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

Personal Post

Before any new posts, I wanted to say something personal here. I hope you guys don't mind.

-

Last week, I lost my little brother. He was only 20 years old. I won't go into the details of his death, other than to say that he was the victim of a drive-by shooting. He died in the arms of his best friend.

The news article of his death was posted on a neighborhood blog I follow and I was surprised by both the support and accusatory posts I read.

Most people assumed that, because he was "Mexican" and "in a gang" he deserved what he got. Well, he's not Mexican and he was not in a gang. He was a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

After having gone through this horror, I can't say that if he was in a gang it would have been deserved. I don't understand how anyone could be so callous as to say something like that.

I think it's easier for people to accept these kinds of deaths when they are "deserved,"but I don't think ANYONE deserves to go that way.

The priest who spoke at one of his prayer services put it best: "living in this neighborhood, we see death so often that it becomes normal to us. While it may be normal, it's important to remember that it is not natural. It is not natural for parents to bury their children."

My brother was a GOOD person. I realize that now more than I did then. He had so many people in his corner who loved him and tried to pull him out of this neighborhood.

I can only hope and pray that he is in a much better place now. He left us much, much too early.

R.I.P. Freddy

Hanging in there

I know I said I'd be posting soon, but things have been really rough lately. I hope that you guys will understand--I have some personal things going on right now, but I haven't abandoned this blog.

I hope you're all doing well.

-Claudia

Fall Beauty Must-Haves

Fall has always been my favorite season. The changing colors of leaves and the slow transition to cold weather have always resonated with me. I find a lot of inspiration in the soft golds and violet reds of fall (in case you haven't noticed I tend to use gold a lot in my looks). Plus, we get to pull out those chunky sweaters, which I love oh so much.

Here are some of my current go-to items for this Fall season.

Origins Zero Oil deep pore cleanser
Smith's Rosebud Salve (lip moisturizer)
MAC lipstick in Rebel
Laura Mercier shimmerbloc in Golden Mosaic
Organix Moroccan Argan Oil for hair

Origins Zero Oil deep pore cleanser:

This is a great cleanser for oily-skin. My skin tends to be on the dry side, but has been oilier lately. When you use a bit too many exfoliants and it makes your skin produce more oil to compensate. I'd been using an exfoliating face wash that was meant to be used daily, but was a bit too harsh for my skin. Origin's Zero Oil deep pore cleanser is very lightweight, but gets the job done. It also smells great!

Smith's Rosebud Salve:

I absolutely love this stuff. I'll admit, I've never been the kind of girl to shell out over $5 for a lip balm. Chapstick has always worked just fine for my lips and no other balm has ever out-performed it. Well, I found myself at Sephora one day without my beloved Chapstick and had no choice but to pick something up -- it was HOT and my lips were very dry. Since then, Smith's Rosebud Salve has been a purse staple, especially during the colder months.

MAC lipstick in Rebel:

I have not yet taken a lip picture that does this lipstick justice. Rebel is the perfect plum-red lip for Fall. If applied the regular way, it can be very bold and in your face. I also like to tone it down by lightly pressing it to my lips so that it becomes almost like a lip stain. While there are dupes out there for this one (I own a few), they just don't do this color justice in my opinion. 

Laura Mercier shimmerbloc -  Golden Mosaic:

I like to use this bronzer/highlighter to add more definition to my face and to add a quick pop of color on the go. I use this all over my face, not only to define, but also as an eyeshadow.

Organix Moroccan Argan Oil for hair:

My hair gets pretty dry during Fall, which makes it pretty difficult to style. I've found that for my type of hair, thick and wavy/curlified, serums or oils make it more manageable. I've loved Organix for years, but only recently purchased this oil. I use it after every shower and while I style my hair. For all my hairy struggling friends, this makes a huge difference.

What are your fall beauty must-haves?

-Claudia

ipsy (formerly MyGlam) - Oct 2012

{What was in this month's bag}:
theBalm What's Your Type? "the body builder" Mascara
Mirenesse Lip Bomb Glossy Lacquer Lip Stain
be a bombshell Eye Liner
Coastal Scents Eyeshadow mini quad
Pequi Oil Treatment

Subscription purchased by me, affiliate links within post

theBalm What's Your Type? "the body builder" Mascara

Another of theBalm's mascaras recently became one of my favorites, so I was super excited to see this mascara in this month's bag. 

Mirenesse Lip Bomb Glossy Lacquer Lip Stain

I was sent the lip bomb in color 4. It's a bold mauve-y pink that I'm surprised really works on me, haha. Pink is often a tough color for me to pull off, because my skin has yellow/warm/olive undertones. The lip gloss (?) is not too heavy or sticky, which I prefer when it comes to glosses. 

be a bombshell Eye Liner

I'm not sure how I feel about this one just yet. While it is a very pigmented liner, the application tip is very thick which I think may make it more difficult for me to apply. It seems like it would be very long lasting (without primer!), because it was pretty hard to remove it after having just swatched it on my hand. This one is still up in the air for me.

Coastal Scents Eyeshadow mini quad

I never expected to receive a full mini quad from MyGlam. I'm really happy they chose to send a variety of colors from Coastal Scents instead of just one. I received Set 1, which has the colors Cloud White, Paris Green, Reef Blue, and Thunderous. I'm glad I received a set of blue-green colors that I wouldn't normally purchase. 

Pequi Oil Treatment

This oil treatment has a soft almost honey-like scent, which is very relaxing. The sample bottle contains a stopper, which I think is great! This is a sample I can take with me on the go, without fear that it'll spill inside my purse. 

I loved this month's bag. I can see myself using each of the items that were included and the bag...the BAG! I'm in love with the bag itself.

You can purchase an ipsy subscription {here}.

What did you think of this month's ipsy bag?

-Claudia