Birchbox August '13 Review

As I told you guys in the 'bad news' post, I'm reviewing this month's birchbox as soon as I possibly can and that's right now! This month is an interesting one because there are a couple of fantastic samples and the rest are a bit meh (one is completely WTF). Also, in the spirit of quickness, I used my iphone for the pics so they might not be up to par with pics in my previous posts.

Now, on with the show!

A first look (w/ flash) at this month's birchbox contents

Coastal Scents Eyeshadow Sample Quad

Coastal Scents is a brand I've kind of heard of but am totally unfamiliar with. From what I've heard, their items aren't pricey at all and kind of veer towards drugstore prices. Fortunately, I see nothing wrong with a little eyeshadow quad and am always excited when I get actual makeup in my boxes. The shadows themselves are pretty tiny but lend themselves to enough experimentation to see if I actually like how they feel and what they look like on. The colors, as you can see above, are pretty neutral (cocoa brown, shimmery gray, shimmery taupe, and sort of matte pink (?) ) and that makes them pretty interesting to try out during the day. Not my favorite eyeshadow sample ever (that honor goes to the full-size Vincent Longo trio I got in July's Sample Society) but, on the whole, pretty good. 8/10



Jasmine Seven Fresh Feet Wipes

This sample is the aforementioned WTF slash ewwwww sample. Feet wipes, they sent FEET WIPES. Are they trying to tell me something? Do I suffer from stank feet? (I DON'T btw) This is truly a sample that I personally wouldn't want in my birchbox, I'm pretty good at keeping my feet clean (ha ha) and this just feels like a waste of an item. Eughhhhh. 0/10



Juice Beauty Oil Free Moisturizer

Unlike the freaky feet wipes, the Juice Beauty Oil Free moisturizer is a great sample. I have combination skin that has been veering toward the very oily this summer and a good moisturizer is hard to come by with that kind of skin. However, this one is pretty great. It doesn't feel sticky or heavy and doesn't seem to clog pores (I've only tried it once so I can't have a definitive opinion on the subject). Another (very) positive factor is that the sample is deluxe size and good enough for multiple uses. Now, this is the sort of thing that I expect in my birchbox and I'm quite glad to not get another BB creme so I'm deeming this sample a winner. 10/10



Stila Stay all Day Liquid Lipstick in 'Beso'

This sample is, for lack of a better phrase, fuckin' awesome. It's a deluxe sample of Stila's Liquid Lipstick (which I love) that tends to be a tiny bit drying but sticks on like no other. I love getting lip samples because they're definitely my jam (I have a HUGE collection of lip products. No joke.) and any extra samples are like chips to me (you can't have just one; who said that? ruffles? lays? walker's? Idek) The only teeny tiny negative is that the shade I got, 'Beso', is actually the one I have a full size of. I would've loved to explore another shade but at least I know that it works on me, right? This is the kind of item that makes me happy to subscribe to birchbox, I seriously love to get monthly surprises (not that kind of monthly surprise lol) and when the sample is this good, it makes me feel like it's totally worth it. Love. 11/10


TanTowel Classic Formula Self-Tan Towlettes

This is another sample that kind of falls into the WTF category. Foil packets are my enemy. I hate them because I can never get enough product out of them to actually know whether I like something or not. While this sample is in a foil packet, it consists on one towel that can apparently tan about 50% of the body. 50%? Wtf will I do divide myself left and right or up and down? I've considered tanning my legs for an upcoming wedding so this sample might actually be used but I don't love getting tanning samples after I've repeatedly reviewed them negatively. I almost abhor tanning products so this sort of sample drives me batty because I know I won't be able to use it. 6/10

A "no-flash" better look at this month's contents. 

Overall, I'm fairly satisfied with this month's samples. I'm not overjoyed for a couple of items but I do love 2 items so I'd say it's an even trade. Not the best month because I've been lucky enough to get boxes where I love absolutely every item but not the worst. A respectable showing for this month's birchbox but I do hope they'll pay attention to my profile next month and maybe not send me stuff I really don't like (that'll never happen, lol).

Box:

Birchbox

Frequency:

Monthly

Price:

$10.00

Perks:

Every $1 spent, equals 1 point, plus you get 10 pts for every item in your box that you review. 100pts= $10.00 with no accumulation limit (so you could have 600 pts aka a $60.00 credit/discount)

Recommend? 

Yes! Although I didn't love every item this month (and actually hated one), the ones I did like are more than enough to keep me happy. I love the point system, the CS,  and especially the brands they send out, so I'm still a loyal birchbox fan. 

As always, don't spend cash on anything you don't love! 

August Popsugar Must Have + Beauty Bar Sample Society Woes

Hello my peeps!

Again, the gods of the internet saw me fit to suffer with losing it for another 4 days (the cable people are extortionists!!!) but I'm back though this post is pretty sad (for me, y'all will be ok!).

As you all know, I'm a devoted popsugar must have fan. I've referred a lot of friends and was able to get last month's box for free (thanks to those referrals) but this month, I'm just too broke. I tried really hard but I'm having a really bad month and as a student, my budget is nil (remember my VIB Rouge post? I got to that level because I use my account for purchases made by almost everyone I know!).

So, unfortunately, I won't be reviewing the Popsugar Must Have Box this month. I love them and plan to be back to reviewing them in September but this month, I just can't do it. While I've gotten help from my awesome brother (seriously 90% the best brother ever, 10% total douche but I still love him) to pay for some cheaper ones, this one just isn't happening. We all know the economy fluctuates and there are good periods and others where it can get pretty bad again and this is one of those for me. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop reviewing. NOT AT ALL! I just got my shipment notice from my beloved birchbox and I'll be reviewing it that ASAP!

So, now you know why the review will be missing and it's not because I'm a lazy slag! :P (I'm the worst: an emoticon dork!) Hopefully everything will be cool in September + it'll be great because it'll be autumn (my favorite season)!

For info on popsugar's must have august box, I'll be posting a list of the August items so it can be used for reference and as always, you can look at the previous month's ps posts for more detailed info. Finally, if you do want to sign up, I think

REFER5

is still valid as a code for $5.00 off your first box.

As always, I love you guys!!

UPDATE 08/11: It turns out that I won't be reviewing the sample society box this month either. This one is due to THEIR fuck-up with my credit card so at least I can feel better about that ;)

With that, the pity party is OVER!!!! and we'll get back to our normally scheduled programming of sub box reviews and makeup-y goodness! 

Sephora VIB Rouge (?!!!!)

Ok, so this post isn't related to the typical box reviews but I feel that this news warranted some love.

As a makeup junkie (which, to be honest, most of us who love sub boxes are), I love sephora and ulta with a passion. I'm at platinum status at ulta (which you get to with a minimum spend of $350.00 each calendar year) and up to a couple of days ago, I was a VIB at sephora (again $350 minimum annual spend) which is a lot when you add it up.

Well, it turns out that I've spent just a leeetle more at sephora than that $350 VIB minimum. How do I know? Those who visit the sephora forums knew a couple of weeks ago about the the brand new VIB Rouge. VIB Rouge hasn't really been announced to the general public yet as the big unveiling of sorts will be on the week of August 12th, 2013. That week will celebrate the newly revamped beauty insider programs and the addition of VIB Rouge. More importantly, that week will be celebrated by extra points for purchases: 2X for regular beauty insiders, 3X for VIBs, and 4X for VIB Rouge.

What could this little box contain?!?

I can't say I'm not excited about getting 4X the points for my purchases! I think I'll at least try to scrounge up $100 because that would translate into 400 points!

Plus, there will be 5k and 10k point rewards only available to VIB Rouge but they're incredibly limited (I'm not dealing with that headache since the fine print reads like a friggin contest) and 10,000 points is a LOT.

However, I still haven't explained what VIB Rouge is and how you can get to that level (if you want, of course) so here are the basic deets (you could check sephora's page but what would be the fun in that? lol):

I'm apparently at the top, I like it ;)

VIB Rouge 

$1,000.00 Minimum spend every calendar year (Jan-Dec) to maintain status.

There will be special seasonal events and gifts available exclusively to VIB Rouge.

Free shipping on all orders at Sephora.com

Plus you get a fancy new shiny red card (that is damn near impossible to take a picture of!!) and a little bite lipstick brand surprise (see below) is also included in the VIB Rouge kit you get at the store once you're deemed 'rouge' (if you order online, apparently the card won't be included and since I love the card, I'd say go to the store to get it if you can).

My first attempt to take a picture of the card. You can barely see it!

Another futile attempt to capture the beauty of the card. 

My favorite part of the kit: Bite VIB Rouge Deluxe Sample Lipsticl

It's a bright red and yes, I'd already tried it on lol

As you can see, the card is really hard to take a legit pic of because it's so shiny and red! But, there lipstick was way easier to capture and the creamy texture and color are niiiiice. I'd recommend buying BITE lip products either way because they're smell great/are generally organic-ish/

Also, yes that is some of my makeup collection in the background *blushes*....


Sooooo, overall, I'm pretty happy with the inclusion of VIB Rouge but that might be because I almost automatically qualified. However, I know some peeps might be either just regular beauty insiders or VIB's and might not be so happy about it. I know I'd be pretty worried if I was still a VIB that the VIB Rouge program would get all the good stuff since there have been complaints that the VIB program has steadily declined over the years. We'll see where it goes and what differences it might have from the regular VIB program. I have a niggling doubt that this program was introduced because the regular VIB program got too large and sephora might be too errrmmm pragmatic to want to distribute that many 'perks' to a large group. In the end, I don't really know... but I do know I'm pretty happy to 'be at the top' ;)

August Box Time

Ahhhh, the beginning on the month, ripe with box possibilities. As well all know, this is about the best time of the month for sub boxes because we're waiting to be surprised by what they have in store for us. For example, ipsy has already shown us sneak previews that include Urban Decay's Revolution lipstick (a fantastic sample considering how new the lipstick line is) and we know that popsugar is including an extra special gift in the shape of necklace (estimated to be worth ~$60.00) plus we know that birchbox always brings the goods so I'm pretty excited to share the reviews with you guys.

Now to some housekeeping of sorts:

Some might notice that a julep review wasn't posted this month and I'll tell you why: I skipped!

It had been impossible to skip before but finally (finally!) August's theme and products just didn't make me go obsessive like they usually do. The theme was 'garden party' and the 'it girl' profile (my usual) included an espresso color as well as an orange color, I've got plenty of oranges and don't really rock browns on my nails so this month was a complete bust. Hopefully, the September box will make an impact and if not, I'll tell you guys on the very 20th whether I'm skipping or not!

In addition, there was a long period of my not posting. Why? Well.... my internet was kaput. As a starving student, my ahem economic status is pretty crappy right now and this month's bill was pretty high. Let's just say I had to take some time to recoup the funds necessary to come back to my glorious blog!


Finally, I have a review coming soon!

Whimseybox, purveyor of all cute crafty stuff, sent me the July box and I'm ready to share it with you all. I'm guessing that, thanks to my unwanted hiatus, many of you might've already seen it but I must review it, if only because I love their stuff lol

So, let's get back to business !

Birchbox July '13 Box Review

Ahhhh, birchbox, always on of my favorite subs and the gateway drug into the world of obsessive box hunting. Some months, you bring me such joys and others such sorrows and yet others, a mix. Why must you do this, beloved birchbox? Why can't you be like the June box and always make me happy? Why must I suffer in my love for you? Oh birchbox, you can be such a cold hearted bitch..

Ok, so there are some items on the ugh side of the spectrum this month but just the aesthetic of the packaging gets me so my bb love continues intact. Seriously, they've got a fucking voodoo curse on me because despite the couple of items I don't like,  I can't help but to look forward to next month. 

Hmmm....

Hmmmmm... Part 2

Ok, I love this. 

Had to add this pic so you can see 'Swiss Dot'

The Balm ® Instain ® Long Wearing Powder Staining Blush in Swiss Dot

The packaging is fantastic. It opens up like a magazine and you can see in my second posted pic that it has a 'cover' with a very 'chic' rendering of a model. I really like this sample if only for the way it looks. Luckily, I also really like the shade of the blush! 'Swiss Dot' isn't too light pink and it is shimmery enough to look so pretty on! I'm pretty much in love with this and the touted "long wear" is legit. I'm definitely buying a full size (which is incredible because I don't think I've ever purchased a blush). 11/10

Birchbox Bobby Pins (2) in Green Pattern 

If hair accessories are included, I'm a happy camper. The pattern is cute enough and these bobby pins are a bit larger than usual plus the have a badass grip. I'm serious! The grip on these bobby pins is incredible! They're large and in charge! Lol. I didn't think I'd care for these before actually getting my hands on them but their quality changed my mind and birchbox has me again because I'll definitely be purchasing a full size set too. 10/10 

Benta Berry  G-1 Moisturizing Face Creme

Again, I love the packaging. This creme has a very french unisex "súper cool!"(not cule!) style and I can't believe I'm so weak as to being completely drawn in by the packaging. Nevertheless, I am but I also like that fact that the creme claims to be both moisturizing and mattifying. In addition, it smells good, looks cool and comes from France (this checklist could also be applied to boys *wink wink*), what else do you need? 10/10 

Pür Minerals CC Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 40 

Now this is an item that I wasn't excited for at all. Why? I'm so tired of the bazillions of BB,CC,DD, and zzzzz creme samples I've gotten as not one of them has actually worked for my skin and they typically just make me shiny, greasy faced, and later on bring about horrible breakouts. Sooo, I think it can be rationally expected that this sample won't really be at the top of my wish list. I do have to give them props for size because the sample is pretty sizable and will last for more than a couple of uses but I'm pretty reticent to even give it a try thanks to my previous experiences. I don't know.... maybe I'll risk it when I'm feeling crazy but, for now, this sample is kind of useless to me. 5/10 

Kérastase Chroma Riche Rinse

I'm pretty sure I've gotten these foil packets before so that sucks and it sucks more because they're foil packets! I know that Kérastase is pretty pricey (I think their hair masques go for ~$61.00) but I hate foil packets because they just make me feel like there isn't possibly enough actual sample to let me see if any difference is made by the actual product! I do love getting hair product samples (because I'm near obsessive about my hair and have the dozens of hair products to prove it) but I think my main disappointment really is about the foil packets! Either way, I'll be trying these because I've always wanted to shell out some cash for a Kérastase product and I might as well see if it's actually worth it bur seriously Kérastase and birchbox, don't give me foil samples! It makes me sad :''( 8/10

Overall, I'm satisfied with this month's offering because I love 3 items, like 1 (the hair product) and only actively dislike 1 (CC creme) and that is quite a good ratio of love/hate. Birchbox gets a lot of crap for sometimes sending out smaller samples than other comparably priced boxes but birchbox also sends out high-end brands that other boxes don't and their website/store/CS are honed and sophisticated enough for them to not only be considered legit but actual leaders in their industry (with this level of unabashed ass kissing, I should be writing copy for them!). For that, I'll stick with them. Especially if they send me more good stuff than bad (even though it seems to be mainly a matter of luck with box numbers!). 

Box:

Birchbox

Frequency:

Monthly

Price:

$10.00

Perks:

Every $1 spent, equals 1 point, plus you get 10 pts for every item in your box that you review. 100pts= $10.00 with no accumulation limit (so you could have 600 pts aka a $60.00 credit/discount)

Recommend? 

Yes! Although I didn't love absolutely every item this month, the ones I did like are more than enough to keep me happy. I love the point system, the CS,  and especially the brands they send out, so I'm still a loyal birchbox fan but be careful because if they're your introduction to the world of subscription boxes, you might go down a long road of box obsession ;) 

As always, don't spend cash on anything you don't love! 

Ipsy Glam Bag July '13 Review

July has definitely been a month of ups and downs with respect to subscription boxes. There have been ties I've completely LOVED (about 80% of July's Ipsy bag) and others I absolutely will never ever use and therefore kind of totally hate. However, as I'm never one to whine (lol), let's get on with the good stuff and review some makeup/beauty items.

Cute bag! The outside items were packaged next to the bag, not in it. 

This month's items= whooo!

BH Cosmetics California Collection sample mini-palette

Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Coral Crush

Yes! Yes! Yes! I love lip products and I love full sized lip products even more! I was a bit miffed with ipsy when I saw that I didn't get the benefit benetint sample (I don't think many peeps did) but this is a worthy replacement. It's a good texture and the pinky coral is perfect for the summer. This is definitely one of my favorites, not only in this sub but across all my subs this month. 11/10 

COOLA Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented Mineral Moisturizer

Ugh. While the pouty pop crayon is damn near perfectly suited to me, the COOLA sunscreen is yet ANOTHER sunscreen sample to add to my useless sample box. I know it's July, I know!! It's been really hot here in SoCal so I know! But I really don't like sunscreen samples, they seem like such a waste when I subscribe to these companies for beauty stuff and especially makeup, not freaking sunscreen! 5/10 

BH Cosmetics California Collection sample mini-palette in Hollywood, San Francisco, and Malibu

Again, I love this! As I mentioned in my sample society review, I've been looking for new eyeshadows and now I have even more! The cutest thing is that it's a mini palette with color and detail. Other similar samples might come in something like basic clear plastic but I love that they 'California Collection' aesthetic is clearly defined. Plus, the 3 colors (Hollywood, San Francisco, and Malibu) are fantastic looking shades. I especially love San Fran and Malibu and now I'm definitely looking into what else this brand offers. 11/10 

Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray Conditioning & Texturizing Spray

I already know about this brand and I think I've seen this soy line around but hadn't had the time to actually buy anything to try out. Fortunately, ipsy helped me out in this aspect. I tried the spray out almost immediately after I got it and I love it. I have many a texturizing spray but this one has a conditioning factor and it shows. My hair got that wavy texture but was a lot softer than the almost crunchy texture I'm used to with the other sprays. This is another line that I'll definitely be buying more of thanks to ipsy. 10/10

Nailtini Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer in 'Mai Tai'

I was completely sure I'd hate this! I didn't want yet another nail polish and especially not one from a brand I don't know a goddamn thing about. Howeverrr, when I actually saw it, I completely changed my mind. See, the color is orangey and not neon aaand it reminds me of a nail color I wore for nearly a month straight while at the Uni of Edinburgh. So, the memories got the best of me and even gave me a bit of nostalgia for college (tears!). Completely unexpected but I love this. 10/10 

Extra Item:

Selena Gomez Nicole Nail Polish in 'Pretty In Plum'

I referred a couple of friends to ipsy and thanks to their referral program, I apparently earned an extra item. The items available were listed as a baublebar bracelet (which I would love), an urban decay moondust eyeshadow (I would love it even more) and a Selena Gomez branded Nicole by OPI nail polish (the only thing I REALLY REALLY didn't want) and what did I get? Thanks to my horrible luck, I just HAD to get the item I dreaded, the nail polish. I seriously would rather not have this polish but now I'm stuck with it. It's a shimmery plum color and not too bad but not original at all since I have about six (better) dupes. I know this was an extra 'gift' and I am grateful but I fucking hate it! Ugh/10

Overall, I loved this month's glam bag and was very surprised considering I used to be quite skeptical of ipsy because it seemed to have lower/mass market brands. Nevertheless, I decided to try it and I'm glad I did because it's quickly becoming one of my faves. My only issues were that I got yet another sunscreen sample and that tacky nail polish as an extra. Other than that, I loved everything and the bag itself was probably my favorite out of the ~4 bags I've gotten since subscribing. I love the pencil case-like cylindrical shape and the sheer hot pink plastic. It just looks much more modern than previous bags and I hope that the peeps at ipsy keep going in this direction with the bag designs and the brand variety. 

Box:

Ipsy Glam Bag

Frequency:

Monthly

Price: 

$10.00 (plus tax in CA, I pay $10.80)

Perks: 

Extra items for referrals, brand discounts for every brand offered each month, full size items included (not guaranteed every month). 

Recommend?

Yes! I love it right now. Seriously, right now, I have nothing more to say than yes because I really, really like this month's bag (with the exception of the fucking sunscreen!!!). Give it a try if you're interested, it's only $10 and you can cancel if you hate it; although you probably won't ;)

As I always say, don't spend cash on anything you don't love! 

BeautyBar Sample Society July '13 Box Review

The thing I like most about Sample Society is that they tend to go for the high-end stuff and sometimes, I mean the really expensive stuff. All of the full-sizes of the samples in July's box are in the $25-65 range which isn't too up there in relation to high-end stuff but isn't too shabby either. Plus, when they do send out a full size (relatively often), it'll typically be of something from a recognizable brand and I LOVE that because I'm still an incorrigible makeup snob (I am working on it). Now, let's get on to the good stuff!

I like it. A lot!

W/ flash. 

Red Flower Ocean Hair Wash Deluxe Sample

This cleansing shampoo is 1.7oz which is really a nice size for trying it for a week or so. According to the insert, it has peppermint "to stimulate the scalp" and silk amino acids to strengthen and smooth. I've been looking for a good cleansing hair wash so I'm actually really excited to try it. Plus, it smells really good! 10/10 

Full Size Retail Price: $28.00

Vincent Longo Eyeshadow Trio in 'Stella Untold' 

Now this item I'm super excited about. Why? It's a full size eyeshadow trio!!! I've been thinking about how I need new eyeshadows (I've been stuck using the same creme eyeshadows for a while) because of my current rut so this item is a freaking godsend. This trio consists of 3 coordinating creme powder shadows with each color having either a moon, stars, or sun imprint (omg so pretty). Apparently, the sun imprinted color is the base, the lash line color is the stars, and the accent/crease color is the moon. It's a great concept and the neutrals I got (peachy, light pink shimmer, and chocolate w/ gold shimmer) are perfect for day to day. I'm actually considering buying more of these because the texture is fantastic. 11/10

Full Size Retail Price: $30.00 

Dr. T's Supergoop! Advanced SPF 37 Eye Cream Sample

This sample is a freaking miniature. It's supposed to protect eyes from sun damage but I think more than 2 uses out of this sample are unlikely. Honestly, I'm not loving the proliferation of sunscreen products in the subs this month (I tend to stay out of the sun because I get hives/rashes and I already have sunscreen) and the ubiquitous supergoop (exclamation point is all theirs) is not something I'd be likely to shell out $45.00 for (even though I actually got a full size city serum in the summer FabFitFun VIP box). While I do have a weakness for eye creams because I'm deathly afraid of crow's feet, this sample leaves a lot to be desired (like a lot of sample because the tiny packaging has barely any actual sample cream inside).  6/10

Full Size Retail Price: $45.00

Lollia Wander Petite Treat Shea Butter Handcreme Sample 

First of all, the packaging is beautiful. It comes in a flower print little box and the hand creme itself is in the same print so major points for packaging. The sample itself is relatively small but it is good enough to find out if it works with my sensitive skin (yes, even my hands are sensitive!) As you might've noted, this creme comes infused with shea butter (another plus) and the floral scent is actually really nice. I don't typically get excited by hand cream samples but I actually do like this one. 9/10 

Full Size Retail Price: $25.00

Tres Pure Face Tonic

Face tonic…. wtf is face tonic? Apparently, it's a spray that helps smooth wrinkles, hydrate skin, and firms it as well. All good, especially since it apparently only has 3 ingredients (neroli being one of them). This sample, honestly, seems destined for an older consumer. I know my mom would (and will because I'm gifting it to her) love this because it seems like just the thing for maybe older, drier skin with less elasticity. So, for me, it's a bit of a bust but it's cool to get something I can give to my mom. Also, if you're into it, try it! It's supposed to make the skin look better overall but beware of the smell because it kind of reminds me of my grandma. 7/10 

Full Size Retail Price: $65.00

Overall, an even mix of samples and there are some really good brands included. Everything included this month is a new discovery for me and the Vincent Longo eyeshadow trio is, by far, my favorite because it is just what I needed (I don't mind you comin' here and wasting all my time, time…) Lol, I bet very few teenagers will get that musical reference ;) This box does seem oriented toward an older and more sophisticated consumer and while I'm not there yet, I love to get stuff that I can divide between my mother and myself. So, yes, July's box was a good one.

Box:

Beautybar.com Sample Society

Frequency:

Monthly 

Price: 

$15.00 (plus tax in CA, I pay $16.20)

Perks:

Full size items, sometimes included, a free subscription to Allure magazine is also included as long as you subscribe. 

Recommend? 

Yes! As I said, it does seem oriented towards an older consumer (not like ancient but maybe mid-thirties plus?) but almost every month includes some really great samples and full sizes are included pretty often. Honestly, this is a good one and I'm staying with it for a while. So, if you're interested, try a month but be sure to cancel if you don't love it.

As always, don't spend your cash on something you don't love!