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!

June Birchbox

I'm back with my June Birchbox! I know, I've been absent but you can thank my summer classes for that one! I'm almost done with the school year in terms of work so hopefully, I will have a little more free time.

So let's get started! This box's theme was travel and being a jet setter....something I am not haha I really haven't been on a true vacation. My first and only was to Puerto Rico for my dad's work and I was probably six at the time!

First up, is Stainiac by The Balm. It is a cheek and lip tint in the color beauty queen. It is a berry red color, very pretty and the swatch on my hand is faded but still there even 9 hours later. I've never tried any of The Balm's products but I hope now that I have this, maybe they'll send more! Full size - $17.00.

Next is Coola mineral face sunblock in cucumber. Cucumber is a hit or miss smell for me, so we'll see about this. I'm intrigued by the mineral part of this, I'm not sure if it will be any different from a regular sunscreen. What I do love though is that it is certified organic and it is spf 30. Can't wait to try this! Full size - $36.00.

This is a scent that I've heard about over and over and never was interested in trying. It is the signature scent by Juicy Couture. It says that it is a blend of sweet and floral notes. I do like floral, but it is usually Jasmine or Rose or something sexy like that. It has a little of that, but it is a bit too strong for me. I'm sure I'll use it just because it only takes 10 sprays to get rid of the sample, but other than that, I am not a fan. Full size - $69.00 - $89.00.

This is an iffy product for me. It is the One Step Bronze by Stila. While I am impressed that it was a full size product at 1 oz, there is one thing I really hate about it - it has too much shimmer in it. It looked like I had stuck my hand in a bucket full of shimmer after I rubbed this in. Not to mention the color is dark. However, the idea for this is cool. It is a bronzer, primer, and serum all in one. It is also supposed to help with oil control. I think it is extremely moisturizing which is awesome. However, it is pretty dark for me and I really don't think even foundation would help hide the shimmer overload. On the card it says 3 masks for $36...I think it was a misprint because it makes no sense! On Sephora it is $36.00 for the full size which is 1 oz.

This bag here is the lifestyle extra for June - a bag by tili. It says these are great for traveling and going through airports! Again, I would know because I've only been on a plane once but this is such a cute bag! You can get a pack of 9 -12 for $8.49 - $9.49.

May Birchbox!

It is May Birchbox time! It was really interesting seeing a black box come in the mail yesterday, and when I opened it I discovered that it was a Gossip Girl Birchbox! I haven't really stayed too up to date on the show but I do love me some GG!

First item that stuck out to me was the Dr. Jart + Waterfuse BB Cream. I adore BB creams for the most part, with the exception of that one bad run in with the Garnier one. However, I've been eying this one for a while so I was excited.

Sadly, I have a MAJOR gripe about this. The sample isn't huge but I wasn't too heartbroken. I've tried it for two days and there is literally nothing left. You would think they'd actually fill the tube but no such luck. If I want to maybe get one more use, I'm going to have to take scissors to the top of the tube.

This is the brand's fault, not Birchbox. They don't manufacture the products, but Birchbox should be aware of this.  Anyways, I wasn't impressed the first time I used it, I didn't think it covered very well. But I used a little more today and I am pleasantly surprised. It feels nice, it isn't a grey or orange color, so it blends so nice.

Next up, is probably my favorite product: the Stila sparkle waterproof liquid eyeliner! It is a full size product first off, and I love it! It is this olive green that is so gorgeous and it has glitter in it but let me tell you; that glitter will not budge! The color is called Flash and I'm so in love. I literally had to scrape the swatch off my hand, it has amazing staying power. The applicator is awesome too, practically fool proof!

Then in the box was a twistband, which I think is great because I can never have enough hair ties. I always find myself needing to throw my hair up. I bought a pack of them from Sephora and I love them!

I was happy to see this next product - Ojon volume advance Volumizing Conditioner. I haven't really been using conditioner for the last few weeks. So it was probably due time for me to start again :) I used it today and my hair feels pretty soft and a little more light. It feels a little oily so I'm not sure if that is just me or if it is the product. I'll try it some more and see.

The last product was a fragrance by BVLGARI called Omnia Crystalline. The name confuses me, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me as a fragrance name but it doesn't matter because this smells so good! The description says it is notes of lotus flowers, bamboo and Nashi pear. I really like this, I might be tempted to pick it up in Sephora!

Lastly, the extra in the box was a notecard that you could use. It came in a bright pink envelope and it's pretty cute.

 Pretty successful box this month. I'm looking forward to watching the Birchbox videos on youtube to see if people got anything different, or just a regular box instead of the Gossip Girl one!

April Birchbox!

My April Birchbox literally just came in the mail! I opened it up and took pictures right away because I was just looking forward to posting about it! This month's Birchbox is all about natural products and I love that. I've really been trying to start using products that have less of the chemicals and are just more healthy and natural.

First item, is the skincare sampler by Befine. I've always wanted to try their stuff and lucky me now I can. They give you 5 huge samples of the products in that box you see above. Like as big as my hand, which is incredible because usually we're stuck with some dinky little packet. There are 3 packets of the Exfoliating Cleanser with brown sugar, sweet almond, and oats. Just the name sounds so yummy and good for you! Then there are two packets of the Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15 and rosemary, pomegranate and rice.

They are both paraben free, have vegetarian proteins and have allergen free fragrance (which is great for my sensitivity to perfumes!)

Next, in the box which was considered a beauty extra was the Yes To Bluberries Brightening Facial Towelettes. I've been using face wipes for a couple of months now on and off between make-up remover. It is a lot more convenient when I stay out at night. Yes To has been another brand I've wanted to try, and while I'm not crazy about blueberries, maybe these will change my mind :)

Again, it is an amazing sample, it is a travel size and gives you 8 wipes. It is paraben-free and contains 99% natural products.

Lastly, in the nice wrapped part of the box, there were three items: Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift, Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder by Lulu Organics, and finally a nail polish by Zoya's TRUE Spring Collection.

I think I need to get used to the fragrance by Taylor Swift, it's a little too girlie, if that makes sense. I like more musky and deep scents. However, I think eventually I'll like it. The hair powder seems interesting, I love lavender so hopefully it works out. I do break the hair washing rule, I just cannot go without washing my hair. So we'll see! Finally, the polish looks more blue in the picture but its more of a deep blue/green. It's like teal if it were a pastel teal...with grey in it. It's gorgeous though and I don't have anything like it.

Hope you enjoyed! I'll update when I actually get to try some of it!