January Birchbox!

It is January Birchbox time!

First up, is the Put A Lid On It eye primer from the Balm Cosmetics. I have so many eye primer samples it is stupid, but I am interested to compare this to the rest. On the skin it just felt like it provided moisture and not much else. A full size is $18. 

I love the brand Fresh. I love that they use good ingredients and their lip balm is to die for. I adore the Soy Face Wash but usually their face moisturizers are crazy expensive. This is no different, full size is $42 but I am excited to try this either way. This is the Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream. It is described as a moisturizer with "antioxidant-rich lotus flower extracts, this lush moisturizer protects skin from the free radicals and hydrates for a full 24 hours". I have a feeling this might make me fall in love. We will see!

I was pretty pleased when I saw this little guy. It is a nail polish by alessandro, which is exclusively partnered with Birchbox. This is a color called blue lagoon. I don't have a blue like this it is more of a slate/grey blue. I cannot wait to try this color out! A full size is $12.

 I have a love-hate relationship with Ojon. Most of their stuff smells so horrible to me that I just cannot use it. I have their texturizing spray and I love it. So I was iffy when I got this. This is the Damage Reverse Instant Restorative Hair Serum which is said to have ojon and macadamia oils to smooth and hydrate. I have only tried it once but I think it may be too much for my shorter hair. I find with my short hair I can't really use oils because it makes my hair greasy. With my long hair, it is no problem. A full size is $25. 

Finally, is the Harvey Prince fragrance Skinny Chic. This is not the first Harvey Prince fragrance I've gotten from Birchbox and if my memory serves me right I am not a big fan. I find them to be too overwhelming and just a strange mix of fruit and flowers. This is a "blend of juicy Meyer lemon, white grapefruit, and pink plumeria". A full size is $21-$55. Not a favorite. 

They included a cute poster full of favorite products and on the other side 25 tips for the new year. Pretty nice but I don't know if I'll hang it up :-P

December Birchbox!

All wrapped up is the Birchbox theme this month and I think it's cute. I don't necessarily understand the connection to the products...but oh well! 

The first product that caught my eye was this full-size Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner. I believe I had heard about this brand from Essiebutton or Estee and one of her videos. Other than that, I had never heard of the brand. It is a marker and it is pretty precise! 

Here is the problem though...I was given the color olive. I already got that color in the Stila Liquid Eyeliner! 

I mean I can't complain because a full-size is $15 so I already got more than I paid. I guess I just don't understand why I keep getting olive green.

The next item I am kind of excited for because I really wanted to try a new shampoo. This is the Number 4 Clarifying Shampoo. It is supposed to be a low-suds formula and reduces the amount of oils stripped from your hair; good oils that is. A full size is $32.

I always welcome new lip products, especially when they are lip balms. This is the Pomegranate and Fig Lip Butter by Mox Botanicals. It "revives lips with avocado oil and shea butter". A full size is $16 and this sample is very generous. I am not crazy about the smell, I think it is the fig but I will still use it!

This actually surprised me but in my box was a fragrance sample (no that isn't the surprising part) but it was by Aerie and it is the Shimmer Fragrance. For those who may not know, Aerie is the lingerie brand by American Eagle Outfitters. Aerie also sells clothing and it's really cute but I was happy to see a fragrance by them in here. It is a blend of bergamot, peony, and vanilla. Full size $14.95-$39.95

It was wrapped in this cute silver wrapper!

Last up, is the life-style extra and I must say Birchbox knows the way to my heart - free eyeliner and then chocolate? Yes, please :) This is a Chuao Chocolatier ChocoPod. Apparently they come in packs of 7 and a full-size is $7.95. The one I got is the Salted Chocolate Crunch ChocoPod, which is "Crunchy, toasted breadcrumbs dusted with sea salt and swirled in dark chocolate", not bad if ask me. 

Also a plus, is that it is 100% natural and free of hydrogenated fats, artificial preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, and artificial sweeteners. 

Just when you thought it couldn't get better, there was a gift card for $50 off a rental of $125 from Rent The Runway! I don't love giftcards that you have to spend money to use, but this is a tempting one so I will have to go on and look around :)

Hope you have a great December loves!

November Birchbox *Give*

November Birchbox is here! I love getting this little box in the mail, it is such a treat. Plus, today it came at the same time as my tiny little Sephora order came :) 

So where to begin? This month's theme is give, which I think couldn't come at a better time when so many people are in need, especially after the storms. This month Birchbox is supporting the Art of Elysium which is a non-profit who has artists and musicians and designers put time and talent towards kids who have different medical conditions. I have heard about this through the palettes that Kat Von D had designed for this non profit and I love the idea behind this group. 

The first item I saw was this Oscar Blandi pronto Texture & Volume Spray. I thought it was a hairspray at first but it is just what it says it is. You spray it to get that tousled look, which I love and it might be a good trick for my now shorter hair!

This I just couldn't save until the end because I thought this was a great idea. For the extra, they gave me a sample of men's cologne to give to a guy friend. That way they get a little something and then they could learn more about Birchbox (since there is a box that guys can get which actually looks awesome). This is Artisan by John Varvatos and the card says it is a "modern blend of energizing citrus and warm woods". I love the smell and if my brother or dad don't like it, I might just wear it myself!

The next item totally blew me away because it was a full size lip gloss! The brand is ModelCo which I've never heard of but it is an Australian brand and I've seen that in some boxes people are getting this brand's full size mascara instead of the gloss! This is a bright hot pink with pink and silver shimmer, thankfully no chunky glitter. The best part? The tube has a mirror on! The gloss is the tiniest bit tacky but not sticky and it looks so juicy on the lips. The color is actually called Showgirl Red.

Then instead of the standard wrapped part of the box, they included this cute purple gift envelope that once you are done with you can use to give someone a gift. The idea is to take your other products out of there first. I feel like come people might actually get confused. 

Inside the envelope I found two hand soaps by Caldrea which I feel like I've heard of before but I'm not sure. There is one called Sea Salt Neroli No. 17, which on the back says inspired by "bright clear mornings at the shore". The second one is a limited edition scent, Vanilla Quince Santal which I am very excited to try. 

Finally, the last item is from One Love Organics, which I've been wanting to try. It is their Aromatic Body Serum in Rose (my favorite scent!) and it is made with pumpkin seed and sea buckthorn oil. It smells incredible, and it doesn't leave your skin greasy. It is also a spray which I love. 

Then to top it all off there was a bonus! They included a Holiday 2012 Gift Guide which is so cute and has some good ideas for men and women. Then they gave a coupon to Chromatic Gallerie which is a website where you can build your own pair of heels for $88! You can pick the heel height, color, material, and it is awesome. It gives you $15 off and a friend $15 off but I'm gonna share the code with all of you! On the website just type in Birchbox15 and do it before December 31, 2012.

Birchbox Beauty Haul

I am a little bit late on this post but I made an order on Birchbox because I had about 30 points saved up and that meant I could get $30 off my purchase! I didn't get a ton of stuff but I am very happy with what I did get. 

I have been getting really into black liquid liner and I just love the way it looks and I've been on the search for the perfect brush and formula. I've been using the 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner by Urban Decay and as much I love it the brush has started fraying. So this time, I decided to try Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. I adore this it is a marker not a brush you take out and this is perfect. It makes the sleekest lines and the formula has the best staying power I've seen. Even an oil based make-up remover had trouble getting it off my hand!

Then I picked up my all time favorite face towelettes by the Yes To brand. These are the Yes To Blueberry cleansing towelettes. They are the age refresh kind and it has apple and lemon peel in them. I really do not like blueberries and their smell but I love these! They don't leave that gross residue that so many do and they are so soft on your skin. This is a holy grail item for sure. 

Now this is hands down my new favorite product. I have been eyeing the stila eyeshadow palettes for a while. There are about four of them - there is the In The Garden, In The Know, In The Moment, and the one I bought was the In The Light palette. 

It comes with a small booklet with a few different eye looks you can do with the colors. It also came with a waterproof smudge stick eyeliner in the color damsel which is a beautiful chocolate brown.

I am in love with these colors. They are all so versatile and there is a mix of matte and shimmery colors.  First row: Bare (matte ivory) Kitten (shimmering nude pink) Bliss (matte nude) Sunset (copper shimmer) Sandstone (matte neutral brown) 

Second row: Champagne (pale gold shimmer) Glided Gold (bronze with gold shimmer) Luster (deep gray with gold shimmer) Night Sky (slate blue with silver shimmer) and Ebony (matte black)

I put swatches down below so you can see how pigmented they are. This is a must have palette if you like neutrals. I really think I have to go get the other three palettes now. It is a little pricey at $39 but well worth it!

October Birchbox Update

Emails are constantly popping up in my inbox, mostly because I literally am signed up for so many things on the web it is insane. I am slowly trying to unsubscribe from most, but today I got an email that I never expected.

If you read my last post, then you know that I ended up getting a repeat item in my October Birchbox. It was the Lulu Organics Hair Powder in Lavender and Sage, and while I like it I really don't love it. So I wasn't exactly happy with getting them again.

Lo and behold today I get an email from Birchbox apologizing for sending me the item for a second time! I was so pleasantly surprised that A. they caught that and B. that they reached out to apologize. Not only that, they gave me 100 points for $10 off a purchase in their store!

This completely makes up for the repeat, and honestly just the email alone would have been enough, they didn't need to give me more points. This just reinforces that Birchbox is an amazing company and that they really care about the customers and the business they do.

A million bonus points to Birchbox for being amazing :)

October Birchbox

It is Birchbox time again! This month Birchbox teamed up with goop, a lifestyle blog that Gwyneth Paltrow runs and it offers a ton of different things, including city guides. So if you were signed up, you received an email asking if you wanted to opt in to the goop box instead of getting the normal October box. I said what the hey, and opted in.   

The first item is a treatment mask by Karuna. This is the hydrating mask and you just take it out of the package and leave it on your face for 10 to 20 minutes. It is a cloth mask which is awesome because I've never tried those before. 

Next, is the Naked Princess Naked Shine lip gloss in Barely Nude. I'm always skeptical of lip gloss, because I generally hate them but oh my goodness I'm in love. This is a beautiful gloss, that smells, tastes, and looks incredible. It is not sticky in the least bit, it just rolls and glides along your lips and shines like no other. The full size is $26 and I am definitely going to splurge and buy one. I love this color but I might go for a different one. 

Then I found these two little packets (incredibly annoying those packets are) of the Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre - or Milk Cream Concentrate for non-French speakers. This is a holy grail product amongst the beauty bloggers and I'm curious to try it because it can be used as a cleanser and make-up remover too. 

 Sadly, this box ends on a negative note because the last two products ended up being so disappointing.  What I immediately noticed when I read the card was that I got a repeat item. I got the Lavender and Clary Sage hair powder from Lulu Organics. I got that product a few months ago and I'm still trying to get through it! I don't even really like it that much!

Then they included a Luna Bar...not just any Luna Bar but the Lemon zest one. It is so gross, I could barely choke down the one bite I did take. Further more, I can buy those in the gas station down the street. Not cool.

 So in general this box was pretty bad, and I wasn't the only one to think so. I went on the website and I read comment after comment about how awful people thought the box was. 

Better pick up your game Birchbox!