Hinoki Kurocha Beauty Bar Soap

Winter is coming..and don't you hate the effect all the seasons have had on your skin. It get's dry bc of the cold, oily from the summer...the list goes on.. with the holidays coming up now is the perfect time to repair it it once and for. You want to start the new year with fresh, amazing sking right?

Check out the Beauty bar soap from Gold Sakura Natural Japanese Beauty Products. This bar helps your skin by cleaning deep down into your pores to help mositurize, and clear/even out your skin tone.

Manufactured using some of Japan's amazing ingredients this beauty bar contains

things such as pure Hinoki oil, organic green tea leaves, bamboo charcoal, coenzyme Q10, sea mud,  Shirasu volcanic ash,  and hot spring water all to help give you soft moisturized and radiant skin.

It is a cute deep green color with a refreshing cypress scent.

I started off rubbing it on my face and had a little bit of trouble rubbing it in.

Then I noticed duh they included a mesh bag in it that created a nice foam while the mesh creating a great buffer like surface to help get off dead, yucky skin.

I kept trying to get a photo of the foam on my face and it kept going away! I also heavily focused on scrubbing my now as that is where I have the most blackheads huge pores.

I should of taken a picture before. But besides the shiny nose you can def see big pores of course but there mostly free of blackheads.

Overall, my face felt nice and soft afterwards. Loved how great the buffer like surface was achieve by the mesh bag. Hopefully with continue use I will get soft skin and eliminate those dang pores on my nose. I def will let you know how its working in a month but so far so good.

Want to get the Beauty Bar Soap or see what other products the Gold Sakura Line has? Check out their website

Price $22

**disclaimer-this product was provided for my 100% opinion**

Birthday Giveaway

Since this birthday is a once in a lifetime day...29 on the 29th..I figured I would do a big giveaway!

Four lucky winners will get to choose from 1 of the following prizes!

These prizes are amazing and were bought for the right moment and thats now!

Open international!

 Ends next Wed Dec 5th!

Good luck all and don't forget to share this giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cleure Cosmetic Gift Kit

Looking for a gift for a friend or coworker that loves makeup and nail polish? Maybe you need a gift for that secret santa exchange or maybe you need favors for that party your hosting. 

Check out the Cosmetic Gift Kit from Cleure that is sure to make her smile. Products included in this bag are salicylate, paraben, and fragrance free. Let's see what you get in each bag.

Nail polish, lipstick, mascara and lip gloss, this cosmetic bag has a little something for everyone.


Rodeo Dr. Red is a cherry red polish that goes on well with two coats and a top coat.


Oscar is a blinging gold color that looks pretty good on brown skin. This is the first timeI have worn a gold color and I felt like I was balling! lol..


Also included are two lipsticks in Sublime red and Rich Parfait


Sublime red is a nice soft red color that you can wear even in the office. It isn't dramatic and has a light texture.


Rich parfait is a very pink color that has a little thicker consistency then the sublime red.


This last swatch is off the mineral lip gloss in the above photos in Berry. It is a very natural color color and out of all the other lip products it was my least favorite because it was a little runny as far as texture.

The last item that is not is a mineral mascara in carbon. The applicator is nice and creates nice lengthy lashes. I was surprise by how well this mascara turned out to be since I thought it wasn't going to be that great.


Overall, I think this kit would be good for beginning makeup lovers that want to test out different colors and products. I might also get one for my sisters Christmas stocking. =) Also, the nail polish and lipsticks are full size while the lip gloss and mascara are not. To see more images of this product or to see what other items this company has to offer check out their website or here is the direct link to the product reviewed today.What's even better is it's only $30!
http://www.cleure.com/Cosmetic-Gift-Kit-p/cosgiftbag.htm

NovaWhite Whitening Gel

I was never a coffee girl...until I started working full-time and taking two classes (Antatomy/physiology and microbiology both with a lab) at nights. Let's just say I def need me cup of coffee in the mornings now a days. But I noticed I started to get the coffee breath and my teeth which are normally pretty white starting to get a little discolored. I was on the hunt to find a whitener that worked and was thrilled when I was contacted by NovaWhite. Founded in 2006 by three University of Tennessee graduates, NovaWhite has become one of the top 10 at home teeth marketing companies. And today I want to show you how there products work.

The whitening gel in NovaWhite contains 22% Carbamide Peroxide. It has a minty flavor taste to it and def isn't very gritty or anything like that.

Another thing that was really cool is the mouthpieces that NovaWhite has to offer have the ability to be molded to your teeth! All you have to do is dip the mouthpiece in boiling water for 15 sec to make it wilt and then you put it on your teeth to cool and you have a personalized mouthpiece to your teeth! That was one thing that I thought was awesome!

Leaving your mouthpieces too long in the water causes them to shrink and that is just what I did so of course they didn't fit that well. But if you do it right they will come out good! I did take a goofy picture with it on! lol!

Novawhite suggests you leave the mouthpiece on for 1-3 hours. Unfortunately I was only able to leave it for 30 minutes. I suggest doing it when you are all alone bc it is really hard to talk with someone when you have this mouth. But the gel didn't burn my gums, it wasn't really uncomfortable thick and the mouthpiece being molded to my teeth helped me from being uncomfortable.

Here is my teeth 30 minutes later. I def saw some of the nasty discoloration from my coffee drinking days get better. Best of all you can repeat this process once per day until you achieve your desired shade of white.

I don't know about you but I would def love to use this product more until I get my pearly white teeth back!

Also this would make a perfect gift for yourself since you know the holidays are coming and you want to have nice bright white teeth for all the pictures you will be taking! The only drawback is for a college student like myself it is a little more on the pricey side but teeth whitening strips even cost a lot and I like that I can feel comfortable with a customized mouthpiece instead of a strip falling off my mouth.

What do you think??

To learn more about the different kits and prices for the NovaWhite Whitening kit check out their website

**disclaimer-this product was provided for my 100% honest opinion**

Soflajo Party Time Collection

It's officially Christmas time! Love love love seeing all the trees starting to light up along the city. And with Christmas time comes Christimas theme polishes! Woo Hoo! I got the chance to try out one of the upcoming Party Time Collection  polishes from the creator of Soflajo.

Her collection consists of 7 polishes and the one I got to try out was Yule Tidings.

Yule Tidings is a green polish with various Christmas glitters colors such as gold, silver, red, and green. There are small hex and large hex glitters and little hints of large silver stars.

I applied 2 coats in this swatch with a top coat. I think 3 would be better to get complete coverage.

You can see all the little glitters on my pointer finger and some of the bigger hex glitter on my middle finger.

This color of the polish will look good on light and dark skin tones and I love the name of this polish! It def captures all the colors representative of the holidays! Can't wait to sport this color and check out all the other colors in her amazing new collection.

Want to see more photos of this polish or the other one's in the  

Party Time Collection?

Or you can check out Soflajo on any of her pages

Website

FB Page

****Soflajo will also have a sale tomorrow for CYBER Monday**

Tomorrow only any purchase over $20 will get free shipping!! This deal is only for purchases from her site http://www.soflajo.com/?page_id=381 (etsy sales are not included in this sale).

Note: ALL collections are included in this deal

**disclaimer-this polish was provided for my 100% honest opinion**

Men's cologne

It's that time of year again....shopping for the guys in your life this Christmas. Of course gadgets are a must for men but my guy atleast has recently gotten into cologne so now its time to try and the perfect cologne he would like. Luckily I got the bf to get involved in this review so I get a better perspective of what makes a perfect cologne.

According to mine when choosing a cologne he wants and I am saying it word for word a "Manly" cologne. He doesn't like one's that have a more frangrance smell but wants a good musky smelling cologne.

Two colognes I will be reviewing today is the Hugo Boss Bottled sport and the Lacoste Eau de Lacoste cologne

The first cologne, Boss by Hugo Boss will give the guy in your life a fresh energetic smell. Infused with several citrus flavors including grapefruit, yuzu zest, pink peppercorn, lavender and cardamom. The bf and I both smelled this and both agreed that this is a little too fragrancy for him. It smells more like something I would wear over him.

(Retail: $67)

The second cologne is Eau de Lacoste from Lacoste. Unlike the Hugo cologne, Eau de Lacoste is infused more with spices like ginger, black pepper and cardamon. I know what your thinking spices in the cologne. Weird. But this cologne def smells great! The bf loved it and I also thought  ithad a more masculine smell as well.

  (Retail: $62)

Overall, I am so excited that I got the chance to review these colognes with my bf as it gives me a better sense of what he looks for in his cologne and def excited to help learn about men's cologne as well for future reference because I have brothers lol. He def would go with the Lacoste cologne hands down and I couldn't agree more. Oh and he was so happy he got to review for once since it meant he got to something to try lol. These opinions are based on my bf and my own after comparing the two and I suggest trying out the cologne yourself as all men have different preferences.

What men colognes do the men in your life like?

To learn more about the two colognes in this review or what other ones each company has to offer

Lacoste

Hugo Boss

**disclaimer-these products were provided for my 100% honest opinion**

2012 Holiday Joy Collection from China Glaze

Looking for gifts for your nail polish loving-friend, sister, mother or co-worker. Def check out the amazing colors in the new Holiday Joy Collection from China Glaze. This collection consists of 12 different colors and today I have 6 swatches of those 12 to share with you.

Bottle shots of the first 3 polishes.

Names of the above polishes

Cranberry Splash is a shimmery rich holiday red color.

With love is a your classic red color perfect as a base coat to put several holiday glitters over

Winter Holly is a green polish with red, gold and green glitters in it. It is very thick and dries quickly so make sure you apply fast and def add a top coat to even it out.

Bottle shots of the last 3 polishes in the collection.

Names of above polishes

The next two polishes are holographic polishes. The first is Glistening snow a silver holographic polish. I applied 3 coats to achieve this look.

Champagne Kisses is a gold holographic polish. Kind of reminds me of DN West End Wonderland but it is more of a rosy gold unlike WEW which is gold-gold. Still cute anyways.

The last swatch I have for you today is Pizazz, a big multi color glitter polish. This def reminds me of confetti and would great for any party mani or perhaps New Years mani. It's just fun fun fun!

Overall, I am def in love with the holographic polishes! They come out so nice! I can't wait to come up with mani's as the holiday's come closer! The Holiday Joy Collection should be available at any beauty stores like Ulta, Sally's and beauty supplies store. Perfect gifts for X-mas. Which colors do you have your eyes on?

**disclaimer-these products were provided for my 100% honest opinion**

=

November MyGlam Bag

My Fall semester is almost over which means more time for blogging like wayyyyy more time. I can't wait.

Earlier this week I showed you what I got in my BB box (lame) but I want to now tell you the great thing I got in my November "Party Perfect"  Glam bag.

First of all here is the bag we got a cute chocolate bag perfect for the winter.

Here is your little sneaky peeky in my bag..what can you see?

In my bag this month..

1.  BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Daredevil-This lipgloss scared me at first bc it is a dark blackberry kind of color so I thought it would horrible on me. But it doesn't come out dark at all and instead gives a perfect hint of color to it. The consistency or the lip gloss is great not too thin where it will come off easy or to thick where my hair sticks to my lips. It also gives a tingy feeling like you get when you put Burt's Bee gloss on.

2. Chella Eyebrow defining gel I havenever used a eyebrow defining gel but I def will give this a try.

3, theBalm Meet Matte Eyeshadow in Matt Batali- This shadow looks like a smokey grey color and will make a great crease color. Can't wait to make some looks with it.

4. Nailtini Nail lacquer in Millionaire-I love the name of this company! Here you have a bronze/gold bar glitter with hints of teal bar glitter as well. It will look good over a brown polish or even a blue so you can bring the teal colors out.

5. Starlet Cosmetics Intense Eyeliner in All I want is peace, love and chocolate- Now I have to admit I am a black eyeliner fan myself but I did swatch the liner and it looked like it gave good pigment. I don't think I will use it as I just don't think brown liner will look good but I might give in and try it out!

Overall, I would rate this months bag as a 10 out of 10. MyGlam is def stepping it up with two bags in a row with AMAZING stuff. If they keeps it up they will def dominate the beauty subscription companies! Everything included here was great to try and here's hoping we get an even better December bag! Go MyGlam!!!


Did you enjoy your bag this month?

MyGlam is a monthly sample program that delivers 4-5 beauty products in a design makeup bag that changes each month. Some items sent are samples while others are full-size.  You can subscribe to by visiting myglam.com but as of right now they are sold out. Just keep checking, I waited for about a month and half but finally got in! 

November BB Box

It's Beauty subscription time...today I have for you what I got in my BB box this month!

The theme this month was giving and included products the BB team thought we would love.

What was included in my box:

1. Masqueology Revitalizing Eye- a under the gel eye mask that will help reduce eye puffiness and help brighten those bags under the eyes ladies..I def have them as I am heading ito the finals for my classes. Def will be trying these soon!

2. Stila-All over shimmer liquid luminzer- it looks really nice when I swatch it on my hand but when I applied it to my cheeks you couldn't see it. I really wanted to like this. =(

3. Masqueology Masque Cleanse (extra)-This was a teeny tiny little sample

4. Masqueology 7D Mositure Cream (extra)- This also was a little packet and instead of giving me those two they could have combined to give me something better to maybe celebrate the holidays.

5. MCMC Fragrances Phoenix- I know I say this every time but I am really over fragrances. I would much rather get a lip gloss sample.

6. One Love Organics Aromotic Body Serum- I just don't like oil..maybe it's bc I have a fear it will stain my clothes but I just don't like applying it as it feels thick as well. This is the second time I have gotten this too.

I have been with BB since Jan and honestly have been pretty disappointed with my boxes for a while now. With that said I decided to cancel my subscription and try and find another beauty subscription to get now.

Any ideas???

Urban Decay Midnight Emergency Kit

Another thing I got from my Urban Decay purchase was the Midnight Emergency kit. A cute little palette that came in what reminded me of a clutch to take for on the go makeup. Included in this kit was 4 shimmery shadows, a lip gloss and brush for application.

The colors in this palette are Midnight Cowboy, Midnight Rodeo, Midnight 15 and AC/DC. Like I had mentioned in yesterdays review of the Skull shadows box these shadows are also very shimmery so if you’re looking for a matte shadow I wouldn’t recommend this kit for you.

The first two colors in this palette are:

Midnight Cowboy-light pink with a frosted/shimmery sparkle to it. I probably would you it as a base color but I am not sure how it would look like all over the lid.This color could potentially be used for a under the brow shadow as well.

Midnight Rodeo- is a sparkly brown taupe. You could use this color more for either an all over the lid look or a crease color. The only bad thing is if you use it for a crease color you will have a lot of shimmer everywhere.

The next color is Midnight 15 a light white/gray shadow with lots of glitter in it. This could be used for a highlighter or base.

The last color in this palette is AC/DC a plum/blue purple color with a hint of iradescent glitter in it. I would really love to combine it with a black to see what kind of look I can get.

Swatches of colors: Midnight Cowboy, Midnight Rodeo, Midnight 15 and AC/DC

These swatches are done on bare skin (w/o a primer) and thus for a more dramatic effect a primer potion should be applied beforehand.

Also included in this palette which is not individually pictured is the Midnight Cowboy Lip Junkie is sheer shimmery natural color gloss that has a mint scent to it and plumps your lips up a little. Somewhere bc work and school I lost it already after trying it for like what 1 day. Very disappointed bc I actually liked it and was going to rave about it! Oh well.

Overall, I was a little disappointed in this palette bc when I think of midnight emergencies like your out I think of dramatic crazy shadows not frosted or glittery colors. And personally I am just not a big fan of glitter colors bc they fall everywhere to your lower eyelid, in your eyes, pretty much everywhere. The best part of the palette for me was the lip gloss which I lost already and the case. It's cute it will fit easily in any purse but other than that its off to find another shadow palette.

 

Normally $36 this palette is on sale at Urban Decay for $22 so if you’re interested in checking it out or what other makeup Urban Decay has to offer check out their website.

Urban Decay Skull Shadow Box

When Urban Decay had their Friends & Family sale a little while back ago I caved in and got a bunch of little stuff to try out and do reviews for! Today I will review the Skull Shadow Box, a metallic silver palette that comes with 9 different colors in it. It’s small and can fit in your purse for a quick makeover if your going out after work. Also included in the palette is a little double ended sponge-tip applicator.

 I swatched all the colors on my arm so you can get a better sense of their application. Note all of these swatches were done without a primer so of course if you wanted more pigment you should use the primer potion alongside it to really bring each color out.

 The first three shadows on the top of this palette are Cherry, Midnight Cowboys Rides Again and Grifter.

Cherry is a light frosty white color. This shadow would probably be good as a base shadow or even under the brows for a highlighter.

Midnight Cowboy Rides Again is a shimmery golden brown with lots of sparkle to it. This can be used as a base, highlighter or you can do a natural all over look with it.

Grifter is a rosy pink color with a hint of sparkle in it. This color would be a good natural all over color.

**I apologize I had my hand at a crappy angle for this image =( **

The middle three shadows in this palette are Vert, Oil Slick, and Shattered

Vert is a metallic electeric green with lots of shimmer in it. This shadow would make a great color anywhere. You could use it for a fun look as a crease or an all over look.

Oil slick is a matte black color with a hint of silver sparkle in it. You can do a nice smokey look with this color or even apply it to the crease of your eye.

Shattered is a green-blue pastel color maybe even an aquamarine color with a iridescent shimmer to it but also looks like a metallic color. This could also be used as a crease color or all over base color.

The final three shadows are Blunt, Chopper and Twice Baked

Blunt is a yellow-golden color color with a yellow shimmer to it. This color would make a great all over the lid base.

Chopper is copper-brown shimmery that would also look good as a all over base.

Twice Baked is sort of a chocolate matter brown color with a hint of a golden sparkle to it. It would be great as either a crease color or you can even do a brown smokey look with it as it is dark enough.

Overall the price of this product is amazing, the colors are good enough to be able to achieve lots of looks with it. But as I personally, am not a big fan of sparkle I probably would pass on it. But I am sure lots of you love sparkle and would make some amazing looks with it. I just am not a fan of glitter all over my face after applying shimmery shadows. Regardless, you be the judge ladies, I am only here to show you what it looks like and give you my honest opinion!

Normally $36 this palette is on clearance at Urban Decay for $12 so if you’re interested in checking it out or what other makeup Urban Decay has to offer check out their website.

**disclaimer-these products were purchased by me**