Birchbox March 2013

I know what you're saying - "Homey, I thought you unsubscribed to Birchbox." And I did... but then I saw that they were offering a great box for April and I wanted it - so I signed up for the April box. Or so I thought. 

You see, homegirl's timing is never very good, and so instead of signing up in enough time for April, it turns out I made the March cutoff as well. Uh... yay?

March's them is March Madness. I know. Not very original. Here's what I got this month:

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream: This is supposed to improve skin tone. Will it? I doubt it. However, I love Juice Beauty products and will continue to use it until it's empty. Who knows? I might just end up looking like a million bucks. (Hey! A girl can dream, can't she?)
Retail price: $39 for 1.7 oz.

Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Color-Saver Sulfate-Free Shampoo: Here we go again: a shampoo without the accompanying conditioner - which you know is this girl's big complaint. I won't know how well a product works if I can't use it with its partner. However, this product does not contain alcohol, so I will use it on my color-treated hair to see how it does. 
Retail price: $22 for 8 fl. oz.

Stella Cadente Miss Me Discrete? Eau de Toilette: Oh boy, was I excited to see a fragrance sample in my box - it was the first thing I opened up. Imagine my displeasure when I found the fragrance sample to be EMPTY! What? No good stuff? Birchbox punked me! 
Retail price: $49 for 30 ml

Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator: This is an exfoliating cleanser, and it smells pretty darn good. It contains papaya enzymes to brighten up dull skin. While not an exciting product, I do enjoy trying to new cleansers, so this is a win in my book.
Retail price: $34 for 4.23 oz.

Beauty Extra: Emery Board by Madewell - Kind of cute - but I don't use these little papery kinds of emery boards. This is one area in which I'm faithful - I always buy Revlon Emeryl Files - I don't stray. However, I knew a French girl who swore by the kind of emery boards this Madewell board is made from - she said any other kind was harsh on nails. Maybe so... but I love my Revlon Emeryl File!
Retail price: $5.00

Nitpicks: I was actually a little angry when I discovered my fragrance sample was empty. I wrote Birchbox, and they had no samples left to send me - so they credited my account with 100 points. That was really nice - and it's one thing I've always said about Birchbox: they have great customer service. 

Lasting Impression: The customer service, of course! The items in the box were not that exciting - but the nice email I received from BB's customer service rep put a smile on my face.

Ipsy March 2013

This particular Ipsy bag might not have been my favorite so far - however, that is not to say that it wasn't good. It simply didn't excite me as much as the others - yet.... it still gave me a case of the happies.

The theme was Great Escape - and it was filled with travel sized products to take on a trip to... somewhere. Here is what was inside my jaunty sailor print make-up bag:

LA Fresh - Travel Lite Makeup Remover Wipes: I love these makeup remover wipes - I visit my dad at least once a month, and they're great to take along with me. They fit in my make-up bag, and do a fabulous job of removing all the make-up I have left on my face after a good night's sleep. 
Retail price: 1.99 for 8 wipes

Juice Beauty - Hydrating Mist: I absolutely love Juice Beauty products. That said, although I was excited to try this, it's not really my thing. I don't spray this type of thing on my face - if I did, my makeup would drip and make me look like I was in a zombie movie. However, I discovered something kind of cool - it is a great little thing to have at hand when I'm having a hot flash. I sprayed some of this on the back of my neck when I was mid-flash, and it helped to cool me off.
Retail price: $22 for 6.75 oz.

GlamRx Mini Freestyle Palette: I gotta admit, this was the least exciting thing in the bag for me - and yet, it is a much loved product by others. I wasn't sure what its purpose was - after investigating (i.e. using Google), I discovered it is a container to put eye shadows, bronzer, etc. in. This was an Ipsy exclusive, so it can't be bought (although apparently Zpallete is similar).

Yaby - Eyeshadow Refill in Seashell & Azalea Petal: I have TWO items to put inside my GlamRx Palette. These colors are nice - although very similar to the Coastal Scent eyeshadow colors I received last month.
Retail price: $3.99 for 3 grams (sample received is not full size - even though it might look like that in the picture)

Nitpicks: First, once again I did not receive tracking information. I emailed Ipsy, and to their credit, they got back to me within 24 hours with a tracking notice. The bag itself is kind of blah - but then again, I sincerely doubt I will keep any of these makeup bags. I usually put them in my donation bag every month. Still, the bag itself went along with the theme (somewhat), and it didn't smell bad like last month's bag did.

Lasting impression: Blerg. This bag wasn't exciting - but I guess they all won't be. However, I was impressed with customer service, and I look forward to next month's bag.

Goodebox September 2012

I admit - Goodebox is one of the more expensive subscription sample boxes out there, and sometimes (only sometimes) I am not convinced that I got my money's worth. However, I can't say enough good things about the September Goodebox - it really gave me the happies!

It was curated by Greta Egan of Fashion Me Green. Admittedly, I hadn't heard of her before this box - however, she definitely picked out some gems. The theme of the box was Fashion Week Staples, and I guess I can see how these products fit into that category.

Here's what was inside:

1) Erbvia Lemon Sage Organic Deodorant (1 fl oz) - This stuff smells great! I have to admit, I probably wouldn't wear this during the day, but I will wear it at night. My friend Hot Flashes likes to mess up my clean mojo while I'm sleeping, so I often apply deodorant right before I hit the sack.
Retail price: $18.00 for 3.4 fl. oz (100 ml)

2) Bamford Body Geranium Body Lotion (1.7 fl oz) - I don't know what's going on with me - other than the change. Lately I've been having mixed results with lotions causing breakouts. This one did not - and smells HEAVENLY. I am in love with it. However, since it retails for $40, this will be the only Bamford lotion that will hit my body - once it's gone, it's gone forever!
Retail price: $40 for 8.5 fl. oz.

3) Juice Beauty Green Apple SPF 15 Moisturizer (.5 fl oz) - I love Juice Beauty products, and am SO happy to get a chance to try their SPF 15 moisturizer. I haven't been disappointed in a Juice Beauty product yet!
Retail price:  $38 for 1.7 oz.

4) Zosimos Botanicals Lip Gloss in Mulberry (.14 oz) - This color is a VERY dark purple, and I didn't think it would look good on me - but surprise, surprise it does! And that's the reason you do not see it in the photo - it's in my purse!
Retail price: $16 for full size, or a mini for $3.00

5) La Bella Figure Beauty Organic Barbary Fig Seed Oil: This product promises to "brighten and illuminate with a lovely floral scent." This stuff is uber expensive, so I will probably never actually ever buy it. Don't get me wrong, though - homey will use every last drop in this precious sample!
Retail price: $125 for 1.0 oz.

6) Go! Towel - 1 poker-chip sized 100% Bamboo "Pop-Up" towel - I've seen these around, and thought it was kind of a cool thing to get in the box. I caught myself "saving" it - but now I don't know for what. Maybe I'll just break down and use it for something... look out, piles of cat vomit, here I come! Supposedly these things are reusable... if I ever break it out, I'll let you know how true that statement is!
Retail price: $14.95 for a pack of 10

7) Hess Natur $25 Eco-Fashion Gift Certificate to Hess Natur: The items on the website are fairly expensive, but they do have a fairly decent sales section. I haven't used my certificate yet - but I have until December to do so!

Nitpicks: The curator, Greta Egan, obviously is not in touch with the type of consumer that purchases these types of sample boxes. Most of us are of moderate income, and can't afford high luxury items. This item was full of very expensive products - the type that would be a stretch on most subscribers' incomes. So while these products are nice to try, I'm not sure it's very realistic to expect subscribers to run out and purchase them. 

Lasting impression: Once again Goodebox delivered a box chock-full of new-to-me products. I am constantly amazed at how many new things I am able to try through Goodebox - many of the products I've never even heard of before.

Do you want to learn more about Goodebox? Per their site, they provide trial sized healthy, eco-sensitive, innovative & effective beauty and personal care products, along with occasional samples of natural & organic health and wellness products. Cost is $16 a month - try it - I do not think you'll be disappointed!

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