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Beauty

June Birchbox Review

Posted on June 28, 2017

It’s been awhile blog friends.  Hope there are still a few of you out there.  I just started my 2 week staycation and I have to say…I’M BACK!!!  So far on this staycation I have, worked out almost every single day (I’m going to lose some pounds damn it!), I went to the Born Free Motorcycle Show with my boyfriend (and now I know what’s it like to go to a festival in the desert – it was 100 degrees), and I helped save a kitten and find it a forever home (I have done my good deed for the month and I think I want to foster kittens now….).  So that’s what I have been up to on the other side of the computer screen.

Now, on to the blog – I have so many new reviews and I am so excited to share them with all of you.  Now, let’s get back to business.  First up…

This month’s Birchbox had a mix of really great products and some that were not so great.  Let’s begin with the good…

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray | Birchbox $46:  If you get Birchbox, you know that each month – you get to pick one of your samples.  This is the one I picked.  It is one of my holy grail products that I use on my hair every single day.  I am a “messy hair don’t care” type of gal and this stuff gives it just the right amount of texture and grit.  Plus, it has a lovely smell.  Well worth the money.  I must be on my 5th bottle!

Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 | Birchbox $39:  When BB cream was all the range a few years back, Dr. Jart+ was one of the first BB creams I used.  This was actually the same exact one.  I loved it, except I realized after awhile that it was clogging my pores.  That’s just me though.  If you’re looking for a premium BB cream, this is it and it comes in 2 different shades.  I’m Shade #1 if you are curious.

Vasanti BrightenUp! New Skin Amplifying Moisturizer | Birchbox $34: I love the Vasanti brand.  In one of my first Birchbox’s, I got a sample of the Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator and it was life changing.  I love this exfoliator. So when I got a sample of this moisturizer, I was super excited.  It’s lightweight which is good for a day time moisturizer (make sure you put on your SPF too!) and for the hot summer months.  Great if you have oily skin and need a light moisturizer.

Now let’s get to the not so good products…

Benefit Cosmetics Goof Proof Brow Pencil | Birchbox $24:  I feel like I’m always saying this with these types of reviews but…I had high hopes for this.  I was so excited to see that it was coming in my box.  However, the sample was the SMALLEST SAMPLE EVER!  When I tried it on my eyebrows, I couldn’t get a good grip on it.  I can’t even give you an honest opinion on this because the sample was so small.  No Benefit Cosmetics…NO!  How could you do this?  Very poor marketing on your part….

Manna Kadar Cosmetics Eye Candy Priming Shadow Stick | Birchbox $24:  This thing came to me broken.  I didn’t even want to open the cap and deal with the stick falling out and making a mess.  So I just took a picture of it and threw it in the trash.  Amazing that it is of such low quality, it broke going through the mail.  I didn’t even get this during the heat wave… so I can’t say that it melted in the Southern California heat.  NOPE.

3 out of 5 were winners.  YAY!

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

 

 

 

 

Beauty

May Birchbox Review

Posted on May 23, 2017

May has been a super busy month for me so far.  I had a few work trips that have been keeping me busy and the oh so important –  my birthday!  After you turn 30, you’re like your parents where you don’t remember your age/you don’t want to tell anyone your real age. HA!  I hate getting a year older but I love celebrating my birthday with friends!  I had to work on my birthday but I have made it a tradition to go to Ruth’s Chris with my colleagues and it’s worked out great!  Who can say no to steak and sizzling butter?  Absolutely no one.

I know I skipped out on April’s Birchbox review and I thought I wouldn’t even notice.  Well, my desk sure noticed.  After May’s Birchbox came – I saw that I was starting to accumulate samples and had no plan to ever try them.  BAD!  So here I go, continuing with my monthly Birchbox reviews.

OUAI Wave Spray | Birchbox $26:  I have been wanting to try out OUAI brand products for so long.  I am a closet Kardashian fan and have been following Jen Atkin for awhile since she does their hair.  Also, SoulCycle now carries her products in their restrooms, so it must be good right?  Well, maybe I need to try a different product from her line.  This stuff smells great but gives hair a crunchy feel.  I will be sticking to my LUSH Sea Spray.


Whish Firming Body Cream | Birchbox $36:  This stuff is supposed to target the appearance of stretch marks and blemishes.  Do I believe this?  No.  Did I like using it as a normal body cream?  Yes.  It has a nice, light, floral scent and isn’t too thick.  Would I purchase this?  Nope.  For body lotion, I like to stay with the middle of the road ones.  Typically because they smell nice but I don’t usually spend too much money on body lotion.

MAC Cosmetics Strobe Cream | Birchbox $33:  I am on highlighter overload right now.  However, I do like that you can dab dab dab on the parts of your face that you want to highlight and it will blend perfectly.  It’s not too shimmery and won’t make your face look like a disco ball (unless you want it to, then you can keep on adding!). I actually really like MAC’s skin products and think this is a great buy if you want a glow from within (add it to your foundation or lotion) or if you are looking into a liquid highlighter.

The Beauty Crop Fabulous Flocking Lashes | Birchbox $22:  I wish I could tell Birchbox to stop sending me mascaras.  I always hope that a mascara will work for my eyelashes, but they never do.  The only one I can use is Cover Girl Lash Blast Very Black Waterproof.  The Beauty Crop Fabulous Flocking Lashes looked promising.  I loved the packaging, it’s waterproof and contains argan oil to help moisturize your lashes.  However, immediately after curling my lashes and applying this stuff – my lashes went straight. The good news is that they were looked really long.  If you have stubborn straight Asian eyelashes like me, skip this.

COOLA SPF 30 Organic Makeup Setting Spray | Birchbox $36: I like the idea of this.  I sprayed it on and immediately thought to myself – “this stuff smells weird.”  Now all day I have the smell on my face and I get whiffs of it as I sit at my desk. It’s supposed to give a matte finish, but after about 1 hour – my face was back to being a bit oily.  The best thing about this stuff is that it has SPF.  I like the other SPF products from COOLA that I have, but I don’t think I will be recommending this one.

Unfortunately this Birchbox was a bust for me this month.  However, I still love trying out new products and maybe I would have bought the full size version of any of these and then figured out I didn’t like them.  This is so much more fun!  haha

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.

Do you want your own surprise in the mail?  Subscribe here!

 

Beauty

Bite Beauty | The Lip Pencil

Posted on February 6, 2017

I was chosen by Influenster to try out the Bite Beauty VoxBox.  In case you don’t know what Influenster is, it’s actually really cool.  You sign up and it does require a bit of work, but you can get picked to try out new products for free!  I got the Bite Beauty The Lip Pencil.  It’s exclusive to Sephora and was just released on 2.2.17 (also my dad’s birthday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!).  I received 2 lip pencils, 2 lipsticks and 1 Sephora pencil sharpener.

I have the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Champagne and love it, so I was excited to try their new lip pencil.  I did some research on the brand to get more familiar with it.  Turns out that they use food-grade ingredients and some of their products smell good enough to eat!  This definitely intrigued me.  Read on to find out my thoughts on the lip pencils!

Bite Beauty The Lip Pencil 020 Beige Nude| Sephora $18:  This is the PERFECT nude color.  I have to say that this is comparable to my favorite Charlotte Tilbury Lip Liner in Pillow Talk.  The pencil itself is creamy and lightweight. It has shea butter in it!  I did pair this with the Amuse Bouche lipstick that they sent in Honeycomb and it was lovely! AND did you know that their lipsticks are hand made in small batches?  LOVE!

*lip pencil on top, lipstick on bottom*

BITE Beauty The Lip Pencil 044 Rich Mahogany | Sephora $18: If you have been reading my blog, you know that I love dark lip colors.  You put it on and look put together – like you spent all day getting ready.  I love it!  When I opened up the box, I thought this was going to be my favorite color of the two pencils. Well, I like both equally.  Don’t hate me ok?  This pencil is super pigmented which is a good thing when using a dark lip pencil.  I was sent the Amuse Bouche lipstick in Whiskey to pair with it, but holy cow!  Whiskey looked almost black on me (it’s supposed to be a Rich Mahogany with Red). The lip pencil itself is beautiful alone, which is how I wore it.  Doing this actually really impressed me with how nice the lip pencil is.  Lipstick is not needed.  LOVE!

*lip pencil on top, lipstick on bottom*

Final thoughts?  I need to head over to Sephora to look at the other colors in person.  For being brand new, this product is really great.  I would just be careful to now throw it in your big handbag (or mine).  I did that and the cap fell off…of both pencils.  You do NOT want Rich Mahogany all over the place.  Other than that, this lip pencil is great.  I highly recommend it!

*I received this product complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster and Bite Beauty*

 

Beauty

December Birchbox Review

Posted on January 18, 2017

The weird thing about Birchbox is that they didn’t let me know that my subscription was ending.  I had a 6 month gift card that a friend gave me for my birthday, so I had been using that.  Imagine how sad I was when December was almost done and I still had not received my beloved Birchbox.  Well, I went on my account and signed back up for a year subscription right away!

What does that mean for my lovely readers?  Well, 2 back to back reviews on my December and January Birchboxes.  If you read my Nlast review post, you will notice that I was quite disappointed in what I had received.  Get ready because Birchbox definitely redeemed themselves this time around!  Now read on.

This box came with some lovely holiday gift tags and a pretty travel mirror.  What fun surprises!

Real Chemistry Luminous 3-minute Peel | Birchbox $48:  Holy moly this stuff is amazing!!!  After 1 use, I went right online and purchased the full-size.  No joke this stuff is great.  Wash your face, keep it damp, massage this stuff on and keep going until you feel bits of your skin coming off.  Wash your face again and it’s as soft as a baby’s bottom!  Seriously, the best!!!  Trust.  You need this in your life!

amika Un.Done Texture Spray | Birchbox $24: I love a good texture spray.  Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray is my holy grail hair product, but I am open to trying other brands as well.  Having messy hair is my favorite.  That could be because I am not very good with styling hair, so you better believe that I hope this “messy hair, don’t care” trend stays for awhile!  This stuff definitely works.  I used it today to help put my hair in a high bun.  The thing I didn’t like though was the smell.  Unfortunately I will have to stay true to Oribe, but this is a great product if you can get past the smell.

LOC One & Done Shadow Stick (Out of Your Shell) | Birchbox $10: This is a very pretty color.  Good highlighter for the inner corners of your eye or even to highlight your brow bone.  I have a few similar items to this and I just don’t use it in my makeup routine.  I don’t hate this, but I don’t love it either.  If you need one, this is a nice version.

IPKN Radiant Cream Primer SPF 15 | Birchbox $28: There are two wonderful things about this primer.  First, it smells wonderful!  Second, is that it sparkles.  Not in the “I just threw glitter on my face” sparkle, but that luminous pretty one.  You can see it on my hand in the second photo.  This is very close to the Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow.  For half the price, this is a great alternative.

Avene Micellar Lotion | Birchbox $20:  I am all about Micellar Waters.  Garnier’s SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water & Makeup Remover is also a holy grail item for me.  Since I wash my face at night, why wash it again in the morning?  I use this stuff and I have had no breakouts from lack of cleanliness.  I definitely recommend it.  So, how is the Avene version?  It’s wonderful!  It’s different because this is a bit thicker than water since it is a “lotion.”  I feel like it is more moisturizing which is always a good thing in my book, especially in the winter months.  I am going to buy this as soon as I run out!  I say it’s a thumbs up!

The takeaway from this post is that I love micellar waters, texturizing sprays and chemical peels.  If you want your own Birchbox subscription, click here!

Until next time!