MyGlam / Ipsy February 2013 Sneak Peek

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Ready for the Ipsy February 2013 bag? I know I am!

It's 1/29/13 and I just found a blurred spoiler picture. I'll update this post as actual spoilers from Ipsy are released, but I found this picture posted by IPSY on their website.


Coastal Scents - Eye Shadow Quad
Pop Beauty Lash Kapow Duo Mascara

Lash Cards

Pixi Flawless & Poreless
MicaBella/MicaBeauty Black Gel Liner

Nail Polish Rings

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I ran across an indie nail polish company posting about a nail polish ring. I had no clue what she was talking about but the ring was gorgeous! After some googling I found out they are super easy to make so I bought the expandable rings with the glass inserts. Here is what I came up with so far.




Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix

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This isn't beauty related, heck its probably anti-beauty related but I have to share.

Yesterday MG and I took our bi-monthly trip to Sam's Club for cat food (we might have a few cats) and I saw THIS on an end cap. It claimed it was a Sam's Club exclusive for $5.98. That's three batches of 10 biscuits for basically $6. But you need 1/3C of butter and a good amount of cheddar cheese.

MG made these tonight with the salted butter we had on hand. It was a bit on the salty side...probably because of the salted butter, but it was AWESOME.

If you see this and love the biscuits at Red Lobster, BUY it! It really is almost like going to the restaurant.

Here's the shot of what was left of our batch:


Nail Bliss Halloween Appliques Oh My Goth

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Nail Bliss Halloween Appliques "Oh My Goth" after 48hours


I finally got around to using the nail applique I bought at Halloween from Sally's Beauty (Nail Bliss Halloween Appliques Oh My Goth).

This is the second Halloween nail appliques I've bought. The first was a cheap set of red flames (by Wet N Wild I think?). I got what I paid for. Those original ones were unwieldy and...well, cheap.

This set of appliques by Nail Bliss went on much easier. For the most part they fit my nails well. They looked really nice. BUT they lasted less than twenty-four hours before they began peeling. 

I didn't do dishes or anything terribly strenuous with my nails apart from showering. Though they claim to last several days, these most certainly did not.

I'm not sure if that's typical, if its a problem with that brand, or if its me. I'll probably try one more set from a different brand before I make up my mind.

Anya's January Birchbox

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Here's what is in my January Birchbox:

  • Deborah Lippmann the Stripper to go
  • theBalm® cosmetics Hot Mama Shadow & Blush All-in-One
  • My™ Multi-Purpose Mattifying Moisturizer
  • amika Color pHerfection Shampoo
  • Harvey Prince Skinny Chic

theBalm® cosmetics Hot Mama Shadow & Blush All-in-One


The interior
The swatch (on top of Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer)
Granted, the lighting on this isn't the best but it wasn't terribly bright in any lighting. I can't imagine this color would work well as a eye shadow on my complexion but it should be good for blush/shimmer. It had a faint goldish hue to it that was nice.


Deborah Lippmann the Stripper to go

Nail Mitt Before

The package claimed it was a "lavender nail lacquer remover finger mitts." It had a very faint floral scent beneath the usual acetone scent.  I tested this out on the manicure you see in the thebalm photo two above.



Here's the result. It did clear off all ten nails pretty well. But for $2 a pop (6 for $12), I think I'll stick with my bottle of nail polish remover--even at the loss of the faint floral scent.

Harvey Prince Skinny Chic


This is a nice sized perfume sample. Skinny Chic isn't an overpowering scent. The package describes it as: "Green Apple, Sweet Mint and Warm Amber" I don't notice any mint (which is a good thing) but the combination of green apple and warm amber is lovely. I will definitely use up this entire tube :)

My™ Multi-Purpose Mattifying Moisturizer


While this moisturizer did cut down on shine and it did seem to moisturize, it made my skin burn a little at first. The scent was nothing to write home about. At $68 a tube, there is no way I'll be buying this.

amika Color pHerfection Shampoo

I've yet to try this product... I'll do a specific post about it if it turns out to be amazing ;)

January Beauty Samples - Hourglass Veil Primer & YSL Shocking Mascara

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Lately it seems as though I've ordered something from Sephora every month (with good reason, I HAVE). But I have an excuse this time (don't I always).

My blog mate here at N@N Melissa told me that one of the beauty points rewards available was a deluxe sample of Hourglass's Veil primer. I'd been contemplating buying the small tube simply to try it. Getting it free was an even better idea. I only had to decide what to order. She was even super awesome and gave me a $5 Wrapp GC toward the cause.

hourglass mineral veil primer (pictured above)

The hourglass primer isn't the magical cure-all I'd hoped I'd find...and now am beginning to think I NEVER will.

However I will put it up there in my top 3 or 4 primers (along with Smashbox's Photo Finish, Korres Quercetin & Oak Age-reversing Primer and MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microperfecting Primer)

Yves Saint Laurent "Shocking" Mascara (below)


Here's the macara itself:



I also scored this Yves Saint Laurent "Shocking" Mascara freebie. The package was so neat that I had to take a photo of it. It was setup like a perfume sample package but a bit larger. And VERY shiny. Ooooh, shiny.

The mascara clumps a little but not too badly. It does what it says it does--lengthens. And even better, it doesn't dry or irritate my eyes like some of the other brands I've sampled. 

This is great for a freebie but I'm not sure its worth $30 for a full-size tube. Not when Benefit's is just as good for a mere $10.

So there you have it. Thanks for reading! <3

Anya's Jaunuary Ipsy

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My Ipsy bag this month includes:
  • SOHO Beauty "Crease Brush"
  • big sexy hair "Spray & Play" Voluminizing hairpsray
  • Pacifica Body Butter - Tuscan Blood Orange
  • Josie Maran Argan Oil
  • Nailtini "Bloody Mary"
All inside a cute black bag with a blue and white star interior.

The brush looks sweet (though I have something that looks like it in my NAKED2 palette).

I never spray my hair so I doubt the big sexy hair spray will get used.

The body butter smells nice and citrusy. 

The Argan Oil is 100% and has instructions for using it on your face, hair and/or body. It doesn't have much of an odor either way which is fine by me.

I was thrilled to find the Nailtini polish this time was a creme rather than a glitter. It coats very well. I haven't tried stamping with it but I imagine it will rock. 


Here's a shot of it:
"Bloody Mary" with Essie's "No Place like Chrome" on top.


Finally a red polish I LIKE! Thank you, IPSY <3

Garnier Olia "Light Intense Auburn" a.k.a. hair-dyeing with my guy

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My roots have started peeking through so when I saw this new Garnier color on an endcap in Target, I was intrigued. The side panel says "A new sensorial experience" that claims to have a "Pleasant fragrance". Permanent color that smells pleasant? Yeah right.

The pretty bottles pictured on the side also were a factor in my decision.



The back claims this is "The 1st oil powered permanent home haircolor"

I should probably understand why that's significant, shouldn't I? All I know is I'm a fan of Garnier's other home hair colors so I was eager to try this one because it promises to improve and restore hair. My hair needs some improving and restoring.

--------------------------------------------

I opened the box and called my trusty hair color assistant, my guy (MG) in to help me. He took one look at the bottles I called "pretty" and declared, "I don't like it. It has an unholy receptacle."

The gloves come in this tiny, packet.


And they're black. My guy put them on and said, "I feel like I should take you to my kill room."


And of course when he saw this upon twisting the tip off, he quipped, "It blew its load."


Bored while he applied the color, I read the instructions aloud, "Wear gloves provided in kit, even if you have way cooler ones. For any question relating to your individual sensitivities or specific allergies, consult a doctor because he has been stalking you for six years."

About the dye application:

This package had about the same amount of solution has other Garnier. My hair is getting long to the point where we use up the whole bottle. We recently tried the newly improved Feria color and it came with a ton more solution that this one had.

MG says the Olia dye stains my skin much faster/easier than any of the regular home dyes we've used. It did drip more--closer to a vegetable dye consistency.

We didn't notice anything particularly good or "sensorial" about the scent. It was pretty standard for home-based dyes these days (many come with aroma packets now).

MG liked that the gloves didn't tear at the seams between his fingers like all of the other included gloves but he said they were slippery when wet. He had trouble clipping my hair up off my neck because he couldn't hold onto the clip. So...he said they wouldn't work for a Dexter-esque use ;) You know, if that sort of thing is important to you in your sub-ten-dollar-home-dyes.

End Result:


Photo WITHOUT the Flash on (this is what it looks like under fluorescent):


Photo WITH the Flash on (chances are its only this bright in direct sunlight/flash):


Findings:

The color on this isn't brilliant and MG ended up missing A LOT of hair beneath the top layer. He's usually pretty good about that. I can only guess it's because he ran out of solution. So all of the drippy stuff didn't end up dripping much.

My hair doesn't feel improved. Although it doesn't feel as horrible as it did after using a $3 box dyes. 

Given the need for more solution, I think we'll try Feria again next time.

Thanks for reading!

UPDATE Feb 2013 -- MG bought me another box for a touch up prior to a trip. We used it again. It was just as bright the second time. HOWEVER, on that trip I used some white towels. They came away stained orange, every night. For well after two weeks following the application. So be careful, this dye does stain even though the water runs clear.


Free Zoya Nail Polish

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Want to get 3 FREE Zoya Nail Polishes? Visit their website and pick your 3 polishes then enter CODE: ZOYA2013 at check out.
Promotion excludes their Spring 2013 (PixieDust and Lovely) colors & Treatments. Shipping & Handling charge ($10) will be applied.


January Perfume Samples - Atelier, Clean, Paco Rabanne

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My Latest Perfume Samples are as follows: 
  • Atelier "Orange Sanguine"-- I adore the Atelier "Rose Anonyme" cologne sample I got from Birchbox so when presented with a chance to try another scent, I couldn't pass it up. 
    • This one definitely has a citrusy cast to it. I like the rose better but this one will do in a pinch. It would be a nice summery scent.
  • Clean's "Rain" -- During a trip to Sephora in Ohio, I got a sample of Clean's "Skin" and liked the fresh scent. I jumped at the chance at another of their brand.
    • Ooh Rain is lovely. I'm really liking Clean so far. Now I want to try MORE.
  • Paco Rabanne's "1 Million" sounded snooty so I got it for MG, not that he's particularly snooty.
    • I can't describe this one. It smelled nice in the spritzer but when I sprayed it on my guy, it went...strange. Musky with notes I couldn't figure out. This one is not for me/us.



Julep Box January - Neons & Nudes

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This month's Julep box is Neons and Nudes.

As usual I got the IT Girl Box. It featured:
  • Nina (orange neon)
  • Nikki (yellow neon)
  • Amelia (Pearly "nude")
I was excited for the neons and even considered ordering a green add-on. Thankfully I didn't. 

My hope was that the neon polishes would cover in one coat (without a basecoat)--thus being useful for stamping. They don't.

HOWEVER, the box came with three neon hair ties/ribbons and a sheet of their "Swatch Me!" Stickers. I'm totally addicted to these elasticy ribbon ties so I was thrilled to get some extras in neon.

Here's a swatch of these three: my index finger nail had 2 coats, all others had 1 coat.



Mel's Mani

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I painted my nails and my boyfriend said "uhh you should decorate them". So this is my attempt at decorating my nails with nail art stickers I got on clearance at Sallys.

PS: Excuse the mess - I'm waiting on my nails to dry (and I'm lazy) before I clean up.