Glossybox March 2014 Unboxing

This month's Glossybox had 7 items for me and arrived very late (today, March 28th) which is not unusual for this subscription service. This subscription service costs $21/month (sometimes you can get various deals on it, however) and I used the promo code GBFRESH to get a bonus fresh Lotus Youth Preserve face cream (full size!).

My box contained the following 7 items:

Alterna Haircare Bamboo Luminous Shine Mist - value $5

Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush - value $18 (Full size!)

Alex and Ani Scent 7 Soap Bar - value $14 (Full size!)

Nails Inc. Polish (color Baker Street) - value $4 

Sisley Paris Black Rose Cream Mask  - value $28 for deluxe sample

Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream (new subscription code for March) - value $14.82

Alex and Ani Swan Charm Bangle (bonus item) - value $28 (Full size!)

TOTAL VALUE: $111.82

The Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream was a bonus item I received with the code GBFRESH. I've received this in a box before and I really loved the way it made my skin feel as well as the scent so I was excited to get another one. The value of this is $14.82 but it really does feel more luxurious than that!

Alex and Ani was a featured brand this month for Glossybox. The brand was nice enough to include a Swan bangle (you could have received either gold or silver, mine was silver - $28 value) as a bonus item for all subscribers. We also received either a hand lotion, body mist or bar soap from them. I received the soap bar ($14 value) which I'm okay with but I would have preferred the body mist! I love the scent, it's sort of woodsy and spicy and manly (that's great considering my husband will probably use it all). 

Here's a picture of what the bangle looks like on:

The most disappointing part of this box for me was the Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush (value $18) and the Nails Inc. nail polish in Baker Street (value $4) - now while these products are fine products, I have received them before in August and July of 2013 from Glossybox and I'm not loving the repeats :(. I have emailed their customer service to see if they could send replacements for these items. I took a photo of what the lip blush looks like on.

Another issue with my box was that the Alterna Haircare Bamboo Luminous Hair mist (value $5) leaked all over the box since the top pump was loose... this has happened to me quite a few times over the past 6 months so I think I'm just having bad luck with my subscriptions lately! The last item is the Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask which I'm excited to try, I'm loving the rose scent, though! This is a very luxurious and expensive product, with the full size retailing for a whopping $158/2.1oz (the sample is valued at $28)!!!

Wet 'n Wild Spring Collection: Flirting at the After Party

I bought the Wet 'n Wild Flirting at the After Party 8-pan palette from my local Duane Reade (I wasn't able to get my hands on Walking the Red Carpet from the Spring Collection, though) and I took about a week to play around with it and give you my honest opinion.

The packaging is the same as the other Color Icon palettes by Wet 'N Wild except it is white instead of black. The color-payoff of the shadows is good, except slightly more powder will kick up than classic palettes such as Petal Pusher and Comfort Zone. I do have to say that the swatches are going to be pretty terrible as the lightest shades are almost identical to my very fair skin-tone (NC15 on a good day). You will notice that many colors appear very similar and only very minor differences can be detected between some. All colors have been swatched to appear more concentrated a couple of times and no primer was used.

Wet 'n Wild Flirting at the After Party palette - daylight

Specifically, the Left Eyelid and Left Definer colors are extremely similar, they are both aubergine eggplant shades (both darker than the Left Crease which is more of a Lavender shade). In the pan they are also both very similar to the Right Definer shade, however, this shade comes off with much more of a brownish tint than a purple one.

Wet 'n Wild Flirting at the After Party Palette - ambient light

Here's a look I was able to create with the palette.

- Left Eyelid color all over my lid
- mixed the Browbone colors and highlighted my browbone with them right under my eyebrow
- used the Left Crease color and contoured the crease of my eye
- used the Left and Right definers (mixing both of them together) to define the outer corner of my eye

Finishing touches:
-  Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara
- Jesse's Girl black liquid eyeliner
- Rimmel Scandaleyes waterproof kohl in Nude on the upper lash line
- Starlooks Gem Pencil in Topaz on the lower lash line
- Milani Liquif'Eye metallic eye liner pencil in black outer third of bottom lash line

 I do notice that I can recreate a very similar look with some of the shades in my Petal Pusher palette. I recommend getting this palette if you're a fan of Wet 'n Wild or if you're lacking some purple eyeshadows. The formulation isn't the best I've seen from Wet 'n Wild but it's still a lot better than most other drugstore eyeshadows. The pigmentation is definitely there and if you're a huge fan of orchid, this is the palette for you. If you already own lots of makeup, I'd say skip it, you probably already have dupes in your collection (MAC's Beautiful Iris comes to mind).

E.L.F. Studio Large Brush Holder Review

A long-time favorite of mine is the E.L.F. Studio Large Brush Holder. This retails on the elf website for $15, but since they frequently have 50% off sales, I purchased mine for $7.50. It reminds me of the makeup holders that MAC has their brushes (or used to) in their stores and it looks very luxurious and high end. Don't mind the  powder smears on mine, it's well-used and well-loved. It is also very easily cleaned with a wet cloth or paper-towel, I just haven't gotten around to it for awhile.

The container itself has 3 compartments with 2 dividers, it has a matte finish with a soft rubberized feel reminiscent of the NARS packaging (which E.L.F. is notorious for duping in much of their packaging for blushes and lipsticks). These are fairly generous compartments with each one fitting more than a typical mug might (particularly because there are no tapered edges at the bottom).

The angled view of the bottom reveals that I have added some Adhestive Grips to the bottom since there aren't any on the actual product, this gives me the added security that the brushes won't all fall over if I accidentally hit it with one of my palettes when I'm in a rush to get ready. 

The overhead view really provides a good angle of just how much I was able to fit into this brush holder. My brushes are separated by type, with the left-most compartment holding eyeshadow brushes of all shapes and functions (53 eye brushes in total), the middle compartment holding foundation/concealer and smaller powder brushes (13 in total) and he right-most compartment containing large face/powder brushes (10 enormous brushes are housed here). There is even more room in each compartment and I could stuff it even more, but I like to leave room so I can easily handle my tools.

All in all, I think this is a great, inexpensive and professional-quality purchase at a really affordable price. It's not the most glitz or glam, but I find that it doesn't stick out in my room and it actually hides the fact that my brushes are so dirty (I figure a white container would probably make my brushes look VERY dirty).

Product Review: Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre Set

I recently purchased the Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre set from the Rockin' Red Hot Collection (this came out for the holidays). I got it for $16 on Hautelook, which I thought was definitely a steal compared to the $28 it retailed for originally. These are sort of a strange formula which originally looks like 2 layers, one is a bunch of dense glitter that settles to the bottom of the glass container and the top is a more clear tinted liquid. Before usage, these should be shaken well to mix the glitter and the medium.

The color choice gives a nice variety of looks which can be achieved, but the one thing I believe they all have in common is that they shine in the evening, which I think is the ideal time to pop these on top of your muted daytime look to achieve a glittery party look! This product feels luxurious and high end and is not associated by a particularly high price tag - considering I only paid $4 per each of these, they definitely feel worth it! I love rocking glitter (even during daytime) and these can be used on your eyes, face, and anywhere else on your body you want to sparkle!

Here's a look I spruced up with a little bit of the Amethyst sparkle! It gives a nice subtle finely milled glitter which easily applies with a brush (or your finger) and you can make it more or less dramatic depending on how much of the product you layer on.

Look created with Wet n Wild palette "Flirting at the After Party", Lorac 3D liquid luster in Amethyst, Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara, Jesse's Girl liquid eyeliner, Rimmel Scandaleyes waterproof kohl in Nude, Starlooks Gem Pencil in Topaz, and Milani Liquif'Eye metallic eye liner pencil in Black 

Without further ado, here are some swatches:

Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre Set - Indoor Light

 You can create a look with less or more sparkle, depending on how you concentrate the formula on your eyes, it will dry and completely set - this is much more mess-free than applying a medium and then glitter on top with a brush. These definitely take the guesswork out of which medium you should use and which glitter is eye-friendly. I do not recommend using these on your waterline, however, as no glitter is ever safe to use that close to your eye (it can be quite painful and even scratch your cornea if it goes inside your eye).

Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre Set - Flash

 As you can tell, with flash photography, these look absolutely metallic and stunning. The diamond shade veers a little pink even though it is meant to be colorless.

Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre Set - Day Light

E.L.F. (EyesLipsFace) Smudge Pot Review & Swatches

I'm so excited to bring you this new review of the ELF Smudge Pots! These are an ELF dupe of the Maybelline Color Tattoos and they offer a wide variety of colors (I hope they add more to this) and the website sales apply to this product (recently they had a 50% off new products sale which I took advantage of to pick up the entire line for $9!). These smudge pots used to retail for $2 but were recently increased to $3 (thanks to reader Renate for this info), which makes them a very affordable alternative for cream eyeshadow, seeing as the Color Tattoos retail for $6.99-8.99.

Look created with ELF Smudge Pots

This is a look I was able to create with the following:

• Cruisin Chic all over the lid
• Poppin Party in the crease
• Pearls of Wisdom as browbone highlight
• Gotta Glow in the inner corner of the lid
• Ocean Bound as lower lash liner
• Ain't That Sweet? on the inner corner of lower lash line
• Supplemental products: Jordana Best Lash Extreme Mascara (black), Chella Indigo Blue liquid liner, and Jordana Fabubrow eyebrow pencil (02 medium brown)

The formula of the lightest three of these shades (Pearls of Wisdom, Ain't That Sweet? and Gotta Glow) is thicker and you have to warm the product up with your finger to get decent color payoff - these are definitely the most sheer shades. The rest have a more mousse-like consistency, softer than Maybelline Color Tattoos and the darker shades have the best color payoff.

ELF Smudge Pot Swatches natural lighting

 Hit the Town looks like a medium gray in the pot but really comes across in swatches as a mixture between gray and brown, more wearable than just a straight-up gray. Pearls of Wisdom, Ain't That Sweet and Gotta Glow work best as highlight colors or can be used in looks that require just a slight wash of color, and also make fabulous eyeshadow bases.

ELF Smudge Pot Swatches indoor lighting

 Gotta Glow would make a nice highlight for a look featuring Back to Basics, Cruisin Chic or Brownie Points. Cruisin' Chic is a taupe, Brownie Points is essentially a copper, and Back to Basics is a true wearable gold.

ELF Smudge Pot Swatches with Flash

Poppin Party appears fairly scary in the pot, but when swatched it is a beautiful and easily work and blended out eggplant color (it's definitely not a saturated clownish purple). The same goes for Ocean Bound, which is more of a smokey blue than a true bright electric blue. 

I highly recommend these, especially if you can purchase them for 50% off on sale. If you have multiple color tattoos then you will definitely see similarities between these shades and the ones you already have. Maybelline's Caramel Cool is very similar to Brownie Points (they are a few shades apart with Brownie Points being slightly darker), Gotta Glow  is a more gold version of Barely Branded, and Pearls of Wisdom is a more sheer and less metallic version of Too Cool. You will find similarities but you will not have exact dupes of colors, so I think it's safe to say you can add these to your collection! Happy shopping!

IPSY Unboxing - March 2014

It's that time of the month again! It's IPSY unbagging time! The theme for this month was "Destination Beauty" and I can't say I was disappointed with the items! Watch my video unboxing below:

My bag contained:
1. bareMinerals - Marvelous Moxie lipstick - Get Ready - small deluxe sample - value $7.50
2. Chella - Eyeliner pen - Indigo blue - full size - value $24.00
3. Pixi - Flawless beauty primer - value $9.00
4. NYX - Love in Rio eyeshadow trio - Moonlit skinny dip - full size - value $6.00

I paid $10 for this bag with shipping included in that price and the total value of my bag was $46.50

To join IPSY - http://www.ipsy.com/r/1lfc
To join BIRCHBOX - https://www.birchbox.com/invite/jmzfg

To join Glossybox - http://www.glossybox.com/subscribe

How to Get a Dewy Complexion

1. Exfoliate - make sure you wash your face with a gentle exfoliater with microbeads (as these tend to be the most effective) or use your cleanser with a soft silicon exfoliating pad. These should be done about 3 times a week for ideal results. I don't recommend doing extreme chemical peels as these can sometimes cause harsh skin reactions and may remove even healthy skin layers. The ideal exfoliation practice removes only the oldest, dead skin cells on the outermost surface of the skin and reveals the healthy, glowing layer underneath. Sugar scrubs, salt crystals, pumice, loofahs, sponges and microfiber cloths all can achieve the same results. Getting rid of dead skin cells and build-up naturally means that your makeup will go on smoother and you will avoid nasty clumps.

2. Moisturize - you'll want to use an emollient to make the outer layers of your skin more pliable and soft, this increases the skin's hydration level (or water content). Usually moisturizers tend to be a little bit fatty and may have a greasy feeling on the skin, but these lubricants really do make an enormous difference to the way your makeup (specifically foundation) will apply and last on your skin. If you have dry skin, it is extremely important to use a heavier moisturizer or even a dry oil - this will reduce your makeup's patchiness if used well in advance of application.




3. Use a liquid highlighter and a moisturizing foundation - Some women prefer to use their highlighter over top of their foundation, however I have found that for the most natural looking results and to blend your highlighter seamlessly into your foundation, you will want to mix the highlighter you are using (in my case this is the Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid (Shade 03 - Rose Gold)) with a moisturizing foundation of your choice (my favorite is The Body Shop Moisture Foundation in Shade 04). I use equal parts and mix them on the back of my hand with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.

Equal parts liquid highlighter (Stila All Over Shimmer)
and foundation (The Body Shop Moisturizing Foundation)

Mixed together on the back of my hand with Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

4. Highlight and contour your face - For a maximized dewy complexion, apply a powder highlighter (such as Stila's Kitten Highlighter) to the areas on your face which should reflect light and a bronzer (such as Wet n Wild Coloricon Bronzer - Ticket to Brazil ) to the areas on your face you would like to recede to the background. Here's a handy infographic on highlighter/bronzer placement.