OotD September 5

Ootd September 5

Scarf: Gorjana, from June Popsugar Must Have

Tee: Black long-sleeved V-neck from Old Navy

Jeans: Lucky Brand Zoe Straight

Bag: BCBGeneration from Little Black Bag

Shoes: 9 West from DSW

I loved my two little pops of neon orange: the soles of my shoes and the edge of my scarf. Nice and comfy for a hectic work day. 

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.

Ipsy Spoilers September 2013

Yes! It's Ipsy spoiler time.  Ipsy is a beauty subscription that sends you around 5 deluxe sample and full sized products every month for $10.

I'll update this post when I know more.

Key words in the descriptions: classics, staples, timeless.

This sounds promising! I'd love a "my face but better" bag of makeup this month instead of glitter palettes and red lipstick.

Sneak Peek #1
Photo from Ipsy

NYX Single Eyeshadow.  Variety of colors will be sent out.

Sneak Peek #2
Photo from Ipsy

Elizabeth Mott It's So Big Mascara.

The link on their website for this product is an Ipsy-specific one at the moment! See?

Dead giveaway.  

Sneak Peek #3
Photo from Ipsy

The caption on the Ipsy site says that we will be receiving 3 of these items.

OK- here's where it gets tricky.  We will go counter-clockwise.

Top Left:

John Frieda Full Repair Product(s)

John Frieda Full Repair Shampoo
Photo from John Frieda

Could be the shampoo and/or conditioner.  They also have a deep conditioner, which would be nice to receive.

The two bottles could be from the same brand, with the one toward the top just reflecting more light due to the angle.  We will see...

Left center:

Definitely looks like a Cailyn container.  Their tinted lip balm seems to fit.

Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm (Shown: 05 Natural)
Photo from Cailyn

Bottom left corner looks like another round of Chella highlighter pencils.

Chella Highlighting Pencil
Photo from Ipsy

Just to the right of the (potential) Chella pencil, there is a pink crayon-looking item.  If they are repeating the Chella pencil, they might very well be repeating the Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon.

POPBeauty Pouty Pop Crayon
Photo from Ipsy

Nude stick thing?  I'm not sure what this is.  Most likely it is a lipstick.

NYX, perhaps?

NYX Glam Lipstick in Elusive
Photo from NYX

Some people have also been saying that J.cat's Fantabulous Lipstick is a potential match as well.

Screenshot from home-page promo from J.Cat for their lipstick

Super close between the two brands!

It seems like J.cat has shared that third spoiler photo, meaning they most likely have a product in the mix.  They do have a "roll it up" eye liner that could be the item, or it could be the nail polish (?) seen below the lipstick.


There seems to be a box or a square bottle of nail polish(?) below the lipstick(?).

Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner from Jesse's Girl Cosmetics

Jesse's Girl Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner
Photo from Jesse's Girl

Black Eyeliner from somewhere?  I'm guessing Starlooks.  They have partnered with Ipsy before, it wouldn't surprise me to see them appear in another bag.

Starlooks Eye Pencil.  Not shown in Black lol.
Photo from Starlooks

The next thing looks like a twist-up brow or eye pencil.  Perhaps from Laval?

Photo from Colour Cosmetics 

Or an Avon Glimmerstick? Brow definer or eyeliner.  Plus, they are on sale right now.

Photo from Avon

Honestly, this one could be from anywhere.  NYX has a twist up eyeliner.  A lot of places make these twist up liners, I am finding out.

Top right, masks from Freeman Beauty

Paper Mask, for Oily/Combo Skin
Photo from Freeman Beauty

They have a special Ipsy deal on their site.

Packet under the masks is most likely from Skyn Iceland.  Michelle Phan mentioned the eye gels (I think) in her back-to-school favorites video.

We'll have to see how I did when the bags start showing up!

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains an affiliate link.  If you sign up for Ipsy using my link at the top of this post, I will get 250 Ipsy points.  These can be redeemed for bonus items at various increments.

Golden Tote September 2013 Selection

Oh man, I am so excited about this month's selection for Golden Tote! They have been sending out spoilers for weeks and I had my eye on this dress in particular:

Boho Lux dress
Photo from Golden Tote

...BUT it was only in the $149 tote.  I guess I had to get that one again.

Moto Jacket
Photo from Golden Tote

This jacket was my second pick.  I can't wait to see what they send with these items!

Golden Tote is a clothing service that will send you various items of high quality clothing and accessories each month.  You can pick 1 starting item for $49 and receive 2-3 more for a value of up to $200, or you can pick 2 starting items for $149 and receive 5-6 more for a value of up to $600.  This is not a recurring subscription, you have to order each tote separately.

I've never gotten anything from GT that I didn't like, and everything is exceptional quality.  I highly recommend it!

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.

The Week in Nails, September 2

Julep Meryl with Julep Ellie and Sally Hansen Strobe Light as an accent

2 coats each Julep polish, 1 coat glitter over Ellie.  No base coat, top coat Seche Vite.  I wore this for 3 days.

NYC In a Minute in Peach Sparkle

3 thin coats, Seche Vite on top.  No base.  3 days.

Julep Florence and Julep Padma as an accent

No base coat, no top coat.  2 coats each color.  1 day of wear before adding to it.

Julep Florence with accent and stamping in Julep Padma

Stamped Julep Padma onto previous day's mani.  Used Winstonia plate W112 (houndstooth pattern).

I just did this today, it should hopefully last until Tuesday.


No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.

Julep September 2013 Review: Classic with a Twist

I have the best sister! For my birthday she gave me 6 months to Julep.  She didn't know I was already a Maven (but I skip every month since it's out of my price range) so she signed me up through the waitlist.  It took from May until mid-August for me to become active.  I'm not complaining, it's an awesome gift! Julep makes some great long-lasting 4-free polishes.

Gold Paper, Orange Crinkles

There was a lot of concern this month because Julep was changing its shipping method to DHL.  However, it seems like they added a warehouse in NJ (which is closer to RI than WA).  I can't confirm if my box went through DHL or not, since the tracking link I was sent was through USPS anyway.  However, Julep has now changed their expected shipping times to correspond to the carrier change.  The free shipping now states it will take 5-8 days.  I received a shipping confirmation on the 28th and I had my box on the 30th.  This was no different from the two days it previously took to get my Maven box.

Julep September 2013

My little bonus extra was a one-step polish remover pad.  These are so handy for traveling.  The grey thing is a little card telling you what you get for referring people (1000 Jules per person, with 2000 Jules getting you a free monthly Maven box).

Julep September 2013

Julep has also changed their polish packaging.  They now come in individual boxes and I've seen sleeves for two and for three polishes.  I've never had a problem with nail polishes being broken or damaged during shipping with Julep, so to me this is just for the aesthetics.  They do look nice and professional, especially for a full price of $14 for only 0.27 fl.oz. (a little more than half of the normal polish size of 0.5fl.oz).

Left, Padma.  Right, Florence.

Padma is described by Julep as being a royal plum creme.  It is not a creme.  It has microshimmer which in my opinion makes it even better.  It adds depth to the color.  This reminds me a lot of OPI Russian Navy.  However, that polish is a dark navy blue with blue and red microshimmer, which makes it look purple.  Padma is a dark purple color with purple microshimmer, which obviously makes it look purple.  

Left Florence, Right Padma (check out that microshimmer in the bottle!)

Florence is a classic camel creme, according to Julep, and I think that's about right.  This one is definitely a creme finish, there is no shimmer at all.  It's a great nude color and I can see myself wearing it a lot when I need something subtle.

Florence with Padma as an accent

Cleansing oil close-up.

This month's beauty item is their new Bare Face Cleansing Oil.  If you picked the American Beauty profile this month, you got the cleansing oil and a mattifying face cream.  The It Girl style profile gets 3 polishes and no beauty products each month.  Any other profile (including my Classic with a Twist) receives 2 polishes and the main beauty product.

The cleansing oil has a mild, pleasant smell that is almost citrusy, but not quite.  It's a little woodier.  It feels like the other oil cleansers I have used, and washed off cleanly with water. My skin was nice and smooth and free of makeup after using it.  I already have a sample of an oil cleanser open, but I will definitely use this when I've finished the other one!

Julep is a monthly nailpolish and beauty product subscription box.  Julep costs $20 per month and gets you an every-day 20% Maven discount for the products on their site.  This brings the polishes down from $14 to $11.20.  You have the option of skipping any and all months if you would like to.  If you do this, you won't be able to access their "secret store" every month with products at an additional discount.  You will, however, still be able to take advantage of their mystery boxes and other special deals.

If you would like to sign up, use the code FREEBOX to get your first month for free! (I think you just pay a few dollars for shipping and handling).  You can use my REFFERAL LINK if you are feeling nice :).

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me (or my sister, in this case, since it was a gift!).