Birchbox July 2015 review

 I absolutely love everything about this box design! I enjoyed using most of the products in this box for July. I found I got a great mix of fragrance, skincare, haircare, and makeup. First, I tried the Stila Liquid Lipstick in Venezia. This bright coral made me try something new for summer. I love the scent and I am getting used to the bright color. Unfortunately, I am having a hard time with the formula. While it is long lasting and smells like vanilla, the formula is patchy and drying on my lips. I am still experimenting since most people love this formula. Don't mind the full face of makeup. I was piling on makeup for my next post. Can you guess what it is?

The Bumble and Bumble cream is hydrating without weighing my hair down. I like using this to blow dry OR air dry my hair.

The Cartier sample is a beautiful fragrance for summer with notes of rose.

The Supergoop serum ties the Clarisea as my favorite sample. I love the lightweight feeling of the serum/moisturizer/sunscreen.

Last, the Clarisea Charcoal Exfoliant left my skin soft and smooth. I tried the powder with my First Aid Beauty cleanser and charcoal face soap. The product worked well with both cleansers.  I appreciate the large sample size since I got at least six uses out of the product.

Now I need your help. What Birchbox products should I try from the shop? Recommend your favorites please!

Influenster #frostyvoxbox

This is my second favorite Influenster voxbox of 2014. My first was the Victoria's Secret voxbox. This Frosty box has everything for a woman to be ready for 2015. As always, I was sent these free products to test and review.

 This is an overview of all of the products that came in the box.

These Fruit Vines didn't last a day in my house, lol. These bite sized, chewy snacks were delicious without being overly sweet. These retail for $1.79. 

The McCormick brand of seasonings is a trusted name brand of seasonings. Thyme is not purchased in my house, but I'm not sure why. It goes with most meats and smells like the holidays. I would recommend rubbing any dry seasoning in between your hands before using it to "wake up" the flavor. I'm excited to see a quick search brought up 89 recipes! I am also a part of their consumer panel. I've only been invited to try one product, but it was free! This full size product retails for $4.79.

I love this tea! The minty flavor soothed my overworked voice from the end of the school. This is perfect for the times I want a hot drink besides coffee and hot chocolate. The two packets didn't have a price.

 The No. 7 serum serum packet is supposed to provide the best anti-aging results. My skin is acting up right now so I will keep you posted when I try this. The full size retails for $22.99.

This Ecotools brush is effective with most of its claims. My hair took less time to blow dry and was less frizzy. Unfortunately, it isn't as soft as my Wet brush. 

 Very flexible bristles against the open base. This retails for $11.99.

These next three products are makeup products! I never tried these products, but I have different NYC and Rimmel products. I love trying new makeup!

 These are the swatches of the lipstick and liner in natural light with no flash.

 This is a full size lipstick from NYC in Sugar Plum. In the tube this looked extremely frosty (old lady), but the color is actually complementary to my skintone. I cannot get over the level of moisture and shine. It is perfect for an everyday look or a night out.  For $1.99 I can't wait to try more colors!

The last products from the voxbox are both from Rimmel London. The Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal liner in black is raved about on Youtube. The swatch above was one pass on my hand! Not only is this affordable at $4.49, it also is long lasting. I have trouble with liners staying in place. This one did not fail me. It is just as long lasting as my Stila liner. 

 Because the liner is so waterproof, you do need an effective remover. This Rimmel Just Let it Go remover is perfect. My HG remover is the Clinique Take the Day Off balm, but this is my new favorite liquid remover. It's safe for contact wearers and sensitive skin. I dab a little on a cotton round, place over my eye for 10-15 seconds, then begin gently swiping away my eye makeup. This is perfect for my gym bag! The remover costs $7.49.

The retail value of the box is about $33. I am extremely pleased with the amount of full size products and the fact that I will use all of these products. Please use this link if you are not a part of Influenster nation!

Baybeezmomma's giveaway winnings!

If you are not a fan of Amy's  blog, GO follow her now. I'm not a mother, but I love the variety of her blog posts.  I am honored to be the winner of her first giveaway. I won the Cynthia Rowley set. These pictures are courtesy of Amy's blog.

The colors are gorgeous, creamy, and blendable. I didn't experience a terrible amount of fallout either. I used all of the colors and the liner with no issues. I didn't use a primer because I wanted to see the actual colors and staying power for myself.

This picture is with the liquid liner. I like the color and the ease of application. I'm not a pro at liquid liner, but this product was easy to apply. Please don't judge my hair, lol. It's my weekend.

This is my finished looks. I think a primer would help blend these, but the application was easy due to the pigmentation.  I like that I can use one palette to create day or evening looks.

 Overall, I couldn't be happier with Amy for this giveaway! Cynthia Rowley made beautiful packaging for beautiful makeup products. I will be purchasing more of her products in the future! What have you tried from her line? Thanks for reading!

November trash and treasures

These are products I finished in November. Some of them I used for an extended period of time before finishing them. 

I will NOT repurchase the Aveeno lotion. It was not moisturizing whatsoever, definitely trash. Treasure- CeraVe is my go-to cream. My skin gets extremely dry from the Vegas weather conditions. This lotion does the trick and allows me to wear my perfumes since it's unscented. 

Treasure-The Coochy shave cream is another favorite. I got this from a former consultant for FREE! This is the only product that prevents razor burn and ingrown hairs for me. 

Treasure-The Living Proof Style Extender works well for my long hair to conditioner and prevent excess oil at my scalp. 

Trash-Carol's Daughter Marula hair mask didn't do anything for my hair. I am sticking to the Carol's Daughter Manoi mask.

Trash-The Beauty Protector in the red bottle smells amazing, but did nothing to treat my hair.

BBW's Sky had a beautiful, perfume scent, but it's discontinued.  

Treasure-The almond body wash was moisturizing without a heavy scent.

Treasure-I would/will buy Gucci Guilty, La Vie Est Belle, and Juicy Noir. These are very different from each other so I can build my perfume wardrobe.

Treasures- I love my Proactiv Plus skincare. This is the only line gentle enough to treat my skin. I never liked the original Proactiv, but this one is amazing. Another treasure is the Algenist eye cream; I just can't bring myself to spend $50 on an eye cream. Glamglow is my holy grail mask. Partnered with my Proactiv, my skin is pretty clear most of the time. Clinique's Take the Day Off Balm is my holy grail makeup remover. It is gentle, but extremely effective.
Trash- The Clarins moisturizer worked well on my dry areas like my cheeks. I don't think I'd spend the money for a moisturizer I can't use on my whole face. I was so let down by the Dr. Brandt Vacuum Pore treatment. This did absolutely nothing for my pores. While I liked the Epice exfoliator, my Proactiv Plus does the same thing. The Clarisonic Radiance AM cleanser and serum samples broke me out. I loved the PM cleanser because it removed dead skin and makeup without being harsh.

Treasures-Garnier BB cream is my go-to light foundation. I wish it didn't have so many unnatural ingredients, but the coverage is great. The Laura Mercier radiance primer added a glow to my skin without making me look more oily. I LOVE the Becca Ultimate for full coverage. This covers as well as Dermablend! I liked layering the Pur and Benefit mascaras. Unfortunately, I got a horrible eye infection shortly after starting these mascaras. I'm not sure if it was from these products or something else.

Trash-the Cover FX BB cream didn't provide enough coverage for me. I couldn't get the Stila bronze cream to ever look good on me. I tried it under foundation, over foundation, as a bb cream, and as a bronzer.    The Starlooks lip liner was a horrible pink color that never looked right on me. While I enjoyed both Benefit primers, I wouldn't pay the price for the full sized ones since they both contain Dimethecone-a serious skin irritant for me. Last, I like the Nyx powder, but I'm not overjoyed about it. The coverage is awesome and it never looks chalky. Again, I'm trying to get into more all-natural products to prevent skin irritations for me

Thanks for reading! What did you use up in November?