Let's just dive right into this!

Ugh. I guess I'll get this one out of the way. I was actually pretty excited to be receiving a gloss in the bag. I was even more excited when I saw my bag variation had this color gloss. However, when I applied this gloss on my lips it tasted and smelled like I was drowning in gasoline. The texture isn't too sticky and I love the color but this gloss is unwearable due to smell. I would have already thrown it out if I wasn't going to wait and post about it. I have contacted Pop Beauty and Ipsy about this issue and they are both sending replacements but I have yet to see either of them. I'll keep you guys updated via twitter when I hear anything new about this.

Score:
    0 out of 5

I don't really have much to say on this item. I haven't used it, nor will I, simply because I have three masks that I have to get through and I wasn't really interested in this. This is going straight to my trades list. Not because it's a bad product, it's just because I'm a hoarder.

Score:
    N/A

Not the best. Not the worst. Unlike the rest of the Ipsy community I wasn't infuriated by the lashes. I wasn't super excited either. They're just kind of meh. The style is nice and I'll wear these to dances or onstage but definitely not everyday. They're not super high quality, just good. The only thing I was really upset by was the lash glue included which is very liquidy and dark black. It smudged on my lid when I was applying them and it was super hard to remove. All in all, kind of a "meh" product.

Score:
    2 out of 5

This was one of my favorite items in the bag. I love the color purple so I was happy to see the shade I received. This has a doe foot applicator which helps the product glide on very smoothly. The color works well on it's own but it can also be used as a base for other shadows. In this use, it functions well too and it works even better as a base with a primer underneath it.

Score:
    4 out of 5

I was not expecting to like this color. Actually, I had planned to trade it for Odette (a neutral purple color). However, when it arrived it turned out to be more than I thought it would. Although in photos this looks like your average french nail base pink it is actually a sweeter almost purple toned color. It is pretty sheer but the color can be built.

Score:
    5 out of 5

Overall score for this month's bag:
    3 out of 5
This was just kind of a "meh" month for me

Winner of this bag: Zoya Nail Polish in Dot
Loser of this bag: Pop Beauty Lip Gloss in Fuchsia Freesia

What did you get in your Ipsy bags? Let me know in the comments or on twitter. That's all for now. See you cuties on Friday!

Welcome to the first Mani Monday!
This nail look was inspired by the Zoya polish in my February Ipsy Glam Bag. I was feeling very springy hence the bright colors and simple design. The base pink is Zoya's Dot (the polish bottle I am holding. The pink on the french tip is a neon pink nail art pen. I'm unsure of the brand because it has been rubbed off. The orange on the accent nails is color club's Neon Orange. I think this a nice design because it is fairly simple to do, can be done on pretty much any length nail (even really short ones like mine), and requires only a few colors. Did I pull it off? Personally, I think that my nail art was a little sloppy but let me know what you think in the comments. See you cuties on Wednesday in the Ipsy February Glam 

As stated in my previous post, I am going to start being more consistent with my blogging. I am going to try to post three days a week. So for the sake of keeping you informed, here is my planned weekly schedule!

Mani Moday- A short "nail look of the week" post

Large post- This is when I will do my "big post" for the week like what was mentioned in the last post. This week will probably be the Ipsy reveal.

Fabulous Friday- I'm still not sure on this name. These posts will be short beauty tips, looks, FOTD, etc.

Like this schedule? Want to see something changed? Let me know in the comments. With that, I'll see you cuties on Monday!

First of all, I just wanted to apologize for the lack of content posted to this blog over the past month. I have been swamped with school work and every weekend for four weeks in a row I have been traveling to assorted colleges for auditions and unfortunately this blog has kind of fallen to the side. Academics are my priority so I can't apologize for placing that first however I am sorry that I did not keep you guys updated on what was going on. So, in the hope of clarity of communication, here is a list of what will be coming to this blog in the near future

1) Ipsy February Reveal- Are you guys still interested in this? I know it's kind of late in the month but I'm happy to do it if you want me to. Let me know in the comments or via twitter if you want to see this and I will make it happen.

2) PinchMe Product Review- One of my friends, who runs Mischief Managed Makeup blog (check that out here), made a post about a sampling service I have never heard of called PinchMe. They send out product samples free of charge. All they ask is that you review them. I made my first order recently so I will definitely post a review of the service here. Also, here is a link to check out the service if you are interested.

3) Giveaway Review + Thanks- If you follow me on twitter (which you definitely should, here is a link) then you know that I recently won a Giveaway from Santana or Curly Girl Beauty. She has an amazing blog which I stumbled upon a month or two ago. Not only is she a blogger, she also makes and sells her own products. How cool is that? Here is her blog and her store. Anyway, I won her giveaway of MAC's new Rihanna Lipstick. When it gets here I will definitely be reviewing it.

4) Epice Skincare Kit Review- Through the lovely ladies on Makeuptalk I learned about a new offer from Epice Skincare. They are currently offering a free sample set with free shipping. Me being the beauty obsessor that I am, I snatched that right up. From the looks of the tracking, it will be here soon so I will be posting a review of that. Want some free stuff too? Here's a link.

All in all, I hope to pick this blog right back up and push forward. I will try my best to post weekly so check back every week for something new. If you want to make sure to see all my posts, follow me on twitter, as I update there often. If you want to see something from me that is not listed here, let me know in the comments or on twitter. For now, see you later cuties!

I don't know about you guys but I was a little disappointed with January's bag. I think it was a great idea but a poor execution. I would have posted my bag reveal for last month but literally everything went to my trade list. That being said, I am looking forward to some cute makeup items for February. Hopefully some soft, romantic pink and nude lippies or eyeshadows. Maybe even some fragrances? Let's find out!

Oooh boy! This month's theme looks good already. I just love the idea of a Valentine's Day bag! Anyway, Ipsy didn't really even try to hide this spoiler. The product is very obviously Pop Beauty's lip gloss. The colors in the photo appear to be Fuchsia Freesia and Peony Petal. However, ipsy has sent out items in shades not pictured in the sneak peeks so I guess you never know. I really liked this sneak peek because this is an item that everyone will receive which leads to more consistent bags and more happy ipsters :) I have a feeling that this will be a good bag or at least it will stink less (both figuratively and literally) than January's bag did. That's all for now. I will update as soon as I can. See you cuties later!

Right after their fabulous Christmas products were discontinued, Lush has released their Valentine's Day products. As of now, they are not up on the US site but they are on the UK site. Let's get into it!
**The site's description is italicized and the products are linked in their titles. Photo credit to Lush UK**

"With marshmallow root, Fair Trade vanilla and fresh pomegranate juice, Prince Charming will sweep you off your feet and carry you off into the sunset, leaving your skin silky soft and smelling lovely – the fragrance is made using a beautiful blend of grapefruit, sandalwood and geranium oils"
Oh man! This scent sounds so good. Depending on how I like the fragrance, I might get a big bottle of this. On the UK site the smallest size is £4.65 ($7.66), the medium size is £9.25 ($15.24), and the largest size is £15.95 ($26.27). This product will most likely be more expensive in the US (for unknown reasons, the UK products are almost always cheaper) but I will still probably buy it. I can't wait until this makes it into stores! This is probably one of the most interesting items to me.

"This is a unique soap with an uplifting, fruity fragrance. Bergamot and rosewood work together to create a rich scent, whilst fresh figs, passion fruit juice and soya yoghurt nourish and soften the skin"
I'm not sure that I am as interested in this one (although perhaps I have been spoiled by their wonderful Christmas soaps). I do have to say that this is a really pretty soap but I am not sure that this scent is for me. It retails at £4.25/100g ($7.00/100g) but again will probably be more expensive in the U.S. An interesting thing about this soap is that it has little white hearts in the center. I'll have to see about this one. I'll make sure to check it out in-store.

"This smooshable massage bar is beautifully fragranced with Fair Trade vanilla absolute. Inspired by the humble Jammie Dodger biscuit – as you peek through the heart shaped hole on top of bar you can see into the sumptuous white fondant centre"
I am really excited for this one! I love love love Lush's vanilla scents. I was bummed to see Heavanilli be discontinued so I am beyond happy that they are releasing a new vanilla-scented massage bar. My only concern is that this is going to be very melty. The word "smooshable" makes me a little nervous. This retails for £5.50 ($9.06). Again, this will most likely be marked up in the US.

"The Love Locket was inspired by the kind of heart-shaped locket you wear as a necklace, perhaps with a secret photograph of a loved one inside. In the same way, you have to unlock (crack open) this Love Locket bath bomb to reveal the secrets hidden within…"
Hmmm. I'm not sure how to feel about this one. From reading the ingredients it seems like this will have a citrus/vanilla scent (like a creamsicle maybe?). I am a bit wary of having lots of things inside the bath bomb as I am not a fan of cleaning out my bathtub after a bath. It retails for £6.95 ($11.45) which, especially with the increase of price to US, seems a little bit pricey for a bath bomb. I'll probably try it at least once if it smells good but I'm not sure this is something I'd purchase more than once

"Probably our most romantic product ever...with exquisite floral essential oils and a beautiful floral fragrance to leave your skin smelling absolutely divine. Re-launching for Valentine’s Day, this product will be staying on permanently"
So this is one of the replacements for the many discontinued massage bars. I am personally not a fan of floral scents so I can't say that this sounds particularly appealing to me but I will wait to pass judgement until I test it in-store. This retails for £6.50 ($10.71) and will probably be marked up in US stores.

"A delightful, whipped up gloss made from luxurious and protective butters including Fair Trade shea and cupuaçu. This preservative free tinted lip gloss gives a touch of colour to the lips. It’s so easy to apply you won’t even need a mirror!"
Have I saved the best for last? Quite possibly. Every Lush lip product I have tried, from their scrubs to their tints, has been incredible and I'm hoping that this is no exception. This product is the first gloss I have ever seen from Lush and I am excited to try it. I will definitely be purchasing this lip gloss. This retails for £5.75 ($9.47) and will most likely be marked up in the US.

They also have a few gift sets for sale. They are Lots of Love, Neon Love, and Toucan Love. Any boys wanting to be my valentine can feel free to get me one of these ;)

So what do you think? Will you be picking up a few items from this collection? Let me know in the comments below. Be sure to check my Facebook and Twitter so you know when I make a new post. I'll see you cuties soon!

Proactiv+ Mark Fading Pads
Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion
Faith Aromatherapy Tahitian Monoi Anti-Aging Sugar Scrub
ALTERNA Caviar Anti-Aging® Dry Shampoo
Absolute! Makeup Cleansing Tissue
Skiin Soothing and Smoothing Eye Cream
Apothederm Bright Skin Serum
Willa On The Go Face Towelettes
Balanced Guru Balm Me Up Organic Sweet Cocoa & Tangy Body Balm
LeeAnni Eco 3 in 1 Revolution

One item left! The mysterious white tube with the blue stripe.

1) Mica Beauty Tinted Lip Balm
2) Yaby Foundation (I could use a lighter shade for when I am doing dramatic makeup)
3) The Porefessional
4) Apothoderm Bright Skin Serum
5) Skiin Smoothing and Soothing Eye Cream

I don't have incredibly strong feelings towards any of the products. I'd really be fine with getting anything with the possible exception of the hair products (Alterna, Brigeo, Healthy Sexy Hair) because I have a few products that I have found work for my hair and I have a pretty specific routine. I just put this together with the first few things that popped out at me. Do you have a wishlist? Leave it in the comments. I'd love to see what you guys like. Until next time cuties!

First of all, happy new year! I hope you all have had a great 2013 and your 2014 is even better. Anyway, let's get on to the good stuff!

So ipsy started off the new year by changing their sneak peek release dates. This made a lot of people extremely upset, while some defended Ipsy's decision. Personally, I think that it was a little annoying to not know what was going on after they have set up a clear routine and I would have appreciated a little notice but other that that, it really doesn't bother me if their staff wants to have a little holiday. Anyway, they released their first sneak peek today and it is a wee bit of a mystery. The tube is a Mojito lip balm from Malin+Goetz (sold here). However the two lip pots are quite the conundrum. My first thought was that it was a repeat of Cailyn's tinted lip balm. I would have loved this because I missed out on it in the September bag. Some people on the facebook page have asked if these mysterious lip pots are from Cailyn and Ipsy has told them to  "keep guessing". My next guess would be this tinted lip balm from Micabeauty cosmetics. This would also make sense because they have sent out items from this brand before. Although according to some of the ladies on Makeuptalk Ipsy has lied about spoilers before (in the June bag with the J.Cat lashes). So I guess you never know? I'll keep you guys updated.
There is also people who suspect that the clear pots are EM lip balms. I personally do not think that they are because the colors do not match up and I think that Ipsy would have made a bigger deal about more EM products.

I feel like this sneak peek was much easier to guess but there is definitely a controversial item. The two pencils appear to be Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Creamy Eye Pencils. If I had to guess the colors I would say they were pearl and penny. This would definitely make sense because this would be the third time we have seen Elizabeth Mott (mascara in September, lash card in February). I think that the lighter eyeliner will be nice for brightening the waterline and the bronze color will be good to have for all us blue-eyed gals. Then there's the tube in the middle. Oh boy, here comes bad part. I think it is probably Yaby foundation/corrector. Ipsy sent out Yaby before, but they sent out a concealer. Foundation would be fine for me, as long as they can match my  shade. When they sent out the concealer, about half of the subscribers did not receive a color that matched their skin tone. I'm going to hope that that little tube is corrector which is at least a little easier to match than foundation and it will cause a little less complaint from subscribers. If I get this item I'm hoping that it's an acne corrector because I have an awful situation going on on my chin right now. I guess that's it for today's sneak peek. Check back tomorrow for more!

Oh boy. Another controversial one. So, along with everyone else, the first thing I recognized was Benefit's Porefessional. With the exception of the few people who already own the product, just about everyone wants this product. Personally, this is a bit out of my price range so I would love to have a little trial size of it before I commit to a $32.00 product but I know my chances are slim. The blue tube is definitely something healthy sexy hair, maybe their leave-in conditioner. The white tub looks to be a deep conditioning mask from Briogeo. When I first looked at the brush on the bottom, I didn't see the black handle on the left side so I thought it was one of Em's new brushes but once the ladies on MUT pointed out the black handle I figured out that it was a Coastal Scents brush, possibly a foundation brush. The little yellow spray bottle on the top is a little bit of a mystery, but if I figure it out, I'll give you an update.

Alright, here comes the big one. Each subscriber gets two of these products. The face wipes in the purple package look to be from Willla. The green package of face wipes is most likely Nicka K. The foil packet in front of that is definitely from Proactiv (I couldn't find a link other than the one on Amazon). The little white tube in between that and the funny-shaped purple bottle is a line filler from Skiin. The purple bottle is a dry shampoo from Alterna.The little bottle in the front is a serum from Apothederm. I'm not sure what the little pot behind that is. The jar is a body scrub of some sort. The tube next to that looks like Nourish Organics (another repeat), maybe their face lotion? The little black jar is a bit of a mystery to me, along with the white tube with the blue stripe. The white tube could be Coola, it looks very similar to the sample we received in July's bag. Sorry this was kind of brief but I am trying to get this out as soon as I can. If I learn more I'll definitely update you. Once everything is officially released I will add what everything is in this post or another post, depending on how crowded this gets.

Mini Benefit Badgal lash mascara. Points Required - 1000. Retail value - $8.00

Beautyblender and sample size Blendercleanser. Points Required - 1000. Retail value - $23.95

Kiss Salon Secrets Nail Art Starter Kit. Points Required - 1000. Retail value - $9.99

Thinking of trying Ipsy? Wanna do me a favor? Click here to use my referral link!

I have recently seen a lot of new year's beauty resolutions. Some people want to focus on skincare, some want to clean out their makeup collection, and some want to try something new. A great makeup statement is a bold red lip so I though I would give a list of my top 5 red lip colors. Some are subtle and some are not but they are all tested and approved by me. Let's get this going!

I purchased this as an impulse buy when ULTA was doing a Buy 1, Get 1 sale on their products. I was surprised to find that this was actually a very moisturizing lip balm. It fells wonderful on the lips and has a subtle vanilla scent. This product has a soft red tint, making it a very good product for everyday use. The only two downsides I have found are a slight hint of a chemical scent and the color's lack of longevity (you have to reapply often). It can be purchased for $6.00 here. Also, ULTA has a Buy 1, Get 1 on their products right now so you can get an extra treat for yourself if you decide to pick this up!

The reason that this pencil made the list is because it is probably the best matte red I have used to date. It is easy to apply and is a gorgeous shade of deep red. It would rate higher on the list if it wasn't so drying. I find that you absolutely have to wear some type of lip balm underneath this if you don't want to have nasty chapped lips later. Another important thing to know about this lip pencil is that it is long-lasting but it does stain and is quite a pain to remove. The product also has a bad habit of smearing all over the pencil during application. I received this product as part of my December Ipsy bag. You can purchase it from J.Cat's website for $3.99 if you click here. If you input the code "jcatlips" you get an additional 30% off your purchase.

If you look at this product on the Lush website you would not classify it as a "red lip". Although it does have a pinkish side, it is a bright red color. The color in the tin is an intimidating red but when applied it looks a little more natural. It has a very sweet honey scent with a hint of cinnamon. That being said there are some drawbacks to the packaging. First of all, it can be very hard to open but the real problem comes with application. Unless you have a lip brush on you (I personally do not carry one with me in my everyday makeup bag) you have to apply it with your fingers which can get pretty messy. I also find that if it is cold, you have to warm up the product to apply it. It has a somewhat thick texture that I find more similar to a thick balm. However, it is very moisturizing and tastes very good. It costs $9.25. If you want to purchase it you can click here.

I got this as a gift from my lovely Secret Santa and as soon as I wrote it on here I realized that I left it at my other house so I unfortunately won't have swatches. But seriously this is probably the best red tinted lip balm I have ever used. It tastes like a sweet but tart red apple. Because it is a tinted lip balm it is not a very bold or pigmented red but I think that it is perfect for everyday use. It applies smoothly and evenly and to top all this off it has a cute little apple in the tube. You can purchase it for $2.99 at several drugstores and other similar vendors. Product details can be found here.

There is a reason that I saved these for last! This is my Holy Grail red lipstick. I have never worn a lipstick that lasts longer or has a bolder color than this. I absolutely adore this formula. It is the perfect lipstick for a special event. The first time I wore this was for my homecoming dance I applied it once at the beginning of the night and it lasted three whole hours of sweating and dancing and the color was just as intense as when I had applied it. I also find that this leaves little to no residue when eating. If I had to say something bad about this it would be that the lipstick stains a little and is not as long lasting if you use it without the corresponding lip liner. When they are used together I have neither of those problems. The slogan for this line of lipsticks is "Creamy, Bada** Luxury" and I have to say that that is a pretty apt description.The lipstick is $22.00 and can be purchased here. The lip liner is $19.00 and can be purchased here.

Did I leave out one of your favorite red lippies? Let me know in the comments. I always love trying new red lip colors. Sorry that the lighting was so bad in most of these photos. I hope this article tides you over until Monday when I post the first Ipsy spoiler for January! Have a nice weekend!