September 2011 Birchbox Review

Watch the video to see me opening the box: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg0r9s1XXBc

Pangea Organics Facial Cream

I was pleasantly surprised with this product. With all the moisturizers out there, I really like this one. It reminded me a lot of the Bare Minerals Purely Nourishing Moisturizer for Combination skin which was the current face cream I was using at the time but I am using this more frequently now. It has the same herbal lavender smell and it has a non-oily consistency. The Bare Minerals moisturizer is thin and soaks in immediately and is hard to spread around, which I didn't like. The Pangea Organics has a creamier consistency and can be a bit runny at times but soaks into the skin nicely. It's yellow in color and is not drying to my skin at all. It was good for the end of summer and so far, it's still enough moisture for the fall. We'll see how it works for the winter. This is a great all around product. I like the way it makes my skin feel and seems to have a lot of natural ingredients that give good benefits. I would consider purchasing this in full size if I still love it when I use up the sample (a little goes a long way!).


Jouer Lip Enhancer

This sample is super tiny but it's a nice product. My favorite part about it is the way it makes your lips look. It has a frosted light pink sheen in the tube and it gives a great look to the lips while remaining natural-looking. It doesn't actually give a color it just makes my lips a little bit darker and moisturized-looking. It's not as glossy as a lip gloss and not drying like a lipstick. It's a lip balm that's slightly thicker than the C O Bigelow balm that I love. Plus this has no taste or scent. It says it's supposed to do multiple things and is a treatment for the lips, but mainly it just seems like a lip balm with a light pink color/sheen.


LIV GRN Earth Eau de Parfum

I was surprised by this unique scent right away and thought it smelled really good but it's not a fragrance I could wear every day. It's very fresh and green smelling with a strong sweetness to it like fresh watermelon. I think it's a nice perfume for summer if you like sweet and fresh scents but there's something about it that makes me sick of it immediately after I put it on. It kind of smells like Herbal Essence shampoo. It's very strong which usually I like, but I can smell it every time I breathe in which is why I'm so sick of it so soon I guess. I think I was so excited at first because it smelled unique in the bottle but on my skin, it just reminds me of shampoo.


Incoco Nail Polish Applique

I love the design of this nail strip. I love the bright color blue against the black and the dots of blue really do shimmer and sparkle when it catches light - pretty amazing. However, they started to peel and chip immediately after I put them on. It seems like the strips are not as adhesive as the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips cause it felt like they could peel right off. Also I always push down pretty hard on the strip to make sure they are stuck on and it started to make a fingerprint in the nail polish when I did that.  From watching the selection of these from the youtube videos, some of the designs seemed a bit gaudy, but that's what I thought about these at first too and I ended up loving how they look on my nails. Plus one other thing I prefer about the Salon Effects is that they come with a cuticle stick, mini file, and buffer - everything you need!


Bonus -Birchbox Friendship Bracelet

I thought this was a really cute idea at first with the Birchbox color (love that color pink) and logo charm and I like small thin bracelets like that because I don't like to feel heavy things on my wrist that get in my way and make noise. So I wore this one day and that was the last time I wore it. It fit great since it's adjustable but the leftover piece of string was really long and was getting in the way all day because it kept sticking out instead of staying in line with the rest of the bracelet. I know this would've been more time consuming but the end of the adjustable string piece should've been attached to the bracelet too then there wouldn't be a long piece of string hanging down and you could adjust and move 2 different knots at two different spots in the bracelet.


In conclusion, I really liked this month's box. I think this might be the first time I have used every single product!

Yankee's October Scent

Autumn Wreath



This is a good one for fall. Someone in a Yankee store said this surpassed Harvest in popularity, which I find hard to believe and it's not THAT good, but it's a nice scent. "There's a cheerful fall welcome in the spicy warmth of autumn leaves and cinnamon apples."

St. Johnsbury Candle Review

August 2011 Birchbox Review

Watch this to see me opening the box: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4cuWpB1s2o

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

Am I the only one that can't really tell the difference between one primer and another? Maybe it's because the 2 primers that I have used are similar. I use Bare Minerals foundation so I have really only used their Prime Time primer which I like and haven't had any problems with. I like the added benefit of minerals and vitamins too. This primer from smashbox seems similar to me. It's nothing to write home about.


June Jacobs Papaya Purifying Enzyme Masque

First of all, this smells delicious - like papaya and pineapple, very tropical and island-like. When I was "massaging it into the skin" as it directs you to, it felt kind of strange for a mask. I'm used to clay masks which are slightly cold and thick and harden as they sit. This is white and very creamy in texture, almost like a thick body cream but it doesn't get soaked into the skin. It feels good but is very different than any other mask I have used. It says to leave it on the skin for 3-10 minutes. I left it on for the full 10 and by that time, all the white color had disappeared and my face just looked really greasy. After I washed it off, my skin did feel smooth and hydrated. After I used my Burt's Bees toner, my face burned a little but no real irritation occurred with this product but then my face felt greasy to the touch! That was strange since usually the toner dries my skin out a bit. I would recommend this product if you have dry skin, but with my combination skin, I will stick with clay masks like the Ahava one I got in a previous Birchbox.


twistband Hair Tie

Not a fan of this since it doesn't suit my hair. I need a lot of stretch in a hair tie and this hardly has any. 2 pull-throughs leaves my ponytail too loose and I can't fit it to go 3 pull-throughs. Plus since the band is so wide, it just folds over and creases and it stays that way. I guess if you wear hair ties on your wrist, this would be more comfortable but if it doesn't work in your hair, then what's the point?

Shaveworks The Cool Fix

I haven't used this product yet. If I do, I'll update with the review here. There's always one in the box every month.


Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel

I don't normally like gels since usually they make the hair crunchy but this gel doesn't do that at all. It actually doesn't have enough hold for me. I wouldn't say that it controls ALL frizz either. I noticed more frizz with this product than my normal mousse. My hair was very soft and very curly but it just didn't have enough hold. I'm not sure how much product to use but I felt like I used enough. It says to use a nickel size amount and I did that 3 or 4 times with my long hair. I'm not a fan of the smell either. It's not offensive, it just smells like gel. So I would recommend this product if you have curly hair and want to keep your curls without needing much hold because this leaves the hair very soft.  But, I'll stick with my Paul Mitchell Sculpting Lotion.

{Currently Burning - Marshmallow Fireside by Slatkin & Co.}

Review of 11 New Holiday/Winter Slatkin Candles from B&BW

Yankee's September Scent

Macintosh Spice



Ok this scent I am excited for. (FYI I'm reviewing all the scents of this calendar in December 2010). When I saw this I thought this was new but I just checked the website and it's available now. When did this come out? I don't remember this. I was just saying how there needs to be a pure apple cinnamon scent without anything else. If it's as good as the regular Macintosh, I might purchase this. "Simply delicious ... crisp, slightly tart apple slices sprinkled with freshly ground cinnamon."

Fall Candle Picks 2011