January 2012 Birchbox & MyGlam Bag!

"There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness"~Maria Mitchell

Hello beauties! So excited to be posting this today! I want to apologize for posting this late. I want to do a post for both beauty boxes instead of individual posts. Even though both are sent on the 10th of the month I do live on the west coast and they are not shipped at the exact same time. Therefore I will be a little late in the posting thing, unlike others who receive their beauty boxes in a couple of days. So my apologies before hand.

So a little bit of information about both of these beauty boxes. Both of these beauty boxes are a monthly subscription of $10.00. With this you also have the option to cancel at any time. You can buy an annual subscription if you would like and I believe they both offer a month or two free. They get shipped following the magazine schedule, the 10th of every month. You fill out a beauty profile that lets them know a little bit about your skin, hair, and beauty needs in general. This helps the companies pick out what samples best suit you. In both boxes you get 4 to 5 deluxe size samples or even full size products. Every month the credit card on file will get charged if you do the monthly subscription.

Birchbox likes to send samples to cover all areas of beauty: makeup, nails, skin care, hair care, and even snacks. Birchbox also likes to set a theme to the monthly boxes, which is very neat. I guess I should say that their products always come in a box with their logo on it, just so everyone knows. Also the box that surrounds the box you get (yes a box inside of a box) on the label says what box you received. I think you can get one of 15 or something like that. In your box they provide a card explaining why they picked that specific theme. On the back of the card you have all the products you received listed, with a description, and the price of the full size item. Birchbox also likes to includes a little extra surprise, which I have noticed, is always a snack of some kind. Sometimes in the boxes you will get discount codes but for that month if you purchase anything that you received in your box full sized you do get free shipping, which is pretty sweet. On the website they have a one stop shop to purchase any item you received in your current or previous boxes. Every dollar you spend in the Birchbox Store equal one Birchbox point. Every 100 points you earn turn into $10 to spend in the Birchbox store. There are many other ways to earn points which include reviewing the items you received in your box (10 pts), getting friends to sign up for Birchbox (50 pts), even giving a Birchbox as a gift gets you points! Simple, right?!

MyGlam Bag is all cosmetics. So far they have only sent out 2 boxes since they just got started in November. With MyGlam you receive 4 to 5 products, sample or full size. All these goodies come in a cute makeup bag, which is an amazing idea. Along with the products you get a description card, somewhat similar to Birchbox, and discount codes from the companies featured in the bag. As far as themes go, I am not sure if it will be a constant thing. This month it seemed to have a theme to follow, which is neat, but like I said I am not sure if it will be a continuous thing. With MyGlam everyone is currently receiving the same products but maybe the shade may very. I think that this is due to the fact that they are so new they are building up their stock and the companies that they are associated with. So far with MyGlam I have recognized every brand they put in their bags, unlike Birchbox where some of the brands I have never heard of. Once again this might be due to the fact that MyGlam just started. They do not have an online store or point system like Birchbox, which I have to say is the only thing I kind of wish they had.

Both of these monthly subscriptions are amazing. You get to try out stuff that you may not normally want to try or maybe from companies you have never heard of.

Birchbox:

This months theme for Birchbox is Clarity. Nice theme since its a new year and with new year new resolutions and of course time to clear the mind and body. For those of you wondering the box I received was box 7. So lets get right into what I received in my Birchbox for this month and my thoughts on the items. 

Archipelago Pomegranate Body Soap- Laced with good-for-you pomegranate extracts, this triple-milled soap smells divine and leaves skin feeling clean, not stripped. Full size (6.9 oz) $12.50

OMG! This soap smells absolutely amazing! When I first took my box out of the shipping box I could already smell it. Wow! It has the pomegranate smell along with some other citrus smells. Very tropical I think. The sample size that I received is 1.8 oz which comes up to approximately a $3.26 value. It is a really good sized sample if you ask me. I have really never heard of the brand before, let alone the product. I absolutely love it that I am going to purchase this item full size, well whenever Birchbox has it back in stock.

Clark's Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream-Dull skin no more, thanks to the glycolic acid in this exfoliating moisturizer. The gentle tingle means its working. Full size (1.7 fl oz) $115

This is the most expensive item I received in my box. I did apply this on the back of my hand and it is very smooth and soft. It has a very clean smell to it, kind of smells like baby powder. When I was reading the description I had to stop and think if I have ever used or tried a moisturizer that also exfoliates and I must say that this will be the first. On the instructions on the jar it does say to not apply to red or peeling skin, which I think is due to the glycolic acid. It also recommends to be applied twice daily and apply SPF over that. Although the jar did not have a weight on it I am guesstimating it is about $4. Would I purchase this? I honestly don't think so. That is a very steep price to pay for a 1.7 oz jar. My current moisturizer for the same size bottle cost under $40 and that to me was expensive. So I will have to pass on the product but will use it very sparingly.

Juicy Couture Juicy Couture-Juicy's signature fragrance is a blend of sweet floral notes. Sophisticated and feminine, it's perfect for day or night. Full size: 1.7 oz $69 or 3.4 oz $89

No need to say it, but I am a big Juicy Couture fan! I love love love all their fragrances, specially Peace, Love, and Juicy. This was a pleasant surprise though. I love perfume samples because you can just put it in your purse and go or, in my case, keep one in you car for those days that you need an extra spritz of smell good stuff. The sample size I received was a .05 fl oz which is an estimated value (and I am going off the 1.7 oz bottle price) of about $2.03. I am considering purchasing some of these amazing perfumes in the near future.

stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner- It's time to put down the black liner. This colorful pigment makes eyes stand out and stay put for hours. Full size (0.01 oz) $20

This was an amazing and wonderful surprise! Not only does Stila make amazing, long lasting and creamy liners but this was FULL SIZE! This was an item that was included in every Birchbox, unless you were a new member. Everyone got a different color. The color I received is Blue Ribbon. It seems to be a gray or slate color and has a blue sheen to it. Very gorgeous. It is dark enough to wear on a daily basis but also light enough to just get a little pop of color. The staying power on these eye liners is amazing! I already own a Stila Smudgeproof eyeliner in Peacock and love the quality of them. Of course since it was full size there is no estimated value. It is $20 for sure! I will purchase more of these amazing eye liners as needed :)

Larabar Mini Bar-you wont find any artificial fillers in these natural bars: just dried fruits, nuts, and other wholesome ingredients. They're as tasty as they are healthy. Full size (12 mini) $14.95

This little yummy bar was the Lifestyle Extra in the box. The flavor I received was Chocolate Chip Brownie. I have seen these bars before at my local Co-Op and have been intrigued but never purchased a box of them. After trying this deliciousness I must say I am definitely going to purchase it! It had some nuts in it along with a few raisins. I am a chocolate lover so these minis are a great idea. Not only are they healthy but have just the perfect amount of chocolate. The estimated value of this mini bar is $1.25. Like I mentioned before I will definitely purchase this soon and try it in other flavors.

So my total Birchbox value was about $30.54. Not bad!

MyGlam Bag:

I am so excited because this is my first MyGlam bag! This month they had a theme which is Back to Nature. Once again a great theme for me, since my goal is to try to go green as much as possible. It also helps us learn about more eco-friendly products out there. The makeup bag feels like canvas, which is nice. At the bottom it has a little bit of detail with some leaves. It has the MyGlam logo and then also says on the top Back to Nature. Cute, right?! Also included in the bag was a card from some of the companies in the MyGlam bag with special offers and discounts. Now onto the products.

Sheer Cover Duo Concealer- A unique pigment and mineral complex that provides full coverage with a sheer,  flawless finish. Full size (.05 fl oz) $29

So I have heard of Sheer Cover but I have not tried out their products yet, so this concealer is a good way to start. Upon receiving the product I decided to kind of do a swatch and test it out. The consistency of it is super creamy and seems to have great coverage. The sample I received is in Light/Medium. I want to say that Sheer Cover does have other color combos. This seems to be a little to light for me but the colors are intermixable so you can custom make your shade. The sample I received is the full size which is pretty good considering the price of the full size item. This made it into their themed bag due to the fact that Sheer Cover is a mineral based makeup company. I guess my only complaint is that the colors were not customized to the subscriber, but I can live with this :) I can not say now if I will purchase it since there are a lot of other concealers I own that I like so I will have to update you all on this.

Wen Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner- A single-step hair cleansing conditioner made with natural ingredients. It won't strip hair and scalp of natural oils and leaves hair thick and hydrated. Full size (16 fl oz) $36

Once again another product I have heard of but never tried. This cleansing conditioner smells amazing. I can definitely smell the mint in it. I have not used it yet but already received a threat from my husband who said he may just steal this from me. Wen makes products with out any detergents or sulfates. This means the product has no additives or fillers that make it foam and make the cleanser gentle enough to use on any hair type and will not strip hair. I am pretty excited to try this product since it is made with out sulfates and its gentle on the hair. With Wen you usually have to use a large amount of product so I am not sure if with the deluxe sample I will see any immediate results. The deluxe sample size I received is 2 fl oz, which brings this to a value of $4.50. Not bad, right? I would love to purchase this item but if both my husband and I use it it could be very very expensive so this one I will have to think through.

Freeman cucumber Facial Peel-Off Masque & Sachets- Nourish, hydrate, and replenish with these peel-off masks that leave skin with a gorgeous glow. Full size (6 fl oz) $8 (or $4-$5 if purchased at a drugstore)

This product I already own so this is not a new item to me. This was not a sample size at all, it was the full size item, which is great! Freeman offers different scents for the peels and mine was the cucumber one.  I love the smell of it. It is a great and inexpensive peel that works on all skin types. You just have to apply a thin even layer to the entire face (avoiding hair and eye area) let it dry for about 10 to 15 minutes and peel. When you peel it off you can actually see the impurities that come off your face. It leaves my face feeling very soft, clean, and gives it that glow back. I absolutely recommend this to anyone. What makes this a green product is that it is Cruelty Free since it does not test on animals and it is full of botanical ingredients. Now as far as value goes I can tell you right now that it is cheaper buying it from a drugstore than online because I only paid $4 for mine. I will, however, go with the price quoted on the card. No need to purchase another on since I just received my back up :)

theBalm Cosmetics Hot Ticket Nail Polish- Long lasting, eye-popping shades to flatter and transform your fingers and toes. Full size (0.5 fl oz) $10

Now this is the one item that I know varied in all the bags. You either received the polish or the Shady Lady. I, of course, received the polish and the color is in I'll Pink To That.  theBalm is not a unknown product to me. I love their highlighter Mary Lou Manizer, and well all their products are great. The style of the art on them kind of seems to follow the Pin Up Girl style, somewhat similar to Benefit Cosmetics. So yes, absolutely love the polish. It is the perfect bubblegum pink and look forward to using this, specially for the summer. Once again another full size item! Nice!!! I may purchase more of theBalm polishes since I am a polish lover. It kind of depends on how well this wears.

So the total value of MyGlam bag for this month is: $51.50 (this is not including the makeup bag)


Overall I am very pleased with both of my box/bag. The value is way more than the $10 I pay and that is a major plus for me. I am excited to see what next months box/bag brings. Stay gorgeous lovelies!


xoxo,
Espy <3



**Are you subscribed to MyGlam or Birchbox? If so, what was in your goodie bag? Comment below :)

p.s. dont forget to follow me!

Ulta Cosmetics Review

A witty woman is a treasure; a witty beauty is a power. ~ George Meredith

So I recently did an online purchase on the Ulta website. I had gotten an email on a deal they had at the moment. If you have an Ulta membership card and get/read their emails you probably remember this deal. The deal was to purchase $17.50 in Ulta brand makeup and you received a free makeup bag of your choice with 17 pieces of Ulta cosmetics. I have never tried on the Ulta brand makeup since we recently got an Ulta in our town so this to me seemed like a great deal and opportunity. An opportunity to try more than one Ulta brand cosmetic. 

For this being my first online purchase from Ulta I was very impressed. Not only with the cosmetics but with the shipping time. Whenever I purchase anything from Sephora online it take over a week to get here since I live close to Montana. However with the Ulta purchase it was here in a little less than a week. I was really impressed with that. Now onto what I purchased and my free items.

Like I had mentioned before, in order to get the free makeup bag I had to purchase $17.50 in Ulta brand cosmetics so I decided that I really wanted to try out their blushes. Most of the blushes I own have some shimmer to them and I was really wanting to get some that were matte. I was also wanting to get a lipstick in a bright color. Below are the 3 blushes I purchased and the bigger one is one of the free products that came in my makeup bag. On the top left there is Girlie and right besides it is Sweet Cheeks. The bottom left is the free blush or Cheek Color in Afternoon Delight and right besides it Afterglow. 

Now just looking at the blushes in the picture you can tell that some have shimmer in them. Mind you I was in search of matte blushes. Well to my discovery when my order arrived only one blush was matte, Girlie. I decided to keep them anyways because the colors were really nice. I must say that the online pictures do not do them justice.

The picture above is a little swatch of the blushes. From left to right we have the free blush Afternoon Delight, Girlie, Afterglow, and Sweet Cheeks. Now onto my review and lets start with the free blush I got. Afternoon Delight is a very creamy and shimmery peach color. This I found perfect to use as a highlight for the cheeks or to put in the inner corner of your eye to give it a nice pop of color. It is a very pigmented color so I usually apply it with my finger. 

Girlie is a nice matte pink tone. This particular blush is not extremely pigmented but it still gives that nice summer glow. I do get a slight smell and it smells very powdery but it is not powdery at all. 

Afterglow is one of my favorite blushes from the four that I have been using this almost every single day. Once again it is a pink tone but it is darker and has shimmer. This is more pigmented than Girlie and the shimmer is subtle  This is a very good color that would look good on any skin tone. 

Sweet Cheeks is a shimmer dark pink blush. This one I like to use whenever I want to get a natural glow. It is summer time and I did get really really dark so this is the closest to a summer glow color that I could find. 

Overall the colors are amazing but do not let the online color fool you. Online it lacks the description so you are not sure if what you are purchasing is a matte or shimmery blush. I would recommend to go into the store and look at them first. I still like these colors regardless of the matte or shimmer finish.

Now onto the lipsticks. I purchased on and the other one was a free lipstick that came in the makeup bag. 

The lipstick on the left was the free one in Iced Cappuccino. The one on the right is the lipstick I purchased in Fuchsia Fever. I did swatches on the white paper but here are the swatches on my skin.

Starting with Fuchsia Fever. This color is a bight deep pinkish red color. It is so smooth and glides on so easily. It also has a subtle smell of fruit in my opinion. Although it glides on so easy it rubs off as easy too. I don't really mind that because it is so smooth when you apply it. Now the Iced Cappuccino is also a color that glides on easily and looks great on any skin tone just like the Fuchsia Fever. The Iced Cappuccino does have a subtle smell that is not pleasant. I cannot describe the smell but I don't like it at all. Other than that I cant complain much because it was a free lipstick and no one can argue with free, right? 

The free makeup bag came in three different colors that you could pick from. There was True Blue, Natural Wonder, and Wild Side. Once again if you got in on this deal you will probably recognize the lip stick to come from the True Blue collection.  

I think the makeup bag can double as a clutch too but its all up to you.

Now onto the eyeshadows. The free 17 piece bag comes with 2 quads. Depending on what bag you choose you get a certain color of eyeshadows. 

This is one of the quads that came with the bag. Starting once again with the top two from left to right its Polished & Black Ink. Right underneath them from left to right is Truffle and Smoke. Now one thing that I noticed from both quads is that the names on the back of them are switched around. I actually had to go online to find out which name went to which color. 

As you can tell from the swatch these colors are all shimmer colors and very very well pigmented. I did find one small problem with it they are just slightly hard to blend. It took me twice as long to blend the colors but they look great on. This quad is perfect for a smokey eye. It consists of manly browns with the one black shimmer color. 

The second quad I received is also a great quad for a blue smokey eye. 

From the top row left to right there is Moonbeam & Sapphire. Underneath them from left to right there is Silk & Peacock. Both quads come with the sponge tip applicators brush and a really small mirror. 

These set of colors are extremely pigmented and creamy. They are shimmery as well and combined make a perfect night time smokey eye. I have nothing bad to say about their eyeshadows and I am looking forward to trying more out and maybe matte eyeshadows from them. 

Also for free a dual ended eye liner with Black on one side and Indigo on the other. 

These are extremely smooth and glide on easily however I do not feel like they are quite as pigmented and don't have quite as much staying power as my other eyeliners but these do work okay.

Along with the dual ended eye liner it came with another dual ended lip & eye liner in the color Mink and Deep Brown.

Mink is a nice red brown color and dark brown is well dark brown. They also glide on easily and are pigmented.

In the picture above from left to right we have black, indigo, mink, and dark brown.

There was a dual ended lip gloss in Lovely and Princess.

Princess is the color on the left and it is a sheer pink color. The one on the right is Lovely which is a nice brown color. I found these lip glosses to work well and not be sticky at all. These can be worn alone or on top of lip stick to give it a nice shimmer and pop. Personally I love to wear both of the colors alone.

Also included in the makeup bag was a small fingernail polish. Its in the color Diva.

This color is very very sheer and has a subtle subtle hint of glitter. Looking at the bottle it is a pink color with tons of glitter, but like I said before, once you apply it you can see it is very very sheer. You do get a subtle hint of pink and glitter when the light hits it just right. I found this perfect if you want to do a french manicure and have the all over nail color be glittery. I used this on my goddaughter and she absolutely loved it! 

I also received a a free mascara and 3 free brushes. The mascara is in Jet Black and its their Lash Blow Out. I have not yet used the mascara so I can not give a full on review of it yet.

 The three piece brush set is an angled blush brush, a sponge tip applicator brush, and an eyeshadow brush.

These brushes are okay. The angled blush brush does shed a bit and its not the best out there but once again for free I can not complain. I do use it a lot for applying my blush. The sponge tip applicator I have not used at all. The only use I have for them is to pack on color. The eyeshadow brush is not bad. I have mostly used this to apply  loose pigments and glitter since I noticed it does not do so well with eyeshadows. 

Over all I am content with my purchase and would recommend almost everything to my friends and family.I am looking forward to purchasing more Ulta brand cosmetics and writing more reviews on them since I noticed that when I myself was looking for Ulta brand cosmetic reviews I only found a few. Hope this is helpful to all of you. More reviews to come soon :)

Price List:

*Ulta Cheek Color (Afterglow, Girlie, Sweet Cheeks) $7.00 (Ulta)

*Ulta Lipstick (Fuchsia Fever): $8.00 (Ulta)

*Ulta Eyeshadows-(These are not sold in quads but individual full size) $7.00 (Ulta)

*Ulta Lash Blow Out Mascara: $10.00 (Ulta)

*Lip liner & eye liner sold individually and full sized: $8.00 each (Ulta)