Ipsy Glam Bag December 2013 Celebration Review

Ah, Ipsy.... How do I love thee? Let me count the ways again.... Only $10 a month? Check. Products that are often FULL-size? Check. Tons of value for my money? Check. Super fun products? Check. On and on and on.... If you are thinking of trying a subscription service but you don't know where to start, start HERE!! Enough of the love letters, let's get to what is in the December Celebration bag!

First looks:

Always excited to see that fuchsia envelope!

And the breakdown:

Ardell Eyelashes, $3 - Hmmm.. I keep getting faux lashes. I think this is a sign that, in addition to embracing a bolder lip, I need to work on embracing the fake lash in 2014!

Pop Beauty Eye Shadow Palette, $7 - Pretty, basic colors. The last thing I need right now, though! So passing these along.

Bombshell The One Stick, $16 - I like this brand a lot and am a fan of anything that streamlines routine - this can be used as lip gloss, eyeshadow and cheek tint!

J. Cat Big Lip Pencil, $4 - Never been much of a lip pencil fan. I just can't seem to get it right? I'm sure it's one of those things like eyeliner that just takes practice!

Starrily Nail Polish Bzzz Bzzz, $4 - Looks just like a glittery bumble bee! Cute!

This month's bag had a value of $34. Probably not my favorite bag ever but I'm excited about the glitter polish and the Bombshell stick! If you would like to try Ipsy (and really, it's $10! Who wouldn't??), please use my referral link and GO FOR IT! It's a little present to myself that I look SO forward to each month! Can't wait to see what January brings! :D

Ciate' Very Colourfoil Manicure Kit Review

I was really excited to see this Ciate' manicure kit in my November Kelly Rowland Fancy box! I've seen lots of these kits around and have been curious about trying them! 

I was super impressed with the contents when I opened up the package. Everything looks so organized and high quality! 

The supplies! With my own Base and top coats! ;)

Here are the steps to the Colourfoil manicure:

Two coats of the base polish (LOVE this bubblegum pink!)

Dot on the included glue where you would like the foil to be. Wait a minute (or two) until it partially dries and is clear

Press the foil sheet on the nail, colour side up

Voila! Repeat with other colours if desired

After a second layer with the green foil

And the end result:

Turned out pretty cute! My girls absolutely love the look and I've gotten lots of comments on it! I am surprised at how MANY times you could do this with the supplies included! The package includes 30 foil sheets and I did all 10 nails and only used a small portion of TWO sheets! SO much stuff to experiment with over and over! 

Julep Diamond Mystery Box November 2013 Review

Omg!!! So excited about this one!! Ok... I've had lukewarm feelings about my past Julep mystery boxes and had decided to pass on future ones. But, you know how that goes! When I saw the high promised value of the Diamond Mystery Box, I had to go for it!! Haha!

This box cost $24.99 and was to contain at least $120 of Julep products! It is now sold out but if you want to try Julep monthly Maven service, use code FREEMAVEN to get your first box for only $4 shipping fee! You can easily go into your online account and skip any months that you don't want and, as a member, you'll be sure to get access to deals like this one!

Now, on to my goodies!! 

Here's first looks:

sooooo much stuff!!

And the breakdown:

Geo glitter polish, $14
Antonia glitter polish, $14

These are the two polishes that were guaranteed to be in every Diamond Mystery box! My girls and I can never have enough glitter and we are super pumped about these two!

Helen polish, $14

Coco polish, $14
Kristy polish, $14

Marion polish, $14

Reece polish, $14

Eyelash curler, $5 - can't find this for sale online individually, so guessed at price. Looks like it was part of a travel kit at one point!

Something pink?, $5 - um... Idk what this is! LOL it feels like a fine exfoliating mitt but it's not shaped to fit fingers or thumb or anything?? Help, anyone??

Julep DoubleStep, $22 - Blister stick for tootsies

Pink Body Frosting, $18 - yay!!!! I am lotion obsessed on the regular but even more so through the fall and winter! I cracked this right open and loved how much it looks like frosting for real! Grapefruit scent is great and it feels awesome on!!

Rock candy, $2 - just bought some of these at the amazing Schimppf's candy company! The girls love them!

So my box had a total value of a whopping $150! So pumped. I've got some things I love and some fun duplicates to gift!!

If you want to make sure you don't miss future mystery boxes, head over to Julep and use code FREEMAVEN to sign up for the monthly maven box for only $4! And skip any months you don't want a regular box! So much fun! And if you use one of my referral links, thank you!! Loves it!! 

Birchbox November 2013 "More Good" Box and Review + Coupon

So excited for my November Birchbox box! And excited to share this awesome coupon stacking deal with you! I hope it still works!! 

Birchbox is a women's subscription service that costs $10/month but I have the details on an INCREDIBLE deal. I purchased a year subscription for $110, which is  a savings of $10, and with that you get 110 points worth $11, making boxes $8.25 each. 

If you use code GLAMLATINA15 I think you should be able to get 15% off $50 or more, making a year's subscription of boxes about $6.90 each. After reviewing products each month ($1 per product) each box would actually cost less than $2! I think if you add one of the gifts in the "bonus shop" to your cart before you check out, that you get that, too, which would wind up making this a complete steal!! Hope the whole deal still works! Let me know if it does (or doesn't!).

November's Birchbox is all about doing good deeds and reaching out to others this holiday season. They are donating a good sized chunk of cash to No Kid Hungry. Sounds good to me! Now, on to the box!

Here's first looks:

And the breakdown:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Toffee Bar,  $2 - I'm not much for chocolate, but this will get destroyed soon enough around here! LOL!

Little bonus book of holiday tips and shopping ideas

Beauty Protect Shampoo (and conditioner, missing),  $5.50 - I noticed right away that the conditioner was missing from my box. I've already heard back from Birchbox and a replacement is supposed to be on its way. This duo is a Birchbox exclusive and gets great reviews online! I'll be trying them once I can try them together!

Viva La Juicy Noir Perfume, $7 - I LOVE Juicy perfumes (I just used up some bottles last month) and I sprayed this on immediately. It is exactly what is claims to be, a slightly darker/more nighttime version of the classic Viva La Juicy. Love!
 

Color Club Polish in On The Rocks, $4 - This color is so pretty but unfortunately I got an almost identical color in Ipsy this month.

Dr. Jart + BB Cream, $3.20 - I'm always excited to get BB/CC creams in my boxes! That's all I use on a daily basis and I love trying them all out. Several lately haven't included sunscreen, which annoys me since it adds another step to my routine. This one does, which is great! It sounds like this BB cream has been around for years, which sounds promising! 

So I came up with a total value of about $22 for this box. I was surprised at that low number because I felt like it was a good box full of stuff that I will use and enjoy! With a year subscription I paid $8.25 for this box (I had already used the above deal to order the men's subscription and couldn't get it to work again) and, after reviews, it actually only cost me $2.25!!!! 

If you want to try Birchbox and have any questions at all about all of the crazy math in this post, please please please shoot me an email! I'd be so happy to explain it all to you. I really feel like this is the best deal going to try some awesome products for a ridiculously low price! And, if you use one of my referral links, thank you!! I really appreciate it!! :D

Nails of the Week: Julep Chevron Stickers Experimentation!

I knew what my nails of the week would be as soon as I opened my Julep Zigzag mystery box! I was in love with the orange polish and couldn't wait to try out the chevron stickers! Here's what I used:

China Glaze base coat
Julep in Marjorie
OPI in Lincoln Park After Dark
Julep top coat
Julep chevron stickers

I read reviews of the orange polish on Julep and was worried about how sheer/light it was going to be. Because of that, I decided to use it as a base, apply stickers, then paint on darker stripes! 

First step: Orange base coat. Let dry.

One coat gave pretty great coverage! Looks perfect for fall and the countdown to Halloween!

Second step: apply chevron stickers and paint over all with second color. Let dry. 

Then it was time to peel off the stickers. Eek... I was worried about how this was going to turn out. I let the orange dry for 15 minutes in a nail dryer, and then the purple dry for 15 minutes in a nail dryer and yet....

Everything peeling off. Fail.
But looks spooky, no? Haha 

What went wrong? Who knows. I cleaned that mess off and reapplied a coat of the orange. This time around I used a sticker cut in half on each ring finger as an accent nail. Much cleaner and actually super cute! 

I'm so curious to see if anyone else has had better luck than me with these! I'm usually fairly impatient with watching paint dry but I was extra patient this time and still my multi-color stripes were a bust! :(

If you'd like to try Julep, please use one of my links and code FREEMAVEN to get your first box for only $3.99! Thank you! :D

Julep Zigzag October Mystery Box Review

Julep Maven is a monthly subscription service that sends nail polishes and other beauty products based on your profile each month for a monthly charge of $24.99. If you would like to try your first month free (just pay the $3.99 shipping fee) use code FREEBOX. And thank you in advance if you use one of my referral links! :D

I didn't get the regular October box from Julep but I couldn't resist the mystery box this month! Each zigzag box is "powered by chevron" and contains fun chevron nail stickers! 

There were three box sizes available and I opted for the mini box, $19.99 for $50+ of product. One of my real motivations for this order was to add on Casper, the glow in the dark limited edition polish that I've been craving! And, also, to use a coupon that only happened on 10/10 - $10 off $25 or more! 

Here's first looks:

Such a huge outer packing box this time!

And the breakdown:

Clara polish, $14 - opaque peach creme

Marjorie polish, $14 - citrus orange frost

Doublestep, $22 - This stick is promised to prevent blisters. Nobody loves a monster heel more than me, so I'm hoping this will work well when the time of need comes!

Candy corn - Fun little bonus treat! The girls ate this right up!

Sea Salt Spray, $22 - Sea salt spray is a little hit or miss with my curly hair. I am currently using a Philip B. one that leaves my curls looking great even without blow drying. This one reviews well on Julep, so hopefully it's a good one!!

Chevron stickers, $2 - I'm not sure quite what I was expecting, but I'm surprised by the design of these and how versatile they are! The instructions say to trim them, apply on nail and top coat over. They are long enough to go on nails in any direction. They could also be used to provide neat edges to paint chevron of other colors. These are going to use this week!!  

Casper glow in the dark polish, $14 - fun add on!! My girls are going to flip out over this!! :D

My box contained $74 worth of product (plus Casper) and I was really happy with it! It was a nice combination of polish and other products and I'm looking forward to trying out my new goodies! Chevron nails coming soon!! 

Be sure to use code FREEMAVEN to get your first box for only $4 if you decide to sign up for Julep! 

Ipsy Glam Bag October 2013 The Art of Beauty Review

Ah, Ipsy.... How do I love thee? Let me count the ways again.... Only $10 a month? Check. Products that are often FULL-size? Check. Tons of value for my money? Check. Super fun products? Check. On and on and on.... If you are thinking of trying a subscription service but you don't know where to start, start HERE!! Enough of the love letters, let's get to what is in the October The Art of Beauty bag!

Here's first looks:

And the breakdown:

* Zoya Nail Polish in Mason, $8 - Why didn't I get the green??? :( Zoya is my favorite polish and I was so excited to get a bottle. Unfortunately, this color is almost identical to the Selena Gomez polish that I've been obsessed with for the last few months. I received the SG polish as a bonus gift from Ipsy and I wish they hadn't included this color since it's basically identical! :(

* Style Sexy Hair Spray Clay,  $5 -  This product sounds really interesting! It's supposed to provide an allover textured look with a matte finish. I have to put my little dancer's hair in a strict bun for her competitions and I'll be trying this out this weekend in place of the gel we normally use!

* H2O Hydrating Treatment, $7 - The reviews of this product are fantastic!! Some of them even remind me of my beloved La Mer and how I put it aside in the summer because it's too rich and heavy. Super pumped about this! Hope I love it for dry winter skin!! 

* Nourish Organic Coconut & Argan Lotion, $2 - I love that this lotion is organic! The smell is a little fruity/tropical for what I'm wanting right now, but I'm a lotion-aholic, so it will get put to use!

* OFRA Lipgloss Plumper , $13 - This tube is small and I was surprised to find that it's full size! It supposed to contain just a "touch" of plumper. Who is opposed to full plumping?? haha! Always excited to try a new gloss! 

This month's bag had a value of $35 and is once again a great value for $10! If you would like to try Ipsy (and really, it's $10! Who wouldn't??), please use my referral link and GO FOR IT! It's a little present to myself that I look SO forward to each month! Can't wait to see what November brings!