March Ipsy Glam Bag - The Great Escape

Woohoo, my March Ipsy bag is here! I couldn't resist so I sneaked a few peeks online so I can't really say I'm surprised by the contents. I was really looking forward to this month's bag (the actual pouch!) because I love nautical things, but unfortunately, it feels cheap and the quality is a little shoddy. Oh well, it's what's on the inside that counts right?

Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist - I haven't had a ton of luck with Juice Beauty products, but I do love a good hydrating mist. I already gave my face a spritz with this and whoa the spray was powerful! My face got pretty wet, so be sure to hold the spray an arms length away lol.

LA Fresh Travel Lite Makeup Remover Wipes - I actually got a couple of individually wrapped LA Fresh wipes before from a hotel, but I can't remember which one. There are 8 wipes in this little pack which makes it great for travel.

Yaby Eye Shadows in Seashell and Azalea Petal - I'm not very familiar with Yaby (okay, I've never heard of them), but these eyeshadows are so cute and tiny, dime size or smaller! They don't appear to be super pigmented, but I'm sure I will get use out of Seashell at the very least.

GlamRX  Palette - I wasn't really sure what to call this thing, but I guess palette is appropriate! It's like a Z Palette - one of those magnetized dealies where you can put your "de-potted" items. I think this is super cool and I like that it has a mirror. I've never de-potted anything, but maybe I will now!

That's all for this months bag. I don't feel like anything was super EXCITING, but I'm happy with everything I received. The thing with these monthly subscriptions is that it makes me aware of how quickly the year goes by, which is unrelated, but still kind of depressing. Does anyone else feel that way??

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Buenos Aires - Review and Swatches

Buenos Aires, Antwerp

I just double checked the spelling of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream to make sure it was spelled "cream" and not "creme". I don't know why, but I really hate it when it's spelled "creme." I thought creme meant fake cream, as in Oreo creme, but it looks like people use the two words willy nilly. You know how some words just give you the heebie jeebies? Like my friend can't stand the word "moist." Well, I hate "creme" unless it is used in the French way with the accent. That's tolerable.

ANYWAY, what was the point of this post? Oh yeah, the NYX Soft Matte Lip CREAM in Buenos Aires. I'm not sure if this is a new shade, but I bought it off the NYX website and I don't see it available at either Ulta or Cherry Culture. NYX calls Buenos Aires a "soft coral"which I would agree with. Initially, I thought it might be similar to Antwerp, but as you can see from the swatches, they are totally different. Buenos Aires is a soft peachy, orangey coral. On the other hand, Antwerp (described as "mid-toned yellow-tone pink") is a pinker coral. 

If you've never tried a Soft Matte Lip Cream, they apply like a gloss with a sponge applicator then dry to a matte finish. For a matte lip product, I find they wear quite comfortably without becoming overly dry. I will say that Buenos Aires is a bit patchy in application and take a little effort to smooth out. I don't find this to be the case with darker colors of the Lip Creams. They are very reasonably priced at around $6 and available at nyxcosmetics.com, cherryculture.com and Ulta.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter - Juicy Papaya

L to R: Juicy Papaya, Tutti Frutti, Peach Parfait 

L to R: Juicy Papaya, Tutti Frutti, Peach Parfait 

Recently Revlon brought out a couple new shades of their infamous Lip Butters - Sorbet, Wild Watermelon, Pink Lemonade and Juicy Papaya. I found Sorbet and Juicy Papaya at my local Target. They were mixed in with the old shades, but there weren't slots labelled for them yet. It looks like these are permanent shades (ie, NOT limited edition), so you don't need to go crazy driving around town looking for them!

I picked up Juicy Papaya and I'm glad I did because it just might be my new favorite shade! Juicy Papaya is a peach without any glitter or shimmer. It's quite sheer so it may require some building up if you have pigmented lips. It has the same balm-y texture of the other lip butters and lasting power is so-so. Honestly, I'm the worst person to ask about how long lipsticks last because they all last about 15 minutes on me! It's gross, but my stomach must be full of lipstick... ANYWAY, as you can see from the swatches, Tutti Frutti is considerably more orange and Peach Parfait is pinker and way more glittery. 

I'm going to say, you need Juicy Papaya so get off your butt and start looking for it NOW!

Garnier Olia Permanent Hair Color

Garnier's Olia is a new "oil powered" permanent hair color that has been getting quite a bit of buzz in magazines recently. It is ammonia free and a 60% oil blend with natural flower oils which restores hair smoothness and shine. It claims to "help reverse roughness and dullness for more brilliant, dimensional color and softer, shinier hair with more bounce." Did it live up to the hype?

In a word, no. First, I was a little disappointed by the shade selection at Target. On the website, there are 24 shades, but there were significantly fewer at Target and because the boxes are so large, they were merchandised in a weird sideways position. I usually go for ashy shades in order to avoid redness and the only "ash" color I found was 6.1 Light Ash Brown. As you can tell just from the box, the color really isn't that light.

Olia was easy enough to use and there really wasn't much of a scent. I slapped it on my hair and 30 minutes later, I was ready to rinse. Rinsing was kind of weird because as much as I tried to wash it out, my hair felt really sticky and oily. I quickly re-read the instruction sheet because I thought maybe I was supposed to actually shampoo it out. Turns out, I missed a step where you were supposed to vigorously massage your hair/head in order to facilitate the rinsing. Oops. The problem I have with that step is that you're supposed to put the gloves back on, but I had already thrown them away and I don't think I can be expected to wear them for half an hour! After I used the included After Color Conditioner (tube 3), my hair felt decent enough.

The results were just okay. I really couldn't see a big difference in the color of my hair although my roots seem to have evened out. My hair also didn't feel significantly smoother, softer or shinier. Overall, I was left a little disappointed. I think I will try something else next time, maybe the Revlon Buttercream?

If you want to give Olia a try, it is available at Target, Wal-Mart and drugstore everywhere. I paid $8.99 for mine and also had a $3 off coupon.

MAC Archie's Girls Betty Powder Blush in Cream Soda

I had no intention of buying anything from the MAC Archie's Girls collections. First of all, I'm not a MAC "collector" so I don't feel the need to jump on every LE collection. Second, I have ZERO interest in Archie. Third, there's that whole pesky spending ban thing.  So how did I end up with this blush?

I'm weak. I was browsing the MAC counter the other day and I asked for some help getting matched to a foundation and the salesgirl applied not only foundation to me, but a bunch of other stuff including this blush, which was a beaut. I thought Cream Soda was pretty when I saw it online, but I figured it would be too light and wouldn't show up on my medium skin tone. Boy was I wrong. I mean, the effect is subtle, but you get a gorgeous, natural peachy glow. I'm not that familiar with MAC's blush formulations, but Cream Soda is a satin blush and although it looks matte in the pictures, there is a little bit of shimmer running through it.

Sooo, I bought something I shouldn't have, but I'm super happy with it. What else is new?? Maybe I should just give up on this whole spending ban thing completely! Just kidding... sort of.

January/February Empties!

I think I've done a pretty good job of using stuff up these past few months! In fact, I was going to switch to a quarterly empties system, but my little basket was over flowing so I figured I'd better hurry up and log all my empties.

First up, hair care.

Kracie Ichickami Conditioner and Treatment - I really liked both of these a lot more than the shampoo. The treatment in particular made my hair incredibly soft and smooth. I love the smell of both of these, but I won't be repurchasing any time soon just because I have so many other shampoos and conditioners!

Oscar Blandi Shampoo alla Crema and Pronto Wet Instant Volumizing Conditioner - The shampoo was just standard and probably not worth whatever it cost, but I really liked the conditioner. It smells really nice in a salon sort of way and the scent really lasts a long time.

NuMe Arganics Argan Oil - This was a sample I received in a Glossybox (I think). I really wish it was labelled as a hair oil and not just argan oil because I almost put it on my face, except I was suspicious because it was so viscous. It made my hair soft, but it is mostly silicones with some argan oil.

FURminator deShedding Ultra Premium Conditioner - Finn wanted to include one of his empties this month! He says this makes his fur smell nice and clean, but doesn't really do anything for his shedding. I can attest to that too!

Lots of skin care this month!

Skin Food Brown Rice Oil Deep Cleansing Oil Tissue - I don't use wipes that often, mostly pre-gym. These did a good job of removing makeup. They were a little pricey at around $10, but there are 40 wipes which I think are more than most.

Hadanomy Aquaplacenta Mist - A moisturizing facial mist that I thought was sometimes a bit much for my combo skin. BUT when I was sick this was a godsend! I won't be repurchasing now because I want to try other things like this peach one I just saw at the Japanese market.

Boots No. 7 Moisture Quench Hydration Night Cream - My face felt very moisturized when I used this night cream. I'm currently still working on finishing up the matching day lotion. They're both pretty basic moisturizers, but they do a good job.

Clarisonic Normal Brush Head - This really isn't an empty because I only used it a couple of times. The normal is just too rough for me. I'm like the Goldilocks of Clairsonic brush heads - delicate is too soft, normal is too rough and sensitive is just right. Fortunately, this was just a freebie when I bought my Clarisonic.

Natassja Skin Enzyme Facial Peel - This reminded me of those Asian peeling scrubs where little bits of skin pill off. I liked this alright, but for scrub/peels I'm all about the exfoliKate.

Rinse Bath & Body Co. Peppermint Pucker Stick - I haven't used a minty lip balm in so long that I forgot how refreshing it is! This was kind of addicting and because the texture was sorta soft, I went through this really quickly. I have a few more in other flavors.

Pangea Organics Egyptian Fennel with Grapefruit and Sweet Orange Lip Balm - This jumbo sized lip balm has a nice flavor, but it was pretty ordinary.

X Out Shine Control - Could not wait to be done with this. I guess it mattified alright, but the effects didn't last very long. I got this probably a year ago in one of my first Glam Bags.

Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator - I used this as my day serum and it lasted a long time - probably over 6 months? It has a pearly sheen so you get an instant glow, but I'm not sure about any long term results. I'll have to see if I miss it now that I'm not using it anymore. It's quite expensive (I think it was around $80) so I would hope for better results.

Deve clean & clear Cleansing Milk - I bought this because I wanted a light, gentle cleanser for morning. It's great for morning, but despite what it says on the bottle ("remove hard makeup") I don't think it's good for removing makeup or a deep clean.

L'Oreal Clean Artiste Eye Makeup Remover - This removed eye makeup well, but on the few occasions that it got into my eyes, it really stung! I'm open to repurchasing this, but I have a few other makeup removers on my Sephora wishlist that I'd like to try first.

Body, nails and misc.

Johnson's Baby Oil Gel - I usually can't stand chocolatey scents, but this smells so good! Okay, I guess it's not chocolate, but cocoa butter. This is super thick and I used this after shaving my legs. In the morning, my skin still felt really moisturized! It is kind of sticky though, so best used at night.

Body Shop Japanese Cherry Blossom Body Butter - I like the scent of this and I'm still finishing up the shower gel. This body butter was not as thick as others I've used from the Body Shop though.

Julep The Best Pedi Creme Ever! - Um, no not really. I like my foot creams a little bit thicker. It says noticeable results in 1-2 uses, but I didn't notice any thing!

 Up & Up Nail Polish Remover and Cutex Nourishing Nail Polish Remover - The Up & Up (Target brand) one was pure acetone and removed polish soooo much faster. One cotton pad was enough to remove polish off of both hands! I'm sure it's bad for you though because my fingers would be white with dryness afterwards. I didn't have that problem with Cutex, but it also wasn't as effective. Also, I didn't go through two bottles in two months! They were both half empty and I decanted one into another container.

Blender Cleanser - I think this came from a Birchbox and I received it without getting a Beauty Blender. Fail. Oh well, it did a good job on brushes and this teeny bottle lasted a long time.

That's it! That is a total of 17 full size and 4 sample size products. With my new "rewards" scheme that is a total of $19 earned. It's a good thing I "earned" that money because I sort of made an unnecessary purchase at MAC. And from NYX. Maybe I'll share later. Maybe not lol.

February Glossybox - International Style

This month's Glossybox has a theme of International Style. I remember seeing this theme for a past UK Glossybox and reading mostly lukewarm reviews on the box. Will the US version fare better?

Bvlgari Eau Parfumee Au The Blanc soap (full size $30) - This little soap made me think of the ones you get at hotels - all wrapped up in paper. I've never used perfumed soap before, but this smells quite nice. I guess the fragrance is a bit much to use as hand soap, but I'll be happy to take this into the shower with me.

Da Vinci Cosmetics Shimmer Powder (full size $15) - I'm not really a loose pigment user because I find they are messy and difficult to use. The card says it can be used for a subtle glow under eyebrows or on cheeks, but I'm guessing people got different colors because mine is a brownish, purplish, bluish duochrome. Yeah, not so appropriate under eyebrows or on cheeks!

Evologie eSystem Duo Pack Intensive Blemish Serum and Stay Clear Cream (full size $15) - This product confuses me because it looks like 5ml is the full size, except that it is so small! The blemish serum is supposed to be a spot treatment while the cream is more like a moisturizer.

Lisi Color Glaze Lip Gloss in 4 Square (full size $7) - Just a regular old lipgloss. The color I received is a burgundy wine which looks ok, but isn't really my type of color. The weird thing is that the wand picks up very little product so you have to keep re-dipping.

Nail Rock Nail Wraps (full size $8) - I actually like my design which is a metallic gold and black Union Jack. I think it would be cute to use one as an accent and paint the rest of your nails black. I've only done nail wraps once and it was pretty easy to use.

Okay, I'm just going to stay it - overall, this box kind of sucks. I probably won't use the lip gloss or the shimmer powder and the other items were just sort of meh. I also don't feel like a lot of the brands in this months box were "high end." OH and the other really annoying thing - the card doesn't say which country the products are from! I mean, Bvlgari is obviously Italy and the shimmer powder says it is "one of America's best kept beauty secrets" (really?? America is not "International"), but the other three don't say anything. Disappointing, maybe Glossybox should stay away from this theme!