A lot of girls I know are doing Birchbox and/or Julep Maven, which are monthly subscription boxes. I have tried both. But the one I am loving is called Eco-Emi. For just $15 each month you get a box of samples that are all eco-friendly. There are beauty samples, but there are also things like foods and household cleaners. They recently offered Bonus Boxes for $14 that would include some things they had put in previous months’ boxes, and since my January box hadn’t shipped yet I was eager to get one. Here’s a photo of what came in my Bonus Box.

A pretty cloth bag with an ornate key printed on it, Lip Gloss in Winterberry by Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques, Organic Vanilla Mint Lip Moisturizer by Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques, Zambeezi Tangerine tube organic beeswax lip balm, Neuma Renew Shampoo and Renew Conditioner, Organic Hojicha Chai Roasted Green Tea with Spices tea bag, Organic Perfume Oil in Enchant by Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques, Rose Hips Black Soap Deep Pore Facial Wash & Mask by SheaTerra Organics, Aloe & Green Tea Hand & Body Lotion by J.R. Watkins, Black Olive bath salts by Verdura Botanica, Seaweed Revitalizing Bath & Shower Gel by Gabriel Organics, an organic mini candy cane, Floor Cleaner by Naturally It’s Clean & Enzyme Fresh Home, a Vegan Organic Bar by Rise foods in Blueberry Coconut, Lemon Body Wash by Dr. Hauschka, and a Radiant You kit by Dr. Hauschka that includes a Rejuvenating Mask, Cleansing Cream, Lavendar Bath, and Facial Toner.

Yes, all of that for just $14 INCLUDING SHIPPING! Many are sample size, but the lip gloss and balms are full size, and the Aloe & Green Tea body lotion (which smells freaking amazing) is the perfect size to keep in a purse. I gave my husband the blueberry coconut snack bar, and he will probably use the black olive bath salts too. I love that Eco-Emi includes products that I can share with him.

My thoughts so far? I haven’t a chance to try everything yet but I love the Aloe & Green Tea body lotion, it smells freaking amazing. The lip balms are wonderful. I can’t use Burt’s Bees lip balm because it stings my lips (not a good tingly way), but the Zambeezi beeswax lip balm didn’t hurt at all. The lip gloss smells great, a little goes a long way, and I love the built in brush the the color comes through because it’s soft and makes the gloss easy to apply. The Dr. Hauschka products smell good too. I am looking forward to trying out more of the samples tomorrow, like the shampoo and conditioner.

I have to say, I’m really excited about this, in case you can’t tell. And there is no referrals or affiliate program, so clearly I’m not just trying to get you to sign up through me so I get money. (If I wanted to do that I would be mentioning my love for Bloom, which I plan on doing in a future post.)

Hi guys! Sorry, I know it’s been for. freaking. ever. since I last posted. As I said, I got Lyme Disease again (after having it over the summer) and then I was just busy with work and holidays and kept forgetting to take photos of my nails. Plus the Lyme (or the antibiotics) made my nails peel and break and look horrible. But I’m back now, and if I go missing again just go hound me on my FB page.

So I have a special manicure to share today. It’s my very first mani with Soulstice nail polish colors! What I love about this brand is that they are vegan, 3-free, and cruelty-free, that they donate a portion of all proceeds to non-profits, and that the polish is named after famous cities… how cute! A few months ago I took advantage of a promo to get 5 colors: Troy, Dublin, Ibiza, Paris, and Venice. I promised to review the polish in December, but then took two months off from blogging. So this post is a long time coming.

The polish bottles are square, so they fit very nicely together for storage. Don’t get me wrong, I love OPI and China Glaze too, but Soulstice bottles fit so much better in a drawer. See what I mean? This image is from the Soulstice website and shows LA, Dublin, South Beach, Ibiza, and Telluride.

If you don’t know by now that I’m very much a pink girl, then you need to re-read the name of my blog, LOL. After seeing that photo, I knew I had to make Ibiza mine.

When I initially received my polish, I sent an email to the company and said this:

I got my polish today… WOW. I opened the box and looked at them and my immediate response was amazement. These are the most gorgeous nail polish colors I have ever seen…

And after using the polish, I can’t stop raving about how great it is. I had to use Ibiza for my first Pink Wednesday of the year. I also liked how Paris looked compared to Ibiza, a lighter shimmery pink. So I decided to use that as an accent nail. I thought about doing Paris on top of Ibiza, but I wanted to see the color for what it really is. Here’s what I did…

I love this polish, and definitely want to get more colors. The formula is nice and creamy. Since it’s not too thin, it didn’t take a million coats. And it’s not thick and gloopy. It’s a perfect two-coat polish. Since they are all vegan and 3-free, I know I don’t have to worry about toxic chemicals when I get pregnant, which for me is a BIG deal – hubby and I are trying for baby #1. 🙂 The color lasted for several days without chipping, and when it did it’s because I was washing dishes without rubber gloves on. I’m sure I could have gotten more mileage out of this manicure by avoiding housework (ahhh, the dream life!) and by reapplying top coat every day or two.

Soulstice Nail Polish only has 405 fans on the Facebook page, so go help them get to 500!

Base coat: Sally Hanson Hard As Nails
Main color: Soulstice Ibiza
Accent nail color: Soulstice Paris
Top coat: Seche Vite

Disclosure: I was not paid for this review in any way. I paid for the polish with my own money. After I published this post, I did send a link to the company to use as they see fit.

So about a month ago, I posted a link in my sidebar to the blog Elemental Styles, who was having a giveaway for a set of PINK Conair hot rollers…. and then I forgot about it. Honestly, I’ve been so sick lately, I didn’t even realize the November 11 deadline was coming up. But then tonight I got an email from Whitney to say that I won her giveaway!

A big shout out and thank you to Whitney, and I will post my own review with photos after I receive my prize from Conair. In the meantime, I encourage you to go check out their Facebook page. And OF COURSE check out Whitney’s blog Elemental Styles, and Elemental Styles’s Facebook page.