April 2017 Birchbox Review

Birchbox is one of the first boxes I receive in a month and yet it's somehow one of the last posts to go up. Sorry guys. So, remember how much I bitched about Birchbox in the very beginning? I think I'm going to retract most of that vitriol I felt toward the company. I loved this month's box, possibly more than Ipsy (but the bag itself is pretty hard to beat this month). Like Ipsy, Birchbox is a $10 a month subscription that provides you with samples ranging from makeup, skincare, hair care and lifestyle items. My boxes tend to lean heavily toward skincare and hair care and this month was no exception (referral code here). It's also 11:00 PM, my brother flew into town for like 2 days with no downtime scheduled, I've been up since 4:15AM and I have work tomorrow at 6:00AM so this will be a quick-and-to-the-pointless today.

Products that I received were:

April 2017 Target Beauty Box

Every month Target releases a beauty box full of samples and sometimes full sized beauty products that can be purchased at Target either online or in store. Boxes can range from $5 to $10 and often sell out within a couple of days of release. It's a pretty smart business model that capitalizes on the current subscription box scam craze but I'm still a complete sucker for a practical box with affordable, easily procured items. Target released two boxes this month, the traditional Beauty Box and the Naturals box (both $7 each) and I was just greedy enough to buy both. I’m making two separate posts because otherwise this thing would stretch from here to China and I’m sure as shit not going to take the time to re-read this later on (I’m blogging as a detailed makeup journal to keep track of what worked and what didn’t), nor should I expect anybody else to. This post is about the traditional Beauty Box which is somehow, miraculously still available-sorry for the ultra delayed post.

Shhh... They're sleeping.

• La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser - $0.55 (Maybe CF?)
• HASK Argan Oil Repairing Deep Conditioner - $1.77, (Maybe CF?)
• Banana Boat Dry Balance SPF 30 - $1.33
• eb5 Facial Cleanser - $0.44, CF
• Dr. Teals Lavender Foaming Bath - $0.43
• Sally Hansen Double-Duty Base & Top Coat - $4.00
• Rimmel London Colour Precise White Eyeliner - $5.99, CF   

Free L'Oreal Hydra Genius Sample + Quickie Review

L'Oreal is giving away free samples of their Hydra Genius face Serum. You can pick up your sample here. It's not an affiliate link and redirects you to the L'Oreal site where you can register for a free card sample. Or you could just skip the Sampables step and go directly to the L'Oreal website. It takes about 2-3 weeks to ship and again, it's a card sample so it's single use.

Verdict: I absolutely loved it. It feels slimy but is so lightweight and absorbs so well. The card sample is large enough for two samples but I overapplied and slathered it on for one use at night and when I woke up my face was extremely moisturizer but not coated feeling in the slightest, a common complaint I have with heavy moisturizers. I haven't seen a noticeable difference between this and the Revitalift line other than packaging but I'm sold. I already purchased the Revitalift revitalizing serum online so I'm just awaiting delivery. That purchase was based on a card sample I received in the January Target Beauty Box.

tl;dr: Grab a sample. It's free. It's worth it. I loved it.

April 2017 Target Beauty Box: The Natural Box

Every month Target releases a beauty box full of samples and sometimes full sized beauty products that can be purchased at Target either online or in store. Boxes can range from $5 to $10 and often sell out within a couple of days of release. It's a pretty smart business model that capitalizes on the current subscription box scam craze but I'm still a complete sucker for a practical box with affordable, easily procured items. Target released two boxes this month, the traditional beauty box and the Naturals box (both $7 each) and I was just greedy enough to buy both. I’m making two separate posts because otherwise this thing would stretch from here to China and I’m sure as shit not going to take the time to re-read this later on (I’m blogging as a detailed makeup journal to keep track of what worked and what didn’t), nor should I expect anybody else to. This post is about the Naturals Beauty Box which is now sold out-sorry for the ultra delayed post. I also apologize for the shitty lighting. Our main source of natural light has a giant dying Ash tree just outside of it).

Thank you, Giant Ash Tree for ruining an already bad shot.

I was most excited about this box  because it had more items I knew I would get use out of. The box included

• Juice Organics Volumizing Shampoo - $0.90, CF, V
• Juice Organics Volumizing Conditioner - $1.20, CF, V
• Burt’s Bees White Tea Extract Facial Cleansing Towelettes - $3.00, CF
• Hello Extra Whitening Pure Mint Fluoride Toothpaste - $0.90, CF, V
• Yes to Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Mud Mask - $2.99, CF
• Raw Sugar Lemon Sugar Body Wash - $0.56, CF
• ACURE Pore Clarifying Red Clay Scrub - $3.25, CF, V
• Shea Moisture Kukui Nut Facial Cream Cleanser - $0.42, CF
• Shea Moisture Kukui Nut Face & Neck Cream - $1.25, CF

March Birchbox Review

Way late on this one. I couldn’t even manage to get a Birchbox review out in the month that I received the effing box but there have been childcare issues, a mother-in-law hospital visit and a wedding thrown in there sometime last month not to mention me falling dead in an autoclave because of working so many stupid hours as of late. Excuses aside, at least this gave me 19 days to play with my shiny new toys, no?

Birchbox is a monthly subscription that delivers five samples (sometimes deluxe sized) items to your apartment buzzer for $10 a month. This is a great subscription box if you are conscious of brand names, sample size doesn’t really bother you and you’re very into skincare or haircare items. In my experience, Birchbox isn’t very makeup heavy (unlike Ipsy), however that could just be due to my preferences there. Birchbox also gives you the option to pick one of three sample options (the other four items will be selected for you through the service), opt to not select your sample and have five items chosen for you based on your profile, or a curated box which has all items revealed, usually selected by the editorial staff (though this month the Curated Box was curated by Reese Witherspoon and her Draper James lifestyle line). If you’re interested, insert referral link here.

This month surprised me. It felt like the Birchbox FINALLY took some of my preferences into account when choosing items for me and I was actually pretty excited to feel acknowledged. I also ended up with two cosmetics items, pretty uncommon so far as I’ve seen in my last four boxes. My samples in March included:

March 2017 Ipsy First Imperssions

Both of my subs came in the same day this month (best day ever?) Let's start with the easy one. Ipsy is always pretty easy, low maintenance, a cheap date. Works for me though.

Ipsy is a subscription box that sends a (sometimes cute) bag and five beauty products a month. Ipsy usually ranges the gamut from sample, deluxe to full sized. I don't recall ever receiving any single use foil packets in my (holy shit!) 12 bags from them and the value is usually at least double the bag (referral link here)

Full shot of bag

Folded over

This month I received:

• Eyeko London Fat Eye Stick in Satin - $12 CF,V
• Tarte Tarteist Lip Paint in Vibin' - $3.33, CF
• Elizabeth Mott Blending Brush - $15, CF,V
• Curl Keeper Leave-In Conditioner - $2.24, CF
• Cake Desserted Island Supreme Body Mousse - $2.75 CF,V

Per usual, CF=Cruelty Free, V=Vegan.

Sephora Mini Haul

I've been on the hunt for a good primer for a while now. My first experience with a moisturizing, non-silicone based primer was the Too Faced Hangover Primer. That experience was so bad that I started questioning my need for a primer in the first place. In my hunt for a new primer I recently hauled two Smashbox Try-It-Kits from Sephora and I've spending the past week or few playing with the things I snagged. Being in desperate need for an eyeshadow primer and wanting to find a new foundation primer I grabbed the Smashbox Try it Kit-Primer Authority and grabbed the Try-It-Kit: Bestsellers while I was at it (for a couple of backups and things I might use).

In my past experience, most primers don't really do too much for makeup longevity, only pore filling. I am a staunch advocate for silicone based primers for myself since I have cavernous pores that each support small villages of miners, but even then there is a specific, almost lubricating quality (if you work with graphite you will know what I mean) that I look for. I like clear, thick yet spreadable pore filling face spackle that mattifies and is almost entirely unlike lotion or any type of moisturizer. A common top ingredient I've found in these primers is Cyclopentasiloxane, a huge no-no if you are trying to avoid silicones in your beauty routine, but then I'm not. In this case  Cyclopentasiloxane serves the purpose of filling in large pores beautifully and fortunately Smashbox did not disappoint with their quality and ingredients list.