Twistband - April & May 2013

Twistband Club

April 2013

May 2013

This is a monthly subscription service called Twistband Club that sends out bands for your hair.  The normal price is $10 per month and they offer three month, six month or one year subscriptions.  I found a coupon on retailmenot.com, so my three month subscription only cost $18.

Included in the April shipment were the following:

1. Twistbands - six hair bands
2. Headband - one in silver

Included in the May shipment were the following:

1. Twistbands - three neutrals & three neon bands
2. Headband - purple chevron

March was the first time I had tried this popular type of hair bands.  I have been very pleased with them since they do not pull on the hair and do not cause damage to my hair.  They are great for everyday use and during exercise.  They work great on my fine, straight hair and I even forget I'm wearing them since they are so comfortable.  I was surprised the head band is also comfortable since usually head bands are very uncomfortable. I highly recommend this brand of hair bands!  Check out what I received last month here.  I'm sad my three month shipment is over.  Perhaps I'll find another coupon and try another three month subscription in the future. What's your favorite brand of hair bands?

There are many monthly subscription service reviews on this blog, so feel free to look around and check them out.

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Nail Polish Haul - Hare Polish

Indie Polish from Hare Polish

Party Palace, Pegasus, Rococo Grandeur, Let Them Eat... What?

This is an Indie Polish from a lady named Nikole who named her nail polish "Hare Polish".  Aren't the labels adorable! An Indie polish isn't made by a large company, but instead handmade by an individual who decided to make her own nail polish line.  The Hare Polish line is very popular and when Nikole restocks some of her polishes sell out very quickly.  If you would like to get your hands on this polish, I recommend you like her Facebook page for stocking updates.  You can check out what she has in stock right now on her Etsy page.  Pop on over there and check out what's in stock!  Now it's time to decide which one I will wear first, any suggestions?  Look at the swatches and help me decide:

Party Palace, Pegasus, Rococo Grandeur, Let Them Eat... What? (2 coats plus OTD top coat in sunlight)

So which one should I wear first?  I recommend that you wait till the base polish settles and the glitter rises to the top before putting your top coat on.  Also, wait a for that to happen between coat one and two.  

Be sure to follow my blog via Email, Google +, Pinterest, Google Friend Connect or Blog Lovin' so you don't miss out on seeing which one I pick to wear this week.  I have a Blog Sale going on right now which includes some nail polish, check it out here.

Previous blog posts about Indie Polishes:

Pretty & Polished Jawbreaker Manicure

Whimsical Nail Polish - Sweet Baby James

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Birchbox - May 2013

This is my May shipment from a monthly cosmetic sample subscription called Birchbox.  In the box this month were the following product samples:

1. Whish Body - Shave Cream in a blueberry scent
2. Beauty Protector - protect and detangle leave in conditioner
3. Amika - oil treatment for the hair with sea buckthorn berry and argan oil
4. Amika - nourishing mask with sea buckthorn berry
5. Isaac Mizrahi - Fabulous perfume sample
6. Supergoop - CC Cream, daily correct with SPF 35 sunscreen

The shave cream smells really good.  The Beauty Protector is too oily for my hair.  I haven't tried the Amika samples yet.  The perfume smells good, but not something I would purchase.  It features mandarin, jasmine and vanilla.  The Supergoop is too dark for my skin tone.  I find the Birchboxes are hit and miss for me.  I liked my last one and didn't like the one before that and I don't care for this one.  I don't even think this box is worth the $10.  I will try another box next month and if that one is another miss, I will unsubscribe yet again.  I prefer their competition, Ipsy, as many reviewers agree.  Ipsy is a much better value with larger samples and even includes full size products and has more hits than misses.  What products did you receive in your Birchbox and are you happy with the samples?

Check out previous Birchbox shipments:

January 2013
April 2013

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Ipsy - May 2013

Spring Fling by ipsy

This is the May shipment of Ipsy, a cosmetic sample subscription.  Included in this package were the following items:

1. Urban Decay - moondust eyeshadow in the color Space Cowboy
2. Zoya - nail polish in the color BLU
3. St. Tropez - instant glow body lotion for the perfect tan 1.69 oz.
4. Yaby - concealer in buff
5. Mirabella - Colour Sheers lip color with mango butter base in the color Posy .11 oz
6. Juice Beauty - lip gloss in the color pink
7. NuMe - $100 off hair styling tools coupon

The nail polish from Zoya alone makes this bag worth the $10 I paid.  It's like buying one nail polish and receiving the rest for free!  Because I blog about Ipsy, they showed their appreciation by sending me an extra item, the Urban Decay eyeshadow.  It's very glittery and very pretty.  It's takes the smallest dab of eyeshadow to apply lots of glitter to your eyelids and I really like it.  It can be applied wet for an even more dramatic look for a party or evening dinner.  I will be selling the St. Tropez self tanner since I do not use self tanners.  I will also be selling the concealer, because it's too dark for my extremely fair skin.  I will also be selling the Mirabella lip color since I don't wear red lipsticks or sheers. Check out all three of those products along with the rest of cosmetics I have for sale on my Blog Sale.  I tried the Juice Beauty lip gloss and while it's called pink, it's more of purply pink which I like.  The bag is really cute and that design on the fabric is a popular trend right now.  This bag is really a winner this month!  If you would like to join the fun, subscribe to Ipsy here.   Before you go, check out what I received in my previous Ipsy bag here.  If you're a subscriber, what did you receive in your bag?

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Julep's Gabrielle & Paris Manicure

Featuring Gabrielle & Paris

Photo taken in the sunlight

This is my latest manicure using two Julep polishes.  I used two coats of Gabrielle and one coat of Paris on top. Gabrielle is a smoky mulberry creme and Paris is multidimensional holographic glitter top coat. These polishes came in the May Julep Maven box.  I tried Paris on top of Zelda, Clara, Alice and Coco.  I originally thought it would best on Clara, but after doing some test nails I decided Gabrielle & Coco looked best.  The holographic glitter reflects mostly purple and gold so I thought it would look good against a dark purple.  If you look closely you will see there are some tiny pieces of glitter along with the octagon pieces.  The glitter went on heavier than I would have liked and I had to dab some near the cuticle line.  Gabrielle went on well during the first coat, but the second went on heavy and it seemed to need some thinner.  I don't like messing with thinner unless I have to especially if it's the first use of a polish, so I didn't add any.  Next time I use this polish I will definitely have to add some polish thinner to it.  I'd say this is more of a fall or winter manicure, but I was really anxious to try out the new polishes that came in my Maven box so I decided to wear them anyway.  Do you wear only Spring colors in the Spring or any color you want year round?

Check out my previous manicures featuring Julep nail color:

Sarah Manicure

Lucky Manicure

Julep's Teri & China Glaze's Glitz 'N Pieces Manicure

Chevron Julep Manicure

Gradient Nails

Water Marbling Manicure

Check out my Julep Maven boxes:

Julep Maven Intro Shipment

Julep Maven August 2012 Shipment

Julep Maven September 2012 Shipment

Julep Maven November 2012 Shipment
Julep Maven March 2013 Shipment

Julep Maven May 2013 Shipment

Thank you to my new subscribers, I really appreciate you joining!  Also, thank you to those who leave comments, you are appreciated!  My comment section is using Google + now, so it should be easier to leave comments.

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Julep Maven - May 2013

The Jazz Collection

Click on photo to enlarge

My May Julep Maven Box finally arrived.  It was an anxious wait since the USPS tracking still shows that it has not been shipped!  This is the first time I upgraded my box to include all five collections:  Bombshell, Classic with a Twist, It Girl, Boho Glam & American Beauty.  Since I absolutely love the fashion from the twenties, I just had to have this collection!  

Included in this collection are the following products:

1. New York Jazz Trio - lip colors inspired by the roaring twenties:  Tea for Two, Satin Doll, Lady in Red
2. Zelda - Bombshell Collection:  pink champagne metallic
3. Zora - Classic with a Twist:  frosted pink pearl
4. Paris - It Girl:  multidimensional holographic glitter top coat
5. Clara - It Girl:  opaque peach creme
6. Alice - Boho Glam:  antique lilac shimmer
7. Gabrielle - Bombshell:  smoky mulberry creme
8. Millie - Boho Glam:  vintage indigo creme
9. Myrtle - Classic with a Twist:  flapper red creme
10. Coco - It Girl:  oxblood creme
11. Paris Jazz Trio - lip colors:  Charleston, Sweet Lorraine, Lady in Red
12. American Beauty - Mascara 
13. Sugar Smooch Lip Scrub

Zelda, Zora, Paris, Clara, Alice, Gabrielle, Millie, Myrtle, Coco

Swatches of the nail polishes are above, all of them have two coats with Out the Door top coat on top.  All of the polishes require two coats except Zora which requires three coats and Paris only needs one if you are using it as a top coat.  I think I will be using one coat of Paris over Zora or Clara.  Zora, Clara & Paris remind me of OPI's The Oz Collection, which you can see here and here.  Alice, Gabrielle & Millie would look great as a gradient manicure.  Millie is one particularly stinky lady!  Comment below if yours is smelly too.  Millie & Myrtle would look good together, they look patriotic together.  Myrtle would look great with the matching lip color Lady in Red. Nothing looks better than matching your lip color to your nails, well that is if it's an appropriate lip color certainly not blue!  The lip colors are all sheer except for Lady in Red.  The lip scrub smells so yummy like fudge. To hear more about the lip colors & the lip scrub, watch this video:

Julep has a great point system which I find is more generous than other companies.  For this purchase I received 750 points and it only take 750 points for a free nail polish!  If you purchase the smaller boxes they give you 300 points, so in three months you would have enough points for a free polish.  If you refer someone and they make a purchase you will receive 1000 points.  It takes 2,000 points for a free monthly box.  I don't have patience for that since I don't purchase a box every month, so I use my points as soon as I have enough for a free polish.  I'm waiting on my add on polish, Etta, which I used my referral points on.  If you would like to try out this fun, pretty monthly subscription, please use my link here so that I get points.

And I'm sure this collection reminds you of the upcoming movie, The Great Gasby, which I can not wait to see! So before you leave, watch the trailer:

Don't forget to check out my Blog Sale and share this blog post with your friends via Twitter & Facebook: Tweet

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Julep's Sarah Manicure

Julep Sarah - photo taken in the daytime on a cloudy day

This is a Julep polish I purchased from a lady on Julep Swap.  It's so much fun to purchase, sell and swap polishes with the wonderful ladies there.  I invite you to join us.  This polish took four coats, since it's so sheer and like a jelly polish.  It's a bright pink with fine holographic glitter that I think is perfect for spring time.  It's a very bright and happy color.  You could go with two or three coats, but you will see the white part of your nail through the polish.  If you went with one or two coats, it would be lighter and would appear to be more like the polish looks in the bottle.  The more coats you go with, the darker it will get.  I think it wouldn't look so dark in the sunlight, but cloudy days are all we have in the forecast.  I'll update this post, if we get a sunny day soon.  This one was easy to apply and that was a good thing since I had to apply so many coats.  It did use up a lot of the polish in the bottle, so this one would probably only do two to three manicures including the toes.   I used three coats on my tiny toes, since no one will be looking at them close up.  The color is just a little bit lighter.  This polish reminds me of one of my top five favorite polishes from Sephora by OPI's line called Go with the Flow-er.  What polish colors do you like to wear in the Spring time?  I'm anxiously awaiting my Maven box from Julep.  I will post a review on that one as soon as it arrives, so stay tuned for that.  Don't forget to check out my updated Blog Sale before you leave.  Lots of bargains waiting for you.

Check out my previous manicures featuring Julep nail color:

Lucky Manicure

Julep's Teri & China Glaze's Glitz 'N Pieces Manicure

Chevron Julep Manicure

Gradient Nails

Water Marbling Manicure

Check out my Julep Maven boxes:

Julep Maven Intro Shipment

Julep Maven August 2012 Shipment

Julep Maven September 2012 Shipment

Julep Maven November 2012 Shipment
Julep Maven March 2013 Shipment

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