Sephora Favorites - Meet Your Match swatches and review

I recently picked up the Meet Your Match set from Sephora. It contains six corresponding lip and nail colors. I picked this up mostly because I've only tried two of the six brands (Formula X and Tarte). 

The picture below shows (messy) swatches of all three nail colors. 

I was pleasantly surprised with Nails. Inc (the purple color). It applied with ease and that is one coat!

I was really excited to try the Deborah Lippmann nail polish (coral) since it's raved about and way out of my price range in full size. This polish was gloopy and awful! This picture makes it look better than it did in real life. Now this is my only experience with this brand of nail polish so maybe other colors are better but I am less then impressed.

The Formula X (nude) was also disappointing. It just would not apply evenly, but I think this might be this specific color since I've used (and loved) other colors from this brand with no problem.

Last are the lip swatches.

The purple is from bite beauty. There lip products are FDA approved. In other words if you accidentally lick all this off...you will be just fine. However, the smell is pretty awful that I haven't caught myself licking it off;) But the color is beautiful on the lips. It's a bright punchy purple that is going to be fun to wear this spring.

The coral color in the middle is from Tarte. I was a little nervous since it seemed so bright but its kind of a "my lips but better" coral shade when applied. This stains the lips and lasts the longest out of all three lip products.

The nude color on the left is from Hourglass. I was excited to try an Hourglass product since the brand is quite pricey. It smells like vanilla cupcakes and is the perfect nude shade without making me look like death. This is a product that I would consider buying the full size version if I finish the mini. 

Overall, I'm happy with this kit even though two of the nail products were fails. I bought this kit to try mini sizes of brands so I didn't buy a full size product that I might not like. These favorite sets Sephora offers are a great way to try brands and also who doesn't love a cute miniature product!

If you're interested in getting this set make sure you go through Ebates first. Right now Sephora is at 4% cash back!

Saving Money Online - Ebates

Ebates is an online rebate program, that is WAY easier then snail mail rebates.

Ebates is a FREE cash back site that offers cash back when shopping at popular stores such as Sephora, Victoria's Secret, JCPenney, Home Depot, and many more!

Ebates is a FREE cash back site that offers cash back when shopping at popular stores such as Sephora, Victoria's Secret, JCPenney, Home Depot, and many more!

First create an account on there website. Basically before you shop online, check Ebates for the store you're shopping at (Sephora, Lands End, Nordstrom, etc!). There are hundred's of stores so make sure you always go through Ebates first. Then click through to there site. Ebates gives you a cash back percentage of the total you spend. 

Here is what my personal account looks like. You can tell I have recently shopped at Sephora, Victoria's Secret, and Groupon to get cash back. 

Ebates pays quarterly and once you get 5 dollars in your account (which is easy to do!) you can choose for them to send you a check or deposit it into your Paypal account. 

Paula's Choice

I have been hearing more and more about the brand Paula's Choice and finally had to try it for myself.

I've only made two small purchases so far, but I'm planning on ordering more. 

One of the cool things about this company is you can order samples of the products to try before you buy. They have a pretty awesome guarantee. Along with frequent sales and free shipping offers.

Paula's Choice has tons of face and body products, even some makeup. But I want to share this little gem I found with you.

Brighten Up - 2 minute teeth whitener

It's the size of a slim lipstick. And you apply it just as you would a lipstick but on your clean, dry teeth. There's a slight foaming action and after two minutes you can wipe it off. The formula is even safe to swallow. I accidentally did and nothing terrible happened. Promise.

Best part is, it doesn't irritate my sensitive teeth! Crest white strips I'm looking at you...Ouch!!!

This freshens my breath, whitens my teeth and fits in my purse for those awkward moments you forgot to brush and need to run to the ladies room.

This link will save you 10$ off a 15$ purchase which is a crazy good deal. I'm planning on purchasing full sizes of products in the Resist line. It contains retinal for both wrinkles and acne which sadly I am fighting both. Those samples won me over. 

POPSUGAR Must Have Box March 2014

POPSUGAR Must Have Box is a new to me subscription box. I've seen reviews before but I was never interested enough to try it. 

Then I saw the spoiler for this scarf and a discount code and I pulled the trigger.

And I'm so glad I did. I love this scarf. It's beautiful and very soft. I have to dress modestly for work so I'm always looking for scarves of different fabrics and this is lightweight so I can wear it in Spring and Summer.

Next up is this ADORABLE elephant ring holder. (Don't mind my dirty rings...it's been a while since I've cleaned them.)

While I love this...my cat does not. She sends the Elephant tumbling off my nightstand every night.

This mini opalescent pink exercise ball has not been used...yet. But my goal is to print off some exercise pictures so I know what to do with it!!

The Jurlique serum I now use every night. Now sure if it's actually doing anything but it smells nice and my combination skin appreciates the extra moisture at night.

This Strawberry Fig Bar was edible...but nothing I would purchase myself.

The necklace is cute but not my style. It's a charm that you wear until the string breaks. Ill probably pass this off to a neighbor.

There was one more item that I didn't photograph...because I ate it right away! Oops! They were freeze dried/fried (?!?) snap peas that tasted like potato chips! 

All in all this was a fun subscription box and if your interested in signing up here is the link (use code REFER5 for 5$ off). I had cancelled my account after this month but they released another awesome coupon code and spoiler (a too faced natural eyes palette!) so I obviously resubscribed. I will blog about it as soon as I get it in the mail.

Birchbox April 2014

I just got my birchbox in the mail today and I'm so excited to share it with you. Birchbox is a monthly subscription box company. They curate beauty and lifestyle items and ship them to your door for only $10 a box. (You can sign up for a yearly subscription and you get one box free!) 

The best part about Birchbox is their points program. You can review each product in your box for 10 points. 100 points = $10 to shop at there website. For example right now I have 105 points, after I try all the products in my box if I want to purchase the full size version I have a 10$ discount. You can combine points and discount codes to create a really awesome deal! 

Now let's start talking about what I got in my April Birchbox:

The first thing I noticed was my blush from The Balm. Its called How 'Bout Them Apples and it is in the color in 'pie'. It is a lip and cheek stain and is a beautiful just flushed color. The packaging is so cute! 

Next was this nice sample size of peppermint and macadamia shampoo from Keims. I've never heard of this brand and can't wait to try it. 

I was thrilled to receive the Sumita eyeliner in Jamun, a deep purple that does not budge!! 

Also included is a pretty Color Club polish in Aquamarine Azulino, an exclusive to Birchbox shade that's perfect for spring. 

My lifestyle item this month was a KIND Healthy Grains Bar in Maple Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt. I've heard a lot of awesome things about these bars but never tried them. After sneaking a bit its the perfect combo of chewy and crunchy and is lightly sweetened. This would be the perfect snack to keep in your purse.

This box was a huge hit for me and I cant wait to use all of my items. You can still sign up for this months birchbox using this link. Use code SFBB100 to skip the waitlist and get 100 extra points (worth $10 in the birchbox shop!!!) 

And don't forget to review your products for points!