Starlooks Starbox April 2014

I love Starlooks. They are just great.  Quality makeup and $15 a month...it's awesome.  What I think is awesome about them is that they sometimes put colors in their boxes that I would have NEVER chosen for myself and I end up loving them. They sort of challenge me to step out of my box of comfort. I end up using their BFF lipstick art least a couple times a month from their February box. Never would have thought in a million years that that gold color would look good on me. But I love it! This month is no exception for stretching my color pallet. Not the lipgloss (it's beautiful but I just have a ton of glosses, and the one I got from them in my birthday box looks super similar so I will be trading it), but the pallet! It's beautiful and I would have never thought it work work on me but it does. 

It's a 5 color eye shadow pallet called "Tokyo" and they aren't selling it yet.  Only subscribers can get it, which is another perk to subscribing to their box.  The swatches are without primer and pictures do them no justice. They are so multi-dimensional and very blendable. You can make all sorts of other colors by blending them. If I knew I had people actually reading this, I would totally put a pic of the combos up.  But since I'm exhausted and I dont think anyone has read this yet, I'm not gonna. Which, total side note, if you are actually reading this, please comment...just say hi! I'm just curious if all my viewings that the blog people tell me I get on a daily basis is from advertising people only, or if there is actually a lone reader! :)

Anyway...here are the swatches. 

The lipgloss is called "Pout" and is also beautiful. There are three varieties of lip glosses that subscribers could get this month.  "Pout" being one, "Climax" and "Orgasmic" which was the one I was hoping to get (been wanting this one for awhile). I love their lop glosses...not sticky at all and last for awhile. 

Starlooks frequently adds cute little bonuses.  As always, they included their signature crystal. This month they also included a packet of wildflower seeds which I though is a nice touch.  

Another side note...I was looking at images on the web and I saw their old packaging. I loved their old black packaging so much better.  If I could make one suggestion to Starlooks, I would reccomend changing their packaging. I'm a big on presentation and their new packaging makes the product look cheap I think.  I also and not a big fan of the card they put in the box.  Maybe if they even just used a different font or something, it would look cuter. I like how they change the boxes their products come in every month! I think that's a cute touch. I don't know... Just wanted to throw that out there. I love their products regardless, but it might help entice new clients if they marketed their amazing products a little better.  :)

Birchbox April 2014- Rainy Days (I wish in would rain in drought plagued California)

There is good news and bad news about the April Birchbox I received. The good news is that I had 6 products to review so I got 60 points. I have over 200 points now. Not sure what I'm going to spend my $20 on. I was going to save it but then I got a 20% off $25 or more from them and it doesn't say when it expires, so now I'm thinking I may not wait. Hmmm...

So I got ok stuff this month. I'm starting to just do it for the points. Birchbox is definitely my least favorite box. But those points keep me going.  If you think about it, you get 50 points per box basically, so that makes it $5 a box which makes the whole thing a bit better. 

So here it is...

The contents are:

Color Club Nail Polish in Heirloom Pearls (mini). I got this box yesterday and it was already sent out this morning for a trade. I just have so many nail polishes. It's a pretty pearlescent color, but I need more nail polish like I need another child. ( that sounds awful, but it spring break and I am home with the kids and the boys are fighting, my oldest is now a tween and questions and argues with me about EVERYTHING, my baby girl is two and throwing fits right and left, went from being the easiest kid to get to bed and is now the hardest, and has been waking up at 430 every morning. And it's funny...i have to wake her up at 8 every day I'm going to work and she hasn't slept past 7 all week. Grrr! I want to pull my hair out.) Sorry for the tangent...pretty nail polish, but was a much better trade.  

No. 4 Clarifying Shampoo (deluxe sample). Smells good,  works good, but it's so expensive. I wouldn't never pay $32  for 8.5 oz of freaking shampoo. Geeze!

No. 4 Reconstructing Hair Mask. Again, so stinking expensive I would never even consider buying it.  Haven't tried it yet. Hope I don't fall in love with it! Im not paying $58 for it. 

KIND bar- Maple Pumpkin Deeds w Sea Salt (full size). It was ok.  Too expensive for everyday life ($12 for 16...well I guess that not too bad). 

Nazelie Moisturizing Night Cream (deluxe sample). It is very moisturizing! But also very thick and very greasy. Again, not worth the $58 they charge. It would be good for dry, winter skin.  I would never put it on my face when it's warm out. 

The Balm- How 'Bout Them Apples (deluxe sample) I got a sample in the color Pie. This was my favorite thing in the box. It came in such a cute cute little box. This is lip and cheek cream. The color is strong when you put it on your cheeks but blends nicely. When you put it on your lips it gives your lips a nice, light red color. The full size comes in 6 shades of varying colors or pink and red. It isn't too expensive.. $32 for 6 colors. Not bad! I prefer benefit' lip and cheek tint, but I'll give this a try for sure. It is a maybe future purchase. 

So I apologize for such a negative review. I don't mean to be so complacent and bratty sounding. Anyhow...stoked on the points! Hopefully next month will be better. :)

Starlooks Birthday Box- March 2014

I love how generous Starlooks is. Not only do they give multiple, full size items every month, but they give you generous referral boxes and a generous birthday box!

Here was the one I got for March. 

I got a lipstick and a lipliner. I love the lipliner! It's called Soft Rose. 

The lipstick is up for trade since it's not a great color for me. I am jealous of the color some of the other March babies got. They got a beautiful pink. What's weird is that not one of the lipsticks we got were labeled, mine was no exception 

Here they are swatched. The lipstick is on the left and the liner on the right. 

Ipsy April 2014-Beauty Rocks

I love Ipsy. This month was no exception. There were awesome, quality brands in their bag. So without further ado....

The contents in this cute little bag were...

Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in Black Velvet (mini size...but still big enough! It will last for months, even if used every day!) It is soft, blends well and is waterproof. I wish I had gotten a different color other than black, as this is black eye pencil #7-8 since August. But it will make a good swapping item.

Big Sexy Hair Root Pump (deluxe sample). Used it today and love it! Made my hair super volume-y and just felt light and great. Smells wonderful too.

Elizabeth Mott pop! goes the shadow in the color Champagne (deluxe mini). Love this color and love that it lasts a long time. I really love this color.  Did I mention that I love the color! And it's packaged in such a cute little case!

dr. brandt microdermabrasion (deluxe sample). I have gotten this before and love it, but have it up for swap just because I want to try something new. This smell of this is absolutely phenomenal... It has a light lemon scent that makes me want to eat it. It does a good job exfoliating. It's super expensive, so I am glad to have gotten the samples. 

Starlooks lipliner in Naked (full size). Pretty color but I don't use lip liners very often, so it will be up for swapping. The pic below also shows a swatch from the Elizabeth Mott eyeshadow. Did I tell you that I really like the color? Ha ha ha. 

Great month! I know I put quite a bit of them up for trading, but it doesn't mean it wasn't good.  After you get multiple boxes a month, month after month, you tend to get dupes. And you also realize that certain items are better to barter with! :)

Glossybox March 2014

Here are the content of this Month's Glossybox!

 Alex and Ani soap bar- full size. My least favorite in this box, but it smells really good! I never use bar soap though. But I'll try it.  Or re-gift it!

Alterna Bamboo Hair Plumping Strand Expand- Deluxe Sample.  I have really thick hair. So although I tried it, I'm not sure if it worked or not.  I'm giving it to a friend who always complains her hair is too thin, so hopefully it will work for her!

Eyre Belle Liplift Peel- Full Size.  This product is cool! It doesn't taste great, but you can apply it like lip gloss and it has really tiny little grains of something to smooth your lips. It does the job! I prefer sugar scrub because it tastes better and I feel the larger grains exfoliate better, but this works for sure! Probably wouldn't buy it on my own, so Im excited I got it. 

Nails Inc. Brook Street Nail Polish- half size.  I loved this nail polish! A little provides lots of coverage, it dries quickly and it a beautiful color.  Best yet, it lasts a long time and comes off super easy! I can't stand it when nail polishes take forever to get off. I would definitely purchase from this brand. 

Sisley Paris- sample size. Ok so this product full size costs $158.00!!! So that means that this little 10 mL sample is, if you do the math, worth over $30! Crazy!!!  It's this cream like mask that you wipe, not wash, off. It worked instantly, making fine lines temporarily disappear.  I will have to try it again to see if the results are consistent. I would never pay that much $ for it (or pretty much anything for that matter), but it does work.  If it made all my wrinkles disappear forever, I would totally buy it.  But it's a temporary fix and there is no way.  But glad I got to try it. 

My favorite thing I this box is a bonus that they put in. It's an adorable bangle bracelet by Alex and Ani ( maybe cause they felt bad that we were getting a bar soap? Hee Hee) It is well made and totally cute. I wear it every day. It costs $28 so that was super nice of them!

Glossybox is quickly becoming one of my favorite boxes. It just feels luxurious. You get so much for your $21 and the size of the products and the quality of the products is just awesome. Especially in comparison to Birchbox and their often times skimpy samples. If you add it all up, the value of this box is around $100! Not too shabby...

Phone Case of the Month

Ok so I know it sounds lame, but I had an option to try the Phone Case of the Month club for 5$ ($10 normally) and now I'm hooked. I love getting a new case every month. And their cases are so cute! I've seen some online that I like better than the ones I'm getting, but I still love mine. They only print 200 of each design, so they are limited edition and most likely, no one else will have the same one as you.  They are made really well, and when you consider how much stupid phone cases can be, I think it's a really good deal. And it's fun!   Oh...I have a 5C btw...not sure if designs are exclusive for certain types of phones, but just in case it is. So let me catch you up.

February 2014 (my favorite so far)

March 2014

April 2014