January 2017 Birchbox Unboxing!

Oh hey, look! It’s my January Birchbox that I got like 3 weeks ago! Let’s unbox it before February’s gets here! *facepalms*

This month’s theme appears to be wellness, from the insert, which is GREAT! January is the time for resolutions and health & fitness is always one of the most popular. I have already failed by NOT making any New Years Resolutions, so that way I won’t be disappointed when I stop, so really I’ve actually won! Riiiiight…I’m rambling, let’s move on with this month’s samples!

My box came with SEVEN samples, two of which were bonuses. *gleeful Mr. Burns fingers* There’s actually a pretty good balance of makeup, skincare, and hair.

For hair, I got the Number 4 L’Eau de Mare Hydrating Shampoo, with a bonus matching conditioner. Claims to moisturize and color protect, which my dry and color treated hair definitely needs!

For skincare, I got the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream and Sunday Riley’s Good Genes All-in-One Lactic Acid Treatment. I actually have the matching Origins GinZing Peel-Off mask, so I’m definitely going to be using these two together!! I also already have a deluxe size of the Sunday Riley Good Genes, which I’ve already been using, so I gave this sample to my mom for her to try, and see if she likes. I really like the product, just not too crazy about the smell!

For makeup, I got the bbrowbar Brow Definer in Cinnamon Spice, which swatches as a light-to-medium brown. It complements the Coastal Scents Revealed Smoky Eye Shadow Quad; colors in the quad are are a black, brown, mauve, and silver, all with a metallic finish. To finish it all off, is a perfume sample from Juliette Has a Gun in MMMM…, which actually does kind of apply. Not in the mmmm tasty eat food mmmm, but more along the lines of a cozy night in, wrapped in your favorite blanket, with a lovely scented candle burning, and a good book to read kind of mmmm. 😀

That’s it for this month’s Birchbox! If you’re also subscribed, did you get any samples that are different than mine? Please feel free to share in the comments! x

Blogmas – Day 16 – Advent calendars!

Ideally, this would have been a blog post better suited for the start of Blogmas, but alas, the plans I had went awry!

I haven’t done an advent calendar since I was a wee little kidlet. And even then, I don’t recall it being a fun one. I think it was an old Coca-Cola one, where you literally just peeled back the day, and it showed a Christmas-y image; no chocolate, and definitely no beauty items, just the countdown to Christmas. So boring for a five-year old kid…

Now that I’m older, and falling back into the worlds of beauty and make-up, imagine my surprise at discovering beauty advent calendars!

(credit: artsciencenursing.tumblr.com)

I’ve read many beauty advent calendar blog posts and articles (ex: Zoë, Carly’s Beauty Blog, & Cosmo UK), and thought to myself, “Self, you want to get some of these!” and so I went looking, and of course, the majority were all. sold. out!!!

(credit: reactiongifs.us)

I managed to buy two; Benefit’s Party Poppers and feelunique’s Beauty Calendar. I currently have Benefit’s in my possession, but still waiting on feelunique’s to arrive. T.T

Both are 12 day calendars, which I had perfectly scheduled to start on Sunday, December 13th, but best laid plans and all. *facedesks* I will go ahead and start sharing what is in each day for the Benefit calendar, and hopefully be able to try the items out, to give a decent review at the end of each remaining Blogmas posts. At the very least, you’ll get some snazzy pics! XD

I like the availabilty of beauty advent calendars because it can basically be a gateway into learning about various product brands. Most offer sample sized products (though some do offer full sized), and you can test out many items before deciding if you’d like to commit and buy more from that brand. The only downside to beauty advent calendars can be the price. So with that, I want to talk about the calendars I wanted to get, but couldn’t, either because they were sold out or were just too expensive. Because I’m masochistic like that.

The one I wanted most and was in absolute love with was The Book of Makeup Magic by Charlotte Tilbury.

Just look at how GORGEOUS it is! It is a 12 day calendar with both mini and full sized products, and covers a wide range of skin care, lipstick, and eye makeup. Of course, it is available, but for a price of $200.00, I couldn’t justify purchasing this, even though it equals out to about $16.66 per item.

Next up was the 24 Happy Days Premium Advent Calendar by The Body Shop.

As the name implies, this a 24 day calendar, and includes a variety of body and hand creams, scrubs, and butters, nail colors, lip butters and balms, shower gels, and so on. This one came in at a hefty $137.00, but as it was sold out during my browsing phase earlier in the month, I didn’t have the monetary want vs. practical not-need struggle as I did with the CT book.

Another one I thought was beautiful, but was also sold out was the Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar, totaling £149.00. The other saving grace is that they don’t ship internationally, so even if I wanted it and it wasn’t sold out, I wouldn’t have been able to get it! XD

(photo credit: shemazing.net)
The Liberty calendar is a 24 day with 24 different brands, including NARS, Kiehl’s, and Diptyque, to name a few.

Finally, the last one was the L’Occitane Holiday 2015 Advent Calendar, which contains a mixture of bath, body, and hand products. This would have been ideal for me, as winter is really harsh on my skin, so I can use all the help I need, and it only cost $49.00 for 24 products, roughly $2.05 per product. Alas, sold out. 😦

Some honorable mentions include The Beauty Secret from lookfantastic, and No7 25 Days of Beauty Wonders.

Having searched for beauty advent calendars and failing this year, I’ve learned my lesson; pre-order for next Christmas! LOL

Here’s the Benefit calendar I have, along with the first 4 days. Enjoy!

From left to right, days 1 through 4:
– Day 1: Ooh La Lift Under Eye Brightening Boost
– Day 2: Total Moisture Facial Cream
– Day 3: Highbeam Face Highlighter
– Day 4: Ultra Plush Gloss in Sugarbomb

Anyone else doing a beauty advent calendar this year? If so, which one(s), and what’s your favorite product so far?

Blogmas – Day 4 – Of Decorations and Parking Lot Stumbles.

Today we did it! We finally got our tree put up and decorated, and got the indoor decorations put up as well! \:D/

This year we went back to our “traditional” full size tree; the last couple of years we have been using a very minimalist feather Christmas tree.

This year we kept the decorations on the tree simple as well; just some pearled garland strings, some Christopher Radko Christmas Brites Flocked Rounds, and some sparkly floral stems.

Off to the side, since we don’t have mantle to hang our stockings, we have a free standing stocking hanger; we have stockings for my Mom and I, our two cats Fred and Lucy, then a stocking for my Nanny, who passed away.

Now with all the decorations up, it’s definitely starting to feel more like Christmas.

After all of the decorations were up, it was time to get ready for evening service at church. Tonight was a short sermon, followed by some finger foods and the Lottie Moon basket auction, which helps raise money for missionaries. I actually felt like putting in some effort on my appearance for tonight, and if I do say so myself, it turned out ok.

Tools of the trade:

– Pixi’s “Redness Reducing Primer”; used on cheeks.
–Maybelline’s “Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser”; used on sides of nose and inner cheeks. Works wonderfully!
– Benefit’s “boi-ing” concealer in #02; really great coverage. 10/10, would recommend.
– Smashbox’s “Camera Ready BB Cream” in Light. A great all-over coverage that is much lighter than a normal foundation.
– Maybelline’s “BrowDrama Pro Palette” in Soft Brown 255. A wax to help set brows, a color to fill in brows, then a highlighter for brow bone, if needed.
– Too Faced’s “Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer”, to help set the eye shadow.
– Urban Decay’s Vice4 palette: colors used, “1985” (pink magenta shimmer) on the lid, “Harlot” (lilac shimmer) in the crease, “Bones” (silvery white shimmer) on the brow bone, and “Underhand” (burgundy purple shimmer) on the lower lash line.
– Rimmel London’s “Wonder’Lash” mascara with Argan Oil in 001 Black.
– Julep’s “Charming” lip gloss, a sheer mauve color.

So, I got my face on and feeling good, and I decided to wear my new wedge boots. Worst. Idea. EVER!! Just by looking at them, you wouldn’t think so. Go ahead, take a look; I’ll wait:

Totally cute, right? Cute, but deadly. First instance; we get to church, and are greeting fellow members in the sanctuary. Business as usual, then one step back and I roll my right ankle. Not too bad, done that loads of times playing volleyball when I was younger. Then after the service, we head downstairs for the food and auction. Feet really not liking me at this point, and can’t say I blame them, on a 3-inch or so wedge heel, when I’ve not worn anything with a heel in forever! XD

Anyways, we make it through the food line, and some of the auction. Both Mom and I were wearing down, so we decided to leave early. We make it outside and start walking to the car when BAM!, I trip and fall forward, luckily landing on my knees, then hands, and not my face. But that tricksy right foot of mine; something caught that shoe, and down I went. These shoes were my Titanic, sinking on its maiden voyage. T.T

Eventually made it to the car, and back home, to prop up the foot and write this blog post.

Oh, by the way, did I mention my cat Fred threw up on my bed while we were out? Cause he totally did. Which totally made this night even MORE awesome! < / sarcasm >

What a day! Every day is a good day, but today was a day, if you know what I mean. Can I be any more random?

We all stumble in many ways… (James 3:2)