ipsy - Dec 2012

Subscription purchased by me, affiliate links within post

Click below for more on this month's bag.

Birchbox - Dec 2012

{Here's what was in this month's box}:
Juliette Has a Gun - Mad Madame (scent)
Miss Jessie's Original - Pillow Soft
Model Co - SHINE Ultra Lip Gloss in Berry Pink
NUXE - Reve de Miel Facial cleansing and makeup removing gel
**Extra: Chuao Chocolatier

Juliette Has a Gun - Mad Madame (scent)

The packaging for this perfume was pretty unique, as far as my experience with perfumes goes. The sample came in a small, softly textured envelope that reminded me of a fancy invitation. It was a bit strong for me; Mad Madame was very musky. Almost like a woman's aftershave, if that makes sense. Not the scent for me - it actually made me a bit dizzy!

Miss Jessie's Original - Pillow Soft

Although I love Miss Jessie's products, I was disappointed to receive this sample in the box. For those of you who don't know, you can currently get such samples from Miss Jessie's website for FREE with FREE shipping, hence the "Free" written on the sample itself. So what's wrong with a few extra samples from Miss Jessie's? Well, if I'm paying for a monthly subscription, I want the samples I get to be of something I can't just as easily obtain myself. 

Model Co - SHINE Ultra Lip Gloss in Berry Pink

This lip gloss was actually one of (the only?) plus this month. While I don't wear a ton of lip gloss, this one was surprisingly nice. In the tube, it looks a lot brighter than it actually displays in person. On me, it is very sheer and natural looking. It's something I'd use to layer over a lipstick to give it a subtle shiny effect. Also, it tastes like MARSHMALLOWS!! That was pretty sweet. 

NUXE - Reve de Miel Facial cleansing and makeup removing gel

I have yet to try this cleanser. I've been waiting for a particularly makeup heavy night to try it. It does smell very nice. At first, I was a bit dismissive of the scent. It smelled a bit like generic body wash. But on the second smell test (boy, does that perfume scent linger), the cleanser has a very nice honey scent to it. I can't wait to see how this reacts on my skin.  

**Extra: Chuao Chocolatier

These were pretty delicious! Not sure that I would purchase in store, however. 

This month's Birchbox was quite a bit disappointing. It felt very sparse and I wasn't very excited about what I received (although I did devour that chocolate--I seem to be hungry every time I get these boxes, sorry).

You can subscribe to Birchbox through my referral link {here} or go to Birchbox.com

What did you think of December's Birchbox? Were you disappointed, too? What makes you stick with a subscription service?

-Claudia

Christmas Nails - Doe, a Deer, and Much, Much More

I've been seeing some really great Christmas nail pictures (xxx) and I was so inspired I thought I'd try my hand at it. Here are some pictures of my nails -- can you tell I couldn't decide on one design?
{Nail polish I used}: 
Base coat - Essie "Protein Base Coat"
Essie "She's Pampered" (red)
Sinful Colors "Snow Me White" (white)
Essie "Good as Gold" (gold)
Confetti "Ice Ice Baby" (glitter)
Reindeer face - mix of Sinful Colors "Innocent" and Essie "She's Pampered" (4:1)
NYC "Canal Street" (brown)
Wet n Wild "Ebony Hates Chris" (black)
Top coat - Essie "Good to Go"

Ah! The dreaded left hand...

They're a bit sloppy, but this is only my second attempt at an elaborate nail design and I had so much fun doing this. Hope you guys liked!

Have you done any fun nail art for the holidays? Please share!

-Claudia