Ipsy - January 2013

So even though there wasn't really any make up products in this months bag, it was still the favorite bag/box I got this month (still yet to receive glossy box and julep though).

This months bag is plain navy on the outside with a lighter blue lining with a star design. Kinda wish ipsy would put the cuteness on the outside of the bag, I have enough plain make up bags now between ipsy and glymm.

Products received:

Pacifica body butter (73ml) - the scent is Tuscan blood orange and it smells soooo good! I'm really liking this stuff, it absorbs quickly and doesn't feel greasy at all

Big Sexy Hair (50ml) - volumizing hairspray, seems to work well and doesn't leave my hair weighed down or leaved my hair feeling that dreaded crispy way that some hairsprays do. Extra bonus, it smells good!

Josie Maran 100% pure argan oil (5ml) - I had never tried or knew too much about argan oil and always though it seemed strange to add oil to your hair or face since, why would anyone want oily hair and skin? After a bit of research I have learned that it has many benefits and have decided to use it as a face moisturizer, I haven't used it long enough to say for sure what it has done but it seems to have really helped with my dry skin without leaving it looking greasy, so far so good!

Nailtini polish - I received the color Bloody Mary, it's a opaque blue toned red. I'm not a red polish lover since my skin stains very easily and when I try to remove red polish it inevitably spreads to my cuticles and I'm left with pinkish cuticles for a week! Nailtini polishes do seem like good polishes with a great formula!

Soho - the make up brush I received is a concealer brush. I haven't tried it yet as I usually just use my fingers for applying concealer but a girl can never have too many brushes!

NOTD

The past few months I have hardly done any nail art, I think it's because I have so much polish that I have never used in a full mani that I have just been wanting to paint them solid just so I can appreciate them as the colors that I bought them for. I am ready to get back into some designs again and will be trying to improve my skills!

Today's NOTD is super simple but still pretty cute I think! The base is Orly Lollipop. I used 3 coats before finally getting the majority of the streaks out (not the best formula) and then used a medium sized dotting tool for the dots which are done with Orlys Sea Gurl.

Topbox - January 2013

This month all topbox subscribers received a prive box which means all products are from the same brand but in the future we will have the option to receive a regular topbox instead.

This months box contained all Clinique products and they are all nice products and generous sizes but nothing super exciting. I prefer to get make up rather than skin care and 3 of the 4 products were skin care :(

Products received:

Rinse off eye make up remover (60ml) - I will use this but probably will not repurchase it just because of the extra step of having to rinse it off. (Lazy I know)

Clarifying lotion (60ml) - claims to help lift the worlds impurities to create healthier and younger skin. I don't know about all that but it makes my skin feel nice!

Repairwear laser focus (7ml) - a wrinkle and uv damage corrector..... We'll see...

Color surge eye shadow duo - this was my favorite thing in the box, the one I received is the called strawberry fudge. The pink is very pretty but so sheer it's not noticeable, however the brown/coppery color is pretty pigmented. The colors do work well together and blend nicely.

Next month there is 3 different prive boxes and the regular topbox, we had a chance to tell them which we wanted (with no guarantees because of limited quantities) my fingers are crossed for the benefit box!

My new Layla's!

My local drugstore had some awesome sales on Layla polishes last week so I had a mini shopping spree!

I love that Layla has so many different finishes/effects and they make for quick manis since most don't require a base or top coat. The only thing that I don't like is that some of the polishes don't have a name on them so I did some looking around and *hopefully* have found the correct names!

Mirror Effect in the color 02 Cosmo Lilac, I really like the color of this, its a very pretty frosty lavender but it shows every ridge and imperfection even after using their recommended file and I was hoping that the finish would be a bit more reflective.

Ceramic Effect in the color 52 The Butterfly Effect. This one is a dark blurple base with flakies that flash mostly a coppery pink and then a bit of green if you are in the right light.

Hologram Effect in the color 03 Retro Pink. I already owned a few of their hologram polishes and I love them!

Softouch Effect in the colors 02 Golden Touch, 05 Cherry Diva, 06 Limoncello, 09 Aqua Zen. These polishes are so interesting and look completely different in the shade vs. sun. They are supposed to have a much longer wear time compared to most suede/matte but I haven't had it on long enough to know if that's true.

Bubbly Effect in the color 02 Black Forest. Still on the fence if I like this or not. I first tried it over white and hated it but I think it looks pretty good over the pink in my pictures. It's difficult to get the same thin layer over each nail so that they all look the same but I think with some practice it will keep looking better each time. I think next time I will try it over turquoise.

I took pictures in the sun and in the shade for the ones that looked very different and for my swatches I used 3 coats except for the bubbly effect which is one very thin coat over OPI Strawberry Margarita.

Julep - secret store

Julep had let us know last month that if we purchased our regular maven box that we would have access to the secret store where the iPhone cases would be available.

I passed up on their awesome end of year sale in hopes that there would be some great stuff in the secret store but it was unfortunately a bit disappointing and not near as good of deals. I decided to just get the iPhone case with the coordinating polish in the color "Susie" and it arrived today!

I have already put my phone in the case but I'm not sure if I will leave it on since l don't feel like it offers much protection for my phone compared to my old case. I should have done a bit more research before purchasing I guess! Oh well, it's still super cute!

For my swatch I used 3 coats of Susie, the first two coats were pretty streaky so I put the last coat on a bit thicker and that evened it out and I am really liking the pale mint green color.

Julep January maven box

Juleps theme this month was nudes and neons. I went with the boho glam box mostly because I didn't have a color quite like Fiona but I ended up really liking both of my polishes in the box. This months box also included a hand and cuticle stick which is pretty much a giant chap stick for your hands! There was also 3 neon hair elastics and a sheet of swatch me stickers. I always feel like I get great value for my $20 each month and I love that they usually throw in a few extra surprises!

The colors I received:

Teresa - pinky nude frost

Fiona - I consider this one ogre green

I used 3 coats for my swatches!

Julep New Years mystery box

My New Years mystery box arrived earlier this week and I just finally got a chance to do all my swatches. Julep guaranteed these boxes to be worth between $100-$500 and include a mystery glitter. So for $20 you can't go wrong and I really lucked out with no dupes!

My box contained 5 polishes, boho glam lengthening mascara, Sicilian orange foot soak, 3 polish remover packets, 2 age defying hand brightener packets and a nail file and I love it all!

Onto the polish:

Cindy - beautiful emerald green metallic with gold shimmer

Sienna - light gold metallic ( I love gold polish and have been wanting this one)

Lauren - a perfect hot pink creme ( the formula on this one sucked, it was so thick but after about 30 drops of thinner it's much better!)

Mystery glitter - black, copper and silver glitter ( I don't think this would be totally opaque on its own, I used one coat over a black polish in the picture)

Georgia - coral shimmer

All swatches are done with 3 coats except the mystery glitter.