Birchbox June - Jet Set

Photo  from Birchbox's website, my actual box had one slight difference*

The loot

The Box:

Comodynes Self Tanning Intensive - I really wanted to love these and I had such high hopes, but they just didn't get the job done. These literally look like a larger version of a moist towelette you would get after eating ribs and you basically just rub it all over yourself to apply the "tan". My biggest issue was that they were very moist initially, so I felt like I was getting product where I wanted to be tan, but then very quickly the towelette felt practically dry (there is no color so you have no idea where you're getting the tan). Can you guess the results? Exactly! I was tan wherever I started and patchy where I ended. I have to say that the color was really natural so I was pleased with that, but who wants to look tan on one leg and not the other (yeah it dried up before I got to my other leg).
Full Size 8 pack, $14.99; Sample Size 2 Towelettes, $3.75


Eyeko Fat Eye Stick (Black) - I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this. I believe you can simply swipe it on and go or apply it and blend/sheer it out for a smokier look. I think this would be a good product to help streamline the "smokey-eye" process, but I am notoriously bad at black/grey smokey eyes (I end up looking like a raccoon/Taylor Momsen). The product glides on easily, but it stays wet?sticky?, so I feel like you have to apply shadow for it to set and not smear all over the place during the day. I may end up playing with the black a little more, but I wish I had received this in Old Gold or Satin Taupe, because I probably would have used those every day until it was nothing but a nub.
Full Size .14 oz, $15.00; Sample Size .14 oz, $15.00


Likewise Facial Moisturizer SPF 50- I'm going to try to keep this one short and sweet. This was better than some of the moisturizers I have because it absorbed quickly and it didn't feel greasy at all under my makeup. It did have a slight sunscreen smell, but it disappeared quickly. All my makeup has SPF in it so this doesn't immediately attract me for that benefit and it's way too freaking expensive, so NO.
Full Size 50 ml, $44.00; Sample Size 5 ml, $4.40


The Balm Stainiac (Beauty Queen) - This is a gel-like product, that comes in a tube with a doe foot applicator, that can be used as a cheek or lip stain. I love my natural lip color, but I have always wanted a pink/red stain that would just brighten up my lips and last for the entire day. Yeah, this wasn't it. I hated this on my lips, it was too drying and just felt weird. I actually do like it as a cheek stain though. I tapped on a few drops and blended them in for a pretty, long lasting cheek color. The only downside to using this as a cheek stain is that when you blend it in, you're left with bright pink fingers (I'm not sure how else you're supposed to blend the product in).
Full Size .3 fl oz, $17.00; Sample Size .04 fl oz, $2.27


*Tili Bags (my bag was actually the orange/lime animal print) - It's a plastic bag! I mean I guess they come in cute colors and designs, but for as much money as I spend on ridiculous things, I just don't think I should add plastic baggies to the list. At first I really didn't know what I was going to do with this (maybe hold some snacks or lady products), but then I actually came up with a good idea. I have a travel makeup bag that I always keep a ziplock bag in for my brushes/eyeliner/mascara and now I will use this cute, more durable bag for those type of products.
Full Size 12 bags, $8.49; Sample Size 1 bag, $.71


John Varvatos Star USA - (this was included to help promote the Birchbox Man box) I really like this, although it's not exactly what I would expect I would like for the Boy's cologne. To be honest it smells exactly like one of his bodywashes, which I like but it's not usually something that lingers, unless I smash my face into his body. It's very fresh and clean and kind of amazing. I wasn't sure at first, but literally writing this I can't put it down.
Full Size 1.7 oz, $55.00; Sample Size .04 oz, $1.29

Wrap Up:

Value of the Box - $27.42

The Good -

On The Fence -

The Bad -

The Verdict -  To be honest I can't do Good, Fence, Bad because nothing is jumping out at me as amazing or awful this month. I didn't repurchase anything and the only thing, at this point, I would consider purchasing is the cologne. I may consider purchasing other colors of the Eyeko eye stick (although I don't think the colors I want are available anywhere in States anymore) or possibly Stainiac.




If you're interested in your own Birchbox click here. If you have any questions about cost or how you can earn/use points, let me know. 

NOTW - Audrey Gets Inspired by the Internet

These are a few nail art designs that I found all over the internets (blogs, YouTube, Pinterest) and decided to try for myself. Here are the results:

Effie Trinket Reaping Nails

The Polish: 

     Purple: Zoya - Reagan

     Gold: Color Club - Disco Nap

 

The Process: I started with my few day old Reagan mani and decided to extend it with gold tips. I painted the gold polish onto the end of a cosmetic sponge and began dabbing it on the tip of my nail. I focused on the tip first to get the gold opaque and then moved gradually up the nail. When there was just a little gold left on the sponge I dabbed it all over the nail to get very subtle gold gradient.

The Inspiration: To be fair there are a bunch of YouTube tutorials out there and plenty of versions on Pinterest, but here are the first two that I saw: julieg713, cutepolish

White On Black Half Moon Mani

The Polish: 

      Black: China Glaze - Liquid Leather

      White: Sally Hansen - White On

      Glitter: Kiss Nail Art Paint - Silver Glitter

The Process: This is actually one of the simplest nail art designs to work with and it's so easy to change it up and play with different colors/combos. First, I painted all my nails black (I suggest using an opaque-in-one-coat polish so there is less drying time). After the base polish is dry, I placed one of those hole reinforcement stickers, cut in half, on each nail covering as much of the black that I want to be exposed at the end of the mani. I then painted the tips of each nail white and let that color dry almost completely before removing the stickers. The nice thing about adding the glitter is that if there are any imperfections after pulling up the stickers, the glitter will cover it.

The Inspiration: I got this idea from a pin I found during one of my first browsing sessions through Pinterest, and here is the link to the actual blog post from Let them have Polish!

AMERICA!!!!!!!

The Polish:

     Red: Sinful Colors - Ruby Ruby

     White: Sally Hansen - White On

     Blue: Sally Hansen - Pacific Blue

     Glitter: Essie - Set in Stones 

     Stars: Michaels Confetti Stars (I actually only found white stars in the "It's a Girl" confetti pack so I got 

        those, but I also bought a pack of multi-color stars)

The Process: My version of this began by painting by thumb and index finger blue and then painting the rest white. I waited for my nails to be fairly dry before I started the actual nail art process. I had some blank sticker labels laying around, so I cut those into strips and placed a couple on my pinkie and middle finger. I painted the entire nail red, after it dried I pulled off the strips to uncover the white underneath. Just to add a little sparkle, I topped my ring finger with some glitter (basically one coat, with a couple glitters strategically placed). On to the stars, I put a dab of clear polish where I wanted the stars and placed them around the nail. To be honest I would do this differently if was ever going to put stars on my nails again. I needed to push the stars into the blue polish more and they needed to be shaped a little so they actually fit the curve of my nail and didn't stick out and scratch the bejezzus out of everything.

The Inspiration: This design comes from MissJenFABULOUS, you can find her info on this design on YouTube, her Blog, or Pinterest.

NOTW - Reagan, Don't Touch My Tutu!, Blue-Ming

Zoya - Reagan

Reagan - Zoya you are definitely out of the dog house***. Initially I wasn't super interested in the Beach/Surf collection, but then Zoya had a really good deal and I decided to take advantage. I ended up getting two polishes (Zuza, Kimber) from the Surf group (shimmers) and one polish (Reagan) from the Beach group (creams). Zoya shimmers have given me some trouble in the past, but I didn't seem to have any problems with these, and as expected the cream applied like a dream. I love this color, I mean I know I like purples, but this has a lot of pinkish/red. I couldn't stop looking at this color, it's just so different from anything else I have.

OPI - Don't Touch My Tutu!

OPI - NYC Ballet Mini Collection

Don't Touch My Tutu! - I almost don't know why I bought this mini collection. OPI minis are reeeeeaaaalllly small and after I swatched them I thought I would never use them because they are extremely sheer. Why I think I may like them now: it's like a subtle, easy french mani using only one polish. The above pic is at least 3 coats (it might be 4 I can't remember now), and you can clearly see my nail lines, but that's obviously the pointe (har, har). I hate sheer colors that show my nail lines, but because these aren't bright colors I actually like the effect. The mini collection comes with a grey, white (pictured), purple, and a glitter top coat. I practically used half the mini to get the look I wanted so I may buy a full size or I might try the sheer pink. I feel like the grey might look too dirty and I will probably love the purple, because I'm me. Sadly, the glitter dried out, which I have never experienced with a polish, so I guess I won't be using that again (although it wasn't that special so I'm sure I can make do with any of the other glitters in my collection).

Color Club - Blue-Ming

Blue-Ming - Love love LoVe lOvE LOVE! The pic is with the flash so I think it shows up a touch more blue than real life, without the flash it was a bit on the green side. This is just a really gorgeous minty, Tiffany-esque, blue/green. The reason it's topping the favorites list is that is bright, not neon bright but also not dirty, dusty looking like CG For Audrey or CG Aquadelic. I got a lot of compliments on this color, I think because it's just such a beautiful color, it's flattering, and it's right on the current mint trend.



*** First, Zoya posts a lot of deals and coupons on their Facebook page, basically the reason I decided to get any of the Beach/Surf collection polishes. Second, they have a share the love program that gives you points for sharing links or posting things on Facebook and those posts can be redeemed for additional deals. Third, whenever you order from Zoya you get free stuff, for small purchases it's usually just color spoons of the collection you purchased from, but when you start spending more you get better freebies (mini Remove, Qtica sugar scrubs).

NOTW - Celtic Sun, Henley Regatta, Disco Biscuit

 

China Glaze - Celtic Sun

Celtic Sun -I'm shocked but I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know what took me so long to fall in love with neons, but I did and it is a love like no other. I started with neons that I thought were more "normal" (pink, coral, aqua). Then I finally jumped in the deep end with highlighter yellow....fun. As I have mentioned before, the other CG bright yellow I own is awful in comparison to this awesomeness. As with all other neons, I started with a coat of an opaque white. Not so typically with neons, I decided to use Seche Vote as a top coat and, like I expected, it did darken the color making the highlighter yellow have a neat greenish cast that I really ended up liking.


I have been lusting after a couple of Butter London polishes for quite some time. Every time I passed them in Ulta I would always pick them up and debate whether they were worth the $14 and each time I would put them back, not quite being able to justify adding at least $28 to my already ridiculously high Ulta bill (I think I could single-handedly keep an Ulta open in Southwest Michigan). But thankfully the Boy pays attention and got me my two most wanted for my bday: Henley Regatta and Disco Biscuit. While I do like the colors, I don't feel like the quality is as high as I would have expected for a polish that is more expensive for less product than other "salon" quality polishes ($14 for 11ml vs $8 for 15ml).

Butter London  - Henley Regatta

Ooooooo Glitter!!!!!!!!!!!

Henley Regatta - I wanted to show a couple different facets of this polish. The first picture makes the polish look grainy, which it isn't, although it is very glittery. That's what the second photo is for, I wanted to show the multi-colored glitters. What I loved about this polish was the main aqua glitter with all the turquoise/teal/royal blue/silver glitter dispersed throughout. What I didn't love was the application, the problem was that this polish is really just multi-glitter in a clear base so each layer is fairly sheer. When I wear this again I will definitely start with a layer of an aqua polish (prob one mentioned in a previous post) and then layer this glitter over top. The pictures above are 3 layers with a top coat, and then I wasn't satisfied so I did another layer, again with a top coat. I really did love looking at this shimmer in the sun, I'll just have to work with the polish differently next time.

Butter London - Disco Biscuit

Disco Biscuit - For so long I only wore pink and red nail polishes, then I would only wear anything but.  Now, with all the great summer neon and polishes like this, I'm slowly starting to get back into pinks. I love the subtle blue glitters/shimmer. I have to say this is a really pretty color, but I hate that it was so sheer. I think the above pic is 3 coats and you can still see my nail lines. And another strike against DB is that it chipped super fast. Sad :(

Based on my Butter London experience I don't know that I will be purchasing many more, unless there happens to be another color that I just can't stop picking up.

NOTW - Weekend Nails 2

Continuing to be ridiculous on the weekend.

Kitty, Kitty 

 

As you might have guessed based on some previous nail art attempts, I did not paint these nails myself. This wasn't the first set of Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips that I had purchased, but these were the first that I have actually used. I wanted something fancy, but I didn't have a lot of time to experiment and wait for my nails to dry, so these really fit the bill. They weren't too difficult to put on and there was no drying time (although I did put on a top coat, just to extend the mani). The only thing I didn't like was that the directions told you to stretch the strip over your nail, but I felt like it ended up shrinking and then my nail was showing around the polish. OK so there was one more thing I didn't like. You can remove these strips just using regular remover but it was a bit more difficult than that. The gold background removed easily, but the brown spots flecked all over the place and my fingers looked crazy. *Note - Kitty, Kitty really is the name of this pattern*

Sunset Over the Ocean

My attempt at a ocean/beach/sunset/palm tree/summer design. As I was doing this I think I was a little focused on the details and didn't see the big picture until the end; next time I would actually blend between the colors a bit more so there is actually a more obvious gradient, not just stripes.

The Process:
1. Started by painting by nails white (Sally Hansen - White On).

2. I used triangle cosmetic sponges to apply the rest of the polishes. I cut each one in half (the long way, if that makes sense), so that each large end is about the size of one nail. For my thumb I used an uncut sponge.

3. I started the actual sponging by painting a yellow stripe (Sally Hansen HD - Lite) at one end of the sponge and dabbed it at the base of the nail.

4. Followed the yellow with a pink stripe (Zoya - Kimber) on the sponge, even allowing them to overlap a bit. As I was dabbing the sponge on my nail, I lined the pink up just below the yellow. Like I mentioned before I would actually blend them into each other more by over lapping the pink over yellow and yellow over pink, to make a nice sunset orange.

5. Finally I repeated the previous step with the aqua color (Zoya - Zuza). The only difference was that after I lined up the sponge and layered the pink and aqua, I painted aqua on the edge of the sponge and dabbed some more polish on just the tip so I could get the color as opaque as I wanted.

6. Using a black striper I painted a palm tree on each of my thumbs. There wasn't a whole lot of technique here. I started with a little black mound, painted a curved line for the trunk, at the top of the tree I made an uneven circle for the palm fronds to come out of, finally each side of the tree got about four fronds of varying lengths.