January Birchbox Review

Last month, I wasn't terribly impressed with my birchbox, but I have a three-month subscription, so it has two more chances to impress me. I've got to say, this month was much more exciting! Let's take a peek inside:

(Hmm... what's inside this little packet?)

(That's better!)

The theme this month is "Best Year Ever". The box includes a fold-up insert full of ideas to make this the best year ever. It's basically the same thing that every magazine prints in January, and isn't particularly exciting. The goodies were pretty cool this time, though.

First up is a Karastase Elixir Ultime. This has a nice texture and really made my hair feel silky while taming flyaways. The sample was about the same size as a tube of lipstick, and has allowed for a surprising number of uses.

Next up is a Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer by DDF. It's hard to say whether this product has any effect on my fledgling fine lines, but it does feel nice on the skin and leaves a nice matte finish. The texture feels like a mattifying primer, but is also lightly moisturizing. 

 A Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy sample was also included in this month's box. It's not bad, but not my favorite. There's a little too much artificial sweetness in it for my liking.

Now for my favorite item from this month's birchbox, Hot Mama from theBalm. This cute little powder is advertised as a combination blush and highlighter, but I'm also loving it as an eyeshadow. I'm still without a very good camera, so I apologize for the picture quality, but this is beautiful in person! It's somewhat reminiscent of MAC's Expensive Pink eye shadow, but the texture and finish are subtle enough to use on the face as well. The sample size is about as big as a normal eye shadow, but I expect that I'll be buying the full size once this is empty!

The "beauty extra" this month is certainly more exciting than the plastic bag from my welcome box. It's a packet-sized sample of the Nutrive Nectar Thermique - Protect from Kerastase. This did a great job of nourishing my hair and leaving it soft and slightly textured. I only wish that there was more of it!

Birchbox is a recurring subscription beauty service that delivers new products to your door every month for just $10/mo. Want to try it for yourself? Visit www.birchbox.com or follow this link for a referral!

**Disclaimer** This service was purchased with my own funds and all opinions given are my own. However, the link provided in the previous paragraph refers to my account, which earns me points toward future purchases. If you wish to sign up for Birchbox without using my referral link, you can do so here.

Ipsy Glam Bag January Review

I recently found out that ipsy offers sneak peaks of the upcoming bag on its website, and I've become addicted to tracking the mystery products while I wait for my next bag. Once again, I was happily surprised by the number, size, and quality of the products that I received for only ten bucks!

This month's bag is a cute black bag with a blue starry lining, and it's a little larger than last month's. Once again, the brands featured in the bag are offering discounts and specials to ipsy subscribers online. So, what did I get this month? Let's take a look!

 First, a travel bottle of the cult favorite Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray from big sexy hair. This spray provides lots of oomph and hold without feeling sticky. I'm definitely a fan! This size retails for $6, so that's already half of the price that I paid for the whole bag!

Next up, a nail lacquer in Bloody Mary by Nailtini. This rich & creamy tomato red glides on easily and is opaque in two coats. Every girl needs a good, classic red nail polish every now and then! Also, this is a full-sized bottle (!) which retails for $13. 

There's also a mini bottle of the sought-after 100% Pure Argan Oil by Josie Maran. Unlike argan oils with additives, this has sort of a "dry oil" feel to it. It's nice for my hair, but I don't like it on my skin as much as some other brands.

Next up, a full-sized Crease Brush from SOHO. I like the triangular grip, and the texture of the bristles is quite nice for an inexpensive brush. It's a little larger and fluffier than I usually prefer for my crease, but it's great for blending and highlighting. 

The last item in this month's bag has been my most reached-for item lately. It's a Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter from Pacifica. (I have no idea what happened to the color on this picture, btw.) This stuff smells magnificent! It's got one of those juicy, fruity scents that just makes your mouth water, and it's exactly what I need to brighten up these drab winter days. It feels amazing and keeps my skin hydrated for hours! The sample was actually a 2.5 ounce mini tube, which retails for $8. When this runs out, I'll be heading over to pacificaperfume.com to pick up the full size! Seriously, this stuff smells so yummy. You want this; I promise.

Ipsy is a recurring subscription-based beauty service. For $10 per month, you receive a cute little bag filled with samples of fun beauty products. For the price, ipsy is amazing! The offered products are excellent, and I was really impressed by the size of the samples. I'm so excited to be receiving this bag every month!

*Disclaimer* The ipsy bag was purchased using my own funds, and all opinions are my own.

December Glossybox Review

Last month, I received my first Glossybox, and I loved it! The quality of the products was wonderful, and I was impressed by the sample sizes. I couldn't wait to see what they'd be sending this month, and I wasn't disappointed!

As always, the Glossybox came beautifully packaged, and included a mini-magazine and a little note explaining this month's theme and a bit of information about each of the products. This month's theme was ""Glamour, Glitz, & Gloss". My box didn't include any makeup products this month, but instead focused more on the process of getting ready, with bath and body products, and the finishing touches, with nail polish, fragrance, and jewelry. 

(This picture is missing one product, the Zoya nail polish. I was having so much fun swatching it that I forgot to put it back in the box for the picture. Oops!)

 The first product that I received was the Moisture Replenishing Madurai Jasmine & Mogra Bath & Shower Oil from Forest Essentials. This oil smells divine! Apply this to wet skin after showering to seal in moisture. I can get really dry and itchy during the winter, and I love the way that this makes my skin feel and smell. This product has a very liquid texture; I expected it to be thicker and poured way too much the first time I used it, but it works into the skin really easily. The sample size was very nice at 3.38 ounces, so I should be able to get quite a bit of use out of this!

Next is another bath and body product, a single-serving pouch of White Tea Bath Salts from Heartland Fragrance Co.. The product information suggests that you either pour the salts directly into a warm bath or use a handful of dry salts to exfoliate your body. There was just enough in the bag for me to try both! The scent is subtle and soothing, and my skin felt amazing. I haven't had a long, relaxing bath in ages; I might have to pick up some more of this so that I can make a habit of it!

Now that my body is soft and glowing, it's time to do something about my hair. This Glossybox has me covered yet again! The next sample is the Pronto Dry Heat Protect Spray from Oscar Blandi. At first, I was disappointed, because I received a different Oscar Blandi product in my welcome Birchbox, and wasn't impressed. I decided to try it anyway, and I'm so glad that I did! This spray smells and feels great, and keeps my hair from getting all frizzy and static-ridden after blow drying.

But wait, there's more! Two smaller samples were included in this month's Glossybox. The first was a sample of Issey Miyake's Eau de Toilette Pleats Please. I was surprised by how much I liked this scent. It's soft and girly, with just a hint of something deep and spicy. Yum!

There was also a small vial of Acacia Protein Oil from Ecru New York Cosmetic Hair Care. This is supposed to condition, reduce drying time, eliminate frizz, and mend split ends while protecting against heat damage. I liked it, but the sample was really only big enough for one use, so it's kind of difficult to really determine how effective it was.

 I've begun to amass quite a collection of nail polishes for a girl who always gets them done at the salon, but this Glossybox included one of my new favorites! From the always amazing Zoya, I received a gorgeous nail lacquer in Storm. It's a rich black shade with multicolored holo glitter. It applies easily, is opaque in one to two coats, and wears for a solid week. I'm in love! Shown here worn with Bend Over Backwards from China Glaze.

Finally, (Yep, we're still going!) JewelMint included an extra gift in the form of jewelry! It looks like everyone got something different, and I ended up with this simple but lovely long necklace. It's made of a series of gold- and copper-colored circular disc beads, and I love layering it with my shorter necklaces. Jewelmint.com is a subscription-based jewelry website which also links to a variety of other "Mint" shops, including one for shoes, one for clothes, and one for intimate apparel. (The link leads to a personal referral, which gives me credit on the site if you sign up and make a purchase. Once you sign up, you'll get a referral link of your own! To check out the site without a referral, just click here.)

Glossybox is a beauty subscription service. You can subscribe for one month, six months, or a year, and boxes full of goodies get delivered right to your door. At $21 per month,this service is a bit more expensive than many of its competitors, but I certainly feel that I got my money's worth this month. 

You create a basic profile when your first sign up for the service, and then fill out surveys after you've received your boxes in order to further customize your content. Best of all, filling out surveys earns you Glossydots, which can be saved up and used toward free boxes! Click here for a referral and start getting goodies and collecting Glossydots today!

**Disclaimer: I purchased this subscription using my own funds and all opinions are my own, but the referral link posted in the above paragraph does provide me with points that can be redeemed for product. Once you sign up for your own Glossybox, you receive a referral code to give to your friends so that you can earn points, too!

Birchbox Welcome Box review

Birchbox is another of the beauty subscription services that I've recently joined. It's probably the best known, and actually has a waiting list to subscribe. However, if you give a gift subscription (which must be a minimum of 3 months long) the wait is bypassed. Gift subscriptions don't receive the normal monthly box as their first, but instead get what is called a "welcome box" which the website says is filled with some of the most popular items to get you started. My wonderful mother gave me a gift subscription for Christmas, and it recently arrived on my doorstep, ready to be torn open and reviewed. Let's jump right in, shall we?

 The box is very attractively packaged and includes a nice little welcome note and list of the goodies included. Inside the box, we have five sample products, a "lifestyle extra", and a little gift-giving guide booklet.

 My Welcome Box included:

Pronto Texture & Volume Spray by Oscar Blandi. I've been playing around with hair products a lot more than usual these days, and I'm always looking for volume and texture, so I was excited about this one. Unfortunately, I wasn't particularly impressed. It really didn't give me the promised "voluminous, sexy, tousled look". The texture felt a little too artificial to me, and my hair seemed limp and greasy within a couple of hours. The smell was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, and maybe I just don't know the trick to this one, but I just don't love it.

Eau Flirt from Harvey Prince. Fragrance samples aren't always the most exciting thing in the world, since you can pick them up at pretty much any department store, but I do enjoy checking out new ones that I may not have looked into on my own. This one is sweet and a little fruity over a lightly spiced base. It's cloying at first, but mellows out pretty nicely. It seems a little more like a spring scent to me, but I tend to lean toward richer scents this time of year. Overall, not bad.

Mox Botanicals Pomegranate & Fig Lip Butter. The texture of this is lovely. I'm not totally sold on the flavor/scent for some reason, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I've been using it quite a bit this week as the weather beats up my poor little lips.

Color Club nail polish. The card says that my shade is called "Status Update", but the bottle says "Muse-ical". Based on my highly scientific Google search, it seems that "Status Update" is a slightly lighter grey shade which was included in the September Birchbox. "Muse-ical" is a rich grey that pairs really well with all sorts of neutrals. I quite like it! Here's some shots of my mismatched holiday manicure using "Muse-ical" and China Glaze's "Below Deck":

The last two items in my Welcome Box were a twistband brand hair tie and the "lifestyle extra", a patterned plastic zip bag by tili. The hair tie is one of those stretchy fabric ones with a knot on one end that have been popping up all over Pinterest for a while now. It's actually quite nice, and holds well without leaving a ripple in my hair. I don't know how long anyone can be expected to hold on to a single hair tie without losing it, though, and it looks a little odd if the knot ends up on the top of the ponytail. I'm pretty sure that every woman keeps a spare hair tie on her wrist just in case they need one later in the day, and the little card says that one of the perks of these ties is that they "look as good on our wrists as they do in our ponytails", but I felt very aware of the big knot, and my boyfriend immediately wanted to know what the deal was with the thing around my wrist.

The patterned zip-top bag is cute, I guess, but I have no idea how I'll use it. It's just a plastic bag, so it isn't strong enough to use for a lot of situations, but the only instances where I'd need a plastic bag tend to be times when it's helpful to see inside, and this one is opaque. ::shrug::

Overall, my first Birchbox was nice, but a little underwhelming. Maybe I got spoiled by my more expensive Glossybox, which understandably has a bit more "oomph", and maybe the box will get more exciting now that I've filled out my profile on the website and will be receiving more customized boxes in the future.

Birchbox is a recurring subscription beauty service that delivers new products to your door every month for just $10/mo. Want to try it for yourself? Visit www.birchbox.com or follow this link for a referral!

**Disclaimer** This service was purchased with my own funds and all opinions given are my own. However, the link provided in the previous paragraph refers to my account, which earns me points toward future purchases. If you wish to sign up for Birchbox without using my referral link, you can do so here.

Ipsy December Glam Bag Review

(This is a bit late, but December was hectic, and I'm not 100% used to having a blogging schedule yet)

I am so excited about the December ipsy bag! This amazing little bundle was full of color and wonderfully priced. I've heard reviews that say that this company was less than thrilling until their recent makeover, but it really looks like they've got their act together now!

The bag comes packaged in a bright pink bubble mailer. Inside, I found a cute gunmetal grey makeup bag full of goodies and some coupons. 

The first product in my bag was the Mirabella Prime for Face and Eyes. I'm on the fence about this one. The texture is more slick than I'm used to for a primer, but it does feel very comfortable on the skin. My foundation looked lovely and smooth, although I did get some shine as the day wore on. As an eye primer, I don't particularly care for this. My eye shadow creased fairly quickly, unfortunately. The deep shades in my crease looked just fine, but my lids were streaky within only an hour. 

Ipsy also included a coupon for 30% off of any purchase at mirabellabeauty.com, which doesn't expire until the end of January. 

My second product was a Loose Pearl Shadow in "Yellow Gold Pearl" by NYX. I was very happy with this product! Think of it as a (very) inexpensive version of the loose pigments offered by brands such as MAC. The pigmentation is great and very true to color. Like most loose shadows, it can get messy, but the end result is worth it!

(From left to right) Applied to bare skin, applied over MAC "Painterly" paint pot, applied over the Mirabella primer, and mixed with MAC eyeliner mixing medium

The included coupon, which expires on the 1st of February, gives 30% off any loose pearl shadows from nyxcosmetics.com, which is especially nice for a product that already retails for a bare $3. (That's right! only three bucks!) I might just need to stock up on some fun colors.

The third product in my bag was a booklet of Highlighter Papiers from Mai Couture. I wasn't sure that I would like these, but they've become one of my favorite on-the-go products. It's almost like a book of blotting papers, but each little papier has a nice dose of rosy gold highlighter. The color, as it turns out, is rather difficult to accurately photograph, but it's beautiful, I swear! One swipe gives a subtle glow, and a couple of extra dabs gives enough warm color to replace blush. Even on my pale skin, it wasn't overwhelming.

The included Mai Couture coupon gives 20% off any purchase from maicouture.com.

The fourth product is a cult favorite, the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in "Zero" by Urban Decay. I have a confession: I've never actually used an Urban Decay product. I know; that's blasphemous. I've always heard such good things about the brand, and I was so happy to get this in my bag! "Zero" is a rich, creamy black that glides on beautifully. The sample size was amazing, too!

The included coupon provides a travel bag full of luxury samples with a $25 purchase from urbandecay.com.

My final sample was a full-sized(!) lip gloss from Be a Bombshell in "Hot Mess". It's a pretty sheer red that looks great on its own or layered over lipstick. Do you remember the Cyndi Lauper Viva Glam lipstick by MAC? I loved that it was red but still subtle and sheer. This gloss reminds me of that wonderful lipstick (with perhaps a bit more pink), and means that maybe I don't have to keep being so miserly with my old tube of Cyndi.

Cyndi on the left, Hot Mess on the right

Once again, there was a nice little coupon for 30% off any purchase from beabombshellcosmetics.com.

Here's a few pictures in different lighting that show the eyeliner, highlighter, and lipgloss:

I have a swipe of MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in "Quite the Thing" under the gloss in this shot

Ipsy is a recurring subscription-based beauty service. For $10 per month, you receive a cute little bag filled with samples of fun beauty products. For the price, ipsy is amazing! The offered products are excellent, and I was really impressed by the size of the samples. I'm so excited to be receiving this bag every month!

*Disclaimer* The ipsy bag was purchased using my own funds, and all opinions are my own.

November Glossybox Swatches and Review

I finally decided to sign up for some of those wonderful beauty subscription services, and my very first arrival was the November Glossybox!

Let's take a peek inside, shall we?

Ooh! Pretty!

So, what did I get? According to the insert and the little mini-mag in the box, "Tis the season to be glossy". The contents didn't have much glossiness, but there were certainly some goodies that would look great with a little gloss!

My first product was a set of Nail Polish Appliques from Incoco. I received a shade called Sinderella. It's a very pretty burgundy wine color with some subtle shimmer. This will probably end up being a gift, because my one really unnecessary indulgence is my weekly professional manicure, and I don't know how these would even work on acrylic nails.

Next, I found the Truffle Serum:Hydro-Toning Day Face Serum from Skin&Co Roma. I wasn't sure about this one at first. The texture is very watery, and it felt a little sticky to me. However, it absorbs really quickly, and it felt nice and smooth under my moisturizer. 

Skin&Co Roma also included a little card which told me to visit their website and enter a code to receive a "Free Ultimate Anti-Aging Face Set Sampler" containing a serum, gel, tuber face lotion, and truffle gommage. This turned out to be disappointing, though. After searching for a place to enter the code, I tried to just add an item to my cart and use it as a coupon code. Unfortunately, the website said that it was invalid. I can't help but wonder if the website is very new; some pages, such as the gift cards page, were still full of lorem ipsum (the "filler" text of nonsense Latin that is used as a placeholder for layout purposes). :(

My third product, the Arganics by NuMe Argan Oil, was from NuMe Style. I had never used an Argan Oil before, so I can't compare this to any competitors, but I love it! My hair tends toward the oily side of the spectrum, but it's rather long, and the recent change of color has left the ends wanting a little bit of love. This oil absorbs quickly and makes my hair shiny and soft without leaving a greasy feeling. I would absolutely buy this!

NuMe had a gift certificate in this box for $100 toward the purchase of hair styling tools or hair extensions on their website. I've been wanting to pick up a clip-free curling iron for some time now, but they tend to be so expensive! The ones that NuMe carries are currently on sale starting at $145, so that gift card will be put to good use. Merry Christmas to me!

This box also included two color products. The first is a Kryolan for Glossybox blusher in Glossy Rosewood. This girly pink blush is highly pigmented and goes on smooth. The color is perfect for winter, giving that "just came in from frolicking in the snow" flush, and will transition well into spring.

The second color product is a Lip & Eye Medium Pencil from Illamasqua. I got a bright red-orange shade called Spell. From what I've seen and heard, most subscribers received this shade, and some got a dark brown with purple undertones called Honour. The general consensus seems to be that most people aren't so thrilled with Spell, but I've already worn it twice! Now, I've been known to enjoy some bright colors, so this shade certainly isn't for everyone, but with this season's fluorescent lip trend, it's worth a try!

Wearing the blush and lip pencil; no flash. (Ignore the lack of eye makeup. It was late and I was tired.)

 

  Wearing the pencil with some lipstick and gloss. No flash, but under fluorescent lights on campus.

Lipstick and gloss are discontinued MAC shades Hibiscus and Geo Pink

Glossybox is a beauty subscription service. You can subscribe for one month, six months, or a year, and boxes full of goodies get delivered right to your door. At $21 per month,this service is a bit more expensive than many of its competitors, but I certainly feel that I got my money's worth this month. 

You create a basic profile when your first sign up for the service, and then fill out surveys after you've received your boxes in order to further customize your content. Best of all, filling out surveys earns you Glossydots, which can be saved up and used toward free boxes! Click here for a referral and start getting goodies and collecting Glossydots today!

**Disclaimer: I purchased this subscription using my own funds and all opinions are my own, but the referral link posted in the above paragraph does provide me with points that can be redeemed for product. Once you sign up for your own Glossybox, you receive a referral code to give to your friends so that you can earn points, too!