July Ipsy Bag

I just got my latest Ipsy bag in the mail yesterday. I am excited to try everything but the nail polish.

  

 In this bag I got:  

healthy sexy hair soy renewal beach spray

bh cosmetics California collection

Pop beauty pouty pop crayon in fuchsia flirt

Coola rose essence tinted moisturizer

Nailtini in Mai Tai

8.15.13 NOTD

I finally decided with only 3 more yellow based greens to use I needed a break and pulled out my second favorite color, purple.

This look is actually 3 colors Julep's Billie Jean, Bette, and Chelsea.  Bette is on the sheer side so after the first coat I pulled out Billie Jean which is an opaque creme that has great coverage with just one coat.

This look is 1 coat Bette, 1 coat Billie Jean, 1 coat Bette, 1 coat Chelsea, and 1 coat of Freedom.

8.11.13 NOTD

Today's NOTD is Julep's Mackenzie. This month I'm working on wearing every green polish I own so I can decide which ones are my favorite.

8.10.13 NOTD

It has been a very long time since I posted but I am planning on getting back on track soon.

Today I wanted to share my NOTD since I am actively trying to use every polish I own. This look uses 3 coats of Julep Fiona and one coat of Julep Colbie, finished with a coat of Julep's Freedom Polymer Topcoat.

Enjoy!

BzzAgent Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Review

As a BzzAgent I was asked to try out and review the entire line of Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge hair products. 

 

I received the shampoo, conditioner and the 1-minute treatment to try and I have to admit that at first I wasn't wowed at the idea of using the line since I finally found what I think is my holy grail shampoo. So the first time I used all the products I wanted to see how well it would do with a ton of products in my hair, a combination of hairspray and dry shampoo, plus it was really tangled. Well after using all three products for just one time I noticed a huge difference, hair went from being product filled, tangled and frizzy to smooth and silky. I was able to run a comb through my hair and not worry about having to fight through the knots that I normally do.

One other thing I wanted to point out about these products is that they smell so good it is definitely a plus factor for me. Now the shampoo has these little mirco-beads that are supposed to burst on impact and provided extra moisture but I am not to sure how well they really work because sometimes I can feel them while I am working the shampoo in but I assume they burst because when I rinse my hair I don't notice any being left behind. This was a big deal for me since I have tried another brand of shampoo that had micro-beads but they didn't burst and I would find them in my hair even after it was dry. 

The conditioner and the 1-minute treatment is what I think  really gave my hair the hydration it has needed to help it recover from the dry winter air. As well as contributing to getting rid of my tangles. Now I have noticed that my hair does seem nice a silky feeling for a couple of days but any longer and I need to use a leave-in conditioner if I want to stretch it out for a third day.

The price and availability on these products is good since they can be purchased in many drug stores. 

My overall opinion is that these products seem to be working for me right now but I don't think I will be buying anymore for a while since I still have quite a few full size bottles of other brands to work through first. Once those are gone I will more than likely be picking these up at the store. 

January Beauty Army #1

January Beauty Army #1

This box took a really long time to get to me and it has quite a few duplicate samples but since January was the one year anniversary for the company they offered a 7th sample. Now I have no clue why this one took so long but I am just glad it finally got here. 

MARK. Hook Up Lip Gloss (Blow Kisses)
Sample Size: 0.12 oz
Full Size: 0.12 oz
Full Size Value: $6.50
Sample Value: $6.50

 BATH & BODY WORKS Japanese Cherry Blossom Shower Gel Sample Size: 3 oz
Full Size: 3 oz.
Full Size Value: $5.00
Sample Value: $5.00

 GG GATSBY Raise Volume Conditioner 
Sample Size: 0.5oz
Full Size: 8.4oz 
Full Size Value: $14.99 
Sample Value: $0.89

MARK. Scanda-Lash Mascara (Black) 
Sample Size: 0.12 oz 
Full Size: 0.12 oz 
Full Size Value: $6.50 
Sample Value: $6.50

LASH CARD
Mascara Shields 
Sample Size: 2 cards 
Full Size: 20 cards 
Full Size Value: $13.98 
Sample Value: $1.39

WHIP HAND COSMETICS
Loose Pigment Eyeshadow
(Special Forces) Sample Size: 0.03 oz.
Full Size: 0.1 oz.
Full Size Value: $14.00
Sample Value: $4.20

YES TO
Super Rich Body Butter 
Sample Size: 0.1 oz 
Full Size: 4.9 oz 
Full Size Value: $12.99 
Sample Value: $0.26






I got this box so that I could pick up the mascara in black since I already had it in brown. I also needed to pick up the Whip Hand pigment in Special Forces (swatches of the whole collection to come soon.) The lip gloss will probably be given as a gift since I already have one in this color. I am stockpiling my B&BW shower gels so I don't have to go out and buy new ones. I needed the matching Gatsby shampoo so I grabbed that as well. The lash cards come in handy and I now have 8 lash cards between all of my subs. The little packet of body butter is so small that I wanted to get another one just to see if I like the product. Now all of this is valued at $24.74, not bad for a $12 sub. 
 

February Ispy Bag

I finally caved and signed up for Ipsy! I just couldn't resist, I was debating for months before we moved then I forgot about it until I saw the January bags. After checking that they would ship to APO addresses I got put on the waitlist. I waited a couple of weeks and right before the February bag was about to be released I got in. I am super excited about this bag because everything included I will use. One nice thing about Ipsy is that they only have a few bag variations, this month there are two, unlike Birchbox where I never know what I am going to receive because they have roughly 30 every month.

So what all did I get in my first bag?

Pixi Flawless Primer
Sample Size: 15ml
Full Size: 30ml
Full Size Value: $29.00
Sample Value: $14.50

Pop Beauty Mascara
Sample Size: 0.17oz
Full Size: 0.25oz
Full Size Value: $18.50
Sample Value: $12.58

Mica Beauty Gel Eyeliner
Sample Size: Approximately 1 to 2 grams
Full Size: 5grams + brush
Full Size Value: $35.00
Sample Value: Guessing around $14.00







Coastal Scents Eyeshadow
Sample Size: 4- 0.60" pan, 0.5 grams each
Full Size: 1" pan, 1.3g
Full Size Value: $1.99 each ($1.53 a gram)
Sample Value: $3.06 ($0.76 each)




 





Lash Card
Sample Size: 4 lash cards
Full Size: 10 lash cards
Full Size Value: $6.99
Sample Value: $2.79

Red Carpet Ready Glam Bag
Valued Roughly at $5.00


Normally I do the value of all the products but I am at a loss on how to price some of the items. I have read that the gel liner is full sized minus the brush, but after looking at it there is no way that there is 5 grams in that container, compared to my other gel liners which are 3 and 2.3grams I would say that this sample is only 1 or 2 grams. I figured I still needed to add values because I haven't done a single post without values. So the whole bag values at roughly $51.93 which is a really good value for all of these items.

The eyeshadows are by a company that has a lot of large palettes (88 colors or more) and I have been interested in the company for a while but I can never justify ordering without knowing if the products are really good. These shadows are really tiny but they are so cute, I am glad I got the warmer colors because they will look great on me.

The Mica gel eyeliner make me so happy the full size with a brush retails for $30 and I have found that I am not really loving my Eyeko liners as much as I had in the beginning. I like using my eyeshadow or my loose powder liners more than my liquid ones because I get a better line, so this may just be my go to liner if it works well for me.

The Lash Card will definetly get some use because no matter how hard I try I always get one mark on my eyelid from my mascara, I also plan to use it for my bottom lashes as well.

The Mascara will just go in my over flowing collection of mascaras I probably won't get around to using it for a really long time.

The Pixi primer is something that I will end up using but just like my mascara collection my primer collection is slowly growing and I have so many I need to get through before this one will get used.

For a $10 sub I got great products, this months bag seemed to be focused on eyes which is good because I always do my eye makeup if I don't have time to do a full face.