First Impressions: beautybox 5 October 2013

So you know how I’ve been liking my beautybox 5 boxes lately. Yeah, not so much this month. Repeat brands or brands that aren’t new to the market was what greeted me this month.

The first item is Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion. I have used this lotion for years because it is one of the few drugstore lotion that are perfume and scent free. It is a light lotion and absorbs quickly. I have better lotion that are more moisturizing but I still get this every once in a while. I was not excited to find this in my box, while I like it, I get subscription boxes to find new items.

Full price: $6.99 for 8oz

The next item is Model Co Cheek and Lip Tint. Finally, a Model Co product I like! This blended nicely and looked like a natural flush. It also has a great raspberry scent. I liked it as a cheek tint and not so much as lip tint, but that is more of personal preference than product performance.

Full price: $22 for .03 oz

The next item is Swissco Glitter Toe Separators. What can I say. These are toe separators that are sparkly. As much as I love painting my finger nails I hardly ever paint my toes especially now that colder weather is here. This would have been much better in a box 4 or 5 months ago.

Full price: $2

The next item is La Fresh Travel Lite Facial Cleansing Wipes. Sigh. Honestly, La Fresh has more wipes then I thought possible. These are okay. Since this is a pack of eight the wipes are nicely moisturized and it does a decent job of taking off my foundation. It did not do a good job of taking off my eye makeup. I wear waterproof mascara and liner and it barely touched it.

Full price: $19.99 for 48 wipes

The last item in box is Nubar Alter Ego Nail Lacquer in Blondie. This is a glitter top coat. When I painted the nail wheel I noticed that the polish was a thick gel texture.

Full price: $8 for .5oz

So that’s my box.

First Impressions: beautybox 5 and Birchbox September 2013

Hi, reader! Looks like time got away from me again this month. I realized that today was the last day of the month and I still haven’t done my beautybox 5 and Birchbox review. I also have my POPSUGAR Must Have box to post too. Boy time goes by so quickly when you have things to do.

First up is my beautybox 5 box.

As you might notice beautybox 5 info card has a new look. Their info card looks more like Birchbox’s info card. And they now have a monthly theme. This month’s theme is “on the go” with products to help with the woman on the go.

The first product is the Bella Pierre Cosmetics Shimmer Powder in Celebration. As the info card says this can be used anywhere you need sparkle. I think this has too much color, at least for my pale skin, to use as all over shimmer powder. I used this as an eyeshadow and it worked nicely. The only downside is I have a ton of eyeshadows this color. I guess it is a good thing I love gold eye shadows.

Full size: .08 oz for $15

The next item is the Body Drench Lip Drench lip balm in Grapefruit. This is nice, not too greasy and too oily. And the best part is that it smells like yummy grapefruit! After the first use I threw it my purse and I think think I might like this more than my EOS lip balm.

Full size: .15 oz for $4.99

The next item is Fine Featherheads Fly Ties. Hair ties! I love hair ties and I can always use more. I really like the colors too. If you want to get your own set of Fly Ties hair ties click here to visit there website. Don’t worry the link isn’t a referral or affiliate link.

Full size: 4 pack for $7.95

The next item is Skiin Shop Instant Skin Tightener & Line Filler. The info card says this is “plastic surgery in a bottle” and it lifts, tightens and rehydrates your skin. I used this a few times and didn’t notice any miracles. This might be a product that needs to be used a while to notice any results.

Full size: .5 oz for $39.95

The last item is Every Beauty Makeup Remover Pads with Argan Oil. After the hair ties I was probably the most excited for this product. These are dry makeup wipes that you add to activate and I could finally get a face wipe that wouldn’t be too dry. Well, this is the product. After using it I wasn’t that impressed. I don’t think that it did that good of a job taking off my makeup and it barely touched my waterproof liner and mascara. Definitely needed to follow up with a separate cleanser.

Full size: 50 count for $6.99

Now on to my Birchbox.

As you can see from the picture above the theme this month was Heritage, which celebrates Birchbox 3rd anniversary.

The first item in the box is Benefit Cosmetics Sugarbomb Ultra Plush lip gloss. Definitely my favorite item in this box. Adds just enough color to my lips and is a great color, a great neutral pink that isn’t too cool or too warm. But the best thing about this lip gloss is that this isn’t sticky at all, of course that means it doesn’t have any staying power but I’m okay with that. Another downside is that it has a strong tropical fruit scent.

Full size: $16

The next item is the COOLA Matte SPF 30 Face. This is a mineral based sunscreen, which means no yucky sunscreen smell!, and has a slight yellow tint that helps neutralize redness. This feels like a face primer and it worked great under my foundation. I really liked this and if it was a little cheaper I would totally buy this right now.

Full price: $36

The next item is the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitve. This is a facial peel for sensitive skin. I have tried this yet as I’m a little afraid about what will happen. I know it is designed for sensitive skin but yeah. I’m a scaredy cat. It does smell like green apples.

Full size: $39

The next item is the Racinne Ultimate Youth Power Eye Serum. This serum is to help with fine lines and dark circles. Like the Skiin Shop line filler I got in my beautybox 5 box, I didn’t notice any immediate results and this is probably something that needs to be used for a while. Also this weirdly smells like hairspray, thankfully it doesn’t last long. This isn’t moisturizing at all so I have to add a moisturizer over it.

Full size: $36

The last item in the box is the RUFFIAN nail lacquer in Delirium. I haven’t used this yet but it is a pretty shiny purple. Sorry I forgot to take a swatch picture but it looks just like the bottle color.

Full size: $10

So that was my two boxes. I am happy with both boxes and surprisingly I think the beautybox 5 box was my favorite beauty box this month. They have really stepped up their boxes.

First Impressions: beautybox 5 August 2013

I got my August beautybox 5 box and I wasn’t disappointed! Yay! There was new brands and no La Fresh wipes in sight!

So let’s get into the box.

The first item is the Be a Bombshell eyeshadow in Mardi Gras. I’ve liked other things from Be a Bombshell that I received in other boxes but this shadow was a dud. I love the color but as you can see from the swatch it goes on patchy.

Full size: $14 (This is full size.)

Here is an eye look. Mardi Gras in on the lid and like usual not sure what else I used.

The next item is the H2O Plus Aquafirm + Micro-Collagen Moisturizer. This moisturizer is supposed to promote collagen productions and help reduce fine lines. This is a product that probably needs to be used for a while to notice results and I only used it a few times and didn’t notice anything. I have combo skin and felt that this wasn’t moisturizing enough and I wasn’t a fan of the smell. It smells like a generic hotel soap.

Full size: $50 for 1.7oz

The next item is the Bask Heavenly Silk Daily Skin lotion. This lotion has a bunch of good things in it, or so the card description says, that helps with moisturizing and skin firming. I haven’t noticed any firming effects but this is a great moisturizer. I have been using this as a hand lotion and my hands still feel moisturized even after washing them. The downside is the smell, like generic lotion and baby powder. This works so great that I guess I’ll have to put up with the smell.

Full size: $19.98 for 22oz

The next item is the Nubar nail lacquer in Nubar Red. This is a thick polish, almost gel like. I wasn’t thrilled to get another red polish but I was lucky enough to find someone to trade my polish for theirs. Yay for online trading!

Full size: $8 for .5oz

The last item is the Swissco nail file. My first thought was, “oh glitter!” I’m like a magpie and love sparkly and shiny things so I think this nail file is too cute. Haven’t used it yet so don’t know how well it works.

Full size: $1.50 (This is full size.)

Here is a picture of everything in the box. Looking at everything in the box I noticed I got a a lot of red things this month.

So another box that wasn’t too bad. Keep up the good work beautybox 5!

First Impressions: beautybox 5 July 2013

Hi, everyone! I’m on a road trip but still wanted to post a blog so I’m writing this on my phone. So forgive any errors that you will most definitely come across.

So another beautybox 5 box and even though I got brands that have been in pretty much every box, I think this box is an improvement on the last few I’ve gotten. Yay! So let’s get into the box.

Every Beauty Foot Smoother

One thing I like about beautybox 5 is that they put in tools. This is a foot scrub that is pretty effective. My feet definitely looked better using this. I didn’t take any pictures because no one needs to see ugly feet pictures. You’re welcome. 😉 The only complaint is that I wish this was in an earlier box so I could have had nice looking heels at the beginning of the summer.

Full price: $8.99

Jean Pierre Cosmetics nail polish remover wipes

My nails are really gross and peeling right now so I’m taking a break from wearing nail polish. So I have not tried these yet. One thing I would say is that this company really needs to work on its packaging. Really boring and hard to tell what brand this even is.

Full price: $3.99 for 10 wipes

Be a Bombshell lip gloss in Hot Mess

A new brand and a lip gloss is really exciting until I realized that I already own this gloss. I got this in my December Ipsy bag. How disappointing! I only own 2 Be a Bombshell products and I still manage to get a repeat. This is a nice gloss that has great pigmentation. It is also not too sticky.

Full price: $14 for .11 oz

La Fresh Travel lite Antibacterial Wipes

After I took the picture of this product it went immediately into my purse. I like the wipes because not only can I disinfect my hands but anything I might be touching. I thought these were great but these have a very strong perfume scent. Not quite sure why they felt the need to perfume something only going on our hands.

Full price: $1.99 for 8 wipes

H2O Plus Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment

This is a product to keep your face looking fresh. Not quite sure what that means. If this is suppose to be a moisturizer it can only really be used on oily skin but normal or dry skin will definitely need to use moisturizer with this. I think this is a product that needs to be used long term to see any type of benefit. I can say that in my one time use I did not notice deep moisturization or visible plumping of deep wrinkles as the contain claims. Granted I don’t have deep wrinkles yet but still.

Full price: $36 for 1.7 oz

So that is my box for the month. Keep up the good work beautybox 5!

First Impression: beautybox 5 June 2013

Another month and another beautybox5 box. Can’t say this one impressed me any more than the others. So let’s just get into it and show you what I got.

As always if you are interested in the box and want to help me out, click here.

The first item are the Coolway Cool Cleanse shampoo and the Coolway Cool Hydrate conditioner. The shampoo was nice. According to the card, the shampoo is suppose to reduce breakage and frizz. Haven’t used it long enough to find out if the claims are true. It is very low foam and I felt it got my hair clean without stripping it of all it’s moisture. Having curly hair is important that it stays as moisturized as possible or it will just be a big frizz ball. The conditioner was just okay. This is supposed to hydrate to give you enhanced smoothness, body and shine. Yeah, it did nothing for my hair, and certainly not the things they claim. This just wasn’t moisturizing enough for me. I did like how they smelled, kinda minty.

Full size: Each product is $25 for 8.6 oz.

The next item is the Aveeno Hydrate + Protect lotion suncreen with SPF 30. Basically this is a moisturizer with sunscreen in it. This is a chemical sunscreen so it has the yucky sunscreen smell that makes me sick. It is moisturizing but it also felt heavy on my skin. I feel bad giving a first impression review on things with chemical sunscreen in it because I hate how they feel on my skin, heavy and oppressive. So I will always hate products like this and this one didn’t change my mind.

Full price: $9.99, 3 oz.

The next product is Just Being Sexy body bronzer. Like I’m said before, I have no plans of tanning, real or faux. These will be given away.

Full price: $49, 6 oz. (Yikes on that price! Since I don’t faux tan I don’t know how much they usually cost but this just seems really expensive.)

The last item in the box was the Brazen mineral eyeshadow in Head Over Heels. This is a matte lavender shadow with lavender sparkle. This is really pretty and I always like a purple eyeshadow. This applied very easily and blended well. Out of all the repeat brands that we get in the box Brazen eyeshadows are always nice to get.

Full price: $7.99, 0.18 oz.

Here is a look that I did with all the Brazen shadows I have gotten from beautybox5. Head Over Heels is on the lid, Type A in the outer v and a little into the crease and Birthday Suit in the crease to blend out the look. I finished the look with the Cailyn purple gel liner.

So that’s the box. I liked one thing in the box so that’s better than the last two months! Yay I guess. Figured crossed for next month.

First Impressions: beautybox 5 May 2013

Sorry it took so long to review this box. While it is one of the latest boxes I get I put it away with my other boxes and forgot about it. So let’s see what is in the box.

As also if you are interested in the box and want to help me out, click here.

So the first item in the box is the Ferro Cosmetics mineral eyeshadow in Rustique. This is a mustardy gold/bronze eyeshadow. I like mineral eyeshadow, in fact I have probably have over 200 of them, but this is so messy. Seriously, mineral makeup companies, your stuff needs shifters! I think this color is gorgeous, but honestly there isn’t a gold shadow that I don’t love or at least really like. Side story. I was talking about makeup with my coworkers and I said my go to eyeshadow color is gold. They both said, “yeah, we’ve noticed.” So there you go, gold lover right here. Ok, back on track to the product. This swatches really weird. I look like I have a weird golden bruise on my hand. It works slightly better on the eyelid but it still has weird bald spots, don’t know if that is part of the duo chrome or what. Note: there is a coupon code for this company shown in the product card picture.

Full price: $17, .14oz

The next item is the Jean Pierre tanning towelettes. These are two tanning wipes, which can be used one after the other to deepen the tan. I’m not not interested in tanning, real or fake, so I’ll be giving these away.

Full price: $8.99 for 10 towelettes

The next item is the Model Co black eyeliner. This swatches really smoothly and feels really creamy. Also love how really black this is. I think it is so smart to put the sharpener in the lid. I went and washed my hand almost as soon as I swatched this and it was pretty tough to remove. It applied okay on my eyelid. I can use a liquid liner with no problem but because I’m special I am horrible using a pencil liner. The other downside, for me, is that this needs to be sharpen. Not a fan of wooden makeup pencils. After a day of wear I’m not impressed with this. The liner traveled. I have smudges under my eye and in my crease. I don’t have oily lids so this is not a problem I have with liners.

Full price: $18

Here’s a pic of my eyes with Rustique on the lid and the black liner.

The next item is the Coolway Transform Styling Spray. This is to help reduce blow drying time and allows you to use a cooler styling tool. I don’t use any type of styling tools for my hair. I wash it, put my products in, and go. So I have no need for something like this. My mom blow dries her hair so I think I will give this to her. Note: there is a coupon code for this company shown in the product card picture.

Full price: $24.95 for 6.7oz

The last item is La Fresh deodorant wipes. TMI time, I used these and don’t feel they do a great job of keeping my dry. It does have a nice light scent. These are perfect for travel or throwing in your purse or gym bag.

Full size: $19.90 for 48 packets.

So that’s May’s box. I’m bored with this subscription, I think it has the same brands or similar products for the past three months. I got a year subscription so hopefully it will pick up.

First Impressions: beautybox 5 April 2013

My box this month didn’t impressed me as much as last month’s. I don’t know if because it had 2 of the same brands as last month or what but nothing really excited me. So let’s get into the box.

And as always if you are interested and would like to help me out click here to use my referral code . This box is $12 a month or $100 a year.

The first item is La Fresh Instant Body Smoother. The info card says that these “wipe away stress and fatigue with these silky-smooth oil-packed wipes.” And the package itself says these revitalize and smooth dry, over worked skin. These also act as aroma therapy, as you are supposed to breathe deeply while applying the wipes and feel happier. Don’t know about either claim. My skin is not smoother and I didn’t feel happier or less stressed.

These smell minty and feel cooling when you wipe them on, but the feeling is not long lasting. The scent does linger so there’s that. Also it says to wipe on the temples, which I did, and now one of my eyes is kinda hurting. These are not super wet, in fact they are damp at best, so I probably didn’t get anything in my eye but I wanted to let you know in case that is the reason why it is stinging. I will use the other one but won’t purchase as I think this product is kinda pointless.

The full price is $9.99 for 24 wipes.

The next item is the Minxxette brush hanger in the size small. The product is really kinda cool. After you clean your brushes you hang your brush up and let the water drip down away from the ferrule, which if that part gets wet could cause hair to come loose. While I think this is neat it would be creepy to go into a bathroom with brushes hanging up everywhere, or maybe that’s just me. I haven’t tried it out yet so I don’t know how big a brush this would hold but it did hold my toothbrush, if that reference is any help.

The full price is $4.69 for the small size. There is also a larger size but I don’t know how much that costs.

The next item is the Jean Pierre Cosmetics Oil Absorbing Tissue. These are oil absorbing sheets. That is about he most interesting thing to say about these. They don’t do anything fancy and I don’t really think they are that effective. Also they feel like the toilet seat covers in they have in public bathrooms. Hmm… Anyway I think my Clean & Clear ones work much better. I probably will give these away.

The full price is $1.99 for 50 sheets.

The next item is the Model Co Illusion lip pencil. This is a one size fits all nude lip liner that works for all your lipsticks. I think this is a nice color but it felt really dry going on. That I’m not a fan of wooden makeup pencils as I feel all the products are too dry probably doesn’t help it’s case. Also, it is probably just me, but it freaks me out a little to use the wooden pencils as I feel they might break and splinters will go in my eyes. Yes, I may be slightly crazy and have an irrational fear of getting splinters. Btw I am perfectly fine with using the regular normal wooden lead pencils for writing. Anyway I digress, I do like that the sharpener is built into the cap. That idea is genius! Don’t know how much I would actually use this, I’m young enough that my lipstick doesn’t bleed yet and I think I have a good size lip. I probably will be giving this away too, it’s a fine product just one I know I won’t use. Sorry my lip pictures are horribly blurry but I added them because you can sorta see what the liner looks like. Also there is nothing on my lips except for the lip liner.

The full size is $20.

The last item in the box is a Brazen Cosmetics eyeshadow in the shade Birthday Suit. I was really excited when I found out that there was going to be another Brazen eyeshadow in this month’s box as I really loved the one I got last month,which was Type A in case you were wondering. This shade was such a let down! This is just like the Yaby eyeshadow in Sand Dune I got in my March Ipsy bag, and the are both almost the same color as my eyelid! They could not have picked out a more boring color. I guess this would be a good blending color. Sigh. I will probably keep this. Sigh again. And yes in the picture of the open jar there is a swatch of the color on my hand. If you need a hint it is right of the jar.

The full size is $7.49 for 0.18 oz.

It was nice that 4 of the 5 products were full size and I more than got my money’s worth out of this box, but there was nothing I would really use except for the brush hanger. Fingers crossed that next month will be better.

Ruby Wing Polish Review

Ruby Wing nail polish was a brand that was featured in April’s Birchbox boxes. I wasn’t lucky enough to get one in my box so I went ahead bought 2 from Birchbox’s store as they looked so interesting and I don’t have any color changing polish in my collection. Well, played Birchbox. I see what you did there. Anyway I bought Peony and Groupie. I have to say that the swatches on the Birchbox site are very deceiving. Groupie looked like a light pink color, which I thought would be very pretty. As you’ll see in the pictures, it’s not.

So let me show you the two polishes.

The first one is Peony. Inside this is a peach color and it turns into a dark pink, almost maroon shade. This is also scented, but you have to wait until it is dry to smell it. It is a floral scent but it is not strong enough to be noticeable. I had to put the swatch up to my nose to smell it. The white specks you see is the scent I think. The outside swatch is darker in real life than the picture shows, f.y.i.

The next color is Groupie. This is a bright pink color inside and it turns into a dark bright pink outside. The difference is not that noticeable as Peony’s color change, but it did change. My camera didn’t pick up the difference but there is a difference in darkness. I wish the swatches would have been more accurate on Birchbox’s website because I wouldn’t have bought this shade. Not that there is anything wrong with it, just not a fan of neon pink.

These are the tags attached to the bottles and shows what the color change should be.

Peony changed really quickly. As soon as I went outside it began to change. Groupie takes a little longer to notice the change, but both are darker in about a minute. The outside pictures were taken at noon. I tried to take pictures when I got home from work last night but at 7ish only Peony changed and then it didn’t darken up as much as it did when it brought out at noon.