January Glossybox+reviews and swatches

  After a lot of wait, my really anticipated GlossyboxEs got here today. I was so excited about the contents of this box, that I had to order two. I used the code "LIPS"(now expired) with one of them and I was supposed to get a lipstick, but didn't. I already contacted Glossybox and they are supposed to get back to me in 24hrs, or so they said, we'll see what happens with that.

Anyways, my gorgeous boxes:

Love the way this month's box looks!

All my awesome goodies!

Vincent Longo – Lip Stain Lipstick SPF 15 in Americana: Full size, $23. I really wanted the Tarte lipsticks and not the lip tint, so I will upload pictures when I get my Tarte(trading for it). However, I've heard this is really amazing and you can build up the color. I just wanted the Tarte, doesn't mean that the Vincent Longo is bad.

 

Tarte – Achiote Cheek Tint: Full size $24(estimate). This is a pre-release for March, so I can't link it anywhere since it's not for sale just yet. With my combo oily skin, I don't think I can pull off a cheek tint like this and I want both Tarte Glamazon lipsticks, so this will be traded for them. Either way, a lot of people are excited to try this out and I would, but I want the lipsticks more!

Narciso Rodriguez for her Eau de Toilette Spray(1ml/0.03fl oz):$1.04, full size is 100ml/0.03 fl oz and goes for $104. I did not like the smell of this, it's way too sweet and strong for my taste. It's not a bad scent, but it would probably give me a headache, because I'm really sensitive to scents.

Living Proof – Prime Style Extender(30ml/1 fl oz): $4.05, full size is 148ml/5.0 fl oz for $20. I haven't tried this out yet, but I've heard it's great!

Sebastian – Potion9(50ml/1.7fl oz): $6.32, full size is 150ml/5.1fl oz and goes for $18.95. Same as with the other hair product, haven't tried it out, but it has amazing reviews.

Fresh – Umbrian Clay Mattifying Serum(5ml/0.17oz): $5.83, full size is 30ml/1 fl oz and goes for $35. I tried it before and loved the smell, but it didn't do much for me, I might give it a second chance though. The size is pretty decent, considering I got about a little more than week of use out of a foil sample of this.

OPI – Liquid Sand in Can’t Let Go: Full size, $9(estimate). I got super excited to get this, because I've been wanting to try these Liquid Sand polishes since they came out. Two coats did it for me and it looks gorgeous! However, if you wear it just by itself, it might chip quick, I had to touch mine up before taking pictures of it.

Swatches:

 

I love the texture of this. You can wear it just like that, or you can apply a thick top coat like Seche Vite.

Estée Lauder – Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara(2.8ml/.01oz): $9.4, full size is 8ml/.27 oz and goes for $25. I liked this mascara, it's OK, but it didn't wow me. It won't be my new HG(which is Mally), but it's not too bad. It did add a bit of volume and length. It stayed put throughout the day, didn't flake or give me raccoon eyes  and it held the curl. It's a good mascara, but it's not Mally Volumizing Mascara and it doesn't even come close. I will wear it, but it won't replace my Mally(sorry I just love it so much XD ).

Me wearing Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara and forgot to put mascara on my lower lashes, lol!

Le Métier de Beauté – Replenishing Daily Solution(3ml/0.10oz): $13.5, full size is 50ml/1.7 oz and goes for $225. This applies amazing to my skin. It gets absorbed super quickly and it just makes my skin feel super moisturized and amazing! I'm afraid to fall in love with this, because the full size is SO expensive. Either way, the size of the sample is pretty decent and it'll probably last me about two weeks. I emptied both of my samples into a little container so they don't dry out from sitting in an open foil sample.

Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance 12-Hour Lipstick in Fierce: I got this from trading the Vincent Longo lipstain. I love it, it's super pigmented, it doesn't move an inch during the day and it lasts forever! Isn't the packaging super cute too?

Swatches on lips:

Sorry about how messy this looks, I was doing it in a hurry.

 

Value and review: 

  The value of the box with the Vincent Logo and Living Proof is: $65.82 and I paid $21 for it.

  The value of the box with the Tarte and Sebastian is: $69.09 and I paid $15, because I bought it as a gift.

Total Spent: $36

Total Value: $134.91

Pretty good value, huh? I think so!

  I'm really happy with the contents of my boxes. I love being able to try out new products that I haven't tried before and would probably never be able to try again(like Le Métier). I think the contents of these boxes are definitely a hit. I'm glad I got 2 different boxes and both had hair products in them, since I wanted to try both out. 

  Now, not everything is flowers and rainbows in Glossybox land. The shipping was delayed by a lot and a lot of people have had bad issues with their customer service. If you want to join Glossybox, do it at your own risk, because even if I did manage to get through to customer service and I've never had any major problem, some people have and customer service hasn't been of much help.

  I'm really pleased with my boxes and can't wait to get both of my Tarte lippies from trades. I can't wait to try out the hair products  and I will definitely keep on using my
Le Métier sample. The OPI polish is gorgeous, so it definitely is a keeper.  

  

  All in all I think this box was pretty amazing and the products are great. Definitely an improvement from December's box.

  If you want to join to Glossybox, you can click here. Or copy+paste this link in your navigation bar: http://www.glossybox.com/referal?CI=MzI3MDg=

 

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, and this is my own personal opinion :) Link is a referral link.

NOTD: February 1st

 I was so excited to try this out as soon as I got it! Specially because purple is my favorite color! I got it from this month's Glossybox.

Isn't the texture gorgeous?! I love it!! <3

  You probably already know what this is, but it's OPI Liquid Sand in Can't Let Go, 2 coats with no top coat. I love love love this. But it doesn't wear all that great, I painted my nails the night before taking these pictures and by the time I took them I had to do a few touch ups. This nail polish would not be the right one for you if you want it to last for weeks, unless you top it off with a thick top coat, that way it won't have this texture and should last longer.

  Isn't this gorgeous? I want all of the Liquid Sand polishes, but we'll see.

 Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, and this is my own personal opinion :)

Ulta NYX Mini-Haul

  I was dying to try out some more NYX products and since no local store carries them(though I heard Sears might have them), I decided to get some stuff from Ulta.

I didn't get a lot, just a few things I really wanted to try out.

NYX - Single Eye Shadow in Cherry

NYX - Single Eye Shadow in Hot Orange

NYX - Ultra Pearl Mania Loose Pearl Eye Shadow In Yellow

NYX - Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Purple

NYX - Xtreme Lip Cream in Candy Land

Essence - Eye Pencil in White 04( I know it's not NYX, but I needed a white eye pencil.)

I know this is not much of a haul, but I really wanted more NYX products. The total after tax and shipping was: $23.18. Ulta has BOGO 50% off.  I think the price of NYX products is amazing and so is the quality most of the time.

Review and swatches coming soon!

January Birchbox+review and swatches

I'm sure everyone that is into subscription boxes has heard about Birchbox, but in case you haven't. Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that delivers high end lifestyle, grooming and beauty samples for $10 a month.

Not only do you get to try out new products every month, but their points system is pretty kewl(which is why I joined). You get 10 points automatically with your first box(100 pts = $10 off a full size order), you also get 10 pts for each survey you fill out about the products in your box. You get 1 point for each $1 spent on their store in full size products and you get 50 points for referring people. So basically, you will get at least 4 products in your box, which means, 4 surveys/reviews = 40 points. Meaning you get $4 for their store, so technically the box ends up being $6(because you get the $4 to spend on their store, not to be used on the monthly boxes).

That point system got me to fall in love, but their customer service made me say: I do! Having a customer service background and being a customer service trainer, I love good customer service, because I know good customer service IS possible. So when I find a company with good customer service, I'm pleased!

The reason I'm referring to their customer service is because I was on the wait list for a long time. I was told to contact them and tell them that I had been in the wait list for over 4 weeks and they would be able to help me out. So I contacted them and they were having technical difficulties at the time(which is understandable and it happens, I've been there), so the girl said she would call me back and she did, however I couldn't subscribe right then because I didn't have my CC info. I called the next day(half asleep) and the girl was super polite, super nice and really understanding when I couldn't remember how phonetics worked and couldn't spell out my name(brain no worky in the morning!!). I told her it would be great if I could still get the January box, and she said she didn't think it could happen...well it did! I contacted them last week around the middle of the week(22nd), my box shipped out last Friday(25th) and I got my box on Monday(28th)!!!! Without even getting my box I was already pleased.

Anyways, the important matter in this post...my box!

 

Loving the cute little box...oh those little things that make me happy.

List of items I got, then again every sub box does that.

New Year themed card thingie, says basically to make the best of this year, yay!

This looks decent, not too exciting, but decent.

Number 4 – Clarifying Shampoo(52ml/1.75 fl oz):$6.66, full size goes is $32 for 250ml. I'm not sure if I will use this, though I might. It has no sulfates which is awesome for me, because I've been using a cleansing conditioner for a while now and when I use regular shampoo with sulfates my hair is not happy. Might give this a try, it smells a bit like the Moroccan Oil products which is kinda meh. However, I wouldn't really spend THIS much on a shampoo(I get the huge bottle of Wen, so it's not as expensive). Either way it's nice to get a fancy shampoo! Would be perfect for those days when you just want to pamper yourself ^^.

Caudalie – Vinexpert Radiance Day Cream SPF 15(3ml/0.1 fl oz): $5.63, full size goes for $75 for 40ml/1.3 oz(pricey!). Just when I was running out of samples for a day time moisturizer I get this! It's like the universe doesn't want me to open up my new moisturizer, which it's totally fine, I will make the huge sacrifice of trying out new fancy moisturizers everyday from now on! I'm excited to try this out. I tried Caudalie -Premier Cru La Crème before and I really liked it(review here). The container is pretty small, but it should last at least a week. My other Caudalie sample was the same size and it lasted me a bit over a week.

 Deborah Lippmann –The Stripper to Go(1 mitt): $2, full size is 10 mitts for $12. I'm intrigued to try this out, reviews say that this is amazing and really removes polish easily. Can't wait to try it out. OK, as soon as I was done typing that last sentence, I decided to try this out, against a sand polish(maybe from a Glossybox O.O).

 

 

Here's my little mitt. What you have to do is place it on your finger and remove your polish!

Before:

 

  

As you can see the task was a hard one, but I managed to remove most of it with the mitt. I'm sure if it was regular nail polish it would've been easier.

After:

 

I really like the end result and I would love to buy a full size of this, however I think it's a bit over priced(of course, it's Deborah Lippmann). I'd rather just buy nail polish remover and textured cotton squares.

Aerie – Shimmer Fragrance: Can't find the value of the sample, because I don't know how much product there is in there. Full size retails for $39.95. I don't hate this fragrance, I like it, but it's not for me. If someone else was wearing it, I would like it, but I wouldn't wear it.

 

 

Eyeko – Skinny Liquid Eyeliner in Black(1.2g/0.04oz):$8.6, full size is 0.07oz and goes for $15. First thing I noticed when I got this...super hard to open, which I think it's OK, because that way I make sure it won't dry evar! I went into trying this with the thought that I had already found my loved one and only eye liner in Lorac's Front of the Line Pro(reviewed here). But when I tried this out I really liked it! It gives me as much precision as Lorac's and it's a really dark black. One not so awesome thing is that this is not water proof, but that's not a deal breaker. This is a deep black eyeliner, one stroke pigments perfectly. I recommend this as much as I recommend the Lorac, definitely a winner! Love it!

Swatch:

 

That's just one stroke!

Value and review:

   The total value of my box(not including the value of the perfume sample) is $22.89.

   I'm really happy with my Birchbox. I like the variety of items I got this month, not a fan of perfume samples, but the rest of the goodies make up for it. 

  My favorite from this box has to be the Eyeko Eyeliner for sure and then the Deborah Lippmann Striper to go would be second.
   I love trying new things and that's exactly what I got from this month's Birchbox. I'm so glad I decided to subscribe and I know I will enjoy my boxes. I definitely recommend this subscription if you want to try out new things. If you expect big sized samples, this might not be for you, but if you want a lil' box of cute surprises then this will be the right fit.
 

  If you want to subscribe to Birchbox, you can click here. Or copy & paste this link on your navigation bar: https://www.birchbox.com?raf=58jbc

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, and this is my own personal opinion :) Link is a referral link.