Birchbox (March 2018)

Every month, Birchbox will send 5+ beauty samples from a variety of makeup, skincare, body care, hair care, and fragrance categories - personalized to you based on your Beauty Profile. Plus, you'll get tips and tricks on how to use them.

A Birch-box sub-scription costs just $10 per month with no shipping fees or long-term commitments. Any subscription comes with a free gift. 6- and 12-month subscriptions come with greater gifts and savings for you.

Customize your box by choosing a specific sample or adding full-size products to ship alongside your box. Earn Loyalty Points (1 point per $1 spent) by purchasing any subscription or buying from Birchbox's online store. Points can be redeemed for any full-size product in the store. Ten points equals $1 to shop!

The March 2018 theme is "Finally. Spring." Following are the items I received:

ACURE ORGANICS Brilliantly Brightening Facial Scrub (1oz deluxe sample, ~$2.50) - This paraben-free, botanical-rich cleanser exfoliates and boosts skin's radiance.

SAND & SKY Brilliant Skin Purifying Pink Clay Mask (0.45oz deluxe sample, $10.50) - Detoxify and brighten your complexion with this mask made from Australian kaolin clay, organic aloe vera, and Kakadu plum.

ORIBE Straight Away Smoothing Blowout Cream (0.5oz deluxe sample, $4.40) - Get sleek, shiny hair without sacrificing body thanks to this styling balm that fights frizz and flyaways.

SUPERGOOP! Daily Correct CC Cream SPF 40 in Fair/Light (0.1oz sample, $2.00) - This CC cream is a top-seller thanks to its lightweight formula that won't clog pores. The shade-adjusting technology evens out tone and blurs imperfections while providing SPF.

WINKY LUX Glazed Lips Donut Lip Gloss in Sugar Glaze (0.05oz mini, ~$10.71) - Inspired by donut frosting, this pearl shimmery gloss looks (and smells) just as sweet. Wear alone or on top of lip color for a multidimensional look.
                                                                                                                    

The Verdicts:

Acure Organics' face scrub smells fantastic. It's hard to describe, but a bit citrus-y and a lot aloe. The texture is very gritty and it sloughs off a lot. Maybe a little too rough for me, but I have sensitive skin anyway and don't really need much in the way of exfoliation. I'm definitely going to squeeze every last granule from the tube on my deep-cleansing days though.

Everybody knows I love a good face mask. Not just for the benefits to my skin, but they are just fun! This Sand & Sky clay mask is no exception. It goes on nice and smooth and dries up, pulling out all those impurities, and effectively terrifying my dogs. It smells so good. It took me FOREVER to place it. Jergens Original Moisturizer with cherry almond essence! I used it all the time back in the day because I LOVED that scent! Took me back...

The Oribe blowout cream is a little sticky going on, but it smells AH-mazing! And it adds a lot of shine to my hair and totally does what it says it will.

I'm the biggest Supergoop! geek. This CC cream, though... not so much. It kinda left a cake-y finish.

The Winky Lux lip gloss is super fun. It is delicious... totally kissable. It has a nice cool tint to it to keep the pink of the gloss from being TOO pink. I tried it alone (middle picture on the left) and on top of the Revlon lipstick I sampled in last month's Birchbox (bottom photo).

This March 2018 box has a total value of $30.11. Not only is that three times the cost of the box, I tried four new brands this month. Can't wait to see what surprises Birchbox has in store for me in April!

Glossybox (March 2018) + GLOSSYDOTS Beauty Booty

Glossybox is a monthly subscription that delivers beauty products - hair care, skin care, makeup, perfumes, tools, etc. to your door for $21 per month if you buy the monthly plan, but that price goes down if you buy a 3-, 6- or 12-month subscription.

Glossybox carries some of the best brands in beauty. Each box contains five or more items from full-sized to deluxe samples. Following are the contents of my March 2018 box:

UNANI il-luminate Milk Cleanser (6.75oz full-size, $18.00) - This gentle cleansing milk is based on nutritious natural oils which purify and protect the skin by removing impurities as well as makeup, leaving it soft and restoring its elasticity. The main ingredient is a plant-based active that restores skin’s beauty to reveal a recharged, youthful, and luminous appearance.

FORM BEAUTY Multitask: 3-In-1 Leave-In Lotion (1.7oz deluxe sample, ~$4.53) - Detangles, softens, and refreshens your look in one go. Designed to also strengthen your strands against breakage, this nutritive mist, which is infused with coconut oil, avocado oil, and grapeseed oil will keep any style, from beachy waves to tight braids, looking fierce.

TIP: Apply liberally to wet hair, smoothing down the shaft from root to tip for a leave-in conditioner effect. As a daily moisturizer or style refresher, spray over your style or spray into your hands, emulsify, and massage softly onto strands.

FIGS & ROUGE Soft Focus Pore Perfect HD + Matte Veil (1oz full-size, $35.00) - Designed to keep skin shine-free and perfect all day, this lightweight primer smoothes away imperfections and minimizes the look of pores. Another benefit? The multi-functional formula also fights blemishes, promising nothing but clear days ahead.

TIP: For best results, apply this soft-touch serum along your T-zone in a circular motion before makeup.

MORGAN TAYLOR PROFESSIONAL Nail Lacquer in Lip Service (0.5oz full-size, $9.50) - Leave it to the nail pros to perfect a lacquer line, available in shades ranging from barely there to deep indigo, that looks as good on day ten as day one.

TIDBIT: Co-founders Danny Haile and David Daniel spent 30 years working every angle of the nail industry before launching their pro-grade line.

COVER FX Perfect Pencil Concealer in N Light (0.01oz full-size, $20.00) - This versatile little tool can be used to define lip and eyebrow arches and conceal trouble spots in an instant. The formula is also waterproof.

TIP: To brighten the eyes, apply along the inner corners and waterline. For a dash of extra highlight, draw along the bridge of your nose, Cupid's bow, and chin; then blend with your finger or an angled brush.

DE BRUYÈRE BEAUTÉ Jumbo Eye Pencil in Bubble (0.05oz full-size, $18.00) - This super creamy jumbo eye crayon, in the perfect shade of khaki, can be used as an eyeliner or an eyeshadow.

TIP: When applying your eye color, focus on the outer corner, blending inwards towards the inner corner. The goal is to make your eyes look bigger and more almond-shaped. Use with an angled brush for a more defined application.
                                                                                                                   

The Verdicts:

I tried the Unani cleanser a few years ago. I didn't like it much then, and I don't like it much now. The smell isn't bad... could definitely be fresher. I believe it must be scented. The texture is lotion-y. Sad to report, my face didn't feel cleaner after washing it off. I've seen a lot of positive reviews from others though.

This Form Beauty hair lotion has a nice light texture and smells very nice. It did make my hair feel soft and added a lot of shine.

The Figs & Rouge primer really performed. I tried it on the back of one hand before my face and compared it to the other hand. It did reduce my pores and left my face smooth with a dewy glow.

Morgan Taylor's nail polish is fantastic. The color isn't one I'd normally go for, but I love it! So pretty and feminine. And the finish is glossy and hard. My nails are really strong wearing it. I don't feel like I have to be afraid of breaking one.

I'm a Cover FX junkie, so I was happy to see this concealer pencil. The customization for it is impressive. I was surprised to see that mine was an exact match for my skin. Fair-to-light skin with neutral undertones. Bravo, Glossybox. It glides on smooth and blends really well. See the swatch on the left, and on a right, a swatch of this next item.

The De Bruyère eye pencil is something I've sampled before in a different shade. I like this pencil a lot. The formula is creamy and it's silky against my skin. This color is great too for an everyday kinda look.

This March 2018 box has an approximate value of $105.03. That's a fantastic value. Glossybox always does such a good job introducing me to new brands and products.
                                                                                                                   

Beauty Booty!

Glossybox rewards it's subscribers with GLOSSYDOTS a variety of ways... referring friends, completing a beauty profile, answering box and product surveys, and writing reviews. GLOSSYDOTS can be spent in their sister company's online shop, Lookfantastic.com.

I ordered several items I'd been coveting with all of the GLOSSYDOTS I accumulated.

KORRES Natural Sunflower and Mountain Tea Conditioner for Colored Hair (200ml, $13.50) - Designed to protect and deeply moisturize chemically-treated hair. Sunflower and mountain tea, natural sources of polypenols, help protect hair color and sheen from the rigors of frequent washing, styling, and sun exposure.

BURT'S BEES Beeswax & Banana Hand Cream (2oz, $15.00) - A fast-absorbing, non-greasy formula that promises to soften and replenish skin. Enriched with aloe vera, beeswax, and vitamin E, the 99.9% natural cream moisturizes and shields from dryness caused by environmental aggressors, while delivering a delicious, sweet banana scent.

NEUTROGENA Pink Grapefruit Medicated Facial Wipes (25-count, $5.50) - Effortlessly gliding over the face, these face wipes sweep away daily dirt, oil, and impurities to ensure pores are clean and clear in one simple step. Without leaving behind a greasy residue, the wipes thoroughly cleanse the visage without needing to rinse afterward. Complete with an uplifting pink grapefruit fragrance, the wipes reveal a refreshed complexion.

I'm pretty disappointed with my order. First, it took over eight weeks for it to arrive. When it did, the formulas were messed up. The package had customs' forms included so I did some research. The link Glossybox provided took me to Lookfantastic's European website. My stuff came from the UK... I don't know how this kind of error could have been made. The Korres conditioner was greasy. The Burt's Bees hand lotion smells only vaguely like banana; instead has the overwhelming scent of glue or rubber, and left my hands feeling grimy. I washed it off, but could still smell it and feel it hours later. Disgusting. I haven't tried the Neutrogena cleansing wipes, and frankly, I'm afraid to. 

THESE ARE GREAT BRANDS! It's 100% impossible that these things would have occurred through any other distributor. If I'd paid a dime out of pocket, I would be rioting. That being said, it was all free, and you know what they say, you get what you pay for. And, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. And, <insert idiom here>...