Puckering Up With EOS

Fun flavored lip gloss is very nostalgic for me.  I remember as a young girl collecting every flavored Lip Smacker in a small tin container and keeping it on my nightstand.  My nightly (and morning) ritual was to select the next Smacker in my perfectly planned line up so that each gloss was used with the same frequency. Childhood OCD?  Perhaps.

Lip Smackers remained in my use well into adulthood.  I had one in my purse, one in my car, and of course one in my nightstand drawer (sans the ritual).  Then my glossy world got really stale.  My lively Raspberry Lemonades, Orange Crushes, Dr. Peppers, and Cotton Candy tubes were for some reason replaced by a travel sized pot of Vaseline and a couple of Chapsticks.

What happened?

I believe I lost my lip balm mojo.

Then a few months ago a dear friend of mine whipped out a funny little vessel from her purse and applied a fruity scented gloss that triggered my former Lip Smacker obsession.  I was instantly intrigued.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago as I excitedly purchased my first EOS lip balm in the funky container.  I just knew right then and there that I was reviving my lost lip gloss love of yesteryear.  Except this time my gloss is mature like me.  It's organic, hip, and grown-up.  But STILL deliciously fun and fruity!

All I can say is that I feel whole again ... or at least my lips do.  I have this strong urge to collect all the flavors and kick start my nightly ritual.

Are you an EOS fan or have you found a new favorite lip product?  As always, do share!

Birchbox: May

Dang.  I'm Birchbox belated again.  I just can't keep up with all these fancy little treasures.

May's box was another slam dunk for me.  I loved all of the products, especially the Isaac Mizrahi perfume - ooh baby!

Shall we discuss?

1. Isaac Mizrahi FABULOUS Perfume: I'm always on the lookout for a new fragrance.  Heck, I'm still wearing Happy by Clinique and I wore that in college.  Time to move on.  This perfume is so fun.  A nice, light citrus scent with no over-powering floral notes.  Just what I like.  I would buy this and wear it daily.

2. Supergoop! Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream: I'll be honest.  I have no clue as to the difference between BB creams and CC creams and DD creams and XYZ creams.  It's all a foreign language to me.  However, I am IN LOVE with this cream.  It's awesome.  It just is.  Not too heavy but manages to soften my skin and the color coverage is phenomenal!  If I didn't have to cover up a few zits I could easily wear this without anything else.  Gimme more!

3. Amika Nourishing Mask: I've said it before.  I have a weird aversion to conditioner.  My hair is pathetically fine and just one drop too much can leave my hair limp and with no styling options.  However, I have color-treated hair and I really do need to use some sort of conditioning product on the ends.  I tried this with hesitation and was pleasantly surprised how great my hair felt afterwards.  The best part was the great scent.  I have yet to try the accompanying oil treatment because I'm too scared.

4. Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle: This is more my speed when it comes to conditioners.  I prefer to use spray-in detanglers as opposed to conditioner creams because I feel I have a bit more control over the product and I can use a lighter hand on my baby fine tendrils.  This is a great product with a pleasant scent.  It gets the tangles out without leaving a bunch of heavy residue.

5. Whish Shave Crave Shaving Cream:  Whoa!  This is like shaving your legs in a Willy Wonka factory.  The blueberry scent was so incredible I almost ate the cream.  An awesome product that left my skin feeling soft and moisturized and made me downright giddy in the shower.

Any fellow Birchboxers out there?  What are your favorite goodies as of late?  To everyone in general, what beauty products are you crushing on right now?  Any BB/CC/DD users out there?  What's hot?  What's not?

Birchbox: April

Whoa.  I am waaaaay behind with my Birchbox reviews.  Despite my sluggish responses to last month's products, it was another great box sponsored by Women's Health magazine.

1. Oribe Beautiful Color Shampoo and Conditioner: This stuff smells GREAT!  Without the lovely scent it would just be another shampoo to me.  I haven't tried the conditioner yet because of my conditioner resistance issues (baby fine hair + conditioner = flat and unhappy hair).  But I'm sure it smells just as nice.

2. Mirenesse Glossy Kiss: Perfect!  By far my favorite product in the box.  I received this lipstick in Quick Kiss which is a very pretty orange-red - think poppy.  The color is very on trend right now and brightens up my face.  The pencil format of this lipstick is easy to apply and helps me control the color.  I would buy this in more shades!

3. Supergoop Advanced Anti-Aging Eye Cream: I have come to accept that I am at that age where I need to start paying more attention to the delicate skin around my eyes.  I can get a bit dry around my eyes and this cream was terrific for combating that.  Very smooth and gentle, this cream left the skin under my eyes feeling soft and non-greasy.  My eyes appeared slightly brighter and fresher upon waking after the previous night's application. Supergoop is super!

4. Skin & Co. Sicilian Body Gel:  Maybe it was the whole Sicilian name that was throwing me off but I kept having visions of a withered (and weathered) old babe bathing with this stuff.  The smell was GROSS!  Shortly after using it I crawled into bed and my husband took a few quick sniffs and asked, "What the hell did you put on?"  My thoughts exactly.  I'll have to try to pawn this one off.

5. Kusmi Tea Paris:  I love tea.  However, I have yet to try these samples.  I prefer my tea during the colder months so it may be a while before I take a sip.  At a whopping $25 per assortment I expect them to be life-altering.

Any Birchbox babes out there?  How did you enjoy your April samples?
Any eye cream users out there?  What brand do you use and love?  I think I need to work this type of product into my nightly routine but without breaking the bank.  Please share your suggestions!

Birchbox: March

WOW!  Talk about a HUGE difference between last month's Birchbox and this month's.  March was a total score compared to the snooze fest from February.  I had oodles of fun with this month's box and liked just about everything in it.

1. Nick Chavez Sulfate-Free Shampoo:  I had no clue what sulfate-free shampoo was until I looked it up.  Supposedly it cleanses color-treated hair without being too harsh or stripping.  I really didn't notice much difference but then again I don't pay much attention to shampoo.  Just clean my hair please.  This was nice but it had a slight chemical smell (ironic).

2. Nick Chavez Paraben-Free Conditioner: I'm very careful with conditioner because I have baby fine hair and not a lot of it.  If I use too much conditioner I'm liable to look like a wilted flower.  Therefore, I only used a pea-sized amount of this stuff and it was very effective.  I actually liked it more than the shampoo.  I would only use it a couple times a week though.

3, 4, 5. Caldrea Body Lotion: A very nice lotion that soaked into the skin completely and quickly without leaving that annoying sticky/filmy feeling.  Now let's discuss the scents I received:
~ Aloe Water Apricot: This smelled like an old lady ... in a bad way.  I should have guessed from the name alone.
~ Tea Olive Lime: Crisp and clean but overall not entirely memorable.
~ Coconut Fig Leaf: I was instantly transported to a sandy beach vacation on a tropical island.  Sold!  Best scent of the three by far.

6. MAKE Matte Finish Eyeshadow: I received this little cutie in Cement which is a great gray hue with a hint of green.  Very wearable and long-lasting.  Good stuff.

7. MAKE Face Primer SPF 30: This was my favorite product this month.  I use moisturizer but have never experimented with primers.  I loved it!  It kept my skin soft and the best part was it created a nice base for my make-up.  My make-up looked better with this underneath.  Coolio.

8. Madewell Nail Emery Board: Adorable!  I love the large size of this nail file as well as the Grandma-Chic floral pattern.  Delightful!

Click HERE for last month's Birchbox review.

For those who subscribe, how did you enjoy your March Birchbox of goodies?  Any suggestions for other good primers out there (I'm very interested)?  How do you feel about the new wave of sulfate-free products?  A must or just a phase?  Would love to hear your opinions.  Do share!

Birchbox Beginnings

I recently received my first Birchbox package and what a girly guilty pleasure!  Finding a cute brown box full of fun little beauty samples in my mailbox is enough to make me downright giddy (yes, I need to get a life).  I do like the concept of the new "discovery commerce" trend because it allows me to experience products I would NEVER even think of trying on my own.  I like that Birchbox does the work for me, sending specific  products that should suit my beauty needs (based on my personal beauty profile).  Does this mean the boxes are always a home run?  Not exactly.  But that's what sampling is all about - hits and misses and looking forward to that little brown box each month.       

1. Juicy Couture Couture La La ~ Perfumes are tricky.  It's so hard to find just the right one.  This particular fragrance wasn't horrible but it's just too teenagery for me.  It reminds me of something I would have worn in high school - overly sweet, like candy.  

2. My Multi Purpose Mattifying Moisturizer ~ I had no idea there was such a thing as a mattifying moisturizer.  It's supposed to leave your skin feeling non-greasy.  Yes, that definitely was the result I experienced but I didn't like it.  It also has a strange plastic-y smell upon application.  Pass.

3. TIGI Catwalk Session Series Finishing Spray ~ Great hold and a very pleasant smell!  The only weird thing was the nozzle.  It was so difficult to spray.  I think I got more product on my bathroom wall than on my hair.  

4. Color Club Fiesta Collection (Wild Cactus) ~ The bold color of this polish is very rock star.  I won't know if it suits my skin tone until summer, when I actually take the time to paint my nails.  

The sweet bonus sample was a caramel Ghiradelli chocolate square which I gave to my husband as a reward for setting up the lighting for my Birchbox photo.  I'm pretty sure he liked it.

Strangely enough, the best part about this month's box wasn't any of the samples inside but the customer service I received.  My box was supposed to contain the TIGI Dry Shampoo but I was sent the hairspray instead.  Wahhhh.  This was a disappointment because I'm totally diggin' dry shampoo these days and would have loved to try a new one.  So I immediately sent out a, "Hey .. just thought you should know..." email to the company and was promptly addressed with an apology for the mix-up and the correct dry shampoo sample on the way.  It arrived just yesterday and I can't wait to try it.

So ... any other Birchbox girls out there?  What are your thoughts/likes/dislikes?  Does anyone subscribe to other discovery commerce that gives you a bang for your buck?  I'm totally interested.  Do share!