From My Vanity

Beauty, Skincare, and a bit of Lifestyle

LORAC’s Eyeliner is on the Front of the Lines! (Beauty Review)

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I know it’s been a while since I reviewed the first LORAC product – which you can see my review HERE – but I’m back with another review on a product that I received from LORAC. 🙂 For those of you who missed it – or are new followers – I did a ‘What’s In My Mailbox? LORAC!‘ post a few months ago showing you what they sent me to review. And today we are looking at the awesome eyeliner they send me. 🙂
About LORAC Front of the Line Pro Eyeliner…

This high-performing no-smudge, no-budge, water-resistant liquid eye liner boasts a unique automatic delivery system that provides a clean, precise application. The flexible tip provides ultimate control, accuracy and smooth strokes, so you’ll never miss your lines. From very fine to dramatically bold, this versatile pro will take you to the front of the line every time!

Create any eye makeup look you desire with LORAC’s eye shadows and eyeliners! For more eye makeup techniques take a look at the LORAC Close Up Real Life To Red Carpet Eye Tutorial. The Eye Tutorial Kit comes with step-by-step instructions for applying makeup like a pro and remember: practice makes perfect!

My Review…

First Impressions…
I’ve seen this liner on the LORAC website before and was really intrigued. I always like finishing off my eyes with at least a thin winged liner, if not thicker/bolder. 🙂 I’m sure every girl out there has a feature on their face that they love to play up — and mine is most definitely my eyes. So when I saw that this finely-tipped liner was included in the package of things to review, I was thrilled! They sent me the Front of the Line Pro
 in brown.

The Packaging…
The packaging for this product is great! Really sleek and thin, compared to most liquid eyeliners I have tried. The cap has some sort of spring in the top and when you want to close it you have to make sure you hear a little snap. Once you hear that, you know the lid is on tight and there is no worries of it trying out!

There’s some kind of loose object inside that you can hear when you shake it — and I can really tell that this helps to keep the eyeliner going strong. Each time, before I use LORAC’s Front of the Line Pro
, I give it a good shake and it’ll give me a dark, intense brown line.

The Product & Application…
The liner is very liquidy, but because of the super-fine tip, it glides on like a dream. You have to give it a few seconds to dry before messing with it, but once it’s set it doesn’t go anywhere! The tip, as you can see, is very long, thin, and pretty flexible — which makes for easy applications whether you’re just lining your upper lash line or creating a wing.

While the tip is really fine, this doesn’t prohibit you from doing a thick line if you want to. How thick your line ends up being depends on how much pressure you apply. So this Front of the Line Pro
 liner is totally an all-in-one eyeliner! As I mentioned above, I received this in the color brown. Now I want one in black and I’ll be set! 🙂

Major Likes…
I like everything about it! Maybe I’m a little biased because I love a good eyeliner, but, seriously, this Front of the Line Pro
 is seriously ON the front lines when it comes to good eyeliners. 🙂 I like that I can get a really thin winged liner (for every day looks) and also get the really thick, dramatic lines (for special occasions). I usually have a difficult time getting both my winged eyeliners to look the same for both eyes, but not with this liner! It’s really easy to handle and just glides right on.

Major Dislikes…
There’s really only one minor thing that comes to mind, when I think of what I dislike about it. If you don’t give this liner a good shake before you use it, the liquid will be pretty watery and thin. But this isn’t really a fault of LORAC — that’s why they put the little ‘mixer’ in the tube. So just be sure to give it a shake before you use it!

Final Thoughts…
If you haven’t been able to tell yet…I absolutely love this liner! I know I am going to be very sad when I finally use this tube up. It’s so easy to use and makes winging your eyeliner out a breeze! (Which is really nice when you have issues with doing a winged eyeliner!) If you’ve been looking for a nice, high-end liquid eyeliner to try, I highly recommend you try this liner out for yourself!



I received this product from LORAC for free in order to review. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this product, which I have done. I only recommend products and/or services that I have personally used or experienced and like..

What’s In My Mailbox? Orly!

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Good Wednesday morning, all! I hope you’ve been entering my big End-of-the-Year Giveaway that ends TONIGHT! 😀 Whether you like books, makeup, or nailpolish — there’s something for everyone who follows my blog!

For today’s “What’s in my Mailbox”, I’m sharing with you something that I got from Listia recently. For those of you who are not aware of Listia, it’s an awesome website where you can get rid of stuff you don’t want, earn credits, and then use those credits to get other new things that you do want. I did an entire post on Listia, so check it out for more information on how to sign up!

So on Listia, after I got rid of several things I no longer needed from my room and earned some credits, I used it to bid on this auction for a bunch of Orly nail polishes. It arrived a few weeks ago and I was really excited! Especially since, in comparison to the stuff I got rid of on Listia, it was almost like I got all these for around $10! 😀 And since Orly polishes range around $10 on Ulta…yeah, I figured this was an awesome deal!!!

Okay, so everything that came in this nail bundle was…

Orly MatteFX in Purple Velvet
Orly MatteFX in Green Flake Top Coat
Orly Nailtrition
Orly Bonder
Orly French Manicure kit (that comes with three bottles)
Orly Won’t Chip
Orly Glosser
Orly Sec n’ Dry

I’ve used several of the polishes, and am loving each of them! 🙂 Have you used Orly nail polishes before? Got a favorite color or clear coat? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

For those of you who are interested in Listia and signing up, if you could use my link here, that’d be awesome — you get some bonus credits (to use for future bidding) and I get some bonus credits for referring you. If you do sign up, please let me know below! 🙂

Mia Mariu is releasing a new line of perfume! (Review & Giveaway)

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It’s a new week and I’ve got some great posts scheduled for this week. I hope you stay tuned. 🙂 Don’t forget, my End-of-the-Year giveaway is almost over — get your entries in before the 16th! And make sure you stick through till the end of this post…as there’s a new giveaway! 😉

For today, I’ve got a perfume review for you. I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed perfume on here before for y’all. Let me know if you like these kinds of reviews and I’ll be sure to repeat them in the future. 🙂

Cosmetic company, Mia Mariu, sent me a women’s fragrance from their new perfume line. The fragrance is called Magia.

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

“enchanting, flirty, sensual…deliciously unforgettable” 

This deliciously flirtatious fragrance invigorates the senses, creates a mood and sets the scene for unforgettable fun, romance and pleasure. With a medley of juicy strawberry, mandarin, peach and pear that play sweetly atop dewy blooms of jasmine, plum, magnolia and flirty frangipani; makes the perfect playmate and ideal soul mate for smooth and sensual base notes of rich vanilla, musk, tonka bean and warm and enchanting golden amber.

My Review…

The Packaging…
The fragrance is packaged in a very simplistic and sophisticated way. As you can see from the picture, it’s just a clear, glass bottle with a square lid and the Mia Mariu name brand on it along with the fragrance name. All the lettering is in pink, which makes for a very cute and girly bottle. I think it’s pretty! The lid doesn’t snap on very tightly, but it is pretty secure…as long as you don’t pick the bottle up by the lid. This bottle is 1.7 oz, which is a fairly good size for a perfume. All in all, I was very satisfied with the packaging.

The Fragrance…
I am terrible at describing scents (which is why I made sure to add the fragrance description above for your benefit), but the Magia is a lovely smell! I’m always leery of getting a fragrance online, because I don’t know if I’ll like it — I have to physically smell it. I’m the type of person who likes light, floral scents with maybe some touches of citrus in them, so it’s always hard for me to order fragrances online. If you are similar to me in your fragrance preferences, then let me highly encourage you to purchase this fragrance! It is a delightful scent! Definitely reminds me of a floral scent, but I can get the hint of the citrus-y side of it, too. Mia Mariu has come out with a perfect blend that will thrill many women!

Major Likes & Dislikes…
Well, my major like is that I love the scent! (Haha, that’s pretty important in a fragrance, huh? 😉 I love wearing this and, as you can see in the pictures I took, I’ve put a pretty decent dent in this bottle already. The lasting power of Magia is awesome — I can spritz my wrist in the morning, and several hours later in the afternoon I can still smell it on my wrist. The nozzle of the bottle kind of spritzs out a lot for one area, but that might just be my preference. But that’s really the only dislike that I can think of — which isn’t a big problem, in my opinion. 🙂

Final Thoughts…
Magia is a wonderful fragrance that will delight and please a wide variety of women. The fragrance does a great job of clinging to your skin and the scent will last for hours. I don’t know what more you could ask for in a fragrance! 🙂 Mia Mariu did a fabulous job in creating this perfume and I look forward to what they bring to their fragrance line next!

For those who are not aware, along with Magia, they have three other fragrances — two, of which, are for guys! 🙂

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.


The Giveaway…

Mia Mariu has kindle offered to sponsor a giveaway! I am so excited that one of you will be able to try out their new perfume for themselves! The winner will be able to choose from three of their fragrances in their MM line — MM Aqua for Men, MM Caoba for Men, and MM Magia for Women.

Below are the rules to enter this giveaway and, as always, the Rafflecopter is how I will keep track of entries. 🙂 

Rules: This giveaway is only open to GFC follower of Legacy of a Writer, so be sure you are a follower! There are many chances to earn extra entries, so be sure to come back every day to take advantage of them. 🙂 This giveaway will run for three weeks, ending at midnight on Monday, February 3rd. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There’s a new hair oil coming soon from Birchbox! (Beauty Review)

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Have you ever heard of Birchbox? It’s an awesome monthly subscription box that sends you new (or just-released) products to you at so that you can try new things at an awesome, low price! Well, I was given the opportunity to review a product that hasn’t even been released yet! I was super-excited to get to do this! I’ve heard such great things about Birchbox and am thrilled to try out one of the products that they offer on their website (or, in this case, will soon offer! 😉

https://www.niawigs.com/collections/u-part-wigs

So when the box arrived, I opened it to find a new addition to the Beauty Protector line that Birchbox sells on their website! This new product is called ‘Protect & Oil’ and it’s an Argan Oil for your hair. The Beauty Protector line’s moto is, “Never sacrifice condition for style” and the back of the bottle reads…

Keeps hair healthy, shiny, and happy. Beauty Protector Oil will guard against UV rays and heat, while it’s smoothing and strengthening qualities work tirelessly.

My Review…

The Packaging…
Beauty Protector did an outstanding job with the packaging for this new product. It’s in a beautiful black rubberized bottle with gold writing and designs. It has a little black pump handle on the top that allows you to get just the right amount of product out at a time. Not only do I not need to worry about this bottle breaking, but it’s also mess free and the pump assures me that I’ll be able to use every last drop of this amazing argan oil!

The Product…
I’ve been hearing a lot about Argan Oil recently and the magic it can do to your hair. Which made me even more excited to review Beauty Protector’s Protect & Oil, since I’ve never had the chance to use Argan Oil on my hair. 😀 The first thing I noticed when I used it was the fragrance of the oil. I don’t know what fragrance they use in this oil…but, wow, it smells amazing!! Every time I go to use Protect & Oil, I have to smell it. I can’t but a firm finger on the type of fragrance, but it reminds me of cotton candy! Sugary and sweet…the smell instantly sold me on this product! Haha, I know the argan oil will do wonders for my frizzy hair, but any time you can find a product that works great AND smells great…you’ve struck gold!

I’ve only been able to use this product twice since receiving it early this week, but I can already see the difference it makes on my hair. Usually, when I let my hair air dry, it’s super frizzy by the time it has dried. When my hair was still damp from my shower, I used two pumps (I have long hair) of this Protect & Oil and distributed it evenly throughout my hair. When my hair finally dried (it usually takes a while!), I could see the difference right off! It wasn’t as frizzy any more and the ends didn’t look as bad (I’ve got some split ends”. It looked really healthy!

The oil isn’t a thick or sticky oil and I am easily able to distribute it throughout my hair. It doesn’t leave my hair looking greasy or shiny at all. For those of you who are not aware of the amazing benefits, Argan Oil is very hydrating to hair and rich with a lot of vitamins and nutrition that your hair needs. If you have damaged or unruly hair, look into Beauty Protector’s Protect & Oil!

Major Likes & Dislikes…
I’m sure you guessed this, but my major like about Protect & Oil is the smell! Oh my goodness! I wish I had a candle that smelled like this! It almost smells edible! 😀 I also really like the effects of Protect & Oil on my hair. Not only do I use it after washing my hair, but I also use it to add just a little shine to my hair when I’m styling it. And also a good amount on my ends to keep them healthy. 🙂 Honestly, there’s nothing negative about this product. I’m not sure the price of this, but it’s really good size bottle for hair oil — 4 oz.

Final Thoughts…
I love Protect & Oil! It smells amazing, makes my hair look amazing, and I can’t wait to see what the long-term results do for my hair! If you have damaged or frizzy hair, this will do wonders for it, giving you beautiful styles and healthier hair.

https://www.niawigs.com/collections/straight-lace-wigs

I received this product from Birchbox in order to review. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this product. I only recommend products and/or services I have personally used or experienced and that I believe will be good for my readers.

Goody Athletique has done a fabulous job creating Ouchless headbands! (Product Review)

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Today’s the last review for Influenster’s Violet Voxbox! I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the new goodies and will keep an eye out for these winners (like today’s review) when you go shopping next. 🙂

If you missed any reviews, just click the links to go read my review on them — Unboxing/First Impressions, Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak, SoyJoy Fruit Bar, Sally Hansen Triple Shine Nail Polish, and Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa Masks.

About Goody Athletique Ouchless Headwrap…


Goody Athlétique provides hold and comfort so you can be physically active and strong in body and mind.

Ouchless Quick Dry Headwraps


Moisture-wicking fabric keeps you cool and dry

Reversible design gives you two looks in one 




My Review…

How it Wears…
For those that don’t know me, I really enjoy wearing headbands. They’re quick and fun and keep my hair out of my way. The only major problem I always have is that I get really bad headaches behind my ears when I wear them for any length of time. So I put Goody Athletique Headwrap to the test and wore it all day…and never felt a headache at all!

This really thrilled me, as did the fact that, because of the Velcro in the back, I was able to wear it to fit my head perfectly and it never started slipping. The color I got to review was in black, so I’ve been able to wear this on MANY occasions — it’s really easy to glam this up or just use it to keep all your hair out of your face on a regular day.

Major Likes…
That it doesn’t give me ANY headache!! I am so thankful to have finally found a headband that I can wear without having to take it off mid-day because of the headache I have.

Major Dislikes…
None really….the band IS pretty wide, so I wouldn’t have minded if it was a bit thinner. But maybe I just have a small head. 🙂

Final Thoughts…
This is a great headband to have in your collection! I know this is geared toward women who work out (it’s supposed to soak up sweat and such), but I’ve loved it just as a way to style my hair for any given day. 🙂 Two thumbs up from me!

I received this product from Influenster for free in order to review. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this product, which I have done. I only recommend products and/or services that I have personally used or experienced and that I believe will be good for my readers.

A neat idea behind the Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spas masks (Skincare Review

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I hope y’all have been liking these reviews every day. Next week I will resume my normal schedule of posting only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you have any other suggestions or recommendations, you know I love to hear from you! Just leave me a comment below! 😀

About Montagne Jeunesse…

Breathe life back into skin with intensely invigorating and revitalizing Dead Sea Minerals. We’ve harvested the oceans nutrient rich Seaweed and Kelp right from the source – A satisfying boost for thirsty skin and then some!

Start your new weekly skincare regime with Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spas, three NEW ground-breaking face masques that deliver a unique, enhanced cleansing experience. Specially sourced clays are infused into natural bamboo fabric making deep cleansing your skin quicker, easier and more convenient than ever before – creating a whole new type of face masque, a world’s first in face care!
Places you can connect with Montagne Jeunesse…

My Review…

First Impression…
I’ve always enjoyed doing a mask on a weekly basis for my skin. I can tell the difference in my skin — masks help keep my acne from getting bad and just all around gives my skin a very lively and fresh appearance. I was thrilled to get a Montagne Jeunesse mask to try in my Voxbox. I hadn’t heard of this company before, but sheet masks are becoming pretty popular and I haven’t tried one yet. 🙂

Application…
The directions were pretty easy to follow — just pull it out of the package, unfold it, and place it over your face. Well, the first problem for me was that the face sheet was way too big for my petite face! Which posed a very big problem when I was trying to make sure my face was all covered with the sheet and still be able to see out of the mask. 😛 Let me tell you, it was quiet a comical picture that was staring at me from the bathroom mirror! 😛 But, before that, the biggest thing that turned me off about this product was the smell. I got the Red Earth Clay Spa in Pomegranate…and I now know that I do not like the smell of pomegranate! After I finally got it situated on my face, I was very near gagging from the overpowering smell as I waited out the ten minutes.

Major Likes & Major Dislikes…
I think I’ve already mentioned, above, what my major dislikes were. I really don’t mean to sound totally negative about this product — those were just two big issues I had with this mask…and they are a big part of this mask – the size and smell. There were some positive things I can say about this mask, though. For one, it was very refreshing on my skin. I wouldn’t say it left my skin totally moisturized afterwards (I still applied my night time moisturizer), but it felt very soft and clear. I felt like it toned down the red, inflamed areas of my face very nicely and, since using that mask, a lot of areas on my face that looked like they were about to get a really bad ‘acne outbreak’ have cleared up. 🙂 So this is a major plus for me — I’m always battling acne.

Final Thoughts…
I can’t say I loved this product, or that I would even use it again. If they came in different sizes — for petite girls like me 😉 — I would definitely give these masks another try. Just not anything with pomegranates in it!

Do I recommend this product? If you have a more average-size face (that sounds weird saying it that way, lol!) and don’t have a dislike for weird-smelling things on your face, I would definitely recommend you give one a try! They aren’t very expensive, so just purchasing one to test out on your face — see how your skin reacts…and how YOU like it — would be a good idea. 🙂

Question for Readers: Have you tried one of these Montagne Jeunesse masks?? Did you like it? If you haven’t tried one of these before, what masks do you use in your skin care routine? Please share with me in the comments below! 🙂

I received this product from Influenster for free in order to review. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this product, which I have done. I only recommend products and/or services that I have personally used or experienced and that I believe will be good for my readers.

Eat a SoyJoy Fruit Bar & Paint Your Nails with Triple Shine! (Beauty Review)

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Today I’m going to be reviewing two of the products that came in my Voilet Voxbox from Influenster. 🙂 They’re both rather short reviews, so I thought it fitting to combine them together. 

About SOYJOY Baked Whole Soy & Fruit Bar…

Unwrap the perfect snack! SOYJOY offers complete protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber; all 7 SOYJOY varieties are all-natural, certified gluten-free, and just 130-140 calories per bar. Baked with ground whole non-GMO soybeans and real fruit pieces, SOYJOY is a great on-the-go option that raises the bar on snacking. SOYJOY is full of joy, not junk!

My Review…

The Bar, Packaging, & Taste…
I’ve seen these bars around before, but haven’t ever had the opportunity to try one. I just took a quick look at Target and saw that for a box of 12 bars is only $12.99. Considering that these are healthy bars that are filled with nutritional ingredients that are good for you, I think that a little over a dollar a piece is a pretty good price. The wrapper that my bar came in was really thick and felt like a “good quality” wrapper…if that doesn’t sound too weird. Like, in comparison to store-brand bars and this bar, the wrapper was really thick and well-sealed. A nice perk I appreciated.

The bar is pretty dry. I could instantly tell this when I broke off a piece. This wasn’t a negative for me, since I enjoy eating bars that are too soft and squishy. It wasn’t hard (I can’t stand bars that hurt your teeth just to chew!), just dry. It broke apart easily with no mess. The bar I got to review was the Cranberry one and I thought it was delicious! It very faintly reminded me of those Fig Newtons I used to eat as a kid. And since I’ve always loved Fig Newtons, this bar was an instant win for me! 🙂

Final Thoughts…
When I go to eat a snack, I always appreciate when I can eat and know that what I am putting in my body is good for me (as opposed to eating a cookie or M&Ms as a snack! :-P) This would definitely be a bar I would keep handy to throw in my purse when I am out and about on a busy day.

About Sally Hansen New Triple Shine Nail Color…





NEW Triple Shine™ Nail Color from Sally Hansen! Daily defense from water and wear. Defend against the Triple Threat: Tap, Salt, and Chlorine water. Water to workout, day in and day out, nothing will dull these nails. 

The gloss is protected with the Ultimate Shield Complex, exclusive to Sally Hansen, designed to help polish withstand the wear and tear of everyday living for non-stop shine. Outshine ’em all with our 30 shades!

My Review…

Product & Application…
I really enjoy painting my nails and have a large supply of nail polishes in my desk drawer, but I didn’t have a color similar to Sally Hansen’s new Triple Shine nail polish in Make Waves. I was thrilled to get this color in my Violet Voxbox. 🙂 If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I’ve tried this bottle out on a cute winter-themed nail art. I am now currently on day 4 of wearing this polish and I only have two nails (my thumbs) with major chipping. For me, personally, this is a great record! Usually nail polish only lasts a few hours — maybe a day — before chipping starts to happen. 😀

Major Likes & Dislikes…
I really liked the size of the brush on this polish! It isn’t too big, but it isn’t too small, either, and it makes it really easy to get into the corners of my nail. The top to the polish has a casing that comes off (as you can see in the picture here), which I thought was a little interesting. Not bad, not good…I just couldn’t figure out the reason for that extra top. The only downside to this polish was that its a very sheer polish. It took a lot of coats to get this how opaque I like my colors. That isn’t a really a big downside, since the layers are thin and they dry fast. And even though I did 4 or 5 coats, there wasn’t any air bubbles are funky stuff going on from so many layers. They all dried beautifully!

Final Thoughts…
I really like this polish! Depending on where you go to purchase these, they retail for about $4 or $5.

For me, this is a little expensive for nail polish — but I’m going to be on the lookout for sales and use a coupon with it.

Then it’ll be a steal and I’ll have some beautiful, shiny polishes that last to add to my collection! 🙂

I received this product from Influenster for free in order to review. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this product, which I have done. I only recommend products and/or services that I have personally used or experienced and that I believe will be good for my readers.