Two Special Birchboxes

Recently, Birchbox sent out an email stating that they had a couple of special boxes (CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women) Limited Edition boxes) available for purchase. 

I, of course, jumped on the offer, and ordered right away. 

Am I happy I did? Absolutely :)

I love that they each came in cute, slightly oversized boxes, and looked really sleek. 

The pink box - Prestige Headliners - contained the following:

Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Crème: I've heard good things about this product, but have never tried it. We'll see how it works out with my coarse hair type;

Josie Maran Cosmetics 100% Pure Argan Oil Light: There are so many uses for Argan Oil. This is definitely my favorite thing in the box;

100% Pure Creamy Nail Polish: I received a cute pale pink color. Nothing too exciting, but I do love trying new brands, especially ones that are 5-free;

philosophy miracle worker overnight: this has already been gifted to a friend who absolutely loves, and swears, by all things philosophy; and

COOLA Environmental Repair Plus Radical Recovery After-Sun Lotion: this was gifted to another friend, who can't seem to escape getting a sunburn no matter how little time she spends in the sun.

The box also included two lifestyle extras - a pocket mirror, and a pair of pink toe separators. Cute :)

The blue box - Mass Appeal - contained:

L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Butterfly Mascara: I recently developed a love for mascara, and was so excited to try this. The packaging is sleek, and the wand looks interesting, but it smelled HORRID :( So bad, that I literally gagged when I initially opened the tube. Thank goodness I smelled it before applying it to my eyes. I hope that I just got a bad sample, and this isn't the norm for this product. Either way - trash;

Dove Go Fresh Restore Body Wash: I'm already a fan of Dove products, and this is a nice travel size product to put away for future use;

Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips: I love this. I use regular Vaseline on my lips everyday, and this one adds the barest hint of color. It's the perfect size to drop in my purse too;

Simple Protecting Light Moisturizer with SPF 15: I have yet to offer this, but I do like that it contains SPF. I have to use sunscreen everyday, and, if the moisturizing aspect is on point, would be a great easy source of extra protection;

Burt’s Bees 100% Natural Lip Gloss in the shade Spring Splendor: This was my favorite item in this box. I've never tried any Burt’s Bees products before, but everyone I know who has, loves the brand. The color is wonderful, with a hint of shimmer, and it feels great on my lips. I'll definitely be purchasing additional colors of this new favorite; and

TRESemmé Keratin Smooth Keratin Infusing Serum: Oh la la, this smells so good. I don't never know how things will work in my hair, but TRESemmé is a good brand, and I'm excited to try this.

Did anyone else purchase these Limited Edition boxes? If so, what does you think of the product selection, and what was your favorite product? Even if you didn't purchase the boxes, what 1 or 2 items, from those listed above, would you most want to try?

Later gators,
M

August Stunners

This month's gorgeous sunglasses are called The Mariposas. 

Beautiful creatures float they don't fly. 

Delicately traveling through the air you

enhance the beauty of your

surroundings everywhere you land. 

Collection: Wildlife / Level: Easy

These glasses are gorgeous and, like most of the Stunners I've received, feel well made. Keep 'em coming StunMo!

Later gators,
M

P.S. Stunner of the Month recently updated their website, and increased their pricing. The monthly fee is now $9.95, instead of $9. Purchasing multi-month subscriptions, however, cuts down on the per pair cost (e.g. a 12 month subscription costs $90).

A quartet of Birchboxes

Birchbox has been a bit of a disappointment over the last several months. Maybe it's just me being a bit more critical of the products in receiving, but I could be happier. I leave reviews of each product every month, and recently updated my profile (again), so hopefully September's box will be a pleasant surprise.

Anyway, on to what I've received over the last few months:

May / Freewheeling

Fun and freewheeling, this month's box claimed to take a more playful approach to beauty.

Caldera Body Wash and Body Lotion: The packet of lotion was barely enough product for me to really test the product, so that was a loss. The scent of the body wash wasn't my favorite, so I gifted it to my friend P, who loved it;

Marcelle New Age 8 in 1 Power Serum: "[t]his peptide-packed antiaging gel hydrates, firms, lifts and plumps fine lines." I'm not up for antiaging products just yet, but apparently results can be seen after just one week of use. I'll keep that in mind, but for now, I've gifted this to a coworker;

Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm: I received this in the color Pixi Pink, which is FAR too pink for me. I gifted it to my sister, who also thought it was too pink, but will find a way to make it work;

Supergoop! Everyday SPF 30 with Cellular Response Technology: yet another Supergoop! product (a bit blah), but I'm not mad at receiving a good SPF product; and

Votivo Candle in Azure Garden: this candle actually ended up being the item that I liked the most in this box. I'm on a scented candle kick right now, and this little travel sized one is portable and has a subtle fresh and clean scent.

The box also included a shopping offer from Kate Spade Saturday. I didn't use it, but, I passed it on to a coworker.

June / Away We Go

This box featured a partnership with JetBlue, and included a travel quiz. I got Chicago, which I've always wanted to visit, so this may be a sign for the hubs and I to plan a mini vacation :)

Antica Farmacista Bergamot & Ocean Aria Body Wash: this body wash is made with almond oil, and has a supposedly "captivating" seaside scent. I don't like the scent at all, so this week be gifted away at some point;

Cynthia Rowley Beauty Creamy Lip Stain in the shade Valentine: this is a Birchbox exclusive, unfortunately I don't like the feel of this on my lips. The color is ok, but there is a weird grittiness to the formula that I don't like;

Evologie Stay Clear Cleanser: always happy to try a new face wash, and this is a prefect travel size;

phyto Phytolisse Ultra-Glossing Finishing Serum: this is supposed to calm hair frizz and tame flyaways. I don't generally use this type of product in my hair, but as you only need to use 1 or 2 drops, and I don't feel it would weigh my hair down, I may try it out; and

The Aloe Source Vitamin C Antioxidant Crème: this can be massaged onto the neck and face twice a day to help smooth fine lines. My sure yet, if I'm going to keep this or gift it to the same coworker who got the previous months Power Serum. It smells good though :)

July / Power Up

For this box, Birchbox teamed upwith Women's health to provide goodies designed to boost and energize.

LAQA & Co. Sheer Lip Lube Pencil in Menatour (Purple): this smells amazing - minty and fresh - but it is much too purple for my liking. It's supposedly a semi-sheer product, but it came off as an intensely purple lipstick on me. Unfortunate, because it feels amazing on;

Ruffian the Rapture Collection - Birchbox allowed subscribers to select which color, from this new metallic polish collection, they wanted to receive. Slick marketing Birchbox ;) The other colors were cute, but I had to have Relic, a gorgeous silver shade. I haven't used it yet, but I'm a big fan of Ruffian polishes, so I'm confident I'll love it. Birchbox also included a single packet sample of Ruffian's acetone-free towelette nail polish remover;

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream: this antiaging cream has good reviews online, and a pleasing orange scent. I'm always leery about what I put on my face, but I'll definitely try this eventually;

suki exfoliate foaming cleanser: this 2 in 1 is both a cleanser and gentle exfoliator, with a fresh lemon scent. The sample is small, but only a little is needed for each rinse. I've only used this a couple of times so far and, while it did a nice job, I still prefer the Vasanti product I regularly use; and

Beauty Protector Protect & Treat Mask: I love that Birchbox sent two small containers of this. Now that my hair is shorter, this I'll actually be able to test this out twice and get a good idea of how well (or not well) it works. It contains Argan Oil and has a cotton candy smell, that I really like. Hopefully, it actually works well with my hair type.

August / Lighten Up

This month I received:

Aloxxi Thickening Serum: I'm not sure this will work with my hair type, but the sample size of this volumizing, anti-frizz, hair strengthening product is decent. I'll get around to trying it one day;

SeaRx Birch Sap Moisturizing Lotion: this contains ingredients to hydrate and smooth the skin. The grapefruit scent is nice, but too intense for my use, especially on my face. In addition, the sample is so small, that there would be no way for me to get a good idea about the product. I've already passed this on to a friend;

Harvey Prince Ageless perfume: I adore this perfume. I spritzed a bit on the card before reading anything about the scent notes, and immediately picked up on grapefruit (of course) and mango (my favorite). It's a fruitful scent that's perfect for Summer;

Whish Shave Crave Shaving Cream: I received the Acai Grapefruit scent. While I have yet to use it, it feels silky, and smells nice;  and

ModelCo Shimmer Bronzer: Birchbox again allowed subscribers to pick one of the products this month. I not super excited to receive this, but it was the product I disliked the least from the available options. I have a ton on similar products, many of which are still unopened, but who knows, I may end up loving it once I start using it. Who wouldn't like "a natural-looking glow with a hint of shimmer"?

What do you other Birchboxers out there think about the products you've been receiving over the past few months?

If you are not yet a subscriber, but would like to be, I'd appreciate it if you used my referral link (share the love and all that goodness). Just click HERE :)

Later gators,
M