Tag: Subscription Box
September 2019 Sephora Play ! – Must-See Beauty
September’s “Must-See Beauty” box is a banger…well, almost.
I was warned ahead of time about the Amika Bushwick Beach No-Salt Wave Spray. My friend Michelle got it in her box and tried it – it turned her into a scarecrow! She said it turned her hair into straw – no thank you! Also, I’ve never heard of Bushwick Beach, but I have heard of Bushwick Bill, RIP.
The rest of the box is good though: Benefit Gimme Brow + Volumizing Eyebrow Gel in 3; Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash in “Black”; First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Pores Be Gone Matte Primer (I cannot WAIT to try this – I am almost finished with the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hyaluronic Hydrating Primer from my June Ipsy); Fresh Sugar Strawberry Exfoliating Face Wash (I LOVE this face wash – I have the full size; and Yves Saint Laurent Libre Eau de Parfum (no – ew).
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 prestige samples a month, for just $10! You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
September 2019 Ipsy Bag – #DiscoverYourself
Ipsy is really taking it to the next level. Not only have they added Product Choice over the last few months, but they now have added additional product tiers – Plus (5 full size products for $25) and Ultimate (12 products for $50). I am content to stick with the regular Glam Bag for now, but maybe if I win the lottery, I can upgrade?
September’s bag is a cute Constellation printed canvas bag, filled with new discoveries. My product choice this month was Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask. It was an easy pick – all of the other choices were Ofra products. No offense intended, but it is kind of a “blah” brand to me. AND I got a product anyway – Ofra Cosmetics x Madison Blush in “Sweet Stuff” (I have no idea who Madison Miller is – do you?).
Also in this month’s bag: Haruharu Wonder Honey Green Aqua Bomb Cream (but it looks like a lip balm?); Sundays Nail Polish in “No. 35” (it’s a dark navy blue); and The Beauty Crop Eyeshadow in “Halcyon” (ugh, a dark metallic army green – so weird).
A strange collection of products, for sure. What are you even doing, Ipsy?
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
August 2019 Sephora Play! – Your Beauty Sidekicks
This month’s Play! box is Superhero themed, full of killer sidekick products.
First off, I gotta point out that my REN Clean Skincare Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream was busted – the tube was slashed somehow! It looks like the plastic cracked? I am lucky that the content congealed and didn’t leak into the box…into the trash it goes.
I am normally excited about Glamglow, but I am not sure how I feel about Glamglow Supertoner Exfoliating Acid Solution Toner. It’s a thick gray liquid – it’s charcoal. Hmmmm…
Also in this month’s box: Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Panoramic Mascara; Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Cream Gloss in “Hot Toddy”; Clinique Moisture Surge 72-hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator; and Alterna Haircare CAVIAR Ant-Aging Smoothing Anti-Frizz Blowout Butter (TWO caviar products – suspicious?).
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 prestige samples a month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
August 2019 Allure Beauty Box – Summer Brights
Well this is a rather random assortment of summer-y products. Weird flex, but okay, Allure…
Inside this month’s neon yellow pouch: Benefit They’re Real Mascara (a solid mascara, but not as good as Rollerlash); Erno Lazlo Multi-Task Eye Serum Mask; Primera Alpine Berry Water Cream; Nuria Defend Triple Action Eye Cream; Cargo Cosmetics Essential Lip Color in “Bordeaux”; Laritzy Cosmetics Liquid Beam in “Topaz” (ugh, wet finish eye shadow – ewww); and Makeup Eraser The Mini in “Black” (I keep meaning to try one of these).
Confession…I haven’t sampled any of this month’s products – they just are not that interesting. Bummer of a box this month!
The Allure Beauty Box is $15/month, but they give you $5 off your first box. They also offer an option for $150/year – a savings of $30. Sign up via my referral link.
August 2019 Ipsy Bag – Bare Yourself
Oh, ipsy I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned how much I don’t want waterproof products last month – I got 2 of them this month!
Waterproof eye shadow? Ugh, like I am going to wear a full face to the pool? Regardless, the Suva Beauty Eyeshadow in “Turmeric” is a “water-resistant” gold foil. The Huda Beauty Lip Contour in “Trophy Wife” is also listed as waterproof, which makes a bit more sense for a longwear lip lip liner.
Also in this month’s shockingly weird dark green, pyramid studded vinyl bag: It Cosmetics Confidence in a Gel Lotion Moisturizer (my product selection for the month – looking forward to sampling this one); Nails Inc. Nail Polish in “Weekend Superpowers” (the same weird, flat dark green as the makeup bag); and Papa Recipe Bombee Honey Moisture Cleansing Foam.
I didn’t add on any products this month – nothing looked tempting.
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Sephora Play! July 2019 – Isle of Beauty
Sooooo…it’s August 8th and I am just now finishing up my July boxes. I guess a 10 day vacation put me more behind schedule than I thought.
July’s Sephora Play! box is “Isle of Beauty” or products to take with you to a desert island. Hmmmm, I may disagree with a few of these choices, but overall, they are not bad picks.
The Kiehl’s Ginger Leaf & Hibiscus Firming Mask is definitely giving me island vibes – I cannot wait to try it. Also in this month’s box: Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes & Lips (good stuff); Bite Beauty Matte Creme Lip Crayon in “Glace”; Caudalie Vinopure Natural Salicylic Acid Pore Minimizing Serum (I am not so sure that I will care about how big my pores are on a desert island, but ya never know); Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser with Bamboo Booster; and Marc Jacobs Daisy Love (musky raspberryish).
Hand lotion – if I was stranded on a desert island, I’d want hand lotion…and some fucking SPF!
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 high quality samples a month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
July 2019 Allure Beauty Box – Lessons Learned
I opened this month’s Allure Beauty Box and my first thought was, fuck it’s Kim Kardashian. Then I realized it wasn’t her – just someone who looks very, very similar.
July’s guest curator for the Allure Beauty Box is Huda Kattan, creator of Huda Beauty. I’ve tried exactly one lippie by Huda Beauty, but I liked it quite a bit. This box is a mix of Huda’s own products and those that she loves.
The centerpiece of the box is a full size tube of Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in “Alluring”, a shade exclusive to the box. It’s an orangey red, which I normally would stay away from, but I tried it and it is SUPER flattering on me. I was SHOOK. The formula is really good – it isn’t streaky, it doesn’t dry out my lips, and stayed all day.
Also in Huda’s box: Huda Beauty Classic Lash in “Samantha” (why does Allure keep sending fake eyelashes?); Kayali Vanilla 28 (a rich vanilla scent that is very tolerable and not at all like a little tree air freshener); Too Faced Hangover Primer (some people got Benefit Ka-Brow or an Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil); OUAI Texturizing Hair Spray; and a TONYMOLY Intense Care Snail Hydrogel Mask (oooooh, snail trail).
Except for the lashes, a pretty good box. It also includes a code for 25% at shophudabeauty.com.
The Allure Beauty Box is $15/month, but they give you $5 off your first box. They also offer an option for $150/year – a savings of $30. Sign up via my referral link.
July 2019 Ipsy Bag – Dive In
Dive in? Well, okay. I’m just glad that the “Dive In” theme isn’t all waterproof products – I cannot ever get that shit off.
My product choice this month was Smashbox Cosmetics Always On Lipstick in “Babe Alert”. Nude rose – I cannot get enough of nude rose lipstick.
Also in this month’s palm frond decorated ipsy bag: Billion Dollar Brows Eyebrow Brush (the insert says that the brush is infused with charcoal to resist bacteria – what? why?); Color Club Nail Polish in “Palm to Palm” (it matches the palm fronds on the makeup bag); FEEL Mindful Palo Santo Soothing Mask; and TheBalm Cosmetics Eyeshadow in “He Said, She Said” (I may need to try a primer woith this shade – I used it this morning, and the shimmery lavender shade was barely visible).
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
June 2019 Ipsy Bag – Block Party
I feel like June’s ipsy bag is a pretty big deal…it’s a full collab with Tetris! It’s not just the bag(s), ipsy released a full line of Tetris-themed makeup and brushes – 13 year old me, as well as 43 year old me thinks that’s pretty cool.
My bag included a Tetris-themed Tapered Blending Brush and I paid $3 extra to get one of the single eyeshadows – “Block Party”, a bronze/rose gold shade. It’s decent quality and stays on without primer. There were also full coordinated palettes available to add to my bag, but I wasn’t feeling any of the color schemes.
Also in this month’s “Block Party” bag: Hey Honey Sweet Treat Wild Berry & Honey Yogurt Recovery Mask (mmmm); First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hyaluronic Hydrating Primer; Neogen Code9 Black Volume Cream (sounds like a product from The Matrix – I am literally scared to try it); and ETAT LIBRE D’ORANGE I Am Trash Les Fleurs Du Déchet Eau de Parfum (you gotta love a perfume called “I am Trash” – it actually smells really good, like orange peels).
This month’s bag is a great value!
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Sephora Play! June 2019 – Destination Beauty
What a coincidence – this month’s Sephora Play! box is stocked with travel essentials and we leave on a 10 day road trip across America in a just a few weeks. (Driving from Texas to New York state counts as across America, right?)
I swear, I JUST used up my last sample of Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Balm – literally 3 days ago. (I got a sample in my March ipsy bag.) The texture is dreamy smooth and it really does remove makeup quickly and completely. I’m still getting used to applying to my dry face and then emulsifying, but I am getting there.
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask in “Original Berry” is another product I’ve tried before and used up (August 2018 Allure Beauty Box). As much as I hate applying lip balms with my finger, I did not mind so much with this one.
Also in this month’s Play! box: tarte babassu foundcealer skincare Foundation SPF 20 in “16S” (curious about this Frankenstein product); Herbivore Rose Hibiscus Coconut Water Hydrating Face Mist (I’ve found that these face mists work GREAT at removing liquid lipstick – wow!); Sephora Collection All Day Hydrator – Hydrate & Glow; and Klorane Anti-Pollution Shampoo and Conditioner with Aquatic Mint (weird).
I feel like this is a high value box with products I’ll actually use – good job, Sephora!
Sephora Play gives you a lot of bang for your buck each month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.