August Glymm Bag

Hi ladies,
I am trying to get caught up here, so that I can share with you what I got in my fall Luxe Box.  I think it was disappointing compared to what others received. 

What else is disappointing?  August's Glymm bag. It felt like bottom of the barrel!  I know others got some better bags with nail polish and stuff...why do I always get the dredges? lol

Anyways...this months bag was a black plastic quilted one.  I actually don't like it as much as the others because it's plasticy.  It doesn't have the Glymm logo on the front this time, but it does on the zipper pull.

The first item was an Atelier cologne in the scent: Vanille Insensee.  I wasn't too impressed since I received the orange sanguine one a couple months back and I wasn't impressed then.  This one does however smell better. But, definitely not something that I would pick myself.

Full size is $70 for 30ml. Sample size I estimate at 2.5ml value of $5.83. It says up to 20 uses.

Next, is the The Laundress Delicate Wash in lady.  My thoughts?  Ok..cool if it was something thrown in..but as a product?  Bummer. Others got NuMe conditioner or nail polish. :/

Full size is $22 for 500mL.  Sample size 30mL (one time use) for $1.32.

Next, Mai Couture Foundation Powder Papier in Fair Glow.  Neat concept, not sure how well it works.  But, really..2 sheets?  I can't even see one covering my face. *sigh* What is going on here?  It says it softens the appearance of imperfections and evens out skin tone without the mess.

Full size is $26 for 50 sheets. Sample size is 2 sheets valued at $1.04. It says up to 4 uses...really?

Next is the product they hinted up like crazy...made a huge deal about... Bentaberry G-1 Moisturizing Face Cream.  It's cool that it is made from 100% natural active ingredients..but MAN was it tiny. It's supposed to smooth, mattify and balance skin.

Full size is $22 for 30mL. Sample size is valued at $2.20.  Up to 7 uses...? We'll see.

See how bitty it is?  Not even the size of my ring finger!

Next, is the product I'm probably happiest about..and even then it's nothing to write home about.  It's Vitamine & Sea Mineral Clay Mask.  It has a mucky grey colour and a clay like consistency.  It's from the dead sea and it claims to exfoliate, eliminate toxins, promote circulation, cleanse and strengthen the skin.

Full size is $62 for 210mL. Sample size is 15mL (my generous estimation) valued at $4.43.

Cute jar..but teeny tiny.

Last was this lip gloss by Naked Princess.  It's in Barely Coral and it's from a line of naked shine glosses in neutral tones.  I love getting glosses... but man SMALL!!  It's apparently lightweigth, non tacky and helps to plump lips without irritation to reduce the appearance of fine lines.

Full size retails $26 for 2.96mL. Sample size is .24mL valued at $2.11.

You can see how small the tube is...

And a good idea of how itty it is...

At least it's a pretty colour, right?

Total value with my estimations is $16.90.  I pay $11.20 with tax...but it's just small 1 or 2 use items...it's kind of sad...

Did you get a bag this month?  What did you think?

I'm off to the Roxette concert, so have a great night!!!

XO
~A

Fair Ivy - A Prize!

Back in June, one of my favourite bloggers: City Girl, had a contest.  Visit her blog..she's VERY thorough with her posts, has tons of pics, always swatches...its a sub-a-holic!  She's just a great girl all the way around!!  I hope we can meet in person someday!

The contest was a gift certificate to Fair Ivy for $25!!!! I had a bit of a hard time with getting my GC working and there was some back and forth with the owner and I, she made a special just for me, someone else ended up buying it. :(  She asked for my address to get my GC all fixed up... and at the end of it all, she just shipped me a package and I didn't have to do anything!  It was a customer service story that could have gone bad, but I'm so grateful she helped me work through it.  Sadly, they are currently not sending to Canada. I think that's what one of the problems redeeming had been.

In any case what is Fairy Ivy?  It's such a neat service!! From their website: "Each package contains a product that is unique, handmade, lovingly hand wrapped, & delivered straight to the front door, as a complete surprise!"

This is what I saw when I opened up my package!! I loved the kraft crinkle paper!! I just adore how everything is wrapped up and feels special.  Really, like receiving a birthday present.

Of course, I had to grab the biggest one first...I LOOOOOVE how it was wrapped.  Teal tissue and matching raffia.  Even the little "handmade sticker" was a special little touch!

What was inside?  This super cute wristlet! It's actually not that small it's 9" x 5 1/2". I'm not quite sure what I'll use it for yet...initially I thought of using it as a makeup bag, but I think it's too pretty for that.  I will think of something!  It's from an Etsy store called "The Nutmeg Tree."

I think the banners are super adorable!  I didn't take pics of the inside, but you can see the white edging.  It's actually fully lined in cotton.  I wish I had taken a photo of the inside because off centre, on the left there is even a tag sewn in of the etsy seller, The Nutmeg Tree.

Look at this sweet little detail...it's a button made out of a tiny tree limb.

The next item came in this cute little pyramid box.  I love the box so much I'm keeping it.  I'm keeping it and making a template out of it.  Wouldn't it be cute to put little presents in it and hang it on a Christmas tree? :)

It opens like so..and out come cute little nautical earrings!!!

These button earrings may not be everyone's thing.  Truth be told, I was worried at first when I saw the back of the earrings it would be something I didn't like.  But, I DO!! I love vintagey pinup type stuff.  I have a fabulous navy polka dot dress that I can't wait to pair with these! :)

The last item was a teeny tiny kraft box.  It has stars marked in gold pen and the purple washi tape has little eiffel towers all over it.  Even THIS packaging is too cute to get rid of! lol  I shook it..and immediately thought it was jewelry of some sort.

Indeed it was!  First of all, I really adore this! I do. I was a bit bummed about it because I had received a charm just like it in the last Sweet Divalicious box, but without a chain.  So, yay!  Secondly, I have 4 children...so the extra pea would be SUPER nice. :)

Is it not just the sweetest? :)

Anyways, that's it ladies.  If you're in the US, I hope you try this service..it's so much fun!  Thank you so much again to City Girl for the prize!  I don't win often, so it's really special! :)

See you soon, I've got a Deborah Lippmann review coming up this week!

XO
~A

August Julep Maven

Hello lovelies! I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing labour day long weekend! :) I'm going to share with you the August Julep Maven box I received.  I should be getting September anyday!

August was their anniversary edition and it came in this pink box:

I loved the little message on the inside of the box:

Lately, Julep has been including these little quotes.  I like them and I keep them. :)  I think this is the third one.

This month they did Metallics and Chromes. I stuck with my regular "Classic With a Twist" box this month.  It included acetone free nail polish remover.  It's only 118mL(4oz) my regular bottles are 300mL(10oz).The neat thing is this come with a pump top.  I'll keep this bottle and refill it with my own once it's empty.

The two colours I received were Alfre  - royal metropolitan purple and Felicity - yellow-gold metallic chrome.

Here is a closeup of the colours:

Then I chose 3 add ons. Melanie - pastel indigo metallic chrome. Stefani - gold-flecked gray metallic. Dakota - rose-gold metallic chrome.

Here is a close-up of the colours:

Here are the swatches:

Here's another view...which do you like?

Also, they gave us this mini tote as well.  I love the quote on it.  "Beauty is about connection. Not competition."  I really find that true of the beauty blogging community.  This is a good size tote for taking lunch to work in.

I thought, this was a special touch...the liner has all the different "types" across it.

Here is everything that I received for August.  Neat colours, but I didn't love them as much as I hoped to.  Perhaps, it's because I've already purchased the Essie Mirror Metallics...and they're SUPER metallicy!

That's it ladies!  I'll be doing the draw sometime this week, so please check back! 

XO

~A

July Beauty Box 5

Hi ladies! This post is the July Beauty Box 5.  I feel a sense of panic to get some posts out. As, I type this I actually just received my August Beauty Box 5.  Sometimes, with all these subscriptions it gets a little overwhelming! :)

So, on to what I received in July!  There were only 4 items, but I think they were pretty decent.  They were all things that were new to me. What I love about BB5 is there is always a ton of things you wouldn't normally get in other beauty boxes.  I'm really glad I stuck with it, because they are trying hard to get out some great boxes!

The first item in my box was a pedi-scrub foot buffer by Spongeables. There is a soft side to cleanse and moisturize and a scruffy side to exfoliate and massage.  I really like the idea of this and can't wait to try it out. 

It's a full size item that you can get at least 5 uses out of.  It retails for $2.99.

The next item is a Blinc mascara in black.  Last month we recieved a blinc eyeliner I believe.  This is a water resistant, no smudge, flake free mascara that surrounds your lashes with little tubes.  Neither water alone nor pressure alone will remove this mascara.  You have to use lots of warm water and gentle pressure to slide the tiny tubes off your lashes.  How cool is that?  It is a mascara that adds volume and length.

A full size is $26 for .21 oz.  This is a .02 oz tube worth $2.48.

Next, was pretty exciting.  A pair of lashes by Hollyren.  Well..at first I was pretty excited..then I realized that they look kind of chunky.  I did try them on and they felt pretty plasticy and uncomfortable.  I'll trim them up and try again and give an honest review.

These are a full size set of lashes retailing for $7.00.

Here is a closeup.  The package says natural false lashes.  But, clearly you can see they're kind of dramatic. The bummer was, they didn't come with eyelash glue and it doesn't say what they're made from.

Last, is probably the most exciting to me.  It's a primer by Bodyography.  it's a foundation primer to help make your foundation last longer.  It claims to help prevent collagen breakdown and is anti-aging.  I opened the tube, and I guess it was pressurized because the product started volcanoing out at me. :(  I have now learned my lesson and plan on keeping a container around for tubes like this.  It's such a bummer because when I swatched this on my hand, it has a nice clear liquid cream to powder consistency, it's non oily and at first has a baby powder type scent which later smells like a mild soap. VERY nice product!  I can't wait to try it on my face.

The full size is 1 oz and retails for $30.00.  The sample is a generous .53oz (15mL) retailing for $15.90.

Here is the whole box.  It's not a ton of product, but a lot of good ones, I think!  I was really happy with my July box.  The total value is $28.37.  The subscription costs me $12.00 a month.

What do you think?  Did you get a July box?  If you're interested check out my link on the right hand side under "My Subscriptions." -------------------->

XO
~A

July Glossybox?

Yes, I am really that far behind!! Yikes!  I guess this months Glossybox was a little bit of a bummer.  I think it was a bummer for me even more so, since I peeked at what everyone was getting and everyone was pretty bummed about this box.  I think it's still my favourite right now, but as of October I'll be getting Topbox..finally!!

The first item is the Dove Softening Creme Body Wash. At first I was pretty happy because it's a full size item and I don't really use Dove.  Then I heard about them being sold at Dollarama for $2 and that was a bit of a bummer.  Anyways, I'm okay with it since I collect body wash and use a ton of it.

This is a full size item, apparently retailing for $5.99. It has a nice fresh scent, almost like a nice thick cream lotion.  I'll still probably mound it on my loofah.  I get so bubbly I disappear. :)

Next up is the Alessandro International pedix feet Heel Rescue Balm. This would be a really nice product to have received at the beginning of summer, not the last day of July.  In Winnipeg our summers are hottest in June and July.  Anyways, this seems like a really nice product and I can't wait to try it out.

Full size item retails at $19.95 for 100mL.  Sample size is 30mL with a value of $5.99.  This also has a great scent.  It's minty lavender.  Kind of what you would expect of a foot cream.  You know, that "cool" smell. :) It contains shea butter, allantoin and tea tree oil.

Next is the John Frieda Frizz Ease Sheer Solution.  It's a dual formula that you have to shake prior to using.  It says it is a part lightweight serum, part  smoothing elixir - to fight frizz from the outside while hydrating hair from the inside.

Full size item retails at $14.99 for 60mL. Sample size is 10mL valued at $2.50. This has a fairly nice scent to it.  I'm looking forward to trying it because I do suffer from insufferable frizz... ha!

This Zoya nail polish was the highlight of the box...for all Glossyboxers I think!  This is from the summer 2012 collection, so it was nice to get a newer product!  I received the colour Shelby which is pretty boring considering some of the super colours I've seen some of the girls get! But, alas I love pink..so all is not lost. I've never tried Zoya and always heard great things, so I'm super excited to try it!

This is a full size item retailing for $8.00.

Next is the Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer.  I received Strawberry.  Guys, I seriously thought it would be Strawberry flavoured but really..it only refers to the colour. Anyways, strawberries aren't pink...why do we always name pink things strawberry? :P  So, alas this Strawberry Lip Shimmer smells very strongly of menthol.  That's not a bad thing, but was a bit of a bummer..because it just reminds me of chapstick.  I can't tell you how it feels on the lips because I haven't tried it yet! It is very shimmery though and seems to have a decent colour payoff!

This is a full size item and retails for $5.99.  Pricey little bugger!

Finally, this exciting product! (not!) It's 4 sanitizer wipes by BeautySoClean. I get it, but I don't.  It literally made me LOL when I read the description: Effective for sanitizing makeup that accumulates visible debris like dust, lint and food particles.... huh? Food particles?!  I guess some of you girls like to eat toast while you apply your mascara and somehow the crumbs get in the tube? lol Sorry, it was a funny visual to me!

The best part.  I actually dropped my mascara today on to carpet...ugh. So I did end up using one of these..but the only reason is, is because it was a sample size of the bad gal lash and it's almost done.  I don't know if it would alter the makeup in anyway. In any case, I already know these are not something that I would purchase.

Full size is 48 wipes retailing for $12.50. Sample size 4 wipes retailing for $1.04.

Well, this is my whole box.  I guess it doesn't look TOO bad, but with everyone feeling so sad about it, I felt pretty sad too.  I payed $15.00 for my Glossybox and this month's value was $29.51. Minus $3.99 if you go by the value of the Dove at Dollarama which is $2.00.

What did you think of the July Glossybox?  Are you looking forward to August?  We haven't even heard anything about them shipping yet!

XO
~A