Wednesday, October 21, 2015

My Starlooks Custom Starbox October 2015 Youtube Unboxing Is Live!

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Unboxing! Starlook's Customized Starbox October 2015!

What it is: Starlook's is an online cosmetics company that releases a new Starbox of makeup every month.
Where to get it: starbox.starlooks.com
How much is it?: $12.00 monthly
Types of Products: High end, cruelty free cosmetics
What are the Perks?!: Starlooks.com just recently rolled out a points program where every $ spent on the site equals 1 point used towards discounts on their site as well as a referral points!
 
Starlook's Customized Starbox October 2015
 
Unboxing and Review!
 
 

 


 Unfortunately, I think this is going to be the very last Customized Starbox that I am going to be receiving. According to the email below, Starlooks will be discontinuing their Customized Starboxes and all subscribers will be transferring over to the new LooksBooks:
 
 
 
 Although I have really liked the LooksBooks I've kind of fallen in love with the Customized box and products and am sad to see it go! Let's take a look at what I got this month:
 
The Haul!
 
1. Satin Finish Eye Shadow in South Beach:
1.6 g, Listed At $13.00
 
Although I tend to shy away from neutrals, I'm thinking South Beach is going to be a create base color for layering on my eye-craziness. It's a very delicate color but nicely pigmented and super soft. I'm interested in seeing what I can do with it.
 
 


 
2. Lip Gloss in Guilty Pleasure:
Size Unknown, Listed at $9.00 
 
This lip gloss is pint sized and I'm bound to lose it almost immediately. I'm not typically a lip gloss person. But, the color is cute and I may give it a shot.
 


3. Liquid Illuminator in High Life:
1.3 ml, Listed At $10.50

I absolutely fell IN LOVE with this highlighter when I picked and received it in my July 2015 Customized Starbox and ranted and raved about it in my July Youtube Unboxing and Impressions. Being that it's a limited edition color and available again this month, I absolutely snagged another. And you should too while you still can!



4. Bronzing Pigment in Pennywise:
Size Unknown, Listed At $9.00

Apparently I was confused and thought this was an eyeshadow when I first unboxed it. It's a super shimmery gold and highly pigmented loose powder that totally reminds me of when I dropped my Urban Decay Baked on the floor. I would totally have used this as an eyeshadow with out batting... an eye? I don't think I could pull this off as a bronzer. Unfortunately, my came a bit exploded. But, I was pretty much able to salvage it.





 I also received some gift cards for discounts on Starlooks products. But, I'm so overwhelmed with makeup right now- I'm going to wait on those.


The Final Verdict!
Box Value: Not counting the gift cards, the make up in this box is $41.50
 Box Score: 7/10

Final Thoughts: With the exception of the bronzer coming somewhat a mess, I really liked this box. The highlighter, I already know I love and I'm glad I was able to snag another. The shadow seems interesting to play with and the gloss is a cute color. These are definitely items that I know I will use and can just pop in my bag at anytime.

You can kind of tell that between ending the original Starlooks Legacy Starbox and bringing out the Customized and LooksBooks Starboxes, Starlooks is in a bit of transition to what exactly they want to do in regards to their subscription services.

That being said, I am REALLY going to miss the Customized Starbox. As opposed to many other subscriptions, this is the first of it's kind to have an extremely affordable price point where I could get only make up items I wanted in shades that I could totally dig or play around with. 
 
I was never displeased with the boxes and have found some amazing gems that I have fallen in love with.
 
So sad!




Friday, October 16, 2015

My 80's Night Mini Haul Vlog is Live!

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80's Night Mini Haul! Come Nostalge With Me!

80's Night Mini Haul!

Featuring:

Espionage Cosmetic's The Last Unicorn Nail Decals

And

Sephora's Jem Truly Outrageous Eyeshadow Palette


Maybe I'm feeling old. Maybe I'm being nostalgic. But, this week I've got a truly rad mini 80's haul that I just HAD to share!







Espionage Cosmetic's The Last Unicorn Nail Decals

I don't know about you- but The Last Unicorn was absolutely my FAVORITE movie when I was a kid. I mean, other than those horrific live action Ninja Turtles movies that came a bit later in the 90's. But, even as an adult, this movie retains a very special place in my heart. So much so that some of my favorite art pieces still are The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries featured in the opening credits of the film. I even have a mini The Unicorn in Captivity hanging in my bedroom.

I'm really do not remember where I first saw these radical decals from Espionage Cosmetics. But when I did, I absolutely had to get my hands on them (get them on my hands??).


I made it pretty clear to Josh that I would absolutely *die* if I didn't get these. I figured he would ignore my dramatics as usual. Then I came home one day to a strange package with NO idea what was inside...


SURPRISE!! Inside was The Last Unicorn Enchanted Manicure Bundle Pack plus additional decal pack.


These tubular decals are absolute amazing and completely gorgeous. Each decal pack is incredibly detailed with some amazing artwork outside and in:


The super cute instructions are easy enough!



Espionage Cosmetics offers not one- but TWO designs for their The Last Unicorn decal collection.


From the absolute BEST scene/climax of the movie- the liberation of the unicorns after King Haggard and Red Bull's defeat. These decals are my absolute favorite things ever right now.





Look at this detail!!:




Not just reminiscent of the original Unicorn Tapestries, these delicately detailed decals feature The Last Unicorn in her home forest she chose to abandon for her journey to find the other unicorns.







Since Josh got me an additional package of By The Sea, I did apply them for a Youtube demo. Besides the fact that I did a horrific job applying them and my nails are WAY too short at the moment to really display the acute detailing on the decals- I still think they're absolutely awesome. Meh- there's a reason this blog is named Totally Oblivious Beauty!




Sorry for the ugly nail!

If you're interested in picking up some of these fresh finger decorations, the individual decal packs are $12.00 each and the Enchanted Manicure Bundle Pack (containing 2 of each design) is $40.00 at EspionageCosmetics.com! Also- check out some of their other stuff- it's all kind of awesome!


Sephora's Jem And The Holograms Collection

Truly Outrageous Eyeshadow Palette

This was another heart stopper for me. I don't quite know how I feel about the new Jem movie coming out. But, I totally know that I was absolutely OBSESSED with Jem growing up.

Jem was the epitome of music and style for Mini-Raina. I played my Jem tapes to death and had to have everything even remotely related to Jem including one of my all time favorite knock off dolls- Barbie and The Beat. Jem may or may not have subliminally played a part in the fact that my hair was every color imaginable when growing up and that I decided I wanted to be a rockstar at an early age (ha!).


Of COURSE I wanted everything. But rationally- between being budget conscious, not being able to swatch the lip products, and not really wanting the compact/it selling out- I opted to snag the eyeshadow palette. Really- like I need an excuse for another crazy shadow palette.

SQUEE!! 




With an outrageous black sparkly - asphalt-esque and hot pink exterior featuring the iconic Jem star, this magnetic palette folds out to a nice sized mirror and 24 80's inspired shades with names like 1980's, Keytar, Cassette, and Pizzazz. The shadows are placed in a holographic holder surrounded by more hot pink lightning bolts. Oh so 80's. Sephora knows how to get me.





Of the 24 shadows, there is a nice combination of matte, shimmer, and glitter shadows. Annnnnnnnnd I went right to the crazy, electric colors.

Swatched (one layer, quickly swiped) from top to bottom:
 Jerrica, 1980's, Keytar, Rio, Casette, and Jemstar

Although I'll readily admit the quality of these shadows are not nearly as stunning as Urban Decay's Electric Palette- which I absolutely swear by, this is still a mighty little palette. The purples didn't live up to my dreams- but purples never do. The colors are a lot of fun and are soft and moderately pigmented but easy to build and blend with. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this one!

If you want to snag one of these palettes, I would bop on over to the Sephora website and order one for $39.00!

 Since I'm totally in the 80's mood- let me know if you've tried any other 80's inspired beauty products recently or if you've tried the rest of the Jem collection and what you thought of them! 

Cowabunga!


Thursday, October 15, 2015

BellaCandles Review and Reveal!

BellaCandles Review and Ring Reveal! 


Following the addition of my Mask Up Mondays for my Youtube channel, I'm experimenting with trying out a monthly jewelry candle review and reveal!

I'm a huge fan of the new "jewelry in candles" fad. I have been since I was a little kid. They're SO kitschy and nostalgic for me. I used to beg my mom or dad to pick one of these type of candles up from me from every gift shop I saw them in.

They're like cracker jack boxes for adults now and are completely pervasive on Facebook and other social media platforms. I'm eating them up (figuratively- please don't eat your candles!). So, I figured why not review them??

I thought maybe my subscribers would be interested in checking out different candle reviews and jewelry reveals. I figured I would try out a new jewelry candle on Youtube on a monthly basis. So please check out my first shot at it!



For my first video, I did a review and reveal of BellaCandles.com's Vanilla-Coco Cream 18 oz. candle with ring option.  **I made a mistake in my video and thought it was the 10 oz. candle. Oops! I do have a pic of the 10 oz. jar down below if you want to check it out and compare it to the 18 oz.!**

A little bit about BellaCandles.com:

They have 2 different types of candles you can order:
1. Small Special Edition Candles for $19.99. They look like they're 8 oz. to me- but don't hold me to it! The wax is 100% soy and they contain rings worth $15-$5,000.


2.  Their Standard Candles which can be ordered in 10 oz. ($24.99) or 18 oz. ($29.99). The standard candles. You can either choose a sterling silver ring or earrings for these candles worth $10-$5,000.


BellaCandles also sells handmade, organic soap bars in various scents $19.99 which contain a sterling silver ring. I've never bought the soaps- so I can't vouch for them.


BellaCandles also has a Candle Club where you can currently get a special edition candle for only $4.99 shipping and then receive 2 candles monthly for $49.99. I have gotten a free candle this way in the past which you can check out here. But if you go this route, you have to be sure to cancel before you are billed for the club!



In addition, you can sign up to be a BellaCandles representative to receive 45% commission on each sale that is made through your rep page.


I signed up to see their process for the sake of my youtube video and this review. It's fairly simple. Just enter standard info (name, email, address, etc...) and pick a domain name. They then send you a confirmation email and you're good to go.


It took me about about 2 minutes total to set everything up and I got a cute little page!


I cannot reiterate this enough. I'm not here to try to sell things to my readers or viewers. I totally just like to review things and try things out for fun and for a hobby. I literally set up this rep page while I was writing this blog post- weeks after I started filming the original video. None of this is sponsored and this is really something I want to do and have a lot of fun with. But, if you want to check out the little rep page I set up you can do so here: http://rainarella.candl.es/

If you do buy something from there. PLEASE let me know so I can give you a little shout out and send you an additional little gift. 


PHEW. Got that out of the way!

Now to the review and reveal. First things first, I have gotten BellaCandles in the past which is why I decided to review them for my first formal monthly review. 

There are a few reasons I have been a repeat customer of their company:

First: If you are on their mailing list- they have tons of sales. I actually bought this particular candle for the video because it was 50% off. They do get a little spammy. Although that personally doesn't bother me- you may want to take that into consideration.

Second: The 18 oz. candles are HUGE and last forever. Like weeks upon weeks of use for me if I burn it and can last months upon months if I use my little candle warmer. The website states that the candles have 80-120 hour burn time. 

Third: The candles not only smell amazing- but even when using my dinky candle warmer that kind of sucks, the scent definitely fills my whole apartment within minutes.

Fourth: I LOVE their apothecary style jars. Once my candles are done, I take off the labels and use the jars for decoration and storage in my bathroom for everything from toiletries to make up brushes. Here are two I saved. The large, 18 oz. jar has a home made lavender peppermint bath soak I made. I'm using the small 10 oz. jar to store sample packs I'm hoarding:



Fifth And Most Important: the hidden jewelry! WEEEEEEEEEEEE

Here's my ring!




Each ring comes with a code attached to it so you can appraise it on the website:


Annnnnnnnnnnd my ring is worth...


Awwwwww! It's still super cute though and fits my right ring finger. 

Final Thoughts!

First things first, this is a fun thing for me. I love scented candles and have always been drawn to the whole jewelry candles catch. I am more than aware of the fact that I am most likely always going to get a $10-$15 dollar (if that!) valued ring in any of these candles I review. I never expect to get anything other than that. And, if you want to try some of these candles for yourself- you should expect that too. These aren't for you if you really, really want to only get expensive jewelry. 

Second, I want to address some angry comments I've seen on the BellaCandles' facebook page. Although I set up a BellaCandles rep page for the sake of this blog post- I really have nothing invested in the company other than the fact that I like their candles. A lot of people seem to be extremely pissed off and threatening to sue BellaCandles (::eyeroll::) because of being charged the $49.99 for the candle club after getting their free candle. As you can see from the picture I posted above- they're pretty clear about that fact that if you want a free candle, you will be signed up for their club. You can totally cancel the club membership without EVER being charged the $49.99 right away or even after you get your free candle if it is before the next billing month by emailing support@bellacandles.com. I've actually done that a couple times. 

GAH!! I'm trying not to be obnoxious. But when someone signs up to pay for something the onus is on them to read the fine print. Yeh, it may be a weeeeeeee bit odd, maybe not 100% kosher. But come on now. I even had someone make a somewhat accusatory comment on my last blog post like I had something to do with the fact that they didn't read what they were signing up for...



I have been a repeat customer of BellaCandles for a while. The candles are large and have great scents. The Vanilla Coco-Cream was awesome. I've tried the Mojito and the discontinued Red Currant (which I loved). I really love the jars and keep them forever. And the cute jewelry is an awesome addition and super cool extra surprise.

I would LOVE to do more jewelry candle reviews and reveals. So please let me know what you thought of this and my youtube video so that I can keep them coming for you!







My Ipsy October 2015: Alter Ego Youtube Unboxing is Live!

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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Unboxing! Ipsy October 2015: Alter Ego!

What it is: Ipsy Glam Bag
Where to get it: Ipsy.com
How much is it?: $10.00 monthly + tax
Types of Products: Skin, hair, body, and beauty products and make up.
What are the Perks?!: By reviewing items and sharing Ipsy info on Facebook, rack up Ipsy points to redeem for free beauty products.
 



Ipsy October 2015: Alter Ego

Unboxing and Review!:


As opposed to last month's 100% useless Ipsy bag, I am actually pretty pleased with Alter Ego. The only real complaint I have is that although I get the idea of having a two sided bag for Alter Ego, I really don't like the black pleather side of it.

Let's have a look!:



The Haul!

1. Aurora Gel Effects Nail Polish in Inky Dinky:
Full Sized! Listed at 12 ml for $12.00

Awesome! Starting out with a full sized product. Though this seems a lot darker than it is advertised at and I expected- I'll give it a shot!






2. theBalm Cosmetics Meet Matt(e) Hughes Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Committed:
Sample Sized at 1.2 ml (Approx. $3.10). Full sized listed at 6.5 ml for $17.00

This is cute little lipstick and a pretty decent color. I'm excited to try it out!





3. Beauty Without Cruelty Fragrance Free Hand and Body Lotion:
Sample Sized at 2 fl oz. (Approx. $1.50). Full size listed a6 16 fl oz. for $11.95

As opposed to my 50 cent hand lotion for ants from Birchbox this month, this is quite a nice, large sample. It's also completely cruelty free and vegan. I also really like how the Beauty Without Cruely website has suggestions on what type of essential oils and how much to add to the lotion to scent it. Awesome!



4. Emite Make Up Professional Slant Tweezers:
Full Sized! Listed at $25.00!!

Holy crap! $25 tweezers?? Although they're super cute and pink, I have a wonderful set of tweezers that I really love. It's a painful decision on whether I am keeping them or not. But, totally a win!





5. Nourish Organic Pure Hydrating Argan Face Serum:
Sample Sized at 14 ml (Approx. $16.80). Full size listed at 20 ml for 23.99

Winter is coming... and I'm stocking up on serums. I am super excited to try this as well! Woo!!






The Final Verdict!
Box Value: Approx $58.00
 Box Score: 10/10

Final Thoughts: Alter Ego totally makes up for last month's Ipsy- which I totally consider to be the worst Ipsy I've ever received. In contrast, this bag is one of the best! Not only does it include a nice selection of products that I will actually use- there are a couple full sized and higher end samples in there and it has a great value. Nice job winning me back Ipsy!
 

What did you think of the October Alter Ego Ipsy Glambag?

My Glossybox October 2015 Youtube Unboxing Is Live!

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My Birchbox October 2015: Positive Force Youtube Unboxing Is Live!

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Unboxing! Glossybox October 2015

What it is: GlossyBox is a monthly luxury beauty subscription box.
Where to get it: GlossyBox.com
How much is it?: $21.00 + tax monthly
Types of Products: Each box contains 5 luxury deluxe or full sized beauty products.
What are the Perks?!: Write reviews, refer friends, and take surveys to add up GlossyDots. 1000 GlossyDots earns you a free month of GlossyBox! 



Glossybox October 2015

Unboxing and Review! 


Oh my god! I am absolutely IN LOVE with the actual Glossybox this month! This has got to be one of my favorite boxes ever. Totally in love with the French theme! But, like my Birchbox, my October Glossybox contents are a mixed bag.

Look!!! How Pretty!










The Haul!

1. Phyto Phytokeratine Repairing Thermal Protectant Spray:
Sample Sized at 1oz. (Approx. $6.40). Full size listed at 5 oz. for $32.00

Ok. I can dig this! I'm excited to give this a try! Definitely a win for me.





2. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis Perfume:
Sample Sized at .17 oz. (Approx. $13.10). Full size listed at 2.4 oz. for $185.00

I don't care how much this perfume retails out. It is the DEVIL. I will soon be posting my Youtube video where I tried it out and within seconds of spraying it I started getting a headache. Do not like. Such a huge disappointment for me. Awful. I'm totally getting a migraine tonight. UGH!!





3. Nuxe Gentle Exfoliating Gel With Rose Petals:
FULL SIZED! Listed at 2.6 oz. for $24.00

OooooOOOOooooh I LOVE Nuxe products. This is definitely the most exciting item for me in the box and I can't wait to use it!





4. Lollipops Make Up Paris Nail Lacquer in Voyage A Paris:
FULL SIZED! Listed at .4 oz. for $10.00

 This is a cute color! I think I'll save this to try out!





5. De Bruyere Paris Red Lipgloss:
FULL SIZED! Listed at .17 oz. for $17.50

Damnit. Again with the lipgloss Glossybox. I think this is 3 months (maybe 4?? in a row with a lipgloss). On top of which, I definitely won't use this color. I don't do reds. Meh.






The Final Verdict!
Box Value: Approx. $71.00
 Box Score: 7/10

Final Thoughts: Like I said, this was a mixed bag for me. The items that I like- I really like. On the other hand I'm 99% sure that that perfume killed me and I'm not zombie Raina.


What did you think of the October Glossybox?


Unboxing! Birchbox October 2015: Positive Force!

What it is: BirchBox  
Where to get it: Birchbox.com  
How much is it?: $10.00 monthly + tax  
Types of Products: Skin, hair, body, and beauty products and make up
What are the Perks?!: Review your products monthly to earn BirchBox points. Every 100 points earns $10 to use at BirchBox. If you refer a friend and they sign up, you get 50 points. You can stock pile up to 500 points at once. I've yet to do that though!  



Birchbox October 2015: Positive Force

Unboxing and Review!


Besides the fact that I absolutely LOVE the design of the box, I have mixed feeling about my October haul. Let's take a look:






The Haul!

1. Dear Clark Thickening Balm:
Sample Sized at 1 oz. (Approx. $6.50). Full size listed at 4 oz. for $26.00

I'm totally happy that I finally got something from Birchbox that actually matches my beauty profile. What a day! This is probably one of the items I've been most excited to try in a long time (other than the Mally gloss from last month). Such a win!





2. Calypso St. Barth Figue Eau De Parfum:
Sample Sized at 1.5 ml (Approx. $1.90). Full size listed at 60 ml for $75.00

Why Birchbox? Why? 



3. Malin + Goetz Grapefruit Face Cleanser:
Sample Sized a .5 oz (Approx. $2.00). Full size listed at 8 oz. for $32.00

Ok. I can give this a shot.  

4. Malin + Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturizer:
Sample Sized at .1 oz. (Approx. $1.15). Full size listed at 4 oz. for $46.00

I would have really preferred to have received a larger sample of this to try out. Maybe vice versa with the cleanser. It just really seems like I won't get much use out of this foil pack.





5. Supergoop Forever Young Hand Cream:
Sample Sized at .14 oz. (Approx. $.47). Full Sized listed at 10 oz. for $34.00

Another sample for ants I see... and really? Not even $1's worth of product? Come now Birchbox. Although I'll probably end up using this- the scent kind of reminds me of old tea. I don't know- I'm kind of feeling gypped with the sample plus the foil pack and the perfume...





6. Benefit Roller Lash:
Sample Sized at 3 g. (Approx. $9.00). Full sized listed at 8.5 g for $24.00

This was my sample choice. Normally I'm not a fan of Roller Lash- I much prefer They're Real. But for some reason Roller Lash covers my lash extensions when I get make up on them much better than most other mascaras- so I figured I would stock up on an extra.






The Final Verdict!

Box Value: Approx $21.00

 Box Score: 5/10



Final Thoughts: I really don't know how I feel about this month's box. First of all, this is a very low value box with 3 samples for ants. But, I did like actually getting something that matches my beauty profile plus being about to stock up on a Roller Lash. Please though Birchbox- NO MORE PERFUME SAMPLES. I BEG YOU!

How was your Birchbox this month?