Monday, May 14, 2012

May Birchbox!

I got my very first Birchbox the other day! If you’ve never heard of a Birchbox, it’s little box that gets shipped to you every month with a bunch of samples of beauty products. It’s a mystery every month, so you don’t know what you’re getting until it comes!

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Mine wasn’t scheduled to arrive until the 15th, but it came early! Usually they will post your box on the website a couple days after shipping it, but I refused to go look because I wanted it to be a complete surprise.

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I knew this month was going to be “Gossip Girl” themed, possibly because the show is ending soon (?) Now, I don’t watch Gossip Girl, but I wasn’t about to complain when they said they had been working with brands like Stila and Dior this month to keep up with the show’s theme of luxury.

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Inside the box it had this little card explaining the Gossip Girl themed box. Now, here’s the strange thing—it said I got the “Hamptons Beach Party” box, but none of the products listed on the back of the card were in my box. My guess is they slipped the wrong card in my box, so I’m not sure which box theme I actually got.

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First up was this Beauty Balm from Dr. Jart+. From what I understand, it’s supposed to be like a tinted moisturizer, except…fancier. Now, I’m not a fan of tinted moisturizers for a couple reasons: they don’t have very good coverage, and they tend to leave my face looking shiny and oily. I tried this stuff yesterday and it seemed to be the same as any other tinted moisturizer I’ve tried—except with a much steeper price tag. Good to know!

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Next up was this perfume. It smells amazing. It’s like warm vanilla—and really, is there any smell in the world better than warm vanilla? It lasts forever, too. It’s not like some perfumes that vanish after a while—you can smell it all day, but it’s not too overpowering.

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I got a blank card…not entirely sure what I need this for, but that’s okay I guess!

IMG_8289 This is called a Twist Band…it’s basically a regular hair tie, except it’s supposed to be non-snagging and more comfortable. I haven’t tried this one yet because I have been wearing my hair down. My sister got the headband version of this in her Birchbox, though, and she loves it—she said it doesn’t slide around on her head like elastic headbands usually do.

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The nail polish I got was Color Club in “Disco Nap”…I’m really fascinated by that name. Disco and naps…two things I didn’t think really went together. It’s a nice color, although I already have a similar gold polish by OPI. I do like that it’s more metallic than my OPI, rather than just a shimmery gold.

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I saved the best for last, of course! I got the Sugar Rosé lip treatment! I’ve wanted to try this for a few years, but I just never wanted to shell out $22 for it. It goes on really smooth, lasts a long time, and it’s such a pretty sheer rose color. I love it!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Caps and Gowns and Caps and Gowns

Friday was a very busy day for me! I had not one, but two graduations to attend. First, my best friend graduated with her BA in Sociology from Arizona State University. That was at 8, and then immediately after that I headed straight for Grand Canyon University, where my mom graduated with her Master of Nursing Leadership. My grandparents are in town from Washington to celebrate with us, so we had a long family lunch afterwards. Oh, and did I mention I was running on zero sleep? I chose instead to see The Avengers at midnight with my sister. So yeah, needless to say I was a little exhausted. I went home after lunch and took a lovely 3-hour nap!

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I wanted to be dressy but comfortable, so I picked this lovely little summery dress and flat sandals, since there was a lot of walking from parking lots to ceremonies and restaurants. It was a really nice warm day out, so I didn’t need a sweater! PS—how terrible is my farmer’s tan?! My work uniform consists of a polo with sleeves that hit at the elbow, which means that I desperately need to even out my arms!

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Dress: Gap Outlet. Shoes: Target.

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Earrings: Target.

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Here’s our little family after my mom graduated! Look at my cute scholarly mom with her cap and gown…and her honors cord! Smart lady.