November Birchbox

I got some nice stuff in my Birchbox this month! I haven't been too impressed with it in the past few months but this month, it was a slight improvement. Here is my first impressions video and close up pictures of my samples:

Classic Birchbox Box

I always love how it's packaged!

The theme of the box: Getting Gifty

What is in the box and prices 

Left to right:

Zoya Holly Polish

Anastasia Hydra Full Gloss in Sugar Pink

Supersmile Toothpaste

Choco Pod Firecracker Chocolate  (SO GOOD!)

Harvey Prince Eau Flirt Perfume Sample

Do you subscribe to Birchbox? If so, what was in your box? What did you think of your box?

Halloween Candy Corn Nail Tutorial

I have been in the Halloween spirit with all the costumes in stores and seeing people dressing up this weekend! I don't really dress up every year but I love doing a Halloween manicure. Here is my manicure from last year. This year, I decided to do candy corn nails. I got the tape tip from this post. Below is my tutorial of how I did this simple manicure and some pictures:

Here is what you need:

-Orange Nail Polish

-Yellow Nail Polish

-White Nail Polish

-Base Coat

-Top Coat

-Tape

The colors I used:

Sally Hansen Sun Kissed

Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow

Sinful Colors Snow Me White 

Zoya Anchor Base Coat

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Candy Corn Nails!

This is a simple manicure but just takes some patience. Happy Halloween!

Will you be trying out this Halloween nail tutorial? Did you a Halloween Manicure? Feel free to link me to pictures of your festive nails!

TAG: Beauty Favorites

I was tagged by the incredibly sweet Mom's Makeup Stash  to do the Beauty Favorites Tag. The basis is pretty self explanatory, there are a bunch of categories of beauty products and you list your favorites for each one! Definitely check out Sandra's blog, she's such a sweet and informative blogger; she gives lots of detail in her posts without going on and on haha!

Foundation I love my NARS Sheer Glow! Not heavy at all and applies nicely.

Powder I have been using my MAC MSF Natural as a setting powder, or even a light foundation.

Primer The Murad Oil Control Lotion has been working nicely for me. It doesn't keep my oils away all day (rhyme!) but it helps prolong them.

Blush If you watch my videos or read my blog, you can tell I'm not a blush girl! This usually confuses people for some reason lol! I have some rosiness to my cheeks so I rarely wear blush. If I had to choose one (well, I only own one!) I would pick NARS Madly, it's a nice natural peachy tan color. But usually I just sweep a little of bronzer on my cheeks to give some warmth and dimension.
Bronzer My go to bronzer is now Tarte's Park Ave Princess. I find it's more natural than the cult favorite NARS Laguna, which can get muddy on me sometimes.

Concealer Benefit's Erase Paste for under eyes, set with Benefit's Powderflage

Highlighter I don't wear any, rebel!

Moisturizer I have been using the Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture. It has a convenient pump and SPF 15.

Lipgloss Any gloss from the Revlon Super Lustrous line. I kept Sandra's answer because I have to agree! These are the best glosses I've tried, such a nice formula that's not sticky and doesn't cling to your lips. I love the Peach Petal and Pink Pop colors the most. Also, I have been reaching for MAC's Pink Lemonade a lot!

Lipstick Lately, I've been loving MAC's Gem of Roses, such a gorgeous color.

Lip Balm I have to say, the Jack Black balms. They are so moisturizing and yummy!

Lip Liner I barely wear lipliner but I love the Prestige liner in Silk.

Eye Primer Urban Decay Primer Potion, hands down.

Eyeshadow Too Faced Silk Teddy, I'm sure you guys have seen me rave on and on about it!

Mascara I love the Revlon Grow Luscious. Recently, I have been using the Benefit They're Real mascara, which is really nice too.

Face Brush The Sigma F80, best foundation brush EVER! It's completely worth the hype.

Eye Brush MAC 217. If I had to throw all my brushes away and keep one, it'd be this one...it's so universal.

Nail Polish Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment. I wouldn't wear this on it's own but it is an amazing layering polish. It has fine, holographic shimmer that is gorgeous over ANY color.

Perfume Ralph Lauren's Romance has been my signature scent for years.

Makeup Brand High End/Drugstore

High End: MAC

Drugstore: Wet n Wild

Eyeliner Jordana Fabuliner for lash liner, Prestige Total Intensity for waterliner

Makeup Remover Bioderma Sebium H2O. Get this people! It is by far the most effective makeup remover on the market. (I kept Sandra's answer. She actually sent it to me in a swap and though I think it's SO expensive...it's truly wonderful.)
Nail Polish Remover Zoya Remove +. Expensive but amazing. (I kept her answer for this one too, best polish remover I have EVER tried.)

Favourite Drugstore Product WnW Eyeshadows, by far one of the best shadows I have tried PERIOD.

Thank you so much Sandra for tagging me! I tag EVERYONE but I have some specific people I would love  to see do this post:


Maria: http://itsmylife-maria.blogspot.com/
Emily: http://aladyinlove.com/home/
Yana: http://peachlacebeauty.blogspot.com/
Katie: http://www.healthydivaeats.com/ (I know Katie is a health blogger but she is also a nail polish (Essie!) addict and I'm sure she has some amazing beauty favorites to share!)


If you do this Tag, please let me know! =]


What are you beauty favorites? 

Zoya Promo- 2 FREE Nail Polishes

Zoya is having ANOTHER promo! I love when they do their sales because they always have great ones available where you get a deal. I bought a lot of my Zoya polishes during their promos. It's a great way to try out their polishes and save money.

Right now, they are having a promotion exclusively for their account holders. (If you have ever ordered from them, you already have an account!) You get 2 FREE POLISHES with purchase on their site. If you buy one polish, it's like buy 1 get 2 free!

Here is how you can take advantage of this promo:

"1. Log into Zoya.com
2. Click on the "My Account" link at top of page
3. Click the "My Coupons/Promos" link on the left hand side

To redeem your code:

1. Add any (non-color spoon) Qtica or Zoya products to your shopping cart, plus any 2 Zoya Nail Polish colors you would like.
2. Apply code in Shopping Cart
3. Submit Your Order

IMPORTANT:  Don’t share you code with anyone! Once you use your code, it’s gone forever!

Promotion expires Friday, August 12th 11:59PM ET. Not valid with any other coupons, specials or promotions. Valid in USA only.  To receive a code, you must have had a valid online account at the time this email was sent (5:45PM ET).  We are not responsible for incorrect emails addresses, credit cards or a variety of things that are outside our control."

Source 

Here is my blog post with swatches of all of my Zoya polishes: click me!

Will you be participating in this Zoya Nail Polish Promo? If so, what colors will you be getting?

July Birchbox

I'm sure a lot of you have heard of Birchbox. If you haven't, it's basically a monthly makeup subscription service. You pay $10 and every month receive 4-5 deluxe makeup samples! I always find it exciting to see what's in everyone's box and open mine on camera. I have decided to do accompanying blog post to give a closer look into the box as the video is more of a first impression. Let me know if you guys like this idea!

Here is my video opening the box:

This month's box was curated by Cynthia Rowley. It came with a special sleeve around it with a gorgeous pattern.

Here is what the regular box looks like once you take off the sleeve.

The tissue in it is usually pink but this month it was light blue.

In every box, there is a card explaining the theme of the month. In this one they explain that Cynthia Rowley curated the box and talk more about her style.

On the back of the card is always a list of the products included, a little description, and how much the full size is. 

Here is what was in my box: (clockwise, left to right) Zoya Polish in Shay, Redken Shine Flash, Ahava Mineral Hand Cream, Philosophy Purity Made Simple One Step Facial Cleanser, Kind Almond & Apricot Bar.

My thoughts:

• Zoya Polish in Shay- We all know I'm a nail polish fanatic so seeing this polish in my Birchbox made me happy! This is one of their polishes from their nude collection. It's a gorgeous nude with a slight shimmer to it, making it unique from the other cream nudes we usually see.
• Redken Shine Flash- I haven't tried this yet but it's an interesting product. It claims to be a finishing, shine spray. All I can tell you is that it smells like hairspray, but doesn't feel sticky on my hand.
• Ahava Mineral Hand Cream- I have previously received another Ahava hand cream in one of my Birchboxes. It's a nice size cream to keep in your purse. It smells nice but not the BEST hand cream I've ever tried.
• Philosophy Purity Made Simple One Step Facial Cleanser- I hear rave reviews about this product! People love using it, especially with the Clairosonic! (can that come in my Birchbox??) I haven't tried it yet but don't believe the claim that it will take off all your makeup AND cleanse your skin. I never use a cleanser to remove my makeup. I take off my makeup with a makeup remover (recently have been using the Bioderma one) and then cleanse my skin; that way I know all of the traces, dirt, etc. have been removed.
• Kind Almond & Apricot Bar- This was the extra in the box. I was pleased to see something a little different in the box, other than makeup. I am currently on a health kick so I was happy to try this. It is DELICIOUS! It has the crunch from the almonds, sweetness from the apricot and honey, and has pieces of coconut that add an interesting texture/flavor to it. It was also filling, which is great for something to take on the go. It has 5g of fiber and 3g of protein, so very nutritious! It does have 12g of sugar, so be careful with these but overall, it was yummy and one of my favorites of the box.

You can subscribe to Birchbox at http://www.birchbox.com/.

Do you subscribe to Birchbox? If so, what did you think of your box this month? If not, will you be checking it out?

Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment Nail Polish Combinations

Since I am currently obessed with the Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment polish, I thought I would show you guys some combinations with this amazing nail polish. Here is my original post on the polish. In this post, I wanted to show you guys how gorgeous the polish looks over a variety of colors and texture.

I am also doing a giveaway with Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment on my YouTube channel and the video is below. Please enter in the video comments only.

left to right: Essie Topless and Barefoot, Essie Lilacism, Zoya Charla, Sally Hansen Black Out

Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment Nail Polish over top: (left to right) Essie Topless and Barefoot, Essie Lilacism, Zoya Charla, Sally Hansen Black Out

This amazing effect is so hard to capture on camera! Feel free to click on the picture to see it up close.

Have you picked up the Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment Nail Polish? What do you think of it?

Free Zoya Summer Polish!! (Today Only!)

Sheesh Zoya has one promo after another! Right now, Tuesday only, they have a promo code for a FREE nail polish from their Summertime, Sunshine, or ModMattes summer collections. To get the free polish, pick one color from those collections, add it to your cart, and enter code SUMMER1. All you pay is shipping.

Fine print:

*Online only, cannot be combined with any other offer, promotion or coupon. US ONLY. Promotion ends TUESDAY May 24, 2011 at 11:59 PM EST. Offer good for 1(one) free bottle of open stock .5 oz bottle from the Zoya Summertime, Zoya Sunshine or ModMatte Collections ONLY. Code: SUMMER1 must be entered in order to obtain discount. Art of Beauty Inc. will not honor promotions that are submitted after promotion has ended - No exceptions. No exchanges. No returns. Worst case scenario please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Comments, videos and pictures posted about this Zoya Nail Polish Offer outside of Zoya.com or zoyanailpolish.blogspot.com are not representative of the opinions of Zoya Nail Polish, Art of Beauty, Inc., Qtica and Qtica Smart Spa and we do not confirm the accuracy of any postings. Customers are responsible for maintaining active accounts. If username or password have been lost we (Art of Beauty, Inc.) are not responsible for restoring accounts or giving out any account information. S/H not included.

 

Last summer promo, I bought Rica and Faye and I love those colors! I am thinking of getting Apple.

 

Will you be participating in this Free Zoya Summer Polish Promo? What polish will you get?

Zoya Polish Exchange Haul and Swatches

I recently participated in the Zoya Polish Exchange. Zoya does this every year for Earth Day, here is my post on the details. I like Zoya Polishes overall, here are swatches of my collection (pre-this year's polish exchange). I think this is a great promo that they run and it's for a great cuase, supporting green practices to be easier on our Earth. I also purchased the Zoya Remove +, my favorite nail polish remover, for my mom, and the Zoya Anchor Base Coat.

Here is my haul video (with some other polishes!):

left to right: Dove, Happi, Renee, Crystal, Dannii, Julieanne

Dove- As the name suggests, it's a dove grey. Great application, this was two coats.

Happi- This is such an interesting color, a pink with gold/green duochrome. This was 2 coats.

Renee-A raspberry pink, it dries pretty matte. This was also two coats. I think this would look great on the toes!

Crystal- a gorgeous metallic blue with gold shimmer. This was the sheerest of the polishes I got, it was 3 coats. The color combination makes it look like a night sky!

Dannii- A medium purple with gold shimmer. This was 2 coats.

Julieanne- This would be a nice fall/winter color. It is a deep purple with purple shimmer. I believe it was three coats.

I think I have more Zoya polishes than any other brand thanks to their promos!

Did you participate in the Zoya Polish Exchange? What polishes did you get? What are your favorite Zoya polishes?

My Zoya Collection Overview (Pic Heavy!)

With the Zoya Polish Exchange going on until Wednesday, I thought I would do a post with swatches of all my Zoya polishes. I love their polishes for the most part, they have some gorgeous colors and wear very well. I hope this post helps tose that are trying to decide on polishes for the polish exchange, and if you just wanted to see my Zoya polishes: here you go! =] Please let me know if you like this type of post and would like to see my collection of any other brand!

Gaia- gorgeous golden white. This was 3 coats.

Ginessa- Silvery white with shimmer. This was 3 coats.

Luna- sheer base with silver glitter. This was 2 coats. This shade comes out as mostly glitter.

Trixie- This is one of my favorites, it's a metallic silver with silver shimmer. Perfect aluminum foily color. This was 2 coats and it applies like a dream.

Jules- This is a bronzey champagne. It's a gorgeous color and applied smoothly in 2 coats. This is smaller than the others because it was in my Birchbox.

Miley- The pictures makes it look blue in the bottle but it's a light, blue toned lilac. It's very sheer and watery, this was three coats.

Portia- gorgeous pinky nude. This is a great color for the spring nude polish trend. This was two coats.

Dove- As the name suggests, it's a dove grey. Great application, this was two coats.

Sweet- This is a medium barbie pink. It applied really nicely, 2 coats.

Happi- This is such an interesting color, a pink with gold/green duochrome. This was 2 coats.

Rica- This is one of their new cummer colors. It is a hot pink coral with multi colored gold and orange shimmer. This was 3 coats. The removal process was so messy. If you see glitter on my hands in the pictures, it is because I did this and Faye first and I could not get rid of the glitter from it. Just something to keep in mind.

Ali- A raspberry hot pink. This was 3 coats.

Renee-A raspberry pink, it dries pretty matte. This was also two coats. I think this would look great on the toes!

Zara- medium purple with gold shimmer. This is more on the sheer side, 3 coats.

Dannii- A medium purple with gold shimmer. This was 2 coats.

Faye- Mauvey purple with gold and green shimmer. This applied in 3 coats. Like Rica, it left glitter on my hands after I removed it.

Charla- If anyone asks me for a Zoya Polish recommendation, I always say this! It is a gorgeous multi dimensional blueish green mermaid color with green shimmer. This was 2 coats.

Yummy- This is a midtone blue. It's an "ok" color, I sometimes forget I have it. This was 3 coats.

Tallulah- This is a medium blue with green shimmer. The shimmer is very subtle and unfortunetly the camera didn't pick it up. It's on the sheer side and applied in 3 coats.

Kotori- This has to be my most disappointing Zoya color. It's a midnight blue with blue and silver shimmer. The color looks so promising in the bottle but it is so sheer. This was 4 coats and still not opaque.

Crystal- a gorgeous metallic blue with gold shimmer. This was the sheerest of the polishes I got, it was 3 coats. The color combination makes it look like a night sky!

Mimi- Dark purple with medium purple shimmer. This is really pretty if you are a purple polish lover. This was 3 coats.

Julieanne- This would be a nice fall/winter color. It is a deep purple with purple shimmer. I believe it was three coats.

That is my collection of  Zoya polishes! It takes up it's own full row on my polish rack. My Zoya recommendations: Gaia, Trixie, Portia, Jules, Sweet, Faye, Rica, Charla, Happi and Talullah.

Are you going to be participating in the Zoya Polish Exchange? What are your favorite Zoya colors?

Zoya Nail Polish Exchange is Back!

If any of you have been buying Zoya polish for a while, you know that every Earth Day they have a Polish Exchange. This year, they seemed to not announce it in advance but it is going on now!

How it works:


"1.    Go to Zoya.com and pick out the polishes you would like and add them to your cart. You must select at least 6 bottles  and no more than 24 bottles of polish (Salons accounts minimum 12 maximum 48 bottles.)
2.    Apply the code. EARTHZOYA
3.    Your order value will be adjusted to reflect the promotion
4.    SUBMIT your order!

Then Zoya will ship out your NEW polish! YEA!

Once you get your order (Here is where the exchanging* happens)…
1.    Ship back the equivalent number of bottles to the ones you received to the return address below.(ie. If  you got 6 bottles of Zoya – you would send us 6 NON-ZOYA polishes, please check with you carrier on the proper way to ship nail polish)
2.    Include a copy of your order

Shipping Address
Art of Beauty, Inc.
c/o Polish Exchange
5060 Taylor Rd, Unit D
Cleveland, Ohio, 44128, USA

Once we receive your polish we do the rest! It’s that simple!

IMPORTANT!

The bottles you send in cannot be Zoya, Qtica or Nocti polishes (but they can be any other brand). 


We are using the honor code here folks! We want to make sure you get your Zoya Nail Polish! We send you the polish first then you send your old polish back to us! If you do choose to send us your old polish we promise to properly dispose of it according to EPA guidelines. This offer is only good for 1 week so hurry – Don’t Wait!"

Source  

This is a cool way to try Zoya polishes you wanted for 50% off. Each bottle will be $4 with this promo. Remember, it has to be a MINIMUM of 6 polishes. Some of my Zoya recommendations: Charla, Sweet, and Trixie.


Will you be participating in the promo? If so, what polishes do you plan on getting?

Essie's French Affair (Swatch & Comparisons)

The other polish  that I got from the Essie French Affair Collection (my post on Topless and Barefoot) is the polish it's named after, French Affair. This is your standard pink that I'm sure you've seen with OPI, Essie, and other companies as well. I love this shade but don't think it's a must have! It's not the most unique shade on the market haha

 

Essie's French Affair 

 

This polish applied pretty evenly, in two coats. For some reason the bottle and three nails showed up more purple but the pinky nail reflects how the color really is, sorry!

 Comparison:

 

left to right: OPI Mod About You, American Apparel Coney Island, Essie French Affair, OPI Pandamonium Pink,  Zoya Sweet

 

clockwise from thumb: OPI Mod About You, American Apparel Coney Island, Essie French Affair, OPI Pandamonium Pink,  Zoya Sweet

Did you get any polishes from the French Affair Collection? What did you think of them? What is on your nails now?