Zoya's Caitlin

Today has not been a very good day for blogging. I smashed my pointed finger and middle finger straight into the sliding glass door this morning, which successfully split both nails in half. Ugh.
Also, I don't know what is going on with my camera. I know it's like 7 years old, but man is it spazing out. It keeps doing random things like turning the flash on and off, switching my settings around, and then freezing when I try to change them back. If any of my family is reading this, cameras sure do make great birthday presents (cough *hint hint*). Just kidding, cameras are freaking expensive.

Anyway, on to my nail color of the day, Zoya's Caitlin.



Zoya's Caitlin

 Pictures are kinda sketchy today, mainly because they are taken in whatever setting my camera decided to use for each picture... 

Zoya describes Caitlin as a smokey purple-tinged medium grey cream. Though to me I would describe it as a greyed out purple, because I feel the purple is stronger than the grey tones. Caitlin is part of the Intimates Collection, of which I currently own Caitlin and Jules.

Zoya's Caitlin

However you want to describe it, it's pretty! Caitlin's formula was nice. It was a little on the thick side, but not so much that it made it hard to work with. Each coat did go on slightly thicker than I like to work with, but it wasn't a big deal. Caitlin dried down to a nice smooth finish, though I did get a few bubbles because of the thickness of the formula.

Zoya's Caitlin

Zoya lists Caitlin as a 5 on the opacity scale (1 = sheer, 5 = completely opaque), which is pretty accurate. It does go on almost completely opaque, though I could still detect a few spots where light was coming through on my tips. Maybe I am just really picky though.



Zoya's Caitlin

Zoya's Caitlin

I really like Caitlin a lot. When I first ordered Carey this is actually what I thought I was getting, and then Carey ended up being much more on the grey side, with blue undertones. So of course I had to go back and get Caitlin.

I think Caitlin makes a really nice spring and summer color, though I could see wearing it in the winter with some pretty greys and off whites. I am not really sure how Caitlin would look on someone with a cool skin tone. I have neutral undertones to my skin, meaning I have neither cool undertones, or warm undertones, but am between the two. So I really can't comment on that.

Zoya's Caitlin

Overall I am really pleased with Caitlin. I think it's a really pretty color and I think I will get a lot of use out of her this spring.

Zoya's Faye

Time for another swatch and review! Today I am wearing Zoya's Faye from the Sunshine collection. It is described by Zoya as a bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones and flooded with gold sparkle, which is pretty dead on. I am not gonna lie though, when I received this in my order I was not thrilled by the way it looked in the bottle. Let's just say that to me it lacked bottle appeal.... I thought it looked kinda ugly.



Zoya's Faye



Zoya's Faye

Boy was I wrong! This ended up being my favorite of out of the whole order, possibly my favorite out of my entire collection!  It's ends up being a very pretty shimmery bronze/plum color once applied! In the bottle it looks more like bronzish gold micro glitter floating around in a sheer purple base, but once it's applied it blends so perfectly into this amazing color that I fell in love!



Zoya's Faye



Zoya's Faye

 Faye's formula is perfect. It's not thick and goopy, but it's not thin and runny either. It applies in perfect smooth layers that even out as it dries down. It's not rough, or matte looking once dried, though not overly shiny either. Faye is also really forgiving if you have shaky hands because it does not streak, and the shimmer does not pool or gather in certain areas, but spreads out perfectly.



Zoya's Faye


I feel like Faye could be worn all year round, because of the plum/bronze combo. The purple makes it a pretty color for summer and spring, while the bronze would really work well for fall and winter. I also like that it works really well on my fair skin, and isn't so dark that it accentuates my fairness, but isn't so light that it washes me out. I also like that the bronze color doesn't have the strong yellow tones that gold generally does, or the orange tones of a copper. It really is a nice neutral metallic bronze color.

Zoya's Faye



Zoya's Faye



Zoya's Faye

Zoya's website classifies Faye as a 4 on the opacity scale (1 = sheer, 5 = completely opaque), which is pretty accurate. It went on pretty sheer but covered evenly with 2 thin coats, and was completely opaque with 3. You can really see how the purple in Faye is picked up more from some angles and then the bronze color comes out more from others. It is very very shimmery and I can't wait to try this with a top coat over it! Once again, the Zoya Color Lock System is calling my name!

Overall I am very pleased with Faye, and I am so happy that I listened to the reviews instead of going off of the way the bottle looks online. It really is a stunning and unique color!

*All reviews are my own opinions and are not paid for by the reviewed company. This bottle of polish was purchased by myself.*

Sindulge Review

Finally, after a LONG wait, I have received my first box from the new subscription company called Sindulge. I am not going to link you to it because I would not wish this company on anyone, and you will find out why.

First, let me tell you the concept of this company. The idea is that you pay $12 a month for a box of beauty samples (sounds like Birchbox right? Similarities end there.). Each month you are supposed to have a consultation with a beauty expert so that they can asses your beauty needs and send you samples that they see fit. Oh, that sounds great, beauty samples tailored to me! Wait? You can only sign up for the consultation during a 4 hour window, on the specific days they are available? So if you work, or go to school, or have any type of life, it's going to be really hard to make the times available work for you. (This has been changed since I first signed up, since you can now consult via email, or choose to skip the consult entirely.) I am going to tell you about my experience with it though.

I signed up for my consult for the 29th at 2pm. Another thing, 2pm is not 2pm central time, it's 2pm in L.A., so 4pm in Iowa. I think this confused a LOT of people who signed up. They sent me an email when I signed up for my consultation, telling me that at the time of my appointment to click this link and it will take me straight to my consultation. So I log onto the computer 15 minutes early, wait until a minute before 4 and click on the link....it took me to my account page on the Sindulge site.... Where am I supposed to go? I though it would take me to the right place? SO I spend 20 minutes trying to find out where I went wrong. Why didn't the link work? Am I missing something obvious? Nope, the link just didn't work. Finally after I am 30 minutes late for my appointment, and insanely stressed out, I contacted their customer service and actually got ahold of my consultant Ami. We ended up having our consult, so it ended up okay.

In my consult I was asked what my skin tone/ type is, what hair type I have, what my eye/hair coloring is, and what my beauty concerns are. I told Ami that I have been having a few breakouts and I have a problem with hyperpigmentation left over from blemishes.  So she tells me she will put a dark spot corrector in my box, and my box will ship in 7 days. Sounds amazing right??

7 days goes by, nothing. I attempt to contact their customer service, only to be told that since I have already contacted CS I am not allowed to again. Only one question per customer. WTF??? Since when does any customer service only allow you to ask ONE question?? So I track them down on Facebook and ask them about my box being shipped. I am now told 10 days. Okay, that's only a few more days. I can deal with that. 10 days comes and goes.... nothing. Finally I am sent an email, explaining that they are sorry, they have been having problems and the box wont be shipped out until March 16th.... 17 DAYS after my consult. They did offer to give me my next box for free, which is about the only positive thing I have to say about their customer service.

FINALLY my box ships out. I track it and it says delivered. I go to check my mail box... nothing. I figured I would wait until the next day because I have had packages say delivered before and then not show up until the next day. Next day comes and nothing. So as my mail man is walking back to his truck I stop him and ask him if he delivered it. (I do live in an apartment, theft happens. Though my mail man is really good about putting it in my box if it fits, or knocking if it doesn't.) He says he hasn't seen anything for me and will double check. I ended up calling the post office and they tell me where it was delivered.

It was delivered to my billing address. NOT the shipping address that I gave them. Seriously?? I contact Sindulge through an email address I found for them, since I am not allowed to contact their customer service again. They did not offer to do a single thing about it. Nothing. He verified my shipping address and that was it. I didn't even get an "I'm so sorry we screwed up, again.".  Luckily I have an AMAZING friend who was able to bring me my box. Though I found out that there are other girls that had their box shipped to the wrong address and they were NOT able to retrieve it.

So I got my box, thanks to my lovely friend J. I opened it up and this is what was inside:


Sindulge Box.

 Anastasia Beverly Hills Hydra Gloss in Bellini, Youngblood Eye Impact eye cream, Pixi Eye Bright Primer, Vera Belle Rosa Calming Creme and La Fresh Makeup Remover wipes. I don't like that they don't give you any information on the products like BB does.

Where is the dark spot corrector? Or even anything for acne?? Awesome. I am happy about the lip gloss, only because I have already received this gloss in my Birchbox, only in a light pink color, and it is a nice gloss. The makeup remover wipes are another thing I have already received in my BB, and they work nicely, but leave your face covered in lavender scented oil. The Pixi eye bright primer might end up going to my aunt, as I already have a Pixi eye primer that I love and I know she was looking for one.

If I hadn't been told I was getting completely different things than what I got this might not have been so bad. I wouldn't pay $12 for it though. My biggest problem is their customer service SUCKS BIG TIME, and that they promise you that you are going to get certain items and then they don't deliver. Also, some boxes that I have seen have contained one or more full sized, high end products, such as Stila and OPI, while others contain random little samples that are hardly enough for 2 uses. The value discrepancy is unfair, and I do not like that one bit.

 I only paid 1 penny for this box, and I would not have paid a cent more. I will be canceling the second my free box ships and I would not recommend this company to ANYONE. Maybe when they get all the growing pains and kinks worked out they will be better, but for now they are really putting the sin in Sindulge.

TO CANCEL YOUR SINDULGE:
The link to cancel is a little hard to find, so I am going to post where to find it to help.
When you log into your Sindulge account you have to go down the list of links on the left hand side until you find the one that says my subscriptions. Click on that link and there should be another a page that comes up with your subscription on it. On the right hand side there should be a little link that says edit next to your information. Click on the edit link and it take you to another page with more of your information on it. On this page towards the lower left, under your information, there should be a link that says cancel subscription. You can also cancel your subscription by editing your billing information. Since you can't enter a new credit card number without canceling your current sub, you can just click on the my subscriptions link and then edit your billing information. It should tell you when you click to edit that it is going to cancel your account if you continue, just hit okay and you will be cancelled!


~Update: March 27th- I went ahead and canceled my subscription. I am not going to be receiving the second box because after we were told it would be free they are now charging people a penny again. While a penny is really nothing it is the fact that they do not, and have not once stood by what they tell people. If you told me it would be free, then it should be FREE. Stand by your words.~ 

~Update: April 2nd- I was contacted by a memeber of Sindulge's customer service and asked if I would still like the penny box. I broke down and said yes, so my subscription was renewed. We will have to see how it ends up.

*My reviews are my own opinions and are not paid for by the reviewed company. The box in this review was paid for by myself.*

Zoya's Lotus and the Theodora & Callum Spring Trends Facebook Contest

After sporting Zoya's Kylie2 for a few days I decided to sport something a little softer today, Zoya's Lotus from the spring 2012 True collection. I am in love with this whole collection, though so far I have only managed to get my hands on Tru and Lotus. Bevin and Skylar are on my must have list and are next in line to be purchased.

Kinda of random but exciting news, I won the Theodora & Callum Spring Trends Facebook Contest!! (How freaking gorgeous are their scarves? Am I right??) To win the contest all I had to do was comment on their FB post about which spring trend I am loving the most right now, which would be neons with neutrals of course! I will be receiving a gift basket that includes a Theodora & Callum scarf and a collection of Jouer cosmetics, which is one of my all time favorite brands, and just happens to be one of the brands that I was introduced to by Birchbox! On the T&C FB page they show the prize as:

Jouer and Theodora & Callum gift basket.

Can I just say EXCITED! Okay, okay, enough of this, back to Zoya...

Zoya's Lotus

Lotus is described on Zoya's website as a soft, dusty blue-toned amethyst purple, and I think that's pretty spot on. It is subtle pink/red/gold shimmer that adds some depth to it and really makes me love it even more. I am a sucker for dusty saturated colors though.



Zoya's Lotus

 The application of Lotus was perfect. I really could not have asked for a better formula with this one. It wasn't too thick, but wasn't thin or watery either. It dried down to a nice smooth surface and applied evenly.


Zoya's Lotus



Zoya's Lotus

As you can see, the shimmer really is subtle, but it adds a nice sparkle to the polish and keeps it away from being flat or a straight cream. I am really curious to see how this looks with a top coat over it, but since mine has sadly been used all up I will have to wait until I get my hands on the Zoya Color Lock System to find out. Since I really want Anchor, Armor and the rejuvenating drops I am just going to splurge and buy the whole system. I figure that if I am going to be spending my precious money on nail polish then I want it to be the longest lasting polish I can get, and the best way to ensure my polish lasts as long as it can is to invest in the Color Lock system.

Zoya's Lotus

One thing I noticed about Lotus is that it is listed as a 5 on the opacity scale, which means that it is listed as completely opaque. Though the formula is actually pretty sheer with one coat, and i needed two thick coats to make it opaque. I am really starting to wonder what their opacity rating is based on? Is it how opaque the polish is after 1 coat or 2 coats? Since 2 coats is what is recommended I am going to assume it is after 2 coats, thought how thick each coat is applied can also vary greatly. If I had done thin coats of Lotus then it would definitely have required 3 coats to reach complete opacity... hmm.

Not sure. Either way, Lotus is a keeper for me and I am in love with it.

* All reviews are my own opinions and are not paid for by the reviewed company. This bottle of polish was purchased by myself.*

Zoya's Kylie2

My shipment from Zoya came in the mail today! So of course I immediately opened it and  grabbed all my other Zoya polishes so that I could see what they all looked like together! (because that's what normal nail polish lovers do right?... Right guys?)


Top L-R: Faye, Tru, Lotus, Caitlin, Carey, Jules
Bottom L-R: Isla, Burke, Sooki, LC, Kylie2, Felicity

 Now if only I could stop adding colors to my ever growing Zoya wish list. Ha, that will never happen.

After looking at all of the new bottles that I received I decided that I wanted to try out Kylie2, not only because it shares a name with my sister, but because with all the clouds and rain today I needed something bright and cheery.

Zoya's Kylie2



Zoya's Kylie2

Kylie2 is a really beautiful coral cream. Zoya's website describes it as a red-orange coral, though I am having trouble picking out the orange in it. It definitely looks like a pink coral to me. It's a perfectly bright and sunny summer color and works well on my fair skin.



Zoya's Kylie2

I did have some trouble with the formula of this polish. It was very very thick. Like I said in my previous post, I am not sure if the thickness of the polish is true of all bottles of Kylie2, or just of my specific bottle, but it did make the polish harder to apply. I was worried when I began application because the thickness of the polish was causing pretty uneven lines to occur where each stroke was meeting. I wasn't sure if it was going to dry down smooth or not, but it did slowly even out to a smooth finish, though not as smooth as I tend to like my creams. I think an investment in Zoya's polish rejuvinator would be wise for me, since I have several bottles of polish that lean a little thicker than I would like.

Zoya's Kylie2

One thing that I dislike about thicker formulas is that the cuticle always ends up a little messy because of the build up, though it should clean up after a hand wash or two.

Zoya's Kylie2

I was very pleased with the opacity of Kylie2. Zoya has it listed as a 4 on the opacity scale, and i would have to agree. One coat could almost be enough to be completely opaque, but two makes it perfect. I have noticed that sometimes Zoya's opacity rating on some of their polishes is off, for example they have both Jules and Kylie2 listed as a 4, when Jules is clearly much more sheer than Kylie2.

Zoya's Kylie2

Overall I am really pleased with Kylie2. It's exactly the kind of coral color that I love wearing on my toes with sandals and will make a nice addition to my summer brights. I will have to get some of the thinning drops mentioned above to make application a little easier though.

Zoya Jules

Today I am wearing another one of my favorite Zoya colors, Jules! Jules is a very muted dusty gold that makes a really nice neutral. I also find that Jules could be worn both in the summer and in the fall and winter since it is both toned down for winter and fresh looking for summer.

Zoya's Jules

Jules is one of those colors that tends to lean cool in one light and warm in another. Sometimes when I look down it almost looks like a muted grey/silver color, and other times it is clearly a gold, but that's one of the reason I love this color.



Zoya's Jules

Jules' formula is very nice. Mine is a little on the thick side, though I am not sure if that is true of all bottles of Jules, or specific to mine. Jules is also pretty sheer. I used 3 thin coats on my nails and you can still see through the tips. I believe Zoya has Jules rated as a 4 on the opacity scale (1= least opaque, 5= completely opaque), though I would classify it as a 3.

Zoya's Jules

Zoya's Jules

Jules is very shimmery in person, but the shimmer is very fine and gives a great metallic finish. The wear on Jules is great. I reached 5 days with minimal tip wear and no chips before I decided to change colors. A word to the wise about taking Jules off, it is a shimmer, and as anyone who wears glitter and shimmer polish knows, they can be a huge pain to get off. After years of scrubbing my nails, until my fingers hurt, just to get my favorite shimmer polishes off I finally figured out an easier, and I mean MUCH easier, way to remove glitter/shimmer polishes with almost no effort. Tin foil!!



Foiled fingers for easy glitter removal

 All you need is:
 5 cotton balls
 5 pieces of foil that are big enough to wrap around the cotton ball and hold it securely to your fingers
 polish remover.

Instructions:
1. Soak the cotton ball in remover 2. Place it over the finger nail so that the polish is completely covered. 3.Wrap one piece of foil around the entire cotton ball and tip of the finger, making sure it is secure enough to hold the cotton ball in place. 4. Repeat 1-3 for the other 4 fingers, or using 10 cotton balls and 10 foil strips complete both hands. 5. Wait 5 minutes. 6. Remove foil and cotton ball while gently swiping cotton ball over nail. 7. Remove any remaining polish with cotton ball.

This removes every speck of polish off of my nails without having to scrub them. You literally just apply the foils and wait. SO much easier. As you can see in the picture above, the first finger is finished and the polish was completely removed in one swipe.

Zoya's Jules

Overall I am really pleased with Jules. It's a nice, easy to wear neutral that still adds a little shimmer to your nails. The wear is great and application is lovely. I would recommend Jules to anyone who is looking for something subtle yet still feminine and pretty!


*All reviews are my own opinions and are not paid for by the reviewed company. This polish was purchased myself.*

Julep's Melissa

Today I am wearing Julep's Melissa. This was another color that I received in my Julep Maven box. It is a really pretty sheer iridescent color that shifts between a nude blush color and and aqua blue. It's really beautiful in person!

Julep's Melissa

  This color turns out to be really difficult to photograph. For some reason the iridescence just does not want to show up. In the photo above you can see the areas of the blush color on the left and then the aqua blue is showing up more around the air bubble.

Julep's Melissa

The polish applied like a dream. It went on very smoothly and dried to an even finish without being streaky. My biggest issue with applying Julep's polishes is that the brush is very long which causes polish to build up all along the plastic part of the applicator, and then it all runs down while you are applying the polish. You really have to wipe the top of applicator down before you start painting your nails or you end up with a sudden gush of polish.

Julep's Melissa

Here you can see how Melissa almost looks nude in the right light. I think this is one of the reasons I love it so much. It's not one of those colors that screams in your face. It's very subtle and but still adds a little touch of color to your nails. I think this would be a good color for those who can't wear brighter or dark colors because of work, or those who need something that looks a little more professional.

Julep's Melissa



Julep's Melissa

 Here you can see the difference in the way Melissa looks from different angles. In the top picture it clearly looks more nude, and in the bottom picture you can really see the light picking up the aqua blue in the polish. For some reason this polish reminds me of The Little Mermaid... probably because the iridescence is the same color as the costume that I had for my Little Mermaid Barbie. Who knew that years later I would be thinking of that toy because of nail polish?

Julep's Melissa

Up close you can see how shimmery it really is. One of the things I love about this polish is that it did not dry down streaky. I have had a few polishes that go on super streaky and if you are a member of the shaky hands club your nails will look like a mess.

Overall I am really pleased with this color and I think I will get a lot of use out of it. Once again though, love Julep's polish, but I hate their $14 per bottle price tag. Thankfully I have an order of Zoya that should be coming in any day that I will be able to swatch for you guys!




*All reviews are my own opinions and are not paid for by the reviewed company. The polish in this post was purchased by myself*








Julep's Jodie

Today I decided to paint my nails with Julep's Jodie. I signed up for the Julep Maven program using the coupon code COLOR2012 which allowed me to get my first month for a penny.

Julep Maven is another subscription service, but this one sends you nail polish, and usually some sort of extra like hand cream, cuticle oil, etc. It regularly costs $19.99 a month, and they will select 2-3 polishes for you based on a style quiz that you take. They let you view the polishes they picked for you about a week before they will ship each month. You have the option to get that box, skip the month, cancel, or you can choose to view the rest of the boxes they are sending out and pick one of those.

I love the idea but I do NOT love the price or the size of the polish. A standard bottle of Zoya, OPI, Essie, etc., is .50oz, the Julep bottles are .27oz.... so about half the size. Also, $20 for two half sized bottles of polish is ridiculous. You are basically paying for just over one regular sized bottle of polish... for $20?? Yeah, I will stick with my .50oz $8 Zoya and will be canceling Julep thanks..... but, onto one of the bottles I received in my Julep box.

Julep's Jodie:

Julep's Jodie

This is a really pretty rose gold color. It ends up looking more metallic rose on my nails, with the gold shimmer kinda of disappearing. In the bottle the gold shimmer is a lot more obvious, but for some reason it just doesn't translate once applied. The formula is really nice, not too thick or thin. It is a little on the sheer side, so 2 good coats is definitely needed. I probably could have even done 3. As for wear, I have found that Julep's polishes wears pretty well. I can usually get 3-4 days out of it with minimal tip wear and no chipping. I have found that it doesn't last as long as say Essie or Zoya, but it is a strong second when it comes to how long it wears.

One of the things that I do not like about the polishes are the brush. The bottles are long and narrow, which means that the brush is really long. A longer brush means less control. As someone who graduated with an art degree I can work with it pretty well, but I definitely think it makes it more challenging to apply.



Jodie



As you can see, it is a beautiful polish. It dries smoothly and covers evenly. I just wish Julep wasn't so expensive for such small bottles... Maybe I am just biased toward Zoya.

You could argue that you are paying more for the service of them selecting the polish for you than for the actual polish, but honestly I don't think it's such a hard job that I would pay $20 for it. The Julep Maven program just isn't for me. I would rather get 2 more Birchbox subs, or go buy myself two bottles of Zoya. If you are someone who can't ever pick your colors and want the surprise of someone else picking it, then it might be for you though.

I will swatch and review the other colors that I have received from Julep as I use them.

*All reviews are my own opinions and are not paid for by the reviewed company. The polish reviewed in this post was paid for by myself.*

Zoya Sooki Swatch and Review

Today marks a very special day! Well okay, maybe not really special, but it is going to be my very first nail polish review, and it's my most favorite brand of polish ever, ZOYA!

This is the first Zoya polish that I ever received, so it is pretty dear to my heart. You could say that this is the bottle of polish that started my ever growing collection and love affair with Zoya products.

I love Zoya because it is 4 free and that is really really really important to me. After having my daughter I took a close look at all of the chemicals and junk that I have been putting on or in my body. It's one thing for me to use the products on myself, but when they are coming in close contact with Tiny Hiney I want them to be the least harmful products I can find. One of the major problems I have with polishes that contain things like formaldehyde ,and other cancer causing chemicals, is that my fingers are in her mouth A LOT. Feeling for little things she may have put in her mouth, her gnawing on my fingers, feeling her new teeth, putting medicine in her mouth, you name it, my fingers are in her mouth all the time. So the idea of her ingesting little chips of my nail polish was frightening, but I also didn't want to have to completely stop wearing polish as it is one of my absolute loves. That's where Zoya comes into play. They are one of the only brands that do not have formaldehyde, DBP, toluene and camphor..... and they have over 300 color choices!

So, enters:


Zoya Sooki

Sooki! Named for the Vampire Diaries character, this is a gorgeous bright cool cherry red cream! It applies like a dream, is opaque in one coat but perfect with two. It dries to a smooth glossy shine and wears for a long time, and I mean a looooooooonnnngggg time. Before I found Zoya I had a love/hate relationship with nail polish. We have all been there. You paint your nails, getting them perfect, only to discover the next day (sometimes the same day) that there is a chip, or the polish is cracking or peeling up.... So you paint them again, only to have to same thing happen. Well not with Zoya. It is the longest wearing polish ever. I easily get 5-7 days out of their polish with only minimal tip wear. I haven't been able to get my hands on their color lock system, but I am eager to find out if that extends the wear even longer. Put Zoya's longevity together with their amazing colors, like Sooki, and you have a winner!



Sooki



Sookie is just gorgeous! Sometimes I have trouble wearing brighter reds or cool reds because I have very fair skin, but Sooki just works.

I wasn't sure about this color at first, but I am so glad that I broke down and bought it. I have had terrible experiences with purchasing nail polish online... the color looks perfect on the computer screen and then you get it and it doesn't even look close.

Zoya has a fool proof way to prevent this, the Zoya color spoons! You can purchase the spoons of whatever colors you are interested in and they will send you a swatch of the color (REAL polish, not something printed on a piece of plastic or paper!) so you can see exactly what it will look like when applied. You can even hold the spoon up to your finger to see what the color will look like with your skin tone. The best part is, the spoons only cost 50 cents each, and the amount you spend on spoons is credited back to your account so you can put it towards the purchase of your favorite polish color! So they are basically FREE!!!

You can learn more about Zoya's color spoon, or place an order here : http://www.zoya.com/.

Ahhhhh... Love me some Zoya.




*Review is my own, honest opinion and was not paid for by the reviewed company. This polish was purchased on my own.*



Teen Vogue Birchbox

This month Birchbox allowed its subscribers to opt in or out of a special edition Teen Vogue box. Birchbox and Teen Vogue teamed up to create a box full of items specifically geared towards Prom aged teens. As seen in my previous post, I received a regular March box, but I also opted in for a Teen Vogue box. What is better than one box of beauty surprises?? That's right! TWO. So the TV box couldn't have come at a better time!


Teen Vogue Edition Birchbox, March 2012

Contents From Left to Right:

1.) Alex and Isabelle Classic hair tie

2.) Essie Luxeffect in Set in Stones

3.) Annick Goutal Petite Cherie

4.) Tarte Lipsurgence in Joy

5.) Peter Thomas Roth Max Anit-Shine Mattifying Gel

Alex and Isabelle hair ties are my absolute favorite hair ties of all time. It may look like just a piece of elastic ribbon tied in a knot, but they are incredible. They hold all day, do not rip my hair out and do not leave creases in my hair! Plus, they look super cute on my wrist.

I am a nail polish addict. Getting a Luxeffect in my BB couldn't have thrilled me more! (and it wasn't a color I already have! *squeals with joy*) Set in Stones is a glitter polish with large, medium and small, hexagonal and round silver glitter in a clear base. It looks amazing layered over other polishes.



Essie Luxeffect in Set in Stones over Color Club's Lava Lamp

As you can in the picture, it's pretty. Sorry for the big messy toe! Ha! I wasn't sure if neon orange would look good on my fingers, so I tried my toes first. Got them painted and then Tiny Hiney decided she had to have my feet, so I escaped to the bathroom to snap a picture before she could mess them up. I think I will stick to painting my nails when she is asleep from now on.

Annick Goutal's Petite Cherie... Clean, fresh, wonderful. It starts out with strong peachy top notes and then dries down to a beautiful clean soapy floral. I am very picky about perfume, and I think Mr. B is even pickier than I am, so the fact that we both smelled it and like it, says alot. It rings in at $85 for 50 ml. which is steap, but for both of us to find a scent that we like on me it is worth it.

Okay, I will admit. The entire reason I wanted the TV BB is because of the Tarte Lipsurgence. I have wanted it FOREVER. Alright, maybe not forever... but like 2 years. I have never broken down and purchased it because I couldn't justify spending $25 on a lip balm/tint when I can walk into Walgreens and pick up an equivalent item for less than $7. I should have just bought one. This product is going to become a staple in my makeup box. It is a creamy sheer colored balm that is super moisturizing, applies so easily Tiny Hiney could probaby put it on me AND it stains my lips once it is worn off. The four colors being sent out in the TV box were Lucky, a matte opaque light pink, Joy, a sheer coral, Amused, a sheer fuchsia and Peaceful a sheer nude beige. I was hoping for either Amused or Joy, as lighter pinks make me look dead, and nudes make me look washed out. I ended up with Joy and it is right on the spot for my fair skin.

Tarte Lipsurgence in Joy

I was also happy to receive the mattifying gel, which could not have come at a better time. Before having Tiny Hiney I had always had dry skin, and then suddenly after she was born it changed to combination with my T zone getting pretty at times. With summer just around the corner (and it already being 79F for a few days here in Iowa today) I am going to be needing this very soon. I have only tried it out once so far, but it did keep me matte for hours and so far I have not had any negative side effects such as the dreaded new product break out.

Honestly I could not have been more thrilled about this box. I know there were some people who had disappointments with their colors, and a few products that were damaged in transit, but BB has incredible customer service, and fixed many problems for people. Hopefully everyone else enjoyed their TV box as much as I enjoyed mine.

*All reviews are my own opinions and are not paid for by any of the product companies. The Birchbox being reviewed was paid for by myself.*

 

 

All About Birchbox and My March Box

The other day I received my March Birchbox which is my 5th box so far, and then I also received a special Teen Vogue Edition box! If you don't know what Birchbox is then you should check it out at http://www.birchbox.com/?raf=krtsb!
Birchbox is a monthly beauty sample subscription service. It cost $10 a month and can be canceled at any time. Each month you will receive a box with 4-5 deluxe beauty samples (and usually some extras). You can also sign up for an annual subscription which gives you a year of boxes for $110, that is payed for upfront. Sadly if you sign up for the year of boxes you can't cancel, and they don't refund a prorated amount either, so my advice is to try it out with the monthly member ship for a few months before throwing down $110 on the year. 

Birchbox also has an AMAZING points system. When you sign up for the month to month you receive 10 pts (the first month only, not ever month), when you sign up for the annual you get 110 pts. The points break down like this:

10pts = $1
100pts = $10

You don't get a credit for your points until you reach 100, and then for each 100 after that they give you a $10 credit. You can use your credit on any purchase, or save it up, though they expire after 365 days. This might sound like a lot of points to get to before you get a credit, but for every item in your box you can review it and get 10 pts. So if each box usually contains 5-6 reviewable items, thats $5-$6 you age getting BACK. They also give you free shipping on the items in your box each month (and everyone else's box too!), and as long as you have one free shipping item in your cart your whole order ships free.

Okay, so on to my March box....

March 2012 Birchbox

Left to right, Clockwise from the upper left corner:
1.) Stila Smokey Eye palette
2.) Kusmi Tea - I Love My Detox
3.) Grandma Stelle's hand soap in Verbena Thyme
4.) Color Club nail polish in Lava Lamp
5.) Traditions by Nick Chavez Yucca Root Shampooing Cream
6.) Boscia Green Tea Blotting Linens


The Stila palette is really just a layer of eye shadow in each color, with enough shadow for about 3-4 uses. The shadow is a really nice highly pigmented, velvety shadow and comes with the colors Kitten, Diamon Lil and Ebony.

The Kusmi tea was delicious, though you will discover that I have a love of all things tea (green/black/herbal and everything in between), so they really couldn't mess up with these. It was a nice green tea with lemongrass and slight citrus notes.

The Grandma Stelle's smells amazing, but it really doesn't lather great at all. I have thrown it into my purse for emergencies though. It can never hurt to have a travel size soap on hand, exspecially with an 8 month old.

Next up is the Color Club polish, and boy oh boy this picture does not do this justice. It is neon, and when I say neon, I mean "LOOK AT ME I AM WEARING TRAFFIC CONES ON MY FEET" neon. I will swatch this for you guys later when I get into swatching some of my polishes.

I have talked to several people about the Nick Chavez shampoo, and it's one of those things where if you are a big anti-sulfates person, then this is not for you, because yes, it does contain sufates. I however am not that picky when it comes to the products I wash my hair with, and found it to be very nice. It smells a little medicinal, but not unpleasant, and it doesn't really lather, but is spread through the hair more like a conditioner. When I rinsed it out I was very pleasantly surprised though. My hair was soft and silky feeling and I hadn't even conditioned yet!

And last but not least, the Boscia blotting linens. I could not have recieved these at a better time! I live in Iowa and usually it is ... 35F in Iowa in March, but this whole week is 77-79F, and for some reason after having my daughter my skin has shifted from dry to on the oilier side. They work really well (you can see it on the paper, GROSS, I know.) and smell like green tea!

So that was my March box, and I was really happy with it!!

*All opinions are my own and are not paid for by any company. The box reviewed in this post was paid for by myself.*