Glossybox Boxes- DIY

If you happen to subscribe to Glossybox and you are hoarding the boxes. You can now make yourself a cute little set of drawers with it. You can get the instructions on how make it yourself HERE. Cute eh?

Ipsy December 2012

I have got and tried everything in my bag. I am quite please this month. Ready to see what I got and what I think about it?  Here we go!

December 2012 Ipsy

This months bag is awesome. It is a nice grey color, kind of a fat low profile bag. It will be great for packing along travel makeup and little things I want to drag everywhere. The above picture came out too dark but the bottom ones shows the true color.. Nice eh?

The zipper is silver heavy metal. Not cheap!

Inside the bag has Ipsy's name all over it in a cute pink color. Love it.

Front of Monthly Card

Back of card-Product list

This is a $20 promo code for Just fab. There are some nice boots and bags in the Ipsy collection. I doubt I will use this but it is nice anyway.

NYX loose pearl shadow powder. I have never used this kind of shadow before but it is really nice. I like the soft texture. This color is way out of my comfort zone so I will have to pull up my big girl pants and find a way to try it out.

Urban Decay 24-7 Liner -Zero

I have owned this liner in the past and needed a new one. It works good for a pencil. I like it when I do not want to spend extra time dragging out my gel liner and brush. It is black, always a plus for me.

Be a Bombshell Hot Mess Lip gloss. It is RED. Thankfully it is a bit sheer. Red lipstick is also out of my comfort zone but I have been wearing this a little at a time to get used to it. I also do not want to scare my husband. He is not used to me wearing much makeup. Must break him in slowly.

Mirabella Primer for face and eyes. I have not used it on my whole face but I have on my eyes. It does what it is suppose to do and it feels great going on.

Mai Couture Highlighter paper. Well these sort of bug me. I am not used to rubbing paper on my face and the color is a bit too orange for me. Other than that. I like the idea. Nice way to touch up blush on the go. Would travel nicely.

Well that is it for Ipsy this month. I and pleased and am looking forward to January!

Glossybox December 2012

Love my Glossybox. I have not had any issues with them so far and I have never been disappointed in a box yet. This is my third so that makes me an expert! <grin> Not really but the truth is, it's my favorite box and I love the samples.

Here is my December box...

Glossybox December 2012

They used some cute Christmas tissue paper this month.

Glossybox Mag

Product Card

Forest Essentials Luxurious Ayurveda

This is a Madurai Jasmine & Mogra Bath and Shower Oil. This stuff smells really good. I am looking forward to using it after my next shower. Applying it to my hand it seems to absorb pretty quickly.
Edited to add that a couple minutes after smelling this I got a massive migraine. After it went away I smelled it again to see if it was truly the culprit. Yep... I will be tossing this. Sad because I liked the way it smelled.

Acacia Protein Hair Oil--Pleats Please Fragrance

The hair oil isn't something I am jumping for joy about. It is a small vial with a rubber stopper so using it will be a mess. I may not even bother. I have several nice oils in spray bottles that are easy to use.

The Pleats Please smells great. I really like it and will enjoy rotating it into my other samples. One day I will have to pick a couple I like the most and buy a full size.

Heartland Frangrance CO Bath Salts

I love my bath time and I am looking forward to using these. The smell is clean and nice

Oscar Blandi Heat protecting spray

I have never used a dry spray like this so I am interested in how it works. I will update my finding at a later time.

Zoya in Ziv

I am a polish hoarder so this makes me happy. It is a beautiful Gold.

Glossybox sent rings from Jewelmint this month. Cute rings but mine and REALLY tiny. I can not even wear them on my pinky. These I will pass to my daughter. The one on the right is interesting, half silver half gold.

Polish and Rings

Nail Art Society- December 2012

This is Nail Art Society's second month and again I like what they sent.
I started this service because at the time it was the only nail service besides Julep. I have a 9 year old daughter who got box envy each month my sub boxes came in. I wanted to find something she could look forward to. She loves to paint her nails so this was perfect.

NAS-December 2012

Instruction Card

A cute gem kit and glue to apply them. This is great because it is hard to find gems to stick on my daughters little nails. Some of these are really tiny.

Cherimoya Polish remover

We got lilac scent and I am shocked how well it works and smells.

And of course... The polish!

Full size bottles of matte-n-a matte polish in Mystery and Blockbuster.

In the sun

In the sun these have some shimmer to them but they are definitely matte. I love the silver and purple color and more importantly, my daughter does. It is after all, her box. (we share the polish collection)

This formula seems a bit thicker than I am used to and the bushes are shorter and fatter than most brands. I liked it. It was easy to put on and the coverage was great. I could have gotten away with one coat.

I have been wanting some more matte colors. I have even been stalking ManGlaze for awhile so I am thrilled to have some in our collection now.

Not bad for 10 bucks a month!

Sadly the cost of this service has went up to $19.95 for new subscribers but they have made some changes and said the service is suppose to be even better in the coming months. I am excited to see what they have planned.

DIY- Lavender Nail Polish Remover

So I really like the Deborah Lippmann, The Stripper, nail polish remover. I do not like the cost. It is about $16 for a 4 ounce bottle.

I ran across a You Tube video that taught you how to duplicate another popular nail polish remover, Zoya.
You can see the video HERE.

I basically did the same but added some lavender drops. It still is not a great smelling product but it is better than just regular polish remover.

Things I used

I was able to the glycerin and lavender drops on Amazon.com. The acetone I got from Ulta. I can probably find it in bulk cheaper but did not bother this time around.

I dumped about 2 inches of the acetone out. Added 2 tablespoons of the vegetable glycerine and a lot of the lavender. Maybe 1/4 of the bottle. I shook the bottle to mix it the best I could. I then had to add a few tablespoons of water to get the glycerin to mix completely. You can see it on the bottom of the bottle if you need to add more water. I have used it once so far and I am really satisfied with it. It took regular polish off very quickly. I only had one nail with chunky glitter on it and it seemed to come off quicker than usual for glitter. That could be wishful thinking on my part. <grin>

$21 dollars to make 16 ounces of polish. Not bad! You make yours even cheaper if you opt out of the lavender.

Sample Society December 2012

This is what I got this month!

December 2012 Sample Society

Product Card

Delaney Wellness Rejuvenating Eye Cream

Delaney Wellness Beauty Reserve Rejuvenating Eye Creme helps to tighten, firm and brighten the skin around and under the eyes while minimizing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, puffiness and dark circles.

I have been using this twice a day since I got it about a week ago. I can't say I have really noticed a big difference. I do not really have any dark circles, puffiness, or fine lines yet. The skin seems to look a little tighter but that may just be my imagination.

Lollia Wish Petite Treat Shea Butter Handcreme

Rich notes of Italian bergamot, rice flower, jasmine and ylang ylang are anchored with amber woods and vanilla bean for an unforgettably unique scent you'll always want to wear.

 I adore the packaging this came in! I like the smell of this hand cream and I will use it all. I will buy some in the spring or summer time when my hands are not severely dry from the cold.

This hand cream is thinner than the hand creams I usually use in the winter. Not bad, just bad timing for me. It will be on my wish list for my spring shopping.

Vapour Organic Beauty Elixir Lip Gloss

Man, I think this is the first time I truly did not like a sample at all. The color was meh and the gloss was terrible for me. It is REALLY sticky. My husband even recoiled when he kissed me. I also like my glosses to smell or taste good. This one did neither. I will say I am not a huge fan of glosses. It usually has to wow me to stick around. 

Philosophy Living Grace Gel

 living grace shampoo, bath & shower gel. this 3-in-1 multitasking formula gently cleanses, conditions and softens skin and hair, while providing a rich, foaming lather for a luxurious shower or bath experience.

I have washed my hair a few times with this and I really really really like it. So much so that I am going to buy it. I have thick, wavy, frizzy hair that I loath. I almost always air dry and style later (if at all) I have to use oils and other crap to run the frizzies off. When I washed with this and air dried. I have nice wavy hair. No frizz! I how I hope I have found my Holy Grail shampoo!

Murad Age Reform Time Release Retinol Concentrate 

The high-performance formula dramatically reduces the length and depth of wrinkles, while plumping skin to decrease wrinkle volume and impart a youthful appearance.

 I have not used this. I may use it down the line when my eczema calms down. 

Color Club- Berry and Bright & Deborah Lippmann- Boom Boom Pow

I have been sad about missing Square Hue's debut December box. The red they sent out looks amazing! So does the purple and champagne. <sigh> Box envy is no fun.

I made myself feel a bit better with a bottle of Color Club in Berry and Bright. It is also a gorgeous color.
For some reason the polish was really thick and not smooth. I may need to invest into some thinner... Application was not flawless but I am showing it to you anyway.  hehehe

Julep- Cindy

Cindy is the color I wanted as an add on for my Julep Maven box. Green is my favorite color and green nail polish just makes me feel awesome. I love love love it. So Cindy was a dream, I had to have her.

Cindy-In the Sun

Cindy- Indoors

More Cindy!

As I said. I love Green! 

Influenster Cosmo VoxBox 2012

What Is Influenster

Influenster is a free-to-join community of invited trendsetters who live to give opinions of products and experiences. Influenster creates links between brands and members to reward participation and influence future products. 

You can check them out at the Influenster website for more information.

I have been on the site for about 2 months and was surprised that I got this box. Here is what I got..

Cosmo VOXBOX 2012
Click to see larger picture

Gillettte Venus & Olay Razor with one refill. Plus $2 coupon

Awesome razor. I was using it long before I got this box so extra blades is great for me. I like the new green handle. It is my favorite color!

Forever Red .25 fl oz.

This is a new perfume from Bath and Body. This is what the bath and body site says...

• Top Notes: Fiery Pomegranate, Rare French Peach, Luminous Apple
• Mid Notes: Red Peony, Night Marigold, Red Osmanthus
• Dry Notes: Rich Vanilla Rum, Velvety Marshmallow, Oak Wood

I really really like it. More importantly, my husband likes it. (win!) I plan to buy some when this very generous sized sample runs out.

Piolt FriXion ball point pens- Red and Black

• Erase and rewrite repeatedly without damaging documents
• Thermo-Sensitive Gel ink formula disappears with erasing friction
• Smooth writing Gel ink

Man what I would have done for this in high school! All the cool stuff got invented after I was all grown up.
This does in fact erase very well. The pen has a little rubber eraser on the end of it. Very nice. I will hoard these away before my spawn find them and squirrel them away.

Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk- Sea Salt Escape with Almonds

This is a full size 3.5 oz bar. I love that the almonds are tiny minced pieces. I tend to not like big chucks of nuts n my candy bars. The sea salt seems to com at the end of the tasting this. Love Love Love this chocolate bar. I am not hard to please when it comes to my love of chocolate but this bar goes over the top. Very yummy!

Julep Maven Box- December 2012 It Girl

This is my first Maven box from Julep and lets just say that the glitters I got this month are SO gorgeous.

December 2012 It Girl

Harper- Ivy- Vivien

Sorry that picture did not turn out as well as I had hoped. But I did want you to see the colors closer.

I took pictures of me wearing Harper, my favorite. Once I had it on, I did not have it in me to take it off to swatch the others. I will add pictures to the blog later when I do wear them.

Harper

I love green/ blue mermaid type colors and this glitter was so fabulously made for me. It should have been named Ashley <grin>
I am wearing 2 coats over a light blue Color Club nail polish but Harper turned out to be a  full coverage gal so the base was not needed. I will have to buy more when I run out.