Beautiful Lagoon

A site about feeling beautiful

May BirchBox – Wrap Up July 10, 2012

Filed under: Makup,Skincare — slagoon @ 11:09 am
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I’ve had a chance to use and review all of the products from my May box and decide on how much I liked them. So now it is time to do my box wrap up.In case you don’t remember, here is a summary of the Awesomeness level:

Box Awesomeness Level Review (AL)

  • 5 points for an item that surpasses everything else I’ve tried and becomes my #1 choice for what role it fulfills
  • 4 points for an item that becomes added to my permanent collection of cosmetics and I will repurchase
  • 3 points for an item that joins my “I might buy this again” list
  • 2 points for an item I finished or will finish the entire sample of but in the end decided not to re-purchase
  • 1 point for an item that I tried and immediately threw out/gave away
  • 0 points if the item was a duplicate of something from a previous bag/box/kit that only scored a 1 in that box – meaning I knew enough to not even bother with trying it.
  • Don’t forget that I subtract 1/2 point for samples that can only be used 2 or fewer times.

Click “more” to see how this kit rated…

 

Kiehls – Abyssine Cream + Review June 15, 2012

Filed under: Review,Skincare — slagoon @ 8:23 pm
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Today I bring you Kiehls Abyssine Cream + from my May Birchbox. This thick cream is intended to help slow down cellular aging in your skin. But unfortunately it didn’t really work for me. I loved the velvety texture of the cream and how it was thick and absorbed nicely in my skin. Here’s the “BUT”; it made me break out big time.  I know that often creams take awhile for your skin to get used to, and that you need to use them for awhile to stop the breakouts.  I don’t usually need the trial period, but I gave it a week, I even used spot treatments on the pimples that surfaced, but the breakout just continued to get worse. It was the worst breakout I have had in 10 years, and that was after a week using the cream. I stopped using it and within three days my face stopped having pimples on it.

I suspect that if you had older skin and hadn’t had pimples in a long time that it might work for you, but for me, no, not so much.

Will I buy this again? No

Will I finish the sample? No, I prefer my face without pimples.

Here’s the breakdown:

Sample Size 0.25 oz
Full Size 1.69 oz
Full Size Price $48.00
Sample Value $7.10

FTC Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by Birchbox or any of the brands included in the box. Items purchased by me for my own personal use. For more information please review my disclosure policy.
 

Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF 20 in Glow June 3, 2012

Filed under: Review,Skincare — slagoon @ 11:35 am
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Today I bring you the Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF 20 in Glow from my May Birchbox.

I received this in GLOW. My skin town is just a hint darker than Liv Tyler – so this was pretty dark on me. I figured that I could try to run with it and go for a tanned look. Not so much; It did not even out my skin at all. Some places were dark, other light, and my arms just looked streaky. On top of that it felt oily all day.  I do not think this product was right for me, though for people whose skin is a lot closer to the shade of the product this may work great.

Would I buy this product again? No, it just didn’t work for me.

Will I finish the sample – nope, into the trash it goes.

Here’s the breakdown:

Sample Size  0.5 oz
Full Size  3.38 oz
Full Size Price $34.00
Sample Value $5.02

 

 
FTC Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by Birchbox or any of the brands included in the box. Items purchased by me for my own personal use. For more information please review my disclosure policy.
 

fresh – Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15 May 20, 2012

Filed under: Makup,Review — slagoon @ 4:07 pm
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Today I bring you fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15 that I received in my May BirchBox.I actually received these products before and just have never gotten around to reviewing them.  Fresh is definitely a brand I really like and their lip balms are amazing.  Each of the balms has a different color and while, in the tube, they appear very bright; on the lips they provide only a gentle flush of color.  Not only are these lip balms nourishing and provide a beautiful color, they are SPF 15 which is, of course, essential for the summertime.  I currently own each of the colors available except for the coral and hope to pick up that one soon.  I love how these look on  and how you don’t have to have a mirror in front of you to get them to look good like you would with lipstick.

Will I buy this again?  Absolutely, these there an essential part as my purse in my day-to-day wanderings.

Will I finished the sample?  Yes, there is no way that I can leave any of this go to waste, it is such a great product, and I think it is something almost anyone would enjoy.

Here’s the breakdown:

Sample Size  0.08 oz
Full Size  0.15 oz
Full Size Price $22.00
Sample Value $11.73

FTC Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by Birchbox or any of the brands included in the box. Items purchased by me for my own personal use. For more information please review my disclosure policy.
 

May BirchBox – Initial Impressions May 17, 2012

Filed under: Makup,Skincare — slagoon @ 3:45 pm
Tags: ,
Here we go again, another installment of the BirchBox. This time it was Gossip Girl themed.  I’ve never seen Gossip Girl. I hear it is cute and fun – but still, I really only watch things on netflix – and then usually only after a couple seasons are available since I don’t like waiting to find out what happens next. Anyway – I have heard of Gossip Girl and understand that the characters are pretty on trend and are neat so I was excited to hear about this matchup.
 
Speaking of Netflix, do you remember when you used to get disks in the mail and then return them? Do you also remember that for awhile the more often you returned the disks the slower the service was to send you a replacement? It was called Throttling and it was done to help the companies stay more profitable.  Today I feel like BirchBox may be involved in their own version of this practice. My first few boxes were impressive with rather high values.  The longer I have been a subscriber, though, the less valuable my boxes have become.  Meanwhile it seems that new subscribers sharing their first, second, and third boxes are getting very nicely appointed boxes – which I experienced in March when I ordered a second box to get a Teen Vogue box. March my old subscription box was valued at $16.60, April, $9.26, May $27.10.  Now it is totally plausable that I am just being the victim of luck, but it feels icky nonetheless.
 
Regardless of value, I am still enjoying the products.  
 
Check out below to see what was in the box this month!  .
 
 
 

April BirchBox – Wrap Up May 15, 2012

Filed under: Haircare,Makup,Skincare — slagoon @ 3:43 pm
Tags: ,

I’ve had a chance to use and review all of the products from my March and decide on how much I liked them. So now it is time to do my box wrap up.

In case you don’t remember, here is a summary of the Awesomeness level:

Box Awesomeness Level Review (AL)

  • 5 points for an item that surpasses everything else I’ve tried and becomes my #1 choice for what role it fulfills
  • 4 points for an item that becomes added to my permanent collection of cosmetics and I will repurchase
  • 3 points for an item that joins my “I might buy this again” list
  • 2 points for an item I finished or will finish the entire sample of but in the end decided not to re-purchase
  • 1 point for an item that I tried and immediately threw out/gave away
  • 0 points if the item was a duplicate of something from a previous bag/box/kit that only scored a 1 in that box – meaning I knew enough to not even bother with trying it.
  • Don’t forget that I subtract 1/2 point for samples that can only be used 2 or fewer times.

Click “more” to see how this kit rated…

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amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask – Review

Filed under: Haircare,Review — slagoon @ 11:26 am
Tags: ,

Today I bring you amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask for hair from my April Birchbox.  I was not expecting to like this at all, I’ve been totally dissatisfied with the hair products I’ve gotten from Birchbox so far, but this one was, happily, different.

This thick cream smells light and fresh. I applied it to my freshly clean but still wet hair, waited about 10 minutes and rinsed it out with cool water.   For the first time in a long time I was able to get pretty loose curls all over my head. Most of the time my hair doesn’t act consistently across my head, this mask gave me the bounce and elasticity that my hair had been missing for ages.  I really liked it a lot.

Would I buy this again? Yes! Absolutely.

Will I finish the sample? Yes! I should get 2 more uses out of it.

Here’s the breakdown:

Sample Size  0.67 oz
Full Size  16.9 oz
Full Size Price $40.00
Sample Value $1.58

FTC Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by Birchbox or any of the brands included in the box. Items purchased by me for my own personal use. For more information please review my disclosure policy.
 

Zoya TRUE Spring Collection – Lotus  May 9, 2012

Filed under: Makup,Review — slagoon @ 10:16 am
Tags: , ,

Today I bring you the lovely Lotus from Zoya’s True Spring Collection which I received in the April Birchbox. This is a lavendar color that has a slight peachy gold shimmer in it. As with all the Zoya polishes that I’ve had, this one is a great formula.  All of the Zoya polishes are rated for opacity on the Zoya website so you can see if something is sheer or opaque. This one was rated 5 (with 5 being the most opaque). It has full coverage in one heavy coat or two normal coats. 

I adore this color and it is a perfect spring purple. Because of my Naked Nails Challenge I haven’t been able to test for wear, but since it is a Zoya I anticipate I will get about the normal amount of wear from it that I normally get with the other colors.

Will I buy this again? I will continue picking up Zoya colors. They are fun and trendy and a nice quality.

Will I finish the sample?  I already had the full size so I gave the sample to my friend’s daughter who is obsessed with purple this month. I am definitely going to keep using the color till its done.

 

 

Here’s the breakdown:

Sample Size  0.25 oz
Full Size  0.5 oz
Full Size Price $8.00
Sample Value $4.00….

 
 
FTC Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by Birchbox or any of the brands included in the box. Items purchased by me for my own personal use. For more information please review my disclosure policy.
 

Dropps Laundry Detergent – Review April 27, 2012

Filed under: General — slagoon @ 10:44 am
Tags: ,

In my April BirchBox I received the Dropps Laundry detergent packets. You use either one or two depending on your load size and just drop them in with the laundry.  I use these sorts of tablets in my dishwasher because of their convenience. In my washing machine I have the easy pour spout Tide bottle from Costco which gives me a $0.05 washing load.

I have got to say, that subscribing to a beauty sample box I don’t really want to get products like this to wash my clothes with. I can sort of see the tea that we’ve gotten before since it is supposed to clear up the skin. Aside from my disappointment about this being included in this month’s BirchBox I still tried it out. I didn’t find it any better than my much less expensive current detergent.  Its not worth the 30 cents per load increase.

Will I buy this again? No

Will I finish this sample? There were 2 in the packet and it said to use two for a large load, so in that one load of wash I finished the sample.

Here’s the breakdown:

Sample Size 2 Packets
Full Size  20 Packets
Full Size Price $6.00
Sample Value $0.60

 

FTC Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by Birchbox or any of the brands included in the box. Items purchased by me for my own personal use. For more information please review my disclosure policy.
 

Juice Beauty Oil-free Moisturizer – Review April 26, 2012

Filed under: Review,Skincare — slagoon @ 10:38 am
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Today I bring you Juice Beauty Oil-free Moisturizer that I received in my April Birchbox. This is a medium thickness cream that is advertised as a non-poor clogging formula that is good for oily acne prone skin. It also has products in it that are supposed to reduce redness and irritation.

I was not expecting to like this cream at all. I didn’t really like the last Juice Beauty product I tried, but this was surprisingly great. My skin is feeling softer than before. I’ve always had a touch of redness in my cheeks, nose, and forehead, but that has faded, not unhealthy looking, but is more soft than before.  I don’t find that it helps with my zits and still need to use spot treatments.

Will I buy this again? Probably – it was really good and I have some Birchbox points to spend.

Will I finish the sample? Definitiely!

Here’s the breakdown:

Sample Size 0.17 oz
Full Size  2.0 oz
Full Size Price $28.00
Sample Value $2.38

FTC Disclaimer: Not affiliated with nor compensated by Birchbox or any of the brands included in the box. Items purchased by me for my own personal use. For more information please review my disclosure policy.
 

 
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