REVIEW: Starlooks July 2013

I've been meaning to sign up for Starlooks for what seems like forever and finally bit the bullet for the July box. And now that I have it in my clutches, I am kicking myself for not signing up sooner. 

Seriously you guys. Look at this box!

Five Shade Shadow Palette in 'St Tropez.' LOOK HOW PRETTY. It's perfect for Summer and the transition into Fall. Also, this retails for $41. AMAZING.

Sculpt & Blush brush. I am still so new to makeup brushes...I am probably using mine for all the wrong things! But I'm trying to keep adding to my collection, so this is perfect! Retails $22. 

Quince 'Relaxing' Body Butter & Pigment Luster in 'Pennywise.' This is a sample of the 'Ultimate Body Bronze Set.' Basically, you can combine the pigment into the body butter (or other lotion!) to create a bronzing butter. The best part is you can customize it to make it as light or dark as you'd like!

SO pretty. Will definitely be used as a shadow if the bronzing butter thing doesn't work out. :)

ALSO, the half sizes of the pigment luster in 'Pennywise' are available on Starlooks.com for only $5 using the code 'PENNYWISE.' Valid until they sell out & you can buy as many as you want!

Swatches of the palette + pigment luster. This is just one swipe with a finger with no primer!

Are any of you Starlooks subscribers? What did you think of the box this month?

Deal of the WEEK: Tarte Cosmetics Friends & Family Sale

Yes, you read that correctly. THIRTY percent off. Get shopping, ladies!

If you're new to Tarte, they have a few gift sets that are a pretty good deal. :)
http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-shop-value-makeup-kits-gifts

Deal of the Day: 20% off Glamour Doll Eyes Instagram Girl Collection!

Sooo you might remember a post from a week-ish ago about the new Instagram Girls Collection from Glamour Doll Eyes (http://mischiefmanagedmakeup.blogspot.com/2013/07/glamour-doll-eyes-instagram-girls.html). Everything is SO PRETTY I could just cry.

Well, if you were on the fence..now is your chance! Use the code 'IGGIRLS' until August 1st to get 20% off the collection! :) Lots of shadows, a blush, and a few of the new nail polishes left!

http://www.glamourdolleyes.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=123

Glamour Doll Eyes Instagram Girls Collection - Launch 7/24!

Glamour Doll Eyes recently started producing their own nail polish line called Flash Lacquer. I got the chance to try out a mini version of it in 'Sherbert' along with my OTM for July and I'm seriously in love with it. Great consistency for application and has great staying power with no chips at all! :)

On July 24th, they'll be releasing a new collection of shadows called 'Instagram Girls,' created by make up artists on Instagram. There will be ten colors and six of those colors will also be available as a nail polish!

All of the images below are from Glamour Doll Eyes Facebook page. Take a look!


"Foxxie ( @kimjluv ), Pipsqueeak ( @pipsqueeak, this one will also be available as a nail polish), The Bronx ( @arielaartistry ) and Mermaid Kisses ( @jennhunny83, also will be a nail polish).'"


"Smoked diamond ( @brittany_nicole_mua, will also be a nail polish), Coral Elegance ( @siimplyflawless, also be a nail polish) and Mermaid Dreams ( @makeupbyyeya, will also be a nail polish)."

"Mermaid Kisses ( @jennhunny83 ), Mermaid Dreams (@makeupbyyeya ), pipsqueeak ( @pipsqueeak ), Smoked Diamonds ( @brittany_nicole_mua ), Coral Elegance ( @siimplyflawless ) and Haygirlhayyy ( @loveiiittt )."

Seriously, how drool-worthy are these? I'm probably going to pick up most of (if not all of) the polishes, and a few of the pigments. :) Anything you ladies will be snagging?

PREVIEW: Julep August 2013

It's box selection time again for Julep, ladies! It's their two year anniversary and they've come up with a beautiful garden party inspired collection for the month. Let's take a look at the boxes!



Moisture Mask Trio
Three single-use intensive hydrating masks for hands, nails, and feet. Infused with vitamin E, aloe, botanical oils, collagen, and shea butter.

Doublestep Foot Treatment & Friction StickVitamin E, shea butter, and chili pepper oil work to moisturize feet, prevent blisters, and stimulate circulation.




LoisDusty rose frost

FrancisCelery green crème

Doublestep Foot Treatment & Friction StickVitamin E, shea butter, and chili pepper oil work to moisturize feet, prevent blisters, and stimulate circulation.



BeaLemonade crème

LaceyMidnight blue with purple shimmer

Doublestep Foot Treatment & Friction StickVitamin E, shea butter, and chili pepper oil work to moisturize feet, prevent blisters, and stimulate circulation.




SylviaLilac purple crème

VeronicaModern mauve crème

Doublestep Foot Treatment & Friction StickVitamin E, shea butter, and chili pepper oil work to moisturize feet, prevent blisters, and stimulate circulation.

Fiore
Espresso brown creme

Nellie
Pink fuchsia creme

Marjorie
Citrus orange frost


If you just can't decide, you can always upgrade to the full collection!

Also, in honor of their anniversary, they're releasing three new limited edition colors in a set as an add-on for $14.99:

Amity
White gold metallic

Reiko
Rose gold metallic

Clio
Silver, pink, and lavender multidimensional glitter

What do you ladies think? I'm not seeing anything I HAVE to have, other than maybe the anniversary set. Also added on Bondi & Starlooks for the month, so it might be financially responsible of me to skip... we'll see! Have 'til the 24th at midnight PST to decide. :) 

REVIEW: Ipsy July 2013

It's Ipsy time, ya'll! :) 

Confession: I honestly meant to cancel my second bag this month, but completely forgot about it. So, I have some extra products this month from the norm. 

Here's what I ended up with in each bag:

Bag 1:

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray

COOLA Mineral Sunscreen Rose Essence Tinted Moisturizer

POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt

BH Cosmetics California Collection Eye Shadow Sampler

Benefit Benetint

Bag 2:

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray

COOLA Mineral Sunscreen Rose Essence Tinted Moisturizer

POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt

BH Cosmetics California Collection Eye Shadow Sampler

Nailtini Nail Lacquer in Mai Tai

So, as you can see...quite a few dupes. Which is why I meant to cancel in the first place. 

But I did finally start a trade thread on Makeuptalk this month & I've had excellent success trading my dupes for items I really wanted. :) So fun!

Everything I received this month, minus the dupes! The bag this month was a transparent pink round bag & the theme was Beach Beauty. :)

This month's discounts. For once, nothing I really wanted to take advantage of. If Benefit had a discount, I would have been aaaaall over that. Still thinking about ordering from Demeter!

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray. 
I am still in search of my holy grail beach spray, so I'm excited to try this. I think because my hair is so long, it won't really hold waves. Might try braiding it and then spraying this in while it dries OR may use it just to boost my roots for volume!

Nailtini Nail Lacquer in Mai Tai. 
Very pretty color! It's a very bright medium coral. I would normally love this, but unfortunately I've tried the brand before & wasn't impressed. This is on my trade list!

COOLA Mineral Sunscreen Rose Essence Tinted Moisturizer. 
I was a little nervous about the rose scent of this, but honestly I can hardly even tell it's scented. It feels refreshing & moisturizing going on, but that feeling fades within an hour or two. I will continue to use this solely for the SPF. Gotta protect this face!

POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt. 
This isn't really the color I think of when I think of Fuchsia...more of a hot pink. And actually, when applied it's not super bright! Definitely wearable. (see swatch at the bottom of this post!)

Benefit Benetint.
I didn't open this, because I'm sending it out in a trade but I have tried this sample before & liked it! If you can get it applied evenly, it adds a really nice subtle color to your cheeks and lips and lasts ALL day until you take it off.  I'm more of a powder blush fan myself, but if you want staying power this is the stuff to use!

BH Cosmetics California Collection Eye Shadow Sampler.
LOVE THESE COLORS. These are actually pretty much my favorite shadow colors. I wear gold/copper/brown for my daily look & purple is my favorite for weekends! The packaging is adorable and I love that I can stick this right in my purse for touch-ups. They're not quite as pigmented as I'd like, but I will still use them up! (See swatches below)

Swatches: POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt, BH Cosmetics Eye Shadows in Hollywood, San Fransisco, & Malibu. 

REVIEW: Target Beauty Box

After what feels like weeks and weeks of waiting (probably because it was), my Target Beauty Box FINALLY ARRIVED. 

Long story short, my box was shipped to the wrong address & the customer service I dealt with was not superb, which is a little irritating. That alone makes me a little wary of signing up for another box, even if it is only $5. 

I'm cutting them a little slack since this was the first one & will probably sign up for the next one if they continue to sell these, but I'd like some improvement with the logistics & CS!

But anyway. On to the exciting stuff! The box!

The box itself! Super cute. :) It's actually just a plain white box, with the Target patterned cardboard around it. 

The first look. Again, really nicely packaged with matching red tissue paper. I will point out that this lovely coupon they included was expired for almost a month before I got it. Kind of a bummer!

Under the tissue paper!

Gillette Venus & Olay razor. I actually already reviewed this product via BzzAgent (see review here) and fell in love with it, so really happy to get another one. It just gives such a close, smooth shave & the Sugarberry scent is heavenly!

L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream in Light. Primes, perfects, hydrates, corrects. I actually haven't tried this out yet, but I'm glad it came in the right shade for me! I feel like I've tried a zillion BB/CC/DD creams now, so we'll see how this one works out. 

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo. Dual action acne treatment. I tried this out yesterday & it was ok. It's supposed to reduce breakouts & minimize pores. I don't really have any breakouts at the moment, but I didn't notice any pore reduction. I'd like to continue using it to see results, but unfortunately it says you'll see results in 3 days and you're supposed to apply 1-3 times per day. Not nearly enough in this packet for that! But I'll use up as much as possible & see how my face looks. :) 

Fekkai Glossing Cream. Hydrates, sleeks, & shines. I heard such great things about this product, so I was psyched to try it out last night after I showered. I towel dried my hair & applied just a dime size of this throughout, and then finished with a blow dry. Actually really impressed! My hair definitely feels sleeker and it smells really awesome. I'll be using this stuff up!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Lust-rous. I have never used any type of nail sticker before, so I think this might be it's own experimental post. I do really like these..they remind me of outer space! Would be super fun for a night out. :) 

I'll update this post as I try more things out this week, but over all I think it's a great value for only $5. 

Did any of you order one? What did you think? 

Hit Polish Order

I've been a little obsessed with nail polish lately. I blame it on the fact that I had super short nails my whole life and finally got them to grow out a little recently. Just want to paint them all the time!

I've always just purchased my nail polish at the drug store or Ulta, but all this talk on the Makeuptalk forums about indie polishes caused me to check out Etsy. DANGEROUS. There are so many gorgeous polishes on there! My wallet is crying just thinking about it. 

I stumbled across Hit Polish  & they were running a sale on some of their mini polishes. Perfect opportunity to try out a few! :) 

Here's my order! Left to right: Peacock Plumage, You're Such a Square, & Irisation. 

If you're interested in checking out Hit Polish, they seriously have tons and tons of beautiful glitter top coats & jellies. And to sweeten the deal, some of the minis are only $2.50 right now! 

Do any of you have a favorite polish brand, indie or otherwise? Let me know! 

Winnings from Unboxing Beauty's Giveaway! :)

Last week, the lovely Jorden held a giveaway contest on her blog Unboxing Beauty to win a few of the Maybelline Color Tattoo shadows from the Limited Edition Summer Collection & one of the highly sought after Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquers. And guess what? I WON! Outrageously excited! :) 

Package arrived today & I couldn't wait to check everything out, so here's a first look!

Lavish Lavender, Blue Paradise, & Seashore Frosts.

Lavish Lavender

Blue Paradise

Seashore Frosts

Swatches! Left to Right:

Seashore Frosts: I am so in love with this color. It's green with a gold shift. 

Blue Paradise: Perfect shimmery sky blue!

Lavish Lavender: Lovely lilac, with just a hint of pink. 

Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer in Nova. 

THANKS JORDEN!! :)