Wow...

I have not been posting!! Poop lol well that is about to change. I have long since cancelled my ipsy and Birchbox and picked up a love of indies!!! Sooo I think I will start doing a lot of indie reviews! :). I am in college so we will see how long this lasts.

Birchbox March 2014 Unboxing!!

So I was thinking about doing a side by side comparison post of my Ipsy and Birchbox. But I do not like comparing them, because really the only comparison between the two are that they are both $10 a month. I sub to them for completely different reasons and expectations so I will keep them separate. I like this month's box. I have had better, but I am still very pleased with it. Here is what I got:

My Box:

First impressions: I was a little bummed that I did not get the How 'bout Them Apples cheek stain from TheBalm. That little package was so cute and I am an uber fan of TheBalm! I was also a tad disappointed I did not get any makeup products, but at the same time it is good I didn't. It's not like I need any more makeup! lol Also, 6 Products this month! Yes please! Let's begin with my favorite product of the month!

Keims Cleanshine Energizing Shampoo

LOVE THIS! This will be a repurchase! I have thin hair...cry for me later...and this just made my hair so soft and manageable. My hair has a stupid tendency to knot up at every moment. I am always brushing my hair or cutting it super short. It is so frustrating, I've been learning to kind of just let my hair go wild, but then this little beauty came into my life. LOVE IT! I wish it was foamy and sudsy, but I am not going to complain. Love it!

Air Repair Rescue Balm All-Purpose Skin Salve and Lip Balm

 I was excited for this product. This weather has been messing up my lips so bad. They are fine now, but next time they are chapped I will be running to put this on them. I did test it on my lips already, and it's definitely not a normal lip balm. I will not be using it on my lips unless I need too. The flavor was...umm...not a pleasnt one. It's not meant to be though. I will be using this on dry skin though.

Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator   

I haven't used this yet. I am excited to try it though. I like exfoliators, but I also fear them. I don't have problematic skin, so I am typically weary of trying things that might mess that up. 

Control Corrective Cucumber Bead Cleanser and Oil Free Healing Lotion 

I forgot to save the edits to this photo lol Like the Vasanti I have yet to try this, but I am excited too. I like the fact it comes with a healing lotion. 

Last but not least I received COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 For Face

 When I got this I may have groaned. I received a teeny tiny COOLA sample in my ipsy and was just not impressed at an overpriced sunblock. I change my mind about this product though. I haven't tried it yet, but I am keeping an open mind. The fact that it is tinted makes me a little more open minded. I don't wear any foundation or BB creams because I am too pale for them. I want to find something that will just give me the lightest of coverage, just to even out my skin tone and I am hoping that this will provide that.

Overall, I am very pleased with my box. I am hoping for a hand lotion for next month. I would say that at this point this is a 6/6 box, because I am excited to try everything.

Ipsy March 2014 Opening!

I have been so busy at school that I haven't had a chance to do much posting, but luckily I am on spring break!!! WOOO HOOO PARTY!!!!!....actually, no. I am just going to sleep all week lol But I have time to do my ipsy opening! I LOVED this month bag! Let's just get right into it!

My bag!

 

ARGHH I am so in love with this month's bag!

First off the bag itself, SO CUTE! I squealed when I saw the spoiler, it is so cute! I love it so much! So So So much! I am going to go and try and find some more for sale on ebay or something.

 Ok, I don't know where to begin! My favorite product has to be the Be a Bombshell eyeshadow quad in Bora Bora

Can we just talk about that blue for a bit! Like wahhhhhh! So pretty! I have been wearing these colors for the past couple of days, and I am just in awe of this palette. I am a little biased when it comes to Be A Bombshell. I adore every one of their products! The pigmentation is unreal. I use it on top of my NYX milk pencil, but I always use that as a base, even with my Urban Decay. I would highly suggest picking up this palette. It is $16 and for the $10 I paid for my ipsy bag made it soooo worth it. I love using the blue all over my lid and taking the reddish brown and blending it into my crease. I use the lighter brown as a highlight and the dark brown in the > part. 

My next favorite product was the Pacifica lotion!

 The last time ipsy gave me Pacifica they thought I needed tanning lotion and no. Just no. However, they redeemed themselves with this! I LOVE IT! It smells so good! I love the smell of coconut. It has a nice soft feeling to it and is not greasy at all. I will definitely repurchase this. Love the size of it too. Perfect for my purse.

Ipsy was giving out BareMinerals lipstick or lipgloss. I got the lipstick. 

I was a little disappointed at first when I saw I wasn't getting the lipgloss, but as soon as I saw the lipstick I was so in love...can't you tell how much I love this bag!! haha. The color is Get Ready and is so perfect! It's a very pretty browny pink. Perfect for everyday. The size! So cute and tiny! I love smaller deluxe samples. I find full size to be overwhelming I prefer little sizes. I wish ipsy sent more out. I have too much full size products....that's so strange to complain about, but it's true! 

My last product was Nicole by OPI Rougles in "On what Grounds"

I just got rid of 50 nailpolishes. No lie! I decided I had wayyyy too much so I just went through and got rid of so much. The universe is telling me no though, that I need a bigger collection! I was going to trade this, because I am not a fan of textured polishes, but the color is so pretty so I had to try it. So glad I did, I actually love it. The staying power is unreal and it feels so cool! I will definitely check out the others in the collection. 

SWATCH TIME!!!!

This was definitely one of my favorite bags in a long time and is making it very difficult for me to cancel. I am definitely sticking around for a bit after this bag! 4/4! 

Ipsy February 2014

It's my favorite time of the month again! IPSY! I received my bag on Thursday and I decided to wait until now to post it so I could try everything first....also I am lazy and kind of forgot. hehe. Let's just get right into it. 

MY BAG!

I am very pleased with my bag. I got the variations that I was very happy with. As long as I didn't get the lashes I was pretty happy with anything though. I have nothing against lashes, I tend to wear them on occasion, but I have so many pairs as it is that I really don't need any more. I guess I could say that about any makeup product though. Ehh lol

I will start with my most favorite product.

 Pop Beauty Plump Pout Lip Gloss in Peony Petal

OMG!!!! THIS! Just yes. I adore this so much! This has replaced my Marc Jacobs lip vinyl in my purse. (Side note: I am so sorry Marc Jacobs. You know I love you and literally everything you do, but I need an affair with this lip gloss, you know I will come running back to you.) The only lip gloss I tend to wear is Overprotected by Marc Jacobs or the Lip Maximizer by Dior which are both a very sheer light pink. I don't have the best luck with colored lip glosses staying on until this one. The staying power of this is unreal! The color lasted hours!! I had a slight problem with feathering, but I fixed it by pairing it with a Stila lipliner. The color is my favorite. It's darker mauve/pink kind of color. (I am an art major with a horrible sense of color lol) I love dark/grungy makeup looks and this pairs beautifully with it. It goes great with a natural look and with a dark eye look. It's a very universal color for me. By far, my favorite item in the bag. 

 My second favorite item in the bag is the City Color Be Matte Blush.

I was very happy to receive this blush. It was on my wishlist! I received Fresh Melon and the color is gorgeous! The only problem I have with this blush is that it is....wait for it....TOO PIGMENTED! I have never said that about a product before! A slight hand is almost too much. This product will last me forever, because all I need to do is lightly tap the brush on it. That is almost too much. However, I am very pale and a little goes a long way with practically all my blushes. I would highly suggest picking these blushes up. at 2.99 you cannot go wrong. I am off to pick up the other colors.

The next product I recieved was the Tini Beauty eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base in Spiced Rum

I love this color and product! I was a little weary about this at first because most cream shadows tend to crease on me so I don't bother with them. This one though is different It stayed for hours without creasing. It is such a cool product. It goes on like a cream and dries into a powder. It is a bronze kind of color which I love! I really like making a bronze smokey eye and tend to do it a lot, so this is very much welcome in my life. If you want a cream shadow with a very good staying power, I would highly recommend this. It is amazing on its own or as a base. 

SWATCH TIME!

From left to right: Pop Beauty Peony Petal, Eyetini Spiced Rum, and City Color Fresh Melon

These are all one swipe of the product. 

I also got Zoya nail polish in Odette

I am not a Zoya fan, however this one converted me. It is a very pretty muted purple. I am wearing it in the picture under a purple glitter. I was introduced to Zoya through ipsy. I do not like the others I received because I do not like nail polish that has a glitter fleck/metallic kind of texture. I only like cream and then I use a glitter topcoat if I want. I found those to be hard to apply. I like this one though! I will gladly keep this one and incorporate it into my nail polish collection. It has yet to chip on me and will gladly buy more of these polishes.

The last product I received was the Nu-Me Intense Renewel Hair Mask

I have yet to try this out, but I am so excited too! I have been getting into hair products like crazy since my hair is finally growing out (A pixie was the worst idea EVER!) I have been wanting to try this brand and product for quite some time so YAY!

I have been really contemplating on cancelling ipsy because I really need to get through the stash that I have now, but I love ipsy too much to cancel! I have decided to at least hold out until April (my birthday month) and see if they really wow me. If they don't then I feel like I need to take a break just to get through my very large makeup collection. This bag is making me want to stay forever! 

Bag worth: 5/5

I cannot say which I liked better this month: Birchbox or Ipsy? I understand they are completely different subs and I loved them both so much this month, so I think it is a tie. 

wet n wild Review

So I mentioned a week ago how I broke my makeup no-buy for the new wet n wild Art in the Streets color-icon palette. Well, I played with it the last week and I have to say over all I am very pleased with it.

The palette contains a matte purple, orange, yellow, green and purple and not just any old boring colors. No. These colors are BRIGHT! Like holy crap that is some 80's neon color bright.
EDIT: I wanted to add that these products were purchased with my own money and I am in no way affiliated with wet n wild and all opinions are my own

  

LOOK! LOOK AT THAT! Seriously, so bright and pretty!

This is the layout of the colors. I noticed on the other new palettes have labels on them on how you should wear the colors such as brow, definer, crease, etc. This is the only palette that does not have labels. I think this is because you probably should not wear all these colors at once. I have yet to try it, but it would probably be way too much. I don't want to look like a clown. 

The swatches are very pigmented on the hand

This is the swatch with just one swipe. The bottom line is over NYX Milk Pencil. They are pretty pigmented on their own, but I highly suggest you wear it with a very good base such as the NYX milk pencil. I noticed that these colors kind of lose their pigmentation when applied to the eyes. If you want a more bright color, I would also suggest applying it with your finger to get more pigmentation, because with a brush they are just not as bright. 

I created many looks with this palette that I loved. The blue in the corner of my eyes created a very nice pop of color. I am madly in love with Chicago and I am a Bears fan so I had to create a look with the blue and orange. I used the blue all over my lids and put the orange in my crease. And WOAH is that orange pigmented! I must admit that I did not go out in public with it. BUT when football starts up again I will proudly wear those colors with my jersey! 

I would highly suggest this palette and I will be buying some of the others. You cannot beat the $3.99 price tag. 

I also picked up the new Color Icon Glitter eyeshadow singles in Binge and Groupie

Binge

Groupie

Binge is a purple glitter creme and Groupie is a pink glitter creme. 

With one swipe these add a nice little glitter touch to an eyeshadow look and 3 swipes could almost make an eye look on it's own. As you can see Binge definitely has a better pay off than Groupie. To apply these I just dab my finger in the product and then tap the glitter onto my eye. It has a vaseline type base so I could not suggest a brush to use with these. I would suggest just using your finger. My only problem with these is the same problem I have with every creme base glitter that I have tried. They slide and do not really stay in place and they crease. However, these held up fairly well. I had very little creasing compared to others so I would highly suggest these if you like super glittery looks. I will be buying Vices once I can find it. Sadly, they were sold out. These are available for .99cents and you cannot beat that deal at all! 

Sorry about the eyeliner swatches. The staying power is unreal and they refuse to wipe off! haha

If you are curious about the new wet n wild collection I would highly suggest picking some up. These are the only drug store eyeshadow I like and will wear.

Sunday Club

Oh goodness it has been another week. The time seems to be flying since I have been back in school. Err, actually stuck at home thanks to all the snow. This snow can just stop already. The sun can come back into my life when ever it wants to. My picks this week are

Eyeshadow: Stila duo in Seashell and Burgundy, Urban Decay Mariposa Palette, Yaby Singles in Teal and Sandune

I really love the Yaby Teal, it is so pretty. I think I used the Stila duo maybe once. I just forget about it. If it's not in a big palette I tend to overlook it. I am so bad for ignoring my singles.

Eyeliner: Jordana Liquid Eyeliner pencil in Aqua Stone and Purple Fix, Eyeko Liquid Eyeliner Pen, Starlooks Obsidian Liner, Starlooks Amethyst Pencil

I have a review of these coming up soon. I love the Aqua one. I have been wearing it all week.

Mascara:  Urban Decay Super Curl

I am trying to use this up, So I can use some BB points to get a Full Size BadGal Lash.

Blush: Be A Bombshell One Stick In Flustered

I am terrified of this, it is so red! A little goes a LONG way.

Lippies: Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in Hot Damn, Revlon Skyline and Backstage. Marc Jacobs Lip gloss in Overprotected, Stila Lipliner in Delightful and Devoted. 

I really want to play around with some lip colors this week

Staying the Same: Too Faced Brow Envy, CG Brow Pencil, NYX Milk Pencil, UD Primer, CG Powder, and Pixi Bronzer

My picks for this week are nothing exciting. I am focusing on some blues for my eyes this week. Unless I am doing a red lip, then I will do a more natural eye look.

Birchbox February 2014 Box Opening!!

My second box from Birchbox came! Now, this is technically my first month with them. I did receive January's box, but I signed up way after the 15th cut off date. I used the Us Weekly promo code to join so I think that is why I also received January's. I am so shocked that I got my box this early! I am used to getting my ipsy bag around the 15th, so to get a box on the 8th is so exciting! 

 So, this month Birchbox did a collaboration with Us Weekly. I don't know how often they do collab boxes, or what the difference is, but I LOVED THIS BOX! I am so very pleased with it.

What did I get? Well I shall tell you *Drum Roll Please* MY BOX!

*SQUEALS WITH EXCITMENT!*

I got the three things I wanted the most! I shall start with what I was most excited about!

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner

I have been dying to try a liquid eyeliner pen forever! I did not want to have to pay a lot of money for something I am unsure I will like. I am a pencil girl, so using a liquid pen is VERY new to me. I am SO excited to play around with this. I have had a eyeliner pen on my ipsy wishlist practically every month and I never get it. It is funny to me that I finally got it in my first month's Birchbox. I should have joined a long time ago! I am very pleased with the size. It will be great to throw in my purse, and its so cute!

The thing I was also really hoping I got was the Beauty Protector Protect & Oil

 I was so very happy to see this in my box. It leaked a teeny tiny bit, but no big deal at all. The little jar is so cute and it smells AMAZING! I cannot wait to try this out. Also, the card says this was an exclusive launch. I feel so honored to be trying it first. Oh la la.

 OPI Sheer Tints in Be Magentale With Me

AHHH! Mini Nail Polish! AHHH SO CUTE! (Idk if you can tell or not, but mini things make me so happy) I love samples! This was the third thing I was really hoping to get. I LOVE OPI nail polishes. They are one of my all time favorites and to get this is very exciting. They are one of few nail polishes that do not chip. I tried it on one nail, but not a full manicure yet. I will be doing that later tonight. The card says to wear alone for a sheer bit of color or over another nail polish to get a shade shifting effect. I will be putting it on top of another color. My nails are slightly stained black from the nail polish I have on them now, so I won't do it alone

Juicy Couture Couture La La Malibu Perfume

This is another ipsy complaint that Birchbox full filled. I LOVE perfume. LOVE IT! I collect it and ipsy has NEVER sent me a perfume even though it is marked that I love it. Birchbox has me covered though! I really like the smell of this. I will throw it on my purse. 

Harney & Sons Fine Teas Wrapped Satchets Tea in Organic Bangkok and Mint Verbena

I know some people do not like receiving teas in their box, but I am A-OK with this. I love teas!! I am very exciting to try these especially the Mint Verbena one :D MHMMM

Sherlock reference: Moriar-tea. That's what people BREW! HAHA

I love everything in this box!!

Box rate: 5/5

I cannot wait till next month!

Sunday Club + No-Buy FAIL!

So, it happened. Today was the day I broke my no-buy! Well, according to my rules I didn't technically break it, but I definitely did not need any of these products. I just REALLY wanted them. I didn't even break the bank, but I still feel a little guilty. What did I buy?

The new Color Icon eyeshadow palette in Art In The Streets! OMG this palette! The minute I saw pictures of it I knew it had to be mine. 1st of all they are matte! and 2nd ORANGE! I need orange all the time in my life! I love orange, but I have no orange eyeshadow so I had to have this. I looked every where for weeks, for this. I live in a VERY small town, so finding this was like finding a needle in a haystack! I stopped in at Walgreen's, the last place, and lo and behold, there is was! So pretty! I will have reviews of it later on this week. I also had to pick up the glitter singles in Binge and Groupie. They remind me of throwback Urban Decay. I couldn't pass them up at .99cents. I have heard f Jordana, but NEVER seen them anywhere, but there was a tiny stand of it so I picked up a teal and purple eyeliner to replace my Urban Decay ones. I'm still holding on to the little nubs though! Now onto the Sunday Club. My picks this week are:

• Eyeshadow: WnW Art In The Streets Palette, Glitter singles in Binge and Groupie, Inika Eternal Marine, and WnW Walking on Eggshells palette
•  Eyeliner: Jordana 12hr Made to Last Liquid Eyeliner pencil in Aqua Stone and Purple Fix
• Mascara: Benefit BadGal Lash
• Primer: NYX Milk Pencil and Urban Decay mattifyer
• Blush: Physician's Formula Happy Booster in Natural
• Bronzer: Pixi in Summertime
• Lips: Rimmel Kate Moss in 113, Covergirl Balm in #Luv U and NYX Goddess
• Brow: Too Faced Brow Envy and CG penil in Midnight Brown
• Powder: CG Professional Powder in Fair
• Concealer: Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Palette

I am looking forward to creating some really fun looks with all these bright colors! I will have reviews on these products later in the week as well as a review on the new GladeR plug-ins customizable oil

I hope you all have a great Sunday and a great week! Have fun watching the Superbowl! Much Love, Randi

January 2014 Birchbox Opening!

So, I have been really bad at posting things since school started up again, but I got my first Birchbox in the mail and had to share what I got! I have been on the fence for quite some time about joining. I thought they sent out a lot of foils, and I wasn't really into that. After creeping on the MUT thread for awhile I realized I was wrong, but still never pulled the subscribe trigger. what finally intrigued me was the points system. There was a conversation about it on the ipsy thread and I found a promo that gave me 100 points just for signing up. I could not resist that and I finally took the bullet. I am so glad I did! I love my first box!

Now I took some pictures of what I got, and I have been unable to try anything else so this is such an unboxing/ first impression post. I did not take a picture of the pretty packaging. I was too excited to wait so I just ripped right through it. Patience was never a virtue of mine. I was very impressed in the care of packaging though. The tissue paper was a cute touch and everything was packaged so nice and not a mess. I like that they put the smaller things into the little envelope. 

MY BOX!

I am very pleased with everything in this box! I was worried at first, because there is an insane amount of variations. I was worried, but I lucked out!

I was so hoping I would get to try out the Nail Rock. Luckily, I received it! I was very thankful not to get a pinky color. I love darker nail polishes and blue is so pretty! I have a feeling I am going to make a huge mess with this, but I make a huge mess out of everything, You all should see my life! HA!

ITS SO PRETTY!!! I tend to stay away from glitter polish because its so hard to take off, so I am wondering how difficult it will be to take off actual glitter, but I am very excited to try this! I LOVE GLITTER!!!!!!! One of my tattoos actually stands for "Looking for treasures in the things that you threw, like a magpie I live for glitter, not you" So for me to receive a glitter topcoat is perfection.

I was super excited about the INIKA Mineral eyeshadow. I was looking at all the colors online and thought Eternal Marine was the prettiest color, and guess what color I got? ETERNAL MARINE!! Lucked out again! It is so pretty! 

I thought this color would be more blue, but to me it looks like a storm cloud over the ocean. It is so pretty! It is right up my alley of colors. I can see myself using this very often. I love the size of the sample too! There is no way I could use a full size, but this will give me plenty of use without feeling overwhelmed with product. 

See, doesn't it look like a strom cloud?? So pretty! This was just one swipe with my finger with no primer! It's so pigmented!

My next two products were Fekkai Brillant Glossing Shampoo & Conditioner.

Normally, I wouldn't be so excited over shampoo and conditioner, but this time I am. I have been on the lookout for a new shampoo and this smells SO GOOD! I have been feeling so blehh over my hair lately, I hope this makes it look better. I am currently growing out a pixie and it's almost to a bob length, but not quite. I'm struggling with styling it until it grows out though. Maybe some shine will make me feel better about it.

My lifestyle extra is a Reviver Dry Deodorant Wipe.

I am rather intrigued by this. It is suppose to eliminate odors on clothing and hair. I am one of those people who are always self conscious about smelling. No one has ever told me I smelled, but I take insane precautions not to. I am a perfume hoarder! haha so this will come in handy! It is going in my purse right now!

I am so very glad I signed up for Birchbox! I am looking forward to the Us Weekly collab box coming up in February! If you would like to sign up, I would really appreciate it if you used my code: https://www.birchbox.com/invite/qp6v4

I hope you all have a great Friday and weekend! Much Love, Randi

Sunday Club!

Bye bye neutrals! Welcome back darks!!! Oh, how I have missed them! I start school back this week (Unless it's cancelled due to snowpocolypse!) so I wanted to go back to looks that I am used to and can do fairly quickly, and surprisingly dark colors is what I work best with. It took me forever to do a natural look last week. My picks this week are...

• Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Ammo Palette, Mally Toasty and Goldshine Trio, Urban Decay Ecstasy, & MAC Togetherness

Can we just fangirl over Mildew in the ammo palette. I LOVE THIS COLOR! I will try and incorporate it into ever look I do this week. I use the mirrror in the Mally palette everyday but I have yet to actually use the colors! They are so insanely pigmented that I figured I need to at least give them a try.

• Mascara: Benefit BadGal Lash

I am back to this mascara. It is definitely my HG now. I never had a HG until now. The Urban Decay mascara held a curl wonderfully for me, but I just prefer this one

• Blush: Be a Bombshell Sweet Cheeks

My first ever blush and one of my all time favorites!

• Primer: Urban Decay Mattifying Gel, Revlon Eye Primer, and Pixi Poreless and Flawless

This is my final week with the Revlon primer, used up or not it's going to get tossed. I want to use my NYX milk pencil and I have already had it for awhile

• Eyeliner: Urban Decay Zero and Corrupt, Starlooks Amethyst, and Wet N Wild Silver Blue

My Urban Decay ones are down to the nubs and it makes me so sad!!! But I use an eyeliner brush to make them last. The Wet N Wild pencil might also get tossed.

• Lips: Revlon Peach Parfait, Hard Candy Lip Stain, Sonia Kashuk Matte Lip Crayon in Pinky Nude with Buxom Dolly

Peach Parfait is also getting tossed at the end of the week. I have had this for over a year and it is almost finished. It is time to part ways.

• Perfume: Princess by Vera Wang

This used to be my favorite perfume and it is almost finished.

• Same as last week: CG Lip Smoochies, Brow Envy, Pixi Bronzer, CG Powder, Sonia Kashuk Concealer

I hope you all have a great Sunday and a great week! Much love, Randi

Review! Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle Masque

As promised I said I would have a review for the Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle Masque today, and I do!

I received this product for free from PINCHme, a website where you get to try sample products for free, I am not paid for my opinion and all opinions are my own! 

This masque came in a brochure like envelope with some information about the company and some testimonials. The first thing I noticed when I looked at this was the statement on the back:

"We're vegetarian and animals are our friends- that's why we don't bash bunnies or add bits of animals!"

I have been a vegetarian for 3 years and cruelty free products are a major plus in my book. I must admit that I am not sure if all my cosmetics or beauty products are cruelty free. I have not been buying much makeup, but if I do I have been keeping an eye out if it is cruelty free or not.

 

This products says it is

"Loaded with strawberry goodness which leaves skin hydrated &refreshed . Allow your skin to breath with soothing Aloe Vera & Calming Vanilla for purified, toned, smoother skin. Cleanse with this treat weekly"

Let me tell you what, this product definitely smells like a Strawberry Smoothie. I was a little nervous at first to use this because Strawberry is not a favorite scent of mine but I want to lick my face! It smells delicious! There was a warning though that says "looks and smells delicious but please DON'T EAT" So unfortunately I cannot eat it, but I am going to go out and get some strawberry yogurt later! It even looks like yogurt...

This product is very easy to use. All you have to do is cleanse your face and apply the masque all over and then you have 15-20 minutes to relax and try not to eat your face hehe. 

For science I am going to share this pic....FOR SCIENCE!!

  I tried not to get it in my eyebrows, but I failed. LOL 

I love the feeling of this masque, it is very relaxing. I'm not typically a stressed out person, but this is a nice little pick me up for when I'm feeling a little down. I feel like I am at a spa! It has a little bit of a tightening feel to it, which I weirdly like. Now time to wash off!

This left my skin feeling very soft and refreshed. It was fairly easy to wash off. It was starting to get a little cake-y so that made it a little bit harder to wash off, but a few swipes with the wash cloth got it all off. The only problem was that some of the little exfoliator seeds did not want to come off. Also, if you have a nose ring like myself I would suggest not putting the product any where near it. It was difficult to get it off the ring. My skin type is normal and I do not have acne or oily skin so I could not tell you how well it would work with those skin types, but it worked really well for me. I prefer their paper masques more though. It is less messier, but this product provides a different spa like feeling.

Would I repurchase this product: Oh, Definitely! I definitely will!

I hope you all have a great Saturday! Much Love, Randi

 

 

Birchbox!

Just wanted to write a quick little post saying that I just signed up for Birchbox! I am so excited to add another subscription box to my life! I'm not going to get anymore. 2 is plenty for me. I only signed up for the point system though. The samples will just be an awesome bonus! I cannot wait to get my first box and start reviewing it!

Friday Favorite/ Review

It looks like that time of the week again! I didn't really try out any new products this week so I don't have a new new favorite but I still have 2 favorites that I really loved this week. One is a beauty product the other is not. So without further delay I will get right into and say my first favorite of the week was something I received in the mail this week and already fangirled over and it is...

MIKA Songbook Vol. 1!

This CD is really the bee's knees. The cat's moew, or whatever saying that has a positive connotation. I could listen to that man's voice for an eternity and be just as happy the 100 millionth time hearing it than I was the 1st time. The duet he sings with Chiara is amazing. Stardust was perfect when only he sang it, but I love that he turned it into a duet! It's so pretty! It is definitely worth a check out on YouTube *wink wink* 

MOVING ON!

My next favorite of the week was...

Dior Rose Collection Palette!

Before I talk about this I would just like to state that this was a birthday present to me from my parents. This was not provided by Dior and all opinions are my own!

This was a part of the Sunday Club for me, because I just do not show it love. I have regretted waiting this long to use it though. It just screamed boring to me because the colors are very light compared to the black and some more black that I am used to. However, I was feeling like doing a more natural look this week (I cheated though! But shh) and this palette helped me create that! Can we just talk about the packaging for a second though

 

How cute is this palette!?!!?! It even has a Dior charm on the top. I am a packaging girl. If it has boring packaging I won't want it This is probably by far the cutest palette I have in my collection.

Ok, now to the inside! 

So as you can see the contents are 4 eyeshadows, 2 Double ended brushes, and  4 lip products with a fairly large mirror. Bonus: You get to a sneak peek of me!

Also, can you notice the pattern in the eyeshadow! It has the same quilted pattern as the case! When I first got this palette I didn't want to use it because I didn't want to ruin the pattern! The taupe color is the only one I have used enough to ruin it though.

SWATCHES!

 

 

Ok, I will be the first to admit that these swatches don't look the best. However, I am very light handed with my swatches. This was a one light sweep with my finger over the product and then on my hand. I did not use any primer. These colors would definitely pop more if you used a good white base such as a NYX Milk pencil. These colors are very pigmented on their own though. The colors from left are a shimmer white, a light nude pink, a taupe, and a dark brown. The palette has no names listed.

These are the lip swatches. From the left it is a Dior Addict High Color in a light pink, the middle two are Dior Addict High Gloss in a shimmery pink and red/pink and the end is a lip balm in a mauve color. Again, there were no color names. I really like the lip products. The shimmer pink is a gorgeous color on it's own, but I like adding it on top of a lipstick to make it shimmery. I went and bought a separate Dior Lip Gloss after I received this. 

I have not used the  brushes that came with it. I prefer to use my MAC brushes. However, I think they would be quite handy to use when I travel. They are very sturdy brushes. 

My favorite look with this palette is very simple. I use the white has a brow highlighter, I put the pink from my crease up to my brow. The light taupe is applied all over my lids, and I use a blending brush to lightly dust the dark brown into my crease. The balm is my favorite thing to use. It adds a very nice natural color to my lips. I did this look for 4 days of the week. One day I didn't wear any makeup and the day I cheated I wore loads of black. I missed my black! Hehe

Would I repurchase this product? Yes, but unfortunately I can't. It was a Limited Edition palette. I could get it off eBay but I am a little weary about buying cosmetics from there. I am not too worried about hitting pan anytime soon though. The colors are very pigmented and I know will last me for quite some time and it's not like I don't have any other palettes to use. 

I hope you all have a great Friday! Much love, Randi

 

FIRST EMPTY OF THE YEAR!

I am so excited to announce that I finally used up my first product of 2014. This may not be exciting to some, but for me it is. I have an obscene amount of makeup and skincare that it seems almost impossible for me to get through. It's a small start but I have finally finished a full size bottle of Bath & Body Works Winter Candy Apple lotion! 

It takes me FOREVER to get through lotions. I have this bad habit of forgetting to use body lotion. I never forget my face lotion though so I'm not a complete giddy goat. I have been forcing myself to remember and it has been working! I finally got through it. Now I only have 4 other Winter Candy Apples (Clearly, my favorite scent) plus a bunch more different lotions to get through. but it is a start! I have already replaced another Winter Candy Apple lotion into my night time basket and I hope to have this one finished in at least 2 months. I'm going to give myself a long time to get through that one. Plus I keep another full size in my purse to use up.

Now I stated yesterday I would have a review on the Strawberry Souffle Masque I got from PINCHme, but I was a complete giddy goat and forgot about it! I was running so far behind yesterday. I finally have a weekend off so Saturday for sure I will have that review! 

Another side note: I am going to have my dad help me design this blog better. I am excited to make this blog the best it can be. I want to add on a fashion and fitness section and he is going to help me make everything organized. He is computer literate while I on the other hand am not. So hopefully that happens soon.

I hope you all have a great Thursday! Much love, Randi

MAIL CALL!

I normally do not post on Wednesday but I had a pretty good mail day today so I figured I would share with you all that I got. My first piece of mail is not makeup or beauty related, but it made me so excited. I have been waiting for this to arrive for quite some time. What is it? I shall tell you. It is...

MIKA Songbook Vol. 1!

  

Now, I know I may be too old to be a fangirl, but I really do not care haha I love this man. I am utterly obsessed. I won't get to far into detail how much I love this man because I could literally go on and on about my experiences with him. I will just say that the first time I met him he autographed my arm and I went at midnight to get it tattooed. The second time I met him he wrote lyrics on my arm and again I was at a tattoo place at midnight getting it tattooed. I really love Chicago for that reason. You can always find a tattoo place open. I have 5 tattoos that are either written by him, his album art, or pictorial representations of his lyrics. I am that obsessed. Anyways, this was a very late Christmas present from my father. It was literally the only thing I wanted. I asked for nothing else. It is his greatest hits CD with a few new songs added that haven't been on any CD before. If you have never heard of him I highly suggest that you do and this CD would be a great start. It is quite an array of some of his bests songs mixed with some newer ones. Now I understand that $33 is a pretty hefty price tag for a CD with 15 songs on it but it is worth every penny and more!

http://www.amazon.com/Song-Book-1-Mika/dp/B00FW9HWPK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390417733&sr=8-1&keywords=MIKA+Songbook

Seriously, You will not regret this purchase!

  Ok, moving on before I babble on and on, my next mail was my ipsy replacement. I mentioned before how my Faith Aromatherapy Sugar Scrub leaked all over my bag and they were sending me a replacement. However, due to the cold weather this scrub also leaked. So that is a bummer. I'm not going to make a fuss over it though. ipsy's customer service is very nice, but I do not think it is worth an email about it a second time. Please do not take that as a negative against ipsy. It is in no way their fault. 

  The next package I recieved was my PINCHme box! It finally came in the mail!! For those of you who do not know what PINCHme is. It is a website that provides you with free samples to review. You can get up to three free samples every other Tuesday at noon. The only downside is they GO FAST! You basically need to be on at noon because they "sell" out insanely fast! I completely forgot about it this week so unfortunately I won't have another box to review for a few weeks. BUMMER! But I can at least provide a review today and hopefully tomorrow! So I received a...

A travel size Suave Advanced Therapy lotion and a Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle masque. 

   I was very happy that I got these samples in time. I am a lotion fiend. As you can tell from my earlier post that I have tattoos. I have 9 in total, 8 covering my left arm and 1 lonely one on my right so keeping my skin moisturized is very important in taking good care of them. I have A LOT of money into them and would like to keep them looking as nice as possible for as long as possible and lotion is the first step.Also,  I have tried a few masques before, but I have only tried paper masques so I am quite excited to try this one out. I am always a little weary about putting stuff on my face, but I have tried this brand before so I am not too worried. I will try it on tonight, so I won't be able to review it until tomorrow for you all. I will do a first impression review on the lotion though.

FIRST IMPRESSION REVIEW!

 

This insanely cold weather has not been a great friend to my skin. Especially my tattoos. They do not like cold weather at all. I keep in mind different aspects when reviewing a product, but when it comes to lotions one of the most important aspects for me is how well they react with my tattoos. As I stated before my arm is heavily tattooed and it is important to keep them looking and feeling nice. If they do well on my tattoos then I have no doubt how well it will work on my skin that isn't. I did a patch test on my newest tattoo, A Sherlock portrait, and I have to say for a first impression I am really impressed. It is not greasy at all, which is a major plus. I really dislike greasy lotions. If that is what you are looking for then this product isn't for you. It left my skin feeling very soft and it brightened up my tattoo as well. So I am pleased with that. It smells REALLY good too. It has the typical lotion smell, but I quite enjoy it. It smells good on my arm as well, but it is mixing in with my Winter Candy Apple body wash so I can't give a serious review on the smell quite yet. 

This product is supposed to help with severely dry skin, so tonight I will do a patch test on really dry skin and update you all with a better review, but for a first impression this is a product I would repurchase. It is really cheap too so that is a major plus!

I hope you all have a great day! with much love, Randi