April 2012 BirchBox!

Hey Beauties! Well, it's that time again, time for my monthly BirchBox! I'm super excited about this one, I got a lot of great feedback on my YouTube video, you can check it out here, if you're interested in seeing a video of what I received. For the month of April they decided to focus on natural and organic products for spring. So let's get going and I'll show you what I got in my BirchBox!

• Befine Skincare Sampler- It came with 2 cleansers and 3 moisturizer single serving packs and boasts rice extract to help restore your skin. These retail for $24 each. 
• WEI White Lotus Hydrating Face Treatment Pad- A single use mask soaked in a blend of Eastern botanicals and hyaluronic acid to instantly boost your skins moisture. Retail value for these is $68 for a pack of 6.
• Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift- This pretty scent has notes of freesia, green tea, apple blossom, raspberry and dewberry. Inspired by everything Taylor, it's definitely a sweet scent meant to enchant. Retail value is $18-$59.50.
• Zoya TRUE Spring Collection in Bevin- The non-toxic formula goes on opaque and is supposed to last 50% longer than traditional polishes and with a retail value of $8 it's definitely worth it. 
• Beauty Extra- MicrodermaMitt Face Mitt- Made of all-natural silk this mitt gently exfoliates dead skin and pore-clogging dirt and oil. The full-size mitt retails for $28.50.

All in all I think this was a great box and one of the better ones I've seen in a while. This is my second BirchBox but as far as what I've seen on YouTube this is a great box for both this month and past months. 

Verdict: A++ I loved the natural theme and the variety of products and I can't wait to see what they have in store for me next month!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Hatching Egg Nail Art

Hey beauties! I just got into the YouTube game! Check out my newest video featuring Hatching Egg Nail Art! It's perfect for spring or Easter brunch and it's as easy as 1-2-3! Click the link and also you can follow me on twitter at MarkitasMakeup!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

And The Color Of The Year Is...

So as most of you probably know, Pantone is the authority on color and color matching. And if you don't know who they are head on over to pantone.com and see what they're all about. Anyways, Pantone partnered with Sephora to officially announce the color of they year. And the color of the year is...

Admittedly, tangerine isn't for everyone but if you're just bold enough to pull it off you may want to head over to Sephora and check out their amazing selection of products inspired by this years delicious color.

They have everything from lipgloss to nail polish to blushes. And it's such an excitingly, beautiful color you won't be able to resist.

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Saturday Beauty Review

Hey Lovlies, if you're like us here in Indiana, then you didn't get much of a winter and for that I'm sorry. But I was perusing the beauty aisles of Target and I came across this frilly, frosty Essie nail polish. It's called Pure Pearlification and it's definitely one of my new favorites for several reasons. 

My sister Sarah always taught me the importance of having a beautiful ,pearly nail polish on hand at all times. I couldn't agree more but most of the ones I've seen in the past few years are a little too over the top and not subtle enough. 

Plus, I love winter and this is just a beautiful frosty color and it reminds me of walking outside and seeing everything covered in a gorgeous sheen of ice. 

The great thing about this nail polish is it's quick drying and it showcases beautiful pigments. Just standing in the aisle in front of all the Essie nail polishes I could pick out 10-15 I wanted to take home with me. However, at $7.50-$8.00 (depending on where you buy it), it's a little on the pricey side, so my husband would have had a cow if I would have brought home all those nail polishes.

So all in all it gets an A- rating from me, beautiful and quick drying it may be, it's still $8.00 on average and that's not favorable to me.

I want to dedicate this post to my sister Sarah, she celebrated her birthday on March 4th. Happy Birthday pretty girl, love you!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

GlossyBox USA Has Arrived!

Hey Lovelies, I just wanted to do a quick post to update you all on a sample service I'm really excited about. It's called GlossyBox and I've been positively coveting everyone on YouTube's GlossyBox goodies!

If you don't know what GlossyBox is, it's a lot like US companies BirchBox and My Glam Bag where you get 5 samples each month. Now, BirchBox is $10 dollars a month, no shipping or handling fee's and GlossyBox is a lot like that. They haven't announced their pricing per month for Glossybox but I'm hoping it's a lot like BirchBox. 

I am currently signed up with BirchBox and will be doing BirchBox haul videos on YouTube very soon so you'll be able to see all the BirchBox beauty treats I get every month. But I feel, just from the videos I've seen, that GlossyBox is a little more generous with their treats. So we'll see how they compare to each other every month when GlossyBox launches soon. Also, from what I know about MyGlam they give you a cute bag every month full of both full and sample sized goodies. I'm not really interested in that because I sort of have a hodge podge of different bags from Clinique and I really don't need one more thing to have to deal with. So I'm not going to sign up with them but they do look like they offer pretty neat treats. 

If you're interested in finding out more about BirchBox, MyGlam or Glossybox I'll drop the Facebook links and weblinks below this post and you can decide which company is right for you. Or you can head over to YouTube and search for both BirchBox, MyGlam and Glossybox videos. 

Have fun and stay beautiful!

www.facebook.com/GlossyBox.com

www.glossybox.com

www.facebook.com/BirchboxMonthly

www.birchbox.com

www.facebook.com/myglam
www.myglam.com

Saturday Beauty Review On Sunday!

Daylight savings time can really kill your sleep schedule. You feel groggy and sleepy the next morning and to top it off you've lost an hour of your day! That's not fun or fair but have no fear because C.O. Bigelow is here. So I present to you, C.O. Bigelow Mentha Body Wash with peppermint oil.

Infused with vitamins A, C and E this body wash definitely helps perk you up in the morning and makes you feel like you're on top of a snow covered mountian. Especially on a morning right after a time change, and since I don't drink coffee, I need that extra pick me up.  I felt awake and happy just being in a warm shower with a cool body wash. It does make sensitive areas cool and if you get this in your eyes, well then I recommend washing your eyes out as fast as you can. 

As for texture this body wash is smooth with small cleansing beads and it really works up a good lather on it's own or on a loofah. It leaves your skin smooth and smelling fresh. 

  

However, at about $12.00 USD it is a little on the pricy side. But if you catch Bath and Body works in a good mood you can get buy 2 get 1 free. So that takes it down to about $8.00 a bottle and you'll definitely reach for more after your first bottle is gone. 

So all in all, if you're looking for a Daylight Savings Time pick me up or just have trouble getting going in the morning then I strongly recommend this body wash. You'll feel refreshed and revitalized so you can start your day awake and alert. One last detail that I want to mention is that this product is not tested on animals and that's a plus in my book!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Friday Night Mask-erade

I love mud masks, clay masks or anything that makes my skin smooth after I use it. Exfoliators especially, so when I picked this Boots Conditioning Clay Mask up from Target a week ago, I wasn't sure what to expect. One of my favorite makeup guru's on YouTube (I'm looking at you SineadyCady of TheMakeupChair) uses a lot of Boots products. So, I thought, since Target started to sell Boots that I'd give it a try. 

Like I said, I picked this up at Target for about $10 USD and wasn't sure what to expect. The back of the tube says to shake it up and I guess maybe I'm not used to using clay masks or maybe the ones I've used in the past have a thicker consistency but it is a very loose mask. You do need to shake it well and make sure that you put it on very carefully because it may drip on clothes. 

I put this on after a shower and a very light exfoliation routine, I use St. Ives blemish scrub but I only used about an M&M sized dollop and gently worked it on my face. So after the shower and application of the mask I left it on for 15 to 20 minutes until all the dark green was gone. This mask does dry very quickly so if you are the type to wake up early to do a clay mask before work then this mask is definitely for you. 

After it's done drying you can just rinse it off with warm water and pat dry. It does come off very, very easily so you don't have to use your nails or a washcloth. There are no hard chunks of clay to pick off and it is definitely easy to use. 

I washed it off and it left my skin soft, smooth and silky to the touch. I did a patch on the back of my hand and my husband could definitely feel the difference between the hand I used the mask on and the hand I didn't.  And at around 10 dollars it's definitely a great value!

Have fun and stay beautiful!