May 2012 Julep Maven It Girl Box

If you love getting to try out new nail polishes then I suggest you sign up for Julep’s Maven Program! I’ve been getting the boxes for a few months now ($19.99 a month) and have found that I love their polishes and hand products!

Here are some photos of the polishes I’ve received the past few months:

I’ve also gotten full size hand care and nail care products and samples of other hand/nail care products. Their roller-ball cuticle oil is my favorite! I have 3 bottles of it!

I thought I would just do a quick post on what I got for this month’s box and by all means if you’re interested go and sign up! I would love it if you did it via my affiliate link: Julep Maven because I can then earn rewards. I’m all about reward systems! Once you become a Julep Maven, you get a personalized 20% code that you can use on any/all of your Julep purchases.

So this is what I got in May’s “It Girl” box!

• Ashley – Sunset orange with a metallic micro-shimmer
• Nessa – Bright lemon sorbet shimmer
• Kylie – Sultry violet magnetic polish — with separate magnet
• sample of pedi creme

All of the polishes had great formulas and I loved with Kylie that it’s a great polish even without the magnetic affect, however that being said, the magnet for me was super weak and really didn’t do much even after holding it close for over 30 seconds! I’ve had better results with my other magnetic polishes in 5 – 10 seconds, with super bold magnetic patterns.

Also, the brush that came with Ashely was all sorts of messed up, made applying the polish almost impossible and the end result looked tacky, even though the polish itself is a fantastic color.

Here are some swatches*!

Kylie after the magnet had been applied:

For the month of May, by using my referral link, you can use the code MAYINTRO to get your first box for a PENNY!

If you have any questions about any of the products or anything really, let me know!

*all photos shot super quickly on my point and shoot!
{just a member of the program, no freebies given to me!}

Birchbox April 2012

If you love getting to try new products out (especially cosmetic products) then I suggest jumping on the Birchbox bandwagon! I’ve been getting the boxes for a few months now ($10 a month) and have found a few products I really enjoy (and have become purse staples).

I thought I would just do a quick post on what I got for this month’s box and by all means if you’re interested go and sign up! I would love it if you did it via my affiliate link: Birchbox Affilate because I can then earn points. I’m all about reward systems!

The products are (in no particular order):

• Zoya True Spring Collection nail polish — Farrah
• Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine Petite Cologne Absolue
• Yes To Blueberries Brightening Facial Towelettes
• Weleda Pomegranate Firming Night Cream
• The Leakey Collection Omega Rich Pure Marula Oil

Overall I am fairly pleased with the box this month except, yet again, MORE FRAGRANCE SAMPLES! I think this is one of the biggest failings with Birchbox (I see complaints about this very issue a lot) is that it feels like they “spam” the subscribers with fragrances! Maybe I’m just super picky.

I am super thrilled over the mini Zoya polish, not only do I LOVE my massive amounts of nail polish but I love Zoya as a brand in itself AND I actually don’t own a lot of nude shades so this is perfect!

I am also excited about the facial towelettes because I LOVE them for when I am just too exhausted to full on wash / exfoliate / serum / more serum / moisturize / eye cream before bed, before this arrived, I have three other brands scattered on my vanity.

Cons for me this month? For sure the fragrance sample, the Marula oil (I already have argan oil AND maracuja oil, I don’t need a third “miracle” oil!), and the firming night cream (I am intensely super picky about my face care routine).

Will I continue to be a subscriber? Yes! I think the boxes I’ve received this year have vastly improved to what I got last year and I am already excited about next month’s box.

For those of you who are also Birchbox members, what did you get in your box this month?

April 2012 Julep “It Girl” Box

If you love getting to try out new nail polishes then I suggest you sign up for Julep’s Maven Program! I’ve been getting the boxes for a few months now ($19.99 a month) and have found that I love their polishes and hand products!

Here are some photos of the polishes I’ve received the past few months:

I’ve also gotten full size hand care and nail care products and samples of other hand/nail care products.

I thought I would just do a quick post on what I got for this month’s box and by all means if you’re interested go and sign up! I would love it if you did it via my affiliate link: Julep Maven because I can then earn rewards. I’m all about reward systems! Once you become a Julep Maven, you get a personalized 20% code that you can use on any/all of your Julep purchases.

So this is what I got in April’s “It Girl” box!

• Niecy — a bright pink creme
• Penelope — opaque almost white creme with a hint of blush
• Jessica — a soft baby blue creme
• toe separators
• little Easter egg shaped chocolates (which my little one ate right away!)

This month they had a promotion to add up to TWO polishes from the OTHER boxes for only $4.95 each instead of regular price so I added the following:

• Renee — spring lilac creme
• Susie — delicious mint creme

I found most of the formulas to be fairly opaque, perhaps a bit streaky with thinner coats, with the exception of Penelope which came on quite sheer AND doesn’t appear to be “blush” to me but a straightforward soft pink.

Here are some swatches*!

For the month of April, by using my referral link, you can use the code APRILINTRO to get your first box for a PENNY!

If you have any questions about any of the products or anything really, let me know!

*all photos shot super quickly on my point and shoot!
{just a member of the program, no freebies given to me!}

March 2012 Birchbox

If you love getting to try new products out (especially cosmetic products) then I suggest jumping on the Birchbox bandwagon! I’ve been getting the boxes for a few months now ($10 a month) and have found a few products I really enjoy (and have become purse staples).

I thought I would just do a quick post on what I got for this month’s box and by all means if you’re interested go and sign up! I would love it if you did it via my affiliate link: Birchbox Affilate because I can then earn points. I’m all about reward systems!

The products are (in no particular order):

• Deborah Lippmann Stripper To Go — nail polish remover pad
• Kusmi Tea Paris I Love My Detox Tea
• One Love Organics Skin Savior Waterless Beauty Balm
• Miss Jessie’s Original Quick Curls — curl cream
• PETER THOMAS ROTH Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel
• stila Smoky Eye Shadow Palette

I’d just like to say, HOW AMAZING MY BOX IS THIS MONTH! My faith in Birchbox has been renewed!

As you can see, with the exception of the Stila eyeshadow palette, EVERYTHING else is a deluxe sample, heck, better than deluxe really considering the size of them!

Peter Thomas Roth? UM YES PLEASE! I love his products and use them daily and Deborah Lippmann? Well, you’ve all seen my nail polish obsession!

I’m really excited to try the curl cream because I do have curly hair and yay for green tea (I only like green or white tea)! I’m curious about the waterless beauty balm, it’s nice to have something I can toss in my purse for those occasions where I need to quickly remove jacked up makeup or dirt.

Overall, I am super pleased with each and every single product I got in my box this month and hope the trend continues!

For those of you who are also Birchbox members, what did you get in your box this month?

January 2012 QVC New Beauty Test Tube

Isn’t that title a mouthful? Yes, it’s the January test tube and I’m posting in February because I was a bit shy to do more beauty posts when a person said to me, “ugh, you’ve turned into a beauty blog”.

Anyway! The Test Tube is new to me. There is the one through New Beauty Magazine and then an off-shoot which is through QVC. I chose the QVC version because it contains more makeup products where as the New Beauty one is more advanced skin care.

It’s $30 every 3 months and you get the tube in January, April, August, and October. The products you receive I would consider them deluxe samples and full size products. There are NO teeny samples or vials at all and you get a LOT of product! You also get an issue of their huge magazine. They include a huge booklet that talks about each product, it’s purpose, how to use it, all that good stuff.

So here’s what I got!

• 0.39-fl oz full-sized Mally Volumizing Mascara
• 0.003-oz full-sized tarte emphasEYES Aqua Gel Eyeliner in Green
• 0.5-oz Kate Somerville ExfoliKate
• 0.5-oz Ole Henriksen Truth Serum
• 2.0-oz Nick Chavez Yucca Root Shampooing Cream
• 1.0-oz philosophy field of flowers perfumed shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath
• 1.0-oz philosophy field of flowers perfumed body lotion
• 2.0-oz Calista Tools Achieve 10 Styling Cream
• 2.0-oz First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

I haven’t tried:

• the mascara because I want to use up what I’m using now before opening a new one
• the shampooing cream because of my purple hair, I need to be careful what products I use
• the styling cream, only because I haven’t had to style my hair LOL
• the exfoliation product, because I use my Clarisonic

I have tried:

• the eyeliner is interesting, it is a pretty color, but it’s a gel consistency and the tip broke off right away so I’m probably not going to use it again
• the shower gel and lotion I LOVE, it’s like Spring in a bottle!
• my husband used the Ultra Repair Cream and said it helped his skin a good amount (as his job requires him to brave the crazy Chicago weather)
• my husband used the truth serum (as I’m using Clinique’s Turnaround Serum right now), but hasn’t used it long enough to notice any changes

Overall, I’m simply thrilled with the Test Tube and can’t WAIT for April’s already!

My New Purple Hair

After pondering it for a few YEARS, last night I finally went ahead and got my hair colored purple!

I knew 100% I did not want to do this at home because I didn’t want to risk damaging my hair (although you can’t avoid ALL damage because bleach is involved) and I wanted a professional to do it.

Turns out? The majority of salons will NOT color your hair a “crazy” color. My husband started calling salons all over for me and after a lot of “You mean… you want to do that ON PURPOSE?!” responses he FINALLY discovered this freaking amazing salon, It’s All About You Hair Salon whose only response was “Not a problem! Schedule an appointment!”.

So after my dentist appointment (ugh, that’s a whole other dramatic fiasco of upcoming pain) I stopped over to even see if we could get my hair to go from super dark (at the mid-shaft to ends from a bad super dark brown dye job) to the required lightness needed for the color!

Lonnngggg story short, no really, I was there for TWELVE HOURS (from 4pm to just past 4am!), my hair DID lighten and the colorist/stylist/amazing person of AWESOME (she was also the owner!) made my hair PURPLE! She also had the most fantastic assistant. And I judge that, probably due to watching a lot of shows like Tabatha Takes Over. I still can’t get over how welcoming it was at that salon. It felt like I knew them for years! Just their dedication ALONE was fantastic, to stay there for ONE CLIENT until the crack of dawn… that’s loving your job!

I’ll be going back next week for a haircut because they offer for new clients, a FREE haircut with any color service (or 50% of your first haircut there). Excited about that for sure!

There’s THREE colors in my hair. For the purple we have the brand Pravana in the color Violet which is the majority of the purple and then some lighter more pinky shade of Wild Orchid. The at my roots which were my natural color and some grey, it’s a darker violet-auburn.

So here’s the end result. Not the best photos because I slept the day away with the little one so these are indoor with flash, but still! AWESOMENESS! Also, why do I always look odd trying to take a photo of myself when I’m wearing my glasses? They always look jacked up.

(Be kind, I really don’t like photos of myself!)

Answering Your Questions… Beauty

Let’s just dive right into it!

By Jodi: What kind of foundation would you suggest for fair skin?
I’m considered fair skin or as some “experts” at beauty stores/counters say “Wow I don’t know if we have something pale enough!”. Here’s the foundations I really like (color and formula as I have dry skin).

• Mac Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 — NC20
• Nars Sheer Glow — Gobi
• Laura Mercier Moisturizing Foundation — Warm Ivory

By Jodi: What kind of cleanser would you suggest for oily skin?
Depends on what your budget it so here are a few options, ranging from drugstore pricing to fancy expensive stuff.

• Basis Cleaner Clean Face Wash — back before I had my kids I had oily skin and LOVED this face wash
• Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser — I use this a lot and it works well for all skin types
• Fresh Soy Face Cleanser — hardcore favorite, I go between this and the Philosophy cleanser
• Ok it’s not a cleanser but the Clarisonic is the BEST investment you could make for your skin!

By Kristi: I have a request, actually. I’d like to see your entire makeup and nail polish collection in one photo, maybe splayed out on the kitchen table or something.

Yeah THAT wasn’t going to happen so I broke it up into bits. I just shot these quickly with my point and shoot so forgive the quality! As for all my nail polishes, I posted about that here, Nail Polish Organization, however we added two more long shelves up top and I have gotten a few more polishes since that post. I’m sure I forgot stuff too but here’s the majority of it!

January 2012 Cravebox

This is my SECOND Cravebox and granted these are my initial impressions (haven’t had time to USE any of the products yet)!

Each month for $10 you get a custom box and a selection of beauty, food, fitness and even more, products.

This is what I got this month:

• switch2health pedometer
• emergen-C vitamin drink mix (full size)
• colavita extra virgin olive oil (small size)
• mereadesso face and neck toning gel (looks like full size)
• prevention magazine

Overall I won’t be using ANY of these products so I’m a bit disappointed.

We just recieved our Fitbit’s in the mail so I don’t need the pedometer, I’m counting calories so I’m not using many oils, I already recieve Prevention Magazine on my iPad, and I mainly use Peter Thomas Roth and Clinique products for my face and neck (however I bet my sister would enjoy this product!) so I won’t be using the face and neck toning gel.

I think my husband will like the Emergen-C drink mix product and I was super pleased to see that it’s full-sized.

Do you have any experience with any of these products or with Cravebox? By all means, share!

Nail Polish Organization

Just a quick photo I shot on my point and shoot to show how I organize my nail polish collection since I’ve been getting asked about it a lot lately.

January 2012 Birchbox

If you love getting to try new products out (especially cosmetic products) then I suggest jumping on the Birchbox bandwagon! I’ve been getting the boxes for a few months now ($10 a month) and have found a few products I really enjoy (and have become purse staples).

I thought I would just do a quick post on what I got for this month’s box and by all means if you’re interested go and sign up! I would love it if you did it via my affiliate link: Birchbox Affilate because I can then earn points. I’m all about reward systems!

The products are (in no particular order):

• birchbox magnet
• borghese — curaforte moisture intensifier (it’s a serum)
• juicy couture — viva la juicy
• jouer — body butter
• stila smudge stick eyeliner — peacock
• larabar — cherry pie

I thought the magnet was a super cute idea, the boys, especially my little one, LOVES magnets for the fridge!

The Borghese Serum just isn’t for me though as it’s not AS intense as my Peter Thomas Roth viz-1000 75% hyaluronic acid complex! However I think this would be perfect for my twin sister! I was sad to see yet ANOTHER perfume sample as I have about 8 of these little teeny vials rolling around in my vanity right now. The scent itself is nice but the vials are just so… annoying to use that I end up just tossing them for the most part.

I was SOO thrilled to get a Stila Eyeliner because I love the formula, its creamy, easy to blend, and has great pigmentation. This peacock blue shade is super lovely too!

I’m torn on the Jouer body butter, generally I do not use an all over lotion most days and when I DO it’s usually the Lush Helping Hands. I think this will become a purse staple!

The Larabar was an epic fail. I tried to pawn it off on my boys and they gagged and tossed it back at me. All I got from my oldest son is that “there is something WRONG with THAT!”. I did like they included an extra but I wish it wasn’t a FOOD item as I would like Birchbox to focus more on BEAUTY products rather than LIFESTYLE products.

Overall I do think this box is MUCH better than last month’s and hope they continue to improve through out 2012!

If you have any questions about any of the products or anything really, let me know!

• WordlessWednesday: Hair Fluffs
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• Leap into Spring: Finale
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• May 2012 Julep Maven It Girl Box
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