Birchbox January 2015

So I've been getting Birchboxes for well over a year now. If you aren't familiar with birchbox, it is a subscription service that sends you a box filled with about 5 beauty samples every month for $10. You go and fill out your profile (answer questions) with things about yourself like hair type, color, skin tone, skin type, etc. You also answer some questions about products you like to try and ones you don't (like if you don't like a lot of perfume samples). Then birchbox creates a box for you based on your preferences and sends it out every month. You can pay for a full year or just go month to month and cancel any time, they also have a birchbox for men so you don't have to be female to get in on the fun. 

Wanna learn more or get your own? Check it out here.

I enjoy my birchboxes but I don't always get around to using all the samples so I decided to finally start trying them all out and letting you know what I think.

Lately birchbox has been doing some new and exciting things such as giving you a few sample choices and letting you pick one of your samples each month (you can choose not to pick and just be suprised). Theyve also added birchbox plus which allows you to pick from a few items each month that you can add to your box at an extra cost (but discounted price) they'll do things like candles, jewlry, clothes, etc.
This year they've decided to every months box a little extra fun. Typically they would send your products out in a nice little brown box. I really like the boxes because they are perfect to store small things in or use as small gift boxes (perfect for jewelry And other small gifts). I would also cut mine up and use them to make mini smashbooks (like my anniversary smashbook which you can see here). I loved these simple boxes but it was always neat to get the colorful fun boxes they would send out every once in awhile. So this year they decided to do a fun box every month so you have an extra little suprise to look forward to. They also mentioned to hang on to your boxes through 2015 because they have something planned (possibley a contest?)

So finally on to my January box (ignore my terribly dry looking fingers in the pictures, I used a at home gel manicure kit and haven't washed/cleaned up my hands yet so they look terrible)

The lid of the January box

(Photo: Mine)

The bottom of the box

(Photo: Mine)

The insert that lists all your products with full size prices, what is is and how to use it.

(Photo: Mine)

My January products

(Photo: Mine)

 The 1st product

(Photo's: Mine)

1. "Hello Liquid Loofah by Harvey Prince, full size: $22
What: infused with the best-selling citrus-floral scent, this wash hydrates and softens skin.
How: work into a lather and massage over skin. Breathe in the youthful scent, then rinse clean".

What I thought:

2nd Product

(Photo's: Mine)

2. "Tinted Dry Shampoo by Klorane, full-size: $19.50
What: Naturally tinted for brunettes, this formula absorbs grease and revives second-day hair.
How: shake can. Spray 10 inches from roots. Wait 2 minutesas sage into hair, and brush through".

What I thought: I got a chance to try this last nigtht/this morning (2/10/2015) and I have to say I am pretty impressed. I am super picky about dry shampoo. I really rarely use dry shampoo because I just hate the feeling of it in my hair and love having clean hair. The only time I really used dry shampoo regularly was when I worked at Starbucks and I would smell like coffee everyday so washing your hair every single day was a waste of time. This dry shampoo is light weight and I don't even feel like I have dry shampoo in. It's not sticky and gross like some dry shampoos and the scent is light and fresh (a little baby powdery but I like it). I just shook it real well and sprayed some on last night, let it sit for about 2 minutes or so and then rubbed it to get the powder look out (it initially looks almost like you put baby powder in your hair but easy comes out and looks normal/clean). I added a little more this morning (following the same steps) before leaving because I didn't get a small section on the side. I felt confident my hair didn't look dirty and it didn't feel dirty or like I had product in it. This is something I definitly see myself buying in the future. The clean feeling and nice scent (along with it working well) make this product totally worth the extra money.

3rd Product

(Photo's: Mine)

3. "Crema Da Mano by TOCCA, full-size: $10-$20
What: loaded with natural botanicals, this grapefruit and cube lotion absorbs in a flash.
How: rub generously into hands--and anywhere you need a moisture boost".

What I thought:

Now for the little packet samples

(Photo: Mine)

4th Product

(Photo's: Mine)

4. "Color Contrast Eyeliner by Sumita, full-size: $11-$21

What: this soft wax pencil delivers rich, long-lasting color that won't irritate eyes.

How: glide along lash line

 Color block with your other liners for a sleep, modern look".

What I thought:

5th (and final) Product

(Photo's: Mine)

5. "Daily Correct CC Cream SPF 35 in light/medium by Supergoop!, full-size: $32

What: next-generation SPF 35 CC cream that triple protects against UVA, UVB, and infrarwd-A rays.

How: apply a nickel-sized amount over face and neck--it works as both a primer and foundation".

What I thought: I got to test this out today also (2/10/2015). Unfortunately I haven't updated my profile with my winter skin tone (I get pretty tan in the summer and extremely marshmallow pale in the winter) so this was not the right color for me for February. I thought I'd try it today because the only thing I had to do was run into school for a quick test (so glad I didn't try it out on a busy day). My face was so much darker then the rest of my skin. I recieved it in a light/medium shade which I think would of been perfect for summer (which I will save the rest to use for then). It's supposed to adjust to match your skin tone but of course it can only adjust so much. So I used some of my bareminerals liquid foundation over top to try to help get it a little closer to my skin (It says it's good both as a foundation or as a primer). Aside from the color I was pleasantly suprised that I really liked this product (I've had a lot of products that I really wasn't impressed with in the past so I didn't expect to have 2 from the same box that I absolutly loved). I've used by creams in the past but never a cc cream. I felt this had a little more coverage so I would feel confident wearing it just as a foundation even if I had a small blemish (it doesn't completly cover it but it tones it down which is good enough for me on a regular day). I really liked how it felt on my skin and it worked really well as a primer for my foundation, I actually think (again aside from color) my foundation looked better with this as a primer then it usually does without. As long as I could find a color that matches my skin I would definitly buy this product to use everyday, especially in the summer when I want something a little lighter then foundation. it's a little pricey so I'd want to check and see how big the container is and how long it would last me before using it everyday.

*All Photos are mine unless otherwise noted. I purchased this subscription and was not asked to write a blog about it. This blog contains my own honest opinions of the subscription, box and products and I am not being rewarded in anyway for this post.*

Frosty Voxbox Rimmel London Products

In the Frosty Voxbox from Influenster there were 2 Rimmel London Products. The first one was was Rimmel Gentle Eye Makeup Remover which sells for $7.49. The other was Rimmel Scandal eyes Kohl Kajal Eyeliner which sells for 4.49.

(Photo's: Mine)

The Makeup remover works well, it's not oily, I feel good about putting it on my skin, not worried about breakouts, gentle on my eyes and removes even waterproof makeup. I prefer to use makeup removing wipes so I can get my foundation off as well as my eye makeup but I can see myself using this product to get the tough eye make up off without having to scrub my eyes.

Warning: creepy eye pictures below! Lol

I used the eyeliner and makeup remover last night (I was exhausted so I kinda hurried through this) also I used the new Covergirl Lash in Bloom Mascara (which I purchased myself) so ill talk about that too. 

I had some of the mascara on already and was just messing around and put a ton more on to see what would happen so it's kinda globed up so this is NOT a good picture of what the mascara looks like on. I really like the mascara, you eyelashes are still soft after you put it on, they don't get all stiff feeling. The one thing you have to watch out for is that it is not at all waterproof so do not get your face wet with it on. I won't be wearing this mascara to the beach or pool but I do like it for everyday because I can just easily wash it off while I'm washing my face, no makeup remover needed. So the first picture I have everything on, mascara, and eyeliner. The second picture is after I ran just water and rubbed over my eyes. All the mascara came off but the eyeliner stayed pretty well (I rubbed a lot so I was impressed with how much was left over). The 3rd (and extra creepy) picture is after using the makeup remover on my right eye (when your looking at it it's the left) and doing nothing to my left eye (your right). The Makeup remover got the rest of the liner off.

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(Photo's: Mine)

As far as the eyeliner, I like the price and it gives a really bold color that goes on smooth and easy. This liner is the kind you have to sharpen and since I haven't been wearing liner much I have a hard time making really precise lines (like it I wanted it really thin, winged or cat eye). The liner also gets in around parts of my eye that are hard to get to with make up remover so over the next day or 2 I sometimes get greyish blackish around my eyes from the left over liner. 

Ovreall I'd recommend both of these products.

Thanks for letting me sample these Influenster and Rimmel!

*all photos are mine unless otherwise noted. I was given these products free for testing purposes (Except for the Covergirl mascara which I purchased myself). All opinions are my honest thoughts and feelings, I was not rewarded for giving a good review over a bad. *

Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Decaffeinated Green Tea

Another product I recieved in my Frosty Voxbox was Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Decaffeinated Green Tea. This is one of their Holiday Tea's.

(Photo: Mine)

Before getting my Frosty Voxbox I was already a fan of Celestial Seasonings Tea. I had just started trying some of their teas and really loved the ones I had tried so far. I have a difficult time sleeping and started using their SleepyTime Teas to try to get a routine going in hopes to sleep better. I started with the Sleepytime Herbal Tea which is Caffeine free then I tried the Sleepytime Extra which is the same as the first but has valerian in it. Valerian is a sleep aid that has been used "since the days of the Greeks and Romans because of its mild sedative properties". Both teas are made of "chamomile, spearmint and other soothing herbs".

I recently grabbed the Sleepytime Vanilla and tried it out. They have a ton of different flavors of their Sleepytime Tea so there is something for everyone. They even make a Sleepytime Grape for kids!

There are also other non sleepy Herbal Teas and Caffienated Teas to try. I buy most of my Celestial Seasonings Teas at Meijer. Every box comes with 20 tea bags and runs for I believe $2 something, but there are usually sales going on so you can get it even cheaper.

Some of my Sleepytime Teas and an Herbal Tea my mom has tried (she refuses to open packaging properly which is why her box is a mess)

(Photo: Mine)

On to the actual Candy Cane Lane Tea. I am not a huge fan of Peppermint. I dont care at all for peppermint candy canes, even around Christmas time and usually turn down the offer for a peppermint after dinner. Peppermint Mochas are ok but I dont get excited when the coffee creamers start coming back or Starbucks starts doing specials on their Peppermint Mocha. Now give me a bag of York Peppermint Patties and those will be gone in an hour. 
Since I'm not a big plain peppermint fan I was afraid I wouldn't like this tea and actually put off trying it until last minute.

(Photo: Mine)
I was pleasantly suprised, this tea doesn't have that harsh overbearing peppermint taste and was actually wonderful.
Upon opening the package I found the tea bags smelled wonderful ( my sample included two tea bags), a nice light minty sweet smell, I would love to have a candle or lotion with the same smell, it was so calming and pleasant. Celestial Seasonings makes their tea bags without a string or seperate packing for each bag, you open the box and there's a special was paper like bag you upen up that helps keep all the bags fresh. This might bother some but I actually really like not having the string, I hate worrying about the string falling into my tea and I'm going to end up using a spoon to get the bag out anyway.

I read on the package that using slightly cooler water when boiling green tea ( very hot just at the bring of boiling, not boiling hot water) will result in a smoother more delicate flavor. I didn't know that about green tea so once my tea kettle went off I let the water sit and cool off a bit before pouring it into my cup.

(Photo: Mine)
I let my tea steep for more then 3 minutes (3 mins The recommended steeping time) because I was busy helping wire for a TV (poor timing on my part) and I usually leave my tea bag in the entire time I drink tea because I'm weird like that.

I made a cup for my mom as well. She added a packet of stevia to her tea and I didn't sweeten mine at all (normally I do with honey or sugar but wanted to see what the flavor was like alone). I ended up never adding any sweetner to mine. The flavor was wonderful and had the perfect light hint of sweet I didn't feel I needed any extra sweetner.
My mom really enjoyed hers as well. The flavors bold enough without being too much and is very refreshing. I definitly see myself buying this tea again next christmas  (unless I see it year round then I'd love to have it any time but since it's a holiday tea I'm going to assume it's only around during the holidays). This tea was definitly a present suprise and I will continue trying more Celestial Seasonings Teas because I've been very impressed so far.

Thank you Influenster and Celestial Teas for the sample and coupon! 

*all pictures are mine unless otherwise noted. all opinions are my honest thoughts and feelings about the product. I was asked only to give my honest opinion and not rewarded for giving a good review over a bad one.*