Author: Lara
September Ipsy Bag – Face Fashion
“Face Fashion” – is “face” being used as a verb or a descriptive noun? I am so confused…am I being told to look toward fashion or being advised that these products are fashion for my face???
In any case, all of the products in this month’s ipsy bag are for my face: NYX Cosmetics ipsy eye Shadow Trio (LOVE these limited edition colors); Evelyn Iona Cosmetics Cream Blush in “ASH” (Looks pink to me); J. Cat Beauty #MOTD Waterproof Slide on Pencil for Eyes in “Bronze” (cool color, but UGH – waterproof); ACURE Argan Oil Cleansing Toilettes; and Crown Brush Oval Concealer Brush (I was hoping for a lip brush).
The bag this month…so sophisticated! I’m adoring the bronze pattern.
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
September Birchbox – Better Together
View this post on Instagram
“Better Together” is Birchbox’s September theme – and the box is chock full of extras to go with my main samples.
Inside my box: (MALIN + GOETZ) Grapefruit Face Cleanser, with a bonus foil pack of Vitamin E Face Moisturizer (both are going to Vegas with me later this week); Davines LOVE Smoothing Shampoo, with a bonus foil pack of LOVE Conditioner (I LOVED Davines Minu in my July box, so this was my sample choice this month); English Laundry Eau de Parfum Signature for Her (In deed, it smells English…like the Queen Mum herself); Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive (I prefer clay masks to peel off, but I’ll give it a spin); and POP Beauty POP Portfolio Shadow Trio in “Sugar Plum” (I am suspicious of silver and purple eye shadow).
If you would like to try Birchbox, click on my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join.
September Beauty Box 5 – Fall on Fleek
September’s theme is “Fall on Fleek” – but there are no eyebrow products included. I’m thinking they need to brush up on their beauty slang…
Inside my fleek box: Elizabeth Mott Tints & Sass Lip + Cheek Stain (I LOVE this stuff – it’s so much better than Benetint – I originally got a full size in an ipsy bag last summer); Beautiful Nutrition Lemon Rinse Gentle Clarifying Treatment (Weird); Harvey Prince “Sincerely” Mini Roller (I could smell this before I even opened my box – very old lady smelling); Bellapierre Shimmer Powder in “Snowflake” (more illuminator – ugh); and Be a Bombshell Cosmetics Eye Crayon in “Amazon” (bright ass turquoise – I LOVE it).
I’m thinking I could put together a really HOT old Bingo lady look with these products – blue eye shadow, wine stained lips, lemony hair, white glitter powder and old lady farts perfume.
Gorgeosity
I have been dying to try Julep “Mila” – charcoal multi-colored glitter, an add-on to my August Julep Box. Since the base is clear, I decided to use a color underneath it. I chose Julep “Annemarie” – warm cocoa crème, a polish I picked up over a year ago from Julep’s Red Marker sale. It’s just been sitting there, waiting for me. I can’t believe I’ve let it sit there that long!
I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. I did a single coat of “Annemarie” and a single coat of “Mila”. I used “HK Girl” on all my fingers, EXCEPT my ring finger. I couldn’t resist seeing what it looked like matte, so I used Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat. My nails are the height of gorgeosity.
So my husband says that “Annemarie” is skintone. As I tried to argue that it wasn’t, he made me hold the bottle up to his arm…and it matched fairly closely. (He’s a whiteboy, but that 1/16th Cherokee comes out in his – and my kids’ – skin.) I would highly recommend “Annemarie” as a nude for olive and darker skintones.
Black Out
Kat Von D has a matte black lipstick called “Slayer” that I have lusted over. I just can’t justify spending $21 on a lipstick I will likely never wear. I already did that once.
Face it, 39 years old and working for a Fortune 25 Company makes black lipstick a once a year event.
BUT…I can justify spending $3 at Target for e.l.f. Black Out.
You know who isn’t too old and corporate for black lipstick? My seven year old daughter, Lily. We both tried it out last night and she LOVED it. Now she wants to wear black lipstick every day.
I guess I should dig out my Cure posters and CDs…she’ll be ready soon.
Blurple?
Is it blue or purple? Blurple? I don’t know exactly what Sinful Colors “Let’s Talk” is. It looks more purple in artificial light, but in sunlight – it is definitely blue.
“Let’s Talk” was recommended to me by two different nail aficionados – Angie (from my Dallas crew) and Rachel (from my Work crew). Great minds definitely think alike…this is a fantastic polish! Luckily, it’s a permanent shade – I didn’t have any trouble finding it.
This is two quick coats of “Let’s Talk” over Sinful Colors Base Coat. (I was watching Impractical Jokers and only half-ass paying attention to my nails – I amazingly didn’t fuck them up.) There’s nothing like breaking open a new bottle of “HK Girl” – I just started my third one! I’m seriously going to look into buying this stuff in bulk – it’s THAT good.
Fool’s Gold
What to pick first from this month’s Julep box…such a hard decision.
I decided to try Julep Boho Glam “Lydia” first. “Lydia” is pyrite stardust. Pyrite is also known as ‘fool’s gold’, as miners would mistake it for gold. To me, it looks like sparkly doo doo mud…pretty, but potentially stinky.
I used Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat with two coats of “Lydia”. “Lydia” was rather goopy on the brush, but it went on absolutely smoothly. The texture is like an old emery board that’s been used for years – just a hint of roughness. I find that the Julep stardust polishes chip less than the Zoya Pixie Dusts, though they’re not quite as pretty. Julep microglitter though – that shit chips within an hour. I’d love to hear reader experiences with textured polishes…
Soap Fix
In between Semi-Annual Sales, I have to get my Soap Fix – so I’ll settle for 50% off for Labor Day. I only got three – they didn’t have much of the deep cleansing soap I like – just the foaming kind. I hate the foaming kind. I did get one foam for the kids – “Strawberry Lemon”. I got “Honeydew Cooler” and “Pineapple Sorbet” for myself. “Pineapple Sorbet” smells just like the Pineapple Dream at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii! I also grabbed 4 Scentportables (4/$10) and 2 bath poof (not on sale).
Of course, when they send you an email that says “Surprise – up to 40% off” – it’s never 40% off. I had to make do with 20% off. Sigh.
September Julep Maven Box – Kisses, London Collection
Julep, first again this month!
“Kisses, London” is September’s theme – inspired by London’s fall runways (Whatever that means). I decided to go all polish this month – I didn’t really want more lipstick this month. I chose Wonder Maven “Delores” – iris linear liquid holographic; It Girl “Aubrey” – rosewood shimmer; and Bombshell “Rachael” – graphite shimmer. I also added Boho Glam “Lydia” – pyrite stardust – to my box. All Mavens received “Julep”, Julep’s signature creme, which matches their boxes and logo.
I love how color coordinated my box turned out this month – all purple and metallic. Which one should I try first? I think…”Lydia”?
Not a Julep Maven? CLICK HERE to join! Get a FREE Welcome Box with code FRIEND!
Wicked x 3
I couldn’t try just ONE of my new Deborah Lippmann Wicked polishes – I had to try them ALL.
After Orly Bonder, I painted a thin coat of “Defying Gravity” on each nail. I then did a coat of “Popular” on my thumb and ring finger – who knew that green + pink = purple? I did a coat of “One Short Day” on my index and pinky. I finished my middle finger with another coat of “Defying Gravity”. I topped them all with “HK Girl” for shine.
By far, my favorite polish of the collection is “Defying Gravity”. A single coat reminded me of Jade. (I’ll be trying it with gold glitter for the full jewelry effect). After two coats, it reminded me of the green chalkboards of my grade school days – I also need to try a matte top coat with it. Speaking of chalkboards, schools don’t have them anymore – my kids will never know the horror of nails on a chalkboard. Lucky.