Month: July 2012

My Glossybox USA July 2012!

Hello beauties!! 🙂 Just wanted to do a quick post on my first Glossybox!! I’ve been drooling over all the Glossyboxes that I’ve been seeing all the UK girls get, and now it’s available in the US! For a hefty $21/month, you get up to 6 deluxe samples size products and atleast one full-size product. Last time I tried to sign up, there were no available spaces but was fortunate enough to get the July both this month!

When opening the box, there’s a Glossymag, a short “magazine” on beauty products, tips, and special promos. Nice extra to put in the box!

The box itself is amazing, very high quality with cute black and pink detailing! Definitely going to keep this and re-use for craft or jewelry purposes!

Here’s the inside of the box, as usual there is pretty wrapping paper, a ribbon, and a card describing the theme and a little but about the company. Feels very luxe!

Here are all the products inside this box, it gives the description as well as the full-size value of each item! All the products seem to be more high end, excited to see the goodies!

Here’s my box, and honestly I was a bit underwhelmed, maybe because my Beautyfix box was such a great experience?? The items are very nice, and I can see myself using all of it, but something seems lacking. For $21/month, I expect more. It seems like a lot of the money goes the packaging and getting higher end items. I saw that a lot of people got the Senna Trio Eyeshadow and Geranium Balm, would have been more than happy to get those items instead. Sadly, this will be my first and last Glossybox. Maybe I’ll try it again in the future.

Here are all thee items out of the box. The things that I most enjoyed was the Ofra Brow Pencil, Alessandro Heel Rescue Balm, and the Caswell Massey Hand & Body Emulsion samples. The Senna Lipgloss was horrible!!!!!!!!!!!! Incredibly sticky and not flattering. The Sebastian Color Ignite Shampoo and Conditioner was nice as well, the conditioner is foam!!! Very nice products! Wish they were larger. 🙂

What do you guys think?

Do you think it’s worth it?

My First Beautyfix Box!!

Hey everyone!!! I wanted to share an AMAZING beauty subscription service called Beautyfix!! It’s by Dermstore, an online beauty store, and this has got to be the best one out there that I know of. The service is quarterly, 4 times a year, and each box is $50 (there are promo codes for $20-$30 discounts!!) You get to choose 8 beauty products on their website, where a lot are full-size or larger deluxe sizes, plus a free bag! The products are higher end items, lots of skincare, but TOTALLY worth the investment!!!!! (about $12/month if you break it down.)

Shipping was rather quick (shipped a couple days after I ordered), and came a few days after that. The box is a normal cardboard box with Beautyfix on the side, and the products are kind of just thrown in with a bunch of plastic bubble pads. Nothing was broken or leaking, so everything is good, they do send tracking information so you where you’re package is!

Here is how all the items came, just kind of piled together, LOOK at ALL the goodies!! 😀 This is an incredible value, as this box would retail at over $250 and I got it for $30 will a promo code!!!

First is a 2oz Dr. Perricone MD Nutritive Cleanser, about a $14 value, and is a facial wash that delivers anti-aging benefits by gently removing impurities, makeup and environmental pollution. With Alpha Lipoic Acid and DMAE. I rather like this cleanser as it has the gel consistency I like and gently cleans my face! I smells kind of like baby powder, but it’s light and I don’t mind that much. My skins feels tighter, clean, and clear after use! Great product!

Next is a full-size Jane Iredale Lip Plumper in Milan, a $25 value!! Yay!! It’s a tinted lip plumper made with natural ingredients. It’s supposed to make your lips full and kissable, increase hydration, stimulate collagen synthesis, and soften lips.

The packaging is really nice, a metal tube, and the the color is a nice warm berry pink! The color is sheer but is noticeable, the formula feels a bit thick/sticky, but does stay on the lips. Upon applying, my lips feel tingly and full! Really love the color!

Next is the item that I was most excited about, the Murad Skin Perfecting Prime and Eye Lift Protector set!! These are both full-size and retails for $35 each!! (a $70 value!! o.O) It came in a little promo bag, with a informational pamphlet, it seems like something they would give out as a trial!

Here are the products, sooooo nice!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

This is the Murad Matte Finish Skin Perfecting Primer. It comes in a pump which is convenient, and has nice, sleek black packaging. It’s a really good color match, and actually blends out very sheer so it is suitable for many skin tones. It’s very light and airy and melts quickly onto the skin. It leaves my skin smooth, prepped, lightly moisturized, and less oily. LOVE this product! Would totally buy this again!

Here it is blended in! Amazing!

This is the Murad Eye Lift Perfector, it’s supposed the increase firmness and conceal the appearance of dark circles, AND IT DOES!! The formula again is very light, and come out of the tip of the twist up pen. The product sets pretty quickly, leaving a smooth, tight, brighter finish. This is the best eye/concealing product I have ever used. Although, people with heavy dark circles might need a little more help than this can provide. I will definitely purchase again!!

Here it is blended out! Invisible!

This is the Nailtiques Formula 2 Kit Nail Treatment, it comes with a mini (7ml) Formula 2, a mini (7ml) Oil Therapy, a mini (7g) Cuticle & Skin gel
and a regular size of their Nail Moisturizer (1oz size) the minis retail in a kit together for $17.50. Great value for the items! This kit was exclusively created for Beautyfix which is nice!! Great little set!

This is a FULL-SIZE step & correct powder, retails for $34!!!! It’s a baked trio of color-correcting setting powders, packaged in a unique compact that evenly dispenses the satin-like powder on demand for effortless application. So lucky to have got this!! This service already beats Myglam and Birchbox any day!!!!!!!!

The packaging is really neat, and comes with a inset shaver to finely mill the baked powder. This powder is very high quality, and evens out my skintone flawlessly. Shades include:

Peach – brightens and illuminates
Green – minimizes redness
Lavender – counteracts sallow undertones

It’s incredibly lightweight and satiny, and can use this by itself or to set liquid foundation. I use this daily!!!

Here it is in the works!!

Next is the bonus makeup bag, REALLY nice quality!!!! It’s a pretty good size, and the style is pretty cute! Perfect for throwing into your purse of traveling with.

Comes with a little mirror with the Beautyfix logo, so cute!!

This is the 3Lab M Cream .38 oz, it contains stem cells from the rare Uttweiler Spatlauber Swiss apple. It’s supposed to increase resiliency and cellular turnover while giving the skin a naturally radiant glow from the inside out. The full size of this (2 oz) is $260??!?!? This little bugger by itself is worth around $50. INSANE. The cream is incredibly luxurious and rich, with tiny micro reflects. It smells like any expensive face cream would, love it if I could afford to get the full size! lol

This is the Arcona Cranberry toner 1oz, about an $8 value, and is a 3-in-1 cranberry milk toner that removes dirt, oil & makeup, protects and clarifies skin, neutralizes free radicals, and nourishes & heals for a glowing complexion. This smells just like cranberries!! It feel very nice on the skin, and gently cleans. Really like this! Will consider getting the full-size!

Lastly is a full-size Sparitual nail polish in Airhead, which retails for $10. It’s a light creamy pink nail color and is a vegan nail polish! SpaRitual is committed to creating eco-friendly products and packaging perfectly crafted for the enlightened consumer. Pretty pink color, will try it on my nails soon! I’ve been very interested in this brand, so glad I get to try it! 🙂

Here are all the products, overall, I rate this service 5/5 for the value, speed, quality of products, and overall experience. You also get a $25 gift card of any $50 Dermstore purchase after a quick survey. I will ever go back to Birchbox or Myglam again!!!

What do you guys think!? 🙂

Going Natural & Organic for Summer!

Hey everyone!! This summer has been really hot this year, and I’ve been hitting the pool multiple times a week!! As great as it is for relaxation and fun, my hair and skin have been needing some extra help!! 🙂 Here are the few items that I’ve picked up these past couple months that have really been helping me out!

This is the Cocoacare 100% Cocoa Butter Yellow Stick! I got this on Dermstore’s website as an extra purchase! It had such great reviews so I didn’t hesitate to try it. It’s a multi-use product that is purely cocoa butter. (be careful cause it melts in high heat!!) I’ve really enjoyed this on the dry feet and cuticles. It also help moisturize burns and protect your skin! Love it!

Next is a Vitamin E Lip Balm, it’s shaped like a lipstick so it’s very easy to apply. This is also another multi-use product, but I prefer to use this on my lips and face. It’s VERY cheap, I think in the dollar range, and got this at my local drug/grocery store! Just check the vitamin/health isles and you should be able to find this! It makes my lips feel incredibly smooth and moisturized. Love it as part of my regular regimen!

This is the Bergamot Essential Oil from The Body Shop, it’s a small little bottle, but I found this little in the $1 sale bin! It smells heavenly, like fresh tangerines! It instantly wakes me up, and rejuvenates my senses. I LOVE essential oils because they are so versatile, you can add it to your bath, beauty products, facials, or even your pillow! I highly recommend getting essential oils to add your your collections, they are so much fun!

This is the Shikai Color Reflect Mist & Go Conditioner. It’s supposed to detangle, add shine, and add a mid-day lift. This has been great when I’m on the run during the day in the hot sun. My hair has been thanking me for it!!! After all the damage from color treating, chlorine, and sun, this helps my hair tamed and soft. It’s all natural/organic which I like and it smells really nice! It’s also a generous size and it was only around $11 which is pretty good for an organic product!!

Next is this Natralia Heel Balm from Australia, I found this in the organic isles of my local grocery store, and decided to give it a try. My feet get EXTREMELY dry and chapped from wearing sandles all the time during the summer months. This is a very thick emollient formula, and smells a bit like Eucalyptus. It instantly drinks into my skin, and makes even the hardest callous moisturized. I apply this after I shower or when I come back from the pool, great foot saver!!

Lastly is a food item, I’ve really been trying to eat healthy and invest in organic foods. When I do snack, I try to choose healthier options that will help out my body, instead of weighing it down. This is the Sunsweet Plum Amazins Diced Plums. I really liked the packaging, and the little tiny diced plums!! I like eating this plain by the handfuls, and really gives me my daily dose of fiber, great for digestion! 🙂

What do you do for summer?!

New Beauty Subscriptions!! ♥

Sooo as you all know, Ive been subscribing to Birchbox and Myglam for a while now but I’ve always had this gut feeling of wanting to try something better. 😦 Needless to say I canceled these boxes and decided to subscribe to some new ones!! I came across a few sites that were REALLY intriguing, and decided to give them all a try!

(Photo from here)

First is Glossybox USA, this one has been a really popular one, especially with the girls in the UK, and have always been jealous of all the cool stuff they get!! It’s $21 per month which is a little steep, but you do get atleast 5 larger/full size or deluxe high end items. You can also cancel at anytime. I will see after I get my fist box if it’s worth the continue the service. So far from what I’ve seen, it has been, but we will see soon enough!

(photo from here)

Next is Sample Society from BeautyBar. This is $15/month and you get 5 deluxe samples and a free 1 year subscription to Allure Magazine! You also get a $15 gift code to redeem on any $50 purchase when any product from the brands you’ve sampled is included in your order. This seems like a higher end Birchbox with better samples, can’t wait for this one!

(photo from here)

Last but not least is Beautyfix by Dermstore. This is a quarterly subscription service for $50, but you get to CHOOSE 8 high end items with a free bag for each season!! Atleast half of the items are full size products, and if you break it down, this is the BEST deal if you can swallow the $50 every 4 months ($12.50/month). There is usually a promo for first time subscribers (I got $20 off my first box) either you can enter at check out or call and they will do it for you. I do have to say, the majority of the products are skincare with some makeup/hair/nail items, but if you are into that sort of thing, this is a dream. You can cancel at anytime, but you do need to call.

What do you guys think?! Will you be trying any of these new beauty subscriptions? 🙂

What’s been your experience!?

July MyGlam 2012!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to do a quick post on my Myglam bag for July, I am REALLY happy that Myglam is FINALLY stepping it up with the products, and including items that are actually worth trying! The bag was cute too!! I was really happy to see the YesToCucumber wipes, Keihl’s, and Buxom! I was hoping to get the Juice Beauty Moisturizer and Josie Maran Lip Stain, but I was happy with what I got! They also included a Nume Conditioner sample which was pretty nice, definitely salon quality, and a new addition from Andrea’s Choice! It’s good to see that she is branching out into her own business! Can’t wait to see waht’s more to come! 🙂
What do you guys think!?

New JKim Jewelry Launch!

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to share some exciting news!! I just did a launch of my new jewelry line, http://deletetoast.wix.com/jkimjewelry, would love if you guys checked it out and gave me some feedback!!

Thanks and much love!! 😀

P.S. If any of you would like a piece, just leave a message!

July’s Birchbox Glamour Edition!

Hi everyone! I can’t believe it’s that time of the month again, and by that I mean Birchbox!!!! 😀 I was intrigued by this month’s theme and collaboration with Glamour Magazine, as it was supposed to be about the five senses. I really like the packaging, really fun and bright!

As always, there is a little card as an introduction, describing the theme and some of the items that are in the box! This box is supposed to stimulate your sense and help you have a vibrant and gorgeous summer!

These are the items that I got, I was happy to see some makeup items, and also a couple lifestyle extras!! SUPER excited about the Stila lipglaze and the bronzer! Also very happy about the ear buds because I can never have too many of those!

Ahhh!!! Such a fun array of colors!! I’m pretty happy with this months box, definitely worth the $10! I’m not too fond of food items in these type of subscriptions, but I’ll give it a try.

These are the ear buds I got, super cute and SO bright!! I can’t wait to use these at work! Hopefully the sound quality is ok on these.

This is the Coco de Soliel Gloss Moderne High-Gloss Masque. It’s a hair mask! You’re supposed to use it on damp hair and let it soak in then rinse. It smells AMAZING, like coconut!! The texture is actually pretty rich, but seems to absorb quickly! Can’t wait to use this!!

OMG! A Stila lip glaze! It’s in the color Camera, and in the tube it looks very pretty! A great summer color with a lot of shimmer. I believe this is part of a trio Stila is coming out with, I’m guessing they are Lights, Camera, Action? We’ll see! It has a brush tip applicator and functions as a click pen. Not a huge fan of these type of glosses but I’ll give it a try! The formula is SUPER thick and sticky and goes on very sheer. On the lips they do feel slightly tingly and smell like vanilla-mint. Glad I got to try this because I would not be a fan if I bought it!

This is the Harvey Prince Hello perfume. It has notes of meyer lemon, grapefruit, forsythia, and plumeria. It’s a very clean and fresh scent but has a little depth. Smells primarily like citrus and florals. I would almost say that this could even be a uni-sex fragrance! I like the fact that the sample has a spritz top, makes it easier to test than the ones that just have stoppers on top!

This is the Larbar Uber Sweet & Salty Fruit and Nut Bar in Bananas Foster. The packaging is very cute, and the bar feels very dense and sticky! It has ALOT of nuts, and this little guy has 130 calories ALL ON IT’S OWN! O.O I took a bite and didn’t like it very much (not a huge fan of nuts) so I gave the rest to my husband and he described it as a banana nut muffin without the muffin. lol

Lastly is the Ada Cosmetics Golden Bronzer. It’s an all natural product which I’m a huge fan of, and I’m happy to see that the ingredients are all things that I know! The color in the jar looks very shimmery gold so I was afraid it would be too glittery but it wasn’t! It’s also made in the U.S. which is nice to see.

The sample is a 1 gram jar, which is a pretty decent amount! It’s a tiny sifter jar with the logo sticker on top. I’ve never heard of Ada, but I’m happy to try new natural/organic beauty products! The powder itself is VERY smooth, probably coming from the arrowroot powder, and your get the great color and shimmer from the gold micas. Overall I do like this much because of the highlighting properties of this, I wouldn’t use it all over the face. Right at the height of your cheekbones and nose would be the best! Even would be good as an eyeshadow. Great product!

Another little card tucked away at the bottom of the box, a little promo for the new Birchbox magazine! Will check it out. 🙂

I’ve been trying to let my nails grow out lately and have been obsessed with painting them!! Toady I’m wearing Sally Hansen Hard as Nails X-Treme Wear Pacific Blue. Awesome bright blue color, kinda matches the birchbox!!

What do you guys think?! 🙂

MUA Haul!

Hi everyone!! I’m super excited about this haul, it’s from a UK company called MUA! They are kind of like ELF as they offer makeup products for a very reasonable price, but the quality is much better in my opinion!! Especially the shadows! I got a little while back when they were having a promo of getting a free Glamour Days Palette with your purchase, so lucky!!

Here are the two palettes I got, the free Glamour Days Palette, and the Immaculate Palette! I was so excited to try these, I’ve heard many great reviews, and can’t wait to use them!! Plus a great value since you get so many colors! The only thing is it’s about $12 international shipping off the website, if you can past that, it’s amazingly worth it!

I also couldn’t resist these lipsticks, I believe they were only 1 pound each (about $1.50)!! The quality of these are amazing for the price, and the color range is pretty nice!

I got a total of four shades, (L to R) Shade 16, Shade 4, Shade 15 Juicy, and Shade 5. I really like these lipsticks, the consistency is slick and moisturizing, with good pigmentation! You can wear them sheer or build them up for more color. They make my lips look great!

Here they are out of the tube, so pretty!! 🙂

Swatches L to R: Shade 16, Shade 4, Shade 15 Juicy, and Shade 5

Here is the free Glamour Days palette I got, such pretty everyday, summery colors!

I comes with 12 shades and a long applicator. I really like these colors, especially the matte camel and shimmery gold! The texture of these shadows are super smooth and blendable, and very pigmented! They can be a little soft so you have to be careful you’re not digging your brush into the pans! Overall, love it!!

Some swatches!

Love the neutral shades!

This is the immaculate palette, I’ve been eyeing this for a while now! It comes with 24 gorgeous shades, you can make endlessly bold looks with this!!

I love all the deep blues and greens, very pretty!

Some swatches!

This is a single MUA eyeshadow in 23 Pearl. Another 1 pound find!! I really like this color, very flattering shimmery cornflower blue, the pan is pretty large too!!

The texture again is very good with these, very smooth and buttery with great pigmentation! I packaging is a bit cheap feeling, but it does the job, It would also be pretty easy to de-pot if you wanted to.