Birchbox June 2015

What's in

the box?

This is probably the grandfather of all subscription boxes - and it is still one of my favorites mainly because of their point system.  Sure, you can pay $10 for other subs - but do they give you points back to spend in an awesome store?  No?  Birchbox does that!  Save those points up and go shopping!  And you not only get points for just reviewing your items in your box but you get them on purchases in the store and getting your sub box every month.  

Every month at Birchbox has a theme and their boxes are like little works of Art.  July's theme was GO BOLD!

Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick in Venezia -  This was my sample choice for the month!  I chose the coral shade since I am red headed and very light skinned.  This is very bright but I can make it work - it takes just a dab of color.  And it does last too! 

dr Brandt Microdermabrasion skin exfoliant  -   (.25 oz - full size $78 for 2 oz)  If you read my blog at all, you know I sell Perfectly Posh and love their products.  This contains so many parabens it is pretty ridiculous.  I have a great microdermabrasion cleanser called Shine Bright Like a Diamond - which is $19 for 2 oz. 

Oribe Dry Texturing Spray -  ($5) This smells really good.  I will give this a try but do not think I will be purchasing the full size for $48. 

Benefit They're Real - ($8)  This is one of my favorite mascaras.  I love it. They came out with a few more shades too so you can get this in brown now.  And I actually prefer the little wands because you can control where they go better - my favorite mascara right now is Make Up For Ever's Smoky Extravagant.  I get a ton of compliments on my eyes when I wear it.

Coola Classic Suncreen Cucumber Moisturizer -   Coola is one of those products that everyone has been getting in every box for awhile.  If you subscribe at all, you get this one in every box at one point.  It is not a bad product to get, it has just been over subbed.  I like a face sunscreen that has moisturizer in it, so I will use this one. 

I like it when I get two makeup products in a box - that rarely happens with Birchbox, so this was a great month for me.  I will be adding the Dr Brandt to my swap site on Pinterest.   But having just one miss in a box is great for Birchbox.

 What did you get in Birchbox this month?  Any holy grail products out there?

My Sephora Mother's Day Haul!

What was in the 

little black bag?

My sweet husband took me to Sephora to pick out a few Mother's day gifts the other day.

Sephora had the neatest little Benefit and Beauty Blender set that I have been eyeing for a 

few weeks.  I also had a palette on my list.  There were so many choices but I think I picked the best one for me.

Tarte has a palette called Poppy Picnic that has several eye shadows and a blush.  The outside of this is just beautiful.  It is a gold, fuchsia, and poppy color.  

Inside the palette are 6 eye shadows surrounding a very pretty blush.  These are shades I wear all the time so this will be used quite frequently.

 The three eye shadows on this side are summer breeze, sweet tea, and ice cream cone.  The blush is glisten.

On the right side is barefoot in the grass, peach poppy, and picnic basket. 

Beauty Blender and Benefit teamed up and came up with 2 beauty blenders, a benetint, and Pore-Fessional.

It is almost time to throw out my old beauty blender so this was a perfect little set for me.  I love Pore-fessional and use them up very fast.  I love benetint too!  

I love my choices for this Mother's Day Sephora haul!  Benefit and Tarte are two my favorite lines.  

Happy Saturday!

Ban Do is a fun little website I found on Instagram.  They offer a grab bag once every so often for $30.  This fun bag included a cute little clutch bag and a pair of headphones.  It also had fun headbands, hair pins, and candy!  They even included confetti to celebrate. 

Viv & Lou is a bag company similar to Thirty-One and they were having a sale on some of their bags.   The bag is the Pink Maddie Ultimate Tote and is $24.95 right now.  You can get it personalized for free. 

I did some shopping in Ulta today and picked up a few fun things.  I am almost out of my favorite too Faced Melted lip gloss, Melted Chihuahua.  These are $21 a piece and I really like this shade.  

I also bought Benefit's Puff Off.  I tried it a few weeks ago and really liked what it did for my eyes.  I do not, however, like the price tag.   Benefit likes to put a $30 price tag on all their stuff and I think that is over priced - especially for the size of this item.  I will likely not buy this one again. 

I was also out of hair leave-in conditioners so I bought Proganix Curls set.  I have received a few of these products in my subscription boxes over the last year and have really liked them. 

TJ Maxx was our last stop and I bought a top for my New Kids concert.  I also found a whale dish for my jewelry and a Flash t-shirt for my son.  It was a lovely day today and we ended it steaks on the grill at my sister's house.

My Valentine's Day Weekend!

I had a wonderful Valentines day this year!  I got these beautiful roses from my husband and some nice chocolates. 

We stayed at the Best Western and got the King bed suite with Jacuzzi bathtub.  It was very romantic.

The bathroom was fantastic!  I loved the heart shaped Jacuzzi tub.  And the shower had those sprayers that spray all over your body!  I am so glad we upgraded to the better room.  It was well worth the price. 

This hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub as well as a water park with giant slide. 

The Sweetheart package also included dinner and breakfast at Hour Time, the restaurant adjoining the hotel.  I got the sirloin and my honey got the salmon.

My honey knows me so well - we went to Sephora after the hotel to pick up some goodies.   I was almost out of Benefit Pore-fessional and I got the Benefit Roller Lash sample and BareMinerals sample.

I did take him to Menard's so he could pick out his Valentine's gift too! 

This is probably one of the best Valentine's day get-aways we have ever had.  I loved it!  What did you do on Valentine's Day?

Benefit Sale!

What did I get on sale?

Benefit was doing an online sale and I have been eyeing a few things on their site for awhile - great time to pick up 2 that were on sale!

With your order, you can choose two samples.  I selected Total Moisture face cream and Instant Comeback Age-Defying Booster Serum. 

HighFlyin' Glosses was on sale for $26 and sold out with this sale.  It has all 6 of their little glosses.  Almost all of the glosses have a matching blush which is really fun! Another great thing about their glosses is that they smell great too!  I hate glosses that stink

Sugarbomb - (full size $16)  This is probably my favorite of the Benefit glosses.  It is so pretty on and tastes yummy!  This is also comes in a blush that I want to get next! 

Hoola -    (full size $16)  This is a shimmering golden nude.  There is also a bronzing powder   for this that is a best seller.  

Dandelion -  (full size $16)  They describe this as a soft pearly pink.  This is so pretty and also comes in a blush shade as well.  A dupe for this blush is L'Oreal True Match in Baby Blossom.  

Bella Bamba -   (full size $16)  This one is described as sheer bright watermelon! Love that! This comes in a very pretty blush too. A dupe for the blush is NYX's Apricot. 

Coralista - (full size $16)  This is the other one that I had tried before I bought it - described as a sheer coral - and so pretty on.  This might be the one that has the prettiest blush. 

Dallas - (full size $16)  The website described this one as dusty rose.   This also comes in a pretty blush!  A good dupe for the blush is Max Factor Mulberry.

Cabana Glama - your destination makeup kit - ($36) I got this on sale for $18.  

This kit includes the Posie Tint, the Hoola bronzing powder with brush, some kind of gorgeous- medium foundation, and an eye shadow pallet with brush.   The foundation is not too dark either, which I was worried about since I am very light skinned. 

I like that once you use this all up, it is a cute little keepsake box.  I cannot wait to keep little treasures in this.

Birchbox for February

Birchbox announced a few Birchbox bonus buys for February and a few fun deals to add to your box next month.

and these kits/collections:

The Liptastic Collection $24

Limited Edition: Home Sweet Homespun  $29

I did not see anything I could not live without so I did not choose one this month.

They have not released what the choice products will be yet.  I have been having some really good boxes though when I do not select a choice; so unless it is something I have really been wanting to try, I will probably keep letting Birchbox pick my samples.

I am waiting on Ipsy and Birchbox still - something weird must have happened to the mail this last week.  I have never had them ship this late to me.  I am also waiting for Loot Crate and Wantable Intimates.

Benefit was having a sale the other day and I picked up these two for a good deal: Cabana Glama and High Flyin' Glosses.  I have wanted all the Benefit glosses for awhile.

I have been searching for the new Milani blushes all over but still have not managed to find them.  They are so pretty.

What are you looking for this week?  Any good deals in makeup?  Let me know below! 

Best of 2014 Makeup!

Year in Review! 

Best of 2014 Makeup!

It has been a great year for makeup - I have found great products and some really great keepers!  

Moisturizer -   Moisture 911 from Perfectly Posh - ($16)  I always start my makeup regime with a moisturizer.  I have a very dry t-zone so if I do not moisturize, my face gets so dry.  I love Perfectly Posh's Moisture 911.  It smells awesome and moisturizes so well. 

Primer - The Porefessional from Benefit - ($30)  I have gone back and forth between different primers and this one is my absolute favorite.  It has great coverage, is smooth, and has staying power.  

BB Cream -   Dream Fresh by Maybelline - ($9)  Sometimes I just use a BB cream for light coverage when I am not going to work or out.  This one is very nice and reasonable.  

Foundation -   Dream Liquid Mousse foundation by Maybelline - ($10)  I really love this foundation - it is reasonable and smooth.  So pretty on! 

Setting Spray -  Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray - ($30)  I have tried several setting sprays and this is the one I keep coming back to.  They do have smaller sizes that are cheaper.  

Correcting Powder -   Jane Tone Correcting Powder - ($12)  I like this correcting powder but the ELF dupe is also a good one at a great price.  

Blush -  Mac Prism blush - ($22)  The MAC blushes are so beautiful.  I love the natural glow you get with the Prism blush.  

Eye shadow primer - Urban Decay primer - ($24)  I have sampled a bunch of different eye shadow primers and this one is my favorite.  It does not crease and helps make your eye shadow last all day.  They do have several sizes of these too so you do not have to put out the big bucks until you have tried for yourself.

Eye Shadow palette -  Urban Decay Basics 2 ($29) and NYX Love in Paris ($10) These are the two I go to on a daily basis but I love palettes and have a few right now that I switch between

Lip Liner - NYX lip liner pencil in Mauve - ($4)  These are great for the price!  You can buy up in several shades with this price point.  

Lipstick -  Rimmel Kate Moss in 08 - ($5)  This is a lovely shade of lipstick and my go-to.  It smells fantastic too! 

(beautymadnessforever.blogspot.com)

Lip Gloss -   tarte Lipsurgence in Exposed - ($19)  I also love a ton of lip glosses since it is probably my favorite makeup product next to eye shadow palettes.  I really like the tarte glosses.  

Mascara -   Make Up For Ever ($24)  I got this for my birthday from Sephora last year and I adore it!  It is my go-to mascara right now and need to buy a full size tube.  I also like Benefit's They're Real and L'oreal Miss Manga.   

So these are my stars of 2014!  What are your favorites from this past year?