Glossybox December 2013 Unboxing

I'm rarely disappointed by Glossybox. Last month (November) I had a really irritating experience though. The majority of my products arrived broken and I contacted customer service and they sent a replacement box... which was *also* broken. So I contacted them again and they refunded my entire monthly cost, which is good but still kind of sad that I didn't get the products to show you guys what my box was.

So moving on to better news: This is the December 2013 Box! I received:

1. Anatomicals - You Need a Blooming Shower - Body Cleanser
2. Michael Todd - Pumpkin Rich Facial Mask
3. Nails Inc. Nail Polish - Victoria
4. Ardency Inn - PUNKER Eyeliner
5. Naobay - Oxygenating Cream Moisturizing



I love everything in this box! The Anatomicals cleanser has that classical rose scent and is a very affordable cleanser you can get - it's such a luxurious treat for your bath or shower, it's not sticky or gooey at all. The Michael Todd Pumpkin Mask I am very familiar with, as it was sent out earlier in 2013 in an Ipsy Glam Bag (I received it then too) and I'm happy to get it again. The color of the Nails Inc. polish is a deep burgundy red. You need to apply more than one coat to get complete coverage but I usually apply 2 and a top coat, so you'll be fine if you do too. The liquid eyeliner is in a chubby pen format with a felt tip (felt tips are my absolute favorite method for applying my liquid eyeliner) and you can get a thick line or a very thin line - it is a true black. The Naobay facial moisturizing cream is organic and natural - I love getting good-for-you products in these boxes and this will definitely be used!

This month's theme was "Gloss & Glamour" and I  think they really hit the nail on the head for the holidays with this one. The colors chosen were classy and perfect for any occasion.

Let me know if you would like an invite to Glossybox so you're not wait-listed!

You can purchase some of the products you see here:

Ipsy Glam Bag Unboxing Video - December 2013

Hi all,

I was on vacation until this week so I wasn't home to get my subscription services... so now I'll be bombarding you with what I've received! Hope you enjoy the video! If you want to sign up to IPSY, click here: http://www.ipsy.com/r/1lfc

Here's a quick snapshot of my Glam Room so you can see the products I received this month:

For similar products that you can easily order (or my personal favorite dupes), click on the links below:

Y.A. Romance: So Damn Beautiful

I'm so excited to share "So Damn Beautiful" by L.J. Kennedy with you guys! I've read numerous romance/erotic stories and this one definitely stands out!

The whole novel was very picturesque, I could always see what was going on in the back of my mind's eye. In my opinion, any novel that you can't really visualize isn't worth your time or energy. "So Damn Beautiful" was full of thrills, longing, and tension, it's really a love story that has me as riveted as "The Notebook". The big difference, however, is that this novel is set in the present day and I had a much easier time relating to the characters and places.



Here's a quick synopsis from the author:

In this stunning New Adult romance novel, good girl Annie Green meets tortured graffiti artist Chase Adams and is swept up in the gritty, thrilling world of New York’s underground street scene…   

Studious NYU art major Annie Green is laser-focused on one day becoming a curator at the Louvre in Paris. Then she meets brooding graffiti artist Chase Adams, the hottest thing in New York’s burgeoning street scene – and also the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen. Not that such things matter to Chase. He just wants to be left alone to create. 

When Annie manages to convince Chase to work with her on a major NYU art retrospective, their connection is intense and undeniable, as Chase challenges everything Annie thought she knew about art, life…and love. Slowly, he begins to trust again and reveal the truth about his past. But when Annie is pursued by the privileged president of the fraternity – someone who clearly offers Annie much more than him – Chase begins a dangerous descent into darkness. Annie must decide between her head and her heart, and choosing wrongly could shatter them both to the very core forever… 

***This is a New Adult romance novel. Recommended for 17+ due to strong language and sexual content.

Get your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494480328
Check out the author's website here: http://www.lj-kennedy.com/

Let me know if you've read this book and what your thoughts are!

NYC New York Color Eyeshadow Trio Tutorial

I received a NYC New York Color Eyeshadow Trio in the color 781 "Long Beach Sands" in my Jolly Voxbox from Influenster (more on that in a later post) and I was challenged to create a look and write a tutorial on how to achieve it! This is a very affordable product, especially for makeup beginners who are uncertain of which colors may look good on them (this is a good place to start), these retail for $2.99 in the US (prices may vary by country). It comes with a highlighter (the top shade), an all over lid color (the middle shade) and a crease tone (the bottom shade) as well as an applicator. The guides on the package are only meant to help out but you can certainly mix these colors around to achieve different looks. The texture of this is very fine and super blend-able so don't be afraid to try out various different shades in the product line.

I think a neutral eyeshadow look is one that will flatter many skin-tones, now obviously the darker your skin, the deeper the shades you should use and some of these colors may be too faint or the change in coloration may be too subtle. You can always opt for more contrast in your color choices so I always choose a very light shade and a much darker shade so that they pop more against each other (the top and middle shade of this trio work well together in that respect).

To achieve a subtle and daytime smokey eye with this trio of colors, use your darkest tone (or the middle color in the trio) closest to your lash line and sweep it across. Patting the color on with a fine tipped or thin angled brush will allow you to give the appearance of eyeliner.  Use the midtone (or the bottom-most color of the trio)  on the medium portion of your eye and then the lightest highlighter tone (the top color of the trio) on the crease of your eyelid. This will create a subtle gradient which is suitable for day time activities or night time fun!

Birchbox December 2013 Unboxing

Click below to watch the video of my December 2013 Birchbox unboxing!

Thanks for watching this video! These opinions are solely my own, I'm not sponsored by any companies and I'm just giving you my honest opinion as a consumer about this product.

Birchbox: http://birch.ly/1kBMFFs

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Sorry if I seem especially harsh but this box was such an unpleasant surprise that even my husband said "that doesn't look like it's worth $10" about the things in my box... and he's right, I wouldn't pay half of that for this box. Who needs 1 random hair band? Who needs another really small sample fragrance? A phone wipey?? 1 use of a moisturizer?

I think there are 2 very important components to a perfect subscription service:

1) the items should be curated for everyone based on their likes and dislikes and 2) the subscriber should always feel as though they're getting more than they paid for.

It seems that Birchbox has just gotten too big for its britches, they don't invest the proper time to get to know their subscribers, what's on trend, and which companies we're really interested in trying out. I feel that the quality of their products has become mediocre, the variety is uninteresting and I would rather spend my $10 monthly on new drugstore makeup (since drugstore brands have been stepping up their game significantly). If you consider that for that price, I could get 3+ Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trios (that's 9 full eyeshadows!!) what am I wasting my money on this box of things I'll probably never use for? At least give me some products I'm halfway excited about. Ipsy and Glossybox get it right every month somehow and their customer service is exceptional especially when responding to complaints or re-sending damaged items. So I'll be saving this $10 from now on.

Let me know what your experiences are, I know everyone receives different products in their boxes. I'm curious to find out if anyone else has had any similar or even differing experiences.

Allure Beauty Box Winter 2013 Unboxing

I was so thrilled to receive my Allure Beauty Box for Winter 2013 (this is a quarterly box so they only ship out 4 times a year, one for every season)!! This is my first one and this is somewhat of a tricky service but it's definitely worth it to try to get one of these boxes! For a minuscule $50, you get $327 worth of products!

Here's how it works: you make an account and sign in to http://allureaccess.com/. They will post a message when the next box is expecting roughly a month before the box becomes available. Then you have approximately 20 minutes to get your box before they sell out at the time announced! Happy hunting, everyone!

Watch  my unboxing video here!

Products Received

Almay Color + Care Liquid Lip Balm - Value $6
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion - Value $7
e.l.f. Contouring Bronzer and Blush - Value $3
Julep Nail Polish in Missy and Anissa – Value $28
Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream - Value  $14
Loreal Paris Extraordinare by Colour Riche Liquid Lip Color in Coral Encore – Value $7
Neutrogena Pore Refining Daily Cleanser - Value $7.49
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Primer - Value $13
Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadow Stick in Stay Golden- Value $8.49
Not Your Mother’s Knotty To Nice Conditioning Detangler - Value $6
NYX Love in Paris Eye Shadow Palette - Value $10
One n’ Only Brazilian Tech Keratin De-Frizz Wand - Value $15
Red Carpet Youth Cream - Value $15
Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Liner in Black – Value $6
Rusk Deep Shine Color Care Lock In Treatment – Value $14
Rusk Deep Shine Color Care Invisible Dry Shampoo – Value $19
Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Dry And Go Drops - Value $5
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat - Value $5
Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Makeup - Value $13
Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Polish in Fuzz Sea – Value $5 (replaced a Sation nail lacquer that was supposed to be in the box but could not make it)
Sally Hansen Triple Shine Polish - Value $5
Smile Sciences Teeth Whitening Pen - Value $78
Ultra Repair Cream Intense Therapy - Value $28
Zoya Pixie Dust Nail Polish in Tomoko – Value $9

Yes to Carrots is having a $2 on EVERYTHING Sale! Get your code here!

If you've never tried a product from the Yes to... brand, I really urge you to go to their website (http://www.yestocarrots.com/) and have a look-see at their goodies! Their products are totally natural and I know most of us are all about being beautiful and healthy at the same time. This is a wonderful opportunity to give this brand a whirl since they've decided to re-do their Cyber Monday sale because the website traffic was so insane many people didn't manage to put their orders through.

To get your $2 on ANY PRODUCTS (max. 2 of each product can be ordered) click here

My absolute favorite line is their Yes to blueberries line which is actually for mature skin but I figure you can never really start early enough trying to prevent wrinkles, so even though I'm in my late 20's, I use it! I also absolutely LOVE the scent!

Here is a handy chart to find out which of their product line (or lines) is best suited for your skin beautifying needs! Though I do have to tell you that the wipes that they make in every line are phenomenal so you can't go wrong with any of them!