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July 2015 Allure Beauty Box

Another month of awesome products with the July 2015 Allure Beauty Box!!!

What’s the Deal: For $15 a month, Allure sends you 5 deluxe size beauty samples, a mini magazine about the samples and usually some type of coupon. I figured that was a decent deal for 5 deluxe samples! I pay for this on my own, and all opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post, a girl just likes to talk beauty sometimes, ok?! You can see last month’s box here.

I would like to make a note that this is the SECOND month that they have double charged my card. WTF Allure??? I know it is only $15 but that is not ok. This is only my forth box which means half the time they have double charged me. They put the money back on their own, but that is not a good ratio.

Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Primer (full size $27)

What it is: A multitasking protective spray that you use before your heating tools to protect, condition and smooth hair. You all know that I have baby fine hair, and this stuff makes my hair look awesome without weighing it down! I feel like it feels smoother, has a little bit of a shine and it smells good! Did I mention it is probate free?

My Thoughts: I love this stuff!!!!!! I was pretty loyal to Chi’s heat protective spray for the last several years but this stuff is a whole new level of awesome! I highly recommend this and will be using this from now on!

Oscar Blandi olumizing Dry Shampoo (full size $25)

What it is: This is a dry shampoo that is supposed to boost volume without a trace. The smell is sort of lemony and the spray consistency is great. I will say, I could not see the white overcast that you usually get with dry shampoos in the least bit, so that is huge!!! I don’t really know about volume though? My hair is so flat and fine not much helps me in that department.

My Thoughts: I have tried so many dry shampoos out there. SO MANY!!! My favorite is hands down Batiste. It just works the best as far as keeping my hair looking clean and I like it’s scents the best also. If you have a serious issue getting rid of the white overcast from other dry shampoos, I highly recommend this Oscar Blandi one…otherwise…I like Batiste better and it is way cheaper.

Supergoop! Defense Refresh Setting Mist SPF 50 (full size $28)

What it is: This is a three-in-one mist that is to set makeup, helps control oil and shine, and protect against the sun with SPF 50. It has a rosemary and mint scent to it, which much reminds me of something you would smell at a spa and I find that uplifting and enjoyable. I will say that there is a little sting in the spray, which I guess is the mint? It only stings for a second. This is paraben and sulfate free.

My Thoughts: Other than a weird name…Supergoop?? My skin is super oily in the summer, and right now down here if you walk outside for more than a second you start sweating. So it is under harsh conditions that I am testing this. I think that as far as make up setting goes, it works just as well as other sprays that I have had in the past. I do really appreciate the SPF 50 for my fair, easily burnt skin!!! That is a major selling point with me! I am on the fence as to whether I will repurchase, but I think it is worth a try for those in the market.

Invisibobble Traceless Hair Ring(full price $16)

What it is: This is supposed to be a unique band that does not leave a crease in your hair after being in a pony tail, and claims to not drag or pull on scalp. It has a smooth metal free, soldered finish will not snag, cause breakage or hair loss.

My Thoughts:Well, it holds my hair well, but I am not sure I really like the look of these in my hair. A plastic slinky looking thing? It makes me feel like a child. Plus, my hair is super thin so everything leaves a crease. EVERYTHING. These are no different. I might see if my 11 year old niece wants them. Also, $16???? Sorry…there are so many things I would rather spend $16 on than some hair ties that I will either lose or they will stretch out or break eventually. You know?!

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite Daring Length Mascara (full size $26)

What it is: Mascara that stretches lashes for maximum length and volume.

My thoughts: This mascara is a great option for those who have a difficult time with clumping. The brush is so short and small that you really have to work to build….which is both good and bad. Bad because it takes longer, but good because there is absolutely no clumping. It has great reviews on Sephora and other websites and is worth a try if you are in the market for mascara. I liked this one and would consider purchasing it again.

Here is a blurry picture of the length it creates for my nearly non-existent lashes! This is before I put on any concealer or foundation…so pay no attention to the dark circles and uneven skin tone.

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Synchronized Complex II(full size $65)

What it is: This is an eye serum that you can use up to two times per day to to reduce the look of visible signs of eye aging: fine lines, wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles, dryness and uneven skintone. It also claims to be intensely hydrating, which it is not. Not even a little. I will say that my skin seemed a little brighter and smoother around my eyes though.

My Thoughts:While this eye serum wasn’t horrible and did have a few benefits, I didn’t love it. Certainly not for the full price!!! Plus, I had to make sure I used extra moisturizer around my eyes because I felt like this was drying.

Do you have an eye serum you love?? Still looking for my holy grail.

July 30, 2015 by Nadine

beauty, friday favorites

Friday Favorites

Favorite Song: At the beach, we listened to mostly country music by the pool since it is more family friendly. Take Your Time by Sam Hunt played several times and reminds me of the beach now!

Favorite Snacks: My mom was in PA visiting family while I was at the beach. She was kind enough to bring my sister and I back some of our favorite foods that cannot be found down south! Luckily, Chris enjoys all of these things as well so I won’t be consuming them all by myself. They aren’t exactly clean or diet friendly…but YOLO. Snyder of Berlin BBQ chips, Dellalo’s Pepperoni Cheese and Smiley Cookies from Eat ‘n Park. It’s the little things in life, you guys. Or in my Pittsburgh accent, yunz!

Favorite Delivery: My sister met up with me Monday morning to give me my aforementioned “northern food” and some fresh veggies from her garden! Look how big her squash and zucchini are! And those blueberries? Damn those berries are SO GOOD!

She also brought me a jar of pickled banana peppers and pickled jalapenos. I need her to teach me her ways!!! This has to be in my genes, right?

Favorite Workout: This would be a great work out to squeeze in with whatever you are currently doing to get those arms tank top ready!

Favorite Lunch: While I was grocery shopping on Monday, I decided to grab a small Greek salad and Brown Rice Veggie Tempura Sushi from Publix. Yum!!!!! Have you ever had Publix sushi before? I was skeptical for far too long, obviously.

Favorite Shampoo: I wanted to try a natural shampoo and while I was walking around Target I stumbled upon gud! This is a Burt’s Bees brand and it was on sale for under $6 this week! This smells amazing!!! Pear and acai berry goes well together. Pearanormal Activity – who doesn’t love a play on words, am I right?? Not only does this smell amazing, my hair felt super clean after using it.

Favorite Beauty Find: Also on sale this week at Target were the Fast Fix items from Alba Botanica. They were on sale for $4.49 PLUS Cartwheel had a coupon as well, so these rang up $4.04 each! One is for puffy eyes and the other is for pimple spot treatment. The puffy eyes worked instantly for me. I really like it! The spot treatment was tinted which I liked. It isn’t a perfect tint for me, but I don’t care because it is under my make up so you can’t tell. It seems to be drying out my trouble areas. It has only been a few days…but for $4….me likey.

Favorite Funnies:

I think this dog might be smarter than us….

When you wake up and realize it is Monday…

How my Friday night really looks..

I can’t stop laughing at this dog….

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Linking up with Amanda.

July 10, 2015 by Nadine

Allure Beauty Box, beauty

June 2015 Allure Beauty Box

This month’s beauty box had all kinds of fun goodies and was appropriately named Day at the Beach!

What’s the Deal: For $15 a month, Allure sends you 5 deluxe size beauty samples, a mini magazine about the samples and a $10 off your $50 purchase on beautybar.com. I figured that was a decent deal for 5 deluxe samples! I pay for this on my own, and all opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post, a girl just likes to talk beauty sometimes, ok?! You can see the box from last month here.

I didn’t have time to take individual pictures up close this month, but you can see above that everything was a decent size.

St. Tropez Self Tan Express (full size $44)

This tanner allows you to customize the depth of your tan by rinsing off after an hour, two or three. To be honest, I haven’t used this yet because I don’t really have time to apply this shit and wait an hour to shower. During the week I shower right after my work out and then have to get ready for work, and on the weekends I clean the house and cut the grass before showering and ummm I need to shower after those activities and putting tanner on then isn’t smart. I hope to try this maybe one Sunday when I don’t have plans, but that hasn’t happened this month.

eSALON Perfect Ending Leave in Conditioner (full size $19.95)

This is a leave-in conditioner for color-treated hair. It restores the shine and moisture, making hair smooth and detangles.

My thoughts: With my thin, tangly hair…this stuff was perfect! I just put a little bit in my hands after my shower and ran it through the ends, then started combing through the ends and working my way up. The tangles were so easy to navigate and this stuff left my hair feeling soft and hydrated. Oh, it smells good too!

E.L.F. Studio Small Stipple Brush ($3)

This brush is great for liquid and cream application of foundation, blush and bronzers.

My thoughts: I love E.L.F. so much that I actually already had this brush. But I never complain on having more! Can you have too many brushes? Surely not.

Lauren B Beauty Nail Couture in Polo Lounge Punch ($18)

This polish is a deep pink with a wet looking finish. The formula is free of DBP, toluene and formaldehyde.

My thoughts: I am like an addict with nail polish. Another thing you can never have too much of, for sure! This color is super pretty and great for any season. This was a streak free finish after two coats.

Completely Bare Wax Strips for Face, Bikini, Body ($12.99)

These are prewaxed hair-removal strips that remove hair when warmed with your hands. These are thin and small and would be easy to control in any area.

My thoughts: I am not a fan of wax strips and stuff, I basically shave everything from the waste down and do just fine so I wont be using these and can’t really give a review.

Cotz Face Sunscreen SPF 40 in Natural Skin Tone (full size 19.99)

This is a water resistant sunscreen with a sheer tint that provides long lasting sun protection while minimizing shine. The formula reminds me of a make up primer, which I love. The color is sheer and perfect, would be great for days you don’t want to do any make up at all, either.

My thoughts: I have heard great things about Cotz from several bloggers so I was really excited to receive this. They also made the best sunscreen list, which is always reassuring. I really love this, and can you get more serious than SPF 40 as your daily face protection? This will be a repurchase for sure! Sunscreen is so important, I don’t want to look like a leather handbag.

Overall:

I was really happy with the size of everything this month. Even though I am less than thrilled with the waxing stuff, everything else I was excited about! And if you think about it, that full size polish that I received is worth more than I pay for this subscription alone, so it was totally worth it! What is your favorite subscription box? Have you considered this one before?

July 2, 2015 by Nadine

Allure Beauty Box, beauty

Allure Beauty Box May 2015

I wanted to share the contents of my second Allure Beauty Box! I was much more pleased with the sizes of the samples this go round. Also, they sent six things again this month instead of just five. Yay 🙂

What I got:

John Frieda Luxurious Volume 7 Day Volume In-Shower Treatment

This is a gel that you apply in the shower for 3-5 minutes after you shampoo and condition your hair and you rinse it out before styling/drying. It is supposed to create volume and is water resistant so that lasts through 3-5 shampoos. This can be found at stores for around $10, which is a great price point if you as me.

My thoughts: It is easy to use and it didn’t weigh my fine, limp hair down which was a plus. I tried it out this week, and the humidity has been high and there is a chance for rain every day, so it is hard to say how it is really holding up because my hair tends to freak out with so much humidity.

Should you get it: Give me awhile longer to form an opinion. I think I like it, but humidity throws off my hair game.

Julep Lip Gloss in Graceful

I have received a Julep Lip Gloss when I was getting the Julep Maven box every month. I loved it and this one is no different!!! The Graceful color is a light pink and is a little sheer. It is great for every day. I love the scent of these lip glosses and they aren’t too sticky. The full size glosses are around $20 on the Julep site.

Should you get it: Yes!! I love the Julep lip glosses. They are some of my favorites. I am tempted to opt back in a month and just get three different colors. They smell great, the colors are wonderful and they aren’t sticky. Can you ask for more?

Versace Eros Pour Femme

I love this scent! I have basically worn it every day since I got it. I am not sure how to describe the scent? It isn’t anything crazy. The sheet says lemon, bergamot, pomegranate, jasmine, peony,sandalwood, amber and musk. The good news is, Chris doesn’t seem to mind it either. Yay! The 1.7 ounce retails for $92.

Should you get it: I really enjoyed this scent. If you are looking for a scent that is not offensive to a sensitive nose, and don’t mind spending a little more I would consider it. It is something different, I get tired of smelling the same few scents everywhere I go, you know?

Eau Thermale Avene Thermal Spring Water

This is a calming, cooling spray. It says that it calms and soothes sensitive or dry skin. I tried it twice and I loved the feeling it left me with. I am going to save it for the summer, keep it in the fridge and use it as a refresher. It would probably feel amazing if you were sun burnt! Though I don’t plan to let myself get that way. It retails for $12.50.

Should you get it: If you live in the south, or experiencing some heat…I would snatch this baby up for a cool down. It really did feel like it was calming my skin the instant I sprayed it.

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask

This mask you put on before you go to bed. It is supposed to hydrate and leave your skin looking plump and glowy. There is a slight rose scent when you apply, but hardly noticeable. I have used it twice and I will say that my skin was super soft in the morning. I don’t know about glowy? But I work out and sweat like crazy after I wake up so that sort of covers anything up. It is suggested to layer this mask over your anti-aging stuff to make it more effective, so that is a fun bonus! This retails for $23

Should you get it: I like the way this mask felt when I put it on. It soaked into my skin fairly quickly, and didn’t leave any residue on my pillow or anything. I am out of anti-aging serum right now, so I can’t speak to the fact that it makes those products more effective, but it sure does make sense. As far as night masks go, the price isn’t bad and a little goes a long way. I am on the fence if I would purchase it again.

Alterna Caviar Repair Multi-Vitamin Heat Protection Spray

This is a styling spray to prevent damage from flatirons and blow dryers. I loved the scent of this. Almost like a mojito?! It is lightweight and it left my hair feeling super silky after every use. I had to be careful not to overuse, otherwise I felt like it would make it look a little oily. To be fair, I have also been running my fingers through my hair all day long because it is just so silky. This retails for $30.

Should you get this: I am a Chi heat spray girl and have been for years. I will say that this stuff makes my hair silkier for sure. If I had thicker hair, I would have no hesitations to purchase this again in the least bit. Because my hair is so thin, I feel like I can’t add the amount I do with my Chi spray. However, I really like how soft my hair is after using this. There are a ton of vitamins and good things in it for the hair which makes me think I will repurchase it.

Have you used any of these products? What do you think about this box?

May 28, 2015 by Nadine

beauty, friday favorites

Friday Favorites

Favorite Song: We are Tonight by Billy Currington has been on repeat for me basically every day. I just love this song!! I actually enjoy running to it too, surprisingly. Usually I go for EDM-ish music to run to. Or Lady Gaga. 🙂

Favorite Beauty Find: I was perusing Walgreens last week for something to alleviate my allergies. While I was standing in line for the pharmacist, I happened to see a display with a picture of Elsa from Frozen that caught my eye. Wouldn’t you know, Orly came out with a frozen collection of polishes and they are super awesome and pretty and ON CLEARANCE!!!! Obviously I needed a few. I made a deal with myself to not grab any pink since I have a million different pink colors. Check out this pretties. Watch out or Else is more purple than pink. I haven’t had a chance to paint my nails yet this week, but I hope to this weekend and will share.

Favorite Surprise: Laura went up to Pennsylvania to visit family and while she was there, she went antique shopping. Being the super thoughtful friend that she is, she grabbed these Tom and Jerry glasses to add to my ever growing collection of character glasses!!! Little did she know, I LOVE Tom and Jerry. And even more special than that, my grandma’s name was Jerry.

Favorite Snack : I love salt and vinegar potato chips. Love love love. I needed to find a better snacking alternative for those days you want something salty and satisfying. Enter Planter’s Sea Salt and Vinegar peanuts. You guys. You guys. I freaking love these things. Sure, raw almonds are the healthier option…but sometimes you gotta go with flavor! These may or may not have been gone in like 3 days. Oops.

Favorite Treat: I am not a cake person in the least bit. In fact, most cakes I actually hate. I much prefer cookie cake and no longer waste calories on something I do not like, even if I feel sort of obligated to consume at parties and such…I am able to just say no thanks now. I knew Chris was my soul mate when I discovered he’d rather have cookie cake too. (Well, that isn’t the only reason. Ha!!) Yesterday I had stopped on my lunch to pick up a slice for each of us to celebrate his birthday with!!! I figured a slice is just the right amount of indulgence 🙂

I had picked a blue one for Chris, obviously!

Favorite Dog Sightings: Every time I look out on our deck when the dogs are out, I see this. They are just so damn cute!

The picture above looks oddly familiar from this past weekend right? About 90% of the time, Mac has his head resting on the railing guarding the city. Our house sits on a hill and he can see half of our neighborhood from his perch!