IPSY Glam Bag Unboxing - May 2014

 My IPSY Glam bag for this month arrived and I've got a quick run-down of the products and my impressions of them. I've actually had a chance to use the eyeshadows and test them out (as well as show you how they look).

Bag - the recycled spring "Fresh Picks" bag for May 2014 is actually the cutest one I've received thus far from Ipsy. This is one with a pleasant smell and texture (that may sound like strange criteria but some of their previous ones have been very chemically scented and vinyl textured, which isn't my favorite). I have actually started using this bag in my purse to carry touch-up lip products and concealer on the go.

Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask - This has a pleasant Salon-esque smell to it, it leaves my hair feeling softer, more refreshed and I can always use a deep conditioner/mask because I dye my hair frequently and this helps ameliorate some of that damage. Sample value: $4.80

Calvin Klein - Endless Euphoria Perfume - let me just say that perfumes are always the lamest item I can get in my subscription boxes, specifically when the samples are tiny vials in cards. The redeeming quality of this is that it is a rollerball and the scent is quite pleasant, albeit slightly too harsh (and old?) for my taste. I guess this will go in my travel stash for the times I don't care to carry a larger size around. Sample value: $2.23

Jersey Shore Sun - Sans Tan - Mineral Sunscreen - This is not a product I'm excited about but sunscreen is a necessity in my life since I have uber fair skin. This is something I will easily keep in my purse for emergencies where I forget to apply sunscreen and I'm outside this summer. Sample value: $7.50

Avene - Thermal Spring Water - This product is literally water you can spritz out of a can, nothing else added. This is really only good for making your makeup look less cakey if you've applied too much powder, or on a scalding hot day to cool off your skin. Sample value: $9.00

Pacifica - Mineral Eyeshadow Duo #2 (Unicorn and Moonbeam) - I had never tried Pacifica's eyeshadows before (although I am a fan of their scented creams, candles, etc) and I was excited to try these out. Unfortunately, the pigmentation left much to be desired, you really have to rub your brush in there to pick up as much product as you can to pack it on to your eyelid or even to get a swatch. Sample value: $4.00

I really found that the pigmentation was so poor I had to use a black eyeshadow base underneath (I used the black color tattoo but you can also use a creamy eyeliner pencil or cream shadow). The Moonbeam shade (white gold toned) had so much fall out because of the large glitter chunks and it was very powdery, I had to be careful not to lift it off after I had applied it by blending. 

All in all this was a pretty disappointing IPSY bag for me, hopefully next month's is much better. The total value was $27.53 but the selection of products wasn't stellar. It was definitely worth the $10 I paid but I would have rather received more makeup and less skincare and haircare products.

Glossybox April 2014 Unboxing & Review

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry to report that my April Glossybox just arrived today, May 9th, so I was unable to review it for your pleasure during the month it should have arrived. Lately, Glossybox has been having worse and worse shipping delays, so I cannot easily recommend this company anymore. If you're happy enough waiting 1-1.5 months for your box, then go ahead and take the $21/month splurge, but I have opted out of next month's box after dealing with it, especially since your money leaves your bank account promptly at the beginning of the month (NOT when the box has shipped, which is really what should be happening instead).

I'll take you through my opinions and thoughts on the products I received this month - this month was unique in that everyone received the same products, there was no variation except for the color of the Ciate paint pot and the scent of the Caldrea body wash.

Ciate Paint Pot - Color: Skinny Dip (Bottled Sunshine Collection) - Retail: $15 (Full Size)

I'm happy I received this color! I really didn't want a nude or white, I have plenty of those and this will be a fun color for the summer. It's an orange with shimmery gold flecks, it's quite a stunning shade and the packaging is absolutely adorable.

Bellapierre Cosmetics Super Lipgloss - Color: Vanilla Pink - Retail: $24

The lip gloss is a beautiful shimmery peachy pink color and it is not sparkly when applied or sticky, this is definitely a wearable shade for many different skin tones. I definitely don't think it's worth the insane $24 price tag, you could use a Maybelline Color Elixir drugstore dupe for much cheaper!

Aqua Spa Relax Body Creme - 2 oz Retail Value $1.75

This is a fairly large sized body cream, it'll definitely last me awhile, considering I like to apply it on my arms, hands and neck. This is a good travel size, even if you're doing a full body application. The scent is a pleasant lavender but nothing I would repurchase.

Caldrea Body Wash in Tea Olive Lime - 1 oz Retail Value $1.50

I love receiving body wash in my boxes because that just means I don't have to spend money outside of them to purchase for myself! The scent of this body wash is actually more of a lemon verbena scent rather than anything olive-related, in my opinion. This is a very clean, refreshing smell and I look forward to using it!

LA Splash Splashproof Eyeshadow Sealer/Base - Retail Value: $9

I can never have too many eyeshadow bases, this will be put to good use. It's a little bit gooey and sticky but I can make it work. It's not ideal for a beginner as I do think it's harder to work with than a good, thick concealer substitute or a silicone-based eyeshadow primer. The packaging is a little clunky, weird and large (it kind of resembles a strange mascara shape) but has a doe foot applicator. It's also important to note that it has glitter and is NOT paraben-free.

Glossybox Blush in Glossy Rosewood (exclusive product by Kryolan) - eBay Value: $15

It's hard to say what  the value of this blush is because it is an exclusive product and it was provided for free with the bonus code "PINK" with a new GB subscription. I do really love the creamy powder consistency, it reminds me of Essence blushes and the color is a flattering color for almost any skin tone. If you don't own this, I would definitely try to pick it up off eBay or anywhere you see it. Absolutely stunning for every day wear.

The overall value of my Glossybox this month was $66.25, which is a lower value for the average Glossybox and I did use a bonus coupon code to bump that up by $15.

Colorful / Festival Eye Look of the Day

This look I decided to re-create was inspired by Julia Graf's Arab Inspired Eye tutorial from YouTube. If you'd like watch it, I have linked it below.

My rendition of this look differs in several ways. First of all, I did not use full length false lashes, I was debating not using any at all and I used Too Faced's Fiber Lash Mascara, but then I did decide to throw on some Demi Wispies (just a pair I bought in a 10-pack off eBay, really anything comfortable works). I pulled my eyeliner out a little further, I tried using gel or cream but it didn't look as black as I wanted so I finished off the liner with Kat Von D's eyeliner in Trooper. I also mostly used colors from the Urban Decay Electric palette and some of my MAC single shadows. I also didn't use a white base, I used my MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC15, because I actually have to go pick up NYX's Milk pencil.

I'll basically list for you the colors that I used for pinks, purples, etc. to achieve this look. Now while it's not exactly like Julia's, it's definitely quite similar!

Yellow: MAC "Chrome Yellow"
Orange: Urban Decay "Slowburn" from Electric Palette
Chartreuse Green: Urban Decay "Thrash" from Electric Palette
Aqua: MAC's "Aquadisiac"
Pink: Urban Decay "Savage" from Electric Palette and Too Faced "Bright Eyes" from Be Bright Holiday Set
Purple: Urban Decay "Urban" from Electric Palette
White: MAC's "Nylon"
Black Eyeliner: Kat Von D "Trooper" and Clinique Black Kohl Eyeliner for waterline

Hope you guys enjoy this look and definitely head on over to Julia's website for some awesome tutorials!

Allure Beauty Box Spring/Summer 2014 (Product Photos Inside!)

It's that time again! The Allure Beauty Box will go on sale April 29th at 12:01 PM EST (that's in exactly 1 week).  This is a quarterly box that is curated by Allure and sells out in minutes. I will post an update when the link is live, or you can keep checking the website.

It will have a $350+ value and will cost $44.95 + Shipping (typically the shipping is around $10)

I have an extensive and thorough list of all of the products that you can pick up in this box if you are one of the lucky people that manages to order it! I got the products from the Allure Access website. It seems that the theme this time around is hair products, there's definitely a large abundance of them rather than anything else. This box is very light on makeup - which is a bummer for me!

Here is the complete list of products:

1. ALOXXI Flexible Hairspray - Value $17
2. BIG SEXY HAIR Get Layered Flash Dry Thickening Hairspray - Value $20
3. BURT’S BEES Even-Tone Moisturizing Cream - Value $20
4. CARGO COSMETICS Essential Lip Gloss - Value $16
5. CETAPHIL Gentle Skin Cleansing Cloths - Value $7.50
6. DEVELOPLUS Anti-Aging Hair Treatment System - Value $20
7. DOVE Purely Pampering Body Wash - Value $9.50
8. FLOWER Nail’d It Nail Lacquer - Value $5
9. GK HAIR ThermalStyleHer - Value $20
10. IT COSMETICS Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ - Value $38
11. NEUTROGENA MoistureSmooth Color Stick - Value $11
12. NEUTROGENA Ultra Sheer Face + Body Stick Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 70 - Value $11
13. NOT YOUR MOTHER’S Intensive Hair Unit Renewal Treatment – Value $8
14. ONE ’N ONLY Argan Oil Cream-to-Serum Styler – Value $10
15. OSCAR BLANDI Pronto Dry Heat Protect Spray - Value $24
16. PUREOLOGY Fresh Approach Dry Conditioner - Value $22
17. REDKEN Mess Around 10 Disrupting Cream-Paste – Value $15
18. REMBRANDT Deeply White Toothpaste - Value $10
19. RIMMEL LONDON Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara - Value $7
20. RUSK Freezing Spray – Value $18
21. SALLY HANSEN Triple Shine Nail Color - Value $5
22. SALLY HANSEN Triple Shine Top Coat - Value $5
23. Softsoap Sea Kissed Exfoliating Body Wash - Value $5.50
24. TANTOWEL Classic Self-Tan Towelettes - Value $20
25. TARTE lights, camera, lashes 4-in-1 mascara – Value $19

The exact calculated total value seems to be closer to $363.50!!!

And here are the products along with a description of each!

Ipsy Glam Bag Unboxing - April 2014

Here's what I received in my April 2014 Ipsy Bag.

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil - Travel Size - Value $15
dr. brandt Microdermabrasion - Deluxe Sample Size - Value $9.75
Elizabeth Mott Pop! goes the shadow (Champagne) - Full Size - Value $12.99
Mary Kay At Play Jelly Lip Gloss (Teddy Bare) - Full Size - Value $10
Sexy Hair Root Pump Volumizing Spray Mousse - Travel Size - Value $6

Total Value of this my Ipsy April 2014 bag - $53.74

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I definitely received my money's worth and then some, I just wasn't extremely thrilled about the products - it all seemed a little... basic for my taste. I like to experiment with makeup and I have so much that a neutral eyesahdow (although I love the quality, a nude lip gloss, an exfoliator, a black eye pencil and a hair mousse really isn't very thrilling. I can't say I loved the bag but I also didn't dislike it. I'm using it in my purse currently because it's the perfect size for me to store coupons.

I received this Teddy Bare shade of the Mary Kay at Play Jelly Lip Gloss. I am happy this is a full size product but extremely bummed that this nude is a color that completely washes me out. I also didn't like that this product stuck to any dry patches on my lips and really accentuated them, it was also very sticky and thick in consistency. I would not repurchase this lip gloss, especially at the high price of $10!

I was happy to receive an Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in their new Velvet line (color: Black Velvet).  This is a similar size to the travel pencils that they sometimes include in their Book of Shadows (various editions) and other palettes. I have quite a collection of these and was happy to see this one smudged well, clearly being intended for a smokey eye. It's more of a charcoal black rather than a pure dark black due to its intended use. The value of this product was $15.

This was my surprise favorite item in this bag. I have received a couple of other Elizabeth Mott products in the past and also enjoyed them thoroughly (through Ipsy, Glossybox and Birchbox). I'm a fan that I'm always receiving something different from this brand, rather than just the same product sent out in all my subscriptions! Also, this eyeshadow reminds me of Stila's Kitten (which is an amazing compliment). I absolutely love this shade, it's very universal and wearable, super glowy and extremely buttery. This product is worth the $12.99 price tag, I would purchase it and I'm glad that it came in my bag. 

The last 2 products are my absolute duds for this month. I have plenty of exfoliators and although I've heard great reviews of dr. Brandt's products, I just can't seem to get myself hyped about cleansers. It retails for a fortune so even this extremely small sample is valued at $9.75. I also received the BigSexyHair Root Pump Mousse (valued at $6) and this will be an okay product that I can put in my purse if it's very humid out and I really want to control my hair. These two products are the reason why I unsubscribed from Birchbox, I want a purely makeup subscription and not really cleansers and hair products. With that being said, Ipsy usually does the best job of the affordable makeup subscriptions of sending primarily makeup products.

Subscribe to Ipsy for only $10/month

Should I floss before or after I brush my teeth?

I don't know if you've ever thought about this topic, but the other day I found myself wondering: Should I be flossing before or after I brush my teeth and use mouthwash? So I researched the topic and found out some pretty logical results. 

When we're young our dentists tell us just to floss once a day, because that's good enough, if you're doing that you're staving off gingivitis and potential periodontal disease (severe gum disease) and removing unwanted plaque from building up. It takes plaque 24-48 hours to "settle" and solidify in your mouth, if you are flossing once every 24 hours you will not form floss in the areas that you agitate with your floss. 

My personal favorite tools to floss with are flosser dental picks. I think they make the job so much more enjoyable, and I make sure to leave them out somewhere very visible so that every single day I will see them and be reminded to use them. To top that off, I even have an alarm which sets off every night before bedtime to remind me of Flossy Time.

After much thorough research, I saw that this is a highly contested topic. Some dentists apparently don't care when you floss as long as you do floss once a day, specifically at night. It's important to floss at night before you sleep because during the night, since you aren't using or opening your mouth quite so much, and your saliva proliferates at much slower pace, the bacteria have their reign in your mouth. Bacteria are free to settle, move around, and cause disturbance in your mouth undisturbed as you sleep. So it's important that the majority of your dental care routine happens before you sleep. 

I discovered that it's important to floss before you go to sleep, the reason behind this is that it will dislodge any rogue food particles or impurities. After doing this, it is the opportune time to floss with a fluoride toothpaste and use mouthwash to ensure your mouth is clean for as long as possible throughout the night.

Mariposa - Glinda Eyes of the Day

My eyes of the day were inspired by the butterflies in the Mariposa palette and the ethereal look of the Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz (and Urban Decay palette infamy). I'm excited that spring is here and the weather is finally starting to warm up, so bright colors and pastels will be the norm!

Here are the products I used for this look (as always I'll let you know exactly how to achieve this on your own):

I really wanted to do something with purples and pinks, but rather than sticking with just the violet color family, I wanted to incorporate the end of frost on my lower lash line. I did this by creating an icy blue on the inner corner that gently melds into the purple. I kept the eyeliner absolutely minimal because I didn't want it to overpower these beautiful colors, as a bold cat-eye can usually make an overwhelming statement and clash with very multicolored eyeshadow.

Primarily I used the Urban Decay Mariposa Palette, which is not part of their permanent collection, but you can still purchase it on eBay or Amazon. I also used some accent colors from the Glinda eyeshadow palette (these pop out of the palette and are full sized shadows, they are very convenient to work with). I finished the look with some bold colored purple and icy blue eyeliners, which I set with powder foundation for long-lasting wear.

1. Skimp (from the UD Mariposa Palette) all over the brow-bone up to eyebrows
2. Limelight (from the UD Mariposa Palette) on the inner 1/3rd of the lid
3. Money (from the UD Mariposa Palette) on the middle 1/3rd of the lid, blend with Limelight at border
4. Rockstar (from the UD Mariposa Palette) on the outer 1/3rd of the lid, blend with Money at border and apply all over crease generously, making sure the color is as deep as you want it
5. Infamous (from the UD Mariposa Palette) used to blend out top border of Rockstar into the brow-bone
6. Apply a creamy black eyeliner to the upper lash line (I used Sumita Beauty's Kala Black Color Intense Pencil)
7. Line the outer 2/3rds of the lower waterline and lash line with a deep purple (I used Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Ransom)
1. "Set" this eyeliner with Rockstar, same eyeshadow used in step 4 above
8. Line the inner 1/3rd of the lower waterline and lash line with an icy blue (I used Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal 008 Light Blue)
1. "Set" this eyeliner with a light blue eyeshadow (I used the blue half of the shade Aura from the UD Glinda Palette)
9. Feather out any parts of the makeup that are too harsh, for me this was the inner corner transition, so I went in with a very light peach to fade the pink eyeshadow I used into my browbone color (UD Glinda Palette "Illusion")
10. To finish off the look, I used the black mascara Jordana Best Lash Extreme!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!