SWATCH+REVIEW: Dare to Wear - Smokin' Diva

Dare to Wear is a new-to-me brand.  I haven't really heard anything about this brand, and haven't seen it featured on any of the polish blogs I follow.  Also, when you google swatches, there are very few to find.  It's sold at my local nail polish place, but I usually just walk past the display and straight to the OPI polishes.  However, during my last trip there, I decided to check out the Dare to Wear display.  I'm glad I did!  They have some great colors.  I limited myself to two, just to try it out and see how the formula is.

The first one I'm going to show you is called Smokin' Diva.  I was debating how to describe this color for a while, but finally decided that it looks like a taupe-y foil with copper shimmer.  It is GORGEOUS!  I don't have anything like it, and I tried to take pictures to showcase the shimmer.

sunlight

close up of bottle (sunlight)

indoors, natural light

I was a little worried about application, because the brush is pretty small.  From past experience, a small brush does not apply polish well...at least for me.  I usually end up with streaky polish or patchiness.  But application was actually really good!  No streaks, and it applied pretty opaquely with just one coat.  It was fully opaque with two coats.

I am totally going to check out more colors from this brand, and I really recommend their polishes!  If you get a chance, try one out!  Unfortunately, I'm not sure where you can get your hands on them.  I'd say the best chance is to check your local beauty supply store.

Have you heard of/tried this brand?  What do you think of it?

REVIEW: Jewelmint.com

Jewelmint.com is a jewelry subscription service created by a company called Beachmint.  They teamed up with Cher Coulter and Kate Bosworth to create the jewelry seen on the site.  You've probably heard all about it, because it seems to be a big thing right now with a bunch of YouTube gurus.  But in case you don't, I'll explain a bit about how it works.

Basically, you fill out a profile type thing, so that they get a sense of your style.  From that, they try to pick out pieces of jewelry each month that they think will match you.  Their picks will then show up in your showroom for the month.  There is no charge to join or to view your showroom.  However, once you purchase your first piece, you will be charged every month UNLESS you log in and click "skip this month" within the first 5 days of the month.  The price for each piece (whether it be a ring, bracelet, necklace, or a set) is $29.99, with free shipping. They do have discount codes, but I've only seen codes for discounts on your first piece.  Honestly, I think $29.99 is a bit pricey for the jewelry they have.

Anyway, on to my experience.  I was a member of Jewelmint for a few months and hadn't made a purchase.  The jewelry that showed up in my showroom didn't really appeal to me.  But there was one necklace, the Astoria necklace, that I was eyeing, because I've been really into statement necklaces lately.  I passed on it though, because like mentioned $29.99 seemed pricey to me.  But then I saw it on several people, and I really liked it...so when it appeared again, I ordered it.

I attempted to place the order three times, but it kept giving me an error when I tried to checkout.  And everytime, the item was taken out of my cart, so I had to add it again.  By the fourth try, the Astoria necklace had sold out.  I was fine with that, and told myself I'd try again if it was ever in stock again.  The next day, it was back in stock!  So I attempted to order it again, with a 50% off code, and it went through without a hitch.  That was on a Thursday, and I received my necklace on Monday.  Shipping was really fast!

It came packaged in a black bubblewrap envelope, with the Jewelmint logo on it.  The box that holds the jewelry is really nice.  I would say it's made of pretty sturdy material and has a magnetic closure.  Jewelmint boxes actually come in two colors, mint green and black.  I was really hoping to get the mint green one, and I did! ^^  The color is pretty, and I like mint green in general.

Anyway, the packaging was pretty, but so was the necklace.  The Astoria necklace is pretty weighty, but not heavy.  It was a little shorter than I expected, and wore more like a choker if closed in the hole it's supposed to be closed at.  I didn't really like it that way, but there is an extension chain, so I wear it closed on the extension chain instead.  I have already worn this for a night out, and I love it!

Unfortunately, I did have some trouble with Jewelmint.  Remember those three times I got an error message? Well, it turns out that, even though the orders didn't go through, I still got charged!  I tried contacting Jewelmint through their toll free number, because I wanted it taken care of right away.  I was on hold for two rounds of elevator music before taken to an answering machine that said to leave a message.  =.=;;  I have never been taken to an answering machine when trying to talk to customer service during normal business hours.  So then I tried their chat service, and nothing.  I waited, but it took me back to the initial screen after a while.  No luck with those two, so I figured I would have to get over wanting an immediate response and just live with waiting for them to email me back.  So I emailed Jewelmint, and am waiting for a response/refund for those excess charges.  I'll let you know how it goes~

Overall, shopping on Jewelmint was not too bad of an experience.  Checkout is an easy process (except with the errors), and shipping was fast.  Would I order again?  Not sure...maybe.  Maybe not.  We'll see how it goes with customer service first, I guess.

Have you ordered anything from Jewelmint?  If so, how was your experience?
If you're not a member and would like to help me, please leave click my invite link: http://jmnt.me/hFlad6 ...I'll get 1 credit when you make your first purchase.  You do not need an invite to join Jewelmint.

EDIT: I just read reviews on Jewelmint's Facebook page, and others have had similar experiences as me, with being charged multiple times and also horrible customer service experiences (i.e. not being able to get through AT ALL, waiting for an email response forever and not getting one, etc.).  But most people seem to have had a positive experience...

Wishlist Wednesdays (01)

I was going to do some nail polish swatches yesterday, but the sun didn't want to play.  It was actually overcast for a good part of the day, and very muggy.  And then, it rained!  Not typical weather for this time of the year...o_o;;

I'll try to get some swatches up later this week, but for now, here are just a couple of lemmings I've had this past week or so...

color club in noveau vintage (fall 2011)

I don't own any polishes from Color Club, or any polishes that could possibly be a dupe for this.  It is a gorgeous metallic golden bronze color with green and golden shimmer.  Just look at the swatches here and here.  I think I'm going to definitely try to get my hands on this and make it my first Color Club polish!

This was the one that really stood out to me from Color Club's Fall 2011 collection, Back to Boho, but I also like Blue-topia, Earthy Angel, and Nomadic in Nude.

sleek eyeshadow palette in oh so special (le)

I've heard a lot of good things about Sleek and have wanted to try them out for a while.  The only thing stopping me from trying their products is availability.  Sleek is a UK brand so shipping to the U.S. is quite expensive. :(  But I think I'm going to give in for this palette, and get this for my birthday later this month.  This palette is extremely wearable, and the colors are gorgeous.  From swatches and reviews, this palette seems like a great buy!  I'd also like to try out their other palettes, lipsticks, and blush, but that'll be for another time...haha.

What have you added to your wishlist recently?

HAUL: Ulta, Target, Hautelook & nail polish

Hello~ First, I want to say welcome to my new followers. Hope you enjoy reading~ ^^

Today, I just have a haul post for you.  These are just some things I've purchased in the past month.

ulta eyeshadow & butter LONDON no more waity katie set

I bought these items at the beginning of the month.  Something you should know about me is that I am quite the Anglophile.  I'm very interested in British history and the monarchy...just 'cause.  So when I found out butter LONDON had come out with a nail polish named after Kate Middleton, after she had gotten engaged, I had to have it.  I mostly wanted it for the name, but the gorgeous color helped too.  I debated whether or not to order it online, but decided against since it would come out to $20+ with shipping.  And I'm glad I waited!  Because Ulta began to carry the butter LONDON brand, and though they didn't have No More Waity Katie in the beginning, they did end up getting it.  I only had to pay the $15+tax.  butter nail polishes are regularly $14, but No More Waity Katie only came in this set (no individuals) for a dollar more.  Eh, no big deal.  So I got it! :)  I had gone to Ulta for the sole purpose of getting butter LONDON's No More Waity Katie, but ended up with an eyeshadow cuz they were on sale for $2.

jesse's girl nail polish in julieg

Finally got this nail polish (from Rite Aid)!  I've been wanting this ever since I saw it on Julie G's channel.  It is a gorgeous coral color and great for summer.  Also, in case you didn't know, Julie is teaming up with Jesse's Girl to create her own nail polish collection!  I can't wait, cuz Julie's a nail polish lover (like me) and I know she's going to come up with some amazing colors!  (Not like I need more polish, lol.)

Now that it's back-to-school season, Target's got a lot of goodies!  These goodies include a bunch of ELF makeup and palettes that they don't normally carry.  I ended up with these 3 palettes.  The Neutral Eyeshadow Palette is one I've been wanting since it first came out, but I didn't want to pay for shipping.  I'm glad Target has it, even if for a limited time.  I hope Target gets more ELF makeup, like the mineral line.  There are some items I'd like to try, but I just don't want to pay for shipping, lol.

china glaze midtown magic, skyscraper, and cg in the city and essie tart deco

I stopped by a nail polish store this past weekend, and they had the new China Glaze Metro collection!  Only these 3 really stood out to me from this collection, so that's all I got.  And then, I saw that they also had Essie Tart Deco, which I've wanted since seeing a few gurus wearing it.  It's a great summer color!  I can't wait to wear it.  Swatches of all  polishes to come soon~

And finally, my Rock and Republic eyeshadows that I ordered from Hautelook finally came in!

rock&republic eyeshadows in chronic, wicked, and revenge

The shadows came in super nice packaging, and the eyeshadows itself are really nice.  I showed my Mom, and she really liked them too.  She told me to buy her some, if they're on Hautelook again, haha.  I'll probably buy more for myself too.  There are other colors that I wanted, but I figured I should start small, to see if I like them (since these are my first from Rock&Republic).

Swatches of everything coming soon~!

FOODIE FILES: The Grilled Cheese Truck

Last night I was watching an episode of Unwrapped, on the Food Network, and the topic was midnight snacks. The Grilled Cheese truck was featured on it, and I knew I just had to try it!  So I looked up their schedule, and found out where they would be tonight.  Then, I went truck chasing!  Found the Grilled Cheese Truck with a pretty long line, at Cal Tech.

Didn't keep track of how long we waited, but it was a while.  We ended up ordering and sharing the Fully Loaded, a Brie Melt, a S'Mores Melt, and tater tots.

The Fully Loaded, also known as the Mac and Rib Melt, was the best out of all the things we ordered.  It's Mac and Cheese with pulled pork.  I thought the pulled pork was really yummy and the best part of the sandwich. ^^

The next sandwich is the Brie Melt with smoked turkey.  It has brie, a fig paste, almonds, and of course, the turkey.  Honestly, I didn't really like this one.  I usually love brie, so thought I'd love this...but something about it just didn't mesh to me.  Having the fig paste in it was interesting though.  It gave the sandwich a little sweetness that makes it something unique.

The last sandwich we got was a dessert one, the S'Mores Melt with bacon.  It's made of marshmallow cream, nutella, crumbled graham cracker, and bacon.  For those who have never tried bacon with something sweet, you must!  It's actually really good.  Next time you're having bacon for breakfast, try dipping it in maple syrup.  Super yummy!  Anyway, back to the sandwich...this one was okay.  You could mostly taste the nutella and the bacon...there was lots of bacon.  But it was still good.

Overall, this was okay.  I liked the Fully Loaded, but could live without the other two.  Also, I just feel like...it's grilled cheese, and I could make that, lol.  So, I probably won't be chasing this truck again... 

NOTD: Whimsical Gradient

I've been wanting to try gradient nails for a while, so I decided to try it today.  My manicure had gotten messed up already, so I was already thinking of doing a new manicure.  Then, when I was looking at my polish stash, I saw OPI DS Coronation and thought a silver gradient would look nice with the pale pink I had on.  So, I just used my old mani as my base, and did the gradient by sponging OPI DS Coronation on top.  Voila!  My gradient nails:

  

I think they came out pretty well, and I'll definitely be doing more gradients in the future.  The ring finger got a bit messed up, so I just did a full coat of OPI DS Coronation on that finger.  Closer look:

What do you think?

I think they look a bit whimsical, and kind of reminds me of fairy dust.

P.S. I thought of maybe doing a tutorial on this.  Let me know if you want one~ :)

BIRCHBOX: July 2011

So, I think most people know about Birchbox by now, but just in case you don't, I'll try my best to explain. :)  Birchbox is a subscription service.  You sign up and fill out a profile, and they send you a box filled with 4-5 deluxe samples of products.  Birchbox does cost $10 a month, though I think you may get a discount if you subscribe for the year.  The profile helps them choose products that will work for you, so not everyone will get the same items.  I believe the purpose of Birchbox is to give you the chance to try out different high end products for a longer time frame than just a regular sample.  Also, the samples are pretty good sized samples.

For July, Birchbox teamed up with Cynthia Rowley, who picked out some of her favorite things to include in the box.  So, here's what I got in my Birchbox this month:

in the box

closer look: fruit&nut bar, ahava mineral hand cream, zoya polish in shay, purity facial cleanser, redken shine flash 02 glistening mist

the card it comes with, listing & explaining products

the box came with this pretty wrapper this month

usually it's just the cardboard box, which is nice on its own too :)

and a little extra pic:

these were the products in my june birchbox

I'll be honest, my first Birchbox in March was a bit of a disappointment.  But I stuck it out, and decided to try it for another month, and it got better.  And it has been better and better.  

Are you subscribed to Birchbox? What do you think of it?

If you're not subscribed, and would like to help me out, please let me know your email and I'll send you a referral invitation.  For full disclosure, I do get points if you sign up through that email.  But you don't need a referral to sign up.  You can sign up directly through the Birchbox website.

P.S. To give you an idea of the size of the products.  The purity sample I got was 1 oz, and the full size is 16 oz.