Elchim 2001

I'm considering biting the bullet and getting a high quality dryer- the Elchim 2001 Professional hair Dryer. I've always gotten cheap $20.00 ones from walmart and have never enjoyed drying my hair because it never comes out good. I just can't seem to achieve salon results at home. But, I've been reading about that dryer, and it seems that this is one of the times where quality will give results more so than technique. When my stylist does my hair, it's all silky smooth and soft, and the movement of my hair is great, with no snags or tangles. My technique is pretty damned close to what my stylist does, and I always end up... fuzzy.

So does anyone have that dryer already? Is it worth all the hype?

NARS Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment Review

This is just a quick review of NARS Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment- I've only been using this for a few days. So far, I love it. It has spf 15 which is awesome in summer! Also- it doesn't feel like lipstick. I'm not to hot on the feeling that most lipsticks have- the feeling of stuff on the lips. But this I can tolerate- it's a little dryer than a chapstick, and feels thinner on the lips as well. It seems to be softening my lips as well. It gives only a very sheer wash of color, making it ideal for a workplace that only tolerates light use of makeup. The color can be built up, but the max amount of color is only going to make your lips appear bitten- you're not going to get a Ton of color from it. The product doesn't seem to accentuate any cracks, which is also nice.
So far, I'm loving it, and will probably use the whole tube and repurchase. The color selection isn't great, but again- this product isn't really about the color, it's about the spf.

Sephora Haul

I went shopping!!! Yay! I originally wanted to get stuff from both Sephora and MAC, but when I went to MAC, I wasn't impressed enough by my swatches to want to spend money. I mean, I kinda wanted to buy some stuff, but not enough.

But I did buy a bunch of stuff from Sephora. I'm super excited about everything, and can't wait to get some reviews up.

First up: Coach Poppy. I got a pamphlet from Sephora a couple months back that had a bunch of samples in it, and poppy was one of them. I fell in love right away. It was just amazing. And I finally got it! So excited to wear it.

Second: Nail Polish. I saw Sephora's thing with the cherry blossom nails and they were so pretty, I wanted to try it. I ended up getting five colors: What's a Tire Jack?(black) Havana Dreams(a pretty baby blue) Techno Girl(a darkish bright pink) and then Dear Diary and A True Romantic. Those last two and really close to being the same color: They're both really light nudes. Dear Diary has a slight peach hue, and A True Romantic has a pink hue. I'll talk more about these polishes later.

To go with the nail polishes, I grabbed a brush- #17. It's a pointed liner brush.

Third: NARS Peer Sheer SPF Lip Treatment in Angelique. I've always been looking for a perfect summer lippie. Something smoothe, light with a pop of color, and with SPF.

Last: Urban Decay Cannonball mascara. During winter, I wear Maybelline's Full N Soft. It's great. But... During the summer, I kinda always end up with a little under the eyes. So when I saw all the hooplah about the Cannonball mascara, I thought I'd give it a shot.

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Ok. More about the nail polish. I was a little bit disappointed. I have a few other sephora nail polishes, and they all worked great. All five of these, however, were a bit watery. The formula was very thin and difficult to work with. I got it to work, but it wasn't as easy as I'd like. I managed to use almost all the colors I got, except Dear Diary, and got the result at the left. I'll be writing a guide on it later.


(Sorry my feet look a little weird. My camera is just terrible.)

July Birchbox

I've been getting birchboxes for a few months now. I initially considered doing video's.... but I don't have the equipment and I'm not particularly photogenic. So instead, I'm going to write mine up with pictures and links and initial impressions of the products.

For those who don't know- Birchbox is amazing. What they do is send you a box full of deluxe sized samples for a mere $10.00 a month. You subscribe, fill out a beauty profile and wait for your boxes. It's a flat $10.00, no shipping/handling fee's tacked on top of it. In the beauty profile, you list things that you like, categories of products that you're interested that determine what you receive. And the samples? They're not itty bitty little things. These are deluxe samples, and more often than not, the samples received in the Birchboxes outvalue the subscription fee. More than once, I've gotten a "sample" which is actually a full sized product.
Birchbox is more than a subscription, though. On their website, they sell full sized versions of all the products in the birchboxes.
If you're not yet a Birchbox member, you should really check them out and consider joining. It's a great program.

Ok! So my July Birchbox. I am so excited about it. I think this is the birchbox I've been the most thrilled to receive so far. I got a bunch of stuff that I know I'll be using, without a doubt. This months birchbox was put together by Cynthia Rowley. She shares a bunch of her favorite products with this box. Below I'm gonna list the items as they appear on the birchbox card, with their descriptions, and then make comments of my own.

• AHAVA Mineral Hand Cream - Loaded with Dead Sea minerals, this fast-absorbing cream heals dry hands without a smidge of residue.

This product I think I am the most excited about. I've been seeing a lot of beauty gurus raving about it, but just hadn't gotten around to buying it. Well! Now I have a sample of it that is 0.58fl.oz and I am loving it. It was the first item I grabbed from the box, I tried it right away, and I am loving it. It comes out the tube a bit thick, but to smooths down and spreads out so quickly. It sinks into the skin, leaving them super soft and moisturized. I know the description says no residue, but I did find that there was.. not really residue,  not really a film, but there was something left on the hands for a few minutes. It kind of made my hands a little shiney, but that faded really fast. It smells a bit like baby powder, but a slightly floral baby powder. Not unpleasant, not overpowering. It's not really my smell(I prefer fruity) but it's really subtle, so I don't mind it.
This cream immediately replaced the lotion I had in my pocket, and I'll probably be buying a fullsize when this runs out, which will take awhile, because I only need to use the littlest amount.

• philosophy purity made simple one-step facial clenser - This perennial award-winner is pH-balanced to gently clear away dirt, oil, and makeup without drying out skin.

This sample I wasn't so excited about. I already have a sample of it from sephora. It didn't work with my skin and ended up breaking me out. Not saying it's a bad product, just didn't work for me.

• Redken shine flash 02 - A must for all Cynthia's runway shows, this weighless spray gives hair a brilliant finish.

I haven't used this yet, so nothing to say here.

• Zoya Touch Collection Nail Polish in Shay - Neutral gets a sexy makeover in this creamy, slightly metallic nude. Perfect accessory to summer's bright fashions.

I've been hearing about zoya for awhile, but didn't have any of them in my polish collection. Now I do! This color is really pretty, and described really accurately as a creamy, slightly metallic nude. I did try it on one nail and it went on really smooth. Can't wait to wear it. The only thing I'm wistful about with this, is I was hoping for a nice wide, flat brush, like opi does. I just love those brushes. This brush was normal though.

• KIND Almost & Apricot - Snack right with this wholesome bar- no preservatives or hard-to-pronounce ingredients.

I've had bars by this brand before and they're pretty decent. It's not your average "this is stuff thats been run through a blender and squished into a bar shape" type of bar. This bar is essentially ingredients -nuts, berries, grains- stuck together with... I dunno. Something sticky. Honey, I think. It's like trail mix in a bar shape. It's all very simple, and very tasty. A good snack to have around.

And that's my July Birchbox! If you got a birchbox and blogged or video'd it, go ahead and link it below.