Glossy Box - December

GlossyBox showed up today and I have to admit I'm pretty happy with it. I'm not sure if it was nicer than usual because it was a Christmas box or if it's always this nice. I'll probably end up giving most of the products to Melia. They're nice, but better suited towards her.
~ ECRU - acacia protein oil
~ Pleats Please - perfume sample (smells nice, just not my favorite notes)
~ Bath and Shower oil - madurai jasmine and mogra scented.
~ White Tea epsom salts
~ Oscar Bland - Dry Styling Heat Protect Spray
~ Zoya - "Storm"... beautiful sparkly black
~ A jewelmint sample which was a pretty gold toned necklace with pretty jewels/pearls (fake).

Anyway, that's that!
It's the last day of Gary's Christmas vacation so we went to see The Hobbit. It was FABULOUS! Now, it's time to cook a delicious salmon dinner and I'll post the recipe if it's as good as it looks. ;)

Beauty Boxes Overload!

I'm not going to spend my post bitching about how horrible google is and how they say my google drive is full even though there are maybe 15 spreadsheets/documents in it and that's it. I'm supposed to hear back from them in "1 to 2 business days"... yeah right. Anyway, for the time being, images are being hosted at Photobucket. They haven't ever given me a problem in years.
So, as you can see I've gone red. I don't mean auburn, or strawberry or Nicole Kidman... I MEAN RED... primary red, "you can't buy this in a box at Walgreens" red. I love it. It's fun and funky and well... yeah.

You might have noticed that I have not posted any of my monthly beauty box posts in a while. I've been busy and distracted and well... lazy?


That being said, here are a few of the ones I have received since November.

I'm starting with BeautyBox 5 in November. This box is the reason that I cancelled BeautyBox 5. I'm not even linking to them because it sucked so bad.
Some random crap in a net baggie but what stood out the most was the CETAPHIL lotion.... REALLY???? For the cost of this entire box, I could have gone to Walgreens and bought a giant bottle of this crappy lotion. CUHANCELLED!

Now, here is BeautyBox 5 for December. Yup, you read that right. They sent me another box after I cancelled. I went back and checked and I did indeed cancel, removed my card, hadn't been charged but they sent me another box anyway. This means I can't really complain about this box HOWEVER, had they sent me this box in November I would not have cancelled. You see that little brush there? I've been meaning to buy another one JUST LIKE THAT ONE for months now and I never think about it until I am using it in the morning and then by the time I get around to it, I have forgotten but they sent me one so YAY! A nice brush, a full sized pretty eyeshadow powder and some other random stuff that I will use. Maybe I'll sign back up again. We'll see if they send me another free box in January. :D

Now, here comes Ipsy for December! Y'all know I loooooooooove Ipsy (formally known as MyGlam).

A whole slew of products I'm going to use:
Sweet eyeliner pencil, eyebrow gel, GORGEOUS lip gloss, nail polish and Meet Matt eyeshadow in a great color! I love theBalm products!!!
I was also VERY happy with November's bag but I've used most of the products and the bag they came in is being used in my shiny new purse. :D

Now, here's a new one for the month of December.
It's Beauty Bar - Sample Society. Sounds all hoity-toity and they have that right. The samples they sent me were pretty high end compared to other sample boxes. I'll probably use most of this but Murad, Philosophy and the Vapour Organic lipgloss in a gorgeous color stick out the most!







I also signed up for Glossy Box. They ship out mid-month so I'm still waiting for my December box to get here. I'm guessing it will be Monday and I'll update when I get it. I did some sneak peeking around the website to get a hint of what comes in this month's box. We'll see how pleased when I get it. It seems sorta "meh" but you never know!

This concludes 2 months of beauty boxes crammed into one post.

Meet Toni

So, this is Toni. I was SO excited to order and get this color FINALLY... and it was a real let down. I mean it's a pretty color and all, but WAY more purple than I thought it would be. I don't have a problem with purple, but when I'm expecting a brown and get a purple I get all sad face.
But, I did decide to use it anyway. I chopped my nails off last night and painted them this afternoon, right before a 1.5 hour nap. Yes, I know, I lead a fun filled life. My excuse is that I had knee injections today and I really just wanted to relax this afternoon.

OPI Chip Skip
Julep - Toni
Seche Vite - top coat





ATTENTION FOOD JUNKIES: I haven't stopped posting recipes, I just haven't really tried anything new that I thought was "share worthy". I've been busy lately and sticking to some golden oldies.... well if you wanna call the last 2 months "oldies".. anyway. I'm going to be looking for new stuff over the weekend so be on the lookout!!!

Beauty Boxes for September!

Well, the last box showed up today. While I wasn't blown away by any ONE box, there were products in each one that I'll use or at least pass on to friends who will use them. :)

So, in order of them showing up, we're going to start with MyGlam which is now known as ipsy.

SOHO smudge brush - I'll never use this, I'm pretty set on the brushes that I use.
Jane - sparkle gloss. I will use the hell outta this. If you know me, you know I have a huge lipgloss addiction.
Circus - yet ANOTHER Circus nail polish and this time in a gawd awful purple. The polishes are good and brushes are nice but hello....... some variety would be nice. This is the 4th month in a row!
Mirabella - eye color. I probably won't use this. It's pretty but I use my Beauticontrol eyeshadows and I'm pretty hooked on them.
Carol's Daughter - Split End Sealer. I'll be using THIS the next time I wash and dry my hair. Since I'm growing my hair out, I need all of the help I can get!

Beauty Box 5 showed up next:

H.Wood Beauty - Lip Shine... or bright red lipstick. I have a few that I like but I'm NOT a lipstick person. This will go in Melia's stash. She's the one that can pull it off.
Goat Haus Dairy - bath melts. I'll use this too. I take baths now and then and I'm always looking for good bath products. I'm a lush girl at heart but hey, it's free!
Silk Naturals - eyeshadow... again, nice color but I have my favorites already
Nastassja Skin - Enzyme Facial Peel. I'm going to give this a try this weekend on my beauty night. I heard it's pretty amazing BUT it's pretty pricey so it's nice to be able to try it first. I was happy to see this.
NuMe - Hydro Punch Hydrating Shampoo - They actually gave me enough to be able to wash my hair. Samples are NEVER enough for me. I usually have to pass them on. I don't have one shampoo brand that I like to stick to, in fact I like to rotate them out so that my hair doesn't get build up. I'll use this tonight. PLUS they gave me a $100 off coupon and the shampoo is only $25! I'm going shopping! :D

BirchBox showed up today:

Well, "meh"...
Bvlgari - Mon Jasmin Noir - perfume sample. It kinda smells good and it kinda smells like the Renaissance Festival but not in a sweaty armpit way.
Color Club - custom polish. I'll probably try it because you know ME, I wanna check out the brush and see if I like it, plus it's a nice sheer gold and sometimes that's just what I'm looking for!
Dr Jart+ - Water Fuse Beauty Balm - apparently it's a moisturizer, serum, sunscreen and tint all in one. I use Beauticontrol tinted face lotion though so I'm good. It seems a little dark for me anyway.
Fekkai - Essential Shea Shampoon & Conditioner. OH Fekkai, how I used to love you, then you kinda dumbed down your formula and sold it at Walgreens. It's still pricy, especially for Walgreens, but it's not the same quality it used to be. Their hair gloss is nice though. I do buy that. Regardless, I have way too much hair for the tiny samples they sent. :|
They also included a weird little twistband for you hair... I'll try it when I fast walk tonight.
They also gave me some "brush guards" I guess to slip them over your makeup brushes. Those would be nice for when I travel which is OH SO OFTEN (eye roll).

Well, like I said, none of them blew me away. I didn't hate any of them but Beauty Box 5 had the most samples that I would actually use so THEY WIN for September! :)

Another 2fer..I'm just cheap this week!

This is from 9/9/12, I've just been too busy to update.
I was waiting on this polish to come in from Julep for a long time and it finally showed up. Not that they're slow, I'm just impatient. I've received a LOT of compliments on this color too. It's the first time I've ever used a green and it matches my engagement ring perfectly. It's a keeper.

OPI Chip Skip
Julep - Hoch
Seche Vite - top coat

Ok, the polish that I removed to put on this polish was Essie. Essie is a BITCH to get off. I swear, it takes me like 6 jumbo cotton balls and some freaking muscles. Maybe I'm a wimp but anyway, I have found myself avoiding Essie because of this. Well, I was googling one day and came across this link.
I'm not going to type out everything that I did when you can just go look but let me tell you, I'll NEVER remove my nail polish the "conventional" way again. This looks kinda goofy but takes 5 minutes and it got ESSIE off with NO STRUGGLES! "5 minutes nail polish removal tutorial"

This is what I did last night. I don't normally photograph the right hand. It has nothing to do with the fact that I have a 4 year old skin graft. It's mostly because it's kinda awkward using my left hand to take a picture. Anyway!!

OPI Chip Skip
Essie - Marathin
Seche Vite - top coat

Essie Strikes Again!

It's been a very, very, very, very, very, very busy week.
My sis (Melia) started her new job and I volunteered to take the boy child home from school until her training is over. I really don't mind AT ALL but it's made for a busy week.
Anyway, the polish from Julep that I had on last week stayed on VERY well. It didn't even wear out on the tips. That means my theory about my nails just being too long was correct.


I used:
OPI Chip Skip
Essie - Yogaga (beige)
Essie - Boxer Shorts (purple on ring fingers)
Seche Vite top coat as always.


Have a fabulous weekend! It's Labor Day weekend. That means Gary is off for 3 days and I think we're just going to be lazy, catch up on Dexter, maybe catch a movie and I have some swaps for swap-bot to get together!

Julep has not let me down!

As the title says, Julep didn't let me down. The ends did wear off a little fast but my nails were LONG and I'm hard on them between cleaning, cooking, typing and texting. I chopped them off last night and repainted a little while ago.

First thing I noticed was that the old Julep color came off my nails like butter. Sometimes, I really have to struggle, even soaking them in remover, just to get the damn polish off!
Julep comes off the nails really well!

OPI Chip Skip
Julep - Claire
Seche Vite top coat

Julep is still running the .01 first month. Use discount code
PENNY.

Julep : Trying a new brand!

I was going to wait a few days and post this after I'd given the polish enough time to see how it holds up but I know I'll forget so I'll just update it later.

Meet Rose. She's obviously not a rose color, but Julep names all of their colors (well, so far) girl's names and this one happens to be rose. It's actually a nice red.

If you know me at all, you know I'm addicted to monthly subscription boxes and most especially if they contain beauty products. When I heard about Julep, I knew this was something that I had to try. I did some googling for you and found some discount codes with really good "it works!" percentages.
color2012 - first month should be .01
penny - first month should be .01
welcomemv5 - first month should be $5 and free shipping!
Obviously, try the first 2 first. ;)

So, I'm going to quote directly from their website. Julep.com

Becoming a Julep Maven gives you exclusive access to COLOR. Each month we hand-pick trendsetting new nail colors, cult faves and cutting-edge beauty products that are just right for you. Commitment shy? No problem. YOU decide how often to receive your Julep Maven box, and you can cancel at any time.

I received my first box yesterday and this is what was in it! I'm not sure I'm fond of all of the colors and hopefully I can preview what they're sending each month BEFORE I have to skip or not. I wanted to try one though so I could review it and so I chose the red (Rose).
I love it! I love the brushes, I love how it goes on, and I love the color! I used the same OPI Chip Skip that I always use and finished it with the Seche Vite top coat, like always.
I'm still not sure how it's going to hold up and I'll update in a few days to let you know if it's chipping or wearing off too quickly. I'm hard on my hands so I'll know right away. <.<


If you're a nail polish addict like me, I highly suggest giving it a try for at least a month. With the discount codes it's a deal you can't turn down!

Yes, I painted them again!

I cook a LOT now. More cooking means more dishes and more mess which means more cleaning! I THINK that is why my nails are wearing off at the ends so quickly. They don't chip (thanks to OPI) but the tips wear down and that irritates me! AND, you'd think that it would come off easily with polish remover but nope... it's like trying to take off wallpaper. >.<

Anyhow, I'm not usually a fan of blues/purples/greens and yellows on my nails but I'm trying to get out of my little box. The picture accurately captures the color. It's like a dark lavender... more blue than purple though.



O.P.I. Chip Skip
Essie - Smooth Sailing
Seche Vite top coat

The Essie comes from the Braziliant Collection and is available on Amazon and eBay. I'm not sure about the stores.

Essie strike again!

The ombre didn't last as long as I wanted to. I guess I was especially hard on the hands this week and the tips were wearing off quickly. O.P.I Chip Skip probably helped keep it on longer than it would have. That is a product you should invest in. It's worth it, and in fact a lot of places give it away if you buy 2 O.P.I. products. Anyway, here's what I used:

O.P.I. Chip Skip
Essie Super Bossa Nova
Seche Vite Top Coat

The Essie color came from the Summer 2011 collection so you can't buy it from Essie anymore (probably not in stores either). I got mine from Amazon or eBay... I forget which one but I just searched and they both have it!

My first "Ombre" attempt...

Well, here is my first attempt at "ombre". I didn't make THAT big of a mess which is surprising. Although I did end up with polish on my lip and I'm still not quite sure how that happened.
I didn't buy a set, I made it myself by starting with my base color and slowly lightening it up with white. I still need to clean up the edges but I'm waiting for it to dry 100%.

Products Used:
O.P.I. - Chip Skip
China Glaze - Liquid Leather
Circus - Reverso
Seche Vite top coat

Tada!

*You can't purchase Circus yet. I got a full sized product in my last MyGlam bag. Any white will do though. :)

You'll need shades for this polish!

Well, the red lasted about 3 days. It was just to much of a "wintery red" for me.

I usually take my nail pictures outside but the light was wrong and didn't do this color justice. In fact, the light inside barely does. This is an almost fluorescent.. pinky/peach. It's gorgeous and BRIGHT! It dries almost like a matte though so get a shiny top coat!

China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy
Essie - luxeffects "pure perfection" (for a light sparkle)
Seche Vite - Top Coat

(and yeah, I did a rushed sloppy job and then chopped all my nails off about 2 hours later.)

I Love Red Polish..

Back when Gary was in boot camp I had a roommate for a short period of time. Her name was Teresa. We had worked together in the past and were pretty good friends. Anyway, we were painting our nails one night and I was giving her grief about never using red since it's such a fantastic color. She explained to me why she didn't use red. She was raised by a Deliverance style, "Christian" mother who was pretty much bonkers. When Teresa was growing up, her mother told her repeatedly that she wasn't allowed to wear red polish because "only whores wear red polish"... I finally talked her into putting some red on her nails and from that day on I've always joked about "whore red". I'm thinking about writing O.P.I or ORLY to see if they'll name a great polish "Whore Red".
That being said today I decided to try out a new red. I'm pretty stinking happy with it. My favorite red is ORLY's Monroe's Red (really annoying auto-start video at that link, but there is a pause button). It's in their permanent collection so it's available.

This week I used:
- O.P.I. Chip Skip *
- O.P.I. An Affair In Red Square
- Seche Vite top coat (as always)

*Originally I thought that Chip Skip was a crappy product. I got it for free when I purchased 2 other O.P.I. colors a few months ago. Anyway, the first time I used it my nails chipped like crazy but then a few weeks later I used that same color again without Chip Skip and it turns out that the polish I was using was just crappy. The brand is great (ORLY) but the polish must have been a bad batch or something. Anyway, I've used Chip Skip since then, and it works wonderfully. I'm really hard on my nails and I almost never have a chip.

Birchbox & MyGlam - July

Birchbox: I don't know if they amped it up because Glamour got involved, but this month's box was pretty good!

1. amika - Obliphica Nourishing Mask (for the hair)
2. amika - Obliphica Hair Treatment (oil for the hair)
3. boscia - B.B Cream SPF 27 PA+++
4. Eyeko - Skinny Liquid Eyeliner (in black)
5. Harvey Prince - Hello (perfume sample and it smells GOOD)
6. Larabar - uber (haven't eaten it and I'm not sure I will, it has bananas in it .. ewww)
7. Earbuds - the cutest neon pink and green earbuds. They'll match the pink on my iPhone perfectly!

Well, this post has been sitting in draft until I received my MyGlam bag and it finally showed up today! One thing that MyGlam has over BB is that they send it in reusable packing and always include a cute and different every time makeup baggie. I use those makeup bags for gift baggies all the time! Oh! One of their items is always a full sized too, where BB sends all sample sizes. Anyway, let's go through this month's package!

1. Juice Beauty - Green Apple Moisturizer
2. Nu.Me - HydroPunch Hydrating Conditioner
3. Yes to Cucumbers - On The Go Facial Towelettes
4. Josie Maran - Magic Marker Lip & Cheek Stain
5. Circus by Andrea's Choice - Nail Color (and mine is "Reverso" (white) and I'll never use it  /sad face)


So, there you have it. Once again, I think I'm picking MyGlam as a winner. I just can't get over the cute little makeup bag, the packaging I can reuse (GO GREEN!) and the full sized product they give me.

Treated myself to a new nail color!

After deep cleaning my kitchen and 2 bathrooms all day (Yeah, it took me all day) and then spending time evening time with Gary I thought I'd treat myself to a polish change. I'm not totally thrilled with this color but as often as I change it, I'll be ok.

So this is what I used:
Essie "Fair Game" - 2 coats (4 pack mini "The Resort Collection". I found it on Amazon)
Essie "Shine of the Times" - 1 coat (This is one of the "top coats" they put out. Lux Effects. You can still get them in the stores)
Seche Vite Top Coat - (I'm still raving over this top coat!)

We also made some salsa tonight. It's a recipe that I pulled off of allrecipes and modified it greatly. I'll post it tomorrow!

The Perfect Manicure

I just love this picture. This is Lucy, she's the 84 year old mother of one my dearest friends. They sent me this picture because her nail polish color pretty much matches the color I posted about yesterday. I LOVE the daisies that they decorated her nails with. I don't generally decorate my fingernails with designs because I'm so hard on my hands.

I love this picture though. I really can't put it into words and I'm not even going to try. I hope you see the beauty in it that I do.

Oh and check out that bling! I loooove her bracelet!

Inspired by toes...

I went in for my first "summer pedicure" yesterday. I brought my own polish with me and she looked at me kinda funny. I guess that's not normal?
I like to bring my own because 1. I waste enough money on polish so why not USE it.. and 2. It makes touch ups easier if I have the color right?

Anyway, I brought in China Glaze's Love's A Beach. It's a very hot pink and the picture doesn't do it justice. It's from their Summer Neon line. It goes on a little on the matte side but I use Seche Vite for a topcoat which keeps your nails looking freshly painted wet for who knows how long.

 So I loved the color on my toes so much I had to use it on my fingers as well. I haven't decided what I'm doing next.. maybe silver? Or maybe one of the new Essie colors I ordered on Amazon. :)



I should really advertise for the girl who makes my toe rings. She is fantabulous. I found her by doing a search for local sellers in my area. Her shop is Pretty Little Tootsies. You can't go wrong. :)