Review: Jane Iredale's 24-karat Gold Dust

This is a review of a product that I was super excited to receive! It is Jane Iredale's 24-karat Gold Dust, that you can purchase in Gold, Silver, and Bronze for $13.50 from www.janeiredale.com. 

This is what I saw as soon as I opened the box. A sprig of Lavendar! I am a sucker for packaging, so this is such a nice and personal touch. Packaging make up in nice tissue paper helps too, it feels so much more elegant and you could totally send it as a gift. 

The description card that came with it,, which is a note from Jane Iredale and explains a bit about the Lavender sprig and why it was included. This is just such an awesome way to make their customers feel like a part of the family, which is something a good company should do. 

The packaging. A glossy plastic box that the compact comes in. So simple, but the gold edges on the box adds such a nice touch. 

And a little bit of a closer look. I received the bronze shade, which is beautiful. The site recommends applying it to "the eyes, cheeks and lips for a "delicately giled look" that highlights your best features" and recommends adding it to moisturizer or hair gel/leave-in conditioner to make your hair sparkle. 

I tried all three ways. It makes an awesome eyeshadow base, the color is just a bit darker than my skin tone, and the sparkle just showed through my eyeliner. Also, it's easy to just add a little bit to my eyelids in the morning if I don't have time for more make up, just to get a little bit more glitter. Putting it in moisturizer makes it like a tinted moisturizer, which is perfect for the upcoming summer! I didn't really notice it when I mixed it with my hair gel, but my friends said that there was "something different... in a good way" about my hair when I tried it, so apparently it works nicely :) 

As you might have been able to guess, this line is Olympic-Inspired. Too cool, right? This is incredibly pretty and such an awesome value. If I ever run out, I'll definitely re-purchase, and maybe try a new color. 

Rakuzen 

(This product was sent to me for review).

Ipsy Glam Bag February 2014

I just got my Ipsy Glam Bag and I love it for the most part! I am a little bit nostalgic for my Birchbox because they would put random "stocking stuffer"-esque items in it, such as a nail file, candy or a hair tie whereas there's always only beauty items in the Glam Bag. (I realize that it is a beauty subscription, but it would be nice to throw something random in.)

This is the bag that came this month. It's so cute! A cute light pink color with a white zipper and white button tag that says Ipsy. 

The card that came in it this month. February's box is love/Valentine-themed!

A box of J. Cat Beauty eyelashes and glue in EL05. 

The back of the package with instructions. According to the website, this is $3.99, which isn't bad for fake eyelashes. I have a ton of them (because I'm an impulse shopper) but I've never actually worn them. I still like having them on hand with the fantasy that some day I will dress very fancy and use them.

This is an Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base in One stick from Tini Beauty in Violette. I usually use Urban Decay Primer Potion as a base when I wear eyeshadow (which hasn't been often lately because I am lazy), but even with that my eyeshadow still smears and rubs off. So far so good with this one! Plus I like this color because I usually wear purple eyeshadow. This is $18 and the one in the package was full-sized. 

PopBeauty Plump Pout Mini in Fuschia Freesia. I love this bright pink color, I always go for bright pink or red lip products. Plus this is mostly flat, which is awesome because it makes it more portable. Happy with this! This is about half the size of the one that they sell on their website, which sells it for $16, so it'll probably run around $8.

This is a blue clay mask and activating gel that is supposed to be used weekly. I haven't used it yet because I'm cheap and want to savor it, but the reviews look good! The website sells it for $39 for six packets, so this one in the Glam Bag would be about $6.50.

Zoya nail polish in Dot. I love Zoya, but this color is such a light girly pink that I passed it on because I don't use pink nail polish that often. It's $8 for the full size on Zoya.com

Overall, this bag is worth $44.50, which is an insanely good deal, especially since I liked this month's Glam Bag. 

Hope you like it! If you're interested in signing up, here's my affiliate link:

Till next time!

Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips

Earlier last week, I mentioned the giveaway that is going on over at the Vaseline Facebook page. They are offering the chance to win a box of MarieBelle chocolates and a Vaseline LipTherapy Rosy Lips. If you haven't entered yet, I suggest doing it and soon! The contest ends at 3PM EST TOMORROW (2/12). Even if you don't win, it doesn't hurt to try! (That's how I once won $1000 in a raffle).

Anyways, Vaseline sent me their Rosy Lips to try and I 1000% recommend that you go out and buy it if you don't win. It's priced at $2.29 which makes it super affordable, and its really cute! It is 0.25 oz in a jar, which means you can toss it in your bag and go! 

(Size comparison to a quarter. It's so cute!)

This Rosy Lips edition is new, and it gives your lips a soft rose-tint while healing and softening your lips. (I would show you the product on my lips, but winter has taken its toll on me and I'll need to keep using this for awhile to soften my lips. The tint is barely noticeable, in a good way.)

Another thing is the smell. It has a rose/vanilla/red berry scent, and it smells incredible. 

So go enter the giveaway on the Facebook page, and go buy this! I'm so in love with it hehe. 

Rakuzen

Vaseline Facebook Giveaway!!

I just wanted to do a quick post about a giveaway that I found out about, just in time for Valentine's day!! Vaseline is having a giveaway on their Facebook page, where you can enter for the chance to win a box of MarieBelle chocolates and a jar of their new Lip Therapy in rosy lips!

It looks amazing! Definitely go enter for your chance to win! And stay tuned, I'll be posting a review of the Rosy Lips by the end of next week! Good luck!

Chinese New Year 2014 nails

新年快乐!! Happy Lunar New Year!

This post is actually a little bit late, but who cares! Chinese New Year lasts for fifteen days ;) the first day was on Friday, but I was too busy eating my mom's cooking and greedily collecting hong bao to care.

A first for my blog (I think). The nail art today was painted by me, but on my sister's nails! She coerced me into doing her nails for her over the weekend. Her nails/hands are about 100x prettier than mine, so really it all worked out!

The red is (surprisingly, not China Glaze Ruby Pumps) from a brand called Venique. I can't find the name because I don't have the bottle, but I highly recommend this brand! The nail polish applied beautifully. Use two coats over a base coat. 

The glittery gold is Julep Oscar. By itself, this polish is really too sheer to look good. Pictured is a few coats, just because I wanted the glitter to be more dense. With a striping brush, apply 2-3 (depending on how sparse or dense you want the glitter to be) coats on a diagonal across the tips. 

For the ring/accent figure, I offered to either attempt to draw a horse or I could write the Chinese character for horse (because it is the year of the horse and, coincidentally, her zodiac sign!), 马. Considering I draw about as well as a second grader, she wisely chose the second option. So using a striper brush and a Venique foil gold (also of unknown name), I drew the character for horse. 

Overall, the design turned out very well! I had managed to leave nearly all my red and gold (since I don't have a lot of either color) in my apartment, but somehow I managed to find the pack of nail polish that Venique sent me, so it all worked out! 

Lastly, sorry about the obnoxious watermark. I usually use Aviary, but since I haven't updated my iPad yet, I couldn't get it to download. I like this one though, plus it's super simple to use!

Up next, I'll probably post a couple of Valentine's Day designs!