PopSugar Must Have: May 2017

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It’s PopSugar time! The PopSugar Must Have box is a monthly subscription ($40/month or less if you make a 3, 6, or year long commitment)  that sends subscribers full-size versions of the season's must-have beauty, fashion, and home products. I’ve subscribed to a lot of boxes in my time and the PopSugar Must Have box is my all-time favorite by a mile! If you’re looking for a box that gives you a ton of value and awesome products, this is the box for you! 

Nicely Noted: Exclusive Must Have Card Collection | Retail: $17.50

Cards are always something I appreciate receiving but not something I really get excited over. I always forget to have cards stocked at home so it’s nice to have these on hand for when a birthday or wedding rolls around but they’re just not a product I get super excited about receiving in a box!

Lipstick Queen: Mornin’ Sunshine | Retail $25

This lipstick is a yellow lipstick that changes to a personalized coral shade that is supposed to be different for every user. I was pretty excited about this product since I’d seen it tested out on a couple of blogs before but knew that it was probably too good to be true! I’m not typically one for coral shades and unfortunately, this shade wasn’t my favorite. Despite it being a custom shade for each person, I didn’t feel that it was a shade that was flattering for my skin tone, however, it was still a lot of fun to try out this trend! 

Samantha Faye: Inspiration Cuff | Retail $60

For me, this product was the superstar of the box! This cuff bracelet is so cute and I love the little message it displays. I’ve been on the hunt for a good cuff style bracelet and this came at the perfect time! 

Tocca: Voyage Montauk 3oz Candle | Retail $20

This candle is super cute but I’m not the biggest fan of the scent. It’s a cucumber-y scent that I think is better left with on cucumbers, not candles! I’ll probably end up lighting it in my bathroom, where all of my other strange smelling candles end up living :P

Southern Culture Artisan Foods: Strawberry Cream Muffin Mix | Retail $7.99

This strawberry muffin mix was a cute little addition to the box! I love that PopSugar always tries to throw in a product that is cozy or home-y. Although I’m not the biggest fan of strawberry muffins, having this mix will give me a great excuse to spend a cozy at home baking day!

Swing Design: Essex Silver Plate Frame | Retail $13

This frame is elegant and beautiful but again, not necessarily a product I was super excited to receive. I already have a ton of frames that look pretty similar to this one! Maybe I’ll get more excited about the frame once I find the perfect picture to fill it!

Final Verdict: Nothing really excited me about this month’s box except the bracelet. Normally, when I receive a PopSugar box, I spend the whole box opening process ooh-ing and ahhh-ing because I’m so excited about the products, but this one was just a kind of “meh” reaction for me. With how consistent PopSugar usually is, however, one dud of a box is not going to make an unsubscriber out of me. 

If you’re on a budget (like I always am!), I highly recommend looking for coupons or deals on this box. PopSugar runs periodic promotions that are always nice to tack onto an already great subscription box. What did you think of your May PopSugar Must Have box? Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

BIrchbox: May 2017

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Second month back on with Birchbox and I’m starting to remember why I cancelled my subscription in the first place! Although I love them to pieces, My relationship with subscription boxes is kind of an up and down roller coaster! Anyhoo - here’s what I received in my May Birchbox!

Birchbox is a monthly beauty subscription ($10/month) that sends full-size and sample-size beauty, hair, make-up and skincare products. 

Coola: SPF 30 Organic Makeup Setting Spray | Full-Size $36

Makeup setting spray is not a type of product I use regularly but something I’d like to try out so I loved receiving it in this month’s Birchbox! So far, I can’t tell how much of a difference this spray is making, but I love that has hyaluronic acid and SPF in it - you can never have enough hydration or sun protection in a product!

MAC Cosmetics: Strobe Cream | Full-Size $33

One thing I do enjoy about Birchbox is that you have the opportunity to select one of the product you receive. I chose to receive this strobe cream from MAC and while it wasn’t quite what I was hoping for (it was a little more subtle than I thought it would be) I enjoyed the experience of being able to choose one of the products I wanted to test out. 

Ouai: Wave Spray | Full-Size $26

I don’t use hair products nearly as often as I’d like to so I’m trying my best to work all of the hair samples I receive into my routine! Although I don’t love the texture of this spray (too sticky for my taste) it did create a nice beach wave effect in my hair. 

The Beauty Crop: Fabulous Flocking Lashes Mascara | Full-Size $22

Ahhh now I remember why I decided to drop my subscription boxes….mascara! I always set upmy profiles to state that I don’t want to receive and don’t really use mascara, yet I am always receiving mascara samples. Gah! This might be a nice mascara sample but since it’s a type of product I don’t use frequently, it’s going in the re-gifting pile. 

Vita Liberta: Fabulous Self Tanning Gradual Lotion | Full-Size $30

This is another product that I wish I could opt out of in my subscription boxes! I have medium-toned skin so I tan very easily despite using mounds of sunscreen. With this skin type, I haven’t really found a use for self-tanning lotion! Are there any other medium skin toned girls out there who utilize self tanning lotion that can help me out? Do you use it even out your skin? I don’t know!

Final Verdict: Overall, I wasn’t thrilled with this month’s box. The only product I could truly see myself using on a daily basis is the makeup setting spray. I’ll still try to get as much use as possible out of the rest of the products but I’m not particularly excited about anything. Better luck next month? What did you receive in your May Birchbox? Let me know in the comments! 

Birchbox: April 2017

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Well, I am back on the Birchbox train! I know I said that I was planning on ditching subscription boxes but I’m the most indecisive person in the world and life started to get really busy….which leads me to where I am today. Oops! 😛 After ditching 90% of my subscription boxes, I started a new job, added a couple of other commitments, and found myself with much less free time than I’d previously had.

I think this just goes to show that subscription boxes are a great fit for certain people, and maybe even at certain points in life! After work started to pick up, I found myself ordering things online instead of visiting stores - which can be quite expensive if you’re trying out new products and are not able to test them out in stores! In the end, I figured if I’m going to be trying product, I should probably be trying out samples instead of buying them full price right off the bat. 

Birchbox is a monthly beauty subscription ($10/month or less if you choose a year long subscription) that sends our personalized full-size and sample-size beauty, hair, make-up and skincare products. 

Coastal Scents: Blush and Highlighter Duo | Full Size $19.95

This sample from coastal scents is a blush and highlight from one of their contouring palettes. The blush is on the pinkier side and has some beautiful pigmentation. The highlight, on the other hand, was a little too light for me. It might’ve been perfect for someone with fairer skin but for my slightly darker skin, I found that I had to go into the product a couple of times to build up the highlight. I really enjoyed trying this sample but probably won’t be going out to purchase the full-size product.

rms beauty: the ultimate makeup remover wipes | Full Size $16

If you had asked me a couple of years ago how I remove my make-up, I would’ve said vaseline all the way! Now, however, I have become wipe obsessed and am always looking for new wipes that are more effective or gentler on the skin. While these wipes from rms beauty were gentle and did not sting on the skin, they were so oily when I used them that it practically felt like I’d used vaseline to remove it anyway. Plus, at $16 for a full-size 20 wipes, this one’s definitely not kind on the wallet. It was a no-go for me. 

Amika: Bombshell Blowout Spray | Full Size $24

I've been using this blowout spray for a couple of days and really haven't noticed much of a difference in my hair! Volume is not something I usually need in my hair - in fact, I’m usually looking for products that tame frizz - so this product just wasn’t a good fit for me. 

R+Co: Death Valley Dry Shampoo | Full Size $29

This product came at the perfect time because I’m trying the whole showering at night thing! I’ve owned quite a few dry shampoos in the past and I don’t love the way they feel on my hair. It seems like most of them leave my hair feeling rough and knotty so I’m excited to try out the Death Valley brand and see if this might be a better fit for my hair.

The Beauty Crop: GRLPWR Lips Liquid Lipstick in Imma Bawse | Full Size $14.95

This liquid lipstick was the winner of the box by a mile! It was a little bit drying on the lips but with a beautiful, dark shade like this you really don’t want that color to move AT ALL so I’m more tolerant of the dryness as long as it means the lipstick doesn’t move! This shade is absolutely beautiful and the formula has been extremely long-wearing so I’m very pleased with it!

Featured April Birchbox Products:

For me, this box was kind of middle of the line. Even though I probably won’t be going out to purchase any of the full-size versions of these products, these are all products that I use in my day-to-day life and for me, it’s always interesting to test out products that different brands put out to see how they compare to the things I already use. I’m looking forward to being back on the Birchbox train and being able to test out products before jumping straight in to buying the full-size versions! What did you think of your April Birchbox? Let me know in the comments!