Monthly Archives

March 2017

Beauty

March Birchbox Review

Posted on March 30, 2017

This past weekend I was up in NorCal for work and had a blast!  If you follow me on my Instagram, you would have seen that I went to Kittea Cat Cafe in San Francisco.  I had so much fun, the cats are adorable. Maybe I will do a review on my visit.  Let me know if you want to know what it was like.  Other than that, I ate a lot.  The food up there is amazing and it’s fun to see the different variations between SoCal and NorCal.  For example, I saw a huge line for Boba Guys. Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley – we have a ton of boba places.  I couldn’t believe why there would be a line at this place. Well, it’s the hip, organic, delicious version of what we have down here.  I approve.

Now back to the real reason for this post – March Birchbox review!  This Birchbox was curated by Reese Witherspoon and her lifestyle brand Draper James. This one had some great products in it and I was super excited to try everything out.  Also, I love Reese!

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream | Birchbox $27.50:  This is a no-brainer.  I love Kiehl’s products.  This is right in between being lightweight and creamy.  It’s great for an everyday face cream.  It has no scent which I do like.  This is the best every day no nonsense face cream!

W3LL PEOPLE Expressionist Mascara | Birchbox $21.99: It doesn’t matter what kind of mascara it is.  They  never work on my stick straight eyelashes.  However, I try every single mascara that is sent to me and sadly, this did not work for me.  *insert sad face*

Davines Naturaltech Replumpling Shampoo & Conditioner | Birchbox $26.50 each:  I know I say this a lot, but I was really looking forward to trying this out.  I love Davines.  However, this smelled musky and like an old lady.  AND when I used the shampoo my hair didn’t feel clean.  When I used the conditioner, my hair didn’t feel soft.  PASS!

Davines Naturaltech Replumping Hair Filler Superactive | Birchbox $40:  I was skeptical about this.  What is it supposed to do?  Fill my hair?  Well, other than the smell which I didn’t like (it’s the same as the shampoo & conditioner) – it did what it said it was going to do!  My hair is full and plumped.  I wish it didn’t smell like an old lady, but I will be using this whole sample bottle up!  Who doesn’t love fuller hair?

Real Chemistry Fresh-Start Foaming Cleanser | Birchbox $24:  I loved the Real Chemistry Luminous 3-Minute Peel that was in my December Birchbox so I was really looking forward to trying this out.  It doesn’t dry your face out like normal foaming cleansers do and it’s moisturizing!  Not bad!  This would be perfect if you have a Clarisonic.

Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real! Double the Lip in Lusty Rose| Birchbox $20:  This product is really cool.  It’s a lip liner and lipstick in 1.  You can see in the photo that there are two layers.  However, even though I was super excited to see this and try it – it was a bust for me.  The first problem, the color.  It just wasn’t a good look on me.  Also, having to put the “liner” part on your bottom lip is a bit of a task.  It’s a great concept and Benefit is some high quality stuff – but this just wasn’t for me.

I liked 4/7 of the products sent to me.  I say that’s a win!

If you want to get your own Birchbox, click here!  Until next time!

Beauty

February Birchbox Review

Posted on March 19, 2017

Hello out there!  I did not forget about you, my blog.  Without going too much into detail – I got super sick, got my eyebrows microbladded, it’s been raining (which means no photos) and I have been traveling like crazy for work.  I finally had a free weekend and I had a day off to take photos last week – so I’m BACK!  And how I have missed you.

I know this is a month late, but you will forgive me right?  Here we go….

WEI Golden Root Purifying Mud Mask | Birchbox $42:  I was a bit skeptical about this – because I am about everything I haven’t tried.  Well, this turned out to be a wonderful surprise!  This mud mask isn’t super thick, it’s creamy and when it dries on your face – you can still move it!  After I took it off, I found my face to be nicely matte and my pores were noticeably smaller.  I am definitely going to purchase this!  Plus, the mask comes in individual pods – I like that.

Manna Kadar Cosmetics Lip Locked in Rosette | Birchbox $24:  I thought I was going to like this.  It’s a primer, stain and gloss in one.  Who can go wrong with all those 3 in 1?  Well, this went straight into the trashcan after I tried it on my lips.  It was blotchy, the consistency was not smooth, the color was horrible on my skin – it was just bad.  SKIP!

Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo | Birchbox $44:  I love Oribe products.  My absolute favorite is their dry texturizing spray.  I use it every single day.  So I was super excited to see this in February’s box.  This dry shampoo is not bad.  It’s my #2 after my Living proof Dry Shampoo favorite.  It doesn’t leave a white residue and very lightweight.  I can hardly tell that I have it on.  If you need a new dry shampoo, definitely give this one a try!

Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre | Birchbox $28:  I didn’t think I would like this.  I am all about packaging and this is packaged in just a foreign looking tube.  I was easily amused when I saw that I had to turn the cap and puncture the top of the tube to get the cream out.  Remember when you had to do that as a kid?  Well, this french moisturizer impressed me.  It’s great for dryness and supposedly preps the skin for foundation.  However, I found it too greasy for my liking to use in the AM.  I definitely recommend this for those dry winter PM nights.  I will be putting this in my shopping cart!

Obliphica Professional Seaberry Serum | Birchbox $38:  I just started experimenting with using serums after doing my hair to tame the flyaways.  You can use this with wet or dry hair.  I tried this on my dry hair this morning after straightening my hair and found it very pleasant!  Has a nice smell and wasn’t greasy and didn’t make my hair feel oily.  Will definitely keep an eye on this and keep using it until it’s gone!

I was trying so hard to pump out a post that when I took the photos of the products, I only swatched the ones I thought I would like.  Well, this should tell you that you should never judge a book by its cover.  I thought I would love the lip gloss, but I hated it.  I didn’t think I would like the moisturizer or serum, but I’m going to use up the entire sample and may even buy the full size at the end.

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