March '14 Birchbox Review

For Birchbox, March was all about springing forward!
It was a cute box filled with an assortment of things to really get you pumped up for spring.

Unboxing video!

The contents.

Birchbox knows just how to pump me up for anything. With chocolate.

Actually, yes, let's start with the chocolate.
Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango - Why not moar?! Bits of cherry and almond! Delicious. Want!
LA FRESH® Oil-Free Face Cleanser - I'm lame and haven't tried this yet. But! I'm stoked about having it. I already have a face cleanser wipe(s?) so I'll be able to compare the two, once I actually use this one. Right now the prospect of having something portable is more appealing than using it willy-nilly.
LA FRESH® Waterproof Makeup Remover - I also haven't tried this one, but I'm perhaps more excited to try it than the other wipe. The only makeup remover I have is a liquid so having a wipe perform the same duties but be more convenient for travels is a plus in my book!

Obliphica Treatment Hair Serum - Since I'm still preparing to bleach and dye my hair (I actually finally got everything, but there wasn't enough dye, booo) having anything to make it its healthiest is fine by me. I still have the hair serum from February's box so it also provides an ideal opportunity to compare them.

Obliphica (below) vs Beauty Protector!

Obliphica's serum is noticeably more... colorful? It has a very dark orange color while Beauty Protector's serum is more of a light golden color. While I don't let colors deter me from products, I couldn't help but feel that this simple color difference made Obliphica's serum seem more processed or artificial. Now, I don't actually now what either of them are made of or what the process is, it's all just my initial impression. Also, most of the color comes from the bottle, but even side by side, outside their containers, Obliphica's is still darker. Scent-wise, Obliphica's serum also smelled a bit more perfumey. Luckily, this smell doesn't seem to linger too long once applied. A faint smell at best. Otherwise, this serum seems to work just the same as Beauty Protector's serum! All comes down preference. Personally, at the moment, I prefer Beauty Protector.


Illume Go Be Lovely Lavish Hand Creme (Anemone: Apple mint, Citrus + Patchouli) - I'm not a fan of packaging that's not resealable, but now I wonder if it's some clever marketing! Because this package is practically always open and I've left it on my desk, I find myself using this a lot. I just grab it, squeeze a bit into my hands and that's it. Compared to a bottle of lotion I've had for way longer that's also on my desk, that poor lotion is neglected! Of course, Illume's hand cream also has the advantage of just smelling really nice! I thought patchouli was an interesting smell to have, but it works for me. (Does not work my cat though, nopenopenope.) I did think it was a little thick at first because I was wiping my hands on other things afterwards to get some of the lotion off, but I think I've gotten used to it in a way. Of course, not applying too much in one go is helpful as well.

Skin&Co Roma TRUFFLE THERAPY™ SERUM Boosting Anti-Aging Serum - Ahh, another serum. This one seemed just a bit more creamy than the one from February's box and the one I usually use. I think the little bottle has something to do with that. It just reminds me of lotion. That aside it does still act as a serum (I think?). Absorbs very quickly and isn't too greasy. The only other thing to note is that it does have a fragrance to it unlike the other two serums I've tried. It is a bit like a perfume smell, but isn't strongly lingering after application. In a sense, it almost smells kind of rich or luxurious. Fitting since truffles have some kind of role in this product.






theBalm® cosmetics How ‘Bout Them Apples?™ -

The packaging for this is awesome! And I'm not just saying that because of the topless men or pretty lady (or dog). I really like the theme they have for this product (apples) and the fact that the product is within the apple. Not to mention that it feels like a tiny book to me. That's what I find most appealing.  What can I say.. I like miniature versions of things.
In any case, the color I got was pie (yum) and it gave my lips a nice touch of color (viewable in video!). I think it's stayed on a decent amount of time, but I honestly don't know. I like the packaging and I like the color though so I'll be using this again, definitely.

Thanks for sticking through another review and of course, if you're interested in giving Birchbox a try here's my referral link: https://www.birchbox.com/invite/c9z7v

More Birchbox goodies!

One of the awesome things about Birchbox is the fact that you can review the items you receive for a credit of 10 points. Ten points is basically a dollar and when you reach 100 points, that's 10 dollars! With these points, you can purchase other things on the site. So, with enough points (200) I decided to buy a few things I had been keeping an eye on.

Behold!

Not a lot but definitely enough to make me happy at having spent practically nothing on! Really, I didn't spend anything on this stuff, just points. That still blows my mind! XD
But on to the actual products~

Liz Earle Pure Muslin Cloths - I'm sure I've mentioned before somewhere on the internet that I was really considering buying more Liz Earle Muslin cloths. Well, I did! And I wasn't disappointed! These cloths are a really nice size. I was content at the size of the one I received as a sample, I just wanted another one. But not only did I get another one, I got two more! And bigger than the one I already had. They did feel a little more stiff than the sample sized one, but after wetting it, it was pretty much the same. Definitely a win.

Opi Sheer Tints Nail polish (teal) - It really seems more like just blue to me but ah well~ I was really intrigued by this product after seeing a video for it (by Birchbox of course, it's on the same page as the link to the product). I even thought of doing what was done in the video, but realized that I only had one of the polishes. In the end I settled on trying to do a kind of drippy gradient paint effect on my nails. I really liked the outcome although it definitely looks a bit more on the drippy/messy side.

 Different light to get a better feel for the look.


Left has a cooler light.


Right has a warmer light (and a kitty!).

 Before I decided on this look, I tested it out on just nail primer (instead of white polish as its base) and that didn't look so good. So I wiped that off, but dang! This stuff is a bit difficult to get off. It's got a clear shiny layer that comes off first and then the actual colored part is kind of sticky somehow. With that in mind, I thought this polish would last longer and I suppose it did. Longer than just a regular polish I suppose, but I figured it would last longer still. My right hand showed more wear at the tips since I'm right handed, and of course, it was a pain to get off all my nails. But it was worth it in the end as having this effect on my nails was just really awesome. (I love blue, also.)

Ahmad Tea (Mixed Berries and Hibiscus) - Note: On the site, this flavor is listed as "Rosehip, Hibiscus, and Cherry" but the box is named as I've named it in the link. I've only tried this once and it was more bitter than I was expecting, but not bad. I've seemed to have amassed a decent variety of teas lately so I haven't really gotten back around to this one since it didn't strike me as delicious the first time around. Next time, I may put in some honey or heck even just plain sugar. Definitely willing to try again though! (And give out as presents in the meantime!)

So for my first official "purchase" I'm pretty satisfied. I thought perhaps I would have to pay something, like shipping and handling, but nope. My points covered it. I should say though that my grand total was $18.50, but as you can only points in increments of 100, I had to sacrifice 20 points (or... 1.something) in order to get this for free. But that was fine by me. If I wanted to, I could have waited to gather more and bought some other things.

Yay for free! Kind of!

Ipsy Glam Bag Review- February 2014

Ipsy's February Glam Bag was all about the look of love! So of course, for mine, that meant... lots of pink! Luckily I got over my odd hatred for pink as I grew older. Now I find it to be a nicely pleasant color, granted it's the right shade.

So much pink! And random blue...

Overall, pretty nice products! The Skyn Iceland face mask set was what I most excited about. And the eyelashes I attempted to use, but given how long the lashes were, decided to opt out on the day I was planning to use them (since we were going to a farm, I thought it would be ridiculous to wear them.) Starting from the top and going down (left to right also).

Skyn Iceland Fresh Start Mask - As stated before, I was really excited to try this. During one of my spurts of "I need to take care of my face!" I contemplated this brand. Due to my own indecision about products and the desire to save money, I ended up not getting anything from them, but Ipsy remedied that. :p Even better that it was a mask! On the package, you can see that it's a clay and a gel. You can also feel the contents of the packets, but still, I was surprised at what the clay was like.

There it is on my middle finger.

It was smooth and not at all chalky or as thick as I imagined. And it was this neat blue color which I definitely didn't see coming! In any case, it was easy to apply and stayed on my face without any issues.

All blue clayed up!

But that wasn't it! This was only step one. Step two is the other packet. The gel. I've used masks before, but I've never used anything like this. I would think that the mask would be enough, but I obliged and used the gel as instructed. So once you apply the clay (which is actually quite generous, it looks hard to tell in the picture), you then apply the gel in the same manner. The combination of the two and the motion of application is to activate them and get it all to effervesce. Having never done this type of application with masks before, it was pretty exciting!

All effervescing!

It might be hard to tell in the pictures, but the clay was noticeably blue when applied, then when the gel was applied and thoroughly massaged in with the clay, it was more white and foamy. After this, you wait, I can't remember for how long now, but a decent amount of time to let this stuff take effect. It doesn't harden like other clay masks, and once enough time has passed, you simply rinse it off with a cloth.
Overall I really liked this product and would love to try more! It made my skin feel pretty clean without drying it out so that's always a plus. The only drawback I saw was the packaging. It's great they give you so much (really... a lot!), but it means I either have to glob on way more than I feel is necessary (as what happened with the clay), or throw away a good bit of (as what happened with the gel). Usually I save them somehow, but I just wasn't feeling it that day. The packaging could be better and I think for non-samples it probably is, but you could also just stick any leftover in a Ziploc and use it for another time.

J.Cat Beauty Eyelashes - I was also looking forward to trying these out as the last time I wore fake lashes was during Halloween years ago. I planned on wearing them to a visit to a restaurant/organic farm, but after actually partially applying one, I decided against wearing them. Part of the reason was I didn't allow myself enough time to apply them and they didn't go on as easily as I thought they would (someone more experienced probably wouldn't have issues). Another reason was that they seemed really long. My own eyelashes seem long enough for me (especially with mascara applied), but these guys were long! I was also surprised to find that they were 100% human hair. This didn't bother me, simply caught me off guard as I never really considered it (again, never really wore eyelashes). I do plan to properly apply and wear them for a day (maybe even just around the house) and the nice thing about them is their reusability. There seems to be plenty of glue to reapplying and their packaging also doubles as a nice case for keeping them in.

Zoya Nail Polish - I like neutral colored polish. That being said, when I first applied this polish, I didn't like it. It seemed unnaturally light and looked like it glowed to me (I think it was just the light color next to the darker skin around my nails). But after taking some pictures of it on my nails, I grew to like it. It's a simple color, pretty thin, I feel, but that's fine to me.

With a base coat and two coats of this polish, I could still see the tips of my fingernails. Despite that, it feels like an elegant kind of color and polish, perfect for when I'm just not sure what color I want or when I just want to feel pretty~
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧



Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow - This stuff has a strong smell! To me, it smells like a nail salon, but maybe the smell is different for others. I still gave it a shot and tried it out despite the smell and thankfully the smell didn't seem to linger when applied or burn my eyelids either. XD
The color was decent and it applied smoothly. The staying power probably could have been better if I had used a primer, but I'm not too bothered by that. I already have a couple of cream shadows just like this one so there wasn't really anything special to me about this product. I'm mostly glad just to have another color, although with the smell, it makes me less likely to apply it.

POP Beauty Plump Pout Mini - Last is the lipgloss! This also had a funky smell to it. I was able to determine that part of the smell was the handle of the applicator. The material it is, I guess has some lingering smell to it. But the lipgloss itself also had a smell. It's a bit strong at first, but underneath that is a decently pleasant smell. A friend described the strong smell (or the smell overall) as burnt marshmallows (which isn't too bad of a smell in my book, but hey..).

I actually really liked the color this presented on my lips. A nice splash of color, bright enough to be seen, but not overpowering (to me). Or maybe I'm just that ready for another color aside from red. Who knows? :p
It's not too sticky and even a thin application seems to put enough color on that I don't need to go overboard. My friend who said that it smelled like burnt marshmallows also said it tasted of burnt marshmallows, but I can't say I experienced this any.

And of course, I can't forget the bag! The outside is a nice plain pink color as can be seen in the top photo. The inside is a fun animal print in, of course, pink! I stuck a pen inside to get an idea of the depth and inside space, but I don't know how easy that is to see... XD

Overall a fun bag of stuff this time around with an appropriate theme. I can imagine that those not so keen on pink or Valentine's day might have felt a little meh about it, but I think there's a good amount of neutral colors and items to keep it from being restricted to romance~

 I'm looking forward to March's goodies!