Starlooks Starbox - February 2013 Lauren Clark Special Edition

It's my favorite day of the month - the day I wake up to find my Starbox in my mailbox!

Starbox is a monthly subscription service by Starlooks, in which you receive 3-4 of their full sized makeup products each month...and over the last months, it has easily become my favorite sub! The product variety and quality is just great.

This month, Starlooks made a Special Edition collaboration box with makeup artist Lauren Clark.

The packaging is always nice, but it's extra cute this month, all pink and purple - perfect for February!

I really love their info cards - they always feature the products used in a beautiful way. The items included are listed on the back.

This month is a beautiful selection of products! I love pinks, and I love this variety! Items included are:

Pink Oasis lip gloss - This is a sheer, sparkly lavender gloss. It feels nice on the lips! It's not sticky, and it doesn't have a scent or flavor to it.

Barbie HD Fluid Blush - This is ridiculously pigmented! It's a lovely super saturated fluid blush...it is gorgeous and the smallest amount goes a long way.

Princess Diaries Eye Liner - This is a gorgeous pearlescent baby pink liner! It can be worn to line the eyes or to highlight, and it can also be worn as a shadow base or a cream shadow. It's also waterproof and smudge proof!

Lip Liner in Tipsy! This is a gorgeous creamy coral lipliner. It is a special Lauren Clark edition!

Here are swatches of all of the products. I'm super impressed with every single one of them! This might be my favorite month yet. Starlooks lists the retail value of the box as $41, but that is not counting the lipliner! Their liners are listed as $9.50 on their site, so assuming this special edition one is valued the same, the value of the box is actually about $50.50. Not bad at all!

Have you tried Starlooks yet?

J.Cat Beauty - Lip Glazes review

I was recently given the opportunity to try and review some products by a new brand called J.Cat Beauty! J.Cat aims to provide high quality color cosmetics at a very affordable price. All of their products are cruelty free and hypoallergenic.

And they really do have affordable prices! Lipsticks and glosses are only $2.49 each, and all of their other products are similarly affordable, most falling under the $5 price point. Despite their low prices, they aim to provide hip, trendy shades and formulations.

I was sent several products to review and I will be doing so over the next week or so. First up, two of their Eternal Shine Lip Glazes.

These are moisturizing lip glosses that contain Vitamin E oil and minerals, and promise a sheer pop of color. They come in 36 shades, which I find pretty impressive!

I received two: Rose and Odyssey.

Rose is a vibrant, cool toned pink. It is super bright in the tube! On the lips, it has a fair amount of pigmentation to it without being over the top. It could easily be worn for day or night looks.

Odyssey is a lighter, more neutral pink. It is nice and very natural and is great for a daytime look.

The formula on both is very good. It is thick enough to last on the lips, but it is not too sticky or tacky. I found it to be pretty long lasting for a gloss - it lasted through a meal and a few hours of wear before needing reapplied. I found it to be pretty moisturizing, and it felt nice on my lips.

These are lip glosses...you're not going to put them on and say "Sweet heavens, I never knew lip product nirvana until this moment!" but for the price, they are definitely worth it! I have no complaints about this lip gloss and plan to pick up a few more shades.

Also, stay tuned, because I'll be sharing their lipsticks, shimmer powders, and nail polishes with you soon!

Have you heard of J.Cat yet? You can check out their products at their website  or follow them on Facebook if interested!


Disclaimer: I received products free of charge to review. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.

Birchbox - February 2013

I was super happy to wake up to my Birchbox this morning! I love this time of the month, because my subs start showing up, and getting the mail is fun again.

This month, Birchbox also went with a "Red Carpet Ready" theme, promising an assortment of products worthy of the red carpet. This is a pretty smart theme, really, because you could send just about anything and fit it in! I received four products and a bonus.

Beauty Protector - Protect & Detangle: This is a spray that has multi functions, including detangling, leave in conditioning, heat and UV protection, shine adding, and color sealing. I've just started heat styling again as I recently chopped my hair off, so this is a very welcome product. The packaging is adorable, and the scent is nice - it reminds me a bit of Pink Sugar!

Color Club nail polish in Wild Cactus - This is an emerald green creme polish. I'll be honest and say that I hate Color Club. I have received several of their polishes in past boxes and the formula just doesn't work well for me, I find it streaky and it chips almost immediately. The color is pretty, though, and I will try it out and see if this one works for me.

Dr. Jart+ Black Label Detox BB Cream - This is a BB cream with mineral SPF and a satin matte finish. I have used another Dr. Jart+ formula and loved it, so I'm really excited about this one! I never wear foundation, opting for BB creams instead, so I'm always looking for more that work well for me.

Juicy Couture - Couture La La: This fragrance is a mix of mandarin, red currant, lily, and orange blossom. I've gotten several other Juicy fragrances in past boxes, so I am a bit tired of the brand...BUT this one actually smells really nice, so I will use up the sample. It smells fresh and juicy and not too sweet.

Ghirardelli - Milk & Caramel square - This is a bonus this month. I love chocolate and caramel...and I've already eaten this. YUM. 

This isn't my most exciting Birchbox, but it's definitely not a bad one. I am excited about the bb cream and the detangler! The other products will be used and I won't be trading or throwing anything away. I'm content this month.

What was in your Birchbox?

Ipsy Glam Bag - February 2013

Much to my surprise, my Ipsy bag showed up this morning! I think this is the earliest I've ever gotten it, and I hadn't even gotten a shipping notice yet so it was a nice surprise.

This month's theme is "Get Red Carpet Ready" and the bag seems to focus mostly on the eyes. The bag itself is a faux patent leather this month! Super shiny. The lining is a bright red. Cute! And here's what was inside:

Lash Cards - These are little mascara shields you can use to prevent smearing mascara around your eyes. You can also use them as a shadow shield. These are individually wrapped and I believe there are two in the pack. I won't be opening these because I have a reusable lash guard, so I will be trading these. They're a cool product, though!

MicaBeauty Cosmetics gel liner in black. This is a deep dark black gel liner. I love gel liners, so this is a welcome addition for me! 

POP Beauty Lash Kapow mascara in Smoky Black - Mascara samples are one of my favorite items to get. I love the small size, as I can use them up before they dry out. This one is in cute packaging and promises sultry smokey eyes.  I'm excited to try it out and see what it does for me.

pixi Flawless & Poreless primer - This is a face primer. I love pixi so I am cool with getting it. I am a little overloaded with primers, but I am going to at least try to try this one out soon. I love pore minimizing products.

Coastal Scents shadow quad in In the Spotlight - They sent out two different quads this month. I was kind of hoping for the silvery greys they sent out, but instead I got the golds. That's okay, they're still pretty!  Colors are: Dark Goldenrod, Sunbeam, Golden Globe, and Dark Golden Olive.

A little warm for me, but I'll wear 'em.  I think this is a pretty decent bag. I love eye makeup, so I'm always excited to receive more. I love the idea of a sexy smokey eye for Valentine's day! It's definitely a step up from last February's bag, which was so awful I unsubscribed!

What are your favorite smokey eye products? Are you doing anything for Valentine's Day?

January 2013 Favorites

Man, January went by quickly. Now, I just hope the rest of the horrid winter follows suit...ugh. This month, I continued my goal of using lots of products instead of letting them pile up untouched. However, there are a few things I kept coming back to! Here are the things I was really loving in January.

Pixi Magic Tink Tint - This is a great product. It goes on very sheer, but adjusts itself to a custom shade determined by your skin's PH! On me, it turns into a pretty magenta. It's a little bit glossy and super moisturizing...my favorite product like this I've tried! Makes a great daily lip tint, super easy to wear.

Too Faced sparkle liquid liner - This is kind of sheer, with black and silver glitters. I like to paint it over regular liquid liner to add a little sparkle. On its own, it doesn't provide enough definition for me, but I love it for layering!

Sprout makeup remover - Odd inclusion, I know. But this is a blend of olive, sweet almond, and jojoba oils and nothing more. It removes my makeup easily, and my favorite part is that you can just massage what's left after removing into your skin for extra moisturization. Love.

theBalm Tall, Dark, and Handsome mascara - This has become my HG mascara...it's lengthening and gives some volume without being too dramatic for daily use. 

Color Tattoo in Too Cool - I use this almost every day as an eyeshadow base. With it, my colors are brighter and even cheapo shadows last all day. It's also nice for an inner corner highlight, has a bit of shimmer to it and goes on sheer.

Starlooks mascara guard - This weird gadget is awesome...I use it when applying my mascara and I never smudge mascara on my eyeshadow!  Nothing more frustrating than having your shadow perfectly applied and blended, and then smearing mascara on it and ruining everything. It's something I never would have thought to buy, but have found endlessly useful.

Cargo eyeshadow quad in Barcelona - I have five quads from Cargo, and I love all of them...but I am loving this one the most, lately! Cargo shadows are really nice - pigmented and easy to work with. The packaging is pretty and sturdy and the shadows themselves are huge! This one is purples, blue, and green - my most loved and used colors. These shadows last all day on me, no problem. 

Pretty, right?! 

That's it for my January favorites. What products have you been loving this winter?