Loose Powder

December’s Birchbox is all decorated for the holidays!

Inside this months box was a selection of nice samples and a chocolate treat!

• Frownies Eye Gels
• J.R. Watkins Hand and Cuticle Salve
• Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Advanced Volume Shampoo
• theBalm Hot Mama blush
• Extra: Emily’s Chocolates Dark Chocolate Peppermint Holiday Fortunes

First, I really loved the chocolate fortune cookie from Emily’s Chocolates! I’m usually not a fan of fortune cookies, but this one was so tasty! They’re $5.99 for 6 cookies, so I’m not buying any right now, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind for gifts or a splurge.

I’ve purchased the J.R. Watkins Hand & Cuticle Salve for myself before, but that was several years ago. It was a larger tin and it got kind of gross before I could use it all. I did like the product a lot though, and thought it was great for extra dry spots along my nails. I love the sample size and have already used it several times. The aloe and green tea scent it very fresh without being overpowering.

The Nick Chavez Volumizing Shampoo is okay, but I didn’t notice any difference in the volume of my hair. It cleans well enough, so I’ll keep using it until I use up the sample.

My favorite thing in this month’s box has to be theBalm’s Hot Mama blush! It’s a peach blush with a slight gold shimmer – kind of like Nars Orgasm or the Milani mineral blush I’ve been using. I feel like this is a bit more pigmented and looks nicer with my skin, though, so I probably be buying a full size at some point. Here’s a closer look at the sample and a swatch in direct and indirect sunlight.

The one item I haven’t tried yet is the Frownies eye gels. The sample is one set that can be reused 2 to 4 times if you can keep them hydrated. I very rarely use eye gels, so I’m not sure when I’ll get to these.

Overall this was a great box and I’ve enjoyed nearly all of the items!

Birchbox is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month, you’ll receive a box of four to five deluxe sized samples in the mail.

December’s Birchbox Man is all about getting cleaned up and going home for the holidays.

In this box, there were a nice selection of cleansing and moisturizing items:

• TORO Shave Oil
• Guythority by Jock Soap Tall Drink Body Hydrator
• Lucky Tiger Face Scrub, Face Moisturizer, and Lip Balm
• The Knottery Wool Knit Tie

It’s an interesting selection of stuff and some things I will try (the Lucky tiger items) and some I will probably give away (shave oil, body hydrator). I might think about the tie, but it’s really not my style, so I might end up passing that along too.

My January Birchbox Man is actually already here, so I’ll be posting the contents of that one soon!

The theme for November’s Birchbox Man is simplicity – and Movember, the moustache growing charity event held during November to raise awareness of men’s health issues.

There were quite a few items packed in the box!

• John Allan’s Cool Face After Shave
• suki Exfoliate foaming Cleanser
• Peter Thomas Roth Mega-Rich Shampoo
• Peter Thomas Roth Mega-Rich Conditioner
• Atelier Cologne Vetiver Fatal
• Old Calgary Oxford Card Sleeve Wallet

I’m keen to try out the Peter Thomas Roth shampoo & conditioner as lately I feel like my hair has been thinning and there’s been more fall out than normal.

The Old Calgary card sleeve is a pretty neat extra and would be  good for a few cards and ID when I’m traveling. The only thing I don’t particularly like is the bits of fuzzy that come with any felted item.

The rest of the items I haven’t had a chance to try out yet. I need to get better at trying all these samples I’m getting!

Birchbox Man is a monthly sample subscription service and costs $20 per month.

October’s Birchbox was a special edition curated by goop.com, featuring their must-try items.

I actually missed the opt-in e-mail, so I wasn’t sure if I would be getting this box. When I asked about it via Twitter, I was told that it was possible that I could still get on, so when my October box arrived in the special goop outer sleeve, I was quite excited!

Well… this box wasn’t nearly as exciting as I was expecting, but there were still a couple items I was interested in trying.

• Chantecaille Faux Cils Mascara
• DDF Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer
• EVE LOM Cleanser and Muslin Cloth
• per-fekt Beauty Lip Perfection Gel
• Extra: Lemon Zest Luna Bar

First of all, I always keep a Luna bar in my purse because I get a little difficult to deal with when my blood sugar is low. My friends and I say that I am getting “stabby.” Lemon Zest is one of the few flavors I like, though sometimes it’s a little sweet – I’m currently liking the almond ones a bit more.

My face is currently recovering from a terrible reaction to a foundation I was trying, so I haven’t yet used the DDF Pore Minimzer or the EVE LOM cleanser, though both look good. I also like the little muslin cloth the EVE LOM cleanser comes with as I find those work better for me as an exfoliator than the usual scrubs which was a bit too gritty.

The item that kind of baffles me is the per-fekt Beauty Lip Perfection Gel. It’s in a very strange sample package and I have yet to open it to try it.

I’m not sure this month’s box was really worth it, but I’m continuing my subscription.

Birchbox is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month, you’ll receive a box of four to five deluxe sized samples in the mail.

Whoops! Sorry, these next few monthly boxes are going to be from previous months. I’ve gotten a bit behind, but I still want to show you the things I’ve gotten!

This is my October Birchbox Man, the theme of which was, “shake up something new.”

The items in this box are actually pretty neat, but mostly drink oriented, so not much that I could use. Inside were:

• Oribe Creme for Style
• The Art of Shaving Unscented Pre-Shave Oil
• Borghese Crema Saponetta Cleansing Creme
• Cartier Declaration
• Birchbox Man Jigger
• Teroforma Whiskey Stones
• Caskers $10 Gift Card

I’ve already given away the Caskers gift certificate and the Art of Shaving Pre-shave oil. The whiskey stones weren’t something I was interested in until I realized that I could probably use them in other drinks – although the manufacturer discourages use with anything other than liquor and spirits. I assume this is because they don’t cool large volumes of liquid well.

Even though it’s been two months since I received this box, I still haven’t managed to try the other items yet.

Birchbox Man is a subscription service and costs $20 per month.

This month’s Birchbox was a Beauty School Supply Kit, featuring some samples as well as a booklet with some beauty tips! It also came in a special outer box the same color as a No.2 pencil.

Aside from the fold-out Beauty School booklet, this is what I got in my box:

• Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy La Fleur
• Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Beauty Balm, Foundation, and Concealer
• whish Shave Crave
• Schick Hydro Silk Razor
• Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream

I’m not a fan of the Juicy fragrance line, but the Viva la Juicy La Fleur has a nicer floral fragrance than the other one I’ve previously sampled. It’s not my sort of scent, though, so I wouldn’t buy it.

The beauty balms (bb creams) that have been coming coming out in the US have been disappointing and Stila‘s is no different. Now, if you’re looking for a nice tinted moisturizer, this might work for you, but it was a miss for me. The foundation worked okay, as did the concealer, but they weren’t impressive enough for me to buy.

I’ve seen Yu-Be cream on a few blogs, so it was a nice surprise to get it in this month’s box! It works okay on rough skin and cracked heels (which is where I tested it). I think with continued use, it would soften the skin, but I am not a fan of the camphor scent, which is a little stronger than I’d like. Of course, if you’re using it at night it might not matter. I’ll keep using the sample tube and decide if I want a full size when I finish that.

Now the item I was not at all interested in – the Schick Hydro Silk Razor. I love my Merkur safety razor because it gives me an excellent shave and the replacement blades are so inexpensive. Since I made the switch, I’ve gone back an retried multi-blade razors and find they don’t work quite as well. In fact, I usually end up cutting myself with those more than with my Merkur. Of course, the downside of a safety is that you can’t pack it in a carry-on bag when flying, so I will probably just hold on to this for those instances.

Finally… I absolutely love that Whish Shave Crave non-foaming shave cream. It was kind of strange at first, since I’m so used to building lather on a brush. This cream is made from natural and organic ingredients and is paraben, sulfate, petrochemical, TEA, & DEA free.

I scooped out a little of this cream and worked it into a thin lather on wet skin. It provided a great shave with little effort. The one thing that I didn’t like was that the cream is so thick, it does gum up the razor a bit, so it required extra rinsing and a more thorough cleaning after I was done shaving. I would probably buy this again as it would be a great product for traveling when you can’t spare the space for a soap, brush, and shave bowl.

This wasn’t my favorite box so far, but the Whish shave cream was a great discovery, so I’m pretty happy with it.

Birchbox is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month, you’ll receive a box of four to five deluxe sized samples in the mail.

Hey, everyone! Sorry about the massive delay in these box reviews. I’ve been a little preoccupied getting myself ready for DragonCon. Anyway, here’s a look inside my August Birchbox Man!

The theme for this month’s box was fine-tuning your lifestyle.

Inside was a nice assortment of products:

• Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm
• Kiehl’s Ultimate Brushless Shave Cream – White Eagle
• Marvis Classic Mint Toothpaste
• Barking Irons Brando Cut T-Shirt

The Barking Irons shirt was a great surprise. A men’s small is always a little baggy on me, but I like the cut of this shirt and have worn it a few times and washed it already! The cost of one of these shirts is more than the price of the Birchbox, so it was a great value this month.

Honestly, the smell of the Kiehl’s Brushless Shave Cream has kept me from trying it. It has camphor and menthol in it and you can definitely smell those! I might actually pass this off to a male friend as this sort of cream would probably work best someone using a safety razor on facial hair.

I’d seen the Marvis Classic Mint toothpaste before at Bath & Body Works, but never thought to try it. It’s a good toothpaste with a mint flavor that isn’t too chemically sweet, but I didn’t find it kept my breath fresher any longer than commercial toothpastes. If it were on sale, I might get some, but at full price, it’s a bit too expensive for me.

The product I haven’t touched yet is the Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm. I have a line of eye serums waiting to be test and haven’t been able to get to this one. However, I do like Algenist products, so I look forward to testing it out.

Once again, Birchbox Man was a good deal for $20, so I’m keeping my subscription. Can’t wait to see what I get next month.

A sample sized version of COOLA Face SPF 30 Matte Finish Cucumber sunscreen came as part of my monthly subscription to Birchbox in June and I didn’t really test it out until around mid-July, when the weather took a turn toward Heat Wave. Growing up in Southern California, I have acclimated (read: am spoiled) to the perpetual sunshine. I started wearing moisturizer with sunscreen around middle school, using the drugstore brand that was the hand-me-down shared bottle I usually saw my mom and aunts wear. It was only when I took a trip to urgent care–the result of contact dermatitis from a bottle of sunscreen used while visiting Magic Mountain–that I learned to be selective about the ingredients list.

Nearly everything listed on the COOLA packaging got my attention: SPF 30. Mineral. Matte Finish. Hypoallergenic. Paraben free. Perfect primer. Chemical free. UVA/UVB broad spectrum. Titanium dioxide. Zinc oxide. Portion of sales donated to cancer research. The COOLA website has a listing of additional organic ingredients like shea butter, glycerin, linseed oil, evening primrose oil and rose hip fruit oil. The inactive ingredient that caught my eye? Plankton extract. Besides being all the rage (see here and study here), it gave me flashbacks to Bill Nye and his “pass the plankton please!”

But I digress…

(more…)

This month’s Birchbox is a special Glamour curated box with the Senses as its theme.

Inside this fun summer box were six great items:

• Color Club Blue-Ming
• Eyeko Skinny Liquid Liner in black
• Harvey Prince Eau Flirt
• Supergoop! City Sunscreen Serum
• Lifestyle Extra: Tea Forte Minteas in Ginger Pear
• Lifestyle Extra: Birchbox Exclusive earbuds

I keep getting Harvey Prince fragrances, but they haven’t impressed me. Most commercial perfumes smell the same to me and Eau Flirt is more of the same. I can smell a bit of the  jasmine and amber, but there’s still the basic floral chemical perfume smell.

The Supergoop! City suncreen I haven’t had a chance to use yet. The Tea Forte Minteas are okay, but they have a bit of a medicinal/vitamin taste. I appreciate the ear phones, but I have several pairs already – never hurts to have a backup, though!

I love the Color Club Blue-Ming polish, but it looks similar to China Glaze’s For Audrey or Wet ‘n’ Wild’s I Need A Refresh-Mint. It’s a great color that’s going in my stash, though.

I’ve used the old Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner pens and I’ve been excited to try the new Eyeko Skinny Liquid Liners. This draws a great, sharp line and once set doesn’t smudge. Mostly. This eyeliner is not water resistant and moisture will cause it to smudge a little.

The tip on the Eyeko liner is very sharp and stiff. I’ve found the best way to apply it is to press the tip at an angle against my eyelid and make a line that way rather than just drawing straight across.

So, I’m not entirely sure how long I’ve been a Birchbox subscriber, but the company sent me a special thank you gift separately in the mail. It was a lovely leather keychain!

It’s designed to hold a small sample or maybe a small lip product. It was a fun surprise and I appreciate the company sending out a little gift to customers.

Birchbox is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month, you’ll receive a box of four to five deluxe sized samples in the mail.

This month’s theme for Birchbox Man seems to be inventions/good ideas. In this box are two gadgets from Quirky, a social product development company, as well as a multi-tasking cleanser.

Inside the box were a total of five items:

• June Jacobs for Men 3-in-1 Cleanser
• Benta Berry Super Moisturizing Face Cream
• Supersmile Whitening System
• Quirky Cordies
• Quirky Wrapster

The two items from Quirky retail for $15 together, so those were worth most of the price of the box this month. I don’t have much use right now for the Cordies, but will certainly be holding on to it. The Wrapster will be great for a trip I’ll be taking in a couple of months. I love that it also doubles as a stand for your iPhone (my iPod isn’t held as snug but it works).

The Benta Berry moisturizer is a non-greasy, mattifying made from all natural ingredients. It definitely moisturizes without leaving my skin feeling oily, which I thought was great, but it has a masculine scent that’s not to my liking. A guy would certainly like this though, if they were looking for a face cream. Birchbox sent two tubes of the 3ml sample size and the 30ml retail tube costs about $20.

I’ve used the Supersmile Whitening System before, but I wasn’t that impressed with it. I feel like I got the same sort of whitening power with my brightening toothpaste, but it’s been a couple of years since I’ve tried this system, so I might give it another chance.

I haven’t yet used the June Jacobs 3 in 1 Cleanser, so I can’t speak much on that. I might end up gifting this, though, as I tend to use solid soaps rather than gels.

This month, Birchbox Man was a good deal for $20, so I’m keeping my subscription for now and can’t wait to see what I get next month.