Friday, March 22, 2013

St. Paddy's Day NOTD


For St. Patrick's Day I painted my nails with Julep Lucky. They released this for March mainly for the holiday.

Lucky is described as a kelly green and gold coin multi-dimensional, full coverage glitter.


I got great coverage with this glitter polish and it looks really great. When I first got the polish I thought it it was basically Julep Cindy with Vivian but after comparing them I realized they are different.


Enjoy!


Thursday, March 21, 2013

FTC Update and New Disclosure Policies

The FTC recently updated its policies for bloggers and I have been trying to figure out how to address these changes for my blog, hence the reason my posts haven't been updated for a while.

I came across several bloggers who have been trying to deal with new rules and this article by Beauty and Fashion Tech really summarizes the new changes really well. Basically I will need to post a disclosure at the beginning and the end of each post stating if I recieved the product to review from the company, if I purchased the product with my own money, if I am getting paid for the review etc, etc. Now I have to rewrite my disclosure policy and make some disclosure graphics that I can use in my posts. Please bear with me while I get this all sorted.

Thanks,
Michelle

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Julep Mindy vs Jennifer

When I got my order with Jennifer I instantly thought it looked just like a color I got in my January Maven box. After pulling out Mindy I went ahead and swatched them, they both have some similarities but they are fairly different.

Top- Jennifer Bottom-Mindy

Both colors are suppose to be sheer but it was really hard for me to get a good application with either of these polishes. Mindy is less sheer than Jennifer and lighter in color. Both colors are pink and they can be made more opaque with more coats. 

Mindy- Porcelain pink sheer
Jennifer-Sheer soft pink crème


By the second coat Jennifer is still sheer enough to to see the nail line and it looked okay and probably didn't need a third. Mindy started getting opaque and I could barely see the nail line.

2 coats of each color
The third coat made Mindy completely opaque and Jennifer is almost opaque. After doing these swatches I realized I need to buy some nail wheels for my swatches so that the comparisons will be better.

3 coats of each color

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

February Beauty Army #2


BOO-BOO COVER-UP
Boo-Boo Covers

Sample Size: 3- 1x1in covers
Full Size: 6- 2x3in covers
Full Size Value: $19.99
Sample Value: $1.66




WHIP HAND COSMETICS
Loose Pigment Eyeshadow
(Medal Of Honor)

Sample Size: 0.03 oz.
Full Size: 0.1 oz.
Full Size Value: $14.00
Sample Value: $4.20





LASH CARD
Mascara Shields

Sample Size: 2 cards
Full Size: 20 cards
Full Size Value: $13.98
Sample Value: $1.39














OLIVE NATURAL BEAUTY
The Olive Bar
(Lemon & Lavender)

Sample Size: 1 oz
Full Size: 8 oz
Full Size Value: $10.00
Sample Value: $1.25













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












BATH & BODY WORKS 
TWILIGHT WOODS SHOWER GEL
Sample Size: 3 oz.
Full Size: 3 oz.
Full Size Value: $5.00
Sample Value: $5.00


 

 
 
 This box is valued at $13.76, the value of this box isn't very high but I got a bunch of new products to try. The Boo-Boo Cover-ups are interesting they work just like a temporary tattoo I will be doing a review on these really soon. Finally the last color in the Whip Hand Eyeshadow collection is here, and it is a beautiful copper color and I love it. The lash cards are really handy I am a bit disappointed because I thought they would be a bit thicker. The bar soap smell divine! I recently got a Lavender and Lemon candle and the combination is great and this soap smells just like my candle. The Say Yes to Carrots body butter is a small sample but it will be enough to see if I like it. The Bath and Body Works body wash is an extra for me since I swear it is my 10th bottle but I love having the extras around for guests.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Julep March Secret Store Haul



Revive and Moisturize Survival Set
Retail Value:  $78 on sale $16.99

Julep Facial for Hands Glycolic Hand Scrub (3 oz.): $32
Julep Glow On Age Defying Hand Brightener (3 oz.): $32
Bonus Gift: Kylie - It Girl: $14





Pamper Yourself Beauty Lover Set
Retail Value: $76 on Sale: $21.99

Bonus Gift - Julep Boho Glam Lengthening Mascara: $24
Julep Topcoat For Hair: $16
Poppy Lip Gloss: $18
Julep's Exclusive Make-up Bag: $18






Sofia
Sofia- $14






The first set that I got I already had both the hand scrub and the lotion but since I keep the lotion next to my computer I figured I should pick up an extra of both. The polish really is a bonus since I had wanted it ever since I became a Maven but I joined the month that it was released and it has been out of stock for almost an entire year.

Kylie
The second set that I picked up had two items that are on my wishlist, the makeup bag and the lip gloss. I mentioned in a previous post that I only had one more of Julep's lip glosses to get before I had the whole set. The makeup bag will be the perfect size for my trip to Paris this month, it even has a couple of slots to keep polishes in. The mascara is my go to mascara and this will be my third tube of it. The last item in the set is the Topcoat for hair which is something I haven't used before but it sounds interesting so I will give it a try.

Lip Gloss in Poppy

Boho Glam Mascara

Topcoat For Hair

Makeup Bag
Inside of make up bag
The last item I picked up wasn't apart of the secret store but since I had the free voucher for a nail polish I figured I should include it in this order. Sofia is a glitter top coat that glows in the dark. I already have a polish similar but it is all goopy and smells horrible, so if this turns out to be almost identical I plan on tossing out my old one for a Julep's 4-Free polish. Sofia was originally introduced last March then it was brought back for Halloween where it was revealed to glow in the dark.

In all I spent roughly $15 out of pocket because I used up what was left on my Julep Gift Card and the free voucher for Sofia. For $15 I managed to get a lot of products and add 2 new polishes to my collection which is great.

Monday, March 11, 2013

BzzAgent Schick Hydro Campaign

As a BzzAgent I was given the opportunity to tryout the Schick Hydro Silk Razor for free. The first thing I noticed was that the handle wasn't bulky like other razors that I have tried and the handle is very comfortable to use. The next thing that I noticed is that the razor has an oval shaped cartridge which is good for getting behind my knees. The number one thing that stood out to
me was the moisturizing strip, it is on both sides of the blades so it will moisturize the skin before the blades contact the skin as well as after.

Now after using this razor for over a month I love how my legs feel after shaving, the moisturizing serum really helps in keeping my legs from drying out. I haven't need to use shaving cream while using this razor and I haven't experienced any issues with the razor pulling or tugging at my skin. Normally when I use a new razor/cartridge for the first time I always end up with a a few cuts here and there as well as some razor burn but I didn't get either from this razor. The claims that the Moisturizing Serum hydrates skin for up to 2 hours seems to hold true, usually I get really dry skin after shaving and I need to use lotion but since using this the Hydro Silk I haven't needed to.

My final decision on the razor is that it is amazing and it has provided the best shave I have every gotten before.

Friday, March 8, 2013

More Julep Polishes

Julep is constantly having promotions and I finally caved on one of them. The promo was for a free bottle of Jennifer with any purchase over $5. I took this as a chance to pick up a new polish that I had on my wishlist and I used my gift card so I didn't pay much at all for these two.

Jennifer

Sheer soft pink crème





Melissa


Sheer opalescent shimmer.





I was really hoping that Jennifer would be similar in color to the Oxygen nail treatment and they are close. Melissa is a beautiful opalescent polish that will be great by itself or on top of a creme color to completely change the look of a polish.