June Julep Maven Box

This month, I decided to stick with my style - Classic with a Twist.  There was nothing classic about the colours and was all twist!  And I love it!  I did purchase some add-ons, but those are coming separately!


Just in the nick of time, this month's box came with Julep's daylight defense lip balm and daylight defence hand and face cream, and of course my gorgeous colours!

First up are the Pixie sticks....HAHAHA! I've never had a pixie stick before in my life, but from what I gather, they are straws filled with flavoured sugar?  ohmigoodness.  Me and sugar do not get along.  I actually get hyper like a little child.  I can't control myself, so bring it on!  :P

Julep SPF 30 Daylight Defense for hands and face.  I'm not sure how I feel about this product.  I always thought that you should use what was meant for your hands on your face because it would be too thick?  But I guess, if it was a face product, then you can use it on you hands?  It contains Vitamin E, which helps hydrate skin and strengthen nails while the built-in SPF helps guard against fine lines and sun spots.  This product, like all their other products does not contain any paragons or sulfates and is PABA-free.

Julep SPF 15 Daylight Defense Lip Balm in Vanilla Mint. It smells fantastic!  It smells like those minty chocolates that you get from restaurants.  It applied really nicely but it stings a little - I think that it might be the mint.  I hope that I can stop myself from trying to eat  this!

This month, Lauren and Claire paid me visit and said that they'd like to stay.

Claire is a beautiful sky blue creme with a gloss finish.  It was kind of streaky and required three to four coats.


Lauren is a hot tropical pink creme with a matte finish.  I really liked this.  Once again, it was a little on the streaky side and took about four coats to get the opacity that you see in the swatch below.  But I still love this shade!  

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this month's box and this subscription service in general. I really like the fact that I can skip a month or that I can switch up boxes if there is another box that I like better!  And these two shades are just perfect for those summery, lazy, breezy days!

Sephora OPI Indian Summer Minis

 As you all probably know by now, I'm in LOVE with mini polishes! I'm completely insatiable when it comes to these little mini sets - doesn't matter which brand it is, if they are mini and come in a set, I'm gonna get you!

Sephora and OPI have this little party going on where OPI will release Sephora exclusive polishes.  Betsey Johnson and Bohemian Nights are some of their more recent releases.  


Just in time for the summer, they've released a new mini set - "Indian Summer".  This set contains some very bright and bold colours.  And in true OPI fashion, they have some cute and very appropriate names!

 Paisley Attention to Me - Bright, vibrant, show stopping orange.
What Aura You Gonna Wear? - Beautiful magenta pink with a touch of cool.  This is probably my favourite shade.
Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue - Deep dark purple.
I'm So Sari! - Flashy Iridescent and glittery blue, blue base.

I wish that I could wear all of these colours - at once!  Out of all the collections that Sephora OPI have put out, I think that this one is my favourite by far!  

Sweet Delights Divalicious Sample box Review!

Yes, you read right!  It's another box!  Sweet Divalicious Delights is a sample box and is slightly different from the rest (i.e. TopBox, Luxebox, Glymm, and Glossybox).  This box is seasonal (kind of like the new Luxebox format) and guarantees anywhere between 10-15 sample to full sized items, all for $26 (includes shipping).  The items range from beauty items to jewellery. The majority of the items are natural and organic and form "local" artisans and companies (YAY!). This box ships to Canada and US.  


It's important to sign up for their newsletter because they often send you sneak peeks and let you know when the box is going on sale.  It is first come, first serve, so once they sell out, it's out.  This box sold out in 2 hours!!!!


When I first received the box, it was chock full of goodies - and I mean brimming!

I don't even know where to begin!  


Acrylic Graphic Design Picture - I don't know what to do with it, but it's interesting.
Gourmet Scented Pencils - grape and bubblegum.  I'm a pen girl, so I think that I'll be giving these away to my niece. 
Del Sol colour changing nail polish. 
Three lip balms (one is called Monkey Farts!!!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!)
Small pot of concealer.

A BUNCH of soaps.  They range anywhere between guest sized to deluxe size.  All smell delicious!

More miscellaneous samples.  
John Frieda hair samples
Bugs Away natural bug spray.  Cool!  This is a fair sized sample, and with the wet weather that we've been having, I'm probably going to need it!
Lots of lotion samples.  

Jewellery!!! I received a very cute peas in a pod pendant, pie on a plate with fork and knife earrings and a red swarovski flower pendant.  I love the peas in a pod pendant.  It's very delicate and pretty.

So, this is the box!  I'm not sure if I'm going to get it again.  The one good thing about this box is that they let you see the box contributors, with links to their website, so you can check them out before you purchase the box.  


What do you think of this box? Did you order one?

Best Pedi Ever!

Over the past couple of months, I've amassed a ton of pedicure products from my Julep Maven boxes.  I usually don't pay that much attention to my feet because it seems like the more that I do, the worse that they look.  Especially those heels!  They really take a beating.  Some of the pedicure products that I've received is a pedicure file, the "Best Pedi Prep Ever!" and the "Best Pedi Creme Ever!" - all full sized products.  Rather than letting them go to waste, like I normally would have done, I decided to test them out.


First things first, though, my normal pedi routine consists of using this Revlon Callus Remover.  It seriously looks like a metal hurt contraption.  And then, I finish off my lazy-person routine with the Rocky Mountain Foot Butter and moisturizing socks (maybe.)

With the "Julep" system, you roll on the prep (contains super exfoliating AHAs and chamomile extract) and wait 2-3 minutes for it to soften and exfoliate your heel.  You do not have to soak your feet beforehand. Then you file your heels like your life depended on it.  The file that Julep sells did not outlast the pedicure session.  It was a little on the cheap side and the water seemed to break down the glue that held the "sanding paper" piece on.  Yes, we shall stick with that story - I refuse to believe that it was my heel that broke the file.  :P You rinse your feet and then you apply the creme. 

The cheap foot file aside, my heels did feel really nice and smooth at the end of the session.  The prep roll on was a little bit of a weird experience for me - just because I wasn't used to it.  I couldn't really tell how much product I was supposed apply, and it was often hard to tell if any had actually rolled on (especially if your feet are already wet).  The creme had a nice foot creamy- coconutty smell, not too thick and absorbed quite nicely.  

I probably wouldn't do this treatment often, as I usually don't have the time for it, but it was nice to kind of pamper myself.  Would you try this out?  What is your tried and true pedicure routine?

JUNE JULEP MYSTERY BOX!

Hey everyone!!!  

I wasn't expecting one so soon, but Julep has just announced that they will be releasing a June Mystery Box!  You don't need a subscription to order!

Use JUNEMYSTERY promo code to bring the regular price of $60 for the box to $19.99.  I'm really hoping that I get a wicked awesome box!!!!  Will you be ordering one?

Hope everyone is having a fabby Thursday!  One more day until the weekend!!!!

May's GlossyBox

GlossyBox is quickly becoming one of my favourite boxes.  Really!  It is!  I don't know what it is that makes it one of my favourites...the box is this beautiful powder pink colour and really good quality.  Oh yeah, and the products aren't too bad either!  HAHAHA.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a snafu and I didn't get a tracking number for the box, but  GlossyBox had posted something on their Facebook page to let us know.  When I picked it up, I couldn't believe how HEAVY it was - again!  Last month's box was super heavy too.  That got me really excited!  Heavy boxes = full sized samples!!!!  YIPPPEEE!!!!  And as always, it's smelling simply delightful!  I didn't get an information card this month with my box, so I'm going to wing it.  

First up is a FULL SIZED Professional Sebastian Volupt Volume Boosting Shampoo.  WOOT WOOT!!!  This shampoo contains cushioning particles to provide a volume boost and soft touch to your hair.  It also contains natural bamboo extracts.  It smells fantastic.  Snaps for great smelling hair.

Next up is Curel Foot Therapy.  It is a soothing cream for dry, cracked feet.  This doesn't look to be a full size, but it is a fairly good size (100ml).  Perfect for travelling.  It is infused with shea butter, coconut milk and vitamin E to help build a 24 hour hydration barrier.  I'm happy to have it, but I doubt that it'll beat out my Rocky Mountain Soap Foot Butter (two applications and your feet are soft as a baby's bottom!).

The next two products are probably the ones that I'm most excited to try.  Simple Eye Make Up Remover and Simple Refreshing Facial Wash.  I've been wanting to try out their products, but just haven't gotten around to deciding which one I wanted to try our first.  So now, the decision has been made for me!  They are pretty big deluxe sizes (once again, probably the same a travel size), so it'll contain enough uses for me to be able to do reviews on them.  

The last product is from BOXX Cosmetics and I'm assuming that it's a full size.  A little about the company - Boxx Cosmetics is a Canadian cosmetics company where everything is designed and made in Canada.  I received a cream corrector in Evelia (Medium shade with pink undertones.  Best for those with light to medium skin).  It might be a little dark for my skin tone.  This cream corrector can be used as foundation or concealer and it's supposed to be able to cover all those little imperfections (including under eye circles, sun damage and broken capillaries).  This is formulated without paragons, formaldehyde donors, phthalates, gluten (? - hey, I don't question...), animal derived ingredients and oils.  One thing that seems odd about this is, is the packaging.  It is minimalistic packaging (which is fantastic) but it also makes the assumption that you will have a magnetic case for it, as I think that it would be awkward to use in the plastic container it came it and probably would dry out faster because already, my plastic container isn't sealing properly)  The value of this product (as per the website) is $24. The cream corrector alone covers the cost of the box ($15).

What a fantastic box!  I'll have to give it a 5 out of 5 rating for this month.  Usually, i end up giving away some of the products that I've received in my box because it wouldn't suit me or I'm just not interested, but with this month's box, I'm going to try every single product because I like it all!I

What do you think of this box?  Which item would you be most excited to try?

May's LuxeBox

There's nothing like getting May's box in June...Oh Luxebox....  For such a large box, it was pretty light.  Whenever I receive light boxes, I always say to myself, "Roh-oh!"  And this was no exception.  Though we received two boxes - the regular LuxeBox and a special Bath and Body box, the boxes still felt really light - like their were empty.  Anyways, enough about that, I'm sure that you get my point...Here are the "goodies/baddies" that I received!

Paco Rabanne - Black XS L'Exces for her and Black XS for Him

WHHHHYYYYY?????????

Goldwell - Dual Sense Color Shampoo and Conditioner

Little shampoo packets will be the bane of my existence with these beauty boxes...This shampoo is supposed to gently cleanse and maintain your hair colour for visibly more brilliance and a natural feeling without weighing down the hair.

Full Size: Shampoo - 750ml ($28), Conditioner - 750ml ($32)

Sample Size: Shampoo - 20 ml ($0.75), Conditioner - 20ml ($0.85)

ORLANE - Active Hydration Body Care

Enhances the flow of water into skin cells, preserving and restoring hydration and the skin's youthful appearance.  It moisturizes intensively, and ensures optimal and dynamic hydration.  This is a pretty small sample that looks like is going to be a one time use...on a leg or arm.  I probably won't be able to gauge whether or not I'll let this product.

Full Size: 250ml ($105) <- WHAT????  Surely this is some sort of typo.  I'm expecting my skin to turn to gold for this price!

Sample Size: 7ml ($2.94)

ESSIE - Navigate Her

It is a muted lime green shade.  Unfortunately, I already have this shade in a mini.  

Full Size: 15 ml ($8)

Sample Size: Full Size

In the Bath and Body bonus box, I received a Gillette Venus and Olay razor and another Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex.  I think that these two products are pretty good.  I have yet to try the first Olay Regenerist product that I've received a while back, but I could always use more razors - uhhh...not that I'm super hairy or anything....

I think that it's awesome that we've received full sized Essie polishes in the past two boxes, but it's not enough for me to want to keep my subscription.  The lack of decent sized products in my boxes are really disappointing.  Plus, I didn't even get a tracking number for this month's box.  


I knew that eventually, I would have to start unsubscribing to some of the boxes and I think that I've given LuxeBox enough chances to try and redeem themselves, and it's just not happening, unfortunately.  I think that is will be my second last LuxeBox (if I recall correctly, they've already charged me for June's - which is silly.  They hadn't even shipped May's boxes and they've already charged for June's...).


What did you think of your May LuxeBox?  Were you happy or disappointed?

May's Love It or Leave It!

This month will be another Love It!  I know, I'm pretty shocked myself, but I think that I've been on a roll when it comes to purchasing things lately!  This month's focus will be hot tools.  For my birthday, a couple of months ago, I had decided to stop using my drugstore hot tools.  They just weren't cutting it for me anymore.  Not to say that they were cheap (I mean, they still did cost about $40-$60), but I was replacing them quite often.  So I decided that it might be time to invest in something a little more heavy duty and professional.  And off I went!  I do want to stress that these are mid-range professional tools - I'm not quite ready to make that big of an investment yet.

First Love is my hairdryer.  It's an Avanti Ultra Professional Hairdryer.  My hair normally takes about 5 minutes plus to dry (that's a lot of time to be stressing out your hair with heat).  Now, it takes less than that.  And the best part of my hairdryer is the cold blast button.  You press it once and it'll stay on cold blast until I press it again to turn it off.  AWESOME!  With all my other dryers, I had to hold down the button.  This dryer had three heat settings (four if you count the cold blast) and three speed settings.  It's got a removable magnetic filter cover, so I'm not breaking my dryer every time I'm trying to clean the lint!

Second Love is my Flat Iron.  I've been using one is a Vidal Sasson Ceramic flat iron that I purchased from London Drugs eons ago.  Just lately, I've been noticing how long it's been taking me to straighten my hair.  I would have to go over the same layers two three times to get it straight. Once again, Avanti showed me the way.  The flat iron that I've been using the past couple of weeks is the Avanti Ultra Ceramic flat iron.  There is a button that keeps your flat iron closed, but it doesn't close to the point the plates are touching each other, it leaves enough space to fit a finger.  This way, it won't ruin your plates.  I think that it takes me less time to straighten my hair than it does for the tool to heat up (which takes about a minute) and for me to spray the heat protectant on.  It's absolutely wonderful (plus it's hot pink to boot)!


Third Love is my Heroine Make Mascara Remover.  This has got to be one of the weirder products that I've ever purchased.  It's an oil based remover.  No, correction.  It's just oil.  The applicator is like a weird mascara applicator.  You put it on before you remove the rest of your make up, so by the end of everything, you just wipe with a kleenex and all mascara is gone!  I think that it just completely dissolves the mascara.  How safe is this product?  Like with most other asian products, I'm not too sure, but I'm guessing that it's alright because on MUA it has some really good ratings.  Another weird thing about this product is when you apply it, it doesn't move, so you'll never get it into your eye unless you rub it in there.  If you have a heavy hand when it comes to applying mascara, you might have to leave it on for more than the normally required 30 seconds and you might have to wipe a few more times.  I found that the best technique is to wipe with kleenex and then take your thumb and forefinger and rub your lash in between your fingers gently to get ANY excess off (for those more dramatic mascara days). 

There must be something in the air for me to have two LOVE IT months in a row!  I can't complain though - there's nothing worse than knowing that you spent money on a dud product...so I'm happy that I found some gems!

What are some of your love (or hate) products for this month...or ever?

And....the WINNER is........?????

Rafflecopter works in strange and mysterious ways....


I clicked "Pick a Winner"...and it did....


So.....


The.....


Winner......


Is.....




Small Town Gal @ Shopping Obsession!!!!


You're probably wondering...hmmm...where have I heard that name before?  


Uh....well....it's because I won her giveaway!  Isn't that crazy insane?


Anyways, have no fear people...I think that I'm officially addicted to giveaways...so be on the look out for more to come in the future!


CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!  Your package is on its way!

Teal the Cows Come Home OPI Summer Minis

I was in the mall the other day and these minis jumped out at me and demanded that I purchase them!  Teal the Cows Come Home minis are the perfect summer colours - they are bright and beautiful.

Teal the Cows Come Home - a beautiful shimmery ocean blue with silvery undertones.

Pompeii Purple - funny enough, this isn't purple at all!  It's a HOT pink with bluish undertones.

Mod About You - A pretty pale pink with a touch of mauve.  

Charged Up Cherry - A bright pinkish red creme coral colour.  

I never heard a peep about this collection, so I did some digging around.  I think that these are the only four colours in the collection.  Anyone have any more information?


Anyways, I love the colours and I definitely see myself wearing Pompeii Purple and Charged up Cherry a lot!  Which one is your fav?

BlogHop #14 - Already?!?!?!?

YAY!  It's time for the weekly bloghop!

Rules are simple:

1. Please follow BlogLoveTherapy (blog or twitter) and leave a comment/feedback on our blog- Let us know what type of feature you would like us to add and/or how we can improve our site.
2. Post about this hop on your blog, twitter, and facebook. This will help drive traffic to the hop. The more people know about it, the more likely you will be discovered.

3. Hop around and be inspired. Please follow at least 5 other bloggers and don't forget to let them know that you found them through our blog hop. 

Don't forget that this is great opportunity to discover new blogs and share yours!

What the Truck????

This was such a cool and neat event that I just have to blog about it!!!  And I apologize for the late post, I wasn't able to get there until this past Thursday!  

I don't consider myself a food snob, but a borderline foodie.  I love going to diners as much as I like going to nice restaurants .

What the Truck is a really awesome event that was put together by one of the local business associations.  It's essentially a gathering of foodie food trucks.  YUMMMMMM!!!!!  This event only runs for the month of May.  4-5 gourmet food trucks gather in a local park just off one of our "trendiest" streets to sell you their wares.  The trucks that are there change from week to week, hence the "menu" changes from week to week.  

I am a HUGE food truck fan.  I don't know why.  Who doesn't want to eat Truffle Oil Tater Tots??  For $6?  C'mon!  :P  So when I heard about this event from a friend, I nearly freaked out.  But unfortunately, like I said before, life kept getting in the way and I couldn't get out there until this past Thursday.  I probably got there around 5:!5pm (the event starts at 5:00pm...and the line ups were already insane!  By 6:15pm, the trucks started to run out of food!!!!  It was a little disappointing to be standing in line for nearly an hour just to find out the "Bacon Bomb" was sold out.  *sad face*  I guess I have to look on the bright side, my heart was probably thanking the high skies that I wasn't able to get it. BUT...I am more than willing to take one for the team, so I'm planning on going again this Thursday, this time with more reinforcements and a plan of attack!  I'm NOT going to be thwarted.  But in the meantime, here are some shots that I took of the event, along with some other photos that I took during the week - I hope that you enjoy.  

Mini Heart Cucumbers from the Farmer's Market

Ummm...not all of this is for me.....

Chanel Eclat Lumiere Review

I purchased this quite a while ago but just haven't had the chance to bust this out until now.  This is definitely one of my more pricier concealers, but was it worth it?

The Chanel consultant recommended this to me as something to put underneath my regular concealer.  She said that the salmon tint would offset and brighten the under eye area.  As you can see in the picture, it's quite the light salmon shade.  

This is a twist pen type of packaging (at the bottom), which I kind of don't like.  I had to twist twice to get the product going and then I had to twist another 15 times to get more product.  When I twisted it for the 16th time, a BUNCH of product came out (what a waste!).  Seems like you can't really control how much product comes out and when.  Or, it could just be that I'm impatient.  Nah.

The formulation is quite runny and I found that you needed to apply at least two layers of the product before the under eye circles were neutralized.  Because it goes on salmon-y in colour, you will need to put concealer on top to even out the skin, plus your setting powder.  That makes for a lot of product.  The product is quite sticky, which is deceiving because it came out of the pen so runny.  You don't need to let it dry before you put on your concealer.  It is quite light (even after concealer and setting powder) and I hardly felt it on my face.  It did last all day, despite a few accidental eye rubs here and there.

HAHA!  I look a little crossed eyed.
Left side is concealed with Eclat Lumiere and Clinique's Line Smoothing Eye Concealer on top.
Right Side has no concealer.

I found that it helped fill in the lines a little better when used in conjunction with the Clinique Line Smoothing Eye Concealer.


I don't think that this is a product that I would use everyday, as it is quite expensive ($40 at The Bay).  Plus, I don't feel so comfortable wearing so much under eye make up everyday - but I have been because I love it!


Did I like this product?  YES!  Will I repurchase?  YES!  


There's still time to enter my 50 Followers Giveaway!

Mini Haul - of sorts...

A while ago, I entered a giveaway for a beautiful pair of earrings.  And then...I completely forgot that I entered, until I got an email (good thing I go through my junk mail!!!!) from Small Town Gal @ Shopping Obsession telling me that I had won!  WHAT???!?!?!  I was kind of stunned.  I seriously never win anything.  EVER.  I think that I was a little overeager in my email responses, but I was truly thankful!!

And here's what I won!

I had won a beautiful pair of Regina Pierallini (New York based designer) gold beaded hoop earrings.  Of course, being the absolute adult I am, I put them on right away and paraded around the house asking my husband every 5 seconds if I looked gorgeous.  Being the ever-so tolerant husband, he said yes.  :P

I just wanted to say "Thank You!" to Small Town Gal for having the awesome giveaway!  If you aren't following her already, please go check out her blog - she's a HUGE J-Crew junkie!

May's Glymm Box 2012

For those that don't know, Glymm has overhauled their look and are calling it Glymm Version 2.0.  They also raised their prices from $10/month to $12/month.  For those that are currently active subscribers, you don't have to do a thing and they will automatically upgrade you.  And you don't have to worry about paying the new and improved priced either.  Glymm has said that as long as you keep your subscription active, you will be charged $10/month.  


So...what's so different?  Less packaging (though, I have to admit, those box did come in handy)!  And NEW PACKAGING!  I love it, love it, love it!  Now, for those people who say that it's a rip off of "MyGlamBag" - who cares???  I'm happy!!!!  :P  The bag itself seems to be of good quality (unlike the myglambag, from what I've read anyways, which seem to be a little cheap).  I hope that the makeup bags are going to be a staple in the "boxes" and I hope that they change up the colours every month.  Perhaps this was part of their grand jelly belly replacement idea?

I was a little surprised to find my "box" a little on the light side, and I instantly though, oh no...this is going to suck....again.  

CK SHOCK FOR HER AND CK SHOCK FOR HIM
HRUMPH!!!!!!!  yay...more perfume samples.  I have at least three or four of this perfume samples.  PUUUHHLLLLEEESSSSEEEEEE.....give me a break from receiving these!  


COOLA - MINERAL MATTE CUCUMBER FACE SUNSCREEN
Protect your face from UV rage with this hydrating, refreshing sunblock.  Coola donates a portion of sales to cancer research.  I've never heard of this brand before, so I'm kind of intrigued.  
full - $36 (50ml)
sample - $3.60 (5ml)


NU-ME HYDROPUNCH HYDRATING CONDITIONER
Turn dull and damaged hair into vibrant, healthy strands that you can't help but to twirl all day long.  Hee hee.  I do twirl my hair....  I've never tried a Nu-Me hair product before, so this will be interesting.  Since my hair is so long, I've been finding it really hard to keep the ends looking nice and less dried out, so this product will definitely be put up to the ultimate test!
Exclusive product launch
full - $24.00 (250ml)
sample - $1.92 (20ml)


CARGO EYE SHADOW DUO in VIENNA
This is probably the third Cargo eye shadow that I've received from my beauty boxes and I have yet to try a single one. I do like this colour combination, so I might actually bust this out once in a while.
full - $25
sample - $25


CAUDALIE - VINEPERT ANTI-AGEING SERUM EYES AND LIPS
Smooth and contour your lips and eyes with this light serum.  I really liked the other Caudalie eye product that I got a while back (which costs, like, a million dollars), so I'm really hoping that I'll like this one too because at least, this one is a little more affordable.
full - $33 (15ml)
sample - $15.40 (7ml)


CAULDALIE SOS THIRST-QUENCHING SERUM AND MOISTURIZING SORBET


The SSO Thirst Quenching serum and the moisturizing sorbet are supposed to be used together, or so it indicates on the card.  Both are exclusive product launches.  The serum is supposed to give your skin a surge of hydration and restore moisture balance for softer and more supple skin.  The moisturizing sorbet will leave your face feeling refreshed, hydrated and comfortably soft.  Both are little tiny samples, but they are in really cute pink packaging, so it's okay.
full - $48.00 (30ml) Serum
full - $38.00 (40ml) Sorbet
sample - $1.60 (1ml) Serum
sample - $0.95 (1ml) Sorbet


Overall, I really liked this month's Glymm Bag.  This will be the first month where I'm keeping all of the samples for myself and not giving any of them away.  One other positive change that Glymm has made is to their card (though, they could save on printing and paper by shrinking the font a little and making the card a little smaller...but not a biggie) is that they tell you approximately how many uses their samples will provide you.  So, hopefully, I'll never see a "Sample usage: 1" on here.  :P  I personally think that Glymm has made quite a few positive changes, but just like when I started my Glymm subscription, I was impressed, but slowly things went downhill, but seeing these changes has changed my mind about cancelling next month.  Hopefully, things will stay good!


Total Value of this month's Glymm Bag: $48.47
Rating: 4 out of 5.


I'm having a 50 Follower Giveaway, please make sure you enter!

Canadian Beauty Review's 150 Follower HUGE giveaway!!!

Steph @ Canadian Beauty Reviews is having a huge giveaway!  She hit 150 followers (WOWSERS!!!!).

Head on over to her blog and check her out.  She's funny, awesome and I love her blog!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS Steph!  And here's to many more!!!!  :)

May's TopBox

I know that I really loved last month's recycled packaging and it must have went over so well with everyone else that this month (and I believe onward), that TopBox are letting you pick which type of packaging you want - recycled or the regular print box.  To me, it's these little touches that really build up "brand" loyalty.  I was already impressed with my box before I even got it!  LOL!

Being the little sneaker peeker that I am, I've already prowled a few of my fav blogs to see what they got in their boxes, so I kind of already knew what was going to be in mine.    :P

ORLANE - FIRST TIME-FIGHTING CARE EYE CONTOUR CREAM

This first time-fighting eye cream for the delicate eye area diminishes fine lines, puffiness, and dark circles leaving the eyes looking smoothed, luminous and lastingly younger looking.  This product was meant those that are 25+ (though, I'm not sure how they came up with that, but sure).  I've never tried Orlane before and I am running out of eye cream, so this is perfect!

full - $75 (15ml)

sample - $10 (2ml)

EXPRESSIONS - BRONZING POWDER BRUSH

Unfortunately, as soon as I slid my brush out of the tubing that it came in, it broke into two pieces.  *sad panda face*  I contacted Topbox and they got back to me within a couple of days and told me that they would send a replacement brush in my June box.  How's that for great customer service? (perhaps Loosebutton should take some notes).  But my initial reaction was how soft and dense the brush was.  I really liked how chunky the handle was because it'll give me greater control.

retail - $25

DEBORAH LIPPMAN - WHATEVER LOLA WANTS

I'm beyond excited to get this polish.  I had previously purchased a collection pack of Deborah Lippman polishes but those were glitter polishes, so it's nice to get a "real" polish. It's this beautiful shell-pink shimmer colour.  Very sheer and needs at least two coats before you can see any of the pink.  It's a perfect colour to put on for those days that you want to wear polish, but don't want to have to pick from your vast collection of polishes (oh c'mon!  Like we don't all have at least 10 polishes!  :P)  It is very similar to Julep's Emma.  Emma is more white based and this is one is more pink based.

full - $20

COVERFX - CLEAR PREPFX

This is an "anti-shine" primer that reduces lines and pores and is long-lasting and easy to blend.  It's a lightweight gel that helps prevent and heal acne blemishes.  I was actually looking at purchasing this primer, so now I can try it out without having to purchase the full size!

full - $39 (30ml)

sample - $9.10 (7ml)

I don't know how Topbox always manages to impress me.  I really liked this box and I'm really impressed with their customer service.  Despite not getting as many samples as the other boxes, this is one is probably my favourite beauty box.  

Total Value of Box: $64.10

Rating: 4.9 out of 5.

If you haven't already, remember to enter my 50 Followers Giveaway!!!

Fairy Drops vs. Blinc

I love fiberwig mascaras.  Mainly because I'm lazy and don't want to wrestle with make up remover to try and get waterproof mascara off my lashes every night. How easy is it to just wet your eyes and pull those little tubes off your lashes?  It's safe, fast and easy.

I've been using Blinc (or when it first came out it was called Kiss Me Mascara - which I believe it's still called in Asia) since my university days.  This is kind of going to date me, but that was about 10 years ago?  I've always found that Blinc (B for short) was a little pricey and it didn't lengthen or volumize my lashes.  And being asian with short stubby sparse lashes, it's not so attractive.  I've heard of FairyDrops (FD for short) before, but I didn't know that Sephora started carrying it. Of course, as soon as I found out that they carried it, I dropped by and picked one up.

I like the packaging on FD way better than B.  It's fun and cutesy.  B is more streamlined and mature.  Minimalistic.  FD - 1, B - 0

FD definitely volumized and lengthened (though not by a lot).  The bonus here is that FD is supposed to also curl.  Side note: I've been using Latisse and it seems to be curling my lashes on it's own, so I don't really need to use a curler anymore.  My lashes are also longer, so I may not notice the lengthening as much.  B gives me the doll eyed look that I like so much, but it doesn't really fill in the spaces.  FD - 2, B - 0.

FD flaked.  B did not.  FD - 2, B- 1.

FD dried out within two months, B has been opened for nearly 6 months and it's finally drying out.  FD - 2, B - 2.

Removing FD was a bit of a process.  It didn't really remove as little tubes, but more like little mascara chunkies (yes, I know, sounds very appetizing).  And it took a little longer to remove.  B is quick and easy.  Put your face under running water (I usually remove it when I'm in the shower) for about 10-15 seconds and then pull and you pull off a bunch of little tubes at a time.  FD - 2, B - 3.

FD has a weird curved bumpy like brush.  B's brush is straight.  The application was about the same for me, but I find that I had an easier time applying with the FD brush.  FD - 3, B -3

B's formula was a lot more watery, or runny, if you will (like nail polish).  FD was a little more thick, more mascara like.  This could also be why B lasted a little longer than FD.  FD - 3, B - 4.  As you can tell by the picture of the brushes, FD is clumpy and B is not.

Overall, I really liked FD, but was just really disappointed at how fast it dried out.  I think that it would be a nice back up, but I think that I'm going to keep using Blinc.


Have you tried either of these mascaras?  What did you think?

Julep's Cinco De Mayo Mystery Box!

Yay!  My mystery box has finally arrived!  It feels like I've been waiting for this forever!  I'm so happy that it came in this tiny box that fit perfectly in my mail box!  

For those that have never heard of Julep Mystery Boxes, these are boxes that Julep offers during special occasions or holidays.  They cost $60, but if you order these boxes soon after they're announced, Julep normally offers a coupon code that brings the price down to $19.99 - which is a fantastic deal because you're guaranteed at least double that amount in product.  This is my second mystery box, the first one being the Spring Box, which I unfortunately, *hangs head in shame*, paid $60.00 for.  

I couldn't wait to see what I had gotten in my box that I literally tore that thing apart, so...sorry, no pretty pictures of the box opening...  :P

This time around, I received four polishes, a crystal nail file, and a mini Glycolic Hand Scrub.  Unfortunately, one of the polishes that I got in this box, I already have, (Jayne@Cosmetic Proof had warned me!) but I think that overall, the box is still pretty good.

Oops!  Hee hee...I guess that I could have removed the "Made In China" sticker!  

I received Alyson, Drew, Emma and Jessica (repeat).  At first, I really frowned when I picked up Alyson and Emma....I kept thinking...what am I?  In high school?  Boring? With all these nude and sparkly colours I've been receiving lately?  These aren't "Jamie" colours!  But after I swatched them, I found that I really liked them!

Drew is a fabulous fushia.  To me, it looks a little more magenta and it definitely doesn't look like the shade that they have on the website.  But I  still LOVE this colour and I cannot wait to try it out.  It'll definitely look pretty awesome on my toes!

Jessica is a soft and sweet creme baby blue.  Since I already have this colour, I'm just going to throw it in with the giveaway.  I hope that you're all okay with that.  ;P

Emma is this gorgeous seashell pink shimmer.  I don't think that I ever would wear this alone because it's kind of not opaque enough for my tastes.

Alyson is this beautiful neutral almond creme shade.  It reminds me of vanilla lattes.  Oh, yummy....

In total, I received about $60 worth in products and I only spent $20!  Not bad!

Would you consider getting a mystery box?

PS.  Don't forget about Blog Hop #10!!!!  

P.P.S Don't forget to enter my 50 Followers Giveaway!!