October Goop Birchbox 2012

This is my first ever Birchbox that I completely disliked. I was so bummed about it. First of all I was sent an email to opt in or out for the Goop box. Well I opted out I didn't want another themed box if given a choice, which I was. I opted for the usual October Birchbox themed Transformations. I have in the past whether by choice or not have received several themed boxes most of them weren't all that great. So imagine my surprise when this box arrived to my home. I was so upset. I had already seen some of YouTube videos on this box and hardly anyone was happy with them. So moving on I don't know what was the point of giving us a choice if it wasn't going to matter anyway. Now on to the Goop box. Which I aptly named the "Poop" box.

• Illume/ Red Cedar Candle- Made with soy, beeswax, and essential oils, this candle features a warm scent that comes courtesy of red cedar and vetiver.
• Jouer/ Lip Enhancer- This best-seller gives you the moisturizing punch of a balm with the satiny finish of a gloss. We're hooked and we know you will be, too. Well first of all they could have given a full-sized one. I hate the Jouer samples they are so tiny and only one if even that in uses.
• Kiehls/ Rosa Arctica Eye- Conquer dark circles with the brightening eye balm, which is made with collagen-boosting flower extracts.
• Supergoop!/ City Sunscreen Serum- Wear this award-winning brand's silky SPF 30 serum under your makeup for a weightless UV shield. Okay another item that could have been given in a bigger sample size or even the $20 purse sized would have been nice. I hate these tiny foil packets that you can get free anywhere. So another bust with that one.
• Luna/ LemonZest Bar- These are zesty snacks that are a goop fave. They're perfect to keep you full in between meals ( plus they double as a healthy dessert!) You know what no thanks I'd rather not have a food product in my box. Thank you. Especially lemon I despise lemon anything except lemonade. I don't like anything lemon. I just don't. Now, lime is okay.   

With that being said, I'm so over this months box. I hope that next months box is better. In September 2011 I first joined Birchbox and in October 2011 that's when I received my first box with them. So this month I celebrated 1 year with Birchbox and have never been so upset until now. I know that they will have great boxes in the months to come, but this one really put me off. I stay because you can get points when reviewing the samples and use them in the Birchbox store towards full-sized products so that's why I stay it's like paying $5 a for the box instead of $10. When you do the reviews so with that happy. So Happy 1st anniversary me for being with Birchbox a whole year. Here's to what next year has in store.

If you are interested in joining Birchbox please click this link https://www.birchbox.com?raf=4h5l0

August Beauty Box Five 2012

• Blum Naturals/Make-up Remover Towelettes- Remove oil, dirt and makeup with these pro age deep cleaning towelettes that leave your skin feeling soft and silky smooth.

• H2O Plus/Marine Calm Restoring Eye Cream- Use this marine, botanical-infused eye cream to deeply nourish and reduce the look of fine lines and dark circles.

• Ferro Cosmetics/Sheer Crystal Veil- This multi-purpose powder is the answer to illuminated skin. Dust over or under foundation or mix with moisturizer for a dewy soft finish without the shimmer or glitter. This is a silk infused mineral highlighter that subtly illuminates for glowing dewy skin. Sweep onto cheek & brow bones to highlight and illuminate or anywhere on the body.

• Ellis Faas/Creamy, Milky, Glazed Lips- Just twist the bottom of this gorgeous silver pen and you'll be wearing the new lip product that everyone is talking about. This was a nice perk since it was a full-sized and retailed $35. I got the color L109 in the creamy version which is the color Pale Coffee. A liquid lipstick for classic definition and long-wearing coverage.The gorgeous texture of this highly pigmented lipstick gives great definition to your lips, both as a full-coverage lipstick as well as a stain. All shades are that of human colors, meaning that they are inspired by the colors that by nature already exist in the human body and are therefore suitable for all skin tones. Doesn't contain Parabens and is unscented and unflavored. This particular lip pen comes in three formulas Creamy, Milky and Glazed. The creamy lip has a doe-foot type applicator that when you twist the bottom the product comes out through the tiny holes at the top of the pen. The other two formulas come in a brush style pen. It applies soft and creamy. Very nice and looks pretty in your makeup bag.

• Dermaesthetics USA/Vitamin C 20 Serum- Helps prevent the premature signs of aging with this double-duty Vitamin C that promotes collagen production and brightens lackluster skin. Well I will see if this works any I need brightening of my skin. If this does then I'm in trouble a 1oz costs $144 wow so pricey.

If your interested in trying Beauty Box 5 please check out this link. https://www.beautybox5.com/home.php?key=4f3f58d0b6240

July Beauty Bar Sample Society with Allure box 2012

This months box for the Beauty Bar Sample Society was a really nice box. It contained 5 deluxe-sized products and one full-sized. Which was very nice.

Jouer luminizing moisture tint SPF 20 - oil free in Bronzed 0.17 fl.oz. I had already had a sample of this from Birchbox. This sample is way bigger than the Birchbox one which is the sample on the bottom which was in the color Pearl. Sample Value $3.80

Borghese Tono Body Creme in a nice deluxe sized tube 1fl.oz. This brand I used to use a few years ago so this creme is great and will do well. Sample Value $6.79

 Vbeaute Eye Never Nourishing Repair Eye Cream 0.033 fl.oz. This was a tiny sample which is alright by me except that once again the tube was empty. There was no product inside. I will contact the company on this. They were so nice to respond and send out a replacement for last months eye cream that was empty as well. Sample Value $5.67

Sisley Paris Hydra-Global Intense Anti-Age Hydration. Now this was a nice surprise since a bottle of this runs $250. So this is 1/10th of a full-sized. Sample Value $25

Vincent Longo Duo Lip Pencil which is strange because the inside booklet says it should be an eye pencil. Well for starters the pencil is in the color Sangria and the other side is a white glimmer. Now I don't see putting white liner on. So maybe you could use it for the eyes. I found out from another blogger that this particular pencil duo was discontinued. So if this is true then that's not right because what if I liked it. Then that would mean I couldn't purchase it. Sample Value $26

So closing thoughts I'm very happy with the items in this months box with the exception of the pencil and the non-existent eye cream. This box was valued at $67.26 not bad since I paid $15. If your interested in subscribing to this box or want more information visit www.beautybar.com


**Side note so sorry for the pictures. I had them cropped and for some reason they didn't save a such nor did my watermarks how weird.

May Favorites 2012

I've just gotten around to this so sorry for the tardiness of this post. I finally had time to decide on my May favorites.

Estee Lauder's Invisible Fluid Makeup. This is their newest formula for foundation. I really love this stuff. It goes on lightweight and sheer but, is build able. I don't have too much to cover except some sight redness on my cheeks and chin. I won't go into too much here since I will be doing a full review soon. The color I use is 2CN1. Which I will say the color is dead on. I didn't think there would ever be a foundation that would be the exact color of my skin tone. Retails for $35

The next item is from Estee Lauder as well. It is their signature silky eyeshadow duo in Cappuccino N 02. I really like how this applies and it goes on so creamy and you only need a little. The colors are highly pigmented. I picked this up on Ebay. I'm not sure if it's in there permanent line. This has been my go to shadow all month. It's so quick and easy and goes with almost every look. So I highly recommend their shadows. Their duos run about $30 anywhere that sells Estee Lauder.

An eye cream I finally finished was my sample of Clinique's All about Eyes. I used this for several months now and I really liked it. It is a cool and refreshing gel formula for the under eye area. I liked the slight scent it had. It wasn't bothersome at all. The only complaint is that sometimes it migrated near my eyes and made me tear. This was only when wearing it at night. This formula absorbed quickly so it made easier when applying my concealer. I really did like this but, I didn't see too much improvement in my under eyes as in the fine lines diminishing. It did reduce my puffiness and as for eye circles it didn't do much. Overall it is a nice eye cream 0.5oz is $29.

In my Birchbox I received the Yes to Blueberries facial wipes to try. I really liked them they have a fresh and clean scent of blueberries and had some moisturizing properties to them as well. Now that's great as an added bonus to someone suffering with dry skin. As for me I have oily skin and I had to rinse my face off a little to get the film off. Now don't get me wrong they weren't bad at all. I just don't like that kind of feeling to my face. They did take all my makeup really well and on my eyes as well. Now when it came to mascara it did take some slight wiping but, it did come off. I didn't get any bad reactions to this nor did it irritate the skin. I will repurchase this in the future. I still have many wipes to use and try. A 8 pack is $2.99 at Ulta & a 30 pack is $6.99 at Target.

The last item to make my favorites is the real techniques expert face brush. This brush has replaced my Sigma Sigmax F80 flat top kabuki ($16). Which I thought couldn't be replaced ever. Well this brush is great a applying my liquid foundation like a glove. Sorry for the Ace Ventura reference. I couldn't resist. Anyway this brush really buffs out the foundation to an airbrush finish. It is lightweight and not as dense as the Sigma. But, still dense enough to make the face look great. I was also impressed with the price. It is $8.99 at Ulta or Ulta.com. Samantha Chapman from Pixiwoo has really done well with this brush line. It's super affordable and the quality is great. I have really come to love her brushes. I highly recommend them. These are all my favorites for the month of May. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below.