March Birchbox

Hi everyone!

After much waiting, I finally got my March Birchbox. I opted in last month when they sent the email asking if I wanted the special Teen Vogue Birchbox or a regular one (I saw the word Essie and didn't think twice).

On to what my box consisted of:



-Annick Goutal Petite Cherie: Inside the card it says it's a melange of peach, vanilla, fresh grass and musky rose. I smelled it and I'm not a huge fan of it. I guess I'll try it one day. For now it's going in my bag of sample vials. It's safe to say I WON'T be buying the full size.
Full size: 50mL (roughly 1.7oz) is $85.00. Since the sample is a vial that you can get for free anywhere, I put no value on it. ZERO.

-Essie LuxeEffects in A Cut Above: Most of you know already that nail polish is my weakness. ESPECIALLY glitter nail polish. A Cut Above is a pink glitter in a clear base. Awesome! I won't need to buy a full size since, well, they sent me a full size.
Full size: .46 fl oz is $8.00. The sample is actually a full size sample, so sample value is $8.00.

-Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15: lip balm with a subtle tint to it and natural sugar extracts to exfoliate and smooth lips. I tried this and don't feel any grittiness at all. However, the box it came in and even the tube it comes in are both deceiving. The actual product is rather small. Think one of those mini tubes of lipstick. Yeah. It's alright, don't like it enough to buy full size.
Full size: .15oz is $22.50. Wow. Sample is .08oz, which would bring approximate value to $12.00.

-Kerastase Elixir Ultime: Another nourishing oil that hydrates/smoothes hair. I tried it. It smells decent and does a decent job, but I still like the Orofluido a LOT more. Orofluido is almost half the price also. I won't buy the full size.
Full size: 125mL (about 4.2oz) is $54.00. The sample size is .16oz and is valued at around $2.06.

-Twistband Hair Tie: I got one of these several months ago also, but I like them. This time I got a nice deep red one(my favorite color). I do need to get around to buying some of these.
Full size: 6 bands costs $10.00. They send one for a sample. Sample value is around $1.67.

Total Box Value: $23.73

All in all an alright box. I was a little disappointed that I got the ONE box out of the four Teen Vogue boxes that did NOT have the full size Tarte item in them(even though a lot of people are having issues with their Tarte item not opening), but still not a -bad- box. At least the twistband and nail polish both came in a color I like. I saw a lot of people getting yellow twistbands.

Do you get Birchbox? Did you enjoy this month's?

Girly Bits Cosmic Ocean

Today I have a mani I've been wearing for a couple of days now. I purchased Girly Bits Cosmic Ocean from Pam, the creator of Girly Bits polishes and the person behind the Girly Bits blog and who's in a couple of groups on Facebook that I'm a part of.

Cosmic Ocean is a duochrome that's best used layered over black or dark navy as it is a topcoat color. The color shifts between blue and green primarily depending on the light. It has an amazing effect in person, but it's kind of hard to capture the actual color shifting on camera.

Here's a couple of pictures:


Outside, shade.


Indoors, flash. In bright light the green -really- comes out.


Hand in front of the window. You can kind of see the shift here, but not very well.

These are all the same mani. I used two coats of Orly Liquid Vinyl and one coat(not a thin coat) of Cosmic Ocean, topped with a coat of Out the Door.

The color is GORGEOUS. I have worn this for two days and have very little tipwear and no chips(which is very good considering I am relatively hard on my hands at work). I will definitely be ordering a full size when Pam's shop reopens!

At the moment the shop is closed, but when it reopens(should be pretty soon!), you can order Girly Bits from her website here. There's also a tab that shows all current colors.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed! :)

Glitter Gal Silver 3D Holo- Rave!

Guess who's back!

Sorry for the lengthy hiatus but things got really busy around the holidays for me with work and all. Sigh.

I recently purchased Glitter Gal Silver 3D Holo from llarowe and got it in a matter of days. It was a couple of weeks before I could actually wear it.

These pictures are after two work days of wear. I'm surprised this held up as well as it did considering holographic polish tends to chip/wear quickly and polish on my nails in general tends to chip/wear within a day.

Here's a couple of pictures. Don't mind the dry cuticles. I haven't had the chance to put oil on yet.

In the pictures is no basecoat(was in a hurry), two coats of color, and a coat of Seche Vite.


In the car. It was cloudy and dreary outside so the holographic didn't show much. Very little wear though!


This better shows the holo! If a holo will show up this nicely in the crappy lighting that is in my room then you KNOW it's good. I'm actually using the light from my bearded dragon's enclosure here.

All in all, I LOVE Glitter Gal polishes. They're expensive at $14 for a .3 fl oz bottle, but so SO worth it. Especially since the wear time is amazing for a holographic in my opinion. Also it doesn't require special base/topcoats like some!

What are your favorite holographics?

November Birchbox- Some Raves and a Rant.

Yeah, it's that time again. I haven't even mentioned my Gogo Girlfriend box yet. I know, bad me. Here's my November birchbox. Is it better than October? I don't know, but it's definitely better than September.

Onward!




1. Atelier Cologne: Claims to have notes of vanilla, oak wood, and amber. It doesn't smell bad, smells pretty good actually, but...well, you'll see.
Full size: You have the option of 30ml for $60 (ouch!) or 200ml for $170(BIG OUCH)
Sample size: It's a tube, about the same size as any other perfume sample tube out there.
Sample value: Zero. It DID come with a postcard you can use, though. Will I use the postcard? Probably not.
Will I purchase the full size: At those prices? NO.

2. BORGHESE Fango Active Mud: a face/body mineral-rich mud treatment that also contains avocado and sweet almond oils. It actually smells good. I'll try it in the shower tonight.
Full size: Again, you have options. 7oz is $33.50, 17.6oz is $64.00.
Sample Size: 1oz.
Sample value: Approximately $4.79 if they sold this size. The 1oz tube will definitely last a while.
Will I purchase the full size?: Don't know for sure until I try it but I highly doubt it.

3. LaROCCA Skincare Champagne & Shimmer Supreme Creme: Contains shea butter and olive oil, it also contains a bunch of other natural oils good for the skin. When I looked at the jar I got a bit nervous and thought I'd be unable to use this sample, since I saw little glittery/shimmery particles and thought it had mica in it which I'm allergic to. When I checked the ingredients I'm happy to say it does NOT contain mica. Smells good, at least. I tried a bit on my hands and seems to spread nicely and moisturize well, but I'm not a fan of the shimmery effect. It's a bit too much for me.
Full size: 6.76oz is $35.
Sample size: .05oz (I wonder if that's a typo though, the tub looks more like a half ounce size tub).
Sample value: $ .25, if calculating with the .05 oz.
Will I purchase the full size: No.

4. Zoya Nail Polish in Izzy: Pretty raspberry pink shimmer polish. I'd already purchased Holly(the green) and Noel(the blue) from this collection so I'm glad I got this one.
Full size: .5 oz is $8.
Sample size: .25oz
Sample value: $4.
Will I purchase the full size: I own several Zoya polishes, and will continue to buy the brand. I love Zoya nail polish.

5. Two Paper Dolls Ampersand Coasters: This was technically the "treat". I'm still WTFing over this one. Coasters? Really? PAPER coasters at that. I don't even like the design on them. What a waste.
Full size: You can buy a set of six for $15 if you really wanted to spend that kind of money on paper coasters. I can spend 20 and get a set of good stone coasters at Bed Bath and Beyond.
Sample size: Two coasters
Sample value: Calculates out to $5. Personally I'd say it's not worth anything. REALLY birchbox, COASTERS? What's that have to do with beauty?
Will I purchase the full size: It'll be a cold day you know where when that happens.

Since I was one of the first x amount of people to leave feedback when they had that little promotion going on in September(basically the first x amount of people that left feedback on products in September got the bracelet this month), I also got the BaubleBar Black Wood Pop Bracelet, which is valued at $20. I think they said the first 10,000. Could've been 1,000. I don't remember.

October Birchbox

I got my Birchbox on Saturday, but due to work and life I haven't been able to post it until today.

I still will do "approximate" values even though some people can go to Sephora and get samples of some of these kinds of things with their points. Not all of us have regular access to a Sephora though. :)

We'll get on to it now.



1. AHAVA Rich Cleansing Cream: They say it's "a non-lathering cleanser that whisks away dirt, oil, and makeup before you can say 'non-drying'."
I did try this Saturday afternoon with my Olay Pro-X brush, and it works alright, but it's not nearly as good as Philosophy's Purity, which is my go-to face cleanser. Plus ounce-to-ounce, it's more expensive than Philosophy.
Full size: 3.4 fl. oz is $30.
Sample size: .68 oz
Sample value: Calculated to be around $6.
Would I purchase the full size? No. Like I said it's not nearly as good as Philosophy's Purity Made Simple, and it's more expensive.

2. Befine Lip Serum: They say it's "a lip healing wonder" and it "smoothes cracked or dry lips."
I tried this as soon as I opened the box as well, hoping I wouldn't have the same experience I did when I tried their night cream that I got in August's box. Good news- my lips didn't burn like my face did with the night cream. Bad news- It's nothing outstanding. I didn't notice any real "smoothing" difference. I'll try it a few more times.
Now a note before I get on with things...Birchbox sells a duo with the lip serum AND the lip exfoliator for $25. I had to go to befine's website to find out how much the lip serum costs if buying alone, since they didn't send me a lip exfoliator.
Full size: .5 oz for $20 (the lip exfoliator alone would be $20 as well on befine's site, so if you want the serum, you may as well pay the $25 on Birchbox's site and get both the serum and exfoliator).
Sample size: .34 oz (fairly close to full size, the closest anything in this box comes)
Sample value: Calculated to be around $13.60.
Will I purchase the full size? No. It didn't thrill me that much, and to spend $20 on a lip treatment it better work miracles.

3. Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze: They say it's a "hydrating primer that gives you a flawless foundation for makeup plus a subtle glow" and that it works on all skin tones.
I'm fair skinned(AKA pale), this does blend well. I'm sure a lot of people will probably like this, and I wish I could too, but there was one problem with this product for me. It contains mica, which makes me itch like crazy(it did the second I put some on the inside of my wrist) and sometimes breaks me out in a rash(like Bare Escentuals did). I'd have to use like five layers of product under this to use it which would defeat the purpose. At least I got to try it.
Full size: 2 oz is $25.
Sample Size: .5 oz
Sample Value: Calculated to be around $6.25.
Would I purchase the full size? No. I don't want a rash on my face again, thanks. I'm sure a lot of others will love this.

4. Orofluido Beauty Elixir: It's a hair serum with argan, linseed, and cyperus oils.
I tried a small amount of this the other day on my hair, and it actually works pretty nicely. This was the item I was most thrilled about in my box. It even smells good!
Full size: 3.4 fl oz is $29.99
Sample Size: .17 oz
Sample Value: Calculated to be about $1.50.
Would I purchase the full size? Definitely. Possibly use my points on it. The sample will last me a long time though, a little really does go a long way.

5. The Laundress Delicate Wash: This was the extra in my box. It's supposed to be used on all your delicate items/handwash items. I don't hand wash clothes and I have to be really careful about the detergents I use since I have sensitive skin and a lot of detergents break me out.
Full size: 2 oz for $8. (I had to go to the Laundress website and find this out. Birchbox didn't list it on my card. Expensive).
Sample Size: .5 oz packet.
Sample Value: Zero. I can't put a value on a packet. I did calculate for fun and it said it'd be about two dollars. For a PACKET? I don't know anyone who'd pay that.
Would I purchase the full size? No.

Approximate Birchbox value: about $27.35. The only item I'd want to buy full size is the hair serum, sadly.

Overall, values aside, it's not my favorite box, but I'm much happier with this one than I was with September's box. I also signed up for GoGo Girlfriend, and am expecting that box any day now. I'll compare the two when I get them. If I like GGG more, I may say goodbye Birchbox after six boxes(December).

Do you get Birchbox? What did you get in your birchbox?

I didn't put "rant" or "rave" in the title because I'm not doing either about this box. This box was okay. I'm not wowed by it but I like it more than last month.

That's basically it for my box. Until next time!

September Birchbox Rant

Hi everyone!

Hopefully I'm back for a while! Things have been busy here. Very busy. Anyways, this post isn't about that. It's about Birchbox. It FINALLY came. Almost a full week after they'd sent the shipping notice. It's not Birchbox's fault though. Enough of that though, let's get to what I got!




Again, I'll break down approximate costs.

1. Incoco Nail Polish Applique. I haven't had a chance to try these out yet. Hopefully soon. I got the sparkly(yay!) leopard print. There's a picture below. I'm not a huge fan of animal print but I like glittery stuff.



Full size(16 strips): anywhere from $7.99 to $10.99, depending on the pattern.
Sample size(12 strips): I went to Incoco's website to see how much the full size of my pattern would cost. The full size of my pattern (and pretty much any of the glitter ones) is 10.99. That brings the value of my sample to $8.25

2. Jouer Lip Enhancer: This claims to hydrate, plump, and condition in one go. A lot of people complained the tube was TINY. I'll echo that. It is tiny. Not as big of a deal since there's a couple uses worth in there(though the tube is only HALF full. I held it up to the light. Someone compared it to the same amount as someone who's putting toothpaste on a toothbrush). I tried it. It doesn't plump, which is fine with me because I HATE lip plumpers. I had to squeeze the living daylights out of the tube to get any product to come out though. Not a fan of this one. I'll stick to my EOS lip balms.

Full size(.33 fl oz): $14
Sample size(.07 fl oz): The tube says "Not for retail sale", so Zero.

3. Jurlique Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer: This actually contains natural oils as well as alcohol(only 62% alcohol). Claims to be moisturizing, and they're right. When I first read I was getting this, I wasn't very thrilled. Now that I've tried it, I actually kind of like it. It smells good(doesn't smell alcohol like like a lot do), and it doesn't dry my hands out. Also a tiny dab goes a long way so it'll last a while. I doubt I'll buy the full size though, considering the cost.

Full size(5.9 fl oz): $15
Sample size(1.7 fl oz): $4.32

4. LIV GRN Eau de Parfum in Earth: It says the scent is lacd with orange and neroli. I was excited that I got this because I'd heard a lot of people loved LIV GRN scents. On me it smells a little bit like grass. I'm not a fan of this one. I'd probably like the other one they have better. I'm going to let my best friend try this and see what she thinks.

Full size(3.4 fl oz): $60
Sample Size(it doesn't say, but it's a slightly longer vial than sample vials): Zero. Like I said. It's a sample vial. You can get them anywhere.

Treat: Birchbox Friendship Bracelet: Eh, I guess it's cute. Kind of child-like. I think I'd only wear it if I'm going somewhere with a bunch of kids. Maybe. That said, it'll likely be never. Doesn't seem like it'll hold up well either...and several people said theirs broke within a day wearing it. Yeah. Value? Nothing.

Total Box Value: $12.57. Sadly, my favorite item is the hand sanitizer. Keep in mind I haven't tried the nail strips yet though. I'll update on that when I do.

Yeah. This box was "eh" for me. I'm not thrilled with the value (or lack thereof)..it's MUCH lower than the other two boxes that I've received. I've heard a lot of complaints on this. I fully understand. Like someone else mentioned somewhere, add an extra vial or two of perfume in or extra SOMETHING. Hopefully next month will be better.

Small hiatus

I apologize for lack of posting lately, I'd hurt my hand and wrist a couple weeks ago and couldn't much hold anything much less paint my nails without extreme pain.

Now I'm dealing with a hurricane barreling right for me. YAY. :(
Will post again as soon as it's all over with(and if we lose power then when power is regained). Anyone in the path of this thing be careful!