**REVIEW** Birchbox July 2018

This month's box isn't awful, but when I see what other people got, I have to admit to being kind of disgruntled. I have always, always, always wanted to try one of the LaVanilla perfumes - which was in some of the boxes - and yet, none for me. Perfume is one of the things I put on my profile.

~sigh~

Okay, so what did I get? Well, yet another freaking Eyeco product. A brow liner. What is with the eyebrow stuff and Birchbox?

Anyway, I won't actually talk much about each product. I will just do a reveal of my box and end with some comments.

The brown stuff you see in the other pics? It's this. Leaked. EVERYwhere... 

And, like the INXS song, the Vasanti cloths are the one thing. The only thing I was really okay with. And I chose it.

Well.

I just hopped over and canceled my Birchbox subscription. I gave them a try and, apparently, either my profile means nothing or - and I have really wondered about this - they give the very best stuff to top "influencers". I don't know. Doesn't matter. This is 10 bucks I can save for groceries or something else.

Peace
-Free

**REVIEW** Birchbox June 2018

First off, let me set this down right here... Trudy Sent Me! Yeah, that's in case you want to credit me with sending you to Birchbox.

This is my third Birchbox and, while it brightened an otherwise crappy week, I have to admit it's not as awesome as the May box (which contained 3 items I loved). This June box only had 1 thing I'm crazy about and 1 thing that I like a lot. The rest was... We'll get to that.

Let's just go ahead and start with the best item of the box. That would be this amazing Waterfall Moisture and Shine Lotion from R+Co.

5oz full size = $29

This stuff is so good on these dry, afro-natural naps of mine. It's so hydrating without being greasy, tacky, sticky, or heavy. I applied it to my already styled hair and was blown away by how soft and touchable the curls felt. The smell is light and nice and the moisture actually lasted all day and through the night. For me, the biggest advantage was the softening effect. I could not stop touching my own hair!

The only downside is the price of the full-size tube. Thirty bucks is right up there with a full tank of gas, right? And I'm not sure how long a tube of this would last me. Right now, my hair is short (remember I did that big chop the other week) and I could stretch this sample size out for maybe a week if I'm creative. Eventually, though, my hair is going to be growing back out and,,, I don't know if I could afford this product. Still, I will definitely be telling all my afro-natural buddies about this.

My second-fave from this box is this Deep Dive Water Cream from Red Earth.

1.8oz full size = $29

Other than that creepy and new-agey upside down as-above type A, I do like this stuff. I've used gel moisturizers before but there was always something 'off' about them. Mostly it would be the texture - sticky or gluey - that made me dislike them. This one gets it right. It's really light and goes on like water. Seriously.

Once again, though, the price is the biggest flaw. I'm sure there are a lot of hidden costs in bringing a product to market, but I wonder about the markup. From reading the ingredients list, I'm pretty sure that I could pick up most of what I need from Making Cosmetics to throw together a generic version of this stuff. I like the product, but I don't like it enough to pay $30 for 1.8 oz. And, also, that Satanic-looing A really does creep me out...

This next item would possibly have been the second favorite but I can't really tell because the sample was too small for me to test it well.

I think most of us women have tried (or at least seen) the Beauty Blender makeup sponges, right? I don't wear foundation every day and I even have some of the sponges.

Like I said, this one from the Birchbox was too small to do anything with. I couldn't even grip well enough to test it with foundation. The one thing that was kind of cool about the sample - though it's not a feature I would use because I don't wet my sponges - is that you can increase the sponge size two-fold by adding water. The sample even came with its own water. And this actually did enlarge the sponge. It didn't make it big enough for me to use, but it did swell.

The watered sponge is on the right

Oh yeah, and the price - $20 for a full-size sponge - is, as with the other products, ridiculous. However, in the case of the sponge, I can (and have) found them at a much more affordable price. For under twenty bucks, I've gotten up to 3 sponges that work just as well.

The sample, by the way, is not round. It's flat as well as small.

in the center of my watch

Next up is this Glow Serum from Beautaniq.

0.67 oz full size = $22

I didn't like the gritty feel of this highlighter and the color was way too light for my dark skin. After falling in love with the Glowtion from the May box, this was a big flop. And that's about all I can say about that.

The next sample isn't bad but it's not something I could be crazy about. It's the Davines SU Hair & Body Wash.

250ml full size = $24

First off, I'm not a huge fan of this kind of thing. My hair and skin have totally different needs and issues. Second, I don't need anything to help "prolong my tan".This tan of mine ain't going nowhere, thank goodness. Third, I wasn't crazy about the smell of this. If there was any citrus scent, it was drowned out by the castile soap smell. So this was just kind of meh, but kudos to Davines for supplying such a nice-sized sample. That was cool because I know that some folks will probably really like this. It's getting almost 5 stars on Birchbox.

Finally, let me just say that the prices are probably the most disappointing thing. If a product knocks it out of the park and offers something you can't get just anywhere (think Whal Myung), then okay. But even the best stuff here seemed overpriced, in my opinion. What I do like about Birchbox is that when I love something in a box and can't afford to run out and get the full-sized version, I can always order a second box for $10. That's what I did with the Whal Myung until I can get somebody to remember it on my birthday! Haha.

So, yeah, that's this month's box. Not (terribly) horrible, but not my fave. That hair lotion though... Man, that right there made the box worth it.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Whal Myung Skin Elixir

UPDATE: If you sign up for Birchbox because of this post, do a gal a solid and let me get the referral points by using this link: TRUDY SENT ME!


When I reviewed the May 2018 Birchbox, I listed one of the samples as my 4th favorite out of 4 products. The reason I didn't rank it as Number 1 is that the price of a full-size bottle would be about half of my monthly grocery budget. Seriously, folks, I am not exaggerating for effect. This Whal Myung Skin Elixir right here is what runs about $60.

See what I mean about not kidding?

The first time I tried my sample bottle, I liked this and liked it a lot. But that price. I kept using my sample, patting on a little bit every morning, and on about the third day, I was doing what I do almost every single night (inspecting my skin and tweezing out blackheads and such in the magnifying mirror...

You know that mirror I mean, right? One of those mirrors that show every skin imperfection in the world? 

Yeah, that mirror.

...and I noticed something wonderful: there were no blackheads or whatever those tiny spots are that appear around my nose and on my chin. Not one. Trust me. I use the mirror and a spotlight looking for them.

I also noticed that my skin looked more even and sort of balanced as far as the moisture. Usually, I have a t-zone issue that fluctuates between oily and dry. This is probably how I end up with those spots that I always thought were blackheads but recently heard may just be little dirt hairs from dust and other air pollutants.

Anyway, I see that this elixir is really working to give my face a nice look whether or not I'm wearing makeup - even when I'm standing in the full-on sun. I remember my skin being like this about 20 years ago. I'm actually blessed with good skin but I still try to take care of it to counteract all my other bad habits (especially my sometimes-horrible diet) and I love what this elixir is doing for it.

Once again, though, I have to come back to the price. I mean, if only they sold this is smaller jars so that I could buy about 20 drops at a time! The best way for me to get more now is to order another of the curated May Birchbox for $10 (plus $5 s/h).

Right now, I'm telling everyone I know about this serum. I have friends who can afford it and, because we are all in about the same age group, they will be looking for something to keep their skin looking good.

A little goes a looong way

Before I forget, I want to tell you that, even a small bottle with last a long time because a little goes a long way. I've been using every day since I got the sample and I haven't really put a dent in the amount as you can see from the above photo.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Birchbox May 2018

UPDATE: If you sign up for Birchbox because of this post, please do a gal a solid and let me get the referral points by using this link: TRUDY SENT ME!


As I told you in my last post, this month's Birchbox arrived at the same time as the Walmart Beauty Box. I was really wiped out from a treatment so to come home and have two goodie boxes waiting... Nice.

I'm pretty happy with this month's box. There were 3 favorite items and 2 so-so products. Here we go. I will start with my favorites and work down to the least liked.

This Glowtion (love the name) from Wander Beauty was the top fave in this box.

I tried bronzer years ago and I looked like an electric clown. This illuminator is more subtle and really does add a glow that looks natural. I don't wear a full face of makeup on a daily basis and I love that, sans foundation, this gave me a fresh and pretty look.

Yeah, that's a soap spot on the mirror! LOL

The Georgette Klinger Coconut Cleansing Milk came in at Number 2 because of the ingredients and the price.

This is the key** ingredients list: coconut oil, coconut extract, grape extract, and cucumber extract. I found the full ingredients online and you can see them at bottom of this post. This is a really gentle cleanser and I love the way it smells - but there is added fragrance. Affordable is what topped it for me.

Next was the Ouai Volume Spray (and I had to Google it to know that you pronounce Ouai as "way").

One thing I have not used before getting the Walmart box is any kind of hairspray. This Ouai item is not a hairspray but it's not something I would have picked up to try before now. It is light and has a great smell. My hair wasn't sticky or crunchy after using this and it did give my curls the lift I like and added some shine. I am wearing some in the previous photo. The price isn't too bad so this is something I might purchase in a full size.

This next item would have been my top fave if not for the high price. It's the Whal Myung Skin Elixir.

It's great stuff but, dang, almost sixty bucks??? Nah for me, mon. LOL

I used this with a little bit of foundation and it made the color go on smooth and even while giving my face a lighter and less made-up feel. If I could afford it, this would be in my beauty bag all the time.

My least fave item ranks that way because it's just not something I'm at all interested in. If I ever get around to trying it, I will give a review. For now, let's just say, it's a skip for me.

All in all, I would say that this was a really good box. Everything except the lip mask was a hit. I'm happy to have discovered the illuminator and the volume spray.

Peace
--Free














** Full list of ingredients for the Coconut Cleansing Milk:
Deionized Water, Glycerin, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Extract, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Peg-8 Laurate, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Extract, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin & Laureth-7, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Hexylene Glycol, Triethanolamine, Fragrance

**REVIEW** Sephora's Play Box Subscription

UPDATE: If you sign up for Birchbox because you read about it here, please use this link so that I get acknowledged Trudy Sent Me!


Of the many subscription boxes in the beauty and skincare categories, there aren't tons that are as affordable as the Birchbox and Sephora Play boxes. I mean, if you want to try new products every month, you really can't beat 10 bucks for some good-sized samples. I had decided that if I was going to join the subscription craze, I would only choose one box. Budget, budget, broke is my version of duck, duck, goose!

I've tried and reviewed the April Birchbox. I hope to try out Ipsy or another box in this price range. Today though, I am going to review the Sephora Play April 2018 box that I recently received.

It's finally here! Finally...

The box took forever to arrive but when I checked the dates, I can see that Birchbox took 10 days from the order date to deliver and Play took 11 days. So, they are about equal there. Since I do have Birchbox to compare to this one, that is what I will do throughout this post. Let's go look at what came in the April Play box.

6  items + the bag

With Birchbox, I got the cute little collectible box to use. Sephora sent this little bag.

very flimsy material

Birchbox wins this round. While I thought a bag would be more versatile to reuse than a box, this one is a cheap little Dollar Store type of thing that I'll probably just tuck some socks or maybe some laundry quarters in. It wasn't that cute to me. I was really hoping the other box items were going to be much better. So let's see...

.33 oz each packet

I have not used this shampoo/conditioner sample set from Living Proof's Perfect Hair Day line. The samples were a good size and I will review them once I try them out on my next wash day. The 8oz shampoo and 8 oz conditioner sizes are priced at $26 each.

 I give Sephora Play credit for including such a nice sample size of the product. I have thick, afro-curly (er, sometimes nappy) hair and I think the shampoo would be enough for a wash. I would probably have to dilute the conditioner to saturate all my hair from root to tip.

Next up is the item with the best name ever:

This one is the  Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial. Not only do I love the name, but I really liked the product. I used this on my chin and nose area. It tingled a little bit but not strongly and not for long. I left it on for 15 minutes instead of the 20 as instructed because I was worried it might be too drying. When I rinsed, I was super surprised at how good my treated skin felt. It's like it sucked close off the larger pores and my nose was really smooth and I kept touching it!  Normally, I don't use products like this. Most of you all know me by now and know that I would rather do a treatment with essential oil or use something from my kitchen.

I was so excited about this product that I scooted online with a quickness to check the price for a full-size. That stopped me right in my broke little tracks. This is priced at $80 for a 1.69oz/50ml pump (so this 15ml sample is worth about $24). That's just ridiculous. I'd have to be a drunk woman to put that in my cart. Besides, I can buy a lot of Manuka honey for that much money and it's all natural and what I don't use on my face, I could eat. Thank you, Sephora for the generous sized sample, but I can never buy more of this so... Whatever. Moving on.

The Purity Pore Extractor Mask is another item I haven't yet tried. My face was still so clean from the Drunk Elephant that I decided to wait a couple of days before I use the mask but I tested the clay on the back of my hand. It has some fine granules in the texture that were easy to wipe away once the clay dried. The mask dries quickly and the clay adhered to my hand until I rinsed it off. It wasn't sticky or unpleasant while rinsing as so many similar products can be. Since I liked the way the skin on my hand felt afterward, I think I would like this - but only on the nose and chin areas. My skin is too sensitive for any type of astringents or scrubs anywhere else. So I do like this item but, once again, I had sticker shock when I checked the price. It's $35 for 2.5 ounces. This is why I am glad to be a natural product gal. I have to be thankful, I guess that Sephora did supply a 5ml sample.

Next up is the Sephora Rouge Cream lipstick in the shade called The Red.

It's a great lipstick with good texture and a coverage that I love. One problem: that red is more for Marilyn Monroe/Rita Hayworth while I need something more Danai Gurira/Lupita Nyong'o or at the very least, Angela Basset after she's been in the sun for a few hours.

This photo doesn't fully capture how wrong the shade is on me. I even checked with my neighbor and she was like, "Uh... yeah. No. Not that shade. Not on you." I think what she wanted to say is that this shade makes me look like a starving harlot. There is just a touch too much orange in it to suit me. Usually, I can wear a deep red (though I prefer a more non-vampish color now that I'm on the upper side of 50). I think that I will save this and use it to mix with another unwanted shade to use as an eye color. I dunno.

That shade of lipstick is not
going with that shade of grey hair!

This was a big disappointment to me because I wanted to like this lipstick and I feel Sephora ignored my Profile when choosing the shade. I mean, they ask your shade and I entered mine as the darkest they had. ~sigh~ To add insult, this lipstick is one of the actually affordable ($12.50) items in the box.

The PeterThomas Roth Skin to Die For mattifying primer sounded interesting. I watched the little video that Sephora had up and was impressed with the difference the primer made on the model. On me, it felt great but didn't make much of a visible difference. I would be curious to see if it works as touted to eventually improve one's skin. I'm pretty happy with my skin so I will pass. The price is not that bad ($28 for 1oz), depending on how much and how often it would need to be applied.

For the very last of the items, I have to say that, once again, I was not thrilled. I was still hopeful though, even as I got down to the last item in the box. This gloss is from a favorite brand:

I adore Urban Decay and was glad that the box included their Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss, but...

... once again - for what? The third or fourth time? - I was not crazy about the color Sephora chose to send me. They're reading (or not reading) of my profile reminds me of the 80's when every drugstore makeup artist wanted to put vivid, shimmery blue eyeshadow on my black face.

If Sephora just wanted to send me a daring, lighter color gloss, they could have gone with the shade of Naked. I would have been very happy to get that or, better yet, the Beso, or the 1993. The one they sent was the SPL. It doesn't even have a cool name. And to beat it all, the stuff is a glittery-sparkling, minty-tasting concoction. Ugh. It's like something that a little kid would get for their doll. To be honest, I could have gotten past the glitter and the mint, but that bright pink... And unlike most glosses (because, yes, I do own gloss in light pink shades) this was pretty heavily colored. If the red lipstick made my lips look weird, this gloss made them look chapped as if I was in need of a lot of water. I gave it to my Caucasian sister-in-law and I haven't seen her wearing it yet.

I don't want to forget that the Play box did include a card with 50 Beauty Insider Points. That's a Plus. The downside is that I would not be able to get the offered extra 50 points because there is no store near me to walk into. So there's that. Birchbox just straight up gives you a discount if you decide to purchase something you've sampled. Now, that's what I'm talking about.

Decisions, decisions...

Birchbox vs Sephora Play

I told you all that I could only (barely) afford to do one box. If I wasn't waiting to try Ipsy, and the decision was to be between Birchbox and Play, Birchbox would be the winner by miles and miles. Sure, they sent a hair product I would never use, but it's not as if I wouldn't use it if I styled my hair differently. I feel like they paid more attention to my profile.

I already made sure to cancel the Play subscription so that I don't get stuck with a second box or payment. When I reviewed FabFitFun, I knew it was a subscription I'd keep if I could afford it. The Play box is just $10 and I know the products weren't cheap, but I had no regrets canceling. I think that Sephora often falls short on paying attention to customers. I'm I've posted about the $50 perfume certificate I never got to use because Sephora ran out of the perfume I wanted and never honored it. It's like they robbed my niece of the money she meant me to have.

Well. Sephora, I guess you kinda, sorta, maybe tried.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Birchbox April 2018

UPDATE: If you sign up for Birchbox because of this post, please let me get the referral points by using this link: TRUDY SENT ME!



The Birchbox I told you all was coming... arrived.

This was courtesy of my angel sponsor but, let me tell you what, I will be continuing this subscription. It exceeded my expectations.

The cute little collectible, um "upcycle-able" box is adorable and the contents were pretty awesome. For a $10/mo subscription, this is what the April 2018 box contained listed with the full-size prices:

1. Beautaniq Beauty Fill + Tame Brow Gel ($12)

This was one of my 2 faves in this box. Though I don't wear full-face makeup that often, I do like to do my eyes and lips. I hace unruly brows and I am a mess when it comes to shaping them. This gel has a brush that made it easy even for me to get my brows to behave. The shade would be best for when I over-pluck or shave the brows, but I would have preferred the Clear.


2. Briogeo Rosarco Blow Dry Perfection & Heat Protectant Crème ($24)

This was totally out of my beauty profile range. I wear my hair afro-curly and try never to use any kind of heat other than to deep condition. That being said, I can tell you that this product smells awesome. When I applied a little of it to my hand to check the texture, I found it to be very light and it didn't leave even the trace of a film on my skin. I hope that helps anyone who is looking for some kind of information about the product.

3. Clarins Multi-Active Day Cream SPF 20 - All Skin Types ($54)

First, let me say that I wanted to like this and I mostly did. Two things about it turned me off: 1 - there is a fragrance in it and I don't like fragrance on my face unless it's an essential oil I'm using for a specific purpose. 2 - Did ya see that price? OMG. If I had loved the crap out of this, I'd have to find it sold by a tenth of a milliliter.

I can say that it's the lightest and best-textured day cream I've seen outside of the Avon Anew that I typically use.

4. Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner ($22)

I love, love, love a good liner. This one is so easy to use because of the felt tip pen-like applicator. If you can write, you can use this. Mine came in black and it's a true rich black. I don't use eyeliner every day, but when I do, this will be the one.

5. Smashbox Cosmetics Insta-Matte Lipstick Transformer ($24)

This is another of the products that I wanted to like. I do like the way it goes on - very smooth and non-sticky - and I loved that, once applied, it didn't dry out my lips the way a lot of matte-ifying products can. The one thing that put me off is that I am so particular about the shades of my lip products and this changed the shade ever so slightly. Maybe it will work better with some of the shades I want to change anyway, but it's not for my regular lipsticks. On the other hand, this is a super product for those who can have a little bit of variety in the lip color.

6. BONUS Lipstick Queen Frog Prince Lipstick ($25)

Remember I said I had 2 favorites in this box? This is the other one. This is my top fave and it wasn't one of the box samples. It was the bonus gift. 

You can see that the lipstick itself is green (frog prince green?) but when it reacts with my body ph or heat, it turns the faintest shade of blush red that's perfect for my complexion. I said today that I always envied people who have those naturally shaded lips. Now I can have that same look and the gift/sample is actually going to last me a while.

Free's Birchbox Rating

So that was my first box. It will be up to me to pay for it from now on and I think that, if I can swing it, it will be totally worth it. Based on this month's box, I give Birchbox a 5-star rating. It's affordable for most people, the samples are of a good size, and the items are all interesting.

If you are interested, you can use this link to sign up. Please do becasue I will get points as the referrer :-)

Another Plus to the Birchbox is that you get a discount when you purchase anything you have sampled. Also, you earn other rewards. This is from the Birchbox site:

"Each time you shop with Birchbox, you automatically get rewarded! The minute you create an account, you can start earning Points to spend on full-size favorites and gift subscriptions. Even better news: You’re on your way to bigger perks. The more you shop, the closer you’ll be to qualifying for our VIP Aces tier, which gives you access to exclusive added benefits."

Peace
--Free





DISCLOSURE The products reviewed in this post were paid for by an "angel" sponsor who is in no way affiliated with either product or brand or seller. My opinions are not influenced by the "angel".