BeauBits: beauty bits one experience at a time

January Favorites: Beauty Subscriptions  (Click to COMMENT…)

Ever since the idea of subscription beauty boxes became popular a little over a year ago, I have been onboard.  I just think the idea is so unique and fun!  I first subscribed to Birchbox for a total of four months, however as more subscription box services became established my curiosity got the best of me.  I decided to unsubscribe from Birchbox to try out some other boxes.  The second box I tried was EcoEmi for two months, EcoEmi is not considered a strictly beauty box service but more like a lifestyle box.  Within an EcoEmi box I have received up to seven samples of environmentally friendly products ranging from laundry detergent to eyeliner.  The beauty service that I am currently trying out is MyGlam, thus far I have been with them for three months.

It is hard to say which subscription box service was the best because I have received great products from all three.  I think preference for one box over another just depends on what types of products you are most interested in.  In my opinion, Birchbox really tries to deliver unique and innovative beauty/lifestyle items.  EcoEmi tries to offer a collection of seasonal and healthy/environmentally friendly products.  MyGlam seems to offer more trendy and current beauty items.  I personally like a mix of really innovative and trendy beauty products, so for right now I think I may stay with MyGlam and subscribe to Birchbox again.

Two really great products that I received in last months EcoEmi and MyGlam subscriptions was a frosted/sparkly lipbalm by J. R. Watkins and a nail polish by The balm in the shade Oh my goth, respectively.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to vote for me for the Next Rimmel 10 contest!!  Voting is closed and they are tallying up the votes!  I will let you know the outcome as soon as I find out.  ❤

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Enjoy!  ^_^

Rimmel glam’eyes HD palette review: Natural day look (Click to COMMENT…)

In the process of coming up with a “scandalous” look for the Next Rimmel 10 contest, I used the makeup that Rimmel provided everyday to experiment with the different color combinations.  One of the eye looks that I really enjoy wearing is a natural day look, which is mostly achieved by the Rimmel glam’eyes HD palette in 005 english rose (dark purple, purple taupe, dark lavender, pink).  I use the dark purple color to line my top lash line and outer corner of my bottom lash line.  I use the purple taupe color in the center of my bottom lash line, and the pink color in my inner corner and along my brow bone/nose.  I finally used black from the 001 black cab (black, dark grey, grey, silver) palette to darken/line my top lash line with a small wing.

Each of the galm’eyes HD palettes consist of four different colors arranged in the union jack pattern.  It appears that the lighter more wearable or highlight colors are located in the larger areas, whereas the darker and more dramatic colors are located in the smaller corner areas.  I personally think this is a good idea in terms of distributing the colors for the space restrictions caused by the design.  However I think the amount in which you get of one color is quite disproportionate.  The photos shown were taken two weeks ago, however within that time I have completely used up one of the black and dark grey spaces on the 001 black cab palette, and barely dented the large silver cross area.  I wish there was an even amount of each color in the palette, even if the union jack pattern is thrown off a bit.

The consistency of the eyeshadow is surprisingly creamy, soft, and very pigmented (a little does  go a long way when applying it with a shadow brush).  I use the darker colors to line my top and bottom lash line with an angled eyeliner brush.  I find that some flakes of eyeshadow will fall onto the face when applying it with the angled brush.  The reason for the fall-out appears to be due to the soft texture of the eyeshadow, such that too much powder clings to the brush and the excess falls off when applying it.  However when the shadows are applied to the lid with a shadow brush, there is no flaking and it leaves a really nice lightly frosted sheen finish.

As soon as these become available in my area, I plan on picking up one or two more!

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Face: Urban Decay primer potion, MAC SelectCover Concealer NW35 & NW40, MAC Studio Finish concealer NW40 spf 35, Tarte Mineral Pressed Powder in Tan spf 8, Makeup Forever setting powder

Eye: Rimmel lash and brow accelerator serum, Tarte MultiplEYE Clinically-Proven Natural Lash Enhancing Primer, Rimmel Scandeleyes mascara in extreme black, Rimmel lash accelerator mascara in black, Rimmel glam’eyes HD in 001 black cab and 004 english rose, Bare Minerals eyebrow powder in Auburn

Lips: Burts bees lip balm in Honey, Rimmel Kate Moss 14 (blushed nude) with a little bit of 01 (deep brick red), Rimmel lip liner in 030 natural

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Voting Reminder: I would really appreciate it if you would continue to vote for me until February 8th at the US Rimmel facebook link (https://www.facebook.com/RimmelLondonUS?sk=app_131953440244471)!  I would love to be one of the Rimmel 10 and share my experience with you!!

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Enjoy!  ♥

Disclaimer: The Rimmel glam’eyes palette in 001 black cab and 004 english rose, Scandeleyes mascara, lash accelerator mascara, and Kate Moss 14 and 01 were sent to me from Rimmel for the Next Rimmel 10 competition.  My opinions are not influenced by Rimmel or my affiliation with the Next Rimmel 10 competition.

The best and worst anti-aging products I have tried (Click to COMMENT…)

A month ago, a good friend by the name “L” gave me a load of samples from Sephora.  One of the products that I immediately gravitated to was the Lancôme GÉNIFIQUE Youth Activating Concentrate (the best anti-aging product) because I was currently trying out another anti-aging product, the vitamin C serum from Face Lift (the worst anti-aging product).  I started using anti-aging products about a year ago, as I noticed that I started to develop tired lines and darkness around my eyes (mainly due to lack of sleep).  I also wanted to start a routine for early aging prevention.  I have been using Skin Active products (eye cream, eye serum, DHEA serum, collagen serum) for a while with good results, the darkness and fine lines around my eyes are slowly and continually fading/diminishing.  However, as with everything, I continue to tryout new products!

I saw the kit from Face Lift at Ross for only $5.99, it consisted of two heated eye patches and a vitamin C serum.  I love using masks and eye patches so this kit seemed ideal.  However, after trying both the eye patches and serum, the ingredients were far too strong for my skin.  The serum made the area around my eyes puffy, especially upon waking up in the morning.  I used the serum for three weeks, and then discontinued use after I noticed that the serum was increasingly irritating my eye area.  The adhesive for the eye patches were far too strong, it took almost 20 minutes to get the patches off my skin.  In order to get the patches off I had to gently put at the edges of the mask while holding my skin down, and I even used oiI to help dissolve the adhesive.  In addition, the patches were too big for my face so the heating mechanism never got warm.  Supposedly, once the patches are secure on the face the heating mechanism will activate.  Never again will I try this product as it really did not work for my skin, however perhaps it might work for others.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Lancôme GÉNIFIQUE Youth Activating Concentrate is amazing!  After using this product for a month, the tired little fine lines around my eyes have diminished by 50%.  Honestly, using the Skin Actives products could not do that for me in the years time I used them.  The serum also feels very moisturizing, glides on and quickly absorbs into my skin.  The serum has no smell, and did not cause any eye or skin irritation.  The sample bottle is equipped with an eye dropper to prevent contamination of the product.  I only need a drop to cover around the eye area, I use it in the morning and at night.  The little sample bottle is 0.5 oz and I have only used 1/4 of it in a months time, so the product lasts for a long time.  The bottle comes in three sizes (0.66 oz, 1 oz, and 1.7 oz) at Sephora for ($58, $78, and $98), respectively.  Despite the cost, I plan to buy the full-sized product as it REALLY works.  In addition, it seems like the results build over extended usage of the product.  I saw a slight difference in a week, but after the third week I noticed that my skin felt smoother and tighter around my eye area.  I can not wait to see how great my skin can get with this!

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Enjoy!  ♥‿♥

The Next Rimmel 10 Contest!!  I am a finalist!! (Click to COMMENT…)

A couple of months ago I saw a link (https://www.facebook.com/RimmelLondonUS?sk=app_131953440244471) on twitter about the Next Rimmel 10 Competition.  The link took me to an interactive facebook page where I filled out my contact information and answered a few questions.  To my surprise, I received an email about three weeks ago saying that I was chosen as one of the top 30 out of 400 people to compete for one of the 10 spots!  Crazy!  *_*  The 10 winners (called the 10 Rimmel Royalty) will receive Rimmel products every month for a year.  Each month the Rimmel 10 will complete a fun challenge using the products received for that month, and submit their videos to be posted on the US Rimmel site.  I watched last years video challenges and it looks like a lot of fun, you can check them out here (https://www.facebook.com/RimmelLondonUS?sk=app_211778628890333).    Approximately a week after I received the email (two weeks ago), I received a bag full of makeup (3 eyeshadow palettes (glam’eyes HD in black cab & english rose, and a glam’eyes trio-silver,dark grey,purple), 2 ScandelEyes mascaras in extreme black, 1 Lash Accelerator mascara in black, 1 Lash Accelerator lash growth serum, 2 Kate Moss featured lipsticks (01 & 14), 1 eyeliner pencil in black, and 2 Stayglossy lip glosses in All Day Seduction) and a beautiful black envelope sealed using wax with the Rimmel crown imprinted into the wax.  The wax seal made me feel like a character in one of Jane Austin’s novels, I am such sucker for old english love stories like Pride & Prejudice, Little Women…sigh… ^_^

In order to be chosen as 1 of the 10 Rimmel Royalty, each of the 30 finalists had to complete a challenge.  The challenge was to create a daring head-to-toe look that will raise eyebrows when you walk into a room, turn heads and stop traffic.  In addition, we had to incorporate the usage of Rimmel’s new mascara called ScandelEyes.  ScandelEyes is a volumizing mascara, it has a massively large brush and I must say does a great job at making your lashes look fuller.  I have been wearing it everyday for the past two weeks and will have an in depth review posted on this mascara soon.  They also ask that you take your scandalous look out on the town and show how dangerously beautiful it is with a video (4-5 mins) or photo slideshow.

Here is my video entry, I took my smokey eye look out on the town during the night before New Years Eve for a weekend long swing dancing event.  I take you with me throughout the night from start to finish, so you can see how well my makeup held up.  I would really appreciate it if you would vote for me starting January 3 at the US Rimmel facebook link (https://www.facebook.com/RimmelLondonUS?sk=app_131953440244471)!  I would love to share with you my experience of being one of the Rimmel 10 by blogging and making videos about the Rimmel challenges and products.

I hope everyone had a great New Years!!  ^_^

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Influenster Food Product Review (4 of 4): Mentos pure fresh gum & Larabar cherry pie nut and fruit bar (Click to COMMENT…)

I received a container of 15 pieces of Mentos pure fresh gum in the flavor fresh mint.  At first I was a little put off by this product because of the packaging.  I can see how the flip top is convenient for opening and closing, but it was very difficult to remove the initial plastic strip that sealed the lid (the tab broke off).  I had to cut off the strip with a knife.  When I finally got the product opened and the top working properly, I really enjoyed the product (perhaps I just got a bad package).  I also noticed that the consistency of the gum lasted a long time, after chewing most gum for a few hours I usually notice that the gum gets soft and mushy (degrades).  However, this gum stayed the same as when I first started chewing.  I would purchase this for the fresh taste!  

The second food item that I received was a sample from Larabar in the flavor cherry pie.  Larabar sells all natural fruit and nut bars (http://www.larabarstore.com/) in bulk packages, you can purchase 16 bars for around $25.  The taste was delicious and the consistency really reminded me of dried fruit, which I love as a snack.  However, I do not really think it is worth it to buy these bars online because I felt like each bar was not large enough.  I feel like it would be more convenient to just purchase some dried fruit and trail mix out from my local grocery store.  I would be just as happy eating a mixture of dried fruit/trail mix for a lot less than buying the Larabars online.

This is my last product review from the Influenster holiday voxbox.  As I mention before anyone can sign-up at http://www.influenster.com/ to qualify for a future voxbox, I believe the valentines day voxbox is the next box to qualify for.  I encourage anyone who is an avid blogger/youtuber/twitter to sign-up and share their opinions online!

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Enjoy!  ^‿^

Influenster Makeup Product Review (3 of 4): New York color liquid lip shine & Garden Botanika lash primer (Click to COMMENT…)

In terms of makeup products, all Influenster’s received the New York color liquid lip shine in their voxbox.  The personally am not a lip gloss girl, because I prefer a matte lip.  But I really liked the fact that this lip gloss was in a nude color.  I also liked the fact that the lip gloss consistency was not sticky or drying.  I found that by putting on a lip gloss over the top of my lip stick, my lips stayed moisturized for a much longer period of time and I did not have to keep reapplying lip balm and/or lip stick.  I do not have much experience wearing lip gloss thus far, but I think it is a great lip gloss for $2 (retails at drug stores, Walmart, etc… for ~$2).

Included in my voxbox was a card that listed and briefly described the items in the box.  On the back of the card there was a list of 3 extra products, such that some (active and college students) Influensters were selected to try out 1 of the 3 extra products.  The 3 products included: Xout wash-in treatment (acne prevention face wash), Garden Botanika lash primer, and Garden Botanika heart fragrance sample.  I was happily surprised that I received the Garden Botanika lash primer because I just purchased the lash primer by Tarte a month ago.  I was interested to see what makes one lash primer better/different from another lash primer, or if there was a difference at all.  The Tarte lash primer has a long and short bristled wand (similar to a lengthening mascara wand), where as the Garden Botanika primer has a short and long bristled wand (similar to a volumizing mascara wand).  The consistency of the primer seemed similar to the touch and smoothness of application on the lashes.  

I found that the brush of the lash primer seemed to make the difference in terms of how my lashes looked after applying mascara.  The Tarte lash primer made my lashes look much longer because the shorter bristle wand was able to catch the tips of my lashes, thus in turn allowing the mascara wand to apply more product on the tips of the lashes.  However the longer bristle wand (Garden Botanika) applied more product to the base (but could not catch the tips) of my lashes, thus allowing for a more volumized lash look with mascara.  I personally like a more lengthening lash look, but the volumizing look is slowly growing on me.  I actually use both primers to achieve longer looking and more volumized lashes.  I also find that both primers have made my lashes feel a lot softer and moisturized.  I will always use a lash primer, I think they are a must have when wearing mascara.  In addition, both primers did not flake during the day.  The Garden Botanika lash primer retails for about $11, whereas the Tarte lash primer retails for twice as much at $22.

What do you think about eyelash primers??  Are they a must have for you?

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Enjoy!  ^‿^

Influenster Skincare Product Review (2 of 4): Softsoap coconut scrub bar soap & Montagne Jeunesse face mask in Strawberry Souffle (Click to COMMENT…)

Influenster generously included two full-sized bars of Softsoap soap in the scent coconut.  I kept one bar and gave the other one to my mom, whom loves all bath-like products.  ^_^  The soap smells like coconut and does not have an overwhelming scent, it is perfect.  Overall, I would purchase this soap again because of the smell and the fact that it is fairly moisturizing.  However, I do not plan on running out and buying it immediately because I generally like to use products that have multiple purposes.  For example, I usually buy soaps that have either whitening properties to smooth out my skin tone, extra moisturizing properties, and etc.

I tried Montagne Jeunesse face masks for the first time from my first Influnster voxbox in June (Cosmo box).  I tried the Green Tea Peel-off Masque and it was really refreshing.  This time I received a moisturizing mask in the scent of Strawberry Souffle.  I generally steer clear of moisturizing masks as from previous experiences they made my skin feel oily for several days after application.  However this mask did not do that at all, it made my skin feel softer and perfectly moisturized.  I think this mask could also double as a mild exfoliator and moisturizing mask because it has a gritty texture with a creamy consistency.  The smell was not overwhelming and very pleasant.  I also popped over to their website at http://www.montagnejeunesse.com and was happy to find that they are all natural, do not test on animals, or use animal by-products in their products.  Montagne Jeunesse will definitely be one of my main sources of face masks besides Lush!

I enjoyed both of the skincare products in this holiday voxbox, but I highly recommend trying out a Montagne Jeunesse face mask.  Depending on where you shop for them, you can pick up a mask for as little as $1 up to $4 a piece.  

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Enjoy!  ♥

Influenster Nail Product Review (1 of 4): imPRESS press-on manicure by Broadway nails (Click to COMMENT…)

I received a box of imPRESS press-on nails in my Influenster holiday voxbox.  There were 20 press-on nails in the pattern called Space Cadet (a black giraffe-like print on a white background) in a plastic nail polish bottle shaped container.  The plastic nail polish shaped container is so cute, I am using it as a little catch-all container for pins, earrings, bobby pins, and etc.

These are my first pair of false press-on nails, but they look very realistic while being extremely functional.  Several people (friends, family, the cashier at Macy’s, etc..) actually commented on how they liked my nail polish, and were shocked to find out that they were false nails.  I think they looked really natural on my nails because the sizes were perfect fits for all my nails except for my pointer fingers (the nails were too big for my pointer fingers).  In addition, I think they also looked like my real nails because I wear my nails fairly low so my real nails were not visible underneath.  I prefer to wear my nails low because I wear contact lenses and it is much easier to put them in and take them out with shorter nails.   I was happily surprised that I had no problems with my contacts while wearing theses press-on nails.

There are different sized nails in the package to give a more custom fit, on the box they suggest selecting a smaller nail size over a larger size.  On the bottom part of the false nail there is a plastic pull tab that uncovers the adhesive that sticks to the nail.  The adhesive is surprisingly strong and does not have any odor (he he..ok..oddly I did smell it).  I wore these nails for 4 days doing my everyday routine, and they did not fall off or loosen.  The only thing that happened as I continued to wear them was that the plastic got soft on the tips of the nails and the print at the tips of the nails also wore off, so it looked like I had a french manicure when I took them off.  I took them off on the 4th day because one nail was getting loose and the plastic tips of the nail were getting really soft and snagging on things.  

Overall, I loved these nails and I would buy these to get a fast really professional look.  I looked for these at my CVS and Kmart, but they did not have them.  On the imPRESS website http://impressmanicure.com/ under the “Where to Buy” link they list what stores you can purchase them at.  I plan to pick up some online from the Walgreens website for $5.99, for a future special event.  I definitely recommend trying them out to complete your look for a “night out on the town” or a fancy dinner.

Do you prefer false nails to nail polish??  I think I am more of a nail polish girl..I personally just like the process of painting my nails.

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Enjoy!  ^_^