Marcelle: New-Age 8-in-1 Power Serum | Full-Size $37
Beauty Protector: Protect & Oil | Full-Size $28
Lollia by Margot Elena in Love: Eau de Parfum | Full-Size $50
MAC Cosmetics: Extreme Dimension Black Lash Mascara | Full-Size $23
Pixi by Petra: LipLift Max | Full-Size $14
This month’s Birchbox was disappointing for me. Although I am 100% open to trying new products, I tend to be pretty selective about the type of product I want to try out. Fragrances, hair products, and mascaras are all products that I receive way too much of and hardly ever use in my own day-to-day routine. And when I say I hardly ever use these products, I’m talking hairsprays and mascaras I’ve had for 5+ years - eek! I honestly wish I could have skipped this month’s Birchbox.
Birch Juice: Hydro Sleeping Pack | Full-Size $30
Luxie Beauty: Rose Gold Medium Angled Shading Eye Brush 207 | Full-Size $12
Pixi by Petra: Beauty Blush Duo in Peach Honey | Full-Size $18
Feel Renewed: Pumpkin Walnut Facial Cleanser | Full-Size $28
Smashbox Cosmetics: Photo Finish Radiance Primer | Full-Size $39
How I feel about this month’s Ipsy bag is almost the complete opposite of how I felt about the Birchbox! Although I didn’t end up loving all of these products, they are all within categories of products that I love testing out! I am a huge skincare junkie so the sleeping pack, facial cleanser, and primer are all up my alley! I also love playing around with blushes and frankly, you can never have enough makeup brushes (especially if you forget to wash them like I do!). I’ve be so impressed lately by how spot on my ipsy bags have been! I feel like they’ve made a lot of improvements when it comes to sending products that are more closely tailored to my preferences and I’m very happy with it!
Products Mentioned:
It probably goes without saying, but this month’s winner was ipsy by about a mile! I’ve actually decided to cancel my Birchbox (yet again) because it just really hasn’t been worth it for me over the past couple of months! While my relationship with subscription boxes is always a little tumultuous 😛, I’ve really seen ipsy improve over time but not Birchbox. What did you think of your subscription boxes this month? Are there any other boxes you’d like me to test out? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Ipsy vs. Birchbox: August 2017
Ipsy
Gavee Gold: Heart of Gold Elixir | Full-Size $175
First off, the packaging of this product is absolutely beautiful! A lot of times, sample size items don’t really have much for packaging so I love that this brand made such an effort even on sample version of their products! I will definitely be saving it to use during travel in the future.
Crown Brush: SS035 Medium Face Contour Brush | Full-Size $6.99
I’ve already got a ton of contouring brushes that I enjoy so this brush was a little redundant for me. Although I enjoyed using it, it doesn’t stand out amongst my sea of other contouring brushes 😛 Just an average product for me!
Winky Lux: Peeper Perfect Concealer in Medium | Full-Size $14 + Josie Maran Cosmetics: Vibrancy Argan Oil Foundation Fluid | Full-Size $40.92
I was really excited to receive these two face products in my ipsy bag! Unfortunately, they were both a little off for me shade-wise, but nothing a little bit of bronzer can’t fix!
Pacifica: Coconut Blush Duo | Full-Size $12 Each
I was so excited to try this little blush duo because you really can’t go wrong with blushes in subscription boxes! This duo includes “Beaming” a terra-cotta shade and “Tenderheart”, a soft mauve. The formula of these blushes didn’t really blow me away (they had a little too much fallout for my taste) but they are still very pretty and I’ll definitely get a lot of use out of them!
Birchbox
Cartier: La Panthere Eau de Parfum | Full-Size $70-$110
If there's one thing I hate getting in subscription boxes, it's perfumes! I've already selected on my Birchbox profile that I prefer not to receive perfumes so I'm not too thrilled about this sample.
Glamglow: Thirstymud Hydrating Treatment | Full-Size $69
I’ve wanted to try Glamglow products for quite some time so I was super excited to try this product! Glamglow is one of those brands whose products are so expensive that I wouldn’t want to purchase a full-size version unless I’d already tried the product ahead of time - making it perfect for subscription boxes!
IPKN: Moist & Firm Beaty Balm | Full-Size $45
I was pleasantly surprised by this BB Cream! I find that a lot of times, BB Cream/sunscreen combinations don’t actually provide that much coverage but this IPKN BB Cream offers enough coverage that I don’t feel like I need to add anything on top of it!
Manna Kadar Cosmetics: Lip Locked in Sienna | Full-Size $24
This lip product claims to be a primer, lip stain, and gloss all in one! I’m not quite sure how that works, but I love the nude color of this product. I’m not big on glosses so I’ve been applying this product and then dabbing off the shine and have found that this leaves a nice stained matte finish, which I’m pretty happy with!
Number 4: Super Comb Prep & Protect | Full-Size $32
This product from Number 4 is a leave in conditioning spray that is meant to safeguard color and protect hair from heat damage. I receive so, so, so many hair products in subscription boxes that I’m kind of over hair products in general - there are just too many!
This months’ clear winner was Ipsy! Although the products from Birchbox were from higher end brands and would have been more expensive full-price, I don’t think that a product’s price point is necessarily an accurate representation of its quality as there are a lot of reasonably priced products out there that are just as great quality-wise! While I liked products from both Birchbox and Ipsy this month, I am actively using all five products I received in this month’s Ipsy bag (vs. the three I’m using from the Birchbox bag) which I think tells you a lot about how much I’ve been enjoying them!
What did you think of your beauty subscriptions this month? Are there any other subscription boxes out there you think I should try? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Style By Kenlee Review (Part 2)!
This post is in partnership with Style By Kenlee. Style By Kenlee sent me a product for review. Opinions are 100% my own! Thank you, Style By Kenlee!
Happy Sunday, everyone! I am excited to partner with Style by Kenlee to share with you their latest box! Style by Kenlee is a jewelry and accessory subscription box that sends you three individual accessories each month for $19.99 per month. Read on to see what I received in the latest box 😃
Crane Earrings: This was by far my favorite accessory of the box! I love these earrings - they are so beautiful, subtle, and go with just about everything! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve really started to gravitate towards smaller, more delicate earrings and these earrings are a perfect fit for that!
Arrow Bracelet: Similar to the earrings, I love how delicate and subtle this bracelet is! I love that I can pair it with pretty much anything, making it easy for everyday wear.
Choker: This is the only item in the box that didn’t really fit with my personal style, however, this doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy receiving it in my box! One of my favorite things about subscription boxes is that they give me the chance to try out styles and products that are currently trending but that I wouldn’t normally go out and purchase on my own! I’m a little hit or miss when it comes to the whole choker trend so although this choker really isn’t my style, I still enjoyed being able to try out a current trend.
Overall, I'm very happy with this Style By Kenlee box! I like this box much more than the box I received previously since the pieces were a better fit for my personal style. Although an accessory box is still not something I will probably be purchasing for myself (I buy too many accessories as it is!), I think it’s a fantastic idea and I’ve really enjoyed partnering with Style By Kenlee - and seeing their business grow! 😃 If you’re a super busy student, working professional, mom (or all of the above!) and feel like you don’t have enough time to shop for yourself, then this subscription box could be a perfect fit for your lifestyle!
Have you tried the Style By Kenlee box? What are your thoughts on accessory subscription boxes? I’d love to hear from you!
Want to learn more about Style By Kenlee? Check out my review from March!
