March 2012 Favorites!

Hey everyone!

March has ended and my semester is over halfway finished! AHH! Time has seemed to fly this term and I'm so excited for summer and all of my travels I have (almost) all planned out. Alrighty, this is my first favorites post, so these won't necessarily be products that I just got in March. Some will also be a few of my all time favorites as well. Next month I will stick with products that I got just in April and so on and so forth. 

1. Smashbox HD Healthy FX Foundation- I could NEVER seem to find a drugstore foundation that matched my skin tone. I had tried so many, but everything always looked so orange and left me with a ridiculous looking face to neck color. I decided that if I was going to spend all that money to try out 4-5 drugstore brands that never worked, I might as well save up all that money and buy a foundation that wouldn't make me look like I was auditioning for Jersey Shore. Thus, I marched straight into my local Sephora and the kind gentleman helped me find a shade that FINALLY worked for me. This one is in Fair: F1 and is a nice medium coverage foundation. 

2. Beautyblender- I received this in my February Birchbox and never got around to using it until March, but this is one of those products that I would always put in my cart and then ultimately take out when I would want to place a Sephora order. I was ecstatic to get to try this little pink egg and I can never see myself going back to applying foundation with my hands. This thing blends out my foundation without any streaks, splotches, or harsh lines. It's perfect, that is all. 

3. Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Hair Mask- I bought this because my hair took a serious beating this winter from all the freezing weather and hot styling tools I used on it. I adore the smell of this and it works so nicely. I use it sparingly, but even that does wonders.

4. Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray- This was another of those products that I hadn't been so sure would work, but thank god I picked this up. It is amazing how long my makeup lasts when I use this! No smudging or creasing on my shadows at all. Which is a miracle since I have oily lids. I don't use it as often as I should, only because I forget I have it sometimes, but when I do, I'm blown away by the results.

5. L'Oréal Voluminous Original Mascara in Blackest Black- My go-to mascara, which funny enough I DESPISED the first time using it. I don't remember why exactly, but I do know that I was dead set on giving it away to my sister or mom. Thankfully, I didn't because I love this stuff. It makes my lashes super thick and beautiful. I want to get a brown shade as well for a more natural look than the black can give me.

6. Fortune Cookie Soap's Whipped Cream in Hawaiian Ice- I received this little sample in my Spring Soap Box and it's the best body butter I have ever used! It soaks into the skin so quickly which is perfect because I hate the greasy feeling of other brands. This is also all natural and made by a super small company in Oklahoma. The smell on this is fantastic too. Sugary pineapples. YUM!

7. Urban Decay Naked Palette- I bought this back in January as a birthday present to myself. I never thought I would ever buy this because I couldn't justify paying $48 for it, but I am so glad that I broke down and purchased this! My go-to looks are and always will be neutral smokey eyes. The eyeshadows in this are perfect for me to do so many looks with and I am constantly reaching for this 95% of the time I do my makeup.

Anyways guys, those are my March favorites and I hope you liked it. I really like these a lot. They give me something to write about on a regular basis. Have you tried any of these products? Any favorites of your own?

Talk to you soon,

-Rianne

Teen Vogue Birchbox

Alright, I was extra greedy this month and signed up for a second account so I could get both a regular box on my normal account and a Teen Vogue sponsored box on my second. And THANK GOD I did! This box was great and not because I loved everything, but the quality of the products I did love are fantastic! :D There were only five products in this box and they were all brands selected by Teen Vogue's Eva Chen.

The first product in this box was from Annick Goutal and it was their Petite Chérie perfume sample. I didn't particularly hate the scent, but there wasn't much to it. I couldn't really smell anything and that is what put me off by it the most. The card does say that it is an "understated" scent, but I think non-existent takes being understated to a whole new level. All in all, it will just go in a box of my unused samples and maybe I will take it out later down the line and absolutely adore. Who knows?

Essie's Set in Stones over
Julep Maven's Anne

The next sample I received, which was actually a full size, was a nail polish from Essie's luxeffects collection. The color I got was Set in Stones and it is a silver glitter top coat and it is really pretty. I did attempt to exchange it at my local ULTA for a different polish in the same collection, but not because I didn't like it. I just wanted the multicolored flake topcoat instead since it is something I don't have in my collection at the moment. Unfortunately, ULTA wouldn't let me exchange it because the label was in the wrong place and the computer gave her an alert that it wasn't an ULTA nail polish, so whatever. I kept it and I have used it and do like it quite a bit. So it wasn't the end of the world that the exchange didn't go through.



The third item in the box was the Max Anti-Shine Mattifying Gel by PETER THOMAS ROTH. I haven't used this, but have seen reviews for it online and it seems like it is a pretty solid product. I'm excited and will probably try to use it in the next couple days to gauge it's performance, but until then there isn't much else to say about it.

The fourth item in the box was the BEST item I could have received! I am so happy that I finally get to try this product out without having to dish out the $24 for a full size without knowing if I would like it. This wonderous item is from Tarte and it is one of their LipSurgence lip tints. I orginally got the color Joy, which is a super orange-y color and I knew that would look crazy on my fair skin, but I was luckily able to exchange this one at my ULTA unlike the polish. I tried out a few of the colors and finally settled on Enchanted. It is a berry pink-ish red and I thought it would have been WAY too dark on me in the tube, but it was just a perfect amount of tint on my lips that I couldn't help but choose it. I am MORE than happy about the quality of this product! Super moisturizing and smells minty and looks great with the perfect shine and tint without any stickiness. I will DEFINITELY be buying more of these in the future, but might wait until they have another set of them like they had during Christmas. I am so sad that I waited and questioned buying them a few months back! DUH! Oh well, now I know for sure and can't wait to get more! LOVE!

The last item was something I had received in a past birchbox on my normal account and I didn't love it and I didn't hate it, but was just one of those "Meh" things that I don't care too much about. This was the twistband hair tie. I saw that everyone was getting bright fun colors in their boxes and was excited about that aspect of it since the one I had received in the past box was just a plain black color. But lo and behold, I got another black band...haha just my luck. It didn't really phase me much. I was so happy with the other products that this one flop didn't bug me too much. And I mean, it's still a useable item. Who can't use another hair tie, honestly?

Overall, I am sooooo happy that I spent the extra $10 this month! This box was amazing and I finally got to try out a product that I had been eyeing up for MONTHS! Thanks so much Birchbox for a great March!

March 2012 Birchbox

Alright another late post for Rianne. Starting this blog off really well...haha. I received my March Birchbox around the 12th this month and I am pretty happy with the selection this month. A lot of brands I have never heard and few that I just hadn't tried yet, which is exactly why I signed up with the company in the first place.

This month's "theme" was Spring Training and designed to whip our beauty routine into shape. And based on the variety of products included in this box, I would say that is a pretty accurate description. The first thing that was listed on the description card were the Boscia Green Tea Blotting Linens. These oil blotting sheets have a green-ish tinge to them and have speckles of what I assume is the green tea leaves mentioned in the name of the product. The green tea leaves also give it a nice smell like a cool cup of tea which I love. I tested one of the sheets out and it did a pretty great job of absorbing the oil from my face and left me fairly mattified. I can see myself using these every once in a while, but I have a few different kinds of blotting sheets and have yet to finish an entire package. I will put these into my bag for school so if I am ever feeling grossly shiny I will at least have these on hand.
Sample Value: $2.50


The second item in my box was a nail polish from Color Club in the shade Lava Lamp. I love getting nail polish samples in my boxes because I am also so iffy when I consider buying full size polishes since I have NEVER in my 22 years finished an entire full bottle of polish. This little bottle was adorable, but unfortunately I didn't love the color. I am so pale and have such cool undertones that the Day-Glo orange color I received just looks a little strange. Either way this won't go unused, I will just give it to my younger cousins who love super bright nail polish and can actually tan instead of just burn like I do. Sample Value: $4.00

The next item in my box was from a brand I had never heard of. The Refreshing Hand Soap from Grandma Stelle's. II'm not sure what Grandma Stelle was like, but if this soap is an indicator then she seems like a bit of a party animal. t is in the scent Verbena Thyme and smells like extra lime-y margarita mix to me. It is a nice smell, but definitely one I would use in the kitchen as opposed to the bathroom. I will be using this one while I'm cooking since I can't stand the feeling of greasy, gritty, or dirty hands.
Sample Value: $3.00


The fourth product included this month was from Traditions by Nick Chavez. It was their Yucca Root Shampooing Cream and it wish said to have "restorative abilities". I am currently using up an shampoo bar at the moment but will give this product a try once I am finished. It smells really minty to me and I'm really interested if it holds up to the claims on the bottle. The only thing that confuses me is that it is called a shampooing "cream", but the texture is of a clear gel like consistency, but we will see on this one.
Sample Value: $4.80


The fifth and last  main product was a sample card for the Stila smokey eye set. It came with three colored eyeshadow samples in Kitten, Diamond Lid, and Ebony. I have never tried any of the stila shadows before and hopefully these are the same quality as the full size. I am saving these for a time that I want a super classic smokey eye, so probably not until my next vacation. Still can't wait to try them out though.
                                                          Sample Value: ??? 


The very last item in my box was Birchbox's "Lifestyle Extra" and it was two tea bags from Kusmi Tea and it is their DETOX Tea. I am a green tea junkie and this one was delicious. The tea itself is a mixture of maté, green tea, and lemon grass. I made one of the bags the morning after I got my March box and I didn't get to finish it while it was warm, so I drank the rest of it later in the day when it had chilled. It was AMAZING as a cold tea! I am saving my second packet for when I am having a particularly stressful day.
Sample Value: $1.83

So all in all, I will use all of the products and it was definitely worth the $10 this month and the actual approximate value of the box came to about $16.13 without the eyeshadows since I have no clue how to place a value on that. :/

- Rianne

March 2012 MyGlam Bag

So I got my March MyGlam bag in the mail last week, unfortunately (sorta), I was on spring break in Minneapolis at the time and was not here to open it right away. Hence the late post, but better late than never! So this is the fourth month that MyGlam has been in business and I did think this month was a little small on the size aspect of it all, but the quality of the products received more than makes up for it!

First off, the bag this month is so cute! I love all the flower colors and how spring time-y it all is, and with this crazy unseasonably warm weather we are currently having, it is helping prep me for the summer months that will be here sooner than I would like. I love all the colors of summer, but the heat and humidity I could live without. lol The bag, like usual, came with a glossy card listing and describing all the products in this month's bag.

The first section of the card describes the "Dermstore Care Package" that is in the bag. This care package consisted of three items. Two actual samples and a coupon. One of the samples was the Pur-lisse Essential Daily Moisturizer and the other was a sample of Murad Eye Lift Perfecter. I can see my self getting at least a couple of uses out of the moisturizer, but the eye serum is a tiny foil sample and even if I tried to save some, I wouldn't have enough to do both eyes twice. The last part of the "care package" was a Dermstore gift card for $25 off a $50 or more purchase. I am really happy with this, regardless of if it isn't technically a gift card. I know a lot of people get really up in arms about wording, but I don't care because this is still a great deal and I am already planning my purchase. :)

The second portion of the bag was the "OR" products for the month. This month there were three options that you could have received. One was a 3Lab facial cleanser, the second was the Absolute Bronzing Booster from Murad, and the last option was Pur-lisse's Lip Nourisher. I, luckily, received the last of the three options and I couldn't be happier with it! It is amazingly moisturizing and it is made with some great natural ingredients such as blue lotus, soy proteins, and white tea. It doesn't have any parabens, fragrance, or color to it, so that is perfect for anyone with sensitive skin. So far, I am impressed with this product a lot. I did look up the price of the tube, which is full size, and I found it on Amazon for $11. The retail price of it is $20, so this product in and of itself makes up for the value of the bag.

The third product that was included in this month's bag was a product from a company I have never heard of. It was the Color Enhancing Leave-In Treatment from KeraColor. I did a little research on the product and company and apparently they have a few options for this particular leave-in treatment depending on your hair color and they also have the "all inclusive" option which is the sample everyone received in the March bag. The concept of the packaging is to fold the two halves of the sample together, cut the tops off both, and squeeze out the product simultaneously. Now, I LOVE hair treatments and since I do color my hair this is the perfect thing for me to try out. I am hoping this gives me a nice sheen to my hair between coloring appointments and if I like it a lot I might be interested in purchasing the full size. This is one of the products out of the bag this month that I could see myself doing a separate review on, so look out for that.

The final item in the bag this month was a special customized product for all the subscribers. It was a tapered blending/crease brush with "myglam" printed on the pink handle. The brush itself came in hot pink pleather case with "myglam"stamped onto the cover flap. I was a little worried about the quality of the brush since it was obviously a mass order of them, but when I got to feel it and play around with it a little bit, I was SUPER impressed! It is such a soft and versatile little tool to have and I have used it a couple times when blending out my crease colors and it did a fantastic job! I can definitely see myself reaching for this one instead of my current crease brush all the time! I was reading that a lot of people have been complaining about the smell of the case and brush, but honestly, it didn't phase me one bit. I won't disagree that it had a smell to it, but nothing gag worthy. I have had products before with the same odor and if you just let them sit out in the open air, instead of crammed in the small plastic packaging, the smell dissipates within a day or so.

All in all, this bag was a pretty big hit for me and well worth the $10 spent on it. I will definitely be using all of the products this month and can't wait to see how the hair treatment works! :) If you are interested in subscribing, I will link to their website. Although, I'm not sure if the subscriptions are open right now since they have such a limited number of spots open this early in their business.


                                                                  See you soon!
                                                                        - Rianne


                                                               MyGlam Website



FTC: I purchased everything with my own money and all the opinions are my own as well. :)