What’s in the L’Oréal Swag Bag? (more like what’s not in it!)

• True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation in three shades (W2, C4, N5.5) – $16.99 each
• Infallible Pro-Contour Palette in Medium – $12.99
• Colour Riche Mono Eyeshadows in three shades (202, 204, 206) – $5.99 each
• Infallible Black Velvet Liner (x2) – $9.99 each
• Infallible Matte-Matic Liner in two shades (taupe grey & ultra black) – $8.99 each
• Brow Stylist Definer in two shades (blonde & dark brunette) – $8.99 each
• Infallible Pro-Matte Lip Gloss in six shades – $9.99 each

Estimated Retail Value is approximately $200!

How to enter:

Bonus Entry: Share this photo on instagram!

Good luck! :)

GIVEAWAY! Win this box of Collagen Fibre Eye Pads & Energizing Gel from Reviva Labs (a $48 value) just by liking this photo and following @girlyenthusiast. Get one extra entry for tagging a friend! Thanks @realrevivalabs for sponsoring the giveaway ❤ enter through 10/31/15. #sweepstakes #giveaway #free #freebie #entertowin #win #giveaways #revivalabs #skincare #botox #contest #bblogger #beautygiveaway #beauty #giveawaycontest #contestgram #winner

A photo posted by Chelsey (@girlyenthusiast) on Oct 15, 2015 at 1:56pm PDT

Read more about the Collagen Eye Pad Kit.

Rules:

1. Contest ends October 31, 2015 at 11:59pm MST.

2. This giveaway is open internationally!

3. One winner will be randomly selected and notified via Instagram.

Good luck! :)

This collection has two new product launches and three cult favorites:

• NEW Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Waterproof Concealer (medium shade shown)
• NEW CC+ Radiance Palette
• Celebration Foundation – 2013 QVC Customer Choice Award Winner for Best Foundation – (medium beige shown)
• Brow Power Universal Pencil – 2012 and 2013 QVC Customer Choice Award Winner for Best Brow Product
• Limited-Edition Dual-ended complexion brush

As a long-time It Cosmetics fan, I am pretty impressed with this collection. Usually when QVC has beauty TSV’s with several makeup products, there are one or two things that I would never really use. But I would absolutely use everything included in this one.

The Brow Power pencil has been a staple in my morning brow routine for 2 years now. Even when I try out something new, I always go back to that pencil! I find it looks more natural and is so much more convenient than powders or pomades.

The Celebration Foundation is a product I am going to be obsessed with all summer. I live in Arizona and most liquid foundations melt off my face as soon as I break a sweat. This foundation doesn’t move or sweat off – and the coverage is actually crazy impressive. I was not expecting it to cover my acne as well as it does. The medium shade is a bit dark and warm-toned on me. I’m probably more suited for light or even fair since I’m cooler toned.

What I’m loving the most in this collection is the CC+ Radiance Palette – holy yes! I can’t get enough of the Flush Blush. It’s a gorgeously rich coral pink color and has ingredients like cherry oil, plum oil, pomegranate, jojoba, aloe, seaweed extract and amino acids so your cheeks stay hydrated and naturally flushed. The Matte Bronzer is a natural sunkissed shade perfect for contouring. I have this bronzer in a larger size and I use it everyday for contouring. The Brightening Finishing Powder is totally new to me. It has the illuminating finish of a highlighter, but it’s “color correcting” and meant to even out redness.  This would be a perfect product for “minimal makeup” days when you just want to dust something on your skin that will even it out and provide a healthy glow, i.e. gym days.

The Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer was good already – but making it waterproof – genius! This is going to be my favorite summer concealer underneath my Celebration Foundation. I love using this with the smaller end of the dual-ended brush in this kit. Start with a pindrop amount and go from there because this concealer is hardcore. I can definitely vouch for how waterproof this stuff is. It took a pretty good scrub to get the swatch off my arm.

Find the It Cosmetics “IT’s All About You” kit on QVC with the item #A255578. It’s currently priced at $72.50 but will drop to $59.96 beginning 6/21/14 through 11:59PM EST.

Disclaimer: Products sent by company for consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I’m almost embarrassed to talk about the emotional attachment I’ve developed to my hair. It serves as my personal security blanket.  Whether I am feeling insecure about my bad skin or out-of-shape body, I can always rely on the presence of my long flowy locks of blonde hair. For some, hair is just an inanimate object and changing it’s color or cutting it off is no big deal. But for many others, our hair is a distinct identifier of who we are. I am Chelsey – that girl with the long, blonde hair. That is who I’ve been since childhood, throughout my adolescence and who I remained as an adult.

The Backstory:

Like I said, donating my hair is something I’ve been wanting to do for years. More specifically, ever since my grandmother succumbed to colon cancer in 2003. She had the biggest, most beautiful head of red curly hair you’ve ever laid eyes on. Much like myself, her big red hair was her trademark (along with her spitfire personality). Seeing her lose all of it during her chemo treatment was tragic. My Grandma Pat lost her battle with cancer only 5 months after this photo was taken at my high school graduation.

Shortly after her passing, I met a boy who soon would become the love of my life. His name is Michael and he is a cancer survivor. I didn’t discover this until the first day I saw him without a shirt. He had a gruesome vertical scar going down the length of his spine and another along his breastbone. When he was 12, he developed such an intense pain in his back that he became immobile. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and a portion of his spine was wrapped by a tumor, crippling him. Cancer treatment during this time was still experimental. He was told he may never walk again and was even selected to be apart of the Make-A-Wish program. Miraculously, his tumor was successfully removed and the experimental treatment WORKED! Michael has been in remission for 20 years. I am teary-eyed just writing this – thinking about how my life would be so different had he been taken from this world at 12 years old. Michael is now a healthy 32 year old guy, but his treatment left him with abnormal hair growth which he remedies by keeping his head shaved bald. You can imagine how this would perpetuate my desire to help a child who might be going through the same experience.

In January, my uncle discovered he was suffering from a very aggressive form of liver cancer. The most devastating blow was being told he may only have a few short months left with us. Simultaneously, my 81-year-old grandpa began a round of chemo treatment as he was taken out of remission for the Leukemia he had beaten several years earlier.

The culmination of all this has caused me to develop a relationship with cancer that I never thought I would have.

The Big Day:

When I arrived at my salon appointment last week, I really didn’t know if I could go through with it. “Okay, show me again how long it’ll be if I donate it…” I must have repeated that at least 5 times. I sat in that chair talking myself in and out of it. Why was this so hard for me? It’s just hair! It grows back! It’s summer! I wasn’t as mentally prepared as I thought I was. Finally I blurted out “LET’S DO IT!”. My stylist replied “REALLY?” and kept asking “are you suuuure?” but honestly, I wasn’t. I don’t think I could ever have been when it came to cutting off my long hair. She sectioned my hair into two long ponytails and in a few snips it was over. 10 inches of my hair – gone! An unfamiliar emotional combination of awesome and OMG instantly ran through me, but the moment I held those long ponytails of hair in my hands, I felt so selflessly happy.

I’ve let my hair become a major part of my identity, which is why donating it became such an emotional endeavor. I don’t feel like I just handed over 10 inches of hair. I feel like I’ve given a part of myself to somebody who will cherish it more than I ever could.

If you’d like to learn more about Locks of Love and the amazing things they do for disadvantaged children suffering from hair loss, visit LocksOfLove.org.

My Lip Monthly box included:

• Hard Candy Lip Tattoo – $6, Walmart
• Stila Glaze Lip Liner in Fuscia – Discontinued, but I believe this was priced at $16 when it was still available
• Lipology Outrageously Moist Wet Color Gloss – $6, Amazon
• GlamNatural Poco Loco Lip Gloss – $20
• GlamNatural Cream Blush Sample
• Ultrafresh Panthera Mini Mascara Sample

The Good: I love the idea of this box simply because lip products are my favorite cosmetic. I easily spend more than $10 a month at the drug store on lip products alone, and that $10 typically just buys me one or two products. So I was excited to learn about  Lip Monthly. I received 4 lip products and they were all full size. I’m unsure whether this is typical as their website states there are 2-3 full size products included per box.  The packaging was pretty and neatly packed, the products were sealed and there was a nice variety of items included. I loved the bonus mascara sample, although the mascara itself is discontinued. The Lip Monthly website is easy to navigate and looks nicely made. The subscription price is definitely reasonable at a $10 per month price point, but your perceived value may change after considering the “bad”.

The Bad: Firstly, the GlamNatural Poco Loco gloss I received was strangely separated in the tube. The pigment separated from the rest of the gloss, creating visual weirdness. That very well could be due to the box sitting in my hot ass mailbox all weekend, but since I can’t be for sure, I will most likely be tossing this tube in the trash. The second disappointment was the Stila lip liner being discontinued. What if I loved it and wanted to repurchase? In fact, the entire lip glaze line is discontinued and no longer on the Stila website, which means it might be relatively old product. And I doubt Stila would directly supply Lip Monthly with discontinued product, so it was most likely purchased at clearance to re-sell in the box.  It just makes me raise an eyebrow over how old the liner may be and where it came from (Stila, Ebay,  etc.). Also, the label sticker on the side of the Lipology tube was visibly dirty. Not a huge deal since it’s definitely a brand new, sealed product – but dirty stuff really affects the presentation and again makes me question the age of the product.

In conclusion, would I throw $10 at this? Maybe. Do I think you get $10 worth of stuff? That depends. Some of us won’t mind the discontinued items or dirty labels, especially for the price point. The origination, condition and age of the products are unknown to me so I can’t really say one way or another. You will have to use your own discretion with this one, ladies. You can find this box at LipMonthly.com

Disclaimer: I received this box free to review. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Most of these are Julep polish or nail strips. If you’d like the specific color name just leave a comment below.

Enter using Rafflecopter below. FYI: I am verifying ALL entries daily. DO NOT say you’ve commented, followed or tweeted if you haven’t because those entries will be deleted and I will not be happy about it :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pictured below is my opened tube of Flamingo lipstick, and beside it is the unopened NIB tube that one of you will be winning :)

From left to right: Flamingo, Sushi Kiss, Sweet & Sour, Razzlerdazzler

What caught my eye the most about this collection was the repromote of Flamingo (originally from the Iris Apfel collection last year). I was so so so so so sad that Flamingo sold out online and in stores before I could get a hold of it. One of my good friends recently gave me her tube because she didn’t care for the color, but I still purchased an extra from this collection to sit upon my pretty LE lipstick shelf :)

I love all of these colors, but Flamingo and Razzlerdazzler are my favorites. Sushi Kiss and Sweet & Sour can be tricky to work with, but they look fabulous with a sheer gloss layered over them.

I’m kind of regretting not picking up any of the blushes because I loveee me an orange cheek. But one of my friends who works for MAC told me they will be releasing a bunch of new MSF’s soon – so regret gone! :)

I bought 10 items from the Birchbox shop and my total damage was $320.99 – what I actually PAID after my points and using a coupon code was only $31.99!!!! That’s about a 90% discount. Not too shabby I’d say.

What I purchased:

Oscar de la Rena Live in Love ($78) – This actually leaked during shipment and completely absorbed into the box it was in. I contacted Birchbox about it and they sent me a new one with no issues and gave me an extra 100 points for the inconvenience. Excellent customer service!

The Amika Mini Ceramic Styler ($29) was an AMAZING GWP coupon code that I used to make it completely FREE. It’s a pretty small straightener but it’s so cute and it’s fantastic for my bangs. It’s very easy to curl with and it get’s super hot very quickly. I love this thing!

I actually loved almost everything in this order. The Marcelle Twist Push Up Mascara is a really cool concept because you literally twist the tip of the wand and it changes the direction of the bristles, but I didn’t care for the formula. The Jouer Matte Moisture Tint is freaking amazing. The Macadamia Deep Repair Masque is literally like sex on my hair – I can never be without this stuff again. And if you haven’t tried the Shea Terra Black Soap yet, PLEASE do. It’s very affordable and works wonders on pores. That brand deserves it’s own full review, so I’ll try and get that up shortly.

If you haven’t tried out Birchbox yet – why? LOL sign up here: Birchbox.com

The products I tried are (click for product page):

• Size Matters Big Volume Root Lift ($20)
• Spray It Hard Big Volume Hairspray ($22)
• Bombshell Big Hair Powder ($17)
• Rock Your Hair Leave-In Conditioner ($20)

First off, I have to say how freaking gorgeous this packaging is! These are BY FAR the most beautifully packaged hair products I’ve ever come across. There are little crystals glued to every bottle and the pink leopard print is genius for a “big” hair line. This line was created by Michael O’Rourke who also created the Big Sexy Hair line.

How I use these products in my hair routine:

The first product I use is the Leave-In Conditioner spray on my towel-dried hair. This stuff is an amazing detangler. My hair is pretty long so it tangles easily and this product makes my brush glide right through with no snags. It’s truly weightless which is vital for those of us with finer hair. It also smells really nice – nothing too strong just a light, pleasant scent.

Then I get my Big Volume Root Lift and spray this directly onto the roots of my hair. You can spray it in your hand first for more control. I work it in well with my fingers, toss my hair upside down and start to blow dry. Sometimes I use a large round brush to lift and blow dry the top sections of my hair, depending on how rushed I am.

At this point I’ll either curl my bottom ends with my round brush and blow dryer or I’ll use my Nume iron to create spiral curls.

Now it’s time for the #1 show stopper in the Rock Your Hair line.. the Spray It Hard hairspray. This is pretty awesome hairspray. It smells great (always a requirement for me), doesn’t crunch or flake, gives a strong but flexible hold so you can spray it all over your head AND it gives hair a glossy finish. Definitely one of my new staple hairsprays.

If I don’t have time to wash my hair in the morning, or if I need to revive my hair after a long day at work, the Bombshell Big Hair powder is my go-to. I just lightly sprinkle this stuff onto my roots, give it a little rub with my fingertips and my hair just inflates. Like all the other Rock Your Hair products, this stuff smells great. It clings to hair and makes it look thick and full. It’s also great for adding some volume to your crown when you want to throw your hair into a ponytail but don’t want to tease.

If you’re interested in trying any of these products, they are available at ROCKYOURHAIR.com The coupon code Rock30 gives you 30% off your order and they offer free shipping over $50 :)

Disclaimer: Products sent for consideration by company. All opinions expressed are 100% honest.