Birchbox March 2014

Birchbox

Price: $10.00 (includes shipping)

Ships out: Every month

Extras: Point system that based on the reviews of the products you review and the referrals that can be used in the Birchbox Shop. I have found that some items are exclusively sold in the Birchbox Shop so the points can add up to a nice discount.

First Look!

 This month's theme is "Spring Forward"

 1 fl.oz. Michael Todd True Organics Pumpkin Mask. 

I received this same sample in my Little Black Bag August 2013. I can always use a back up. 

0.34 oz. Go Be Lovely hand cream in Cactus Verde

 FULL SIZE! POP Beauty Aqua Lacquer in 'Flowering Fuchsia' 

This lip gloss has an interesting applicator. Firstly, this type of shape tube suggests a squeeze application. When you open the tube, you see that it is actually a stick applicator. The second surprising thing about this product is that instead of a brush or a doe foot applicator- they use a paddle. The paddle is supposed to be for easy, more precise application. I tried this out and have to disagree. I think that the application was actually harder using the paddle. The tip of the paddle if flexible to apply to the lips, but I found that the paddle was a little too flexible. It just kind of slid across my lips, I would have to use a mirror and a steady hand for flawless application. As far as the gloss, it was a very sheer pink color.  The gloss was very shiny and sticky. I didn't think that this product lasted long on my lips either. 

 Ghiradelli Intense Dark chocolate square in "Cherry Tango" 

This tasted very good. I normally do not like cherry flavored products, but I didn't mind it in this chocolate square. There were also chopped up walnut pieces through the square. Some of the pieces were a little big, I think I would have liked smaller walnut pieces. 

 0.135 oz. Havvn Night Cream. 

When I first pulled this product out of my box, I was expecting a lip balm or a spray product - not a moisturizer with a pump. I have never heard of this brand before, so I'm excited to try it out. Apparently it's part of a three step skin care system. If I end up liking this night cream, I'm not confident that I will be able to justify shelling out $80.00 for the kit. Either way at least I have another night cream to use. 

Benefit Big Easy CC Cream in 'Light'

Sephora Haul December 2013

This December I had a gift card to Sephora and all the holiday sets were out, so I decided to put in a order. 

I received a sample of Ren's Glycol lactic radiance renewal mask and ended up loving the mask. I could immediately see and feel the results. How the mask works is that you apply it to your face, leave it on for ten minutes and then use a warm, wet cloth to wipe away the mask. It's very similar to the hot cloth cleansers that are all the rage right now, just in mask form. I was looking through the Sephora site and found that the mask was selling for $55.00. This set sold for $58.00 and included a full size of the mask that I was already planning on purchasing. How could I NOT get this set?!

Here is a list of what was included in the Ren Rediscover Radiance Kit

1.7 fl. oz. Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask

0.34 fl. oz. Radiance Perfection serum

0.5 fl. oz. micro polish cleanser

2 0.7 fl. oz. Resurfacing AHA concentrate

Muslin Cloth

I just checked the Sephora site and the kit is still for sale on the website. 

December is my birthday month so I also got my birthday gift as being a part of the Beauty Insider program. I'm sure that you have already seen this set or have it yourself, but being as my birthday is the last month of the year, I'm always last to get the birthday gift after everyone else has received this gift. 

Just in case you are the last person on the planet that doesn't know what was included in the birthday set, this is what was in it:

0.08 oz. Watt's Up highlighter

0.1 oz. they're Real mascara

Here is a link to 2014's Beauty Insider birthday gift.

I received a nice sized sample of Amore Pacific's Color Control Cushion Compact in my September 2013 New Beauty Test Tube and I really liked it. In fact I was initially going to order a full size of the sample during this purchase. I ended up seeing this sample for free, so I decided to just get this to sample to make sure that I really liked it. The full sized product is pricey ($60.00) so I wanted to make sure I was justifying my purchase.

As with every online Sephora purchase, you get to pick three samples. I picked Lancome Dreamtone corrector for fair skin tone, Tata Harper resurfacing mask and Wei Golden Root Purifying Mud Mask.

Ulta Online Haul November 2013

I ordered some items from Ulta because they were having a sale on everything in the store. Even the premium items that NEVER go on sale. My sister is is love with Urban Decay's Cannonball Mascara, so I decided to pick one up for her to add to her Christmas gift. 

I was really impressed with the packing that Ulta did to ensure that all of my products came safe and damage free. All of this bubble wrap was for one $4.00 eyeliner!

I needed to order some other stuff to put myself over the free shipping minimum and I remembered that this eyeliner was highly recommended by Tati/Glam Life Guru on You Tube. Finding the perfect eyeliner is my current purpose in life, so I added this to my cart. I was surprised how bad this eyeliner was! I have never had an eyeliner run as badly as this eyeliner did on me. I lined my eyes one weekend and went out shopping with him mom. On the car ride there I got stuck in traffic and decided to see how the eyeliner was doing. What I saw was horrendous. The liner was lining under my eyes, despite me not actually applying it there. I tried to wipe it off and I couldn't get it off! Apparently this eyeliner is only budge proof AFTER it runs down your face and makes you look like a panda bear. It was so bad that the first thing that I did once I got to the mall was find the Sephora to remove it all. I will not be using this product again because it's going in the trash. 

I was really impressed with the color of this eyeliner. I thought that it was really black and creamy. It applied very smoothly. However the liner stick was not made very well and it broke apart and crumbled as I was applying it to my eyes. 

Pink Teasing comb. I needed one. They were cheap. I bought it. 

Japonesque Makeup Brush Cleanser. I needed a spot cleaner. 

NYX The "it"list lip set in 'the pinks' This set included five of their lip gloss products.  I decided to get this to try out the different lip glosses that NYX offers. I received: 

Butter Gloss in Eclair
Mega Shine in Beige
Lip Plumper in Pamela
Soft Matte Lip Cream in Istanbul
Xtreme Shine Lip Cream in Nude Peach Fuzz

I also ordered another Mega Shine lip gloss in Plush Red

Swatches of all the colors (L to R) Plush Red, Eclair, Beige, Pamela, Istanbul, Nude Peach Fuzz

As with each online order, you can pick a sample pack to add to the shipment. I received samples from Sebastian, Benefit and Ahava

As you might have noticed, this post is missing a pic of the Urban Decay Cannonball mascara that caused me to make this online purchase in the first place.  Apparently whomever did the packing of my box forgot to add it into the box. I contacted Ulta Customer Support and explained the situation.  They responded quickly and said that I would be sent out another mascara soon.