Wednesday, June 22, 2011

June Birchbox Review

Go to my Youtube Channel to see the video of me unwrapping the actual Birchbox.


Twirl by Kate Spade eau de parfum
This perfume is feminine and girly but it is way too strong for me. I would call it a fresh fruity floral, I guess. All I could think of when I sprayed it was "way too perfumey". If you like bold scents, then this is one to check out and it will definitely last all day long. I'm just not a fan of bold in-your-face fragrance.

Laura Geller Blush n' Brighten in Apricot Berry
I'm still stoked that I received this full size product in a $10 Birchbox that came with other goodies too. I used this the first day I opened the box. I must tell you this - a little goes a LONG way. I made the mistake of swiping my brush all over the compact, maybe even doing it twice, and I looked a little bit like a clown (or at least that's what I thought). The color is pretty - it definitely comes across as apricot with coral colors. I love the luminescence of it though. It's one of those colors that looks ten times better in the sun because it brings out other colors that you can't see otherwise and it gives you a great glow. Just be careful not to put too much on and be very careful where you put it. I used it as a blush and put an additional highlighter on top of it and above it to tone down the color. I think this is great for summer and will definitely keep using it.

Herban Essentials Orange Towelettes
This smelled really good. While I was using it on my hands, it smelled like a real fresh orange or tangerine, really juicy. Then my hands smelled like an orange creamsicle afterwards. The pad itself was in the shape of a rectangle and it had little holes in it as opposed to most handi wipes. It was soft and non-abrasive, a good size, and had the right amount of saturation. I had to wait a little bit for my hands to dry completely but they weren't sticky afterwards. Maybe a little dry but my hands were left feeling cleaner than they would after using a B&BW pocketbac. Plus I love towelettes because they're small and flat so they don't take up any room in a purse or suitcase and there's no chance of spilling. I checked out their website and they have other aromatherapy wipes too used for multi-purpose like eucalyptus, lavender, and lemon. I might consider purchasing a full size pack of these.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil Free Lotion
I don't think I like this product. The texture is fine, it's a cream but kind of a mixture between serum and cream. It's very light and soaks into the skin right away after putting it on. I could have used a little more moisture and I have oily combination skin in the summer. It definitely didn't prevent shine or oil throughout the day. My nose was very shiny (with no makeup) by mid day and I noticed my cheeks were also very red. Did you ever get a warming sensation on your skin after awhile of putting on a product? Like it's effective at doing something yet it's not making your skin feel very pretty in the meantime. This was an example of that. I thought I would love this product but I don't. I probably won't use the whole bottle. I might just throw it in my travel bag for when I go away.

Xen-Tan Deep Bronze Luxe Self Tanner
I thought I would give this a try, but who am I kidding? I hate self tanners. I don't need to be tan so I don't see the point. They all have flaws in my opinion so it's not worth it for me if I don't even care about the color of my skin tone. So sorry, there is no review of this product. It's the "throw away" item of this month's Birchbox for me - kinda like last month's Archipelago soap bar.

Stay tuned for next month and go to my Youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/Scentmyway for my whole collection of videos.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Yankee's June Scent

Black Cherry


I love Yankee's Black Cherry. I have tried this scent in other tart vendors and haven't like it as much. It's a good transitional scent from spring to summer. "The absolutely delicious sweetness of rich, ripe black cherries. "

Friday, June 3, 2011

Birchbox May 2011 Review

So in case you haven't seen my video of my first birchbox, I have signed up for the program. If you're not familiar with it, you can check it out at http://www.birchbox.com/. It's a monthly subscription where you get deluxe beauty samples delivered to your door every month for $10/mth and they have some pretty big brands that participate. What a great concept - a Christmas present every month. Well the video was just a haul type style of opening the box and showing the products. I decided I would review the products after using them here on my blog. I decided to do this after I threw away the actual birchbox and one of the products so Sorry! I don't have the most comprehensive pictures this time but I will from now on - promise!

Ahava Time to Clear Purifying Mud Mask


This was my favorite product in the box. It goes on like a thin mud and it does dry and turn brown on the skin. I love that it dries and makes the skin tight which I like to think is the point of masks. I've tried some that just stay wet until you take them off but I love the feeling of this one. It says apply liberally but it's not really thick. It's a semi-thin consistency. You only leave it on for 2 minutes which goes by SO fast, then you rinse it off. It says it is approved for sensitive skin as well. Sometimes my skin can be sensitive and I had no problems using this mask. My skin was really smooth after using this product and not red or irritated. I would consider buying this in full size.

Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint


I didn't think I would like this since I'm not usually a fan of anything "luminizing" that makes my skin look shiny but I was surprised by this. I probably wouldn't buy this in full size but I received 2 samples of this and will definitely use both. Plus it's SPF 20 (great), oil free, and hypoallergenic. I think this shade is in pearl but it matched my skin fine. The coverage was pretty good for a tinted moisturizer. I think I bought one once from Cover Girl and it pretty much did nothing but this was almost like a light coverage foundation. And my skin didn't look or feel greasy but it actually was luminescent and glowy. I did a very natural eye and lip and it was perfect for a hot summer day. Am I the only one that hasn't heard of this brand before?

Jouer Lip Gloss



This was totally forgettable. I used it once and have no desire to use it again. It has no flavor or scent (boring) and it hardly had any color or shimmer. There's more in the tube than shows up on the lips. I have to say one big pro was that it was probably the smoothest lip gloss ever - no stickiness at all. But that's not enough to get me to use it again. I need color, shimmer, scent, or taste - SOMETHING!

Kerastase Reflection Luminous Softening Shampoo for Highlighted or Color Treated Hair



 I still haven't used this. Haha. So why did I include this in this review? I don't know. Probably because I could take a picture of it since I still had it.

The last item was a bar of soap from Archipelago in Pomegranate. I threw that away. I think it was a sample that's used in hotel rooms. It has no scent - in fact, it smelled kinda gross because it was soooo soapy. My hands weren't extremely dry after washing them, but come on, I have to have some sort of scent to keep using it with all the great scented soap bars out there now.

I can't wait for June's Birchbox!!!!!