GlossyBox June 2014 Review

Oh Glossybox! You almost didn't make it this month, but you just squeaked in on time.

 LOVE the box this month. It's not the traditional pink box, but it's actually stars/stripes, super cute. Sorry I don't have a better pic.

 This is a mystery gift card to C Wonder. The card can be up to $500. Mine is only worth $10. I've never heard of this online store, and it seems kind of overpriced.

 Cute card to go with a cute box!

 First Look!

Strange Beautiful Nail Polish -  Love the nail polish combo. This is great for nail art, just needs a little white to go in there somewhere, and I have just the nail pen for that. I actually wish I had a little more time to do my nails.

Ayres - I don't even know what this is, but it has jasmine and rosemary, so I'm not even bothering to find out.

 Camille Beckman Platinume Gold Impreial Repair Hand Therapy - Lemongrass & Grapefruit - $10. This is basically a fancy hand lotion, and I love it. My favorite item this month.

 Rusk Texture Spray - My first reaction was that I'm bored of getting texture sprays as my hair doesn't really take to them. But after reading up on this a little, I think it works more like a hair spray. I only like small bottles of hair spray since I don't go through that much, so this is perfect size.

Sumita Champagne Eyeshadow Pencil - I love the eyeliners this brand has, so I'm actually thrilled to see this, and I hope it works just as well.

Good box this month.
~A

Ipsy Glam Bag June 2014 Review

I looked at my Ipsy Glam Bag early this month, which I was able to see online. The theme this month is Pretty in Paradise!

Be a Bombshell Lash Out Mascara Black - $15

Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray - $8.79



NYX Butter Gloss - $5

OFRA Universal Eyebrow Pencil - $13

RealTree for her - $$19.99 I was disappointed to see perfume in my bag. I would have totally taken any other item. This one has a mix of pomegranate (which I love) and a mix of different flowers (which I do not love). I do like the spray option though. If only they had stopped at the pomegranate smell.

I double checked my profile on Ipsy, and definitely do not have Fragrance checked as something I love. I don't think they really go by the profiles.

 

 ~A

 

 

 

 

Cate & Chloe - 2nd shipment June 2014 Review

Just received the 2nd shipment of the month for Cate and Chloe. If you are not familiar, Cate and Chloe is $39.99 a month/ and you receive $200+ worth of designer jewelry. You receive one item every 15 days. Free shipping and they offer the freedom to exchange any item you don't love. And first month you sign up you receive a free bonus gift.

I love how they wrap each shipment. The first thing I said to K was I wonder what color bow this month?

Love the packaging. Very pretty box that also has a nice bow each month.

Karie Beloved Bangle $99 - I love this bangle bracelet, I am very happy with it. Any silver jewelry is generally a hit with me. The link has a much better photo than I am able to take.

If you are interested in Cate and Chloe, you can use the discount code BrierReview20 to receive 20% off for the month to month sign up. Please use our name if you sign up, we get credit for referrals.

 ~A

 

Beauty DNA Special Gift - June 2014

Beauty DNA kindly sent me a complimentary gift this month. This was a thank you for participating in their beta test program. I really like Beauty DNA, this is one of those packages I always look forward to. It's a full size product each month.  $25 a month. You fill out a quiz about your preferences and you will receive one premium full sized item a month that is specially matched to you. You will never get the same item twice, and you will never get the same type of item more than once a year (e.g. shampoo). So far, I've really liked everything I've gotten. The one time my product did not work as intended, they were quick to replace for me.

it Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Powder Brush - $48 I have had this brush before, and it is a very nice brush. I'm thrilled to see something like this, and so unexpected.
~A

Beauty Bar Sample Society June 2014 Review

BeautyBar Sample Society is $10/month. Here is what they tell us is included:

• Five deluxe-size beauty samples—so you can use each more than once
• Curated mix of skin, hair, and makeup products, as well as fragrance
• Allure mini-mag, packed with in-depth beauty sample product reviews written by Allure editors
• $10 BeautyBar.com gift card to redeem on any $50 Beauty Bar purchase every month

 It arrives in a well labeled box, so you know what package it is.

 It comes in a black box each month, which is pretty much equivalent to the size Birchbox arrives in.

This is not an info card. It is actually a mini little info mag, that has tips in it. This month it has tips on the "white" manicure, coconut oil, contouring, and DIY Bikini Wax. Ugh. No thanks. I once tried an easy at home wax kit, and all I ended up with was some pain and a big ole' pile of wax. The little hairs also remained.

 This month included two perfume samples. Yuck. I'm tired of getting fragrance. This is such as waste to be sent to someone like me. I can't unload it fast enough because I don't know enough people that actually like perfume.

H2O  Oxygenating Rejuvenator - this isn't one of my top brands, but I like it well enough. You use this along with your regular moisturizer. I haven't tried it, but I hear it does not smell pleasant.

Purlisse Hydra Balance Moisturizer - I get way too many Purlisse products. I like Purlisse enough, it's a good enough moisturizer, but I do want to point out this size is much smaller size than I get from other boxes.

Malin + Goetz - Vitamin E Face Moisturizer - I LOVE this brand. One of the best brands I have found due to subscription boxes. This is the one item I am actually excited to see this month. It is perfect travel size and is going directly into my travel bag.

Karin Herzon Vit-a-Kabambi anti aging face care. This targets specific areas of concern: acne, dark spots, sun damage, and hyperpigmentation. I have never heard of this, but it gets excellent reviews. I will be trying out this tiny sample. I hear it works good as a spot treatment for acne, and clears up problem areas.

That's a wrap for this months box. If you compare what I posted at the beginning of the post, along with the pics I showed a quarter in for scale, you can see some inconsistencies about what they think they are sending vs. what you actually receive. There are no deluxe size samples, and you cannot always use each sample more than once. I did not receive last months box, but I have heard it was pretty good. This months box, however, is consistent with every other box I have received from Beauty Bar Sample Society.
~A

BirchBox June 2014 Review

Birchbox arrived today. Surprise for me!

 First look. And my only thought was wow this is a smelly box.

GilChrist & Soames Body Lotion - Smells too perfumey!

 Number 4 Hair Hydrating Shampoo - Also too smelly.

 Coola - Tinted Matte SPF for face - this is an awfully tiny bottle.

 Vasanti Cosmetics BrightenUp Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator - this is basically a face exfoliator/wash. Never heard of it, but  I'll use it.

I was very curious what could be in the extra blue box. It was a foil packet Number 4 conditioner sample and Joie Folle de Joie Eau de Parfum. That was empty. I now know why this box smelled so bad.

I'm so disappointed with Birchbox this month, that I can't even recommend it right now. Probably because I have such perfume allergies, that the overpowering smell has just made me grumpy. Never heard of these brands, and not one item I am happy to see.
~A

Honest Company Essentials Bundle June 2014 and Promo code, news, and upcoming products

My Essentials Bundle from the Honest Company for June arrived this week! This week I also added additional items on my bundle. 

Toilet Cleaner- I am stocking up cleaning supplies for my new apartment coming up in September. I loved the ingredients on this and have read postive reviews so far. 

Sunscreen SPF 30- With summer quickly approaching I am stocking up on sunscreen as much as I can. I am not sure if this sunscreen will be sufficient enough to keep me from burning for my upcoming port job on my very fair skin, but I will definitely use this on my non work days. 

Organic Breathe Easy Rub- My BFF and I were seriously stalking the website for weeks waiting for this breathe easy rub to finally come back in stock. When it did I immediately added it to my bundle and texted her! The bottle is a lot smaller than I imagined. I love the medicinal smell of the rub and so far I really liked it. This will be well used in the upcoming flu season. 

Dish Soap- I decided to get the lemon verbena scented dish soap. So far I love the smell. Can't wait to test it out!

Conditioner Detangler- I am really loving this stuff. It smells like a light creamsicle and makes me happy when I spray it. It seems to work well on my tangles but I am not sure if it's soothing to my hair. 

Hand Soap (lemongrass)- Mom subtley hinted that she was really sad that she was almost out of her lemongrass Honest Co. hand soap that I got her for christmas, so I went ahead and added this on for her. She was really happy to see it. 

Canvas Tote- I added on the canvas tote this month. I really like that you can wear it as a messenger or a tote. I will definitely be using this for some upcoming trips to the farmer's markets. 

Healthy Child Healthy World- I really like Jessica Alba's The Honest Life book and after reading some reviews of Christopher Gavigan's book I decided to purchase it. Christopher is the co-founder of the Honest Company, and what I really love about him is that he has a BS in Environmental Science which shows me that they are using science as a catalyst for the choices they are making in the products they develop and carry. Overall, I really loved  this book. It was very family and baby centered as he is a father and has a Master's degree in Child Psychology, but it also had a lot of in depth information on toxic chemicals found in household items. He also offered up cheap green cleaning tips, home made beauty product recipes, and even information on grocery store items. I am really happy with this purchase and I feel it offers more in depth information than The Honest Life.

NEWS

*This month the Honest Company is offering a FREE father's day water bottle with a $35 purchase and must be entered by 6/30 and bundle must ship by 7/11 you can use the code #HonestDad. I was excited to add this on, but I am totally keeping for myself so I will have to figure out a way to cover/scratch off the dad part.

*And the Big news this month is that Honest Company is partnering up with Target to carry products in stores. This was huge news. I was excited that I will be able to get my necessities at the nearest Target and won't have to pay for shipping. But then after thinking for a while, I was nervous that this will affect the prices, quality, and availability of the items. But Honest Company addressed these issues on their Facebook page and assured customers that the prices and quality will not change, which made me feel a lot better about this.



*I follow Christopher Gavigan on twitter and was really excited about his tweet with pictures of new products! I see spray sunscreen!!! You know I will be stocking up on that! Also in the pictures were a sunblock stick and the adorable kids sunglasses that are already available.

*If you read the celebrity gossip sites you might have seen the controversial article about Honest Company's wipes. Apparently they manufacturer their wipes and kitchen tools in china for cost efficient reasons. Per the gossip sites the company that manufactures the wipes has been in trouble with the FDA in the past and has even been barred from importing to the US on two occasions for "unsafe" drugs found in their shipments. Honest Company has been very open about the source of their products, and their blog posts from 2012 explain why they are manufacturing overseas. As far as the FDA issues for the manufacturing company, Honest Company insists it was for packaging issues and assures customers that they hold all companies partners are held to high standards. I was shocked when I first read the articles, and realized that it was something I should have read into on the packaging information. After reading their responses, and doing more research on their products on the environmental groups website, I feel a lot better about the recent news articles and still believe they produce great products that are more greener and safer than what is traditionally offered in stores.

As far as the BBB revoking I have had phenomenal experiences with their customer service. Every single representative I have emailed has always offered great solutions to my issues and it has honestly been one of the best companies I have had to deal with.  I am also really annoyed by all the negative comments on their Facebook page recently from unhappy people. People are signing up for the free trials and not reading the terms and conditions, which are clearly stated three times on the sign up page very clearly, and is also emailed to them three times, letting them know that if you don't cancel within the first few weeks you will automatically be enrolled in the bundle program and charged. If you are entering your credit card into anything you need to read the terms people! It's really lame that people are not being responsible for their own actions and then blaming the company for lying and then attacking them on social media sites. They are completely transparent about the terms and conditions you just have to actually read them!!

-K