Birchbox–May 2014

Birchbox is a monthly subscription box that sends you beauty products. For $10 they will ship you 4-5 sample products and usually a “lifestyle extra” and it usually gets to your door around the 15th. They have a very extensive points program for reviewing/referring friends as well as just buying stuff. This is one of the most well known beauty box’s. They also have articles on how to apply make-up and give different beauty advice on their webpage. But, enough talk, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

Opening the box:

The theme for this month was “Freewheeling”. Birchbox always gives out an information card explaining what is inside your box, and usually giving some information about a cause, upcoming events or changes.

• SmartyPants Adult Gummie Vitamin. (2 gummies) $.33 I was quite dissapointed that they didn’t even send out a full dose of this sample.  You are supposed to have 6 gummies in one day. The gummy’s were perfectly tasty, if a bit on the sour side.
• Overall Grade: B+

• Cynthia Rowley Beauty–Silver Eyeliner. (sample sized stick) $8.00 I guessed this was about half of a full sized. It was very pigmented and smooth. I like it, about as much as I ever like silver eyeliner. I rarely notice any sort of difference when I wear it, I like darker colors. But everything else about this was great.
• Overall Grade: B+

• Gilchrist & Soames–Body Lotion. (1.35 fl oz) $2.53 This stuff smelled lovely. It was pretty light, which I enjoy. I liked the light smell and texture. It was a win for me.
• Overall Grade: A-

• Marcelle–BB Cream Golden Glow. (2 0.5 oz. bottle) $16.88 I don’t think I was actually supposed to end up with two of these samples. I think something got screwed up in shipping. I contacted Birchbox and they told me that I got a happy surprise. This stuff is a little thicker than I would like. It makes me feel like I am in a very humid place when I put it on. Not my favorite BB cream.
• Overall Grade: B+

• Number 4 High Performance Hair Care. (1 fl. oz) $4.00 I tried this stuff out. I was disspointed that there was more shampoo than conditioner to try. The shampoo made very rich, thick lather, but I wasn’t a huge fan of how it left my hair feeling through the day. My hair felt stripped and not smooth at all. I will pass on this stuff personally.
• Overall Grade: C

 

 

I got $31.74 worth of products for $10. I enjoyed quite a few of the things in this Birchbox. I wish I had gotten something more dramatic in my box. I got several things I liked, but most of them made me wish for something zany and new to try. If you want it to be your birthday too then click on the link and sign up.

Please Note:The links above are reference links for subscription to the service, meaning I will get something from the company for having referred you. If you would like a non-reference link then please click here.

Birchbox–April 2014

Birchbox is a monthly subscription box that sends you beauty products. For $10 they will ship you 4-5 sample products and usually a “lifestyle extra” and it usually gets to your door around the 15th. They have a very extensive points program for reviewing/referring friends as well as just buying stuff. This is one of the most well known beauty box’s. They also have articles on how to apply make-up and give different beauty advice on their webpage. But, enough talk, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

Opening the box:

The theme for this month was “Rainy Days”. Birchbox always gives out an information card explaining what is inside your box, and usually giving some information about a cause, upcoming events or changes.

• Anastasia Beverly Hills–Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel. (0.28 oz) $22.00 As far as I can tell, this is a full sized product. This confused me. I used it, but it made my eyebrows feel bulky and sticky. I never have any problem with my eyebrows staying in place, just being too big. I probably won’t use the rest of this. It’s just a product I don’t need.
• Overall Grade: C-

• Supergoop!–Daily Correct CC Cream. (.16 fl oz) $3.20 More CC cream. I am really growing fond of CC and BB cream. This stuff was lovely, it went on smooth. I did feel a bit smothered right when it went on, but that went away very quickly. It was very similar to putting on moisturizer.
• Overall Grade: A-

• Color Club Gala Gems. (1 bottle) $3.25 This stuff was very very bright. It was metallic and green and had excellent coverage. You could see every brush stroke in the polish though, so beware if you aren’t excellent at putting it on smooth the first time. I think I will actually try to brush it on in an interesting way to see how the design looks.
• Overall Grade: B+

• KIND Healthy Grain Bars–. (1 bar) $0.79 This was super yummy. It was nutty and salty and sweet and just the right amount of crunchy. If I see it in the store I will probably be getting more of these because they were quite good.
• Overall Grade: A

• Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting Cream. (1 fl oz) $7.27 This was a pretty good sized bottle for how much you are supposed to use. I have been diligently using it, although I don’t feel all that much different. I will use the whole bottle and see if my skin brightens up.
• Overall Grade: B-

 

My whole box:

 

I got $36.51 worth of products for $10. I enjoyed quite a few of the things in this Birchbox. I tried a product I hadn’t even known existed. I will use most of the things in this box. If you want it to be your birthday too then click on the link and sign up.

Please Note:The links above are reference links for subscription to the service, meaning I will get something from the company for having referred you. If you would like a non-reference link then please click here.

Ipsy–April 2014

Ipsy is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month they send you 4 to 5 full sized beauty products or samples inside a make-up bag that you get to keep. They have an online community where you can share and get make-up advice. They have a points program, however I have found it very lackluster and takes a long time to get anything without referrals. And now, without further ado, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

This month the theme for Ipsy was ‘Beauty Rocks’.

• Make up bag. This one was deep. It looked like a turntable. I like this one a lot.

• City Color–White Gold Shadow & Highlight Mousse. (2.6 g) $3.99
• Overall Grade: A-

• Urban Decay–24/7 Velvet Glide-One Eye Pencil. (0.5 fl oz) $5.50 This stuff was very smooth, but wasn’t so smooth it was impossible to apply. It made my eyes pop and was very easy to smudge into different smokey looks. I really enjoyed this stuff and if I didn’t have eye liner coming out of my ears I would probably get this to use regularly.
• Overall Grade: A

• Cailyn–Tinted Lip Balm Apple Pink. (0.14 oz) $19.00 You should know I have lip balm/gloss/stick, I didn’t hate this stuff. It actually stuck pretty well and the color wasn’t annoying and obtrusive. I may actually use quite a bit of this stuff. Plus I just feel cool putting it on.
• Overall Grade: B+

• Big Sexy Hair–Root Pump. (1.6 oz) $6.00 I love this brand, but I don’t really use this type of product, I tried it in my hair and didn’t notice much of a difference. I enjoy my soy renewal leave-in treatment more than this.
• Overall Grade: C+

• Dr. Brandt–Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant. (7.5 g) $9.75 Goodness they can keep sending me Dr. Brandt stuff whenever they want. I love this scrub almost as much as I love the primer from this same company. It made my skin feel awesome and smooth.
• Overall Grade: A

 

The whole catch:

I got $44.24 of product for $10, plus a make-up bag that I found really useful. I really liked all of the things in this bag. I will end up using all of it and some of it made me completely happy as a clam to get. It was a good birthday for me, if you would like to subscribe to Ipsy then click here.

Please Note:The links above are reference links for subscription to the service, meaning I will get something from the company for having referred you. If you would like a non-reference link then please click here.

Nicely Noted–April 2014

Nicely Noted is a monthly subscription box that sends you curated letterpress cards, envelopes and stamps for mail made simple. For $20 they will ship you 3 letterpress cards, envelopes that go with them and 3 interesting stamps to put on them. I signed up for this in an attempt to get better about sending out cards to loved ones, I think with the simplicity of this it will work well for me. But, enough talk, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

•  Card 1: Igloo Letterpress–Birthday Wishes. $4.50 I have no idea whose birthday is coming up, but you bet your ass I am going to find out. Just so I can send this letter out, it is super cute. I can’t wait to ship it out.

• Card 1: Sweetwater Letterpresss–Word Search Card. $4.00 This card is fantastic. It is a word search with lot’s of typical card sayings on it. It seems like it would work for any occasion. I love this card and know exactly who it is going to.

• Card 3: Red Oak–Eucalyptus Letterpress Card. $4.75 This card is also very cute, and very spring-like. I sent it out to someone for Easter, I love how it came right when my seeds are starting to sprout.

• The Stamps: Gregory Peck. $0.46 Dodge Charger. $0.46 Go Green. $0.46. Again, getting cute stamps to go with each of my cards every month is aweosme. It makes it so much easier to actually send out cards that I want to. I have to do very little work and everyone loves them.

Well, it was a good birthday for me! Nicely Noted is definitely going to make me better about sending letters out, not only do they make it super simple, but it makes me really want to show off the cute cards I got. If you want it to be your birthday too then click on the link and sign up.

Ipsy–March 2014

Ipsy is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month they send you 4 to 5 full sized beauty products or samples inside a make-up bag that you get to keep. They have an online community where you can share and get make-up advice. They have a points program, however I have found it very lackluster and takes a long time to get anything without referrals. And now, without further ado, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

This month the theme for Ipsy was ‘Destination Beauty’.

• Make up bag. This bag felt very vinyl-y. I liked the zipper in the front, although the color seemed excessive. I threw it in a costume bag with some extra make-up for a new character I am playing.

• NYX–Love in Rio Eye Shadow. (0.105 oz) $6.00 I enjoyed this stuff. It complimented my eyes well, and made it easier. This is something I would have picked out for myself. I enjoyed how well it fit, but I like trying out new things and surprising myself with the things in it.
• Overall Grade: A-

• Chella–Indigo Blue Eyeliner. (0.40 fl oz) $24.00 This stuff surprised me. This stuff was very liquid when it was coming out of the pen, I couldn’t use it at all on my waterline without it running into my eyes. I still haven’t really figured out how to make blue’s work well with my very brown eyes, but I will keep trying.
• Overall Grade: B+

 

• Pixi Beauty–Flawless Beauty Primer. (12 mL) $9.00 I enjoyed this stuff. It went on really easily. It was very light, it didn’t’ seem to do a whole lot for my skin, but the foundation I was wearing stuck really well. I have taken to using this under my bronzer for a darker character and it has been working nicely.
• Overall Grade: B+

• bareMinerals–Marvelous Moxie™ Lipstick in Get Ready. (1.5 g) $7.71 I don’t care for this lipstick at all. I have more lipstick than I know what to do with. The color was ‘meh’ on me, and it didn’t stick very well. This was very standard lipstick and I have nothing good or bad to say about it.
• Overall Grade: C-

 

I got $46.71 of product for $10, plus a make-up bag. So the bag was a vaule, but I really didn’t care for it that much. This bag made me happy and gave me some very useful things. If you want it to be your birthday too then click the link here.

Please Note:The links above are reference links for subscription to the service, meaning I will get something from the company for having referred you. If you would like a non-reference link then please click here.

Bulu Weight Loss–Mach 2014

Bulu is a monthly subscription service designed for trying health products. For $10 a month they send you 4 to 5 premium products selected to help you feel your best. There are two options for the box, the regular and the weight loss. I opted for weight loss, because that really is more in line with my fitness goals. I got this box for a little under $5 a month with the coupon code BULUGAN669 and a year long subscription. They have a points program which boasts of giving you $5 a month to review the products you get (which would basically make my box free assuming I would have gotten something from their site anyway.) They also give you 20 points to fill out your profile. The points are 10 = $1 in their shop.  And now, without further ado, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

There were also a ton of information papers and coupons on top that I pulled off

• HAVVN GO Sticks. (1 stick) $2.16 This was pretty tasty, it mixed in with my water fairly easily. It wasn’t super sweet, but did give a distinctive flavor. I didn’t notice any huge energy spikes.
• Overall Grade: A-

• Rootology: Breath Free. (2 2 tablet packets) $1.90 I have allergies all the time, I tried these two days in a row. I did not notice any sort of improvement, and they smelled funny.
• Overall Grade: D

• Justin’s Honey Peanut Butter. (14 g) $0.37 This stuff was pretty good, it was stickier than normal peanut butter. I’m probably not going to get a full bottle, but it was a great little sample.
• Overall Grade: B

• Body Glove Surge–Chocolate. (1 gel packet) $1.87 This stuff tasted weird. I was pretty energetic the rest of the night though.
• Overall Grade: C+

 

• VanaPain PM. (1 bottle) $3.20 This stuff made me get pretty sleepy, and sleep through the whole night. I woke up in the morning and wasn’t groggy. As far as I am concerned, that is a win. There are lot’s of things that can wake me up in the middle of the night.
• Overall Grade: A

• K-Pax Energy. (60 tablet bottle) $40.45 I got another full sized bottle. This one came with 60 pills, 15 day supply. I took these diligently, but let me tell you, they smell something fierce. They are also rather big pills, and hard to swallow. I don’t think they gave me any huge energy burst, but they may have made my typical day easier to get through. Not worth the smell for me.
• Overall Grade: B-

The whole catch:

I was impressed by this box as well, I got another full sized bottle of sample. I am going to start getting spoiled soon. I got $49.95 of product for $4.58 ($10 monthly normally.) Not to mention after reviewing them I will get 50 points, which equates to $5 in their shop.  I would have never tried any of these products on my own, I don’t generally like to pick up any sort of weight loss or fitness products. There are usually scams and problems surrounding them, it’s nice to be able to try something without needing to buy into a huge program. It was a good birthday for me, if you would like to subscribe to Bulu then click here.

Please Note:The links above are reference links for subscription to the service, meaning I will get something from the company for having referred you. If you would like a non-reference link then please click here.

Pinch Me–March 2014

Pinch Me is a subscription box that sends you sample products for free. Yes, your heard correctly, it is free. They want you to log on to the website after you have gotten your samples and fill out a survey on what you thought of each product. There was no shipping and handling, and they never asked me for a credit card number. The shipping did take quite a bit of time…but I’m not going to complain because: free! But, enough talk, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

Opening the box.

• Clear Scalp and Hair therapy Complete Care Anti-Dandruf Shampoo. (2 oz.) $0.77 This shampoo actually smelled pretty awesome, and was fun to try. I probably won’t be replacing my shampoo, but it was a great sample.
• Reviver Clothing Swipe. (1 pad) $3.00 This is a little pad that deodorizes your clothes after working out or smoking or whatever.

Well, it was a good birthday for me! I got $3.77 worth of products for free. I have been enjoying Pinch Me. Nothing like free to make small annoyances go away. If you want it to be your birthday too then click on the link and sign up.

Nicely Noted–March 2014

Nicely Noted is a monthly subscription box that sends you curated letterpress cards, envelopes and stamps for mail made simple. For $20 they will ship you 3 letterpress cards, envelopes that go with them and 3 interesting stamps to put on them. I signed up for this in an attempt to get better about sending out cards to loved ones, I think with the simplicity of this it will work well for me. But, enough talk, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

•  Card 1: Well Done. $6.00 This is beyond cute. I need to come up with a reason to give this to someone soon, and hope they aren’t a vegetarian.

• Card 1: Wild Ink Ikat. $2.50 This seems more of a greeting card. The colored areas are textured as well as colored. I will be able to send this to anyone for any reason, which is nice.

• Card 3: Thank You Card. $3.00 I could not find the shop that sells these. It is very minimalist, it says “thank you” at the top and it is completely blank everywhere else. It also does not fold open. I wasn’t as happy about this card, but it is sure different. Now I need to find a reason to thank someone!

• The Stamps: Ted Williams. $0.46 New Mexico. $0.46 Where Dreams Blossom. $0.46. Again, getting cute stamps to go with each of my cards every month is aweosme. It makes it so much easier to actually send out cards that I want to. I have to do very little work and everyone loves them.

Well, it was a good birthday for me! Nicely Noted is definitely going to make me better about sending letters out, not only do they make it super simple, but it makes me really want to show off the cute cards I got. If you want it to be your birthday too then click on the link and sign up.

Birchbox–March 2014

Birchbox is a monthly subscription box that sends you beauty products. For $10 they will ship you 4-5 sample products and usually a “lifestyle extra” and it usually gets to your door around the 15th. They have a very extensive points program for reviewing/referring friends as well as just buying stuff. This is one of the most well known beauty box’s. They also have articles on how to apply make-up and give different beauty advice on their webpage. But, enough talk, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

Opening the box:

The theme for this month was “Spring Forward”. Birchbox always gives out an information card explaining what is inside your box, and usually giving some information about a cause, upcoming events or changes.

• Beauty Protector–leave in conditioner. (1.25 oz) $3.43 This stuff smells amazing. I am all about the leave in conditioners. This got the knots out of my hair, but I could also feel it in my hair through the day. It wasn’t my favorite leave in conditioner, but the smell was almost enough to forgive all the faults.
• Overall Grade: B+

• Coola–Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face. (5 mL) $3.60 I thought I would hate this stuff, it was amazing. It went on almost like a primer. It was silky and smooth and evened my skin out very nicely. I could feel it on my face throughout the day, so I won’t be getting any for myself; but it was better than most.
• Overall Grade: A-

• Gilchrist & Soames–London Collection. (1.5 oz) $3.00 This stuff did rub it very quickly. It is another of the “light” lotions that I like. The smell is also very unobtrusive. I rather liked this, but won’t be getting any because I already have more lotion than any girl could need.
• Overall Grade: C+

• Harvey Prince–Cherie Blossom. (0.05 fl oz) $1.50 I liked the way this stuff smelled. It was a bit too flowery for me to want more than a sample size, but I will use it all and be happy.
• Overall Grade: A-

• Minteas. (1 pack) $3.32 This was the “lifestyle extra”. I would have loved these, had they been some flavor other than cinimin. I enjoy minty energy things. All well, I will carry them in my purse and when I desperately need one I will eat it, or give them away.
• Overall Grade: B-

• Ghiradelli Chery Tango Square. I don’t like cherry flavored this, so I did not eat this. I am sure if you like cherry’s then you will love this. Ghirardelli does not mess around.
• Overall Grade: C-

My whole box:

I got $14.80 worth of products for $10. This box I actually liked more than some of the higher valueBirchbox. I got to try some different products that I would have actually been interested in. I know I will use all of the things in this box and most of them I really enjoyed. If you want it to be your birthday too then click on the link and sign up.

Please Note:The links above are reference links for subscription to the service, meaning I will get something from the company for having referred you. If you would like a non-reference link then please click here.

Graze–February 2014

Graze is a bi-weekly subscription service designed to bring properly portioned snacking right to your door. For $6 a deliver they send you 4 portioned snacks for healthier eating. By clicking on that link you can get your first and fifth box free using my friend code, which is “KARIP9J6P“. They let you review the items you got in your box so that you will get more things you rated highly and never see things you rated low. I am always snacking, and I was hoping this might help me pick something better and not eat an entire family sized bag of Doritos in one sitting. And now, without further ado, let’s see what I got for my birthday!

There were also a ton of information papers and coupons on top.

The look inside my box:

• Chili and Honey Almonds (top left) These were pretty awesome. They were hot, but had a very distinct flavor. I really loved these and would have eaten way more if I was given the chance.
• Overall Grade: A

• Tutti Frutti (top right) This were very “meh” in my book. There seemed to be too many flavors to get a good taste and it was a very mushy texture. The pineapple bits were almost hard. I was really unsatisfied by this snack.
• Overall Grade: C-

• Herbal Bread Basket (bottom left): I loved these. They tasted absolutely amazing. They were very crunchy, and apparently only 90 calories? Who knew…not this girl.
• Overall Grade: A+

• Summer Berry Flapjack (bottom right) This was good, very oaty, but seemed really small to me. I am asking to not have it sent again. It was very brand-muffin-like. You could definitely tell this was a healthy snack bar.
• Overall Grade: C+

It’s hard to snack healthy. I wouldn’t say this box is a super great value, I could get more snacks in the store, but it is very convenient. I will probably not be posting every box of this I get (I will be getting one every other week) but I will for a while to tell you what I think of each of the snacks. It was a good birthday for me, if you would like to subscribe to Graze then click here.

Please Note:The links above are reference links for subscription to the service, meaning I will get something from the company for having referred you. If you would like a non-reference link then please click here.