BirchBox: September 2013

Hey beauties! It's that time of the month! I look forward to my beauty susbcriptions every month. 

RUFFIAN 

Nail lacquer - Hedge Fund

What: Mettallic green from the fashion lable's first lacquer collection. 

 

This color is beautiful. Love the handle, it's different and makes it easier to open the nail polish. I will be using it soon and posting pictures on my Instagram: Samaly_

Dr. Lipp

Original Nipple Balm for Lips

What: Originally made for nursing moms, this ultra hydrating balm is a makeup artist fave. 

   

A nipple balm used to moisturize your lips? Looking forward to it. 

Dr. Jart+

Premium BB Cream SPF 45+

What: A cult favorite, this all in one provides light coverage, antiaging benefits, and mega SPF. 

   

Sounds great, except it's no where near my color. It's at least 4 shades lighter than my skin tone. Maybe it will closely match my skin tone in the winter as I get lighter. 

amika

Blow Up Spray

What: Lighyweight mist that adds lift and major shine for the perfect blowout. 

  

Eyeko

Black Magic Mascara

What: Water-resistant formula that curls, adds volume, and has major staying power. 

  

 

I'm not too excited about this product as I already have about 4 mascaras. But I will deffinately be using it. Just wish I would receive different products from what I already own. 

Thank you for reading my blog! 

BirchBox: http://birch.ly/14I0WYp

Love & Positivity

- S

Haul: Ulta, M•A•C & Sephora

Just when you think you have enough lippies, M•A•C releases a Retro Matte Collection. <3! I love the retro matte formula (first introduced to me in the Rihanna collection). The colors in this collection are absolutely gorgeous! 

My lighting doesn't do these colors justice. I am mainly obsessed with Flat Out Fabulous (who isn't). It is a must have from this collection. Fixed On Drama is the perfect fall color. Plum is a fall/winter staple color for me. 

Ulta:

I've been hearing alot of good things about this product so I decided to give it a try. My face is a bit on the rough side simply because I wasn't worried about taking care of it in the past, so I hope that this improves the texture of my skin :]

The serum looks a little pinkish and slightly glossy almost glittery, but once you work it in it is completely clear and absorbes pretty quickly. I love the feel of it, it's light, and doesn't feel sticky so that's already a plus. 

The Lorac Pro Pallete is a must have! It comes with 16 beautiful colors, 8 matte and 8 shimmer. This pallete is perfect for travel. It's slim and light weight, and has plenty of colors to choose from. You always want to minimize as much as you can when traveling, less hassle. 

I didn't swatch the colors just because I didn't want to mess them up until I was ready to use them ( I'm weird like that). But I did take some close ups so that you can get a better look at them. 

The pallete comes with a free Behind The  Scenes Eye Primer. I have two because with every Lorac purchase you get one (or if you spend 25+ on Lorac products, I forgot -__-). 

Sephora:

Sephora now offers a Color IQ service which finds your perfect shade match so that you're not walking around wearing the wrong foundation color (genius!). Finding the right foundation color is a huge problem of mine. For this reason I don't usually shop for foundations at drugstores because they don't have testers or beauty consultants to help you.  They used a camera to take photos of my skin, and then provided me with my exact color IQ skintone number. You type this number into a computer at the store or at home and it will give you a list of foundations that match your skin color perfectly. You can narrow your search down easily by selecting what type of skin you have (dry, oily…), formula you want (liquid, powder…), if you want SPF, etc…and it will show you your best match.

I purchased the Hourglass Immaculate Powder Foundation in the color Beige based on my color IQ number. It's a bit on the pricy side but I believe that you get what you pay for, and with foundations I don't like to go cheap especially with my acne prone skin. I will post a review soon on this product. 

I also purchased the Photo Finish (more than primer) Blemish Control (salicylic acid treatment) by Smashbox. You can pretty much tell why I bought this product (Acne, acne, acne :[ ). 

Thank you for reading my blog! Hope you have a beautiful day!

Love & positivity 

- S

Sigma Dry N Shape Review

Hi Beauties! It's been some time since I've posted anything. I started school recently and it has been taking up a lot of my time. But lets get right to it…

I finally bought Sigmas Dry N Shape for my makeup brushes. 

I wanted the Dry N Shape for the longest time, they had it on sale so I decided to go for it and I love it! It is such a hassle washing my brushes, especially for me that I have acne prone skin so I wash my brushes daily. I would wash my brushes,  leave them to dry overnight, and they would still be a bit wet in the morning (Annoying), and they would also be a bit out of their original shape. 

The Dry N Shape says that it will dry and shape your brushes in 4-6 hrs and It is not lying! I don't have to worry about them not being completely dry and not being able to use them in the morning, and the shape is as good as new (Back to they way it was before I used it for the first time). 

With it also came a mini spa glove. You get it whenever you spend $30+ online. (Bought this some time ago not sure if the offer still stands). 

This product is awesome. Immediately after using it I wondered where it has been my whole life! Before this I use to use my hand but I find the Spa Glove a million times better and I plan to purchase the full version. 

Have a beautiful day!

Love & Positivity

- S

DIY: Depot Your Lipsticks

I'm an organize freak. And as I've mentioned before I like to be able to visually see what I have so that I can use things more. So I decided to depot my lipsticks (except for the ones with special edition packaging such as my Marilyn Monroe and Archie's Girls lippies. Below I give you a step by step as clearly as I possibly could of how I did it so that you can too if you're interested. Have fun! 

Materials:

Alcohol 91%

Cotton balls

Bead landing craft organizer from micheals. 

Wilton 9in Tapered Spatula also from Micheals 

Clear tape 

Blow dryer

Hand Sanitizer

Clean towel

A glove

Cosmetic sanitizer whipes (purchased at IMATS)

Little plastic, I guess you would say spatula. (Purchased at IMATS)

Labels 

Q-Tips

These are the materials that I used, you can use whatever works for you. 

Make sure that your hands are clean before you start. 

Wet cotton ball with alcohol and sanitize your spatula ( or whatever your using to dig out your lipstick), and the container. 

I sanitized my lipstick with my cosmetic sanitizer whipes, but you can dip your lipstick into a bowl of alcohol for a few seconds and let it air dry. 

Use the spatula to cut off your lipstick.  

With the tip of the spatula dig out the rest from the tube. 

Put on and sanitize your glove. 

Use your thumb to a smush down the lipstick spreading it around the container. 

Heat the lipstick holding the blow drier a few inches away from the container. 

You'll have some gaps on around the bottom…

Once it begins to liquify a bit use your spatula to fill them in. CAUTION: The container will be super hot. 

Scrap of the remains on the spatula back in the container. And re-heat. 

Once it's pretty liquidy,  I lightly tap the container down  on the table so that the top surface becomes perfectly flat. (Again the container will be super hot)

*Be careful not to tilt the container before it dries, otherwise it will shift and you will loose the flat surface* 

Once it's dry, use a Q-tip( dipped in alcohol) to clean any imperfections. 

Remove the label from the lipstick using a blade (or what you have). 

Instead of placing it directly on the container, I place it on a label first and write down the date that I purchased it because as you know makeup expires. Put a clear tape over your label to seal and protect it. 

And there you have it. How I depotted all of my lippies.

These took forever to do but it was worth it. Now my lipsticks are better organized, I can actually see the color instead of trying to picture it, and I can carry it easily in my purse. But the best part is that I can turn in  my empty containers to the back 2 M•A•C program and get free lippies!

 (For every six empty container that you turn in, you get a free lipstick) <3

Let me know what you guys think!

Love & Positivity

- S