Neya V Beauty Talk: August 2013

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Lash Bash Party!

I am happy to announce that I have been selected to host a Lash Bash Party by Benefit and Ipsy! I'm so excited! At first, I wasn't even going to enter the contest. My thoughts were: I don't know 9 people I can invite and I never win anything so there's no point. I'm so happy that I decided to enter anyways.

I'm excited to start planning it. The first thing I have to do is put together my guest list and send out invites. Here I'll updates on my planning and once the party finally arrives I'll post pics and videos! Keep tuned ladies!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Ipsy August 2013 Glambag

The Ipsy Glamour Academy is officially in session and it's kicking things off right! Equipped with top of the line supplies it is sure to be a great year! Ipsters have everything they need to make a beautiful statement! Check out below to see some of the awesome supplies these lucky students received!

(Please see Disclaimer at bottom.)

http://youtu.be/m6oNGcZ_Pk8

These supplies came packed in super handy bags that will help keep tools organized throughout the day!

1. Mica Beauty Shimmer Powder in Bronze*- This beautiful powder is a great addition to any collection. Highly pigmented and long-lasting this will be used for many days to come. A quick brush across your cheeks will leave them looking bronzed to perfection. And a nice swipe across your eyelids will leave your eyes to be desired!

2. Pixi Beauty Lash Booster Mascara in Blackest Black- This Mascara boasts a formula that will make your lashes pop while nourishing them. I'm not sure how nourishing this is, but I definitely don't think it makes your lashes pop! It gets a B for effort.

3. Michael Todd Jojoba Charcoal Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub- This facial scrub will be a crowd pleaser. Suitable for all skin types it will deep cleanse your skin removing all of the dead skin and leaving your skin soft and smooth.

4. Pacifica Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream- This BB Cream only comes in one shade, but it has "specialized mineral pigments" that allow the formula to adjust to your skin tone! I love this BB Cream because it leaves your skin feeling hydrated and refreshed. It also does a great job of evening out your skin tone!

5. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in 69 and Anarchy- These lipsticks are a creamy goodness that will add a vibrant pop to your look! 69 is as sexy and seductive as its name suggests! It might turn good girls bad! Its sister Anarchy will turn your look from dull to fierce! These too babies last through a full day of activities-whatever they may be!

UD Revolution Lipstick in Anarchy

UD Revolution Lipstick in 69

6. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer- This primer is cream of the crop. It is a wonderful base for whatever you may put on your face. It's not sticky or greasy, so it's cool in my book!

7. Michael Todd Pumpkin Nutrient-Rich Facial Mask- This mask is not for the sensitive! The ones with sensitive skin that is. (Seriously, if you have sensitive skin, you may just want to pass on this one.) This mask will unclog your pores leaving you with fresh, bright skin! And it just so happens to smell like pumpkin pie! Just remember not to eat it!

8. Bonus Item: Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow in Intergalatic- This eyeshadow will take to another galaxy. It's a beautiful shade of purple with a little sparkle to brighten up your world!

What did you think of this months Ipsy bag? What did you get? Don't have one? Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that sends you 4-5 beauty products for only $10/month! Shipping is free! If you'd like to join Ipsy click here*.

Disclaimer: This post isn't really a review of the products. It's more so just descriptions of the products. The video has my review of the items and my thoughts on each one in depth.

*I know my video says the contrary, but I gave it another try and it's kind of growing on me. I like the color a lot. I still really hate the container though! Lol

Friday, August 9, 2013

Birchbox July 2013

Birchbox is like a roller coaster ride. You go up and and you go down. And you go up and you go down. My first box was bad. Down. My second box was good. Up. My third box was bad. Down. Now I'm wondering if I should even take the risk and go up again because coming down is never fun. Birchbox is a lifestyle subscription service where they send you 4-5 products a month for only $10 (including shipping). Using your beauty profile they send you products that they feel best fits your needs. If you are interested in subbing to Birchbox, click here.

The theme for this month was Power Play and was influenced by the USA show Suits. In my opinion the themes never have anything to do with the box, but hey whatever floats their boats. Let's get on with the box. This month I received 5 products to try.

1. DDF Acne Control Treatment- I was not pleased with this product at all. I don't have acne so this product isn't useful to me. I'm disappointed with Birchbox for even sending this to me. They're supposed to follow your beauty profile and on my profile I had left acne unchecked. I even went and made sure after I received this that I had not picked it as one of my problems. To me this meant that they just threw a different items into my box without even using my profile. Oh well.

2. Birchbox Bobby Pins- This is another product that I just wasn't excited about. I don't really wear anything in my hair and when I do I prefer plain, simple black bobby pins. Sending me these "fancy" bobby pins didn't impress me at all. To me having "expensive" bobby pins are pointless because they get lost so easily. I would never pay more than $2 for them.

3. I.C.O.N. India Oil- This is one of the products that I actually will use. I have dry damaged hair so I don't mind trying out oils and seeing if they help my hair. My only complaint about the oil is the packaging. I have some argan oil from Josie Maran and it comes with a dropper. I love it because it's very easy to get out. This product My hair needs oil so thank you, Birchbox.

4. Instain by The Balm- I have mixed feelings about this product. I've been wanting to try products from this company so I'm happy that I'm getting a chance to do that. I think the packaging is absolutely adorable. I love the color that it came in. The color is called Swiss dot and it's a peachy color. However, I'm a tad bit disappointed with the size. It's literally tiny. Like the size of my thumb. But I guess that's why it's just a sample.

How cute is this?!

Just adorable!

5. Caldrea Body Lotion- The last item I received was two packets of body lotion. The scent is tea olive lime. I'm happy they sent me two. It gives me a chance to really give it a shot.

That's all I received this month. I'd give it a 3 out of 5. There are a couple of products that I'm excited about. And there are a couple that I am willing to try. Plus they were right on the money with the color of the blush. However, the acne cream and the bobby pins were a huge fail. For now, I'll keep the subscription because if there is a pattern going on here August will be awesome (fingers crossed)! Btw...how cute is this box?!

Front

Back

What do you think of this box? Which product do you want the most? Follow me on Facebook!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

August Giveaway!

Important Update: I received some concern regarding the mandatory tasks. I don't want to ostracize anyone from participating so I have removed most of the mandatory tasks and increased the points for them. I hope this will encourage others who were hesitant about them to go ahead and enter. Thank you all for your support! I appreciate it! :)
______________________________________________________________________________

Hey ladies! I am excited to announce that I have finally reached 100 likes!! As a thank you for your continued support I am hosting a giveaway and 2 lucky winners will receive prizes! Here are the instructions for the giveaway. There are some mandatory requirements and some that are optional. The giveaway will be from August 7, 2013 to August 31, 2013. You can enter via Facebook* or the blog. Once I have the prizes finalized I will post pictures.**
Mandatory

You must follow the blog via either GFC, Bloglovin, or Email.
You must leave a comment on this post. In the comment I would like you to leave suggestions on content, feedback (both positive and negative would be appreciated), and/or your favorite fall beauty trends.

Optional

Like my Facebook page.
Follow me on Twitter.
Follow me on Instagram.
Follow me on Tumblr.
Tweet about the giveaway.
Subscribe to me on Youtube.

Prizes!!!

Prize 1

1. Yes to Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub
2. Nail Buffer
3. 3 Sation Laquer Nail Polishes
4. Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Butter
5. mark. High Beam Lipgloss
6. Coastal Scents Cherry Lip Balm
7. BH Cosmetics Mini California Collection Sample
8. Lash Card
9. Nuetrogena Makeup Removal Wipes
10. LA Fresh Oil-Free Face Cleanser
11. Starlooks Tipsy Lip Liner

Prize 2

1. Nail Buffer
2. OPI Shatter Nail Polish Set
3. Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Luminizing Body Butter
4. Yes to Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub
5. mark. High Beam Lipgloss
6. Coola Unscented Moisturizer
7. Coastal Scents Peppermint Lip Balm
8. Nuetrogena Makeup Removal Wipes
9. Colosrsmash Pink Hair Chalk
10. LA Fresh Oil-Free Face Cleanser
11. J-Cat Glitter Palette

Good Luck and Have Fun!!

xoxo Neya V

*This giveaway is in no way associated, sponsored, or endorsed by/with Facebook. The giveaway is being hosted solely by Neya V Beauty Talk. All of the prizes were paid for by me or are items that I received in my subscription boxes. All items are unopened and unused. This giveaway is open to US Citizens only.

**The items for the giveaway have already been purchased I just haven't decided what items to put together for each of the two prizes. Also, I might add to the prizes. Once I have finalized what each prize well have I will post pictures. Until then I will periodically post pictures of the items that will be included in the giveaway. Stay tuned! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, August 5, 2013

Beauty Army May and July 2013 Kits

Hello, lovelies! A couple of months ago I signed up for a subscription with Beauty Army. I received my first box, but never wrote a review for it. This month I received another box from them by accident (will explain later) and decided to go ahead and review both of them. For those who aren't familiar with Beauty Army it is a beauty subscription service that allows you to pick your own samples. Every month I can pick up to 6 samples for just $12/month including shipping. If you don't like what you see you can choose to skip the month instead. I thought that was pretty cool, which is why I went ahead and subbed. If you are interested in learning more about Beauty Army, or subbing yourself click here.

The way this works is that you have 5 days to make your selection. Your window opens up at 9 am and closes at 11:59 pm on the last day. The window dates vary. Mine is from the 11th-16th of each month. At 9 am each morning their website is updated with products to choose from.You take a profile quiz which is how the products in your window are generated. If you don't like the products offered to you, you can re-take the quiz (as many times as you'd like) or you can keep refreshing your window (again, as many times as you'd like) to try to get the perfect box for you.

In May when I first signed up I was pretty excited to be able to pick my own samples. I didn't really see anything that I loved, but I figured I'd still give it a try. Once June came I really didn't like any of my options so I skipped the month. Again in July I didn't like any of my options, but I forgot to skip the month which is how I ended up with a box by accident. If you don't skip the month, and you don't make a selection they still charge you for the month and their beauty experts pick the items for you.

So let's get on to the boxes and what I received. I'll start with May. My items came in this nice black box with Beauty Army written on the top. The inside was an explosion of pink camouflage with pink tissue paper!

The cover of the box.

The inside of the box with the card.

--> The first item I picked was a lotion from Amlactin. I picked it because it said that it's for dry skin and I sometimes have issues with dry skin. When I got it and tried it for the first time I was disappointed. It was way too greasy for my taste.

The next item that I picked was a duo from Enspri. The one on the left is a moisture-locking protective serum and the one on the right is a anti-wrinkle moisturizer with UVA/UVB sun protection. I don't remember why I picked this duo. I think it might've just been because there was nothing else to choose. I haven't tried it yet.

I also picked a product called Own. It is a refining moisture night cream. I haven't used this product yet either.

Front

Back

Another product that I picked was this Egyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream.

And last, but not least, I picked these lash cards. I've received these before in an Ipsy bag, and I didn't really care for them. But I thought they could be a nice item to giveaway on my blog. I know some people have been wanting to give them a try, and that's why I picked them. So look out for these babies in a future giveaway!

Now on to July's box! This time the box was a soft pink with Beauty Army written on it. It's very hard to see the wording though because the shade of pink they picked is very close to the color of the box itself. On the inside there was a card, and pink and black tissue paper.

On to the products that their experts chose for me. The first thing I received are these hair and wrist ribbon elastics by Remington. It comes with 3 elastics in purple, orange, and pink. I recently received some ribbon elastics from Goody and have enjoyed them. So I'll definitely be giving these a try.

The next thing that I received is this Argan Oil & by Nelson J. It is a 7 in 1 non-foaming shampoo. I'm not too sure what it does exactly. And I haven't decided if I'm actually going to try it or not. I'm really picky when it comes to my hair products and I just don't know if I want to give this a go or not.

I also received this exfoliating gel from Pida. I've never heard of this product before. I will probably give it a try just because I'm into exfoliates at the moment.

I am pretty excited to have received this body butter by Yest to Carrots. I've been wanting to try this line so this is perfect timing.

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This sample right here...very disappointed. Look at how tiny it is. It looks like I'll only be able to get a few uses out of it. Anyways, this is a sunscreen by Cotz face. It's spf 40.

The last thing I received was another disappointment. It's a hair shadow by Colorsmash. I would never, ever put pink in my hair. Like ever in life. Not even for Halloween. This sample is a huge fail and will be given away in a future giveaway.

All in all, I'll say that Beauty Army has a cool concept. I just wish it was executed better. I'm not a huge fan of the choices that we get. And often times I'm offered a sample I already received again in my window. We'll see what they have to offer for August, but if I don't see anything I like I'll definitely remember to press skip!

What do you think of Beauty Army and the products I received? Would you subscribe? Why or why not? Follow me on Facebook!