April myglam bag review and surprise bag

This is my first myphan myglam bag, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. There have been good and bad said about this company who copied Birchbox, who copied My Pretty Pink Box. It's $10 (same as birch) and you get 4-5 deluxe and full size products (same as birch) every month in a bag/pouch. This month it's metallic pink! ($2 value?)

This month's theme is Girl's Night Out.

Shadow brush and liner brush - $2 value each?
The quality reminds me of Sephora collection brushes. It's actually a nice brush and densely packed.

Urban Decay 24/7 travel size liner in Woodstock - $6.40 each
You had the possibility of 3 colors. I would have preferred Perversion or Ransom but hot pink eyeliner will have to do. It'll be a challenge to make a wearable look.

Dermstore Lip Quench - $12 full size
A glossy lip moisturizer in a pale pink shade. Haven't tried it yet.

All-belle lashes in 2822 - $2?
Handmade in Taiwan. They don't look too bad but I've seen better. Like most Asian lashes it comes with a small vial of glue.

To add up the value of this month it's $24.40 and I consider that estimate generous. If you're paying $10 you should only hope to get something valued at $10-$12 anyway, right? Since that's half of my estimate I'd say this box was worth it. But will it satisfy everyone? No, because many people think they should open it to find makeup gold or something that looks like this:

This is the "Never Gonna Happen" bag for $10... Full size Mac brush! YSL! full size shadow OMGZ!

Pros:
shipped on time
this month's samples were good
$10 to try won't break the bank
listens to customer feedback

Cons:
no points system or referral system
no store
no personalized picks (everyone gets the same thing)
no skipping the month
new company (will have glitches)
the card explaining everything was cheap looking. hire a new designer please!
very basic website

Will I keep my subscription for May? Not sure, but I think I will cancel. I have way too many samples as it is. I do think it's worth trying ONCE though. :)

Easter Egg Half Moon Nails

The first time I saw the Half Moon Nail trend I wasn't a fan but after seeing it with pretty pastels I'm a convert! This is my first go at it. If I had a true white I probably would have done these differently. Also you usually don't see this look with a trim but I flubbed it so the white trim covers up my mistakes. The white trim gives it that Easter Egg look.

How to:

1. Paint your nails the base color (top part). Make sure to paint the whole nail.
2. Wait for it to dry completely or use seche vite to speed it up.
3. Use Hole Reinforcements and place them on the top part of your nail where you want to keep the base color showing.
4. Paint the bottom portion of the nail any color (same or different ones to complete your look).
5. Remove the reinforcements carefully to reveal your half moon shape!
6. Add a middle trim with a thin brush or skip this if your application and sticker removal is clean.
7. Apply a top coat and let it dry!

Colors used:
Etude House BL501 Cloud Milk - pinky
Revlon Lilac Pastelle - ring finger
Revlon Cafe Pink - first finger
Revlon Electric - middle finger
Revlon Pale Cashmere - top moon
Rimmel French White - trim

Happy Easter!

Take a sexy plunge with Candice

I was invited to interview Candice Swanepoel (you know the super model plastered all around Victoria's Secret and on tv?) so I put on my Victoria's Secret best (my secret) and headed out to Northpark Mall in Dallas.

Now Candice didn't come in wearing this amazing White Herve Leger Ari Essential Bandage dress. The word is she stopped by the BCBG store first to pick it out. How gorgeous is she?? And I love her South African accent!

So why is Candice here? She's promoting the new line of deep v plunge bras, very sexy bras and Very Sexy Touch fragrance. I know first-hand that Dallas and the rest of the metroplex loves Victoria's Secret!

"My favorite part of the new collection is the new bras with the deep v plunge. You can wear it 5 different ways, and it's basically your go to bra. Great for low cuts to get that cleavage you want."

This season's new fragrance Very Sexy Touch with italian iris, gilded apricot, amber wood. The packaging is very pretty! Doesn't it remind you of YSL lipstick?

In love with Chanel Amour (swatches and review)

Released just in time for Valentine's Day is Chanel's newest collection of pinks called "LES ROSES ULTIMES DE CHANEL." Out of the 6 new glossimers and 4 nail colors I decided on the one featured on the model. Amour #166. The Frisson nail polish also looks pretty but I'm waiting to see some swatches of that first. It reminds me of Zoya Erika which I have already.

According to the website she's wearing Amour glossimer and Pink Sugar lip pencil together.

Levres Scintillantes Glossimer in Amour. My camera picked up the same pink as the promo shots so I would say it's accurate but what you can't see well is the subtle shimmer which reflects fuchsia under my fluorescent lights. I'd call this gloss a rich coral pink with iridescent shimmers.

Formula: Thick and smooth but never sticky.

Take a look at this swatch! Where it is misleading is how it shows up on the lips. It swatches thick but sheers out quickly once on pigmented lips. It's not too sheer that it does nothing for me though. It brightens up my lip color with a nice pink glow. I'd say if you have REALLY red lips this wouldn't show up at all.

If you were expecting the color in the ad you will need a lip pencil underneath. They've tricked us with a little bit of photoshop magic!

It does in fact go really well with my pink heart macarons I made this week! :)

Two pumps and a dress

I definitely did not plan to buy dressy clothes this week but when a great sale comes around- I just can't pass it up!

First are the much raved about Perfect Pumps from Ann Taylor in Patent Dark Navy. The retail for $155 and I bought them for $35.93 online. They are surprisingly comfy and true to size! And that's coming from the girl who hurts in almost every shoe. I'm a big fan of the round toe shape and it's all around classy and beautifully made. 3.25" heel. Will a Perfect Pump ever get this low again? I don't know, but I hope so! I would buy another!

I popped by Banana Republic actually hoping I wouldn't find anything. Ah, and of course I would! There weren't many clothes left but there were many shoe styles and sizes to choose from. Something I didn't expect! Most of the shoes were marked down to $30-$40 PLUS an additional 25% off. I ended up buying these Mad Men Izzy Pumps in Dark Platino for around $24. Dark Platino looks more gunmetal in person. They are hidden platform 4" heels. It's my first hidden platform shoes and so far I can tell it's just comfy enough. I will say they run a little narrow so I wasn't sure if I should get a half size up, but I ultimately decided against it and stuck to my normal size. Now that I think about it, I've wanted Banana Republic shoes since high school! I'm so glad I found these!

Sweet Azaleas

Oh garden part of this blog- I have not forgotten you!

Since Asian New Year is in a few days the Asian markets and floral shops are FILLED with beautiful new plants. Last year I missed out on buying an Azalea plant. Bby the time I was ready to buy it all the blooms had died, and I thought I could wait it out another year for a "fresh" pick.

Well dang it the shop owner raised the price to $55 from $25 this year! Of course I was outraged but I still bought it anyway like an obsessed idiot. It is possible last year's plant was smaller. (what I tell myself for comfort) I googled around and the going rate for this is around $100 now so maybe it's not so bad? I really wanted it to be a twisted topiary and it is! The dark pink petals actually sparkle in the light like a shimmery nail polish/ lipstick would. It's so pretty! If I could afford more than one I would also pick the white and pink mix above but I'm happy with just the photo for now. :)