Lip Love Subscription by So Susan JUNE 2015

What's in

the bag? 

One of the international sub boxes I subscribe to is from the makeup company So Susan from England - they have a bag that is called Lip Love that is $15.99 a month and has such fun goodies in it!  This month is the I love Tea Time Bag.

Like Ipsy, every month has a bag in it.  And these always have a nice quote - this month's:

"Worrying is worthless.  Drink your tea slowly and reverently, without rushing toward the future... Live the actual moment. by Thich Nhat Hanh

There is always a card listing all of the goodies in the bag and their value.  They are always dead on on the prices - they do not inflate them to make you think you are getting a real deal.

I love the fun quotes and artwork they add to every bag.

Paradaise Pigments in Cake Pop by Jelly Pong Pong -   ($20)  This is the cutest lip stain dish - love the ice cream sundaes on it.  It is a bright coral color and you can use it on cheeks and lips. This also comes in Fig Jam, which is the hot pink version.

 So Susan Lip Dome in Black Current -  ($12)  I love the shade of this - it is a very nice burgundy.   It is also a lip plumping hybrid lip stain and lip balm. I might have to get a few more of the colors.  I also like the melon one.

Bare Necessities by Jelly Pong Pong - ($18) This does so much for one little pencil!  It is a highlighter, eye shadow base, waterliner, and concealer in one.  I have been looking for a good waterliner and I think I found it!  This is so soft too - did not hurt my eyes to apply it.

S Susan Cashmere Blush -   ($16) This is listed as a bonus item and am I glad they threw it in the bag!  I love blush!  This one is so pretty! Of course, I love the packaging!

Infinity Earrings -   ($10)  This is another bonus item - every bag contains an extra accessory item like this.  I love these - they are such a pretty pink color.

This is my favorite bag so far from So Susan - and the past bags have been very good!  I can use every item in this bag and I love them all.  The value of this bag was $76.  This is well worth the price to sub and it helps you find some really good products - these are all cruelty free and parabens free. 

TheBalm from Hautelook sale!

TheBalm

Hautelook is a division of Nordstrom that does sales on products that last just a few days.  They are usually pretty good sales, sometimes as much as 50-60% off.  Kohls sells this brand if you are looking for it in your mall.  

 There were several items from this line that were on my most wanted list - the How 'Bout Them Apples has been high on the list since I got a sample of it with my Birchbox store purchase.  

How 'Bout Them Apples? - ($32 - on sale $16)  This lip and cheek cream palette is very cute and I love the packaging!  I think Pie is my favorite shade.  Love that you can use for more than one thing too.  This is really large too - so a good amount of product. 

Cindy-Lou Manizer - ($24 - on sale for $12)  This is another product I have been wanting to try since I saw it in Birchbox reviews.  So pretty and love it on!  

Nude Tude palette - ($36 - on sale for $18) I love collecting palettes and the packaging on this one is lovely!  Love the names of the colors - all start with S.  There is a mix of matte and shimmer too, but it does lean more heavily on shimmer shades.  Love the little brush and mirror that is included too - I really prefer palettes to have their own mirror at least.

Give Crease a Chance -  ($26.50 - on sale for $13)  I fell in love with double-ended makeup brushes after I got my first one in my Ipsy bag.  So when I saw the two cute ones TheBalm had, I snatched them up too.  I would never buy these at full price so I was very happy they were in the sale.

 Crease, Love, and Happiness Brush - ($24.50 - on sale for $12)  According to the website, "The larger end defines your crease and applies eye shadow, while the small end provides a soft, natural lining to your lower lashes."

 If I had bought this retail, I would have spent $143.  I got these on sale for $71 plus tax and shipping.  You can also get Hautelook as an app on your phone and they will send you e-mails to let you know what sales are coming soon.  

Birchbox January 2015

What's in

the box?

Birchbox finally arrived after the longest wait ever!  It ships for $10 a month and you can earn money back to spend in their store by reviewing and purchasing items.

The theme this month was Let's Do This.  The Video for this month said to keep all the boxes for ideas on what to do with them.  

First Look:

Harvey Prince Sincerely -    I usually like the Harvey Prince fragrances and this is no exception.  It is a very nice, subtle scent.  

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream -   ($18)  This is a great size sample and I was very happy with it.  I love getting eye creams in my boxes since I use them every night.

theBalm Stainiac -   (full size $17)  I was thrilled with this sample - I love theBalm brand and have seen this in other people's boxes.  A great lip product! 

Whish Three Whish Body Butter in lavendar - (~$4) I really do not like lavendar scent so this will get passed on to one of my sister's who loves it.  I think if I had gotten a different scent, I would have been fine with it.   I will have to try it in Almond or Lemongrass.  

No. 4 Non Aerosol Hair Spray -  ( ~$5)  I really like this brand and love the Prep Spray.   Now I have the hair spray too!  I like that it is non aerosol.  We need to discontinue using aerosols wherever we can.  

 Overall, I was very pleased with my box this month - there is only one thing that I will be passing on to someone else.  There was a nice value here as well - the eye cream alone was about twice the box.

The Birchbox Bonus buy this month was for an Every Girl Keep Not Settling bottle.  It was a great deal with the box.

Birchbox also included some free snacks and tea with my box this month.  So nice of them!

OOH I WANT ONE....

Monday Yearnings

There are a bunch of new makeup sets out there for the Holiday season!

The first collection is Sweet Dreams by Tarte.  They have brush sets, blush sets, and lip gloss sets.  This collection is very beautiful. 

This portable compact has blush, eye shadow, mascara, and mini glosses.

Too Faced has released a Holiday collection.  Bella Carousel, Melted Kisses, Everything Nice,  Under the Mistletoe are just a few of the new sets.  This collection might be my favorite for the packaging alone! 

Benefit has also released their Holiday collection that looks like a sweet shop - first up is a nice little blush box. 

The Sweet Shoppe is open for limited edition sets at Benefit.

 Candy Coated Countdown has a ton of my favorite sample size Benefit products.

Sweet Tintations has the tints and the balms. 

 Urban Decay has also put out their Holiday Collection - the colors are fantastic!  Edgier and more shades than any of the other collections.

Smashbox has a new holiday collection that is similar in tones to Urban Decay.  This is a very sophisticated set; think Audrey Hepburn.

Stila has also put together several holiday collection sets.  They have some very beautiful jewelry in these sets as well.  Sparkling Rose is my absolute favorite!  Beautiful rose bracelet!

There are some wonderful Holiday collections we will miss out on here in the States unless you can find a buyer overseas for you!  These two are from Japan and so fantastic I can barely stand it!

Here is a close-up of the Jill Stuart collection - love that blush!

Is there a collection I missed?  Fill me in the comments below!

Wantable Makeup Box September 2014

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

     Wantable is one of the more pricey subscription boxes but there are a lot of perks to it too that I think justify the $36 price tag.   There are 3 types of Wantable boxes:  Makeup, Intimates, and Accessories.

First of all, the entire box is refundable.  If you get it and dislike it, you can print off a return label and send all of it back for a full refund.  There is not an option to do this with any other box.   Secondly, their quiz is the most detailed I have seen and they follow it.  You can choose things to be on your love, like and dislike list.  You will never get any item on your dislike list and your products will be pulled from your love and like list.  And finally, you can go in to the website each month and choose to skip any of the three boxes.  If you really want some new accessories, leave that one unskipped and skip the other two.  It goes that way for all three boxes.  If you want to skip all three that month, you can do that too.  

This month I skipped Intimates and Accessories and chose to get a Makeup Box!  

I had a great box shipped to me!

First Look: 

This is my quiz results with Love, Like and Dislike. I have a lot of items in my dislike section because these are the items I receive a lot of from other subscription boxes that are not as easy to customize. 

 Vincent Longo Lipstain SPF 15 Lipstick in Fleur de Flirt -  This is the perfect shade for me and I love that this lipstick has sunscreen.  These lipstick retails for $23 on the website. Beautiful shade and love the texture.

Mirabella Blush Duo - This case is so pretty and I love these shades.  Another great pick by Wantable.  These retail for $30.

Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream Highlight Duo-   This is the prettiest eye shadow palette!  I love these shades and they match exactly to what I buy!  These are $19 on the website.  I am thrilled with this pick!

 Ofra Magic Roulette Concealer -  When I first saw this in the box, I thought it was an eye shadow palette.  I was happy to see it was a product to soften discolorations, cover blemishes and hide imperfections.  How pretty is this too? This concealer has a value of $29.95.  

The value on this box is $101.95 and I paid $36 for this subscription.  The value is really there on this Wantable and I was pleased with everything in my box.  The shades were perfect for me because they listened to the quiz I filled out beforehand.  

Did you get a Wantable box this month?  What were your favorites?