This month Birchbox teamed up with Gossip Girl to bring us samples inspired by the series and Manhattan’s chicest events.

In my box this month I received….

1. Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara

2. Dior Miss Dior Eau de Parfum

3. Miracle Skin Transformer Body Spf 20 in Glow

4. Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo

5. A cute notecard

Looks like another great box again this month.

I can’t wait to try the Diorshow Extase mascara and Shu Uemura Shampoo.

Have you tried any of these products before?

What were your thoughts?

Best,

As a skincare addict I always jump at the chance to try new skincare products so when I was contacted by Somme Institute to try out their line of products I of course said yes.

I’ve been using the line now for about 2 months and I feel like I’ve used it long enough that I can do a honest review.

The 5 step program includes:

1. Nourishing Cleanser (blue dot): A gentle non foaming cleanser.
2. Transport Pads (purple dot): Cotton pads with MDT5 and AHA.
3. Serum (orange dot): A potent Vitamin C serum.
4. A-Bomb (green dot): A Vitamins A and E cream.
5. Double Defense (SPF 30+) (pink dot) : SPF 30+ and Parsol 1789.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this line of products and I’ve already recommended it to several friends.

Old acne scars faded away with this regimen and my skin got fresher and had more of a glow.

I’ll tell you what I told my friends though( since I consider everyone who reads this blog a friend) and that’s if you can’t afford to buy the whole system which is $298.00 get steps 2,3 and 4.

Those are the essentials in my opinion.

The cleaner is nice and gentle and I love the sunscreen, but to me it seemed like the transport pads, serum and a-bomb did all the work.

Also, I will add that my skin is acne prone and while this product seemed to do really well with my skin type it did still break out occasionally and I had to spot treat with my proactive spot treatment.

I’d love to see Somme Institute come out with their own spot treatment for us acne prone girls as I’m sure that product would be just as amazing as the rest of their products.

The 5 Piece Regimen can be purchased here.

Have you tried Somme Institute products before?

What were your thoughts?

Best,

For my birthday recently a friend gave me these three soaps by Soaptopia.

As you all know I’m a huge soap fan (mainly lush) so I was excited to learn more about Soaptopia.

Soaptopia offers 100% JUNK-FREE body care products at great prices.

The 3 soaps I got were Sea I Told You Soap, Beauty and the Beach and Rozilla vs. Dry Skin-ea.

Sea I Told You Soap is a mix of Spearmint, Eucalyptus, Pumice and Sea Kelp. Smells like a day at the beach. I love it!

Beauty and the Beach is a mix of Sweet Orange, Jasmine, Vanilla and pumice sand. Smells great.

Rozilla vs. Dry Skin-ea is a mix of Madagascar Vanilla and Rose Essential Oil. This one is super moisturizing and great for that dry winter skin.

I was very happy with these soaps and would definitely order more in the future.

Soaptopia soaps are $6.95 and available online at Soaptopia.

Have you tried these products before?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Best,

I just received my January Birchbox and I have to say this is my favorite one so far.

Check it out below….

1. Cherry Pie LaraBar

I love Larabars so I was more than happy to get this sample. No artificial fillers in these natural bars: just dried fruits, nuts, and other wholesome ingredients. Healthy and Tasty.

2. Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream

Dull skin no more, thanks to the glycolic acid in this exfoliating moisturizer. The gentle tingle means its working.

3. Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Blue Ribbon

This waterproof eye liner makes eyes stand out and stays put for hours.

4. Archipelago Pomegranate Body Soap

Laced with good for you pomegranate extracts, this triple milled soap smells divine and leaves skin feeling clean, not stripped.

5. Juicy Couture Juicy Couture

Juicy’s signature fragrance is a blend of sweet floral notes. Sophisticated and feminine, it’s perfect for day or night. Love it!

This box was perfect for me. Like I mentioned above it’s my favorite box to date.

I love the Stila liner, the Clarks Botanicals product sounds promising, the Pomegranate soap and Juicy Couture fragrance both smell amazing and the Lara Bar was delicious!

If you’re a BB subscriber, what did you receive in your birchbox this month?

Not a BB subscriber? Have you tried any of these products before?

What did you think?

As always I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I just got back from a place I don’t visit often, WalMart.

I don’t know why I just prefer Target, but WalMart was on the way home and I was in major need of a space heater.

I live in the Sunshine state, but it’s hit freezing temperatures two nights in a row now and this girl is freezing, brrrrr.

After quickly finding the space heaters it was time to do something fun so I made a stop by the Makeup Aisle because I mean how could I not?

I didn’t end up buying anything, but I did take some pictures of several newer items to share with you.

Maybelline Illegal Lengths Mascara.

Build Lashes with 4mm of Measurable Extensions.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Eyeshadows.

Skinny Girl Makeup Products.

I’m interested in trying the new mascara, but I have so many right now I passed on picking it up.

Truth be told I’ll end up picking it up very soon though so watch for a review.

Have you tried any of these products yet?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on them!

Best,

NEW StriVectin–TL™ Tightening Face Serum Review

What they say:

-Patented NIA-114™: Discovered in skin cancer prevention research, this innovative ingredient helps to rebuild skin layers and is clinically proven to help reduce visible signs of aging, wrinkles, and stretch marks.
-Collagen-Stimulating Protein: Stimulates collagen and elastin synthesis.
-Pullulan, Sorghum and Cumingii Leaf: Skin tighteners that instantly firm and lift.
-Algae Extract: Protects fibroblasts from free radical stress.

My Thoughts:

I signed up for a sample of this product back in August and finally received it early last week.

Before I get started on my review though I should probably tell you a little bit about my skin.

I’m 32 and luckily don’t have any wrinkles or anything yet, I did however fall asleep sun bathing as a teen and got a 2nd degree burn on my face. Thanks to that little mishap I’ve always had fine lines on my forehead.

Note: Falling asleep in the sun = bad idea, haha.

Anyway, since my teens I’ve tried a million different products to help with the dryness/fine lines and nothing worked…. until now!

After receiving the StriVectin–TL™ Tightening Face Serum sample in the mail, I quickly slathered the product on my forehead and went to bed hoping for a miracle.

The next morning I woke up and it was a miracle!

No lines. No dryness. My skin felt and looked amazing!

I am a skeptic when it comes to skincare products, but this one is worth every penny!

I honestly can’t believe the difference!

I think a better name for this product would have been: StriVectin Better than Botox or StriVectin You won’t believe it’s not Botox.

Haha.

All kidding aside though this is an amazing product and is one that I highly recommend for anyone dealing with fine lines/wrinkles.

Dare I say it’s the best skincare product I’ve ever tried?

StriVectin–TL™ Tightening Face Serum retails for $89.00 at Sephora.

Have you tried this product before?

What are your thoughts?

P.S. I’m not sponsored to say this and I signed up for the sample myself. StriVectin knows nothing about me and has nothing to do with this post. However, if they would like to send me a lifetime supply of this product I would gladly take it .

Kim Kardashian took to her blog recently to reveal a favorite new beauty product.

As fans of Kim may already know she made news recently when she openly discussed her battle with psoriasis.

Now yesterday on her blog Kim posted this:

“I’m using Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs spray and it is my lifesaver at the moment! I love this stuff! It really covers up my psoriasis so well!”

You can check out the before and after photos of her legs as well as her post here.

Wow! The Sally Hansen spray really makes a difference don’t you think?

Have you tried this product before?

What were your thoughts?

I need more palettes like the Kardashians need more clothes so why then am I obsessing over them so much lately?

I currently want the Tarte True Blood Palette, Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Palette, Bobbi Brown Bronze Tortoiseshell Palette and the Smashbox Photo Op Eye Palette for Blue Eyes.

Not sure If I’ll end purchasing any of them as I’m not sure which one I want the most.

I think it’s the Tarte one….no Urban Decay….No Tarte….

What are you obsessing over at the moment?

Please share!

I’ve been hearing about BB Cream for a few years now, but just recently decided I wanted to give it a try. So my friend and I decided to hit up the Asian part of town to see what we could find.

We ran into a decent selection of creams, but I ended up with the Skin79 VIP Gold cream and her with one by Missha.

Before I get into my review I want to let you know more about the product.

This product is supposed to whiten, offer UV protection of SPF 26, offer wrinkle improvement, help fight blemishes and act as a tinted moisturizer/foundation.

So does it work?

YES!!!!

I love this product.

I seriously haven’t used anything but this product since purchasing it weeks ago.

It’s so easy to just throw on and you’re good to go.

No need to worry about putting on several different products you’ve got them all in this one little container.

And the coverage is fantastic….I’d say it’s a medium coverage.

This particular BB cream is for normal to dry skin types, but they have others so if you’re more on the oily side maybe you’ll want to stay away from this exact one.

The only negative about this product is it only comes in one shade which is great for us fair girls, but I don’t think you’d like it very much if you were med-dark.

Overall, I give this product two huge thumbs up.

I love it!

Still too early to tell if it’s HG status for me or not, but it could be….

Stay tuned.

Have you tried this product before?

What were your thoughts?

I payed $29.99 for this product, but you can purchase it on Amazon starting at $15.00.

Deal Alert!

I’ve been wanting to try the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips for the longest time, but the $10.00 price tag kept me away.

So today while I was at CVS and saw that a lot of the plain colored strips were marked down to only $2.50 I freaked out.

Sorry for the blurry Iphone photo!

I picked up the shade 150 Groove which is a bright yellow shade and I love it! So fun for Summer!

Here’s a better look at the shade.

It’s the middle row, yellow shade.

My best advice if you plan on heading out to look for this deal is to check the end caps that have random clearance items on them that’s where I found them.

Good Luck!

P.S. Look for a review on these soon.

Ok….so I think the reason these are on sale is because at the factory they must have placed the wrong polish strips in the wrong box, because online swatches make me think I have Electric Shock. Groove is a greenish shade and mine is definitely not green at all. Oh well, I don’t mind I got the shade I wanted and it was only $2.50!

Let me know if you find a similar deal!