Glossy Box: Bergdorf Goodman Edition

Well, this was a pleasant surprise...

For some crazy reason, I was convinced that I wouldn't be getting this particular box.  It seemed way too soon to be getting another one, and I wrote the whole thing off as one of those special purchases that you have to opt into and promptly forgot about it.

Smash cut to last weekend: guess what showed up in my mailbox!

1. Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Skin Primer (full size: $45)

I'm not really a huge primer girl, but I'm coming around to the Maybelline Baby Skin.  As excited as I am to try this one, I'm not sure anything will get me to spend more than the $8 (or whatever the Baby Skin costs) on a primer.

2. Revive Eye Renewal Serum Firming Booster (full size: $140)
Serums are fun!  I'll give it a shot!  Won't spend that much on the full size!

3. Philip B Lightweight Deep Conditioning Creme Rinse (full size: $26)
Fun fact: this sample has the least expensive full-sized counterpart.  This box is fancy, y'all.  Anyway, I love me a good deep conditioner, and this size will be great for travel.

4. Atelier Cologne Rose Anonyme Cologne Absolute (full size: $140)
I love this scent.  It reminds me a bit of the Jimmy Choo perfume that I wore on my wedding day, which may certainly contribute to that.  My husband also approved of this scent, so: bonus!

5. Lancer Eye Contour Lifting Cream (full size: $95)
I'm not completely loving the eye cream that I'm currently using anymore, so I'm excited to switch it up and give this one a shot.

6. Lancome Absolute L'Extrait Regenerating Ultimate Elixir (full size: $360)
Near as I can tell, this is a moisturizer (and quite the luxurious one, at that).  It smells just lovely, and I think it will be an exciting little departure from my trusty Aveeno.

The Bergdorf Goodman box also included a $25 gift card to the store, which means that the Hourglass blush in Dim Infusion is on its way to my hot little hands.  Score!

If you received the Bergdorf Glossy Box, what did you think?  Any products that differed from mine?

ipsy Unboxing: April 2014

The second I heard that the April ipsy bags would include an Urban Decay eyeliner, my usual quest to stay unspoiled until my own bag arrived went out the window.  I was hearing from all different sources that this month's selection of products were some of the best that ipsy had assembled in recent months; on the whole, I'm usually pretty satisfied with ipsy, but there have been some off months here and there.

Loving this funky bag

Products!  Wee!

Beginning with the products I forgot to take closeups of (it was a crazy morning), there's a healthy-sized can of Big Sexy Hair Root Pump, which I'm excited to try out on my fine hair, and an equally generous tube (for skin care, anyway) of the Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant (hey, who couldn't use a good exfoliation every now and again?).

On to the fun stuff!

As I mentioned, the item I was most excited about was the Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil in Black Velvet.  I am powerless to resist a good black liner, be it liquid, felt-tip or pencil.  To date, I've only used the original formula pencil in Demolition (a rich, chocolatey brown), and I've loved it for well over a year now.  I'm excited to play around with this new formula and see how it holds up, especially on my waterline (another perennial quest of mine).

Left: initial swatch. Right: after light smudging with my finger.

A girl can always use a good champagne shadow, right?  This Elizabeth Mott shadow swatches beautifully, and I'm excited to try it out.  A few notes: the packaging, while cute and clear, feels a little cheap, and the pan has already dislodged itself from the glue holding into place.  No matter, though, because the shadow is gorgeous and I can easily pop into a Z Palette instead.

The last goody that arrived in my ipsy this month is an adorable jelly lip gloss from Mary Kay.  I have a couple of MK lipsticks that I like quite a bit, and I recently used up a mascara that I loved but whose name escapes me at the moment.  This gloss is a beautiful nude color, and surprisingly opaque.  I'm thinking it might be nice for a sweet Easter look...

Was your ipsy bag different than mine this month?  What did you love from your bag?

Glossy Box Unboxing, March 2014

I usually make a pretty concerted effort to avoid being spoiled about what's in my ipsy or Glossy Box each month.  This month, I was not so lucky.  I was late to the GB game, so I didn't get mine till the beginning of April, which left a lot of time to stumble on photos on Intstagram and to notice the bracelet on my friend's wrist, ask her about it and immediately kind of regret it.

Still, what has been seen cannot be unseen, and I was super anxious to get my GB this month!  Normally with subscription services, there's one or two items that instantly get shoved into my samples drawer where they will remain for the rest of time, but I really think I'll be trying out all the products included this month:

1. Alex and Ani Scent 7 Body Mist -- This one needed a few minutes to grow on me; I sprayed some product out to get a good sense of the fragrance, and my first thought was "Hello, when did my kitchen become an Aveda salon?"  It's got a woodsy, rosemary-y scent that's very similar to Aveda products, but the more I smell it, the more I like it.

2. Alterna Haircare Bamboo Plumping Strand Expand -- I remember someone raving about this product (or possibly something similar) on YouTube a while back, and I recognized the brand right away.  My hair is fairly fine, but there's a lot of it, so I'm excited to see how this works on my head.

3. Etre Belle Cosmetics Liplift Peel -- Who can't use a good lip exfoliator?  I generally use my own concoction of olive oil and brown sugar, but I have no qualms about replacing my homemade remedy with this little guy for a few nights.

4. Nails Inc Brook Street Nail Polish -- This is such a pretty color!  I've been toying with the idea of picking up a good pinky-coral nail polish for spring, and now I don't have to!

5.  Sisley Paris Black Rose Cream Mask -- An anti-aging mask with a delightful rose scent?  Why not??  Here's hoping I don't completely fall in love with it, as the full size is $158...

6. Alex and Ani Charm Bangle -- I've heard a lot about this brand lately, and I'd been wanting to look into getting some of their pieces.  Now that I've tried this Energy charm bracelet, I'm anxious to get some more and start stacking!

What subscription boxes do you get each month?

ipsy Unboxing, March 2014

The ipsy bags that have been delivered to me over the last couple of months have been a touch lackluster.  There were a few bright spots, of course (the Pop Beauty lip color I got last month is gorgeous), but overall I've not been terribly impressed.  I generally try to avoid spoilers before I receive my bag because I love to be surprised, but a friend let slip a few days ago that through her online research, she had seen what was on its way for this month and was anxious to see hers in person.

Is this not the cutest bag?  It might be my favorite that ipsy has ever put out.

I was pleasantly surprised this month!  That NYX trio in Bikini Bottom is super pretty; shimmery neutrals are right up my alley.

I'm a little skeptical of the eyeliner that came in this month's bag; I'm not typically one for colored eyeliner, but this blue is very pretty.  As it happens, I gave up wearing liner for Lent this year, but I'm eager to give this a try once Easter time is upon us.

There's also a Bare Minerals lipstick in a pretty, mauve-y shade, as well as a Pixi face primer that looks promising.  Overall, while it seemed like there were fewer products to sample this month, the size and quality of the samples made up for that.  It's a win this time around!