september 2012's "the september issue" birchbox!

This is posted so late because I wasn't enthralled by it and because of that, I wasn't too excited to post about it.  Also, there was some annoyance with Birchbox because the shipping notices were sent out to subscribers but it was not actually shipped until later in the week.  Anyway, without further ado, my September's birchbox.

• 21 drops focus aromatherapy blend
• Color Club Birchbox Custom polish in Status Update
• Nexxus Pro-Mend Split End Treatment system
• twistband Birchbox Custom Lace Hair tie
• Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator

      Lifestyle Extras

• Mighty Leaf Tea Company Teas
• Birchbox Digital Download Tristan Prettyman

From this box, I LOVED the Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator!  I loved the way it made my face feel smooth & soft and I felt it scrub away the impurities from my face!  It may be too harsh to use as a daily cleanser, I will probably use it once every three days or so.  The smell of it is light, fresh and clean, this is definitely one of my favorite products that I've received in a birchbox.  Also, love the lifestyle extra of tea!  I drink a lot of tea and it's always cool to try different types out!  Flavors included Green Tea Tropical, Vanilla Bean and Chamomile Citrus.

Thumbs down to:

•  the Color Club polish in Status Update.  I am familiar with Color Club and their polishes usually last a week or so on my nails but this formula chipped within 2 days!  The color in the bottle looks like a slate grey but it went on my nails in more of a black color.
• Nexxus Split end Treatment included the shampoo, conditioner and leave-in treatment creme.  I received these foil packets for FREE from Costco like 3 months ago.  I don't think I should have to pay for a service for an item that 1) I received free! 2) foil packed and 3) a brand that is readily available in drugstores.
• Twistbands again?  I received one of these hair ties in my Gossip Girl Edition Birchbox back in May.  At first, I really liked it because it is not supposed to leave that gross dent in your hair when you use it like most hair ribbons do but after using it, I did not like it because it barely held my hair up and it frilled when I wore it on my wrist for a few weeks.  Also, the design in this lace is kinda cheesy. 

I could take or leave it:

• I love the scent of 21 drops aromatherapy (Blended with essential oils of rosemary, peppermint oil and frankincense) but I didn't feel it lasted for a long time.  I don't think I'd replace my current aromatherapy stress relief spray from Bath and Body Works in eucalyptus mint.

Overall, I thought this Birchbox was just okay.  I am glad that there was cool things to try in it.  What did you get in your monthly box?

Cravebox "Summer Beauty" Limited Edition box

Another Cravebox Limited Edition box is coming my way!  I got "in" another drawing for the "Summer Beauty" box ($11). 

Cravebox "Dog Lover" Limited Edition box

I have recently stumbled upon another interesting subscription box with lifestyle items, Cravebox.  I have watched some youtube videos and joined the waitlist.  I noticed there are limited edition boxes like the "Summer Beauty," "Back to School," and I put my name in for the drawing of Dog Lover's ($10) for Truffles.  I got "in" for this box and Truffles was SO excited when it arrived!

• Pet Bowl Mat
• Pork Chomps Rawhide Bacon flavor 2.4 oz
•  Pork Chomps Rawhide Peanut Butter flavor 2.82 oz
• 6" Buffalo Stix
• Fido's Cookies
• Fresh Breath Clean Teeth gel 2 oz
• Merrick's Grain Free Real Chicken and Sweet Potato Recipe 3 oz
•  Merrick's Grain Free Real Duck and Sweet Potato Recipe 3 oz
• Merrick's Grain Free Grammy's Pot Pie 13.2
•  Merrick's "What Dogs Beg For" ascot
• Coupons and pamphlets with more info on featured products

Check out the future limited boxes here! Limited Edition Craveboxes

• Coffee Lovers
• Little Ones
• New Moms
• Beautiful By You (art/jewelery)
• Fall
• Winter

UnREAL Candy

BzzAgent has offered me a campaign for UNREAL candy! Super exciting!  I have seen this new type of chocolate in drugstores like CVS and RiteAid.  What makes this "Unreal"?  Well, it promotes a more healthy choice (since chocolate is personally MY achilles heel) without ingredients that are unhealthy!  NO CORN SYRUP, NO PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OILS, NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS, NO GMOs, NO PRESERVATIVES AND A LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX in comparison to other similar choices.  It is available in 5 different flavors; chocolate candy shell with peanuts, chocolate candy shell, chocolate caramel nougat, chocolate caramel peanut nougat and chocolate peanut butter.  I received a few coupons from BzzAgent for (1) free Unreal item and (5) Buy One Get One Free to share! 

People StyleWatch Summer Tote Giveaway!

I won this tote filled with summer must-haves from June's People StyleWatch magazine!  THANK YOU! ;]

• Casca beach tote
• Kiss Nail Dress Bodysuit
• Stila Stay all Day Waterproof Mascara Black
• Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion 1 oz
• Aveeno Nourish & Moisture conditioner 1.7 oz 
• Aveeno shampoo and conditioner packets 0.3 oz

Review of Aveeno Shampoo and Conditioner Living Color packets for medium/thick hair
I love Aveeno products and I like this product.  I used it after the gym and it made my hair feel clean.  I really like the smell of this.  Since I've recently dyed my hair, it was feeling rather rough & dry but this shampoo/conditioner made my hair soft again!  Overall, I think I'll be looking into future Aveeno shampoos & conditioners.

Review of Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion
To me, this lotion does not have any scent but I literally felt my skin "drink" up this lotion on my legs leaving my skin feeling silky soft!  I definitely will keep this item in my bag, it's the perfect size and effective.


More reviews coming soon!

Mail Call!

Samples - Week of 8/20

Caldrea hand soap - Sea Salt Neroli, Lavender Pine, Ginger Pomelo, Palmarosa Wild Mint, Mandarin Vetiver, Basil Blue Sage

Per-fekt - lash perfection gel flash (.01 fl oz), lip perfection gel Melrose, skin perfecting gel Radiant (.002 oz)

Sabon - foot cream 1.05 fl oz  
I'm loving this foot cream! Based on natural ingredients, it has a light scent (perhaps slightly similar to eucalyptus) and leaves my feet feeling SUPER moisturized and soft. 

Meaningful Beauty Cindy Crawford - Lifting eye cream  .5 fl oz

Sircle Samples August

• Apothederm - Stretch mark cream .7 oz
• Elf - shimmer lip gloss in pink princess
• NYX - lip gloss in real nude

Sircle Samples is a website that allows you to earn virtual currency (Oc) to "buy" samples and items in the sample shop.  You can earn these coins by taking a daily survey, referring friends, reviewing products and the samples you receive from their service.  It's pretty cool, in my opinion but I have only joined recently... so hopefully there will be a lot more to come ;]
reviews and pics to come!

August 2012 Birchbox

"Beauty School" theme

This month, Birchbox is supporting Pencils of Promise, an organization that will build schools in Central America. With a 15% donation from our purchases on Birchbox, it will take $25,000 to build a school.

• Beauty Fixation: Cuticle conditioner Full size (Valued $5)
• Juicy Couture: Viva la Juicy La Fleur 0.05 fl oz (Valued $1.40)
• Stila Stay All Day BB, foundation, concealer card sample n/a
• Wei Golden Root Purifying mask 8 mL (Valued $5.25)
• Wei Pomegranate buffing beads x2 0.02 oz (Valued $2)
• Schick Hydro Silk razor (Valued $10)

Total value: $23.65 - Graded B-

Thoughts: Overall, I will be using majority of these products in my box this month (which never happens).  I did not think it completely suited my needs/likes.  I guess the profile doesn't really reflect the items in your box.  I don't normally shave (I wax 9.5/10) but its always good to have razors, especially since they're pricey.  I HATE card samples!! So the Stila BB, foundation, concealer card is useless to me.  There isn't even enough product for me to use for an application. I love that the Juicy perfume is a spray top  samples since the bottle stopper wand is always tricky.  I'm definitely excited to try out the Wei products and the cuticle conditioner. 

 Review: Juicy Couture: Viva la Juicy La Fleur 0.05 fl oz (Valued $1.40)

At first glance of my box, I was didn't think I'd like this scent since I do not prefer any of the other juicy perfumes.  Surprisingly however, it doesn't smell overwhelmingly like floral.  The scent is fun and fruity with a hint of floral; mandarin, wild berries, dewy honeysuckle and soft jasmine.

Further review of the products/pics to come!