Monday, September 29, 2014

Boodlebox October 2014 Review

I recently discovered subscription service for girls called BoodleBox. My daughter loves opening my subscription boxes and I thought it would be nice if she had something on her own to look forward to,. The Boodle Box offers subscription for two age ranges - from 5-10 and from 11+. Since my daughter just turned 11 I ordered the second option. The monthly fee is $19.99 with free shipping if you commit to 6 months of subscription. If you just one to try one month, it's $24.99. I picked the 12 month subscription which gives you one box free at the end of the year.


I got my first box literally just a few days from the day of subscription. It was lightning fast.

As you can expect, the theme of the October box was Halloween.



First glance


List of items 


Chevron Watch $12.00
Silicone band watch with cool chevron time face. I don't know who wears watches anymore. My daughter has a cell phone and I really doubt she will use this watch at all. 

Rhinestone Ghost Necklace $7.50 
It's a cute little necklace for Halloween. 

 

Hard Candy Foiled Again Shadow Stick $18.00 for a set of 3
Fantasy Maker RIP Nail Polish by Wet n Wild $1.99
These are really cute. My daughter always steals my makeup and nail polish, so now she has her own. I may steal the eye shadow from her. These seem like pretty basic colors for me. 



Silver Snake Ear Cuff $14.99 
At fist I though it was a ring and I tried to force it on my daughter's finger.... Then I read the card and found out it was an ear cuff. It looks like a dragon climbing on her ear. I don't know if she will ever wear it, but it goes with the theme. 

Sunny Side Up Silicone Egg Mold by Fred $9.95 
Cool little mold but I'm not sure if it will get used much. I will figure something out. 

Black and White Chevron Infinity Scarf $14.99
I left the best for last. This scarf was mine and my daughter's favorite item from the box. I'm sure I will be stealing it from her. I like how it matches the watch perfectly. Nice touch! 




Overall my daughter liked this box. I asked her to rate it in a scale from 0-10 and she gave it 9.5
The retail value of all the items in the box is $79.38, so I think we got a good deal for the $19.00 spent on it. I'm definitely looking forward to next months' surprises. 








Friday, September 26, 2014

Ipsy September 2014 Review

I recently discovered Ipsy and subscribed to check it out. What I really liked about it from looking at past months of Ipsy reviews was that they send you a cute makeup bag every month. You can never have enough makeup bags, right? Ipsy subscription is $10.00 per month and you get deluxe samples and full-size products.

This month's bag looked like this:

I was not too crazy about this bag, so I was ok when my daughter stole it right away. I saw some cute bags in the previous months and I was really hoping for something fun and colorful.
But the contents of the bag was what mattered more and here is what I got:



I liked everything in it! 

I really love this cream. I received a larger size in another subscription box and I really liked it. I was happy to see another one because you never have enough hand creams. 

The shade I got is 09 Basic Instinct and its rather natural shade
What I love about the gloss is that is feels light and not sticky. I really hate when lip glosses are sticky and everything sticks to my lips a second after applying it. This one is not sticky at all. 

Pacifica Nail Polish full size shade Red Red Wine
At first I thought I was going to hate the shade and did not think I was going to use it. It was a shade of red that was very dark, almost looked like blood. When I put it on my nails I changed my mind. It's actually really nice color for fall and winter. Pacifica nail polish is 100% vegan and natural. 

I never had anything by that company and when I first saw the powder I was perplexed because it was completely white, like powdered sugar. It works great though to finish off the makeup and make your skin appear flawless. Great little product. I will be searching for full size version. 

I happen to like Avon and I was excited to see another mascara in my subscription delivery. The name of the mascara suggests that it creates dramatic look, but i though it was good mascara for everyday wear, I didn't see anything dramatic about it. Overall, I was happy to receive a full size mascara. 

Overall this was a nice start for me with Ipsy. I am looking to another month of great samples and full size beauty products. If you want to check out Ipsy or try it out follow this link .


Birchbox September 2014

Birchbox is one of the most popular subscription boxes. For $10.00 per month and contains samples of some cool products to try out. You can also buy the full size products on the Birchbox website and earn points by reviewing your products. You can order your own box here.

September's box theme was Fashion Week:




I love getting mascaras in my boxes. I have never had this one and I'm going to try it soon. Just by looking at the brush I can tell it's more of an every day mascara, not something that will give you dramatic lashes.

I rarely use eyeliner and usually send mine to my sister but this silver eyeliner I'm definitely keeping. It is great for a night out and 



My daughter stole it before I could test it. I read reviews online and they are kind of mixed, so I'm going to have to get it back and test to see for myself. 


I thought it was ok. My skin did not look especially radiated. It moisturizes well. I'm not crazy about the scent either. 


I have yet to try this. The whole concept of this shampoo/conditioner is very new and I'm kind of unsure how I should use it. I will have to read some more reviews. It has good reviews from what I have seen so far. 





I actually cancelled my Birchbox subscription because I did not think the products I was getting were exciting enough. I know it's only $10 but I'd rather put it towards other boxes I go crazy about every single month. I also just subscribed to Ipsy which seems to be the main rival in this price range. I will see which one I like better.
Birchbox has really great website and you can buy the full size products and earn points. The reward system is great but it just wasn't enough for me to keep the subscription. But who knows, maybe some spoilers for October will change my mind.

Do you want to try Birchbox? Follow this link to check it out.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Boxycharm September 2014

This little box just came in the mail and totally made my day. Boxycharm is by far my most favorite subscription box. This is my third month and it gets better with every month.
Boxycharm subscription is $21.00 per month and you will get so much for your buck!
You can get your own Boxycharm subscription here.

My September box looked like this.



This month's theme was Fashion Week, of course. 

And here are the goodies at first glance after opening the box. 



I definitely liked what I saw.  

The first item was Tarte LipSurgence lip gloss ($19.00) full size in Blushing Bride shade
I have been on a lipstick and lip gloss kick lately so I never have enough. This shade is really natural and perfect for everyday wear. It's very shiny too and a tad sticky for my taste but that's what you get with all shiny glosses I would imagine. The box also included a coupon for 20% of at Tarte.com I might use it as I really like this brand. 




Next, there is a brand I discovered in last month's box- Tarina Tarantino. I loved the lipstick I received last month and I was really happy to see yet another product from this brand. Tarina Tarantino Fleur de Lash Mascara ($19.00) I could not find a link to the exact one I received, but this one is similar. I absolutely love getting mascaras. It's one of the beauty items I don't go without. I like trying and discovering new mascaras.  I tried this one already and it works nice. It's more for every day use, nothing too dramatic. 




Coastal Scents Go Palette ($8.95) I found the price on Amazon that is a little cheaper than the price listed in the little postcard that came with the box. My daughter actually took my palette away right away before I could even try, but i intend on taking it back. The colors are nice and most of them seem neutral and something I could wear. I'm not sure about the turquoise shade, but I'm sure my daughter will have  a lot of fun with it. 





Another item I really love getting is nail polish. I probably have enough by now . NCLA Nail Laquer in Catwalk Queen($16.00). I would probably never spend more than $10.00 on a bottle of nail polish and that even seems too much to be most of the times. I try to stick with nail polishes half that price since I get bored with the colors pretty easily and they go bad if unused too. The Catwalk Queen shade is something I would probably never pick for myself but I tried painting one finger and it's kind of growing on me. 





Last item is Hello by Harvey Prince ($26.00 for 8.8 ml, my sample was 10 ml). This is totally my type of scent. It's not too overpowering, it's light and sexy. Definitely something I would buy in a bigger size. 







Once again, this was a great box. There was nothing I disliked. The total value of the box is $88.95
This is a great value for the $21.00 paid for the box. Another successful Boxycharm box!  

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Birchbox August 2014

This is my second months with Birchbox. For $10.00 you get  a box of four to five carefully selected samples of makeup, or other beauty related products on a monthly basis. These products include skincare items, perfumes, organic based products and various other high-end cosmetics.

My box this month looked  had the following samples:

It gave my lips very nice and natural red tint. I really liked it and may be buying the fulls size. 


I feel like my hair is where I put least of my attention and I'm trying to change it. I was excited to try this product. I will be testing it this week. 


I love getting skin care products and this sample is  big enough for me to test it for a week or so. It has really great reviews and great ingredients. 



BB creams are great for summer and I like getting them for testing. The shade of this one was perfect for my skin even though I was a little worried it would be too dark at first. I put it on today for the first time and I'll see how well it wears.  


When I saw the wipes in my box I started laughing. I recently had a lot of unpleasant experiences with my 10-year-old daughter's stinky feet. She likes to wear shoes without socks in the summer and it's never a good idea. She also plays a lot of sports and remains active and these wipes are great to have in your purse. In fact, when my daughter saw them, she stole them from me right away. 

The total value of this months box was $18.89, which is not too bad for the $10.00 spent on it. I was happy to try some new products. I liked all of the items in the box and I did not really dislike any of them. 



Saturday, August 30, 2014

Boxycharm August 2014

This is my second month with Boxycharm and I like getting great quality makeup from them.
This month's box was really great. Similarly to Glossybox, Boxycharm subscription is $21.00 per month and so far it has been totally worth it for me. You can get your own Boxycharm subscription here.

My August box looked like this.






I love, love, love this box. 

One of the items I was really excited for was the Morphe Powder Brush ($19.00)
I have been looking for a good makeup brush but wasn't sure which one to get so this box solved my problem. The brush is so soft and it's perfect for my Stila Finishing Powder. I have been using it every day and I absolutely love it. 


Tarina Tarantino Lip Sheen ($22.00) I have never used much lipstick but this summer I have been experimenting with various colors. This Tarina Tarantino lipstick looks so luxurious! The packaging itself was very fancy and the lipstick packaging is quite. The color I got was Showroom, which was not what I would have picked for myself, but I'm going to keep it because I like how natural it looks on me. Overall I really like this product and I'm happy I got to try it as I would have never bought it for myself 



Model Co Cheek and Lip tint full size ($22.00)
This is a nice, versatile product. I used it on my lips and it made them look naturally red and I really liked it. I am curious how it works for cheeks. I'll try that next time. 


I was really excited to see the Enter Pronoun Bronzer ($35.00) in the box. I'm running out of my bronzer, so the timing for a new one was perfect. At first I thought that the shade was going to be to dark, but it was actually really nice. 





Last item was the Ofra Lipliner ($13.00)  in a shade called Silk. I do not use lip liners much, so it will be passed on to someone else. 



This was a really great box. I liked everything a lot, except the lip liner. The total value of the box $98.00
I paid only $21.00, so I feel like I hit a jackpot with this one. 




GlossyBox August 2014


I just got back from vacation and I was very happy to see the Glossybox delivery at my door. I have been subscribing to the box for several box and it's one of my favorite boxes.  The Glossybox subscription is $21.00 if you do the month-to-month option. You can save some money if you choose to prepay for 6 months or a year.  You can get your own box here.

Here is my box for August  2014.






Kryolan Highlighter. 4.5g ($18.95)
It's very creamy and feels nice on your skin. It leaves really nice and discreet gloss on your skin and is not too sparkly or overwhelmingly shiny. I really like it and will be using it this summer a lot. Too bad summer is coming to an end. 


Sparitual nail polish 15 ml - full size ($12.00)
I never have enough of nail polish and I love fun summer colors. I received a very nice pink, which was almost neon pink in real life. I will definitely be using this until fall comes. I took a picture of my nail polish at work. 




Eyeko eyeliner Mini size. I could not find how big the full size is, but I think the mini is about half of the full size. ($8.00)
As I don't use eyeliners much, I will be shipping this one to my sister in Europe. She likes eyeliners and will be happy to receive this one. 


Uberliss Hydrating Shampoo  2 oz ($4.00) 
I used it today. It does not create a lot of lather, which was a little hard to wash my longer hair and I had to use a lot of it, but it's supposed to be all natural and I will see how my hair feel when it dries. 


Also used it today and it was a little more efficient than the shampoo. Looking forward to seeing the results later today. 

Eslor Day Firming Cream 10 ml ($17.00) 
I tried it today and it feels really nice on my skin. I will use it every day this week to see what effects I get. The scent I was not very crazy about. It smells kind of like old fashioned creams from years ago. I remember some cheap creams my mom used to buy that smelled similarly. 

I thought this box was nice. My favorites were the nailpolish and the highliter. I paid $21.00 for the box and got $64.35 worth of products. No the best value I have seen, but it's still good. 

Have you gotten the August box? What do you think? Click here if you want to get your Glossybox subscription.