Introducing Julep's Plié Wand

 

Hey guys! If you're like me and have a hard time painting your nails, this may be the tool for you if you love Julep Nail Polishes, especially the new Summer colors! I was contacted by Julep asking if I wanted to talk about their new Plié Wand and after I looked into what it was all about, I had to say yes!

If you look at the picture above, it gives a good idea of how it's supposed to work. You attach the Plié overcap to any Julep polish bottle and then attach the wand part to that. The wand was designed to help with comfort and control, which I know I have a problem with. You can twist the handle around as well for a better grip. If you want to learn more about this little wonder product, there is a video from the CEO herself, Jane Park, that you can view here!

If you're wondering about the current lids to the Julep polishes, they are going to be changing them, but it shouldn't affect anything, it may just improve your experience! All Plié caps and brushes will fit all current nail polish bottles, so no worries there! The Plié Wand launches today, so if you want one, get your hands on it fast.

I think this is going to be a great product because if you have issues with painting your nails, if you're just clumsy, or a lefty (like I am), this could definitely help. Being a lefty, I tend to hold pens and whatnot a little differently and when I paint my nails, polish just goes everywhere and I can never really get a good grip on the handle part. I really am excited for this launch and think alot of people will get good use out of it!

I hope everyone enjoyed this post! What do you think of the Plié Wand? 

Review: Glamglow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment

Hi everyone! Back in December I hauled this Glamglow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment mask, but never did a review on it! I finally have used up a whole small pot and I think it's safe to say I can give a decent review on it now. 

The description of this mask on the Sephora site says, "This mud mask leaves skin noticeably radiant and glowing. It works with the body's natural moisturizing collagen to provide gentle resurfacing exfoliation and helps leave skin smoother, brighter and softer. While providing tighter skin texture and tighter pores, it provides a more youthful appearance and absorbs impurities without removing natural oils."

There are also a bunch of claims that almost everyone on the consumer trials saw major improvements in their skin after 1 use and also after a week's worth of use. 

The larger jar, 1.7 ounces, is going to cost you a whopping $69, while the smaller jar, 0.5 ounces, will cost you $19. I bought two of the small jars and I also have a squeeze tube sample that I got in either an Ipsy bag or Birchbox. 

The mask is a beige-y gray color, and you can't really tell from the picture, but there are also bits of seaweed all throughout. I have to admit, it's a little hard applying the mask because of it, and it's also fairly messy. When I posted my haul, I had already tried it once and said I loved it. After finally using up a whole jar of this, my opinion has changed a bit. While I do notice a bit of a difference in my skin when I remove the mask, it's not an amazing difference. I notice more of a change the following morning with my skin feeling softer and a little more glowy. Looking up close, I don't really see a difference in my pore size and I definitely don't think this is as amazing as everyone makes it out to be. I'm tempted to buy the one in the white jar, but looking at that one reminds me of the charcoal mask by Origins, and that one is way cheaper. I ended up getting 4 uses out of this jar, which to me is expensive at around $5 per use. If you want a mask that has pretty much the same effect as Glamglow, try the one from Origins. The full 3.4 ounce size is only $24, almost a third of the price with way more product!

Have you tried this mask before? If so/not, what do you think about it?

The I Suck At Spending Bans Haul

As you can probably tell by the title of this post, I failed horribly with my spending ban and bought alot of some things. Anyways, I made purchases from Sephora, Amazon, two from Walgreen's and Victoria's Secret. Lets see what trouble I got into!

I'll start off with Sephora. I had made this purchase when Ebates, a site that gives you cash back to your Paypal account, was having their 15th anniversary. Certain websites had 15% cash back and Sephora was one of them. I was looking through all the new skincare on the site and came across the Philosophy Purity Made Simple Mask. It's supposed to be a deep cleaning mask, but you only leave it on for 1 minute. I was intrigued with how it works in just a minute, so in my shopping cart it went. This costs $25 so hopefully it works well.

Last thing from Sephora is a 4 pack of Clarisonic Sensitive Brush Heads. I had never seen a 4 pack before and at $75 for the package, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get this because of the steep price. Buying just one brush head costs $27. I remember it used to be $25, but I guess the price went up since I last purchased some. If I bought three individual brush heads, I'd be spending $81. After I did all the math, I figured buying the 4 pack was way better because I'm basically getting one free! Also, I don't use my Clarisonic everyday, maybe three times a week. They recommend changing out the brush head every three months, but I'm assuming that's with daily use. So, for me personally, I'll change mine out every 5-ish months. This package will last me quite a while, plus I did find other backups in my closet! Oops :)

Next up we have one lone little product I purchased from Amazon. This may be a weird product, but I have a short story. I hate shaving, plain and simple. I always cut myself and usually have irritation from shaving, especially on my underarms, which is where this product comes in handy! It's the Nads gel in the Sangria Punch Scent. I had used the original Nads years and years ago, and was typically pleased with the results. I haven't used this yet, as I found a backup of what I used to use in my closet, but I really like this stuff. It's not really a wax, more of a sugaring gel that you can warm up a bit, and use a muslin cloth to remove hair. It does hurt when you rip out the hair, but I don't have any irritation from this and hair regrowth is alot lighter and sparser. 

Next up is Walgreen's! When I heard that their clearance sale was starting, I definitely wanted to see what they had marked down. I went early on in the sale, so I didn't see much in my store. Covergirl had alot of markdowns and I went a little mascara crazy, like I normally do. The one in the red tube is called the Professional Super Thick Lash in the Very Black color. The one on the blue tube is called the Professional All-In-One also in the Very Black color. These babies only cost me $2.99 each and the lady ringing me up scanned a $2 off coupon for buying two Covergirl mascaras. The last mascara I found marked down was the Exacteyelights Eye Brightening Mascara in the color Black Pearl. This mascara is meant for brown eyes, and mine are a hazel, a mix of brown and green This mascara cost me $4.89. 

The Covergirl Clean Sensitive Skin Pressed Powders were all marked down and I was able to find a decent shade match with Creamy Natural. This cost me $4.19. I've never tried Covergirl powders before so I hope I like this. 

The last product from this shopping trip is the Milani Baked Blush in the shade Corallina. I have only one other baked blush by Milani in Dolce Pink, which I really love. I haven't tried this one yet, but it looks really pretty in the packaging!

Now this is my most recent Walgreen's purchase. I had heard that they were marking down some of the Maybelline Color Tattoos and I figured I should get what I wanted while they were still on the shelves at a lower price. I guess they're getting rid of some colors to make room for new ones? Who knows, but I ended up buying Pomegranate Punk, Gold Rush and Audacious Asphalt. These were on sale for $3.49 plus I had a $1 off coupon on each of them, so $2.49 for each is not too shabby. 

I also noticed when I was there that quite a few of the Color Whispers were marked down to $3.79 each so I picked up Who Wore It Red-er and Mad For Magenta. I already have a couple of these and really like them alot. I'm glad I found more at a good price!

Victoria's Secret was having their Semi Annual Sale and all of their makeup was 50% off. I read somewhere that VS is no longer going to be carrying makeup, which is kind of a bummer because they have some nice products. I ended up with two Metallized Eyeshadows, the first being Petal to the Metal and the second one is called Gold Card. I have some of their other eyeshadows and I really do like them. These only cost me $6 each so that wasn't too bad. 

Well that's my haul! I did do some damage, especially at Sephora but hey, a girl loves her beauty products! What did you purchase recently?

June 2014 Ipsy Bag

Hey guys! A few days ago I received my Ipsy bag in the mail, and I was really flipping excited for this month because I always look in my glam room before I actually get the bag in the mail. I'm probably weird to spoil what should be a surprise, but I just like to see what I'm getting beforehand. Anyways, onto the bag and goodies!

So apparently the bag was designed by Rebecca Minkoff, and I really actually like this bag! It's cute and Summery and I can see myself carrying this around with me. I'll be honest though, I don't really care if something is "designer" or not, but this is a pretty bag! Onto the products!

The first product I received is the Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray. I could honestly do without this because I don't do much with my hair, I just put it into a ponytail basically everyday. I haven't tried it, but the only thing I like so far is the smell. Holy coconuts does this smell delicious! Reminds me of The Body Shop's coconut body butter. LOVE!

Next up we have the Ole Henriksen Truth To Go Wipes. I was so ecstatic to get these because I've always wanted to try them. If I'm not mistaken, Fleur from FleurdeForce on YouTube raves about these. If she likes them, then I probably will too!

Then we have another awesome product, a NYX Butter Gloss in the color Eclair. I already have 5 of these babies and I prayed that I didn't get one I already had. Luckily I don't have this particular one, and I'm thrilled to add another to my collection! These glosses are fabulous and I want pretty much every color they have.

Be a Bombshell is starting to get annoying for me. I've received plenty of their products in past Ipsy bags, but I'm a mascara hoarder lover, so it doesn't hurt to try out another, right? I will say though, the smell is pretty pungent, like plastic overload. Kinda turns me off, but I'll save it for when I feel like trying it out. 

The last product I received is the Jesse's Girl Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. I can't tell you how excited I am to try this! I've seen this given out in other bags before, but I was never lucky enough to get one, until now. I can't wait to try this out, it seems really black and also easy to use.

Swatch of NXY gloss and Jesse's Girl eyeliner

Well that's everything I got this month! Ipsy has totally redeemed itself for me this time, and unless the next few bags really are terrible, I'm staying subscribed for quite a while! 

If you want to receive awesome products like this every month, sign up here! It's only $10 a month, plus shipping for some.

If you're already subscribed to Ipsy, what did you receive in your bag?

May 2014 Empties!

Hey everyone! I know you all probably thought I died or something, and I felt like I did at one point, but I'm still here! I was actually just really, really sick. I probably had bronchitis or an upper respiratory infection. I've also had some other health issues going on and to make a long story short, I'm doing physical therapy three times a week right now for my back because of a herniated disk and pinched nerves. Needless to say, I've been in alot of pain lately so the blog took a backseat so I can focus on feeling better. Anyways, enough of me rambling, here are the products I had used up in May!

The first product I used up is the Sephora brand Daily Makeup Brush Cleaner. I love using this after every makeup application because I do have oily and acne-prone skin, plus my eyes are sensitive so cleaning all the brushes I use after every use is essential for me. I deep clean about once a month because I do spot clean with this daily.

Next up we have the Bath & Body Works Mango Paradise foaming handsoap. I'm obsessed wit the B&BW hand soaps and I typically only buy them when there's a good sale. I have so many backups of other scents so I'm set for a while. 

Then we have The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter Creamy Body Wash. While I loved the smell of this, I didn't really feel like it cleaned very but it did make my skin feel super soft after using it. I have so many different body washes and shower gels in my closet that I probably don't need to buy any for over a year. I'm thinking once I use up everything, I may go drugstore because it's cheaper and I feel like my skin is extra sensitive to scented products lately. 

The Body Shop's Coconut Body Scrub is one of the most heavenly scented products I own. Its not the most effective scrub ever but I'm just obsessed with coconut. This is in the old packaging before they changed it and I bought it for I think $5. I'm pretty sure I have another one of these but I might not repurchase since I like my body scrubs to have more grit to them. 

I did a review here on this Yes To Tomatoes Daily Pore Scrub, and I still don't like it. I used it up because I hate being wasteful, but I didn't like this. It left a weird film on my face and it was too harsh on my skin. I have no idea why anyone would want to use this daily because of that. I will never in a million years repurchase this.

I absolutely loved the bareMinerals Renew & Hydrate Eye Cream. I also did a review of this product here. This eye cream was so hydrating and felt amazing around my eyes. I'll have to repurchase this once I use up my other eye creams.

Another amazing eye cream I used up is the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream. I used this in the morning because it has a tint to it to help with dark circles. I noticed a little bit of a difference with my dark circles, but not enough to completely wow me. I mostly loved this because of how good it felt and that it wasn't heavy feeling at all, but still moisturized well.

An odd mix of products here, but I'm throwing away the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss in the color Candy Gloss. I went to use it one day and it burned like acid on my lips. Had to take it off right away because it hurt so bad! I understand plumping glosses have that tingly effect, but I never remember this burning so bad. I admit, I've had it for quite a while, so it probably just went bad. 

I'm also throwing away 2 of the E.L.F. Eyelid Primers because they just suck. I started using one after I used up the rest of my Urban Decay Primer Potion (which is my favorite) and this one does not compare at all. My shadow lasted only about 2 hours before it started creasing and by the end of most days, I barely had any eyeshadow left on my lids. It was crazy so I dug through all my primers and found only one extra one, so they're both going in the trash!

I also used up the Wet N' Wild Megalength Waterproof Mascara. I didn't like this at all when I first started using it, but it grew on me after a while and I liked the effect it had on my lashes. They looked natural but this did give them some decent length. At the end of it's life, it started making my lashes look a tad bit clumpy and it didn't deposit enough color on them either, so it was time to say goodbye. 

I used up a packet of the Barefoot Spa Professional Exfoliating Polish because I did a review of it here. I got two of these packets in an Ipsy bag and I wasn't a fan of this really. The scrubbing particles were so tiny it felt like nothing on my skin. Afterwards, my skin felt softer for some reason but I have no idea why. I'll use up the other packet but I probably won't purchase this myself.

I'm also throwing away this little palette from The Body Shop. It's just called the 01 Eye & Cheek Palette and I purchased this when I started working at The Body Shop about 5 years ago. I had to buy some of their makeup to use when I was working there and at the time, this was great. I used it basically everyday when I was there. I took it out of my stash to use one day last month, and I'm not sure why, but the pigmentation was awful and it blended horribly on my eyes. I never remember that happening back then, but hey, this little guy is almost 5 years old! I'm gonna keep the sentimental side out of this and just throw it away. It was good to me while I needed it.

These E.L.F. brushes have to be thrown out! They're so old and rough and basically not useable anymore. The top one is the Bronzing Brush and the bottom one is the Total Face Brush. I think these came in a kit or something with some face products, but they're so old that I honestly have no idea when I got them. If I can remember, my mom actually got them for me when I was a teenager. Yeah, time to go! I have so many brushes that these won't be missed. 

Well, if you made it to the end, you're awesome! I know this was a super long post, but I sure did go through alot of products! I feel like I'm making a good dent in my beauty stash which makes me really happy! What did you use up in May?

May 2014 Favorites!

Hey everyone! It's been ages since I posted anything, I know, but I've been so sick the past week and a half and I haven't wanted to do anything but lay in bed or sit my butt on the couch watching Game of Thrones. I also still had to work while being sick so that didn't help matters either. Even though I'm still sick, I wanted to share some of the products that I was loving last month.

I only have four products to talk about, mostly because I haven't really tried any new products and partially with me being so sick. When I'm sick, I barely do anything with my skin, so it's not too happy with me right now.

Anyways, the first product I have here is Bausch & Lomb Advanced Eye Relief eye drops for dry eyes. This stuff is surprisingly really good! Usually I only buy the Similasan eye drops because my eyes are really sensitive and that was the only stuff I could use without my eyes feeling like they were being burned. This B&L product does not burn my eyes at all and actually helps with the dryness I get. Plus, this is super inexpensive at Walmart, only about $3.

My next favorite is actually a product that isn't made anymore (sadface) and it's the Covergirl Natureluxe Mousse Mascara in the Very Black color. This mascara is fantastic for my lashes! I love how natural it makes them look, and this color is super black, which I'm a big fan of. I really wish they didn't discontinue this mascara, because it really is nice. I can't remember when I bought this honestly, maybe last year when the drugstores had their clearance sales. I may have gotten this at CVS.

Next up we have one of my favorite Wet N' Wild trios, and it's in Silent Treatment. This little trio makes the perfect smoky look for me. I don't follow the little guide in this and I switch the crease and eyelid shade. The crease shade in here I just couldn't blend out well enough so I use it on my lids and I take the eyelid shade through my crease. Then I use the browbone shade lightly as a highlight and I'm good to go. I wear that look alot to work and I get compliments on it all the time. Great little trio here!

My last favorite is the much talked about Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. This whole month my skin has looked terrible most days, but getting sick and not being able to take care of it normally sent it into a total fit. At the moment, my skin is worse than when I was a teenager. I feel like I can finally take care of it like normal, so I'm hoping it clears up fast. Anyway, this product is a little miracle worker for zits. Pop a Qtip in the jar and then put it on any blemishes, and the next morning everything is either gone or alot smaller than the day before. I've used it quite a few times this past month, but it's definitely gotten a ton of use the past week and a half.

That's everything! I know it wasn't alot, but I totally wasn't expecting to get completely knocked out from being sick. I'm really hoping June is better for me product (and health!) wise! 

What were some of your favorites in May?