what, you wanna be sexy now?

Documentary : Sexy Girls Have It Easy from Bright Hand Pictures on Vimeo.

I came across this video where a woman did a social experiment to test wheter or not sexy girls can get more free stuff than a plain Jane "based on looks alone." While it was entertaining I thought it wasn't fair how she acted differently in her different clothes too. In her sexy version she was confident and cheeky, but in her plain Jane she was dowdy, demanding, and not charismatic. I would like to see her do the experiment again but act exactly the same, regardless of her clothes. So I don't think it's purely that she looked sexier, she was just more confident and acted like she deserved the free stuff. Also, did plain her have to be wearing a fanny pack?

Ex: Her plain self directly asked the bus driver for a free ride. denied. Her sexy self smiled at the bus driver and walked past him. accepted. I'm still curious what would happen if Sexy her asked the bus driver.

I am by no means sexy on most (any) days, but I HAVE gotten things & drinks for free. Mind you these were only coffees or sodas, but it happened to plain ole me! It's just timing and circumstance. And no I was not demanding or cheeky- just innocent? I seriously have no idea why it happened... So PLAIN girls can get free stuff too okay?

There was this one time I went to pick up my sister from work and later she told me the guys asked if I was her mom.... WHAT? I was so enraged! How dare they assume that? So the next time I went in I made it a point to put on the makeup, big lashes, and high heels to see if I would get the same comment. To my delight they asked if I was her friend. phew! Otherwise some heads would roll. The interesting thing is I felt more confident and sexy wearing false lashes and high heels. I think it would be amazing if I could figure out how to feel that way in just my everyday getup.

Left: my plain look (old pic)
Right: my dolled up look (on that day!)

Please tell me your thoughts on the video and your thoughts on looking plain vs sexy.

Dior Pink Boa Swatch

Dior Pink Boa 349 or Rose Fanfreluche.
A jelly baby pink.

Revlons Free after coupon at CVS

A swipe here, a swipe there, and now I have two-toned nails. I think these two are fun together! I've warmed up to the thought of yellow nails. Possibly a dupe for Chanel Mimosa?

Tonight I picked up two Revlon Top Speed polishes at CVS because they are on sale (FREE) this week. Pictured are Electric and Hazy. Both swatch opaque on the first swipe. That's what I love about the Top Speeds!

I'll explain how the sale works.

Each polish is priced at $4.99.
You receive a store credit called an EXTRA BUCK for $4 on each polish you buy. If you buy two you get $8 and you can buy up to 6 total with your CVS card.
When combined with a $1 off coupon the polish is essentially free!

for example, your 1st transaction:
Polish $4.99
Coupon -1.00
-----
TOTAL $3.99 + tax
EARN $4.00 EB (extra bucks)

Now you have $4 EB to use that expires in one month. If you had previous ones you could've used that in your first transaction. It's called ROLLING. Now that you have a $4EB we'll roll it to the next polish

2nd transaction:
Polish $4.99
Coupon -1.00
EB -4.00 (from the first transaction)
-----
TOTAL -0.01
BUT you can't have a negative balance so either your cashier will ADJUST your EB to 3.99 and you'll walk out free OR you'll need a filler item like their .33 cent caramels.

2nd transaction alternative:
Polish $4.99
filler $0.33
Coupon -1.00
EB -4.00
-----
TOTAL 0.32 + tax
EARN $4.00 EB

You may repeat this process until you have reached the limit 6 polishes! Woo hoo!

So if you had no EB to start with you will have $4EB, 6 polishes, and you only spent $4 + tax!

You will have already needed to get several Revlon coupons before this sale to maximize your savings. If you don't have any coupons then $1/polish is still a good deal.

Where to find coupons? Try ebay or coupon cutting services. like [here]
This particular coupon came from the Smart Source 4/10 edition.

Now the best thing about this deal is the beauty club. (ask your cashier how to join) For every $50 you spend on cosmetics you will get $5 EB back. So after you bought all 6 polishes you can add $29.94 to your tally, and not the few cents you paid. woo hoo!

But wait there's more! If you go back once a day this week and scan your "green bag tag" you will earn $1EB after every 4th scan! $$$

I hope this helped and got you running out to CVS! I've posted swatches of a few Revlon polishes previously. Try clicking the Nails tag.

Glad to answer any questions!

Hidden Treasures in the Sky

Revlon Top Speed Cloud Polish with Sally Hansen Hidden Treasures on the first finger. Hidden Treasures really makes everything pretty, but especially with this blue. I love how subtle it is.

From looking at the bottle I didn't see the potential, but I'm glad my sister made me buy this one. It's quite opaque in one stroke too, and I love that!

May Birchbox, is it worth it?

So what is BIRCHBOX?
From them:

Every month Birchbox members will receive a curated box of luxe beauty samples. Each box will span beauty categories and deliver exciting products... you'll receive a selection of 4-5 samples...

The membership is $10/month and so far I got what they claimed. I did get beauty samples, but curated? Yes they chose them but they are not handpicked for each of their 20,000 subscribers.You will get 4-5 samples but not all of them will be "luxe." My advice, don't expect 4-5 deluxe samples. 3-4 more like!

First of all, I love the outer packaging. The bright pink and graphic design are eye catching (and it makes me happy). It's one of the reasons why I wanted to get this!

Inside is a sturdy kraft colored giftbox style box.

Under the first layer of tissue, a welcome card outlining the products.

Most of my samples wrapped up in matching pink tissue paper.

Four "deluxe" samples for May:
1. Archipalago Pomegranate Soap triple milled - gross
2. Bvlgari Mon Jasmin Noir sample - musky
3. Ahava Deadsea Water Mineral Hand Cream - nice but not special
4. Stila eye shadow in Terracotta (full size) - awesome, but not my usual color

So how well did Birchbox work?
1. Pretty much I wouldn't want to buy anything in my box, but I saw that other people got a Jouer lip gloss sample, and that peaked my interest. In fact, I bought one! A haul for another post. (I love it btw!)

2. Also, it got me to look into Bvlgari fragrances, and I'm so glad I did. I sniffed the other ones at Nordstroms and I love them much more! Especially BLV Eau D'ete! (new fav)

3. I'm REALLY curious about Pangea Lip Balm that I saw in other people's boxes.

So in a sense it DID work to get me to buy products!

Also included was a pretty card from tinyprints. I really like the quality of paper, and I'm a bit of a paper snob so I want you to know this is really nice paper! The print is a fun graphic that reminds me of my julu logo. ;)

Pros:
Receive a 20% off coupon for one week only after your first box.
Fairly good rewards system
4-5 Samples to try (duh)
Free shipping on products and no tax either!

Cons:
you may hate all the samples
subscription service- you must email them to cancel

With all of the money that goes into putting it all together, $10 seems like a fair price. I think even "my pretty pink box" cost more than $10 when it first started. I wonder if alone shipping and packaging costs Birchbox $5 already. To me it's kinda of an exciting start-up company. Bravo to the women entrepreneurs! Seems more profitable than starting up a magazine...

Gotta admit it's kinda fun and next month is my birthday month so I'll just do it one last time. I bet the box will be "summer" themed so I'm curious- I can't help it! I'll put my money on sunscreen and tanning products! BUT it's not worth it unless you like tossing your $10 up in the air and seeing what comes down. I'm crazy and I do! It's the THRILL! It's not like I need more samples to try... I get enough on my own, and I"ll be doing another post on this.

Plus if I get 50 more points I'll have enough for a $10 credit. I'm a sucker for rewards programs. damn.

You get 10 pts for each box, and 10 pts for each product feedback you give so I have 50 pts right now. I did 4 feedback surveys because I received 4 samples this month (40 pts). You also get 50 pts for each friend you refer via e-mail. At 100 points you can redeem a $10 credit! One more box would put me at 100, yay! [more info]

Is it worth it?
Yes BUT only for 1-2 months at a time. I don't need a steady stream of samples each month b/c it is so easy to get samples for free. Plus with all of the blog reading and YouTube watching, my list of things to try never ends!

Let me know if you think Birchbox is worth it! If you do decide to sign up, please do so through this link. It would really help me out! :) Thanks!

2 year blogging anniversary

Today marks my 2-year anniversary of beauty blogging! (blogiversary?) It's been a blast, and I've met lots of sweet friends and even made several close ones I hope to meet someday. I've learned a ton I never thought I would and read quite interesting gossip too. Of course it's more than that!

Blogging is something I want to continue to do because it is just FUN to put it simply. I think stopping would just be going backwards. Everyone blogs now. Moms, grandmas, dogs, babies, fake boyfriends..

Is my blog where I wanted it to be? Yes and no. I like it because it is what it is, but I regret that I didn't post more over the years. I still have drafts from two years ago! Why did I originally start blogging? Back when I only had about 3 blogs to read I got bored with them not updating every second so I started one to get my own two cents out there. The name- beauty and gardens. I'm not the type to make up a name like QueenStephieCutieLovesStuff so I tried to combine two things that I liked at the time. Also no one had put a beauty and garden blog together before. To look back I don't think it was a great idea because I barely post garden related things now. I would love to change the name to Chasing Beauty or something else I scribbled somewhere.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who are still reading this from the beginning and hello to those who have just discovered me.

P.S. In celebration, I will be having a giveaway! :) stay tuned!