March Empties

I was honestly doing better at posting. The baby started finally moved out and started sleeping in her own bed, in her own room. I got ahead for a minute pre-typing and posting and then life blindsided me with many distractions, good and bad. Posts will be slowing down a bit as we prepare to move 6 years of clutter, so I'm sorry in advance.

I screwed up and thought I was doing a decent job of being an organized hoarder. As it turns out, this was absolutely not the case. Most of the items from this list are just missing, probably tossed in error. 

April 2019 Birchbox Review

Alas, It’s August and I’m reviewing April’s clutter still. There is shame. Birchbox is a $15 a month subscription that offers 5 to 6 beauty related items. Of all of my subscriptions, Birchbox is my least favorite. The good news is they’ve been trying to turn it around since they announced the price increasing the number and quality of the monthly curated boxes and they now offer at least 6 samples a month.

February 2019 Birchbox Review

Birchbox is a $15 monthly subscription that provides members with 5 deluxe beauty, skincare and hair care samples in sometimes-cute little boxes can be repurposed as gift or storage boxes. I'll be honest, most of mine just end up in the garbage. Recently Birchbox has increased their price from $10 a month to $15 for new members but hopefully they step up the quality with the price increase. If you're interested, you can use my referral code here. 

October 2018 Ipsy Review

Ipsy is a $10 monthly service that sends out 5 skincare, hair care and occasionally the odd fragrance sample to subscribers. Usually items are sample sized but occasionally they send out  full sized items as well. Sometimes it’s pretty hit or miss for me though; I saw the contents of my October Ipsy bag and all I could think was “Don’t threaten me.”

August 2018 Ipsy Review

Ipsy is a $10 a month subscription that sends 5 sample (and sometimes full sized) beauty, skincare and hair care products right to your doorstep. Every month there is a possibility of 20-40ish samples that you could receive but each shipment is tailored to you based off of your profile and reviews.

I actually hated the August bag itself. It felt like a cheap, imposter canvas, not to mention my dislike for this particular shade of orange. Every now and then Ipsy will send a very cute or useful bag but this one just went straight to my kids. What was in my August bag?

• Pur-lisse Watermelon Energizing Aqua Balm
• MAC False Lashes Mascara in Extreme Black
• Crown Brush Highlighting Brush CB106
• Hey Honey Take Away the Drama Copper Peel-off Mask
• Ciaté London Glow-to Highlighter in Moondust

Pur-lisse Watermelon Energizing Aqua Balm

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this gel moisturizer. It does a decent job of moisturizing even if it feels just the slightest bit tacky but it smells like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. I can’t say I’m committed to that scent in my skincare. On the other hand... I really want a watermelon Jolly Rancher now. And boy, do I hate watermelon flavored Jolly Ranchers; I typically either lass them on or I eat them to remind me how much I deeply enjoy the other flavors.

MAC False Lashes Mascara in Extreme Black

I’ve had the pleasure of trying this mascara from a past Birchbox. This teeny guy is nothing special; it gives my lashes some length and definition without being anything too crazy, just Avery natural, clean look. I had to retire my Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir because it got way too clumpy to use anymore so I may be breaking this guy out sooner than I expected.

Crown Brush Blush Highlighter Brush CB106

I love receiving brushes in Ipsy bags. Looking at the name, this brush doesn’t know what it wants to accomplish in life. The shape, however, is best suited for blush application. It is so soft and dense and the synthetic fibers do a great job picking up powder blush without retaining too much product.

Hey Honey Take Away the Drama Copper Peel-off Mask

So I mentioned a couple of months ago how I’ve grown to dislike peel off masks as I grow older. The sentiment holds true but at least this one had a copper tint to more easily see where I still had product on my face. Did it make much of a difference? No. It wasn’t bad but I’m glad it’s finally used up.

Ciaté London Glow-to Highlighter in Moondust

This was the surprise hit of the bag this month. I’ll be honest; I’m just not that into highlighters. They always look too extreme on me because I don’t know how to blend my makeup in general and every time I receive a highlighter it is either too extreme (think ultra-glam intensity) or just the wrong, silvery or cool peachy shade this was neither of those things. It is a very smooth, creamy powder with white a bit of shimmer that can be easily blended out and the shade is just warm enough without being too pink or gold that it works perfectly for my skin tone. It took me a while to getting around to trying it but once I did I was very pleased.

Overall it wasn’t the strongest Month for Ipsy but at least everything was functional. The shades matched, in general the samples were items that I had a use for and I even got a backup mascara out of it. And a bad case of Jolly Rancher munchies.

February 2018 Birchbox Review

It snowed quite a bit today and felt like February outside so sure, why not throw in a February review mid-April? I feel like Birchbox did not really try in February and yet I still managed to benefit a bit in value in just the first item I noticed.

February's box included:

• The Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream - $11.53
• Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave-In Conditioning Spray - $3.00, Cruelty Free
• CLEAN Reserve Amber Saffron Eau de Parfum - $3.68
• MAC Cosmetics False Lashes Mascara - $2.00 (estimate)
• ARROW BOOST Color Enhancing Lip Balm in Berry Busy - $14.00 Vegan, Cruelty Free

 

September 2017 Ipsy Review

Ipsy is a $10 a month subscription service that provides subscribers with 5 sample, deluxe and sometimes full sized items as well as an exclusive-to-that-month cosmetic bag. Brands represented range from drugstore and indie to high-end and it's a great way to build up a makeup collection or experiment with new-to-you brands on the cheap. Ipsy has also recently provided an option for subscribers to skip a month. (Referral Link enclosed). The bag itself was really nice this month. It has a blue inner lining (that I forgot to photograph), a classy gold zipper and the outer portion of the bag is a pretty minimalist studded black faux leather design. It reminds me of the evening version of the January Glam Bag somehow.

• NEOGEN Dermalogy Real Flower Cleansing Water-Calendula - $1.47, CF
• Luxie Beauty Rose Gold Medium Angled Shading Eye Brush 207 - $12.00 CF, V, Full Sized
• MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite - $2.40
• Elizabeth Mott Pop! Goes the Shadow in Toasted - $4.55, CF
• Dirty Little Secrets Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Nude Beach - $14.00 Full Sized

July Birchbox Review

Hey guys, dropping off a July Birchbox review before August then catching up on some Game of Thrones premiers because... kids... so let's get this ball rolling.

For those of you who don't know, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box that sends various items like skincare, makeup, haircare and fragrances based on a personal profile you create for $10 a month. Birchbox has a system where you can choose one of your five samples, often a choice between three featured samples that month, you may choose the curated box which is often curated by a collaborator or an editor (these boxes tend to have a higher retail value), and the final option which is just sit back and let the algorithm choose all five of your samples for you based off of a profile you created. This time none of the three sample choices (Air Repair Complexion Boosting Moisturizer, Jouer Lip Enhancer and Marcelle 3-in-1 Eye Makeup Remover Gel) nothing really stood out to me so I went balls to the wall and opted for the curated box. Probably not doing that again. The curated box was supposed to contain Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser,Juliette Has a Gun Anyway, Oribe Matte Waves Texture Lotion, MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime Skin, and Beautaniq Beauty Blush Serum in Sunrise. I ended up with:

•  MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime Skin - $6.20

•  Beautaniq Beauty Blush Serum in Sunrise - $16, Full Sized, CF, V

• Fave 4 Up for Air Air Dry Cream - $3.27

• Marcelle 3-in-1 Eye Makeup Remover Gel - $1.12, CF

• Michael Todd Charcoal Detox Deep Pore Gel Cleanser - $1.13, CF

CF = Cruelty Free, V = Vegan