March Ipsy Glam Bag 2014

Ipsy time!  March's bag is Destination Beauty themed.  This month's bag design is by artist Klari Reis who designed it as the layout of San Francisco.

I received a Be a Bombshell eyeshadow quad, Nicole by OPI polish, Pixi foundation and bareMinerals lipstick.  

Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer: $9 (12ml) travel size

Pixi has been a  product I've received on numerous occasions from Ipsy. 

Flawless is a shimmery primer designed to give you a luminous glow underneath foundation or just to give you a dewy look on it's own.  The formula is anti-aging and fortifies.  

Be a Bombshell - Bora Bora Eyeshadow Quad: $16 full size

Be a Bombshell is a brand who's eyeshadow I haven't tried before.  Initially I was going to throw it into my swap box but then I swatched it.

The shadows are shimmery and pigmented.  I loved the sheen of them and really enjoyed the color palette.  I always love golds and blues!  The texture is very buttery and blendable.  My mind has been changed!

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready: $5 (1.5 g) sample size

I typically think of myself as a gloss girl not a lipstick one.  

Get Ready is gorgeous!  This lipstick is incredibly moisturizing.  The color was not as intimidating as I thought at first but very pigmented.  bareMinerals has given me another pleasant surprise in this glam bag!  Maybe I am a lipstick girl after all.

Nicole by OPI Roughles in On What Grounds?: $10 (.5 fl oz) full size

I have never been into the textured polish trend.  On What Grounds? is a teal sandy textured polish from Nicole by OPIs new Roughles collection.  The polish was full coverage in two coats.  If you like textured polish I suggest it but, I still don't like the trend and will be putting it up for swap on my Edivv swap account.  If you'd like to swap for this make me an offer.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this Ipsy bag.  My favorites are the bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready, Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer and Be a Bombshell Eyeshadow Quad in Bora Bora.  The Nicole by OPI in On What Grounds? was a great polish I just don't like textures.  My total value was $40 in this one little bag!  

Ipsy is only $10 a month.  It's easy to sign up, just take Ipsy's style quiz here and Ipsy will handpick items that are chosen for you each month and send them to your door.  

What did you think of Ipsy's March Glam Bag?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Everyone's a little bit Irish on St. Paddy's Day!

For today's nails I used Pure Ice The Secret is Out! as my green base and used a dotting tool to make individual white shamrocks.  One the ring finger I layered Ruby Wing's Ride 'Em Cowgirl which changes from gold indoors to copper outside.  

Can you find the hidden four leaf clover?

March Julep Maven 2014

It's Julep time!  I was excited to see some bright spring colors this season.  

This months theme is Riviera.  I stuck with this months Bombshell theme for the gorgeous blue shade Monaco and the nude shimmery gloss as this months beauty product in Awestruck.

For my Bombshell box I received the blue shade in Monoco, the pastel yellow in Lilou, an added extra lipgloss in Graceful, the included lip gloss in Awestruck, another added extra lipgloss in Fearless and a Gilliam Stick Candy in Cotton Candy flavor.

Monaco is a pure winner valued at $14.  The polish was a little bit viscous when wet but dried to an insanely glossy finish.  The color was deep and gave full coverage in two coats.  The shade is a deep blue that you can get lost in!  Five stars for Monaco!

Lilou was a $14 dud for me.  I dislike the color yellow so I wasn't planning on keeping this polish anyway.  The coverage in the first two coats was streaky and sheer.  It took four coats for me to get the coverage shown in my swatch above.  If you're interested in Lilou you can find it in my swap shop on Edivv here.    If you're not familiar with Edivv it is a beauty swap site!  It's totally free to sign up and put your beauty products up that you're not interested in.  Other members can offer you items for your products.  I've swapped many items I haven't been using for products I've really been interested in.  

I am not a lipstick girl.  It just doesn't look that great on me.  Lipgloss however, is my jam.  I have been wanting to try Julep glosses since they released and I was finally able to get my hands on Awestruck since it was included in my box!  Since I wanted more glosses I upgraded and added Graceful and Fearless as well.  The more gloss the better!  These glosses are full size at .25 fl oz.  

Awestruck was included in my box and is described as a sheer nude blush with golden shimmer.  All of these glosses are valued at $20 each. Awestruck is one of Julep's lip glosses enriched with their power cell complex.  This includes rosehip seed oil to reduce aging and helps bond moisture to lips, malvaceae lipid extract that provides long lasting hydration and helps rebuild the skin and green coffee bean oil which is a natural anti-inflammatory.  This glosses color is gorgeous and very natural looking.  The shimmer is actually a bit big and I could feel it when applying but I didn't mind too much.  This is much more of a slippery gloss than a sticky one.  It lasted a few hours which is great for a gloss!

Fearless is a sheer silvery pink shimmer.  This gloss also includes Julep's power cell complex.  The color is a bit more rosy and gives your lips a healthy flush.  The silver flakes give you a more icy look than Awestruck.  Like Awestruck the gloss is slippery and lasted quite a few hours.  

Graceful is a sheer pale pink with power cell complex.  This is the only one of the trio that wasn't full of shimmer and is just a base color.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull this one off since it was much lighter and brighter than the other two but, it applied sheer enough to where I felt comfortable in it.  I loved all three of these glosses and hope that Julep let's us do some more lipgloss add ons in the future.  I'd definitely invest in more of these glosses.  

Overall I loved everything included in my box besides the yellow shade Lilou.  My value this month was $48 for everything included in the box, $88 if you include my extra two lipgloss add ons.  For $19.99 a month it's a great value!  If you're interested in trying out Julep for yourself you can get a free Julep Maven box by going here and filling out Julep's style quiz.  They will match you with a style you'll love.  If you don't, you can always switch to another style. Use the code FREEBOX at checkout to get two free polishes and a beauty product!  After you free box is done you can cancel at no penalty or continue to get boxes after that for $19.99 each month.

Did you get Julep's March box?  What did you think of your products?

Oscars Inspired Nail Art Tutorials

The Oscars are fantastically elegant, regal and exciting!  Watching the red carpet this year I saw lots of sleek and chic looks.  Of course I had to turn it into some nail art!

I was inspired by Julia Robert's dress, Maria Menounos' nail art on the red carpet and Angelina Jolie's dress.

Julia Robert's Oscars Dress Tutorial

To get this look:

1.) Paint your nails nude and let dry.  

2.) Using striping tape create a V.  

3.) Use black polish to paint outside of the V.
4.) Remove the striping tape for a clean outline.
5.) Using a striping brush or a toothpick add a lace design using black polish.  Top with a glossy top coat to lock the design in and you're good to go!

Maria Menounos' Red Carpet Nail Art Tutorial

To get this look:

1.) Paint your nail solid silver or grey and let dry.

2.) Using striping tape create a large X on your nails.  Fill in the lower section of the X with black polish.

3.) Remove the striping tape to show a sharp triangle shape.  Let this dry completely.

4.) Place striping tape in a triangle formation just inside the previous black triangle.

5.) Fill this new triangle in with a silver glitter.  Remove the striping tape.  Top with a glossy top coat!

Angelina Jolie's Oscars Dress Tutorial 

To get this look:

1.) Paint your nail nude and let dry.

2.) using a striping brush or a toothpick paint frilly lines up and down the nail with copper leaving a nude M shape visible. Let dry.  

3.) Using a striping brush or toothpick paint frilly gold lines on the very edge of the top and bottom of the nail.  Top with a top coat to lock the design in!

What did you think of the Oscars?  Were there any styles you absolutely loved that you'd like a tutorial for?