NARS velvet matte lip pencil- Damned

Ok guys so I have a clear shopping problem...but today was the last day to use my $15 from sephora (I got an email a while back saying that if you spent $50 you could redeem this $15 gift card). I almost bought the Naked 2 palette with it, but then decided that was still too much to shell out right now.

So I wasn't going to use the $15...but I read today that if you used it online, there was no minimum. SOOOO the second, less expensive, product I've been lusting over is now ordered and on its way to me.I did have to pay for shipping, and since this lip pencil is regularly $24, it wound up costing me about $16...not bad though! thats $8 off!! I'm so happy!

I visited a friend who goes to the fashion institute over thanksgiving break, and of course we wound up on 5th avenue and in sephora. That is where I fell in absolute LOVE with the nars velvet matte lip pencils. I was instantly attracted to the shade "damned"...its this deep magenta color that I haven't been able to stop thinking about since I left.

These pencils are awesome because they are not only matte, but they also have incredible precision. They are a pencil, and can be used as a lip liner as well as an all over color. Because of this, there is no running or smudging. I love how defined they make your lips. It doesn't feel super dry or cakey either. UGH let me stop because I sent it to my house in New York and I wont be back for at least 5 more days. 

So heres a little picture I took while trying the product in sephora. Let me know what you think!

BIRCHBOX

So this summer I discovered a God-send....BIRCHBOX

Basically, Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that surprises us each month with samples of the latest and greatest beauty and lifestyle products. It costs $10 a month (I justify this as one lunch out with friends...) and so far I feel it has been totally worth it.

When it comes down to it...its not ACTUALLY $10 a month. You get 10 birchbox points for each item you review in the box. These points are converted to dollars to spend in the birchbox store eventually. So for every 100 points you get, you recieve a $10 credit in the birchbox store. I've only received two boxes and I already have 120 points! I'm saving up to get something really expensive and great, and only have to spend a little out of pocket for it. So when it comes down to it I've spent $20 on my two birchboxes, and recieved about $12 in birchbox store credits. So $4 a box is what is actually being lost...and honestly I've gotten more than my moneys worth.

So for my first month I got :
- a pair of birchbox headphones (pink and blue, so cute!)
-a Lara Uber bar (a nut bar in bananas foster...it was amazing)
-a decent sized sample of the balms staniac lip stain in beauty queen
- a Juliette has a gun perfume vial
- a mini color club nailpolish in blue ming
- a little tube of Stila beauty balm (which lead me to an obsession with BB creams...woops)

amazing box, amazing value, and I loved every product. Considering purchasing a full sized staniac!

For my second month I received:
- a shick hydro silk razor (cant wait to use this at school!)
- a 2oz sample of Miss Jessies quick curls ($8 value, and its amazing)
-a FULL SIZED pixi shadow crayon ($18 value...lord help me)
-Juicy La Fleur perfume vial (with spray top!)
-Beauty fixation makeup correctors (underwhelmed with these..but they could come in handy)

This box had a ton of amazing stuff, a full sized pixi product (!!), and was well worth the $10

So basically you should really sign up using this link ----> GET BIRCHBOX NOWWWW

I get 50 points for each person who uses that link to sign up ($5 credit) so I'll love you forever and trust me its worth it!!