blush.com April and May 2013 Mystery Beauty Boxes

I know it's almost June, but oh well, maybe you still want to see what I got in my last two blush.com mystery beauty box(es)! Sorry about the bad picture, my April box wasn't all that exciting, most products have been put away now in the "I will try this some day or give it away" drawers. The only thing I have used from this box so far is the tendu treatment mask, it's a hair mask and it smells good, but don't they all? 

So yeah. that was the April box, I subscribe to blush.com so it's $24.95 a month, March was awesome, April was kinda blah but May picked back up! Here is what I got in my May box:

This conditioner smells pretty good and it's full size, I'm using it in my spare bathroom just to have something there, but I would have never picked this up for myself because it says "Advanced Volume" and I have crazy volume (also known as fluff) already!

Next up, a BB cream, haven't had a chance to use it yet but I'll give it a go, always excited to try one out, I currently use Smashbox BB cream but I'm not 100% convinced...

This little baby is pretty cool, I've seen different brands come out with this gel eyeliner format, where the brush is part of the packaging! Genius! I don't know about you, but I can never find the right brush for gel eyeliner (and I probably have 10) so this will make life easier, especially for traveling!

Oh the polishes everyone has been talking about! Apparently this set retails for $29, the colors are gorgeous, formula not so much unfortunately. In my opinion: Sea Glass (mint) and B-Days In Cabo (pink) have a better formula than Jelly Shot (coral) and Dream Catcher (light lavender). The first two you can work with, requiring 3 coats for opacity, but the last two, even after 4 coats I can see spots :( 

Ignore the middle finger (Orly Peaceful Opposition)

I must say I love the colors, just wish the formula was better as far as coverage, especially for Jelly Shot!

Last thing in my box, and one of my favorites! Baublebar bracelet! I guess they only sent these out to the first 2000 orders, glad I got one! It also comes with a 20% off coupon for the site

It's a bit childish but I think it's super cute, I love the fact that it is adjustable, I have tiny wrists so finding bracelets that don't fall off is always a difficult task!

Do you susbcribe to blush.com? what do you think of these boxes? While April was not all that great, I am keeping this subscription, I still feel that the value is there! Let's see what they bring in June!

Thank you for stopping by,

Fiorella :)

Another haul post

Hello everyone, today I want to share a haul from my latest buys at Sephora, CVS, Sally Beauty, Ulta, Beauty Brands & Kohl's. If you know me, you know I love deals, so most of these products were on sale and some even free! 

I got a Sephora gift card for my Bday just in time to catch the Sephora Favorites Sun Safety Kit! So I had to order it! It came in a clear/gold/hot pink zippered pouch at $30 for a ton of products, and $20 goes to the Skin Cancer Foundation, no brainer! (Sorry, I think the kit is currently sold out)

Also, I had been eyeing the "Bottled Dreams" perfume sampler for a while and since it was my Bday month... why not? It is my first time buying a Sephora perfume sampler but it seems like a really good deal, this one was $50, you get 6 deluxe sized perfume samples in actual little bottles instead of vials, and a voucher to get a full sized bottle of the one you like the most; the sampler also has a pretty full sized hot pink nail polish (Sephora by OPI). 

The 6 bottles you get are generous enough to actually try each scent several times, the little bottles are also super cute and would look adorable anywhere you want to display them! The only thing that could have made them better is if they were spray bottles, but I will manage. 

The voucher is good for a full sized bottle, which is the 1 oz size for 5 of the scents and 1.7 oz for Couture La La, the full sizes retail anywhere from $52 to $70. I think my favorite is Couture La La, which retails for $70 for a 1.7oz bottle! Score!!! (Sorry, I think the sampler is currently sold out)

Also, here are the samples I got with my order, even got a little something for the fiancé!

A few days ago, alerted by one of my favorite sites "Nouveau Cheap" I was alerted of the CVS beauty clearance! check out her post here, so of course I had to go see if I could find any of the goods people across the country were finding! I had $5 in ECB and a coupon for $2 off a $10 cosmetics purchase, so using both and finding all these babies on clearance, I managed to get them all for an extreme price of $3.66, yes, all 6 products! :P

Also, since May is my Bday month, I had the Sally's $10 off a $20 purchase coupon, so there I went and picked out these goodies!

After the coupon I paid $13.54 for everything, including taxes! I wanted a new top coat, I was using "G & G HK Girl - Fast Drying + Super Shiny Top Coat", which worked great until I got around half the bottle, then it would get thick way to often and having to apply thinner every time you want to use it is just annoying! A good friend recommended Poshe, so I picked it up, used it yesterday and love it so far! I have the red Sally's card, so my price was $4.99. I also got Orly "Peaceful Opposition" on sale for $3.99 and a hair bun thingy ($2.79) because I gotta know what the buzz is about! 

Have I told you I love emilynoel83? Well, a while back I saw one of her videos where she compares the Palladio Herbal Foundation Primer to Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer and have been wanting to try it ever since! I love Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer, but I don't love paying $36 for 30ml of product. The Palladio primer gives you 20ml for $10.69-$11.99 (depending on which Sally's card you have) so it's definitely a better deal!

Then I went to Ulta... I picked up only a couple of things, have you guys tried Batiste Dry Shampoo? I have heard good things about it and Ulta had it for $7.99 with a free mini travel size can! My favorite dry shampoo is Bed Head Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo by Tigi, but I'm always looking to try something new! 

Ulta was having one of their buy 2 get 2 free deals, and I was looking for a tanning mitt, now, let me explain, I am latin/hispanic/whateveryouwannacallit but my legs need serious help, they have no color at all, must be this Midwest thing and snowstorms in April and such, anywho, I was going to buy the St Tropez Tanning Mitt at Sephora for $6.50 but read the reviews and this one seems to work just as good. They sell for $4.99 a piece and with the promo I got 4 for $10!

I also got a couple of NYX pencil liners (again based on reviews I have seen/read), check out the colors below: Pinky and Teal. I've heard they compare to Urban Decay's 24/7 pencils... we will see...

Oh then I went to Beauty Brands, honestly I don't shop there a lot, I always feel they are overpriced and don't have a big selection as Ulta or Sephora; but I do get coupons once in a while and then I go. This time the coupon was for a free full size Bed Head Straighten Out, which retails for $17.98. 

Me and my crazy curly hair are always looking for help when it comes to taming my curls and making my life easier when I flat iron my locks! It was free with any purchase so I bought a $0.99 buffing block, hey I needed one and it said "any purchase" :P

My last stop was Kohl's, one of my favorite stores! I had $10 Kohl's cash, a $10 promotional gift and a 15%off coupon. I got all the goodies below for $5.17!!! Woo hoo score! (Don't judge, I only got the Paris Hilton set because it was on clearance for $9 and who doesn't love perfume roll ons?)

My favorite item, this Rock & Republic Two Tone Bead & Skull Stretch Bracelet, yes, it's sparkly like that in real life! On clearance for $3.40!!! Love!

That's all I have for you in this post! Sorry it was so long! Do you like anything I got? What's your favorite place to score deals? 

Thank you for stopping by,

Fiorella :)

To my girls...

***DISCLAIMER: This is not a beauty related post, this is a post about life, love and relationships! (Also, this might apply to guys too but this time I am focusing on women)***

Well hello, this might seem kinda random, I am no expert in the matter, but I have some stuff I need to get off my chest, I was going to post this on my personal Facebook page but then I thought maybe other people out there are also going through a similar situation and could benefit from reading this post.

While currently in a happy relationship, I have been there, where lately, several of my friends seem to be... looking for "Mr. Right" (or at least Mr. Not a complete A**hole), left and right, I hear of people stuck in bad and unhealthy relationships.

I'm not judging, like I said, I've been there too, I've had my heart broken a time or two and I'm sure I've broken many others along the way... I am still standing, I have learned a thing or two and want to continue learning, because to me, that's what life is about.

I want to share what I know (recently understood) and I want all of you to know and believe that good men do exist! I'm not talking about perfect men, people are not perfect, relationships are rarely like the ones in the movies, but I do believe that it's all a combination of two people being in the right place at the right time and accepting people for who they are (starting by accepting yourself for who you are). 

There is a book all girls should read: "Women Who Love Too Much". If you read it already, do yourself a favor and read it again! and as cliche as it sounds, the movie "He is not that into you" does a damn good job at explaining/reminding us those things we already know but don't wanna see.

I guess all I am trying to say is I wanna see my friends happy, not as a result of having a man, but just happy about being who you are, embracing your true self and believing that you deserve to be with someone who wants to be with you.

Amazingly enough, when a guy really wants to be with you, HE WILL! He will call, text, talk, send you smoke signals, whatever it might be; I don't know a girl who can honestly say she has never been guilty of chasing/obsessing/stalking and many other dumb things we all have done at one point or another... sending that second/third/fourth text because "maybe he just didn't get my first text"... catch yourself and STOP! (Or send me the text).

My mom always told me, people don't change, I now understand what she meant by that. I now understand that I am who I am, and I love my crazy self! When meeting people/dating, many people fall in love with the "potential" or the "idea", and we "think" we can change/make the guy "better" or more to our liking... If you feel that way, realize that you don't truly "like" that person, you like "what you think he can be", do yourself a favor and move on.

Be yourself, why lie, pretend or act a certain way when you meet someone new? Just so they "like you"? No way, I believe people should be honest, just like you want honesty from the guy, you should be willing to provide the same; just like you expect him to accept you with your past, you must be willing to accept his. The "right" person will accept you as you are, if he doesn't, then he is not the right person.

RED FLAGS - They are called RED FLAGS for a reason, don't ignore them unless you are willing to accept them and will be ok with the fact you won't be able to change them; it will just make things easier in the long run.

Own up to your mistakes, your weaknesses and your bad moments, he will appreciate your honesty, and you will appreciate it too, nothing worse than going through life pretending you are perfect and never do anything wrong. 

Some truths I have learned:

- If he wants to go... OPEN THE DOOR AND LET HIM GO... We must make room in our lives for better things to happen!

- "If you have to wonder if he likes you... he doesn't!" (stolen from one of my smartest friends)

- If he says he is not looking for/ready for anything serious... LISTEN! If that's not what you want then move on, unless you are addicted to pain and disappointment because you won't "convince" him otherwise, and you shouldn't want to "convince" anyone o to be with you... that's just disrespectful to yourself.

- Love shouldn't hurt, yes you will disagree and argue over stuff, but constant fighting and extreme highs and lows are not a sign of "true passionate love"

- Love yourself and respect yourself, remember that you teach people how to treat you by what you accept from them. 

- Stop making excuses for his behavior, people are who they are and they know right from wrong (and if for some reason they don't, is not your responsibility to teach them or to "fix them")

- Remember... he is not the last man on earth!

I have lots to say about this topic, like I stated before, I have learned a thing or two, and I constantly find myself talking to friends or giving advice on the subject... let me know what you think of this post and feel free to share your experience or any advice you have for women going through this.

Thank you for stopping by,

Fiorella :)