February 2015 Birchbox Unboxing and Review!

Hi guys!  So I'm back from a pretty big unexpected hiatus and also a hiatus from subscription box reviews!!!!  I basically love them, and decided for my birthday to resubscribe to Birchbox for a bit!

For those of you who don't already know, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box that sends you 4-6 beauty, makeup, skincare, and lifestyle samples (sometimes even full-size!)  every month!  You also get points that you can redeem in their store for full-size versions of whatever you want, special boxes, gift subscriptions, etc. I LOVE their point system and it's one of the reasons I chose to resubscribe to BB over Ipsy. If you'd like to sign up or check them out, please, please use my referral link HERE!

On to the review!
This month was freaking wonderful in Birchbox land. I seriously couldn't have gotten a better box and everything I got will be used and perfectly matches my preferences. All my samples are decently sized too. Yes, no sucky foil packets for this lady! :)

First looks:

Everything all neatly packed and whatnot as usual.

I spy a FULL SIZE sample. ;D

Here's the card with my sample information & full size product prices. If anyone's interested. :)

ON TO THE REVIEW!

February 2014 Glam Box LLC Unboxing!

Today I bring you my February GlamBox!!!
If you haven't read any of our other reviews from the past two months, Glam Box LLC is a brand new subscription box company that primary brings you products from small businesses. A major place where the businesses come from is Etsy, which is awesome for me because, really, who has time to hunt down every awesome shop on Etsy, NO ONE THAT'S WHO! :)
Honestly this month's box was a little hit and a little miss for me, but that's mostly due to personal preferences, and me being really picky with my scents. I'd like to see a little more makeup in my March box, but overall, February was still pretty good.
Pick up your March Box today at their website HERE for just $15 plus s&h, and be prepared to find some new brands that you didn't know existed. She also sends out mystery bags every now and then which can give you a taste of the past boxes, to see if you like it! Just make sure you mention this blog, and my name!!!

Here's a first look at my box:

One of my favorite things about Glam Box is that they provide you with a big list of everything in the boxes. This is especially helpful since all the brands aren't that well known, so that way you can find them later!! I also love that everything is packed in super tight, and securely wrapped!

Here's my list for February!

Here's all the business cards and sample cards that I had in my box.

There's a sample of Dermablend foundation and Versace perfume in there. Also some coupon codes and a 30 day free trial to Gwinnie Bee, which apparently is clothing for women size 10-32. Which I am not, but if anyone happens to want this, it's all yours!

And here is all my stuff I received! So CUTE for Valentine's!

First things first: SNACKS! I love that I got another chocolate pop from SandiPops. I got one last month and they are really really awesome and delicious. I also received a sugar cookie from A Bite of Heaven, which was okay, but a little on the stale side, but it has lots of sprinkles and a heart in the middle.  I'm sure they're great fresh though! If I keep receiving Sandi Pops and cookies instead of makeup, I guess I'll need that Gwinnie Bee after all huh? :P

Next! Candles!! I love candles, so this was definitely good. I received two tea lights from Simple Aromas in the scent Loving Spell, which smells just like Love Spell from Victoria's Secret, which happens to be my favorite.

I also received one tea light from Krista's Candles, which I had received a wax tart from in my last box. This is in the scent Moonlight Path, which smells really awesome and just like Moonlight Path from Bath & Body Works so that is a double plus! (BTW soon I will have a FULL Krista's Candle's Review for you guys, which I'm really really excited about! She's awesome & super sweet!)

Next, I received three hair ties from Just Knotted. These are super cute and I've been wearing them as bracelets and emergency hair ties. :) I also got a sample from Jamberry Nails sold by Joanna Duncan. I've never used these,  but if you don't know what they are, they are wraps for your nails that look like nail polish. I think the leopard ones are super cute, and I definitely wish I'd received a full sheet of just these instead of random ones. 

Next I received an eyeshadow palette from BA Star. This is a brand that is primarily targeted towards girls that are in dance/cheerleading competitions. Most of their products are highly pigmented or very glittery, however I feel like they are definitely targeted more towards the younger school aged crowd. Last month we received mineral eyeshadows, which I really loved, but I probably won't use these shadows very much, since I already have TONS of go to neutrals! I will admit, I like the glitters though! They are the two on the end.

Here is the rest of the items I received. There is a whipped body butter from Bear's Beauty on the bottom right. This I don't really love the scent of unfortunately. I love body butter and was excited to receive this because it's organic, but there's just something weird about it I don't like. I'm interested in their cleansing oils though. 

Next to it on the bottom left is a Zesty Lemon lotion bar, from Heartfelt Inspiration. This is probably my favorite thing in the whole box. It smells JUST like my Burt's Bee's cuticle balm, and I've been using it as a perfectly suitable replacement since I lost mine. It would be difficult to use this like a regular "lotion" but for my cuticles it is PERFECT! :) 

Right above it is a nailpolish from Smelly Good & Pretties AKA Vapid Lacquer. This is a bronze to pinkish duochrome shifting polish. It's really pretty in the bottle, however, this is unfortunately the ONE color that looks wretched on my skintone and completely washes me out. Bronze polish hates me. I checked out their website though and there are some AMAZING colors on there as well as some HOLOS! Definitely going to have to check those out ASAP! Dying to try them. :)

Next is sugar scrub cubes from Jilly Beans Creative Expressions. I love sugar scrubs, so I was really interested to get these. The concept behind them is great! No more scooping and risking getting your scrub all wet, just smush up one cube and you're good to go! Unfortunately, as I said before, I hate florals ALOT and this came in in Sweet Pea, so I probably won't be using it any time soon. I bet I would LOVE the strawberry coconut ones though! :) There's alot of really great stuff in her shop!

The thing at the very top of this photo is what I believe to be another sugar scrub from Restoried Designs.  I haven't used this yet, and I'm not completely sure what scent it is, but like I said before, the more sugar scrubs the merrier!

Here is another picture of my entire box. As you can  see it contained a ton of samples, which is great for someone who is looking for some new favorite brands, especially ones that are organic. Like I said, this box was a hit and a miss for me. It wasn't the actual products themselves that were a miss though, except for the Gwinnie Bee, which I have no use for, it was just the scents. I'm excited to see what the March box holds! Hopefully more Sandipops and more MAKEUP!!! :) And Maybe something green!

So if you liked this post, and are interested in testing out the Etsy waters and finding some great new brands, definitely give Glam Box LLC a shot! Every month they bring in new brands with new awesome products to try! Visit their website here and like them on Facebook HERE for lots of sneak peeks and the latest news on Mystery bags, and don't forget to tell them I sent ya!

Catch you later! :)

Xx Ashley C.

Awesome Pre-Birthday Ulta Haul!

So it's that time of year. Valentine's Day, My birthday, Tax Time, Bonus at work time, School refund time... So I've been waiting and waiting ever so patiently (NOT) to go to Ulta and hunt for deals (Mostly on Nailpolish). I went on Sunday, and to my dismay, they closed at 6. I was super sad and went to Old Navy to buy flip flops and camis in my despair.

I went back tonight though! And in my opinion I got a PRETTY AWESOME HAUL! I don't have very many actual photos and no swatches yet, as I plan to swatch everything individually, but here is what I got!

Ulta was running a special on Nyx for Buy 1 get 1 half off, and I love Nyx so I HAD to get something from this deal! I picked up Nyx Matte Lipstick in Summer Breeze for $5.99 & Nyx HD Photogenic Concealer in Green for $4.99 (Half off, so $2.50!). I've been dying to try out some Green concealer for a long time to see how well it hides blemishes, so I'm pretty excited to try this out tomorrow! Definitely will post a review for you guys to let you know how it holds up! The lipstick I got is SUPER pretty. As you know I LOVE pink lippies & matte lipstick is pretty great too.

You can't really tell how green the concealer is because the flash totally washed this out, but it's like a mint color. :) Isn't the lipstick great!?

The next deal I got was their 2 for $12 China Glaze deal! I normally wouldn't even spend this much for a China Glaze but they had two colors that I really really liked, and one that I have been in search of for a long time. I can't wait to swatch these! I picked up:

China Glaze - It's a Trap-eze! (from the Cirque Du Soleil: World's Away Collection; White w/ lots of glitter)

China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy (from the Party Poolside Collection; Coral Neon)

The next item I HAD to have is Push and Shove from the OPI Gwen Stefani collection. It was $9 but it came with a mini basecoat too which is fine by me. This color supposedly only lasts like 24 hours but it is a Silver Ultra Chrome Mirror Polish. Like crazy chrome. I've heard mixed reviews, but it's too shiny not to have in my life. I can't wait to swatch it! :D

Next is the lovely Zoyas I added to my collection this evening. I decided the other day, that I don't have nearly enough Zoya in my life, and I saw some girls in my swap group talking about some being on clearance at Ulta. I had to dig deep in random bins of nail polish to find these babies, but it was totally worth it.

First up is Zoya - Blaze. The website describes Blaze as a full coverage, cool-toned mulberry red w/ micro fine diamond holo glitter. It's beautiful in the bottle, and I don't even really like red. Dug this out of the clearance pile for $4.99! Can't wait to swatch it! 

I also managed to find Zoya - Payton buried deep for $3.99! It's kind of similar to Blaze, but its described as full coverage, galactic cranberry with holo glitter. Definitely a deeper red!

My nails have been breaking and peeling up a storm lately, so I also grabbed a bottle of Butter London's Horsepower to try out. I definitely paid full price for this, $19, so I hope it's worth it. I've been using some Orly Nail Strengthener, but it just isn't really working out for me. So fingers crossed! Anyone tried this?

Last, but certainly not least, I redeemed my FREE birthday gift. CK One Mascara, valued at $18. I have no idea if this stuff is any good or not. I had no idea this was even a makeup line until I got the coupon for this, but I will definitely let you know how it works out!! It's weird because it comes with two different brush heads, I guess depending how how you want your lashes? I don't really know honestly I haven't used it yet... I just glanced at the bottle. But you can't beat free!!!

All in all, I am really pleased with this Ulta Haul. It's been quite a while since I've been able to buy anything cool for myself in such bulk. Overall I paid about $58 for all of this which isn't too bad considering I saved $27!

I also signed up for the Starlook's Starbox today, as well as a 3 month subscription to the Pretty & Polished Beauty Box! Which is really awesome and is selling out FAST! You get all kinds of stuff with their new sub, including TWO polishes that are ONLY going to be released in that month's box! How awesome is that?!

Anyone gotten anything great in a haul lately?! I'd love to hear about it! 

Goodnight everyone!

Xx Ashley C.