First Impressions: Influenster Sunkissed VoxBox (2013)

Press Sample 

I was so excited to receive my Influenster Sunkissed VoxBox last week! If you're not sure what Influenster is, check out my previous post about it.  :) I hadn't received a VoxBox in a while, so I was happy to find out I was picked for this one, especially because it seemed like we would be testing a BB cream. And we are!

So this box came with:

1. Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} Skin Perfecting Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15 in Fair to Light - $12.99
2. Dr. Scholl's For Her High Heel Insoles - $10.99
3. SinfulShine with Gel Tech in Sailor's Delight - $2.99
4. Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics - $3.99-$4.99

I'm very excited to try everything out, especially the BB Cream!  The only thing is, I got it in Fair to Light and I'm worried it might be too light.  I would have preferred the Light to Medium version, but oh well, still excited to try it.  I have tried Dr. Scholl's For Her High Heel Insoles for closed toe shoes before, and I really liked them.  The ones I got in this box are for open toed heels or sandals, and I think I really like these too.  SinfulShine is a new product by Sinful Colors that I've also been wanting to try!  I hadn't bought any because I was trying to curb my spending on polish (not so successful xD), so I'm really glad I got one in this box.  I'm not sure why this pink color would be a Sailor's Delight (who names these?), but I like the color!  And last, but not least, Ribbon Elastics!  These have become really popular within the past few months.  I've started seeing them all over the interwebs.  I remember getting something like this in one or two of my Birchbox boxes a while ago.  Those didn't hold my hair well, so I don't have high hopes for these when it comes to holding a ponytail. I think they'll make cute bracelets, though.  We'll see~

Stay tuned for more in-depth reviews of these products!

June 2013 Ipsy Bag

I Bought This 

Cutting it close posting this so late.  It almost isn't June!  Can you believe that?  I can't believe the year is almost half over!

The theme this month was Into the Wild.  But other than the bag, I didn't think the products really fit with this theme.  Anyway, as you can see, the bag is a leopard print with neon yellow accents.  Personally, I'm not a fan of this bag and I feel like I'm the only one, lol.  I've watched a few review videos and everyone seems to loooove this bag.  I like leopard print and I like neon, but I just don't seem to like them together.  Oh well.

My bag came with 5 items this month: J.cat false eyelashes, a Chella highlighter pencil, a J.cat glitter cream palette, a Starlooks lip pencil, and a NYX Mosaic Powder.  The eyelashes I got are in style 747M and are quite natural looking, which I like.  I don't wear false lashes all that much, but when I do, I do prefer natural looking ones.  

The Chella highlighter pencil came in the shade Ivory Lace.  It seems like everyone who received this in their bag got the same shade.  But I checked the Chella website and they do have their highlighter pencil in two other shades, one called Cinnamon, for dark skin tones, and one called Latte, for medium skin tones.  I'm not really a fan of beauty subscriptions sending face products that have to match the color of your face.  I know we filled out a survey to let them know what skin tone we are, but that doesn't mean it's going to match us because we have different undertones.  Anyway, back on topic...The next product is...

My least liked product.  This is the J.cat Sparkling Cream Palette.  I got the one in Volta, and would have preferred the other more neutral one.  But even if I had received the more neutral one, I would probably still not like this product.  When I first saw this, I thought it was cream glitter eyeshadow palette, but actually, the company cautions against using this around the eye.  

After swatching it, I definitely recommend keeping it away from the eyes.  Some of the glitters are quite big and might cause major problems were they to fall into your eyes.  These were kind of dry when I swatched them, and they became messy quickly.  You have to dig past the top layer of glitter to actually get any creamy texture.  This product is basically a clear gel with glitter, and it did not apply well with a finger.  Most of it stayed on my finger and did not transfer to my hand, where I wanted it.  I did the swatches above with Q-Tips and had the same experience, a lot of the product stayed on the Q-Tip instead of transferring to my arm.  I think the second and third glitters swatched pretty well, but overall it's very disappointing product.   I don't know what to do with this one, but I know I'm probably not going to use it.  :(

And just wanted to show that I hit pan already, from just swatching, lol.

Another product I received was the Starlooks lip pencil in Bare.  I know other people got some other colors, like a pink and a coral, which were pretty, but I'm happy I got this one.  It's a rosy nude color, like a my lips but better color.  I've been looking for a lip pencil like this, so I'm really excited to give this a try.

And my last product is the NYX Mosaic Powder in Truth.  I numbered it so you know which swatch goes with what.  Honestly, I was hoping for a NYX blush instead.  I'm not a fan of shimmery bronzer and this one looks like it's going to be orangey on my skin.  But I'll give it a try and see how it goes...

Even though this bag had some good products, it's a bit disappointing compared to the past few bags I've received recently.  Still I think it's a great value for the $10 I paid for this bag.

Also, I wanted to say sorry it's been 3 weeks since I last posted.  I wasn't feeling well for a while, and I've found out that I have a serious health issue.  So I'm dealing with that now, but I'm still going to try and post at least once a week...hopefully more!  Until next time~

SWATCH: Zoya - Blu

I Bought This 

Third time's the charm!  The first time I tried to swatch this, the pictures came out tinted green. >.<;  The second time, fuzzies (from I don't know where) seemed to be get stuck in the polish on my fingers while I was applying top coat.  That was frustrating, but it finally looks like it's going to work out!

I received Zoya Blu in my May ipsy bag and was really happy because it was one of the colors I've wanted since the Lovely collection was released.

I feel like I've had a big influx of light blues like this to my polish collection lately, but that doesn't stop this from being a pretty color.  Even though it's not that unique of a color, I still like it.  Application was okay.  I had a bit of a problem with streaking and the polish did not self-level, but I fixed that with a coat of Seche Vite (my mani saver!).  I used 2 coats of polish and 1 coat of polish for the swatch.

 

May 2013 Ipsy Bag

I Bought This 

It's Ipsy time!  May's theme is Spring Fling.  The bag's print doesn't really scream "Spring Fling" to me...seems more of a summer kind of design, but whatevs.  It's still a nice design.  Love the colors together!

My bag came with 6 items this month: 5 regular products and 1 bonus product from Urban Decay!  I got the Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Luminizing Body Butter, Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Roll-On Perfume, Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Pink, Zoya Nail Polish in Blu, Yaby Concealer refill in Buff, and Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow in Intergalactic.  I think this was another great bag!  Ipsy is constantly stepping it up, and I'm happy to be subscribed with them.  I was especially excited to see a full-size Zoya polish in my bag!  And it was a color I'd been wanting!  

As with last month, not all bags were the same.  In fact, this month there seems to be more of a variety in products and colors.  This seems to be ipsy's attempt at personalizing subscribers' bags with their ipsyMatch.  The other products included: Anastasia Mini Clear Brow Gel, Pacifica Bronzing Body Butter, Macadamia Hair Healing Oil Treatment, Nume Finishing Serum, Mirabella Finishing Sheers Lipstick, St. Tropez One Night Only Instant Glow Body Lotion, Mirabella Perfecting Powder, Mirabella Shimmerati Glimmer Gloss, and Mirabella Lip Lustre Liner.  Also, there were different colors for the polishes (from the Lovely collection) and a different scent for the perfume.  Although I'm quite happy with what I got in my bag, I would have loved to have received the Macadamia Hair Healing Oil Treatment.  I have been wanting to try that brand for a while now, but it's quite pricey in my books...so I've been putting it off for another time.  Oh well~ no biggie. 

For swatches of the lip gloss and eyeshadow, click through. :)

SquareHue May 2013: Madonna Collection Swatches

I Bought This 

Sorry about the delay!  I'm still getting used to the camera I'm borrowing.  I meant to get this post up around the time I received my SquareHue box, but the first swatch photos I took with the new camera came out crappy.  So I'm adjusting and playing with some settings, and I'm hoping the photos come out alright from now on!

Today I have swatches of May's SquareHue box.  Now I know why there wasn't any pink in the Bloom Collection...they were saving it for this month!  The Madonna Collection consists of 3 different shades of pink with 3 different finishes.

Okay, I'm not sure if this month's polishes really have names or not.  As you can see, the first line of each polish spells out Happy Mother's Day!  But they also have a second word that I thought was the finish of the polish, because it matched.  But maybe it's part of the name?  So they would be: Happy creme, Mother's pearl, and Day glow...?

First up is Happy [creme], which is a Barbie pink creme.  It reminds me of OPI Pink Friday, and I may do a comparison post later.  The formula on this one was a bit thick and application was a bit streaky.  I used 3 coats of polish and 1 coat of Seche Vite for the swatches below.

Mother's [pearl] is a pretty color, but it's my least favorite this month, mostly due to the fact that it's a pearl/frost.  I am not a fan of polishes with this type of finish because they usually end up a brushstroke-y mess.  This one was not too bad, but there were definitely visible brushstrokes.  I tried to use Seche Vite to smooth it out and cover up the brushstokes, and that kind of worked.  But still doesn't look great to me.  Other than that, the formula was not bad and I used 2 coats of polish and 1 coat of Seche Vite for the swatches below.

Last, but not least, is Day [glow], a raspberry crelly with a waxy finish.  I think the "glow" is because this a bit bright and would be great for summer!  This is my favorite of the three!  The formula was great and it was a dream to apply!  I applied two coats for the swatches below, no top coat.

This was my second box from SquareHue, and I'm still testing out the waters.  I haven't completely liked either of the boxes I received, so I'm still on the fence about keeping this subscription...especially since you don't know what you're getting until you get it.  Can't wait for June's box!

 

#nailartapr

I Bought This 

Sorry for the lack of posts!  I lost my camera battery and charger. :(  I've been looking everywhere, but I can't remember where I might have left it.  I'm going to borrow someone's camera or use my phone, until I find it (or maybe buy a new battery...).  But for now, here's the nail art I did in April for @californails' challenge:

Click for the nail art!

April 2013 Ipsy Bag

I Bought This

Sorry for not posting all this week!  My dog started to act unlike herself on Saturday, so we took her to the vet and I've been nursing her back to health.  It took a few days, but she's back to her old self now! :)

So today I have my April Ipsy bag!  It's been a while since I posted one of these...I should really try to be more consistent with my Ipsy bag posts considering they come every month, haha.

This bag's theme was Pretty in Pink.  It came in a white bag with a hot pink zipper.  Honestly, I'm not a fan of the bag.  I just know it's going to get filthy if I use it, so I'm probably going to end up not using it at all.  I think they should gone with a pink bag, since the theme is Pretty in Pink!

So this bag came with a long awaited product!  I always see requests for this product whenever I stop by the Ipsy Facebook page.  And that product is...

...BLUSH!  Personally, I didn't mind either way that there wasn't any blush yet.  However, I really didn't want to get another eyeliner, so I'm glad there wasn't one in this bag.  I feel like a lot of the previous bags had eyeliner, and you can only use so many at one time.  I don't like having a lot because eyeliner dries up.  Eyeshadow, on the other hand, lasts longer, so I don't mind getting one or two in each bag.

Anyway, this bag came with 4 items: Sation nail polish in Love at First Byte, Mica Beauty shimmer powder in Earth, Big Sexy Hair Powder Play, and the long awaited blush by Bombshell Cosmetics (in Sweet Cheeks).  Not all bags were the same this month, as some people got an eyeshadow duo by Two Cosmetics instead of the Mica Beauty one and some received Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal instead of the Powder Play.  I kind of wanted to try the Soy Renewal, but I don't mind getting Powder Play. I can always use more volume in my hair!  Also, the nail polish and blush came in two different colors.  The other nail polish color was in Of Corset I'll Call You and the other blush was in Beach Please.

At first glance, the blush I got in Sweet Cheeks looked like it would be a nice, wearable almost matte pink, with maybe a slight sheen or shimmer.

But when swatched, it's a different story:

It has quite a strong sheen, making it come off as shiny when swatched.  It's actually quite a bit more shiny than what the picture is showing.  But it is a nice shade of pink, so I will still give it a try on my cheeks and see how it looks.  Hopefully it will look alright and be usable as a nice blush. :)

The Mica Beauty shimmer powder in Earth seemed like it might make a good all over lid color, but then I swatched it:

As you can see, the color is barely darker than my skin.  It's also quite sparkly, so I probably won't be wearing this all over the lid now.  I think this would be good to pop on the middle of the lid though, for a bit of dimension.  This was swatched without primer, so maybe it will be more wearable with primer.

All in all, a pretty good bag.  I'm looking forward to trying the products.  I already had the polish that came in my bag, as well as the other polish, because I bought the Sation Miss Antoinette collection a few weeks ago.  It's in my "to swatch" pile, and I'm hoping to get it up within the next week or two since it is a Spring collection!  Keep an eye out for that! ;)

Julep Maven: April 2013 Classic with a Twist (Avery, Jackie) Swatches

I Bought This

I veered away from It Girl this month because I only liked 2 out of 3 of the colors.  Instead, I opted for Classic with a Twist, because I liked both colors and I wanted to try the cuticle serum.  And then I added on the 2 colors from It Girl that I did like, haha.  I'm quite happy with these colors because I don't really have brights and these will be great for the summer season. 

Classic with a Twist came with 2 polishes and the Nail and Cuticle Serum, plus a rock candy lollipop as an extra little something.  The 2 polishes in my box are Avery and Jackie, both cremes and both seem perfect for the upcoming summer!

Click for swatches.

Wishlist Wednesday (05)

Dun da dun!  Time for another Wishlist Wednesday!  I haven't done one of these in a while, but things have been piling up on my wishlist, so I thought I'd share a few.

source

I have wanted these perfumes since seeing MissChievous's I ♥ Spring tag video.  She had a set that I'm guessing is a press sample, because these have not been released yet.  I haven't been able to find out much information on these, but it seems like these are supposed to come out this month.  I hope they do release a set like the one Julia has because I'm interested in all 4 of these scents!  

I've been really into fragrances lately, and another one I've really been lemming is this one by Marchesa.  I think the bottle is just so chic and elegant, and it smells amazing!

I haven't been able to find the China Glaze Avant Garden collection yet!  I haven't seen it at the Ulta or Sally Beauty around me.  I wonder if they've already sold out.  :(  There were 3 colors I really wanted: Keep Calm, Paint On, Fancy Pants, and Dandy Lyin'.  I hope I can find them soon!

I've been seeing Barry M Gelly nail paint in Lychee on several different blogs, and have wanted it ever since. It looks like the perfect nude polish and I love the high-shine finish of the Gelly line.  I wish this had been available while I was in London in January, but I guess it's a new release as part of the Spring colors...?  I hope to get it somehow.  And that leads to my next lemming...

I really want a nail mail buddy!  I know it's a bit harder to mail international, but I'd prefer an international buddy because we'd be able to send polishes not available in our own country (for instance, Barry M ;P).  If you're interested in being my nail mail buddy, leave a comment below or email me at fairytalecharmblog [at] gmail [dot] com.  This will be my first time doing nail mail, and I'm quite excited!

Squarehue April 2013: Bloom Collection Swatches

I Bought This

SquareHue is a nail polish subscription box, like Julep Maven, except everyone gets the same colors and the colors are limited edition.  They are exclusive to that month and you can't get those colors any other way except through that box.  The box is $21 per month and a portion of your subscription is donated through their HueGive program, which is currently focusing on human trafficking.  The donations go towards prevention awareness, protection of trafficked victims, and prosecution of human traffickers.

After seeing all the great March SquareHue boxes, I was really tempted to sign up...so I did.  So I have swatches of my first ever SquareHue box today!  When I saw the theme of this month's SquareHue box, I was expecting at least 1 pink polish, so it was quite surprising to find none when I opened the box.  Nevertheless, these colors are still very Spring-y!

Click for swatches. :)

SWATCH: L.A. Girl 3D Holographic - Purple Effect

I Bought This

So here's swatches of the other L.A. Girl Holo that I got!  Finally!

#nailartmar

I Bought This 

At the beginning of March, I decided to participate in a nail art challenge that was hosted by @californails on Instagram. I thought I'd share them here, so they can be all in one place!  And so I can tell you a little bit about how I created them.

This is a little bit image heavy, so I'm going to use a jump.  Click to see the nail art! :)

Complying with New FTC Guidelines

Unfortunately, I've been lacking in beauty posts this week because I wanted to sit down and read the new FTC Guidelines to make sure I comply and don't get in trouble down the line.  And I haven't had time until now!

I found some helpful links through Liquid Jelly that made the new guidelines easier to understand.  Basically, the FTC wants bloggers to clearly disclose how they obtained the product that's in the post.  To do this, a lot of bloggers seem to be using buttons at the top of their posts, and I think that is one of the best ways...so I'm going to do that too.

I Bought This Pretty self explanatory.  Spent my own money to buy the products shown in the post.

Press Sample Products in the post were sent for consideration, but any opinions stated are mine and 100% honest.

Sponsored I think this one is pretty self explanatory too.  If a company sponsors a post, this will be at the top.  I haven't done any of these, but if it ever happens...I'm prepared, lol.

Affiliate Link I don't have any of these either, but I thought I'd add it in just in case I ever use some in the future.  If this button is present, then the post contains advertorial links and if a purchase is made through that link, I will receive a small percentage or amount from the total of that purchase.  Also, I will label these links with "(ad)" next to it in the post text.

Referral Link I thought I'd add this, even though I don't usually post referral links in a post unless it's a new one.  If you sign up through this link, I gain something (different depending on the company).  All of my referral links are in my sidebar, clearly labeled as referral links.

I got button ideas from Liquid Jelly and Phyrra.  I learned how to make these text buttons from 15 Minute Beauty.

SWATCH: Julep - Joy

Just a short little post about my add-on from my March Julep Maven box today!  This is Joy, a dusty mauve creme polish, and she was part of the Boho Glam box for March.  I loved this color after seeing Julep's swatches, but didn't love the other color in Boho Glam, so I passed on that box.  But I couldn't pass on Joy, so here she is!

  

in the shade & in the sun

And with a matte top coat on middle and pinky fingers:

  

in the shade & in the sun

I used 2 coats of polish for the swatches above.  I also used a glossy top coat for the first two pictures.  This one applied really well with no streaks!  I'm very happy with it, and it will be a great work-safe addition to my collection. :)