Friday, November 29, 2013

Lip Factory Review November 2013!!

Today I have my Lip Factory review for you guys! I haven't been subbed to them for a couple months, but I remembered that November was their All about Lips month, so I had to resub!

Lip Factory is $22 a month and they send out all full size products, with a focus on the lips. So you will always get at least 2, I think it is, lip products a month. And in November and March they have All About Lips months, where all you get is lip products!


This is what their boxes look like.


The information card. These are probably my favorite information cards ever! They talk about the products and have pictures and they are just really nice!


The first item is a Palladio Herbal Lipstick in Petal Pink. This goes for $6.49. I haven't opened this yet, since I might end up giving it as a stocking stuffer. I have so many lipsticks in this shade and I think I tried a Palladio product before and wasn't a big fan (however I'm not sure and I'm going to have to check my stash to make sure that I'm thinking about the right thing.) The color does seem to be a really pretty pink though!


The next item is a Designer Skin Lip Shimmer in Berry. This goes for $7.30. This is a nice berryish pink color that I love! I do already have a couple other shades of this, that I also happen to have gotten from Lip Factory, but I do really like them! The colors on these are really nice and they aren't super sticky. Plus I'm pretty sure I don't have any other colors like this, so that's a win!


The next item is a Model Co Lip Couture Lipstick in Sunset. This goes for $17. I love Model Co's lipsticks! They don't dry out my lips and the colors are so pretty and pigmented! Plus I love the little mirrors that are on the side! The color I got is a nice orangey red color that would look really nice with a neutral brown eye.


The next item is a Medusa's Makup Lipgloss in Rumors. This goes for $8. I actually received a Medusa's Makeup shimmer powder in my Vegan Cuts box, so I was excited to be able to try more from the brand. And now I'm officially obsessed! I recently bought a ton of their glitters and I can't wait to get them so I can play with them. Medusa's Makeup is more of an indie brand, which I do like about Lip Factory, they seem to feature quite a few smaller brands. I haven't tried this gloss yet, but this does smell like grapes and it is a pretty purple color with an iridescent sheen to it. Also just from looking at it, it does look quite pigmented.


Then there was another item by Medusa's Makeup and that is one of their lipsticks in Rio. This goes for $12. I love their packaging! It is edgy, but girly at the same time and it is so cool! This lipstick is amazing! I don't know why I ever bought Lime Crime lipsticks, when this one is not only cheaper, but it's just as pigmented and I like how this one smells better. This one smells like oranges.


The last item is a retractable lip brush. The card says this is valued at $3.88. I love this brush. I think it has a super cool design and it would be great to throw in your purse or for traveling! Plus I can always use more lip brushes, since I don't even think I owned one before this one.


All totaled my box has a value of $54.67. That's a great deal since I only paid $22 for the box. I think the first All About Lips box that I got last March was a bit better then this one, but I do prefer their all about lips months to their regular monthly boxes. I think they are way more fun! I really like all the products I got and I am so excited that I got to try out more Medusa's Makeup. I may or may not get Lip Factory next month, but I would still totally recommend them, since they are a pretty good sub. Especially if you are interested in getting more full size makeup over sample sizes.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Glossybox Review November 2013!!

Hey guys! First off happy Thanksgiving! I'm not really going to be doing much. Some of my family came in from out of town and we are all going to be at my parent's house. I'm also super excited for shopping, since I've saved up quite a bit of money. I'm ready to go crazy, for Gabe's presents that is! (Plus Kmart has a bunch of awesome bogo free deals, that I can't wait for!)

Today I have a Glossybox review for you guys. I actually wasn't planning on getting a box this month, but my aunt got two, so she gave me one.

Glossybox is $21 a month and they say they will deliver five luxurious full and deluxe size beauty items every month!


This is what their boxes look like. These are probably the best boxes any subscription service has. They are a great size and super sturdy. I've been getting Glossybox for almost a year and I haven't gotten rid of a box yet since they are great for storing things in!


This is their information card. The theme this month is Holiday Romance, which I never really understand the themes, and this month is no different since I don't think this box is holidayish or romantic.


The first item I got is a Jelly Pong Pong 2 in 1 Eyeliner and Shadow. This is full size and goes for $17.12. I guess I got it in Steel, which should be grey, however even when I swatch it, it looks green to me.


Doesn't that look green? Anyway, I love the color and I really like the formula of this! I probably won't be using it as a shadow since the pencil is more eyeliner like, but I do like it as an eyeliner and I could totally seeing myself buying this in black to replace my Avon eyeliner, since the Jelly Pong Pong one is cruelty free! (:


The next item, and the reason why I wasn't planning on getting this month's box, is an Emite Makeup Eye Shadow in Dams. This is full size and goes for $25.48. I have pretty much zero reason to wear black eyeshadow,so I don't see myself using this a ton. However I might use it to help set my eyeliner, but I'm still pretty meh about this product overall.


The next item is a Mastey Color Protection Leave in Oil Treatment. At first I thought this was a sample, but apparently it's full sized and it goes for $25! I don't really like oil treatments, so this will be passed on to someone who will love it.


The next item is an Aloe Source Jojoba Radiance Cleansing Polish. This is 1 oz and goes for $4.47. I've already used this, since I'm a huge Aloe Vera fan (I have a giant aloe vera plant in my house) and I really liked it. It seemed to do a good job of cleaning my skin and it left my face feeling nice and clean. I'm not sure it was $30 worth of like, but I did really like it!


The last item is a Nicka K Angled Shadow Brush. This goes for $4.99. I love that they included a brush. I always seem to misplace brushes and this one is super nice and soft. I've tried other things by Nicka K and liked them and this brush is no exception. It's pretty awesome. If your interested in trying out this brand check out TJ Maxx/Marshalls. I've gotten some face wipes from there (which are cheap and awesome) and I think they may have had some of their other items there as well, but I'm not sure.


Overall my box has a value of $77.06. Yes that's a great value, and while the items I really enjoyed were over the cost of the box (the brush, face polisher, and eyeliner) I just wasn't super in love with this box. Usually I don't look at subs like well do I really need more eyeshadow, but looking at this box it's like well the things I like did I really need them? I'm glad this was just a gift, because I wasn't super thrilled with this month either. I think I'm just over Glossybox and unless the December spoiler is awesome I doubt I'm going to resub in the near future.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Madison Street Beauty Review!!

Hey guys! So a couple weeks back I was aimlessly surfing through the Etsy makeup section and I saw that Madison Street Beauty was having a 60% off sale (which it looks like it is still going on!) They have thousands of good reviews, so I decided to buy a grab bag (because who can resist a surprise) and a nail polish.

This post is pretty much just a review on what I bought.


My nail polish came wrapped nice and secure in a little box.


The nail polish that I bought is Forest Nymph. It was only $2 for a mini bottle! I loved this polish. It is a beautiful brown with a green duochrome. It applied so so easily, however it chipped really badly! Like within a day of not really doing much besides shopping it was chipped so bad that I had to take it off. If your someone that changes their nail polish every day I'd really recommend checking them out, but if your like me and need your polish to last at least 3 days, I wouldn't recommend.


Now onto the grab bag! I got a 19 piece grab bag, which was like $9.50. They have other similar grab bags on their page, but I got the last one in their old style of eyeshadows I guess? Anyway as you can see there are a bunch of different colors!

The colors are: Cotton, Gold Leaf, Silver Star, Redcurrant, Fuchsia, Pink Tulip, French Lavender, Copper, Moroccan Bronze, Champagne, Nude Shimmer, Mossy Mauve, Chestnut, Azure, Golden Olive, Emerald, Carnation, Cherry Blossom, and Parisian Pink. As you can see the grab bag is definitely a good deal!


These are the browns. All are pretty simple, but the center one (Mossy Mauve) is a pretty brown with a green duochrome.


The fun nuetrals? Silver, white, and gold.


The blue and greens.


The purples.

The pinks.

As you can see this was a great assortment of colors! All of them had quite a bit of shimmer in them, so there was some fall out. As much as I like most of the colors in the containers, on they don't look the same. When I used Mossy Mauve the other day, you could not see the duochrome at all, which was really sad because I thought that one was the prettiest. They lasted okay, but they also weren't the most pigmented.

I guess for the price that I paid, I don't really regret them since some of them were more pigmented then others, but I probably wouldn't go out and buy a bunch. If you still want to try their shadows I'd recommend getting a grab bag!

So yeah, Madison Street Beauty wasn't my favorite Etsy store ever, but that's ok. You win some and you lose some right?

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Vegan Cuts Beauty Box Review November 2013!!

Hi guys! Today I have another box to review and this one is Vegan Cuts' Beauty Box! The Vegan Cuts Beauty box is relatively new, their first box was in August, and they send out cruelty free and natural beauty products! I'm all about trying to be as cruelty free as possible, so I decided that I needed to try them out. Plus they are only $19.95 a month!


The boxes are pretty plain, just brown.


This is their information cards. One side has pictures of all the products in the box and the other talks about the products.


The first item is a Earth's Enrichments Lemon Fresh Shea Soap bar. I'm estimating this to be worth about $1? My soap was a bit squished, but it's still usable. Plus I love how this smells. It is very lemony! I strictly only use Vitabath in winter, but as soon as it starts to get a bit warmer I'll totally break out this sample.


The next item is a mini bottle of Rainbow Honey nail polish in Persephone. This goes for $3.33. I love Rainbow Honey's polishes! I got one in a Wantable box, and I've bought a couple since. They are so pretty. This one is no exception, it's a super pretty glittery red and gold color. I love it!


Plus this color hasn't even been released to their store yet! It doesn't officially launch until the 29th! How cool is that? I love it when boxes give out something really special, and I love that this feels a bit exclusive (at least for the next 6 days). There is also a coupon for 25% off that I plan to use as well.


The next item is a Death by Lavender Deodorant. This goes for $1.28. I really like trying out all natural deodorants and this one seems nice! It is quite aromatherapy smelling, but it's not too strong. Plus I love that this is an Etsy store! I love it when indie brands are featured in boxes!


Then I got a Pacifica Coconut Kiss Creamy Lip Butter in Lava. This is full sized and goes for $10. While I don't have this exact color, I do have a couple other ones so this one I will be using as a stocking stuffer. I do really like these though. They offer a nice hint of color and are moisturizing!


The next item is a Medusa's Makeup Body Shimmer in Healthy. This is full sized and goes for $12. This is very sparkly, so I'll probably either mix a tiny bit with concealer or I'll use a little bit as eyeshadow. Sad to say, but this is probably my least favorite part of the box simply because all the glitter makes it a bit hard to use.


The last item is also by Medusa's Makeup and it is their Kabuki brush. This goes for $10. I am obsessed with Kabuki brushes! I think they are so cute and I love the hot pink tips on this one! Plus this has to be one of the softest brushes I've ever felt.


All totaled my box is worth $37.61. That's great since I only paid $20 for the box. With the exception of the shimmer I really love everything in it as well. Plus I love that they included not only trusted natural brands, but some indie/new brands as well! I know in past boxes they have included other brands like Meow Meow Tweet and Concrete Minerals, so I think they always have a really good assortment of products! If you are into beauty boxes, even if your not a big all natural person, I'd recommend you sign up for Vegan Cuts!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Beauty Box 5 November 2013 Review!!

Hey guys! So I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever. Me and David are currently separated, so it's a bit harder to make time for this, especially since I have full custody of Gabriel right now and when he goes to bed I want to sleep too. However, David and I are working on things so hopefully here soon things will be back to normal! (:

Anyway, I have a review of the newest Beauty Box 5 today! I got September and October for free since they had some type of glitch and they said in a spoiler earlier that they were giving out glitter, so to make sure I got this box I resubbed!


Beauty Box 5 comes in a Tiffany blue box.


This is their info cards. I think they have some of the best ones!


This month they gave out a bunch of coupons. The first one is actually a packet and it comes with a coupon for a free deodorant and razor, among a couple other drugstore coupons. The other one is a coupon for a travel perfume bottle, which I really like and I might pick one up!


The first thing I got is a Montagne Jeunesse Glacial Cooling Face Mask. This goes for $2.47. I love these masks! Actually these are the only types of masks I buy (the brand, not this particular one)! They work great and I can always see a difference in my skin. This one smelled good and it really got rid of my redness on my cheeks, however I probably wouldn't rebuy since I think it made my dry patches worse.


The next item is an Aveeno Positively Nourishing Calming Body Wash. This is 2 oz and goes for $1.14. I love Aveeno products, since they all seem to be really moisturizing! Plus this one doesn't smell too lavendery, which is good since I don't really like how Lavender smells.


The next item is a Bellapierre Cosmetic Glitter in Ruby. This is full sized and it goes for $5.99. As much as I like glitter I'm not too sure what I'll do with red glitter. I guess I could use it for a Christmas party or make it into a nail polish.


Then there is a Be a Bombshell Eye Crayon in Well Played. This is full size and goes for $14. This is a really pretty gold eye pencil! I happen to be obsessed with gold eye stuff recently so I'm really happy to have this! By the way, has anyone else noticed how much Be a Bombshell products sub boxes give out? I mean with all the subs I get I feel like I'll never need to buy one of their products.


The last item is a Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid deodorant. This is full size and goes for $8.99. I love these deodorants! These are the ones I try to buy, since they work best, however I always tend to just go for what's cheapest. I know some people think getting deodorant in a box is lame, but I love it! Plus they also included a coupon for another free one! Score!


All totaled (not including the coupons) this month's value was $32.59. That's great since I only paid $12 for the box! I also really like everything and I know that everything will or already has been used! I really like Beauty Box 5 since they seem to send me items that I can really use, unlike some boxes that sent out a bronzer in October (or was it this month? I don't really remember.) Plus if you commit to a year long sub it's only $8 a month! Now that's a deal and I think after Christmas I'm going to do just that. (:

Friday, November 1, 2013

Ulta, Beauty Brands, Shiro Cosmetics, Hit Polish, and Victorian Disco Haul!!

Hi guys! So I've been shopping quite a bit lately so I thought I'd make a haul. One of my new favorite obsessions is indie/Etsy store brands. I've bought quite a bit from those types of companies the past few months and I finally got some in the mail where it was convenient to show you guys what I got!

Let's just get started!


From Victorian Disco, an indie makeup brand based near Chicago! This is how my stuff came, isn't that cat sticker the cutest thing ever?!


The first thing I got was an eyeshadow in Bath House. I got the mini size jar and it was $2.25. I really love this color! It is a really pretty sparkly green color! This color is actually pretty unique to my collection as well.



The next item is also an eyeshadow. This one is from the Still a Better Love Story Collection and is in the shade Angry Italian Vampires. This is also the mini size jar and is $2.25. This is so pretty! It's black with a nice burgundy shift to it and I adore it! This color is what prompted me to order from Victorian Disco, since I just thought it was super unique. And it was a spoof of Twilight and really, I love that!


The next item is a sample of the Halloween Town eyeshadow. This was only $1 and it is filled pretty full! As you can see it is black with a beautiful gold sheen. I've been wanting to step out of my comfort zone and try different colored eyeshadows, so I thought that black would be a good place to start since it isn't far from my all neutral eye looks with the occasional pop of color.


These two items were the free samples that I got!! (: The first one is Kidnap Sandy Claws, which is black color with green sparkles, and the other one is Jack and Sally and is a pretty blue grey color. I love these and I'm excited to use them!

I am very happy with what I ordered from them and I would totally do so again! Just a note the turn around time or TAT was 2 weeks when I placed my order and my order actually shipped out in exactly a week, so that was awesome!


From Shiro Cosmetics! Shiro is another indie makeup brand! (:


 The first two items are from the Randomly Generated collection (aka Minecraft inspired!) My hubby loves Minecraft so when I saw these I just had to get them! I've also convinced David that he needs to get me the rest of them, since they are awesome!


The color on the left is It's Mossy and the color on the right is I'll Move that for You. These are the collector's cubes and were $8.50 each.


It's Mossy has a mossy coblestone and a spider on it. But I pretty much choose this one because I adore the color!


I'll Move that for You has Endermen on it! (:


It's Mossy is a beautiful green, blue color! I love it! I was a bit worried that it was similar to Bath House ,but Bath House is way more blue toned, where this one is more green.


I'll Move that for You is a beautiful sparkly dark purple color! This is probably one of my favorite items in the whole haul! The only thing is that the lid is a pain to get on and off, so hopefully I don't end up spilling it all trying to wrestle it open.


Then I got two samples the blue one is Diamonds (from the Randomly Generated Collection) and then I got Baker's Boy (from The Tributes, aka Hunger Games inspired, collection). These were $1 each. Diamonds is a really pretty light blue color and Baker's Boy is a super shimmery light brown. I was hoping Baker's Boy could be my new go to neutral tone and I think it's pretty close to what I was looking for, I'm just going to have to make sure everything else is matte when I use it!


Now onto the free stuff! I got candy! (: I also got two samples. The first one is Aftercop, Aftercop, a really pretty navy blue color (which surprisingly is super unique to my collection. Score!) and Twilight Realm, which is grey with blue sparkles (also super unique!)

I am 100% totally satisfied and I'm already planning my next order from her! I'm probably going to try out of their intertubes along with more of their Randomly Generated collection and I want to try out more of their other collections as well. (Hint Hint I think November 9th is when they are launching a new collection since it was posted about on their Facebook page)  Also her stated TAT was 3 weeks and she shipped my order out in 6 days, so yay!


Then from one of my newest favorite stores: Hit Polish! I've placed like 2 orders from them in the past couple weeks and I'm already planning on making a 3rd order within the next week or so. I just can't help it! Everything she makes is so pretty and her shipping is super fast!


I got three polishes this time around. One was on sale and then two are from the Limited Edition Thanksgiving line (of which there are only two.) Just so you know these are all glittery top coats.


The first one is She's a Glamazon. This was on sale for $3.38. I actually bought the last one of these, but it is gorge! It is pink, silver, and gold and it has stars and crescent moons in it which I think is totally cool!

The next one is one of the Thanksgiving ones and it is in the shade Thankful. This was $3.75. I really couldn't decide between which Thanksgiving polish I wanted and I thought I'd like this one more then the other, and while this one is pretty and I think it's more unique, I actually think I like the other one more, so I'm glad I got them both! This one is brown, orange, and yellow. It has tons of different types of glitter in it from hex to bar to even yellow flower shaped glitter! It is really cool and unique.


The last one is the other Thanksgiving one and that one is called Sweet Potato Souffle. This is also $3.75. This is white, brown, orange, and black. I like this one the best, I think, because it reminds me of the sweet potato thing that my family has at every Thanksgiving meal! (Sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows!)

One of the things that I really love about her polishes are how unique they are! And they are super sparkly!


 From Beauty Brands! Which how amazing is this packaging? When I opened it, David was all "What box did you get this time?" I was like "uhh it's not a box, it's just nail polish." David just looked at me blankly. I think to him sometimes all my beauty purchases just run together.


I got the Deborah Lippmann nail polish in Ruby Red Slippers. This was only $9.50. All their Deborah Lippmann stuff is 50% off until they get rid of it since they are no longer carrying her brand.


Isn't this a pretty BLACK and red polish in the bottle?


Well on me for some reason it looks brown!  I do like it since it just looks like chocolate covered strawberries, but since I was hoping it would be more black it isn't a great Halloween color. Oh well next time I think I'll use a black polish under it, maybe that would help?


 These are the free samples I got. I think they are all a great size of brands I'm excited to use! (: I got a Hempz Body lotion, a Bliss Foaming Face Wash, and a Ahava Velvet Body Lotion and Cream Wash.


Then I also used a code to get a Hempz Orange Ginger and Amber Hand Sanitizer and Triple Moisture body lotion. I can't believe that these were free! They are pretty awesome sizes! The code I used is WE8208.

The last place is Ulta. I had a 20% off coupon, so I decided to get some things. Also I got some things that I'm going to use for Christmas presents, that I did not include in this haul!


The first thing is a NYX Loose Pearl Powder in Oro. This was $2.99 (none of the prices include the 20% off since I didn't really feel like doing the math). I'm addicted to loose pigments and I've been loving gold eyeshadow recently so I thought this was sort of like the best of both worlds. Plus if I mix this with some clear polish, I can make a gold polish too! (:


The next item is the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Sparkle Green. This goes for $4.49. I love the Jumbo eye pencils! I was super excited to get this since I think it would be great to use around the holidays!


A close up. It is a bit more teal then I thought it would be, but still super pretty!


The next item is the Ulta Wicked Mini Blockbuster. This was $16. For some reason I just needed this! I thought I'd love it, but I don't for some reason. I mean I like it and I'll use it, but it just isn't as awesome in person as I thought it would be. I actually really like Ulta's makeup brand and when they have good sales I tend to pick up their eye shadows and liners, but this isn't as thrilling (especially compared to the next item I'm going to show you.)


This comes with 3 eye shadow trios, a blush duo, 2 eyeliners, 2 lip glosses, 3 eye shadow applicators, a blush brush, and a pencil sharpener. So it is a good deal and like I said Ulta brand makeup is pretty good (:


It also gives you get the look ideas which I always appreciate! I know this will get used a lot, but it just isn't something I love (but at the same time I like it too much to return it.)


The next item is the Ulta Light Them Up Eye and Lip Set. This was $16. I was originally going to give this to my mom as a Christmas present and keep the Wicked one for myself, but after seeing the awesomeness that is this kit I think I'm going to keep this and buy my mom another one. This kit is just amazing!


I've already played around with this and the eye pencils are just as good as the NYX ones.  This comes with 5 mostly neutral toned jumbo eye pencils, a eye prime, 2 lip glosses, and a sharpener. It also tells you how to get the look. I really love this one and I'd totally recommend it!


The last item is the Philosophy Fruitcake Mix. This was $26. I feel like around Christmas time is when I always buy my Philosophy items and it seems like 2013 was no exception. I was initially drawn into this set because I thought it was like a body wash that smelled like fruitcake, but the actual reality of what it is, is so much cooler!


It's actually a three piece set! It comes with a vanilla cake mix shower gel that you use first, then you use the candied pecan body scrub, then you finish off with the Cranberry Medley lotion and wha la you smell like fruit cake! I thought this was super cool and I can't wait to use it! Plus everything smells amazing by itself and I'm going to be buying a bigger bottle of one of Philosophy's cake products!

I actually do think I bought one Philosophy item that wasn't at Christmas time and that was last spring I went to TJ Maxx and bought their Italian Soda Fountain set since I adore their Black Cherry Cola scent!


These are my samples from Ulta. They are the most disappointing since they are all one time use. I mean I could understand if I spent like $20, but my order with the gifts was over $100 and I can't even get one spray bottle? That's not right, especially when the indie companies sample's rocked and they are way smaller then Ulta is.

That's my haul! Any recent purchases you want to share? Any good sales going on? What are your favorite indie brands?

Other random sales that I thought I should mention: The Butter London Friend's and Family Sale is on! (use code FFHOLIDAY to save 30%.)

Also the Secret Store is open to all Julep Mavens this month! Yay! They have some great stuff in there so you might want to check it out if you're a Maven!

Note: I am aware that indie brands sell more then just eyeshadow, but eyeshadow/loose pigments is my personal favorite and I already have enough lip stuff to last me a life time, so I just prefer the eye makeup! (:

Also if you click the Julep link, it takes you to the Maven sign up page through my referral link, just so you know.