July Birchbox!

Holy cow! Can I just say this might be the best Birchbox I have gotten yet?!? It is incredible! Birchbox teamed up with Glamour magazine to do a box all about the senses: smell it, touch it, taste it, hear it, and see it.

The colors on the box are awesome, first off. I always have loved the blues, greens, and purples.

First item is one of the lifestyle products: a LARABAR. In particular it is a Uber Roasted Nut Roll. I don't usually go for bars like this but I'm willing to try anything once. Variety pack of 16 is $27.95.

This is the sheer glo shimmer lotion by Manna Kandar. This is more of a highlighter than a lotion. You can mix it with your foundation, which is probably what I will do. Full size is $29.









Next up is the other lifestyle product! Ear buds! I'm totally excited because I was trying to find a pair in my room and they are long gone, but now I have these. They are cute in the neon color, sort of reminds me of watermelon! They were considered a Birchbox exclusive and were specifically designed for the box.

In the green wrapped part of the box I found a new nail polish by Color Club called Blue-Ming. It doesn't look like it in the bottle but it is supposed to be a green-turquoise. I tried it on my nail it the color is what it says. The only thing I was a little upset with was that it is majorly streaky. Once it dries it disappears a little but you need to be careful how you apply it. Full size is $8.

This is something I am super hyped to try because the summer and my crazy shower schedule is not being nice to my hair. This is a High Gloss Masque by Gloss Moderne. You massage it into your hair for five minutes after giving it a rinse, and then after the five minutes you rinse it out. The sample is actually huge so I will get a lot of use out of this :) Full size is $39.

This is super cool too, it is a Balancing Kit from Suki skincare! It says it is supposed to calm and purify troubled skin. What they included is: [Left] Pure facial moisture-balancing (organic blue chamomile and echinacea) which is like a skin oil. [Top left] the concentrated balancing toner (white willow salicins and vitamin c polypeptides). [Bottom left] the exfoliate foaming cleanser (lemongrass extract and natural sugar). [Top right] Balancing day lotion (white willow salicins and natural retinol). [Bottom right] Transformative cleansing clay (white willow salicins and antibacterial zinc).

Whew! The whole kit you can buy for $40 but this is a great starter set to try it out. These packets have a few days worth of tries, most people think you are supposed to use it all up in one try but it is too much product and won't work for you skin if you do!


















Last but not least is a fragrance sample by Harvey Prince. It is the Eau Flirt (or Flirt water haha). It is a scent with fresh citrus and jasmine notes over a base of lavender and pumpkin. At first pumpkin threw me, the only thing I like pumpkins for are their seeds. I was sort of right, it smells too citrusy and something else (probably the pumpkin), plus I'm not crazy about the packaging. It looks like something a 10 year old would pick up. But nice effort with the floral parts of the scent! Full size $55-$98.

So there you have it the July Birchbox! It was a great box!

A New Year

     So it is another year and I want to continue my blogging. I'm trying out different blog sites right now, so that's why there has been so much switching going on. Just bare with me, I think I'm actually going to like this one though. 

     I know I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I have been thinking about what I want to do for the new year, in terms of personal goals. I have a few that I can think of and I want to share them so I can feel like it is official and I will more likely hold myself to them. My first goal is to blog/write more. Whether it is private writing I do on paper, blogging here, or blogging on Awkward Politics (my other blog). I really love using words and just forming ideas and seeing where they take me; and I know I could be a lot more consistent with it. 

     Another goal, is just to simply stay on top of my school work. I'm so close to being done at this point and I just want to do the best that I can. I have 4 classes this semester and then possibly a class or two over the Summer, and finally the Fall semester. I think in total I only have 8 classes left for the Summer and Fall. 

     Next up, I want to eat better and get into yoga officially. There are a few roadblocks that may come up with this one, but I am determined. As far as eating goes, that is just pure willpower at this point. I need to make the effort to pick things I want to eat that are good for me. I especially want to try and get away from packaged foods, and stay more along the lines of fresh food. Now does that mean if I want pasta and sauce I can't do it? No. I'll buy a jar of sauce, I'm not going to kill myself making it from scratch, unless I want to try it who knows! I just know there are a lot of things I don't need to be eating. The yoga thing may just come down to money, I've always been better in a class than on my own. I like being in a studio with a teacher and other people. I feel awkward doing yoga in my bedroom alone, but if that is what it takes, I'll do it. I just need to get my shoulder in order first!

     Though physically, I have enough issues to deal with: fibromyalgia, my recent shoulder surgery, and the fact that I get sick all the time; I really want to focus on getting mentally healthy. I've dealt with depression and anxiety for a lot of years now, and I pretty much have that under control. I would love to be able to get off the meds though. Not only that, I want to be more positive. I've had more rough patches than some can imagine in my life, but I want to be able to feel more positive about my life and what I go through. I feel like it'll help so many aspects of who I am. I actually believe I've really done some good work in getting this way too. I've been dealing with a big demon from my childhood, and it has affected some of my relationships with people. But I'm getting through and every day it hurts a little less. 

     So that is it for now, they are four pretty big goals for the year so I better get started!