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 :)

blush.com March 2013 Mystery Beauty Box II

Hola!!!!!! I have been suckered into yet again another beauty subscription box! Which I guess it's ok since I am currently only getting ipsy. Now, this one I am blaming entirely on Lindsey from Renolyn Reviews, I watched her unboxing video and just HAD to get this box! You can watch it here but I must warn you, she subscribes to tons of cool stuff and you will want it all! 

This beauty box works as follows:

$34.95 for a one time box purchase or $24.95 if you subscribe to get the mystery box every month. You can click here to sign up but it seems the March box is sold out. I also read from other bloggers that the contents of the boxes vary slightly but seems like everyone is getting a lot of bang for their buck! 

Since I had seen great reviews I decided to subscribe so I git it for $24.95 and free shipping! :) My order came super fast, here is what I got:

I got 5 full sized products in the mystery box and another full sized product along with a foil packet as free samples, read on for the breakdown and how much each item retails for. Aside from the essie nail polish, all of the other brands are new to me which is pretty exciting for my inner makeup junkie! :)

Intelligent Beauty/ Labs - Rescue Restorative Shampoo (9floz.) $16

Intelligent Beauty/ Labs - Rescue Restorative Conditioner (9fl oz.) $18

While I have never heard of this brand before, I am definitely intrigued and will try the shampoo and conditioner. I love the fact that they sent full sized tubes and they sent both the shampoo and conditioner so I can actually try them. I have lots of hair so when I get tiny hair samples I don't even want to try them because I need to be able to use a product at least 2 or 3 times to form a real opinion.

Essie - Vanity Fairest $8

Nail polish = love! I don't have a lot of essie polishes and this looks like a pretty shade. might even be a jelly but I haven't tested it yet. 

Babor - Maxi Definition Lip Liner - Russet (1g.) $15 

This is a pretty color, and will go good with nude lipsticks I think :) Ohhhh and I didn't discover the best part until I was looking up the prize! I thought it was weird that it had 2 caps, well guess what? It has a lip brush on the other end! I did not get a picture of that but you can see it here.

And yes! I have made wait until almost the end to show you the most amazing product in this box! The picture above also shows the essie nail polish which is a full sized bottle, just as reference for the size of this palette!
This beautiful palette has a good sized mirror, 6 eye shadows, a highlighter and a double ended brush which looks and feels superb! Oh and 3 lovely cards that show you different looks!

Skylark - Snowkissed Cashmere Eye Shadow Palette $40

I have not swatched it yet because it just looks too pretty! but it has great reviews online and the colors remind me of an pumped version of the Balm Nude'tude palette. The eye shadows are bigger here but they have that look :)

Last but not least, FREE Samples!

DermStore - Lip Quench (0.28oz.) $12

Dermalogica -Soothing eye make-up remover (foil packet)

So, of my math is working right, the retail value for all these products is $109! I paid $24.95! My verdict? I love you Lindsey! and I am keeping this subscription! I feel it is a great value! Can't wait for next month's box! :)

What do you think of this box?

Thank you for stopping by,

Fiorella :)

My elf Mystery Bag 2013

Holaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! OMG I feel like I have abandoned this poor blog! I have been trying to post on my Facebook page and even made some appearances on YouTube!!! Anywho... the reason I had to blog today is my most recent elf haul! Which included their FREE mystery bag!!! ahhhhh!!!

I had placed a small elf order when they had free shipping (on orders $15+) for President's Day, then a few days later they posted the Mystery Bag deal.

Basically, if you ordered at least $20 worth of products you would get a free Mystery Bag worth at least $20!!! Also, some people would receive gift cards in addition to the mystery bag (I didn't but oh well). You had to pay for shipping ($6.95) but still a good deal in my opinion!

To make the most out of my order I decided to get 20 products from the essential line ($1 each), all things I had been needing or wanted to try.

Here is what everything I received (including what I ordered plus the Mystery Bag):

These are the 20 products I ordered: 

And here are just the products from the Mystery Bag: 

The only product I have ever tried from what I got in the Mystery Bag is the Nourishing Cuticle Pen which I actually like :) Everything else is new to me!

Here is the breakdown of what was in my Mystery Bag and how much each product is worth; I do not know if everyone receives the same products or not.

From L to R:

• Defining Eye Brush (essential line) $1
• Nourishing Cuticle Pen (essential line) $1
• Essential Hand Sanitizer Aloe Vera Infused (essential line) $1
• Essential Hand Sanitizer Aloe Vera Infused (essential line) $1
• Essential Hand Sanitizer Vitamin E Infused (essential line) $1
• Lotion Wipes Vanilla Sugar Cookie (studio line) $3

From L to R:

• Primer Eyeshadow in Misty Mauve (essential line) $2
• Glitter Gloss in Golden Glitz (studio line) $3
• Body Shimmer in Blazing Bronze (studio line) $3
• Lip Stain in Crimson Crush (essential line) $2
• Hypershine Lipgloss in Flirt (essential line) $1
• Glitter Eyeshadow in Night Owl (essential line) $2

If my math is working right, that means my mystery bag was worth $21! Yippee!!!! I'm actually pretty happy with it, while it had some products from the essential line, some of them were the $2 items I have been wanting to try! And they also put some of the studio line items in the bag! I believe it was a good mix and I am extremely excited to try the Primer Eyeshadow in Misty Mauve and the Glitter Eyeshadow in Night Owl! OMG so many pretties don't know where to start!!!

What do you think of my haul? Do you like elf? Have you tried elf? You can buy their products at http://www.eyeslipsface.com/ (they did not pay me for this post, I wish they did hahaha)

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway! (some of the products from this post might be in your surprise bag if you win) 

Thank you for stopping by,
Fiorella :)

Giveaway: Just because I'm cool

Holaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! It's meeeeee!!! I'm back with a fun Giveaway! I will be adding prizes (I ordered some stuff online and it's on its way) and might add an extra winner depending on the number of entries!

Why am I doing a Giveaway? Because I'm cool like that! hahaha and also because I have been buying way too much stuff and I wanna share! All of the prizes will be beauty related products, makeup, nail polish, hair, skin, etc. The prizes will be mixed, drugstore and high end (because you can find great products in both categories, and if you are a snob I don't wanna play with you!). 

All the products are brand new, either dupes of stuff I already have or purchased specifically for this Giveaway! I will have at least 3 winners, due to mailing restrictions this one will be open to US and Canada only (if you are in another country you can still enter, as long as you have a friend in the US or Canada who can receive the prize for you!)

Take a look at some of the prizes! I tried to gather a good mix of products for you! Once the Giveaway is closed I will basically put together "surprise beauty bags" for the winners and send them out! 

Update *** 03/04/2013 *** I have added some prizes and decided I want to have 5 winners instead of 3! Do I spot the Sinful Colors Sugar Rush collection and the Almost Famous collection???? Ohhhhh!!!!!

What are you waiting for? Enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for stopping by!

Fiorella :)

Starbox...a very short affair!

Back in November I got suckered into yet another beauty sampling subscription, this one is called Starbox, and it is fulfilled by a cosmetics company called Starlooks. I had never heard about this company before but the reviews that were out there were tempting so I gave in, plus there were hints of December's box being awesome... The price tag on this one is $15 a month + $1.98 (tax or something) so we will call it $17 a month. 

Here is what my November Starbox looked like:

I got a referral code so I got an extra brush with that box. There were LOTS of complain on their Facebook page and several of the groups I belong to, because packing was an issue. I was lucky and my products were intact, but some girls received broken/shattered eyeshadows :( I would have been extremely sad! Here are the contents of the box:

 Close up:

 The lipstick I got is called "Cream Caramel": 

 Here is the eyeshadow quad: 

This month was supposed to be all about the basic makeup look, the colors of the shadows are actually nice, I've used them once or twice and the quality is ok in my opinion, but the packaging is what I didn't like. 

This is another reason why so many people got shattered shadows! (The first reason is that while they shipped in a bubble mailer, the contents in the box were not secured or wrapped individually). The palette is not magnetic, the pans were just sitting on the palette on their little spots. I can only use this at home, I would not dare putting it in my makeup bag and in my purse (unless of course I go through the trouble of adding glue to these pans?

See how much room there is? they can definitely fall out of the palette if you are not careful!

The other item was this crazy looking tool that serves to prevent from getting mascara all over your face hahaha, it actually works, I've used it a couple times. 

 The extra item, small angled brush:

Overall I though November was ok but I wasn't thrilled about receiving products from just one brand to be honest. I guess while I understood the concept of the box when I signed up, I was hoping to be more excited when I received it, and I wasn't... and this is why I didn't blog about it any sooner than almost the end of the year!

December was the main reason I signed up, they were sending a palette with 15 shadows, which they retail for $99 so it was "a great value". Here is the box, very festive:

Inside, a cute little card and glitter confetti??? cute but my carpet did not like it... this thing made me vacuum, and if you know me, you know how much I loooove to vacuum... not!

 The palette:

 Close up:

The size of the shadows is pretty good, I have seen some swatches online but I haven't swatched mine because I'm not sure I'm keeping it I guess, might sell it or give it away at some point. From other reviews, I believe the pigmentation is pretty good on these and I love bright colors... so I guess I will keep it and use it soon. 

Overall, if you like the brand, the monthly box is a good deal, because their retail prices are quite expensive (in my opinion); if you like trying different products from different brands... then you might be better off with ipsy (which is $10 a month)

What do you think? Have you tried Starlooks products? Do you subscribe to Starbox? Love it? Hate it?

Thank you for stopping by,
Fiorella :)

ipsy December 2012 Review! Loooove!!!!!

ipsyyyyyyyyyyyyyy tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimeeeeee!!!!!!!! Hi! I actually got this bag a couple of weeks ago but was soooo busy I couldn't post until now! December was another great month for ipsy :) still the best $10 spent every month! 

Party time!

 Close up:

 Loooove the actual bag!

It's pink inside!!!! It has a flat base which actually makes it super roomy, I have been using this bag for my makeup essentials and it is now living in my purse :)

This is Mai Couture Highlighter Papier, no real clue as to how to use it, and haven't taken the time to explore it, but it looks interesting enough!

be a bombshell "hot mess" lip gloss! RED! woah! I have a fair amount of lip glosses but this is my first red one :) excited to see if I can pull this off!

NYX Ultra Pearl Mania, looks like they sent out different colors, mine is LP06 Black Pearl. I've always loved cosmetics and especially eyeshadows! and lately I've been wanting to experiment more and more; that being said this is black and it's powder so I am a bit scared, I can see black powder all over my face the first time I use it hahaha but I will definitely try it out :)

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On pencil in Zero (black) looooove!!!! I probably have 254521215787 black eyeliner pencils but I did not have any UD pencils or any UD products up until just a few days ago, so I was glad to get a brand like this one in my bag this month. I tested the pencil on my hand and it sure glides on!!!

Last but not least, Mirabella Prime (for face and eyes). I got a single eyeshadow from this brand a few months ago and it was nice, they sell the entire line at a beauty supply place I go to but it is quite pricey so I have never bought any there. The size of this sample is pretty generous for a primer and the fact that it is meant to be used for face and eyes, makes it very interesting! One less thing to pack if you are traveling!!! Woo hoo!!!

Overall, I feel I got way more than my $10 worth of products this month, I keep loving ipsy! :)

Thank you for stopping by,
Fiorella :)

December 2012 My Last Birchbox and what I got with my points

Well hello! Let me start by apologizing for being so absent lately! Work and school have been consuming my life! But here I am! I started my Birchbox subscription with the May 2012 box, and the December 2012 box was my last one. Looking back, I think I kept the subscription as long as I did, mainly because of the "points" system, basically you get about $5 back in points every month just for reviewing the products you get in your box. The box costs $10 a month so if you do your reviews you can call it $5 in your head.

My issue with Birchbox and the reason I cancelled is not the $5 or $10 price tag, it may have just been my luck, but I just don't feel like I've fallen in love with more than 2 or 3 products that came in my boxes since May. Since this is a beauty sampling service, if I am not liking what I am sampling, then I have to conclude is not the right service for me.

Here is what I got this month:

The card, blah, blah, blah!

The contents:

Juice Beauty CC Cream sample, I might try it or I might not, just kinda blah!

Kerastase Resistance Cement Thermique - Protect (2 foil packets)

Perfume sample - Nicole. Unlike many, I don't mind these samples, and I do use them (unless they are horrible and they stink haha) Bonus view of my awesome nail polish (GOSH in Silver and Sation Beauty Band)

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, this month, this is the only thing I was excited to get! I do not own any highlighters (that I am aware of), nor do I know how to even use one! hahaha but it's something I've been wanting to try!

 Oh yeah, fortune cookie!

 Chocolate covered fortune cookie! I ate it!

 While my "fortune" is true, I have no more patience left for Birchbox.

I had 500 points or $50, I decided to use them before I cancelled and was able to get the following:

theBalm NUDE'tude $36

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner $15

Benefit thePOREfessional deluxe sample (free with a coupon code)

They also had free shipping (I think they always do above $50) so my out of pocket total was $1 after using all my points. I got the palette because apparently I'm on this nude eyeshadows kick and wanted to try a good palette! This one had great reviews! 

The eyeliner is amazing and while it was sent by Birchbox a few times this year, I never got it in my box, I got one in a swap with one of my internet polish/makeup nerds buddies :P so I got a backup! :) I got a sample of the poreFESSIONAL last year at Sephora and I like it as well, but I use it sparingly and would probably never spend around $30 for the full sized tube.

At the end of my Birchbox journey, I am glad I tried it and I believe their rewards/points program is great, but I am done with it. I am extremely happy I was able to save my points to get some nice products. What do you think about Birchbox? Do you have it? Do you love it? Did you leave it?

Thank you for stopping by,
Fiorella :)

The Giving Girl Hair Ties! Review and Giveaway!

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great and relaxing weekend! A few months ago I purchased some elastic hair ties and headbands from The Giving Girl via Copious, since I started using them, I have not looked back! I don't use any other kind of hair ties anymore! 

The owner sent me some super cute hair ties this time, the colors are perfect for fall and winter. I love them and I hope you will too, the owner is super sweet and sent me two sets of each, some to keep and some for this Giveaway!!! All you need to do is enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post! (This Giveaway is valid within the US only).

If you like Twistband, you will love The Giving Girl, they are way more affordable, tons of variety and the quality is great!

They are soft and cute, yet they hold all kinds of hair, mine is thick, curly and abundant and these babies stay in place all day! I wear them on my wrist sometimes and like to mix them up when I do a side ponytail, sometimes I wear more than one in different colors just to give my hair a little touch of fun :) 

I haven't had a chance to wear the new colors yet but wanted to show you some pictures I have wearing the ones I purchased a few months ago.

Both the headband and the hair tie are from The Giving Girl

 Red headband for 4th of July! and do you see the hair tie on my wrist?

Wearing 2 hair ties on my side ponytail, on some random day :)

Check out The Giving Girl on Etsy and Facebook (I hear they are having a sale!) and enter below to win some fabulous hair ties (8 ties total)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for stopping by,

Fiorella :)

Note: While I have purchased from this vendor previously, these specific products were sent to me free of charge for the Giveaway!