Birchbox July

I received my July box today and the theme this month is Power Play, dedicated to products to help you take control of a situation and make the most of your time. I tried to photograph the info card that detailed Power Play, but it kept coming out blurry...

Contents of this month's box...
 

This is the actual size of the eyeko liner. Too bad I got purple!!
 

Here's what the liner tip looks like-- resembles a fancy felt tip I think.
 

And here is the shade the purple is on my skin.

There are a few interesting products here, but it's still a little on the "meh" side for me...

For $10 a month you can receive beauty & lifestyle products such as these by joining Birchbox today.

Ipsy July

Since my June Ipsy came late due to bring re-routed, it was a nice surprise when July's bag was in my mailbox on Saturday.

July's theme is Beach Beauty and therefore has products geared toward wearing outdoors for an extended period of time, particularly at the beach. Too bad I just came back from there because these would have been great to have actually tested in the beach atmosphere. 

If you are familiar with Ipsy, you know that each month they include a little cosmetic bag with your goodies. This months was definitely fitting as it was made of plastic and see through and would be very cute and practical to carry along to the beach or even the pool. 

-- A list of the discounts offered for this months featured brands.

Contents in my bag were:
~Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray Conditioning & Texturizing Spray
~Benefit benetint (I had to apply this several times to show some color on my cheeks even though I have fair skin, but I think I will like it better than Stainiac)
~COOLA Mineral Face SPF 20 Rose Essence Tinted Moisturizer (I tried a COOLA sunscreen from BB recently and really liked it, so I'm excited to try this!)
~POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in shade Fuschia Flirt (this was extremely pink, like Barbie dollish, there were two other shades you could have gotten, a coral or rose)
~BH Cosmetics California Collection Eyeshadow Sample

 

Here's the inside of the BH eyeshadow sample. Hollywood looks purplish, San Francisco looks like a nice shimmery brown, and Malibu appears to be a shimmery gold.

All in all, I think this was a great bag! If you subscribe, let me know what the contents of your bag were. And, if you don't, here's a link if you would like to get on their list Join Ipsy.

mark. 10th Birthday!

This summer's mark. magalog 9 is featuring awesome new products celebrating the mark. 10th birthday and will also have the new mark. ambassador on the cover, Lucy Hale. I'm super excited because there are so many things in this magalog I want and I've already started my order list for them.

Even though I don't wear blue very often, there is a new On the Dot Smoky palette (their palettes are awesome- seriously, 9 shades that can all be worn separately or blended together to create so many combinations. If you've not tried one yet, I suggest you do. The Neutral is my favorite!).

 

 

Classic Mix Fragrance Trio- three purse size sprays • mark. karmala eau de toilette Inspired by Ancient Eastern rituals, with clover leaf, Tahitian vanilla and pink cassis for an air of optimism • mark. bohista eau de toilette An eclectic blend of ginger, orchid and warm musk that speaks to the boho spirit in all of us • mark. hollywood pink eau de toilette The essence of high glamour with a very feminine flair– muguet and freesia mixed with white musk

Glimmer of Hope Earrings in Silvertone or Goldtone (I'll take silver please!) with 70 genuine Swarovski crystals. Bling bling!! Wonder Glow Blush & Glow Can be used as a blush or all over luminizer. 10 Year Anniversary Eye Palette- works for all skin tones. There are many more new things coming out, including fashion, but these were my favorite items and are definitely on my purchase list!

Ipsy June

I almost forgot to post about my June Ipsy bag! Somehow my bag got rerouted to somewhere else a day before it was due to arrive to me and then a few days after receiving it, I left for vacation... So, here it is!

 

June's theme was On the Wild Side. The back of the "wild" card seen here had discount offers for the June's featured products.

 

 

The products I received this month were:
-- Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil
--Starlooks Lip Pencil in a pinkish color
--J.Catt Beauty Sparkling Cream Palette in the cooler shades
--J.Catt Beauty Eyelash + Eyelash Glue
--Nyx Blush in Angel

This is probably the worst bag I have received from Ipsy and I have been with them for over a year. The only thing I haven't tried yet is the false eyelashes.

I thought the highlighter pencil was cool but even though I have light skin, after I blended it, the "highlighter" was not visible. At all.

I'm really not a fan of lipliners, but this lip pencil was actually decent. I used it to fill in my entire lip and it did not dry them out and the color did last for a few hours. It's the color I'm not sure about. A little bright...

Now, the Sparkling Cream Palette deceived me. I seriously thought it was eyeshadow. By the way it looked and those little applicators it looked just like glittery eyeshadow to me! I swiped each shade on my hand to test and thought there was no possible way I could wear something with that amount of glitter on my lids... But, then I read this is actually supposed to be body glitter. However, that makes me even less likely to wear it.

I thought for sure I would hate that Nyx blush. It looked a little dark for me (I generally stick to pinks/corals) but it fooled me. It was the only winner in this bag! I think I've worn it almost every day since I got it. It's not dark at all and even provides a little bit of sheen.

Interested in joining Ipsy and receiving new products each month in your mailbox? Use my referral code by clicking the following link. Join Ipsy Now!

Avon Nail Art Design Strips

The Nail Art Design Strips are basically those nail stickers you've seen around at Wal-mart and drugstores. Avon's version features designs and bling, which is pretty cool. Each pack comes with 18 strips and these claim not to smudge or rub off. There are 19 different designs to choose from and you can do a virtual makeover at avon.com/Makeover

Directions sound very easy, just peel, place on the nail, and use an emery board to remove the excess strip and shape to your nail. The difference I've noticed in these and other brands is that with Avon's, you don't have to use heat (hair dryer) to set them. They're currently $6.99 and will be $10. 

 

I did buy a few different packs to try out. I chose the Zebra Bling to wear last week and while it was definitely easy to peel and place on my nails, the strips did tend to wrinkle up some toward the ends.

 I also had trouble with the filing! I ended up using scissors to cut the excess strip off and then trying to file around them. 

I have to say, I was a little disappointed in the amount if time it took me to put these on. I realize it was my first time, but in total, it took around 30 minutes. I could have painted my nails quicker than that. 

Recycle B&BW Candles

On a recent bathroom redo, I purchased a set of metal and glass shelves to install opposed to a cabinet. I didn't realize that since I only had shelves everything would be on display so I had been looking everywhere for some nice storage containers and finally decided I wanted to use glass jars.

I got a little bummed because they were going to be costly and was going to have to wait to purchase them, but then I remembered seeing something about re-using jars, specifically candle jars, one already had on hand. And, since I am a lover of the large size Bath & Body Works candles, I thought those would be perfect (and from googling how to remove the wax, apparently those are very popular for these kind of projects!).

Basically, any candle will do... but I obviously have my favorites ;) Once you've burnt down the candle as much as possible, pop it into the freezer for a few hours. Even a whole day if you want to. Then take a kitchen knife (my pic shows a sharp one, but I found it easier with a butter knife) and wiggle it between the candle wax and the glass around the entire jar. You may have to do this a few times, but eventually, it will pop loose. Mine started out in small pieces at first, but the more wiggling I did, the bigger the pieces were that popped out. The metal piece the holds the wick comes right out too!

I found the sticker on the bottom and the label on the front both peel off easily and can be done before or after the freezer step. Since there is some leftover soot in the candle, I soaked mine in some dishwater and scrubbed it and the glass came out nice and shiny.

This is one example of how they can be used, but you could also store other things in them- sample packets, lipsticks, mini nail polishes, bobby pins/hair clips, or use it in another room in the house for something else... the possibilities are endless!

Birchbox June

I just got my latest Birchbox in the mail yesterday afternoon, so I've really not had a chance to try out products and form an opinion yet, but I wanted to go ahead and show you guys what I got.

June's theme was Wanderlust and had to do with vacationing/traveling. Birchbox states that this months box will be filled with samples that will "serve you well on all your summer adventures". 

Here's my box-- 

And, I must say, I'm glad someone listened and FINALLY sent the matching conditioner to sample along with the shampoo because that was a HUGE peeve of mine! 

Something else new they did this month was to send everyone one product that was the same. That product was the Color Club nail enamel. There were actually four different shades offered, each one tied to a different country (you can read more details on the BB site). 

All in all, I feel like I got a really good box to sample this month with products that are all certainly geared toward me.