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!

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. 

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!

:Beauty Essentials: Hair

Beauty products are taking over my bathroom. While I am currently cleaning and organizing the rest of my house this summer I am also slowly working on reducing the amount of beauty products taking over my bathroom closet. While going through all my beauty products I plan on sharing my favorites with you!


Lets start off in the shower. I now only have one shampoo, conditioner and deep conditioner! After finishing off a couple of bottles I'm ready to share what has been working for me.

First I have been coating the ends of my hair with this Suave Moroccan Infusion Conditioner to protect the ends while I scrub my scalp with the Suave Moroccan Infusion Conditioner. I have really dry ends that have been highlighted one too many times. I find this helps prevent my hair from drying out and gets the ends ready for their actual conditioning treatment! Plus it's Suave so you know this is affordable!

Sidenote: Since I love the smell of the shampoo and conditioner I decided to try out the styling oil from the same line. I've only used it a couple days so I haven't tried it enough to decide if it's worth it. Quick review- it smells great, but doesn't have enough power to keep my hair styled or frizz free in this summer humidity. However this might be wonderful to use during dry winters.

After I rinse out the shampoo/conditioner combo I break out the big guns, Amika Nourishing Mask. There's so many things I LOVE about this.

1. It works! My hair has never felt softer or healthier. I truly think this helps prevent split ends from from happening and also reduces the appearances of frizzy, fried ends.

2. The smell- it is a light floral almost fruity smell. I wasn't sure if I would like it since I normally like lighter fragrances (like light blue by Dolce and Gabbana for reference) but I just get this happy feeling every time I smell it on my hair.

3. The packaging- It's so cute and colorful. A tiny piece of happiness in my shower!

Now I just bought the trial size from Birchbox and I can already tell a difference. I will be ordering the large size soon so I don't run out. I really can't say enough about this. I highly recommend it! It isn't the cheapest of hair products but I think the low cost of my Suave shampoo/conditioner routine help even it out :)

I'd love to hear what your current hair products are! Let me know if you've tried either of these or if there is something else I need to try in the comments below.