Thursday 29 January 2015

Julep Gem Collection 2014

I ordered the 2014 Gem Collection from Julep in the December Secret store for $34.00. When I went to the Toronto Julep meet up I saw a few of these colours that I fell in love with and was keeping an eye on the collection but I just could not spend $98.00 on it. It was on sale for a while for $49.00 and I was sad I missed that but then it went for $34.00 so I was very excited! The only thing is one of the polishes was replaced with another one since it's been sold out, but I contacted customer service about this which resulted in another polish of my choice so it worked out even though the sold out colour was very pretty.This collection came in a nice box with a magnetic close on the front with a removable foam insert to hold 12 polishes. 
The gem collection is full of sparkling polishes all of which are 5-free with oxygen technology. I'm in love with them all!




January Ipsy

This months theme for ipsy was Fresh Start. The only item I knew about this months bag was the eye shadow which I wasn't overly exicted for but it ended up being a decent bag.
Ipsy is a monthly subscription service that costs $10.00 a month, but being in Canada I have to pay for shipping which is another 4.95 USD so you'll pay the difference of exchange rate. If you want to subscribe you can do so here: http://www.ipsy.com/r/3kg1
This is what was in this months bag. 
The first item I got was the Pacifica eyeshadow that I already knew about in the colour ethereal which is a nice brown colour that is something I use on a daily basis but I don't find these shadows work well for me. They aren't sold individual they are sold in 4s for $14.00 making is $3.50 per shadow.
The next item I got was a nail polish by the company Probelle. I was excited to get a nail polish since I promised not to buy any polishes for the year of 2015 since I have soo many already. This is in a pretty blue called into the blue and worth $6.00.
The next item was an eyeshadow brush by Elizabeth Mott. It is really pretty pink and I've used it and actually love it. It is worth $9.99.
The next item is a mechanical eye pencil in the colour storm which is a slate gray by the company Hikari. This is worth $13.00. It is a nice colour but doesn't have a lot of pay off, I'm sure I can make use of it though since I am in love with eyeliner lately. 

The last item I got is a lip balm by the company malin + goetz. This is worth $12.00. This is the type of product I expect in a January box being winter and it's perfect for dry lips in the winter and it smells really good. 
The overall value of this box was $44.49 which is good since I paid around 17 after shipping and exchange rate. I'm not sure if it's because I got Glossybox again or what but I've been less impressed with these bags lately. I do love the shadow brush, the lip balm and the polish but the other two just aren't that impressive. Three items out of five though is pretty good so I'm happy with it, and the bag this month was cute.


December Glossybox

This is my second Glossybox since coming back to Canada and it was the Christmas version. I'm not sure if Glossybox is always late shipping out or if it's because I'm in Canada but I didn't get this until a bit into January. It doesn't upset me that much waiting for the box but it's strange to get Christmas related items weeks after Christmas. This is what was in my box, it was a Christmas box rather than the regular pink box and it was cute! 
The first item I got was a leave in conditioner by Toni&Guy. This is a full sized item worth $16.99. I have used it a few times and I like the scent, it is very subtle but clean smelling and it works well for my frizzy fine hair without making it weighed down or greasy.
The next item I got was a 24 hour soothing and rehydrating fresh mask by the company Nuxe. This is a full sized item worth $32.00. My face is extremely dry during this winter and has been really red so I was hoping this would help, but I used it a couple times and rather than soaking into my skin it seemed to turn into a weird texture and flake off. It's full of good things so I'm going to try it again.
The next item I got was a Ciate mini paint pot in the colour all aglow. This is a full sized mini worth $10.00. It is a gold glitter polish which I have been in love with lately. I saw the other colours that they had though and I think I would have preferred one of the other two to try since I already have a few gold sparkles although I do love it. 
The next item is a miracle hand scrub by the company Rituals Cosmetics. This is a full sized item worth $17.00. It has ginseng and ginkgo biloba and smells amazing. It is great for winter since it makes your hands very soft. 
The last item is a lipstick in the colour burlesque by the company Bellapierre Cosmetics. This is a full sized item worth $19.99. I don't wear much lipstick but this is a pretty colour so I might wear it sometimes. 
  The total value of this box is $95.98 USD..with the exchange rate at this point that's around $120 CAD! I've always loved my Glossybox when they were in Canada and they have lived up to that with full sized items and decent items that are related to the season. 


Sunday 4 January 2015

December Ipsy

The theme of this months Ipsy was Thinking of You. The sneak peak I saw for this months was that every subscriber would be receiving a Tarte deluxe lights, camera, lashes 4 in 1 mascara and a NYX Butter Lip Balm. Both of these are awesome products so even if the rest of the items weren't anything I wanted I knew this would be a good month.

Ipsy is a monthly subscription service that costs $10.00 a month, but being in Canada I have to pay for shipping which is another 4.95 USD so you'll pay the difference of exchange rate. If you want to subscribe you can do so here: http://www.ipsy.com/r/3kg1


The first item I got was the NYX Butter Lip Balm in Marshmallow. This is one of the items I already knew I was getting and of all the colours that there were I'm glad I got this one since it's a pure nude and I tend to avoid coloured lip products. This is a full size item valued at $4.00.
The next item is the Tarte deluxe lights, camera, lashes mascara. This is the other item I knew about and is a mini sized which is sold at sephora for $12.00. I've heard a lot of good things about this product so I'm very excited to try it, but have a lot of other mascaras to use before I open this one. 

 The next item is a mineral eye polish by the brand Cailyn in the shade Orchid. This is a full sized item worth $15.00 and is in a nice colour that I could use daily. I don't normally use mineral polish because it's so much more difficult but this comes with a little brush in the package that allows me to use it without any mess very easily and I love the effect it has. 
The next item I got is a product from sexy hair called 450 blow out which is a heat defense blow out spray. I've been avoiding blow drying my hair since I'm trying to grow it but this will be useful the times that I do. This is a 50 mL sample worth approximately $7.58 since a full size is $18.95. 
The last item I got is a facial cleanser from the company Beauty Without Cruelty which is a vegan soap free cleanser. I'm starting to get overwhelmed with the amount of cleansers I'm getting but this is a good sized sample and sounds like a good product so I will use it. The value is approximately $2.81 for 2 fl oz.
The bag that this one came in is really cute also, it's a different shape then the normal flat ones and I think it'll be more useful to use. 
The total value of this bag was $41.39 which is the normal value for these bags I've been getting and is a good enough value for me to continue to subscribe. I will use all these items including the bag so I'm very happy with this months.