July Ipsy Bag

I just got my latest Ipsy bag in the mail yesterday. I am excited to try everything but the nail polish.

  

 In this bag I got:  

healthy sexy hair soy renewal beach spray

bh cosmetics California collection

Pop beauty pouty pop crayon in fuchsia flirt

Coola rose essence tinted moisturizer

Nailtini in Mai Tai

8.15.13 NOTD

I finally decided with only 3 more yellow based greens to use I needed a break and pulled out my second favorite color, purple.

This look is actually 3 colors Julep's Billie Jean, Bette, and Chelsea.  Bette is on the sheer side so after the first coat I pulled out Billie Jean which is an opaque creme that has great coverage with just one coat.

This look is 1 coat Bette, 1 coat Billie Jean, 1 coat Bette, 1 coat Chelsea, and 1 coat of Freedom.

8.11.13 NOTD

Today's NOTD is Julep's Mackenzie. This month I'm working on wearing every green polish I own so I can decide which ones are my favorite.

8.10.13 NOTD

It has been a very long time since I posted but I am planning on getting back on track soon.

Today I wanted to share my NOTD since I am actively trying to use every polish I own. This look uses 3 coats of Julep Fiona and one coat of Julep Colbie, finished with a coat of Julep's Freedom Polymer Topcoat.

Enjoy!

BzzAgent Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Review

As a BzzAgent I was asked to try out and review the entire line of Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge hair products. 

 

I received the shampoo, conditioner and the 1-minute treatment to try and I have to admit that at first I wasn't wowed at the idea of using the line since I finally found what I think is my holy grail shampoo. So the first time I used all the products I wanted to see how well it would do with a ton of products in my hair, a combination of hairspray and dry shampoo, plus it was really tangled. Well after using all three products for just one time I noticed a huge difference, hair went from being product filled, tangled and frizzy to smooth and silky. I was able to run a comb through my hair and not worry about having to fight through the knots that I normally do.

One other thing I wanted to point out about these products is that they smell so good it is definitely a plus factor for me. Now the shampoo has these little mirco-beads that are supposed to burst on impact and provided extra moisture but I am not to sure how well they really work because sometimes I can feel them while I am working the shampoo in but I assume they burst because when I rinse my hair I don't notice any being left behind. This was a big deal for me since I have tried another brand of shampoo that had micro-beads but they didn't burst and I would find them in my hair even after it was dry. 

The conditioner and the 1-minute treatment is what I think  really gave my hair the hydration it has needed to help it recover from the dry winter air. As well as contributing to getting rid of my tangles. Now I have noticed that my hair does seem nice a silky feeling for a couple of days but any longer and I need to use a leave-in conditioner if I want to stretch it out for a third day.

The price and availability on these products is good since they can be purchased in many drug stores. 

My overall opinion is that these products seem to be working for me right now but I don't think I will be buying anymore for a while since I still have quite a few full size bottles of other brands to work through first. Once those are gone I will more than likely be picking these up at the store. 

January Beauty Army #1

January Beauty Army #1

This box took a really long time to get to me and it has quite a few duplicate samples but since January was the one year anniversary for the company they offered a 7th sample. Now I have no clue why this one took so long but I am just glad it finally got here. 

MARK. Hook Up Lip Gloss (Blow Kisses)
Sample Size: 0.12 oz
Full Size: 0.12 oz
Full Size Value: $6.50
Sample Value: $6.50

 BATH & BODY WORKS Japanese Cherry Blossom Shower Gel Sample Size: 3 oz
Full Size: 3 oz.
Full Size Value: $5.00
Sample Value: $5.00

 GG GATSBY Raise Volume Conditioner 
Sample Size: 0.5oz
Full Size: 8.4oz 
Full Size Value: $14.99 
Sample Value: $0.89

MARK. Scanda-Lash Mascara (Black) 
Sample Size: 0.12 oz 
Full Size: 0.12 oz 
Full Size Value: $6.50 
Sample Value: $6.50

LASH CARD
Mascara Shields 
Sample Size: 2 cards 
Full Size: 20 cards 
Full Size Value: $13.98 
Sample Value: $1.39

WHIP HAND COSMETICS
Loose Pigment Eyeshadow
(Special Forces) Sample Size: 0.03 oz.
Full Size: 0.1 oz.
Full Size Value: $14.00
Sample Value: $4.20

YES TO
Super Rich Body Butter 
Sample Size: 0.1 oz 
Full Size: 4.9 oz 
Full Size Value: $12.99 
Sample Value: $0.26






I got this box so that I could pick up the mascara in black since I already had it in brown. I also needed to pick up the Whip Hand pigment in Special Forces (swatches of the whole collection to come soon.) The lip gloss will probably be given as a gift since I already have one in this color. I am stockpiling my B&BW shower gels so I don't have to go out and buy new ones. I needed the matching Gatsby shampoo so I grabbed that as well. The lash cards come in handy and I now have 8 lash cards between all of my subs. The little packet of body butter is so small that I wanted to get another one just to see if I like the product. Now all of this is valued at $24.74, not bad for a $12 sub. 
 

February Ispy Bag

I finally caved and signed up for Ipsy! I just couldn't resist, I was debating for months before we moved then I forgot about it until I saw the January bags. After checking that they would ship to APO addresses I got put on the waitlist. I waited a couple of weeks and right before the February bag was about to be released I got in. I am super excited about this bag because everything included I will use. One nice thing about Ipsy is that they only have a few bag variations, this month there are two, unlike Birchbox where I never know what I am going to receive because they have roughly 30 every month.

So what all did I get in my first bag?

Pixi Flawless Primer
Sample Size: 15ml
Full Size: 30ml
Full Size Value: $29.00
Sample Value: $14.50

Pop Beauty Mascara
Sample Size: 0.17oz
Full Size: 0.25oz
Full Size Value: $18.50
Sample Value: $12.58

Mica Beauty Gel Eyeliner
Sample Size: Approximately 1 to 2 grams
Full Size: 5grams + brush
Full Size Value: $35.00
Sample Value: Guessing around $14.00







Coastal Scents Eyeshadow
Sample Size: 4- 0.60" pan, 0.5 grams each
Full Size: 1" pan, 1.3g
Full Size Value: $1.99 each ($1.53 a gram)
Sample Value: $3.06 ($0.76 each)




 





Lash Card
Sample Size: 4 lash cards
Full Size: 10 lash cards
Full Size Value: $6.99
Sample Value: $2.79

Red Carpet Ready Glam Bag
Valued Roughly at $5.00


Normally I do the value of all the products but I am at a loss on how to price some of the items. I have read that the gel liner is full sized minus the brush, but after looking at it there is no way that there is 5 grams in that container, compared to my other gel liners which are 3 and 2.3grams I would say that this sample is only 1 or 2 grams. I figured I still needed to add values because I haven't done a single post without values. So the whole bag values at roughly $51.93 which is a really good value for all of these items.

The eyeshadows are by a company that has a lot of large palettes (88 colors or more) and I have been interested in the company for a while but I can never justify ordering without knowing if the products are really good. These shadows are really tiny but they are so cute, I am glad I got the warmer colors because they will look great on me.

The Mica gel eyeliner make me so happy the full size with a brush retails for $30 and I have found that I am not really loving my Eyeko liners as much as I had in the beginning. I like using my eyeshadow or my loose powder liners more than my liquid ones because I get a better line, so this may just be my go to liner if it works well for me.

The Lash Card will definetly get some use because no matter how hard I try I always get one mark on my eyelid from my mascara, I also plan to use it for my bottom lashes as well.

The Mascara will just go in my over flowing collection of mascaras I probably won't get around to using it for a really long time.

The Pixi primer is something that I will end up using but just like my mascara collection my primer collection is slowly growing and I have so many I need to get through before this one will get used.

For a $10 sub I got great products, this months bag seemed to be focused on eyes which is good because I always do my eye makeup if I don't have time to do a full face.

St. Paddy's Day NOTD

For St. Patrick's Day I painted my nails with Julep Lucky. They released this for March mainly for the holiday.

Lucky is described as a kelly green and gold coin multi-dimensional, full coverage glitter.

I got great coverage with this glitter polish and it looks really great. When I first got the polish I thought it it was basically Julep Cindy with Vivian but after comparing them I realized they are different.

Enjoy!

FTC Update and New Disclosure Policies

The FTC recently updated its policies for bloggers and I have been trying to figure out how to address these changes for my blog, hence the reason my posts haven't been updated for a while.

I came across several bloggers who have been trying to deal with new rules and this article by Beauty and Fashion Tech really summarizes the new changes really well. Basically I will need to post a disclosure at the beginning and the end of each post stating if I recieved the product to review from the company, if I purchased the product with my own money, if I am getting paid for the review etc, etc. Now I have to rewrite my disclosure policy and make some disclosure graphics that I can use in my posts. Please bear with me while I get this all sorted.

Thanks,
Michelle

Julep Mindy vs Jennifer

When I got my order with Jennifer I instantly thought it looked just like a color I got in my January Maven box. After pulling out Mindy I went ahead and swatched them, they both have some similarities but they are fairly different.

Top- Jennifer Bottom-Mindy

Both colors are suppose to be sheer but it was really hard for me to get a good application with either of these polishes. Mindy is less sheer than Jennifer and lighter in color. Both colors are pink and they can be made more opaque with more coats. 

Mindy- Porcelain pink sheer
Jennifer-Sheer soft pink crème

By the second coat Jennifer is still sheer enough to to see the nail line and it looked okay and probably didn't need a third. Mindy started getting opaque and I could barely see the nail line.

2 coats of each color

The third coat made Mindy completely opaque and Jennifer is almost opaque. After doing these swatches I realized I need to buy some nail wheels for my swatches so that the comparisons will be better.

3 coats of each color

February Beauty Army #2

BOO-BOO COVER-UP
Boo-Boo Covers
Sample Size: 3- 1x1in covers
Full Size: 6- 2x3in covers
Full Size Value: $19.99
Sample Value: $1.66

WHIP HAND COSMETICS
Loose Pigment Eyeshadow
(Medal Of Honor)
Sample Size: 0.03 oz.
Full Size: 0.1 oz.
Full Size Value: $14.00
Sample Value: $4.20

LASH CARD
Mascara Shields
Sample Size: 2 cards
Full Size: 20 cards
Full Size Value: $13.98
Sample Value: $1.39

OLIVE NATURAL BEAUTY
The Olive Bar
(Lemon & Lavender)
Sample Size: 1 oz
Full Size: 8 oz
Full Size Value: $10.00
Sample Value: $1.25

YES TO
Super Rich Body Butter
Sample Size: 0.1 oz
Full Size: 4.9 oz
Full Size Value: $12.99
Sample Value: $0.26












BATH & BODY WORKS 
TWILIGHT WOODS SHOWER GEL
Sample Size: 3 oz.
Full Size: 3 oz.
Full Size Value: $5.00
Sample Value: $5.00

 

 
 
 This box is valued at $13.76, the value of this box isn't very high but I got a bunch of new products to try. The Boo-Boo Cover-ups are interesting they work just like a temporary tattoo I will be doing a review on these really soon. Finally the last color in the Whip Hand Eyeshadow collection is here, and it is a beautiful copper color and I love it. The lash cards are really handy I am a bit disappointed because I thought they would be a bit thicker. The bar soap smell divine! I recently got a Lavender and Lemon candle and the combination is great and this soap smells just like my candle. The Say Yes to Carrots body butter is a small sample but it will be enough to see if I like it. The Bath and Body Works body wash is an extra for me since I swear it is my 10th bottle but I love having the extras around for guests.

Julep March Secret Store Haul

Revive and Moisturize Survival Set
Retail Value:  $78 on sale $16.99

Julep Facial for Hands Glycolic Hand Scrub (3 oz.): $32
Julep Glow On Age Defying Hand Brightener (3 oz.): $32
Bonus Gift: Kylie - It Girl: $14

Pamper Yourself Beauty Lover Set
Retail Value: $76 on Sale: $21.99

Bonus Gift - Julep Boho Glam Lengthening Mascara: $24
Julep Topcoat For Hair: $16
Poppy Lip Gloss: $18
Julep's Exclusive Make-up Bag: $18

Sofia

Sofia- $14






The first set that I got I already had both the hand scrub and the lotion but since I keep the lotion next to my computer I figured I should pick up an extra of both. The polish really is a bonus since I had wanted it ever since I became a Maven but I joined the month that it was released and it has been out of stock for almost an entire year.

Kylie

The second set that I picked up had two items that are on my wishlist, the makeup bag and the lip gloss. I mentioned in a previous post that I only had one more of Julep's lip glosses to get before I had the whole set. The makeup bag will be the perfect size for my trip to Paris this month, it even has a couple of slots to keep polishes in. The mascara is my go to mascara and this will be my third tube of it. The last item in the set is the Topcoat for hair which is something I haven't used before but it sounds interesting so I will give it a try.

Lip Gloss in Poppy

Boho Glam Mascara

Topcoat For Hair

Makeup Bag

Inside of make up bag

The last item I picked up wasn't apart of the secret store but since I had the free voucher for a nail polish I figured I should include it in this order. Sofia is a glitter top coat that glows in the dark. I already have a polish similar but it is all goopy and smells horrible, so if this turns out to be almost identical I plan on tossing out my old one for a Julep's 4-Free polish. Sofia was originally introduced last March then it was brought back for Halloween where it was revealed to glow in the dark.

In all I spent roughly $15 out of pocket because I used up what was left on my Julep Gift Card and the free voucher for Sofia. For $15 I managed to get a lot of products and add 2 new polishes to my collection which is great.