Shannon’s Influenster Beauty Blogger VoxBox Unboxing!

I was invited to see if I’d qualify for the Influenster Beauty Blogger VoxBox.  After submitting the requested information, I was emailed about a week later letting me know that I was selected and that my box was in the mail.  I received it almost a week later and was excited to see what products I got to sample.

If you’re not familiar with Influenster is (www.influenster.com) it is a website which provides samples of products to participating and eligible individuals.  You qualify for badges by submitting reviews, etc., on products and based on your information, your activity, your score and your information you are selected to participate in particular boxes.

Here’s what I received in my voxbox:

-          Kiss Ever Pro Lashes – Starter Kit

-          Goody – Spin Pins

-          N.Y.C Individual Eyes eye shadow palette – Dark Shadows

-          Not Your Mother’s – Smooth Moves

-          E-Boost – Dietary Supplement – orange flavor

-          Bath & Body Works Mini Candle – Mahogany Teakwood

-          Coupon: $10 off a full-size 3-wick candle

I’m looking forward to trying out all the goodies I received and sharing my experience with you as I try them!

DISCLAIMER: I received these products from Influenster for reviewing purposes.  I am not affiliated with these brands.

SWATCH: Julep's "Daisy" & GIVEAWAY!

 

Out of the three polishes I received in my “It Girl” Julep Maven box as part of their VIP Beauty Blogger box, I will say hands down; this nail polish is the one that surprised me the most.  My initial reaction to the polish in the bottle was disappointment.  Looking at it, it looks a little sheer – but as you can tell from the swatch it’s anything but!  I’m so happy that it’s opaque and just all around GORGEOUSNESS!

 

This particular Julep nail polish is in the shade Daisy.  According to Julep, Daisy is a “bright lemon yellow crème.”  The description is spot on.  I find with yellow polishes most of them are dull, soft, baby yellows. This is vibrant and bright – anything but a soft and gentle shade.  It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for in a yellow and I am so happy to now have this in my collection.  Yellow also happens to be my favorite color, so that’s another reason why I love it so.

It took only 2 coats for this to be completely opaque.  You could get away with one if you want it to be a bit more “dulled” down, but the second coat definitely reduces the streaks, builds up the color and gives it that crème finish.  The formula on this is pretty interesting.  It’s relatively thick, so it can get goopy on you if you apply too much, but it for some reason spread out over my nail and stayed put.  I’ve found with other polishes, the moment it starts to spread it’s all over the place – but this one didn’t do that surprisingly.

Overall, I really love this polish and am pleasantly surprised with the quality of it.

NOTE: If you’d like to enter my giveaway sponsored by Julep Maven, enter via rafflecopter here.  Also, if you’re interested in becoming a Julep Maven, I’d appreciate if you’d sign up using my referral link.

SWATCH: Julep “Sasha” & GIVEAWAY

This is one of the nail polishes I received in my “It Girl” VIP Beauty Blogger box from Julep.  This is actually the nail polish that had me really intrigued in the box and end up deciding I wanted this one.  The shade is an absolutely stunning one and it reminded me a lot of Butter London’s Trout Pout (which I do not own so I cannot compare).

According to Julep, Sasha is a “fresh, cantaloupe melon crème.”  I’d say this is a pretty spot on description for the polish.  It wears beautifully, very creamy.  The polish itself is somewhat thick, so two coats and it’s completely opaque.  I will say if you’re not careful with application it can get a little goopy.  This is not a polish you want to apply with a heavy hand. You can see on my ring finger I had a little goopy action going on.  Of course a coat of Seche Vite may have smoothed that out and made it unnoticeable but I didn’t top it with Seche so I cannot confirm or deny if that’d work.

Overall I think this is a gorgeous and fun summer appropriate shade.  I’d really love this to be my pedicure because with my skin tone as the background the cantaloupe shade just pops!

BTW: If you want to enter my GIVEAWAY being sponsored by Julep to win the “It Girl” box I reviewed HERE, check it out!  Giveaway ends in 4-days!

Julep Maven VIP Blogger Box (+ GIVEAWAY!)

 

About a month ago Julep had posted on Twitter that they were looking for Bloggers to take part in their VIP Blogger program.  Interested, I shot them an e-mail inquiring about what it entailed.  Speaking with one of the Julep representatives over e-mail, I was selected to take part of the Julep VIP Blogger program!  I selected a box and I received my box Monday night and I admit I was pretty excited to see the nail polishes within the box.  I mean, granted, I saw them online but let’s face it, everything looks different on a computer screen than it does in your hands.

Incase you are not familiar with who/what Julep Maven is (website here: http://www.julep.com/Home.htm), it is a nail polish boutique.  You can purchase Julep nail polishes on their website (retail price: $14.00 each) or at beauty locations such as Sephora.  One thing about Julep is they offer a monthly subscription mail away program for their nail polishes.  For $19.99 a month you take a Julep Maven beauty quiz (the quiz tests your personal preference and picks a particular type of box for you).  You do have the option of choosing a different box if you are not a fan of the shades within the selected box.  The selected box will be mailed to your house on a monthly basis – the boxes containing at a minimum 2 nail polishes.  If you find during any month the polish selections in the boxes do not tickle your fancy, you can easily skip a month and your credit card will not be charged.

 

Out of the boxes to choose from (American Beauty, Boho Glam, It Girl, Bombshell or Classic with a Twist) I selected the IT GIRL box to review.  The box itself was to contain 3 nail polishes.

The box arrived cutely and safely packaged for transit.  On top of the packaged nail polishes were two toe separators.  Within the pink bag were the three nail polishes that make up the It Girl box.  The three shades provided are:

-          Lily. According to Julep this is a Sizzling fuchsia crème.

-          Daisy. According to Julep this is a Bright lemon yellow creme.

-          Sasha. According to Julep this is a Fresh, cantaloupe melon creme.

Out of the three shades, the one that jumped out at me the most was Sasha.  It was stunningly gorgeous on the website and I’m so glad that it’s as gorgeous, or even more gorgeous in person.  It reminds me a lot of Trout Pout by Butter London.  The description is spot on and I cannot wait to wear this shade on my fingers.

Sadly, Daisy is a lot thinner than I would have loved.  Thin polishes tend to drive me crazy (just a personal thing).  I have this thing about polish consistency and I tend to just straight up avoid thinner polishes.  Since this is in my favorite color, I will give this a try and I hope it translates to the nails well.

Lily is quite an attractive shade.  It’s bright, vibrant and totally summer appropriate.

I have not swatched any of these polishes but I plan on doing so in the next few days – so keep an eye out for that post!  BUT in the mean time if you would like to enter a giveaway which is being hosted by Julep thru my personal blog, please feel free to do so!  The winner will be selected using Rafflecopter with the same box that I’ve shown (the It Girl box) being the winning prize.  There are a few stipulations needed to be followed in order to get more entries for the giveaway but all those will be mentioned in the Rafflecopter widget.

If interested in becoming a Julep Maven, feel free to sign up here.  While you're at it, if you want to become a Maven and test the subscription service out do so using the following promocode: MAVENINTRO  and you will get your first intro box for a single PENNY!

The giveaway will run through July 20^th!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway