Revlon Colorstay Matte & Lacquer Balms : Product Review

I try to be as timely as possible when it comes to limited edition items since time is of the essence for those sorts of products. Hopefully, I'm catching this at a time when most of you can still find these in stores should you choose to purchase them. I'm not 100% sure that they are LE, because there hasn't been anything released by Revlon stating either way. I just found them at the Walgreens near my house last weekend, but I live in the midwest and things get here a bit slower than the rest of the country. Anyhow, the two products that I will be reviewing today are the Revlon Colorstay Lacquer Balm and Matte Balm in shades Flirtatious and Unapologetic (respectively).

The Facts

Price: $8.99/each (this was at Walgreens in Kansas)
Amount of Product: .095 oz
Number of Shades: 10 in each formulation; 20 overall

Shade(s) that I used: Flirtatious and Unapologetic
Coverage: Light/Medium (Lacquer) and Full (Matte)
Application: Tube to lips!

Wear Time: The wear time for the Matte Balm is about 4 hours with eating included. I think that the Lacquer Balm can easily be worn for four hours as well, but only if you aren't eating or drinking. The first swipe with a napkin and that sucker will be down to super light coverage. 

Flirtatious - Lacquer Balm

I think that the packaging is very pretty; it's metallic, it's a gorgeous color, and fingerprints aside, I like it. Like the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, these balms twist up from the bottom, so a sharpener isn't necessary. The Lacquer Balm glides on just like the Balm Stains... and looks almost exactly like the Balm Stains, which is disappointing. This product doesn't even come close to the shine that I would have expected for something described as a lacquer. Quite honestly, it's barely shiny; it has some glitter in it, is that what they meant by lacquer? Which brings me to my next point: glitter. I'm not sure if all of the lacquer shades have glitter in them, but Flirtatious definitely does and after a short time, you can feel the glitter grits on your lips (à la Peach Parfait from the Lip Butters line).

The color that I got in the Lacquer Balm is gorgeous and is really the only thing special about this particular product. If you have been searching for these in hopes of something new and exciting, I wouldn't continue; it's not worth it. The Lacquer Balms are almost exactly the same as the Kissable Balm Stains except that they don't really stain. Meh.

Unapologetic - Matte Balm

And then we get to the Matte Balm. Again, I really like the packaging; good color, it's a matte package, and it's not rubbery, so it doesn't attract every piece of dust and dirt (I'm looking at you NARS and Lorac). I was so incredibly excited for this product, even after swatching it, because it looks awesome on my hand, texture and color wise. However, as soon as I put it on my lips, my excitement started to dissipate. I think I've been spoiled by high end lipstick, which can deliver full opacity and manage not to look cakey; something that the Matte Balm cannot deliver. Unfortunately, as soon as I put this on my lips, it started to look heavy. It can be blended out with my finger, so if that were the only issue, it wouldn't have been a dealbreaker, but it wasn't the only issue.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned on this blog, but my lips can be a bit finicky. After spending about a year looking for a balm that would help my continually chapped lips, I found that Vaseline is the only thing that makes them not chapped (I think I mentioned this in my last review...). One coat of Vaseline in the morning and I am a-ok for the rest of the day, that's how magical the crap is for my lips. I applied the Matte Balm to my lips a few hours after I had applied the Vaseline, so everything should have been ok. I applied around noon and planned on doing a 4 hour test, which I did, but by the time 4:30 rolled around, I didn't want to do anything other than wipe this stuff off my lips. The balm was very slick when I applied and slipped around my lips for a solid 30 minutes, but it completely dried my lips out and made very visible little flakes all over my lips. It also started to do what long wear lipsticks typically do and peeled off from the center of my lips due to saliva...

All around, the Matte Balm was basically what lip nightmares are made of. It just pains me to write it because I am so in love with the color! I'm sure I can find something from Sephora that is very similar, but you know, it's always nice to be able to get a killer product for $7.

I loved the L'Oréal LeMatte and LaLacque line and I was hoping that this was going to be very similar, but it isn't in the slightest. If you want to see my review on those, you can click here AND check out your local Target since they seem to be on clearance right now.

I did this photo with less lighting with the hope that you could see the glitter particles better... you kind of can.

Full Flash

Final Verdict: As much as I love Revlon's lip products and it pains me to write this, skip these. There are much better products available from Revlon and other drugstore brands.

Burberry Lip Cover : Product Review

Welcome to the world of luxury cosmetics! Today, I'm going to be reviewing a high end lipstick for you guys; Burberry Lip Cover in No. 33 Oxblood. I bought this after I saw swatches of it on Reddit and I fell head over heels for the color. Also, burgundy/dark raspberry/wine colored anything is my favorite and Oxblood is probably the coolest way to describe the color (you know, if you're morbid, like me). I bought this from Burberry directly since I couldn't seem to find it through any other retailer, but it's fine because they offer free shipping on any purchase. AND, they're so fancy that you have to sign for the package when it comes... which means I had to take a trip to UPS to go pick it up.

For the high end world, this lipstick isn't that much coming, it comes in at $30, but compared to most mid-end, that's still fairly expensive. For example, Givenchy lipsticks are $36 and Urban Decay lipsticks are $22; so it's smack dab in the middle. As you can see above, the bullet comes with Burberry detailing all over it, but it doesn't affect the usability at all (similar to how the RiRi Hearts MAC lipsticks have her signature on them). The packaging is very prone to fingerprints which is going to drive me insane, but I already knew this since I own a mini Burberry lipstick. One of the coolest things about the packaging though is that if you put the lid on backward or sideways, it flips itself around (with magnets, I assume) so that it's always in the right spot.

So, that's all fine and good, but how does it actually perform?

So here it is when I first applied it. Do you notice that it looks a bit streaky in the top photo? Yeah, ignore that. My lips get insanely chapped and peel if I don't put Vaseline over them, so I have to put that under any lipstick, regardless of brand. What does that mean? It means when I apply lipsticks, they have a tendency to get streaky until I rub my lips together. So, can you guess when I took that picture? Yeah, before I rubbed my lips together. I want to clarify right now that the lipstick doesn't apply patchy or streaky,  it's just my stupid lips and the Vaseline. 

Aside from all of that, it applies really nicely and very opaquely; no dragging or patchiness. I didn't use a lip liner, because I feel like that's cheating when you are testing out a lipstick. I applied this at about 9:30 a.m. before I came into work.

And here it is at 3:00 p.m. after eating two Special K bars, an applesauce, a sandwich, a string cheese, a granola bar and drinking water (although, the water does come out of a Camelbak). I think you can see the the color has not faded much at all after a lot of food and 5 1/2 hours of wear. In fact, for all of that activity, it looks pretty damn good. I can see some dead skin flaking up and there is a small amount of patchiness to the lipstick, but nothing astronomical and nothing that you would notice unless you were really, really, oddly close to my lips. 

I do, however, have two complaints about this lipstick and they're both rather small. The first is the smell, which I unfortunately hate. I don't quite know what this lipstick smells like, but it makes me think of something floral or old-lady esque. Chanel cosmetics smell like old lady rose perfume to me and this doesn't quite smell like that, but it's somewhere along the same lines. It's not overpowering though, so I can deal with that; I deal with Chanel's scent as well. The other thing is that this isn't the most moisturizing lipstick in the world and even though I put the Vasline down first, my lips were feeling a bit dry by the time I took the second set of photos. Burberry says that this lipstick is hydrating, but I think I'm going to call bull on that one.

Final Verdict: I'd buy this again in a heart beat. I love the color and the staying power is awesome. Unfortunately, my dog attacked me shortly after and licked my lipstick off, but if he hadn't, I assume that this lipstick would have been fairly decent looking for a full 8 hours. And even if it couldn't perform that long, 5 1/2 hours including breakfast and lunch is pretty damn good. Yes, this lipstick is $30, but I think that this shade is fairly unique and the formula is good. Buy it if you have the pennies and want a great fall lipstick!

Skull Face : Tutorial

Enjoy!

Also, I don't know what's going on with video quality and my camera, but it's something funky and I don't like it. I'm working on getting a different camera all together, so this early 90s film look won't be around for too much longer.

Glossy Box x Byrdie Beauty : Beauty Box

If you've been following this blog for a while, then you know that I don't have the greatest opinion of Glossybox. For me, most of the time, the products do not justify the price and after hearing umpteen stories of their horrible customer service (which I've never experienced), it's safe to say that I'll never be a regular subscriber. However, the occasionally do curated or collaboration boxes, and those bad boys are usually amazing. When I heard that they were teaming with Byrdie Beauty (the sister site of Who What Wear), I jumped on ordering a box. Want to see what I got? Keep reading.

One thing that I will always commend Glossybox on is their packaging; it feels really luxurious. I don't know if you guys ever order high end makeup directly from the manufacturer (e.g. ordering Chanel directing from Chanel), but they really take the time to make a complete presentation out of it and Glossybox does this, too. 

And the contents! 

From left to right: Tarte Lights, Cameras, Flashes Mascara, Balance Me Shine on Tinted Lip Salve, Sesha Renu Exfoliating Gel, Bvlgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert Eau de Cologne, and Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream. 

When I opened my box on Saturday morning, I'll admit, I felt a bit disappointed. I think I was just expecting something very similar to the Man Repeller boxes from January. Now that I've had a few days to look at this, I don't feel the same way; I'm actually pretty happy with this box. The Tarte and the Balance Me are full sized items; ringing in at $23 and $16.50, respectively. The Sesha sample comes in at $16.80, Fresh at $12.42, and Bvlgari at $5.78. This makes the total monetary value of the box $74.50.

The only item that I'm really not excited about is, you guessed it, the lip salve. It's a natural product, so it's much thinner than a standard lip gloss, which I usually like, but this is extremely thin and makes my lips feel oily. I'll keep using it to make sure that I don't have a change of opinion, but I think that's a flop in my book.

Other than that, I'm pretty excited to use the items. The Bvlgari smells great and light and fresh; a bit more of a spring/summer fragrance, but still nice smelling. I like the Fresh brand and plan to use this at night during the winter when my skin gets a bit dryer. Not to mention, for a face cream, this is a pretty big sample and should last a long time. 

I love Tarte's Lights, Cameras, Lashes mascara, so I can't wait to try this version. I'm a pretty big Tarte fan all around and this was the first "sneak peek" from this box, which was also worth more than the box itself. And last but not least, the Sesha exfoliating gel. It took me going to look at the company's website and doing some research on it, but I think that the idea behind it is pretty cool. You apply the gel to a dry face and it exfoliates the dry skin using papaya extract. It says to only use it once a week, so this sample should last a while as well. 

And that's the box. Thoughts on it? Let me know down below!

Wantable Beauty Box : October 2013

Last week, I was browsing Reddit and I saw something from a man named Stuart who works for Wantable. Stuart posts a lot to Reddit and is really involved in the community, which is really incredibly cool, but he was asking if anyone with a beauty blog would be interested in reviewing a box. I jumped on this opportunity since I am all about the subscription beauty boxes and I love to pass on the information to you guys. So, I need to tell you guys that this was sent to me for free for review purposes. Now that that's out of the way, let's start with the basics of Wantable!

Wantable is based out Milwaukee and is a fairly new company with a staff of about 14 people. They have several different subscription boxes, which all cater to women; Makeup Box, Accessories Box, and an Intimates box. I am not well versed on their accessories or intimates, but I have seen many of their beauty boxes and since I've gone through the process, I'm more aware of how it works. With the makeup box, you are guaranteed 4-5 full size products each month with any "samples" being an extra little surprise. The box is more than other subscription services, but keep in mind the above information; the items you receive are always full size. If you don't want a subscription, it's $40 a box and if you set up a subscription, it's $36/month.

You do fill out quite a bit of information when you sign up, which includes items that you "love, like, or dislike". The upside to this is that you will never get something you have put in the "dislike" category. So, for me, who hates lipgloss with a passion, I can mark that down as a "dislike" and never receive it. And that's the other thing, their list of items for you to like and dislike, is pretty in depth for a subscription service; it's a good thing. Each month, you get a slip in your box that tells you what items you've received, how much their retail value is, and a little bit of info about the product and a "beauty tip". Mine looked like this:

The picture at the top is just a generic photo of products, not what you've received. On the right, it has a listing of things you put in your "love, like, and dislike" categories! I love that they did that because then you can remember how you've marked things. Maybe the day you filled out the survey, you only "liked" eye shadow, but now you actually love it and can't remember how you marked it; check the side of the packing slip! Under all of that information is where my products and their retail value is listed. I did receive a sample in this box, so the retail value of that item is marked as 0. Below all of that is the explanation of each product and the tip for each individual item. Pretty cool, huh?

Here are all of my items in their original packaging, because I don't know about you guys, but I love packaging. From left to right, we have: Lise Watier Ombre Soufflé Suprême Samples, Michael Marcus Nail Polish, Bésame Cosmetics Classic Color Lipstick, Face Stockholm Lipstick, and Susan Posnick Color Eye Define.

I apologize for the glare on this, but you get the idea. I received samples of Sunrise Peach and Vert Enchanté and I'm really excited to try these out. I have really gotten into cream eyeshadows over the last few months, so this should be fun.

First up in the real products is the Michael Marcus Nail Polish in Paint the Town Red. I haven't had any time to paint my nails recently, but I am intrigued by this nail polish. Remember up above how I said I like packaging? Yeah, this bottle is really cool looking and super modern and geometric. This is a really pretty red color and surprisingly, I only have one other true red nail polish, so this is a welcome addition. Value: $15

Alright, I am going to admit that I was a little bit of an idiot with this product. This is the Susan Psnick Color Eye Define in Amethyst/Opal. I didn't read the description that they provided and I instead just pulled it out of the box and played with it... not realizing until YESTERDAY that it actually has two ends. 

This was initially all I thought it was and I was pretty happy with that. Eye sticks are some of my favorite eye shadow products (I have 3 MUFE shadow stick, 2 Laura Mercier, and 2 Trish McEvoy... on top of all of my drugstore and older Urban Decay ones) because they are fast and easy to apply. This one can be used as a liner or you can flip it so it's broader and use it as an all over shadow.

And then I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when I realized that this end was something too! This is a beautiful lilac colored eye shadow. This isn't my most favorite type of applicator for eye shadow, but it's very easily blended out with a brush if need be. I can deal with it because the color is to die for. Value: $26

Again, killing it with the packaging here! This is the Bésame lipstick and I got it in the color Cherry Red. After checking out Bésame's website, I realized that they are all about vintage looking packaging and it's all gorgeous stuff. I don't know why, but when I got this, something about the texture of the bullet made me think that this was going to be a sheer red.

But I was completely wrong. I put this on today and much to my surprise, it is completely opaque and a true bright, cherry red. The shape of the bullet is pretty unique and I was a little confused as to why it was shaped that way, but it actually made it much easier to get crisp lines. Value: $22 

Bonus selfie in said lipstick. As you can see, it's intense. I've also had this on for almost 8 hours and eaten breakfast and lunch with it on and I haven't had to reapply at all; it's good.

And the last item, the Face Stockholm lipstick in Pleasant. This is the only product that I feel a bit "meh" about and it's due to the color. Granted, I haven't put it on my lips yet, so I don't know how it will actually look on me, but I'm also not that tempted to put it on.

It actually looks less offensive to me in the photo above, but in real life, it's more of a shimmery orange (less coral like in the photo above). On Face Stockholm's site, it's described as a "shimmer marigold" and that it's also a cream coverage lipstick. I like the cream coverage aspect, I just need to get the cajones and put this on my face. AND I would like to mention, that it's completely fine with me to get a color like this because I put on my profile that I like bold colors (which, to me, this qualifies as at least somewhat bold). Value: $22

EDIT: I have now worn this lipstick twice and the color is really different on my skin than how it looks in the tube! It actually applies as a warm pinky color (here's an album of swatches). I like it a lot!

So, that was my box. What did I think of it? I think it's pretty cool and a great idea. It may seem a little steep at $40, but if you really think about it, $40 isn't that much for 4 high quality products; anyone who shops at Sephora knows that. The other thing that I think is really great about this box is that it is highly customizable, but remains a surprise each month. Each box is customized to the person who ordered it and it's a lot less likely that you would get the exact same box as someone else. 

If you are interested, you should definitely go to Wantable.com and check it out for yourself. If you are interested in seeing what other people have gotten in their boxes before, check out this subreddit (don't worry, that link is SFW!). Happy exploring!

Julep Maven : Review and Impressions

I posted on my Facebook page a few weeks ago that I had finally decided to try out the Julep Maven program and now that they boxes have arrived, I can tell you about my experience and the program itself.  I ordered two different types of products, but I want to tell you about both because both ideas are around pretty much every month. I ordered a Julep Maven box, which is the subscription service, and I also ordered a mystery box, which it appears that they do about once a month (my themed box was "Galaxy"). Let's dive in!

Julep Maven

I'm going to talk about this first since it's the most in depth. Obviously, you have to go the the Julep website to start the process and when you get there, there are several links that say "Become a Maven" or "Start Your Quiz Now". I think you can bypass the quiz if you want, but you might as well take it just to see what they think that your style is. I think it's kind of fun to take the quiz, but I ended up choosing a different "personality" which was "It Girl". There are ALWAYS promo codes to get your first box free or for a penny, so DO NOT pay for it. Seriously, just don't. Unless you really want to pay $20 for your box, in which case, go ahead and pay (I'll have a promo code at the end of this post).  Now, here is some info from Julep:

"Becoming a Julep Maven gives you exclusive access to COLOR. Each month we hand-pick trendsetting new nail colors, cult faves and cutting-edge beauty products that are just right for you. Commitment shy? No problem. YOU decide how often to receive your Julep Maven box, and you can cancel at any time.

Styles change, and you can too

We'll send an email previewing your upcoming Julep Maven Box on the 20th of each month. Love what we've chosen for you? Do nothing and your box is on its way. Want to try a new style, send your box to a friend or skip the month (and the bill)? Just log into your account between the 20th and the 24th to submit your request. We start shipping your Julep Maven Box the same day you're charged, on the 27^th of each month."

So, as you can see, you have the ability to skip months, which is awesome. I can't imagine that I'll want to get nail polish every single month out of the year, so it will be nice to be able to skip every once in a while. So, I'll get an email on the 20th of this month showing me what's available; if I like it, I do nothing and if I don't like, I just have to log on and choose not to receive it. Sounds simple, right? Well, I haven't had to do it yet, so I can't tell you if it is truly as simple as it sounds. I will go ahead and get one thing off my chest right now: Julep's customer service has a lot of room to improve (I will also expand on this topic in a few moments).

I chose "It Girl" as my style since it seems to be more trendy shades and textures, which I like. Here is what came in my introductory box.

I, of course, am writing this without the products in front of me, so I have no clue what these shades are called. I will update with that tonight, but in the mean time, I can describe them to you. I have on the far left, a glitter shade that is somewhere between grey and charcoal and some other shades to create a holographic effect. In the middle is a very bright purple, bordering on fuchsia, cream shade. And the last, on the right, is a very metallic white silver shade (which looks as though it might be a bit sheer).

I also received a small card welcoming me to the program and my "It Girl" card and a small lotion sample. Not too shabby for a free box, right? I just looked at this month's intro box for It Girls and I'm jealous... I kind of wish I had waited, because it's totally awesome. OHWELLISAY!

Now, for a bit more information about being a maven. You also get free shipping on any purchase and you also get an extra 20% on any purchase you make, so you are always getting a discount no matter what you purchase. You also can accumulate points (by referring friends, getting your monthly box, etc.) that allow you to get a box for free. Here's what you get points for and how many: "You earn 1,000 Jules for inviting friends who become Julep Mavens, 300 Jules for each full priced Maven box you are billed for, 200 Jules on your Birthday, 500 Jules during your Anniversary month, and 750 Jules when you pay for the monthly upgrade box. You even get Jules just for becoming a Maven! ".

Now, you may be thinking that this all sounds great and sign me up and all of that jazz! But, let me tell you about one large drawback: Customer Service. I know, for a fact, that Julep is a small company that is still growing and I know that they're located in Queen Anne, which is a neighborhood of Seattle. I actually know more about them than most people probably do (that sounds ominous, doesn't it? It's not, it has to do with business, but I digress). However, their customer service is lacking and lacking in a big way. I had an issue with my tracking, so I called them on a Friday morning and waited for about 5 minutes before hanging up. I decided to email them to get it worked out and I got the typical "We've received your email, it will take us 3-5 business days to get back to you" (they use the same system as Birchbox). Luckily, my package showed up the next day, so I no longer had an issue, but I was curious how long it would take to hear back. It literally took the entire 5 business days (or 6 if you include the day that I sent the email). That's a really long time in my book regardless of the fact that they state it might take that long. If I had an erroneous charge on my account and I had to wait 7 whole days (5 business days if it's over a weekend), I would be pissed. Also, I called multiple times before sending an actual email and never got through to a CSR. So, you've been warned.

If you are interested in becoming a Maven, because aside from their CSRs it seems pretty awesome, you can use my referral link here or hit up julep.com. For a free box, use code FREEBOX.

Galaxy Mystery Box

Now, the other thing I picked up, the Galaxy Mystery Box. When I ordered this, it was supposedly "no longer available", but with some Googling and looking up the right terms, I found the order page and got an order put through. They had three different sizes of this box, Supernova, Cosmic, and Pluto; I ordered the mid-range Cosmic, which was $24.99.

Each box told you that it would include a special mystery item and I believe it said how many polishes you would get, but I could be wrong on the last part. I had seen a ton of them pop up on Reddit, so I knew how many polishes regardless. Obviously, with a galaxy themed box, the polishes are meant to be used to create the galaxy effect (google this if you're confused). Here is what I received.

Pretty nice for $25, right? The six polishes were the actual mystery box components and the hand creams/nail treatment were the special mystery gift (included in all of the Supernova and Cosmic boxes; Pluto didn't get it... weemp wermp). The polishes were:

Lexie - Bright yellow

Charlotte -  Dusty Purple

Francis - Bright Olive Green

Blakely - Duochrome polish; Purple base, with blue-green shift

Reiko - Copper

Estelle - Black with holo glitter

You can see that the hand creams were a Glycolic Hand Scrub, Rock Star Hand Creme, and those came with a Oxygen Nail Treatment. I'm actually pretty excited about those hand creams since it's decided that the midwest will not be having fall this year and we will be skipping directly to winter (it's sleeting today).

I am thrilled with this purchase and I am really excited to try out the galaxy nail look, for which Julep has a tutorial on their blog.

What do you guys think? Are you intrigued or are you/were you a Julep Maven and have opinions? Let me know down below!

Beauty Box Roundup : October 2013

I was originally planning on including all of my "beauty" boxes in this post and then I realized that this post would be a million words long and that the two new boxes kind of deserve their own posts. That being said, I'm going to be doing two separate posts tomorrow about my Julep box and my Wantable box. So, which boxes are in this post? Just Birchbox and Blush.com Mystery Beauty Box; Ipsy has been axed. I also have a Glossybox coming shortly (just received shipping confirmation!). Let's get started...

Blush Mystery Beauty Box

Ok... I forgot to take a picture of this month's bag, so this is a repeat picture. They actually switched up the bags this month and they are now more like fabric rather than a reusable shopping bag; upgrade! 

What I received:

• Butter London Nail Polish in Kerfuffle
• Chella Highlighter Pencil in Ivory 
• Karin Herzog Vitamin H Cream
• Mirabella Mineral Highlighting Powder in Glowing Coral
• MyFace Cosmetics Lip Pop Gloss
• Theraplex FT Exfoliating Emollient 
• Talika Lipocils Expert
• Miracle Skin Transformer in Medium

My Thoughts: Thank the lord, I FINALLY got the Chella Highlighter Pencil! I never got this in my Ipsy bags and it was the one thing that I wanted more than anything else. I'm so glad to see this show up in my bag! I can use it under my brows or, since I'm so damn pale, as a highlighter on the rest of my face. I'm also happy to see Butter London polish show up in the bag and it's a great color; pretty stoked for that as well. I hate lip gloss, as most of you know by this point, so it's not my favorite thing. It's not horrible, it's only a bit sticky and it thins out as you put it on your lips. I've heard a lot of great things about the Miracle Skin Transformer, but they seriously need to work on their packaging; it's always sticky! I'll have to wait until next summer to use it (unless I go on a tropical vacation) since it's a bit too dark. And the Mirabella highlighter? GORGEOUS.

I already own a bottle of the Talika Lipocils Expert, which I got as a sample through Birchbox but I've never used it. I already have thick, long eyelashes, so I'm a but skeptical. Also, the only thing that's a bit irritating to me is that the Vitamin H cream is supposed to have been something else from the same line. And I'll definitely be using the foot cream.

Monetary Values

Butter London Polish: $15 full size

Chella Highlighter: $18 full size

Karin Herzog: $3.65 for .1 fl oz (full size: 1.73 fl oz/$63)

Mirabella Highlighter: $38 full size

MyFace Lip Gloss: $18 full size

Theraplex FT: $15 full size

Talika Lipocils: $11.40 for .07 fl oz (full size: .35 fl oz/$57)

Miracle Skin Transformer: $4.80 for .17 fl oz (full size: 1.7 fl oz/$48)

Total Bag Value: $123.85

Final Thoughts on Blush's box: This month seemed a lot smaller than previous months, but I got a lot of things that I know that I'm going to like or that I've been itching to try out. I think that Blush really wants us to take care of our feet since they sent foot cream last month and this month; my feet will be the nicest in all the land! I'm very pleased with this month; great value all around and awesome products.

Birchbox

What I Received:

• Bain de Terre Macadamia Oil Nourishing Conditioner
• Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser
• Liz Earle Pure Muslin Cloth
• POP Beauty Aqua Lacquer
• Chapstick Hydration Lock

My Thoughts: Since Birchbox is only $10 a month and they don't promote that a box will always be over a certain dollar amount, I don't ever expect that. I like this month's box aside from two things, which I will get to in a minute. I'm really happy that I got the Liz Earle cleanser since that was one thing that I really wanted to try. I've been reading and educating myself a lot more on skin care and I've gotten intensely curious in skincare brands. I've never heard of Liz Earle, but I like the idea behind this cleanser and cloth, so I'm excited to use it. I've also decided to grow my hair back out, so nourishing conditioners and shampoos will be good to have to keep my hair happy during the winter while it's growing... and I like the smell of it. The Chapstick is actually considered an extra, but I included it above because I always include the "extras". I have recently become a Vaseline convert, so I don't know if I'll use it. I'll most likely throw it in my purse as an "in case". 

And now we get to my first issue; POP Beauty. Every beauty subscription is guilty of sending this brand and if it disappeared off the face of the planet for the rest of forever... well, I'd be perfectly happy. I've never received a POP Beauty item that I like and it's not Birchbox's fault that I hate the brands' products. On top of not liking POP Beauty, I hate lip gloss and this is one of the bad kinds. It's sticky and thick and I don't like it. I will say, the plastic paddle is pretty cool (see it above), but that's the only redeeming quality. 

My only other "issue" with this month is that it's kind of cheesy to me that they count the cloth as one of the samples and the cleanser as another. The cloth does have its own value, so it's not like I'm truly that irritated, I just think it's kind of a weird move on Birchbox's part.

Monetary Values:

Bain de Terre Conditioner: $1.70 for 1 fl oz (full size: 13.5 fl oz/$13.50)

Liz Earle Cleanser: $6.14 for 1 fl oz (full size: 3.5 fl oz/$21.50)

Muslin Cloth: $3 (full size: 2 cloths for $6)

Pop Beauty Gloss: $14 full size

Chaptick: $2.50

 
Full Monetary Value: $24.84 ( - Chapstick) or $27.34 (+ Chapstick)

Final Thoughts: If I had gotten anything but that stupid lip gloss, this would have been an awesome box for me. I saw some boxes that were just like mine, but came with The Fake Up from Benefit... that would have been my ideal box. I'm not upset with the box, just the stupid lip gloss; I HATE LIP GLOSS. Ok, that's the end of my rant. Promise. I love you Birchbox.

If you want to subscribe to Birchbox, you can follow my referral link here or visit birchbox.com