Spoiler Alert: Total Beauty Collection Mystery Box

Total Beauty Collection offers beauty sample collections, usually $10-15 for a handful of products. They recently offered a Mystery Box at $20 for 13 samples. Through a discount and a coupon code, I paid $16. Here is a photo of everything that came in my box:
*I purchased this collection with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands or Web sites mentioned in this post.*

My initial reaction to the contents:

Honest Co. Face and Body Lotion, deluxe sample 1.0 oz tube
I've read and heard good reviews about this company. The sample is a good size. It says that the lotion is free of harsh chemicals. Nonetheless, I will probably trade this on makeuptalk.com, since I am currently stocked up on my favorite lotions. https://www.honest.com/

Honest Co. Healing Balm, deluxe sample 1.0 oz tube
My closest friend has tried this and says that it is a great product, so I would like to try it. It is a good size for a sample. It is designed for sensitive skin with rashes or irritation and to prevent future occurrences. https://www.honest.com/

Evolvh Ultrashine Moisture Shampoo, deluxe sample 2 fl oz bottle 

Evolvh Ultrashine Moisture Conditioner, deluxe sample 2 fl oz bottle
I have used this shampoo and conditioner before; I found them to be pretty good, but nothing spectacular. That being said, I love having an abundance of shampoo and conditioner samples around, so I am happy to received these. I like the size of these samples and that they are in bottles, not packets. http://www.evolvh.com/

Eboost Daily Health Booster orange flavor energy drink powder, 7 packets
I am almost indifferent to these. If someone wants them on makeuptalk.com, I will include one in a trade. If nobody chooses the Eboost, I am not adverse to drinking them. I used to use Emergen-C a lot and liked it; this seems to be a similar concept. http://eboost.com/

$50 Gift Card to nakedwines.com
I would not personally define this as a gift card, since you have to have a minimum purchase of $51, pay $9.99 shipping IF they ship to your state, and the available wines do not add up to $51. Anyhow, it is a sizable discount and may appeal to some people. Not for me. http://us.nakedwines.com/

NYX Color Lip Balm in 'Xie Xie', full size 0.14 oz tube
I have been very happy with the lip products that I have tried by NYX in the past, so I am excited about this sample. I don't really like clear lip balm, but lip balm with color is right up my alley. http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/

Ferro Cosmetics Mineral Blush deluxe sample pots, in 'Terra Cotta' and 'Suzie's Glow'
These both look very pretty, but I do not like my blush to be loose. They will be up for trade on makeuptalk.com. https://www.ferrocosmetics.com/default.aspx

NYX Roll On Shimmer in 'Platinum', full-size roller
This is also very pretty, but too similar to shadows/pigments that I have already. This will be up for trade on makeuptalk.com. http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/

Alfaparf Milano Semi di Lino Diamanté Cristalli Liquidi Illuminating Serum, deluxe sample (edit: dropper) bottle
This product had great reviews online, so I'm looking forward to trying it on my hair. I have not used this type of product before. My hair has been dry and dull around the lower half, so the timing is good for me. http://usa.alfaparf.com/

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask, deluxe sample 10g tube
I am excited to try this sample. I love facial masks, especially the peel-off versions. I find it very refreshing. I have been wanting to try this particular mask since I have had good experiences with the Boscia brand in the past. http://www.boscia.com/newsite/index.php

Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm, full size 4g tube
As I said above, I am not into clear lip balms. Therefore, although I think this is a good sample and I generally love the Neutrogena brand, it is not for me. I need color on my face. This will be up for trade on makeuptalk.com. http://www.neutrogenanaturals.com/

Q-tips Purse Pack, 30 cotton swabs
I think that most of us would consider this to be a boring sample. However, it is practical and I will definitely use it. http://www.qtips.com/

Overall, I am quite pleased. It was fun to expect a surprise to be delivered to me, and there are at least eight products that I will be using. Keep an eye out for my reviews of the products that I am keeping.

*I purchased this collection with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands or Web sites mentioned in this post.*

Swatches and Review--NYX Forever Young

NYX Cosmetics makes a lot of products that I enjoy. For example, see my post featuring my favorite NYX lipstick here. I've found their quality to be very good for the most part (their individual products are far superior to their sets in my experience), and the prices are quite affordable. The prices are even better when you find the products at T.J. Maxx, as I did with this nail polish, NYX Forever Young.
*I purchased this product with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands or stores mentioned in this post.*

NYX describes Forever Young as "Dark pink with gold glitter". I'd like to expand on that description: The dark pink is very warm in tone and the gold glitter is both microfine glitter and small flakes. The gold flakes are very prominent. 

The formula was good, but sheer. I used three coats over Orly Bonder as a base coat. With longer nails, you may wish to use a base color or an additional coat.

I made the mistake of not using top coat. Forever Young is very smooth, so it doesn't need the top coat to even out the texture. However, I believe that I probably would not have gotten such bad tip wear had I worn a top coat. 

I found the dry time to be average to quick. My three coats were all thin coats. 

The gold glitter and flakes are very dense and flashy, which I love. 

The square bottle was easy for me to work with, not inclined to tip over. The brush was average. 

I typically purchase NYX products from ULTA or Target, but I have not yet seen any NYX nail polish at either location. 

It was cloudy when I took these photos, so I apologize for the lack of direct sunlight. Of course, if there were direct sunlight, the gold flakes may have blinded you... :)

NYX Forever Young was mostly a win for me. I wish it were more opaque, but adding an extra coat is not a big deal. 

NYX Salon Formula Nail Polish can be purchased online at nyxcosmetics.com for $4.00. They seem to have a wide variety.

*I purchased this product with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands or stores mentioned in this post.*

Paired with Bold Red Lips...

It seems to be the times that I'm not going anywhere that I wear the most makeup. I think it's because I have a little more time to play with it and take everything off if the look fails. Here is the look I paired with my bold red lip from yesterday's post:

Let's focus on the eyes for a while, because that was the area of this look where I tried a new-to-me product, Kat Von D's True Romance Eyeshadow Palette: Art of Elysium--Evelyn, shown below. (It has a mirror inside in addition to what you see.) I think the packaging is super cute, feminine in an understated way.

The shade names: Top left is Enjoy the Silence, top right is Sand Timer, bottom left is Leather, bottom right is Tijuana.

I prepped my eyelids with Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original. (One of my so-called 'holy grail', or HG, products.) I then applied Sand Timer with a light hand from lash line to brow bone.

I applied Enjoy the Silence just to the inner third or so of my eyelid, up to the crease, as shown above. Next, I applied Leather to the middle third or so of my eyelid up to a little past my crease, shown below.

The darkest shade, Tijuana, I applied to the outer third or so of my eye. I brushed the shadow out into roughly a sideways V-shape. This is where your eyes start to look strange, like some sort of... Gothic Neapolitan ice cream?

When my eye shadow is applied in vertical strips like this, I start the blending process by using a soft crease brush to buff out the harsh vertical lines between the shades. I just use a few up and down motions with the brush until the shades flow into each other in a more progressive way.

Personally, I tend to use the same brush for my entire eye shadow process, just cleaning it between  dark and light shades. I used more of Enjoy the Silence to highlight just under my brow. Then I used Sand Timer again with a light hand and a motion like a windshield wiper, to blend horizontally between my three shades on the bottom and my highlight by the brow.

I used Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in shade #21 all over my face, and L'Oreal True Match concealer in Fair/Light Neutral. I filled in my brows with some brown powder by Maybelline and an angled eyeliner brush. (I've used the brow powder so many times that I can no longer read the label to tell you the name of the product.) For eyeliner, I used a somewhat bold line of black liquid: L'Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black.

I tamed my brows a little more with brow gel by Benefit. The mascara used is Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Black Drama, which I previously posted about here. 

I used the blush that I use most of the time, Laura Geller Blush-N-Brighten in Roseberry. This is an expensive blush to me, around $30, but I got it by using Birchbox points, their loyalty/rewards program. I only tap the brush onto the blush to pick some up, not sweep over it, to keep my blush unbroken for longer. Then I tap it onto my cheeks rather than sweeping it on, so it blends better.

Last but not least was freshening up my NYX lipliner (Hot Red) and lipstick (Chic Red) from yesterday's post.

*I am not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned and have not received any compensation or samples for this post.*

Shorty Post--Bold Red Lips

Bold red lips can be great if you find a red that works for you. My favorite red lipstick (so far) is NYX 'Chic Red'. 

The products:

NYX Lipliner Pencil in 'Hot Red', shade #817

The results:

 

Rolling my eyes at myself: Not smart to apply creamy red lipstick before any other makeup! I see smudges in my future. In my next post I'll show you what makeup I paired with this bold red lip.

NYX Cosmetics are available on their web site and at ULTA. The Slim Lip Pencils retail for about $3.50, and the Extra Creamy Round Lipstick retails for about $4.00. (I'm not sure how long the sale lasts, but as of March 14, 2013, ULTA.com has both products Buy 1, Get 1 for 50% Off.)

*I purchased the above products with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands or web sites mentioned in this post.*