Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Haute Collection Nail Polish Set

Hi beauties!  I scored a great deal at CVS this past week and I thought I'd share in case any of your CVS's still had them available.  In the Christmas 75% off section, I was lucky enough to find the Sally Hansen Salon Manicure 3 polish packs.  These were $9.99 originally and came to $2.49 for 3 full polishes!  There 3rd is a clear coat (not pictured...because, well, it's clear).

I picked up the haute collection, which included Commander in Chic and Pat on the Black.

Commander in chic is one of those great "muddy" colors that exploded this fail.  Great color pay-off and applies easily (used 2 coats)

Pat on the black is not a color I would normally be drawn too, but it is a nice black.  You can also see hints of a berry purpley color in the bottle and if you only use one coat.  I used 2 to make it opague.

Overall, I would say give these polishes a try if you can find them in the 75% off section.  Normally these are $8/bottle and I got 3 for only $2.49.  Even if you only want one of the colors, you can always gift the other to a friend :)

Whats in my Birchbox for January?

After a bout of the stomach flu (after the regular flu!) I have tons of posting and reviews to do!  I thought I'd start off slowly, so here's the birchbox for January...

1. Origins Checks and Balances (full size retails 19.50): I've actually been loving this cleanser so far.  You really need the tiniest amount to get a mound of lather. I'll do a full review after trying for longer than a week, but so far, love it!
2. Archipelago Pomegranate Body Soap: Not a huge fan of bar soap, so this may be a decorative soap I set out in my bathroom (picture below).  It smells ok...not amazing.  Actually, it makes me sneeze, so if you are sensitive to smells or bar soaps, this is probably not for you (and full size is $12.50?!?)
3. Juicy Couture Perfume Sample: Smells good, but nothing I'd ever buy for myself.  I actually HATE when Birchbox puts in perfume samples.
4. Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner: I received the color Lionfish which is a metallic brown (swatch below).  It's a nice automatic eyeliner.  Still need to test it more for a full review. (this came in full size, which retails for $20).
5. Bonus - Latabar Mini Bar: I received the carrot cake flavor.  It tasted ok...but it's also the last thing I ate before the stomach flu!!! Soooo, I don't have good memories of it!  I also wish Birchbox would stop sending me food.

Jouer Creme Eyeshadow in Organza (Review and Swatches)

I had over 300 points at Birchbox, which equals a $30 gift card.  They were also running a deal where if you spend $75, you got $25 off.  Hard to pass up that good of a deal when I only ended up spending $20 on my purchases.  I decided to grab up some makeup from Jouer.  I've only ever tried their lipgloss, but I saw this little taupe-y beauty and it was love at first sight...

This is Jouer creme eyeshadow in Organza.  Retails for $20 for 2.5 grams of product.  The eyeshadow cases each have a mirror and an interlocking bit on the side (meant for you to snap them together and design your own palette).

The shade is described as a "lavendar-tinged taupe".  I don't get overwhelmed with lavendar, but I think it's a gorgeous taupe shade with a strong color pay-off.  The formula glides on easily with a brush or your fingertips.

This formula will crease on most people, but using a good primer will stop that.  You can apply this sheerly or build it up to your liking.

Overall, I'm not amazed by the creme eyeshadow.  I like it...but I'm not about to rush out and buy the other 3 shades off the site.

If you are looking to buy a high-end shadow (creme or powder), I'd say this is passable.  The color is great, but I'm just not certain it lives up to a $20 price tag.  If it worked more creaselessly on me like a paint pot or benefits creaseless cream shadows, I'd be more willing to shell out the 20, but I feel like you can get more product from Benefit for a cheaper price.

Rating:
Price: 2/5
Product (discounting price): 3.5/5

New Years: Beauty Resolutions?

Happy new year everyone!  I've been away for quite some time as I traveled home for the holidays to see my family and ended up getting the flu for Christmas!  It hit heavily last week, so I completely missed New Years festivities and work. Ugh.  Oh well, here's to a better year!

I'm not one for making new years resolutions...but there are some beauty resolutions I'd like to *TRY* to keep.

1. Deep clean my brushes regularly (no more of the eh...I'll do it tomorrow!)
2. Get enough beauty sleep! (During my work busy season, I should just live at the office!)
3. Take off my makeup before bed...even the nights I've been out til 2 am.
4. Actually use up some of the products I've bought.

Do you have any new years beauty resolutions?