December 2012 birchbox

Merry (post-)Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas day, all nice and snuggly with their loved ones :)

Great news! My December bb came before January.. what a pleasant surprise! To be exact, it came on the 22nd but I just didn't have time to post until now.. tehe.

Another pleasant surprise was that they completely made-over the products of my initial bb. I'm not one to complain, especially since the previous box had 4 out of 5 items I knew I wouldn't even bother trying.

So here is my December bb.. I don't know what # box this is, sorry! 
Nonetheless, enjoy :)

So yes.. I was highly disappointed by the fact that I didn't get the holiday box which is all nice and festive and reminiscent of candy canes :,(

Oh well, gotta deal.

You can already see 3 of 5 products..!

And here it is! My December bb included (from left-to-right):

1. amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask - 500 mL
2. ModelCo SHINE Ultra Lip Gloss in Berry Pink - Full size
3. Juice Beauty Stem Celulluar Repair CC Cream - 5 mL
4. Emily's Chocolates Chocolate Covered Fortune Cookie
5. Juicy Couture by Juicy Couture - 3.4 oz

I'm yet to try the amika mask (for conditioning hair), but I tried the other 4 products and here are my two cents..

ModelCo lip gloss -- 5/5

• Great texture and scent
• Tasteless
• Non-sticky 

Juicy Beauty CC Cream -- 2/5

• (detailed review below)

Emily's Fortune Cookie -- 4/5

• Quality chocolate and cookie
• Great crunch contrasted by bitter dark chocolate
• Subtle peppermint taste

Juicy Couture eau de parfum -- 3/5

• Floral and very (cloyingly) sweet
• Heavy scent is suitable for fall/winter

* * *

Here is a more detailed review on the Juice Beauty CC Cream --

CC, abbreviations for "color correcting" or "color control", cream is a 12-in-1 multitasker much like the BB cream but better (or so they say). Currently there are only two shades made by Juice Beauty which are Natural Glow and Warm Glow. I got the sample in Warm Glow.

First of all, it was nice to know that Juicy Beauty was an all-natural, organically rooted company with certified organic products. After all, who would want to slab pesticides on their face?

I opened the product and was overwhelmed by the fruity-earthy scent of the CC cream. I'm very particular about fragrances in make-up or skin care, even more so if it's a face product. Immediately I knew I wouldn't want to put this cream on my face because of the strong fragrance (and it's not even pleasant! I know it's odd, but the scent reminds of Froot Loops).

I tested a tiny dallop of product on the back of my hand, as you can see below:

 

 

I blended out the product and found that the tint Warm Glow was a bit too orange and dark for my light yellow-toned skin. Natural Glow may be more suitable for my skin tone. Also, I noticed the coverage was quite sheer as you can still see my blue veins through the CC cream. Consistency-wise, the product was not too easily spread out (non-water based I think). Think BB creams but a tad thicker. It wasn't drying, but it wasn't hydrating either.

All in all, I gave the CC cream 2 out of 5 due to it's off putting scent, small range of available shades, too-sheer of a coverage, and thick consistency. Would I use it on my face? Unfortunately, I don't think I'd risk it.

Here is the card of the product list, in case you wanted to read the descriptions.


Overall, I was content with this bb and thought it was worth it with the full-size lip gloss and fortune cookie alone. I was also glad I got to try out CC cream (though Juice Beauty disappointed me).

How was your December bb? I'm jealous of those who got the mini-vaporizer this month! I could really use one of those..

Stay warm and beautiful 0:)
xo Karries

December 2012 ipsy (birchbox delayed)

Ladies!!!

It's that time of the month! No, I'm not talking about mother nature's gift -- I'm talking about ipsy and birchbox! *insert applause*

But before anything, bad news.. birchbox fooled me and said my box was shipped around a week ago. Then 2 days ago, they send me a second e-mail apologizing for a delay on my December birchbox :(! Though I was compensated with +100 bb points (the equivalent of $10 credit when purchasing full sized items from birchbox), I must say I'm pretty disheartened as I was looking forward to trying the Juice Beauty CC Cream.. (yes, I took a peak at my box. nothing else I'm really excited for, unfortunately).

I did, however, get my ipsy bag around a week ago. I didn't post earlier, thinking my birchbox would come sooner..

Here's everything straight out from the pink bubble package! + my Christmas themed vase :)

This month's theme is "Haute Holiday". The glam bags (yes, ipsy still calls them glam bags) from the past 2 months were both holiday party themed -- I personally don't go out enough to wear such bold looks on a regular basis but I guess they're fun additions to my growing makeup collection :)

Here is a list of the products (left to right):

1. Mai Couture Highlighter Papier
2. NYX Loose Pearl Shadow in Mink (LP19) "Pale Gold"
3. Mirabella Prime for Face and Eyes
4. Be A Bombshell Lipgloss in Hot Mess
5. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Zero

I just had to share this, as December's ipsy makeup bag is my favorite thus far. It lacks the narrow structuring of the previous bags, the gray color is highly versatile, and the material is very nice and of high quality (feels like silk)! I just might make use of this month's bag after all :)

I'm excited to use this highlighter product! It seems very convenient (compared to liquid or compact formulations) as you use it once and discard it. I'll be going out next week after finals, so I'll see how this product looks on camera :)!

I received the color Mink Pearl (described as "pale gold" from the NYX website) in my glam bag, and BOY WAS I GLAD! My skin has heavy yellow undertones, thus pink or silver pearly products don't necessarily flatter me. This product is great as inner corner highlights for the eyes. It's highly pigmented and the powder is so fine that it actually floats as opposed to falling.. how cool is that!

I haven't used this yet as I already have face and eye primers that I use regularly. While I'm content with the products I use currently, I'll give the Mirabella Prime a try whenever I'm feeling more experimental with my makeup :).

Can you say this lipgloss is BOLD much?! It's a gorgeous true red color, but I'm not your typical bold lip type of gal... so I may use it like a tint, but all over the lips would be an overkill (for me, that is).

Ah. The most anticipated product in this month's glam bag! The Urban Decay 24/7 liner is well spoken of in the beauty industry. I already had the full-size product from a previous purchase, but won't complain about a lil' extra! The one ipsy sent was a "deluxe" size liner (0.8 g), as you can see the size difference between it and the full size (1.2 g) from the picture above.

Overall Rating: YAY IPSY! You've completely won me over 3 months straight!!! I'll be honest, I'm not the easiest person to impress. BUT I'm highly impressed by both the quality and quantity of product we receive from ipsy for just $10/month. I promise you, whatever you're doing now, you're doing right ipsy.


My next post will be when my December birchbox finally arrives (I'm afraid it could be as delayed as much next year)..

In the meanwhile, keep warm and beautiful!
XO Karries