Birchbox: April 2014

In its defense, my birchbox arrived early, last week, and it just sat on my table for almost another week because I just had so much going on that I didn't have time to even open it between doctor's appointments and outpatient surgery.So, it didn't actually get delivered as late in the month, as I'm posting it.

Birchbox is a subscription box service. It's one of the cheaper ones, at ten bucks, a box. In the box you get 4-5 items, samples sizes, deluxe sample sizes, or sometimes even full-sizes, that you can try out at your leisure. I find that birchbox has more of a selection of different types of samples than other subscription box services. In this one, you're likely to get all sorts of things like hair products, skin products, makeup, food, perfume, and in others, you're more likely to just get makeup. April's theme was Rainy Days.

I should also mention that I have a love/hate relationship with Birchbox. It tends to go towards the hate side because a lot of the time I don't get products I'm ever going to use, but sometimes they surprise me and I get decent boxes, but for ten dollars, I really can't complain too much. 

Miss Jessie's Original Transitioner's Magic, worth maybe $2.00. It's a decent size foil packet, but you don't get much use out of foil packets and they're hard to store. It's supposed to be a product to tame curly hair, which intrigues me since my hair is uncontrollably curly. So I probably will at least try this, I'm always looking for products that make me hate my hair less.

Sumita Contrast Eyeliner in Jamun [Deep Purple] worth about $5.00 because it's half the size of a full-size eyeliner pencil.

This is a product I will use, I do like eyeliner, and a deep purple is a color that I have used on my eyes before. The tip is also really nice and draws a smooth line. It's also very waterproof since I can't get it all the way off my hand no matter how much I scrub with soap. 

Paula's Choice RESIST Anti-Aging Clear Skin Hydrator, probably worth about $3.00, but it is a very decent sized-sample.  This is meant to cleanse your face and rid it of bacteria.

I sprayed some of my face now. The nozzle is sort of special, but I did rub it all over my face like it told me too. It feels cleansing, and gives my skin a nice cool feeling, which I like. However, it smells pretty nasty. 

Gilchrist & Soames Spa Therapy Body Wash, worth about $2.00. I like how it smells, it sort of smells like watermelon. It's also a good travel-size, for when I take my yearly plane rides back to Jersey, and get upset because there's no shower gel in my bathroom. 

Kind Healthy Grains Bar in Maple Pumpkin Seeds with sea salt, worth about .50 cents or so. I probably won't eat this because I don't really like pumpkin seeds, but maybe I can give it to my fiance and tell him it's a healthy snack.

Birchbox also sent along a tip for a rainy day in each box.

Mine involves brewing a perfect cup of coffee. I have a Keurig for that, and a Starbucks down the street :P Maybe one day I'll upgrade to a fancy schmancy coffee grinder and make my own coffee, but till that day, I'll stick with what I have.

Overall value: $12.50, still above what I initially paid, but not the highest value box I've ever gotten. 

This box was okay. It was sort of in the middle. I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it, and I am happy I got eyeliner.

So if you think Birchbox is for you, by all means, go check it out :)

March Birchbox

My birchbox had a lot of issues this month. First, they sent me a shipping notice, only to recall it the next day, and tell me that they had mistaken and it was the wrong box. Then I got another email telling me they gave me a repeat of an item, which they didn't, and I was credited 10 birchbox points, and it took a really long time to get here. Unfortunately, it wasn't worth the wait either.

Birchbox is a subscription box. It's a only ten dollars a month, and sends you a selection of 5-6 sample size items per month, although occasionally you can get a full-size. They claim that the box you get is based on your profile and preferences, but I think that's bullshit, especially after this month's box, where I strongly dislike most of the items... But for ten dollars a month, I can't really complain.

March's theme is spring forward, which irks me because it reminds me of the time change and the fact that I lost an hour of sleep. 

First gaze into my box.

Gilchrist & Soames London Collection Body Lotion, I'd estimate it to be worth about $2.25. I don't like how it smells. It's very flowery, and I just don't do flowery. It is a decent sized sample, at least, if I choose to use it, I'll get more than one use out of it, but I just don't really have a need for body lotion, I have tons already, thanks.

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Eye Cream, worth maybe .25, it's a tiny sample. I do have horrible under-eye circles... The downside of being a teacher and having to wake up at 5:30 am [really 4:30 am, thanks time change] and teaching four year olds all day... But this sample is barely big enough for one use. How can you evaluate a product like this with only one, if that, use?

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Night Cream, worth maybe $3.00. I'm curious about this. I need a good night moisturizer because my skin gets so oily and red and dry, so I'll try this out, and see if I see a difference. 

Curl Keeper, worth maybe $1.50. I have really annoying curly frizzy hair and it doesn't help that I moved to Texas, where it's like 115 degrees with humidity, in the summer, so I am always looking for good frizz-control products, so once it gets humid enough, and believe me,I am in no rush for that, I'll try this and see if it can contain my mane. 

How about Them Apples cheek and lip cream, worth maybe $1.50

I like the sexy cowboy... very Texan... But I don't wear cheek or lip makeup, so really this is just a wasted product that will never be used.

A Ghiradelli Cherry Tango piece that went to fiance... because I can't eat nuts, I'm allergic. Oh well. It would've been amazing without the nuts.

So total value: $8.50

Not even worth the ten dollars I paid. March sucked. I just don't like my birchbox at all. There are some okay products. But there's nothing special. I'm disappointed. I hope April is loads better.

Birchbox: February 2014

Wow, Birchbox, you came early this month... Or maybe you just came really late in January, so it just seems like you're super early... Not that I'm complaining.

I especially liked this months box. It had pretty stars. I like pretty stars. Apparently this month was a collaboration with US News, although I'm not sure how that really affected my box this month. It pretty much is the same it always is.

 

FYI, Birchbox is a subscription box. It's generally one of the cheaper ones, along with Ipsy. It costs $10.00 a month. There's a waiting list, but I think I got off of it in about two to three weeks, so it wasn't a long wait.  They send you a variety of beauty/lifestyle products based on a profile you fill out on their website when you sign up. I'm not quite sure if their boxes really go with your profile because I've gotten some items, where I'm like WTF, but there's always a variety. It's more varied than some of the other subscription boxes. This one has makeup, hair products, skin products, makeup tools, hair tools, perfume samples, and there are 50 different boxes each month that you can get.

Here it is... Under the wrapper.

 

Sorin seemed especially interested in my birchbox this month.

The magical list.

At first glance. My first impression wasn't bad. I did see a bottle of liquid and for a minute thought it was a huge perfume sample and got pissy, but luckily it was not. I don't wear perfume and I loathe it when I get useless perfumes samples.

I actually think Birchbox did a decent job with my box this month... That's two decent boxes in a row, which is much better than all the random boxes I had gotten before. I think their New Year's Resolution was to really try to improve on their boxes, and January and February have been surprisingly not as sucky, as previous boxes.

Beauty Protector: Protect & Oil, a full-size retails for 25.95, and I got about 3/4th's of an ounce according to my high school math teacher fiance. That makes this worth about $5.00, again according to him. I've never tried hair oil. My hair is oily enough. It smells nice. It smells like vanilla. Since I live in Houston, the humidity capital of the world, and I spend a shit ton of time outside, at the pool, with my kindle, reading so bad they're good dark-hunter sex novels... I think this product could prove itself very useful in the hotter months. AND YAY IT'S NOT PERFUME!!!

Ruby Wing Color Changing Nailpolish in Kitten Heels. Full-size retails for $10.00, and this is literally half the size of full-size, so it's also worth $5.00. I've always liked color changing nailpolish. My parents would always bring me back that Costa Del Sol stuff whenever they went on a cruise, and I loved it. These colors are rather bright for me, but they're probably really good for a summer pedicure, especially when I can wear my cheap Target flip-flops 24/7. I would have preferred one of the glitter colors.... because glitter makes the world go round, but I'll take it :)

Coola Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face. Full-size retails for $36.00. Mine is .17 ounces and worth $3.60. I happen to really like Coola products. Birchbox sent me their cucumber scented facial sunscreen in the summer, and it was a nice cooling relief that got me through a day at Schlitterbahn with barely a facial burn... My shoulders on the other hand... They were as red as a lobster. I don't think I would do a Tinted Sunscreen just because I don't like skin-color products. I don't wear foundation or cover-up or anything like that. So this isn't really for me, but it is a brand I do highly recommend for facial products with SPF.

On the left is the product squeezed out of the tube, and the right is it blended into my hand. It blends in well. It was a great match for my skin-tone. It's also sort of mousse-like, which is a nice and light fluffy texture. It's not oily at all. I'm not sure if I'd buy a product like this, just because it's not me, but it is a good product, and a great brand.

 

 Smashbox Full-Exposure Mascara in Jet Black. Full-size is $19.50. Mine is .14 oz, which is worth $7.08. I love me some mascara, especially black mascara. I have non-existent lashes, so mascara is my friend. I haven't tried it yet since I have TONS of mascara, but I will work into my rotation as soon as one of my tubes runs out. I have heard good things about this brand though. 

My lifestyle extra was a Smashbox Cosmetics Full Exposure Palette.

It's a sample of ten colors. The top are Crease-resistant, long-wearing shimmers. The bottom is velvety-smooth matte colors. I didn't swatch them or anything because the samples are so tiny. The top colors are more glittery than the bottom colors. The full-size is $49.00, I'll says these are like a tenth of the full product and round it up for $5.00, since it's hard to put a price on it. I do like that they're mostly nude colors, which gives me a lot of options for wearing them, since I tend to keep my makeup tame for school and such.

The math total is: $25.68, which is more then double the cost of my birchbox. So for just ten dollars, it's a pretty good deal.

I was very pleased with my Birchbox this month. I definitely think they're upping their game since 2013, and I'm eager to see what else awaits me.

 

 

January 2014 Birchbox

Oh Birchbox, I have a love/hate relationship with you, mostly bordering on hate, sometimes you send me stuff I really like, at other times, it's just meh :/

Fortunately, I really LIKED January's Box, it might be the first box, where I actually have a use for every product.

Birchbox is a company that sends you a box of samples every month. It's ten dollars, and you get all sorts of samples sent you ranging from hair products, to skin products,  to perfume, to nailpolish and makeup. You can tweak your profile to try to get things you want, but in my experience, it doesn't always work.

There's usually a waiting list, I think I was on it for a month before I got my first box in June.

First of all, shipping sucked this month. Usually my box gets to me in a reasonable amount of time, but it came about five days after it was scheduled to get to me, but whatevs.

Here's the pretty birchbox.

This months theme is "Go Time", birchbox says 2014 is the time to take on more: "more things to try [maybe that's why I got a perfume sample this month], to conquer, to integrate into our lives."

The inside of the box.

Nail Rock, Sequin, and I got a full-size, so it's worth $7.00. It's "The UK brand's two step system for the world's brightest disco mani." I really like sparkly glittery things, hence the name of this blog, and my quest to get shiny Charmanders in Pokemon X [I think I've had 50 non-shiny charmanders born now, and they're all named after rappers and world traded], so I am intrigued. You paint your nails with two coats of the clear stuff, then stick them in glitter, and let it dry for a twenty minutes, and you get glitter nails. I so really like the color too, it's sort of a sea green glitter :) I'm not sure how I feel about waiting twenty minutes, however, so we shall see. I do like it though.

Beauty Protecter, Protect & Detangle. A regular size is eight ounces, and costs $21.95, my sample is maybe a quarter of that? I'm not sure, it's a decent-sized sample. So I'll price it at $5.50. It's a "best selling elixir that locks in color, protects from heat damage, and adds silkiness." I like water parks. My fiance likes water parks.  Every summer we go to Schlitterbahn, and a spray in de-tangler is a great product for me [and him, he has longer hair than me] to help with heat/chlorine damage, and it's a perfect travel-size. It also smells like vanilla marshmallows, which is a nice touch. 

INIKA Mineral Eye-Shadow in Eternal Marine, "packed with certified-organic ingredients, these natural pigments stay vibrant for hours." I got a full-size, which makes it worth $20.00. I really like loose eyeshadow, and this color is really pretty.

 

It's sort of a turquoise color. I did a swatch of it, and this is the color without any sort of primer, just swatched on my arm. It's a green/gray/turquoise color, which is my favorite eyeshadow colors because it brings out my blue-gray eyes, and it goes on so nice and thick, that a little bit will go a long way. 

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy, a perfume sample, where "wild berries flirt with mandarin and soft floral notes for a scent that's fun and happy." It's about 70 dollars. [Seriously why is perfume so expensive?]. My sample is little. I'm not sure how to price a perfume sample. Maybe $3.00?  I don't like perfume, I don't wear it, I don't like it, this is the first time I ever got a perfume sample. It doesn't smell bad, for a perfume, it's sort of fruity? It's bearable.  I can't imagine when I'll have a use for a perfume, but if I do... at least it's one I don't mind?

Burt's Bee's Intense Hydration Day Lotion, and a coupon. This is a "Birchbox find alert", where you basically get it for free, and it doesn't count towards your samples, in any way. I really like Burt's Bees, and I like moisturizer, especially in winter, when my skin gets dry, so I'm happy with it. Probably worth about $2.00 or so.

Let's add:  I paid ten dollars for this box, and got products worth $37.50, so my box really paid out this month, and for once, I like most of what I received. Good job, Birchbox.

January has been a slow month for subscription boxes. I know Ipsy shipped, but they have notoriously slow shipping. There's a few more coming. A few more I may have to tweak the credit card on it, thanks to the Target identity theft ploy, where they got my credit card number, and I had to get a new card. Hm, I should get on that.

Product Reviews

So... no new boxes lately although Birchbox notified me that they mailed my box, and my order from Shiro Cosmetics should me here pretty soon, as well, but I do have some product reviews from previous orders that I've blogged about here.

Now, I don't always have a use for all products that I receive, I don't like wasting things though, so some of the makeup colors that I plan to never use, usually the very bright red lipsticks or nailpolishes, and any sort of foundation makeup, get donated to my co-workers, and then some of the skin and not so girly products, I give to my fiance.

Disclaimer: I use my own hard-earned money from teaching to buy all my subscription boxes, I spend almost as much on those, as fiance spends on Magic the Gathering cards :P Nobody paid me to try any of these products, and my opinions are my own :)[or my fiances']

The Midnight Monarch hand lotion that I got, last month, in Birchbox has made its way to my fiance since I prefer the Julep hand lotion. It's been cold, for Texas, not really for me and my NJ roots, but for my students, and my fiance, and his skin has gotten dry and chapped. So I donated this to his cause. Fiance says he likes it. It's large sample, and it's been lasting him for awhile, which is nice, so it's good for more than one use. He says it's made a noticeable difference in his skin, his skin is far less dry, and the lotion makes it silky, so this hand lotion meets his stamp of approval. 

The Green Tea Facial Blotting Papers are great. Both fiance and I love them. We both have oily skin, especially within our T-Zones. These papers smell like green tea, which is nice. And they're very good at what they do. They're also great to use with makeup because I find that they don't disturb my makeup at all. 

The Double-Step Foot stuff came in the Diamond Mystery box that I got back in November. Fiance inherited that too since basically all I do is wear Uggs, no matter what the season is, and didn't really have a need for it. Fiance loves the stuff. He loves how it smells because he loves Peppermint. It's all he ever orders from Starbucks- Peppermint Mocha Frapachinos or Peppermint Mochas. He also tries to put peppermint in anything he attempts to bake, like those cookies he mailed me back when I lived in Jersey, which were delicious. And if he drinks tea, it's peppermint tea. He also tried to have a garden of mint since we moved in together, but every time he tried to garden, his plants died.  He also likes how smooth it makes his feet, and he says it keeps his feet clean and makes his feet feel fresh. So far, this is his favorite product, out of the unisex products that he's inherited. 

 The Quick Dry Drops that I got in my January Maven Box have also been used [by me, not my fiance]. I painted my nails yesterday with an undercoat of Stevie, which is a color I got in the holiday secret store, it's a bluish sparkly slate gray. I topped it with Geo, which is the holographic glitter nailpolish I received with the Diamond Mystery Box in November.  It's a purple glitter with huge holographic chunks. I used the quick-dry drops afterwards. They went easy, all you need it one or two drops. My nails were pretty dry about five minutes later. My nails then survived putting on and taking off both jeans and belt without any chipping,which is a first. I don't really like the smell. It's like a chemical lemongrass-ish smell, that lasts for a good hour or two after you use them, but by the morning, the scent was gone. These are my nails this afternoon:

They're pretty much the same as when I painted them, so the quick-dry drops give them a pretty good protective coat as well, since they lasted through an entire day of teaching pre-k. I'm very happy with these drops, and can even ignore the smell since they really do do what Julep says they do. Two thumbs up from me.

I dislike this Eye Glaze Fierce from Girlacktic Beauty.I tried wearing it. I think it goes on much to thick, and the color is very dark. I also really don't like how it smells. I wore it one night, and just wasn't impressed without how it looked. It felt heavy when I put it on, and I prefer my makeup to be light and/or weight-less. I also had trouble blending it with any other color. 

Magnetic Force Nailpolish from Color Club. I love it. The formula goes on really quickly, and I only needed one coat. It's a pretty magenta/purple color with swirls of silver in it, and I topped it with Aviva, which I got from the Julep Naughty & Nice box that I got in December. It had great staying power. It lasted on my nails for about a week with barely any chipping. I wish I had taken a picture of my nails when they were like that.

Vasanti Brighten Up! [enzymatic face rejuvenator]. I got a sample of this in my November birchbox. It's an exfoliate. I really like it. I can feel it exfoliating my skin as I put it on, and I've been using it for about a week, and my skin's been looking great. It's been much less red. This also didn't irritate my skin like most other facial products I've tried. The sample I got was also generous. I've been using it for two weeks now, and I still have some left. I'm contemplating ordering a full-size bottle of it, once the sample runs out. 

Coola Classic Face Sunscreen in Cucumber. I got this back in my first ever birchbox, which was in July 2013! I got the sample right before fiance and I went to Schlitterbahn in New Braufels for a before-school-starts vacation. It was a hot August day in Texas, and the sun was strong. I used this when we went to the park. My face didn't burn at all [although other parts of my body did, my poor shoulders], and it was cool and refreshing when I put it on, which felt great in that Texas summer heat. Once it gets to be summer, I'm totally buying a full-size bottle of this, especially since over the summer, I sit at the pool and read on my kindle and because fiance and I are so going back to Schlitterbahn.

And that's it, from me, for now. Back to my quest to evolve every Eevee. So far I've got Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Glaceon, and Sylveon. I'm trying to get an Umbreon, but I can only play my game after 8 pm for that to happen :P

I really want a caramel steamer from Starbucks.  I wonder if I can convince Mr. Fiance to bring me back one from work :P