Thirteen Best of Beauty of 2013

 

 

 

 

Hi and welcome to my blog!!! It's the final day of 2013 and I want to share my favorite beauty finds of 2013 with all of you. I tried to play by the rules and keep it to thirteen, I think I succeeded although it was tough.

 

I first want to say my favorite beauty box subscription of the year was birch box and that's where I found a lot of my beauty products this year. Two of my all time favorites, one being my pick for my holy grail of hair products came from birch box. A huge thank you to birch box ops!!!!

 

First up is Beauty Protector Protect and Condition Shampoo and Conditioner sampled from birch box. This is most likely the best shampoo and conditioner I've ever used on my hair and that's saying a lot. My hair is quite important to me and I'm always in search of great products to keep it healthy and shiny. I think my search is over. This is a birch box exclusive. It retails for 21.95 for an 8 oz bottle and it's worth every penny!!!

 

 

This is my new holy grail of hair products!! Amika Bombshell blowout spray. I fell in love at first use and I'll never go without it again. It smells divine and works like nothing I've ever used. I use it on damp or dry hair. It gives my thick heavy hair volume and holds my curls in for hours. I can spray it on dry hair and tousle just a bit before heading out the door and my hair looks freaking awesome!!

 

Number 3 and 4 also came from birch box, but not as samples. I found them being talked about on their facebook page. IT cosmetics bye bye under eye concealer and bye, bye pores finishing powder. These are both fabulous products and they do what they claim. The IT under eye concealer goes a long way and can be used on blemishes all over the face and to cover redness. You only need one little TINY dot to cover under both eyes. I do recommend going with the medium shade even if you are fair. I went with light and it's just a little too light. They say the recommended shade for 75% of people is medium and I believe it. The powder is light and airy and feels like nothing. I want to say "fairy dust". It leaves a beautiful airbrushed like finish. These are two products I'll definitely continue to use into 2014!!!

 

 

2013 was a big year for BB creams and I tried so many, most were nothing more than over priced tinted moisturizers and I quickly became disillusioned . I found two in the rather large sea of BB creams out there that were worth the money and one that was worth it's weight in gold. A stand out BB cream that made it onto my top 13 products of the year. IPKN New York seems to be a relatively new brand to America. It's a Korean BB cream and most Korean BB creams are wonderfully thick, creamy and hydrating. Full of vitamins and aloes and oils and SPF that are good for your face and without the fragrance that often makes an appearance in other BB creams. This is my go to "foundation" as it covers like a foundation, but feels like a moisturizer and leaves my face so soft and smooth after washing. It rates as #1 in facial products and in the top 10 on beauty bar..com in products across the web. I can't say enough good things about it. I love it, you only need about a 1/4 to 1/2 a tsp to cover your entire face. Light 02 works for me as a very fair almost porcelain skin tone.

 

 

 

 

Number six is a product completely new to me and one that took me completely by surprise!!!! My friend Ashley sent this to me in a birthday gift and it's fitting since this hand cream smells exactly like butter cream frosting!! It's from the product line Farm House Fresh. Whoopie Cream hand cream is a Shea butter hand cream, paraben free and 90% natural. It comes out of the tube shiny and looking a bit like decorators butter cream frosting. It's highly moisturizing and a little goes a long way. You can get this at the Dermstore or FarmHouseFresh.com on line. 14 dollars a tube. It's so worth it.

 

 

Number seven on my list is one I think we've all seen and most of us have tried or want to try. If you haven't tried it, TRY IT!!! You wont regret it, this little latex free sponge applies your make up to a satin finish. Streak free, air brushed looking make up is what's in store for you. Use the big rounded side for foundation on larger parts of your face and the smaller pointed side for smaller areas and to blend concealer (see IT concealer) seamlessly. Once I took the plunge with these I fell in love and wont go back to my blush application ways. They are a bit on the pricey side, but totally worth it.

 

Number eight is another birch box find for me, this lip product got me through the dry hell of a California heat wave and is getting me through the unexpected weird drop in temperature that caused snow on the valley floor here that we haven't seen in over 25 years. I use it every day. In the morning before applying my lip color and at night before bed and it keeps my lips hydrated and protected. This is, hands down the best lip product I've used in years and I'd recommend this to anyone having issues with dry, chapped or peeling lips. It's a wonder product to me <3 .

This primer is very similar to Benefit's porefessionals, but better. It has the nude skin tone we all come to expect from porefessionals only it's a bit thicker and has better coverage and better color correction. Add to that it has an SPF of 30 and that makes this product a super primer in my book. It's wonderfully smooth, blends easily and no fragrance. This will be my go to primer for 2014!! Available at Dermstore, I believe for 35 dollars for a 1 oz tube. Not too bad a price. :)

 

Number 10!!! Getting closer :) Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara!!! The name says it all. No, it's not better than sex, but it's better than most mascara's out there. I'm a mascara junkie, having no less than 15 tubes of varying brands of mascara in my vanity at any one time. I try them all at least once. I wanted this as soon as it launched, but didn't want to put out the 23 dollars for a full sized tube. I prefer the half sized anyway. When Sephora was doing their pre Christmas sale I caved and bought two of the 10 dollar promo deals and got two of the mascara's and two eye liners....each set was 10 dollars. They were totally worth it. This mascara goes on like a dream. It can be layered and built without the worry of clumping, flaking or smearing and it comes off easily with any good eye make up remover. It makes my lashes look full, long and super pretty. It's my new mascara pick of 2013!!!

 

 

Number 11!!!!! I couldn't choose just one nail polish from these since I use them all together. This is my husbands favorite manicure that I do. And that's serious business since he normally doesn't care lol. His words "OMG, that's freaking awesome!!!" He actually chose the northern lights holo top coat for me. I came across the other two on a fluke while getting another northern lights. The other two are a new brand available at Sally's. Nina Ultra Pro. I bought one in black and the other is in "boys n berries" a clear base with fine purple glitter. The brushes are perfect for me. They're wider and rounded at the tip fitting my nail perfectly allowing one smooth coat per nail with minimal mess. The purple glitter over a base of black is simply gorgeous and I can't wait to head back into Sally's for more colors to go over the black. I did try china glazes ruby carpet over it and got the same results, absolutely beautiful. Nina ultra pro is my absolute favorite new nail polish find of 2013, it stays on longer than most brands at a higher price point, it's easier to apply and even the black on it's own is beautiful with a matte tip or a glitter tip. It retails for 3.69. You can't really beat that. So number 11 is actually Northern lights holo top coat and Nina Ultra pro polishes.....I cheated a bit ( I couldn't help it, this is hard lol).

 

 

Number 12!!! I am a lip product junkie, I can't even tell you how many lip products I have in my vanity, my purse, my make up bag and stored away for use later this spring and summer. Even before getting into all of these other products and make up I was into lip products so it takes a lot to impress me. Urban Decay was never able to sway me one way or the other with their marketing  until this year and it started with their lipstick. Their revolution lipstick in the shade shown above. I woke up one morning to one of my fellow face book group friends doing an urban decay order and she was in a bit of a panic over choosing a lippie from this line so I decided to help and I was instantly drawn in and lost to it. This color called to me and I convinced her to buy it as well. It's a beautiful, romantic, shimmery, creamy pink (if I had only know what was to come lol) and it looks gorgeous on. It's so moisturizing and long lasting. It doesn't feather off onto the rest of your face and the lip stick line itself is full of beautiful, highly pigmented colors. Even being a lip product junkie I had never spent more than 15 dollars on a lippie before, so I had a bit of panic when I paid the 22 dollars for this. That has since been replaced with a bit of joy every time I use it and I use it often; almost daily. It's actually going to be my very first empty in my lip products, I'm pleased with that, but sad too. I bought another color recently, this one a matte in obsessed....a true baby doll pink. It's just as pretty, but for different reasons. Urban Decay now has it's hooks in me, the lovelight pictured above goes beautifully with the naked 3 palette which I received for Christmas this year. I'll have to repurchase my number 12 pick of 2013 to go with the palette!!!

 

 

The big number 13!!!!! FarmHouseFresh Sweet Cream body lotion is my all time favorite body lotion of 2013. I was introduced to this brand by my friend Ashley who sent me the whoopie hand cream and a chocolate face mask for my birthday back in October. I fell so in love with them that I went back and looked at more offerings. I first fell in love with the container, how stinking adorable is that? A little milk pitcher in a little box saying "our cows eat cookies" lol. It came with a little rubber stopper and a heavy duty rubber band around it to prevent leaks. You replace the rubber stopper with the glass one shown and when you want to use it, just remove and pour. It's slightly thinner than most body lotions and you only need a very little amount. The scent is Divine. It's a spicy light cinnamon vanilla and it lingers on your skin for hours. It's highly moisturizing and will last for a very long time. Again, you can find this on the Dermstore or FarmHouseFresh on line. This mixes very well with some of my favorite perfumes by Tokyo milk and dolce and gabbana. :)

 

Picking just 13 products was really hard, there are so many to love out there. I'm going to put some notable ones in this last little paragraph. Coconut oil....I use this frequently on my hair to deep condition. You can find it at any grocery store, just warm it a bit and put it on dry hair for a few hours or over night. Hair ties from elastic, I love these. The too faced chocolate bar palette, naked 3. 2013 was a big year for tousle creams and texturizing sprays. Not your mothers was my favorite. Nick Chavez thickening came in a close second. Self tanners were big, the only one I truly liked was the Sephora brand which has been discontinued. Subscription box services blew up, but my favorite still is Birch box. Let me know what you think, what are your favorites for 2013. What are your not so favorites. Favorite sub box? Thanks for reading and have a great New Year.

 

Please be sure to go check out all the blog links at the bottom and see what all of their favorites of 2013 were. It's a blog hop!!!! Have fun, be safe, comment!!!!

 

Live is a gift!!! Open it and live it beautifully!!!

 

Nancy 

 

Vivienne at Jolie Pagaille - http://www.JoliePagaille.com
Michelle at Pretty in the East- http://www.prettyintheeast.wordpress.com
Jen at Dragonfly Reviews - http://dragonflybeautyreviews.wordpress.com/
Kristina at The Feminine Files- http://thefemininefiles.com
Jenn at Little Bit of Girl Geekery-http://icedwavez.wordpress.com/
Christine at Simply Stine- http://www.simplystine.com
Cheryl Hawley - http://theskinnyonbeauty.com/
Angela Watkins at The Makeup Whisperer http://wp.me/p3Wf8e-fu

Influenster JollyVoxBox Review

I received all of these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

I'm very new to Influenster and I'm still learning how it all works. I was very happy to receive the JollyVoxBox this month for testing and review and I had a lot of fun with the products that were included!! I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and the diversity of products included. So let's get to the fun :)

I decided to go the Christmas route with the first picture as it is a Jolly box and it made me happy.
Included in this box Skinny Cow Divine filled chocolates in peanut butter creme <3 , Puffs ultra soft and strong to go tissue pack, NYC HD color trio eye shadow, Rimmel London NEW show off lip Lacquer and the cutest little mini ducklings duck tape!!!

Skinny Cow Divine Filled Chocolates in peanut butter creme. One 6 oz pack of 1 oz servings, 3 pieces per pack. Priced at $3.99 per box and $1.09 per pack. 130 calories per serving. These are absolutely delicious, divine as the name says. Similar to a peanut butter cup, but smoother and less calories. I shared with my husband and he's now in search of more. 

Puffs Ultra Soft and Strong to go pack tissues. $0.49 per pack. These are very soft, super strong and unscented which is a huge plus for me. They're easy to pull out of the pack and seal back up, so no mess on the tissues. They're in my purse and I'll likely repurchase these.

NYC New York Color HD color trio eye shadow. This retails for $2.99 and I was honestly worried about the quality given the price, but I was pleasantly surprised. The colors are highly pigmented, buttery, silky and literally no fall out. I can't recommend this little gem enough. I was actually in Target two days ago and a woman was looking at these and couldn't decide if it was worth it. I went out of my comfort zone and explained the influenster box and this little trio I had just tried. She decided to go ahead and buy one. I was wearing the shadow that day having tested it. It kind of made my night....This is what I've been wanting to do!!!! Reach people and I did :) .

Rimmel London NEW Show off Lip Lacquer. This retails for $5.49-$5.99. This is a beautiful, highly pigmented, opaque coral lip lacquer (color in luna). It goes on very silky, it's not sticky or goopy and has very minimal transfer. It has a doe foot applicator that's just a bit different. It has a little tiny hole in the middle of it that confused me at first. On application it made sense....It seemed to allow me to apply the lacquer without a lot of "build up" of product on the edges if that makes sense. Any excess product slipped back up through the "hole" and didn't end up on the edges of my lips. I did the "hair" test and nothing stuck. This is a keeper and I'll definitely repurchase this and recommend it.

Ducklings Mini Rolls...This retails for $2 to $3 dollars. What can I say about this except that it's completely adorable and it works. What more can you ask for? The functionality of the plain silver duct tape mixed with all the cuteness of flowers (on this roll). I'm hoping I can actually find this with little ducklings on it. 

This is my first influenster box and I'm completely happy with it and happy to test the products and give my reviews. It's been fun and I'm still working on doing all the extras they let you do. I did a youtube unboxing here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwXCTaWliRo 

Check out the brands at the links below

http://www.facebook.com/puffs
https://www.facebook.com/newyorkcolorcosmetics
https://www.facebook.com/rimmellondon
https://www.facebook.com/theduckbrand
https://www.facebook.com/TheSkinnyCowUS

If you'd like to try Influenster leave me a comment.

Julep Diamond Mystery Box November

I'm fairly new to being a maven with Julep, having just signed up in early October. I haven't chosen to receive either monthly box yet, choosing instead to go for the mystery boxes. I received this one about a week ago and I wanted to wait to do the review until I had a chance to try a few of the polishes. I did do an unboxing video https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxCy6YhsBuyQu98NwbQvEQ.

This is a "picture unboxing" and a review of some of the products I tried.... :)

First up are Candace, a golden shimmer. Marion, a teal shimmer and Kristy, a glossy black. I only tried Marion and I was happy with the application and dry time. I used it over juleps base coat and it was really pretty on. My goal was to try all of the polishes, so the next day I went to remove this one and I was really not happy at all. The Marion had stained not only my nails, but it stained my skin as well when I was removing it. I ended up having to rub lemon juice all over my hands to remove it. I wont be using this color again. *note...it stained through the base coat. I haven't tried the Candace yet, but I did try Kristy and it wasn't as glossy as I'd hoped it would be. It was still nice and I'll use it as a base for other polishes, glitters and holo toppers.

These two are really pretty, The reddish color is Claudette and that will actually be going as a gift so I wont be trying it. The really light pink is named Gemma and I'll be saving this for spring when I start using brighter colors and neon's. It's very, very light pink, almost white.

These are the two glitters they were teasing us with for the Diamond box, one is pink and is named Antonia and the blue is named Geo. Both are amazingly beautiful and I found them to go on pretty smooth. I didn't think about it until just now, but I'll probably go ahead and try them both out layered over the lightest pink one, the Gemma!!! I really think they'd look fantastic!!

The only item I'm really happy with here is the pink body frosting. It is AMAZING. Simply amazing. It smells divine, it's creamy and thick and it goes on so smooth. It just sinks right in and doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy or sticky. It's more of a spring type scent, but I'm likely to just use it right through the winter months. The little eye lash curler had me a bit confused. It seemed really out of place in this box. There was no eye make up at all. It just felt like a random item they threw in as an after thought. I tried putting it up to my eye and couldn't even get close. It's really an uncomfortable feeling having that black base block the entire eye area. The scrub mitt I haven't tried yet. It's very thin and feels cheaply made. I had already purchased one with a previous mystery box and wasn't impressed with it then either.

In all, I am happy with the amount of polish we received in our mystery box, the body frosting is amazing. There were some polishes that are definite losers. I wont even pass the Marion on to my daughter as it just stains :( I don't mean to sound negative. I just want to give an honest review of these products and most of the time I hear only rave reviews. I just haven't had as much luck I guess with the julep polishes. At full price they're too costly for what you get.

I think I'm going to be sticking with mostly indie brands like Above the Curve which I love.

The total value of the box was just at $120 dollars if you paid full price for everything in it. As mavens we never have to pay full price so I think the value is more like $80. It's still a great value. I paid $19.99 for this box. Seven polishes (four of which I might use) The body frosting will definitely get used. The mitt??? eh. The eye lash curler, nope.

You can become a maven by going to http://www.julep.com/ your first box will be free with the code FREEBOX. They send you an email reminder monthly to check your maven box to see if you'd like to receive it that month. It's 19.99 a month and you can add items on to make it a better value. If you love julep polishes this would be a great deal for you!!!!

Thanks for reading!!!

Life is a gift!! Open it and live it Beautifully <3

Nancy

 

 

 

Vasanti Brighten up! Enzymatic Face rejuvenator

I received this in a trade with a fellow birch box subscriber and I was really excited to try it out. I love exfoliators and microdermabrasion products. This is a very fine scrub and you only need about a pea sized amount to do your entire face.

I started using this about six days ago, and I'm loving it. It's very gentle and doesn't dry out my skin. I've already started to notice a difference in the evenness of my skin. I had some issues with redness on my cheeks and chin and this little gem of a product seems to be doing it's job perfectly!!

My skin is brighter and more even, the redness is going away and my face feels so soft and smooth. My make up looks so much better going on. I have two deluxe sized samples of this and because you need so little they will last me more than a few months. I'll probably end up buying the full size product when I'm done with these. It is a little pricey, but still a lot less expensive than visiting a dermatologist if you only need a little help :)

You can get it here
http://www.birchbox.com/ for $34 dollars for 4.3 oz. I believe the full size tube would last about six months or more. Remember you should only be using this 3-4 times per week.

(I do use a face cleanser first, then apply this in small circular motions and let it sit on my skin for a few minutes.)

Have you tried this? Tell me what you think. I love to hear other people's experiences with these products.

Thanks for reading!!!

Live is a gift!!! Open it and live it beautifully <3

Nancy

Good evening ladies!! I was in Sally's beauty supply the other night to pick up a top coat and I ran across a new (at least to me) line of nail polishes. Nina Ultra pro. Of course I ended up picking up more than one color and I have to say I'm loving this line. The brush is wider than most which is great for me, I'm a novice at doing my own nails :) It's curved at the tip to fit at the base around the cuticle and it was the first time I didn't have to do a lot of clean up after. I got one in black and a dark purple glitter called boy's n berries which is absolutely beautiful. 

My actual purpose was to get another ruby slippers since I seem to have either misplaced or thrown out the one I had. I did my nails last night, layering the ruby slippers over the black like I'd seen done on several other sites and it worked perfectly!! Just what I had been trying to achieve for months

The ruby slippers from China Glaze, the black from Nina Ultra Pro and a entirely new to me top coat from Seche Vite. I love all three of these new polishes, the only issue is the Seche Vite is not 3 free and it stinks to high heaven. The smell does go away after it dries, but I've been so spoiled with the 3 free etc polishes I had forgotten how terrible the smell is.

This is what it looks like on. Please excuse my novice application and very short nails. My nails are still recovering from a few years of acrylics !!

Have any of you heard of the Nina Ultra Pro polishes? If you have, what do you think of the wider curved brushes?

Thank you for reading!!!

Life is a gift!! Open it and live it beautifully <3

Nancy

Hi to all of you beautiful people out there!! I'm doing a hair product pick of the week tonight!!! I'm always on the look out for new products to help me style my super thick wavy hair and keep it tame. I've used everything from mouse's, sea salt sprays, plain old hair spray, blow dry lotion etc and most of them work pretty well. I found this product about 4 weeks ago and just really wanted to share it with you all!!!

It's one of many new products L'oreal has put out recently and I just love it!!! It's L'oreal tousle crème and it works wonderfully. I put it in my hair while it's only slightly damp (a quarter and half size amount for me, my hair is past my shoulder blades) and completely work it through. There are two ways I use it. I either use my diffuser on low to help dry and shape my waves or I twist my hair up into a slightly tight bun and let it dry overnight. Both work equally well. It smells heavenly and it doesn't cause my hair to dry out or look dull like some of the sea salt sprays are prone to do.

It's fairly inexpensive, I found it at Walmart for $4.99, on the L'oreal website they have it priced at $6.99, but you can definitely find it for less, just look around and keep an eye out for coupons!!!

I love it when I can find a product that works wonderfully, doesn't cost an outrageous amount of money (I've used many products that do!!) and doesn't cause any damage to my hair!! Try it out and let me know what you think :)

Thanks for reading, let me know how I'm doing or if you'd like to see a pick of the week every week!!


Life is a gift!! Open it and live it beautifully <3

Nancy

 

Novembers Blush Mystery Box promised a value of over $250 dollars!! I received mine last night and I'm a little on the fence about the products included in this months box. I've always loved Blush, I've never been disappointed in any box I've received, but they seem to have missed with a few items this time around. I'll get to those at the end of my post, but first the products I did LOVE!!

I love my SPF products!! I use them all year round. The sun does damage no matter what season it is, so I was thrilled to receive this full size SPF 30 pur lisse daily moisturizer in my box. It combines Vitamin and soy proteins to smooth your skin and white tea to soothe your skin and combat free radicals. Retail value is $55 dollars for 1.7.

Available here http://www.dermstore.com/profile_Pur-lisse_500757.htm

Elizabeth Arden mascara, I'm really happy to have gotten this. I've never tried any Elizabeth Arden products and I do love mascara's. I probably own 20 different brands (my favorite being They're Real), but I always like to try new ones. This is a full size, volumnizing and lengthening mascara. It retails for $19.50.

Smart Lash eyelash enhancer was the high value item in this months box, retailing at $125.00. This is an eye lash treatment that promises to thicken and lengthen your lashes (results typical after independent study of 60 days of twice daily application). I am happy to have received this, but I'm not sure I need it. It has stellar reviews and it does often go on sale for $29.95 on Dermstore.com.

Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum (wow, that's a long name) is a brand that's been advertised heavily in the last few months. This is an ultra concentrate potent antioxidant serum ideal for oily and combination skin. It retails for $30 for 1 oz. This is .17 oz so I'm guessing the value to be at about $7.

 

Anastasia Beverly Hills mini Hydrafull gloss in sorbet is a beautiful color, the sample size is very small, but I think it's adorable and I'm looking forward to using this one. I'm not really sure about the value of this item, I'm guessing at maybe $5 because of the small size. The full size retails for $18.

 

 

These last two items are the ones I'm not really happy with, even though I knew we were getting the cargo eye pencil. The Nick Chavez Horsetail root lifting spray has such an awful smell that there's no way I'm going to use this on my hair. It's a mix between alcohol and something "dirty". It got mixed reviews. People are saying it works wonderfully IF you can get past the smell. I wont be able to. It retails for $9 dollars for a 2 oz bottle.

 

The Cargo High Pigment eye pencil in brown. I was really excited to get this in my blush box this month. I love Cargo products and I own one of these pencils already in black and I love it. I'm upset over the fact that blush made this their "sneak peak" and featured item in this months box, but when I went to look up reviews and the price for this on Cargo's website I discovered this item is a discontinued item. I will still use it and love it, but I have a problem when a sub box puts something in as their featured item and you can't even purchase it off the companies website :( Big disappointment there!!!

 

In all, I really did like this months box despite the disappointment. I didn't get the value of over $250 dollars, unless I'm under valuing some of the smaller items. I came up with a total value of $236 dollars. Still an awesome deal considering subscribers pay $24.95 monthly and a one time purchase of this box is $34.95.

 

Thanks for reading!!!

 

Life is a gift, Open it and live it beautifully!!

 

Nancy