Coastal Scents GO Palettes

I love to travel, and I love "traveler" palettes; they're small and convenient for trips! Lately I've been buying things like this:

Sephora Colorista:
http://vixenslovee.blogspot.com/2011/10/sephora-colorista-palette.html

Allure Beauty Editor:
http://vixenslovee.blogspot.com/2011/10/sephoras-allure-beauty-editors-palette.html

And so, of course, I could not go with out buying a few of these cute little GO palettes. I only bought 3, but I plan on getting more (but not all) of them.

All 7 GO Palettes

Available at: Coastal Scents http://www.coastalscents.com/

Price: $8.95 a palette; So Affordable!

Packaging: Plastic compact with large mirror inside. The front of each palette features the Coastal Scents GO logo and the name of the city that inspired it. It also has the company's website printed on it; something I wasn't too fond off, it looks cheap in my opinion.

Size:
Palette : 3.22" x 3.31" x 0.62"
Mirror : 2.72" x 2.72"
Shadows: dime sized

Details: 7 portable and travel friendly eyeshadow palettes inspired by cities from around the world. Each palette comes with 12 eyeshadows and a large mirror.

Pros: These shadows are decently pigemented. They're perfectly sized.  They last all day with a primer. I love the colors. All the shades combined in each palette are perfectly selected; you're not getting shades that have absolutely nothing in common.

Swatches for Cairo

Cairo

Cons: There was at least one or two chalky shades in each palette,; those shades were harder to swatch. They take a heavier application to show up on the lid. Without a primer, these are still great, but not as vibrant. If you own any of the other 88 palettes, you may notice some dupes or repeatitions of these shadows. I own the 88 Warm pallete and the 88 Metal Mania palette and I have noticed 2 or 3 crossover shades but I don't mind it.

Swatches for Beijing

Beijing

Additional Comments: Some people don't like these because some shades are the same as the the other palettes, but I'm not only interested in the shades; Im also interested in the size.

I like the idea that I can toss these in my travel bag or in my purse when I'm in a hurry instead of taking an entire 88 palette.

These would make a great gift. Slide one into the stocking for Christmas, buy a couple and stuff it into a cute cosmetic bag, or spoil your beauty addict friends and family by buying the entire set!

Don't/Do Recommend: Yes, I still recommend the palettes.  These are too cute, affordable, good quality  for the price, just all around a decent find!

Whats your opinion? Do you own any of these palettes? Which ones have you been eyeing? I would love to know! :) I hope everyone gets a chance to try these!

-Monique

JULEP MAVEN WINNER!

Hello everyone!! Good morning and Merry Christmas! It is 12:12 AM, make a wish!! ;)

I am very excited to announce to everyone that I have chosen a winner using Random.org!

And the winner of a 3 month subscription to Julep Maven is....

ASHLEY206!!

Congratulations, I'm so excited for you! Please contact me by the 1st of January or I will be choosing another winner.
So shoot me an email and I can get those goodies sent to you :)

For everyone else, remember that there is a prize for everyone!! If you still want to try out Julep Maven, you can use coupon code VixensLovee at checkout to get your introductory box for only $5!!! This coupon expires on the first so hurry in while you can!

Thank you so much everyone for entering! It was so much fun! I will be doing another giveaway in January and this one is going to be about skincare so stay tuned!

Everyone have a blessed and safe holiday.

Stay Lovely,
Monique

Updated!

Check out the Steals and Deals tab for some major holiday discounts and freebies!
Is anyone even up for more holiday shopping? Im beat! Happy Hauling everyone! :D

Manicure Monday! Essie polish with a Wet n Wild top coat!



WetNWild



Essie



Hello lovelies! I've decided to start a new portion/category/section of this blog called Mani Mondays! Every Monday I will post my current manicure; unless I still have the same polish on, then I'll just tweet or FB that there will not be a new Mani Monday post that week. Onto this week's look!

For about half of a week I wore Essie's Little Brown Dress, a darker than milk chocolate brown. But I noticed that this color looked close to black on my nails because of my darker skintone. It was only obviously brown in the sun light. I hate wearing black polish so I was about to change it.


Essie's Little Brown Dress
Looks almost black with my skintone
Milky-chocolate brown in sunlight
Click to enlarge

 I started looking through my polishes for something else when I ran across my Wet n Wild The Gold and the Beautiful. I did a review on this previously and I wasn't too impressed with it. I had to use tons of a base white color and then about 4 coats of the gold on top of that in order for this to actually show up on my nails.

But because I was going to take off the polish anyway I decided to try it over the Essie polish, and I loved it!

 It only took one coat for this beautiful gold to show nicely, and it even made the brown polish show up as brown and not black! Double score!
 I have been wearing this nail look for about 3 weeks now (And I have only needed to touch up once!). I am rarely ever so fond of a nail look. I usually have a new color every 3 days to a week!


What are your Mani Mondays looking like? Tweet me a picture! I'll post my favorites next Monday :)

Currently my favorite nail look!
I took two photo's to capture different glitter particles capturing the light
Click to enlarge



L Wet N Wild's The Gold and The Beautiful
R Essie's Little Brown Dress
2 Coats of Essie and 1 coat of Wet N Wild
Click to enlarge

I can't wait to see everyone's Mani Monday looks! Be sure to tweet or email me your Monday nails so I can post them next week!

Exuviance Purifying Cleansing Gel

Skincare Webstore
http://www.neostrata.com/home.do

I am very pleased to bring this review to everyone! This will be on a cleansing gel that was sent to me by Amy from Neostrata, a skincare webstore. This Webstore sells some of the greatest skincare lines! One company they carry is called Exuviance, a skincare line dedicated to fighting acne with anti-aging properties. I am not always pleased with some of the products I reviece from companies (I'll soon have a review up on something I hated!), but this cleanser really was a great find!

Available at: Neostrata http://www.neostrata.com/product/exuviance+purifying+cleansing+gel.do

Price: $28

Packaging: This cleanser comes in a box, nothing too fancy. I will be honest, when I opened this up I was a little dissapointed. It looked so plain and I thought, "this must not be that great". I was wrong, dont judge a cleanser by its packaging! I dont mind the packaging much if the product itself makes up for it, which is the case in this situation. When it comes to the product packaging, the cleanser comes in a tall plastic bottle with a great pump

My newest addition to my skincare regimine!

Details: An anti-aging facial cleanser with alpha and polyhydroxy acids to soothe and improve the skin's texture. Deep cleans to remove impurities. Non-drying and gentle on skin. Safe to use on all skin types. Soap free, foaming, dermatoligist and allergy tested.

Used for: Entire month of November; once in the morning and once at night.

Pros:
-I love that this is a gel cleanser and doesn't have soap; it did not dry out my skin. Gel cleansers (and moisturizers) are great for oily skin, something I have.
-Effectively washed away makeup and eye-makeup residue. (I use an eye makeup remover but sometimes I am still left with residue from liner or mascara, this cleaser got rid of that)
-Leaves skin extremely soft and smooth.
-Doesn't burn or itch
-It lasted very long. Both myself and my sister used this morning and evening for the entire month of November and I have a little more than 1/4 left. If you use it for yourself only, it will last much longer.
-Very effective in fighting acne:

If I ever fall asleep with makeup on, I am guaranteed breakouts the very next morning because my skin is oily. I cannot fall asleep with makeup on and no matter how late it is or how tired I am, I make it a point to wash off all makeup before bed. I wanted to test the acne fighting of this cleanser, so I fell asleep with my makeup on purpose! The next day I washed up to find no breakouts and I was impressed. I decided to test it out again the next day, same results. I fell asleep for an entire week with my makeup; no breakouts what so ever. This stuff really is amazing!

My cleanser the day I opened it.
This humble bottle hides a great skincare inside!

Cons:
-I wasn't too crazy about the smell of this cleanser. It didn't stink, but it didnt smell that good either. Im not sure how to explain the smell, and if I try, I know it will only sound weird (In my opinion, it smells like cardboard and school supplies....see, weird). However, I read 3 other reviews on this and the women agreed that it smelled really good, so it might be possible that I recieved an older batch?

How to use: Use one pump on; with fingertips, gently massage over face and neck.

Worth it?: YES. I am so glad that I was sent this cleanser. I will be repurchasing this before I run out becuase this is now part of my beauty regimine. I would absolutely recommend this to a friend. It is worth every penny! The results are amazing.

What are your opinions? Do you have a tough time picking out a great cleanser? Would you like to try this? I am thinking about including this in a future giveaway so please let me know if you would enjoy this or not! Thanks again!

FOTD December 9th, 2011

Friday was a very calm day for me. I didn't have classes so Victor and I had the day off. We pretty much spent the day "bonding" with my parents :)


We watched a few movies (my parents have tons of DVDs and love watching movies together) and then I made enchiladas with my mom. We tried a new recipe that day!


Because I didn't have much to do I decided to take it easy with my makeup. If there's a day where I have very little to do or nowhere to go (usually Mondays and Wednesdays) I try to skip makeup altogether or only wear very little. It's important to take a break from so much makeup and let your skin breathe.


Friday I kept it minimal.




Minimal makeup
Click to enlarge

 Products used


Skin care:
-Clean and Clear persa-gel 10 on any blemishes
-Burt's Bees Radiance eye cream
-Burt's Bees Radiance serum
-Loreal Youth Code serum
-Shaklee Enfuselle moisturizer

Face:
-Cover Girl Clean powder in Soft Honey
-Blush~Allure Beauty Editor Palette in All Fun No Sun


Brows:
-Sephora Colorista Palette

My very nude/taupe eye look.
L with flash - R without flash
Click to enlarge

Eyes:
-Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette

Lashes
Bare Escentuals
bareMinerals Flawless Definition mascara

Lashes:
-Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Flawless Definition mascara

Everyone tells me I have the thinnest lips!-- I do :(
I really liked the way this nude shade
looked over the natural undertones of my lips

Lips:
-[Discontiued] Maybelline Volume Seduction XL plumping gloss in Seductively Nude



White Rose studs,
Cream and Gold chunky chain bracelet,
& Gold rose necklace
All from Forever 21

 Someone asked if I could include accesories. So here you go! :) 

Hair:
-Organix Renewing Morrocan Argan Oil on damp hair
-Air dry ~ no styling

That wraps it up for this FOTD, thanks again everyone!

First FOTD December 8th, 2011

Hey everyone! As promised, here is the first FOTD post. Enjoy!




Bright eyed!
Click to enlarge

 This was a school day for me so I wanted to keep it simple (Im sure you tell by my *throw on a sweater!* attitude!).
Some people believe that a smokey look is too dark for daytime wear. I agree, sometimes this is way too harsh. However, I hardly ever wear a gray/black smokey eye and I felt the shades used were not too intense.

I have included a mini* tutorial of sorts on how to get this eyeshadow look.



My daytime smokey look.
I hate the way my lashes grew back
 after my run-in with the ELF lash curler!

 The lipstain I used was supposed to be a soft nude-y pink, but my lips already have a darker undertone so this looks a little darker on me than I would have liked.

I hope you enjoy the look!


Products used

Skincare:
-Clean and Clear persa-gel 10 on any blemishes
-Burt's Bees Radiance eye cream
-Burt's Bees Radiance serum
-Loreal Youth Code serum
-Shaklee Enfuselle moisturizer

Face:
-ELF mineral primer
-Boscia BB Cream SPF 27 PA++
-ELF HD face powder
-Revlon bronzer in Sunkissed Bronze
-Blush~Allure Beauty Editor Palette: Where There's Smoke

Brows:
-Sephora Colorista Palette



Allure Beauty Editor Palette
Where There's Smoke

 Eyes:
-Benefit Stay Don't Stray Primer
-Benefit Cream Shadow in RSVP as base
-Allure Beauty Editor Pallete: Where There's Smoke

• Using a fluffy brush, sweep shade 6 over entire lid as a wash
• Take shade 5 and using a large fluffy shader brush, pack this on the inner 3rd of the lid
• Taking a medium shadow brush, pack shade 2 over the rest of the lid, concentrating on the outer corner
• Using a flat stiff shader brush, pack shade 4 into the outer V and pull the shade up into the crease
• BLEND with a large fluffy dome shadow brush
• Take shade 6 again with a clean fluffy brush and sweep over brow bone as a highlight
• Using a small detail shadow brush, smudge shade 4 into the lower lashline and blend with a Qtip
• Take an angled liner brush and moisten it with a wet cosmetic sponge. Tap brush into shade 1 and line the upper lashline. Do not run the brush over your lashline like you would a cream liner. Instead use the brush to gently pat the liner over your lashline.
• ALL DONE!

Lashes:
-Curl
-Maybeline Pulse Perfection mascara (1 coat as base)
-Loreal Volumous Carbon Black mascara (1 coat)

Lips:
-EOS in Lemon Drop
-Revlon Just Bitten in Mystical


Stay Lovely!
Monique :)

FOTD.. Something New!

Hey there Lovees! I had an email today regarding FOTD (Face of the Day) posts. One of my subbies, Stephanie (hope you don't mind me mentioning you!) said that I write tons of reviews but never show my face! She thought that I was already friendly and personable (you guys know I love tweeting and emailing you back!) but that it would be nice to see my face a little more; at least every once in a while. I thought it was just the funniest thing! But very sweet :)

I would love to try to these posts out, I cant make any promises, but I will try to do a post of that days makeup. If I don't have time to post one, well I hope you understand!


I hope this also answers a few other questions I recieved about OOTD and HOTD posts (outfit and hair of the day posts). I will try my best to alternate between hair, face, and outfit posts; although I can almost gaurantee that most of these will be FOTD.

Mostly because:
1) I'm not much of a fashionista
2) My hair is impeccably straight and stubborn

I hope to have answered everyone's emails! I was getting these same questions from a lot of you so I figured that answering in this post would be easier than answering every individual email. Thanks again everyone for your daily love and support!

Stay Lovely!
Monique

December Julep Maven Box and GIVEAWAY!

A few lovely shades from Julep
Click to enlarge

I LOVE going for the mail everyday! :) There's always something to brighten my day. Monday's are always slow and icky, but I got my December Maven Box this Monday so it wasn't too bad of a day :)

Win 3 months of Maven boxes in my GIVEAWAY!
http://vixenslovee.blogspot.com/2011/11/julep-maven-giveaway.html

December's Box choices
You can win these!
Click to enlarge

I was really excited to get my box this month because its Christmas themed! It was wrapped so beautifully! And came with a few exclusives!


Available at: Julep


Box: Bombshell


Price: $20


Overall box value: $46

Take a style quiz to decide what box suits you best!
My style is Bombshell, what will you be?

Packaging: This months box was red. Inside there was TONS of black confetti/stuffing? My products were tucked into a red and white snowflake bag. The bag was wrapped in a white ribbon (although my sister put that in her hair as soon as I opened the box!), and under the ribbon there was a little card that read  "Happy Holidays from Julep". Super cute! Very impressed by this months packaging, I hope there are more themed months planned ahead!


Items Recieved:
-Julep Nail Vernis in Demi, a beautiful deep wine burgandy; perfect for the holiday season.
-Julep Fast Dry Top Coat, helps prevent yellowing and chipping, seals and drys polish in record time.
-Pomegranete Body Creme, hydrates and exfoliates the skin. Smells yumm! Formulated with pomegranete, papaya, shea butter, jojoba (yay!), avocado (double yay!), and kukui oils. Paraben, Sulphate, and Phthylate free.
-EXTRA: Green nail glitter, sprinkle some over wet nails and let dry before applying top coat.

The cutest packaging ever!

Liked: I loved the top coat! Funny because-- Just last Friday I was painting my nails with my sister when she asked to borrow my topcoat. I handed it to her and said "Hm, I need a new one. Hopefully I get one in this month's maven box." And I did!

I was also very happy to get the polish in Demi, I love deep red polishes. I have only one bright poppy red polish, all my other reds are deep, dark, vampy colors. And now I have a new one to add to my collection!

Next thing I was eager to try was the body creme. I always get super dry skin during winter and I liked that this isn't just a lotion, it is a thick hydrating creme. It doesn't hurt that it smells delicious either. :)


As far as the little extra glitter goes, it was a really cute idea, I know that other girls got glitter too in different colors. I liked that mine was green. Sprinkled over the red polish, it would be cute to wear on Christmas day :)

Products in my December box!
Click to enlarge

Top Coat

Disliked: I heard/saw other girls were getting nail appliques in their Maven boxes! Mega jealous! LOL. These are similar to the Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips. Julep doesnt have that many styles yet, I believe they run about $14 a piece. Hopefully I get some in my next box :)
Another thing I was a little dissapointed in was that the creme wasn't as exfoliating as I thought it would be. I would have liked it to be just a little bit grainy.

Demi

Cant wait for January's box! That month is my anniversary and hopefully I can get something fun and pretty for my special night out :)


What do you guys think/like? Would you rather have gotten the body creme or the nail appliques? Did you appreciate the mini glitter extra or would you have liked something better? Let me know if you got something different this month!

AND dont forget, you can win 3 months of these awesome monthly gifts by entering my GIVEAWAY! :)
http://vixenslovee.blogspot.com/2011/11/julep-maven-giveaway.html

Coastal Scents Haul/Unboxing!

Hey Lovees! My little sister's birthday was just this past October and, of course, I could not go without spoiling her (and myself a little!); so the next few posts will be featuring some things I got from Coastal Scents.

I'm sure many of you have seen their new Go Palettes from around the world and I bought a few of those.
I wish I would have picked up a few more but I bought three for now. Here's the entire collection:

I also picked up their newest brush set:

Are any of these products something you have had your eye on? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section!

Sibu Beauty's Cleanse and Detox Facial Soap

I LOVE using all natural products so I was so happy when I got this in the mail! This is a beauty bar sent to me by Sibu.

Here's a little more on the company:
Sibu is an all natural, all organic, cruelty free premium skin care company.

They pride themselves on their most valuable ingredient; found in all of their products, the Himalayan Sea Buckthorn Berry. The berry is better known as the Beauty Berry in Europe and Asia. It contains Omega 3, 6, 7, and 9 (great for hair, skin, and nails!).

The berry is also rumored to help in weight loss-- but don't eat your soap. :) If using sea buckthorn for weightloss is something you're interested in, they do carry dietary supplements on their website...

On to my review of this soap!

Available at: Sibu Beauty http://www.sibubeauty.com/index.php

Price: This was sent to me; its available for $6.95 (for 3.5 ounces)

Packaging: Shrink wrapped and sealed; comes in a box.

Details: Designed to rid skin of impurities and pollutants from everyday exposure. Creates a barrier to protect skin from UV rays and cell damaging free-radicals. Also promotes tissue recovery and healing.

Beauty bar packaging

Packed with more than 190 bioactive compounds to inhinit bacterial growth. Contains no parabens. Free of dairy, wheat, gluten, yeast, sodium and preservatives.

Pros:
-Smells clean and fresh!

-Lathers to a rich, thick, and creamy soap

-Protects from sun damage! I loved this-- even though its winter, you still need to protect yourself from the sun. Now you can just wash up with this before leaving your house everymorning and top it off with a moisturizing SPF!

-Cleans and conditions the skin

-For ALL skin types.

-Didn't dry out my skin
-Becuase its a bar soap, it will last you a long time

Cons:
-Its a bar of soap, it looks like a plain bar of soap. Am I the only one who loves pretty detailing and packaging..
-Its a bar of soap, it sits on a soap dish-- ew!

My beauty bar right before its first use!

Further thoughts: I really liked this soap. I not only used it on my face, but as a body bar in general. I noticed my skin felt smoother and looked brighter. Its not very cute, but it doesn't take away from the results this gave my skin. The only thing I recommend is to buy a soap container that seals up. I hate leaving bar soap to sit out; it gets full of bacteria and just grosses me out!

Would I recommend this: Yes. I liked the results. I would buy this again, most likely for travel. I think this would also look really cute in a gift basket! :)

Let me know your thoughts! What is your favorite natural/organic skincare product? (Mine is Enfuselle!) Do you like the idea of a beauty bar? Or does that gross you out too? Let me know how you would keep your precious soap from getting ruined!

Updated!

New savings just posted on the Steals and Deals tab! Includes a FREE 4 piece travel brush set :)

Happy Shopping everyone!