e.l.f. Mystery Monday Collection (2 June 2014)

Yep, I am a sucker for the surprise!  When I saw the e.l.f. had a mystery collection at the start of June, I had to go for it.  What did I have to lose?    It was free!

When my order came in, everything looked good with the order and the box contained the $21 mystery collections!

 

Here is what the bag contained:

• Essential 5-Piece Duo Eyeshadow Collection in Day - $5
• Essential 3-Piece Nail Polish Set in Vacation Trio - $3
• Studio Lash Extending Mascara in Black - $3
• Studio Mini Eyelash Curler - $3
• Essential Nail Polish Remover Pads - $2
• Mineral Lipstick in Party Pink - $5

As expected, the value comes out to be $21 with a good mix from the different lines.  See some pictures of the contents below -

  

 

 

 

 

 

 



Julep Maven - June 2014 "Classic With a Twist" box with add-ons!

The June Maven reveal was another difficult decision because it was the first month where you can swap out colors, but I decided to stick with the standard box.  I knew my favorite color was in the Classic with a Twist box, and I thought I would get another color that sold out pretty quickly during the maven reveal.

I also decided to get a few add ons.  I wanted the clean up tool, but the Mystery Grab Bag looked like a lot of fun, too. The website also said, "Choose three add-ons and we'll send you a surprise gift this month!"  I saw some of Julep's swatching nails so I decided to go for that.

The overall package wasn't as pretty as I normally receive.  I actually got everything in a brown box and the actual monthly box was inside with the rest floating around on brown bundled up paper on the bottom.

Here is everything that was inside the brown box: 

Contents:  cleanup tool add-on ($6.99), surprise gift for having 3 add-ons, mystery grab bag add-on ($17.99), nail color fan add on (650 Jules from previous box purchases), June Classic with a Twist box (in the box they would normally ship in).

The overall views of the monthly box:

The 'treat' this month was pixie sticks (3).

Contents of monthly box:

The nail colors in the monthly Classic with a Twist box:

• Oxygen Base Coat - This was the item that was the beauty product in the style boxes (except "It Girl" which contains 3 colors).
• Ariana - Enchanted berry iridescent chrome
• Bergen  - Hazy blue-grey shimmer

More about the Mystery Grab Bag HERE (Kajal eye glider, two nail colors, and lip gloss).  I made it a separate post because I wanted to get it posted more quickly.

The surprise gift for getting three add-ons:

Marjorie - Citrus orange frost
Veronica - Modern mauve crème

All of the colors I received in this month's box (including add-ons):

Cleanup Tool:

It was smaller than I expected.  You can see the box in the picture above and the tool compared to everything else in the bottom two pictures.

Nail Color Fan:

The entire stash:

 

Overall the packaging didn't earn any style points, but the overall set of everything was great!  Lots of fun, and I love the bonus surprises!!

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Click HERE for a link with a referral and promo code to get your first Julep Maven box free!

Mystery Grab Bag - Julep Maven June 2014

One of the add-ons for the June 2014 Maven selection was a "Mystery Grab Bag" for $17.99 which was advertised to have $70 worth of 'nail colors and beauty products' in it.  I thought that sounded fun, and I decided to go for it. 

When I got my June box (which was in a brown cardboard box...will post the unboxing soon), the mystery grab bag was a bundle in the box (next to my other add-ons and the Maven box itself).  I was unimpressed with the packaging, but once I started looking at the product, I was very pleased.

Here is the bundle together:

The items set out:

The Kayal Eye Glider:

I haven't tried it yet, but I swatched it on my hand and it seemed to glide very smoothly.  I have their smaller colored gel eyeliners, and this one worked similarly to that.  The sharpener seems nice.  Obviously it catches the shavings.

Lip gloss:

The pink color of this lip gloss (named fearless) looked really cute, but when I actually tried it on, I FELL IN LOVE!  Gorgeous lip gloss.  Felt great on, too.  This alone was worth the price of the add-on (see below).


Nail Polish:

Both are colors I do not have and they are recent Julep colors (from 2013) so that was nice.  They are Anisa and Teri.  I haven't tried them yet, but I will soon enough, I am sure.

The whole set:

The overall June 2014 mystery grab bag set.  I was pleased!



Contents:

• Kajal Eye Glider & Sharpener - $22 (was in secret store for $9, on sale on regular site for $10)...in bronze shimmer and carbon black
• Julep Lip Gloss in Fearless - $20 ($16 Maven)...a Sheer silvery pink shimmer, with Power Cell Complex™
• Anisa - $14 ($11.20 Maven)...Deep burgundy crème
• Teri - $14 ($11.20 Maven)...description/link currently not on Julep site that I can find

Sure enough, when you add it all up (full price), it comes out to $70!  The lip gloss was the highlight of this mystery bag.  I love it!  At $16 maven price, I consider myself to have paid $1.99 for the rest of the stuff since the whole grab bag was $17.99.  If I ever see a mystery bag or box with fearless as the hint, I am going for that, too.  The color is amazing, and the gloss feels great on. The bag was a great deal once I got over the disappointing packaging.

I would imagine that all June Mystery Bags are the same (based on other mystery add-ons in the past).  Overall - success!

Stay tuned for my June unboxing post which will include my other add-ons in addition to my June box (and a surprise for having 3 add ons).

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Click HERE for a link with a referral and promo code to get your first Julep Maven box free!

butter LONDON Boho Rock Lacquer Collection (Spring 2014)

I decided to purchase the Complete Boho Rock Lacquer Collection from butter LONDON.  This purchase not only came with their 6 spring shades, but it also came with a Boho Rock Wristlet (shown at the end of this post).

Here are some pictures and swatches of the collection (warning - very shiny bottle didn't photograph well):

The order of the colors in these pictures is:

• Trifle
• Lushington
• Lucy in the Sky
• Keen
• Trallop
• Goss

Before I decided to use them, I ended up swatching all of them to see what they looked like outside of the bottle.  I found that they were even better looking than in the bottle.  It is really a great set.

Mixed lighting:

Natural light, partly overcast:

The third one, Lucy in the Sky, could have used another coat, but my swatching standard is 2 coats on these nail cards.  I think 2 coats would work fine on my nails since these nail cards have very long nails that I find are more difficult to paint than my natural nails (but less cleanup afterwards ;)).


More pictures showing appearance of bottles:

The glare on the glass of the first bottle doesn't show how brown the copper color is, but the swatch shows it will.

The bottles were difficult to photograph because they were so shiny.

And the wristlet that I got free with the collection:

I threw the Goss bottle on the wristlet to show the size a little better:

The material is smooth and lightly padded.  The wristlet holds all six bottles of lacquer.

Julep Speckled for Spring Mystery Box with Kimberly

Speckled for Spring Mystery Box with Kimberly (Boho Glam)

March 2014

Since speckled polish has been all the rage for this spring, I ordered one of the Speckled for Spring Mystery Boxes from Julep.  I ordered the one that contained Kimberly, a purple speckled nail polish.  The box was $24.99.

Felicity (green speckled) came out that month for Mavens as an add-on, but disappeared pretty quickly.  This was an opportunity to try a speckled color from Julep so I was pretty excited to get it.  Here is what was in my mystery box:

The box contained the usual paper packing material (easy to recycle!) in gray.

The box came with 6 colors and a mascara:

The mascara is my second Julep mascara.  The brush was different the first time I got the mascara so I kind of blew it off.  After trying it again last week, I am actually really liking the mascara now - especially when I get it in one of these mystery boxes!  The color of the mascara is brown.

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Julep Maven Referral Link, Tips & Promo Code:  http://smartwomanbeauty.blogspot.com/2014/03/julep-maven-promo-code-referral.html

Julep Maven - April 2014 - Vivid Collection Ultimate Upgrade

I loved everything about the April 2014 Julep Maven collection, and my purchase of the (+$55) ultimate upgrade definitely reflects that!  I also added on one color (Brigitte) for $4.99.

The Vivid Collection:

 

Collection with Brigitte added:

The Bronzer & Blush:

With the brushes:

Entire Collection plus Brigitte:

My new colors for my collection:

Colors shown above:

• Brigitte
• Tatum
• Caitlin
• Mariska
• Kayla
• Sunny
• Phoebe
• Flora
• Bailey
• Maren

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Julep Maven Referral Link, Tips & Promo Code:  http://smartwomanbeauty.blogspot.com/2014/03/julep-maven-promo-code-referral.html

 

e.l.f. Beauty Bundle: Pre-Summer Survival Kit (May 2014)

I received my new elf beauty bundle!  This box's theme is Your Pre-Summer Survival Kit!

The box arrived in the usual black box with pink tissue paper, and all but one of the contents (a pink signature bag) was in the e.l.f. beauty bundle drawstring bag.

Here is what the Pre-Summer Survival Kit contained:

• 28-Piece Beach Beauty Palette in Night, $6
• Waterproof Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara in Black, $3
• Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls, $3
• Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Black, $2
• Mineral Moisturizing Lip Tint in Guava, $3
• High Definition Powder in Shimmer, $6
• Makeup Mist & Set, $3
• SPF 45 Sunscreen UVA/UVB Protection, $6
• Signature Bag in Pink, $8

As advertised and expected, the items total up to $40 in value.

Here is what the inside of the Beauty Book looks like:

 

These last three remain unopened.  I have some mist & set already that I don't use too often but probably should more.  I also have lots of mascara and eyeliner options.  Both of these are waterproof so they will wait until a time when I need some water-resistant makeup.

 

As I was unboxing this kit, I was also packing for a trip to Miami.  What a great place to try it out!  I packed the Suncreen powder and Beauty Book in the Signature Bag with the lip tint and highlighter.  The bag as a section for brushes so I packed some in there and also my eye primer.

The signature bag is much better than I expected.  I had seen it on the website before, but wasn't very interested.  I loved taking it on my trip to Miami - perfect for storing everything you need.  I ended up adding mascara, eyeliner, tweezers, and other odds & ends to this travel set.  I used the SPF powder every day in addition to the beauty book.  I wore neutral colors during the day and put on some of the more fun ones at night.  I also added some of the highlighter although I haven't quite figured out how the baked highlighters will best work for me yet.  I used the lip tint, too, for some added color.

I also tried the shimmer powder (but didn't take it on my trip) and like it a lot!  It is smoothing with the slightest hint of shimmer. 

Overall, a great beauty bundle.  No regrets on this one!

Here are the inside & back of the description paper that came with it to see more details on what everything in the kit is.