May 2012 Beauty Boxes - MyGlam & Beauty Army

MyGlam

Graduation Day Nails

I graduated last Friday! Yay! I painted my nails with my school logo on it to show my pride :) I'm the first in my family to go to college and finish, so it was an especially proud day for my parents who are 1st generation Americans.

Watermelon Nails

Julep - Drew & Leah

I had an event I was a part of that was centered around fruits and veggies. I thought it would be festive for me to have some appropriate nails. The seeds a little messy but I thought the colors were perfect!

Battle of the Salmons

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, aunties, grandmas out there! Without you we couldn't procreate!

A color trend for 2012 that I'm absolutely obsessed with is SALMON. Ever since I got Julep's Alicia in my April Boho Glam box, I've been in love. My favorite dress for the last couple of years is this $20 cotton dress in salmon that I got on sale at Target. I think it complements my olive skin well!

For my Mother's Day gift to myself, I chose a couple of Essie polishes and one of them is Tart Deco.

I just had to! SO, I gathered my two other similar shades to do a comparison... (I'm sorry for the weird cropping, I excitedly painted over my red nails and I didn't want you to see it lol)

In natural light

With flash

I think the winner in my court is Essie. It's a little darker than Alicia, has more of an orange tinge than Trout Pout, and this shade could easily be an Alicia dupe. YES! Thank goodness, because Essie is cheaper!

NOTD - Julep's Anne in Matte

Honestly, Lacquer Lovers, have you ever stood in front of your lacquer collection and just stared at all your bottles for what seems like hours, trying to figure out what shade you want to wear next? If you haven't, well then, that obviously doesn't apply to you, but I have and this is when I convince myself that I need more colors. Yeah, right... that is just an excuse to buy more when you really don't need it. If you are obsessed like me than you do need it. You need it all!

I settled on Julep's Anne, a bright purple creme, and I used butter LONDON's matte finish top coat. This color reminds me of one of my favorite ice cream flavors. Ube (phonetically spelled, oo-beh). I gobble that stuff up like it's the first time I've ever had it. Ube is a Filipino purple yam, not to be confused with taro, but it tastes very similar.

The matte finish seemed to make this color pop a lot more. I never realized how bright this hue was until it was matte.

There will be another blog about this but I personally love butter LONDON's matte top coat compared to all the other ones that I've used. I've used Kleancolor, and Orly and neither of them hold a candle to this stuff. $18 well spent, I say!

Birchbox - May 2012

This is my first ever Birchbox and I am more happy about it than my Beauty Army experience in respect to getting recognizable cosmetics instead of a whole load of foreign skincare products.

You can't go wrong with polish.

This scent is a little too baby powdery for my taste.

They weren't kidding about sample size, I don't even know why they put it in a tube. They should have just put it on a postcard with a sheet of foil to seal it because the amount in here is for a one time use. Wasteful...

What I didn't take a picture of was the stupid twistband. You know what? Let me take of picture of it to show you how stupid this is...

A 12 pack of those is worth $18. Seriously? Go to a fabric store and buy a spindle of satin pink garter. No sewing necessary. Just some scissors. Ladies, if you're smart, you won't buy this.

I'm happy for the most part but I don't know how much longer I can pay $10 a month with the risk of getting a stupid rubber band. I know, I have a real issue with the twistband, but I don't watch Gossip Girl, so the significance of the products aren't really striking a chord in my book.

Julep's Cinco de Mayo Mystery Box is HERE TODAY!!!

   Okay, so a couple of my friends and I decided to open our boxes together so there will be three different boxes. No more talking here are the boxes....

Glycolic hand scrub, Natalie, Demi, Maya, Leah, & a crystal nail file. Worth about $64

Glycolic hand scrub, Drew, Alyson, Emma, Jessica, & a crystal nail file. Worth about $64

A BIG box!

Nail appliques, Christina, Hayden, Alyson, Parker, Vanessa, cuticle oil, & a fast dry top coat. Worth about $116

Christina, Hayden, Alyson, Parker, & Vanessa. This is a little annoying but I already have Hayden and it's a shade darker. You can slightly tell in the picture that this is an air pocket that suggests there is less polish in this bottle. It's shrink wrapped, too. I'm not sure where or not to complain

Close up of Christina. I wanted to show the gold shimmer in this one.

Please share what you got!!! I've been looking up other people's blogs and I've seen some boxes that are worth more than $200! LUCKY! Not that I'm complaining...

NOTD (2) - CG Re-Fresh Mint

In natural light

Cleaned off the Zoya and put this on...

This is one of the more fun colors that I've had on. I got a lot of compliments everywhere I went, asking me what kind of polish it is and where can they get it! It's funny because there are countless reviews about this shade and has been out for about 2 years. China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint from their 2010 Up & Away Spring line.

At first it looks like a pale blue, really pale, but after drying it comes out just a tad darker than what is shown in the bottle. This isn't new, but this is where the "mint" name comes from. It really does remind of a mint flavored anything because of the ultimate shade.

Like I said, this is a fun color to wear but because it is so light in color and it is a creme, imperfections are difficult to avoid. Especially around the edges. I will definitely wear this again!

NOTD - Zoya's Faye

In sunlight

Close up

Natural lighting

With flash

I felt like going a different route with my polish and wear something I haven't worn in never. Metallic-finish polish. It reminds me a lot of my mom whose go-to polish was always a metallic one. This particular polish is from Zoya's  2011 Sunshine Collection and one of the polishes I chose for the Earth Day Polish Exchange.

It's a rich bronze with purple undertones and an abundance of gold sparkle. I don't know when I will ever wear this color again but it lasted me a good couple of hours before I moved on to another shade.

This took 2 coats and the brilliance was more pronounced with a top coat. I use Poshe top coat.

Julep's Cinco de Mayo Mystery Box - GET YOURS

To see what I got CLICK HERE

Go and get it! Honestly, all of my Julep hauls are from the mystery boxes, which I think are pretty sweet deals. I just put in my order and there are only 2,000 boxes available for purchase, well, 1999 minus my order.

Now begins the anxiety-ridden waiting for my box to arrive...

If you aren't already a Maven PLEASE sign up. I haven't had the slightest regret with joining, unlike my Beauty Army box... You can still get your first box for a PENNY!!

-Go to the link that I have here
-Take the quiz (taking the quiz does not obligate you to anything)
-You will get a style tailored from your quiz
-Click on SIGN ME UP (you will be able to choose from the other styles on this page if you don't like the one that you got. Just click on "see other maven styles...)
-Choose the box you want for $19.99
-Check out
-Under the promotion code put in COLOR2012 or PENNY
-Choose the free shipping option (Your box will come in about 7-10 days, but mine usually come in about 4)
-Finalize!!!

REMEMBER! You can cancel anytime but I recommend that you try it for at least 2 months. The polish is awesome! Not to mention the treatments, appliques, that come with it also. I also got an email letting me know that I will be getting a Julep makeup bag as an introductory gift, worth $18 :) Loving my Julep...

Zoya Earth Day Polish Exchange Haul is HERE!!!

Finally, finally, finally!!!

I ordered by polish on April 21, and it got here today! Man, 10fdays!!! That is waaaay too long because that is how long I've been anxious for my first Zoya haul to come in. I really need to find some other hobby to help occupy my mind!

Picture time!

When I opened the box...

When I took the popcorn out, this is what it looked like in the box...

Do you see that full sized bottle??? That was FREE

Left to right: Maise, Bevin, Carmen, Casey. Heidi

Left to right: Charisma, Nova, Charla, Trixie

Left to right: Miley, Ibiza, Faye, Dree, Kennedy

Free: 2oz Remove+, Summer Acrylic Tray, 7oz Grapefruit Sugar Scrub

I just had to take a picture of this up close. The color is so captivating!

I can't wait to start wearing these colors! Thank you, Zoya!

Julep Maven Box - May

Boho Glammin' it up!

Polish - Kylie (magnetic polish), & Sheryl (a golden shimmer polish)

Pedi prep - a roll on callus or foot softener before you file 

I got a little excited because the box is slightly bigger than normal, I thought maybe I won the golden box, but no. The increased size is due to the foot file. I tried the magnetic polish right away but I held the magnet incorrectly so the designs didn't come out. I didn't even bother taking pictures of it. I will try another day.

Speaking of the magnet. I'm not that big on the wand. It is so easy to accidentally touch your wet polish if you have trouble keeping something still in your hands. 

I'm just glad it's finally here. I hate this time of month when I practically sit and wait by the mailbox for my Julep to arrive. Whoooo... I can breathe now...