What to expect in August

August is going to be a great month! It's my birth month and to celebrate I've got a great bunch of reviews, give aways, and unboxings to share with you! Here's what to expect.

• Fortune Cookie Soap fall soap box unboxing & give away (STAY TUNED)
• ColourPop Ultimate Matte lippie swatches and review
• Melted lipstick review
• Jesse's Girl liquid liner review
• Avon items review/discussion of sponsorship

I can't wait to begin. Guys I also need a favor from you...an early birthday present if you will. Hit one of these buttons with the arrows pointing towards them in the photo below and follow this blog. It helps me out a lot promotionally and getting items to share with you. You truly are the best readers a girl could ask for. 

-Sammi Cupcake

Ipsy August sneak peeks

So I just got some sneak peeks for the Ipsy August bag. It looks like the theme might be "Back to Basics." Here are some items you might get.

• Too Faced Hang over primer
• Tarte energy lip tint
• Trust Fund Beauty nail polish
• Bella Pierre lip stick
• Hikari lippies
• Cover FX blemish treatment primer
• Aila nail polish
• Doll 10 primer

What do you think so far, and which ones are you most looking forward to? Unfortunately, the only thing that catches my eye so far are the Hikari lippies. Here's hoping the other items are better.

-Sammi Cupcake

Monday Freebies 5.0

Belated Monday Freebies

Hey cupcakes! I have been SO behind on my freebies post. The freebie post is the most time consuming of any I do, and to be honest with you all, it seems like everyone I know (including me) is having summer birthday parties. Like seriously, we have one every weekend for at least a month. Insane. Anywho...here are the free things I found for you this week...

Loreal Garnier Fructis full & plush haircare

Biossance Revitalizer

Simple Skincare remover wipes

2 Minute Miracle Gel

Equate Feminine Products

Avon lipstick

(This one isn't free so much as "free with purchase") Use code LIPSTICK

Well cupcakes, that's it for this weeks edition of Monday(...or Wednesday) Freebies. I hope you all find some free things you like and don't forget-you are all beautiful cupcakes in a world full of muffins!

July Birchbox Review

July Birchbox

1. Vasanti Cosmetics BrightenUp exfoliating cleanser|sample size| Retail value (appx) $5

2. Harvey Prince Hello perfume|sample size| Retail value (appx) $3

3. Stila Liquid Lipstick (Venizia)|sample size| Retail value (appx) $12

4. Bumble and Bumble hairdresser's oil primer|sample size| Retail value (appx) $3

5. Supergoop sunscreen serum|sample size| Retail value (appx) $8

That makes my box total for the month of July $31, which is not bad considering I paid $10. However, considering in the eight months I have subscribed to Birchbox I used eight sample size items and I had three months I gave away my entire boxes, this subscription clearly is not for me. I really tried to love Birchbox because their point system and customer service can't be beat, but I finally decided to cancel this month for good.

What really helped me in deciding if I was going to cancel Birchbox was comparing it to my Ipsy for the month. I also paid $10 for Ipsy but my Ipsy bag retail value was $91.32 not counting the bag itself, and I had three full size items, compared to Birchbox where I had all sample sizes (and small samples at that.) In my Ipsy bag I received three items I will use, as opposed to only two in Birchbox. When I considered all those things, it wasn't a tough choice to make. #TeamIpsy

Thank you for reading. You are all beautiful cupcakes in a world full of muffins.

Teaming up with Avon

So I have some really exciting news for all my readers! Effective August 1st, Sammi Cupcake will be partnering with Avon to end breast cancer.

This is a cause that is near and dear to me because two of my friends have recently been diagnosed. One is my age with no family history or risk factors, the other is a little older and she did have family history of breast cancer. In fact,  one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their life time. Breast cancer is a cruel disease striking the young and the old, and early detection is our best weapon in this fight. I would like to encourage you all to perform self breast exams once a month, as forty percent of diagnosed breast cancers are detected by women who feel a lump.

Starting next month, you will see this button on my blog:

This button is clickable and takes you to an Avon e-store where a percentage of your sale will go to end breast cancer. It would mean a lot to me if you guys used that button and tried some of the amazing products Avon has to offer, while also walking hand in hand to prevent, fight, and cure breast cancer. 

Sending hope to the fighters, peace for the survivors, and prayers for the taken.
-Sammi Cupcake

Fortune Cookie Soap sale

If you are a Fortune Cookie Soap fan or have always wanted to try, there is literally no better time. Right now is the "Christmas in July" sale. I just got 34 items for $25. My inner cheap skate is DANCING, lol. Go check it out guys! Most items are buy two get one free, and on pages 5 & 6 are some items for 50 cents.

http://www.fortunecookiesoap.com/collections/christmas-in-july-sale

Come back when you're done shopping and tell me what you got! And if you are planning on spending more than $30, follow this link for a $5 off coupon. CLICK HERE FOR $5 OFF $30 FIRST TIME ORDERS.

Love, kisses, and cupcakes

July Ipsy Review

Ipsy Summer Lovin'

This bag is in my top three favorites I have ever received from Ipsy. If I get one or two things in my bag I can use, I consider it a success but this month I liked three things I received. Here's a break down (and review) of what I got and the prices.

• Crown Brush tweezers-black-full size: Retail value $6.99. I had to e-mail Ipsy about these because they cut your hair instead of holding the hair so you can pull. So you end up with a shorter, still there hair that is harder to reach. I will update when I get a response what Ipsy is willing to do about this issue.
• Jelly Pong Pong 2-in-1 eyeliner & shadow-bronze-full size: Retail value $16.00. Although I don't see myself using this product, I can't deny the shade is beautiful. 
• Pur~lisse pur~bright ultra skin brightening serum-sample size: Estimated retail value $25.33. This product is a third of the full size. I'm not looking to change my skin care routine, but props to Ipsy for including a higher end product in their bag.
• Jor`el Parker Classico perfume-deluxe sample: Retail value $21.00. This perfume smells AMAZING. It's a roller ball, great for on the go, and the smell is really present without being overpowering. It smells very classy. 
• Teeez "Read my lips" lipstick-Killing me softly-full size: Retail value $22.00. This is a very pretty coral pink color and it's smooth and moisturizing. LOVE it.

My bag total this month is $91.32 ...NINETY ONE DOLLARS YOU GUYS! Ipsy is a $10 a month subscription, so I'm thrilled. I can't wait for the upcoming fall month bags, those are my favorites generally. If you are interested in signing up for Ipsy, please CLICK HERE to sign up. I believe the next 24 hours you skip the wait list.

Sammi Cupcake

EDIT TO ADD: I emailed Ipsy about the tweezer issue at 2;14pm and by 2:27pm I had a response from them apologizing for the problem and issued a "replacement order" which should be here in 5-7 business days. Color me impressed Ipsy. Great customer service!

Cynthia Rowley creamy lip stain review

It occurred to me while reaching in my "on the go" beauty bag the other day that I have an awesome product I need to share with you guys, because I had THREE in there. That product is the Cynthia Rowley creamy lip stain. I have AT LEAST eight of these minis floating around in my house and car, and three different shades in my make up bag in my purse. 

The full size of this product retails for $20.00 and comes in seven shades ranging from pinky nude to vampy berry. "Equal parts playful and polished, it offers the shine and moisture of a gloss, paired with the ultralong wear of a stain," says Birchbox. These lip stains are all 100% vegan, cruelty free, and paraben-free as well! 

These are super easy for on the go lip color, and do not settle into any cracks or dryness on your lips (Which is a huge win for me!) For a beauty blogger, I am pretty set in my ways as far as my makeup goes, and this product really wowed me and made me re-think lip stains. The three shades I own are...

 Sugar (nude pink)

 Poppy (coral)

 and Heartthrob (classic red)

I hope you enjoyed this review and if you own any of these lip stains, tell me what shade and what you think of them. I am definitely thinking Dahlia will be my next purchase for fall. Cool weather, pumpkin everything, and vampy lips. A girl can dream.

Love, kisses, and cupcakes-

Sammi Cupcake

Target Box

Just a quick blog post to tell you the Target boxes are available again! I didn't have time to make our Monday Freebies so I have this for you instead. Hurry on over because these sell out SO quick. Let me know in the comments below which one you got. I got the one on the right. (The honor roll box) Enjoy!

http://www.target.com/c/beauty-box-ways-to-shop/-/N-54wll

Love, kisses, and cupcakes

DIY coffee scrub

Coffee Scrub

Tonight for the first time ever I tried my hand at a DIY beauty product. A coffee scrub to be specific. It was so easy to make with just three ingredients, and can be used as as a complete body exfoliator from head to toe! The coffee body scrub provides benefits such as: softer skin, wonderful smell, and less visible stretch marks, acne, etc with extended use. The closest product in comparison to this DIY recipe is $17.95, and I was able to make this will products I've already had in my kitchen!

So here's the recipe. In a medium/large size bowl, mix the following ingredients.

• 1/4 cup coffee grounds (I used my pre-used grounds from this mornings coffee)
• 1/2 cup of sugar.
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil

And that's it! Mix them all up in the bowl and relocate your new DIY coffee scrub to a closed container. I tried a teaspoon of the mixture just on my hands to see how it works and my hands are SO soft. I can't wait to try it all over. And best of all, this DIY is 100% natural and super cheap to make.

Let me know if you make it, and what you think. Love, kisses, and cupcakes...

So much pun. [Give away]

So if you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know Fortune Cookie Soap is one of my favorite things in the entire world. Yesterday they launched their "pack your bags" mini collection and had three contests where you had the chance to win one of the bags.

I am infamously known for my punny sense of humor. My Mother in law tells me God found my sense of humor on the back of a laffy taffy wrapper. Nevertheless, this is collection is my favorite so far this year, so I dug deep into my pun bank. Here's what I came up with.

AND I WON! So I want to pass on the warm fuzzies. I am doing a give away which will contain the limited edition sea salt spray from the Pack Your Bags collection (in the scent Joy Ride) and a hand sanitizer from the summer collection in the scent "Second Star to the Right." In keeping with the way I won, I want to hear your punniest joke! One entry per person, and only entries commented on this post will be eligible. Winner chosen July 18th, one week from today. So get punny and good luck!

EDIT TO INCLUDE WINNER: Congratulations to Rebecca Smith for winning this contest with the punny joke, "Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?" She has been sent her prize pack, containing a Joyride sea salt spray and a hand sanitizer. 

Colour Pop...I think I love you.

Let me just start this by saying...Colour Pop, where have you been all my life??  I just made a small order of Colour Pop items, consisting of three eye shadows and a lippie stix. The eye shadow shades I got are "Amaze," "Get Lucky," and "I Heart This." The lippie stix is "Fighter."

"I heart this" is my favorite shadow of the ones I got. It's a silvery taupe with lots of shimmer. Great lid color. "Get Lucky" is my next favorite. This one is straight up metallic gold. My least favorite of the three, but still gorgeous is "Amaze." It is a copper shimmer.

 The lippie stix I got is in the shade "Fighter." Fighter can only be described as a perfect, true red. This color is really classic and I know it will get a lot of use from this 50's pin up girl born in the wrong century.

Colour Pop, YOU are the beautiful cupcake in a world full of muffins...and I love you. And take all my money. Seriously...my order arrived today. And I've already filled my cart full again. The eye shadows are so creamy and pigmented. The lip colors have an amazing color pay off and smell HEAVENLY. Order a couple, you won't regret it. And did I mention all of this cost me $15? SO worth it.

What are you still doing here?? Head over to Colourpop.com and use code "THANKSBABE" for $5 off your first Colour Pop order :)

Love, kisses, and cupcakes...

Monday freebies 4.0

I'm here to make your Monday suck less, with weekly Monday freebies! Don't forget to check back every Monday if you love free stuff! REMEMBER-you must click the words "Click here" to be re-directed to the free sample.

Framesi shampoo sample

Click here to get yours!

Atkins Starter Kit

Click here to claim yours.

Playtex Sport tampon & liner 

Click here to claim yours.

Premier Protein bar or shake

Click here to choose yours.

Pen (Engraved or with flashlight)

Click here to get yours! Go down to the very bottom of the page and click "Free Sample" (As highlighted)

That's it for this week, pretty good if I do say so myself! Shampoo, weight loss kit, tampon/pad kit, protein bar or shake, and a pen! See you next Monday, and feel free to share this post with your friends. Pass the freebies around!

**Please note: these freebie offers close quite suddenly due to a limited supply of samples. I can only guarantee that when this blog was posted, all offers were still live. I apologize if anyone misses out on a deal**

Fortune Cookie Soap Giveaway Winners!

The time is finally here...I have used a random name generator to choose the two lucky winners of the Fortune Cookie Soap//Tour the Store giveaways.

Winner of the prize pack #1, Jenna Rincon will win a mermaid lagoon solid bubble bath, a "The boy who never grew up" salt scrub, and 4 bar soap samples! Prize pack #2 winner, ParadoxicalSpork (Jennifer Lily) will win a fortune cookie soap in the scent "The Candy Addict" and 3 bar soap samples! 

Congratulations ladies. If you see this post before I am able to contact you, please send me an e-mail at SammiCupcake479@gmail.com with your address so I can get your prize packs out! 

4th of July Beauty

Red, White, and Blue beauties

Looking for some awesome ways to show your love for America this 4th of July using your beauty items? Here are some patriotic picks I hope you'll be able to use to be a true star spangled beauty!

Nails

These are my personal 4th of July nails. I used Incoco nail strips that I purchased at Wal-Greens for about $5. Here is their site if you don't have a Walgreens near you. Click here to visit the Incoco site

These patriotic pretties were submitted by Katie of "Confessions of a Nailaholic". Please view her page by clicking HERE. (And send her some love & page likes!)

Hair

I found these three beauties on a Beauty swap group.

Red: Jessica is the red headed beauty. LOVE the way her red compliments her skin tone.

White: Christine is the blonde bombshell.

Blue: Angelia is rocking the beautiful blue.  (Click here to view her Instagram) 

 Red, white (platinum blonde), and blue hair...how fun! 'Merica!

Firework Red Lips

Here are my favorite reds..I will definitely be wearing one of these colors for the 4th of July!

1. NYC Smooch Proof 16h lip stain "Rock on Ruby"

2. Elizabeth Mott Tints and Sass lip and cheek tint

3. LA Colors lip stick "Dainty"

4. Rimmel Show off Lip velvet-matte "Burning Lava"

5. Hikari lipstick "Cabernet"

6. NARS velvet matte lip pencil "Cruella"

Makeup

And you could always finish off your American Beauty look with some blue eye liner or shadow!

I hope you've enjoyed this themed blog post and have a safe and fun 4th of July. Thank you to all the beautiful ladies who allowed me to use their photos on this blog post. Make sure you show them some love! You are all beautiful cupcakes in a world full of muffins! Until next time..