February Monthly Make Up Boxes

It is official! I love monthly make up boxes. I now subscribe to 3 and I want to have so many more but I don't have the money for it. 3 is enough though, more than enough. I subscribe to Ipsy, Birchbox, and Eco Emi. I have only received boxes from Ipsy and Birchbox and I will start getting them from Eco Emi at the end of the month. Here are the things that I got this month.

Birchbox

 I was very excited to get my very first Birchbox. It is $10 per month just like Ipsy and like many of the monthly make up boxes. There are so many of them and they range anywhere from $10 to $45. for my $10 I received 5 items. My box contained Jouer’s Luminizing Moisture Tint, WEI™’s Eye Treatment pads, TIGI Catwalk Session Series Styling Cream, a black Twistband™ Headband, and a Ghirardelli Milk & Caramel SQUARE. Lots of good stuff, I know. 

The black Twistband is a large headband size and I am very excited that I got this one instead of the hair tie because I can make two hair ties out of the headband. I don't use headbands but I do use hair ties each and everyday. I nibbled on the chocolate right after I took these pictures and the caramel is so yummy. The Jouer tint is in the cutest little sample size and perfect to throw in your make up bag for when I go on vacation. I tried it one day and it is really pretty. It has a pearly thing going on.

I haven't used the TIGI hair styling cream yet but I think I am going to bring it with me at the end of the month when I do my hair in the Sailor Moon style. I did smell it though and it has a pretty smell. The size of the sample is really good as well. I haven't tried the WEI Eye pads but I am very excited to do so. They actually sent two sets so my husband is going to try them with me. It will be fun. I have dark circle under my eyes and he has bags under his so we both could use a little attention/care for our eyes.

In addition to the great beauty/health items that come in the box, I am going to keep the nice box and pink tissue paper. The box is a great smallish size and very sturdy so I am going to collect them all year and use them for gift giving for birthdays and for Christmas.  I really liked my first Birchbox and can't wait for my second.

Ipsy 

 
Ipsy is a pretty great make up of the month subscription and I think I will be keeping it for quite some time. I really like that it goes hand in hand with Michelle Phan and you get all of her make up and beauty videos. I know you don't need to subscribe to Ipsy to get the videos on Youtube but I like how well they fit together. She always does videos using the items that comes in your bag. 

This bag included  MICA gel eye liner, a small 4 set palette of Coastal Scents eye shadow, pop mascara, Lash Cards, and Pixi primer. I was quite excited to get most of these items. I have been in the market for a good primer but I don't want to commit and buy a $25 one just to end up not liking it. I tried the Pixi primer and it is very nice. It feels nice, looks good, has a subtle smell, and has a nice glow to it. It is definitely in the running to be my new primer. The lash cards are going to be saved for when I am going for dramatic eyes and wearing false lashes.

The pop mascara is a nice little mascara that goes on well and is a great size for your purse or for when you are traveling. I don't have any complaints about it in the week of using it. The MICA gel eye liner is a good standard gel eye liner. It goes on well and stays on for quite a long time. It takes a little getting used to but once you get the hang of using a small brush  it is no problem. I love my liquid eye liner and I don't think I will be switching any time soon. This is the second Coastal Scents eye shadow palette that I have received and they are really cute. The first one I got was in the blue family and this one is in the yellow/bronze family. It actually looks very nice on my skin/skin tone. Coastal Scents is a really good inexpensive quality eye shadow. They have about a million colors so you can find what you want. I actually just got a palette of 252 colors for $13 through Ipsy.

Now that we are into March I will be getting my next round of boxes. I will get my Ipsy bag and my Birchbox in the middle of the month around the 20th and then my Eco Emi at the very end of the month. The theme for March's Ipsy bag is an aquatic/sailor/travel thing and I really am excited. The bag has quite anchors on  it and anything sailor themed is pretty awesome. 

What do you think of the monthly make up subscriptions? Do you think they are worth it or do you think it is better just to take the $10 and buy something that you want?  

January Ipsy Bag

 It is that time again, Ipsy Bag time. I really do love Ipsy. I can't say enough good things about it. I tell my friends, family, coworkers, and anyone else if they will listen. The middle of each month I get so excited because I know that bright and shiny pink bag will be coming my way. If you don't know what Ipsy is or how it works just read this post and see Novembers bag of make up. Onto the good stuff.......

 I am acquiring quite the little collection of cute bags thanks to Ipsy. So far I have a black and white zig zag bag, a brown bag, a long silver pencil case style bag, and now a midnight blue bag. When I saw this latest bag I thought it was cute but I got really excited when I saw the inside. Stars! How cute is that? I love little touches like that I think that I'm not the only one.  This bag is pretty deep and perfect for the bag within a bag thing. You know, the smaller bag for little things that goes in your bigger bag. I have been using my Ipsy bags for that and they have all been great. This one is a light canvas style fabric that seems pretty sturdy and stain resistant.

The things that came in January's bag were things that I was waiting for. One, I knew sooner or later there would be a lotion that I could toss in my purse. Two, I love getting new make up brushes and can always use more. And here comes January's bag full of things I can't wait to get. My bag contained a nailtini nail polish, big sexy hair hairspray, tuscan blood orange body butter, a brush, and argan oil. You can bet your buns that I am going to use all of these. I don't know how they are going to top this bag but I know that Ipsy can do it.

The Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter is so nice. It has a great scent. When I think of orange I think of super fake orange but that is not the case with this lotion. It has a really nice deep scent to it and feels amazing. Winter is rough on everyone's hands so this comes in handy. You can feel it really sinking into your skin and moisturizing. 

I am pretty fussy when it comes to nails and nail polish. Well, I'm fussy and lazy. I want my nail polish to last forever and I have never found one that does that BUT I have found a little trick to making my nail polish seem like it is lasting longer. When you wear an extremely subtle color you can't see the chipping. With dark and bold colors as soon as one little chip shows up it is super obvious and looks a mess. But, with a light color a few chips are not even noticeable. I like this. I am super happy I got the above color. 

When it comes to hair I kind of let it do what it wants to within reason. I have long straight hair and I like it that way. A nice brushing usually makes it do what I want it to do. But, on the odd occasion when I am really doing my hair I never have hairspray because I don't use it. Well, now I have some. In March I have a convention to go to and I will need hairspray and yea! I have Big Sexy Hair hairspray. I am doing a Sailor Moon style buns and pigtails do so I will need this spray.

I was really happy when I saw I got a SOHO crease brush. Most days I do a cat eye look with my eye shadow and a good crease brush is important. The one I was using before is much fuller and stiffer. The SOHO brush is so soft, fluffy, and delicate. It makes it easy to apply layers and get a nice blended look easily. The first day I tried it I was really happy with the way it felt and the way it applied the shadow to my eyelids.

Before this Ipsy bag I had never hear of Argan Oil. This Josie Maran %100 Argan Oil is a versatile moisturizer. Use it on you face, hands, nails, cuticles, lips, split ends, any where!  It has a really subtle scent and feels nice to I have no problem using it any of these places. I have been using it on my hair. My ends can get a little beat up and they need a little extra love. This Argan Oil makes them feel and smell great. It comes in the little bottle with a dropper so you can use as little or as much as you want. I like that instead of just dumping it in my palm.

In addition to Ipsy I am interested in Birch Box. They are along the same idea as Ipsy. I watched several videos on YouTube of people opening up their Birch Boxes and they seems like they have some nice things. I did notice that there are more samples (like 1 time or 2 time uses) and that it actually comes in a box and you don't get a bag like with Ipsy. But, they are the same price and it still seems like a great deal. They don't have any openings right now so I am on the waiting list and will sign up as soon as the e-mail comes my way saying that I can. And, when I start getting those I will write about them.

Do any of you receive Ipsy bags or Birch Boxes? If so, do you like them as much as I like my Ipsy?

November Ipsy My Glam Bag: Inexpensive but Nice Make Up

I have been wanting a subscription to My Glam/Ipsy for quite some time now, since they started about a year ago. I finally was able to squeeze in when they had subscriptions open again. For those of you who are not familiar with Ipsy i will give a quick little explanation. Ipsy is like Cheese of the Month, but just make up instead of cheese. For $10 a month Ipsy will send you a cute little make up bag every 30 days with 5 pieces of make up or beauty products. Since I am all about Lolita and not spending lots of money this is the perfect say to acquire a very nice make up collection for very little. You can very easily spend $10 on one make up item at the drug store. Ipsy allows you to get so much for so little. The shipping is free if you live in the USA and it is now available in some other countries with additional shipping. (Additional Info Here)

This bag that I am showing is the second bag that I have received and I have loved both. When you sign up you take a little quiz that asks you about your tastes and style when it comes to your looks and beauty. They ship the bags in the middle of the month and you are super excited to see the bright pink envelope in the mail box. Here is what came my way this month....

My hot pink shiny padded envelope. My bag and all of it's goodies are safe in this bubble wrapped envelope. I haven't gotten anything broken or loose. I have received liquids in bottles and never had any leaks or problems. I know they have a FAQ about missing or broken items so I am sure it won't be a big problem if it does happen.

 The dark chocolate bag with gold zipper and has a glossy zipper pull. It is lined and looks nice on the inside in addition to the outside. The bags that the make up comes in are perfect as a small satchel to carry in your bag or purse. I use mine to carry my chap stick, lip gloss, little mirror, and cuticle moisturizer. Each bag also includes a couple post card sized cards that offer discounts on the brands that are in the bag.

 Oooooo. So many fun new things to try out. The bags are a little different based on the quiz that you take but here is what I got in my bag. Chella Eyebrow Defining Gel, Nailtini nail polish in Millionaire, Meet Matte eye shadow in Matt Batali , bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lip gloss in Dare Devil,and Starlet eyeliner in black. Nice! I have tried out everything and I really liked all of it. My favorite is the nail polish. I am not really a nail polish kind of girl because it drives me crazy when it chips and it feels like it chips hours after you apply it.

The Chella Eyebrow Defining Gel is something I never even thought existed. I just kind of thought eye brows got plucked and that was that. Well, now I can make sure my eye brows are neat and pretty with this gel. It is very light and has a pleasant and subtle smell.

 I told my sister in law that this months bag had nail polish in it and since I am not really in polish that I would most likely give it to her. Well, sorry sister in law. I have to keep this one. Nailtini nail polish in Millionaire is so much fun. The gold glitter and little specks of teal blue are too much for me to let go of right now. 3 coats and I am very happy with how sparkly my nails are. Also, it dries so fast. I proclaim Nailtini nail polish in Millionaire the winner of this bag for me.

Eye shadow is one of those items where I just can never have enough. The Meet Matte eye shadow in Matt Batali is a welcome addition to my collection. The color is a deep purple. It is such a deep purple you don't even notice it at first. I really love this color. I have been using it to do a simple cat eye look and it is awesome. It spices up the regular back cat eye. It applies very nicely and stays put.

Lip gloss and lip stick are something that I don't use too often but this bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lip gloss in Dare Devil is pretty nice. It looks bold and dark but once it is applied it lightens up and just adds a shine and hint of color. The thing that really surprised me was how minty it was. I think I will be using this one around the holidays. It is the perfect size to slip into your small bag or purse. And, if your anything like me you need your lip glosses and chap sticks to be small because you carry lots of them with you all the time. (Do I really need 11 lip products with me at all times?)

The last item is the Starlet eyeliner in Black. It is your standard black eyeliner pencil. It applies nicely and stays on. I did a little test on the back of my hand. I know it sounds like I am not crazy about it and it isn't the pencils fault. I only like liquid eyeliner with a brush. I have tried many different eyeliner and it is the only kind for me. I do like the pink and white pencil and the small box that it came in. I don't know why but I love it when things have small matching boxes. It makes them feel special. I think I will save up the things from my bags that I am not crazy about and do a give away with them. A nice little bundle of make up.

I can't say enough great stuff about Ipsy and the things they send me. I like them on Facebook and it is very active. There is also a nice Michelle Phan(She is the creator of Ipsy)/Ipsy YouTube that has oodles of things to watch. You can learn quite a bit there. I really hope you girls and guys enjoyed this peek into my Ipsy bag.

Amazing Make Up Haul From Rite Aid

As I wrote yesterday in my post, I stopped off at my local Rite Aid that is moving. Since they are merging with another store close by they are selling their stock at 75% off. Amazing, I know! I was able to grab some make up and a few misc. items when everything was 50% off a couple weeks ago. But yesterday I did really well.

The store was baron. The whole make up section which was 3 aisles was condensed down to a small wall but it was packed with great stuff. Make up, nail polish, perfume, and other girly things. I spent 15 minutes digging through bins, scouring shelves, and sifting through the cluttered chaos and here is what I walked away with. 

I have super fair skin so I always have to buy cover up and concealer that is as pale as I can find it. I was lucky enough to find several items in the appropriate hues. I got the above products and I think I am most excited about the Physician's Formula Healthy Wear 50 SPF cover up. Since I have fair skin I burn very easily. If I go out side and the sun is out I am going to turn a little pink if not red. It is hard to find any facial product that is not sun screen that has a high SPF. Plus, the cool orange and pink bottle is really nice looking. It was only $3.75! Yes! I am super happy that I didn't have to spend $15.00 on it. The other items are great staple cover ups. I am starting to use age defying products now since in your twenties you are supposed to use prevention products that slow down the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

There was so much lip stick but I was not really in the market for any so I scouted out ti find a lip gloss or two. I was lucky enough to get one of the last Baby Lips Maybelline lip balm. It is a grape flavor and is a dark purple color and I was a bit worried it would turn my lips purple but it has almost no color at all. Just a juicy smell. I really like it. It set me back 95 cents. I know, I spent too much. I was also able to grab one of the last L'Oreal Color Juice gloss. It has a really nice cherry smell and the shine it gives is really nice. Like my lips are wet. That one was $2.12. 

Wearing false lashes is something I don't too often but sometimes I like to feel extra pretty and I will slap some on. I practically bought everything they had left in this department. It was almost all gone. 2 pair of lashes and glue. The long blue lashes are really cool and will be a really fun pair to wear. I will have to save them for a special day or event. I got all this for $4.00.

Here are all the miscellaneous items that I scooped up. The light pink eye shadow at the top left  is so pretty. It doesn't really look it in the picture or even in the container but I tried it out and it is lovely. It is so soft and has a little shimmer to it. 90 cents. How could I not buy it? I bought Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Cuticle Balm. I did not even know that this was a thing until I saw it yesterday. I love it so much now. I have long nails which I don't paint often at all but I like my nails and hands to look nice so I take care of them in other ways. So this is just another way for me to make my hands look better. It has a really nice fresh scent and it feels great. 

The little lavender mirror compact is so small and thin it is perfect for my purse/bag. I think I am going to do a little deco to it. Some pink little bows and sparkles and it will be the cutest mirror ever. 

The Cover Girl Tru Mineral Blends, above and in the middle, is a very feminine and pretty pink shimmery powder. It has a little puff in the container. It has a nice light pink color to it and will come in handy when I don't feel like wearing a blush with a lot of color. It adds a nice glow and shimmer to my face. I will use it on days when I am feeling less than glowing.

The red curlers at the top right are for an experiment. My hair does not take to curling with a curling iron so I am going to try these. My hair is thin and perhaps using these with my wet hair and allowing it to do with these will be the trick to making curls stay longer than 30 minutes.

The last things I bought were green mascara, black eye liner, and super fun blue eye liner. I can never have too many eye liners and never enough mascara. 

I am sad that the Rite Aid is closing but I thankful that I was able to grab these things at great prices. It is nice to hit great sales and save lots of money. My make up collection grew quite a bit yesterday and I can't wait to use it all.

Elf Cosmetics

  Last weekend I went to the local Target just for fun and found something new and interesting in the cosmetic section.  They now have a small section of Elf products.  I had never heard of them but boy was I excited to see what I saw.  CHEAP cosmetics.  Like, there were many things that were only $1a piece.  I got so excited that I grabbed a bunch of things and made a make shift basket out of my new shirt that I was buying.  The selection that they had was not super huge but there was enough to make me happy.  Here is the haul.

I love getting new makeup brushes.  These ones were just $1 a piece and not bad.  The large one (on top) is very nice and I use it to even out the cover up and eye primer.  The small brush (the bottom) is for cover up as well but I am going to be using it for my eyes/eyeshadow.  The small brush came apart though.  I had to glue it back together.  No big deal.

About 2 months ago I looked EVERYWHERE for a nice eye primer and could not find any or I found one that was way too expensive.  When I saw this one I snatched it up fast.  It has a nice consistency to it and blends in well.  Ever since I saw a good make up tutorial on YouTube I have wanted eye primer and now I have some.  Yea!

I bought this color stick thinking it was pinker than the actual color.  It is a gold/bronze color and it does not really look good on my skin tone.  I night give it away to a friend.

Just like the eye primer I looked everywhere for a light shimmer.  Elf to the rescue.  I find a tiny bit of shimmer on the tip of my nose and the dip just above my top lip make me look dewy and healthy.

 

I haven't really gotten into the whole fake eyelash thing.  I rub my eyes too much to really wear a lot on my eyes.  I have to use all my willpower not to rub off my eyeshadow and mascara.  I think this weekend I will try going all out with falsies and all.  These ones were only $1 so I figured that if they came off in 10 minutes it wasn't a huge loss.

This was a build your own eyeshadow pallet.  It came with 4 empty spots.  The pallet w/ mirror and applicator was only $1.  Each eyeshadow color was also $1.  I chose a basic black and white.  I like to use the white as a highlighting color to brighten up my eyes and I use the black as an eye liner to make my lashes fuller.  The pink and lavender are 2 regular colors that get used on an almost daily basis.

Lastly, I got a nice simple mirror for my bag.  It was one dollar and should serve me well.

Make Up Case

  When I was about 13 or so I had a Caboodle make up case and i loved it.  It was blue and had cool sparkles all over it.  It held my nail polish collection and that was pretty much it.  Well, about 2 months ago I was at my local Walmart and I spotted a very familiar case.  They are making caboodle's again!  I scooped the case up, paid my sixteen dollars, and had a new awesome make up case.  I needed a new bigger one because I had too many things to fit in my old one.  Plus I love the way it is broken up.

I use the bottom part for mascara, eye shadow, lotion, and all the make up things.  The small top section holds the brushes, comb, and miscellaneous tools.  Lastly, the top section holds bows, rings, jewelry, barrettes, bobby pins, and other odd items.  

 I know I don't have too my eye shadow options but I think the five that I have serve me well.  The middle bottom cream color is a good base.  Much of my wardrobe is made up of pinks and girly colors so the pink, blue, and lavender get used often.  The black and grey compact gets used everyday.  I always line my eye with black like eye liner.

I bought this palette so I wouldn't have to buy all of these colors separately.  It only cost me about 18 dollars from amazon.  I highly suggest getting one.  It is fun to sit down and play with it.  Mixing & matching colors like electric blue and bright pink can have very cool results.  The only thing I don't like about it is that there are so many browns.  I don't need 16 different browns.  

 I love mascara.  No way around it, I just do.  When I started wearing make up on a daily basis mascara was the first thing that I wore everyday.  All of the other things followed after that.  I have spent anywhere from $2-$18 on mascara and I must say Maybelline is my favorite.  I was using the yellow tube, "Colossal Volume" up until I bought the "Falsies" kind.  I can't really tell the difference between the two but they both cover well, don't clump, last all day, and make my lashes pretty.

 I have a few expensive name brand things but these are a few that I use regular enough.  The tubes are by Benefit (lip gloss and eye shadow) and the Hard Candy is eye shadow.

I only have 3 brushes right now and they do their job.  The top white brush has a nice angle and is soft, the middle brush is small and very fine, and the bottom one is soft and fluffy.  

 Cover up for the occasional zit.

 I needed a new brush and I nearly peed myself when I saw this Little Mermaid one.

 Nothing too exciting here.  Tweezers, nail clippers, and eyelash curler.

Adding flowers and bows to my hair is one of my things.  No matter what I wear or where I am going I always have pretty things in my hair.  I want to make more bows.  I have worn the white and blue ones about 500 times in the past year.