Lip Factory Review - October

It’s time for a Lip Factory review!

Lip Factory is a monthly beauty box that is $22 a month (S&H included) and comes with 5-7 products each time.  The box aims to give you a “full face” of makeup, but its main focus is on…lips of course!  This is one of my favorites, and though more expensive than ipsy, they always send full sized products which is great!

Sometimes this box has a theme and sometimes it doesn’t. This month the theme is “You Are Beautiful.”  Ok that is just reaching.  Why do a theme at all?? I also find it odd that the booklet mentions that it is breast cancer awareness month, but not one single product goes along with that!

So here it is….the October Lip Factory box!  

       

1)     deVine Lip Shimmers in “Champagne” and “Bordeaux” – .07 oz. each (FULL SIZE)

Apparently these are all natural and made from wine, which I find interesting.  Unfortunately, I am not much into shimmery lips.  If I do go shimmery though, I at least need some color.  As you can see, Champagne is basically white.  I’m not sure who would look good in a color like that, but I know it is definitely not me!

Full Size: $8.95  My Value: $8.95

2)    Frost Cosmetics Lip Stick and Lip Gloss – ?? oz. (FULL SIZE)

Well this product didn’t come with much labeling, so I can’t give you many details.  It has no size/weight and no color.  I find the second very odd, since the brand boasts to have “150 colors.”  Now, you may be wondering, like I was, how can it be both a lip stick AND a lip gloss?  Well, basically it’s a thick gooey mess.  I opened the tube because I was curious and this stuff was stuck all over the stick.  When I closed it, it oozed out the lid.  Just plain messy.  It totally smells like grape bubbletape (remember that stuff??) and for me, this color is a definitely miss.  Brown is just not my color….

Full Size: $15.99 My Value: $15.99

3)    Michael Marcus Lipstick in “Lee” – .21 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I really like this lipstick!  The color is perfect for me and the formula doesn’t seem to be too drying. I may be adding this to my lipstick bag in my purse and putting it into daily rotation!

Full Size: $24.00 My Value: $24.00

4)    Frost Cosmetics Makeup Bag – (FULL SIZE)

I’m not gonna lie, this is probably the ugliest makeup bag I have ever seen! Its like a 

really cheap advertisement. The outside is coated in thick, cheap plastic, but the 

inside is white (!) fabric.  So yeah, when your eye shadow spills?  It’ll leave lovely 

marks on the inside of the bag that show right through to the front.  I’m gonna guess 

this will last any beauty love maybe 2 weeks before it looks dingy and dirty!

Full Size: $10.99 My Value: $10.99

5)  Ofra Eyeliner in “Grapefull” – .04 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I think I know exactly why this was included in the box this month.  The nice little product booklet I get from Lip Factory calls the color “Grapeful” which is a play on grateful I assume.  Unfortunately, whoever made the product used two L’s making the spelling “Grapefull” which makes no sense. Just my thoughts.  The color is actually pretty, it’s a very dark purple color.  I may see if I can work this into a look someday!

Full Size: $13.00 My Value: $13.00

6)  BONUS? 29 Cosmetics Lipstick in “Ripe Rose” – .16 oz. (FULL SIZE)

This product was not mentioned in the product descriptions booklet at all, which I find odd. I guess I’ll just assume it’s a nice little bonus?  I’m a little undecided on this lipstick.  It seems to be very moisturizing which I do like, but I don’t know how I feel about the color.  It looks perfect for me, but it has quite the shimmer to it, which I mentioned above I don’t like.  I think I will have to use it a few times to decide if it is a keeper or not.

Full Size: $25.00 My Value: $25.00

Final Cost: $22.00

Final Value: $72.93

Final Value with Bonus: $97.93

Even though it was a pretty awesome value, especially with the added bonus item, I just didn’t love this box.  I will probably only use one of the lipsticks and possibly the eyeliner. I know this box is called Lip Factory, but I personally love it when they go for the “full face” of makeup instead of all lips!

I think I am going to be cutting back on my beauty boxes pretty soon.  I have already stopped Starbox (I was contemplating this and their system had big issues so I just never took the time to start it back up).  Now I think I will either be cancelling this box or Boxy Charm.  I will have to look back and see how I really felt about each of those the past 6-12 months!

What do you think?

If you’d like to sign up…..use my referral number? Pretty please?  It’s 385223.

(Also, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these fun things! I have not been compensated for this review.)

Ipsy Review - October

Ipsy time!  

It was lovely to come back from my Honeymoon with all sorts of awesome beauty goodies waiting for me!

I really think this is the best bag out there, especially for the price…just $10 a month!  If you are looking to start a beauty subscription, I would definitely try Ipsy first.

The theme of this month’s bag is “Beauty Candy” Again, the theme is a bit odd to me.  At most, 2 of the items match it!

Anyways…. Here is the October Ipsy bag!  

            1)     ECRY New York Acacia Protien BB Cream – 1 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            This is apparently a beauty balm for hair.  I guess it’s almost like a leave in conditioner?  I’m 

            not too sure I will love this, these kinds of things generally leave my hair pretty greasy.  I am 

            willing to try it though.  This one smells slightly manly which I think is odd. Also, this is a 

            full size.  I 100% thought this was a sample size!

Full Size: $12.00 My Value: $12.00

            2)    Jesse’s Girl Mineralized Baked Eye Shadow in “Graphite Frost” – .07 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            Ok what am I missing about ”baked” beauty items?  What is the big deal with these?  This 

            looks pretty cool in the packaging, but I am sure after swiping it with a brush and putting it 

            on my eye it will just be grey.  The case for this is also pretty darn big, I wouldn’t want to 

            have this taking up that much space in my beauty collection! I guess I really have to be 

            thankful though, some people got this shadow in bright blue, yellow or green!  I like this  

            color the best.

Full Size: $3.99 My Value: $3.99

            3)    Skyn Iceland  Glacial Cleansing Cloths – 10 cloths

             I could always use more makeup remover clothes.  I have no clue what makes these any 

            different than the rest on the market, but they are a welcome addition to my beauty cabinet! 

            The only thing I can say I noticed right away was the smell.  It was clean, but not 

            overpowering.  I really like that.

Full Size: $15.00 for 30 My Value: $5.00

 4)  Noyah All Natural Lipstick in “Deeply in Mauve”  – .049 oz.

Meh.  A purple lipstick like this is totally not my thing.

Full Size: $18.00 for .16 oz. My Value: $5.51

       5)  Figs & Rouge Mango Mandarin Hand Cream – .67 oz. (FULL SIZE)

This smells really good.  I think it is the perfect size and weight to throw in my purse, which is exactly what I did!  I am not much of a lotion user, but it is nice to have some just in case.  When it’s in a small, light container like this, it’s a perfect candidate!

Full Size: $6.56 My Value: $6.56

       6)  BONUS - Milani Runway Lashes in “Black” – .3 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I got the next two items with my ipsy points. I can always use another black mascara, not sure there is anything new and exciting about this one.

Full Size: $4.99 My Value: $4.99

       7)  BONUS - Milani Liquid Eye Liner Pencil in “Black” – .04 oz. (FULL SIZE)

This is the reason I chose the Milani items as my bonus gift.  I really like the sound of this eye liner.  I love liquid liners and I have just recently started using pencil liner (go me!) so I am excited to try it!

Full Size: $6.99 My Value: $6.99

 

Final Cost: $10.00

Final Value w/o Bonus: $33.06

Final Value with Bonus: $45.04

My first thought on this is it’s a pretty dang low value.  I guess I shouldn’t complain, it’s still well worth the $10 I paid! I really love most of the items and definitely see myself getting use of them.  The lipstick is a bust, but thankfully its tiny so I don’t see a big loss there!

What are your thoughts?

If you’d like to give it a try you can sign up here!

(As always, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these things in hopes that other people will get to have the same fun that I do!  I am not compensated in any way.)

Pretty Little Beauty Swap Link-Up!

Hello Pretty Little Beauty Swap Link Up time!

I think this is my favorite part of the whole swap....well I mean besides getting a box of new goodies.   I just love seeing what everyone else got!

Sadly, this is going to happen a little less often.  Chelsee and I have been talking and have decided that we are going to move this swap to a quarterly schedule, instead of bi-monthly.  I think it will really be helpful time wise. Plus, we are going to raise the amount a bit, so you'll have more time to save for more goodies for your partner!  The next swap will start in January, which gives us a nice little break.

This round was a bit hectic for me as I got married and went on a honeymoon right as it started, but I still managed to connect with my parter, Libby. She blogs over at My Life as Mrs. G and Follow the G's Around the World.  Man, I can barely keep up one blog, how in the world can she do two?!?

Let me tell you, she totally spoiled me!

When I got the giant box in the mail I was shocked. I opened it up and I was like a kid in a candy store.  There were adorable storage boxes filled with all sorts of goodies. I think she covered all of her bases...and then some!  It also came with the most adorable card, I just love the look of it.  I also loved the Starbucks gift card that came inside it!

Here are all my goodies:

So.....your turn!  What did you guys get??

An InLinkz Link-up

Boxy Charm Review - September

Boxy Charm time!

This box is $21.00 a month with free shipping and is a “beauty box subscription that surprises you each month with the best beauty products from popular and chic brands. Each box contains full size and luxury size beauty samples from preferred well-known brands.” They aim to cover a whole look from makeup to nails, which I really like. 

The theme is “Fashion Week Fabulous” which I guess go with these items.

Here is the September Boxy Charm! 

           1)      tarte LipSurgence Lip Gloss in “Exposed”  –  .27 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            I had really high hopes for this but….it is soooo sticky!  I really hate sticky lipglosses.  It 

            makes me sad though because the color was fantastic and it’s a really great brand. It also has 

            a bit of a weird smell to it, which I find odd.

Full Size: $19.00 My Value: $19.00

           2)      Coastal Scents Go Palette in “Beijing” – .28 oz.  (FULL SIZE)

By now you should know my love for Coastal Scents palettes, so this is quite awesome!  The colors are really beautiful and the packaging is perfect for traveling.  My only complaint?  There isn’t a single light or highlighting color in the bunch, which means I have to break out another shadow for that purpose.  Makes it less useful for traveling.

Full Size: $12.95 My Value: $12.95

3)   NCLA Nail Lacquer in “Catwalk Queen” – .5 oz.  (FULL SIZE)

I’m not much of a nail polish girl as you know, but this one isn’t bad.  I could definitely rock a neutral color like this.

Full Size: $16.00 My Value: $16.00

4)   Tarina Tarantino Fleur de Lash Mascara  – .47 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I seriously have a huge stockpile of unopened mascara, I don’t think I’ll run out for years!  I love that this is full size too, if I end up loving it, it will last me a long time!

Full Size: $19.99 My Value: $19.99

5)   Harvey Prince Rollerball Perfume in “Hello” – 10 mL (FULL SIZE)

I love getting larger sized roller ball perfumes like this.  It is great for traveling which makes me happy.  The smell is decent.  Not my favorite, but I don’t hate it either!  I certainly would never pay that much for such a small amount of perfume though.

Full Size: $29.00 My Value: $29.00

Final Cost: $21.00

Final Value: $96.94

Usually I feel like the value of this box is really inflated because of the high price of all of the items, but I think this month most of them are a little more realistic. Yes, some are still outrageous (I’d never pay $16 for out bottle of nail polish, but that’s just me), but others are spot on.  $12.95 for the whole eye shadow palette? That’s a great price!

I am happy with my box this month. Even though I didn’t like some of the products for personal reasons (sticky lipgloss anyone) I think they all really match me and what I love about makeup.

If you’d like to get Boxy Charm, you can sign up here!

(Also, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these fun things! I have not been compensated for this review.)

Jacuzzi Tub Love

One thing C and I always dreamed about having in our future home was a a jacuzzi tub.   I love taking baths and C would too...if he could fit.

One of our first decisions when we bought our new house was to of course, put in a jacuzzi tub! We honestly weren't sure of the costs at all, so I called a friend who does some interior design work. her brother actually does remodeling, so I pretty much hit the jackpot there.

To start the process, we searched through tons on tile options, tons of tub options and tons of faucet and accessory options. I mean seriously, there are so many choices out this.  It's quite a scary process too, because its really hard to get a good idea of what the final will look like with just a small piece of tile in front of you. After making our fnal choices, the cost was totally under what we were expecting, so we went for it. They started the work as soon as we left for our Honeymoon.

Previously in our master bathroom (which is pretty small, womp womp) there was a stand up, enclosed shower.  It looked about 20 years old, full of grime, mold and rust.  Not pretty.  Plus, the water faucet was to low for C, he had to bend his knees for it to get water to the top of his head. He also had a tough time moving around in such a small enclosed space. Heck, I did too, I can't imagine how bad it was for him!

I wish I would have taken better "before" pictures but this is all I have:

You can see where the shower was, all that is missing is the glass (plastic?) enclosure. Also, you'll notice that there is a cabinet to the right of the shower. Unfortunately that had to go to. With the disappearance of that cabinet (really the only storage in the room besides the small sink area) I choose to move my "getting ready" place to our guest bathroom.

From there it moved on to this:

And then this:

Which, holy cow.  That a little tough to see while you are halfway on the other side of the world!  I guess its probably better that we weren't home though.

The good news though, is when we got home, it looked like this:

I love it! I'm not sure it could have looked any better in my mind.  The colors of the tile bring in all of the browns on the wall and cabinets, but the greys easily match the grey theme we have going on in our adjoining bathroom.  Not to mention, the shower head is super high.  C won't have a problem at all! We also chose to update the accesories in the bathroom like the towel bars and the sink faucet, so the whole room flows nicely.  I am so so happy with it!

Anybody have a jacuzzi tub?  Any tips or recommendations for me?  I've already learned the hard way that bubble bath (no matter how little you use) is not a good idea.  Yeah, I did that. Whoops!

Starbox Review - September

Starbox time!  

Just in case you don’t know, Starbox is a monthly beauty box that is $15 a month (plus a few dollars S&H) and comes with 3-4 FULL SIZED products each time.  No tiny lotion samples!

The website says the makeup line is comparable to MAC, Chanel, Sephora and other department store lines.  It also says that the value of each monthly box ranges from $35.00 to $99.00.

This is the third time I have had to call Starlooks (who produces Starbox) because of a missing box.  Their computer system is honestly terrible.  This time it had completely dropped my subscription, though I hadn’t done anything different or even been on the website. Thankfully, they have great customer service and they sent out a box immediately and refunded my money for this month.

The theme of this box is “Here Comes the Bride.”   I can say as a September bride this year, used one product similar to these, but I could see how a few may be considered bridal as well.

Here it is….the September Starbox!  

      1)     Starlooks Lip Liner in “Roseate” -  .14 oz  (FULL SIZE)

Here we go again with another nude/rose colored lip liner.  I am not a fan of lip liners so this is useless to me. This one claims to be so versatile that “it can stand as a lipstick alone, or be paired with any neutral or bold lip color you desire.”  All I can say is that is quite a claim!  I highly doubt it is true though. 
Full Size: $12.00 My Value: $12.00

      2)    Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in “Oracle”  - .14 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I think this is definitely the main product I received that I would NOT have used          

on my wedding day. I went for classic black liner, as I assume many other brides do  

as well! I just do look right with anything other than black, so though this is pretty, it 

will not be getting any use from me.

Full Size: $12.00 My Value: $12.00

      3)    Starlooks Eye Shadow in “Tan Glow” - .11 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Contrary to a lot of brides, I went with golden and brown hues and even added some sage green (one of my wedding colors) to my eye shadow.  This color would have worked perfectly for me.  I can’t see many other brides using though, as most tend to choose “natural” or light “smokey eye.”  I don’t think this bronze color would work for them.  It really is a beautiful color though, I can’t wait to use it!

Full Size: $12.00 My Value: $12.00

      4)    Starlooks False Lash Set #FL9 - (FULL SIZE)

Before my wedding I got eyelash extensions so I didn’t need to use falsies that day.  Had I needed them though, this would have been a great pair to use.  They are definitely bride worthy!  I will be hanging on to these for future special events for sure.

Full Size: $13.00 My Value: $13.00

Final Cost: $17.58

Final Value: $49.00

As I was a September bride this year, I love that this was the theme.  Too bad it came a few weeks AFTER my wedding!  I am happy with half the items in this box, which I guess would be a win.  If I were a fan of lip liners and eye liners, I would probably like these as well. The colors are perfect, I just don’t use those specific products.

What do you think?

If you’d like to try Starbox you can sign up here!

(Also, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these fun things! I have not been compensated for this review.)