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!

IPSY January 2015

What's in 

the bag?

Ipsy is a monthly subscription bag that ships for $10.  It always includes a little makeup bag and 4-5 makeup, hair, or skin products.  It used to contain more makeup than anything but here lately it's been about half and half.  I count it a good bag for makeup when I get 3 makeup items.  

The theme this month is Fresh Start:

The bag was kind of plain this month - white on one side and blue on the other:

 Manna Kadar Sheer Glo -  (full size $29)  This is a highlighter to get a shimmery glow.  I am not thrilled with the ingredients here since it has parabens.  I will probably pass this on to my sister.  I looked on their website and it does not look like you can purchase this size tube unless it is in a package.

Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow - (~$5)  You cannot buy these as singles but as a part of a set.  I really like this and love the fact that these are natural products.  It is a shade I would have purchased for myself.

Malin + Goetz -Mojito lip balm -   ($8)  I have tried several items from this brand through Birchbox, and I have loved them.   They are also a natural based company who does not believe in putting chemicals in their products like parabens and sulfates.

Hikari Eye Liner in Storm -  ($13)  I rarely wear eye liner so I will pass this on to my sister but I like this brand.  

LA Fresh Eco-Beauty  Moisturizer -   ($13.99)  I really like the fact that this sample has a spout on it - much better than the normal foil packets that you use once and have to just toss because it does not stay in one place.  I love moisturizers and am excited to try a new one.

 There was a nice value in this month's bag but there are only about 3 of the items that I will be using.  I do like that there are 3 makeup products in it.  

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! 

Happy Saturday!

I walked all over the mall today looking for a wallet.  I saw some great Coach ones that were way over my price range and a Michael Kors one for $138.  SO, no luck!  I will probably be ordering from Thirty-One again.  They have a Perfect Cents wallet that is so handy with lots of card slots and space and it is only $28.  The pattern I am looking at is the Bubble Bloom.

I was also looking for a table for my makeup collection.  It has to be a slim table that will fit against a wall in my bedroom.  I might have to make a trip to IKEA to find just the right one.

I think this is just right size.  It is a MALM dressing table and it is has a nice drawer. 

Once I have the table, I will be looking for fun ways to organize on it for my makeup.  I like this look but do not know how much of my makeup collection it would actually hold.

I will probably get a few of these acrylic containers to hold lots of different sized makeup in.

I joined Boxycharm this month and am excited for the boxes they have been curating lately!  I missed December's box but it was a winner.  It included the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 palette. 

PopSugar MustHave January 2015

What's in

the box?

PopSugar Musthave is a monthly lifestyle subscription box that ships for $39.95 including shipping.  I joined this one with a good coupon in December and kept it because I really liked the types of items that come in it.  It is a mixture that is fun and I love the contents.  

Love the theme on each one! 

Jack + Lucy Pom Pom Hat -   ($32) These evidently match a pair of gloves people received in a musthave box last year but I was not subbing to this then.  It is still a great hat and super cute on.  This has a value that just about matches the box and I would have bought this hat so I feel the price was great on this one.

Skin Jewel Tatoos -  ($18) These are probably the only thing in the box I will not be using.  I do have a friend who loves concerts - so these will be going to her.  

KeepCup Brew -  ($26)  I love getting little cups like this in boxes!  This one is adorable and I will use it for lots of hot cocoa since I do not drink hot coffee. 

Nature Valley Protein - ($3.68)  I love granola!  I will be mixing this with my yogurt in the mornings for breakfast.

Manduka eQua hand towel -   ($16)  This is the neatest little towel.  Love the color and the feel of it!

ToGoSpa Eyes -   ($12.50)  These are for puffy under eyes and dark circles.  Love them!

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream - ($28)   I have wanted to try this brand for awhile and so I was happy to see a full size container of it in my box!  An all over moisturizer made without chemicals and fragrances. 

I am very happy I kept my subscription to this one after the initial discount to join it!  This box is almost as good as the December one was and it might actually have more items I will be using for myself!  The value was well over $130 and I paid $39.95.

Birchbox Fresh Start Limited Edition Box

What's in 

the box?

Birchbox put out another limited edition box a few weeks ago and this one looked really good so I used my points (I had $20)  and a discount code to take it from $42 to $13.60.  There are a lot of codes to try if you have never used them before - try COMEBACK20, WELCOMEOFFER20,  TAKE20OFF or MOBILE20.  This limited edition box is called Fresh Start.  The box for it is really pretty and I will be able to reuse it as a gift box! 

There was a nice little card in the box describing each of the items: 

Yarok Feed Your Ends - (travel size - 2 oz $10)  This is a leave in conditioner to protect against heat damage and keep your hair healthy.  I love leave in conditioners with my long hair so a great item for me! 

Vapour Organic Beauty Aura Multi-use Blush -   (travel size - $22.50 )  This is really pretty and I love this type of applicator for on the go blush use.   You can use on lips, eyes and cheeks.  

Fig + Yarrow Healing Salve -   (travel size - $6)  this is a cute little all purpose healing salve - just right for your purse.  I think I prefer this to the big tub they sell in the Birchbox shop.  

Ilia Lip Gloss in The Butterfly & I  -   ($24)  I love getting lip glosses in my boxes and so this is perfect.  Very pretty shade too! A big plus that it is made of shea butter and coconut oil.  I might have to pick up the other shades.   Love Buzz looks really fun!

Juice Beauty Gree Apple Age Defy Hand Creme -   ($12)  This has been a really popular brand lately to put in subscription boxes.  I have not gotten the hand creme yet so it is a win for me.  Very nice stuff! 

KOR Aura Water Bottle -  ($9.95)  Love this cute pink water bottle!  Will be going right to work with me so I have it every day.

 Mullein & Sparrow Pink Bath Salts -   (travel size $6)  This is the thing I am least excited about in the box - since I sell Perfectly Posh, I know what good bath salts are and these are not it.  I am not a fan.  These are way too flowery for me. 

Bombas Ankle socks -   ($9)  These are the main reason I got this box.  Love these ankle socks and they are usually out of stock in the store.  Bombas also donates one pair to charity for every pair sold - love that!!!  More companies should do that! Love everything about these socks - the color, the feel, and they last!   

The value of this box is about $100 and I paid just under $14.  I love Birchbox points!  Save them up and get something special like this, Ladies!  It is so worth it.  I will use almost everything in this box too.  The bath salts were the only miss here.  Fantastic curated box!