December Ipsy Glambag + Glambag Review!

As you might know, I previously was subscribed to Birchbox for over a year. However, in the past few months I had been thinking about changing subscription services--I like getting a monthly box of surprise make up and beauty products in the mail, but Birchbox was sending me a lot of repeat products and boxes that were really not worth even the $10 that I spent for them.

I am a HUGE fan of Michelle Phan, so I decided to switch to Ipsy (note: not an affiliate link). It is the same price and I was hoping that it would have better products, plus it comes in a makeup bag! It is really hard to find a new use for those boxes, and I love makeup bags.

So far, I have not been disappointed! I was getting them both at the same time for a couple of months, and every time they would arrive,  it was clear which box was the better value. I still like Birchbox, and I would recommend it if you are a beginner to make-up products and just want to test out and play with some products.

Here is the December Glambag!



The bag is a small black shiny quilted bag, with red on the inside. The zipper has a circle tag that says Ipsy.



POPBeauty Bright Up Your Life eyeshadow palette in Naturally Bare. I am not a big fan of neutrals, but some occasions do call for toned-down make up, so I am happy to have this in my stash. Plus, I love the small size, since I can throw it in my travel make up bag that I stash in my backpack for when I am running late to class on a full day, that way I can do my make up in between classes.



  NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in B52 (LSS565 soft mauve-pink). I love NYX, but I am not a big fan of this color. I am more of a red or pink lipstick kinda girl, but there is always re-gifting. And I was excited to see NYX in the box! This is a full-size lipstick, valued at $4.



Snow by Demeter Perfume Oil Roll On. When I first saw this in my bag, I was not particularly enthused. I see this all the time at Walgreens and Rite-Aid (back when I used to go drugstore clearance makeup and nail polish shopping weekly in high school), so I was thinking that this was the first lower-quality Glambag that I have gotten in the 5 months that I have been receiving it. As I researched the brand a little bit more, I found that they have a Sanrio collection! But sadly, this perfume does not smell that good.. it is too strong and the scent is just not that great.



Nicka K New York Nail Color in Ripe Apple. Nail polish! I am a big nail polish fanatic but unfortunately, this color is way too loud for me. I am not a red nail polish girl (I can count on one hand the number of red polishes in my 300+ bottle collection). However, this is a full-size bottle, which is valued at $4.99, so this bag is definitely worth $10.



Be A... Bombshell One Stick in Girl Crush. This is a shimmery light pink blush in a matte black tube. I love the packaging on this! Unfortunately, the color does not work that well with my complexion. I believe this is also full size, and according to the website it is $16.

Okay so actually, this bag was not particularly to my tastes (ironically, it was a much better match for my mom so, easy Christmas gift!) But to prove that the Glambag is an awesome product, here are some of the ones that I have gotten in the past.



This was the most perfect one and, coincidentally, my first Glambag that I received in July. See how stuffed the bag is? (Not to mention how cute the bag is). It came with a ton of products:



Benefit Benetint cheek/lip stain, a 3-shadow California Collection pallet (which was much more to my liking and featured a purple!), POPbeauty lip crayon in a bright pink, Coola Sunscreen sample, and an amazing hair spray.

So, I highly, highly recommend Ipsy. The only thing is that after signing up on the site, it takes about two months to get off of the wait list and start receiving your products. But it is worth the wait! So now monthly, I will be posting a review of the ipsy glambag instead of the Birchbox box.

Christmas Nails! Part 1

I am back! I swear, I did not plan on taking so long to return to my blog, but I have a ton of excuses (finals, malfunctioning computer, no time, etc.). However, as you might have noticed, I am revamping the blog and I am planning on doing a ton more posts, so be on the lookout for them!

 Since Christmas is only four days away, I am planning on doing a post of Christmas/winter/holiday-themed nails every day until then!

First up is a super simple and quick design. This manicure, from start-to-finish, only took me about fifteen minutes. (Admittedly, the lines on the french manicure part are not perfect (I have not figured out the trick yet)), but even with touch-up it should not take too long, so it is the perfect design for beginners.

The cast of characters for this design are:

China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Butter London British Racing Green, and Art Deco Gold.



The method: Paint two layers of Ruby Pumps as the base on all five nails, then use a striping brush to paint the Butter London British Racing Green on the nail tips of every finger except the middle finger (I just used a brush from one of my Art Deco polishes).  Using the Art Deco Gold, paint a line between the green and red on each nail.



For the little Christmas tree (which was inspired by a post on my pinterest board, I used the striping brush to paint three triangles on top of each other. When that dried, I used the Art Deco gold to draw a line at the base of each triangle. I could not find any brown nail polish, so I used an Essie (cannot find the bottle... I think it is taupe something) to make a blob to serve as the stump.

So yep, a super simple design that looks amazing and catches the eye (because of all the glitter), and uses Christmas colors!

Tomorrow, I am thinking a snow/snowman design. Stay tuned!

Breast Cancer Awareness Nails

GUISE,

I FINALLY HAVE SOME NEW NAIL ART FOR YOU.



This is just a super quick post because I've been crazy busy lately, but I figured I should update my blog :) I did some nails in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. For those of you who don't know/haven't figured it out, I am a student at MSU. If you happen to go there too, want to support the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, and want a manicure, I'll be auctioning off a manicure at the MSU aKDPHI "Pretty in Pink" Date Auction. It starts at 7 at Erickson Kiva, and all proceeds will go to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade!

The cast of characters:



(From left: Essie Mod Square, Pure Ice Superstar, OPI Princesses Rule, L'Oreal Penthouse Pink, and Art Deco Intense Pink)

The technique: On my thumb, middle, and pinky finger, I used Essie Mod Square, and then I used L'Oreal Penthouse Pink on my pointer and ring finger. Because Art Deco Intense Pink is nearly the same color as Mod Square, I needed it to pop, so I used my white Art Deco brush (not pictured) to draw the ribbon, and then I colored over it with Intense Pink so that it would show up. For my pointer finger, I went simple and used two pink heart rhinestones. On my middle finger, I went simple again and just used a coat of OPI Princesses Rule. On my ring finger, using the Art Deco white and Art Deco Intense Pink, I drew two perpendicular lines of each color. And finally, on my pinky finger, using Art Deco white, I wrote "HOPE."

It's a little messy because I had to do it quickly, but I do love it :)

Stay tuned! I have a ton of catching up to do (now that I'm caught up in school...). Lots of sponsored posts, and I'll probably do a picture dump of Sarahita's nails and Halloween makeup!

`Rakuzen

Product Review: Zensation's Beaute New Super Nourishing Cream SPF 50

Today, I have a review of a cream from Zensation, their Super Nourishing Cream SPF 50.

The press release says that it is "an intensely moisturizing day cream that doubles as a powerful skin guard. Zensation luxury skincare fuses the best in modern biotechnology with the purity of the Swiss Alps. The multifunctional Super Nourishing Cream SPF 50 combines precious natural coastal plant extracts with high-tech SPF 50 UVA/UVB coverage to give you supple skin that's protected from the damaging, aging effects of the sun."

This cream feels very luxurious and high-end, definitely not something that you could pick up from Wal-Mart or the drugstore. The smell is very light, almost vanilla-y, although it doesn't list vanilla as an ingredient, but I notice it after a few minutes, even though I'm usually really sensitive to fragrances.



The top of the box. Even though the box was paper, the embossed logo made it feel so fancy. I'm such a sucker for packaging, and you'll see why I loved this cream in a few pictures.



The front of the packaging. I love the touch of the flowers. Wispy flower designs like the one on the Zensation box are my favorite, and it just adds such a pretty, feminine touch to the boring packaging.



Side of the packaging, with ingredients. If you want to look them up, feel free to click the image to enlarge.



The other side, with directions and a little bit more information.



The text from the last side, with information about Zensation and the product. This Super Nourishing Cream is cruelty-free!

Okay, now that the packaging is done and over with, we'll get to the real prize. The Super Nourishing Cream.



A picture of the jar. You can't really see it, but the sides of the jar have the same flowery design that the box had. This jar is gorgeous. It's very thick, frosted glass and it is just gorgeous. Plus, it looks so pretty on my nightstand. On top of the jar is the plastic spatula that came with the cream.



The cream! It kind of looks like yogurt in this picture... The texture is a little bit thicker than yogurt, but it applies really well and it doesn't take a lot. There's a better picture of the spatula in the picture. I was super excited to get the spatula, because I hate sticking my fingers in jars to reach product, especially since my nails are long and it gets under them and it's just very unsanitary.

Overall, this product is amazing. I'm new to Zensation, but I'll definitely buy from them. This Super Nourishing Cream applies beautifully, doesn't have a particularly strong smell, has sunscreen in it (I don't spend a lot of time in the sun, so I only use sunscreen every once in awhile, but I'll definitely have to change it with this), and is packaged beautifully.

5 stars out of 5!

(This product was sent to me for review, however, all product thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Review and Swatches: Pure Ice Stars & Stripes collection

Today, I have a review of a new collection that's being released in Walmart stores nationwide, from a brand that I love!

The first nail polish that I remember buying (way back when, in 2007) was a pink, glittery Pure Ice. I ran the bottle down to nothing because I used it so much (well, that and I didn't have the skill that I have now and painted my cuticles a lovely shade of pink most of the time). Before I was working, my first collection (if you consider ten polishes a collection) was completely made up of Pure Ice polishes. Since I live in a small town with only a Walmart, and Pure Ice is only available at Walmart, it worked out fabulously. Also, all of the Pure Ice nail polishes are super cheap, around $2-3, and they worked really well and had a lot of colors.

So, Pure Ice has always had a special place in my nail polish fiend heart. So I was super excited to get this collection for review! Today I have some swatches of the five polishes for you, and then next week I'll have some July 4th-themed nail art to share! This collection has two creme polishes, and three gorgeous glitter polishes.





First up is Superstar!, which is your average creme white. Pictured, it is two coats. As you can see, Superstar! is just a normal creme white, which means it streaks and applies weirdly in the first coat. If you use two coats and a top coat, though, it evens out just fine.





Siren. A bright creme red. This was actually completely opaque in one coat, but I used two coats just to make sure. This is a very bright, gorgeous red color. I don't have a lot of reds in my collection because it's too bright, but I like this one a lot. Plus, it applied really nice and easy, and cleaned up very easily, unlike some other reds that stain your fingers. (Maybe I'm just removing my nail polish wrong?)





Wide Awake. Bright blue fine and micro glitter in a clear base. This is two coats, but if you applied it a little more evenly (it looked more well-applied in person), you could get it opaque. Or a third coat would make it perfect. Can I just say how much I loved this nail polish? The blue is a perfect color, and the glitter is beautiful. It applied very smoothly and, like most glitters, dried ultra-quick (which is another reason that the application is a little wonky). I highly recommend buying this one. I own a lot of glitters, but Wide Awake is unique to me.





Dazzle Me. Silver glitter and silver hexes in a clear base. This applies the best out of the glitters, and thankfully all of the mirror hexes didn't bunch up at the tip of the nail. This isn't too special or unique, but it is very glittery and reflective in sunlight. It reminds me of fireworks, too, which I would imagine is the goal. I definitely love using glitters in my designs for July 4th, so I'll for sure use this in my nail art!





Freedom. Red micro glitter, red and blue hexes and silver stars in a clear base. I really, really love this polish, so I saved the swatch for last! It is absolutely gorgeous. Pictured is two coats. As you can see, the red and blue hexes kind of bunch up at the tip when you don't let it dry enough between coats. And I would definitely wear one coat of Freedom over a different base, that way the glitter doesn't pile up over the hexes. I think this nail polish is super unique and absolutely gorgeous, and pretty much a nail art in and of itself. I did have to pick out the stars, and I had to do it on the second coat so that I wouldn't cover it with glitter. Still, it's beautiful! I highly recommend buying this one.





I tested out putting two coats of each of the glitters over two coats of Superstar!. From left: Dazzle Me over Superstar!, Wide Awake over Superstar!, Freedom over Superstar!, and two coats of Superstar! alone.

Dazzle Me and Freedom look wonderful over the white base, but Wide Awake, because the glitter is so dense, barely lets the base show through. I really think that Freedom over Superstar! or any white base could be a festive July 4th nail art on its own. I thought that I would have to pick out the stars from Freedom with a toothpick, since the heavier glitters and shapes usually fall to the bottom, but I happened to pick up two stars on my brush. Plus, the glitter, hexes and stars just look really nice over the white base.

Stay tuned! I'll post a couple of July 4th nail art ideas next week, using this collection!

(I received these products for review, however, all thoughts, pictures, and opinions are my own.) 

Purple and black nail design

I'm back~

Finished product design!

I can't believe that I forgot to put this one up. It is by far, one of my favorite designs so far. I did this during exam week, when I had some free time in between studying. This design is super pretty, easy, and eye-catching, and I got a ton of compliments on it.

Two coats of China Glaze Grape Juice in the natural sunlight. 

I used two coats of China Glaze Grape Juice for the base. I bought this color a year ago and never used it, but I brought it to college with me and figured it would work for this design. It definitely did! This color was gorgeous. A little bit darker than the bottle color, and the color had a very nice shimmer.

Cast of characters. From left: My 2-way nail art pen/brush, Essie Ridge Filling Base Coat, and China Glaze Grape Juice.

After I painted the base, I used my two-way black nail art pen to draw the design. I previously used the pen in my flower nail design, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how well it works!

I hope you enjoy! I have a ton of posts that I've been writing, some product reviews. And next for nail art, because my nails have been weak and I've had to constantly stick my hands in bleach water, I'll be doing some gel nails. Also, a list of polishes that I brought with me to college!

Rakuzen

B.liv by Cellnique Review

This review has been a long time in the making, so I'm glad that I can finally put it up. Today I'll be reviewing some products from the B.liv line from Cellnique.



First up, some of the Dullness Cessation, Bright is Right Pearl Brightening Masks from their website. They asked me for a few of my "problem areas" that I would want products for, so I could test their usefulness. At the time, I had been having some trouble with dull, lifeless skin and had been noticing my pores, so they sent me these masks to try.



From the website, the benefits of the mask are:

Benefits:
• Restores skin’s radiance and lightens skin 
• Nourishes the skin and makes it softer, finer, brighter and smoother 
• Accelerates the skin’s natural process of shedding dead skin cells and replaces them with new ones revealing a pure, fresh and healthy-looking skin. 
• Provides instant hydration and helps skin preserve its optimum moisture balance.

I used this mask at night as soon as I got it, because I really wanted to try it and see if it worked. This mask has a great scent, it's not too strong so I didn't mind wearing it for 20-30 minutes at all. The mask was very heavy because it had so much liquid, so it was nice to lay back for thirty minutes and wait for it to work its magic. And it did! After thirty minutes when I took it off, my skin was brighter and softer. Since then, I try to use it every week or every two weeks, and it works every single time, making my skin feel softer, more relaxed, and even lighter. The price on the website is $30 for 14 pouches, and that is actually a really good price for such a fabulous product. I did a quick google search and found that the My Beauty Diary black pearl masks are about $20 or so for 10 masks, and the Bright Is Right masks work way better for me than the My Beauty Diary masks. 

Price: 5/5. 

Effectiveness: 5/5

Would I repurchase? Definitely. 

Next is the I'm dryness conqueror eye mask. 

Because I'm in college and have been super busy this semester with tests, homework, and my organizations, I haven't been getting a lot of sleep, and my eyes are betraying me. My undereye circles have been really bad this semester, and my eyes have been puffy and showing my lack of sleep. After I got the eye mask, I tried it out one morning when I woke up and noticed how puffy my eyes were. 

Whatever formula B.liv has been using, they need to keep doing it. It has a very light, almost unnoticeable scent and there is a lot of serum in the masks. As you can (kind of) see from the picture, the eye masks are literally eye masks, so I kind of felt like Batman wearing it. :) And it really worked! I've tried a lot of things for my eye circles and bags, like freezing a spoon, ice cubes, cucumber masks, and all of them have been very short-term solutions, lasting for only an hour or less. But with these masks, the circles were gone for almost a week, so it doesn't have to be used daily. I use it weekly, and it really has helped, and you could probably stretch it to two weeks at a time. 

The price on the website is 7 masks for $29. Honestly, this price is kind of high just because I'm really cheap and as a college student, $29 is a lot. But for the usefulness, I definitely think that I will splurge on it, but probably only use it twice a month or something so that I can stretch the use. 

Price: 3/5

Effectiveness: 5/5 

Would I repurchase? Yes, begrudgingly, and I would try to make it last. 

The B.Liv Spots got shot anti-blemish serum. I was having trouble with scars on my face because my skin was not used to the water that they use in my dorms (it's well water or something like that), so they sent me this to fix it. 

This isn't a magical, overnight spot remover. I had to use it consistently for a week to see results. After two weeks, the marks are very faded and barely there, so I definitely think it works! The smell is a little bit strange, but it wears away after a couple of minutes. As you can see, it has an applicator at the tip, so I don't have to reach into a jar or use a squeeze tube, and it helps conserve the product. Plus, a little bit goes a long way! The site lists it as $25 for 15 mL, and I think this is super reasonable. The product works, there's a lot of product with a nice applicator, it doesn't have a funky smell. If I ever run out, I'll definitely repurchase this.

Price: 5/5
Effectiveness: 5/5

I hope you enjoyed the review! I actually got these products awhile ago, so I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to post a review. But these products are amazing. The site offers free shipping and free samples with every order, and I always love a site with free shipping. Definitely go check them out!

`Rakuzen

(This product was sent to me for review, however, all photos and opinions on this post are mine, unbiased).