August Birchbox Goodies!

As most of you know already, Birchbox is a membership that provides beauty samples delivered each month for only $10 a month. It customizes your beauty samples based on a series of questions that you answer when signing up. It is a good way to get your fix of buying new products! Check out Birchbox's websiten here! Birchbox dedicated the month of August to "Beauty Innovations". Here is what I received...

Love the packaging!

First is the Befine Exfoliating Cleanser. This is a scrub that contains brown sugar, sweet almond, and oats. This cleanser smells like brown sugar and is very grainy. It was almost too rough for my liking but after I used it my skin felt so soft! This is available on the Birchbox website for $25. I will not be purchasing this because I like my St. Ive's Apricot Scrub better. 

To go along with the exfoliating scrub, they sent me the Befine Night Cream. This is a cream that you put on your face at night and it is supposed to improve your skin tone overnight with it's cocoa, rice bran, and millet. It is fragrance, allergen, and paraben free. I loved this cream! I could actually tell that it made a difference in my skin tone and acne breakouts. It also made my skin feel extremely smooth and soft. This is available on Birchbox's website for $30. I will be purchasing this night cream because I loved it so much! 

Next up is Blinc mascara. This mascara forms tubes around your lashes and it claims to not flake, smudge, or run. This mascara has a non-curved wand which actually hurt my eyelids when trying to get the product at the base of my lashes. It made my lashes very dark black but it did nothing for length or volume which is what I care about most in a mascara. This is available on the Birchbox website for $24. I will not be purchasing this because I did not like this mascara AT ALL.

They also sent me the Lift Lab Lift and Fix High Potency Solution. This is supposed to reduce redness and irritation and protect against premature signs of aging. I only used this twice; once under my eyes and once all over my face. I noticed that it did make some of the red spots on my face more toned down. This is available on the Birchbox website for $85. I will not be purchasing this due to the price and that I do not think I need it.

A sample of Kate Spade's Twirl perfume was included. I'm not really good at describing fragerance smells haha! The website describes it as a "fruity floral that is suitable for the office as it is for a cocktail party". I have almost used the whole sample of this because it smells so good! I have gotten many compliments on it also! This is available on the Birchbox website for $80 for 3.4 fl. oz. I will not be purchasing this only due to the price. I am going to look at other stores to see if they have this perfume in lesser quantity for less money.

This was just an extra little thing added in my birchbox. :) It is a hair rubber band that claims to "look as good on your wrist as it does in your hair". I really liked this rubber band. It stretches well and holds my hair equally as well. I don't know if it looks that good on my wrist though...lol

We had a grand opening of a Sephora in our JC Penny and the first 50 people in line received this gift bag along with a gift card worth $5, $50, or $100. I got there at 6:30 in the morning and waited til 10:00 when they opened (love sephora much?). I only got the $5 gift card. :( It was still a good time though. 

Small Sephora and Ulta Haul Success!

 Hey everyone! I went on a quick trip to Ulta and Sephora and here is what I purchased!

Make up Forever Mist and Fix Spray
Bare Minerals Oil Control Prime Time Foundation Primer
Alpha Hydrox Enhanced Lotion

I picked up this mini Make Up Forever Mist and Fix Spray from Sephora for $8 for 0.84 fl. oz. I was just browsing through Sephora and wasn't going to purchase anything until I spotted this mini spray. So I decided to try it out. I have used this twice since purchasing it and I would say it makes my makeup last for a good 8 hours at work in the 80 degree humid weather! So far I am lovin' it! This also can be compared to Urban Decay's  All Nighter Spray which I have not tried yet but plan on purchasing and comparing the two!

I picked up the Bare Minerals Prime Time foundation primer in Oil Control from Ulta for $21 for 1 fl. oz. It does not contain silicone or oil. So in the summer time my skin gets VERY oily to the point where no amount of powder helps. I was looking online for different primers that would help with this problem. This primer did not get very good reviews at all but I decided I would try it anyways and take it back if it didn't work for me. The first time I used it, I used about 2 pumps and spread it on my face concentrating on my T-zone. I then let it dry for 10 to 15 minutes and continued on with my normal foundation routine. This product does make the foundation a little harder to spread but not so much that it is a problem. I wore this for about 7 hours and it kept the oil and shine away the whole time! I could not believe it! After the 7 hours there was a minimal amount of oil on my face but not nearly as much as without using this primer. I have only used it a few times but I definitely do not think I will be returning it.

I purchased this Alpha Hydrox 10% Glycolic AHA lotion from Ulta for about $11 for 6 fl. oz. I was talking to a couple of the ladies that work at Ulta and they both recommended this to me for acne ( I have a slight breakout on my face due to the intense heat!). I thought for 11 dollars I might as well try it. This moisturizer contains Glycolic Acid which is commonly used in chemical peels. To read more about Glycolic acid click here. This product claims that it "renews moisture, refines texture, and improves elasticity and skin tone". I have only used this for two days so I haven't seen much of a difference in my acne, but I have noticed that my skin is a lot smoother and brighter after using it!