Battle of the Beauty Boxes: Birchbox, Glossybox, Ipsy February 2015

Time for another box comparison. There were some hits and some misses.

Birchbox - $10 a month, rewards system is AWESOME. 10 points per product review, 100 points = 10 bucks. This month I received six products, and therefore got six dollars of credit to use in the shop. The shop is extensive and amazing - spending money there is no problem for me.

Super sweet packaging that makes me wish that it wasn't cold here all of March, which is when I want spring to begin.

Benefit PosieBalm: Value: appx $6.00. I have no idea the real value of this - there is no size written on the container. Full size is $18, and I am guessing this is about 1/3 of that. I was most excited about this from this box because it is something I will use, from a nice brand, but not something I would have purchased on my own because of the hefty price tag for a tinted balm.

Marcelle Make-Up Remover: Value: $5.00. I normally take off my makeup using a cleansing oil, but dislike traveling with it because it is in a pump form and would make an utter mess in a travel bag. I am glad to get these types of samples for that purpose.

Davines Minu Shampoo: Value: around $7.50. I will use this, as I tend to lack travel shampoo, but it is exorbitantly priced overall for what it is. The less time a product spends on your skin/hair, the less it is worth spending a bundle on. Splurge on serums or moisturizers and such...save on shampoo. 

Gilchrist & Soames: Value: $4. I am totally unimpressed with the scent of this. As in, it smells like soap. Why anyone would want to pay 18 bucks for a full size is beyond me. It will be used, for travel, but this is super not exciting.

Harvey Prince Hello Perfume: $5.50. I pretty much never appreciate getting perfume samples. That said, once in awhile I will get a great one. This smells lovely, though I probably won't purchase a full size. The ONLY thing that really makes this worth using is the sprayer. Samples that aren't big enough to have a sprayer attached are seriously a waste of time for everyone, and a filler for these boxes.

Harvey Prince Hello Perfume: $0.94. This was a freebie, so I can't be too harsh on it. The dollar I got back in rewards by reviewing it is higher than the value of the sample itself, so I can't say I regret receiving this. It is a so-so product and I hate packet samples like this. 

Overall: 6/6 products will be tried out or have been tried, but it is seriously depressing that only 2 are products I am remotely looking forward to using.
Birchbox: $10 spent. Overall value: $28.94
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Glossybox: $21.00 per month, mostly super deluxe sized or full sized products. Very reliably awesome. They give you ten points per review, just like Birchbox, but it takes 1000 points to redeem for a free box. Which means overall, it takes 20 months (there are normally five products per month) to redeem a new box. Almost two years. However, I did notice last month that they awarded me 100 points for being a loyal customer. I am not sure how often that would take place, but it cuts down on the time it would take to receive a free box by two months. Slightly less sucky.

Another adorable box. The Glossybox boxes are the BEST for storing tea samples, give away samples, as drawer organizers, or sturdy boxes for regifting things.

Rituals Foam Body in Yogi Flow: Value: full size at $15.00. I need more soap and body wash like a hole in the head, yet I am SO excited to try this. And super impressed that it is full sized.

Unwash Bio-Cleansing Conditioner: Value: $6.67. I have been dying to try a cleansing conditioner. The Wen ones look great but are so pricey to try. This will be good for travel and good to introduce me to cleansing conditioners, and see if they will work for my hair type.

Royal Apothic Tinties Lip Butter in Pink: Value: full size at $14. This is awesome - just look at the adorable packaging if you need proof. It is actually not very sheer, which I love, and full of great natural ingredients. This will be perfection in the summer once I am not ghostly white.

Julep Color Treat in Heartleigh: Value: Full size at $14. In case anyone wasn't sure, all the supposedly amazing antioxidants in this are likely ineffective because antioxidants tend to be light sensitive, and probably sensitive to the loads of chemicals that make this "5-free". Most of the "free" stuff to me is hella gimmicky. Just chemicals replacing chemicals. I love Julep polishes, but will be rehoming this with a friend I know loves nail art.

Teadora Nourishing Exfoliating Bar in Rainforest At Dawn: Value: Full size at $5. I have way too much soap in my life, but I appreciate the quality of this one, and will enjoy using it.

Overall: 4/5 products to be kept and used. No reject products, even the one to be given away. I love how many were full sized.
Glossybox: $21 spent. Value: $54.70 (rounded to nearest ten cents)
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Ipsy: $10 a month, super reliable about providing good brands and makeup items, even if the brands aren't always super luxe. Comes in a makeup bag that is sometimes ugly and useless, sometimes wonderfully shaped and pretty. I do not count the bag as having any value in the box as it is impossible to calculate. Also provides 10 points per review, takes a super long time to gain enough to redeem for free product. Though lately, I've been able to share more on Facebook to earn some extra points, which is nice.

Pretty, but stupid design. Giving this away. I strongly prefer when the zipper is on the top and not on the side.

ModelCo Blush Cheek Powder in Cosmopolitan: Value: $22. I love blush. It is weird because you really don't use much at a time, yet the fact that I have one in every shade of pink, peach, and plum out there is mind boggling. This is matte, and I don't have any matte blushes, as they tend to feel chalky, so I will like giving this a try. 

Luxie 504 Large Angled Brush: Value: approximately $6.40. I am excited to get another brush - my angled brush is very very old, and this one feels soft enough to be a good replacement.

Rob Sheppy for Tini Beauty Powder Eyeshadow in Pearl Fizz: Value: $12. Eyeshadow that is a beautiful light pearly tan shade. Perfect for every day in most any eye look. Even though I have a ton just like this, I am happy to have another.

Cargo Lip Gloss: around $8.00. I've already given this away because it is a terrible shade for me. Light milky pinks are super in right now and super ugly on pretty much everyone without porcelain skin. I don't think it is ever attractive to use lip color lighter than your REAL lip color. Just my opinion.

Hey Honey Take It Off Exfoliating Peel Off Mask: Value: $7.00. I like having new masks for when I travel, and I haven't used a peel off mask in years. I am weirdly excited to use this, the peeling is always super satisfying.

Overall: 4/5 products to keep. The give away item is likely good quality, but a personal preference on a shade. Mostly makeup, which is why I like this bag compared to the other two, which tend to focus more on skincare.
Ipsy: $10 spent. Value: $54.40 (rounded to nearest ten cents)
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Round Up:
Value Per dollar:
Birchbox: $2.89 in product for every dollar spent. (Compared to $4.35 last month)

*If you consider the $6 in credit as money off, it changes to $7.24 for every dollar spent*

Glossybox: $4.76 in product for every dollar spent (Compared to $3.38 last month)
Ipsy: $5.44 in product for every dollar spent. (Compared to $3.03 last month)

The best products were in the Glossybox, which is pretty typical as it is a more high end box, followed by Ipsy and then Birchbox this time. That said, I am calling Birchbox a major dud. Being excited to use two products from a box is not acceptable these days when there are so many great ones. The best value is Ipsy by far this month, and though Birchbox rewards points make it technically more for the money, the lack of exciting product makes it functionally worth the least. As the Birchbox value per dollar went down compared to last month, the Glossybox went up, and Ipsy was nearly double last month;s value.

Until next month. 

Makeup Challenge: Winged Liner

I hate when there are makeup tricks that best me. I typically try my hand at things and get them right pretty quickly. Learning to put a darker shade in the crease, using different brushes, contouring, all of that came pretty easily. False eyelashes were a bit harder but it turned out once I got some decent lash glue, they weren't so hard after all.

But winged liner...man, I don't know how anyone gets that right. I've been able to successfully wing one eye. But the other eye tends to not even look like a wing, let alone a matching one. I've been testing out all of my makeup lately, and tossing/rehoming things that I don't love. Almost all of my makeup lives in my bathroom now, and it is all of my very best products. I have been enjoying rediscovering favorites now that I am not focused on using up stuff I don't love. During this process, I found two liquid eyeliners, both which get great reviews online (Urban Decay 24/7 and Stila brands), sitting unused. I tend not to liquid line, I think my pencil liners do a good job and look a bit softer. But I certainly know winged liner is made for liquid liners. I plan to eventually experiment with gels too, but right now I want to focus on using the liquid liners, and mastering this elusive makeup skill that I'd love the option of doing.

So challenge accepted, winged liner. Every day I have makeup already on, at the end of the day before I take it off, I am going to try to do winged liner over whatever I have on already. I won't be messing up any makeup I've already done, no need to take it off and redo anything, but I will be getting practice 3-5 days a week and getting better. As of now, I seem to be capable of doing a not-totally-terrible wing on one eye. Now, I just need to make that one eye a little better and sharper, and be able to do a wing on the other eye with my non dominant hand. And one magical day, maybe they will even match and I can rock the look outside my bathroom at the end of the day.

Battle of the Beauty Boxes: January 2015 Birchbox, Glossybox, Ipsy

Another month of some exciting new products in my favorite beauty box subscriptions. I am really excited to see the value for this month in each, and see if there are any significant changes. 

Birchbox - $10 a month, rewards system is AWESOME. 10 points per product review, 100 points = 10 bucks. This month I received six products, and therefore got six dollars of credit to use in the shop. The shop is extensive and amazing - spending money there is no problem for me.

When Travelmate Sheet Mask: Value: $7.00. I am a huge fan of sheet masks, and typically get mine from Asia where they are common and cheap, as the American ones can be dicey in quality. I am looking forward to trying this.

Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner in Hansa: Value: About $6.00. I have a black liner from this brand that I really enjoy, and olive green is an excellent color on my green eyes.

Essentiel Elements Body Lotion in Rosemary: Value: around $3.56. I will use this, and enjoy the nontraditional scent very much, even though I hate firm bottles like this due to how hard it is to get the product out.

It's a 10 Miracle Leave In Conditioner Plus Keratin: Value: $18.99. I have heard so much hype about this product via youtube and other beauty people. Although I don't typically heat style my hair, but I do have a curling want I want to get more adept at using, and I did not have a heat protector until receiving this.

Vasanti All Star 2-In-1 Face & Eye Primer: $8.00. I don't always use face primer, and have a ton of face primer samples to go through, so I really hope this works as effectively as an eye primer. I need eye primer daily to keep my shadow from creasing, and always have much less of it in my stash..

Overall: 5/5 products will be tried out and hopefully loved. Definitely a win - normally there is a product that is a reject.
Birchbox: $10 spent. Overall value: $43.50
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Glossybox: $21.00 per month, mostly super deluxe sized or full sized products. Very reliably awesome. They give you ten points per review, just like Birchbox, but it takes 1000 points to redeem for a free box. Which means overall, it takes 20 months (there are normally five products per month) to redeem a new box. Almost two years. Super lame.

Vichy Purete Thermale 3-in1 Step Cleanser: Value:$2.91. Two months ago I had no cleansers. Now I have about five. Luckily this is small enough it can go in my travel bag.

Skin&Co Truffle Therapy Serum: Value: $13.60. I have tried this serum before through a beauty subscription and enjoyed it - it isn't often to get the chance to use something so luxurious.

Kueshi Revitalizing Face Toner: Value: full size is $13.30. I am actually very low on toner and while it isn't a must in my skincare routine, I like having it around to spritz on after I cleanse my face. Plus, the ingredients list on this seems great and very natural.

Lollipops Eye Pencil in Goodbye Moon: Value: Full size at $17.70. I haven't needed to buy black eyeliner in ages thanks to these boxes. I have about 7 in different shades and shimmer levels of black and I love it. I will happily add this one to the mix.  

Teeez Trendy Cosmetics Beautiful Flat Brush Stuff: Value: Full size at $23.50. I have been trying to revamp my brush collection and I love that I get so many great quality brushes in these boxes. All of my favorites have been gifts with purchase or beauty box brushes, leaving me free to focus on spending the little money I have on nice face brushes.

Overall: 5/5 products to be kept and used. No reject products. A few full sized, and some luxury thrown in. Awesome brands.
Glossybox: $21 spent. Value: $71 (rounded to nearest ten cents)
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Ipsy: $10 a month, super reliable about providing good brands and makeup items, even if the brands aren't always super luxe. Comes in a makeup bag that is sometimes ugly and useless, sometimes wonderfully shaped and pretty. I do not count the bag as having any value in the box as it is impossible to calculate. Also provides 10 points per review, takes a super long time to gain enough to redeem for free product.

This bag looks like it is spacious. I strongly prefer when the zipper is on the top and not on the side.

J.Cat Fantabulous Gel Liner: Value: $3.99. This is in a navy color. I am not keeping this. I do use gel liner on occasion, but I barely use the ones I have. Better to keep this one new and untouched for someone who would love it. Plus, blue doesn't do a ton to compliment my coloring, and I have a navy pencil liner for the random instances I feel like using one. 

Manna Kadar Sheer Glo Shimmer Lotion: Value: approximately $7.25. I really like highlighters like this for mixing with my foundation. During the winter on cloudy days, my skin needs help looking alive. This very much resembles the Nars Orgasm Highlighter in color, a rose gold. 

Nourish Organic Eye Cream: Value: around $10.00. Eye cream is another thing I tend not to have around in excess, mostly because out of any facial care product it takes the longest to use up. I like that I can have this as a travel product/spare.

Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eye Shadow in Ethereal: Value: around $3.00. This is a gorgeous highlight shade. Unlike some other Pacifica shadows I've received, this is smooth and pigmented and the shimmer is very refined. Keeping it even though I have a dozen shades similar to it. 

Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush: Value: $6.00. I don't have many liner brushes, and this was obviously meant to go with the gel liner. I appreciate when Ipsy does that, makes sure it provides the tool needed to use a product. I normally prefer my liner brushes to be firmer, but I will definitely test this out.

Overall: 4/5 products to keep, though the other was not the fault of the product, just my overstock of gel liner products. Mostly makeup, which is why I like this bag compared to the other two, which tend to focus more on skincare.
Ipsy: $10 spent. Value: $30.25 (rounded to nearest ten cents)
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Round Up:
Value Per dollar:
Birchbox: $4.35 in product for every dollar spent. (Compared to $2.34 last month)

*If you consider the $5 in credit as money off, it changes to $8.70 for every dollar spent compared to $5.85 last month*

Glossybox: $3.38 in product for every dollar spent (Compared to $4.57 last month)
Ipsy: $3.03 in product for every dollar spent. (Compared to $3.13 last month)

*Removing the value of the product I won't use changes the value to $2.63 for every dollar spent.*

The best products were in the Glossybox, which is pretty typical as it is a more high end box, followed by Ipsy and then Birchbox this time. That said, I don't think any box is a dud at all. The best value is Birchbox by ar this month, regularly and with the credit, by a full dollar which was surprising. As the Birchbox value per dollar shot up, the Glossybox fell, and Ipsy was almost the exact same as last month in value.

This is a really interesting venture so far. I think once I get 6 of these I am going to make a compilation post where I compare the three over time. 6 months is when I would be looking at cutting out one or all. 

Goals and Resolutions

Welcome to 2015, and may it be an amazing year for everyone. It will be one of big changes for me, that is for sure.

I am not a huge resolution-y kind of person, because I find they end up setting me up for failure if I am not succeeding a few months in. So I stick more to goals, and keep them generalized. I do tend to have target numbers, but that is really only to keep me focused on always moving forward.

Goal: Continue to lose weight. Ideally, around 40-50lbs.
Goal: Cook more, order out less. Financially, this one is necessary. Health wise it is helpful too. I want to learn 50 new recipes this year. Even if I only try them once, even if it is simple and three ingredients or involves super low prep. My biggest challenge with cooking is just my lack of experience so trying anything new is a huge help in the long run. 50 sounds like a lot, but really the goal is about one per week.
Goal: Continue to amp up the exercise. I did a great job walking more in 2014, particularly over the summer, and I want to continue that trend of walking more, but also incorporating the couch to 5k program I started.
Goal: Finish more of what I have, organize better, keep cleaner. I have trouble with clutter, and having lots of things around. Particularly makeup, beauty products, and tea. I am already well on my way to paring down the makeup stash even more (a serious win of 2014), haven't bought new lotion in months (thank god), and have made great progress in lowering my overall tea stash. And I have done a great job in organizing my three main hoards so that I use more, more efficiently. This year I began the rule of "if you haven't touched it in a year, contemplate if you REALLY need it" when it comes to organizing. I need to continue that effort throughout my apartment, in prep for moving in the summer.

I believe all of these things are good, attainable goals even among unknown moving situations and job stress and whatever may come.

I am so proud of my progress with my tea. I posted in August about having 45 samples and 59 containers of full size tea. Thanks to amazing deals and a general lack of control, even as I gave away a ton of tea throughout the fall and drank a ton...I currently have 66 full sizes and 47 samples as of December 31. Womp. Why am I proud? Because I reorganized them, have begun purchasing more wisely in general, and am still plowing through my stash at a rapid enough rate that I feel confident I can continue to get my stash to a more manageable level in 2015. My goal is to have all of my tea fit into my cabinets I store them in (post about organization later). Now that I bought some new tins for cheap from New Years sales, my cabinets are about 2/3 of the way full with as many tins as I feel I need.

Overall, I am feeling pretty positive about the new year. Updates on how these goals are going will be regular, I am thinking of making them a monthly thing so I can keep myself on track.

Empties: Argan Oil and Concealer

It is a miracle when I manage to finish a beauty product. I go through items like conditioner, shampoo, and body lotion with regularity because I use them the most often, and I have a pretty sizable surface area for body lotion. But I seriously never finish the vast majority of my cosmetic items. Financial revamp is definitely a part of what I am trying to change about my life, although I have been working on that much longer. Little things, like trying to waste less food, purchase less when I have no need (particularly when my urge to goo hoard backups upon backups of things is so strong), and use up what I have can go a long way. I will always want and purchase new beauty related things, but I feel way better doing so when I have used up some things along the way.

These two items are go-to for me. The first is a small bottle of the Josie Maran Argan Oil Light. I use facial oils every night as a serum before bed. I have combo/dry skin that tends to be sensitive. In the past 6 months, I have had some issues with hormonal breakouts. Nothing mediates all of the problems the way oil does. It calms redness, makes my skin look more even toned, seems to reduce the appearance of any acne scars quickly, and obviously hydrates my skin well. In the summer, I was using a drop of this with a drop of rosehip oil. I am glad to finish this, as late fall/early winter is upon me which means using 4 drops of oil, and a switch to using the regular version of this oil. It really solves the dry skin winter issue to the point where if I could go back in time and tell my past self 3 things, how to properly prevent/treat dry skin would be one. Luckily thanks to subscription boxes, I am never without a good facial oil, and this brand is easily accessible.

The second one is even more amazing. I don't think I have ever finished a concealer before. This Bobbi Brown Undereye corrector was the right tone to counteract the crazy blue circles I get on even my best nights of sleep. Nothing holds up so well, covers and counteracts so effectively that I have ever found. And I know I bought a replacement two months ago when it looked like I might run out. But my replacement is currently lost in the abyss of the student teaching mess, and even with the Sephora VIB sale I managed to force myself to hold off on replacing. I still have the concealer I use over the top, and have been layering another concealer underneath as double duty...but it just isn't the same. I am giving myself a few weeks after student teaching to clean and reorganize and hunt down my new one before I replace this one. I don't really hesitate on dropping 25 bucks for this one.

Ipsy: October 2014

Another great month from Ipsy, mostly due to the diversity of the products. They are usually pretty good about that, and there is only one I plan to give away.

The bag is a gorgeous fall color, a cool teal, but it has that on-the-side zipper thing that to me is harder to work with. I find I fit less into these types of bags, but no biggie. I will use it, or put it in my give-away pile. Most normal people don't have a bajillion little makeup bags and love getting them for free.

 

Jesse's Girl Baked Eyeshadow in Graphite Frost - Full sized, value: $3.99
Some inexpensive drugstore products are amazing. Over half of my lippies are from the drugstore, and I routinely pass over more expensive products for drugstore formulas and shades. For me, this one wasn't it. It is a gray color with a light light pink veining color, which pulls a cool toned gray on me. It is beautiful and shimmery, but I have a similar color already and when I went to rub the swatch on my hand it was very sheer. Perfect for a lot of friends I know who prefer more subtle colors. This is why I always freshly wash my hands before touching a product for the first time...in case it is the only time!

Indie Lee Brightening Face Wash - 0.5oz value: $4.00
I haven't used this yet, but I've found most cleansers are usually pretty good. This one gets good reviews so I stuck it in my travel bag where I keep all the tiny products for when I pet sit. I avoid opening products I don't intend to use up right away so the ingredients don't go bad, so I am saving this one for now.

 

Noyah Lipstick in Deeply In Mauve - 0.15g - estimated value ~$5.00
I couldn't find the grams for a full size lipstick, which retails for $18.00, but this is a fairly substantial sample sized lipstick. It is also the standout of this entire bag. It is all natural, the color is this mauvey brown as the name would suggest, making it perfect for fall. Above all else, it is the creamiest lipstick I might have ever tried. It has a lot of waxes in the ingredients list, and it is very much a creamy lipstick with a creamy feel. The color payoff is absolutely outstanding - I will be investigating these in full size for sure.

Ecru New York Acacia Protein BB Cream for hair - 1oz - value: $12.00
This is technically a small "full size" version as this is available to purchase in this size from the Ecru website, though if you get the large size it is $7.14 per ounce. I kind of hate how sizing works when it comes to that. I use natural haircare for the most part, but will be putting that aside to give this a try. It has a lot of natural ingredients and while I don't buy into the whole "BB" craze (just get one from Asia - the US ones suck), particularly for hair, I will certainly give this a try for travel.

Figs & Rouge Hand Cream in Mango Mandarin- 0.67oz - value: $6.56
This is another that is available in the small size, but per ounce is worth $3.30 when you buy a larger tube. And despite having to do a little hunting, another tube is a MUST. Like the lipstick, this product is remarkable. It smells heavenly, has natural ingredients, but as you rub it in feels almost like water. I have NEVER used a hand cream that was effective and rubbed in completely within three minutes.

This bag was exceptional - I usually am excited to try the products, but in two cases, I was exposed to new brands that have awesome products that are so great I will be repurchasing full sizes at some point. It actually isn't the most high-impact bag in terms of value, but still well worth my ten bucks.

Paid: $10.00
Value: $23.43- $31.55