April 9, 2013

March 2013 Beauty Army Box

I chose to sign up for Beauty Army out of all the other monthly subscription beauty boxes out there because of the products they feature. Most of them I have never heard of but the ingredients on most of these products are paraben; phthalate and/or sulfate free, cruelty free, vegan friendly and all that good news. Just what I have been looking for to change up to more safer ingredient beauty products! 

This is a $12/month box with 6 products in. As any other boxes, you fill out a survey at first, and another thing I like about this is I get to choose my 6 products every month. Yes it takes away the thrill of what will be in the box every time it comes to your door but in this way I get to try out the products that I truly am interested in. They give you 9 products to choose from every month, this can vary from full size to deluxe sample sizes. 
To read more about Beauty Box and see what brands they feature and see if you are interested, click here: Beauty Army

Now on to my box!

here's how my box came packaged
1- Jonathan Product Dirt Texturizing Paste: This paste will give your hair that beach wave piece-y look to your hair. I love this product! I would just put this on my hair just for the scent to it! It has that nice sweet scent to it. Like what it said on the site: 
"This non-greasy, non-sticky water based texturizing paste infused with Lemongrass Essential Water adds manageability. Sweet almond protein helps repair all types of hair. White tea, almond, horsetail and nettle extracts nourish, stimulate and condition. Apply to the roots for a volumized look, or add depth and drama by applying throughout your tresses. "

At the end of the day, my hair actually don't feel sticky or stiff like what other pastes would be and you just can't wait to wash all that gunk out of your head. This paste actually makes my hair feels softer than before. Frizz free and tangle free. This is definitely something I would use a lot this spring/summer to get that beach hair look.

4/11/2013: I rub this between my fingers then rub it at the end of my hair to give that piece-y, bed hair look. I'm in love with the smell of this and how this makes my hair so soft afterwards and not gunky and heavy. Very highly recommended so don't skip this if you see it in your Selection Samples! And after using this for weeks now, I still have a lot in my sample size jar.


2- New York Streets Dry Shampoo: This paraben-, sulfate-free dry shampoo has a nice refreshing scent to it, like you just got out of the shower and washed your hair with a nice citrus scent shampoo! This doesn't give my hair much volume but it does soak up the oil and will last me a few hours in the day. I am still new to the dry shampoo products so I am still getting used to it on how to use this. I've tried this with second day hair and it works great, I try to stretch it out with my third day hair but my hair just looks greasier and very flat - a hat or a shower would be the better option. By the way, I received a full size of this product which is $17.99! This just paid my box! *you can actually see when you choose your products which ones are full size so read everything before clicking what to have in your box!

4/11/2013: I spray this around the crown area of my head where it gets so oily, then I tease a little bit and this helps give me that little volume. At the end of the day, we are back to flat, greasy hair. So this is good for those days you'll be out for a bit, I guess. Or try using hairspray after to keep the hold longer. 

3- Nelson J Beverly Hills Argan Oil 7 Non-Foaming Shampoo: This is also paraben and sulfate free hair product. I received a 1oz sample of this and have used it a few times already since I got the box in late March, and still have at least one more use to it left. It's weird at first washing my hair with this non-foaming product and not having to use a conditioner afterwards either (I like using a separate conditioner and leaving it on my hair for 3-5mins). After air drying, my hair do feels soft. I like my Organix Macadamia Shampoo and Conditioner over this though.

4/11/2013: Packaging wise this sample bottle was hard to get the product out. It's like that ketchup bottle you have to tap hard to get it out. The consistency of this shampoo though is lighter than a ketchup and has a nice refreshing scent it leaves on your hair. I brush with a wide tooth comb after massaging it in my scalp. I am still weirded out with the non-foaming action, but I can feel my hair is clean afterwards from the dry shampoo and hair paste I had on my hair all day. 


4- Skinn Cosmetics- Color Touch Eye, Cheek & Lip Glow (teen tone): This is another full size product that costs $17 in the Beauty Army shop. Another paraben free product that was just creamy to the touch, and went on pretty smooth on my lips. I haven't really tried using it as a blush or an eye base. This was unfortunately too light for my dark pigmented lips so I'd probably use this as a base to even out the color of my lips before putting on a nice red or any bright colored lipstick. Light pink tints don't really go well with my tanned skin but I will make it work, that's part of the challenge of these beauty boxes isn't it?!?

4/11/2013: I still have to use this product more. I am scared to use this on my cheeks since it feels greasy and might clog my pores. I have only used it on my lips. It's an ok product.


above: swatch of skinn cosmetics; below: eyeshadow
5- Yes To Daily Pore Scrub: I've heard great things about this drugstore brand and so I did not hesitate to add this to my box. Unfortunately this was a sample pouch, which is basically a one-time use sample. According to the information in BeautyArmy's site:


"This acne-fighting scrub is powerful enough to combat blackheads and breakouts, but gentle enough for daily use. Ground mango seeds and bamboo exfoliate skin and help skin turnover a clean, clear surface. The Salicylic Acid combats acne and blemishes, Tomatoes help unclog pores, and a blend of Ginger Root and Bisabolol helps skin avoid redness."

I like my scrub to have a finer feel to it, like rubbing fine sand! After using this once tho, my face did feel very smooth and soft, and it did last the whole weekend! I am not sure if I will use this on a regular basis since scrubbing my face everyday will probably result to major break-out and dry skin. I'll stick with my Fresh Soy Scrub (which has granules like sand to it!) for now. And what I wrote before, my skin does not agree with any product with Salicylic Acid since I break out more after using them. For short, this will not on my skin routine at all. I will try the other Yes To lines and see how that works for me though!

4/11/2013: I will skip on this product in the drugstore, but I will try the other lines of Yes To products.

6- Whip Hand Cosmetics Medal Of Honor loose pigment eyeshadow: This has a nice orange-gold color which would be great for the Spring/Summer. I still am in the learning process of how-to use loose pigmented eyeshadows but for now the best way I find that works for me is with my finger. I'm still playing with it so I don't have any pictures right now of it but check out the swatch on the above picture and below here is a size comparison of this tiny sample that will actually last me a while probably!

4/11/2013: I did not expect to have a hard time putting this on my lids, but doesn't all loose pigmented eye shadows do?!? Anyways, I have only worn this once out by itself since I still am playing on how I can wear this as a neutral smokey makeup day look, unless you girls have a tutorial for me to check out! please let me know!

size comparison

in different light angles this eyeshadow shimmers nicely!


All in all, this box that I have chosen my products with aren't that bad. I'll stick with this box and see what it brings for the next few months for me and if I end up skipping a lot of times then that's my cue to move on and find me another box =)



1 comment:

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    ReplyDelete

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