Jewelmint Wishlist: October 2011 Edition

Hi again gals :) I had such a hard time picking out this month's Jewelmint piece and here's why:

 Ganesh Earrings: These look straight out of a Bollywood movie to me, and I feel like I've never seen chandelier earrings in this exact configuration (aka, I think they're rather unique!).  They're quite stunning and can take center stage because my pixie haircut shows all.

 Versailles Earrings: They're so ornate/elaborate, and if google searches have told me anything else they are also ma-HUsive!  I could just see myself wearing these with a simple floor-length sheath to my office's swanky holiday party...

 Petit Coeur Necklace: Adorable little heart charms on a long delicate chain, I love the colors (of course) and could see myself wearing this with an every-day sort of outfit.

 Wonderland Earrings: Alice reference aside, I have manymany pairs of earrings that feature a bow and a drop as I'm mad about this look.  These are far larger than this picture suggests, and they seem to be quite detailed.  I just love Alice and that modern punk-victorian aesthetic!  This was Jewelmint's "Top Match" for me, and if it weren't for my preference for necklaces I'm sure I would have gotten these.

Bambina Cameo Ring: I'm not much of a ring-wearer, but this is one of the prettiest cocktail rings Jewelmint has featured, in my humblest.  LOVE the fleurs-de-lis!

 Yves Rings: I love that they're stackable, I love that they are multi-metal, and I LOVELOVE that they remind me of the world created by one of my favorite bloggers, Worship Blues. Yes, I say she's created a world!

 Lovers Only Necklace: I know you may be thinking I always go for the lock-and-key motif, but really what I love about this is that the keyhole is floating and the key looks antiqued. And, it's a necklace!

 Empress Necklace: A Faberge Egg necklace... WANT!

 Victorian Charmer Necklaces: I like the layered necklace look and how the shorter looks like a little perfume vial.  The longer has a magnifying glass charm, which makes me think of A Series of Unfortunate Events (haven't read the books but I think the movie is underappreciated).

Baltic Gem Earrings and Calla Lilly Earrings: I haven't done any holiday shopping just yet, but either of these earrings would be just right for my sister.  Her favorite color is purple and she prefers modern or classic jewelry and silver.  Her wedding flowers were Calla Lillies and I was her Maid of Honor <3 Don't you love it when you see something that would make the perfect gift for a specific person?

Anyways, let me just reiterate that I'm not at all affiliated with Jewelmint and I can't vouch for them as a company, but so far I'm a fairly satisfied customer and this month I was just floored by how many pieces I wanted so I thought it would be fun to write up this post to share them with you (deep breath, horrible run-on sentence full-stop)!  Have you seen any Jewelmint bits in magazines or on blogs that have made you consider joining up?

In My Mailbox Today: October 2011 Jewelmint Pick and Birchbox

Happy Friday, girlies <3 I love the feeling of possibilities the coming weekend brings!  As if Friday isn't inherently fab enough, I came home to all the dishwashing finished by the husband (SCORE!), and I was also met with the following selections:

First off, the Jewelmint piece I chose this month is the Desert Rose Necklace.  It's beautiful mesh (like the Love that Binds bracelet, which I had to return because its clasp broke :*( sad) with pave rhinestones and a pink (resin?) stone on both ends.  It is lariat-style so you can kind of tie it on in a few configurations.  After the fact I saw in my Jewelmint "Showroom" that it's also the piece that supports BCA (breast cancer awareness) this month!  In honor of Jewelmint's 1-year anniversary they also sent out a $5 coupon code (though they are always giving out $5 coupon codes), so I say if you picked out some other piece for your monthly subscription you ought to snap up this one as well for charity and because it's beautiful, hefty, and appears expensive (what you expect, but don't always get, from Jewelmint pieces).

In my October Birchbox, I got amika Obliphica hair treatment (which does smell lovely and will be the perfect replacement for my third Ojon Restorative hair serum sample when it runs out), Anastasia Beverly Hills Hydrafull Gloss in Bellini (I am so thrilled I got this after seeing Bloomin' Beauty's Danielle got it and it looks PERFECT on her!), Clark's Botanicals Intense Radiance Mask (I love trying masks and have enjoyed every one from a Birchbox so far -- this one is "The solution to dull, congested skin.  This white clay mask detoxifies pores, conquers blemishes, and even calms irritations." Just what I need right now!  Though the $72 cost of the full-size is likely to deter me from purchasing it), Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze (sounds like the sample of Too Faced Primed and Poreless in Bronze I got earlier this year... not likely to see much use by me, TBH), and The Laundress Wool & Cashmere Shampoo (which is pretty funny because my wardrobe is completely vegan, so no wool in sight!).

I'm pretty psyched about all these treats! What a great month for Jewelmint (I had a really tough time choosing my piece as I also liked a bunch of others... I think I'll share in the next post <3), and a wonderful Birchbox as well!

Find Your Magic

It was about 82 degrees Fahrenheit outside when I took these pictures, and no, they are not a holdover from a bygone summer day.  After so many chilly, rainy days we had a gorgeous, sunny Saturday, October 8th.  The husband and I went shopping for some kitchen supplies, groceries, and a really cute sweater from Express:

I got a size or two up so it fits even slouchier on me, with my silhouette peeking through in a matching cami.  It's just the kind of cozy/sexy hybrid I'm looking for this Fall!  But, of course, I threw on a summer dress for today's heat wave:

Dress: F21 like $7! Necklace: Jewelmint

Makeup Breakdown: Eyes and Cheeks are the Stila Find Your Magic palette, plus Urban Decay 24/7 liner in 1999 on upper lashline and waterline, and NYX Fly With Me Mascara.  Lips are Milani Lip Flash pencil in In a Flash topped with Liplicious Lip Gloss in Cookies and Scream.

I hope everyone is having an amazing weekend!

September 2011 Jewelmint Pick: the Pomander Pendant

Hey all! I had a lovely little mint-green box tied up with a black bow waiting for me when I got home from work today <3 Inside was, of course, my September Jewelmint selection, the Pomander Pendant:

Cardigan - Delia*s

I ripped up a cotton pad, wadded it, doused it with Benefit's So Hooked On Carmella, tucked it into the magnetic-closure ball, and threw the chain around my neck.  I keep on lifting it to my nose to take a yummy sniff!

August 2011 Favorites: My First Monthly Favorites Post!

Ooh, boy, it was hard to narrow down my favorites this month... because it's my first favorites post ever!  I had to really limit myself to stuff that got crazy love within the month of August, which was kind of difficult to separate from my favorites of the year.  At any rate, after much deliberation (and a consolation swatching of my faves that didn't make this list):

Boscia BB Cream: I'm sure I've said it before, but this has been my go-to foundation this summer.  I only need to blot once all day (not too shabby for a greasy girl), the SPF is pretty great for a U.S. color base product (SPF 27), the price isn't too high to stomach, and best of all I didn't have to buy it once because I kept using a code on Sephora.com to get a generous sample size!  If you're curious, the code is "bb cream" and I've used it three times (3x .35 oz = 1.05 oz.  Retail cost is $38 for 1.75 oz and each sample is a $7.60 value!).  It isn't moisturizing so I use Stila or Origins tinted moisturizers underneath (both work great).  It cooperates just perfectly for a flawless finish with my Beauty Blender and covers up most of my acne/post acne marks.  I'll probably wind up buying this if they stop running that code and my winter skin likes it.

Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick in Born With It $8.49: It's worth at least $14.50 because it's my dupe of MAC Creme Cup that I actually prefer to Creme Cup! Comparison is here. I've been wearing this a lot with the Maybelline Color Explosion Palettes to the office, but to be honest it's most gorgeous with a matte smokey eye. Now that August is over I'll probably do that look more often (If I can grudgingly surrender my colorful Summer brights!).

Orly Oh Cabana Boy $8: Again, I already mentioned it but besides the Axxium Gel Lacquer by OPI, it's the only nail color I've used this month that I couldn't stop ooohing and ahhhing over.  It also lasted over 3 days each time, which is pretty great on me. I know it's probably going to be put away until next summer, but I look forward to busting it out again!

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion Eye Quints $10.99 each:  I was really impressed by these. I don't like Maybelline's regular eye shadow line as it's not pigmented and chalky (bleh).  But these pack a color punch and you know I love color.  After I bought Forest Fury, I went back to the store during a sale and snapped up the rest (at least, what they had left!).  I was stopped twice by strangers the day I wore Forest Fury and asked if I was a makeup artist (yay!).  The price is not amazing but of course you can always find coupons and BOGO 1/2-off.  The shimmer topcoats really make these stand out and I'll continue to use them into Fall.  I love Too Faced's Matte Palette but I must admit I've been reaching for these more... even for office work days... now where is that promotion? Oops!

CVS Makeup Remover Wipes $5.49 for 25: This is my first month as a beauty blogger and I don't know what I would have done without these!  They do the best job at scraping off all those pigmented swatches and FOTDs!  Their price is not too far off from a pack of MAC Wipes at $28 for 100 ct., but I find those sting my skin a little. I also tried the much-raved Yes to Cucumbers makeup remover wipes (more expensive per wipe) but the fragrance was too strong and they didn't do as good a job at quickly removing makeup completely as the MAC or CVS wipes.  CVS wipes often go on sale, too. I just bought three two-pack boxes because they are on sale BOGO 1/2-off this week, in fact.  I also like that when I can't be bothered to really take care of my skin (kryptonite for the acne-prone, but I am a flawed human being!), if all I do is wipe off my makeup with one of these the damage is limited.  Best wipes I've tried!

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara $10: Now an essential, as it really drives home the entire point of my pixie hair cut; Channeling Twiggy! Full review here.

Jewelmint Trinity Bracelets $29.99: I am NOT a bracelets person. I have delicate (try skinny and bony) wrists that I like to look at when I'm feeling bloated/fat.  Reminds me that I'm only fat in the brain!  On top of that, my desk job has me typing up documents all the time and wearing bracelets is usually annoying, if not painful.  These do emboss my skin a little but I hardly notice it. They make my wedding set (white gold) look just fine with any other metal colors I could be wearing on any given day.  In fact, my wedding set is the only other jewelry I wear without fail every day.  I always want to change my jewelry to complement an outfit and these complement everything! I've worn them fancy and casual and never feel the itch to take them off.  Above and beyond my favorite Jewelmint item thus far (I have eleven pieces currently). I can see myself wearing these less often when I'm wearing a coat or long sleeves on a daily basis, but I never give this much love to a piece of jewelry that isn't a gift from DH/Mom & Dad.  They're a part of my body now :-P

Wow, it was so hard to narrow these down!  This Summer has been full of beautiful makeup and I'm just starting to love what I've hoarded for Fall.  I hope I turned you onto a product or two you might have easily dismissed.  Let me know your favorites if you don't put them up in your blog!

August Jewelmint Pick

It's amazing to come home to a pretty package (even though I bought it)!

I love how Jewelmint jewelry always comes in this pretty mint-green box tied with a bow... since it's every month (subscription), these boxes are piling up but I still love 'em.

This month's pick is the Trinity Bracelets.  With Jewelmint you can select anything they have but a couple of months I've bought more than one piece (which only slightly defeats the purpose of a monthly subscription, but oh well!). 

I'm not super-keen on bracelets as they get in the way when I'm typing, but these slinky chains won't bother me too much. 
I love tri-color gold! It's like Cartier <3

I love the unusually shaped links, but what sealed the deal for me was when I saw these hearts! LURVE!

I feel like Jewelmint's jewelry is more unique than what I see at Target, the mall, department stores, or Forever 21.  Sure, I get lots of cute stuff at those places but so far I feel each Jewelmint piece has something special about it. 

By the way, I'm not affiliated with Jewelmint in any way and I'm certainly not profiting in free jewelry or money.  If you work for Jewelmint and would like to send me either of those things, please do!  But for now I'm content to be a regular ol' subscriber :) 

Going Shopping with My Other Half OOTD and FOTD

Last weekend my husband and I braved the outlet mall and this is what I wore...

Argh, smudgie on my forehead! I really need a better camera...

Shorts - Mudd (Kohl's), Cami - Forever 21, Lace Tank - Hot Topic, Jewelry - Jewelmint, Flip Flops - Old Navy, Pink Sponges at my feet - Beauty Blender (these are AMAZING!!!)

Eyes - TFSI, NYX Velvet Rope Palette, Wet N Wild ColorIcon Liner in Purple, Maybelline The Falsies Flared Mascara, Garnier Tinted Eye Roller (Love this!)

Cheeks - NYX Mocha Blush

Lips - Hard Candy Glossaholic in Chill Out

Nails - OPI Funky Dunkey (Toes), Essie Nice is Nice (Fingers, sooo similar to Lilacism)

I think this is colorful, purple eye makeup that is subtle enough for daytime, don't you?

DH's shirt says "May a squadron of beautiful vaginas find their way to your crotch by day's end!" Gotta love theoatmeal.com!