Two New Favorite Things: Beautyblender & blinc Mascara

Happy Monday! Hope everyone's week is off to a great start :)

I'm SO excited about these two products I'm telling you about today. Probably my favorite beauty products I've purchased in a while. The first one I'll talk about is the beautyblender.

I first saw beautyblender being used in a YouTube video by stillglamorus. I had never seen it before, so I decided to look it up on Google. I'm really glad I did! I absolutely LOVE this makeup sponge. It's a bit pricey ($34.95), but so far it seems worth the money to me. It works so much better for me than any other makeup sponge I've ever used before. It blends my foundation perfectly! It's just a lot easier to use than those triangluar makeup sponges that I (used to) use. It fits great in your hand and it 's easier to get all those tricky hard-to-reach places on your face. When you order it, it comes with a special cleanser to keep it clean and bacteria-free. It also comes with instructions on how to recycle beautyblender when it's time to get a new one :)

To use, you just pick up some foundation with it and "bounce", or stipple, the sponge on your face to apply/blend your foundation. I promise you, your makeup will look great every time!

I talked about this mascara in a previous post, but I love it so much that I'm gonna talk about it again! blinc mascara was one of the samples in the September Birchbox. I fell in love with it the first time I used it, so much so that I actually shelled out the $25 to buy a full-sized tube. Yeah, a little ridiculous for a mascara, but totally worth it! It's a "tubing" mascara. When you apply it, it puts little tubes around your lashes instead of just painting them. After it dries, it doesn't smudge or flake off. I've noticed that it also makes my lashes look longer. blinc mascara is also very easy to remove. You just use warm water and your fingers (or a washcloth) to just slide the tubes off of your lashes. Simple as that! It's definitely a great mascara for anyone who has sensitive eyes or wears contacts.

Purchase beautyblender here!

Purchase blinc mascara here!

September Birchbox and Random Product Reviews

Happy September everyone! I received my September birchbox in the mail yesterday and I'm super excited about it! I'm really stoked to try all of the samples. Let's see what I got, shall we?

First up we have mascara by blinc. It's a tubing mascara that forms little water resistent "tubes" over your lashes that don't clump, smudge, or flake. I actually used this product this morning and I LOVE it! If I happen to touch my lashes during the day, it doesn't come off onto my fingers like other mascaras do and it makes your lashes look longer. I'm definitely considering buying the full sized mascara.

Next is a perfume by Harvey Prince called Eau Flirt. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like it smells delicious. It's a mix of citrus, jasmine, lavender and pumpkin. Yum!

Incoco Nail Polish Applique. So excited about this! They're the nail polish strips that have been pretty popular lately. I love the design they sent out as the sample. Rawr!

I also got Jouer Lip Enhancer. It's supposed to hydrate, plump, and condition your lips all with one product. My lips could use a little plumping, hydrating, and conditioning :)

And last but not least, the "extra" for the month is Lash Card. It helps keep mascara from getting on your eyeslids while you're putting it on. Pretty cool!

I also have a couple product reviews I'd like to share. First is the Urban Decay De-Slick makeup setting spray. I've been using it for some time now, and I haven't really noticed that it keeps my face from getting oily during the day. I don't know if maybe I'm not using enough or not putting it on at the right time, but it just hasn't done anything significant for me. I'll probably continue to use it until the bottle runs out, but I'm not sure if I'd ever purchase it again.

I also tried smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. It came as a sample with the August birchbox. I really wanted to like it, but like the De-Slick, I didn't notice a big difference using that primer as opposed to the primer I already use. I had pretty high expectations for the product since it costs so much money, but it doesn't do anything for me.

A productt I really liked from the August birchbox was the Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel. It worked really great for my hair, definitely noticed a difference in the amount of frizz I get during the day. I used it on certain layers of my hair that tend to get more frizzy than others, and the results were great. Considering buying a full sized bottle!

Hope everyone's September is going well! Also, any suggestions of things you would like to see on my blog or products you'd like me to review are always greatly appreciated :)

OPI's "Funky Dunkey" & My First Birchbox!

OPI's "Funky Dunkey"

I saw this color in one of the little sale bins at Ulta and I had to get it! My favorite color is purple, and this shade definitely caught my eye. It's like a "Barney purple",  for lack of better terminology. Very fun color and it also looks great with a coat of Sephora by OPI Blasted Silver on top :)

I also bought two polishes from OPI's new Fall 2011 collection, "Touring America", as well as another polish called "Dating A Royal" which is a great shade of blue I just couldn't pass up.

"Honk If You Love OPI", "Get In The Expresso Lane", "Dating A Royal"

I'm really excited to use "Get In The Expresso Lane" which is a very pretty brown. It's actually my first brown polish! Perfect for the upcoming Fall season.

Last week I received my first Birchbox! I was really excited to see what was inside. I'd like to make my monthly Birchbox a regular segment on my blog. I plan on sharing with you guys what I got for the month and also reviews of the products once I've used them. So let's take a look...

Birchbox - August 2011

1. June Jacobs | Papaya Purifying Enzyme Mask: "Powered by natural fruit extracts, this creamy mask dissolves dull cells, then boosts skin with essential oils and antioxidant-rich tea extracts."
2. Ouidad | Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel: "A styling aid with brains! When this non-sticky gel senses heat, it stops hair from expanding. Welcome to frizz-free curls."
3. Shaveworks | The Cool Fix: "At last, a solution to bumps, ingrown, and other shaving and waxing side effects. Bonus: it soothes as it works."
4. smashbox cosmetics | Photo Finish Foundation Primer: "This award winning primer is better than ever, with brand-new packaging. It gives skin a matte, velvet-soft finish and keeps makeup in place all day."

I was really happy to see smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer as one of the samples. I've been wanting to try this product for some time now, but never could think of a good enough reason to spend $36 on a foundation primer. Lucky me!

Reviews to come :)

Birchbox!

A friend of mine told me about something called Birchbox today. I can honestly say I had never heard of it, but I'm really glad I know about it now! Every month you are sent 4-5 samples of high-end beauty products in a very cute and very nicely packaged box. The website says you'll "receive anything from skincare to makeup to cult beauty tools, from well-known brands as well as emerging gems." You pay a monthly subscription fee of $10 (or pay a one time fee of $110 for 12 months, whichever you prefer to do), and you get pretty nice sized samples. And if you get a sample product in the box that you absolutely love, you can buy the full-sized product from the website as well. I'm SO stoked about this! My first Birchbox will ship to me on August 10th, and I'm definitely going to make my monthly Birchbox (and reviews of the sample products) a recurring post on my blog (thanks for the idea, Kristen!).

Interested in Birchbox? Sign up here!

Sephora Haul!

I decided to join my mom and one of her very good friends for brunch at Mon Ami Gabi in Reston Town Center today. Delicious! After brunch, we made our way to Sephora. I hardly ever go to Sephora, and if I do go there it's very rare that I buy anything. Everything is just so expensive! I guess I felt like spending some money today, so I bought myself a few things :)

• Urban Decay De-Slick Oil Control Makeup Setting Spray - I saw this product being used by one of my favorite makeup gurus on YouTube in a recent video of her foundation routine, and I decided to buy it and give it a try. My skin is oily, and, as anyone with oily skin will tell you, it's super frustrating! I can't constantly touch up my makeup all day while I'm at work, it's just not feasible. The box says "De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray uses an innovative oil control system that both absorbs excess sebum and controls surface shine." I'll report back and let you know how it works for me!
• Sephora Hydrating & Smoothing Foundation - This foundation was on sale for $5, so I couldn't pass it up! I've been trying to find a new foundation for myself that I love. I've been using Cover Girl's Tru Blend foundation for a long time, but I'm kind of tired of it. I need something new! I watched a few reviews on YouTube of this foundation and they were pretty much all good ones, so we'll see how it works out.
• Sephora by OPI "Blasted Silver" - So excited to try this! It's one of those crackle nail polishes that seem to be very popular lately. I had a choice between silver or black, but I figured silver would be way more fun.
• Sephora by OPI Nail Stencils - Just a fun little product I thought I would try. Looking forward to some cute nail designs!
• Sephora Marbling and Dotting Nail Tool - I've had the urge to try doing designs on my nails, so I couldn't pass this up when I saw it. Can't wait to try it out :)

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Water Marble Nail Art

I was bored and doing some browsing on YouTube today for tutorials on different kinds of nail art. I came across a woman named Colette who does tutorials on water marble nail art. I can honestly say I've never seen this before! I was really excited to watch the videos and see how it's done. I will definitely be trying this sometime in the bear future :)

You can see more from Colette on her blog, My Simple Little Pleasures, or on her YouTube Channel!

China Glaze - "Shocking Pink"

I decided to go and get a manicure the other day instead of doing my nails myself like I usually do. There's nothing like the feeling of freshly manicured nails! I decided to go with a very bright and fun color for summer. I decided on "Shocking Pink" by China Glaze. I can tell you right now, the picture does this color NO justice. It's so damn bright! I love it so much I might just have to go and buy myself a bottle :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend and happy July!