My First Birchbox

Thanks to my darling friend Meg over at Glamorous Hustle, I have discovered what I think might become my most favorite thing ever -- Birchbox.

It's a pretty cool concept really. You pay a small fee and then each month they send you a box with different products.

I tend to be a creature of habit and I stick with products I find work and that I like, but every once in a while I will find myself in a place like Sephora and I see something and want to try it. But, when that little something costs a pretty penny, it makes me a little hesitant to buy.

So that's the cool thing about Birchbox -- you get a few products that you can try and then if you love them go buy them. They even make it easy because you can buy them on their website. I also love that they send smaller size products because, as a person who travels on planes here and there, I can't take the big size of all of my stuff. And, unfortunately, everything I use isn't available in travel sizes. I have the little bottles, but still, not always possible. So, when I get sample sizes, sometimes I set them aside for when I travel. That doesn't make me sound like a crazy coupon lady that hoards 994 rolls of paper towel, does it?

Here are the products that I received this month:

The list

And the actual contents in the box

I'm not sure if I will talk about the products I receive every month, but I might. And, I definitely thought it was worth mentioning. Or, maybe I am just that excited about it.

Now, back to dating...

Dating and Nail Polish

So, I've been meaning to post this for some time now, but, I confess, I forgot.

Personally, I think this is pretty cute and clever. And, no, it's not because I am slightly biased since I write for The eFlirt Expert. It's mostly because I am kind of obsessed with nail polish. Seriously, I always have mine painted and I think I have every single color under the rainbow and every variation of it. Anyone who's ever been around me in person knows that they are usually some kind of crazy funky color or pattern (I love that that's coming back). Case in point, right now I have each nail painted a different color. Apparently I'm channeling my inner Punky Brewster.

Anyhow, without further ado....

View this SkinnyScoop List

My Latest Obsession

I promise I'm not trying to make this a beauty blog or anything, but I have shared products here and there and, I mean, this is a blog about my life, so can we just take a minute to talk about my latest obsession?

Polka dot nails!!

OK. OK. I know, I am over 30 here but seriously. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love those little stick on nail polish things that come in crazy patterns. And I've done polka dots before, but I tend to get tired of it after a couple of days. But this one is my favorite. I've had it on for the past couple of weeks and I just did it again yesterday.

Now, I can totally take credit for it. I saw a picture of it in a magazine and I figured I knew how to do polka dots already so it shouldn't be that hard. And, it wasn't. Though it looks like you spent hours doing it. I've actually had a lot of compliments.

So, if you like it too, here's how to do it:

Ingredients:

• White nail polish (for the base)

• Several other colors of nail polish (you can use as many as you want)

• A paper clip (I like to use the big paper clips because my hands aren't exactly dainty)

Paint your nails white and let dry. Then take the paper clip, dip it in a color, and dot your nail. Then just repeat with the other colors. I usually put a little of each color on a plastic lid because it's easier to work with. The thing I like about this is it's easy if you have a shaky hand since it doesn't really matter where you put them. You can even put some of the dots on top of each other. Just keep going until you think it looks good. Once the dots are dry finish with a top coat. Definitely wait until they are dry though otherwise it will smear.

And now I will get back to writing about the crazy dates I've been on.

Slave Less, Say YES: DIY Beauty Giveaway (Sponsored post)

I have a little confession to make -- I hate hair. Actually let me clarify here, I hate most hair. Obviously there is some hair that I can tolerate. So when I was asked to join the campaign for Silk’n SensEpil I was more than thrilled.

The Silk’n SensEpil is a light-based device for long term hair removal. 80% of users experienced a noticeable reduction in hair after 3 months. And the device is incredibly quick an easy to use. A male or female chest can be treated in 15-20 minutes. Who doesn’t have 15-20 minutes for this kind of thing?

The awesome thing about the Silk’n SensEpil is that you don’t have to tell the whole world about your unwanted hair. Rather, you can enjoy all the benefits from the comfort and privacy of your own home. It’s also a considerable price saver when compared to the cost of professional spa treatments which can easily run around $2000 just for your legs.

The Silk’n SensEpil also treats much larger areas. Competitive devices will only cover 1cm at a time while this will treat areas up to 6cm. You can also use the device to treat all kinds of areas on your body including your face which is unlike many other similar devices that are not face-friendly..

Just a little side note though, similar to professional laser hair removal systems, the Silk’n SensEpil will not work on individuals who have darker skin tones. If the skin tone is too dark, the SensEpil can’t detect the difference between the hair and the skin. Therefore, it is not recommended for their use.

The good news is Silk’n SensEpil is giving an exclusive offer to all of my readers. From September 1st through December 31st all readers can receive 20% off Silk’n SensEpil products. There is a $200 minimum purchase required. Just enter Beauty20 to take advantage of the offer.

And, as an even bigger bonusSilk’n SensEpil is also doing a giveaway contest with free prizes for those who share their hair removal stories. All you have to do is submit your personal humor (or horror) story about hair removal for a chance to win a Silk’n SensEpil laser hair removal system.