Ipsy Subscription Glam Bag Review - August 2015

Hello Beauties <3

If you subscribe to Ipsy, each month you will receive a cute Glam Bag filled with a mix of 5 full sized beauty products or deluxe samples all for just $10.

Here is a peek of the August Glam Bag

City Color Cosmetics HD Loose Powder - 0.14 oz $3.50 (Full size 0.25 oz  retails for $5.99)

Hikari Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Merlot - Full size  0.16 oz $13

Doucce Ultra Precision Eyeliner in Black - Full size  0.03 oz $22

Swissco Soft Touch Slant Tweezers - $8

Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Oil Treatment - 0.7 oz $3 (Full size 1.69 oz $7.29)

Approximate value of this bag $49.50

I redeemed some of my Ipsy points for the Balm Nude Dude mini eyeshadow in Flirty.

The Ofra lipliner in Wine and Jesse's Girl eyeshadow primer were sent in my bag instead of the City Color HD powder and Swissco tweezers. I thought it was very nice of Ipsy customer service to send me the two missing items.

Stacey <3

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Shine Lipstick Deals and Steals

Hello Beauties <3

As you get to know me, you will quickly realize how much I love a good deal. Well my friends, wait until you see the amazing beauty steal I found this weekend.

I went to my local TJ Maxx/Home Goods to pick up more Cake Boss K-cups (Chocolate Cannoli and Chocolate Fudge Cake) Add some International Delight Sweet Cream flavored creamer and OMG it's a delicious liquid dessert - pure heaven!

Let me get back on track....... I always check out the beauty section to see what good deals they have on makeup and skin care. I found some Estee Lauder products and the lippies caught my eye. I quickly took out my phone to check my beauty spreadsheet to make sure I did not already have those colors and secondly to check out the retail price.

So here's what I found

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Shine  - Sculpting Shine Lipstick. They retail for $30 each and are 0.10 oz.

I found this full size trio travel exclusive for $29.99, Yes that's right, it was buy one get two free!

These lipsticks are creamy and moisturizing with medium coverage and a whole lot of shine. The luxe navy blue case has a magnetic closure for easy closing.

Innocent is a light pinkish nude perfect for everyday wear or paired with a dark smoky eye.

Surreal Sun is a medium bright coral shade great for the spring and summer.

Pink Dragon is a medium pink almost light mauve shade and by far my favorite one of this trio.

I will admit, that was a fantastic deal but wait until I tell you about the next one.............

Drum roll please.........

I found 2 more of these lipsticks all by their lonesome just sitting on the shelf waiting for me to find them. There was no price on them so we asked a sales associate if she would scan them but no price came up. She said she I can have them for $3.99, yes that's not a typo, I really bought a $30 lipstick for just under $4 (I grabbed the last 2 for back ups)

Another awesome deal was this Estee Lauder Pure Color Gloss Collection. Each gloss retails for $24 and contains 0.20 oz of product. These glosses offer sheer to medium coverage with lots of shine, shimmer and sparkle.

The set includes 5 lip glosses and contain 0.16 oz each of product and was $29.99.

Pink Innocence is a light silvery pink

Blazing Coral is an orangey coral with sparkles

Garnet Desire is a medium mauvey wine color

Rock Candy is a medium but soft pink shade with a hint of shimmer

Raspberry Pop is a cool violet with sparkles

Stacey <3

GlossyBox Subscription Box Review - August 2015

Hello Beauties <3

GlossyBox is a monthly subscription box that includes 5 full and deluxe size beauty items for $21 a month.

Here is a peek at the August box of beauties........

Sparitual (love the name Spa Ritual) Nail Lacquers are a Vegan product and come in a variety of colors. I received Authentically in my box, In the bottle the color looks like a light red but it's actually a medium shade of pink with a hint of shimmer.

Full Size .50 oz and retails for $12 

Pop Beauty Kajal Pen in Sooty Black. This liner is highly pigmented with a matte finish. You can create a smokey eye, cat eye or a classic line using the smudge tip to blend, diffuse and define your eyes. Although it glides on smoothly, I found it to smudge too much. I had to set it with black eyeshadow,

Full Size .03 oz and retails for $10

Manna Kadar Lash Primer acts as a base for your favorite mascara and nourishes your lashes to prevent flaking. Apply at night to clean lashes and wake up with fully conditioned lashes. I do not use lash primers everyday, but when I do I notice my lashes look a little thicker than normal.

Full Size 0.14 oz and retails for $24 

Lollipops Lip Balm is a paraben-free formula that protects lips against UV rays and keep them nourished.

Full Size .33 oz and retails for $5.50

And now for the gem in this box - GlamGlow YouthCleanse Daily Exfoliating Cleanser. If you are looking for a more youthful, glowing complication, then you should try this. It is a semi thick mud that turns to foaming lather and gently exfoliates and cleanses. Get ready for this cleanser to dissolve makeup and impurities while removing dead surface cells. Follow with your favorite skin care routine. We received a deluxe size in this box 1.0 oz  valued at $7.80

Full Size 5.0 oz and retails for $39

Total value of this box is $59.30

Stacey <3

BoxyCharm Subscription Box Review - August 2015

Hello Beauties <3

BoxyCharm is a monthly subscription box that includes 5 full and luxury size beauty items for $21 a month.

Here is a peek at the August box of beauties........

If you subscribe to BoxyCharm you will know the box has changed this month and is all black with white lettering. I did like the previous design of a white box with pink lettering but I guess it was time for a change. 

Total value of this box is $136.95 (Coastal Scents palette is on sale for $19.95 so the box could also be valued at $116.95) Either way it's still a great deal.

Now for an up close and personal look at the goodies. First up is the Coastal Scents Revealed 3 palette. It features 20 all new eyeshadow colors in matte and shimmer finishes. BoxyCharm did include Revealed and Revealed 2 palettes in previous boxes.

Swatches of some of my favorite colors in the palette

Next up is the Mica Beauty Black Gel Eyeliner. It is a smudge proof liner that dries quickly and lasts longer than regular eyeliners. (Retails for $35 - 0.14 oz)  It is accompanied with a Seta Eyeliner brush that is perfect for achieving a flawless line. (Retails for $16)

The Mica gel liner is creamy and goes on smoothly however I am not sure what they mean by "quick drying" I swatched it on my hand and 15 minutes later it was still not dry.

Nios Shield Leave-In Conditioner (Retails for $26 - 4 oz). It has Moroccan Argan Oil to tame frizz while adding a healthy shine. The SPF 15 protects your scalp from the sun as well as your hair color. It can be applied to wet or dry hair.

And lastly we have the So Susan Statement Skin highlighting crayon in Candlelight. (Retails for $20 - 0.06 oz) It has a unique chiseled head that allows you cover large areas of your face or target smaller ones for a more precise application. Adds the perfect glow to your complexion.

Here is a swatch of the highlighter

Well beauties, that's all I have for you today.

Stacey <3

Bite Beauty Frozen Berries Matte Creme Lipstick Review

Hello Beauties <3

When it was first announced that Bite Beauty was releasing their latest lipstick collection, Frozen Berries I was on the fence and so undecided if I was going to give in to all the hype and actually buy some of these. Based on the online swatches I was seeing, Barberry was the only one that caught my eye. We all know we can't rely solely on those swatches because of different cameras, lighting and even our computer screens can make a huge difference.

Of course once I decided I definitely wanted to buy Barberry it was sold out on the Sephora website. I believe everything happens for a reason and I will explain more about that in a minute.

First let's take a closer look at these beauties.

•   Plum - rich eggplant
•   Elderberry - deep purple
•   Juniper - deep fuschia
•   Barberry - muted orchid
•   Black Cherry - deep oxblood

These lipsticks are 0.15 oz and retail for $24 each. They are a limited edition so I suggest if you really like these don't wait. They were inspired by, you guessed it - frozen berries (sounds so delicious)  probably because it contains blueberry seed and cranberry seed oils. These oils nourish and moisturize your lips all day for a velvety finish.

Now back to what I eluded to earlier in the post about everything happens for a reason. Since Barberry was out of stock online and I really really REALLY wanted it now, I had no choice but to call around to my local Sephora stores and see if by chance they still had some in stock. Luck was on my side that day, so I took a ride to pick it up and make it mine!

If you are anything like me, I do not go to Sephora just to pick up an item. I look around at all the pretties and swatch swatch swatch. I was able to check out the entire Frozen Berries collection and was pleasantly surprised to find out I actually liked Plum and Juniper.

I am now the proud owner of Barberry, Plum and Juniper!

Barberry is of course my favorite because it has more of a pinkish/lilac/mauve color to it. Plum is more of a wine color which I love for the fall. Juniper on me looks like a pinkish red. When I removed Plum and Juniper with a makeup remover wipe, it left a wine colored stain on my lips. Not a bad thing because your lips will have a hint of color all day if you don't reapply. 

Personally, I don't mind wearing dark lipsticks all year round but if you do, then you may want to check out the Opal Creme lipstick (0.14 oz and retails for $24) or Opal lip gloss (0.14 oz and retails for $22) new from Bite Beauty. Each can be worn alone for a pearly iridescent and multidimensional look or worn on top of your favorite lipstick (or least favorite lipstick) to create a unique color.

One of the reasons why I fell in love with Plum and Juniper was because of the different colors I can create with the Opal Creme lipstick.

I can't wait to see all the different color variations that will be created with Opal.

Stacey <3


            Beauty in Paradise's Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Nars Audacious Mascara Review

Hello Beauties <3

I was excited to receive a sample of the new Nars Audacious mascara in Black Moon (actually it was 4 but who's counting) with my recent orders from Nordstroms. It was my first Nars mascara so I couldn't wait to dive right in and try it. First of all, the packaging caught my eye - black with a red top, kind of reminds me of a tube of lipstick. Good thing I love me some lippies!

Once I opened it and pulled out the wand, it hit me.....there really are "hooks" on the applicator as it was described on the Nars website. Over two hundred hooks to be exact.The lash catching brush grips and coats lashes from root to tip.  I won't lie, I was a little intimidated but I took the plunge anyway. Nars says this mascara builds to thrill. It is lightweight and long-wearing. 

According to the Nars website, Audacious Mascara lets you go to extremes - eye's the limit. Every layer multiplies and amplifies. Their statistics show after one coat users reported a dramatic effect in the appearance of their lashes.

• 100% say it lengthens
• 96% agree it defines
• 96% note it volumizes
• 93% report it doesn't smudge once dry

Claims based on Independent Consumer study after 4 weeks.

So here's the low down on my lashes: they are long so what I look for in a mascara is one that thickens them without the clumping. In my collection of mascara, the ones I reach for the most are Too Faced Better Than Sex and Josie Maran Argan Oil. 

I hope Nars Audacious is up for the challenge against these two heavy hitters.

Ok beauties, now for the pictures of how this mascara performed. On the left eye my lashes are bare naked. On the right I have applied 2 coats.

Once applied to both eyes, you will see how stubborn my right eyelashes are (left side when looking at the below picture) It definitely is not the mascara's fault, my lashes just have a mind of their own. My left eyelashes (right side when looking at the below picture) always cooperate and do not separate and clump together. I have been using one of my Nars Audacious mascara samples (0.12 oz) for a few weeks now and I am really enjoying it. The full size is 0.32 oz and retails for $26.

Overall, this mascara performed just as good as my 2 other favorite mascaras. It thickened my lashes and lasted all day with no smudging. I do not particularly like using this type of brush on my lower lashes but that's just a personal preference. I hope you all get the opportunity to try the new Nars Audacious mascara and love it as much as I do.

Stacey <3

              Beauty in Paradise's Overall Rating: 5 out of 5