October 29, 2012

October Birchbox & Ipsy box reviews!!!

Let me start off by saying this month has been crazy! Besides debating on whether to stay or leave Birchbox depending on how I would like the box this month, it was also my husband's birthday and our 5th wedding anniversary! It was a lot of decision making and surprise planning going. I am just glad all went well and everybody's happy!
oh, maybe not for Birchbox. I'm sad to say I will be unsubscribing to Birchbox after seeing what I received in this month's collaboration with Goop box. Let me list down below the products and give you a quick review on them but overall I am not very impressed and satisfied though I am sure it costs more than $10 for the total of all the products in there.

Essie nail polish in "Carry On"-  I was really happy I received this color since I don't have a dark plum color nail polish in my collection! This brand is my favorite nail polish besides being formaldehyde free, I can put on the polish without putting a topcoat and it will not chip on me! It will last me a week with minor chips. If my nails just don't grow that fast then I can probably keep it for more than two weeks!

Joanna Vargas Daily Serum - I have been putting this on every morning after I have washed my face and before I put on my sunscreen. I mentally do think my face have improved and looked healthier and has a glow to it. I won't be purchasing the actual size product of it since it cost $85! 

Marie Veronique Organics Body Oil - I have not used this product yet since I am hesistant to put it on actually. The smell is just into my liking, but of course I will give it a chance and try it one night but not right now.

Sprout Lip Balm Flights - This comes in 4 different...flavors?scents? and I got the Cocoa Butter one and I love this lip balm! I use at night before going to bed. Since this does not have SPF, I only use it inside the house. And it's so exciting and I'm proud to say this one is made in Brooklyn- my hometown! woooot!!! it's truly moisturizing and goes on so smoothly on my lips.

for my Lifestyle Extra I got yet again another food bar, this time it's a LUNA Lemon Zest Bar. Nothing exciting there. It's good to have these bars in my purse when my hunger pangs decides to kick-in when I'm on the subway or at the train station waiting for a delayed train.

As you can see, it wasn't that exciting besides the nail polish that I put on right away since the color was perfect for Fall. And I had a dinner to go to the next day. 



And so with this disappointment I went to spy on the other beauty boxes and see what they have for October! The best one I saw was from Ipsy, aka MyGlam! Surprisingly this box has improved their monthly 4-5 samples recently! I watched a few youtube videos of girls openning their Ipsy October bags and maaan they got really good products in there! They have a theme every month too and for October they themed it "Hello, Bombshell"...before I go on to the products let me tell you I signed up the next day after sleeping on it, and praying that if I do sign up tomorrow, oct.12, I will still get the October Ipsy Bag.
The Lord heard my prayers and before the end of that week, my October Ipsy bag came! And here's what's in my October Ipsy Bag "Hello Bombshell"



theBalm What's Your Type? "the bodybuilder" Mascara - I love theBalm! But I did not fall in-love with this mascara. It really didn't do anything to my lashes but clump it up. It can't even hold the curl =( So disappointed on this one.

Mirenesse Lip Bomb Glossy Lacquer Stain in no.9 - As you can see in the picture, the lip gloss is a very light pink shade. This is a very opaque gloss that you would only need to dab in the middle of your lips and spread it with your fingers to get a stained lips looks. For full Light Pink Shaded Lips, then just use the nice wand that came with it and swipe it all over. That look didn't go well with me so I only dabbed a little bit and topped it off with another lip gloss with a hint of red since this color is just too light on me. I am still trying on how to make it work, so I will update you guys on that! I do wish I got another color since this shade is just too light for my tan skin tone.

Couture Colour Pequi Oil Treatment - this hair oil is great! It smells like coconut oil but not overpowering at all. It's non-greasy and it does keep my fly aways in place and my dry ends hydrated. I definitely need this in the fall since this cold weather is not good for my hair!

be a Bombshell Eye Liner in Onyx - I love this eye liner! This has a fat felt with fine tip eye liner. Goes on very well. No smudging either. Really great to do those dramatic cat eyes! Never heard of this brand before but I am so impressed with this eye liner I can't wait to try out their other make up products!

Coastal Scents Eye Shadow 4 Palette Sample (Maroon Berry, Flesh Tone, Caramel, Light Bronze) - this was great in doing an everyday eye make up look. There was not a lot of fall out from the shadow and great pigmentation on them. I have never tried anything from Coastal Scents but I do have heard a lot of great things about their palettes. Definitely thanks to Ipsy for letting me try this brand out before I can go and buy one of their 80 or 120 palettes!

For now I will be sticking with Ipsy Glam Bags and see what they have to give! They seem to have makeup products to sample than Birchbox and that is what I am looking for. I'll keep you guys updated and see how I feel about Ipsy. Maybe in a few months I will get bored again and switch to another box subsciption. 
I really don't want to spend more than $10 on a monthly beauty box subsciption because with that money I can basically just go buy myself one product that I will definitely like and keep.

UPDATE(1/3/2013): I have been subscribed to Ipsy/MyGlam for 4 months now and I am actually on debate on switching it to a yearly subscription. Though this October bag has misses on the lipgloss and mascara, I'm still amazed how I can make a whole look out of this one bag! 2 out of 3 misses aint that bad for $10! Comparing that to Birchbox who made me fall in love with a face serum that I realistically will not buy; a Luna Bar that was gone in one day; an oil that is accumulating dust on my dresser and one awesone nail polish... More misses there for me!
I really like the samples I have been receiving with Ipsy. Two deluxe size samples and three sample size of makeup products that I still am using! I also like how their website: Ipsy.com let me share my looks with other Ipsy members that are also beauty-holics like I am! Definitely gonna be staying with Ipsy for a while.

Influenster VoxBox



So here's another sample box that I found on youtube a few months ago. I signed up as soon as after I watched a Youtube Beauty Guru unbox her Influenster Voxbox and a few more other videos.
Once you signed up for free with them, you fill out different survey questions, share the social media sites you are on: youtube, facebook, twitter, pinterest and so on, and you get different badges such as a beauty badge, urbanite badge and so forth and this may or may not qualify you for the upcoming Voxbox that they will be sending out for free! in return all you need to do is give your personal review on them either through blogging or video review.
I am not really sure how often they send out these Voxboxes since I haven't been able to meet any of their past qualifications to get any of their past voxboxes =( 
And so with so much frustrations and disappointment, I stopped loggging on to my account. I felt like this was for the popular kids online or in social media to qualify for a voxbox and I was just not one of them. And everytime I see a new Voxbox was just sent out and I was not one of them I felt more sad of myself that I am not as popular as these people are!
When I have almost forgotten about my account with them, I received an email recently that they have revamped their website and it seems to have better way navigating through different badges, filling out the surveys, sharing your reviews is easier than before. So here I am promoting them and sharing them to the social media world in the US Continent *yeh i don't think they ship internationally, do check your local websites maybe they have something similar going on! Because I do like this company and what they are trying to promote.This is really a great way to try never-heard-of and new products out there that we usually would not spend our own money on. I think the Voxboxes have themes like a Mom-box and recently I saw a Beauty voxbox was sent out, so it really depends on the badges you earn from filling out their surveys and the social media platform you have.

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid by Influenster to promote their company. Like I said I even have not received any of their VoxBoxes that they have been sending out lately! I am just using my blogging platform to share you this nifty company that will send a box of products that you either have heard of or not for free if you meet the required qualifications.

There's no harm in trying, its free to sign up and you can do this on your own time since this will really take up your time. So besides watching those reality TV marathons or catching up on gossip online and just taking a break from work emails and work projects, go try it out and see how you like it yourself. Don't just rely on people's reviews since we all have different expectations