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! 

Birchbox January 2013 - Eyeko Eyeliner and theBalm Hot Mama

This is a twofer because I don’t have a lot to say on the Eyeko eyeliner.

 

It is a very pigmented black liquid liner with an “easy” pen applicator. It goes on super smooth, and I admit the pen tip looks like it would make life easier. However, I have the absolute worst trouble with eyeliner. I can’t seem to put it on without making the line jagged, shaky, broken up, and far too wide. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but I’m hoping to figure it out soon because I really like the looks of this eyeliner. Hopefully I can use it in the near future and I’ll be able to provide a better review. As it stands, I don’t have the skills to apply eyeliner properly. 

This all in one is another story completely. I only one one shade of blush, and that’s the Bare Minerals Ready shade Natural High. I like it, despite it’s hint of shimmer (I’m not a big fan of shimmers). 

So when this came I didn’t quite know how to feel about it. It looked a little too peach, a little too shimmery. But I tried it. And you know what?

I love it! The shimmer is just right and the color? Nothing to be worried about. It makes me look like I’m positively glowing. I don’t know that I’ll be wearing this a lot until it gets a little warmer (I heard on the interwebs that golden shimmers should be kept for warmer months), but I know once the sun comes out, this is will be awesome! I put a little on the apples of my cheeks and then a touch on my nose, forehead, and jawline. It makes me look like I went out in the sun yesterday, which is nice considering I haven’t seen healthy amounts of daylight in forever. 

This is definitely something I will be buying once the (generous) sample runs out. 

So happy!