February 2019 Sephora Review

Play! by Sephora is a $10 subscription that delivers 5 beauty items, a bonus sample, and 50 extra Beauty Insider points that can be redeemed with purchase every month. What I love about Sephora is all of the items offered can be found in store or online at sephora.com. The only disappointing aspects about the box are the fact that I have never received anything full sized in a box (I don't believe it  is even an option) and the boxes aren't nearly as customizable as subscriptions like Ipsy. Every month Sephora offers anywhere between 4 and maybe 11 box variations. People are assigned to box groups based on their profile, but rarely will a box address all of the concerns I have listed in my profile. (Apologies, I accidentally deleted individual item photos before I was able to upload them.)

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. 

February 2019 Ipsy Review

Ipsy is a subscription box that sends subscribers 5 beauty items for $10 a month. Items range from sample to full sized and drugstore to prestige. Ipsy has been at the top of my subscription boxes for years. It was my first and it's been the most consistent with the mix of sample and full sized items that I actually enjoy. I have to admit the scope of the company has changed a bit over the years where now the themes are more vague and reminiscent of Birchbox or Boxycharm (Look at August 2018 versus August 2016 for reference). I can't say I'm a fan of the change since I'm just a giant child but hey... I guess their marketing team is going with what works. Anyway, if you're interested in subscribing I do have a referral link which allows me to accrue points for bonus items, otherwise feel free to go to their main page.

February Empties

Over the years I've amassed quite a horde of makeup and beauty items. I tried containing it, organizing it, and purging it to no avail. So I've decided to take a new approach: monthly inventory. I am the type of person who has to bookmark upcoming chapters in a book just to be able to power through a chapter, and that's even when I love a book. Why wouldn't this work with making sure I use my beauty items? It's not a guarantee that I will end up with piles of garbage and unwritten blog posts following up on this project, right? *cough*

January 2019 Sephora Play Review

I must preface this by saying one of my kids was eating Sour Punch straws near the keyboard and now my space bar is out of control so I apologize for any elementary formatting errors you may come across in this post.

Play! by Sephora is a $10 subscription that provides users with 5 samples, a bonus item, and 50 extra beauty insider points with a purchase every month. The great part about this subscription: everything offered can be found inside Sephora or online at Sephora.com. The downside: I have never received a full sized item. That said, the samples are typically large enough to allow me to determine whether or not I actually like a product and if it's worth purchasing.

January 2019 Ipsy Review

Ipsy is a $10 a month subscription that offers a makeup bag and 5 makeup, beauty, skincare or hair care items. Items vary from sample to full sized and the brands can be drug store, indie label or masstige. What I love about Ipsy is it's a great way to build up a beginner makeup collection without investing too much money, the bags are perhaps the most personalized of any subscription service I've seen, and the sample sizes are great: I've never received a foil packet in the 3 years that I've been subscribed!

I got some serious Judy Garland vibes from January's bag. It's made of a very folksy blue pinstripe patterned fabric-yeah, I know Dorothy wore gingham, not pinstripes. It is far from my favorite with it's down home country feel but somebody out there has to love it, right?

January 2019 Birchbox Review

Birchbox is a subscription service that provides members with 5 sample sized beauty, makeup or hair care items for $10 a month right to your front door. Now, unfortunately it looks like the price will be going up to $13 a month (there damn well better be an improvement for that price point) but you can lock in a year for $110 if you subscribe before 24 Mar 2019.