Battle of the Boxes :: February 2013

For those of you who live under a rock and are not familiar with Birchbox and Ipsy, check out those links for what they are about. I really enjoy my beauty box subscriptions each month, because it's an inexpensive way to try new products. And who doesn't like get a little snail mail once and a while?

Even though each of the subscriptions are only $10, I like to compare them each month to see which of them provide this most bang for my buck. Birchbox has had some hits and misses with me, leaving me disappointed more then just one month. Ipsy has blown me away with products that I love, and never have jipped me of barely there samples. So let's compare this month's boxes?


Let's start with Ipsy. First off it came right on time this month in the beginning of February, unlike Birchbox which arrived today after getting lost in storm Nemo. The theme was "red carpet ready" with products to channel your inner celebrity. I thought it was perfectly themed for the season of award shows, but then I got my Birchbox, which had the SAME exact theme. So I give them an -F for originality. But back to the Ipsy bag and what it contained. The bag this year was black patent leather, with red lining. Kind of reminded me of a classic Louboutin. I threw out the card that had discount codes on it because I could barely read it, and if I wanted the codes they are on the website. So here is the breakdown of contents:

Pixi Prime and Poreless
I have been using Benefit's Porefessional as of lately. Even though I only have larger pores on my cheeks, I use a primer more for smoothing out my skin before foundation. This hydrates my dry skin, but doesn't leave me shiny like other primers I have tried before. I have never boug anything from Pixi before, but after really liking how it make my skin look, I will be sure not to pass it the next time I go to Target.


Coastal Scents Shadow Palette
I have a concealer palette from them and love it. I was thinking about getting one of their eyeshadow palettes, just because tons of gurus use the 120 color palette for their tutorials. The colors are pigmented and didn't crease. I'm glad I got the colors I did because some subscribers received a yellow and green color scheme.

MicaBeauty Gel Eyeliner
I prefer liquid eyeliner, and really can't step away from my NYC liquid eyeliner. I am happy I got this because I was about to buy the Maybelline gel liner, so that saves me a few bucks! And this is full size wooooo! The swatch on my hand took me about five minutes to scrub off, so you know it's not going to budge when on your eye!


Pop Mascara
You really can't go wrong with mascara samples. I switch up what I use all the time, and as long as it makes my short, blonde lashes look long and dark I am a happy camper.


Lash Cards
I can't even tell you how many time I do a perfect smokey eye, and then forget to let my mascara dry. Then I look in the mirror and there's black smudges all over my eyelid. So I'm waiting for a day where I do more then just my everyday makeup to try these, but I know that they will go to good use.


Now for the Birchbox contents:


Jouer Matte Moisture Tint
The most frustrating thing about samples, are when the samples are too small to even get the idea of how the product works. The sample is pretty much air, and it's the size of my pinky. Not only that,io but I already received this sample in a previous box. So that alone really made me question if I still want to stay a subscriber.

Skin&Co Roma Cleansing Body Gel
haven't tried it yet, but the gel is really strong, and more on the masculine side. It's smells kind of like Neutrogena cold cream, but I'm going to give it a try my next shower.

Vasanti Brighten Up!
I love exfoliates, I just need to make sure it's not to harsh for my dry skin. I use a Clarisonic, so I am going to see if using this product would be ok to huge, and not over process my skin. All the reviews on the website says that it doesn't dry out skin and leaves skin glowing.


Lancôme Hypnôse Star Mascara
like I said in the Ipsy review, I'm a fan of masacaras, and I'm really surprised this was in my box. Haven't tried it yet but I will do a review down the line of mascaras I use.

There was a Ghirardelli square in my Birchbox, but I totally ate that before actually seeing what else was in my box, whoops! Ipsy had a value of around $62 and Birchbox had a value of $12. I mean I know it's just $10, but Birchbox can do a little better with their quality of their samples. So who wins this month? Ipsy for having great samples that I know I will use and not just go in my makeup storage. How did you like your box or bag this month?

I'm back !!!!!

So I quit blogging for a while to focus on work and everything else going on in life. But now I am back and inspired to keep up with blogging. I got rid of most of my blog posts and only kept a few that would come in handy. To fill you in on my hiatus, I moved into an apartment with two of my friends, and got promoted at work. Now that everything is more settled, I am ready to blog again. Yay!

Sock Bun in 3 Minutes

My go to hair style this past week has been the famous sock bun. It is so easy to do and perfect for second day hair, or when you are in a rush. Some people use an old sock to make the base for the bun, but I purchased Conair's Bun Maker from CVS, and it has been my favorite thing I discovered this month. It's only $6 and it comes with the foam "doughnut", ponytail holder, and 3 bun bobby pins. For all the thin haired girls like myself, this is the easiest way to create the perfect bun. I don't have enough hair to roll the "doughnut" from the end to the base, like most people do for this hairstyle. So here is my sock bun tutorial for a 3 minute bun!

1. Gather your hair in a high ponytail, that it's on the crown of your head. I used a combination of water and gel to tame fly aways and to get my hair perfectly smooth.

2. Place the foam doughnut on the base of your ponytail, and spread the hair all the way around. Refer to picture 4 because this is hard to describe. I also tease my hair a bit so that I know it will cover the piece and look fuller too.

3. Put your hand over the bun part to keep the hair over the doughnut, then wrap the ends around the bun to hold it in place.

4. Secure in place with the bobby pins, and spray with hairspray. And there you go the perfect bun!

You can add a ribbon or a bow to it for extra decoration. I like adding headbands especially when my hair does not want to be tamed! Here is some of my favorite bunheads that I used for inspiration!