Test Tubes by New Beauty. (Farewell, Birchbox!)

Well, my time with Birchbox has ended. It was a tough decision to make, but I wanted to give other programs a try. I've enrolled myself in 2 new beauty sample programs, and will now talk about the first one I've received: my Testtube by New Beauty.

This subscription is different in a few ways; you get your tube every 3 months instead of once a month, you get full sized items along with your deluxe samples, you get a magazine and a booklet describing your items,

everyone gets the same thing, and lastly, you get coupon codes for SpaLook.com.

 For almost the same price as Birchbox,($29.99 plus $8.95 shipping,) you certainly do get more for your money.

My full size items included a Moroccan Oil Frizz taming spray (love!),

YBF Plum Noir eyeliner (love!!),

Memoire Liquide lotion (pictured with 2 of the sample fragrances that came with it,)

and a Mally's eyeshadow stick in Platinum.

Here are some of the other items I got in the Testtube:

So far, I am happy with my decision to switch. When I get it, I will review my second subscription, which is with Sample Society.

Stay tuned!

(Please note, this is the first time I'm blogging from my phone. Forgive any wonkiness that may or may not be going on here! Thankkkks.)

(WOW! I need to correct my phone Blogger settings! Everything is now fixed and makes sense. Ha ha!)

Flora by Gucci fragrances, and Bzz Agent

Check this out!

This is the new Flora by Gucci perfume collection!

As a BzzAgent, I am given product kits to try and rate. I was lucky enough to be chosen to rate this wonderful fragrance collection.

A little about BzzAgent before I get into my review:

It's a program that you sign up for online, you take surveys, you let them know how you are able to spread the word, (for instance, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, or simply just word of mouth.)

Based off of your survey answers, and over all interests, you are given assignments, and get a bzz kit with products, coupons, and samples to give to your friends and family. Cool, right?!?

Ok, so onto my review.

Gracious Tuberose



Gracious Tuberose was the mildest scent out of the three. Very light and fresh smelling. I do smell a lot of violet in this scent.

Glamorous Magnolia

Glamorous Magnolia is very sweet, and you can really smell the Freesia that it talks about in it's description. It's a good everyday scent for the spring.

Gorgeous Gardenia

Gorgeous Gardenia is very fruity, but surprising not as sweet as the description would lead you to believe. I think it has a great balance between sweet and fresh. Of the 3, I would say this scent is the one you want to wear for a night out.

Overall, my favorite of the 3 is Glamorous Magnolia. Close second would be the Gorgeous Gardenia. I am not a huge violet lover, but I still really liked Gracious Tuberose.

Flora by Gucci is available at Macys and Sephora.

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners and the Rollergirl Palette

Hello!

I wanted to share my recent UD haul from their SALE section.

I have no shortage of eyeshadows, primers, mascaras... but the one item that I, for some reason, am always low on, is pencil eyeliners. Until now...

At $19 a set, the 24/7 eyeliner sets in Naked and Electric were a steal, when you think about how much they are ($19.00 a PIECE), I think this is a great deal.

Here are the colors:

Pretty, right?! I also bought the Rollergirl Palette (on sale for $13.00) because, come on, I wanted free shipping ;)

Now, I know what you you might be thinking, Pink eyeliner? But, yeah... it's cute when used moderately...

I used neutral shadows (MAC's Vanilla and Kid), used both Eyeliner and eyeshadow in Woodstock, and lined my waterline with Whiskey eyeliner and Darkhorse eyeshadow.

My cheeks are blushed with a coral color, and my lips are MAC's Myth lipstick, with Bare Minerals Dolly Buxom gloss.

Everything very neutral, with a pink pop.

Anyway, I just checked, and you can still get all sets online.

Urban Decay Sale

Happy Shopping!

Zoya nail polish

Happy Sunday!

My April Birchbox came with an awesome new color from Zoya's True Spring collection.

Introducing:

LOTUS.

Ugh, I love this color hard. It's a smoky purple with pink speckles in it. It's simply gorgeous.

And, it only took 2 coats for very opaque coverage. I've had it on for about 2 days now, with no chipping. SCORE! I heart me some Zoya Nail polishes.

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Carrie M. for winning my bag-o-beauty!!!! I hope you enjoy your prize!

VANILLABEANGIRLS 

In honor of the winner being announced, I will be talking about the gloss that Carrie won; The Balm Plump lipgloss.

I love this because it has the feel of Bare Mineral's Buxom lipgloss, but not over-cooling, if you know what I mean. My favorite Buxom is Dolly,

 but I can't wear it as much as I'd like to because sometimes, I don't want freezing lips. I started using The Balm's version in Pink My Lemonade,

 and I've gotta say, it's so much more comfortable wearing. Cooling, yes, but not overly done. I can wear it on a cold day, is what I'm saying.

 Now, they're not the exact same color, but both are very neutral for all day, everyday wear. The color in the giveaway bag was Tutti My Frutti

I compare this shade to MAC's Nymphette, which is a pinky-gold. A little lighter than my Pink My Lemonade, but flattering on most skin colors. And, a great color for Spring!

Anyway, since we're talking about glosses, I wanted to also share a great dupe to a limited edition MAC gloss from back in the day. Does anyone remember the Lipglass called Chance Encounter?

It is THE BEST cherry red, non-shimmery gloss I've ever used. It's the kind of gloss that country boys sing in country songs (why are they always talking about cherry lipgloss?!?!) It was launched in I believe 2007 for the Nocturnelle collection. No, I am not that gross, it's been sealed in my makeup box for years before I used it. The first time it was cracked open was sometime in 2010. DON'T JUDGE ME!

So, it's almost gone. Sad face. I was on a mission to find a great dupe for it. I tried everything, with no success, until now.

In Vegas recently, I went to Sephora, and while my dear husband waited no-so-patiently, I swatched about 5 red glosses on my hand. I left the store empty handed, but ended up buying Bare Mineral's new Cream Buxom in Cherry Flip.

SOURCE

It's a perfect match! And, it's huge! WOO HOO! Thank you, Bare Minerals. I will put up with the over cooling of the lips for this color.

GIVEAWAY!!!!

Well hello everyone! Today is the big day. The final day of the vanillabeangirls.com blogaversary giveaway! HURAAAYYY!!! Oh... you don't know what I am talking about? Well, I just so happen to be a part of this awesome 3 day giveaway. Here's the link to my prize:

 Vanilla Bean Girls day 3 Giveaway

Here is what is up for grabs:

For your face-

The Balm Plump lip gloss, and Dr. Brandt samples

For your nails-

Sally Hansen Nail Effects Nail strips and Zoya Nail polish mini

For your hair-



Phillip B. Finishing and Conditioning Cream, & Aussie Smoothing Serum

And, finally, so you're not all pasty lookin'-

Urban Decay Santa Tanita Face and Body self tanner foam

 Per Ellie, here's how you can enter:

*Be a follower of the Vanilla Bean Girls blog

*Like the Vanilla Bean Girls on Facebook

*Be a follower of Sketchgirly

*Share the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter

Make sure to leave comments below for each entry!

The winner for today's giveaway will be chosen at random and posted on April 19th!

 

 

15 minute up-do's (Thank you, Yahoo!)

A couple of days ago, Yahoo! had an article on 3 step hair styles. One caught my eye:

YAHOO! Article

So cute, right!?!? So, I made sure to Pin it on Pinterest (of course) and titled it "for my dirty hair days."

Well, today was a dirty hair day, so I put this to the test. Here's what I got:

STEP 1: Divide hair into 3 sections, and braid.

STEP 2: Roll braids and pin

(yes, you can see the rubber bands holding the tails of the braids.

No worries, more bobby pins fixed this.)

STEP 3: Spray and smooth out/pin any loose ends.

ALL DONE!!!



So, I got that done so quick, it was like 15 minutes, and that's with all of the picture taking I was doing :)

So when I got home from work today, I started thinking; I could TOTALLY do a side triple knot!

You'll probably notice that one braid (top braid) is cut short . Since I have layers, I had to only braid the hair half way to make sure I caught all of the hair. Again, last frame shows the hair ties. Whatever, bobby pins fix it.

SEE?! Taaa daaaa...

So, some tips for you if you decide to do this yourself:

1. Make sure you have plenty of bobby pins. At least 4 for each twist. That's what I ended up using.

2. When pinning the hair, make sure not to try and pin too much hair at once. Since it's braided, thinner pieces of hair through the bobby pin will be enough to keep the twists on your head :)

3. Use thinner hair ties. This was a total experiment for me, so I was not prepared. I will probably use the clear rubber bands next time I try this. I am sure it will make it much easier to hide.

Side knots are TOTALLY happening when I am in Las Vegas next week. WOO HOOO!!!