Friday, January 18, 2013

Beauty Army January- First Impressions


I don’t usually post twice in one day but I just got my January Beauty Army box! Yay! This month is Beauty Army’s birthday so we get an extra 7th pick! I was much happier overall with my picks this month than I was last month. I read somewhere that if you keep retaking the beauty profile quiz your choices will change until you get a mix you are happy with. I did that this time but honestly most of the things I ended up picking were in my first mix so I really didn’t need to. My one complaint is that every time I took quiz I continued to say I had oily skin and in every group of samples to pick from there were two moisturizers for dry skin. That doesn’t make much sense but whatever. Here are my choices.

Mark. Scanda-Lash Brown Mascara
Sample- full-sized- $6.50

This was the extra pick. You had a choice of black or brown. I chose brown for something different. I’ve always used black mascara but I figured the brown might be a little subtler. This is small for a full-sized mascara (actually really small) but mascara is always welcome. I’ve tried some other mark. products but not the mascara. I’ll write a full review after I’ve worn it for a full day.

Bath & Body Works Paris Amour Shower Gel
Sample- 3 oz
Full-sized- $11 for 10 oz

I wouldn’t really consider Bath & Body Works to be really high-end but I love their products. This is a decent sample sized shower gel. I use a lot of shower gel though so it will probably last me less than a week. We’ll see. I’ve never smelled this particular smell but its wonderful. Its kind of fruity which doesn’t really spring to mind Paris for me but oh well. I normally wouldn’t use this in the winter because my hair is super dry and my past experience with Bath & Body Works has been that the shower gels are not moisturizing but this says it is shea-enriched so I’m hoping it will be moisturizing.  A full-review will follow.

Ineke Hothouse Flower Perfume
Sample- 0.05 oz
Full-sized- $95 for 2.5 oz

I was not going to pick this because I have so much perfume already but I read gardenia and had to pick it. I love gardenia. This is a wonderfully bright and fresh gardenia. I love it. I know some people complain about getting little perfume samples in their boxes but I am not going to complain. I actually read a review of a sample box somewhere (I can’t remember where it was now or which box it was) where the person who was writing it said she used up a sample vial in two or three days. Two or three days! I would have to take a bath in the stuff for it to last me that long! I spray one spritz on one wrist and then dab my other wrist (not rub, dab) on it, then spray down my shirt. It sounds weird but I read it in a fashion magazine or something somewhere. The heat from the core of your body makes the perfume waft up to your face throughout the day. Plus if it gets on my bra it last longer because perfume sticks to cloth better than skin. Shut up it works for me! Okay anyway so one of these little vials lasts me for a few weeks. Which is worth it to me.  Alright that’s it for my tangent. Moving on.

Mark. Hook Up Lip Gloss in Blow Kisses
Sample- Full-sized- $6.50

I got one of these lip glosses in Honey last month and I love it. Blow Kisses is a bold red. it’s a little bold for my tastes but I decided to try it because I already know I love Mark. lip glosses. This red, once I’ve put it on, actually isn’t that bold. Its pretty sheer, which is good for me but for someone else who likes the bold red look, maybe not so much. I also have a lot of blemishes around my mouth right now and the red just makes them more obvious. So. . I don’t know if I like this. I’ll have to think on it or try it with some foundation and a lot of concealer.

Yes to Blueberries Firming Eye Treatment
Sample- foil packet
Full-sized- $19.99 for 0.5 oz

Another product I don’t really consider high-end but I am excited to try it. I’ve used some products from the Yes to Tomatoes line with mostly good results and I’m always looking for a good eye cream so I’m excited to use this. I’m not thrilled about the foil packet but an eye treatment will probably last me a while so I’ll overlook it.

Lash Card Mascara Shields
Sample- 2 shields
Full-sized- $13.98 for 20 shields

This is a brilliant idea. I don’t know how many times I’ve blinked a little or pushed the mascara back a little too far and gotten it on my eyelid. If I’ve already done my eye shadow I have to wipe it off and start all over. Its kind of frustrating. These shields are curved to fit your eye lid to protect your eye lid from the mascara. I’ll use these tomorrow so expect a review pretty quickly.

Whip Hand Cosmetics Special Forces Loose Pigment Eyeshadow
Sample- 0.03 oz
Full-sized- $14 for 0.1 oz

This is an exclusive color created for Beauty Army. It’s a peachy color with a little bit of shimmer. It looks like it would make an excellent lid color. I’ll review it fully after I’ve seen how it lasts.

Overall I’m thinking I’ll be much happier this month then I was last month. According to my calculations this box is worth $27.80. Even without the extra gift its worth a little more than last month so I am happy. We’ll see after I try all of my products though. And just an added note, the box everything came in was pink this month (last month it was white). I had been using last months box to store small samples in but I’ve transferred everything into the pretty pink one!

No comments:

Post a Comment