Butter London

Have you seen the boxes available online and in stores like Ulta for Butter London  called "Backstage Basics?"  It contains a base coat, a top coat, a curved nail file and nail polish remover.  There is an option to pick your own color-- and that makes the $44 price AMAZING.  However, if you catch this box on sale for like $20, you're not allowed to pick your own color- but the top coat alone cost the same as the box, so it's still a nice deal if you're able to pick it up.

It also comes with this gorgeous bag!  I love it!!

I also may have purchased a few different colors (they had a 2/$15 sale going on)

(Products Top Left- Bottom Right)
First Row: Backstage Basics Box; Small, zippered makeup/nail polish bag
Second Row: Nail Foundation Base Coat; Hardwear Quick Topcoat; Powder Room Nail Polish Remover; Wellies; Keks; Cotton Buds; Pimms
Third Row: Knackered, Slapper

So, first things first- I took off my nail polish.

 The color I had on before my white nails totally stained my nail :( I was so sad about it!  [Yes, I had a base coat on underneath]  I think that BL remover did it's job- but it has an overpowering scent to it that after the second time I used it, I put the cap back on forever.  I felt like the scent didn't go away for almost two days- it drove me nuts.  It smells like body powder-- the kind that your grandmother might wear.

Next up, the base coat.  I think that I like my ridge filler as my base coat better than BL's base.  I like it more because a) it fills my ridges better b) it's a white base.  I'm not feelin' this nude base color.  If I use a light/sheer pink, I feel like I can still see the cuticle and free edge more than I would like.

Also, if this is your first time using a BL polish, be sure to remove the sticker on the side of the bottle. Also, the caps need to come off first, then you twist the brush out.  It was way more complicated than it should be.

Alright, let's add color!

First up, Keks.

Add my accent nail; Wellies.

I decided to try polka dots for the first time.  I used a bobby pin and dipped it in the bright yellow nail polish, Pimms-- way easier than I expected!

Now it's time for my clear coat!

Final product.  Overall I like my Butter London polishes.  I still prefer OPI.  I don't feel like the color lasts as long as I would like it to without chipping.  However, I'm sure that's simply a part of my quest to find the perfect top coat.

Happy painting!

Clean Your Brushes!

Now that summer is here, my goal is to update this blog at least once every day during the week.  My other goal is to try to make shorter/more condensed entries that allow for easier reading-- and easier writing! So here's hopin'!

Last night, I took the time to clean out my brushes.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never cleaned make up brushes.  I'd just throw them out when they looked iffy and buy new ones.  I watched a quick DIY video from PopSugar and decided to wash them with a bar of soap.

I don't have any step by step pics to post (I promise to be better about that next time!), but it's so super easy that you shouldn't need pics.  If you do, youtube "PopSugar clean brushes," and it should be the very first option.

First, you get your brush wet by running it under the faucet.  It's important that you do not get anything but the bristles wet.  [Note: I was warned about this, so I'm passing it along.  I found it nearly impossible NOT to get the brush a little wet.  I saw no major damage so all I can really say is try your best to keep the rest of the brush dry.]  If you get the brush wet, supposedly that will release the bristles, and that's just no fun!

After you get the bristles on your brush wet, you simply rub your brush over a bar of soap.  Any soap will do, but moisturizing soap is recommended.  It's like conditioning your brushes all in one step!

Continue to rub your brush on the soap and rinse.  If you've waited as long as I have, you might need to rinse and lather your brush several times before make up stops appearing on your soap.  I had to recheck some of my brushes three times before the water started to run clear.

When you are rinsing your brush, I found that I was too impatient to just let the water fall on the brush and wait for the water to run clear.  So, I turned the water pressure up high enough that there was a little pool of water a safe distance away from the faucet, and I dabbed my brush there until it was clean.

Once you've applied soap and water, simply dab your brushes on a paper towel, reshape any bristles that are out of place, and allow the brushes to air dry.  I've been told that you can wait a couple of hours for your brushes to dry, but I let mine sit out over night.  It seems the easiest to do.

Check out how I hung my brushes:

I removed the towels from my towel rack, and slid my brushes through pony tail holders.  I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I totally saw it floating around Facebook.  How fancy are those brushes, though?!

Anyway, hope this helped if you're considering drying your brushes!

This week I plan to do an Ipsy review, and hopefully I can get a few other past reviews that may not be helpful with current reveals, but should hopefully help if you're considering subscribing to any of their services!

Have a great Monday!

-Mim

Ipsy March 2014 Bag

I received my beautiful bright pink package on my way to a Louisville Comic Convention last week. I was so excited I just grabbed it and took it on the car ride with me!

Behold! All of my goodies!

This is the Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer is priced at $22 for their 30ml bottle.  This primer smells like... 

Photo Credit

SUMMER!

Also, I love Frozen... I'm sorry if it has been showing up in your life more than you would prefer these past few months, but it's a fantastic movie!  Anyway, it's a little shimmery, but nothing crazy.  It worked fine with my skin.  I put it on before I went into the convention, and my skin looked so clear and fresh in our pictures.  It's a great primer!

I didn't get to post a picture of my nails with this polish on, but Nicole by OPI Roughless-- not exactly my fave.  It's priced somewhere between $7.99 and $9.99.  I can't find this specific color and the roughless affect. I would be lying if I said it didn't grow on me, but even so, it's not a go to nail lacquer for me.  I love this color, but I'm not a fan of texture polish.  It lasted the three days I kept it on, so that's definitely a bonus- no chipping with no topcoat!

Be a Bombshell Bora Bora Eye Shadow Quad

I am very excited for these colors- they'll go great with my swimsuit this summer! This BaB Eyeshadow quad is valued at $16.  The colors are Starlet, Bora Bora, Risky Business and Rock Bottom. I haven't had a chance to try the colors yet, but I'm already a fan of BaB products, so I'm sure I'll love it!

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready, this is priced at $18 for a full sized tube.  I really like this lipstick.  To be honest, my lips do tend to feel dry after wearing this lipstick, but- to stay honest- lipstick in general make my lips dry.  I do like the color.  It's a keeper!

I received this Chella Indigo Blue Eye Liner in a trade with my friend, Abby.  She doesn't prefer liquid eye liners to pencils, and I do!  So I gave her a few samples I had, and she gave me this goodie!

Feel free to note my B-E-A-UTIFUL white "Cotton Buds" Butter London that has lasted ...five days? This is a miracle for me- I can't pass three days without chipping.  Anyway, this is a lovely dark, drastic blue eyeliner. I frequently use my black liner and I'm excited to try a different color and to add a new color toy collection.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you're interested in any of these products in the month of March, and I'll post up the discount codes I received for that product.

-Mim

Pop Sugar March 2014 Review

My first official review will be of the March 2014 Pop Sugar Must Have Box.  I was able to apply a $10 off coupon for this box, which totally justified this purchase!  Let's take a look inside...

Shipping Box

First things you see when you open your box

Side one of the insert

Here you'll see descriptions/spoilers of all the goodies you're about to receive!  This side notes the Brokedown Blue Ikat Scarf, the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum, the Dogeared Lucky Horseshoe Necklace, and the Baublebar Elephant Ring Tree.

Side two of the insert

This side notes the Activeforever Fusion Exercise Ball, Harvest Snaps Snapea Crisps, Nature's Bakery All Natural Strawberry Fig Bars, and a brief intro to your March Box

Tissue seal

First Glance

Harvest Snaps Snapea Crisps

This item, according to Harvest Snaps, this item can be found at local retailers like Walmart, Target and Whole Foods they seem to run around $1.60 for this 3.3oz bag.  I took these to work with me this last week and they are DELICIOUS! They were a little more greasy than I expected-- think Pringles commercial where they make fun of Lays potato chips by singing "greasy not fun, uhuh" haha!  I pretty much destroyed my napkins from wiping my hand so much.  I would rather have a fresh bunch of snap peas, than the crisps; but the crisps are worth the try.

Baublebar Elephant Ring Tree front view

Baublebar Elephant Ring Tree side view

 This is the most adorable ring holder I have ever seen!  According to Baublebar, this ring retails at $12.00.  This is not something I would have bought on my own, but it's definitely something I will put to use.  I will not be gifting this item; it shall sit pretty on my dresser.

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum

This Jurlique serum has a retail value of $54.00 for a 30ml bottle.  I received a 15ml bottle.  This serum works great!  I was so excited to give this a try- this was supposed to be a really high priced item, something to really make this box worth the money I spent on it.  I spread a small amount over the back of my hand and my hand felt soooo smooth-- but it smelled soooo bad.  Ohmigosh, it was like walking in to your great grandmother's bathroom that she just cleaned and sprayed with whatever crazy floral scent great grandmas always seem to spray all over their bathrooms.  Ew, it's so terrible.  I had my husband come over and tell me if he could notice a difference in the way the back of my hand felt from the unaffected hand, and he was amazed at the difference-- but his nose wrinkled in disgust with the floral grandma scent coming his way.  So, this product totally works-- but it's not worth it with that overpowering scent.

Nature's Bakery All Natural Strawberry Fig Bars

Prices seem to vary on this one, some places say $3.50/bar some say $3.50/4 pack- so I have no idea.  I buy my groceries at Kroger and I haven't seen it on their shelves.  I'll update if I see it.  To be honest, I haven't tasted this yet.  My husband called dibs (he gets jealous sometimes of all the goodies I get in the mail. Who can blame him?).  He still hasn't tried it.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I don't anticipate any problems, we both like Fig bars.

Activeforever Fusion Exercise Ball

Size comparison to the Snapea Crisps Bag and the Baublebar Elephant Ring)

 This exercise ball is on sale for $9.95 right now.  This was so easy to inflate and use.  It's not apart of my non-existent regular exercise routine [I walk with a very irregular schedule throughout the week], but it's a great assistance to squats and crunches.  It's great for working out your core.  Again, not something I would have purchased on my own, but I'm so glad I am able to experiment with it! 

Check it out! Duplicates!

Dogeared Lucky Horseshoe Make A Wish Necklace

 I'm not sure if everyone received two sets of necklaces, but I was super excited to see my second necklace.  I knew right away I was going to gift this to my awesome friend, Suze, who also shares my obsession over subscription boxes and awesome beauty steals and deals.  She loves her necklace just as much as I do!  This is such a great gift idea for your galpal's birthday or any other special event they may be celebrating.  This Lucky Horseshoe Necklace is made of 16" tobacco silk thread, has a 10mm gold dipped horseshoe charm, a gold filled spring ring closure and a cute little lucky horseshoe message card.  I haven't taken mine off since I got it!

I received three discount codes/coupons for Jurlique, Baublebar and Dogeared.

And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for...

My pretty Brokedown Blue Ikat Scarf!

This beautiful scarf values at a whopping $72.00! It's beautiful! It's so light and colorful- I'm so excited to wear this with the changing seasons-- such a great color for spring!

Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase, specifically because I got it with a $10 discount.  You too can get a discount for the next April 2014 box by using the code April10!  Simply follow this link to get your very own PopSugar box.

Thanks for reading, happy subscribing!

-Mim

And Here We Go!

Welcome to my review blog! I am currently in the process of linking up all my accounts.  The following are now a part of MadMimReviews:

-Twitter

-Instagram

-Google Blog (obviously)

- Influenster Subscription - check out my widget!

Updates to come! I can't wait to get this up and running!

-Mim