PopSugar Must Have: June 2017

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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! Oh and this month's featured furry friend? My current foster kitten, Lace! ❤️

Billabong: Aloha Forever Trucker Hat - Retail $17.95

According to the description card, this product is embracing the “trucker hat trend” and I have to admit, this just isn’t a trend I’m going to be embracing anytime soon! Simply as a matter of personal preference, this item was a flop for me. 

Captain Blankenship: Mermaid Sea Salt Hair Spray - Retail $24

Subscription boxes seem to really love sea salt spray! This spray contains aloe vera and sea kelp extract and smells a lot better than the sea salt sprays than I’ve received in some other boxes (looking at you FabFitFun). So far, I’ve enjoyed using this spray to add some texture and hold on the days that I decide to curl my hair. Plus, it comes in a beautiful glass bottle that makes using the product a little more glamorous 😃 

NCLA: Cuticle Oil - Retail $18

This product is actually called “mermaid tears” but that actually confused me at the beginning as it’s meant to be cuticle oil! Although I haven’t noticed any huge changes in my nails, this is still a really nice product to have to incorporate in my at-home manicures - my nails probably need it! 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Retail $26

I am always a fan of receiving books in subscription boxes! I love owning books but can never really justify purchasing them since I live near a fantastic library system! This book is described as “full of intrigue, emotional twists, and Hollywood glamour” - I can’t wait! So far, I’ve enjoyed all of the books I’ve received through PopSugar so I’m excited to dig into this one!

Aloha Collection: Mid-size Ocean Coco Palms Pouch - Retail $36

The is a splash proof zip pouch that’s made for beach trips in the summer. Although I’m not really a fan of the print on the pouch, I definitely think it will come in handy for the pool or the beach or for holding all of my liquid products when I travel. It also makes a great cat bed :) Lace approves!

Meri Meri: Blue and White Party Straws - Retail $5.95

These festive little party straws are so cute! Although I probably won’t be throwing any cute summer parties anytime soon, I love the festive feel they bring to any everyday drink 😃 

Belgian Boys: Mini Cookie Stash - Retail $0.99

This is the second time I’ve received a cookie product from Belgian Boys in my PopSugar box and I have to say - I am not a fan! As fun as it is to receive cookies in a subscription box, both times, I’ve felt that the cookies were way too sweet, almost sickly sweet. This one’s a flop for me.

Starbucks Frappuccino - Retail $2.19

This little frappuccino was the bonus item for this month and although it’s not a product that’s new to me, I was happy to receive it! I am a coffee addict through and through and these little frappuccinos can be found shoved into my bag on those particularly rough days where I need an extra shot of coffee and sugar 😛 

This month was just a meh box for me. For some odd reason, I always seem to have a love hate relationship with most summer themed boxes. They usually seem to center around hanging around pools and throwing parties whereas the winter boxes are all about cozy homeware items. I guess my introverted homebody tendencies are showing 😛 What did you think of your June PopSugar Must Have box? Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Something New: Eyelash Extensions!

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I’ve written an updated post on my eyelash extension experience over here! My monolid lash extension experience [Updated]

One of my new years resolutions (and life resolutions really) is to always be trying new things! Whether that new thing is something huge or something little, I always want to be challenging and educating myself through new life experiences. I know that as an introvert and a homebody, it can be only too easy for me to stick with what I know and what’s comfortable, so I'm challenging myself to try something new each month. Whether it's beauty, fashion, food, volunteering, work-related, or really just anything in life - it's always fun to try something new!

This month, I am so excited to share my experience with eyelash extensions! I’ve been wanting to try these for quite some time after hearing a lot about them through social media, I finally decided to take the plunge last month before we went on vacation!

Like most asian girls out there, I have stubbornly short, stick-straight lashes. I’ve tried tons of mascaras, lash curlers, and even growth serums but nothing has really worked well enough to make it into my regular make-up routine. I also have monolids (which means that I don’t have a crease in my eyelid) and this causes my eyelids to weigh down my lashes so that they typically point straight down in front of my eyes. As you can imagine, this causes all sorts of make-up headaches with mascara getting into my eyes, not being able to see through my lashes, and smudges all over the place. My current make-up routine pretty much ignores my eyelashes altogether because frankly - they’re just not the worth the trouble!

Enter eyelash extensions. Eyelash extensions are a professional service done by lash technicians where an individual extension is placed on each of your natural lashes to create long, fluttery lashes! Most places say that they last between 4-8 weeks if you take good care of them. From my research online, I’d heard that eyelash extensions were great for vacations and travel, so since we were on our way to the Caribbean, I figured it would be the perfect time to put eyelash extensions to the test.  In order to get the full experience, I received a full set of lashes and then went in for a lash fill 4 weeks later. 

The Experience

For my first full set of lashes, the entire process took about an hour. Since it was my first time trying out eyelash extensions, my lash technician chose to go with shorter, more natural looking extensions. In order to keep your bottom lashes out of the way and to help the technician see your lashes better, they place a white sticker-type thing underneath your eyes. The only part of the process that was a little painful was when my lash technician removed the sticker from under my eyes at the end! Other than that, I only felt a little bit of pulling and tugging here and there. It’s definitely a long process and since you have to keep your eyes closed the entire time, it can be easy to fall asleep (guilty)! My 4 week lash fill was a shorter process and took ~45 minutes instead of the full hour. Overall, the process of putting the eyelash extensions in place was pretty non-memorable.

The Lashes

Look: The look of the lashes was definitely what I was most excited about! The first set of lashes I received were almost invisible since they were so hidden by my heavy eyelids. Since the first set of lashes weren’t very noticeable under my lids, I kept make-up super light and wore double eyelid tape or glue to help pull my lids up. This way, the lashes were much more visible. At my 4 week lash fill, I asked for longer extensions and was really impressed by how much the longer lashes opened up my eyes! I didn’t feel like I needed to wear too much additional makeup since the lashes were already adding so much extra dimension to my eyes. 

Comfort: This is probably my biggest complaint about the extensions I received. As I mentioned previously, I have monolids and as a result my heavy upper eyelid kept pushing the eyelash extensions down over my eyes. This not only prevented me from being able to see clearly, but also caused several of the eyelashes to stick and lay flat against my eyeball. I also wear contacts so having a giant eyelash glued to my eyeball and my contact lenses? NOT FUN. As I mentioned before, I wore double eyelid tape to help make the eyelashes more visible, but this also helped pull the lashes up out of my eyes!

Durability: Most lash technicians say that the extensions last between 4-6 weeks with good care. Although there is nothing that says you can’t wear makeup with lash extensions, you do have to avoid oil based makeup removers and be much gentler when taking off makeup around the eye area. In my experience, the eyelash extensions only lasted 2 maybe 3 weeks. For both sets of extensions I received, there were only a couple of eyelashes hanging on for dear life by the end of week 2. I wore very limited eye makeup (usually just eyeshadow) with the extensions and tried my best to be careful with removing makeup and drying the lashes but it still wasn’t enough! 

The Cost

My lashes cost $75 for a full set and $55 for the 4 week fill. From what I’ve gathered, this is definitely on the cheaper end as far as eyelash extensions go. The prices vary quite a bit depending on where you get them done and where I’m from, a full set can cost you up to $300! 

Final Verdict

Overall, my experience was mixed. I think extensions would be perfect for vacations or the summers when you don’t want to worry too much about applying and reapplying makeup in hot weather, but as an everyday thing, I think the cost and maintenance of the lashes is just too much for me. If the lashes really lasted 4-6 weeks at a time, I think I would feel differently but either the lashes I received or simply the shape of my lids really made it so that the lashes only truly lasted 2 weeks. I loved the eyelashes during that 2 week period, but a $75 cost for only 2 weeks of lashes doesn’t really seem worth it to me.

With that being said, a lot of the issues I experienced seemed to be related to the fact that I have monolids. I don’t think everyone will have the same experience since eye shapes and sizes vary quite a bit - but if you have monolids like myself - it’s worth considering whether you want to deal with all of the trouble they can cause! 

Have you tried eyelash extensions? What was your experience like? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

BeautyFix: June 2017

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New subscription box alert!! I am so excited to be sharing my experience with BeautyFix! I am a big subscription box addict - always trying new ones, ditching old ones, or resubscribing to ones I’ve missed. In the last couple of years, I’ve found myself really drawn to all things skincare! Since I always use up all of the skincare items from my other subscription boxes, I thought BeautyFix might be worth a shot since it seems to be more skincare focused than other beauty subscription boxes. Although this isn't technically a new subscription box - it's a new-to-me box and I am so excited to give it a whirl!

BeautyFix is a monthly skincare, makeup, and haircare subscription box created by DermStore. A monthly subscription is $24.95 per box and a one-time box purchase is $34.95. Most items in the box are either full or deluxe sample size products. 

Ora: Mirconeedle Face Roller System

This was the first product that caught my attention when I opened the box! The Microneedle Face Roller system is a derma roller that uses small needles to poke tiny holes in your skin and can be used to treat acne, wrinkles, and discoloration. Although the idea of poking holes in my face is a little scary, it’s actually been a lot of fun to use it! I haven’t experienced any pain and it definitely makes my skin feel a little tighter. Hopefully, it’ll help to even out some of my acne after I’ve used it for a couple of months!

Skinceuticals: Resveratrol Serum

I have been using this serum in conjunction with the microneedle face roller and it has been the perfect combination! Although I haven’t noticed too many differences between this serum and other serums/oils I already own, I enjoy the smooth feel of the serum on my skin and will definitely be finishing off this sample quickly!

H20+Beauty: Refining Matcha Detox Mask

I absolutely love this mask! This is an incredible peel-off mask that dries quickly and peels off all in one sheet - plus it leaves my skin looking super glowy and smooth. I’m sold! 

Paula’s Choice: Sunscreen Spray

You can never have enough sunscreen! I love receiving products in my subscription box that come right as I need them and this product had perfect timing! It is easy to carry around, easy to apply, and is full-size!  

La Roche-Posay: Double Repair Moisturizer

I enjoyed using this in my nighttime skincare routine but only really got two uses out of it. This sample was tiny and there wasn’t really enough of the moisturizer for me to be able to tell if this is a product I’d want to purchase in the future! Although the moisturizer was fine, the size of the sample made it a flop for me. 

Dermalogica: Nightly Lip Treatment

I’ve been testing this lip treatment in my evening routine and have loved the way it feels on the lips - it goes on very smoothly and has a slight minty smell to it. The only strange thing about this product is that it’s white in color and has a much thinner texture than a typical lip product so it kind of feels like I’m just slathering lotion on my lips - a feeling I don’t really love. Usually, I put a lip balm on overnight and I haven’t really noticed that this lip treatment does anything more for my lips than an average lip balm. I’ll definitely finish this sample, but I won’t be purchasing a full-size anytime soon.

Supersmile: Professional Whitening System

I’ve tried a lot of different mediocre whitening products over the years so I had pretty low expectations for this product - but I was actually pleasantly surprised by how effective this system was at whitening my teeth! After just a couple of days of use, I swear my teeth are already getting whiter! The only downside to this product is that you brush it onto your teeth dry so I feel like I still need to brush my teeth with water afterwards.

Laura Geller: Waterproof Lip Liner

I’ve been loving this lip liner! It’s a great neutral pinky shade that could really complement a variety of skin tones and doesn’t wear off too quickly. I’ll definitely be using it as an everyday lip shade! Plus, this product is full-size!

Final Verdict:

I am really happy with all of the items I got in this month’s BeautyFix box. If you can’t already tell, I clearly love skincare - and as a big skincare junkie - these are all items that I will happily be using and testing out this month! Plus, with how expensive skincare can be sometimes, the value of this box is impressive! I don’t want to jinx it but this subscription might be a keeper! Have you ever tried BeautyFix? What are your thoughts on this subscription box? Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts!