Ipsy Sneak peeks May 2013!

It's that time again! The sneak peeks for May 2013 have started. I will update this post as more are put up. 

Here is the first sneak peek :

"Passionate for pastels? This May your nails are in for a treat!" 
And guess what, it's Zoya!

This 'sneak peek' also states there will be 5 items in the May bag ;)

SNEAK PEEK 2:

"Sweet lips for spring are yours with one of these fun lip products"

they have it listed under lipstick. 

It has been confirmed that it is Mirabella.

"Pixie Colour Sheers lipstick on the machine! Watch out Ipster's, this hot shade may be in your Glam Bag..."

"Fresh and flawless just in time for spring!"

Concealer! Yay! I needed a new one.

I'm pretty sure it is yaby, not positive though. Also we are all only getting one from the color we have listed on our profile via ipsy.

Sneak peek 4:

"Get ready to have a memorable Spring Fling with TWO of these remaining goodies! What special two do you have your eye on?"

Well I already have the macadamia oil and it makes me break out, I want the perfume roller ball lol. What about you guys?

Sneak peek 5:
A peek at the bag

"FIVE fun spring ready items are about to sweep you off your feet in this pretty bag!"

Check back for updates!

Not an ipster yet? There's now ipsy points, a referral points program, when you refer two people you get some goodies. So use my link, sign up and then refer your friends and you can earn goodies too! http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h7ji17c2o6i4cy 

thank you!

BeautyBox5 April 2013

Here is April's BeautyBox5 box.

This is only my second month with BeautyBox5 and I'm still not sure if I want to stick with them or not, as of now I'm going to stay subscribed.

The first item is Jean Pierre Cosmetics Oil Absorbing Tissue. "Eliminate oil, banish blemishes and say goodbye to shine with this handy case of oil absorbing tissues." 

Retail : $1.99 50 sheets (This item is full size)

Okay, what's the deal BB5?! I received an extremely similar shade of Brazen eyeshadow in last month's box. Type A last month, this month I received Birthday Suit. Both brown. I guess they will get used being that they are neutral shades.

"You spoke, we listened. Brazen is back again this month with another shamelessly bold shadow to add to your collection"

Retail: $7.49 0.18 oz. (I couldn't find how big the sample is but it might be full size.)

I haven't tried these wipes yet but I'm sure I will soon enough. So I can't really tell you guys anymore than what is on the card.

"La Fresh Instant Body Soother: Wipe away stress and fatigue with these silky-smooth, essential oil-packed, Eco-Beauty wipes."

Retail $9.99- 24 wipes. They included 2 wipes.

Next is the Minzzette Brush Hanger, I am extremely excited to try this. Lucky me today is the day I was planning to wash my brushes, haha. 

"Hang it, stick it, use it! This nifty little hanger makes taking care of your favorite makeup brushes easier than ever!" 

Retail: $4.69 Small. I want to say this is the small one. 

Last is the Model Co Illusion Lip Pencil. It is a nice brownish pink nude color, at $20 retail value this lip pencil better be amazing!

"Face it, there's no better pencil for plumping up that pretty little pout!"
Retail: $20.00 One size

Not a bad box, but like I said I'm still on the fence. 

I hope you guys enjoyed your boxes!

Ipsy April 2013

After waiting what seemed like forever, I finally got my Ipsy bag yesterday!

I am extremely pleased to say I got all the "or" items I wanted, I even got the shade of blush and nail polish that I would have chosen for myself, so touche' Ipsy, touche'. 

One off thing was, I got a very old bag, it was not the pink and white bag as promised but a green blue and white bag, they included a card saying :

Not really a big deal, my favorite is still last month's nautical bag, it is currently and will remain my makeup bag until they wow me again :p

Here is what I got, you can see the green/blue/white bag in the background.

 I got the blush in Sweet Cheeks, I have already tried it on and it is the perfect shade of pink, it doesn't make me look like I'm trying to be a clown haha. I was also one of the lucky ladies who didn't receive damaged goods, thank god.

What can I say about the MICABeauty Shimmer powder in earth? It is gorgeous. If you apply it over a white base (NYX eyeshadow base is my choice) it is perfect to wear alone or with a brown shade in the crease. It is similar to TheBalm's stand-offish.

Sation Nail Lacquer in Love at First Byte, it is the perfect peachy pink shade, I painted my nails with it immediately. It really is the perfect nude/pink shade for spring!

HealthySexyHair Soy Renewal, is well.... amazing. It left my hair soft and frizz free after blowdrying. I own their bodifying lotion and use it when I remember too. I'm happy to add this to my arsenal and will be buying the full size.

I know a lot of you were disappointed because there were only 4 items, but I must say it wasn't a let down to me at all. I am extremely happy with this months glam bag.

TheBalm Nude 'Tude Palette

So I wasn't expecting a package the other day when I checked for the mail and when I opened the door there was a box. I looked and it was from TheBalm, I never even got a shipping email. It was a pleasant surprise. 

I opened the well packaged box, they even bubble wrapped the palette, I love bubble wrap. It saves so much hassle with broken items. By the way, my mailman hates me, he will literally throw my packages at my front door from the sidewalk because I get so many packages.

Anyways, I finally got the box open after some fighting with the tape.

They included a sample packet of face lotion, it will defiantly be more than one use because the packet is full. I'm actually looking for a new facial moisturizer, I am currently using Yes to Carrots SPF daily moisturizer and find it too oily for my combination/sensitive skin.
I tried the lotion already and can already say I will probably be switching to it, it smells awesome (like grapefruits) and absorbs into my skin really well, leaving no oily residue and only soft (break out free I must add!) skin.

Here is the palette, I also included the brush I used to do the swatches, the primer and eyeshadow base, because without those two the colors wouldn't have shown up too good on camera.

I did some swatches of the colors right away and was disappointed with the lighter colors as they barely showed up on my arm, but after some primer and base (which is what I would do on my eyes) I was quite pleased.

Here are the swatches.

Left to Right ===> Sassy, Snobby, Stubborn, Stand-offish, Selfish, Sultry, Sophisticated, Seductive.

Left to Right ===> Sassy, Snobby, Stubborn, Stand-offish, Selfish, Sultry, Sophisticated, Seductive, Sexy, Silky, Sleek and Serious.

Sorry for the lack of close ups of the darker shades, it just wouldn't show up right and I gave up. 

Recipe of the day

Carrot Cake in a Mug (or bowl)

I've been obsessed with carrot cake since Easter when I made carrot cake cupcakes for a family get together.

Being the person I am, I was craving carrot cake the moment the cupcakes were all gone, so I went to work, with my mother in law as my test subject.
It only took me two tries to get the perfect microwave carrot cake.

Recipe:

4 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons grated carrots

2 tablespoons applesauce 

1 egg

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of cloves

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

Frosting: (of course)
2 tablespoons cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

The frosting is really up to you, if you like cake alone leave it out, but I have a slight obsession with cream cheese icing. When I make a big batch (like for cupcakes) I always have leftover, so I put it in a little Tupperware container and put it in the fridge or freezer until I need it.
It makes the microwave cake process even faster when there's pre-made icing. You could also use store bought, like Betty Crocker or cool whip frosting!

Pretty much mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, there's no mandatory order in which you mix the ingredients like a regular recipe. I do find that it comes out better if you mix the dry together first making sure there's no lumps or clumps and then adding all the wet, adding the carrot last.

Microwave for 2 minutes, check how done the cake is and if needed microwave for an additional 30 seconds repeatedly until done.

Enjoy!

Have a recipe you want me to make into a mug/bowl microwave recipe? Leave a comment and let me know

  

Julep Sea Salt Mystery Box

Hey there ladies!

Julep has yet another mystery box out this month, which isn't surprising because they've had one the last few months it seems. (they might have actually had one every month)
Anyways, I'm a sucker so of course I ordered one as soon as I read the email about it. The sea salt polish really intrigued me so I had to see if maybe I'd get a good box this time.
My last two boxes were duds, being the cheapest in value and having lackluster colors.
But still I couldn't help myself, hoping for that $1000 card because I could use it, being a stay at home doesn't exactly pay. Other than in hugs and kisses of course ;)

On to the box!
 

Here is the picture that was included in my email and I think on their facebook page.

I was told the polishes will be like OPI's sand polishes and Zoya's pixies. 

Here is the swatches included in the email as well.

I'm really really hoping for Madeline or Jill, that beige is perfect and the pink is a nude I'd kill for. Because my natural nails are ugly so a nude color gives the illusion that I have pretty fingers ;)

The Sea Salt Mystery Box will contain $70-$200 worth of polish and product and will include one of Julep's new textured matte Sea Salt polishes.

I'm excited to get my box and will do a review as soon as I get it so stay tuned!

If you would like to become a maven, a monthly nail polish and product subscription program tailored to your style, please consider using my referral link! http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/78424/ I will receive jules, Julep's rewards program points, once you've received your first regular monthly Maven box and you will have the opportunity to earn Jules as well via your own referral link. It's a win/win situation; Julep is amazing :)

And to purchase the mystery box click here, for only $24.99

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check back to see what I received in my mystery box!



UPDATE: I got my shipping confirmation email Friday the 12th, but it hasn't updated yet, and it is  now Tuesday. Usually with most USPS tracking numbers they update the day I receive the package, if at all. USPS hates me, my mailman probably curses my name. haha.
I will update as soon as I get my package, though I can already tell from the tracking code it is a light box. Starting in 9400 like the basic monthly boxes I already know to expect maybe 3-5 polishes and a product. I can only hope it's not the damn sunscreen again. If it is, who wants to trade?!
Fingers crossed it's not too disappointing! Good luck ladies 
xoxo

Recipe of the Day

Red Velvet Cake in a cup (or in my case a bowl)

I came across this recipe when I was looking for a quick fix for my cake craving, without baking a whole cake or a batch of cupcakes. I took the original recipe, tweaked it a lil and now have it memorized lol
It's delicious and can be easily tweaked to be just a chocolate cake, a butterscotch cake, a vanilla cake, etc. 

Enjoy! 

Cake:

4 tablespoons flour

5 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 whole egg

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon red food coloring

3 tablespoons whole or buttermilk

1 tablespoon oil. (vegetable or olive, either work)

1/4 teaspoon baking power

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

dash of cinnamon (optional)

First mix the milk and vinegar in cup or bowl. Let sit one minute, add food dye. Then add all of the dry ingredients. Add egg and oil. Mix well. Microwave on high for a minute at a time until done. let sit for 30 seconds in between each minute of microwaving and check before restarting the microwave. It is very easy to overcook this and your first one might not come out right. 

Icing:

2 tablespoons cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar.

Yes I know that's a lot of powdered sugar and sounds like it will make too much icing, you can always cut it in half. I'm a fan of cream cheese frosting so I don't mind the excess.

ENJOY :)

Naturebox Review

Okay, so I have been with Naturebox for a few months now. It's a love hate relationship really. When I first signed up I got one box and wanted to pause due to Christmas, but then when I wanted to resume my membership (late December) my card "wouldn't work". I got some spiel about it being my bank. Anywho, I got a new card a month later (Mid January) because it was time for a new one. I added the new one and still had some issues with them that I don't feel like explaining. Basically it was a back and forth, of them ignoring my emails and me having to get on a friends facebook just to get information about my account and if I was going to get a box or not.
Got my box, then February came and they didn't bill me or send me a box. I contacted them in March and they said it was because they'd be sending me the same box from January, I select my own snacks, I do not get a discovery box, so that made no sense to me. I believe that was just them covering their asses.
Soooo I set up to be billed on the first Sunday of every month and just got my April box.
Now that I got all that out of the way I'm going to review what I chose :)

I get the family snacker, so I get 10 snacks, 5 different ones with 2 of each kind. The 5th snack I chose was out of stock so they substituted it with granola. Which I'm not a fan of.... I really wish they would've emailed me and let me choose a new one but beggers can't be choosers I suppose.

First, are the cocoa almonds. It's a dark chocolate coated almond, what more can I say other than YUM?! My fiance doesn't like dark chocolate so I say yippee more for me. haha.

 Next, are the Honeycomb sunflower seeds, I really thought I was going to love these. Oddly enough I do not. I like them, I will eat them but they are not my favorite. They are salty and sweet and it was unexpected. I was expecting solely sweet and got the salt and was like blech, but then I act some more and was like "okay I can eat these they're not that bad". I guess I was just caught off gaurd.

Here are the cranberry almond bites. I expected a tangy/sweet/crunchy snack. They were oddly neither of those. Only slightly sweet, and barely any flavor really. They were good just not what I expected. They are made of a rice crispie type substance and ground nuts, and dried cranberry pieces. My 2 year old liked them so that's all that matters haha.

My last choice was the banana chips. I've had them before, they are my favorite things in the whole world. They're not overly hard, they soft dried bananas which is just amazing to me. My child loves them, my fiance loves them and I love them. I highly recommend everyone in the world try them. Unless you're allergic to bananas.... please don't eat them then lol.

Since my 5th choice was out of stock they sent me this, Vanilla Macaroon Granola. They threw a "try a new snack!" sticker on, I knew I didn't pick it before I even saw the sticker because I wouldn't choose granola lol. I am not a fan of granola. I do like it in my yogurt but other than that, ehhh. I mean I'm sure it will get eaten because I do not accept wasted food well. There are people starving and when I throw food away I cringe thinking "that could have fed a child" and makes me want to cry. That might just be my maternal instinct crying out to feed every child in the world but I'm well aware of how impossible that is for a single person to do.

Anways, since I just rambled for a paragraph, I tasted the vanilla macaroon granola and it was pretty good. It tasted like the basic granola. I didn't get vanilla as much as I got the coconut in it. There's slivered almonds in it too which add a different crunch and that's nice.

Overall it was a good box and I liked all the snacks in it. I recommend trying naturebox to anyone who loves to snack but doesn't know where to start for snacking healthy. I highly recommend their sunshine chips! They are amazing.

You can sign up now and get $5 off using the code HEALTHY. 

TheBalm

Did you take advantage of the sale The Balm had? 50% off was too good to pass up for me. I bought the Nude 'Tude palette. I will be a review next week when it gets here. I received a sample of the Meet Matte, Matt Battali eye shadow from ipsy back in November of 2012. I still have it and use it from time to time but it's hard to use a purple/blue/black shadow like that in an everyday look. As a mom I only really do my makeup all fancy for holidays and events. As my everyday look, it's usually just concealer, eyeliner, mascara and maybe some neutral shadows.
My reason for buying the Nude 'Tude palette was the fact that there are quite a few matte neutral shades that I can see myself using daily.
So the $18 I spent on it, will be well worth it.
Stay tuned for the review :)


Oh and also, I recently joined influnester, according to my account I joined in October but I must have opened and account and forgot about it until recently. But yeah, hopefully soon I will be doing reviews for them as well.

Popsugar must have april 2013

Hello! I just started this blog today, so I'm still a little clueless on what to do. 

My blog will be random reviews on makeup, clothes, baby stuff, subscription boxes, and more. 

I'm going to start this off with my very first review! This is my first popsugar must have box (the april 2013 box.) It just got here today. :)

Let's get started!

What I saw before and when I opened my box. 

Here is the Kai perfume oil. I must say I was quite skeptical about getting any type of fragrance because I can be quite picky. Especially since my fiance gets headaches from anything that smells too strongly. But after I opened this and smelt it I was amazed. It smells just like the hyacinth I have sitting on the windowsill currently. I loveeeee it. and not to mention it's the perfect size to throw in the diaper bag! ;)

It was hard to get a good picture of the shashi bracelet, but I did try I swear. lol It came in a cute little bag, and I got the gray one, which I'm thankful for. I like this bracelet but it will look much better paired with other bracelets cause alone it kind of just looks like a blinged out hair tie.

These are the tatcha blotting papers. They seem like a good idea, I have yet to use one because I just showered before getting the box but I'm sure they're awesome because anything that can take oil off my face has to be kick ass haha. They feel a little like tissue paper, so here's hoping they're more than tissue paper.

What can I say about the Quinoa dark organic chocolate bar?! OMGOMGOMG this thing is delicious. I love dark chocolate. It's like a better version of the crunch bar. I'm in love<3

 Lastly, is the green garmento 4 in 1 bag. It's too big and dark to take a picture of the whole thing but heres the only two things that stand out on it other than the little clear pouch for I'm going to guess a dry cleaning label or whatever it's called. You know, to identify it as yours at the dry cleaner. Anyways, this bag seems to be a cool concept, but I don't own anything that needs dry cleaned. A baby does that to a woman. lol But maybe I'll use it as a traveling bag, or a bag to store my wedding dress in once I buy it, until the wedding. hmmm... Regardless of it's current uselessness, I think it will serve a purpose.

So my overall opinion, this box wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. Yes it was lacking last months awesomeness, but I wanna say it was awesome in it's own way. Here's to hoping that next month's box will be as awesome as last months was. I'm so sad that I signed up too late to miss out on March's box but maybe I'll get some awesome necklace and mascara in May ;)