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Friday, April 24, 2015

Birchbox & Ipsy

I finally decided to break down and give Birchbox and Ipsy a try.  I've been seeing it everywhere lately was really curious.

I've been a bit of a tomboy for a good part of my life.  You may not have been able to guess that from all of the fashion posts but I didn't discover my love for fashion until way later in life.  The same goes for makeup and beauty products!  I didn't start wearing ANY makeup until after high school  I was a late bloomer I guess. lol!  I still normally only wear eyeliner and mascara on a normal basis, but I've been really wanting to try other products...and that's where these subscriptions come in to play.  I didn't know where to start, so I thought this would be a lot of fun.  And I can share with you along the way too!

I signed up with Birchbox towards the middle of last month, so I got two boxes within a week from each other (not that I'm complaining, at all!!).  I didn't think they were going to send me the March box was was very happy that they did.  I figured I would include both Birchboxes and the Ipsy boxes into one post.


IPSY:

JulieG Nail Color in "Damsel"
The polish went on really well, but the bright pink is a bit out of my comfort zone.  I put it on my toes first to get used to it.  Baby steps...

Hey Honey - Good Morning Honey Silk Facial Serum
This serum did a great job with moisturizing my face and giving it a bit of a glow, but I think it might be a little too much for when it gets hotter in the summer and my face gets oilier

Aromachology - Sophisticated & Sensual Eau de Parfum
I wasn't a big fan of this scent.  It was a bit too strong and very floral-y

Starlooks - Stain Finsh Lip Gloss in "Cuddle"
I loved this lip gloss.  It didn't leave my lips feeling extremely sticky like other lip glosses I've tried, and it's such a pretty color. (pictured below)

theBalm Cosmetics - Nude Dude Eyeshadow single in "Fit"
I really loved the color of this eyeshadow.  It looked like it was going to be a little dark but it wasn't.  It had a nice shimmer to it. (pictured below)



BIRCHBOX:

March's box:

Beauty Protector Protect & Shampoo  |  Full Size $21.95 &
Beauty Protector Protect & Condition  |  Full Size $21.95
I ended up not caring for these two products very much.  I was really excited to give them a try because they smelled SO GOOD, but they ended up making my hair look frizzy and didn't add any shine or enhance softness, bummer!

Harvey Prince "Hello" Perfume  |  Full Size $55
I really loved the smell of this perfume.  I was feeling a little sketical when I read the scent description, it says: Meyer lemon, mandarin, grapefruit, forsythia,  and plumeria.  It's a nice light and refreshing smell

Jelly Pong Pong "Glow Getter" Highlighter  |  $14
Honestly, I'm not even sure what to do with this yet.  I haven't tried it out yet.  I'm a beginner, remember?!  Any advice??

Vasanti Cosmetics BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator  |  Full Size $34
I ended up being really happy with this face scrub.  The scrubbing beads are really small and not too rough on your skin, while still giving you the deep scrub you need.

April's Box:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel  |  Full Size $22
This was another product that I was pretty clueless about.  I don't typically do anything at all with my brows, but my blogger friend Jenn filled me in on what it's for so maybe I'll give it a try.  Thanks girl!

Beauty Protector Protect & Oil  |  Full Size $25.95
This had the same scent as the shampoo & conditioner that I got from last month's box, which I was really excited about.  I ended up really loving this though!  It gave my hair a nice shine and helped calmed my frizzy hair.  Maybe I will try this with the products from last month and see if it changes my mind about them

Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion  |  Full Size $25
I'm not sure if I would call this one a lotion, it was more of a liquid.  I didn't enjoy the smell of this one at all, it was kind of musty.  It did give a nice cooling feeling but other than that I didn't notice too much change

Whish Shave Crave Shaving Cream in Blueberry  |  Full Size $20
LOVED this!  The smell was so good and it left my legs feeling really soft and silky for the rest of the day.  It didn't foam at all so that took me a little while to get used to

Cargo Swimmables Water Resistant Blush in Los Cabos  |  Full Size $26
I really like the idea of a water resistant blush for the summer.  This color was a bit more orange than what I would end up wearing, but maybe after I get a bit of a tan I will like it more.  I would love to try a different color tho! (pictured below)



If you would like to try Birchbox, I would love it if you used my referral link, it's only $10 a month.  Ipsy is also $10 a month and if you think you would rather try that one, this is my referral link for that one.  Thanks so much!!

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28 comments:

  1. Oh yay I'm so glad you liked your boxes! That eyeshadow looks good on you... I got the same one but don't think I'll try it. May send it your way! ;) I love the "Hello" perfume too! So I wrote a post on highlighting sometime this year I think but a great place to put it is on your brow bone and the corners of your eyes! I love highlighter!

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  2. Julie Tucker-WolekApril 24, 2015 at 5:12 AM

    And see ... I WOULD LOVE that nail polish! PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

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  3. hahaha I ended up using it on my toes and it's growing on me! lol I'm not sure if I'll get brave enough to paint my fingers or not yet

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  4. Aww bummer, you didn't like it? I thought it was going to be really dark but it wasn't so I was happy. The "Hello" perfume smells so good, even my husband likes it and he hates most perfumes. lol. I will give the highlighter a try with your tips...lol I'm so clueless with a lot of this stuff. lol!

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  5. I hear great things about Ipsy. I got to try GlossyBox for 3 months with my blog, and I loved it. I am not a huge makeup person, so I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Looks like you got some great stuff!

    Amy Ann
    Now blogging at my new site Straight A Style

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  6. Looks like you got some fabulous stuff in your boxes. I'm not really much of a makeup experimenter so I've never tried any of these.

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  7. Looks like you some really great stuff!
    Melanie @ meandmr.com

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  8. I've definitely gone through some phases where I'm either super girly or super tomboy. I like to keep my everyday look pretty simple now, but I love experimenting from time to time. I'm too lazy to go look for products to try though, so this would probably work well for me haha

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  9. Oh it's good you found some nice products. That metallic gold eyeshadow is beautiful on you! :) I signed up for a box here to give it a go and I was so unimpressed. I still haven't used anything from it! I just cancelled it the same day I got the box, definitely wasn't going to pay for any more.

    Away From The Blue

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  10. Sounds like you got to try out a bunch of awesome products! Now you're tempting me into getting either the birch box or the ipsy, I don't know which one I would go for. It's fun to be getting into makeup. I've always been a fan of the basics, but just last year I've been using a lot more products like blush and highlighters.

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  11. So glad you finally signed up for Birchbox! I'm pretty sure i'm going to sing up for Ipsy soon. Still haven't made up my mind haha. It's so much fun trying out all different products. I got that cargo blush in my April Birchbox as well and i'm actually loving it. The orange looks pretty nice on my fair skin, I was shocked haha.

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  12. Cool concepts! Glad you are enjoying the products and stepped out of your comfort zone with the pink polish! I love pink :)


    www.dressed2dnines.com

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  13. My younger sister is the pink lover in our family. She loves pink everything. I'm a purple or black girl. lol! I have been having a lot of fun trying out new products

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  14. So far I am really liking them both but I promised myself that I would pick just one after a couple months instead of paying for both subscriptions. lol! I love trying out the new products that I probably never would have found myself. I will have to be brave and try that blush...couldn't hurt to try

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  15. It has been so much fun to try out new products. I couldn't decide which subscription I wanted so I got both for a couple months and then I will choose which one I want to stick with. lol! I just have to make up my mind! lol

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  16. Thanks so much! That eyeshadow looked more like a shimmery brown in the container but when I put it on it had a goldish tone to it. That's a bummer that you didn't end up liking yours. So far I have been happy with them both but eventually I would like to pick just one

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  17. haha I'm the same way. Some days I would like to do nothing but hang out in my comfiest ripped up jeans and band t-shirt and then other days I like going more girly. lol! I wouldn't know where to start if I tried picking out products for myself so that's why I thought this would be really great for someone like me. lol

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  18. I am really happy with my subscriptions so far! It's been fun trying new things!

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  19. I wouldn't know where to start if I had to pick out makeup for myself so I thought this would be good to try some new things. lol! So far I'm pretty happy with the stuff that they've sent me

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  20. I have really liked my products so far. I've never been much into makeup either but I thought it would be fun to try out some new products

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  21. Before I signed up with Glossy Box I kept going back and forth between Birch Box and Ipsy. It was nice to see a side by side comparison in case I decide to go with another subscription box. It's always so much fun to see what each month brings!

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  22. I'm so glad you decided to try Ipsy (and Birchbox)! I love getting my Ipsy in the month every month! Which one do you like better so far? I love that the Balm eyeshadow too!
    ~Sara

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  23. I saw Lindsay touched on it below, but highlighting is for the high points of the face - so I highlight down my nose, in the center of my forehead, center of my chin, under the brow bone, on the high points of the cheeks under my eyes, and in the corner of my eyes. Obviously I don't do that daily, but usually on special occasions. On the daily, I use highlighter along my waterline and in the corners of my eyes. :)

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  24. That nude eyeshadow is absolutely gorgeous! I prefer lighter, more neutral shades in shimmery colors so the one they sent you is perfect. My bf's mom used to get Birchbox so I tried a bunch of her sample products--one of which was that shave cream. I don't buy shave cream to save money (just use conditioner) so that was a nice change! I totally forgot about the lovely smell too. I don't do anything with my brows since I keep them pretty thick. That Anastasia brow gel is SUPER popular among beauty YouTubers. How awesome to get it in a subscription box!

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  25. It is really fun to get them in the mail. It's like a fun little present. I've had pretty good luck with them so far. I would eventually like to choose just one of them but I want to try them both a couple months first to see which one I like better. I've never tried Glossy Box either! I actually just heard of that one recently, is it pretty much the same as Birchbox and Ipsy?

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  26. Oh man, I'm still not sure which one I enjoyed more so I may have to give it another month or two before I pick one. I was actually really happy with both this time around.

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  27. Awesome, thank you so much! It's almost embarrassing how clueless I am. lol! I am going to have to give that stuff a shot now that I know what it's for. haha

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  28. I normally don't use shave cream either, I'll just use my body wash as I take a shower. My mom gave me a sample size of the skintimate stuff a while back but i didn't think it made much of a difference with the softness of my skin afterwards. I wasn't sure about the eyeshadow when I first saw it because it looked a bit dark but it was really nice once I put it on.

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