Review: July’s Sephora PLAY! Box

Hello all! I’m back after a few days of R&R. Since I traveled a lot last summer, I’m spending my vacations this summer a little closer to home. Recently I took off a few days and spent the long weekend golfing, swimming and trying out all of my new products in my brand-new Sephora Play! Subscription box!

About a minute after cancelling Glossybox last month, I got an email from Sephora announcing that I was off their Play! waitlist. I hadn’t even remembered signing up for the waitlist, yet I was curious, so I clicked to see what that month’s box contained. To my surprise, it included a bunch of small samples of things I had been wanting to try at Sephora, but didn’t want to blow the $20-$40 on full-size products. So, I signed up.

Review: IT Cosmetics CC+ Airbrush Perfecting Powder SPF 50+

Since canceling my Glossybox, I’ve been able to spend a little more time and money searching for products that I actually need. And that’s great, because I’ve officially found the best foundation ever.

Recently, after running out of my favorite drugstore foundation (Covergirl’s Hello Gorgeous), I found myself in Ulta while my sister, Zoe, shopped around. I started looking at the high-end foundations, which at an average of $40 apiece were roughly 5 times the cost of my usual Covergirl go-to. I’ve never been one to shy away when it comes to spending on my skin, but with my budget tightening in recent weeks (thanks student loans!), I wasn’t sure it was worth the cost. But, when Zoe showed me a compact and gushed about how much her friend loved the stuff, I grabbed a medium shade and headed to the cash register without much thought.

It was, without a doubt, one of the best impulsive purchases I’ve ever made.

What’s in the Box: May Glossybox Review

So this is super, super late, but I still wanted to share my thoughts on May’s Glossybox because 1. I only got it last week thanks to late shipping and my week in California and 2. it’ll be one of my last Glossyboxes.

If you’ve read my reviews you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been thrilled with the products included in the boxes each month. And after noticing my medicine cabinet is filled to the brim with unused products (plus that I’m on a strict budget thanks to a surprise $1,200 car repair) I’ve decided that June will be my last Glossybox subscription for the time being. But don’t worry! There still will be plenty of product reviews, as now I’ll be able to focus my money and writing on things that I actually want and need instead of random samples.

With that in mind, let’s get to May’s box. It included some weird products and at least 1 find that I adored. One word to describe my feelings this month: Meh.

Finding a fragrance

 

Ugh… stupid WordPress.

I had a fabulous post about the importance of perfume and my recent hunt to find the best scent, but for some reason, it wasn’t posted and WordPress deleted the draft. So annoying.

Annnnyway, let’s just start back at the beginning. A few weeks ago, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Jezebel, and came across a post about the writer’s favorite perfume. She talked about how despite the fact that it had developed something of a cult following recently, she still loved it’s woodsy, masculine scent sandalwood scent. I read the post and instantly knew I wanted to try a samples. After a quick shopping spree on Luckyscents.com, I had a few samples of some craft perfumes. I was determined to find a signature scent.

What’s in the Box: April Glossybox Review

Hello all! Another month, another Glossybox. This month’s box was pretty great — it had a nice mix of products that are particularly well suited for the warmer weather that’s approaching.

In case you aren’t familiar, Glossybox is a subscription box that cost $21 a month and delivers 5 deluxe sample or full-size products. I’ve had the subscription for well over a year now, and it’s rare that I don’t like the boxes.

With that refresher in mind, let’s take a look at April’s box:

Finding the Right Products for Your Hair

A few weeks ago I chopped off my lengthy locks for a shoulder-length lob. So far, I’ve been loving it, but I was fairly clueless how to style it immediately after the cut.

I had been growing out my hair for a long, long time (roughly 2+ years) after getting a super short bob (post-breakup, cliché, I know). It hung well below my shoulders, and had become my security blanket. But after slowly transitioning back to blonde and excessive heat styling, it was dead. It also just didn’t fit my life — I’m almost 25 years old, and was constantly getting mistaken as the youngest of my sisters. And FYI, I’m 6 years older than my youngest sis. -_-

So, I went to Salon MJM in Denver and told Bridget I needed a grown-up cut. I’d always admired a messy, wavy lob and she figured a cut that sat just at my shoulders would be perfect.

When I left, I had exactly what I wanted. But you know that feeling, right? When you get out bed the next day, shower and stay at your freshly cut hair in the mirror thinking How the hell do I make it look as good as it did yesterday?

Instead of big, messy hair, I got pageant curls after curling small sections with my curling iron. I knew I needed texture, but didn’t have a clue where to find something other than sea salt sprays that left my hair crunchy and flat.

So, I hit up Sephora.

Review:Tresemme Reverse Wash System

After recently chopping off my hair, I knew I had to switch up my products routine. This weekend I went and bought some new Bumble & Bumble goodies (which will be reviewed once I try them out for a few days), but I also have switched to a new shampoo and conditioning system that I’ve fallen in love with.

The Tresemme Reverse Wash system is different than your standard drugstore hair care lines. Instead of showering under the traditional routine — i.e. shampoo hair then smother it in conditioner and wait around for a few minutes — it reverses the process in the hopes of getting more volume.

With my move to short hair, I knew I needed something that wasn’t quite as heavy as my former products. After using the new system for about 2 weeks, I can safely say that it’s pretty great.

What’s in the Box? March Glossybox Review

Thanks to Glossybox’s unpredictable shipping, I received March’s box just a week and a half after February’s. I have to say, this month was much better than last month. I found one new product that I absolutely adore, and got to try a few more high-end products.

There wasn’t a theme this month, and instead it seemed like the box contained a good mix of items: a hand lotion, a moisturizer, a lipstick, a makeup brush and an eyeliner. I’d consider 3 out of the 5 pretty good products, while the other 2 were just meh.

Let’s get started.

Time for a Haircut?

‘Ello all.

I’m just getting over a bought of pneumonia (though I still have a pesky cough), which has meant a total lack of motivation to do anything — including blog posts. Sorry!

One thing I did manage to do while I was sick was to go get a haircut. I’ve been growing out my hair for the past year or two, and it had become a long, bleached, dead mess.

I was ready for something a little more grown-up and a whole lot easier to style. Enter the lob.

What’s in the Box: February Glossybox Review

Hey there!

So, I’m heading off to Orlando in a few hours. While it’ll be nice to get away for a few days, the trip is a work trip, so there sadly won’t be any fun Disney excursions. But I will get to spend a few days in 75-degree weather and sunshine! That I’m really looking forward to.

Before I leave, though, I wanted to post a quick review of the latest Glossybox. While I loved the box this month, I did not love the delivery — I just got it at the end of last week. Much too late, in my opinion.

Let’s get started!