Foam Party: Rituals Zensation Foaming Shower Gel Sensation

I acquired this in possibly the best way possible: for free, on the street.

The Rituals girls were just....gifting them. It was amazing. I was on the way back to the office from lunch and they were there on the corner giving away free shower gel. Bless Soho, man. They were also running some instagram contest at the same time, so I guess this was a promotion. But it worked, because it did get me interested in the brand and wanting to go back for more. So good job, Soho Rituals store.

Most importantly, this shower gel is the coolest. It's not your average Dove or whatever. I think most people don't really think about their shower soap even though they should. So you just slather it on, rinse it off, and be done with it. But cleansing the rest of your skin is just as important as cleansing your face, and especially for me and my dry skin, it's important to take care of my whole body.

Ritual's Zensation sets itself apart because it foams. And it's so boss.

It starts as a gel and as soon as it hits water, it foams up and gets all creamy bubbly. This is great for two reasons: one, because it makes me feel like a kid again. Two, because a little bit really goes a long way, and you can use a dime sized amount to cover your whole body. Zensation smells clean and fresh (it doesn't have a really distinct scent so it isnt overwhelming and won't conflict with all your other smelly products) and  does leave me feeling clean and silky.

But honestly, it's just fun to play with foamy bubbles in the shower. I am all about that.

Confessions of an Arbonne Consultant

I went to my first Arbonne party a few months ago when my friend Julie announced that she had become a consultant. And I was a bit skeptical - from what I'd seen, it seemed geared towards old ladies who wanted anti-aging crap. And I'm 26, I'm not quite there yet. 

I was pleasantly surprised. 

The party started with Julie's sponsor introducing the business, and then we got to try some products. I was shocked at the range of products that Arbonne offers - I had no idea that in addition to skincare, they also offer makeup, diet supplements, and products for men. And it isn't overwhelmingly geared towards the anti-aging crowd. There are a lot of great products, and honestly I feel much better about my money going to support my friend than to some Corporate Conglomerate. 

The RE-9 system (pictured above) is basically their starter skincare regime kit - it's cleanser, toner, serum, moisturizer, eye cream, and a night cream. It's a lot of shit but I mean, most people use at least half of those products anyway, and I like the idea of having a system with similar ingredients so they all work together in harmony. The formulas are smooth and creamy, they don't smell like anything in particular which is great, and your face really does feel great when you take care of it properly. 

I also ended up buying  the Nurturing Day Lotion moisturizer from their FC5 line because it had 20 SPF, which I've been happy with so far. I went with the Sparkling Citrus Sugar Scrub because I am a sucker for sugar scrub, and its fucking great. It's oily so it leaves your skin super duper soft and smelling nice and fresh and lemony and I dig it and use it all the time.

But don't take it from me, take it from Julie, my Arbonne Consultant:

What got you interested in being an Arbonne consultant? 
When I met my sponsor I was 9 months pregnant & definitely looking for something more in my career. I've worked side-jobs before, and Arbonne offered an extra stream of income on my own schedule. Her success inspired me that this could be a full-time job & business, not just a fun hobby.  She was able to quit her teaching job, which I would love to be able to do and work from home with my daughter.  The brand is amazing, and I was already spending money on personal care products- as a consultant I would receive a 35% discount + turn an expense into a profit.

What do you think sets Arbonne apart from other beauty brands?
Our stand-out quality is our motto: "Pure, Safe, and Beneficial". Arbonne products are natural and botanically based, not filled with the toxic and petroleum ingredients found in most other beauty brands. Our nutrition line is vegan & gluten-free, nothing is tested on animals- these are all things people are looking for today.
We also offer more than just beauty products, we have a market for everyone- men, babies, health & wellness, you name it!

What is the benefit of hosting an Arbonne party and buying through a consultant? 
Party hosts receive wonderful rewards such as the option of being "consultant for a night" and getting our 35% discount on their purchase. We also offer hosts package options that will give them $100+ worth of free products.  There is the added perk of having a fun night with friends & being able to try our products for free!...Buying from a consultant gives you the benefit of becoming a preferred client (20% discount), and being first to know about any special sales your consultant is offering.  You get to buy products you're already using from family & friends instead of giving your money to faceless corporations.

What are your favorite Arbonne products?
I LOVE our Intelligence CC cream- it has built-in primer, moisturizer, and color correction; provides lightweight coverage for everyday wear, and gives you a dewy "glow"
I'm a huge advocate of our ABC baby line; it cleared up my daughters dry patches in days, after months of using Aveeno & Burt's Bees to no avail.
Our FC5 facial scrub gives you a nice exfoliating cleanse.
I enjoy our pomegranate fizz sticks added to water for a natural boost of energy to replace daily coffees.

What products would you most recommend to people who have never tried Arbonne before?
 Our most popular line is our RE9 anti aging skincare.  Cleanser, toner, day/night cream, lift gel, eye creme- it offers something for every facial need, and makes your skin look & feel beautiful!  The cellular renewal masque gives an amazing glow & tingle the following morning
Our makeup primer is a best seller- feels like silk on your skin to prep it for flawless makeup.
Our FC5 daily shampoo/conditioner doesn't lather & strip hair; and Pure Vibrance line nourishes color-treated hair.


Use consultant ID 21331334 to order through Julie and try Arbonne for yourself!

A Rose By Any Other Name: Korres Wild Rose Moisturizer

It takes a lot for me to want to break up with my favourite moisturizer. I really love Fresh's Soy Moisturizer - it works for my dry skin and has SPF. But it's fuckin pricey, dude. And it's seriously hard to find. Sephora doesn't seem to be carrying it anymore, so when the Fresh store by my office closed down and I ran out of supply, I was forced to go hunting for a new moisturizer. 

Enter: Korres Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturizing & Brightening Cream . Swoon. 

Because of my amazeballs nighttime moisturizer (see this post), I really don't have to use a moisturizer every morning (I know, I know, I should be putting SPF on my face everyday. Death is coming. Whatever.). Korres offering is the perfect balance - where Origin's Night-A-Mins is thick and creamy, Korres is light and airy - like putting silk on my face. It's so soft and smooth you barely feel a thing, yet it's keeping me well moisturized and balanced. Plus, it smells like roses. 

It's a little less expensive than my usual too, so this might be a repurchase. If it had SPF, that would be even better, but I live a vampire life anyway so not a huge loss. 

Nightynight: Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins Nighttime Moisturizer

This is a story about a product that transformed my face. 

I have very very dry skin. I'm talking itchy, flaky, sensitive, easily damaged dry skin. And it's not just my face - its my scalp, arms and legs, everywhere. For a very long time I ignored it, because I believed that nothing would ever help, and I just had to deal with my skin being the way it was. But since I've started this blog and started really looking for skincare, I've discovered that healthy skin is possible. And Origins Night-A-Mins Moisturizer is a total game changer. 

Not only is my skin thoroughly moisturized, but its almost oily - I'm serious. Within about a week of using this product, my skin was totally different. It feels like I don't have to moisturize every day anymore. It feels soft and clear and bright, and I'm seriously in awe. Like, I want to put this stuff on my whole body it's that good. This is a miracle product. And it makes your face smell like oranges.

So pretty much I am going to recommend the shit outta this stuff for anyone who has super duper dry skin. You may not even have to use it every night after a while, just maybe three times a week or so and you'll be good to go with totally smooth, soft skin. Just like, fucking do it already, okay? Okay. Glad we had this chat. 

Beauty Boxes: The Good, the Bad, and the Glossy

One of the first things I did when I decided to start experimenting more with makeup and skincare was sign up for some monthly subscription boxes. I wanted a way to try a lot of different types of products from brands that might be new to me without having to commit to buying a full size. Plus, I really like getting packages in the mail. I always say it's like Christmas. 

The first one I found was actually Glossybox, through ICovetThee.com, which is one of the first beauty blogs I started reading and still one of my favourites. Glossybox is by far still my favourite. The quality of the products is higher for the price point, and the amount/size of products is totally worth what I pay each month. I always get about 5 products, some full size and some more of a travel size. I have found some really great brands through Glossybox (Anatomicals and Fresh, to name a few), and I always am really pleased with the type of products given. When you sign up, you let them know your skin and hair type and what kinds of products you like (makeup, skincare, etc) so that the products are tailored for you. Like most beauty boxes, you can also order products you like through the website and leave reviews. By far, I've been most impressed by the products I've gotten through Glossybox. It's super high quality, and totally worth it. It's the first box I recommend to people looking to try new products.

This month's box features Puffy the Eyebag Slayer by Anatomicals (their product names are the BEST - my other favourite by them is a rose-scented body wash called You Need A Blooming Shower); City of Angels nail polish by Lauren B (an emerging brand); Truffle Therapy Serum by Skin&Co Roma (great moisturizer); Colour Fanatic Hair Beautifyer for Coloured Hair; and Kala black eyeliner pencil by Sumita Beauty (which is dooooooooope and exactly the kind of dark black badass eyeliner pencil I've been searching for). Other boxes has gifted me with Fresh and Vichy brand moisturizers, great hair products, exfoliants, and even an eyelash curler and the BEAUTYBLENDER! Winner.

Julep was the second box I signed up for after seeing ads for it. One of the best things about Julep is that you can get your first box free with the code FREEBOX when you sign up (use my link here ). You create a profile based on your colour preferences and style, and each month you get two new nail polish colours and a beauty product (three nail colours if you're an It Girl). As a Maven, you'll also have access to special deals and Secret Shops during the month. One of the best things about Julep Maven is that you can preview what will be in your box and change your profile choice if you aren't happy with that month's colours, and often if they're sending out beauty products, you'll also get to pick what colour you want in that too. 

Julep offers high quality nail varnishes (seriously, they last all week) and products. I've gotten lip glosses, eyeshadow palettes, and their new liquid eyeshadow (and this month, a special candy treat! They sent candy corns for Halloween too). I've always been really happy with the colours, and their customer service is great. I received a broken product only once, and they were quick to replace it with a new one. 

Sign Up to be a Julep Maven here

Wantable came to my attention fairly recently, and I wanted to give it a try. It's more expensive than the other boxes at $32 a month, but boasts high quality luxury products and a more selective tailoring system. When you sign up for Wantable, you choose not only what types of products you like but also colours, textures, and styles - as specific as whether you like metallics or mattes, lipsticks or lip glosses, etc on a like-neutral-dislike scale. I was excited about this system because I'm really picky about the colours I use. 

However, my first box (top photo) was a huge disappointment. I don't wear blue or brown as a rule and two of my products were blue tinted, and the lipstick was more brown than I really liked. After contacting customer service with my disappointment, I learned that you can actually return your box - either completely or partially  - and get a refund. I ended up keeping only one product from my first box and then ordering another one (bottom photo) which was much more satisfactory. I'm still not 100% impressed, but the second attempt was better. But if the whole shtick is that you can be selective about colours, at least let me put in what I absolutely do not want! I ended up emailing them after ordering the second box to make sure I didn't get any ugly blue things again. I'm going to give it one more month to see how the next month is. Wantable also has intimates and accessories options for monthly boxes if that's more up your alley. 

Sign up for a Wantable box here

I also tried Birchbox in the beginning but ended up cancelling - the product sizes were small (only "tester" sizes/packets and barely worth it. The only thing I like about Birchbox is that they have a wide range of brands they work with and an online shop where you can buy fullsizes. 

Overall, I cannot sing the praises of Glossybox and Julep Maven enough. Wantable is still a wait and see, but I loved the concept of subscription boxes. 

Does anyone have any other subscription boxes they'd recommend, or great/negative experiences! Share in the comments! 

Lush Madness!

I've been wanting to try Lush for a really long time. There's something really excited about all-natural products when it comes to skincare - I feel much better about the glop that's going on my face when I can look at the back of the container and see what's actually in it. And Lush has a really great vibe - they're all anti-animal testing and their new campaign for Valentine's Day was all about love and supporting the LGBT community, which is a cause close to my heart. 

I also had a really great in-store experience. My local mall is known for having crap customer service, so I did a lot of research about the products before going in to the store because I didn't expect the girls to really pay attention to me or know anything about the products. BOY WAS I SURPRISED to the point where I wrote Lush an email, which I will excerpt for you here: 

" I usually don't like shopping in stores because the stores are crowded, I don't get enough attention when I have a question, and most of the time the employees don't really know what they're doing. But the girls in the store were incredible. In particular, an employee there named Stephanie was a big help. She saw me staring confused at some products and offered some great advice, showed me how to use everything, and introduced me to new products I wouldn't normally try. All the girls took interest in my story and my blog and were ready and willing to help with expert product knowledge. I went home with a mountain of Lush products to try and review on my blog, and I've never been so excited. As a lifelong psoriasis sufferer, it's exciting to feel like I possibly have miracle products in my hands now. I just want to let you know that you have some great girls there. I've worked retail, I know how hard it can be, and it's rare to get customer service like that"

And an even bigger surprise, THEY WROTE BACK: 

"Thank you for taking the time to contact LUSH! You and I would make the best shopping buddies. I also go online first, get an idea of what I want and then hit the stores. I hate crowds! I'm so happy to hear that you had a fantastic experience at LUSH. I often sit at my desk and day dream about all the action that goes down at the stores. So, hearing about great experiences really makes my day! I think it's the people who used to work in retail that's hard to impress. I'm very happy that LUSH met your standards of good customer service! I will forward your feedback to our friends at the mall location so, Stephanie and the rest of the team will get all the kudos that they deserve. Your blog looks great! I tried to start one years ago but didn't keep up with it. I really admire your dedication. If there's anything else that I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask."

No, guys, this is for real. An actual response from an actual person. I'm really amazed. 

I ended up with a little bit of everything.

I don't usually do face masks but Stephanie recommended Mask of Magnaminty to help with my blackheads. I've used it once and it really does work - I saw a significant change in the softness of my skin and it did get rid of some of the blackheads. Next time I think I'm going to try it just on my nose - way better than any of those pore strips! Volcano is a foot mask, which is kind of weird because you have to wrap your feet in plastic wrap for ten minutes while it works it's magic, but it's great for winter feet that are trapped in tights and closed toed shoes!

Curly Wurly is a shampoo for frizzy curly hair (read: poofball hair like mine) and smells AMAZING. It's made with coconut and I mean it - real bits of coconut in there. So cool. And my hair is super soft right now (de-poofing is gonna take years, so game on,  Curly Wurly), so I'm loving it.

I love me  a scrub so I actually picked up two - both Ocean Salt and the Sugar Scrub. I've only used the Ocean Salt so far but it's really great. I'm super smooth and it's a way less expensive alternative to my favourite Fresh sugar scrub, and works just as well. The great thing about Ocean Salt is that it's also a facial scrub, so it's like getting two exfoliants for the price of one. Plus my boyfriend says I taste salty. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it's better than tasting not good? Right? Right.

Ultrabland is a really thick, creamy cleanser for makeup and dirt removal. When I was in the store, Stephanie rubbed it on my hand and you can really feel the way it pulls everything out of your skin. It's a bit strange at first since I'm used to a really light cleanser, but there was nothing leftover on my face after I used it.

I am always looking for badass moisturizers for my dry skin and Skin Drink has been working really well so far. It smells a bit strange (it's made with sesame oil) and it's kind of a weird brown goop, but it hydrates for the whole day. I'm never left wanting and my skin feels super soft. I'm all about soft, hydrated skin, especially since it's been such a harsh winter.

Stephanie also recommended using both Dreamwash and Dream Cream for my dry, itchy skin. So far they've been working great - Dreamwash smells amazing and is nice and creamy, and Dream Cream is very soothing and I've been lathering it on like a maniac every time my skin gets itchy. I'd heard a lot about Dream Cream (it's their best seller) so I was eager to try it, and so far it's been going very well.

Overall I'm really really pleased with my Lush products and I'm really excited to go into the store and try more, especially after such a great experience. Plus it's nice that I can feel really good about what ingredients I'm putting on my body. Lush products are relatively inexpensive (this huge haul was just over $100) and I really am loving their brand as a whole. Can't wait to try more!

QueenGram #2

How many bags of makeup do you travel with?

This month's Glossybox (so excited for the beauty blender!!!) and December's Ipsy Bag 

Eyeshadow look with Naked 3 (Trick base, Factory in the V, Strange on the crease) and Liquid Eyeliner tests (MAC liquidlast liner, Be A Bombshell eyeliner in onyx, and PUNKER Worlds Baddest Eyeliner by Ardency Inn)

My awkward face from Tuesday night wearing J Cat Beauty Big Lip Pencil in 203 Red Rose (from the Ipsy bag)

Evil Queen Style featuring Body Heat dress from Nasty Gal and boots from Topshop

Evil Queen Beauty's Favourites of 2013 Part 3: ELF palettes, Serge Normant, Bumble&bumble, Not Your Mother's, and Fragrance picks

So I posted a little bit about the major E.L.F. hauls that I had this year, but I want to talk more about the palettes. ELF has a lot of great palette options that are so inexpensive it's insane not to stock up. There are a ton of their geometric palettes in all sizes and colours - mine is the 32 piece - which are coordinated for every kind of use - lots of great neutrals for everyday in varying shades, plus great bright colours for something special. They're just the right amount of shimmer, and the great thing about all of these palettes is that they can fit in your purse. The Prism Eyeshadow Palette are perfect jewel-tones which are great for going out looks and are completely my colours, and is my favourite palette out of the ones I have. The 22 piece Mini On-The-Go Pallette is smaller than your cellphone and is great for travelling. It comes with 12 eyeshadows, 4 lip colours, 3 blushers, and a mascara with a wide range of colours. If you're looking to get some colours into your makeup kit without buying individual eyeshadows, these are a great option.

I'm pretty weird when it comes to fragrances. I think of scents as colours and the colours have to match/coordinate with what I'm wearing. My standard is Pink Sugar which is obviously a pink scent, then I also use Wild by Ralph Lauren (red) and Fame by Lady Gaga (black). I got a sample of a Tokyomilk Dark scent in with a Sephora order and immediately fell in love - they're dark, mysterious, sexy scents and I've loved all the ones I've picked up so far. Right now I have both Destiny #79 which is a very musty, woody, midnight floral scent (Jasmine, Fresh-Cut Ginger, Honeysuckle, Rose, Davana notes - a black or purple scent) and Tainted Love #62 which is lighter, more fruity (a pink or lime green scent). I carry both in my purse. I love them, I want to have their babies, I want to smell like Tokyomilk Dark forever. 

BCBG's Bon Genre is definitely a pink scent, it's floral and spicy, and very light. It came in one of my Glossyboxes, which is great because I love having the little rollerballs or spritzers to travel with. I forget to put perfume on sometimes so I carry them in my bag and spritz on the train (probably much to the annoyance of my fellow travelers, but whatever).

This year has definitely been a huge development in the haircare department. I have huge, frizzy, poofball hair that has always been hard to manage. I was just flat ironing the hell out of it and hoping for the best or curling and ending up looking like Shirley Temple, without much thought to finding the right products.  I'm glad I made a real effort this year to help my poor poofball head.

The Serge Normant products are amazing, especially the Meta Silk Shampoo and Meta Velour Conditioner. I also really love the Meta Luxe Hair Spray and the Meta Sheer Dry Oil which is great for calming frizzies and flyaways without being too oily. I can't WAIT to try the Meta Revive Dry Conditioner, cuz I think it's going to be a haircare gamechanger. Definitely worth the investment.

At some point I'm going to do a full post about Not Your Mother's, but I cannot rave enough about Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream. It has been quite a search for a curl cream that appeals to my laziness - I want something that I can just put in, scrunch a little, and let air dry and it'll come out with great curls/waves. This is it. I've tried a few other curl creams and the Not Your Mother's is by far the best, plus it smells amazing.

The Lock Luster Oil Treatment also smells amazing and is great for pre-styling heat protection. It gives my hair a nice and sleek look without being too heavy or oily, and I only need a very little bit to get the effect I want.

I posted before about my temporary pink hair which I totally loved, and it was all thanks to Bumble&bumble's Spraychalk. So easy to use, great colour payoff even on my dark hair, and it completed an absolutely perfect look.  I want to try all the other colours. No. I want to dye my fucking hair pink. I will do it one of these days!


And that concludes my 3 part 2013 favourites! Back to your regularly scheduled EQB posts soon!

All That Glitters: RMK Ingenious Cream&Powder Eyes 01*

So I haven't really blogged about makeup yet but I'm going to start doing that more often, because if there's anything essential to being an Evil Queen it's not only having flawless skin but also flawless makeup. I'm a big fan of bold eyes and bold lips, so you probably won't be seeing a lot of "natural look" mumbo jumbo on here. We're going for fierce, exciting makeup that makes you look like you're about to fuck shit up.

I was sent the RMK Ingenious Cream & Powder Eyes 01 by the lovelies at lookfantastic.com, and though I don't ever wear gold, this was still really fun to play around with. The packaging is ADORABLE (the silver box says "open me choose me" all over it, like it's begging for you to pick it up off the shelf in the store and take it home with you), and the two eyeshadows swivel out from each other in a very sleek silver compact. It comes with a brush which you can push out to either side, one for the cream shadow and one for the powder, so you never mix. I really like things that come with brushes. It makes my life easier, and feels like a 2-for-1 deal.

The cream eyeshadow is a very lovely, shimmery gold, and goes on pretty light and sheer. If you want a lot of colour, you have to pack it on, and then it can get a little clumpy. The silver is also very sheer and very glittery, which I do like, and mixes well with the cream for a blended look. I did a very simple look with these - gold all over the lid, silver on the outer V of my eye and under my brow, and winged eyeliner. I think it makes a pretty perfect holiday look, and it's super easy to do with just this one compact. I really enjoyed playing with it, and I think I would look for other colour combinations with this item like the purples or greens, and there's also neutrals - all available on lookfantastic.com! And apologies in advance for my horrible eyebrows that need to be done badly:

Try it out for yourselves and send me looks that you come up with!

x
Christina
* indicates PR sample

Guest Blog from the Good Queen: Battle of the Primers

A few weeks ago Christina asked if I wanted any of the product samples she wasn't going to use. I love makeup, so of course I said yes. I also offered to write this guest post. But be warned: There is no way my writing could ever be as funny as hers, so I won't even try. 

I was really excited about the primer samples Christina gave me. Ordinarily, I am completely devoted to Bare Minerals for makeup and skin care. My skin is sensitive and breaks out at the slightest change, and I find that Bare Minerals products keep everything under as much control as possible. But this week I put aside my trusty BM primers to try Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and Benefit "That Gal" brightening face primer.

I used "That Gal" for two days, and my face exploded. So it's going in the bin thanks to my pesky pores. For those two days, however, I didn't really notice any "brightening," though I think that effect may be more noticeable under a tinted moisturizer or liquid foundation. It kept my face in place for most of the day. To make the comparison fair, I used the Bare Minerals Prime Time foundation primer on the third day. It worked just as well as it always does and, like the Benefit product, kept my makeup in place for most of the day. I really don't think there is any primer in the world that is going to make me look perfect at 8 p.m. when I apply my face at 7 a.m. I always have to touch up in the afternoon.

With the eyeshadow primers I could literally do a side-by-side comparison (see photo above). Urban Decay on the left; Bare Minerals Prime Time eyshadow primer on the right. I used both shimmery and matte eye shadows. The consistency of the Urban Decay is a bit more liquid-y and goes on smoothly. The Bare Minerals is thicker and I feel like I used more of it to get the coverage I wanted. Both products worked perfectly. Unlike the foundation primer, that stuff stayed on my eyelids for 12+ hours -- my eyeshadow looked exactly the same at the end of the day as it did when I applied it. 

Has anyone thought of using eyeshadow primer all over their face? Because I'm starting to think that might be a good idea.

The Good Queen Katherine (sister of The Evil Queen Christina)

VIB status achieved!

So the other day I leveled up at Sephora and became a VIB! I'm actually really stoked about this, because the package not only came with 10% off my next purchase and Free shipping, but also a card for a 45-minute makeover, which I am totally going to cash in for my birthday next month. Playing at Sephora is one of my favourite things to do when I have the time, and I've had pretty good luck with the recommendations they've given me, even at my local store.

I went in there to look into skin exfoliants, especially a sugar body scrub, after reading this article from Huffington Post about SW Basics of Brooklyn (which I still fully intend on trying, because the article was hilarious and convincing). I picked up Fresh's Brown Sugar Body Polish and Sugar Lip Polish, as well as samples of their Umbrian Clay facial exfoliant and Soy Moisturizing Cream. I'm loving pretty much all of it, especially the Sugar Body Polish and the exfoliant, which works much better than the Grand Central Beauty S.M.A.R.T. Skin Perfecting Polisher. That left my skin feeling dry and tight, and Fresh's product doesn't at all. There are lots of little microbeads in there that make me feel like I'm getting a good scrub, and I can feel my skin getting softer already and I've only used it twice. So next time I go back to Sephora I'm going to pick up full sizes of those, for sure, though I'm tempted to try the Facial sugar scrub too! Sugar scrubs all around!

I also picked up a small size of Urban Decay's Naked Skin BB cream to try. I'm a big fan of Urban Decay and have been using their products for a long time, and recently switched over to their Naked Skin foundation. My friend Michaela of A Mane of Her Own uses a BB cream and loves it, so I wanted to give it a go. It gave me a really nice glow and was nice and thin, very light and easy to wear. However, I didn't feel like I got enough coverage without a proper foundation. I think a BB cream like this is great for weekends or lazy days when I don't want to wear a lot of makeup or just need a little SPF, though. Definitely great for the no-makeup makeup look.

First Glossybox delivery!

In anticipation of blogging,  I signed up for three separate beauty box services - Glossybox (reccomended by I Covet Thee ), Julep's monthly box, and Birchbox.

Glossybox was the first to arrive and I AM SO EXCITED! The best thing is getting product testers that I wouldn't know about or have thought to try. I'm especially excited about the Keratin hair treatment cream (which is in my hair as we speak), the lip color from Jelly Pong Pong (a brand that I know of because they work with Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud, who I LOVE), and the facial spray. I'm not really sure how to use it yet, but that's part of the fun of trying it out!

Anatomicals Spray Misty For Me facial spritz / Novex Brazilian Keratin Hair Treatment Cream / Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush / ModelCo Eyeshadow Duo in bronzed goddess / Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Pressed Powder

First Sephora Haul

Since I'm just starting out on this journey of trying new products, I decided to pick up a bunch of tester sizes and boxes to get a feel for everything without spending big money. I need a new mascara since mine flakes a little, and I regularly use Urban Decay foundation, but it's hard to find in stores anymore since I think they're phasing it out in favor of the Naked line. I'm also really excited to try some facey glowy things and the dry shampoo (which was as per the Sephora lady's recommendation). So we'll see how this goes!

From top left:  Benefit Goodtime Gals: Posietint lip & cheek stain, Girl Meets Pearl face brightener, That Gal brightening face primer / Smashbox Photofinish Foundation Primer with SPF 20 / Benefit Ooh La La Lift under eye brightener / Buxom Lash Mascara / Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings: Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer, Primed & Poreless face primer, Better Than Sex mascara, Shadow Insurance eye shadow primer / Oscar Blandi dry shampoo / Bumble and bumble straight blow dry / TokyoMilk Dark eau de parfum Destiny #79 / Urban Decay Naked Skin Liquid Makeup / Soap & Glory A Great Kisser lip balm