March Birchbox Review

I'm going to start doing product reviews a little differently, each product (if there are more than one per review will get an overall score in parentheses next to the product name just so you get an idea about how I would rate it personally.

Also my hope is to get back to updating this Tuesdays and Thursdays. I think I've got a pretty good schedule established for my hiking blog so now I just need to get back into the swing of things with this blog.

Whish Shave Cream, 150ml - $20 (3.5/5)
I don't usually use shave cream cause I'm always running late. Also, if you exfoliate fairly frequently, have a good razor and a moisturizing body wash, you don't really need shaving cream. That being said, this shaving cream is incredibly moisturizing, and has a really nice texture. Even though I have very sensitive skin and my razor is at the end of it's life, I had NO skin irritation at all. The smell is sort of "meh" to me. It smells like fake blueberry smell, which isn't awful but it's not great to me either. I was hoping for a more fresh, clean scent rather than something that smells really sweet and too heavily perfumed.


Oscar Blandi Hair Lift Mousse, 6.3 oz - $23 (5/5)
Oh man. I love, love, love this mousse. It leaves my hair with some really nice volume, it isn't heavy or crusty. It doesn't make my hair look dull, which I find is a big problem with a lot of volumizing products. The scent isn't super overwhelming, it's smells kind of woody and spicy to me, not like hot spicy like aromatic spicy. It's a little pricey but I might splurge.


Madewell for Birchbox Floral Nail Emery Board - $5
Not really sure what to say about this. It's an emery board. It's pretty. Works fine. 'Nuff said.

MAKE Face Primer $30
If you are looking for a mattefying primer I would NOT go with this face primer. It's a pretty okay primer overall although I didn't notice a huge difference in length of wear I do think it helped with applying my foundation evenly and evening my skin tone. The texture was nice, it didn't dry out my skin at all which is a good thing since I have a tendency towards dry patches on my cheek bones. It's SPF 30, which is always a good thing. It's on the pricey side, and honestly I'm starting to lean towards using BB/CC creams mixed with moisturizer as a primer rather than using something like this. Still if you want an un-tinted primer this is a nice option.

MAKE eye shadow in Great Lakes $18
Nice satin finished eye shadow in a medium grey. Very wearable, I could see doing a really pretty smokey grey eye with this. It applies evenly but I can really speak to length of wear since I just swatched it. It's also hypoallergenic, doesn't have any oils, parabens or fragrances (do most eye shadows have fragrances??). It does include vitamins C and E to help protect the skin around your eyes. Overall a very decent eye shadow, except for the price. If I'm going to be buying eye shadow I'll go with Inglot, MAC, Sugarpill etc. All of which are cheaper, and have a better selection.

Zoya Pixie Dust Give Away

The Nail Network is giving away the Zoya Pixie Dust collection and I want it so damn bad. I'm waiting for my tax return to purchase these but it would be pretty damn awesome if I got them for free. Go here to enter (and then give them to me :P)

Product Focus: Olay Pro-X Cleansing System

For the most part my skin is pretty good. I don't have a lot of breakouts, I have something between dry/normal and combination skin. My biggest issue with my skin is the size of my pores, especially on my nose. It's been a constant bother to me, though I am fairly sure it's one of those things that I'm the only one who really notices it. As a result I was thinking for a long time about purchasing the Clarisonic Mia, but I just could not deal with the price point. Not just the unit itself which retails for $119 at Sephora, but also the cost of replacement brush heads which are $25 a pop. I have been wanting an airbrush system for my makeup and I can only rationalize one of those as my big makeup/beauty purchase. So I started shopping around and found the Olay Pro-X cleansing System.

I got this through ULTA for $29.99 and the replacement brushes (which I have not yet purchased) are $9.99. So I figured what the hell, I'll give it a try and if it's crap I can always reconsider the Mia down the road. Overall I am pretty happy with the Olay brush. It works well, and I've noticed a difference in the size of my pores as well as the texture and clarity of my skin as a whole. It's waterproof so I can take it in the shower (Mia is as well). It also has two speeds, which is nice although there is not a VERY significant difference between the two, you can still notice it. It also comes with a sample of the Olay Regenerist face wash, which was a nice little bonus. 

There are a few downsides... The Mia is chargeable and the Olay brush is battery powered, so make sure you have rechargeable batteries. The Mia also has a variety of different types of brush heads, whereas there is only one type with Olay and it is slightly abrasive. I have fairly sensitive skin and it does not seem to irritate my skin at all, but for somebody with even more sensitive skin it might be a little on the rough side.  

Bottom Line: Price per performance I would absolutely recommend the Olay brush to anybody who does not have very sensitive skin. Also if you tend to have dry skin, make sure you use something that has some extra moisturizing properties cause I could definitely see how this could dry out your skin further.

Product Review: The Balm Squad by Jack Black

Anybody who has met me in person knows that I struggle with my lips. They're quite large and tend to dry and chap really easily, it gets especially bad in the winter. I drink at least 72 oz of water a day, so I know it's not just a question of dehydration. The worst thing is that when they are chapped I CANNOT leave them alone. I literally lick and pick at my lips till they bleed. I don't know why I can't just leave them be. So I did some looking around, bloggers who I trust, reviews etc. and one product kept coming up and that's the Jack Black Lip Balm.

Quite awhile ago Leesha of xsparkage posted a review of these lip balms, this was the first time that I'd heard of them and she had bought a four pack through Sephora. Since then I've been keeping my eye on them, wrestling with spending $25 on lip balm, and waiting for sales. Then a few weeks ago I was looking around on Birchbox Men, because I was curious about the service and possibly purchasing a box for a grooming oriented male friend of mine. Anyway, point is that I saw that they had The Balm Squad Lip Quad for $25, coincidentally I also had $20 worth of birchbox points saved up! Alright now it was just going to be $5 + shipping. I finally pulled the trigger and I'm super happy I did.

Lowdown on the Product Itself: The consistency of the product reminds me of when I used Carmex back in high school, which I was super addicted to, but I had to give up since it uses petroleum jelly which dries lips and only repairs in the short term. This doesn't include that ingredient, but feels similar which is great. I've only been using it a short while, but I can already notice a difference. My lips also seem to stay soft for quite a while. I also really like the fact that it's plastic with a screw cap, not like a twist tube, because I have a really bad habit of sticking my lip balm in my pockets and then washing it, which is always The scents are really nice, not overpowering. They don't have a flavor, but for me that's a good thing since it keeps me from licking my lips!

Benefits to the Collection: Buying the 4 pack is awesome, because if you're like me you lose lip balm ALL the time. Now I get to keep one at my work desk, in my  purse, where I do my makeup and one for back up. The four pack I bought comes with the following: Grapefruit and Ginger, Shea Butter and Honey, Mint, Acai Berry and Vanilla. The grapefruit and ginger is totally my favorite and the acai with vanilla is my least favorite. Not to say that it's not nice but just not a favorite. It also means if I'm out and about and still lose my lip balm I don't lose my favorite, since it's at my desk. Lastly I'm a sucker for flashy packaging and I really liked the design and how shiny the box was!

Late Post: January Birchbox

Right around the time I went on my year long hiatus from this blog I cancelled my birchbox. We were tight financially and I couldn't rationalize continuing to receive them, also around that time the quality of the birchboxes was a little questionable. You can see my previous rant about the quality, including the incredibly questionable product known as Lashcards here.

However about two months ago I sort of said what the hell, they were fun and I could use a monthly surprise, even if some of the items are ridiculous. I can honestly say I haven't had a bad box since. January was no exception.

From left to right:

1. Hot Mama Blush and Shadow All-in-One by theBalm Cosmetics $20
I really really like product, I already have the Mary Loumanizer,which I love. Both are really smooth and velvety in texture and buildable so you can have a subtle wash of color + highlight or you can use it as a full fledged blush, or a shadow if you want to keep building. It's got wonderful pigment it's a sort of peachy rose color with gold shimmer. The sparkly is really small so you look dewy rather than glittery. I didn't swatch it this time but I may include swatches in a later post. Awesome product, will definitely get used a lot. The size of the sample is also really great.

2. Ojon Rare Blend Total Hair Therapy $35/1.5 fluid oz (approximately 44.4 mL)
So I am in dire need of a hair cut. It's been months and months, the only reason I'm able to go on at all is that I use hair oil 2x weekly. I've been using Nuxe Dry Oil (which is my favorite) and sometimes Amika Obliphica oil treatment and it's kept my hair healthy and shiny. I plan on getting it cut in the next couple weeks. The point is I can't tell you too much about how well this will repair you hair, because I've been working like mad just to keep mine tolerable. What I can tell you is that it'll make it very shiny and that it has a lovely citrus scent. However, if you're in the market for a dry oil. I would steer you towards NUXE Huile Prodigieuse® / Multi-Usage Dry Oil ($45/100mL). Since it has more uses (skin and hair) and is cheaper and smells amazing.

3. Lashem Measurable Difference Lash Gel Serum $69.99/3.5 mL
I don't know that I've been using this consistently enough to really notice a difference, plus my lashes are quite long anyway, I do think they've been a bit fuller. The brush does make it easy to apply and even though I have very sensitive eyes it doesn't seem to irritate them or make the skin around them itch at all. Which is more than I can say for some eyeliners I've used. It's quite expensive, but it would probably last quite a while since you basically use a drop per eye.

4. Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrè (24-Hour Miracle Cream) $28/75 mL

Dear God this moisturizer is AMAZING. It is similar in texture and consistency to my Oil of Olay Daily Moisturizer. It also has a similar smell, it's a little different but similar. The major difference is that this cream is significantly more moisturizing. I applied a little to a dry patch on my arm which had been irritating me, and poof. Gone. It's a little pricey, but if I decide to upgrade my moisturizer one notch I think this might be it. 

Not pictured: Skinny Chic by Harvey Prince ($28 for 8.8 oz)

I gave this to my bestie because the smell is more to her taste than mine. I love Harvey Prince and his crazy concoctions. His Eau Flirt Pumpkin Lavender perfume was AMAZING and Yogini is a pretty wonderful scent as well. This just wasn't it... Cucumber mint is just not a good scent for me. It sounds like salad, I want it in my belly not on my skin.

Updates and Upcoming

I can't believe I haven't written in this blog in the last year. I have been super busy, but I didn't think it was that bad. I've been applying to grad school, if you want to read about that you can check my food blog: Ramblings and Musings: A Journey through Time and Produce. I've also been working on a new project with my best friend Ari. Basically we play Fuck, Marry, Kill and put up transcripts of our insane, and often fairly funny debates. You can check that out here.

As of now I'm going to try and restart updating this blog at least twice a week. I had to wipe my hard drive a while back due to a computer malfunction, so I'll have to create some new posts. Sorry you won't get to see my FX makeup that I mentioned two posts ago.

Things you can look forward to:

1. Review of the Olay Cleansing Brush
2. Review of the Jack Black lip balms quad
3. Zoya Ornate Collection (some of them anyway) reviews and NOTD.
4. FOTD Pictures/Basic non video tutorials
5. Birchbox reiews

Hope to have some of that up this week.

Cheers!

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