Sunday, December 30, 2012

Pinch Provisions Minimergency Kit


Yet another thing I bought off Opensky and later regretted. I really need to start shopping around for better deals instead of just buying the first thing I come across.

What is a Minimergency kit? It is a cute little zippered bag full of mini versions of anything and everything you might ever need if you are out on the town. The bag itself comes in a variety of colors from glittery to polka dotted. Packed carefully inside of this tiny little bag are: a tiny bottle of hairspray (I haven’t used it yet so I can’t comment on how well it works), clear nail polish (actually a decent sized bottle), four emery boards, lip balm (cherry flavored (blech!) but moisturizes fairly well), Advil, a regular tampon, minty breath drops, a bandaid, dental floss, a tiny sewing kit that also includes a safety pin, earring backs, and clear elastics, and foil packets of towelettes that are nail polish remover, deodorant, and stain remover. Its quite ingenious really.

So why my frustration? Because I settle for the only color they had left on Opensky (a florescent pinky red with OMG monogrammed onto it) when I could have had a cute pink one with white polka dots, or a metallic purple one, or a cute little green one with a clover shaped zipper.

Anyway the basic version of this is $13 with 7 metallic colors to choose from, a fancier glittery one or one with a cute zipper for $15, or you can choose a glittery one or a monogrammed one that comes with refills for everything for $24. The website also has minimergency kits for moms, girls, men and more as well as larger kits. Shop the full line at shop.pinchprovisions.com

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Ecru New York Acacia Protein Oil- December Glossybox


Sample was a teensy vial
Full-sized- $30 for 1.7 oz at www.ecrunewyork.com

This is a paraben free (I still have to look into exactly what those are) formula with keratin, collagen, and argan oil that conditions your hair, protects it from heat, gets rid of frizz, and makes it more shiny. This is all according to their website. I’m gonna be cheap and greedy and complain a little about the size of this sample. It was a tiny vial that lasted me about four uses. Someone with short hair could obviously get more use out of it but I have fairly long hair. This is a slightly sticky, clear substance a little thicker than a liquid. It didn’t have any smell that I could discern. The first time I used this I didn’t straighten my hair, I just let it air dry. It did seem softer and felt smoother but looking in the mirror, there wasn’t really much of a difference. However, after using it a couple more times, I took a shower and then forgot to put it in. I was busy doing things around the house and my hair was almost dry by the time I realized I hadn’t put it in, so I went to go do it, and my jaw hit the ground when I looked in the mirror. Even though I hadn’t put anything at all in my hair, it was way smoother and less frizzy than in normally is. It wasn’t particularly shiny but it was soft and healthy feeling. This stuff is amazing. I definitely will be buying a full-sized of this. My only complaint is that there was such a small sample.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Shiseido Facial Cotton


$9.50 for 50 cotton pads at sephora.com

I’ve read about these in several beauty blogs and have read that many people think they are way better than normal cotton pads and are worth the extra money. So I, having a little extra cash due to my Christmas bonus, decided to splurge and check them out. What is so special about these? The cotton is apparently specially treated to be super soft and smooth. They are way softer than any cotton pad I’ve ever felt. They are big enough to cut in half so really there’s 100 pads in each package. They do work much better. Here is my previous experience with cotton balls (awful I know); I put my toner on the cotton ball and lean over the sink as I put it on my face because I know its going to squeeze out and drip everywhere. Then I quickly try to catch all the drips with the cotton ball and spread it around before it dries. With the Shiseido facial cotton, the toner immediately is absorbed right into the cotton and is evenly distributed over my face, which is much nicer than the “catching the drips” method. I haven’t used them to remove any eye make-up yet but I can imagine that is would be gentler and less abrasive on the delicate skin around my eyes.

So they work but are they worth the four or five times more than you would pay for regular cotton rounds? Maybe. I only use toner once a day and with the cutting half these could easily last me over three months. I might  buy them again at full price but I will definitely peruse ebay and Amazon for them when I run out.

Zoya Nail Laquer in Ziv (gold)- From December Glossybox


Sample was full-sized- $8 for .5 oz at www.zoya.com (in pretty much any color you can think of)

I was apprehensive about this when I first opened my Glossybox. I’m not really much of a nail polish person to start with and gold is a little out of my comfort zone. But I have been trying out more lately and after I had some time to think about it I decided this would be a good festive Christmasy color.

So I thought that this nail polish was gold with shimmer but after I put it on I realized its actually clear polish with very fine gold glitter in it. A very thin coat of this over another color could be a great glittery effect. I tried it on its own and about three coats made it fairly opaque. Its very shiny but surprisingly subtle as far as the glitter goes. It just looks like gold shimmer. I put a layer of Good Tidings We Bling by Sephora by OPI (which is a Christmas limited edition red and green glitter with a little bit of black glitter in there) for a nice Christmasy look. I’m very pleased with how this turned out. I still think it’s a little flashy for everyday wear but for a special holiday or event its nice. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it. Even with a base coat and top coat it started chipping after just a few days though. Like I’ve said before though I’m quite hard on my poor nails. This week I was especially hard on them because of holiday baking and cleaning to get ready for the holidays. I finally broke down and took the rest of it off after about a week because it was chipping really badly (plus it clashes with my beautiful white gold engagement ring). I still would recommend this nail polish.

An added plus of all the Zoya nail laquers is they are natural and free of harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde. I plan on trying out some other colors.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas All!

I'm not going to post a review but I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas (or Hanukah or Kwanzaa or whatever it is that you celebrate) and a Happy New Year! . I already got some of my presents. The best one was an engagement ring! Just before we were headed out to have Christmas Eve dinner with his family, my boyfriend proposed. Besides the beautiful ring I got a Hamilton Beach Scoop coffee maker from my fiance (it seems so weird to say that but makes me smile every time I do), a wax warmer and some scented wax, two elephant shelves and two elephant statues from my future mother-in-law, and a Fannie Farmer Cookbook and another elephant statue from my future Gram-in-law. Tomorrow I have four more places to go (my parents, my Grandma's, my Mimi & Papa's, and my fiance's other grandmothers). Plus I have to work tomorrow night too. I will be exhausted.

I hope you all get everything that you want and more importantly, that you get to spend time with the people you love. As the year comes to a close I hope you all can look back on the last year and smile at the life you are living.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Beauty Army December Box- First Impressions


There was nothing in this box that I was super excited to try and a couple things that I really could do without but oh well. You have the option of only picking the items you actually want and not actually getting six items but I figured since I’m gonna pay for it anyway I guess I might as well actually try something. I have the items in order of excitement level.

Fiafini Delicate Cleansing Emulsion
Sample size- dinky little packet
Original size- $28 for 4 oz at beatuyarmy.com (I found this as low as $11 at amazon.com)

This was the thing I felt the most stirrings of excitement for. I have oily, acne-prone, and sensitive skin and any gentle cleanser that really works is welcome. This cleanser claims to also be anti-aging with Marula oil and says it is fragrance free, alcohol-free, and paraben-free as well as cruelty free. I like that. Unfortunately a pathetic foil packet is not really enough to tell how well it will work long term. But it is fairly reasonably priced so if I think it will work well I may decide to try out the full-sized version. A full-review will follow after I have actually used it.

Mark Hook Up Lip Gloss in Honey
This was a full-sized sample and is $6.50 at beautyarmy.com ($5 at amazon.com)

A full-sized sample of lip gloss is never a bad thing. I don’t do a lot of make-up but I would be more likely to do lip gloss than lip stick and this color is a nice natural pink color. I have heard of the brand and actually have wanted to try it out. It’s a little stickier than I would like when you first put it on but once its dried a little its not so bad. It doesn’t add much color to your lips, just a little shine, which is fine with me. It has a light and refreshing mint taste that adds a little bit of tingle.

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque
Sample size- dinky foil packet
Original size- $33 for 8.5 oz at beautyarmy.com ($11.99 at cosmeu.com)

I am always open to trying new hair products. This is a deep conditioner to use after normal shampooing. It has macadamia and argan oils (I have had good luck with argan oil in the past but never used macadamia oil). I only hope that the foil packet will actually cover my hair. Usually they don’t. A full review will follow.

Nelson J Argan Oil 7 Non-Foaming Shampoo
Sample size- 1 oz
Original size- $36 for two 8 oz bottles at beautyarmy.com

I like argan oil products so I am a little excited to use this and am pleased that there is more than a foil packet. Still not really enough to fully test it but still. Its better than nothing. I am concerned that it won’t clean my hair fully. Non-foaming sounds ominous to me, plus with the argan oil I’m afraid it will leave my hair greasy. But I will let you know. I’m also confused about there not being conditioner. I guess I’ll try it without conditioner and see what happens.

Emani Minerals Foundation Primer and Hydrating Serum
Sample size- dinky foil packet
Original size- $28 for 0.84 oz at beautyarmy.com

This was one of those “okay, I have to pick another thing but nothing looks horribly appealing so I’ll just click something” kind of things. I don’t really use foundation hardly ever because it tends to clog my pores and honestly I just really don’t have the time to do it everyday (read; I have the time I just choose not to take the time). But on the rare occasion that I actually wear foundation for something like a wedding or fancy night out, this may come in handy. And actually as I’m reading through the little blurb they have about it, it almost sounds like this could just be used as a moisturizer. It claims to absorb oil, nourish and moisturize skin (all good things) and says it has chamomile, witch hazel, and aloe in it, which are all very calming for blemishes. So I am slightly more happy about this now. But a tiny foil packet isn’t really enough to tell how it would work on my skin long term. And this is rather expensive to use as a daily moisturizer. Anyway, I’ll try it on its own and with foundation and I’ll let you know.

Ruddy Water Blushed Towelettes
Sample size- 1 towelette
Original size- $22 for 24 towelettes

This one was really just a throw away. I didn’t want to forfeit my sixth item but the remaining four products were not appealing to me. So, I chose the one I thought I might, maybe use. Someday. Oh wait. Hold the phone. See, this is what I get for not thoroughly reading through all of the products. Okay, so I was under the impression this was a moist towelette for on-the-go hand cleaning (you know like wet ones?). But as I am reading the information on it, its actually a perfume towelette. Like for putting perfume on. Now who feels like a dumb blonde? Lets start over. I’m still not that excited about this because I’ll obviously only be able to use it once. And to make matters worse my towelette was all dried out and hardly transferred any smell over. I do like the smell though. It’s a warm vanilla smell with just a touch of musk. I don’t usually like musk but when its this warm and paired with vanilla it smells good. I wouldn‘t buy the towelettes though. If anything I would buy the actual perfume. I have so much perfume already that I doubt that will be happening. But here goes. Roller ball of unknown size $16.50 and blooming mist of unknown size $12 at shop.ruddywater.com

According to my calculations, this box is worth almost $19. Good I guess for $12 but not much more than $12. I am cheap and a big fan of getting more than my money’s worth (way more if possible) and I really don’t feel totally satisfied with what I got for my $12. There are too many foil packets for my liking. But I will keep my comments to myself I guess until I actually try the rest of the products.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Indie Lee Blemish Lotion


$26 for 1 oz. ($24 on opensky.com)

This was another impulse buy from Opensky (why did I ever sign up for that?!). I had a $15 credit that I had to spend $50 to receive and the thing I was buying that I really wanted was the only one left in stock so I was trying to find something else before someone else bought the thing that I really wanted. Literally the day after I ordered this I read a review on Mario Badescu Drying Lotion (which is only $17) and decided I wanted to try it at some point. Then I received my Indie Lee Blemish Lotion, got reading the bottle and looking at the directions and realized it seemed like pretty much the same thing. So I was disappointed because I could have saved myself $7 but oh well. It better work is all I have to say.

The lotion itself is pink lotion which once settle has a clear liquid on top and pink stuff on bottom. The instructions say not to shake the bottle up but to dip a Q-tip directly into the bottom of the bottle to get the pink stuff. Then you just dab the pink stuff onto your pimples and let it dry. Its recommended for use at bedtime. These instructions are also exactly the directions for the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. The ingredients are also eerily similar (albeit in slightly different order) except that the Mario Badescu stuff has calamine and glycerine in it which makes me think it will be gentler. But enough about that.

So does this blemish lotion work? Yes. I was amazed at the results. I have a Christmas party to go to pretty soon and I have (or had) a huge pimple on my chin that was really bugging me. So I dabbed some Indie Lee blemish lotion on it before I went to bed and on some smaller blemishes. It burned like crap when I first put it on. My first thought was , oh great I’m gonna be allergic to this stuff and I’m gonna break out in huge nasty pustules or something all over my face.  As soon as it dried though the burning subsided. I was also worried about it all coming off on my pillow but when I woke up it looked like it stayed in place pretty well. I used one of my facial cleansing wipes to wipe off the pink dried on stuff and. . .the pimples were almost gone! Even the big huge nasty one on my chin was visibly diminished in size and redness! It was amazing! Some of the little one were actually almost gone. The second day the bigger one on my chin was even smaller…but the other blemishes didn’t seem to do much. The third night nothing really seemed to change. So apparently, this lotion is great for shrinking those big nasty pimples, which is great, but there is only a certain point they can be shrunk to and then it doesn’t do much. I get acne marks that last forever where I had a pimple and I still have those.

So it does shrink pimples, but only to a certain point, and it does burn and dry out the area around the pimple. But I still love it and I will definitely be using this up but I think when it runs out I will try Mario Badescu’s Drying Lotion. Its cheaper and I want to see if it works as well.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Glossybox December-First Impressions


Yay! Its the most wonderful time of the month! Its Glossybox time again! Its ridiculous how happy I get when I see my Glossybox.

Now, before I go into the products I got this month, just a little note on Glossybox’s weird customer service. Not bad, just weird. The last two months (which by the way are the only two months that I have gotten Glossybox) I have gotten panic-inducing emails telling me there is some problem with my order. Last month it was that my payment didn’t go through. Then within 24 hours I got another email saying that they had made an error and to disregard the previous email. This month it was (and I quote) “We are unable to fulfill your Glossybox order. Please update your shipping and billing information on our website.” Okay so that’s not exactly a quote but its pretty close to what they said. I knew it was pretty close to when they would be shipping them out so I got a little concerned. Then I couldn’t get onto the website because it was under maintenance, then when I finally did my information was all right and in fact I didn’t even see any where to change the information. So I sent them an email and got back a form email saying something about an unusually high volume…blah blah blah…they would get back to me as soon as possible…my question was very important to them…and I felt like Phoebe on friends that time when she is on hold for like 24 hours. I was all ready to not even get my Glossybox. I was like, they are going to take two weeks to get back to me and by the time they get back to me, they’ll already have sent out all of the Glossyboxes and I’ll be shit out of luck. But then I happened to check the Glossybox website in the My Orders section and it said my December Glossybox had been shipped. Usually they send me like five emails saying OMG its on its way! and crap like that but not this time. I never received any kind of email saying it had shipped. Then I got an email saying that the previous email was sent in error and to disregard it. Almost the same wording as before! I’m not even joking! I don’t know if their computer hates me and keeps automatically sending me these things or what is going on but its weird.

But anyway. I have my Glossybox and that is all that matters. I was just as excited to get my Glossy box this month as last month. My boyfriend brought the mail in and said “What’s a Glossybox?” and I squealed, jumped off the couch, and ripped it out of his hands. Inside, wrapped in cute Christmas themed tissue paper, were the following items:

Heartland Fragrance Co. White Ginger Bath Salts (no not the crazy drug you snort)

Sample was 5.5 oz (which it says is good for one bath)
Full-sized- $10 for 30 oz or $19.99 for 66 oz at www.heartlandfragrance.com

From what I can tell through the bag these have a light, pleasant herby smell. I love any excuse to take a bath so I will be enjoying these. I’ll write a full review after I’ve used them.

Ecru New York Acacia Protein Oil

Sample was a teensy vial
Full-sized- $30 for 1.7 oz at www.ecrunewyork.com

This is apparently a moisturizing and conditioning oil for your hair that has collagen, hydrolyzed keratin, and extra virgin argan oil. Its supposed to protect against heat damage. I’m a little disappointed at the measly size of it but oh well.

Zoya Nail Laquer in Ziv (which is gold and shimmery)

Sample was full-sized- $8 for .5 oz at www.zoya.com

I have mixed feelings about this. I’m not a huge nail polish person  but I have been wanting to branch out a little more into painting my nails more often. However, I feel like a bright, glittery va va voom gold is a little out of my comfort zone. It is festive for the holidays. I guess I’ll have to actually paint my nails with it before I can really make a judgement about whether or not I like it.

Forest Essentials Luxurious Ayurveda Madurai Jasmine & Mogra Bath & Shower Oil

Sample was about half-size
Full-sized is $22 for 6.8 oz (I’m not sure where they got this price because apparently you can’t actually buy this is the US and all of the ones I found on Amazon were twice this price)

I’m actually quite excited to try this. I use a lot of body lotion in the winter but I’ve never used a body oil. Apparently you put this on after you get out of the shower to “lock in moisture.” It also says you can put some of it in your bath for moisturizing. I like jasmine and I love the smell of this. A full review will follow at some point.

Oscar Blandi Dry Styling Heat Protectant Spray

Sample size- .75 oz (a good travel size)
Full-sized- $23 for 4 oz at www.oscarblandi.com or sephora.com

I got really excited when I saw this because I thought it was Oscar Blandi’s dry shampoo which I have been really wanting to try. But its not dry shampoo. Oh well. This spray is supposed to protect hair from heat and add shine with keratin. Its not very big so it shouldn’t last long but for someone who travels (which I do not) this would be a nice travel size to take with you. I’ll review it fully after I try it out.

Issey Miyake Pleats Please Eau de Toilette

Sample is a small vial
Full-sized- $66 for 1.6 oz or $92 for 3.4 oz at www.nordstrom.com

This came on a little strong when I first sprayed it (and actually before I’d even sprayed it it stunk up everything in my box) but after having it on for an hour or so it fades to a faintly musky, vanilla-y, floweriness. I don’t usually like musk but I like this. I don’t think I would pay $92 for it but I’ll definitely use up my sample.

Assorted Jewelry from Jewelmint

Various styles $29.99

Apparently JewelMint.com is a website that recommends you jewelry and helps you stay on trend or whatever. That’s well and good but I am really confused by what I got. It was housed in a little black velvet back and I had no idea what could be in it. So I’ll dump out these two things that I guess are rings? I wasn’t sure at first. One of them is really weird and boxy with fake rhinestones and the other one is a weird like double humped thing that looks like an M when you hold it sideways. Besides the fact that the rings are ugly, and cheap looking and obviously costume jewelry; they are way too small to fit on my fingers. They don’t even fit on my pinkie. Do I have huge man hands? I don’t think so. I’m going to look more into this and I will get back to you. But seriously I’m just gonna have to throw these out. I don’t know anyone with small enough hands to actually wear them and besides their ugly so I don’t know anyone who would want them.

Overall, I’m not quite as happy with this box as I was with last months. The sample sizes were smaller and those stupid rings are useless. By my calculations this box was worth almost $27 ($57 if you count the rings, which I don’t) which is significantly less than last month. But except for the rings I will use everything in here so that’s something anyway. And also, according to Glossybox.com a possible product to get in your box was OC8 Professional Mattifying Gel. Hello! Oily face here! Why would I not have gotten that? Do you people even read the beauty profiles? Next month better be great, that’s all I’m saying.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

I Love...Strawberries & Milkshake Shimmer & Shine Lip Gloss


I couldn’t find this exact product in the US online anywhere. Apparently this is a UK brand. But the body washes and lotions retail for $6 to $8 at drugstores so I suppose you could assume this would be significantly less than that. If you could find it.

I have a confession to make. I’m a little greedy. Let me explain. Every year for Christmas, I get a little something for all of the girls I work with (even though I don’t like all of them). This year I found some great little travel bottles of I Love… body wash. I’ve never really used this brand but I’ve heard of it and I think it’s a little better than some other brands. I didn’t really feel like  splurging for anything more expensive. The problem was that they came in packs of 5 but they only had two packs. I really didn’t think that was enough but I got them and figured I’d check back later. The next time I went shopping I couldn’t find the five pack. I guess they were out of stock. So I got a four pack that had body wash, shampoo, two body lotions and this lip gloss. Rather than put the lip gloss in the basket with the other stuff, I decided to keep it for myself. Because I'm greedy like that.

I kind of wish I’d given it away. Its got a good texture when you put it on. Its not too sticky and is shimmery and pretty. It has a very synthetic strawberry smell but very little strawberry flavor (which actually isn’t a bad thing considering the way it smells). I also don't like this kind of tube, where you have to squeeze it and it comes out of the little hole. It always just goes all over the tip of the tube and I feel like its unsanitary. All of this I could live with, except that the shimmer is completely gone after an hour or so. At the rate I’ve had to keep applying it the tube is only going to last for a week. It also is horribly drying for your lips. I was going to try layering some better quality lip balm underneath but unfortunately (or fortunately I suppose depending on how you want to look at it) I lost my lip gloss. It fell out of my pocket at a Christmas party. I’m all broken up about it. I definitely wouldn’t buy it but was going to use the tube I had because I’m too cheap to throw it away. But I lost it. Oh well. If any of the body wash or lotion gets left over from Christmas I’ll have a review of that too.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Ultra Shea Cleanse & Nourish Shampoo & Conditioner


$5 for 12.9 oz

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy is a relatively new brand (endorsed by Heidi Klum and celebrity stylist Oscar James if that is important to you). They have a full line of shampoos and conditioners for all of your hair needs. It claims to be different than other shampoos because it nourishes your scalp, getting right to the roots of your hair so that the hair that grows out of your healthy scalp is healthier hair. It contains Nutrium 10 Moisture Lock (whatever that is) to lock moisture into your hair and scalp.

I got the Ultra Shea, which is their extra nourishing version, as a free sample (get yours by liking them on Facebook). Its a travellish size (I don’t remember the exact ounces but it seemed smaller than a normal travel size) which was much better than a foil packet but the shampoo still lasted me less than a week and the conditioner actually lasted less than that. I have long hair and I use a lot of shampoo and conditioner. I was a little skeptical about putting shea butter in my hair. I felt like it would make my hair greasy and oily and I didn’t really feel like it would clean my hair very well. I was pleasantly surprised. While I didn’t feel like I really got enough to fully test how it would work long term, in the time that it lasted me, it was very nourishing and my hair felt very soft. It has a light smell that is reminiscent of shea butter lotions that I’ve used. Its not really a traditional shampoo smell but it wasn’t unpleasant. I didn’t notice much carryover once my hair was washed. It actually cleaned very well. It didn’t leave behind any greasy residue like I was expecting, but didn’t strip my hair either. This shampoo is a little pricier than some other “drug-store brands” but is still very affordable. I’m actually considering switching after I run out of my Garnier Nutrisse.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

L'Occitane


I first tried L'Occitane's peony hand cream through a free offer and loved it so I decided to try some other products. As you will see, I had mixed results.

Shea Butter Hand Cream-$10 for 1 oz or $28 for 5.2 oz

This hand cream is a little pricey but it is wonderful. It is creamy without being greasy and soaks in quickly and makes your hands lovely, silky, and smooth. The scents I have is are pivoine flora (peony flower which  is a light, sweet, flowery smell) and fleur de mangue (mango flower, which I at first thought smelled exactly like a fresh, ripe, mango but on closer smelling its actually a little synthetic smelling and could get a little obnoxious). It comes on a little strong when you first apply it but it fades to a more subtle scent. The hand cream comes in many different scents as well as an unscented version (which actually does have a light scent). I highly recommend it.

Ravissant Shower Gel- $8 for 2.5 oz or $20 for 8.4 oz
L’Occitane, I love your hand lotion but your shower gel, not so much.  First, the smell is bordering on atrocious. It smells like laundry detergent. And not even good laundry detergent. Cheap laundry detergent. It was all I could do to keep using the stuff until it was gone. It also left a weird filminess on my skin and was not that moisturizing. Of course I was using it in fall when it was starting to get cold and therefore drying to my skin. Maybe I would have had better results if I had used it in the middle of summer.

Fleur Cherie Bath and Shower Gel- $8 for 2.5 oz or $20 for 8.4 oz
I liked this shower gel better than the ravissant but still. Seriously L’Occitane? It was a subtler less obnoxious laundry detergent smell but still not something I would willingly use every day. It also was slightly more moisturizing and didn’t leave the weird film.

Aromachologie Repairing Shampoo & Conditioner- $8 for 2.5 oz, $20 for 8.4oz, $30 for 16.9oz or $25 for a 16.9 oz eco-refill

I didn’t like this shampoo or conditioner either. I definitely would not buy it. It has a very cloying, herby, noxious smell. That sticks to your hair forever. It smells to me like really strong rosemary (which is in the ingredients so that’s probably exactly what it is) which I like in my food but not in my hair. The conditioner is a little subtler and sweeter and if you use enough conditioner it tones down the shampoo. But I still did not enjoy getting a whiff of it every time I turned my head and feeling a little nauseous. But enough about the smell. It is advertised as “repairing” which I would take to mean “moisturizing” but that did not appear to be the case. It didn’t clean my hair very well and actually dried my hair out a little bit. I’ll stick with my $4 garnier fructis. I do like that L’Occitane has cheaper, eco-friendly refills that you can use to refill your bottles. But that is only useful if you actually like the shampoo. Which I don’t.

I also have received foil packets of both their divine eyes treatment (which is supposed to decrease dark circles and puffiness) and precious eye balm (which is supposed to tighten up the skin around your eyes and prevent wrinkles). Now, I don’t feel like I could give you a full review from only using up the little foil packet but I’ll tell you my impressions just from what I experienced (although the foil packets actually lasted longer than I thought; the precious eye balm packet lasted a week and the divine eyes about two weeks). After about a week of use the divine eyes definitely made a bigger difference in my dark circles but it left the skin around my eyes a little greasy and made my eyes kind of dry and sore feeling. Plus it didn’t do much for my puffiness and for $72 (!) for .5 oz I just can’t see myself buying the full product. I might, however buy the full sized precious eye balm. If it was on sale. Its $38 for .5 oz and didn’t do as much for dark circles but did more for the puffiness. A few minutes after you put it on you can feel it tightening up. It also soaked in very quickly and left no greasy residue. Plus its half the price of the divine eye treatment.


I was really disappointed by the shampoo, conditioner and shower gels. L’Occitane is a popular brand and I love their hand cream so I was not expecting to hate their other products so much. Of course there are other shampoos and body washes that I haven’t tried but I don’t think I will be trying them. If you want to buy any of these products to try them out for yourself you can find them at usa.loccitane.com. Also, you can sign up for a free 1 Oz hand cream by liking them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/loccitane.usa/app_194652767264993). You will get an email where it will give you’re your voucher. You can either go to a boutique to get your free hand cream with your printed voucher or you can order it online and use a code to get a free hand cream with your $25 purchase.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Kitsch Hair Ties


These were an impulse buy from Open Sky. A website I never should have joined. But that’s another conversation. I wish I hadn’t wasted the $13.99 on them but I have them now. Kitsch makes wide stretchy fabric bands tied in a loop with a cute little knot. They are in a wide variety of vibrant colors. They claim to be gentle on your hair and not to leave a kink. I wear my hair up in a ponytail a lot. I work at an assisted living facility so I need my hair out of my face. Plus unless I’ve straightened it I look like a poodle that’s had a bad blow out. First of all, these hair ties are expensive ($6.99 for a 3-pack, $9.99-$13.99 for a 5-pack, or $17.99 for a 8-pack). I don’t know about you but I lose way too many hair ties to spend that much money for them on a regular basis. As I said, I bought these on Open Sky and there were only 5 options and they were all $13.99. I wish I’d looked at the site and gotten a smaller package. My second complaint is that they are in pre-put together packages and I didn’t really like all the colors in any one package. I would have like to be able to customize a package with the colors I wanted or would have been happy with just 5 black hair ties. The package I finally settle on is called “Blue Steel.” It has a navy blue one, a heinous silvery and navy paisley one (which I actually should just throw in the trash), a navy blue one covered in glitter, a dark blue one, and a light silvery blue one. Thirdly, they do in fact leave a kink in your hair, despite what they say. Yes, it’s a less noticeable kink than traditional hair ties but there’s still a kink. The one thing I like is that they are very non-damaging to your hair. Even the regular hair ties that are supposed to be ouchless, sometimes break my hair. I hate that tell-tale ripping noise you sometimes hear when you pull out the hair tie. Its like nails on a chalkboard. And I do have Kitsch another compliment (albeit a rather underhanded one), they held up much better than I thought they would. I cringed a little when I first put it in thinking the knot would come undone or the fabric would get all stretched out but I’ve been wearing just one for about a month now (I purposely delayed posting this so I could see if they would stretch out) but it doesn’t look too bad. It is a little stretched out and the knot and the fabric past it is frayed (which actually could be from my dog chewing on it that one time) but it isn‘t as bad as I thought it would be. They aren’t the best thing but I have five (actually four because I threw out the ugly paisley one) of them to use up and intend to use them fully since they were so expensive.

Bottom line? These are a waste of money in my opinion. Yes, they’re cute and colorful and if you feel the need to wear the hair ties that all the celebrities are wearing, by all means, waste your money. But they are just hair ties. They work well, hold my hair up, and last reasonably well, I guess and it is true that they are less damaging but they are not worth the extra money. Go to your local drug store or even grocery store and buy a package of Goody or Scunci ties for $3 or $4 (I myself prefer the ouchless ones and I usually buy just the plain black ones, but that’s just me).

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Things I Like, But Don't Love


So, I was bored earlier and decided to write you a little note on some products that I use regularly. . .but only because I have them and I want to used them up, or because I haven’t found anything better yet. Don’t get me wrong, these are perfectly good products. They work well, do what they are supposed to and what not but I wouldn’t hesitate to replace them if I found something better. Basically I don’t hate them, but I don’t love them either.

Yes to Tomatoes Acne Roller Ball Spot Stick- $10

I haven’t tried a lot of products from this line but I love the clay mask and I like the idea that its all natural. The active ingredient in their products is still salicylic acid but it is supposedly naturally derived from tomatoes. With that being said, its still salicylic acid and it still dries my skin out a little bit. This particular product is a liquid inside of a roller ball stick. Its meant to be only applied to the area you need it (i.e. the pimples). It dries out the pimples (ever so slowly) but leaves a nasty dead patch of skin and kind of stings a little when I first apply it. I continue to use it however, mostly because I have it and I’m too cheap just to throw it away and buy something else. The biggest issue that I have with this is not the medication itself (in fact I’ve been wanting to try the skin repairing acne lotion) it’s the whole roller ball thing. It worked fine for the first week or so but I’ve had some issues with it. The ball freezes up and won’t move. Or it moves but nothing comes out (and I know there is still liquid in it because I can hear it shaking around in there). Then all of a sudden I’ll go to use it one time and the liquid will come gushing out around the ball and I’ll end up with way too much of it on my face. Its very bizarre. So basically, its good for people who only have the occasional pimple they want to speed along, but for people such as myself, with full on acne all over your face, its not so great. I also think it would be good to carry in your purse for a quick application at work or something. Its passable but I think there are probably better treatments out there.

Proactiv Oil Free Moisture- $19.95 at www.proactiv.com (or as a free gift with the entire proactiv system)

Let me start by saying that the only reason I even still have this is because I did proactiv for a while and when I decided to stop it and throw everything away, the only thing I kept was this moisturizer because it is pretty good. I think the whole Proactiv thing is sort of overrated myself. I know a lot of people have had good luck with it but it didn’t work for me. My acne got better for like two weeks and then got worse. The face wash is gritty and it actually very irritating. It started stinging my face and I ended up scrapping the whole thing. I’m not sure if it was the harsh exfoliation or the benzoyl peroxide (my mother is allergic to this) but either way something didn’t agree with my skin. I do know that they now have a sensitive skin version that does not have benzoyl peroxide in it but I haven’t tried it. I also should add a bit of a disclaimer on the price. The website lists it as $19.95 (and I found scads of it on ebay and amazon.com) but I’m not actually sure that you can buy just the moisturizer. I think you have to get the whole system. And don’t be fooled by those $19.95 offer thingys. They send you small little travel sizes for that $19.95 and then hike the price up when you reorder. Okay, that’s rant about Proactiv. Now, for the moisturizer. This is good as moisturizers go. It doesn’t clog pores, it has SPF 15 and moisturizes nicely. Its a white creamy liquid that goes on matte, and actually ends up making my skin look a little dull. It doesn’t take a whole lot for your face (one reason I still have it) and sinks in quickly. Its very good for just a moisturizer. But one reason I don’t particularly like it is because I am all about products that multi-task. This does have SPF but that’s it. Its just SPF and moisture. It doesn’t do anything else. I would rather have a moisturizer that also had some anti-aging factor, sped up the turn over of cells for a better complexion, brightened up my skin a little, controlled oil, something. But no. Its just a moisturizer with a little SPF in it. Not even that high SPF.

Garnier Nutrisionise Anti-Puff Eye Roller- $11

I should mention before I go any further that I work the overnight shift so therefore have a weird sleeping schedule, sometimes don’t sleep enough, and on days off, sleep too much. This all translates into some pretty impressive dark circles and puffy eyes. This roller is recommended by Allure as one of the best beauty products in 2011 for something or other. I must disagree with them. But let me talk more about the product itself. The product inside the roller is a silky clear liquid (although it does come in various levels of tintage as well) that rolls on very smoothly. The liquid does not sink in very quickly however. I usually rub it in until its gone but sometimes I just walk around looking like I just got done crying. The main ingredient of course is caffeine (as in most anti-puff and dark circle formulas). So does it work? Maybe my dark circles and puffy eyes are just too much for it but it doesn‘t really work. It doesn’t do much for the dark circles but it does reduce the puffiness a little. Enough to just keep using it until its gone but I probably won’t be buying it again. Actually I definitely won’t be buying it again.

Monday, December 10, 2012

A Few of My Favorite Things


Here are some products that I use regularly. All prices are from Walmart (where I shop) and are rounded up to the nearest dollar.

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Shampoo & Conditioner- $5 for 25.4 oz

I went through quite a period of time of buying a different brand of shampoo every time I bought shampoo but I settled on this brand. I love how soft, shiny, and silky it makes my hair and has a light fruity smell (which I believe comes from the black currant seed oil) that everyone always compliments me for. It has grape seed oil, olive oil, and shea oil for deep nourishment. And its cheap! This huge bottle usually lasts me a month or so. It cleans my hair well without making it too dry. I love it.

Basis Cleaner Clean Face Wash - $4 for 6 oz

I have acne-prone skin and I have tried almost everything out there. There are so many harsh acne cleansers that either dry out my skin, irritate it and make the acne worse, or both. This face wash is the best one I have tried so far. It is a gentle gel cleanser that foams up well, leaving my skin feeling clean and soft and not at all dry. Its oil-free and soap-free, instead using natural ingredients such as aloe, lemongrass, rosemary, and mint to clean. With ingredients like that you would expect it to have a nasty herby smell but instead it has a light, refreshing smell that I love.

Yes to Tomatoes Skin Clearing Facial Mask- $15 for 1.7 oz

I love this whole line actually but I use this mask once a week or so. It’s a thick, white, clay mask that smells like vanilla. It uses natural dead sea minerals and lycopene from tomatoes to unclog pores and even skin tone. Every time I use it I can tell instantly that the redness of my face is toned down and my skin is softer.

Olay Skin Smoothing Cream Scrub- $7 for 6 oz

This scrub uses salicylic acid and gentle beads to exfoliate away dead skin cells. I use it once or twice a week and it leaves my skin feeling smooth as a baby’s bottom. It is quite drying so make sure you use a good moisturizer afterwards and it claims that you can use it daily but I wouldn’t recommend using it that often, especially if you have dry skin anyway. Actually as I sit here and think about it I probably could find something that works better without drying the crap out of my skin.

Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash- $6 for 24oz

I use this stuff in the winter and it is great. Its thick and luxurious and hydrates so well. Its like taking a shower in lotion. It uses nutrient moisture technology (that sounds so fancy) to hydrate deep down. I do not however like the smell. I think next time I buy some I will look into getting a different scent. Its sort of a laundry detergent-y synthetic-y smell. Its great for winter but I think it would be too much for summer. My chest and back tend to break out in the summer.

Dial All Day Freshness Spring Water Body Wash- $4 for 18 oz

As I have said my skin is acne-prone. . .not just my face. I get pimples on my chest, back, and occasionally on my legs and other unmentionable places. I have often wanted to try some of those body washes with salicylic acid to treat acne but I’m afraid it would dry out my skin. So I stick with this. Its antibacterial to kill bacteria on the surface of you body and also works as a deodorizer. I know no one likes to talk about it but you know that funk you get going on in your cleavage when its gross and sticky and humid outside? Come on ladies you know what I’m talking about. This stuff is great for that. The smell is supposed to be spring water but really I think it smells more like watermelon bubblegum.  Which is a good thing by the way. I love watermelon bubblegum. Its subtle though, not too perfumey. I only use this in the summer though. Once the air starts to get drier my skin needs more moisture.

Blistex Deep Renewal Lip Protectant- $2 for one tube

This is the best chapstick I have ever used. It is rich and thick and very moisturizing. It doesn’t feel waxy like some chapstick can. It has a lightly sweet flavor and makes your lips so shiny it could almost double as a lip gloss. As a bonus it has coenzyme Q10 for anti-aging and SPF 15 for sun protection.

Now, you will notice that all of these are inexpensive. Very inexpensive. And are drug-store brands. I have a very strong feeling that I am quickly going to find out that all of these high end products I'm getting from my sample boxes work much, much better and that I am going to start spending much more on my skin care and hair care. But that is just an inkling. We'll see.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Some Other Sample Box Options


While impatiently waiting for my next Glossybox I thought I would check out some other sample boxes you can order.

Birchbox (www.birchbox.com)
Birchbox sends 4 to 5 samples and/or full-sized products of high end beauty products. Its only $10 a month. They have a point system similar to Glossydots except that you have to actually buy the products to get points. This website seems more aimed at sending you things to get you to buy them than sending you things so you can try them out. One thing that does appeal to me is that it seems to offer a wide variety of things. Their samples range from hair care, to make-up, skin care, and other beauty products as well as a “lifestyle“ product which actually seems to be mostly food. I’m not sure its worth the money (some of the samples don’t really seem that high end and there are way too many foil packets) but I tried to sign up for it anyway. I was put on a waiting list and I don’t know exactly how long it will be so I’m signing up for another one.

BeautyBar Sample Society (www.beautybar.com/SampleSociety/Landing Page.qs)
For a $15 a month fee you get 5 “deluxe samples” of luxury beauty products, a one-year subscription to Allure, access to beauty tips on their website, and a $15 off coupon for products on their website. This box is put out in affiliation with Allure so I would tend to trust all of the products they are sending so this was tempting to me until I read the fine print and realized that the $15 off coupon needs to be used on products you received in your box and that there was a $50 minimum. I hate it when they give you money or a percentage off and then tell you you have to spend a certain amount to get it. If I wasn’t going to buy it anyway its not worth it to me. So I did not sign up for this box. Yet.

Must Have by Popsugar (musthave.popsugar.com)
This box is expensive at $35 a month but it has the unique feature of sending you only full-sized items. Also the items range from beauty products to jewelry, and from food items to home décor items. Supposedly the items combined are valued at $100 for each box. It also looks like they send you a handful of coupons and special offers, although I don’t know how good they are. There is an added Must Have Luxury Edition for $100 which I certainly hope is worth considerably more than that but I haven’t been able to find much info on that. I did sign up for this box but was quite bummed to find out it will be February before I receive my first one.

Ipsy (www.ipsy.com)
This is another cheap one at $10. As far as I can tell from the website this seems to be mainly make-up items (eye shadow, concealer, lip stick and that sort of thing). I’m not huge into make-up myself and when I do wear make-up its not the slightly garish colors I see displayed on their website. I’m not of a neutrals and natural kind of girl. Also it seems that every month you get a new make-up bag. How many make-up bags does one person need?

Beauty Army (www.beautyarmy.com)
This box seems to be slightly more customizable than others. You fill out a beauty profile then are given a list of nine possible products, of which you can pick six. I do like that you have a choice, although it really isn’t much of a selection (and it sort of spoils the Christmas-like surprise of opening your box if you already know what’s in it). It gives you a chance to look into some of the products and see if other people liked it. I did sign up for this. I figured for $12 a month I’d try it anyway. I was slightly underwhelmed by my options. There were far too many pictures of foil packets (which I really hope aren’t actually foil packets when they get sent to me) and most of the products I had to choose from were either shampoo or facial cleanser. I was hoping for a little more variety.

I just have visions of laying on the floor in my room surrounded by bottles and tubes and jars of things that I can’t get rid of quick enough, but in spite of my reservations I plan on trying all of these boxes (probably not the Ipsy one though since I don’t really use a whole lot of make-up) for at least three months before I decide whether or not I like them. I can read all the reviews I want but until I actually try them I won’t really know whether I like them. At the very least I’ll get to try out some stuff and maybe find some new products that I love. I have to say though, just from first impressions I think I’m going to like Glossybox best. I’ve seen many reviews where people have complained that the price is too high but overall the products seem higher quality, plus they promise at least one full-sized product every month and it seems like often there are more than that. Too many other sample boxes have too many foil packets or very small samples. Those foil packets usually only last me one or two uses and if they are hair products sometimes they don’t even last me one use. One or two uses is not enough to accurately tell if you like a product. Seriously, if I’m paying money to sample products I want to be able to use it long enough to see if I like it. Birchbox actually seems to put food in a lot of their boxes. I have seen two different reviews of two different months boxes that had Luna bars in them. I like Luna bars but I can buy them for like $1 at the grocery store so I don’t need to pay $10 a month to have them mailed to me. I want to try beauty products, not eat something I could buy at any grocery store.

Lastly, (I promise I’m almost done) I have seen at least one beauty blogger say that all sample boxes were basically a waste of money and that if you really want to use high end beauty products, save the $10 or $15 every month and every 6 months or a year buy something that your really could use. While I agree with this logic, I am relatively new to the whole high-end beauty thing. Most of the products I have right now could be bought at any local drug store and I really don’t have the money to spend on a bunch of expensive things that I’m not even sure are going to work. So, I will continue to get sample boxes until I settle on some things that I really like.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Nume Wet & Dry Flat Iron


$150 at www.numeproducts.com (minus a $100 gift certificate that came in my Glossybox)

I have a love/hate relationship with my hair. My hair has always been quite shiny, soft, and healthy looking no matter what shampoo I use but I have been cursed with flyaways, frizz, and that nasty fuzzy halo of broken hairs (which I guess is also flyaways and frizz). I am very good to my hair. I use super moisturizing shampoo and conditioner and leave the conditioner on way longer than most people. I don’t color it or blow dry it regularly. I don’t rat it or rip out knots or any other damaging things. So it has always puzzled me why my otherwise healthy hair is always frizzy and flyaway-y. The simple explanation I have come up with is that I don’t style it. I wash it, wrap it in a towel and let it towel dry while I lotion and deodorize myself, then I spritz it with leave-in-conditioner and brush it. That’s it. Usually its up in a pony tail before its even dried fully. I’ve tried straightening it before (with my cheapy walmart flat iron) and it never seems to do much good. I’ve stood in front of the more expensive styling tools arguing with myself over whether or not to spend the money countless times. Finally when I got this $100 gift coupon I figured, what the hell. I might as well see if a more expensive flat iron really does work better. I got the Wet & Dry one because my hair takes a very long time to dry and I like to be able to style it while its still damp. The first time I tried it my hair was dry. I had taken a shower in the morning, used the Nume argan oil and let my hair dry naturally, then straightened it later in the afternoon. I was literally giddy with excitement over the results. My hair  never looked so good. It was smooth and shiny. Nary a flyaway to be seen. The ceramic plates heated up way faster than previous flat irons and stayed hot. In most places one swipe was all it took to smooth out my hair. I was thrilled.

This particular flat iron is called Wet & Dry. It has vents in the plates that let out the steam from damp hair. The second time I tried the flat iron I decided to try it damp. I was a little disappointed with the results. It took a lot longer to straighten (obviously because my hair had to dry first) and it never really got as smooth as it had when I straightened it dry. It did make a difference when I used the argan oil but it still isn’t as smooth as it was before.

Overall, I would not have paid the full price for this flat iron. But minus my $100 gift certificate I am glad I got it and it definitely is much better than my other flat iron. Although you could straighten your damp hair if you don’t have time to blow dry it or let it dry first but I recommend straightening your hair when its already dry.

A note on Nume’s customer service: When I first ordered my flat iron I realized after I had already completed the order that I hadn’t seen anywhere to enter in my coupon. Obviously my heart stopped a little because the only reason I had ordered it was because of the $100 coupon and there is no way I could afford a $150 flat iron. I emailed customer service immediately telling them the mistake I had made. After perusing the website a little more I noticed at the top of a screen a place to turn in gift vouchers which I assume is where I should have entered my coupon code and it would have credited my account. That’s a little confusing but whatever. So I patiently wait for a response (which is promised within 48 hours). I believe I sent my email on a Wednesday. I immediately received a confirmation. By Friday (48 hours later) I hadn’t received a response. I gave them the benefit of a doubt thinking that it was close to the weekend so maybe they were trying to finish up other things. When I didn’t get a response the following Monday I was a little irritated. Then Tuesday I received a email saying that I would receive a response shortly and please don’t email them a second time (which I hadn’t so I’m not sure what that was all about). Then finally on Wednesday I received a message saying that I would be reimbursed the $100. So I’m happy with the final outcome and overall a week really wasn’t that long to wait but if the website says you will receive a response in 48 hours I expect to receive one in 48 hours. Just saying. But on the bright side I did receive my flat iron in a record amount of time (I think it was 2 days after I had ordered it).

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Glossybox-November


Epionce Restorative Hand Cream
Sample was full-sized (2.5 oz). $19 at www.epionce.com/shop (I found this for $10 with free shipping at www.lovelyskin.com)

I am a CNA at an assisted-living facility so I wash my hands a lot. My hands tend to get very dry, in winter-time especially. I am constantly slathering on hand lotions and find that most of them wash right off again the next time I wash my hands. This hand cream goes on so lightly, absorbs quickly (I found it a little greasy at first but it absorbed in a couple minutes), and has a light citrusy smell that I love. More importantly, my hands felt immediately softer and when I washed my hands later I could tell that the cream was still there and didn’t just wash off. I haven’t used this long term yet, as I’m still using up another hand lotion I have, but I love this product and am seriously considering buying it.

Illamasqua LTD Lip & Eye Medium Pencil
Sample was full-sized; $20 at www.sephora.com

I have to confess, I did not actually try this pencil out. The color I received was Devotion which is a very light green. I am not very adventurous with my color palate when it comes to make-up so I gave this to my 16-year-old sister who will wear any color of eye-liner from white to purple to glitter. In hindsight I should have at least tried it so I could give an accurate review but here is her take on it. She said that she usually doesn’t usually like pencils but that it was “good if you like pencils.” She also said the color was so light that she could hardly see it on her eyes. I couldn’t get anything more specific out of her. She’s 16, what do you expect? Some things other people have said about them is that the pencils go on smoothly, blend well, and last. I can’t see myself spending $20 on eyeliner but I do wish that I had gotten a neutral color such as black, brown, dark gray, even a dark blue I would have worn. Light green not so much. I noticed on the Glossybox reviews several other people said that they wished they had gotten a “more wearable” color, as one woman put it.

Arganics by Nume Argan Oil
Sample was 10ml ; full-sized is $59 for 4oz at www.numeproducts.com/arganoil (I found comparable sized products for as little as $8 although I don’t know how the quality is)

I am really on the fence about this product. On the one hand, it does make my hair very shiny and soft (although it doesn’t do much for my flyaways). I should mention however that I use very moisturizing shampoo and conditioner (Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition if you must know) so my hair tends to be very shiny and soft anyway. I’m really not sure how much was the Argan Oil and how much was the shampoo and conditioner. It absorbs quickly and isn’t greasy but my hair did feel greasy several hours later. Bottom line, it’s an okay product but definitely not worth the whopping almost 60 bucks. I also found a rather scathing blog post about the ingredients in this product. The blogger seemed to think the smoothing and shining was more from heavy man-made substances than from actual argan oil. There are other products that do as good or almost as good of a job without emptying out your bank account (try the Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine line which uses Moroccan argan oil and is only about $5 or less a product).

Perfumies Solid Perfume Stick
Sample was full-sized; $7 at www.perfumies.com  (select scents $6 at www.amazon.com)

This perfume is available in 95 different scents and is all natural and not tested on animals. The scent I got was Love Always which the website describes as “a lush summer floral with delicate hints of musk and lime, sweetened with sweet juicy apples, luscious pomegranate and tropical ylang ylang.” I’m pretty picky about my perfume scents but this one is lovely. I’m sure my nose palate isn’t as refined as the perfumiers or whatever they call them at Perfumies but I would say their description is pretty spot on. It is light, fruity, and flowery at the same time. I love it. The sticks are small enough to carry in a purse or a pocket and the labels are beautiful and colorful. Just a little dab is enough so it seems like the stick would last a while. And at only $7 this is cheap by Glossybox standards. I think next time I’m shopping for perfume I may check them out again.

Skin & Co Roma Truffle Serum
Sample was about a half-sized tube; original size $36 for 1.01 oz at www.skincoandroma.com

I loved this stuff when I first tried it on. It goes on very light, absorbs almost instantly, and has a wonderful, almost coconut-y smell. My skin is very smooth and soft after using it. But I’ve been using it for a couple weeks now and my skin is soft, smooth and well-hydrated but I haven’t seen any difference in the evenness of my skin tone and in the last couple days I’ve started to break out. I am PMSing so I’m not sure how much of the breaking out is hormones and how much is the truffle oil in the serum but I’m going to hold off a couple weeks on ordering the serum until I see if my skin clears up.

Overall I am really happy with my Glossybox. Three of the five products were full-sized, three of the products I loved, and one I will at least use. Plus there was that $100 gift certificate that I did use. This was definitely worth the money. If you want to get your own Glossybox here’s the link: http://www.glossybox.com/referal?Cl=MjYwMzM=. (You have to include the last equal sign).

Ta ta
Stacy

Monday, December 3, 2012

Glossybox!

I just signed up for Glossybox, a program that mails you great beauty products every month. Reviewing the products on glossybox.com gave me the idea to start blogging about it in more detail so maybe someone else can find a great product.

I got my first Glossybox about a week ago and I was so freakin' excited. It was like a little kid on Christmas, I'm not even kidding. So, in my first box was; a full-sized Epionce Restorative Hand Cream, a small bottle of Arganics by Nume Argan Oil, a half-sized Skin&Co. Roma Truffle Serum (face moisturizer), a full-sized Perfumies solid perfume stick, a full-sized Illamasqua Lip & Eye pencil, and a $100 gift certificate to Nume.com (good only on styling tools or extensions). I did the math and this was about a $169 value (including the coupon) for only $21. I was very happy with that.

Glossybox sends you 5 (or more I've been told) luxury beauty products every month for $21 and free shipping. You can review each product and refer friends to receive Glossydots towards a free box. To sign up for your own Glossybox, use this link; http://www.glossybox.com/referal?CI=MjYwMzM=.

Ta ta
Stacy