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?

Winner For the Revlon Lip Butter Giveaway!

Hi ladies! Thanks to everyone who entered the Revlon Lipbutter giveaway!  There were 22 entries total (including the bonus twitter entries).  I used random.org to generate the winner....and without further ado....

Which means the winner is..... Sweet As Honey Blog

She won on her bonus entry for tweeting about the giveaway.  Congrats!  I'll be contacting you soon to get your mailing address to send out your lipbutter as well as some other extra surprises :)

What's In My December Birchbox?

Reminder: Tomorrow is the last day to enter the Revlon Lip Butter (Plus other surprises!) Giveaway!

And now...onto the Birch Box!

1. Harvey Prince Yogini Perfume sample
2. Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink
3. Benefit POREfessional
4. Olie Biologique 004 Huile Moderne (what?...it's an oil...thing...for skin, face, and hair)
5. Bonus: E-boost drink (ummm pass!)
6. Bonus: Show Stoppers

I'm disappointed about half the items in this box.  I like the gloss and the benefit porefessional, but the perfume does not smell appealing on me and the oil I would only put on my hair.  I'm too afraid of breakouts to put that near my face.  The EBoost drink I find really odd...and it reminds me of airborne mixed with energy drink.  The showstopper tape would be handy but I don't normally wear dresses so low that I need to stick them in place...but it's nice to have it handy in case.

The gloss from Jouer is nice. Ultra moisturizing.  But the $20 for a full size is a bit hefty.  The hot pink color scared me at first, but it's very sheer.

I have about 3 coats on my lips in the above picture and it doesn't look very hot pink.  You can build it up more and get more pink, but I feel like it starts to look sloppy and goopy after doing that for a while.  Not a color I'd recommend running out to buy, but it's nice to have the smaller sample of it.  The gloss isn't sticky at all and it's unscented.

Office Holiday Party OOTD

Reminder: Don't forget to enter the Revlon Lip Butter give-away! Just a few more days!

Holiday season at my office means one thing, we get to start drinking at 1 in the afternoon.  I mean, we get a holiday party!  It's also a time of the year where you dress up, but newbies can often make a mistake of what to wear to a holiday office party.  No one wants to look like the office slob...or worse...the office slut.

This year our party was held at the Racquet Club. It's a daytime event that sometimes runs into the evenings.  I also live in an area where it's pretty cold already, so it's either tights or boots when wearing a skirt or dress.

Breaking down the outfit:

Sunny Leigh Textured Scoop Neck Shell from Burlington Coat Factory: $16.99
Why it works: Neckline is good for either a long or short necklace, it doesn't show cleavage, but allows enough skin to show.

Dana Buchman Lace Pencil Skirt from Kohls: On-sale now for $36 (use coupons for extra deals!)
Why it works: Appropriate length for the office.  Pencil skirts are always chic for the office (just watch how high your back slit is!) This skirt can also be mixed back into your normal work wardrobe with a nice top.

Gray Satin bow flats from Payless by Lela Rose: about $13 a year ago
Why it works: Adding a satin shoe can instantly add more glam to your outfit, especially if you want an extra touch.  Other good options are shoes with jewels/gemstones on them.  Just don't go breaking out your bedazzler.

Accessories:
-Black skinny patent leather belt (taken off another top)
-Black tights by Hue
-Cuff by Ann Taylor
-Silver tone necklace from Jennifer Lopez line at Kohl's (from the clearance rack for about $6).

*Sweater is a purple cardigan from the GAP outlet.