Olay Fresh Effects Cleanser

I received a nice sample tube of the Olay Fresh Effects Shine, Shine Go Away! cleanser in the mail a few days ago. I have super oily skin so I was really eager to try this. I also want to add that I use Cetaphil (at the recommendation of both my PCP and my dermatologist) on a daily basis and I also have this nice scrub from True Blue Spa that is great for exfoliating so I use it two or three times a week- it's called Supremely Smoothing Face Scrub with Apricot & White Tea. Love those!

Anywho, apparently there is a whole line of the Olay Fresh Effects and you can see a preview of their line from the info card they sent along with my sample.

The Shine, Shine Go Away! cleanser states that you can get "the purifying power of a mask that lathers and rinses like a daily cleanser". This formula is supposed to remove twice the amount of dirt, oil, and makeup vs. basis cleaning (I'm not really sure what they mean by basic cleaning... Do they mean just using water? Idk), boasts a deep cleaning action for fresh feeling, and also has kaolin clay to lift away impurities and minimize shine.

The cleanser definitely smells good to me. I am not a fan of strong fragrances at all and this smells light and almost has a hint of citrus and maybe herbs. I'm not sure but it's fresh smelling to me. When I first squirted it out on my hand I really thought it was going to be thick and hard to work with like a mask due to the odd silvery color, but it's actually quite smooth and creamy.

I used this cleanser last night to wash my face before bed and two hours after I had washed there was still ZERO shine. For me that is awesome! However, I did use the cleanser this morning and I am wearing a full face of makeup today. It's been five hours since I did cleanse and there is a small amount of shine to my face. So, I will have to retest on a "no makeup" day. As of right now, I feel like this item has potential.

AVON Mega Effects Mascara

Basically I'm just going to give you guys a little teaser of a new mascara AVON will have out in a few campaigns. I did receive one today to try in a bag of goodies from a recognition event. Personally, I don't think I have seen a mascara anything quite like this, so I will definitely update after I have had a chance to try it.

Due to the way the brush is made, the mascara is supposed to be evenly distributed onto all of the lashes. Also, the handle is adjustable so that you may tilt it to a more comfortable angle.

Like I said, it's still a few campaigns away (for those of you not familiar with AVON, each campaign lasts 2 weeks), I think it's due out in either C17 or 19 and I'm currently ending C12... so 2-3 months away.

If anyone knows of anything similar to this, please share!

What's In Your Bag?

Here lately my right shoulder has been KILLING me. And I think a lot of it has to do with my purse and it's contents! I've been carrying this awesome 5th Avenue bag from ThirtyOne for several months (a record for me! But upon inspection of their new catalog I don't see them listed. Hopefully they're not discontinued) and I love it because it has all of these snaps and zippers and pockets inside-- tons of storage space!! BUT, this also means I can pack a little too much in there....

I had a few spare minutes today and decided I would clean it out. Now, I know I have mentioned previously about having way too many lip glosses... There were 25 lip glosses/lipsticks in my bag!! Seriously, if I had a scale here at my house, I would have weighed all 25 of those because I'm betting they added up. 25!! Just in one purse that I carry on a daily basis! And yes, there is more lip products in my makeup bags/boxes that does not include those. Crazy, I know. I also had three fragrance sprays... a girls gotta smell good!

So, I'm going to try to challenge myself not to buy any more lip products for the entire summer. Clearly I should be well stocked.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone else carry that many glosses in their purse? Or is there something else that you like to hoard in there?

Stila

I received an email earlier about Stila having a 70% off sale. And I deleted it. And then I thought... 70% off, better look into this. So, upon inspection of their website www.stilacosmetics.com it appears it's part of a close out sale on certain items. But, if you are a Stila fan OR if you have wanted to try some of their products and thought they were a little too pricey, then this sale is for you!

I do own a few of their cosmetics, my all time favorite being the smudge stick eyeliner (particularly in the shade Lionfish~this is the only brown eyeliner I have worn for the past year!). They DO have a smudge stick eyeliner 5 piece set on sale for $16! Holy smokes! These liners are $20 apiece and now you can get 5 of them for less than 1!!

There is a neat Holiday Palette that has 6 eyeshadows and 1 cheek/lip color and also features a face chart to show you where/how to apply. On sale for 6 BUCKS! Who cares if this is a "holiday" palette?! These are nice colors!

Have you tried their Lip Glazes? They are A-mazing! And, you can score the Lip Glaze Trio in Harvest for only $6!

Seriously, look around. They have such cute things and I'm telling you, at these prices they will sell out soon. I looked at a few things this morning and noticed just now they are already gone :(

I found all of these items under Phased Out Favorites on the left hand column.

Birchbox Nuance Box

So it seems that BB is doing a special this month where certain people were chosen to receive an extra box free of charge. This extra box is filled with goodies from Salma Hayek's Nuance line.

I've not received an email stating I'm getting one of these, but from skimming Birchbox's facebook page, there were several people that commented saying they DID receive the box without getting the email. Birchbox also says that those extra boxes have until the 24th to be delivered. So, my fingers are crossed!

My friend was lucky enough to get one of these today and from the pic she sent, it looks as if she got at least two full size products.

mark Glossworks Longwear Lip Gloss

I have so many lip glosses, really I do NOT need any more! But, I kept looking at these in the catalog and thought they looked fun and looked really cute on the model, so....I ended up choosing the shade Temptest, which looks like a punchy pink~very summery.

The Glossworks boasts SPF 15 to protect from UVA/UVB rays. It also states having a glossy color/shine that will last for hours... we'll see about that!

So, here's a pic of my bare lips (excuse the fact that I have NO other makeup on). 

And here we are with a coat of Temptest

It's definitely a cute pop of color with a nice shine to it. The formula is a little thick (not completely sticky). 

However, I do not like the applicator on it, it was a little messy and there is no way I could accurately apply the gloss without a mirror, which kind of defeats the purpose in my opinion. 

You can see its got a tiny little brush on the end. I prefer the spongey applicators, but oh well...

I'm really on the fence about this one since I do like to reapply on the go.

*5/23/13 UPDATE: I did wear this to work for a 12 hr shift. I applied it before I left my house and this actually stayed on through my breakfast and a drink. When I say stayed on I mean it still had some sheen to it. Just as a test, I did not reapply any throughout the day. By the end of my shift, there was still some color stained on my lips, but of course the shine was long gone. So, I am impressed that it did stain that long, but still am not crazy about the applicator or the thickness of it.

May Birchbox

Birchbox is another beauty sampling service that I subscribe to monthly, but it differs from Ipsy because it also includes "lifestyle" products. In the past, those have ranged from a nail file, and detergent pods to tea bags and some really cool chocolates that had some kind of hot peppers mixed in.

I do want to add that Birchbox now has an option in the beauty profile to check as to whether you want to receive less perfume samples. Since I am extremely picky about fragrance, I did choose this option.

Each month always has a theme and this May's was "Beauty Diaries".

I received 5 products in this month's box, four of them being beauty items and one being an "extra" item.
Pilot Corporation of America Acroball PureWhite Pen-I know a lot of people complained about receiving an ink pen, but that's totally fine with me because I'm always on the lookout for a good writing pen (and generally people steal those!), however, I received a pink one in my box so that kind of knocks me out of using it at work...

Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner-Soft, waxy, eyeliner pencil, comes in 7 different shades, $11 each. I received the color Raina, which is a navy blue.

Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle-Paraben and Sulfate free detangler that seals the cuticles while moisturizing, minimizing frizz, safeguarding color, and adding shine. Also protects against UV rays and heat. $21.95 for an 8oz size.

Folle de Joie eau de parfum-Calming citrus, light woodsy floral, hints of cognac,jasmine and Damascenia rose, along with warm base notes of spicy woods and rich leather. $98 for 3.4oz size. This is the FIRST fragrance sample from BB that I have ever liked! And I've been with them for awhile, over two years I think. So, I'm actually a little bummed that the full size of this is that expensive because even though I am picky on my scents I do like to mix them up. I really don't know if I can justify spending that much on one bottle :(

COOLA Classic SPF 30 Cucumber Moisturizer for Face- 70 percent organic ingredients that protect from UVA and UVB rays with a cucumber scent. This sunscreen starts working right away and features  vitamin C-rich strawberry extracts to soothe and tone lackluster skin. Age-reversing antioxidants like evening primrose, acai, and linseed oils deflect free radicals, while naturally water-resistant plankton makes the formula extra-durable. $32 for a 1.7 oz size. I'm really excited about this one, even though I've not tried it yet. I do not tan and try to protect myself and my girls from sun damage for health reasons. I'm not sure how the moisturizing formula will react to my face since I have oily skin, but I did notice that the COOLA brand also offers a matte version for the face so that might be something I'll check into.

At first I was really bummed with this box because there was a blush from Cargo and a lip plumper gloss that I really wanted to try. But upon closer inspection, there's actually some really cool items in here.

If Birchbox seems like something you would like to sign up for and start sampling, here is my referral link https://www.birchbox.com?raf=t4gr9
 

Baked Eyeshadow

I've seen this around, the baked eyeshadows and blushes, but I really don't know much about them or how they differ from a regular eyeshadow/blush, so when AVON began to offer the Cosmic Eyeshadow, I jumped on the baked boat!

The Cosmic Eyeshadow claims to give you multi-tone pearl-effect shimmer. Three shades swirled together in one luminous shadow. They have several different shades to choose from.

I decided to only buy one color since I wasn't really sure on how well I would like these. The color I ended up getting was Jaded Moon, which looks greenish (I do have green eyes).

Here you can see what it looks like....

And here I've swatched it on my arm(I am pale, I do have the flash on, but only to showcase the sheen of this color)- yes, it is more of a golden shade when you put it on! So, I'm a tad disappointed because I thought I was getting something Jade, but the gold is nice and will go better with sun-kissed skin this summer.

Ipsy

The May Ipsy bag was AWESOME! Seriously, mine had 3 FULL SIZE products in it!! For 10 bucks!

And Ipsy has actually switched it up this month. They typically offer everyone the same products just in a different color (different shade of lipstick, different color of nail polish, etc.), but this month, they actually have around 15 different products that you could have gotten in your bag according on how your beauty profile is filled out. I am definitely pleased with my bag this month, but I really liked the fact that before everyone got the same thing. I just think when you start mixing things up like that, people get pissed off because they don't get what they wanted even though this is a sampling service...

Anywho, so Ipsy is auto deducted from your banking account around the 1st of every month and the bags ship out around the 10th. They do ship from the West Coast, so according on where you live you might want to give it a little more travel time before tracking that little gem.

You can see the Spring Fling info card that came with the bag listing all of the possible product brands on the back and showing what discounts are available (I photoed the pretty side) and also there was an offer from NuMe for a coupon code for $150 off of some of their products. I've not really checked into the NuMe offer, but I do know from a previous bag that had something similar in it, that their products are not cheap and I think even with the $150 deducted you would still end up paying for whatever you pick out.

The cosmetic bag this month is a cool blue and orange chevron stripe that seems to be trendy right now. And also, you can see some of the pink mailer peeking out from behind.

There were 5 products in this month's bag.
Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss-full size- The color I received was Champagne, which is kind of nudish. It definitely has a nice shine to it and there is NO stickiness whatsoever to this gloss.

Zoya Nail Polish-full size- The color is actually a light purple, but you really can't tell from the pic.

Pacifica Roll On Perfume-full size- The fragrance I received was Tahitian Gardenia-This heady, vintage-inspired blend showcases the sacred Gardenia bloom, a symbol of love, unity, grace and strength. It's sweet, smooth and slightly citrusy aroma is reminiscent of Jasmine, Sweet Orange and Tea Leaves. I think this is really neat because I've never had a roll on perfume before.

Yaby Concealer Refills-My shade was Buff, I've not tried it yet, but probably needed the Vanilla color instead because I am pale!

Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment-Macadamia Hair's light weight Healing Oil Treatment instantly absorbs into the hair to provides intense nourishment. It contains Omega 7 fatty acids, which is an essential component of skin and hair health. The Healing Oil penetrates the hair and scalp to improve strength, eliminates frizz, reduces blow drying time, and extends the life of color treatments. Instant absorption, light-weight and has a non-greasy feel. Natural UV protection. I also have not had the chance to try this out yet.

Something else new that Ipsy is doing is referrals. Their website states for every two referrals on your account that you will receive either an Urban Decay Eyeshadow or bracelet from The Bauble Bar. Here's my link if anyone is interested!
http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h0514yxvlruv1rsd

Beauty Subscriptions

There are a lot of companies now offering beauty subscriptions. Basically, you pay a flat rate for a "beauty box" filled with various items (the number depends on the sub service you go with) that arrive in your mailbox either every month or every 3 months (again, that depends on the company you choose).

There are two services that I subscribe to, Birchbox and Ipsy (formerly called MyGlam). Birchbox is more of a beauty/lifestyle sampling service and Ipsy seems to be more on the side of actual cosmetics. And Ipsy has really been my favorite lately. FYI they are both only $10 a month, but I think you might get a discount if you pay the whole year in advance. Also, Ipsy always comes in a neat pink mailer and has a little cosmetic bag with it.

Hello, I'm a beauty-aholic...

Since becoming a beauty junkie, I've felt compelled to share all of my great finds with everyone. I am an AVON/mark representative, but I don't limit myself to those two brands! I do subscribe to the Birchbox and Ipsy monthly services and I'm also an avid VS and B&BW shopper. Sometimes it's a little crazy looking at all of the various cosmetic and body products I own, but it could be worse, right?!