November Birchbox 2013

Yup, it's that time of the month again! I've finally used all of my Birchbox products. They have been tried and  tested, and now you get to hear how much I loved or hated them.

First and foremost is this little serum by DDF.

This "amplifying elixir" is supposed to increase my skin natural moisture retention rate. And with winter in full force, even here in the South, that's something that I find really important. My skin is now in its winter state of dry, scaly awfulness. Even my eyelids are dry, and honestly, how does that even happen?

Honestly, though, this stuff didn't come to the rescue. In fact, I've only used it twice. The first time was a disaster. My skin felt like I had a really bad sunburn. It itched and tingled. It was red and blotchy and painful. Even after a full night of sleep, I woke up to warm, tender cheeks that still looked like I'd been slapped. I was going to put this product off as another failure, but I gave it another chance. Why? Because before application, I had just exfoliated. I thought that might have something to do with it.

And sure enough, the second application wasn't nearly as painful. But it didn't really do anything for my skin. At all. And it tingled just enough to be uncomfortable, and I'm not about that. I wear beauty products to make myself happy, not to punish myself. End of story.

Next up was this perfume:

Since it's hyped so much by the Birchbox staff, I was expecting something tremendous. But in the end, this was just an ok perfume. Nothing new or noteworthy. Floral, fruity, and young with just a hint of mature musk, it smells an awful lot like everything else on store shelves right now. Kind of a meh for me.

However, the iffy box was redeemed by the next several products I used. First and foremost, this Color Club nail polish in Baldwin Blues. 

I love blue. LOOOOOOVE it. And this shade is no exception. It's a deep, denim blue that goes on perfectly in two coats. Color Club never fails when it comes to polish. This one is as stunning as all of the others that I've tried. 

TheBalm Stainiac was....alright. I'm a bigger fan of Benefit.

The color is great, don't get me wrong. It's a pinky-red color that is bright and flattering. It's the formula that breaks it for me. It's a gel, which is odd enough on it's own. But this gel has a habit of clumping up into these little nuggets of color that settle into the cracks on my lips. It doesn't provide an even coat of color. Just a spotty wash. Now, if your lips are in awesome condition, then fabulous! This product will give you a bit of a just-bit-my-lip pink. Otherwise, you'll have to exfoliate the living daylights out of your lips to get it to work well (like me). 

And last but not least, the Mox Botanicals Bath Milk. 

This little teabag was awesome! It had a bunch of great smelling goodies inside that did really well in my steaming hot tub.The scent was just right, a mix of earthy and smooth. The coconut really came through during the whole length of my bath. I can't say much about how my skin felt afterwards, because my skin always feels awesome after a bath. But I can say that I smelled really nice. 

I would love to try out the other scents that this brand has and give them all a good, solid review. 

Thanks for reading! 

March Birchbox - Benetint

Yay! It's Birchbox day!

My box is pretty amazing this month, and I'm super excited to try everything in it.

First, though, is this wonderful piece of amazing:

I had been hoping that I would get Benetint in my Birchbox, and I squealed when I saw it nestled in amongst everything else!

This is the lip and cheek stain that I have been lusting after for like...ever. Seriously. This stuff is supposed to be utterly amazing. And I'm going to tell you now that it doesn't disappoint.

The brush is pretty nice. Just kinda standard for a high quality lip stain. This is nice and firm, though, which is great. And it's a lot better than the marker-like applicator that a lot of lip stains use.

And this, ladies and gents, is the awesomeness (with a coat of beeswax lip balm on top). Now, I'm super pale, and my lips kinda match that. Not bad, eh?

Here's the best part: It doesn't sink into the cracks in my lips!! Normally, with lip stains, I have this terrible problem where it looks like I'm bleeding profusely from my cracked lips. Chapstick doesn't help, balms don't help, scrubs only help minimally. I'm still searching for something that will cure my horrible lips. And with stain, balm or no balm, they just...look bad. 

This stuff, though, doesn't seem to do that as much as all of the others. Maybe it's the ingredients, the way it soaks in, the better color. Whatever it is, it makes me very, very happy. 

Note: It could do with some balm or chapstick on top. It doesn't moisten your lips (it's not supposed to, really), so mine were a little dry after application. But that's an easy problem to solve. 

Also, I've been wearing this for almost an hour now, and there is no fading, no cracking, no peeling. Just nice, subtle color. I know that this is really buildable, but the great news is that the picture is with just one tiny, itty bitty bit. Isn't that amazing! 

I know for a fact that this going to be a full size purchase. Because it is already worth every penny. 

Thanks for reading, and I'll have more goodies to post tomorrow!