Thank you

Many thanks to Caitlyn who signed up for Ipsy and the anonymous person who signed up for Stitch Fix! I appreciate you using my referral links :)  Let me know how you like your first bag/fix!

It's crazy to me that there are people reading my blog.  Thanks, internet!

Golden Tote November 2013 Review

It's everyone's favorite time of the month! Golden Tote Day!

Since I was in desperate need of winter tops (ok, so hyperbole is fun) I decided to budget myself and NOT buy iced coffee every day, and instead, buy a Golden Tote.  It's *almost* the same thing, right?

I picked the $149 tote, which comes out to about $157 after shipping for me.  I bought it the first day of the sale (Nov 4), got a shipping notice the 13th, and it arrived today, the 25th.  If I didn't like the clothes so much, I would be a little angry with the shipping times!  Three weeks?

What did I get?!

Since I picked the $149 tote, I got to pick two items to start, and GT sent 4 more as a surprise.  If you pick the $49 tote, you choose the first thing and get 1 more item of clothing and usually 1 accessory.  They claim that the big tote will have up to a $600 value and the little tote will have up to a $200 value.  It seems a little inflated to me, but if you work it out per piece, they are about $25 each.  I would pay $25 for most of the things I've gotten from GT.

Square Knit Sweater in Black/Ivory from Mak by Mak B

This sweater was an item I picked out.  Unfortunately, by the time I was able to order my tote, my first choice dress had already been sold out in my size.  I picked this (my third favorite item) instead.  It's much thicker of a knit than I expected, which is awesome! (Even though it makes it look like I've instantly gained 15 pounds.)  It was about 9*F today with windchill and I definitely wished I had a warmer outfit on.  This is warm and cozy and the navy/cream combination is right up my alley.  

Made in China, 100% acrylic, hand wash/lay flat to dry.

Baseball Tee from Renee C

This shirt is the softest shirt I think I own.  Seriously, it's like wearing a baby bunny.  The colors are hard to see in my picture, but the neckline and waistband are black, the middle of the shirt is cream, and the arms are gray.  I wasn't crazy about this when I saw pictures on other blogs, but its total and utter fuzziness has won me over. I'm wearing it to work tomorrow.  End of story.

Made in USA, 62% polyester, 34% rayon, 4% spandex.  Hand wash/hang dry.

Blouse by Peach Love Cream

This top is probably my least favorite item in this tote.  The print is navy (sensing a theme this month?), cream/taupe (yup, definitely a theme), and teal, which is fine.  This fits nicely and drapes well, but the shoulders are a little puffy.  It was hard to take a picture that showed the shoulder poufs, but they are there, trust me.  I would need to wear a sweater over this, but it will be good for a day when I need to dress up a little bit.  I don't hate this shirt, it's just not my favorite.  The button detail on the back is nice, I appreciate little touches like that.

Made in USA, 100% polyester.  Hand wash, hang dry.

Sweater by Ellison

This sweater is cute, even with the shoulder designs.  The back is the same knit as the sleeves, and it definitely needs a tank underneath.  It's not the warmest thing GT sent, but it is still appropriate for winter.  The open knit counter-acts the heaviness of the fabric, and I think this would be perfect for fall.  Too bad fall weather has left New England :(

Made in China, 60% cotton, 40% polyester.  Hand wash.

Lace Swing Dress by In Clover

This was the spoiler item that GT released shortly after their November sale started.  It is really pretty in person! I wish my camera would take better pictures of black clothes.  I think you could get away with wearing this dress without a belt, but the belt provides a little more shape definition.  I like that the sleeves are lace, it adds a nice touch and will cover my inner arm tattoos.  The skirt has a lot of movement, and the fabric is on the heavier side; perfect for holiday parties.

Made in USA, 80% cotton, 20% nylon.  Dry clean only.

Printed Shift Dress by Honey Punch

This was the second item that I picked to put in my tote, and my favorite of everything I got!  It's dark navy with a floral print and long sleeves.  This is awesome!  As always, everything I received fits perfectly, and this is no exception.  It's flowy without being clingy, and dressy without being overly Christmas-y.  Definitely a winner in my book.

Made in USA, 100% polyester, hand wash.

All in all, I'm pleased with this month's tote.  I have some new party dresses and some cozy sweaters to keep me warm in my freezing-cold lab.  Would I pay $25 for each item I got?  Yes.  On average.  Some I would pay a little more for, and some a little less.  It all works out!

Golden Tote will most likely launch their December sale in about a week.  As always, there will be a $49 and a $149 tote to choose from.  You pick the first item(s), and they will do the rest based on your style profile.

All items in this post were purchased by me.  All opinions are my own and no special consideration or compensation was received.

The Week in Nails, November 24

Zoya Mason with Julep Cynthia 

This is what I ended up doing to cover the chips on my tips.  I wore this combo for 2 days.  I put a layer of Julep Polymer Top Coat over everything.

No-sponge glitter gradient with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Julep Erica 

I then decided to do a little glitter gradient.  2 coats of OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls (an EXTEREMELY pale blue) with Julep Erica (orange/black/gold mystery glitter from the New Year's Mystery Box).  The above picture shows the process.  I first wiped off almost all of the glitter from my brush and lightly painted 2/3 of my nail with it.  When that was dry, I went back over about 1/2 each nail with another coat.  Lastly, the top third of my nail got more glitter, making it more opaque.  I find this easier than using a makeup sponge to fade the glitter onto my nail.

OPI and Julep

I wore this for 3 days.

Julep Reece

I had Julep Reece on my nails for the last two days of this week.  As usual, no base coat (I *still* haven't found one I like), and Julep Polymer top coat.  

This post contains items purchased by me.  All opinions are my own and no special consideration or compensation was received for this post.

Julep Diamond Mystery Box Review

On Columbus Day, Julep announced a new mystery box! Based on the two guaranteed polishes, and the promise of a value of at least $120, I bit.  This cost $24.99 and took 11 days to get to me.  Way to go, DHL, way to be slow.

What's inside?!

I got Mystery Box #1.  The pink thing under the little catalogue is a Scrub Mitt ($2.99 on sale).  I have mixed feelings on this.

Scrub Mitt

The Contents!
All polishes in little pink bags

First up is a familiar item:

Julep Pink Grapefruit Body Frosting, 4 oz

I received this in an earlier mystery box, so this will be saved for a holiday gift.  This smells like grapefruit and has a whipped texture.  It's on sale for $9.99.

Julep Mini Eyelash Curler

This mini eyelash curler is so cute!  I like that it is nice and compact; my big one takes up a lot of space in my makeup bag.  I may have to switch it out for this one!  I couldn't find this by itself, it is sold as part of the "travel essentials" set with a foundation/concealer brush and a makeup bag for $28.  I'll estimate this at $2.99.

Julep Doublestep Foot Treatment & Friction Stick

The doublestep foot treatment is for hydrating and preventing blister-causing friction on your feet.  This smells like peppermint and comes in a twist-up stick applicator.  I'm hoping it works, I have some pretty uncomfortable shoes!  Maven price $17.60, regular price $22.

The "extra"!
Grape Rock Candy

Sooo this lasted all of 40 seconds before I devoured it.  It was grape-flavored sugar and made my mouth purple...just like I had hoped.

Now, on to the polish!

The Polishes!

Left to right: Antonia, Helen, Coco, Kristy, Reece, Geo, Marion

Diamond Mystery Box #1

Let's see some swatches!

Julep Marion, 2 coats

Marion is from February 2013 It Girl.  It is a blue-leaning teal with a silvery shimmer.  This is super-pretty, but it will stain!  I'm glad the shimmer is as apparent on the nail as it is in the bottle, often times the bottle looks so much prettier than the dry polish.

Julep Reece

Oh my gosh, you guys, I have Reece!  I have wanted this polish *so* badly, but couldn't ever bring myself to buy it on its own.  This was an add-on in September 2013 and was part of the It Girl collection.  I got the September box, but didn't have the money or the Jules to get this as an add-on.  I was so glad to see it in this mystery box! It's even prettier in person.

Reece is a purple/green holographic duochrome.  It's amazing.  I am in love.  It looks muted and gray in some lights, but then other lighting brings out the purple or green and all of the sparkles.  Pictures don't do this one justice.  Ok, I'm done waxing poetic.

Julep Kristy

Julep Kristy is a midnight blue creme from the September 2013 Boho Glam collection.  This is a very, very dark navy, so of course I love it for the winter.  I've been using OPI Russian Navy a lot, but this is not shimmery at all, so I'm going to justify keeping it.  Yeah, it looks like some of my really dark purples, but it's technically blue, right? So I can keep it?

Julep Coco

I know this is blurry, but I've featured Coco before.  I got this color in my Popsugar Must Have for October, so it's nice to have a polish to give away.  I love this oxblood creme!  It's such a classy color to me.  This was from the It Girl collection in May 2013.

Julep Helen

Speaking of classy colors, I think my second favorite of this box is Helen.  This is from the Classic with a Twist from February 2013 and is a smoky lavender, according to Julep.  I think it is a great pink for my skin and I'm surprised I don't have anything like it already!  Two coats was almost unnecessary, I think I could pull off one with a top coat!  Even better.

Julep Marion, Reece, Kristy, Coco, and Helen

All in all, there was not a dud in the bunch! I was afraid I'd get a weird yellow or other unpopular color, but these were all amazing.  I am so happy that I bought this mystery box!

The two promised polishes were two diamond top coats.

Julep Geo

Geo is a lavender holographic diamond glitter top coat.  Whew, that's a mouth full.  It has a clear base with holographic and lavender glitter and lavender holographic diamonds.  It's so sparkly!

This is Julep Geo over Kristy (middle nail)

Twinkle, twinkle, little star....

Julep Antonia

Antonia is a pale pink holographic diamond glitter top coat.  This is very similar to Geo, but the glitter is all pink-based, and the diamonds are not holographic.  It's a little less flashy than Geo, but just as pretty.

Julep Antonia over Helen (bottom)

As with any other chunky glitter polish, it takes a little bit of effort to apply.  You need to dab on and position the diamonds without getting too much of the polish base on your nail.  It takes a little practice but is hardly rocket science.

Each of the 7 polishes is worth $11.20, Maven pricing, or $14 without. ($78.40 or $98)

Julep Marion, Reece, Kristy with Geo, Coco, and Helen with Antonia

This was a very nice mystery box, especially for $25!  I got $111.97 (Maven pricing) worth of goodies, including a polish I had been drooling over for months.  Not quite the $120 promised, but I did estimate on the eyelash curler, and with full pricing would have been way over the stated value.

Of course, I changed my polish to Reece after I swatched everything... how could I not?

Way prettier in real life! Yay Reece!

Julep is a monthly nail polish/beauty product subscription service.  They also do mystery boxes just about once a month, and members get special pricing on any products from their website.  If you are interested in trying Julep, please consider using my referral link here.   I will get 1000 Jules (Julep's point system for purchasing items).  You can get your first box for free using code FREEBOX.  If that doesn't work, FREEFB might.  You can skip any months you want and cancel at any time.  Their polish is great, and is 4-free.  

This post contains items I purchased myself.  All opinions are my own, and no compensation or special consideration was received for this post.  This post contains a referral link.

Phone Case of the Month, November 2013

I like phone cases, but I tend to get bored with them pretty fast.  At only $10 per month, Phone Case of the Month is an affordable way of changing up my case.  If I don't like the case that month, I'm sure I can find someone who will... and it's only $10 anyway.  I spend more on coffee for the week.

Case, Button, Bag

The cases are listed as "gender-neutral" but I think most of the ones I've seen lean toward the more cute/feminine side.  This one is in the middle.  It is a geometric print in shades of blue, and PCOTM has dubbed it, "watching the waves."  #thesea.  (yeah, I know).

These are some of the more appropriate NIN lyrics I've seen...

They even included a little card with some lyrics from "La Mer" by Nine Inch Nails.  Ok.  Thanks.

I like this case though!  I'll definitely use it.


Phone case of the month is $10 and you can suspend or cancel your account at any time.  If you wish to try it out, here is my sign-up link.  If you use it, you will get your first case for only $5! Plus, I will get a 5$ credit, too :)  Winning for everyone!  Right now they have iPhone cases only (4, 4S, 5, and 5S).

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, November 17

Julep Meryl

Grey Nails are my favorite.  I love this color, and it was the first Julep I ever received!  Unfortunately, that means it is old and on the goopier side since I've used up more than half of it.  Oh well.  It's still pretty!  2 coats, no base and Julep Polymer Top Coat.

I may or may not have taken that picture whilst TAing, hence the dry-erase marker.  I wore this for 3 days.

Geometric Taping

My boyfriend and his friends were watching a hockey game and this is what I did.  It took most of the game to finish, but it was worth it.  I used OPI Russian Navy on most of my nails, with Julep Alexandria over the ring fingers, then taped off triangles and painted them.  The triangle colors are Nailtini Mai Tai, OPI Russian Navy, Julep Sienna, and NYC Tudor City Teal.  No base, no top (it needed one, but oh well), and I wore it for 3 days.

Zoya Mason

2 coats of Zoya Mason.  No base, no top, and I'm on day 2 of this (it is Monday).  It's a little chipped but I don't feel like taking it all off.  I might just do some designs over the chipped tips?  You will have to find out next week.

The opinions in this post are mine; all items mentioned within were paid for by me.  No special compensation or consideration was received for this post.

Ipsy November 2013 Review

Ipsy November 2013

Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that costs $10 per month, including shipping.  You will get 5-6 full and deluxe sized beauty products, mostly focusing on makeup.  Each month includes a makeup bag!  This is one of the best deals out there, if you are interested mostly makeup products.

Ipsy November 2013

Ipsy this month sent out 6 items to everyone, including a full-sized item from em by Michelle Phan, the founder of Ipsy.

This month's theme was 'Glam It Up' and the bag is a shiny gold faux-snakeskin wristlet with a hot pink zipper and interior.  It feels a little flimsy, but for the price, I can't complain!  I appreciate the wrist strap, I wish they would send out more like this!

Ipsy November 2013

First up is a Pixi bronzer.  Everyone got one this month, and Ipsy's site had a *ton* of people complaining about it.   "I TOLD IPSY I DON'T WANT BRONZERS WHINE WHINE WHINE."  Get over it.  For $10, you get a bag, 5-6 full and deluxe-sized samples, and free shipping.  EVERYONE got a bronzer this month.  Chill. 

... ok, rant over.

I got sent a shade called Subtly Suntouched, which Pixi calls a medium honey tan, and is surprisingly not too dark for my pale, pale face.  The package doesn't seem to like me, though, and it is really tricky to unscrew and screw the lid back on!  I am hoping I got a fluke and that all of Pixi's containers don't suck this badly.

Pixi Bronzer in Subtly Sunkissed

Sample size is 3.2g, and the full size (which comes with a brush) is 10.21 grams and sells for $18.  Assuming the brush is a bonus and not included in the price, my sample is worth $5.64.


Next up is my variable item: A two-pack of Kiss Ever EZ Lashes in style 03 (glam).  The set comes with an applicator and a mini bottle of lash glue. 

Kiss Ever EZ Lashes in 03

I really like wearing false eyelashes for fancy events.  It is something that pulls your look together, but that people can't pinpoint.  I have a number of sets that range from natural-looking to outrageous.  If you are careful, you can reuse false lashes a number of times.  They can be tricky to apply, but with practice, it can take under a minute per eye!  I appreciate the fact that Ipsy sent a double-pack- it gives people new to falsies a chance to practice without ruining their only set.

These seem to be made from human hair, but it is not specified on the box I was sent.  It just refers to them as "natural", whereas online they are advertised as "100% human hair."

These sell for about $4.99 for the double-pack, depending on where you buy.


The next item that everyone received as a lip crayon from Be A Bombshell.  The color I got was Shameless, a shimmery burgundy.  The other option sent was Hot Damn, a bright red.  I'm glad I was sent Shameless, I have enough bright red lip products to last a lifetime!  This shade is perfect for the holiday season.  It's shimmery and buildable, so I can control the shade that I end up wearing. 

Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in Shameless

The lip crayon goes on more like a thin lipstick.  It isn't sticky or glossy or drying.  It's just in the middle of everything, texture-wise.  I like it.

Shameless Lip Crayon on me

This is $14 for 2.5g on the company's website.  We were sent the full size!


Everyone also received a gem liner from Starlooks.  The options were Topaz and Amethyst.  I received amethyst- a shimmery silvery-purple. 

Starlooks Amethyst Gem Liner

I have gotten some liners (lip and eye) from Starlooks in other Ipsy bags, so I was afraid of the texture on this one.  The other liners have been hard and unblendable.  This was absolutely a surprise- it's probably my favorite item in the bag!  It goes on smoothly, doesn't tug, blends like a dream, and has a super-creamy formula.  In terms of texture, it reminds me of my HG 24/7 liners from Urban Decay.  Unfortunately, unlike UD, this isn't very long-lasting.  It came off with some rubbing, but it's not the end of the world.  This liner is so pretty that I don't have an issue re-applying as needed.

Starlooks Amethyst Gem Liner Swatch (bottom)

These are $14 for 2.4g on Starlooks' website.  We were sent the full size!



The last item that everyone received was a Nailtini Straight-Up Color Nail Lacquer.  Mine was in Caviar Cocktail, a silver, but the other option was Champagne, which is a gold.

Nailtini Nail Lacquer in Caviar Cocktail

I like Nailtini polishes, they always seem to last a long time on my nails without chipping or showing wear.  I wish I had gotten the gold color, because I have so many silver polishes!  Also, this shows brush marks no matter how careful you are.  I think because of this, it would look nice with a glittery top coat, or in a sponged-on gradient.  I may or may not keep this, I haven't decided.

Stroke marks :(
Nailtini

This is full-sized, 0.5 fl.oz. for $13.


The last item is the em product.  The options for this item were varied, as were the colors within each item!  I got a Waterliner Intense Color Eyeliner.

em by Michelle Phan Waterliner in Amazing Grey

I was glad to see I was sent an eyeliner; in my Ipsy survey, eyeliner was my desert island beauty product.  It seems, to me at least, that Ipsy actually matched the correct product to me based on my profile! 

Smudgey end of the Waterliner

With all of the pretty and unique colors offered as a waterliner, I was sent Amazing Grey, a shimmery silver.  Oh well.  This was a little hard for my liking, but it has decent staying power.  I like the fact that it is a twist-up liner and comes with a little smudge sponge on the other end.  I do not like the fact that every time I try to take the cap off of my smudger, the entire thing pulls out of the plastic case of the liner!

Waterliner Swatch, bottom right

I'm glad that Ipsy sent out a full-sized em product to each subscriber, this is the best advertising they can get, right to their target demographic.  Good move. 

My three swatches after vigorous rubbing. The Waterliner survived pretty well.

The waterliners sell for $20 and are 280 mg of product.


Total Value: $71.63

This was a really nice bag!  The bronzer matches my skin, the lip crayon isn't too dark or too red, nail polish and eyeliners are always appreciated, and I will absolutely use the false lashes.  I'm glad I got to try an em product; I don't think I will ever buy one on my own, I think they are overpriced.  At least for the eyeliner, I would rather spend $19 on Urban Decay than $20 on em.  This is especially true now that I've gotten to try it out!  For less than $2 per item in this month's bag, I am very happy.  The Starlooks liner alone makes this bag worth it!


Here is my link if you would like to sign up for Ipsy.  I will get 250 referral points for every person who signs up using my link; 1000 points will get me a bonus item.

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. This post contains a referral link; see above for details.