Starlooks Starbox | June 2014

So this is superrrr late, but I have to put this up for you guys. I've already posted the unboxing to my Youtube channel (which I just recently decided to do for real). So if you want to see my honest reaction to these products, just click the link. As I receive products, I will let you guys know about them on my Youtube channel, and review them on this blog. Deal? Now let's get into the box!

Here are the swatches I promised you guys along with the normal images for the unboxing. The theme for this month is Royals. You can check out the photoshoot in the Starlooks Looksbook.

Starlooks is looking to expand their brand with hair care products! They now have a hair care subscription box that I may have to try out one month. Check out all the details here.

The first product I got is the Cream Blush in the shade Fallen Angel. This is a gorgeous highlight. I will probably be featuring this in a favorites some time soon.

Up next is another one of their Infinity Eyeliners. I got the shade Sun. I currently own Milky Way, Orion, and Black Hole as well. These liners are so amazing!

The last product is the Infinity Lip Color in Limitless. I am actually surprised at how much I like this color. I'm not a huge fan of red lipstick, but this is more of a deep berry leaning red. I've got a picture of this on my lips on my Instagram.

Kiss, Kiss.
-A

June 2014 Ipsy Glam Bag

Hey guys! Welcome back. As you can see by the title, this is my June Ipsy Bag unboxing. I've had this about 10 days now, and I've gotten to try out all of the products. So each summary will come with a mini review on the product. The theme for this month is Pretty In Paradise.

Ipsy teamed up with Rebecca Minkoff this month to create a gorgeous makeup bag for us. This is a close second to my favorite bag for 2014 so far, which is the May 2014 bag. I love the color and the zipper for some odd reason.

Going from least exciting to most exciting, my first product is the Real Tree for her eau de parfum. While I am happy that the sample was a really good sized one, and I'm happy that it came in a plastic bag in case it spilled, I just don't like getting perfume samples. I'm too picky with scents, and I don't wear them that often. This smelled ok. I'd give it a 7/10 for scent, but fragrances just aren't my thing.

get free shipping on orders 50$ or more, and get a free gift on orders 80$ or more with code IPSYREALTREE

Slightly more exciting is the Carol's Daughter Sacred Tiare Styling Cream. This smells ok for a hair product. It's a nice, light scent. This is supposed to be used kind of as a heat protectant when you blow dry your hair. I've been using it on my daughter's hair to lay down all the little baby hairs on her hair line and to smooth down her ends.

I also got the Ofra Eyebrow pencil in the shade Universal. I was excited to try out one of their products, and this ended up being a bust. The consistency of the pencil is too soft for your brows, and it's really hard to sharpen because the tip just falls out because it's so soft. I'm going to play with it some more and see if I can get it to work out for me.

get 30% off  with code IPSY30

Next up is the Nicka K New York Shimmer Eyeliner. This is great! The pigmentation is outstanding, and the lasting power is freaking amazing! My only complaint about this is the applicator. I would love for it to be a brush instead of the felt tip that it is now.

get 30% off with code IPSY

The last, and in my opinion, most exciting product in the June Ipsy bag was the NYX Butter Gloss. I got it in the shade Éclair. I have always wanted to buy some of these and just never have. I don't know what I was waiting for! They feel amazing on the lips. I will absolutely be going to purchase more of theses!

get 30% off a stick blush with code NYXJUNEBLOOM

Price Summary:
Real Tree scent - 6.99
Carol's Daughter cream - 1.83
Ofra pencil (FULL SIZE) - 13.00
Nicka K liner (FULL SIZE) - 4.99
NYX gloss (FULL SIZE) - 5.00
Total: 31.81$ USD

I've decided to list all the coupon codes that go with all the products featured this month. So don't forget to check those out. Don't be a stranger! I'll see you next time!

Kiss, Kiss.
-A

Julep Maven Box | June 2014

You guys DO NOT understand how excited I am to have gotten this box! It's been ages since I've gotten  Julep Box. The main 2 reasons I haven't been getting them is because 1) the colors haven't really been that appealing to me, and 2) 20$ is a lot for 3 half size bottles of nail polish. The last box I got was their December box, and that was because I had Jules to uses and the December box was really good!

I usually get the It Girl box, but the nail colors this month just weren't anything I would wear or I had something similar already. So I ended up getting the Core Classics Box, which came with 2 full sized products that weren't nail polish, and, as always, a few cute extras.

The last Julep boxes I got all came in a black box with white or silver text. Well now the boxes are a cute magenta color!

Inside is the usual tissue paper and squiggly worm paper along with the cards. This month's box came with 2 different coupon codes! The first is SPRINGPERK for 30% off your entire order. The other code is OXYGEN2 for 30% off their Oxygen Smoothing Base & Top Coat set.

Here are this month's random extras. I always think these are so cute! We got some Pixie Stix and another one of those cool hair ties.

This first product is the Julep Beach Tonic Dry Body Oil. I needed this in my life! It smells like a body mist, but you just spray it where you need moisture, and then rub it in. This is a god-send for me! I'm so lazy when it comes to moisturizing my body. The box it comes in has this really cute beach scene on the side. The actual packaging is a pretty blood orange color, and it comes with a thick spray nozzle.

The other things that came in this month's box was the Julep Bare Face Cleansing Oil. This stuff is amazing! I used it to take off my makeup for the first time, and it literally got everything off my face with about 5 pumps. It takes off eye makeup and mascara without irritating my eyes. This was a great surprise! 

June's Julep Maven Box was spectacular! I definitely love everything I got, and I guarantee you I'll be mentioning these products in the future. I paid 19.95$ for this box and received 53.83$ worth of goodies! If you'd like to use my referral link to sign up for Julep, just click here. If you still aren't sure about Julep and would like to see more unboxings, check out my Dec 2013 box as well as my Nov 2013 box. 

Kiss, Kiss.

-A

Flirty & Floral Pastel Nails

What's up, guys?! I'm back with another nail art tutorial for you all. I really love doing these. They're fun, easy, and it seems like you guys really like them too. Today's nails weren't really inspired by anything but boredom. I usually do recreations of other manis I've seen, but today was really just experimentation. Let's dive in!

What you'll need:

• Base Coat
• White Polish
• Coral Polish
• Orange Polish
• Baby Blue Polish
• Black Polish
• Dotting tool
• Cosmetic sponge
• Rectangular Nail Studs (gold & silver)
• Nail Glue
• Matte Top Coat

Step 1: Apply your base.

Step 2: Paint all your nails with 2 coats of white polish.

Step 3: Saturate a corner of your sponge in blue polish. Dab the polish in select spots on each nail. Make sure to dab the same spot twice, if the color is very light.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 with your orange and coral polishes.

Step 5: Dip the smaller side of your dotting tool into the black polish. Stipple on flower shapes around each color patch. 

Step 6: Paint a corner of your sponge with your white polish. Dab lightly over any spots that are too dark or where you want more of the base color to show.

Step 7: Apply a matte top coat, and clean around the edges of your nail.

Step 8:  Dot the nail glue down the center of your ring finger. Apply 3 nail studs in a cross pattern, with the top and bottom studs being the same color, and the middle stud being a different color.

Step 9: Coat your ring finger in another swipe of matte top coat.

Be sure to check out my Instagram for all of my current nail designs. Thanks for stopping by.

Kiss, Kiss.
-A

Beauty Haul feat. elf, Maybelline, Jergens, & More!

So you guys know how much I love to shop, even though I have no spending money and all my money goes to gas and bills. I will always find the money to buy beauty products, even if it's just a new shampoo, because it makes my life a little less sucky when I have new products to play with. So this time, I went into Walgreens and CVS looking for a specific product and walked out with some other stuff too, lol.

So I went to CVS first. I was hoping they had a face mask I liked. They didn't. Needless to say, I looked around anyway. The Maybelline Bleached Neon Color Elixirs were on display. So I bought 1. Ok I bought 2. I got them in the shades 020 Orange Aglow, and 025 Radiant Raspberry. Of course the colors I got were a berry pink and an orange, because what other lip colors would I get? I absolute love the formula of these, and for a gloss, the pigmentation is amazing.

Also from CVS, I 2 bottles of Jergens BB Body lotion: 1 in travel size, the other in a full size. I originally got this in my Target Beauty Box a while back, and I fell in love with it. It feels like heaven on the skin. I'm not completely positive about the BB aspect of it because I only use it on my hands, but the sheen it gives along with the moisture are enough to have gotten me hooked!

The last couple of things I got from CVS were all from Neutragena. I had a coupon you see, and there was a deal at the store for them, as well. I got 3 items I've never tried before. First is the Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover from the Naturals line. I picked this up because I've never had a cleanser and makeup remover in one, so I though I'd give it a try.

From the Visibly Even line, I got the Foaming Cleanser. I love foaming facial cleansers, but I don't have any! The last time I used one was around Christmas time when I got a sample of one in an Origins gift set. I'm really hoping this one is as good as that one.

The last, and most boring thing, I got were Makeup Removing Cleansing Towelettes in the Night Calming scent. I've used Neutragena makeup wipes before, and I really liked them. But seeing as these are made specifically for night time, I thought I would like these a lot more.

After leaving CVS with things I hadn't gone in for, I went across the street to Walgreens to see if they had my mask. They did. So I bought a full size tube of the Queen Helene Mint Julep clay mask. This mask pulls all the gunk out of your pores. It's fantastic! So I'm really happy I got it.

In strolling around Walgreens, there was a display of things on clearance for 1-3$ each. Guess what I found... elf Lip Balm Tints! They had all but 1 color, so I bought all but 1 color! I got the shades Berry, Grapefruit, and Nude, so all I'm missing is Peach. Even though that's the one I wanted most.

I hope you guys enjoy these hauls just as much as I do. I'll see you next time!

Kiss, Kiss.
-A

Meme Box Mini #1

It came! It finally came! I have been so antsy waiting on this box! I initially purchased this box for a couple of reasons: 1) it's only 15$ for a mini box, 2) shipping is free, 3) I had 10 points on my account. So I got this box for 5$ with free shipping! I couldn't pass that up!

The bag it's shipped in is a bubblegum pink with an adorable white present on the front.

All the goodies come in an adorable hot pink box.

Inside the box is a card detailing all the items in the box. This is great, because I can't read Korean.

Everything comes in a little white bag with a pink ribbon. 

The first item I grabbed was the Verikos Ultra Matte Velvet Primer. I swatched this on the back of my hand, and the texture feels amazing! It transforms into a powder after you rub it in, but it doesn't leave any residue behind. If I like this, I'll definitely be trying to find it to purchase the full size. 

Next up is the Holika Holika Skin & Good Cera Super Cream. This is a very lightweight face cream, that if you've ever used the Origins Ginzing moisturizer, you know what it feels like. It doesn't have the same light tingle that the Origins cream does, but it has the same texture. It has a nice cooling effect. 

A True Black Tea All Day Long Sun Cream came out next. Koreans are all about protecting their skin from the sun, so I wasn't at all surprised to find this in my box. It has SPF 50 PA +++. It doesn't have any kind of sunscreen smell, though, which is nice if you don't like that. It feels like a lotion, and doesn't leave a white cast or tacky feeling on the skin. 

This next item has the cutest packaging, but it's the only product in the box I can't use. *tear* It is the Hanskin Bio Origin Royal Ampoule BB SPF 30 PA++. I would absolutely love to try out a Korean BB Cream, but there is no way any of them would make one dark enough for me, lol. I'm going to find someone to pass this along to. Any takers?

I was super excited to see the next 2 products. They are the Boh Moist Youth & Boh Radiant Youth Ampoule Essences from Botanical Hill. I've heard really great things about essences, and I have always wanted to try one! And now I have 2 to try out! The packaging is really cute, too. 

And lastly came 2 free samples of the Witch's Pouch Real Skin Moisture Ampoule Base. (I know that link is to a Korean website, but it's the only one I could find with the product I was looking for.) I'm going to assume these are primer samples because the name was the only thing on the packet in English. I will not pass up a chance to try a new primer. 

Price Summary:
Verikos Primer - 3.90$
Holika Holika Cream - 4.50$
A True Sunscreen - 7.80$
Hanskin BB - 9.00$
Boh Essences - 7.02$
Total: 32.22$ USD

That is everything for my first Meme Box, and I couldn't be happier! I will have to keep getting these. My birthday is the 13th, so maybe I'll get a LuckyBox or a SuperBox for myself. See you next time!

Kiss, Kiss.

-A