Ipsy: March 2016

Yay, finally something you guys are interested in!  My Ipsy came in really early this month (my other boxes haven't arrived or even shipped yet!), so it's going to be my first review!

Since I am slightly changing my format of posts, I'm going to explain what I'm doing right now!  Instead of waiting until the end of the month so I try out the product and leave a mini review, I'm going to leave a first impression of the products, and do a separate post leaving my review of each individual product. When the post goes live I will leave a link on the title of the product itself, so if one of the products sounded intriguing to you, you can check out a full, tried and true review of it!

I decided to implement this style over in-depth reviewing each month simply because I don't want to have 5 mascaras open at one time. That's a waste of mascara and money on my part by not using the products I receive.

Now to the actual post!

The bag came in two variations this month; I got the green with red swirls. The other option is red with green swirls.  It looks a lot more teal/blue in my picture, but it's still pretty!

Let's get right into things!

Global Beauty Care "Dead Sea Wash-off Mask"

 

First item I pulled out of my bag was this mask.  It's a mud mask made from salts and minerals from, you guessed it, the Dead Sea.  In my opinion you can never have too many face masks!  This one sounds intriguing, but you never know how much you can trust from packaging.  This mask claims to do quite a bit: "draws out dirt and impurities", "peels away dead skin cells", "helps to restore elasticity and fortify the skin with essential moisturizers", "stimulates and beautifies your skin and body", and finally, is good for all skin types.  I'm interested to see how accurate this claim happens to be!

Make Up For Ever "Step 1 Skin Equalizer-Hydrating Primer"

 I do have to say that I have quite a few primers so I likely won't be trying this one out for a while. I've heard great things about MUFE, so I'm sure it'll work pretty well.  There are quite a few different primers in this line; Ipsy tells me 10.  Mine was the most basic kind, the hydrating one, however there are various tinted kinds, as well as some specific for other skin problems.

Skone Cosmetics "Insanely Intense Tattooed Eyeliner in Jet Black"

 

Again, I have so many other eyeliners I really don't want to open this one up until I'm ready to use it. From what I've heard, it's similar to the Kat Von D liquid liner.  It's got a felt tip, and claims to be waterproof, smudge proof, and lasts all day. It even claims to last through a workout; maybe something for me to test?  There isn't a whole lot to say left to say about a black eyeliner.

Living Proof "Perfect hair Day Dry Shampoo"

 

Living proof seems to have taken the beauty world by storm lately, and I'm really excited to see how this dry shampoo does for me!  I have major hair issues with getting super dry ends and a really greasy scalp at the same time, so dry shampoo is my best friend. I have a ton of different cans of it, but I'll be getting to this stuff soon!  

Nudestix "Lip + Cheek Pencil in Mystic"

 

Nudestix is a great brand for those of us who are huge fans of neutral colors that are every day wearable shades and are good as a woman on-the-go.  I personally love neutral colors and so I'll be getting a ton of use out of this product. The swatch is absolutely gorgeous!  It's a very neutral brown shade with a subtle pink hue to it.  I'm really excited to give it a whirl.

 

Overall, my bag this month was pretty basic. I'm not super crazy about it, but I'm not disappointed or anything.  I always prefer more makeup from my Ipsy because Birchbox sends more skincare and hair care.  That being said, I do enjoy the changing up that I get by using the products from Ipsy; I got a lot of well known brands and products I've never had a chance to use before.

What do you guys think?  What stands out the most to you this time?  Is that nude shade something you'd wear? Let me know!

xoxo,

The Cornfed Princess

Weekly Goal Update: 3/12/16

Hello, everyone!  It's time for my weekly update post, where I leave a review of how I did for goals I set for myself at the beginning of there year. Let's see how I did this week.

Work out at least 3x a week.
I didn't do three times this week, but I did do two times!  After a chat with a good friend of mine who is big into working out, I just had this huge motivation kick.  It finally clicked with me that just because I don't work out every day or when my schedule says I need to doesn't mean I should just avoid working out altogether!  For some reason it just really helped me out, so I ended up going on Thursday and today. I probably won't be able to make it tomorrow because I have lots of plans and work, but next week is spring break, so I'm going to get some serious work done!

Use planner daily & keep it updated.
Because I've been doing so well on keeping this goal up, I think I'm going to take this goal off of my list; it's become a habit!

Post blog post every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
Obviously that's not something I have started quite yet, but I've been doing a lot of planning. I think my blog is going to move from subscription boxes to product reviews.  I'll still do makeup subscriptions (Birchbox, Ipsy, Beauty Box 5, etc.) but do other posts to review products that I've tried from the boxes.  I think it'll be a better fit to what I'm looking to do with my time!

Wear makeup more often.
I've been wearing a lot of lip products this week, but not very much for anything else. I don't wear a lot of face products or eye products except mascara, but I'm going to try and start!  It goes along with the direction I'm moving this blog to!

Paint nails.
I even put this on my to-do list for the week, but we can see how well that worked!  I still haven't done it, but I will soon!  A lot of free time next week leads to me being bored and wanting things to do!

Create & follow a skincare routine.
I've still only been using moisturizer in the mornings and at night when I remember, but I'm really trying to find a good cleanser I want to start using!

Start to follow a bedtime (12; midnight).
I still haven't been doing this unfortunately, my sleep schedules fluctuates based on how tired I feel that day!

Wake up at a regular time (7:15am).
I haven't been getting up that early, but I have been starting to get up early enough every morning for breakfast, so no arguing there!

Attend all classes regularly.
If there's one thing I can be proud of, it's that I always go to my classes!  This semester has been very good for that reason. This might also be taken off of my goals list because I'm pretty good at making it to class every day.

Keep desk cleared off.
Unfortunately I seem to have put more things on my desk than taken off, so that's not quite done yet!

Finish homework right away.
Every assignment has been turned in on time, so that counts for something, right?

Take vitamins/fish oil daily.
I have been taking my gummy vitamins every day!  They were a great purchase for me personally.

Eat breakfast every morning
Not a full breakfast still, but I have been eating a little something every day, or at least bringing along  something to class to snack on.

Keep room clean.
Same thing with my desk.  I've been letting things slowly accumulate, shame on me!

Read a chapter a day.
It's again a matter of making the time to do it more than actually having trouble doing it.  Spring break may mean I pull out a book or two from my shelf to finish!

Drink 8 cups of water a day.
Nope.

Watch finances more.
Not this week! I've been bad about buying whatever sounds nice to have.

Do more DIY decorations.
Not quite, I'll need to work on trying to find more ways to use what I have in an interesting way.

Well, that's it for now! I promise some real, good content will be coming your way soon!  My Ipsy came in the mail today and I bought an awesome little Sephora kit I'll show you guys soon.

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

Weekly Goal Update: 3/4/16

Hi there, I'm going to post an update of some New Year's resolutions I created, and in order to keep myself on track and motivated, I'm going to do weekly updates showing myself the progress I'm making towards the goals!  I'm also going to leave an update whenever something from my bucket list gets completed!

Work out at least 3x a week.
For some reason, even though this is a goal that I really, really want to get started on, I have yet to do it at all!  My time management skills are severely lacking at this point when it comes to working out, so I still have to find good times for that.

Use planner daily & keep it updated.
This is one goal I think I have down!  I've been using sticker kits to really help keep me into using the planner and making it pretty and my own.  As for actually following what I write down, that's a different story..

Post blog post every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
Yeah, obviously that hasn't been going too well.  Life hit me so hard that I just kind of let this sit on the way back of the back burner. I'm trying to fix that now, though!

Wear makeup more often.
I just bought myself some Revlon Matte Lip Colors and I am in love with them. They are so darn pretty, I can't stop wearing them!  I wear mascara every once in a while, too. As for a full face, I haven't done much in the way of trying that out, but to be fair, I don't have a strong desire for foundation.  Baby steps, people! Lipstick and mascara.

Paint nails.
Unfortunately, this one is also a no!  They need to be cut and painted, I just have to get off my lazy butt and do it.

Create & follow a skincare routine.
I've finally started regularly using moisturizer, so I think I'm headed in the right direction with that.  I need to start introducing a good cleanser and some weekly masks, however, to really have a good skincare routine going!

Start to follow a bedtime (12; midnight).
I really have been trying. This week wasn't the greatest, and I've thrown off my sleep patterns because of that.  Hopefully I can fix it again soon because I was going to bed early and now I'm not (just to give an idea, I'm writing this at 12:15 at night..).

Wake up at a regular time (7:15am).
HA.  Let's just say I have been no where near close to this goal. I'm such a night owl that it's really hard to get myself to sleep at a good time and wake up at a somewhat early time. I haven't given up hope yet!

Attend all classes regularly.
Man, I wish I did this update any other week. I skipped a few classes this week, but I swear this is the first time I did it!  I also intend for it to be the last time I do it; I'm really disappointed in myself because it's been something I've been proud of.  Here's to holding myself accountable.

Keep desk cleared off.
I've slowly been decluttering it this week, and it's almost at a point where it's usable for its original purpose as a desk and not as a place to throw all the crap I don't know what to do with.

 Finish homework right away.
Again, this week was not a good one.  I've been trying to get ahead of the curve and do my homework early this semester but I'm not doing a good job at that.  I'm going to try and use this week as my rock bottom and get back to doing my homework early and not the day it's due.

Take vitamins/fish oil daily.
Since I bought myself gummy vitamins, it's been easy to take those when I get up in the morning. As for fish oil.. well, it's nasty and I can't seem to force myself to get it down.  I'll stick with the vitamins for now!

Eat breakfast every morning
While it's not really breakfast and more of a granola bar or pastry crisp from Special K, it's better than nothing.  I've been eating something in the morning, which is a good start. Maybe if I start waking up earlier I can move up to a bowl of cereal.

Keep room clean.
This is one I struggle with the most. I go through periods of extreme motivation to clean/do stuff, and then periods of absolutely zero desire to even look at anything but my laptop.  I've been trying to do a little each day in terms of cleaning up, so I'm getting there!

Read a chapter a day.
This is another one I'm really struggling with.  I love reading, and my current book is pretty interesting, so I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to do.  It probably has to do with my lack of time management, but I'll need to keep working on it.

Drink 8 cups of water a day.
I carry around an empty water bottle with me at all times, if that has anything to say about how I'm keeping up with my goal.

Watch finances more.
I haven't been doing a terrible job at this, but I also haven't been impressing myself with watching every single charge that gets put on my account, either.  I've at least been thinking about the purchases I'm making over just mindlessly spending a bunch of money, so cheers for that!

Do more DIY decorations.
Finally, one goal I've actually improved upon this week!  I've been doing some fun things with a square of corkboard, and while I'm not 100% sure where I want to go with it, it looks cute so far!  It's just got some decorations on it, mostly motivation quotes I got from Erin Condren, and this super pretty fabric that came from a shirt I obliterated in the washer on accident.

I completed two items from my bucket list on Pinterest!
This week was super good for me in terms of doing things I've wanted to do for a while!  Actually, Wednesday was the day I did them both, so yay for Wednesday!

I got my first iPhone, the 6s.  I'm absolutely in love with it, and it's so darn pretty and fun to use. I'm glad I finally hopped on that bandwagon!    

I also came up with a great idea for one of my Dollar Spot mason jars; I turned it into a memory jar!  That's been an item on my bucket list for a while, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to get it done, but I did!  I have a ton of cardstock I can use as well that I got as a Christmas present forever ago.

Well, that's it for my update!  What are your goals?  Are you inspired to complete yours by seeing other people complete theirs?

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

Update 3/1/16

Oh man you guys, I suck.  I was pretty proud of how I was consistently getting posts up at least once a week, and then I fell off the planet!  I lost a lot of motivation to continue posting, honestly.  I got a little tired of doing it all so I stopped, but I'll be getting back into it soon, I'm sure!  My issue lies in being too lazy to take pictures and then having a million other things that take precedent over posting.  I have a camera and so I want to try and do videos soon, so maybe you'll start seeing that!  In the mean time, be patient with me as I try to get back into the swing of things!

xoxo,

The Cornfed Princess

Birchbox: December 2015

Hello you guys!  What an exciting week we have going on!  It's Christmas!!  I suppose if you don't celebrate it this week is pretty average to you, but hopefully you can still get hyped up about it!

If anything is going to get you excited for the holidays, it's got to be this gorgeous box!  The box is white with silver little designs on it (as pictured) and the bottom half is a ridiculously fun chartreuse color! Sadly I'm not sure if I have a good picture of the bottom.

The first thing that come out of the box is this $10 gift card off of a $35 purchase! From what I know this can be combined with using points, meaning if you build your points up enough you can buy something for practically free!

Next was the card detailing everything I got this month. The purple is a really pretty color but I'm not sure about it combined with the green!

And now what we've all been waiting for! The products I got in my box this month!

Coastal Scents StyleEYES Eye Shadow Palette "SocialEYES"

(SS: 2 Shadows / $2.67 ) (FS: 9 Shadows / $12.00)

This was the sample choice for the month, you could choose between three eye shadow duos or some texturizing spray and I of course went for the shadows!  For some reason I am absolutely in love with green eye shadows, so you bet that I went for the green and gold combination. These are so beautiful!

I've heard lots of good things about Coastal Scents eye shadows and I'm happy to say I can see where the hype comes from!  I am seriously in love with the way this green looks and the gold is so beautiful

Harvey Prince Sea Salt Texturizing Mist

(SS: .27 oz / $1.08 ) (FS: 6 oz / $24.00)

I am in love with Harvey Prince stuff, so I was excited to see this in my box!  Unfortunately it didn't really do a whole lot for my hair in terms of creating any sort of beach waves, but it smells amazing!  I did spray it on dry hair, which it says on the bottle you can do, but I'll try damp hair and see if that does something different. I naturally have wavy hair, so that might not help with seeing any sort of difference.

JUARA Coconut Illipe Hand & Nail Balm

(SS: .27 oz / $2.16 ) (FS: 2.5oz / $20.00 )

Yummy, this stuff smells amazing!  It definitely smells just like coconut, and it feels amazing on my hands. Perfect timing, considering today is the first day of winter!  My hands are very susceptible to cold weather so I like getting things that will help with that!

Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk

(SS: 1.06 oz / $6.61 ) (FS: 3.2 oz / $20.00 ) 

You'd think that with the way my hair is I'd use dry shampoo more, but for some reason I don't!  To me this is just like any other dry shampoo but I'll have to test it out a little more before I can really decide if I like it or not. The scent is a pretty typical dry shampoo smell, so nothing fun to report on there. I didn't see a white cast in my hair, so that's a plus!

thBalm Cosmetics "FratBoy"

(SS: ? oz / $1.50) (FS: .3 oz / $21.00 )

Despite the fact that theBalm products are amazing, my favorite thing about them is the packaging hands down. Look at how beautiful this is!  Their themes for everything is adorable, and I can't help but fall more in love every time I see it.

My only complaint comes from the size of the samples we get!  The tip of my pointer finger fits into the pan and that's about it. Getting a blush brush in there is a bit of a joke.  Unfortunately I didn't see a size on this pan so I don't have an accurate value!  I'll be using a guestimate today.

This color is so gorgeous! It's a beautiful flush of color that doesn't look too overdone at all.  Perfect as an every day blush color, especially in the winter time.

Well, that's my Birchbox for the month! I extra loved my box this month for the makeup I got!  It was great quality.  I also love the hand balm I got!  I feel like I can use all of these products and I really like that!

What do you guys think? Are you into green eye shadows as much as I am?  Do you like the smell of coconut too? Let me know!

Hugs and Kisses,
The Cornfed Princess

PopSugar Must Have: November 2015

A little less late on the PopSugar boxes, here's my review of the November box!  I'm going to avoid a lot of introduction simply because I've forgotten to take pictures of the actual box or anything other than all the products together - oops!

I feel like this box was a lot better in terms of value for me, however once again I wasn't really blown away.  It's got a wide variety of items that I can appreciate, though!

Let's just get right into it this time!

Deepa Gurnani Katie Crystal Headband - $56

Umm, this is one pricey headband. It's really not worth $56 to me and I'd never pay that much for this on my own, but I'm not going to argue with having it I suppose.  It's gorgeous and looks nice on with just about any hairstyle, up or down.  It does pinch a little bit at the base of my skull, but it feels like all headbands that have this sort of design do that, so it might just be my head.

Tarte Cosmetics Beauty & the Box Eye Shadow "Apple of My Eye" - $22

For me personally, this was the star of the show when I opened the box. Tarte is a well known brand, and I've heard great things about their eye shadows!

All of the shades were ones I instantly fell in love with. Warm neutrals? Sign me up!  They have two matte shades and two shimmery shades.

From top to bottom: Golden Delicious, Caramel, Gala, Honeycrisp.

Imagine my disappointment when I swatched and didn't get what I thought. Maybe I have Tarte on too high of a pedestal or something, but I was so unimpressed with the way these looked.  The displeasure really came from the first shade, which looks like a stunning gold in the pan. However on, it was very lacking in actual color and was just straight glitter. It was relatively patchy and just not what I was hoping for.

Caramel was my personal favorite shade from this quad. It's a very pretty orange brown that is matte. It applied evenly and was relatively pigmented.  I'd reach for this color first out of the entire quad.

West Emory Bingo Set - $20

Okay, let me confess something to you guys. I am a huge bingo nerd. Like, I love bingo.  I will play it at every opportunity I have because it's just that fun for me.  I never thought I'd need a bingo set until I got one, and now this has easily become my favorite item from the box this month.  It comes with a caller card, caller numbers, a few sheets of little silver dots, and eight cards for players. Pretty much everything you need for bingo sans the prizes!

Capri Blue Mercury Jewel Box "Rain" - $18.95

I usually love candles, but I wasn't really to excited with the smell or appearance of this one.  It's a little bit too earthy for me, and it's very rustic looking.  I prefer a more modern look to this.  It's got a wood top with the CB symbol on it (pictured above), and the actual jar for the candle looks more like it's been sitting outside for a few decades. If you're into this sort of stuff it really is pretty!

Gramr Gratitude Co. Exclusive Thanksgiving Postcard Pack - $10

If I sent postcards I think I'd be more excited, honestly.  These are very pretty and I might hang one up on my cork board, but I likely won't do much for sending these or writing notes to people.

Terrapin Ridge Farms Pecan Honey Mustard - $6

So the title sounds a bit sketchy, but this stuff is delicious! My dad and I have been dipping pretzels into this.  It also suggests putting it on a pork roast, which may have to be our next use of it.

A far better box in terms of quality, but not really worth spending $40 each month for me.  If I had that much laying around I'd continue, but for now I think I'll be holding off on any more PopSugar boxes!

What do you guys think?  What's the most exciting thing in this month's box for you? Let me know!

Hugs and Kisses,
The Cornfed Princess