China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy

I know fall is quickly approaching, but I cannot return to this blog without paying homage to the neon that was on my fingers and toes for the majority of the summer.

Flip Flop fantasy is obnoxiously bright. The first time I put it on I hated it because I simply was not used to my fingertips glowing. After the initial shock wore off, I found I kept returning to this polish because of how loud it is.

The intensity of this color drives cameras insane, but I managed to capture it's essence in this instagram collage. The formula is not wonderful, but most neons aren't. It also chips pretty easily. All is forgiven though, since there seems to be no other quite like it.

Color Club - Tweet Me

Oh bloggy blog blog, how I ignore you. I'd love to promise that I'm back for good, but by now you all know how fickle I am.

So what has motivated me to post? Birchbox and Color Club's exclusive Social Media collection! I was lucky enough to score 2 of these at Birchbox's pop up sample stop for fashion week.

Tweet me is a creamy chartreuse, a color I hated when OPI did it with their Shrek collection but absolutely love now. It's one of those things that's so ugly it's pretty.

The polish comes across extra yellow in these photos, but there is definitely a dose of green in it. The formula was a bit awful, as any formula with yellow tends to be, but after three coats it evens out pretty nicely.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects - Spring Fever

My nails are ready for summer! Love these nail strips, as I love all nail strips.

These were really easy to apply and the staying power is awesome. I have a cut on my finger and applied a band aid a little too soon after applying these strips. The strip pulled up when I pulled the band aid off, but I simply pressed it back down and it has survived every band aid since :)

Kara's Way Box - June 2012

Kara's Way is yet another subscription beauty box on the market, though fairly new to the game. Last month's inaugural box was chock full of amazing natural products so I had to give this a try.

Packaging: The products are wrapped nicely in tissue paper but the packaging is not nearly as elaborate as Birchbox. There is no notecard telling you what you are getting, nor is there an actual box inside the main packaging that you can reuse for other purposes (makes sense since this company is all about being green). This is all fine though cause what really matters is the products, and I have to say I will definitely be using everything in my box.

Products:

• Alba Bonatica Passion Fruit Nectar Lip Balm 
• Sante Mascara Endless Lashes 
• Sante Eyeshadow Stick No 8
• Olivenol Skin Solutions Moisturizer
• Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream 

When I first opened the box I was a little sad there were only 5 products (they promise 5-10), but then realized they are almost all full size and I was just being a selfish asshole. Kara's Way just emailed me links with retail prices of these products and my box comes in at over $50, further cementing my status as a spoiled brat.

It also came with this cute little tag that apparently has seeds in it since it urges you to bury it and watch flowers grow. Adorable!

For $15 a month this subscription cost more than Birchbox, but the products are definitely of greater value. There is no point system to earn credits towards products, which is a little sad but not a deal breaker. Unlike Birchbox, Kara's Way boxes seem extremely uniform with everyone getting almost all the same stuff. Hopefully they can continue offering great boxes to everyone as they grow.

I wish I could keep both subscriptions, but $25 a month for random things is just more than my wallet can handle right now (for $25 a month I can buy things I actually want from Sephora every month instead of playing the beauty box lotto). Since I already committed to Birchbox with a yearly subscription I am sadly canceling Kara's Way for now, but this is definitely a company to keep an eye on.

June Birchbox 2012

For some reason Birchbox has stopped sending me shipment notifications, so it's always a pleasant surprise to see that hot pink package in the mail.

Of course I watched the sneak peak video and fell in love with the reusable Tili bags, and of course I didn't get them, but overall this box really aint so bad :)

This boxes theme was Jet Set and most of my products seem to revolve around fake tanning or preventing a tan, so I guess that works. Here goes:

beautyblender blendercleanser - Tiny travel sized make up brush cleaner

Comodynes Sel-Tanning Intensive - these are supposed to be great but I'm really not brave enough for them.

COOLA Cucumber Matte Mineral Face SPF 30 - still searching for the perfect sunscreen for my face, and this one gets bonus points for being all natural.  Yay!

Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint - I'm almost on my last tube of Perricone's discontinued tinted moisturizer, so it's nice to try new products. Has SPF 15 in it which is a big plus.

theBALM Staniac in Beauty Queen - Never will I ever complain about a hot pink lip stain. Very tiny, but it seems that a little goes a long way.

Lifestyle Extra
Retro Modcloth Headband (product page here) - a $14 value but this is so not my thing. Will try to trade for Tili bags or give to a friend.

Birchbox Man Extra
John Varvatos Cologne - A LOT of people were pissed off when this extra was featured in the sneak peak video. I agree that swapping out a beauty sample for a man sample is just not good business, but it seems that this is an EXTRA extra and doesn't take the place of anything at all.

All and all a decent box. The samples are tiny, but I can't be greedy and expect full size awesomeness week after week. Also seems like I'll rack up 70 beauty points this week ($7 value) which is pretty dang sweet.

Decal Girl Kindle Skin in Royal Crown

I was helping a friend find a skin for her laptop when I came across some awesome Kindle skins over at DecalGirl.com. While the laptop skins are nice, I think they really suit the Kindle's form factor. I scored this skin for $12 shipped with a 25% off Mother's Day Promo.

Application was pretty easy. The skin is made of a thin matte vinyl (you can chose shiny or matte) that was simple to work with. The decal lined up really well, I only have one tiny bubble/crease on the back that is barely noticeable.

I adore how this looks on the back of my Kindle. I have to get used to it on the front. The vinyl should leave no sticky residue so I can always peel off the front stickers if need be.

Zoya - Zuza

Oh Zuza. With a promo bottle photo like this, is it any wonder you went straight to the top of many polish fanatics wish lists?

Unfortunately I think that magic is sort of lost on the nail. A foil version of the ever so popular tiffany blue is a great idea, but in the end I simply prefer a creme. I wish Zoya did more of a glitter foil, like their sunshine or sparkle collections. If foils are your thing, this is probably a must have. Maybe I'll like it better with a tan, but I can't really see myself reaching for Zuza over it's creme counterpart (Wednesday).

 

Ok Zuza happens to be very photogenic and looks pretty in these photos, but I didn't really feel like it was *that* special in real life. Maybe I'm crazy and it'll grow on me. We'll see !

Zoya - Wednesday

Wednesday was a color I absolutely had to have. It seemed close to China Glaze's For Audrey, but my bottle of For Audrey is seriously hurting so I was ok with having a close dupe. The color does not disappoint. It might actually be a tad been greener than For Audrey, which I love since my skin always seems to bring out the blue in these colors.

I got a lot of compliments wearing this. My mom even said it was one of her favorite colors on me. She also noted that it didn't look like anything I've ever worn before. My polish collection quietly mocked her.

Photos! There is some slight bling on my ring finger from a coat of Essie's Pure Pearlfection. Cute, but I prefer Wednesday on it's own.

Birchbox May 2012 - Gossip Girl !

I think everyone was so excited for this months Gossip Girl themed box, and unfortunately most of us came away disappointed. The idea was great but it seemed like boxes with great items (full size Stila eyeliner??) were hard to come by. I can't really complain since my box really wasn't that bad. Also my last 2 boxes were amazing so asking for more expensive full size products at this point is just being greedy.

My theme was Hamptons Beach Party. Other than the really fun coral nail polish, I'm not quite sure how any of my items have to do with the beach. Unlike the Teen Vogue box, these Gossip Girl boxes just seemed forced and really not related to GG at all. Also the extra in this months boxes was a single piece of XOXO stationary. It's actually really cute, but ONE piece? It's a piece of paper and an envelope, they could have splurged and given us a few of these.

On to my box contents!

Color Club - Clambake Coral 

I couldn't find this color online, so it seems to either be renamed or an exclusive to this box. It's a mini size which is a little sad, but it's a really fun color. A somewhat muted yet very vibrant orange coral. Goes on a bit sheer and there was slight visible nail line with 2 coats. I found it impossible to capture this color accurately on my nail, but it's pretty close to how it looks in the bottle. 

Ojon Restorative Conditioner

A decent size sample of a conditioning hair treatment. Have not used it yet, but I like to use these treatments in my hair now and then so this is a keeper. 

Kiehl's Abyssine Cream + 

A moisturizing face cream that is supposed to have anti aging properties. I used it twice and it felt nice but went back to my usual cream because I like it better. I don't mind these skin care samples though since I am completely sold on the Olie Biologique oil I got in my last box and will be purchasing a full size as soon as I run out. 

Perfume Sample

Blah blah perfume blah. Can't use, will be giving away (am allergic). 

Notecards

Ahem NOTECARD singular. Like I said, would have been nice to have more than one. I do write letters to friends and this is cute, not sure if I'd be splurging $10 for 12 though. 

So there you have it ! I wish that this box was a LITTLE more geared towards Gossip Girl. The XOXO notecard is the only thing that really relates to the show. While the theme was fun, it seemed forced, which was disappointing considering how hyped up it was. I still love my birchbox though and look forward to next month's surprises :)

Essie Cocktail Bling with Zoya Maisie

I saw this beautiful photo of Zoya's Maisie layered over Kristen and had to try to recreate it immediately. Essie's Cocktail Bling is a muted gray/blue, and while it might not be as light as Kristen it certainly worked out well.

I've learned the thing about flakies is that they never ever look nearly as good in photos as they do in real life. Pictures make them look more odd and speckled whereas in person, flake polishes give off an awesome iridescent glow. They can look speckled in the shade with absolutely no light hitting them, but the tiniest bit of light makes them sparkle and shine and gives whatever color you layer it over a real boost.

I'm definitely a fan of layering flakies over base colors with similar tones. I really enjoyed the contrast of Maisie's blue/green flecks over the muted gray of cocktail bling. It was really hard capturing just how great this was, so you just have to trust me that this looked even better in person:

And here is Cocktail Bling alone. An awesome muted gray/blue that is just as lovely without a sparkly top coat.

Holy amazing April Birchbox! 2012

This month's Birchbox is dedicated to all things natural. I wasn't sure anything would top last month's Essie score, but holy crap did I get some great stuff!

In my box: 

Befine Skincare Sampler 

- 3 packets of face wash plus 2 packs of daytime moisturizer with sunscreen, both use rice extract which is an ingredient I've been wanting to try. I'm also searching for the perfect moisturizer with SPF so these samples were very appreciated. 

Revolution Organics Freedom Glow Beauty Balm in Bronzed 

- Full size! $36 value! Hell yeah! Yes, part of me wishes I got the pinkish one, but the bronze looks pretty good on me. This can be used on eyelids, lips, and cheeks - I can definitely see myself swiping this on my face all summer. 

Ateliere Cologne Perfume Sample

- I wish I cared about these but I'm allergic to perfume. Oh well. 

Oile Biologique 

- Sample blend of organic essential oils. You can add drops of this to your regular moisturizer, which is what I'll be doing. Very good. 

Le Palais des Thes 

- Two gourmet green tea blends in fun flavors. I love fancy tea!

LOVED this box, probably my favorite so far since I'll be using everything but the perfume. 

Color Club - Candy Cane

This color was part of the Beyond the Mistletoe Collection, an awesome set of uber glittery polishes. Candy Cane is predominantly a pink glitter with some blue, silver, and purple mixed in. It's super shiny and very pretty.

Zoya - Yara

Yara is an olive green with gold specks. A lot of photos of this color really highlight the shimmer in it, but on the nail it is pretty subtle. I only have one photo for you, but it's pretty accurate:

Essie - As Gold as it Gets over Meet Me at Sunset

As Gold as it Gets is an amazing gold fleck polish with fine gold micro shimmer that goes really well with colors in the same family. Here it is over Meet me at Sunset. Certain lighting brings out the shimmer, and then in the shade it has more of a speckled look. Very fun overall !

Sally Hansen Salon Effects - Vine and Dine

I'm always thrilled to see new Salon Effects strips pop up in stores, so imagine my delight when I spotted this limited edition display ! 

I am obsessed with Sweet Marble Floret!! I must find it somewhere before these disappear for good. Normally I'd suck it up and move on but I had a 25% off coupon and CVS bucks about to expire, so I obviously needed to buy something. I grabbed Vine and Dine since they seemed perfect for Easter.

These strips went on slightly more sheer than they appeared in the box (due to the white backing), which was kind of disappointing. Also they were super duper thin and kind of hard to work with. The strips kept sticking to the clear piece you have to pull off and in one case became completely ruined before I could even apply it. I had to be really careful to get them on. They look cute and were a fun Easter mani, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone using these strips for the first time.