My first Lip Monthly

This is my first Lip Monthly bag, very nice...

The first bag was 50% off so it cost only $6.50 shipping included.
Before I order anything I do read reviews on the company and product, and there seems to be a lot of negative feedback about Lip Monthly, but they did replace their customer service representative and they seem to be addressing issues. There was some confusion when they switched their billing dates to be more like Ipsy, on first of the month. Concerns on their facebook page are resolved, and negative comments are not deleted automatically so that says something about the company.
The bag I received is like the Ipsy bags but smaller, this one was only about 5 by 3 1/2 inches, totally cute too.
On to what I got...

So Susan Jello Shot. Retail Price $24.95

... this is something I would never ever buy on my own, and incredibly I love it. It is a lip and cheek stain that actually lays down some color. It looks orangey in the tube but once I tried it on my skin it turned to a nice baby pink shade and added just enough tint to brighten things up. The color lasts and it is buildable and totally weightless, like nothing. From what I read on the box it does change color with body temperature. Mood ring makeup, I love this product, I really do. Investigating this product I saw that so susan has partnered with jelly pong pong and a few others to bring another monthly bag called Lip Love. I am going to have to try that out in the future.

Manna Kadar Liplocked Priming Gloss Stain in the shade Manna Babe. Retail $24.00

 Liplocked is right, I tried this on in the evening, I did not bother to wash it off when I went to bed (it is lipgloss k?), and the color was still there in the morning, I kid you not. Now this color in the picture is not exactly the color in the tube, it is not this neon purple pink color but much more subdued... I took a picture in natural light and it still did not come out right but here it is. Nice product all around. This is for an all day or all night base and mixes well with lipliners for blending.

Dirty Little Secrets in the shade guilty pleasure. Retail value $10.00

 Once again natural light but it is a shade I will reach for regularly. Just a plain ol lipstick but you can never have enough, well I think so anyway. Smooth and creamy like lipstick should be. Easy to matte down with powder or gloss up with gloss.

EcoLips EcoTints in Sugar Plum. Retail value $4.49

 I like tinted balms, just because... paired with a bb cream for a no hassle no makeup but still look nice look. I have not tried this one yet because I have so many tinted balms open already, I will add this to my stash for later.

The total value of this bag is $63.44, the regular subscription service is $12.95 per month and there are discount coupon codes on your first bag if you want to give it a run. I paid $6.50 for this bag. The bottom link is my affiliate link and if you order through it I get referral credit for free bags in the future, and so can you.

This is one I will keep and see what other goodies are in store, or until my lipstick caddy overflows.

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Happy Lippies! 

Yea! My new May starlooks subscription is here!

The box this month actually came in a box, slightly squished but a lovely gift box with tissue and a soft cotton padding like a jewelry gift box, slightly squished but still useable.

Now, on to what I got, this month I received 3 products from the full size category on their webpage (yeah, I was worried about those perfect size they slipped me before)

I received a volume mascara list price $19.00, a full size lip gloss in Pearl Necklace, a wonderful sheer color that has a bit of a pink holographic sheen List price of $13.00, and a Lux Longwear mechanical lip pencil in Sultry Sangria List price of $16.00. This lip pencil was also featured in beauty box 5.
All these products once again are what I consider neutral and I will use them daily.

Total value for this box is $48 dollars, less the library card discount of 50% off the value is $28 dollars, still a savings of $11 dollars. Still so much fun to get surprises like this every month.

And yes, every month I have been sent a different lifetime discount card, so nice.

Starlooks Subscription update

Well, I finally got my first subscription (last month's) box from Starlooks. I am not exactly stoked.

It took 3 weeks to get here... 2 weeks to even show up at the post office and that was after I emailed them about it, and it contains 2 items from the smaller and cheaper perfect size category with a value of 12 dollars each, and a small precision eyeliner pen. This is less than half the size... no, make that a third of the size of the Luxe longwear eyeliner pen, I know, because I have one.

And the same vinyl logo bag.

Now this month's delivery I was stoked about because of the palette but this? (remember this is last month's March offerings, I already got April)

Ok, Ok, can't expect stellar from every bag but if I paid for full size I should get full size, right? The value of this bag is $43.00 retail, and with my free discount card the value is 22 dollars.

I am hoping it is just because of my later in the month order and they ran out of products or pre made kits but still... a couple extra mini products would have been nice. The promised subscription was 3 to 4 products of an average of 20 to 25 dollar value.

I did get the skin perfecting blush, and it is small at about the size of a refill eyeshadow pot but the color is very sheer and nice warm dusty rose. I also got the high life liquid illuminator, 1.3 ML size. (seriously?) And the above mentioned 1/3 size precision eyeliner pen.

Still feeling a lil bit ripped off, will wait and see for a few more months worth if it is worth keeping. Still better than birchbox.

OOO.. Starlooks Starbox Subscription!

OOO.. Starlooks Starbox Subscription!

Ok, I ordered my first one last month but I have not received it yet but it is in the mail, but I just got my April kit in the mail today.

First before I get into the subscription boxes offered by Starlooks I need to tell everyone about the Starlooks Library Card. It is free and it offers deep discounts on the makeup products offered on Starlooks website. You can find it here. Free!

There are a few types of offers for the subscription services, one for perfect size products that are somewhere of half size or three quarter size - not 'samples', and then the full sized products subscription. Both offer month to month with automatic billing or prepaid plans. The pre-paid plans are three month subscriptions with no recurring charge. There is a domestic (USA) package and one for Canada. Starlooks sends out a warning email before your account is charged as well.

The prices may be subject to change but the perfect size box is $12.00 monthly and the full size is $17.00 monthly for USA subscriptions.

The package I purchased for is the US $17.00 monthly.

What I got, wow. I was thinking I would get some little singles products that no one would buy or a lipstick but I got a 5 shade eye palette in Morocco and a white eye liner pencil wrapped in tissue and tucked neatly into a clear vinyl makeup case with the Starlooks brand logo. Now I know it says 'box' but my bag came in a bubble mailer but arrived safe and sound. Just super excited. The eye shadow pallet alone on their website is a value of $41.00, The colors are soft and neutral and something I will use daily, the white eyeliner is perfect for brightening up the eye by using it on the waterline. Perfect for us girls who wear glasses to help bring out the eyes. The case, just to keep my hoard of goodies in one place does not have a dollar amount because it is not offered on the website. I also got a lifetime discount card for 5 dollars off all the perfect size cosmetic line.

So between the library card and the card I got today I can get all lines of their makeup at a huge discount!

I am a huge fan of Ipsy, not so much for the other subscription services though, and I found Starlooks through Ipsy with a discount offer, and I followed the link to find this subscription service for just Starlooks brand and I could not resist to try it out. Now I got to tell everybody about it. Kudos!

The cosmetics themselves that I have tried are the eyebrow pencil, lip pencil and gloss as well as the eye pencil and the Shimmer lookbook kit. All professional quality and easy to use. All highly pigmented and long lasting with a smooth and soft texture to the pencil products. No pulling and easy blend out. Give them a try yourself.  

L'oreal

Moisturising routines are essential for great skin, and I got a few products to try out and review from L'Oreal. Just to give some insight I will be 50 this year. Some of my favorite products are Noxzema (cleanser and make up remover), Acure (scrub and day cream), and Nourish Organics (Serum and eye treatment), I am not a crunchy, I just love the products... even if they were not organic I would use them. I just love simple and basic. Is it time to change my routine? Maybe not because it works for me, but read on.

 L'Oreal Paris Revitalift Volume Filler EYE TREATMENT
I wanted this to work for me, I really did. My mother has sworn by L'Oreal products as long as I can remember. Unfortunately the formulation just did not like my skin and it was rather harsh and caused a small bit of redness and burning after about a week's use. It did not cool and soothe like the product I was currently using. I quit using it after a week. I have got to admit the little tube with the slim dropper point is effortless to use and it is easy to control so you do get just the right amount of product and no waste. I have used it for 30 days and I did not notice any miracle volume filling properties, just puffy irritated eyes and it is just really bad as a moisturizer.  After the 30 day trial I did return to the eye serum from Nourish Organics, it has a much more cooling effect around my eyes. I just wish all my fav brands would switch to L'Oreal's tube and dropper tip combo package.

L'Oreal Paris Revitalift Volume Filler CONCENTRATED SERUM
This product itself I do have mixed feelings about, you see I was using an argan oil treatment for around my mouth and forehead previously but that product sometimes caused breakouts in these areas. Being nearly 50 with pimples is a bit embarrassing but it did work for smoothing out all those fine lines and made a good base for makeup. This product did not make me break out and worked fantastic as a spot treatment but as a volume filler it fell a bit flat. I am not noticing much difference as far as the filling action I was hoping for but it does really help with smoothing over those fine lines around the mouth. The packaging tube is super neat, push a button on the bottom and dispense a drop of product without any effort with no spillage or waste. After the 30 days I returned to the argon face serum from Nourish Organics, even with the occasional pimple it works better with my BB cream to smooth out the lines.

L'Oreal Paris Revitalift Volume Filler DAY CREAM
Oh, what can I say? this cream is so luxurious and thick yet feels weightless on the skin, it just melts right in... It has a light scent that disappears to neutral and I have absolutely nothing bad to say about it. Worked great in combination with my BB cream and as a silky smooth base for under makeup. I did find it hard to wash off my fingertips after application but honestly, it is supposed to stay on the face so it is a bit waterproof without any greasy or oily feel. I am very happy with the results of this product.

The Packaging is the only drawback, it is in a pot that I need to stick my fingers and nails in. Kinda messy and I like fast and effortless, once again I must emphasise it does not wash off easily with soap and water.
One thing about this little glass jar is it is nearly bomb proof, I dropped it on my ceramic tile floor and panicked, the jar did not break, it is thick and very heavy... it's durability and weight is probably it's downfall because I was fumbling with it to get it open at the time with fingers slick from the spot treatments shown above.

L'Oreal Paris Revitalift Volume Filler NIGHT CREAM
Be still my heart... I don't think I can say enough wonderful things about this night cream. I will start with the packaging, instead of the cream pot jar that are so common in night creams this comes in a tube with a flip top lid for mess free application. Those with any modest length to their fingernails can relate. The constancy is just silky smooth and just a little goes a long way. It melts into the skin without a greasy feel. It has a light pleasant scent to lull you to sleep as well. This cream will stay on till morning and the results are waking to the softest skin I have had in a long time, just wonderful and a pleasure to use.

Tubes, so easy...

Here are my no makeup before and after shots... Please forgive me for subjecting you to this. Once again other than the few blemishes (from argon oil face serum) there is really no landslide change but not much worse either, but what can you expect from face cream right? All in all it is a nice line of products. Please forgive the lighting differences. I don't have a studio or decent camera and these photos are unedited.

 

The dreaded "before" 

And the equally dreaded "after" but no blemishes.

I received all L'Oreal Paris revitalift products complementary for this review.

 

#TryDry #Target

Complements of Influenster, I am going to give #TryDry #Target 
Dove Dry anti antiperspirant and deodorant a trial. Here are my thoughts.

Dove dry spray review

Mens - I have got to admit, the scent of this stuff is very potent and really not one I care for. My husband and I like scents in our personal care products but this one is really strong going on, and it does linger a bit.  According to my husband "he did not like it" because of the scent alone. (direct quote there) The product itself is fantastic though,  it does last all day.  It applies smooth, dry and ready to go like a fine powder, just a quick spray on and go.  We did not do any 48 hour stress sniff testing on this product because my husband showers daily.  Huge bonus is no white marks on the pits of his black t-shirts and that makes laundry day easier. There is an unscented formula, might give that one a go.

Ladies - I absolutely loved this product from the scent, to the feel of the spray, and the way it works so well. I do wear a lot of dark and black colored clothing, this spray has absolutely no residue at all, none, zip, nada.  The scent is light and fresh, but I do love cucumber scents so much... so fresh smelling. I did do the 48 hour stress sniff test and I can assure you, it works! Granted this is not a clinical strength product but it does it's job so well. It goes on dry and it is just a spray and go. I am going to admit, I used this as an underboob spray too. (big girl problems) Great for a refresh as well.

My one question on the product is this can seems to be aluminum but it is not marked as recyclable? Packaging does play a bit of a role in my purchasing decisions.
...and of course my husband and I received this product complementary for this review.

Deja Voodoo style extender by Not Your Mother's. 

Dirty hair is in style.

I must admit, confession time, that I don't shampoo my hair often... once or twice a week. The reason is I have very dry, coarse, long hair. My hair just does not need daily shampoos. My go to doo is a bun twisted up in a chopstick or a side braid. So, take into the consideration of the cost of shampoo, and not using it daily. makes some room in the budget to afford higher end products.

I received a sample of Not your Mother's from Influester in my bella vox box for review, and my review is this stuff is such a treat! the smell is out of this world delicious with a berry and fresh apple scent and it left my hair feeling soft and conditioned without any stiffness like other styling products. Love, love, love it! I noticed Ipsy had it as one of the offerings in this month's glam bag too. Lucky ducks.

The instructions say to use on damp towel dried hair. Use a nickle sized amout (enough for even long hair) and to concentrate where hair gets the most oily. On me it is near my temples and bangs. Then style as usual. The also mention blow drying to help lock things down but I don't blow dry but still got outstanding results. It is a cream formula, shown in picture below. Did I mention the scent is out of this world? It also helps to ward off dust and oils so my hair stays fresher, longer. It is such a treat to use. Give it a try from @NYMbrands

@NYMbrands @Influenster, #NYMdjvd #contest