My First BirchBox!

Anyone out there love subscription services?! I really, really, really, love free samples. Like, a lot. I've always thought about Subscription boxes but never really signed up for one. They're pretty inexpensive in theory for what it is that you are getting. I refused to pay more than $10 for my first round of Subscription boxes just because I wasn't sure how much I was going to be into it.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with subscription boxes, it is basically a company that you can sign up to and pay X amount of dollars a month and they send you your monthly subscription of beauty products (well in my case beauty products, but they even have these things for your dog!). Some popular Beauty Subscription Services include Ipsy, Beauty Army, and Birchbox.
I am subscribed to two different services and want to see how the first 2-3 months go and then I will ultimately pick just one to stay subscribed to. The first box to come in was Birchbox and I was apprehensive.
After reading several reviews comparing all the different companies to pick from, I've heard my fair share of positives and negatives for all of them. As far as I'm concerned, I am totally impressed with my first box!

Upon subscribing to Birchbox, I had to fill out a quiz that vaguely asked what kind of products I was interested in. I mentioned hair, skin care, and of course, make up. I was a little surprised to see they gave me a nail product because I know that I didn't pick that on my quiz but oh well! 

The best product I got was a pretty substatial sized Shampoo and Conditioner by Fredrick Fekkai from his "Glossing" line. I have been dying to try this duo out for a really long time and so I was ecstatic to find it in my preciously wrapped box. 

The next product I got was a Nail Rock glitter set that gives you a really intense glittery accent nail. I'm not sure I will get a lot of use out of this product as I really loath glittery nail polish and the whole process of removing it. But it's definitely worth a shot! And it is a full size kit, which is really impressive.

I also got a Mineral Eyeshadow in a gorgeous blueish-silver duo chrome. I will definitely get some good use out of this and I think it will be perfect for layering over black eyeshadow or worn alone. Gotta love duo chromes!

The "extra" gift was this really interesting deodorizing wipe that you can use to make your clothes smell fresher on a long day, for example if you were flying and needed to smell nice when you landed. Interesting concept...we will see.

Over all I am totally excited about my new subscription service! I'm already excited to see what I get next month!!

Hope you guys are having a nice week! XOXO

Shimmering Amber Eye Tutorial

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theBalm on Hautelook on Thursday 8/1/13

Hi everyone!! I know I've mentioned the website Hautelook before and how I love it to purchase high end brands at discount prices. Well, this Thursday one of my favorite, online-exclusive (pretty much), cosmetic brands theBalm is coming to hautelook!! I know there are a few things I'm going to try to get my hands on given they are available but I thought I'd post about some of my favorites that I already have. 

Blush in "Frat Boy" is a beautiful muted matte peach color. It may not look to special but I love it and always get compliments when I wear it. It gives a nice glow to your face. It's very similar to MAC "Melba" blush, but I like this one much more. The formula is so opaque, it cannot be beat

Eyeshadow Palette in "Meet Matt(e) Nude" the best matte palette on the market. You get so much eyeshadow per each color that I doubt i'll ever run out of any of them. This palette is a great basic palette for beginners or experts. 

Eyeshadow Palette in "Nude 'tude" a great alternative (not dupe) for the Urban Decay Naked palettes. I feel that the textures of these are even nicer than Urban Decay and some of the colors are quite unique 

"Mary Lou-manizer" is the best highlighter/luminizer on the market. It is such a gorgeous color and I often wear it on my eyelids as well. It's seriously gorgeous, I'd recommend it to anyone. It may be my top 3 most used product in my whole collection. 

Bronzer in "Bahama Mama" it's a very deep, opaque powder. Great for contouring and defining, and also looks great in the crease of your eye. And it's super small, cute packaging which is great for travel. 

All of the packaging for theBalm is precious, it's similar to how Benefit's packaging is but maybe even cuter. 

Some things I'm going to try to get if they're on Hautelook sale tomorrow...

Blush in "Down Boy"

Any of the Instain Blushes 

Meet Matt(e) Palette (original) 

En Root Dry Shampoo 

Favorite Nars products & MOTD (make-up of the day)

Today while getting ready and putting my face on, I realized that many of my everyday products are from my absolute favorite make-up brand, Nars.

Nars is a high end make-up line that has fantastically pigmented products that are very high quality. Anytime I walk into Sephora, the Nars counter is the first place I stop.

Many Nars products have cult followings. I'm sure most of you have heard of their blush "Orgasm" or their "Laguna Bronzer" or maybe ever their eyeshadow single in "Ashes to Ashes". An anyone who is a Kim Kardashian fan (which I'll admit, I most definitely am not), would know that she wears the Nars lipgloss in Turkish Delight when she wants to wear a nude lip look.

I obviously have not tried every product that Nars has to offer (but I hope to one day!), but I have tried many of their products and have definitely come up with a list of favorites. Through this process, I also have compiled a hand full of products that I do not think are that great, and some that are certainly not worth the hype. 

Favorites:

• Nars Sheer Glow Foundation (i'm shade Punjab). I especially love this foundation in the winter. I love to wear glowing skin all year round and the thicker consistency of this highly radiant foundation is perfect for winter time. 
• Nars Powder Eyeshadows. I have several of these in duos and trios, my favorite was from their Spring 2012 collection (I'm almost sure) called "Ramatuelle", which is a trio that includes a Silver, Icy Peach, and Apricot color. It looks stunning with black eyeliner, and the apricot shade is especially flattering in the crease. I also love the Trio in "Cap Ferrat" which is an assortment of bluish-green tones, which are fun to play with for a more colorful look. My favorite duo is "Cordura", which has a shimmering warm rich brown and a shimmering sooty dark brown. Anytime I go out and want to do a dark brown smokey eye, I always use this duo. 
• Nars "Laguna" Bronzer. Yes. Yes. Yes. this is DEFINITELY worth the hype. I have used this every single day since I bought it (as you can tell from the above picture, this product has gotten much love). I use it every day to warm up my face. It is not great for achieving a sharp contour, so if I am going to contour, I use a different product and dust "Laguna" over it. I am a bronzer freak, and I will continue to repurchase this one and will keep one in my collection forever. 
• Nars Cream Blush in "Penny Lane". I don't see nearly enough hype on the internet for this product. I use it if I want a neutral cheek look or if I am getting ready in a rush and don't have time to contour. This cream blush looks gorgeous placed in between the cheek bone and where one would usually apply blush. It also has a wonderful consistency, it is not sticky and it looks very radiant on the cheek. It's a very, very, soft peach color. 
• Nars Powder Blushes. I have many favorites of these, they just seem to be the best formula for blush on the Market. "Lovejoy" is my favorite winter shade, it is a shimmering bronzed rose shade and it looks amazing with a plum or deep red lip. I don't know how I survived the winter before I had this blush. "Gaiety" is another favorite, which is a bright candy pink color. I like this because it is very wearable and many people could get away with wearing this shade. Bright pinks like this look great in the summer with a tan and bronzed complexion. Also, this blush is perfect for a soft look, or to build up for a brighter pink. Plus, who doesn't love the sound of "bright candy pink"??
• Nars Pressed Powder (I wear the shade "Beach"). This is simply the best setting powder I have ever used. It makes my face look so flawless and keeps oil at bay. 

UnFavorites:

• (brace yourself) Nars Pressed Blush in "Orgasm". I know right? "Orgasm" is described as a peachy pink with golden shimmer. Everyone loves this blush and I don't like it. It's not even like "it isn't worth the hype" (which it isn't), I just simply do not like the color. The formula is fine, as with all Nars blushes, it's just the color is not great and I cannot get it to work on me, not with a tan, not pale. Just not at all. I would return this if I was able to and pick up a different blush in a second. I just simply do not like it. 
• Nars Eyeshadow Duo in "Kalahari". I like these shades and I use this palette often, I am just disappointed that the colors do not have more of a contrast with each other. Swatched, they look great, but on the lid they look like the same color. 
• Nars Multiple in "Maldives". This is a shimmering pink champagne multiple. A multiple implies that you can use it on your cheeks, as highlight, lip stick, eyeshadow, pretty much anything. I would only wear this as a highlight, and even as that I do not think it is very good, and certainly not for $40. I would say skip the multiples and buy yourself a nice Nars blush or bronzer instead. There are plenty of better highlight/multiple products out there. This just did not do it for me. 

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope this was helpful! It's always a hugh bummer picking up products that are expensive and high end and being less than enthused with the results you get from them. Also, just because a cosmetic brand is your favorite, does not mean that everything they make is great. And just because a bunch of people love a certain product and it basically has a cult following, doesn't mean that the product is the best. There are always other options that should be considered before making a purchase.