.  I painted a base of the pale pink (OPI by Sephora True Romantic) and then put the glitter polish (Essie Set in Stones) on the upper half of my nails.  Lastly, I applied a quick top coat using the Seche Vite Top Coat; I love this top coat because it dries instantly.

January 2012 Birchbox

 

Got my first Birchbox of 2012!  This one wasn't a big "wow" box, like so many others it is starting to seem.  While I do love the surprise of seeing what's in my box each month, I am beginning to wonder if I should cancel my subscription.

Here's what I got:

Borghese CuraForte Moisture Intensifier: This is a serum that is supposed to help your moisturizer work better.  Umm...why would anyone spend $67.50 for a product to help make another product work better!?!  How about just buying a better moisturizer?  I just don't get this product.

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy perfume: I do like this perfume...but it is old news to me!  I have gotten sooo many samples of this perfume.  I feel like Birchbox copped out on this one.

Jouer Body Butter: This is a really nice body butter; it smells like lilacs.  While I liked this product, it's hard to get excited over a body butter.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Moray: I think this has potential to be a really great eyeliner; it is quite pigmented and glides on smoothly.  However, the color I got was this awful drab green shade that I just won't ever wear.  It's really too bad!  I love Stila products, just wish I got a prettier shade!

Larabar Mini Bar: This is an all natural bar made with dried fruits and nuts.  The flavor I received was Peanut Butter; it was pretty tasty but did taste "healthy".  I like getting this type of extra treat in my Birchbox because it gives me a chance to try something I wouldn't normally choose at the grocery store.

Birchbox magnet: Pretty darn cute:)

My Christmas Mally Haul!!!

This Christmas brought me many wonderful beauty finds including these two Mally Beauty sets!  Let me start out by saying that I have found a few new HG products in the Mally line!  Read on for my full review.

Mally Beauty More Perfect Palette

This is the Mally Beauty More Perfect Palette.  As you can see, it comes in a fabulous, shiny, pink clutch with three small brushes and a lip gloss.  The palette has two blushes, six eyeshadows, an eyeshadow base and a highlighter.  I really like the colors in this palette; all the shades are universally flattering.  The only exception being the eyeshadow base; I found the base too orangey for my fair skin tone.  I haven't bothered to use the brushes yet.  The two eye brushes seem like they would work pretty well, but the "blush brush" is too small for a face brush in my opinion.  And, last but not least, you get a Mally High-Shine Liquid Lip Color in Blossom; this lip gloss is similar in style and feel to the Stila lip glazes.  It feels nice, has good staying power and a nice light scent.  Overall, I think this is a great everyday palette for anyone, as well as a nice introduction to Mally cosmetics.

Mally Beauty More Perfect Palette: Two blushes in Mally's Look, a pink hue, and Romantic, a peachy pink; luminizer; eye shadow base; and six eye shadows in Browlight, a soft pearl; Natural, a soft pink; Shimmering Taupe, a soft taupe; Mally's Glow, a shimmering brown; Broadway Bronze, a shimmering bronze; and Nolita Navy, a deep navy.

Mally Defend Your Beauty 7-pc High Performance Collection

This is the Mally Defend Your Beauty 7-pc High Performance Collection.  Like the More Perfect Palette, this set comes in a cute bag.  This little gem of a set includes: Volumizing Lip Gloss in Flirty; Evercolor Automatic Eyeliner in Black Cherry; Face Defender Highlighter in Gorgois Glow; Face Defender Blush in Pink Perfection; Evercolor Poreless Face Defender; Evercolor Shadow Stick in Violet; and Volumizing Mascara in Black.  The standouts from this set are the cream eyeshadow stick, the Evercolor Poreless Face Defender and mascara. 

Mally's Volumizing Mascara can contend with the best mascaras out there.  I would compare it to Dior Show or Benefit Bad Gal Lash in texture, volumizing and length.  While I am perfectly happy using my inexpensive L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara, I can appreciate the quality of this high-end mascara.

The Evercolor Poreless Face Defender is such a deceiving product; it is a clear, solid, silicone textured face perfecter.  What's deceiving is that you would think it would feel heavy and cakey on your skin, but it works its magic without feeling heavy at all.  You just dab some on the sponge and pat is all over your face for a smooth, matte finish.  I am totally in love with how lightweight this product feels and how it keeps my face shine free for hours!  It looks and works so much better than any finishing powder.

Evercolor Shadow Sticks in Violet and Champagne.

I love, love, love these eyeshadow sticks!!!  They glide on super creamy, blend like a dream and last all day.  This eyeshadow is totally budge-proof; it is not coming off until you wash your face at night!  These are my new HG cream shadows!

L to R: Evercolor Shadow Stick in Violet, Evercolor Shadow Stick in Champagne, Evercolor Automatic Eyeliner in Black Cherry.

 

 

 

 

 

Mally Face Defender Highlighter in Gorgois Glow and Face Defender Blush in Pink Perfection.

I liked the highlighter, blush, lip gloss and eyeliner, too.  But, they were nothing super special.  Overall, I would definitely recommend grabbing this set from QVC because it is a really great way to try a whole bunch of Mally products for a much lower price than buying each item individually.  Mally Beauty is a must try for all you beauty junkies out there!

December 2011 Birchbox

 

December's Birchbox was extra funtastically wrapped in sparkly white tissue paper.  I just wish the contents had been a bit more "wow".  

So, here's what I got:

Harvey Prince Yogini Perfume: This is supposed to be a calming scent with notes of sandalwood, Egyptian myrrh, and grapefruit.  I did like this scent quite a bit; it was reminiscent of my beloved Bvlgari Mon Jasmine Noir.

Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink: This is a nice gloss that applies sheer; so, it does not come across as bright pink as it looks.

L'Oreal Professional Mythic Oil: This is a hair product meant to boost shine and stop frizz.  I don't have issues with lack of shine or frizz; so, I don't know if it does either of those things.  However, it does smell nice and feels lightweight.

Befine Gentle Cleanser: This cleanser made with sugar, rice and oat extracts is supposed to hydrate and restore dry skin.  Well, it's rather hard to judge how well it works seeing as this product is so watery I could barely get it on my face to begin with.  This is a total fail in my book.

Prep ShowStoppers Designer Fashion Tape: This is a cute idea.  It's not something I really need, but worth having for an emergency.

Recharge Eboost: This is an orange flavored energy booster that you dissolve in water and drink.  One word: Yuck!  Drinking this daily would be torture!

Let's hope the New Year brings lots of fabulous new Birchboxes!

Belated November 2011 Birchbox

 

 Here is my very belated post on my November 2011 Birchbox.  I'm not even sure why I took so long to write this up since I was pretty darn impressed with this box!

Here is what I got:

• Klorane Soothing Eye Makeup Remover:  While not very exciting, this is a nice eye makeup remover and not terribly expensive for the full-size bottle.  I liked this product, and the travel-size bottle will come in handy next time I take a trip.
• LaROCCA Skincare Champagne & Shimmer Body Polish:  I liked this sample, as well. Though the size of the jar is too small to even attempt to use all over your body.  It smells nice and is a good hand scrub.
• Oscar Blandi Jasmine Protein Mist:  This is a leave-in hair protection and fortifying spray.  I just loved the scent of this hair mist, it made me want to keep smelling my hair all day long.
• Zoya Nail Polish in Noel:  I was excited to see yet another Zoya polish in this month's box.  I just love getting a new nail polish.  While I haven't tried out this teal-blue shade just yet, I know it will be just as good as the rest of the Zoya polishes I have.
• Chuao Chocolatier Firecracker Chocopod:  Now this really was a nice treat.  Every girl loves chocolate, and I am no exception!  The Chocopod is dark chocolate with chipotle and popping candies in it.  I actually ordered another bar from Birchbox because I liked this interesting treat so much!

And, I also got this cute bracelet from Bauble Bar in my box!  Nail polish, chocolate and jewelry...this month's Birchbox was the best yet!

The Must Have Uber-Awesome Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette!

 

Lucky girl that I am, I managed to grab the coveted Urban Decay Naked 2 palette the first day it was released for sale!  I knew that this had potential to be just as good if not better than the first one, and so far, it has not disappointed.  These eyeshadows are so buttery smooth they blend beautifully.  I find the shades to be even more wearable for everyday looks than those in the first Naked palette.  The palette comes with a really nice double-ended brush that is actually usable and a cute mini Lip Junkie lip gloss in Naked.  Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with this purchase!  You simply must get this now!!!

Foxy (bisque with matte finish), Half Baked (bronze with shimmery finish), Booty Call (creamy shimmer), Chopper (copper with micro glitter)

Tease (taupey brown with matte finish), Snake Bite (dark bronze metallic), Suspect (rose gold beige with shimmery finish), Pistol (light grey with shimmery finish)

Verve (oyster with shimmery finish), YDK (bronze metallic), Busted (dark brown with shimmery finish), Blackout (black with matte finish)

October Birchbox

 

Well, October is nearly over and I am just now getting to this month's Birchbox review.  I think that is a pretty good indicator of how excited I was by this box...*sigh*.  I am calling this month's box the "Stinky Birchbox" because of the foul smelling products I received!

Here is what I got:

• Ahava Mineral Foot Cream:  As I have said before, I love the feel of Ahava mineral creams, but they smell just awful!
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel:  This is a good brow gel if you are a person who likes to use brow gel; it is just something that I rarely use.
• Number 4 Hair Lumiere D'hiver Reconstructing Masque: This product is meant to hydrate and add shine to hair.  Not much to say about this one.  I don't have a problem with dry hair or breakage, but my hair did feel nice and conditioned after using it.  The scent was okay--herbal/floral.
• Sunday Riley Modern Skincare Juno Transformative Lipid Serum:  This is a mix of 13 essential oils which are meant to replenish, firm and protect skin.  That's all well and good if you can get past the fact that is smells like garlic and olive oil!  Eeew!  This never had a chance to do anything for me, as I washed it off immediately due to the terrible smell!
• Tea Forte Minteas: These were a nice treat, though nothing I would actually purchase.

So, final verdict on this box is two thumbs down.  I was really bored with this box, and I am tired of bad smelling creams and serums.  Here's hoping next month brings some more exciting cosmetic items my way!