imPress Nails

I received my Impress Nails as part of my spring 2013 Voxbox from Influenster for review. They color variety is really nice. I didn't like how short I had to cut my nails in order to make them work. they didn't stay on terribly long either. I would recommend them to anyone who doesn't have the time to get their nails done.

OSiS Rough Rubber

So, ordinarily I'm not much of a hair product gal. Especially styling rubber/glue/paste. I tend to wear my hair long and loose more often than not. Recently I had a formal event to get all pretty for and found OSiS Rough Rubber really came in handy keeping my updo in place. The smell is heavenly and a little goes a LONG way with this stuff. My style held all night. My boyfriend has also taken to using this over his normal hair product. The microsponge technology absolutely delivers by keeping my hair moldable at all times.

I've found the best way to apply is to rub a small amount between the palms of your hands and work into damp hair. It does not leave your hair shiney or looking like you over did it on product. OSiS Rough Rubber has a very nice matte finish.

I can definitely see us repurchasing this in the future. It costs around $20 and can be found in Ulta stores across the US.


*OSiS Rough Rubber was provided to me complimentary by Influenster in my Spring VoxBox for review*

TastyKake Kandybar Kakes

I received my very first VoxBox from Influenster this month and it's *totally* worth the time I've spent writing reviews and being a part of the community on their site. One of the items included was a Reeses Peanutbutter TastyKake candybar cakes. Having lived in an area void of TastyKakes most of my life I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was the perfect mix of chocolate and peanut butter. I will definitely be purchasing these in the future.

Kandy Bar Kakes are the best of both worlds. Light and fluffy chocolate enrobed cakes come in a unique kandy bar shape with a delicious créme filling made with your favorite candy flavors. Available in S'mores, Peppermint, and Peanut Butter flavor.

You can find info on all the *awesome* varieties here:
http://www.tastykake.com/

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

And then lazy happened....

Not so much with the water marble this weekend. Life took over and it just didn't work out. I had work stuff and boyfriend stuff and well...lazyness to take care of. 
I did, however, purchase a few new beauty products. *yay*  Olay Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum and Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer w/ SPF. I've hit the age where an eye cream is no longer an option and this particular one gets excellent reviews all over the innernets. We'll see. I've used Aveeno tinted moisturizer before I and really like it. It's great for days where I just want a little light coverage and some SPF. 
So, I wanted to share a little discovery. I'm in the process of loosing a considerable amount of weight. I'm at 40 pounds and going. Being a woman in her 30's, my skin just doesn't have the elasticity it used to. I did some digging about online and started to educating myself on the wonders of sugar scrubs and Co-Q 10 lotion and man, I'm really glad I did. I bought a sugar scrub from Wal-Mart called Tree Hut Shea Sugar Almond and Honey Body Scrub. It's costs around $4 and smells divine. I've been using it every 3 days or so for about a month now and my skin is ever so grateful. My favorite thing so far is how smooth my legs feel after I use this scrub. If I scrub, shave, then scrub again I get literally the closest shave I've ever had. I've been following every shower up with Equate Co-Q 10 Skin Firming lotion. It got decent ratings and I could have purchased a better quality lotion but quite frankly, before I sunk money into anything more expensive I wanted to see if Co-Q 10 was everything it was supposed to be. So far the answer is yes! The skin on my legs is noticeable younger looking and some fairly unsightly scars I had have begun to fade. I've noticed the flabby skin on my arms seems tighter as well. I wouldn't call it a miracle by any means but it's a definite improvement. Here's to hoping I have the same luck with my new face product choices...and that one of these days I'll have a reader. 

My first trip to Beauty Brands...

....and let me tell you, that place could be dangerous for me! They have a much larger selection of polish than Sally's. I got some fantastic colors on sale. Tomorrow I'm going to attempt the water marble, finally. 

So now that I've gotten my first Birchbox I think I'm officially hooked on monthly subs. I'm expecting my first GlamBag from Ipsy in a few weeks so I'll be able to post and review this products as well. 

Ok, off to practice the water marble. I'll post some pictures of the final product tomorrow. :)

My first Birchbox

When I got home last night I was super excited to see my first Birchbox waiting for me on the door step. I opened it as soon as I got inside and was really happy with the selection this month.

Here is a list of the samples I received:

Mighty Leaf tea in Chamomile, Green Tea and Earl Grey (sample)

 

Simple Revitalizing Eye Roller (Full size)

 

Caudalie Divine Oil (Sample)

 

Elizabeth Arden Visable Difference Optimizing Skin Serum (4 sample packs)

 

No4 Thermal Styling Spray (deluxe sample)

Cargo Hybrid Touch-Up 2-in-1 Bronzer/Power (Full size! It retails for $30!!)

 

 

So, there's my first month's haul. Unfortunately for me (*sad) the bronzer/power combo was far too dark for my complexion so a co-worker of mine benefited from that. I'm currently using the Elizabeth Arden Visable Difference Optimizing Serum and the Simple Revitalizing Eye Roller. I'll have a review of both in a few days.

 

The Mighty Leaf tea smells absolutely divine. I can't wait to brew up a cup. I think my favorite out of everything is the Caudalie Divine Oil. It smells amazing and is super moisturizing. I've been using a dry oil on my hair and love the results, I'm certain I'll love the results of using this one on my cuticles...since that's what I've decided to use it for. hehe.

 

That's all for now. Back to the grind!

 

Hooray!

So, my very first Birchbox is waiting for me when I get home from work this evening. I'm *super* stoked. Expect to see reviews of the samples I received. I think this will be something I really look forward to every month. I'll start receiving my Ipsy monthly in May, too.

So, I decided to feed my nail addiction this morning and tried a matte french for the first time. I'd seen the picture floating around the web and I adore the way it looks. I think it's such a classy way to wear black polish.

Here's a pic:

I used Essie Licorice and Revlon's matte top coat. The original plan was to use the guide stickers I typically use for french manicures, however either I didn't let the top coat dry long enough, or the matte coat just isn't cut out for stickers. Once I tried to remove the sticker, the top coat went along with. So, after repainting a nail..*grumble*..i opted to simply use the brush of my Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat and carefully shine up the tip. I think for not having a terribly steady hand, this turned out quite well. I've gotten a few compliments on this today. I can see this particular manicure getting added to my rotation of fav's.

This weekend I think I'm going to finally try a traditional water marble. I've tried the easy version using drops of polish and a peice of plastic baggie to make the marble effect. While I like that version I want to give myself a bit of a challenge.

That's all for now. Back to work!