Benefit Stay Don't Stray

Benefit's Stay Don't Stray ($26) is a touted as a primer for both eyeshadow and concealer. This is my first time using a primer with this dual purpose. I must admit that I do not use it as a concealer primer. I am not sure why. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I don't have any issues with my under eye concealer creasing or fading as the day goes on or that a primer for your concealer sounds foreign to me.

Beauty Ramble :: Final Thoughts on the Birchbox Subscription

I have finally come to the end of my one year subscription to Birchbox. I feel now I can give a better assessment of this subscription service. I have concluded with a resounding certainty that it was not worth it.

Basically how this service works is you pay $10 a month and they send you a box of 3-5 items. Most are sample size and rarely they can be full size products. I think I might have received approximately three full size products during the entirety of my subscription. On this issue I don't feel that I was mislead in any way because it clearly says that their boxes are made up of mostly sample size products and there would be an occasional full size product included in the box.

My final Birchbox. Not bad this month but notice the random piece of chocolate.

NOTD :: Stroke of Midnight && Tart with a Heart

I know the calendar says Spring but today I was feeling a bit dark and edgy. I really like this combination of L'Oreal's Stroke of Midnight with Butter London's Tart with a Heart over top. The Stroke of Midnight is a dark, smokey gray with a subtle blue undertone. It is slightly frosted. To see more pictures of Stroke of Midnight click here.

And to make the nails not too dark and edgy, I decided to put Tart with a Heart on top of my thumb and ring fingers.  I think glittery nail polishes like Tart with a Heart look amazing over top of a dark nail polish. You can see how this nail polish looks on its own here.

Tell me, do you tend to follow the seasons and wear season appropriate nail polishes? Or do you mix it up base on your mood and the seasons are only a guideline and not a strict rule?

Polka Dots && Statement Necklace

Lets take a beauty break shall we and talk fashion and accessories for a moment. Lately I have been obsessed with polka dots and statement necklaces. I don't know. There is just something so whimsical and Spring-y (is that word) about polka dots. Paired with a stand-out necklace that uses two of my favorite colors of the moment, blue and green, I couldn't help but be delighted with the combination.

Here is a photo of a recent outfit that I wore to a relaxing lunch. The lime green polka dots on a navy blue chiffon shirt was a perfect match for the necklace.

Items worn:  striped pull-over and polka dotted shirt from Forever 21

                        Cleo necklace from Monique Leshman

                     Color Design lipstick in Designer Bloom from Lancome

These are my favorite pairings of the moment. What are yours? Do you have a favorite combination that you love to wear?

Unboxing :: Drugstore.com

As a savvy beauty consumer, I love finding ways to get my beauty fix for cheap. That is why I love shopping for drugstore beauty items on drugstore.com. You can find popular makeup and skincare items as well as more obscure items that regular brick and mortar drugstores don't stock on their shelves anymore.

In particular, on this website you can earn 5% cash back on every purchase. They are regularly running promotions and the best part is all of their promotions or discounts stack. That means savings on top of savings. Score! I hate it when stores or websites only allow you to use one coupon or promotion at a time. And if you are a Beauty Smarty such as myself, you can also earn additional cash back if you join fatwallet.com. I will discuss further details regarding how to use fatwallet in a future blog.

So yesterday I received by mail a box of goodies from drugstore.com. Here is a sneak peek at the items I purchased. Reviews to follow.

The Body Shop Mango Body Scrub

Recently I purchased the Mango Body Scrub ($20/ 7.4 oz) from the thebodyshop-usa.com when they were having an amazing sale. You can see what else I purchased during this sale here. I have never tried a body scrub from this store before but I was curious if it would help my very dry skin.

My skin is very sensitive, dry and as a result gets very itchy. It is so irritable that I sometimes bleed from scratching it. I needed something that would add and keep the moisture in my skin.

Unboxing :: The Body Shop Body Butter && Body Scrub

I always love receiving packages in the mail. Today, I came home to find this box of goodness at my door. The Body Shop was having an amazing sale on their website so I thought I would try out some new things. I got a selection of their body butters and body scrubs.

Here is a peek at the things I got. Reviews to follow in the future after I have gotten a chance to try them out.

Not sure why these remind me of an old fashioned crate of fruit.

I purchased the following items,

2 Mango Body Scrubs ($20 each) read about my review here

2 Shea Body Scrubs ($20 each)

2 Olive Body Butter ($20 each)

1 Aloe Body Butter ($20)

Needless to say I did not pay anywhere close to $140 for all seven items. Another victory for a Beauty Smarty.