FabFitFun

My FabFitFun box came in the mail!

FabFitFun is a new quarterly sample box that is curated by Giuliana Rancic from E!  The box costs $49.99 per season, which is pricy, but they promise full size and premium samples that will at least have $100.00 worth of products in each box. 

 First look inside!

 Here's everything I received:

FULL SIZE Zoya nail polish in FabFitFun Fuchsia    Used this on my toes. Great polish, great color.
                          Value: $8.00
.11 OZ. Jouer lil gloss in Glisten
                           Estimated Value: $6.67
FULL SIZE Moroccan Oil Hair Treatment  They guaranteed this in the initial sale of the box. Not gonna lie, this is what I was excited to try and one of the main reasons I purchased the box. I have been using this almost every day since I received it and L-O-V-E it! My hair is wayyy overdue for a haircut, so it's dry and damaged. This oil treatment works so well to make my hair healthy and soft! Definitely recommend.
                          Value: $42.00
FULL SIZE Think Thin bar in Peanut Butter Protein Bar
                          Value: $1.99
Jewel Mint Charm Bracelet     I wasn't really excited for this and it isn't my style, but I wore this to work today. I think I had it on for a total of two hours. I had to take it off because I kept banging it on my desk every time I went to type on my computer. Being that I work in a cubicle, I didn't think my office mates appreciated all the noise.
                          Value: $29.99

The card in the box states that "Surprise Bonus Gifts" are included in every box and these bonus gifts can vary box to box. Below are my bonus items.

FULL SIZE Josie Maran Magic Marker Lip Stain with Argan Color Stick in Waltz    Pretty color!  Didn't really last all day, lip stains don't usually last long on my lips.
                           Value: $21.00
Jewel Mint Earrings     Not my style either.
                          Value: $29.99
sample sized Perfekt Brow Perfection Gel  in caramel    Not my color - they offer this in four different colors, I received the second darkest shade. I should have received the darkest shade. Despite this, I tried it out this morning and applied it very lightly. The color worked, didn't really notice a change in my eyebrows. But to give credit to the gel, I don't really notice or care for my eyebrows as much as others do.
                           Value: ? I accidentally threw the package away that the sample came in. It's really not worth it to me to start digging through the trash to see how big the sample was.

Closeups of the Jewel Mint pieces

Total estimated value of my FabFitFun box: $139.64+

This is a new company so this is the first box that they have shipped out. I thought this box was great and am happy that I splurged on the box before it sold out. I can't wait for next quarter's box!

Birchbox March 2013

It's Birchbox time!

Birchbox is a monthly subscription box where you receive samples for different beauty products for $10.00 a month.  There is a wait list for this box, so don''t expect to sign up and start receiving your boxes right away.

This month's theme was March Madness. Birchbox is comparing different types of beauty products throughout the month of March on their Facebook page and their website here.

What I received this month:

 Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Color-Saver Sulfate-Free Shampoo net wt. 2 fl oz

and

Color-Saver Paraben-Free Conditioner net wt. .33 fl oz

I'm pretty excited to try out this sample. I have color treated hair so we'll see how this works out. Not too pumped about the different sizes they gave out of these products that are obviously supposed to be used in conjunction with one another. I have really long hair and use a lot of conditioner so I'll  probably use the conditioner sample in one wash.

This is the third time I have received a Nick Chavez hair product in a sample box. Second one in a Birchbox, but first of this type.

 Nail file - Madewell for Birchbox This file is CRAP! It didn't even last my through filing all ten of my fingers! I ending up throwing this away and using a cheap Revlon file that actually got the job done. The only saving grace for this nail file was the plastic sleeve that it came in. I can use this for better files to keep the nail residue from getting everywhere. (Does anyone else hate this?)

 I watched the sneak peak for this months Birchbox on their You Tube channel, and I was hoping that I got to try this out.  This is a new brand and I like the charity aspect of it.  The little card reads: 

"for every purchase of Make, one-third of all sales goes to the Wee See Beauty Foundation to fund women-led, worker-owned cooperative businesses in America.  Beauty or a beautiful economy. Make the world you want to live in."

I received a face primer with SPF 30 net wt. 0.18 oz.

...and the cutest little matte grey eyeshadow in the color Cement net wt. 0.03 oz

These packets were filled with lotion from Caldrea.  I received them in the scents Aloe Water Apricot, Tea Olive Lime and Coconut Fig Leaf. 

The last thing I received was a coupon for the Birchbox shop for a free deluxe sample of Benefit's Bad Gal lash mascara with a $25.00 purchase. Use code bbheartsbenefit.

If you decide to sign up for Birchbox, do me a favor and use my referral link.

I really liked this months box and am excited to see what the coming months will look like!

Deals and Steals: Love with Food

FAB is having a sale right NOW to get monthly food box, Love with Food at a discounted price!

You can purchase:

one month for $7.20 -- a $4.80 discount
three months for $22.80 -- a $13.20 discount or
six months for $46.20 -- a $19.80 discount

I couldn't resist and will be purchasing the six month subscription, plus I have FAB credits so I'll be getting my boxes at an even greater discount!

The April box is partnering up with Andrew Zimern from the Travel Channel show Bizzarre Foods. Not too sure how I feel about that... I love watching Bizzarre Foods, but seeing the kinds of foods that he eats on the show - most of which I would never even try - I don't know if I should be scarred or not!

Check out one of my favorite vloggers, LePooke's You Tube channel to see some past Love with Food boxes! It looks like a really good box!

Do me a favor and sign up for FAB with my referral link!

Will you be purchasing this box?

Review: Julep 'Simone' Nail Polish

If you are interested in beauty boxes, there is no doubt that you have heard of Julep's Maven box.  They always have deals where you can receive the first box for next to nothing. I think I signed up with a code that gave me the box for a penny(plus shipping costs, but I think I only paid around $4.00 for my box), but I have recently been seeing links all over the web where you can get the first box for totally free. You will take a style quiz to see what your "Style Profile" is and they will send you a box that corresponds to that style. I was "It Girl" which is for the nail polish lover.  This ended up being the colors that I would have picked anyways, so I was totally happy with my style profile. The first box is the same for each person. It might change with time, my first box came with two colors that were from the Trina Turk collaboration.

You can check them out by clicking on my referral link. Put "freebox" in the coupon code box to get your first box for free!


Now on to the review!


I received Simone as part of the March Maven box.  At first glance it is a really pretty shimmery lavender color. Purple is my favorite color, so I was really happy to receive this polish. The hue lets off a dark purple or blue shimmer color in the light.

Now for the bad. I hated the formulation of this polish! The consistency of the polish ended up being really thick and you really had to get the brush into all the groves of your nail if you wanted coverage. The polish also was really streaky - I had to load up the polish on the brush to get the coverage that I needed to not look like a five year old had painted my nails. This technique caused the polish to get all over my cuticles. Not a good look. Plus the polish took forever to dry and smudged and moved all over the place.

Another issue I had was that the brush was horrible! I felt that the brush was too think and the bristles would go where they wanted, not where you wanted them to go.  You really have no control with this brush.  This isn't the first time that I have received a Julep polish with a crap brush.  The intro box that I received also had a brush that was crap.  It was even worse than the brush that came with Simone.  The hairs went everywhere!

Despite the horrible time I had painting my nails, here is the look I created.

These are the polishes I used:

In artificial light:

In natural light: 

Polish: Julep 'Simone'

Ring Finger: Savina 'Fairy Dust' and Zoya 'Electra'

Top Coat: OPI 

Umba Box March 2013

Today I came home to receiving my Umba Box in the mail. Umba Box is a box of two to three handcrafted items. Think of it as a monthly delivery of Etsy gifts. I received this three month subscription from a friend and this will be my last box. My first two boxes I LOVED! I had followed some other bloggers that had subscribed to Umba Box in the past and I wasn't really expecting much in this subscription. But first two boxes that I received really surprised me, not so much with this box...

This is what the box looks like when you receive it in the mail.

First Look!

First item I received. It is a little vase. It came in a mossy green color with specks of brown. They called the color "Treehugger".  The vase came from Material Good.  I loved the insert that gave a story about the vase and the company.  The vase is called "Little Shirley in honor of the artist's grandmother and a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the vases goes towards cancer research. As someone that has been personally affected by cancer in various forms, I really appreciate this company. I'll have to check out more from their website, which is currently being revamped. 

This is the second piece that I received. It is a little button with a four leaf cover etched into the wood. Not really by style and I'd doubt that I would wear this, but if it is check out their Etsy shop, NeoGranny.  I might have to keep this for St. Patricks Day...

The last item that I received I was slightly confused about. I didn't know if it was just thrown in the box on accident or if it was one of the included handmade items. I looked in the box and found this yarn pom pom on a wire. There wasn't any packaging, so you can imagine my confusion. Each Umba Box comes with cards with little descriptions of each artist and company.  I noticed that I had three cards, so I am assuming this is the last one. It comes from Love and Marshmallows and can be purchased from the previous link on the Umba Box site. 

This month seemed to have a green theme and I really appreciate that attention to detail. I am sad that this will be my last Umba Box and saddened even more that this month's box didn't wow me like the previous two did. I don't think I will be subscribing anymore for this monthly box now, but maybe in the future I could see myself re subscribing. 

The Box: Umba Box

Price: $25.00/month  They offer 3, 6 or 12 month subscriptions as well as a month to month subscription.

The Loves: Helping to support up and coming and indie artists that you probably have never heard of. If you are gifting the subscription, they will include a handwritten, little card with your choice of messages in the first box! Love that care and attention!

The Hates: Website isn't very user friendly. They have a shop on their website that sells some products. I wasn't able to find the products that were in my last box or any mention of where I would be able to find them. If you like any of the products, make sure you keep the cards that describe the artists and have links to their websites or Etsy shops. The website won't be able to help you!

The Extras: They are currently offering a limited edition box for $49.00 a box for a three month subscription and free shipping.