Memebox Unboxing: Sam Schuerman Collab Box Review'

I'm so excited to be able to bring you the following review. I have been eagerly waiting by my mailbox for this package to come in and finally the wait is over! My Samantha Schuerman X Memebox finally arrived! Yay!

I have received a number of Memebox's and if you are not familiar with them they are a K-Beauty Box company. They are not like the traditional subscription box companies where to sign up and each month they send you the standard box and you pay a standard fee. With Memebox you must go to their website and choose the box you'd like to have sent. Each box has a specific date they will begin shipping them out so if you'd like them early you'll need to choose expedited shipping and if you are patient (which I'm not known for) you can pick the standard shipping. They don't just have a single box available each month but instead they have a huge selection of personalized boxes ranging from beauty, to skin care, color inspired boxes and even like with this one, Beauty Guru collaboration boxes. I have never been disappointed with a box from this company!

I have been subscribed to and have watched Sam's videos for years. She is actually one of the first YouTubers I ever watched and I was immediately sucked in and loyal to her channel based on her genuine personality and reliable real life beauty tips. She didn't care that people were making comments about her imperfections but instead she embraced them and helped others like myself do the same. It is largely because of her channel that I thought I could also follow my passion and start creating YouTube content.

So when Sam announced that she was collaborating with Memebox I was super excited and now here I am bringing my box to you.

The first thing you notice is how totally Sam this box is. It's pink...It's fun and It's playful. It completely suits her personality.

When opening the box I remember why I love Memebox so much. Look at the number of items you receive and their sizes! This is not some sample filled subscription box!

Included with the box are their standard informational cards. This month you receive two since Meme also included a quick bio on Sam and also because there are 7 full size products chosen to be included in this box. According to Sam's video she was given the opportunity to shop the Memebox website and research what she most wanted included in this box. I believe she did a great job giving the buyer variety. There's a bit of makeup, there's a bit for skincare and there's a bit for hair. It's a very well rounded box and I'm really surprised that the value far exceeds the $23 price tag.

Let's take a look at those FULL SIZE items included in this box:

1. RiRe Lip Manicure 3.7g (Retail Price $18)
Color options are 09 Brick Red, 10 Wine Burgundy, 11 Pink Brown

In the box you are randomly given one of the three lip color choices. In this case I received #11 Pink Brown which is a beautiful deep rose color. The lip color is applied with the doe foot applicator included and once it sets does not move, flake, or smear. This stuff stays put and required a makeup wipe in order for it to come off of my hand after swatching it.

The only con I can see about this product is the applicator size. It is a bit stubby but that can be remedied by using my lip brush with this product. The actual formulation itself is wonderful. It's a creamy lip product and although it dries matte it does not feel drying. I loved this product so much that I ran to eBay to purchase two other colors. Click the link below if you'd like to give this product a try.

RiRe Lip Manicure on eBay

#2 RiRe Pigment 3 Set (2.5g x3ea)
Includes 01 Snow White, 04 A-Pink, 05 Club Burgundy
Retail Price: $13 ea

The next product included in Sam's box are actually 3 eye pigments by Rire. I was really shocked to see that I would not just get one of the color choices available but all three. So that bumps up the number of items you get in this box from 7 to 9. That's an amazing deal. The pigments were packaged in the standard sifter jars below.

But that's where they stopped being standard. Each of these pigments are unique.

Snow White has a beautiful silver bell appearance. It's a chunkier pigment and swatches like a silver snowflake. It's a beautiful color that if used carefully would be a great lid color, brow highlight or inner corner brightener.

A-Pink has the same chunky glitter finish as Snow White but instead it has a great rose gold finish. When swatched it looks like a glittery copper penny. It'll be perfect for those family dinner and holiday parties coming up.

The last pigment included is Club Burgundy. This is my favorite out of the trio and has such a beautiful foil like finish. The color is a warm cranberry and rather than being glittery this pigment is butter soft and has a gorgeous sheen. I can see this being worked into many holiday looks.



Here are the pigments swatched:

From Left to Right: 05 Club Burgundy, 04 A-Pink, 01 Snow White

#3 Secret Key - New Premium So Fast Hair Booster Hair Pack 150ml
Retail Price: $24

The description says that this So Fast Booster Hair Pack restores the protective layer on dry or damaged hair and reduces the hair's porosity by 100%. This hair pack makes dry and damaged hair look and feel like virgin hair and increases the hair's resistance to breakage while healing, protecting and preventing further damage.

This is a hair repair conditioner that is used in the shower after you have shampooed. I have not yet had a chance to use this product but will do so in the near future to give you my thoughts. The packaging is nice, I always like in shower items that dispense from the bottom so you aren't doing the shaking dance and the smell was light and clean. I'll keep you posted on how well the product does in repairing and restoring my color treated hair.

#4 M.Daida Butter Cream Lip Mask 20ml
Retail Price; $13

This Butter Cream Lip Mask feels and smells so good. If you are not put off by the smell of cocoa butter you will love this product. This reminds my of Palmer's Cocoa butter and makes me want to eat it! The product comes in a small jar and looks a lot like a Lush refrigerated face mask. The product is very creamy and when applied to the lips it feels very moisturizing. The product absorbs into the lips and leaves a slight reside on the surface. I do feel a cool sensation in the few minutes it's on my lips and when I wipe the product away as instructed my lips feel amazing. I don't believe it has a plumping effect but the restorative properties of this product will be great through this winter.

#5 Youngwoosa I Love You
Oh Thank You Green Tea Seed Essence 40ml
Retail Price: $54

The product is described as being packaged in the form of a gift towards a precious one. It's infused with a Jeju island blend of organic green tea see and 7 different kinds of herbal extracts. It's supposed to instantly relive and replenish moisture to sensitive and stimulated skin.

The product is contained in this glass bottle and is dispensed with a dropper like many serums out there. That's where the similarities end. This product is lightly botanical in smell...clean and fresh. The product itself you would think would be gel like but rather it is very watery. When trying this out I felt like the product ran away and absorbed instantly. It looks like you will have to be quick this product when applying and it might take more than you are used to in order to apply to the entire face. I haven't had enough time to tell if it holds up to its claims but I will let you know in a future blog post.

#6 Holika Holika Sweet Cotton Clear Powder in Mist 65ml

Retail Price: $8

This facial spray amazing. You would think that due to the name and packaging that the product would smell of candy but instead it is very clean and lightly floral in smell. The mist claims to lock in your make up, keep it fresh looking and not allow it to melt down in the first couple of hours after application. I have used this product and find that the mist is nice and soft. It's doesn't over saturate your skin or move the makeup already in place. The smell is nice and light and hardly noticeable. My skin did feel hydrated after a light misting and did not dry sticky or tight. I do appreciate that the bottle is nice and compact and will be perfect for travel.

I'm going to continue using this product through the holidays to see how it holds up to the heat of the indoors and if there is any shine picked up in those family pictures we'll be taking. I'll keep you posted.

#7 Too Cool for School Play Cheek Angel Blusher 02 Sweet Peach
Retail Price: $14

I loved packaging of this product right off the bat. When I unboxed this blusher it looked like a small lunch pail or hat box and then to find that sweet orange sherbet blush color under the lid I was so happy. I was hoping that since the description said it was highly pigmented that the product would show up on my tan skin but that was not the case. Instead I found that this "blush" makes a wonderful highlighter. There is a beautiful warm sheen to the product and it give such a nice soft glow. Also included with the packaging was a powder puff that inserts into the underside of the pot. It's a cute touch but one that will probably not be used unless there is an emergency. I was really happy that even though this product didn't work out as a blush it will definitely double as a highlighter. 

Click here to visit Sam's Channel

This is the last product that was included in Sam's box and I must say I was a little sad that it came to an end. Don't get me wrong I was really impressed by the number of products and their full sizes. I just wished the fun would never stop. It's like when you open that last present on Christmas and know you'll have to wait until next year to be able to enjoy the same feeling. I thoroughly impressed by the products chosen by Sam given that she couldn't actually hold and look at them. Making these choices off a website is tough but I think she did an excellent job. There's something for everyone in this box and you can't beat the price of $23!

If you want to check out the Memebox website please click below.
http://us.memebox.com

If you'd like to see my first impressions of these products, please watch the video below. Thank you as always!

Ardency Inn: Manuka Honey Enriched Pigment First Impression and Tutorial

A little over a month ago I was watching YouTube with my best friend and she told me about this Beauty Guru by the name of Tati and how wonderful she was. I was seriously planning out how I wanted to launch my channel so I pulled up her channel and I was hooked! During her Sephora Haul: New Favorites and Regrets (Click here to watch it) she talked about these new pigments from a company I hadn't heard of...

Ardency Inn is a new cosmetic company based out of New York. This delighted me since NYC is definitely one of my favorite places to visit and also because it is a brand based in the USA. I do love to support those companies based here since we've lost so many to overseas production and globalization...that'a topic for another time...Anyhow when looking into the company I found that they are deeply rooted in the NYC music scene and have developed different lines of products to go along with each. 

Check out their website for more information on the company and other products they carry.

So what do I do? I run out and try to find these products for myself. I checked my local Sephora and since it's located within a JCPenny I was pretty sure they wouldn't carry them. I then checked the Sephora website only to find that most of the colors I would buy were out of stock. So the next step was to see which Sephora's near to me had it in stock and the nearest to me was still a good 40 minutes away in traffic (I do live in Southern California so there's always traffic!) Feeling a little defeated I went to Hollywood this past weekend to see Big Hero 6 (Which was amazing!) and I literally stumbled upon the Hollywood and Highland Sephora.

This store was massive and I almost passed out from happiness by finding a full stocked Ardency Inn display. The only thing that dimmed my happiness at all was the price of these pigments. Each pigment is $21.00 (misquoted the price in my video) and that meant that even though I was shopping during the VIB sale I would have to limit the number of pigments I purchased. I settled on the shades below. 

From Left to Right: Royal, Peacock, Vintage Gold, Punch, Tangerine

First we have Royal which is a deep purple with a slight satin sheen. 

Second is Peacock which has a Blue Brown duo chrome finish. This color appears as though the iridescence of a peacock feather was blended into a liquid metal.

Next is Vintage Gold which is a shimmery deep gold with tiny bright gold glitter pieces. It has a beautiful aged patina and reminds me of a gilded picture frame.

The fourth color is Punch which is this vibrant deep pink. It's not a true hot pink but is a deeply saturated peony pink. It's a beautiful matte pigment!

The final color is Tangerine which looks just like it's name says. It's a bright orange matte pigment which swatches true to the pan color.



Below are swatches I did of these pigments. I found that each has a very buttery texture and every last one swatched true to the color seen in their pots.

Left to Right: Peacock, Vintage Gold< Royal, Punch, Tangerine

I was truly impressed with the consistency of these pigments and love the fact that I get the pigment payoff without the mess that usually accompanies pigments. Traditionally you see pigments in pots or jars and they are a loose particle consistency. That can lead to fall out and mess. With these pigments you get the creaminess and color saturation of a pigment with the ease of an eyeshadow. Do be warned that the packaging does state that a few of these pigments should not be worn near the eye in the USA. Take that warning as you will and use those colors sparingly near your eye.

The product packaging is great. The pigments come with 1.7G of product in each pot and the packaging is sturdy and light weight. You could easily depot these pigments and place them into a customized palette for ease of use.

My only con in regards to this product is the price point. I do appreciate that these pigments are excellent quality and saturation, however the price point does not make it accessible to many makeup lovers. I do recommend finding one or two of the shades you love most in this collection and splurge as these are really worth it. 

This is the look I created using a few of the pigments.

Ingredients for look are:

Foundation: Makeup Forever Matte Velvet + in shade 060.
Powder: Tart Smooth Operator
Bronzer: The Balm Cosmetics - Bahama Mama Bronzer
Blush: Napoleon Perdis Colour Disc - in the shade 80
Highlighter: The Balm Cosmetics - Mary-Lou Manizer
Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills - Brow Dip - in shade Chocolate
Eye Primer: MAC Paints - in shade Unlisted
Eye Base: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - in shade Electric Blue (Lid)
                 NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - in shade Purple (Lower Lash Line)
Eye Shadow: NYX Nude Matte - in shade Dance the Tides (Crease Transition Color)
                      Ardency Inn Pigment - in shade Peacock (All over Lid)
                      Ardency Inn Pigment - in shade Royal (In Crease and Outer V)
                      Ardency Inn Pigment - in shade Royal (Lower Lash Line)
                      NYX Nude Matte - in shade I Have a Headache (Brow Highlight)
                      Ardency Inn Pigment - in shade Punch (Lower Lash Line and Inner Corner)
Mascara: Too Faced Better than Sex
Eyeliner: Kat Von D Tattoo Liner - in shade Trooper
Lashes: Ardell - Natural Demi Wispies
Lip: Revlon Color Stay Moisture Stain - in shade 025 Cannes Crush

To see the steps I took to create the eye look I came up with using these Ardency Inn Manuka Honey Enriched Pigments please click the video below:

Holiday Nail Tutorial Quick and Easy Burgandy and Gold Ombre

Today's blog focuses on the quick and easy holiday nail design. I have an event to go to tomorrow morning and wanted to jazz up my nails but didn't want to spend loads of time doing it. So here is what I came up with...

Ingredients I Used:
Base Coat - Beauty Secrets, sold at Sally's Beauty Supply
Base Nail Polish - Penny Talk by Essie
Accent Color - Visions of Love by OPI (Mariah Carey Collection)
Top Coat - Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat , sold at Sally's, Target and drug stores
One Makeup Sponge
Nail Polish Remover
Small paint brush
Scissors

Here's how I did it:

Step 1: Apply Base Coat

Step 2: Apply base nail color. (Penny Talk by Essie)

Step 3: Prepare sponge for ombre by painting one stripe of the OPI Vision of love in the middle and two strips of Essie Penny Talk on either side of Vision of Love.

Step 4: Line of the Vision of Love nail polish with the center of your nail and roll the sponge from side to side. This will allow for complete coverage. Bounce the sponge lightly up and down to help blend out any harsh lines. Repeat until you get the desired ombre effect.

Step: 5: Clean up the excess polish from around your nails with a small stiff paint brush and nail polish remover.

Step 6: Lock in your design and help prevent chipping by applying a top coat.

Here is the finished product...

It took me a total of ten minutes to do both hands and because of the fast drying top coat my nails where dry five minutes later.

I hope you like my Quick and Easy Ombre Holiday Nail Tutorial. If you would like to see me do this design step by step please watch the video below:

Wantable Intimates Unboxing: October 2014

It's that time again and I was eager to rip into my October Wantable Intimates subscription box! This month I wasn 't overly impressed with the contents of my box but I wasn't so disappointed that I wanted to return this box. Basically the box was filled with items that are useful but there wasn't any one thing that made me go "Wow".

The first item I unboxed were these cream colored cotton and lace boyshorts.

Retail Price: $35.00
Can be purchased at: http://www.herroom.com/fleurt-205-lulus-delites-boyshort-panties.shtml

They are made by a company called Fluer't and they come with the cute little tag below that says "How do you fluer't". I'm assuming you pronounce the fluer't as "flirt" so I loved the play on words.

The feel of the cotton portion of the boyshort is extremely soft and silky. The lace does not have that typical itching feeling to it but we'll see after I've had a chance to wear them whether the lace will feel comfortable on and if the waistband actually stays up. I do like the look of this neutral, soft and girly boyshort and can't wait to wash and wear them.

The second item I took out of the box is this shapewear boyshort.

Retail Price: $14.00

There was no manufacturer name on the shaper so I can't tell you where to find a pair if you'd like to one pick up. The feel of the boyshort is very stretchy and soft. It feels like a typical shapewear garment. It has the heavy duty fabric at the "pooch" area and the extrawide waistband is supposed to be able to hold in where you need slimming. My concern with this garment is that, as a heavier girl, I know that boyshorts can ride up in the inner thigh area and these look just long enough to do just that. Once that garment creeps its way up and rolls into your inner thigh area your jiggly bits are more obvious and at times it can cut circulation off to that area. I makes me laugh at times when I see shape wear like this because they obviously haven't thought about the fact that women actually need to move throughout the day which means that the garment needs to move with her. Here is a look at what this is made of:

I will definitely give these a try and check back with you all and let you know if they did what they were supposed to do or ended up in the donation pile.

The third item in the box are these basic black boyshorts.

Retail Price: $10.00
For more information about this brand and where to purchase please visit the company website at: http://ihlgroup.com/

These black boyshorts are your basic neutral underwear you need to have in your lingerie drawer. They offer enough coverage when you need it and are stretchy and comfortable to wear. They are not so long in the leg that they would bunch up or gather in the inner thigh area and are a great basic to have if you're ever wearing a skirt that might blow up or pants that are a bit snug and you don't want that visible panty line. For the price they are a decent little addition to my lingerie drawer.

The last item that I pulled out of this month's Wantable Intimates box was this neutral grey shaper tank top.

Retail Price: $20.00

I could not find a retail store for this brand but I'm sure you look on line you could locate something very similar. The funny thing is about receiving this tank top in this month's box is that when I filled out my wantable style quiz I checked the box saying I hated tank tops. Given that I selected that you would think that the company would not send me the tank top above. I did figure that since I said I loved shapewear that they probably figured that this would still make me happy even though it is a tank. They were right. Out of all of the items from this month's box I really enjoyed this tank the most. 
I have had a chance to wear it under a long cardigan and I found it comfortable, breathable, soft and functional. It did what is said it would and smoothed out my belly and back. I was also impressed at the comfort at the chest area. Normally shapers like this are constricting at the bust and feel more like a sports bra than a tank, but this garment had more than enough room in the bust area to be comfortable and not flatten out the "girls". This item is truly what stopped me from wanting to send this box back for a refund.

My final thoughts on this box are that it is a nice basic box. Meaning that it was filled with neutral basics lingerie items that I can see myself using. It was not filled with items that I would have normally gone out and picked up since they were very basic staple items. I've come to expect from Wantable that I would receive a box with at least one or two items that would make me say "Wow" but this month was a bit lack luster.

However for the price of the subscription box ($36.00/month) I was pleased that the retail cost of all of these items added up to $79.00. That more than doubled the cost of the subscription price.

Come back next month to see what my next box reveals and if you'd like to see my first impression of this box please watch the video below. Thank you!

The Balm Cosmetics: Nude Dude Palette Review and Giveaway

The Balm Cosmetics: Nude Dude Palette Review and Giveaway

Last night I went shopping with my Mom and stumbled across a newly revamped beauty department at my local Kohls. I was truly impressed as they are now carrying brands like LORAC, Cargo and The Balm Cosmetics. Normally I can only find these brands at my local Sephora and Ulta which tends to go out of stock quickly with any gift sets.

Imagine my surprise when I not only found a new The Balm Cosmetic gift set...but this set is an EXCLUSIVE Pre-Release only at Kohls. 

This set is the second volume in The Balm Cosmetics Nude line. I personally own four Balm Cosmetics eye shadow palettes, a number of their blushes and their Bahama Mama Bronzer is my go to bronzing powder. I knew that this palette was coming from a company known not only for their cute branding but also for their high quality product.

The first Nude palette the Balm Released was the Nude' Tude. It had a great combination of pink toned neutral shimmers and matte shadows. In comparison to this new palette I must say I love their differences.

It's not like with other cosmetic brands where you get one or two shadows you've seen before. All of the new shadows are just that...NEW! This set does have a cooler tone to it and offers the same basic neutrals and deep shadows we come to expect from a well rounded eye shadow palette. The shadows themselves had a creamy texture and smoothed on for swatches with little effort except for Feisty. That shadow needed more layers to build up the swatch shown below. The rest of the shadows have great pigmentation and I can see this being a go to travel palette over this holiday season.

The packaging of the palette is solid. Its a heavy duty cardboard material and is not flimsy or able to be bent easily. It is light weight and is covered in the signature The Balm pinup imagery.

The kit also includes a double sided shadow brush which I could honestly do without and a full size tube of their "What's your Type" Black Mascara. I have used this mascara before and found that it gives a great amount of volume at the lash line and doesn't flake or smudge easily. It's not waterproof so the ability to hold a curl isn't really there for me but all and all it is a decent mascara.

Below are the swatches of the Nude' Dude palette:

From Top to Bottom: Fearless, Flawless, Firm, Flirty, Friendly Fierce

From Top to Bottom: Fabulous, Faithful, Fit, Feisty, Funny, Fine

This palette set retails for $39.50 at Kohls and is well worth the price. It will definitely be in my travel bag this holiday season.

To get your own The Balm Nude' Dude palette you can visit the Kohls website below or watch my video to see if you can be the lucky subscriber that wins this palette. (Full details on my video description box)

http://www.kohls.com/Nude_Dude

Please click on the video below to see my first impression and get your chance to enter this giveaway.

LORAC: The Royal 3D Liquid Lustre Set - Holiday Set 2014

The holiday season is fast approaching. Once the Halloween makeup has been washed off and the last of the candy is handed out, I will be shifting gears and preparing for all of those holiday dinners and parties. The required element for the holiday's?

Glitter and Shine!

So you have to know how excited I was when I came across the LORAC The Royal collection for this 2014 holiday season. The first and most versatile product I ordered were these 3D Liquid Lustre Drops. I own the set that was released last season and have found them so useful. I don't often go for a lot of shimmer but when I do, I want complete control over how much goes were and what shade of glitter is applied. These drops give you the best of all worlds.

These Liquid Lustre drops can be used on over top of your eyeshadow, as a liquid highlighter on the face, with tattoo stencils, to add shimmer and shine any where you can imagine.

So let's look at this season's colors and formulas. The set comes with four glittery shades:

• Opal
• Rose Quartz
• 24K
• Amethyst

After swatching these new Liquid Lustre drops I found that three out of the four have a lot of dense shimmer with each drop. With Opal I did see a beautiful iridescence and almost holographic quality to my skin and whatever product I layered it on top of. However, when I swatched this shade to the back of my hand I was disappointed at how patchy is seemed. After having used it a few more times I still continue to find that out of all of the colors in this set, Opal is the streaky where the others pack a solid punch.

My second disappointment was that one of the colors I bought last season was included in this set. When you see a makeup brand releasing a limited edition holiday item, you want it to contain products that are unique and relevant to the season. This next color Amethyst was included in the last Liquid Luster set I purchase and since there are only four bottles in this kit I found that having a repeat color released felt like a waste of money. The only salvation to remedy the way I feel is to know that I can take that duplicate and use it in an upcoming giveaway. As far as the formulation and color payout of this color is concerned...it is amazing and is the perfect cool purple in a liquid metal finish.

The other two colors Rose Quartz and 24K are my absolute favorites of this set. They are both super concentrated formulations and have a fantastic finish. Although both are glittery, the shade of the product is fairly natural and 100% noticeable. As with all of the Liquid Lustre products, you really need to be careful with the amount of product dispensed from the dropper. With one little drop you can complete looks on both eyes and have enough left over for facial highlighting.

For the price I believe this is a great set to give as a holiday present or to use for all of your holiday social commitments.

To purchase this product you can find it on either the LORAC website or Amazon.com. See the links below:

http://www.loraccosmetics.com

http://smile.amazon.com/LORAC-Royal-Liquid-Lustre


Check out the video below to see my first impresions of this product!