December 2014/January 2015 Birchbox

Hello fellow Earthlings!

 

It's finally time to do my January Birchbox and throw in December's since I completely forgot! To fill anyone in who doesn't know what birchbox is, it's a subscription service that sends you samples each month for $10. You can go to their site and review the products you've received to gain points that you can use towards full size products. You can click here to find out more information about their site and service.

 

Lets start with December's box!

 

My first sample product was Yu-Be Moisturizing Cream. It says it's a Japanese moisturizing cream that's an all purpose cream. For me personally, I didn't get along with this product. It was just okay and I didn't feel like it was doing all that much.

 

Next was Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner in Olive Green. I've gotten their eyeliner in black from a previous box and was really excited to see it again. It glides incredibly well over the skin and stays pretty well.

 

I also got a sample Manna Kadar Lip Lock in All of Me. Their product is said to be a primer, stain and gloss. Again not highly impressed, but it was a gloss and that's why. I also wasn't impressed but the staining power.

 

My favorite product in this box was Rusk Texture Spray. I will admit there is some trial and error with this product, but once you figure it out this stuff is absolutely amazing. I can get so much texture and volume out of this with just a small amount of product.

 

Last product for December's box is Royal Apothic Cuppa Cuppa Firming Tea Treatment Mask. It's a clay mask with different exotic teas in it. I haven't used this yet because my skin has been rebelling and since I have slightly sensitive skin I didn't want to upset it anymore.

 

Now the newest birchbox! It's time for January's!

 

First product was Dr Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45. I've gotten their dis-a-pore bb cream once before in a beauty box and I must say I was more impressed by the dis-a-pore cream. The premium BB cream barely evened out my skin (and I was having a pretty decent skin day when I tried this). It also melted off my face even though I set it with powder. Maybe it's something to try on a different day.

 

Second product was theBalm Stainiac in Beauty Queen. It's a magenta pink and I loved the idea of this stain. Unfortunately I hated the color. It's a light stain that can be built up, but with my fair complexion, the color wasn't the greatest. Looking back on bichbox's website I do see they have two other colors that I'd consider trying out.

 

Next was Whish Three Wishes Body Butter in Lavender. It's an okay body butter that smells amazing and is going to be good when I run out of a lotion in my purse. I'm just sick of getting lotions in my boxes because it takes me so long to use lotion that I have a collection at this point.

 

The next product is Nelson J Beverly Hills Argan Oil 7 Moisture Healing Mask. That's a mouthful for a product name. My scent I got was coconut and it smells amazing. I'm excited to use this product because my hair feels like it needs some help this week. It says it turns straw-like strands into manageable locks after one use.

 

The last product in this box was one the excited me and scared me. That was When Travelmate Sheet Mask. It's a Korean brand which is what I was mainly excited for. When I opened this to use it, I was completely surprised that it was a silicone type mask instead of the paper/clothe ones that I've always used. When on your face, it really sticks so you don't have to sit in one place (which I really appreciated), but when I looked in a mirror I felt that I looked like one of those blob fish that you see pop up on twitter as the ugliest fish ever. If it wasn't for the price of these ($28 for 4 masks, yikes) I would continuously purchase these. It made my skin so hydrated and it felt lovely.

 

That's it for my two birchboxs! I hope you found what I got interesting and I'd love to hear what you've been getting in your boxes!

Essential Haul/Review

Hello Fellow Earthlings!

It's the finally part of my Holiday time Haul/review! The two previous posts include Make-up and Bath products. This will include essentials that I've picked up within the last month or two. On to the Haul!

I'll start with Toni & Guy's styling wax. I found mine at my local Target and with the help of cartwheel, picked it up for around $11. I wanted a styling wax for certain hairs like braids and buns. I haven't used it that much, but when I have I've been really impressed with the hold that I'm getting. From the same trip, I picked up CereVe Moisturizing Lotion. I ran out of First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream and every time I stopped in Sephora, they were always out of it in the tube and I did not want that product in the tub. So I picked up CereVe. After using it for a few days, I noticed no where did it say if it was for body or face. Instead of returning it, I deided I'm just going to keep using it. So potentially I'm using something on my face that's actually for the body, but it hasn't irritated my skin and it says it doesn't clog pores.

Next I stopped in Sephora for a skin treatment to battle redness from my random annoying acne I'm currently battling. I settled on REN's ClearCalm 3 Replenishing Gel Cream which goes for $30. I can't say much because I've only been using it for less than a week now, but what I can say is that I do notice a slight difference in the redness and there is a fragrance for those who do not like that in their skin care. It goes away once it sinks in though. I'm excited to see if this will help my redness problem.

I also picked up Degree's new spray deodorant. I actually picked up two because they retail for $4.99 at target, but I had 2 manufacturers coupons, 2 target coupons, cartwheel and with the red card the price of it was .95 cents. I've been using this one in the picture for a week now and I do think it works well, however I prefer unscented deodorant. I can smell this over my perfume which highly bothers me. I haven't asked anyone which scent is more dominant, but I must say it's driving me nuts. I'm not really sure if I'll repurchase these unless they come out with an unscented one.

Lastly is Bioderma and this is actually a repurchase. In America, this product is not sold here, but you can find it online. I first ordered this from Sears website, but when it was time to repurchase I went to Amazon instead. It's cheaper on Amazon and the shipping is faster/less frustrating. I use this to take of my make-up and sometimes just as my cleanser if I'm feeling lazy.

I feel like I've gotten a lot of products within the past few months, but it may not seem like that much to some. Now it's time to save and enjoy what I have! I hope you're happy the holiday season is over and you're also enjoying new products that you've come across

Makeup Haul/Mini Review

Hello Fellow Earthlings!

Today is going to be part 2 of my 3 part Holiday Time Haul/Reviews. I had too many products in my bath items section and the essential items section to do this in one post. I think the Makeup section was the only reasonably sized section. Its anything that I've collected from the end of November. So let's get on with the Make-up!

I'll actually start with a product that isn't in the picture because I completely forgot that I purchased it within the holiday time. That is MAC's Retro Matte Lipstick in Ruby Woo. I ordered this when I ordered a mascara for my sister as a present and thought to myself "well why not?". Great logic when you're doing Christmas shopping. I truly can't explain how much I love this lipstick. Every time I've worn this I get compliments and even get asked what lipstick it is. It's gorgeous and I will absolutely repurchase this if I ever finish or lose mine.

Now to products that are shown! For Christmas, My fiancé bought me the Urban Decay Electric palette. When this was first released, I didn't show much interest in it. I thought who would ever wear those? Well the answer is me because I saw this in person and now that I'm more brave with colors on my eyes I felt I finally needed this. Anytime after Christmas that I had eye shadow on has been from this palette. It's not an everyday palette for most people, but I love it.

The Last Make-up products that I've picked up was Tarte's Amazonian Clay Volumizing Brow & Hair Powder in Rich Brown and Tarte's Amazonian Clay Matte Waterproof Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess. The main reason I purchased these was because I had a 20% off at Ulta that actually included their high end products. I love both of these products and they've finalized my love for Tarte's products. The bronzer is a great color for my pale skin. Unlike other bronzers I've had in the past, this one is great for blending. The brow powder has made my eyebrows look natural and full. I can't say enough good things about these two products!

That's everything I have for the make-up! I hope you've enjoyed part 2 of 3 from my holiday time haul! Part 3, otherwise known as the essentials, holiday time haul will be up in a few days.

Bath Haul/Mini Reviews

Hey Fellow Earthlings!

Since the holidays are finally coming to an end, that means our wallets can have a rest. I originally intended to put everything that I've gotten into one blog, but once I finished the bath items sections it became obvious that these needed to be split up. There will be Bath, Makeup, and Essentials. So let's get started with the Bath section

 

 

 

Starting with the bath section, I feel like I've gone overboard on shower gels. I'll start with the Lush products. They had their buy one get one free sale on some of their seasonal items. So I guess I'll just blame that darn sale. I've actually always wanted to use their body gels, but I could never justify their prices or find a scent I liked. These are obviously the smallest sizes they have which makes them perfect for traveling and just testing them out. Thankfully the smell of both Rose Jam and So White are probably the better ones that I've smelt. So White has an apple scent and it just smells quite clean. Rose Jam has a floral scent with a hint of spice. I picked up the Snowman Fun because I've never had one of their fun products and just felt it'd be an interesting thing to try. Lastly from Lush is Snow Fairy Sparkle. It's pretty much one of their massage bars that is their oh so popular scent Snow Fairy. I bought this for my shins because I have mild eczema there and figured this could be so helpful to my skin. I love using it at night to let everything soak in, however I think I'll avoid the Snow Fairy scent from now on. It's such a strong bubblegum scent when you use it.

The other half of this section were presents from my family. My sister bought me Soap & Glory's Endless Glove. I was out of their Hand Food Lotion and asked for another tube for Christmas, but my sister wasn't able to find one anytime she was in Sephora so picked this up for me instead. Honestly I'm glad she did. I like this a lot better for winter skin. I prefer the smell of the Hand Food lotion, but Endless Glove Moisturizes and sinks in much better. Lastly my parents bought me Philosophy Shower Gel in Cinnamon Bun and a foot filer. The shower gel smells of amazing cinnamon and it's one of my favorite things. The foot filer seems a bit random to get as a Christmas present, but I've been thinking about getting one for awhile now.

That's everything for the Bath items! A lot of shower gels, but now I won't have to buy any for about a year now. Look out of the Makeup haul and Essential Haul that will both be out during the weekend!

Update

Hello fellow earthlings

I didn't really have anything particular that I wanted to come on here and say. I know I haven't been on here in awhile but I've been quite busy with the holidays. I've decided to make it a point to keep up on this blog with whatever nonsense pops up in my head. Because of the holidays I've got new things to try and have been realizing some of my favorites that I'll be excited to talk about. Soon I'll have my birchbox "unboxing" of December and January's, so keep an eye out for that.
Other than all of that, the main things for my wedding is all set! I think its mostly the little things left like decor, invitations, guest list, and groomsmen attire that's left to figure out. The time is going by so quick, but i wish it would go quicker!

I think that's all I have to say for now, so until next time!