Pretty & Polished April 2014 Beauty Box Review!

So after what seemed like waiting a century, I finally received my April Beauty Box from Pretty & Polished. Not sure what happened with the shipping, considering I prepaid for a three month subscription, but oh well, it honestly took forever. I've never had this issue with P&P before, and I'm a bit bummed about it.

However, that doesn't change the fact that I like this month's box. Maybe that's why I was so bummed, because I was looking forward to it.

For those of you who didn't read my last post, or who don't already know or subscribe, Pretty & Polished is my favorite indie brand of nail polish. In February, they announced their beauty box program, which is a box with 2 full size limited edition only released in that box polishes. It also contains at least one mini polish to sample from their current inventory. You receive various skincare samples, tools, and a coupon for that month all for only $22! You can find more information here.

First look:

Sorry this is like the most hideous photo ever, I forgot to take another more neat one for the blog when I ripped into the box! :D

My April box contained:

Mardi Gras Rendezvous - Full Size $8.50

Life is a Bowl of Cranberries - Full Size $8.50

Anamagi (Color Changer)- Mini $4.00

Citrus Butter Cuticle Cream - Sample $1?

Cranberry Fig Cold Process Soap - Sample $1?

Mini Nail File $1?

Nail Art Accessories

Coupon for $5 off $35 in April

Overall, this was not the most thrilling bag for me. I like it, but not as much as last months. Hopefully next months will bring more excitement for me. It's worth about $22 even with what I received, and I almost wish I'd just used the $22 to pick out my own stuff. I do however, LOVE Mardi Gras Rendezvous, but I do feel like the colors included in the April box are much more suited for Winter and not Spring. I also hate that I received my box pretty much after everyone ever.

See! It's gorgeous! Mardi Gras Rendezvous in all it's glittery glory.

It's a deep purple jelly packed with blue, pink, purple, and green glitters. This is 2 coats I believe for full coverage.

Life is a Bowl of Cranberries is a nice metallic purple to cranberry color depending on the light. It's okay, but pretty streaky and not what I would purchase in the Spring.

This is Anamagi, when it's warm, which I have been dying to try out. It's actually not as awesome as I expected. The color change isn't as drastic as the other P&P color changers I have, and the flash from my camera makes the purple when it's warm look way more intense than in real life. 

This is it in it's cold state. It's a really nice holo black to purple thermal, and if you zoom in on this photo you can really see the holo. I just wish that it changed like my other ones, which will change colors all throughout the day while I wear them.

One more for good measure. My flash is so messed up.

Last, the skincare products that came with my beauty box. I LOVE the citrus butter cuticle stuff. It smells amazing and goes on much smoother than my other cuticle balms. 

The soap is okay, but it's nothing I would buy or be super excited about. I don't care for bar soap as it is. It smells nice, but too Christmas-y.

So that is my April box! Did you get your yet!? I can't wait for May. Hopefully, I will get it faster this time!

Xx Ashley C.

Pretty & Polished March Beauty Box Review!

It's 12:30 AM and officially my birthday!! YAY Happy Birthday to ME!
I am majorly slacking off on blogging lately, but I've been dealing with the loss of a job as well as the emotional baggage that goes along with that. I've been meaning to post this up for a week or two now, and I've mentioned it a couple of times to you so here it is!!!

Earlier this month, Pretty & Polished announced their new Beauty Boxes! Each month they are going to be offering a subscription box full of 2 full sized polishes, a mini of an older polish that is currently sold in the store, a beauty/skin care product, as well as other bonus items to go along with that! Pretty in Polished is my favorite indie brand ever EVER, so this works for me. I will ultimately probably end up cancelling my Julep subscription for this, or at least one of my other subscriptions, once my three months runs out.  That being said, they are offering this in 1, 3, 6, and 12 month lengths but the one month option sold out QUICK this month, so you have to be super fast! It's $22 and you can purchase one HERE! If you love these colors, you can actually still get a 3 month subscription and get a March box right now! So head on over!

My March box contained:

Matte Topcoat

Liquid Gold

Day in the Park

Jawbreaker (mini)

Coffee Junkies cuticle balm stick

Nail File

Flower Fimo Stick

15% off coupon for March

Now, before I get to the swatches, I want to talk about the other stuff. First things first, I use their regular cuticle balm on the regular in the scent Coffee Junkies and am pretty much just as addicted to it as I am coffee. I was super stoked to receive this in stick form because it is infinitely more portable and easier/less messy to apply. This stuff smells GREAT, just like a fresh cup of coffee.

As for the Fimo stick, I've never used one of these before but this little thing is pretty cute, and I will probably cut off a slice or two and try it closer to summer. And I don't know about you, but I can never have enough nail files, so that was a happy bonus as well. 

I'm very, very happy with the March Box! I've been DYING to try a matte topcoat for awhile now, so I was super excited to find this item! And LUCKY for you guys, I tried it tonight for my pre-birthday nails. 

This is "Cutie Pie" from their limited edition Sweetheart Duo this Valentine's day with "Day in the Park" as an accent nail. "Cutie Pie", the yellow, is actually already matte, but the topcoat made it even better, and I really like that there is no shine AT ALL. I will say that my bottle of "Day in the Park" has ALOT of glitter in it and it is a teensy bit hard to work with, but it's definitely still BEAUTIFUL and is even more awesome with the matte topcoat over it. 

Here is a bottle shot of "Liquid Gold". I've been trying to figure out a way to best describe this polish, and what I've come up with is a Bronze/Goldish to Pinkish Duochrome Holo. Does that make sense? It's so so pretty in the sunlight, and while I typically don't love bronze polishes, the holo factor totally sells me.

Here's a flash shot of it so you can see the holo goodness. You can also see the bronze to pink shift in it, which is really subtle and nice. :)

I think it's super appropriate that the first box would have "Jawbreaker" in it. This was my very first indie polish, and also my very first Pretty & Polished color. I've actually already reviewed it on here in November, and you can read it HERE. I love this color, it looks JUST like a Jawbreaker and reminds me of my childhood. It's also got a really great formula. 

I'm happy to say that this box is a total win for me. I usually wait until at least the second month with subscription boxes, just to make sure they aren't going to be horrible, but I'm glad I got this one. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I didn't have "Day in the Park" in my collection for this Spring!

My favorite part of this box is that the colors are exclusive to the month, and they will ONLY be sold in that month's box. How can I pass that up?! 

I hope you like these polishes! If you've never heard of Pretty & Polished, make sure and check them out on their website HERE. They're a GREAT indie brand with awesome customer service, and their products are basically amazing. :)

More posts tomorrow!

Xx Ashley C.