Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox!

So, a few months ago, I noticed girls getting these awesome boxes from a company called Influenster, so I signed up. Influenster is a really cool program - basically, you first unlock certain badges related to your demographics and lifestyle. Then, periodically throughout the year, they offer boxes called VoxBoxes to people who fit a certain profile. The boxes can contain many types of items, and the boxes are always 100 percent free. Once you get your VoxBox, they just want you to spread the word about the items, good or bad. This is my very first VoxBox, and I am really excited about it!

The box is big! I'm used to the smaller Birchbox-type boxes, so I have to admit that it was exciting to get this in the mail. It shipped via USPS and took less than a week to get here after they let us know they were shipping them.

When I opened it, I saw first a card listing the contents of the box. Underneath that are lots of packing peanuts. The products were very well cushioned.

The first thing I pulled out were these Dr. Scholls For Her Ball of Foot cushions.  I work a job where I'm on my feet all day, so I really appreciate items like this. At first glance, it looks like these are specifically for high heels, but they can actually be used in any shoe. I don't wear heels, but I do have a pair of cute shoes I rarely wear because there is no cushioning under the ball of my foot, so I can't wait to stick these in there and see if they help! These are a bonus in the box, so they aren't listed on the card, but I found that they retail at CVS for $7.49.

The next thing I pulled out was this little box of Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips. I received these in "Kitty Kitty", which is a cute leopard print. I love the look of nail art, but I never even attempt it because I don't have the patience, and also because nail polish never lasts on me for very long (I wash my hands a zillion times a day at work), and I'd hate to waste that much effort. So, I'm really excited to try these! They just stick on like stickers, and remove with nail polish remover. Cool.

This box of 16 retails for $9.99 and also comes with a little file included.

This is the ChapStick Lip SHIELD 365. This is a year round product meant to protect your lips from the sun, wind, and cold. At first I thought I wouldn't really use this. I am a lip balm junkie and I have certain brands and types I stick to. But then I saw that this has SPF 50+, which is pretty much unheard of in a lip balm! While this will not be in my daily rotation, it will be great for anytime I spend a lot of time in the sun, or even in the winter. I do love to spend time outside, and living in Indiana, we get some pretty extreme weather, so I am glad to have this. 

It retails for around $2.

I already know and love Aveeno products, so this travel sized body wash was very welcome in my box! It smells great and is good for my sensitive skin. I love that Aveeno products are hypoallergenic and I find them very moisturizing.

The full size of this retails for around $7, so this 2 oz bottle is worth about $1.15.

This is a Soyjoy bar in Strawberry! It's all natural and full of good things. I already ate this for breakfast, and it was tasty and full of strawberries.

A bar retails for about $1.

The biggest and most exciting item in the box is this full sized Fine Fragrance Mist from Bath & Body Works! I love BBW, and had been wanting to try the new fine mists. I received Twilight Woods, which is a scent I do like!

This is a full sized product and it costs $14.

And finally, a sheercover duo concealer. I don't currently use a concealer, so this is something I am willing to try out! The light seems to be a decent match for my skin, and it feels nice and smooth and silky. I don't wear face makeup very often, as I hate the feeling of suffocating skin, so even if I don't like this on my face, I will use concealer around my eye area as a shadow base.

This isn't sold separately, but in a set with other items, so I estimate its worth at about $5.

In all, this is a pretty awesome box to get! It was completely free, and it has a worth of about $40.63. Everything in it is from a reputable brand, and everything but the body wash is full sized. And I will actually use every single item in here. I'm really impressed with Influenster! I can't wait to try more boxes in the future. If you haven't yet, you should definitely sign up.

Leximintyfresh's 100 Follower Giveaway!

Guys, make sure you head over and follow Lexi, she is having a 100 follower giveaway, and the prizes are some awesome Urban Decay products!

http://leximintyfresh.blogspot.com/

Birchbox - The May Box (Gossip Girl) Version 2

I finally got my second Birchbox today!  This month, the theme is Gossip Girl, and they are meant to be filled with products inspired by the series and Manhattan's chic events.

Gossip Girl is a guilty pleasure of mine, and while I've fallen behind on this latest season, I was really excited by the idea of these boxes, and I promptly created a second account, so I could try out two boxes. This is the box for my main account.

As I noted in my other Birchbox review this month, these boxes come in one of four themes. I am really happy that my two boxes had different themes, and I had no duplicate products (except the notecards, which are in every box this month, but even they were in different colors.)

This box had the Black Tie Ball theme, a nice difference from my other box, which had the Downtown Book Party theme. This one promises products to help you get a million dollar look.

I love the different colors of tissue paper and cards they used this month, so pretty.

The first thing I noticed and pulled out is the only product in either box this month that I'm not excited about. This is the Miracle Skin Transformer for the Body, in the color Glow. Now, this does seem like a high quality product, but I'm just not a body makeup kind of girl. I spend most of my waking hours in scrubs. Plus, I'm super pale. However, I decided to try this out anyway, and if nothing else, it can serve as a sunscreen for my arms and chest area. It does have a nice consistency and doesn't seem too dark or too shiny. It seems to have decently sheer coverage.

The full sized product is $34 for 3.38 oz, making this .5 oz sample worth $5.03.

The next thing I pulled out was the Cleansing Oil shampoo by Shu Uemura. This is a new brand to me, and I've heard amazing things about it. I'm really excited to try this! It promises to rid your hair of oily residue and leave it full of shine and bounce. Apparently, it has a yuzu scent, which means I'll probably adore it.

The full size is $55 for 400 ml, making this 15 ml sample worth about $2.06.

Inside the little wrapped packet, I found a sample of Miss Dior perfume. I love perfume samples, so I was happy to get this. The scent is a nice one, though it's not really me - it's a bit floral for my taste, I generally prefer sweet fruity scents or gourmands.  However, I will try it out!

The full size is $62 for 1 oz., so this .03 oz. sample is worth $1.86.

Finally, this is what I was most excited to try - Diorshow Extase mascara. This mascara promises to add tons of volume and length as well as fortify your lashes. I love mascaras, so I'm really excited to try this. 

The full size is $28.50 for 10 ml, so this 4 ml sample is worth $11.40!

Finally, I got another notecard, this one in a green color. I love notecards, so I am happy with this. 

A set of 12 of these costs $10, so this one is worth about 83 cents.

For me, this box is another success. While I don't find it quite as exciting as my other box this month, I still got some really good quality items! The prorated value of this box is $21.18, so more than twice what I paid. I can't wait to try out the mascara and shampoo!

What did you get in your Birchbox this month?

The Look Bag - May

I was really excited when I woke up this morning and found my May Look Bag in the mailbox! If you don't know what the Look Bag is, it is another monthly beauty subscription bag. Like many others, they promise you around five beauty samples a month for $10. I feel that The Look Bag is one of the more overlooked subscriptions. I've now received four bags from them, and I've actually been happy with all of them.

The last few months, they've shipped in a bubble mailer, which I do prefer to boxes. They just take up less space, actually fit in my mailbox, and these are a more green option.

I pulled it out and found the usual pink organza bag with quite a bit of stuff in it! I love these little bags, I use them to keep hair ties, pins, small samples, and other small items organized in my drawers.

Along with the usual greeting card and list of included items, this month they included a card about aromatherapy, which lists some common scents and their benefits. As I really enjoy aromatherapy, I thought this was a cute little addition.

The first thing I pulled out was The Hollywood Collection by Erno Lazlo. This is a set of five foil packets inspired by (and apparently used by) some legendary starlets: Greta Garbo, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Katherine Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe. These look and sound really luxurious! They include a Morning Beauty Rescue, a Refresh Moisture Infusion, an Instant Eye Repair, an Intensive Porcelain Veil, and a Velvet Night Cream.

I tried Monroe, the Morning Beauty Rescue one, this morning, and it was wonderful! A light pink colored rejuvenating gel that really did brighten up my skin and moisturize it. It did have some small glitter in it, but nothing obnoxious. I can' t wait to try the others! The full sized set retails for $125 (for .5 oz of each cream), so these packets are a really neat addition to the bag. The packets don't list an amount, but judging by the price of the full size, I have to assume that this has a value of at least $15!

Next, I pulled out this cute little box. It is about the size of a small soap or something, but it actually contained four mini glosses by Naked Princess! These are the Shinelucious lip gloss sampler. I got the following colors: Barely Coral, Barely Nude, Barely Coco, and Barely Blush. Each is exactly what it sounds like! I sampled a couple of these and really loved them. They are nice and smooth, and have a slight sweet vanilla flavor and scent. They are not at all sticky or greasy. They are infused with shea butter, sweet almond oil, Moroccan vanilla, and antioxidants. They have a collagen producing Peptide to help plump the lips, as well. I love that they are paraben free and cruelty free.

The full size of these glosses are $26 each, so this sample set has a value of about $8.32. Not bad!

This is Kelly Teegarden Organics Intense Tightening Serum. This is the world's first chemical free skin care line! All the products are made from certified organic and natural ingredients and are great for all skin types. This is, obviously, meant to tighten the skin. It is full of good things like aloe, cucumber, and essential oils and the smell reminds me of lavender!

The sample size is not listed, but the full size is 1.18 oz, and retails for $67. This looks to be about .25 oz, which is a $14.19 value. I can't wait to try it!

This is a L'oreal Paris Wear Infinite Pressed Eyeshadow single in Sweet Chemise.  This is a limited edition product, and is full size. It's a pretty buttery light yellow/gold color, looks like it will be great on the browbone! The formula is nice enough - not super buttery, but not super chalky. I can't find a price for this, as L'oreal only does these singles once in a while, but I will give it the same value as the other singles I could find, at around $5.

And finally two mini polishes from the Spring 2012 Runway Color Barometer by The New Black. These are eco friendly polishes with no parabens or synthetic fragrances, and promise a long wearing, ultra glossy formula. These come in a rainbow of colors, and at first I was a little disappointed to get these two, as I just never buy red or orange. Then I realized that is actually a good thing - I have nothing like these two. And they are actually gorgeous!

I plan to wear these together. These tiny little .125 oz. bottles actually retail at $22 for 5 of them, so these two are worth $8.80.

All in all, I think this was a great bag! The estimated value is about $51.31 (keeping in mind that I don't have an exact value for the Erno Lazlo or eyeshadow), and I will happily use everything in it.  The Look Bag really seems to be improving, and I hope enough people stick around and give them a chance to keep impressing!

May Birchbox: Gossip Girl

I received my first of 2 Birchboxes today! This month, the theme is Gossip Girl, and they are meant to be filled with products inspired by the series and Manhattan's chic events.

Gossip Girl is a guilty pleasure of mine, and while I've fallen behind on this latest season, I was really excited by the idea of these boxes, and I promptly created a second account, so I could try out two boxes. This box is actually the box for the newly created account, and my regular account's box has not yet arrived.

Overall, I'd rate this as quite possibly my favorite box to date!  I like every single item in there, and got one full sized makeup item.

Instead of the usual bright pink outer box, this one is a more subtle and chic black and pink. I thought it was a nice touch!

Inside, they put a cute Gossip Girl sleeve on the regular Birchbox box.  I always like these special edition boxes, but I'm a sucker for variety.

I opened it, and found that the theme of my particular box is Downtown Book Party.  They created boxes to suit four different events.  Of this one, they said "This collection has what a city girl needs for a downtown party- a hot book release, perhaps? Go for an edgy-cool look with unexpected pops of color. You'll be out late, so we've included long-lasting products and the skin-fixers you'll need the day after. And don't forget- a good guest always follows up with a thank you note."

Sounds good to me!  

My list of products shows that I received four actual products and three extras. Awesome.  I was super excited to see what I received - makeup items, nail polish, and hair care!  All things I enjoy.

The first thing I pulled out was the Dr. Jart + Waterfuse BB Cream.  This is a four-in-one moisturizer, serum, sunscreen, and skin-perfecting tint.  As I am really interested in trying different BB Creams, I was super excited to get this one! The thing that bummed me out was that there was such a tiny amount of product in the tube - I got a dot smaller than a pea, not even enough for a full application.  But I did really enjoy the way it made my skin look and feel.  I would definitely be interested in trying a larger size of this product.  I'm just glad there was anything in it at all - I read that some girls were getting completely empty tubes!  Birchbox generally has great customer service, so I'm sure they'll try to make it right.

The full size (1.7 oz) of this retails for $32.  This is a .06 oz sample, making it worth about $1.13.

This is the star of the box and the thing I most wanted this month - the stila sparkle waterproof liquid eye liner.  I received it in curacao, which is a gorgeous sparkly blue color!  They also sent out some black and brown neutrals. I was so hoping for the blue, as I have plenty of neutral liners. The applicator is like a felt tip marker, and I absolutely love it - it went on so easily and I got a great line with it. I wore it all day today and it did not budge.  It is so pretty and I am so glad I got it.  This is a full sized liner, and it retails at $22.

I also got Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide, which is a hair serum meant to add shine and moisture to hair.  It is a little vial, and if it is anything like the Elixer Ultime, it will last forever!  It also came with packets of the shampoo and conditioner as extras. I love the Kerastase products I have tried to date, so I am willing to bet that these will be great, as well.  

The full size of the Lumiere Liquide is 50 ml and retails for $42.  This 3 ml sample is worth about $2.52.  The shampoo is $36 for 250 ml and the conditioner is $39 for 200 ml, making the sample packets worth $1.44 and $1.95.

I received a Color Club foil nail polish in Disco Nap.  This is a shiny gold foil and it is so pretty. I don't always like nail polish, but I love metallic gold and I look forward to trying out this brand.  The .5 oz full size is $8, so this .25 oz sample is worth $4.

Finally, another extra is a cute purple notecard. I love to write letters and notes, so this is a very useful extra for me. A set of 12 cost $10, so this cute card and envelope are worth about 83 cents. There is also a little card with trivia questions about the season finale.

In all, I think this is a great box! I love all of the products I received, and I can't wait to try out the Kerastase and Color Club products!  This box has a prorated value of $33.87, which is pretty awesome. I hope Birchbox continues to do special themed boxes like this. I can't wait to see my second box!

Circular Swap Haul!

I posted a while back about a circular swap I was doing with some of the other ladies at MakeupTalk.  The idea was to put samples and products that we don't want in a flat rate box/envelope, and mail it to the next person on the list.  The next person would then take out what they wanted, and add unwanted samples of their own, and so on, until the last person on the list returns it to the first.

Well, Friday I finally got the box, and as I am close to the end of the rotation, there was a TON to choose from!  I made out like a bandit, and thought I'd share my haul here, in case anyone was interested in participating in something like this!

I received a large Flat Rate box stuffed full.  It included lots of sample packets, quite a few full sized nail care products (some acrylics, some decals, quite a few full sized polishes), full sized and sample sized makeup items ranging from concealer to foundation to eyeshadow, and some coupons.  It was like Christmas! Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the box as I received it, but I did take one when I was finished repacking it!

Some of the things I took out of the box are a myGlam pouch (I use them for organizing my samples and small makeup items), myGlam case and two of the brushes (I'm working on a pink brush set for a gift), a Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes palette (which I have fallen completely in love with), a Wet n Wild shadow trio, an Urban Decay loose pigment, a Milani eyeshadow, a Color Tattoo shadow in white (I love this for a shadow base), a CG loose powder, a lip balm, a MAC pigment in Chartreuse, a couple of HiP pigments, a broken Ulta shadow (that I have since re-set) and several packet samples (some not pictured).  So far I am really happy with everything!

Some of the things I put in include a couple of full sized CG lipsticks, a couple of polishes, some Bath & Body Works Pocketbacs and a lotion, some Pantene hair repair ampoules, quite a few skin care items (wash, day cream, night cream, Deep Cleansing Oil, a Clinique face soap, some coconut body and face oil, etc), some perfume samples, argan oil samples, Frownies face patches, M.A.D. skincare samples, a silk ribbon and bow headband, and some pearl earrings.  After the photo, I also added some more polishes and some GDE eyeshadow samples, as well as a few other skincare samples.

Here's the box all ready to go, minus the padding and packing materials!  It's HUGE and full of a ton of awesome things.  If you ever get a chance to participate in something like this, I recommend it!  We've had so much fun with it!

Target "Beauty is all the Buzz" Bag, Spring 2012

So, Target has now offered these little free sample bags several times.  They're always a lot of fun to get, and what's better than free beauty samples?  They obviously offer products available at Target, so it's not high end deluxe samples, but it's always great, accessible products. I scrambled to sign up for mine when they became available in April and then promptly forgot about it...so I was surprised and excited when it showed up a few days ago!

The bag itself is really cute! Pink and red striped zipper pouch.  I've since begun using it to hold my eyeliners.

I was excited to pull out these wipes!  I tried a sample of the simple face wash last month and I enjoyed it.  I love wipes like these to keep around for when I need to quickly clean my face or remove my makeup...I've placed them in my work bag!  I've used one so far, and it did a great job of removing my eye makeup and didn't leave my face feeling oily.

I love Nivea products.   This lotion promises to hydrate for 48 hours! I wash my hands approximate 1 billion times per day at work, so this is a great little size to take along with me.  It smells nice, too.

Neutrogena visibly bright face wash.  I will try this out, as I like brightening products.  It will have to wait for a bit, as I'm currently having my monthly hormonal breakouts and I don't want to further upset them with a new product!

Pantene conditioner for color treated hair.  I'm not a huge fan of Pantene, so I will take this to work and let one of my residents use it. Smells good, and good for me as I do have color treated hair, but Pantene just does nothing for me.

Magic Lumi light infusing primer. I tried this already and it was decent! I liked the way it looked on my cheeks, less so on my forehead area which is to be expected for me.  Non greasy and not too shimmery!

It also included a little booklet of Target beauty coupons. In all, a great little bag for free.  My favorite item is the simple wipes! I may have to buy a full size of them!  Did you get a beauty bag this time?