Eco-Emi: February 2014 Box

 

Have you heard of Eco-Emi? It's a monthly subscription service that's $15/month, and every month they send you a box full of earth-friendly, Eco-friendly goodies! Most of them are sample sized, but some are full sized! Like the lip balm this month is a full sized product. I've gotten eyeshadows, and mascaras, and eyeliners in the past that were also full sized, just to name a few. It comes in a small sized Priority Mail box, and it is always packaged so nicely. I have been subscribed for about a year now, and I've never been disappointed. I always get my moneys worth and more as well. Here is a list and short description of the products (from the card you get within the box) that I got in February's box:

 Tea Light Candles by Goodlight Natural Candles 6 pack / $2.49

What a great way to top off your night! These paraffin-free tea light candles are made from 100% palm wax and pure cotton wicks which creates a warm and inviting atmosphere without the harmful fumes.

 Chocolate Vanilla Paste by Premier Organics 1 pouch / $1.35

Made from the highest regarded premium cacao. Ek-Chok Chocolate is boosted with herbs and a hint of hazelnuts to add flavor. Bask in the aroma of this delicacy while enjoying it on flatbread or toast.

 All Natural Hummus by Wild Garden 1 pack (5 pieces) / $4.29

This healthy snack is made from chick peas, and many flavorful spices making it both nutritious and delicious! It does not require refrigeration , so you can enjoy it on the go! Try it on pita chips, vegetables, or even use it as a sandwich spread. Yum!

 Organic Hairspray by Aubrey Organics 5 oz / $9.95

The search for an all natural product that keeps your hairstyles looking great is finally over! This organic hairspray is infused with quinoa protiens that add body as well as smooths hair fibers to eliminate frizzing. It is USDA, NOP certified organic. Shake well before use!

 Eyelash Conditioner by Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques Full size tube / $10

This great product is made with vitamins, herbs and extracts that will help feed and protect your lashes. Gently use this lash conditioner at night after washing off your mascara. Leave on for 20 minutes, or thoughout the night, if desired. Use three times per week to promote longer, healthier lashes.

 Lavish face Mask by Blissoma 2 oz / $33.99

Great for dry and stressed skin. Lavish mask contains a combination of anti-reactive herbs, restorative oils, and cupuacu butter that helps rebuild skin from deep within. Use once or twice a week to help remove fine lines.

Vegan Lip Balm by Jersey Shore Sun .15 oz / $5

Earth friendly, cruelty free, and winter mint fragrance? This lip balm can't get any better! It has anti-aging properties that are gentle enough to use on other areas of the face making it great for winter sports and traveling.

And, that's it! I can't wait to dig into some of these products. Which ones would you be willing to try?

Friday Haul: NYX, tarte, Benefit and more!

As a makeup hoarder, I tend to buy makeup or some sort of beauty item every single week. Sometimes lots, sometimes just 1 thing. But, just about every week, I get myself a little something to add to my collection. I'm a true hoarder. And, what's crazy, is that I normally use everything I buy. And, whats great, is that if you absolutely hate something, most places will take things back!  So, if you've been dying to try something, but aren't quite sure if you'll like it, save your receipt. You normally have nothing to lose :)


So, here is my haul for this week. I'll do a breakdown of what I got, and even how much I paid for it, so you can try to get the same deals before the week is over!

1. Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder for blondes. They also have this for brunettes/darker skin. This is a nice light bronzer that looks very natural on my skin, and I'm liking it so far. I got it at Ulta, and it was $4.99, so very bargain priced for such a large compact. 

2. Benefit They're real! mascara. I have the full size of this, and it's pretty good. Not worth the hype in my opinion, but it's good. I got an email from Ulta so I could get this mini size for free if I showed them the email. So, I paid nothing for this travel friendly sized mascara. Although, it did get me into their store so I had to look around, and ended up getting a few things while I was there.

3. Tarte Be MATTEnificent pallet. This sucker is limited edition, and like all things in the makeup world that are limited edition, if you see it, you need to get it or it will be gone the next time you go to the store. Mark my words, I cannot tell you how many times I've seen something at the store that is limited edition, and thought in my head "I like it, but I'll sleep on it and come back in a few days and get it then if I still want it" - only to find that a few days later it's gone. Then, in your desperation you ask the nice sales person when they'll get more in and they precede to tell you that what they had is all that they will get since it's limited edition. People, like I said above, if you hate it you can take it back. This pallet was a bit of splurge for me at $37. But I love, love, love it! I am so in love with tarte cosmetics, and this pallet is just awesome. The shadows are so silky, and the blush as I said in my tarte review on Monday, is my favorite, and this shade is so subtle and pretty. 

4. NYX nude on nude pallet. This was a TOTAL score for me! I love neutral shadows. They are just funner for me to work with, and I don't feel like I'm trying to hone in on my 80's past. Don't get me wrong, I'll still rock the blue eyeshadow here and there. But, normally it's the neutrals that get me excited. Plus, the lipgloss pans are pretty, too. I got this at Ulta this week. I read through the fabulous inter-web that Ulta was having a NYX overhaul and they were clearancing a bunch of their stuff, so of course I had to check it out. I found this baby amongst a bunch of things that were marked down (they had single eyeshadows, and smaller eyeshadow pallets as well as a few lip products at my store, too). I spotted this pallet with a sticker that said it was normally $25 and was now $12.50. Score! I was super excited about my find, and when I went to check out, it rang up at $4.99!!!! Holy crap! And, to make things even better, I have the Ulta app on my phone, that had a weekly offer for 20% off one single item. So, I scored a $25 pallet for $4. Even if I don't like this baby (which I know I will), at $4 I'll let my 6 year old daughter have it for playing with before I'll return it.

That's it! I normally don't spend over $50 in one week on cosmetics at all! But, tarte always gets me with their pretty packaging and great quality. Other than the tarte pallet, this was a very budget-friendly week, being that I got a free mascara, and a $25 pallet for only $4. Next week there will be a haul from CVS for sure. They have some great deals going on for the week that are sure to make for some cheap makeup! So I'll see you back here next Friday to share my findings!

Review: QVC excusive Tarte Colored Clay 7-Pc Collection with Bag

 Image taken from QVC's website

First, let me just start by saying, that my FAVORITE brand of makeup is tarte. I love that they promote a more natural line of makeup and skincare. Their ingredients are usually safe, and they are effective! I honestly have not bought something from the line that I haven't loved. So, when I saw this set as the 'todays special value' on QVC, I grabbed it.

This 7 piece set includes the following:

• clay eyeliner in Black
• LipSurgence Lip Gloss in True Love, a sheer raspberry shade
• clay blush bronzer in Pink Bronze
• colored clay SPF 15 liquid foundation
• colored clay CC primer
• lights, camera, LASHES mascara in Black
• Bamboo foundation brush
• and Bonus makeup bag

All items in this set are full size, and if you were to buy them separately, it would cost you well over $200. Currently, as I'm typing this blog post, it is for sale here for $65.96 with $7.22 S&H. You're saving well over 60% on this people!

On to my review. Lets start with the foundation. The colored clay SPF 15 liquid foundation as of right now is a QVC exclusive, and it is what makes this set stand out in my opinion. The set comes with a brush to apply it with, and the 2 products work together wonderfully! The foundation comes in the same jar as the Amazonian clay airbrush foundation. It has a net-like sifter that you touch your brush with to get a small amount of product, then you buff it onto your face. The lid of the jar has a stopper on the inside to prevent the foundation from spilling all over the place, and you are supposed to shake the jar before each use. This foundation is very build-able, and lasts all day with a satin matte finish. It is quickly replacing my go-to foundation (tarte's Amazonian clay 12-hour full coverage SPF 15). I have very oily patches, and also have some dry patches as well, and it wears very well on me throughout the day. It doesn't cling to my dry areas, and there is very little to no breakdown where I'm more oily.

Moving on to the colored clay CC primer. This product I'm a bit on the fence about. I like it enough that I will probably repurchase it, but it's definitely not my favorite primer of all time. Mainly because of the color it leaves on my skin. it has 4 chambers of color on a very chubby stick, that you drag across your face and then buff out with your fingers. 2 chambers are skin colored, 1 is a very light green that is supposed to counteract any redness on your face and then the last chamber is purple, which is supposed to even out and brighten your skin. I'm very pale, and I got the shade 'fair' in this stick, and it goes on a bit dark for me. Once I sheer it our with my fingers, and then apply foundation over it, it looks just fine. But, this isn't a product that I can use alone by any means like the description says.

The clay blush bronzer in Pink Bronze is one of the more disappointing products in this kit. Everyone who loves makeup knows that tarte's Amazonian clay 12-Hour blush is a cult favorite. And, this blush in comparison to those is just okay. The bronzer portion is very peachy and the blush portion is very pale and not very highly pigmented. when you swirl around the whole pan, you get a very brownish peachy pink color that has a slight shimmer to it. The staying power of this blush bronzer is decent, however not as good as the Amazonian clay blush that is a tarte favorite. Overall, I'm not sure tarte could have really gotten it any better after the Amazonian clay blush, to be honest. So if I weren't comparing this blush to that, then it would be okay.

 The clay eyeliner in Black is a nice addition to this kit as well. It is a waterproof twist up eyeliner, and the pigmentation is good, the staying power is great, and it is very smooth to apply. I used it in my waterline when I first got this, and it lasted about 6 hours, which is a decent amount of time for me. And, when worn as a normal eyeliner next to my lash line, it stays all day with no visible signs of wear. 

Next, the LipSurgence Lip Gloss in True Love is yet another QVC exclusive product as of right now. When I got this kit, I wasn't expecting to like this gloss very much. Being on the more pale side I try to steer clear of bold lip colors in general, but this one was surprisingly great. You can sheer it out for a more natural pinkish red look, or build it up to be a more intense berry red. The doe foot applicator has a divot at the top that holds a lot of product which has been something that most people haven't liked about this product. I'm okay with it, and I think it makes this lip gloss different. The divot forms to your lips better than a normal doe foot applicator, and it holds more product on it, too. It has a very pleasant and light scent, and a touch of sparkle.  It's not very sticky when you sheer it out like I like to do, and it would go on top of a berry or red toned lipstick awesomely! Another new hit from tarte! I can't wait to try new shades of these when they come out.

 
Lastly, the lights, camera, LASHES mascara is something that wasn't new to me at all. I've been using this mascara for a long time, and it is a go-to for me. It doesn't flake, it doesn't smudge and it separates your lashes very wonderfully. The snake skin purple packaging is adorable, and it lasts all day with out making you look like a raccoon by the end of it. Love!

The bag that comes with these products is rather large. it is a bright pink zip top bag, and it holds everything you get with this kit, plus LOTS more. It has a cute little golden tarte embellishment on one side and the material is a smooth polyester that feels pretty sturdy.

Overall, this set was a big hit for me. With the exception of the blush everything in this kit was stellar. QVC also has everything on auto-ship as well, and the auto-ship has a few changes every time. You can go here to see what you'll get next if you choose to do the auto-ship.

So, what do you think of this kit? A must have? Not a tarte fan? Don't think it's a great value? Let me know in the comments!