Pretty Addictions Cyber Monday Special

I know, I have been a total slack ass lately with blogging.  I've just gotten caught up in getting ready for Christmas and all the school and work stuff, unfortunately blogging has been put on the back burner.  I have been crafting like crazy for Christmas and I must say I have made some super cute little crafts for everyone in my family!  I plan to do a blog post on everything I made with maybe some DIY instructions after the holidays. 
Anyway, today I wanted to share with you what I picked up from Pretty Addictions Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale.  The wonderful owner and my dear friend, Kassandra ran one hell of a sale in honor of the craziest shopping time of the year, 40% off EVERYTHING!!!! Plus as usual if you spent 20 dollars excluding shipping you received a free 5g jar of the Shadow of the Week!!!!

I just love the new little packaging they have been using.  I also LOVE the new look of the business cards!

This was everything that came in my order. 

I ordered:
4, 5 g shadows
1, 20 g blush
1, mini blush
1, mini shattered pearls
2, mini bronzers

I also received the free 5g jar of the shadow of the week for ordering $20 or more of products.

Let's see some swatches!!!

1. Blush-Moulin Rouge (20 g jar, $7.50)
2. Bronzer-Fiji (mini, $3.50)
3. Luminizer-Shattered Pearls (mini, $4.50)
4. Bronzer-Barbados (mini, $3.50)

I also ordered a mini of the blush French Kisses, but I didn't swatch it b/c I had already purchased one before and had swatched it in another post (at the time this made sense)

5. Glistening Icicles
6. Shiver
7. Frostbitten
8. Dirty Girl ;)
9. Famous (Free 5g jar with order)

I am absolutely in love with everything in this order.  I was a bit scared of Moulin Rouge at first, but it turns out I am seriously in love with it. 

Because of the incredible deal Kassandra was running I received ALL of these pretties for $23.90 INCLUDING shipping (which was only $2)!!!!!

To date this is my entire Pretty Addictions collection.  I should have fanned out the samples to show how many are there, because there are a quite a few!

Have you ladies ordered from Pretty Addictions yet?  What did you think? What did you purchase?

The Demise of my Shellac Manicure....

Well... I decided this weekend I could no longer handle the grow out and the color of the shellac.  So I took it off... The sad thing is it left my nails looking like CRAP

You can pretty much see how much grow out I experienced over the course of about 12 days.  You can also see that it kind of left my nails a little rough looking.  My friend, Blake got a manicure the same night that I did and I must admit hers looks loads better.  She doesn't have nearly as much grow out, but then again her polish was much closer to her cuticle than mine was. 
I can definitely see why for some this would be something beneficial for them. For me though, I don't see myself getting another shellac manicure unless it is for a wedding I am in or something.  I personally like changing up my polish too much for this to be realllllly beneficial for me.  I'll stick to painting my own nails and in the rare cases a mani is necessary I will for sure get a Shellac manicure... since it's only another 5-10 dollars and it does in fact last MUCH longer than a regular manicure. 

Shellac Manicure Update :)

It has now been 10 days since I got my Shellac Manicure.  I thought I would post a little update on how well it is holding up :)

Sorry that the top picture is a little blurry.  If you look close you notice that there aren't any chips in the color and it's actually holding up way better than I had expected considering what I do on a daily basis.  I do a lot of computer work and I also work with a lot of organic solvents and chemicals so for this to be holding up to all the conditions that usually cause regular nail polish to run for it's life I am impressed. 

The drawbacks for me personally are grow out and the gap between the cuticle and the polish and I am honestly getting a little bored with the color.  That's my update for now :)

I'll post another one next week (if I can keep the color on that long :))

Pretty Addictions Tuesday

I know this will sound really silly, but as part of my efforts to try and show love to all of my cosmetics I try and rotate the brands I use daily.  Today I chose to bust out one of my all time favorite companies, Pretty Addictions.  I wasn't planning on taking a picture of the look, but I loved it so much I decided to anyway.  As always the picture isn't as awesome as I would like.... LAME

I love it! Now, let's talk about what products I used!!!!

Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Inner 1/2 of eyelid: Hero
Outer 1/2 of eyelid: 25 kt Gold
Crease and above crease: Brown Sugar
Inner crease and slight "outer v": Locked & Loaded
Inner 1/2 of bottom liner: Hero
Outer 1/2 of bottom liner: 25 kt Gold
Eyeliner: NYX Liquid Eyeliner in Extreme Coffee
Mascara: Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume in Very Black

I just am loving this look. I wish it looked better via pictures, but I guess you can't have it all!!!

What look are you ladies rockin' today? 

My First Shellac Manicure!!!

I'm sorry my blogs have been incredibly sparse lately.  Graduate school is catching up to me and I have been so busy between doing stuff for school, applying for jobs and maintaining my social life that unfortunately blogging has been put on the back burner.  Plus, I'm trying to not spend as much money so that means I have less products to talk about!
How many of you ladies use these social "couponing" sites as a way to try new and different things in your area?  Have you ever heard of Groupon or LivingSocial?  Well recently I subscribed to another one (like I really needed to) called HalfOffDepot.  During my first week of being a subscriber a local Salon was offering a Spa Pedicure and a Shellac Manicure for only 20 dollars for both! If you have ever looked around you will know that usually the cheapest rate for a Shellac Manicure alone is around $25 so this was a hell of a deal.  I of course had to snatch it up.  I had to see if this was really a 2-3 week manicure or not! Plus, who doesn't need a good pedicure once in awhile!
So, a little insight in to what a Shellac Manicure is.  The line of products that the manicurist at this Salon used was Gelish.  According to Gelish:
"This system uses only a pH balancing agent to stabilize the moisture level of the nail. Then the Mini Gelish Foundation Gel has adhesive properties that attract to the keratin in the natural nail, not causing any depletion, only acting as a 2 sided tape to adhere the Mini Gelish Gel Polish to the nail itself. "
The process for using these polishes is the same as that of a regular manicure with two exceptions the formulation of all the products are different than that of regular polish and you use LED and UV light to set the formula.  The manicure starts with of course cleaning the nails, trimming the cuticles, buffing etc.  A base coat is applied and your nails are then place under a UV or LED light for around 1 minute.  After the actual polish of your choosing is applied you then place your nails under the light again for approximately 2 minutes.  This allows the polish to set as described above.  After this is finished a top coat is applied, some more light time and BAM the nails are dry! There is no sitting around for hours waiting on your nails to dry! How awesome right?
I went with my friend Blake last night to use our halfoffdepot deal.  Let's see the results...

I let the manicurist pick what color was going on my nails since I really had no preference.  She chose a deep purple.  I really love the color.  The only part that stinks is that my nails were short when I went in.  Today is day 1 with the new manicure.  So we shall see how this goes.  I will keep you all updated!!!!

Have you ladies ever had a Shellac manicure?  what did you think?

Mini-Haul!

Today, I thought I would share with you lovelies a few of my most recent purchases. I haven't been buying much recently, since I put myself on a 60-day makeup ban. I simply am running out of room and places to store things so I decided it was time to put a halt on my purchases for a little bit.  I am currently 22 days in to my 60 day ban, and I have to admit it's going much better than I had anticipated.  My ban only includes makeup items.  Haircare, nail polish and other hygiene products are ok, just NO makeup, unless it is a necessity.

Last week I decided I need to change up the color of my hair a little bit so I made a stop on the way home from work at Sally Beauty Supply.  The last time I colored my hair my hair was furious with me for several weeks after so I decided to purchase some moisturizing treatments/deep conditioners for the aftermath to try and help it through it's anger. 

The product on the left is Silk Elements Moisturizing Treatment (trial size).  It was on sale for $1.99 last week at Sally's.  The product on the right is Ion Repair Solutions Treatment (trial size).  This product is 100% vegan and was on sale at Sally's last week for $1.99.  



 I know what you are thinking, I know this is a makeup product. But remember when I said I was allowed to buy as long as it was a necessity.  Well I consider one tube of mascara running out and the other drying up making is necessary to make a new purchase.  My mom has been raving about Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume mascara for months now. Yesterday when I was at Kroger I noticed this was on sale for $6.39 so I figured it was a worth a shot.  I also had a $1.00 off coupon so I only paid $5.39 for the tube! SCORE. 

The last purchase I made was from Walgreens.  I bought two of the nail art colors from the Sinful Colors collection.  I have really been wanting to dry and do some designs on my nails and these itty bitty brushes seem to be what gets the job done.  Each one of these are $1.99. 

What have you ladies been purchasing lately? Find any good deals or must have products?

Meet the newest love of my life...

Can I please just take a minute and rave about how Wet 'n Wild cosmetics just continue to amaze me! The ONLY thing I have bought from Wet 'n Wild in the last several years that did not impress me was their eye makeup remover.  Everything else I have purchased from their line recently just amazes me.  Their shadows are rich in pigment and blend amazingly, their eyeliners are awesome, the two mascaras I have purchased are pretty stellar as well.  I know you ladies have seen my good friend Kassandra, over at Pretty Addictions recently blogged about a palette that her husband purchased for her for their wedding anniversary.  She kept telling me how amazing this palette was and since I am a huge fan of neutral and green shadows I HAD to get one for myself.  Let me introduce you to my newest love of my life the Wet 'n Wild color icon palette called Comfort Zone...

I absolutely LOVE this palette! there are so many possible combinations and the best part it was only $4.99 at Walgreens!!!!

Let's see some swatches :)

The picture was taken with flash.  The upper half of the swatch is over NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk and the bottom half is done with no primer at all.

For some reason this picture WILL NOT rotate properly... after 20 minutes I give up! 

The pictures were taken with flash.  The upper half of the swatch is over NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk and the bottom half is done with no primer at all.

I am so incredibly impressed with Wet  'n Wild products as of lately.  The only thing I have purchased from them in over a year that was a huge disappointment was their eye makeup remover. I am absolutely loving all of their shadows, especially their limited edition collections. 

What about you ladies? Have you ran out to buy the Comfort Zone palette yet?

Coastal Scents Haul :)

I have been dying to purchase new brushes for months now. I have been looking around endlessly for a good set of brushes, that contained all the particular brushes I have been looking for at a price that would fit in to my budget.  I happened to notice last week that Coastal Scents had their 22-piece brush set on sale for $34.95.  I debated on making this purchase for about 2 hours and then finally around 4:00 pm I made the purchase.  I was shocked that by that same evening I had a shipping confirmation from the company. Monday morning I woke up and checked the tracking number through USPS and noticed that my order was ALREADY in Knoxville!! It seriously made it from Florida to Tennessee THAT quick.  Unfortunately, Monday was a holiday and the post office was closed so I had to wait until Tuesday to get my goodies.
I ended up ordering the 22- piece set AND the Destiny Blender brush.

I forgot to take a picture of the GIGANTIC box that the items were in, but it was about 3 times the necessary size, I thought I was getting all kinds of stuff I didn't order! Anyway, the 22 piece set came in a super awesome carrying case. 

Overall, the brush set is WELL worth the money.  Two of the brushes in the case retail for $14.95 by themselves on the coastal scents website.  So getting 20 other brushes for theoretically 5 more dollars is a hell of a deal! The brushes are super awesome quality and so far, the few days I have used them I am in LOVE!

Mass props to Coastal Scents for their awesome brushes at a super affordable price AND their mega fast shipping!!!!

Have you ladies used any of the Coastal Scents brushes? How do you like them? 

A Little late to the party :)

I don't mean to rub it in or anything but check out what my good friend Kassandra at Pretty Addictions, picked up for me!!!!

Yes, that is correct the ENTIRE Wet 'n Wild Dream Weavers Collection!!! We had both been searching high and low for this collection.  I even had friends and family who lived in different areas checking their local CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid for the collection.  Finally Kassandra ran across them and purchased the ENTIRE display which included 2 complete sets of the collection.  She asked me right away if I wanted the second set.  I was at first very hesitant because there are a few that I just don't see myself using, but nonetheless I was sucked in by their beauty and decided I wanted them. I received them last week...

This is how Kassandra sent them packaged to me.  There was so much bubble wrap that the package couldn't fit in my actual mailbox (I live in an apartment) they had to put the package in one of the BIG mailboxes instead!  She was determined after all of our hunting that these little beauties were NOT going to break on the way to Tennessee! I got a good laugh at the amount of bubble wrap. 
I haven't had much of a chance to play with them yet and test them out, but I plan to get some swatches up for you all very soon :) 

Are you ladies just loving Wet 'n Wilds shadows like I am?

Just a little something (accessory wise :P )

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!! I had a great weekend myself.  Got to see some of my family, spent a lot of time with friends and did some relaxing. 

Have you ladies ever heard of a store called Ross?  It's very similar to a TJ Maxx/Marshalls.  I absolutely love Ross, truthfully I don't know how I survived without Ross before moving down to TN!!! Anyway, I was on a hunt for a particular decor item last week and made a stop in to Ross.  I of course had to make a little trip through the accessory section and happened to find some deals I just couldn't turn down! 

 I got two beret style beans and a pack of three head bands all for under 15 bucks! I just couldn't beat it.  I have a hat very similar to these to that a friend made for me.  It's bright red so it is not always going to match.  So i decided to pick these two up to add to my collection because I absolutely love the way these hats look. 

the grey hat is actually from Jessica Simpson's clothing line. It his garnished with some large buttons along the side.  It retails at $30.00, at Ross it was only $5.99. 

This black on is a little bit more plain, but not any less adorable.  The brand is LuLu (which I do not believe I have heard of before) according to the price tag it retailed for $18.99 and I was able to score this for only $4.99!!!

I absolutely love headbands as an accessory, unfortunately I don't wear them very often.  I think my head is an odd shape or perhaps I have entirely too much hair, but for some reason head bands never seem to fit my head properly!  I think these are adorable, they are braided leather, the package came with a tan, chocolate brown, and black headband.  These retails for $15.00 for all three, at Ross they were only $2.99!!!


Have you ladies found any accessories lately that you just couldn't live without owning? 

Happy Monday!!! I hope everyone has a super fantastic week :)

My favorite CHEEK products!

I know I have done a post like this before, like months ago, but truth is my favorite cheek products have changed quite a bit, so I thought it would be a good time to update and let you know which products I grab for the most to put a little color on these cheeks of mine! To be honest, I used to not EVER wear blush or bronzer. I always just put my foundation on and left.  These days I don't feel my look is complete without some color on my cheeks. It's amazing what a little blush or bronzer can do for a look!
Let's see what I grab for the most!

On my list of most reached for items are:

Pretty Addictions Blush-The Big "O"

Pretty Addictions Blush- Wild Thang

NYX Cream Blush-Natural

Wet 'n Wild Bronzer-Everything Under the Sun

I know it's a big shock that there are two Pretty Addictions products in my top products, but seriously these blushes are amazing.

Swatches were taken without flash (Top to Bottom, then vertical swatch): Pretty Addictions-Wild Thang, Pretty Addictions-The Big "O", NYX Cream Blush-Natural, Wet 'n Wild-Everything Under the Sun

I am in love with all four of these products!!!

Pretty Addictions-Wild Thang - A BRIGHT Barbie Pink with light shimmer (love this color)

Pretty Addictions-The Big "O" - A coral orange with slight pink undertones and tons of gold shimmer! (my favorite!!)

NYX Cream Blush-Natural- A "pinched" pink with no shimmer

Wet 'n Wild-Everything Under the Sun - I am not a huge bronzer fan, but OMG I love this bronzer!!! I wear it way more often than I have worn any other bronzer I own. It's one of the best things that has ever happened to me, makeup wise that is!!!

Ladies, what are your favorite cheek products? What do you reach for the most???

My favorite Eyeliners!

The other night I was going through my eyeliner collection and got really sad as I realized how many of my eyeliners I neglect on a very regular basis. I have my favorites and I tend to forget to branch out and use the others in my drawer (this is a reoccurring theme with most of my beauty products, I find my favorites and neglect everything else in the drawer.)

These are my most often reached for eyeliners. Some of them I use way more often than others, but when it comes to eyeliner these are the ones I reach for and all the other ones in my drawer just get left behind :( 

Picture was taken with flash (I know it's not that great but out of the 15 I took, unfortunately this was the best!) (L to R):

Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero: Matte black liner (if you haven't used the 24/7 liners, you are missing out! They are incredibly smooth and easy to work with and they stay on for hours and hours and hours!)

www.urbandecay.com $18

NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Coffee: Shiny coppery brown (this one is my favorite! I love wearing brown liners, sometimes black can be too harsh for me)

www.cherryculture.com $4.50 (on sale now for $3.75)

Mary Kay Eyeliner in Steely: Gunmetal gray with slight Navy undertones (gorgeous! If brown doesn't work with your look of the day and black is too harsh this is an AWESOME alternative)

www.marykay.com/sbhicks $10

ELF Cream Eyeliner in black: Jet Black very matte liner (only complaint, creme liners tend to dry out very quick and become difficult to work with)

www.eyeslipsface.com $3

NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Purple: BRIGHT purple! (I LOVE this eyeliner, this is my 2nd favorite of all time!)

www.cherryculture.com $4.50 (on sale now for $3.75)

NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Black: I like to call this one my IN YOUR FACE black liner

www.cherryculture.com $4.50 (on sale now for $3.75)

Ladies, What are your favorite liners? Have you ever tried any of these? What did you think? 

Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray

This post is LONG overdue. I have been meaning and meaning to review this product and I just kept forgetting. First, I'm not sure if you all have heard of the line of haircare products called Not Your Mother's or not.  They are a drugstore brand line, I have only seen them at some WalMart locations.  Their marketing strategy is based on the concept of "being different".  Their line includes:

• She's A Tease Volumizing Hairspray
• Girl Powder Volumizing Hair Powder
• All Eyes On Me Shape & Shine Hairspray
• Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray
• Beat The Heat Thermal Shield Spray
• Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream
• Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream
• Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo
• Rise & Shine Silky Smooth Shine Mist

I have only tried one of their products. I am not big on using hairspray and fortunately I do not need much help in the volume realm so I decided to give the Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray.  There has been a lot of hype surrounding Sea Salt Spray based products recently and I figured maybe I should give this all a try. 

This product according to the website, is supposed to give you that tousled wavy hair that typically comes as a result of being at the beach all day. We all know what I'm talking about.  Everyone tries to accomplish these beach waves at least once, right? I know I have. Especially since I really only have two kinds of hair, either naturally curly or flat iron straight. I thought maybe the wavy look would be something interesting to add in to my rotation. 

According to the directions this should be applied to clean, damp hair and then should be combed through to ensure even application. After use a brush or your fingers to accomplish different textures in your hair. You can either allow your hair to air dry, blow dry, or use a diffuser to accomplish and set the look. 

The product has little smell to it, which is nice for those of us with sensitive noses. However, I have to admit I DO NOT like this product at all.  It left my hair crispy and about 20 times curlier than my hair is using my normal curl products(aka, I looked like I had a fro).  I didn't apply all that much of the product (I was intimidated by it) so I can't blame the crispiness on applying too much, I think the product just sets that way.  I've mentioned a billion other times how much I dislike my hair being crispy so obviously this is not my favorite product in the whole world.  I think I have finally given up on ever achieving the beach wave look with my hair as it is just too dang curly.  Perhaps someone with more fine and straight hair would have much better luck using this product.  I definitely recommend trying it if you can get your hands on this stuff, after all it is less than 4 bucks for an entire bottle!!!

Have you ladies tried anything else from this line? What did you think? Any of you have better luck with this particular product than I did?

Antionette's Revolution Cosmetics Review and Haul

Recently I have been basically dying to branch out and try some more indie companies. I have looked on Etsy several times at all of the companies listed on there and truthfully just none have really struck me. We all know I'm a loyal Pretty Addictions customer so that makes it difficult when you find another company and know the company you already love has shades very similar.  Over the Labor Day holiday I noticed that one of the blogs I follow had posted that an indie company called Antoinette's Revolution was having sale.  I figured I would take the opportunity and order some samples from this company, after all that weekend their sample bags were on sale for just 60 cents a piece! What a steal right?  I placed my order on September 5, the order included 9 sample bags.  Including the cost of shipping the order was $7.90, not bad right?  Well here is when it gets a little tricky.  Below you can see that my order in fact was placed on September 5 (I took out the ID number, just for privacy)

After I had placed my order, I was incredibly excited. I loved all of the colors I had picked out and just couldn't wait to try them.  Well, September 13th rolled around and I had not received anything from the company, no package, no shipping confirmation, not anything. The last contact I had received about my order was the receipt I had been sent by PayPal confirming my payment the day I placed the order.  Being the curious and highly impatient lady that I am, I of course emailed the company.

Kelly to ARCpigments

show details Sep 13

Hello,

I placed this order 8 days ago to review for my personal blog. I was curious as to when this order would be shipped.

Thank You,

Kelly

The following day I received this response:

Racheal  to me

show details Sep 14 

Hello dear!

I'm so sorry about the delay. We've been posting about it on our FB page, but essentially we had major issues with Artfire temporarily losing orders. We've slowly been getting caught up on orders, and the last batch to get the orders out is going out tomorrow, and then we'll be all caught up.

Keep an eye out on your invoice. As a sorry to everyone we'll be offering and free full sized eyeshadow coupon code.

Thank you for being patient :)

Rach

After I received this email I quickly went to their facebook page (Antionette's Revolution Cosmetics) to check this out.  There in fact was ONE post about the issue it read:

Antoinette's Revolution Cosmetics

Hello my lovely Revolutionaries! Just wanted to update you on this Artfire nightmare. We'll finally be fully recovered this coming Monday, and up to date on all orders going out. As a thank you, we'll be sending out a special coupon code to all those affected. It's heartwarming to see how nice you've all been during this awful time. ♥

So the story checked out. I was back to being calm and excited about receiving my order! Then 2 more days had passed and I had yet to receive the invoice I was told to look for.  I again took it upon myself to email the company.

Kelly to Racheal

show details Sep 16 

Racheal,

I have not gotten an invoice about shipment of my order. I just wanted to follow up with you about this, incase you had not been able to find my order.

Thank You,

Kelly

2 days later I had yet to receive any kind of response from the company.  at this point we were 13 days after the order had been placed.  I had been discussing my issue with a friend of mine and the suggestion was made to me to perhaps start investigating filing a claim with either my bank or PayPal (yes I am aware that this was only $7.90, at this point though, it was more that I felt cheated out of my time and products.)

Kelly to Racheal

show details Sep 18 

Racheal,

Since I have not heard from you I will be filing a claim dispute with my bank in the morning. I will also, be sharing this experience with those that follow my blog.

All the best,

Kelly

I gave the company 1 additional day to respond to my emails, when they did not. I moved forward with opening a claim dispute with PayPal (again for privacy reasons I have removed ID numbers)

Dear Kelly,

You have opened a dispute for the payment you made to Antoinette's

Revolution Cosmetics on Sep 5, 2011 (Transaction )

indicating that you did not receive the item you purchased.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Transaction details

----------------------------------------------------------------

Seller's Name: Antoinette's Revolution Cosmetics

Seller's Email: ARCpigments@gmail.com

Seller's Transaction ID: 

Transaction Date: Sep 5, 2011

Transaction Amount: -$7.90 USD

Invoice ID:

Your Transaction ID:

Case Number: 

Buyer's Transaction ID: 

Response deadline: Oct 9, 2011

By opening a dispute in the Resolution Center, you will be working directly

with the seller to resolve this issue. We will email you when the seller

posts a response. Most of the time, disputes can be resolved quickly and

amicably in the Resolution Center. You'll be able to review the dispute

details, communicate with the seller, or ask PayPal to decide the outcome

of the case by filing a claim.

At this point it took only a few hours for ARC to take a few minutes and finally respond to my email

Racheal to me

show details Sep 19 

Hello Kelly,

I've just sent you a response to your dispute, as I am backtracking on emails. I really, sincerely apologize for all I've put you through. I let my personal problems overshadow the importance of my customers and business.

I'm still going to send your order tomorrow. It's the least I owe you, after all the frustration I'm sure you've endured. Plus I'm upgrading to full sizes. I'm really, really sorry.

Racheal

So at this point not only did the website in which I purchased from this company through managed to lose my order but the owner of the business let personal stuff get in the way of their business... I'm confused... which reason is it that I am now 14 days past the day that I have ordered and have yet to receive my order?

That evening I checked ARC's facebook to see if anything had been posted about this issue

Antoinette's Revolution Cosmetics

As many of you know, I've dropped the ball on orders. I have no one else but myself to blame. I let personal issues get in the way of what is most important: you, the customer and fans, and the business. Know that I am only now taking a break from packing orders, but ALL orders will go out tomorrow. I deeply apologize that I let it get this bad, and the inconvenience I may have caused ANYONE.

At this point I guess I could at least be happy that ARC was taking full responsibility for their crappy turn around and not blaming others, right?

How many of you think my order went out the next day like both my email and the post on fb said? Well I certainly hope none of you were raising your hand on that one, because you guessed it! It did not!! I gave ARC two days to send me something and on the 2nd day I sent another email:

Kelly  to Racheal

show details Sep 21

Racheal,

I was wondering if you had a shipping confirmation for my order? Once I receive the order I will close the dispute. If I have not received it within the week I will be continuing with the dispute.

Kelly

At this point I was beyond frustrated... I was so furious. If there is one thing I hate, it is being given the run around! I hate being lied to and I hate when people (this includes everyone) does not follow through with things they say they will do. 

I had been waiting for a response and happened to check out ARC's facebook page and notice that their was a recent status update by ARC

Antoinette's Revolution Cosmetics

Hello my lovely Revolutionaries! Just wanted to update you that we've packed all orders, and we're waiting on an electronic deposit to our paypal so that we can have funds to send out the packages! Please, bare with us through this nightmare, and we'll be back to 100% operating status shortly :)

(Take a second for me to interject here, so now not only has your website failed and lost orders, you slacked off, your assistant quit, you let personal bs get in the way, BUT on top of all of that you don't have the money to send out my order? Are you KIDDING ME? I mean this has to be a bad joke right? At this point I was livid!!! I decided to post on this status as I could not control my anger anymore. I also got back on PayPal and escalated the claim, in my opinion it was something that was no longer going to be settled between myself and ARC.)

Kelly :What are you waiting on funds for? I paid shipping in the cost of my order... therefore the money should already be there.

Anonymous: guys, i would like to take a moment to vouch for ARC. Anytime you buy indie, you have to take into account that these companies are not operated the same as Mass produced cosmetic companies. It's easy to become over extended. Products are often packaged once they are ordered because it's hard to estimate what will sell out quickly and what will not sell at all. As far as i am aware, this is the first time ARC has run into this issue and she is working diligently to get back up to speed. Please be patient--i know it's hard when it's your stuff you're waiting for. But let's be kind to our indie ladies: they work harder than we ever know!

Kelly  I have ordered from indie companies. Please do not pretend to be versed in a situation you are not. I have no problem waiting for products, I have a problem with being lied to and being given the run around. Next time you want to tell me something I already know make sure you know the situation that the girl you are telling is in.

Kelly: When I post about this situation on my blog I invite you to read the blog and see what has really happened.

Anonymous: ‎@Kelly: that was a generalized statement. I did not mean it as you are obviously taking it. I have ordered from MANY indie companies myself and seen the good and the bad. I did not mean my comment as a chastisement towards you or anyone else. I would appreciate similar treatment.

Kelly: I am just asking that perhaps you take a minute to understand the situation that some of us that ordered and are having issues are in. It's not merely it's just taking a long time to get our purchases.

Kelly: I apologize for the way my comments came off.

Antoinette's Revolution Cosmetics Kelly I sent it off this morning, but since I work a full 40 hour work week, and they've been messing with my hours, I didn't get to get online till tonight. As for the funds, yes, you paid for the shipping, but the money was put towards emergency supplies. I will not make anymore excuses, as it is coming across as just that: excuses. I completely understand where you are coming from, 110%. I think what Jess is asking is what I would like, a little bit of understanding. I am human, I just lost my only help, and mishandled things in the process. I apologize that this escalated as far as it did.

Antoinette's Revolution Cosmetics And also, I would like to point out that &*$# is indeed correct on my situation. This is the first time I've ever had this issue, and of course it's been feast or famine. I lost my assistant, and was completely overwhelmed with orders. Once I figure out how to do so on our website, I'm going to shut it down for a catch up hiatus so I can get caught up on orders and also the work that my assistant used to do.

Kelly Hall I appreciate the update.

20 minutes after the conversation on facebook I received an email from ARC with a shipping code attached.  THANK YOU!
I FINALLY received my order on Monday the 24, only 19 days after I placed the order for 9-1/8 tsp sample bags of product. The one thing I can say that was actually a surprise to me amongst all of the excuses and reasons of ARC was that I actually was upgraded to full size shadows. 

Let's take a look and see...

I've stated before I am a sucker for packaging. I love opening up my mail and seeing that someone has taken the time to perfectly package and glam up the items I have paid for... overall, not super impressed with the packaging, but at this point I decided I'd cut them some slack since I FINALLY had my order.

Here are all 9 full size shadows (remember I originally only purchased 9 sample bags.) Also, there was a free sample of an additional shade as well as business card in the package.

On each of the tops of the shadows is a picture of Marie Antoinette and the companies name (I have to admit I appreciated that ARC stuck to their theme.)

When I opened the shadows I noticed that they were in sifter containers. I couldn't decide if I was a fan of that or not, but then I noticed that the sticker over the sifter didn't have a tab so I could pull it off, this was for some reason really bothersome to me. 

This picture was taken with the flash on. All shadows are swatched over NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk.

Top Row (L to R): Chocolate Rose, Majesty, Gouttiere, Musket

Middle Row (L to R): La Fontaine,, Bordeaux, Louis, Duchesse

Bottom Row (L to R): Le Chocolat, Chamber Pot

This picture was taken without the flash on. All shadows are swatched over NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk.

Top Row (L to R): Chocolate Rose, Majesty, Gouttiere, Musket

Middle Row (L to R): La Fontaine,, Bordeaux, Louis, Duchesse

Bottom Row (L to R): Le Chocolat, Chamber Pot



I have to admit, the pictures DO NOT do these shadows justice.  They are seriously gorgeous! I truly mean that. I love every shadow I received! It's just too bad that the entire ordering experience was such a nightmare for me. Needless to say ARC did not make a longtime customer out of me. When I'm ordering from ANY company whether it be jewelry, makeup, bath products, electronics, etc I look for more than just a quality product, I look for a good customer service experience.  This was a case in which I do not feel like there was any customer service at all.  I am aware that many ladies/men who run indie companies also have a full time job, however that does not make it ok to make endless excuses to customers, give them the run around, or take your good old time getting the items they spent their money on to them.  I am a pretty understanding person, had ARC just been upfront with me from the beginning perhaps the outcome of this situation would have been entirely different.  While the claim dispute through PayPal was closed unfortunately ARC has lost what could have been a loyal customer. 

If you ladies have had a different or even similar experience with ARC, please share!!

Lush's R&B

Hello ladies!! I hope you all had a super fabulous weekend! I know I did!
To continue on with my theme from last week and to post about the last product in the Protect and Nourish Head  Case Kit I am going to share my review of the last product in the kit,  Lush's R & B Hair Moisturizer.

To use this product you just grab a small amount and smooth it through your recently washed and conditioned hair. After application you style as prefered. 

I have noticed that I personally like the results of this product better when I chose to wear my hair naturally curly. When I straighten my hair after using this product, my hair feels slightly "slick" and slightly heavier than I would like.  However, it is perfect when I chose to wear my hair naturally without using an heating for styling.  The smell is coconut-y and a slight bit of avocado.  It is not an overwhelming scent at all.  I have also noticed that I love this product much more when I pair it with Jungle conditioner.  I received this as a 1.6 oz container and have used it over a handful of times and you can barely notice that there is anything missing from the container.  From Lush stores this can be purchased for $20.95 for 3.5 oz.  While I do enjoy this product it is not something I see myself replacing as soon as I run out.  If there is another Head Case Kit sale, then I would consider a repurchase.

Have you ladies ever tried this hair moisturizer? What were your thoughts?  Did you love it, like it, or dislike it?

Also, are there products you ladies are just dying to try but want an honest opinion of before you buy? Let me know!!!!

Enjoy some smooth R&B stylings. The tropical butters and candelilla wax will help to moisturize and control frizzy, flyaway hair, but this works to soothe dry scalps, too, with calming oat milk. And once you smell the orange blossom, your hair will truly get its groove back.

Jasmin and Henna Fluff-Ease

Hello Ladies!!!! To continue with my Lush theme of the week I am going to review another product from the Protect and Nourish Head Case Kit. 

The product of the day, today is the Jasmin and Henna Fluff-Ease Hair Treatment. 

According to Lush:

If your hair is a little fluffy, frizzy, dry or out-of-control, this is the one for you. It's packed with copious amounts of moisturizing and nutrient-filled oils including organic jojoba, almond, brazil nut and extra virgin coconut oil. It works brilliantly on curly hair as well, as all the oils help define the curls and add loads of shine. The jasmine fragrance will stick with you for days after using it, so you'll have irresistibly soft, shiny and sexy smelling locks.

To use this hair treatment you saturate your 'tresses' in the product from roots to ends.  You then let the product sit on your hair for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes you rinse, shampoo, condition and then style. 
I admit I have only used this product once, but the one time I did use it, I enjoyed the product very much.  It definitely took the ''fluff'' out of my hair and made my hair much easier to manage, plus the amount of frizz my hair usually exhibits was substantially less.  I didn't notice any added shine to my hair.  The smell is very light and different.  You can definitely smell the Jasmin.  I didn't notice the smell staying with me for days after I used the product, but it did for that day, that's for sure. 

Have you ladies ever used this hair treatment? Did you enjoy it? 

Lush's Jungle Conditioner!

I've decided that this week I'm going to dedicate all of my blog posts to my beloved, Lush. On Monday I posted about an item I received in my Protect and Nourish Head Case kit, today I'm going to post about another item that was in the kit. 
Along with the Curly Wurly Shampoo I also received the Jungle Conditioner.  For those of you that are not familiar this is actual a solid conditioner bar, which at first was super weird for me.

There is a sweet leafy looking design on the top and it comes in a 2oz solid bar form for $7.95.  According to Lush:

Jungle feels different on your hair from liquid conditioner; until you wash it off, you hardly notice it's there. It smoothes and detangles, leaving a fruitily scented coat of shininess. Smooth it along the length of your hair from root to tip, then rinse out.

I have to admit that the first time I tried this product I did not love it, not even a little bit. It has definitely been something that has grown on me the more I use it.  The first time I used it I used WAYYYY too much of the product and as a result my hair felt pretty greasy within an hour of using it. I also wasn't aware that it shouldn't be used on the roots, but only the ends.  The Jungle conditioner has a very "spicy" smell to it. It's a smell completely different than anything I have ever used. When I came to work that first day I remember complaining to people that all I could smell was this conditioner. Several hours later I walked past one of my co-workers and he asked, "Kelly do you smell that? It smells, I don't know... spicy!" I immediately knew what he was talking about and it was my conditioner.  He even asked me if I was turning hippy on him! After that first time I learned my lesson that a little of this product goes a LONG way and to not apply directly to the roots.  Since then, I have realized I really do love this conditioner, I only use it sparingly as I have several conditioners that I work in to my daily showering ritual, but I have to admit I really am a fan.  this will be added to my Lush shopping list for sure!

Have you ladies ever tried the Jungle Conditioner? If so, what do you think? 

My absence and a little bit of Lush!!!

Hey ladies!!! First let me apologize for my absence last week. I realized last night I never informed you I wouldn't be blogging last week nor did I give you a reason. As most of you know I am a graduate student working on my Ph.D., last week my boss sent me to a conference in Niagara Falls, Canada so it was definitely a little difficult to blog being gone, as I had to limit the items I brought with me and etc. No need to fear though, I'm back and will be back to my normal blogging schedule starting NOW!

Anyway, If you all read my recent Lush haul (if you need a referesher click here) I purchased the Protect and Nourish Head Case kit.  I realized I blogged that I purchased it, but have yet to review a single product in it! Well today, I am going to blog to you about the amazingness of the Curly Wurly Shampoo that was including in the kit.

According to Lush:

Curly Wurly makes thick, unruly curls behave. It's packed full of nutritious creamed coconut and coconut oil, moisturizing vanilla, softening eggs and avocado butter to give moisture back to hair and eliminate frizz.

In my personal opinion this product description is DEAD on.  I absolutely love this shampoo. I wish there was a little more fragrance to the product, but how amazing my hair feels after using it makes up for the lack of overwhelming fragrance.  When I first used this I was very taken back by the texture of the product...

You can kind of tell by looking at it, it's almost kind of sticky/goopy and there are some large chunks in it.  It actually kind of reminds me of the body scrubs from The Body Shop.  At first I was like you want me to put this in my hair? I finally sucked it up and did and man am I glad I did!!! The container is around 3 oz of product and I believe I had already used it about 8 times and this is how much is still left. It doesn't take much to get your hair clean.  The size that is available online is 7.8oz and is $23.95.  I will without a doubt be purchasing this after my current container is empty!

Have you ladies ever tried this shampoo? What did you think?

Also, I will leave you with a few pictures from my trip last week :)

This is a picture of the falls.  The boat in the middle of the pictures is the Maid of the Mist. It's a tourist attraction that drives you around the falls and under them.  What you see in the background is actually New York, as I am standing on the Canadian side of the falls.

this picture was actually taken from an observation deck on the Journey Behind the Falls attraction.  I am actually standing on a deck that is underneath the falls. You can actually see the waterfall in this one. This was probably my favorite site to see. You could hear the waterfall literally roaring and it was truly beautiful to be able to watch the falls from behind the "scenes"!

Have you ladies ever been to Niagara Falls?

Help!!! I need PAA!!!!

Yes, it's true... I officially have a problem... I need to start attending meetings to battle this addiction... Does anyone know of a Pretty Addictions Anonymous meeting I could attend? It seems that I just cannot stop ordering, and NO it isn't because the owner is one of my good friends, I truly am ADDICTED!
At the beginning of the month, Pretty Addictions released 5 new duochrome shadows, I am pretty sure I was the first to order, if not it was damn close. I had been texting her for almost a week asking her when I would be able to order.  When she finally told me they were up, I was sitting at O'Charleys with my friends Rachel and Blake and I ordered on my iPhone... Yes, that is how bad it is!!!

I am loving this little animal printed bag that all of my stuff came in.  This is a little different than the packaging I have gotten before. I love that it's not always the same packaging!! Keeps us habitual orders guessing :)

Here are all my products, in all their glory... Just waiting for me to dive in!!!! I ordered 9, 5 g jars, 1 sample size and received a large sample complimentary with my order.

The swatches are done over NYX jumbo pencil in Milk, this was taken with the flash
Top row (L to R): Mango Margarita, Kiwi, Unicorn Wings, Vintage Doll
Middle row (L to R): Brown Suga, Envious, Hell on Heels, Torrid
Bottom row (L to R): Foggy Hollow, Candy Corn, Hocus Pocus.

The swatches are done over NYX jumbo pencil in Milk, this was taken without the flash
Top row (L to R): Mango Margarita, Kiwi, Unicorn Wings, Vintage Doll
Middle row (L to R): Brown Suga, Envious, Hell on Heels, Torrid
Bottom row (L to R): Foggy Hollow, Candy Corn, Hocus Pocus.

Aren't they just AMAZING??? I have only had them since Wednesday evening so I've only gotten to rock Unicorn Wings, Hocus Pocus, Brown Suga, and Foggy Hollow so far, but I AM IN LOVE!!!!

I will try to post some looks soon :)

Have you ladies had the chance to order yet? If not, you better get on it!!!

What do you ladies have planned this weekend? a bunch of my college friends are coming in to town this weekend... our Alma Mater is playing my Graduate School in football tomorrow so we are all heading to the game.  I am also flying to Canada this Sunday for a conference. I don't know if I will be able to do many makeup related blogs next week, but maybe I will post some pictures of the trip instead!!!