bareMinerals Try. Believe. Love. Kit

Good morning!!

Today I thought I'd do something a tad different, because, hey, why not?! This is going to be a post of something I bought recently, so instead of doing a full review, it's more of a show and tell.

The other day I bought this kit:

As you can see, it was only $20 and you get to try 4 different bareMinerals products (not including the brushes)! I have the original foundation and LOVE it, but I wanted to try basically everything else!

Here's the back of the box:

I found this at Ulta, and couldn't wait to break it open! Here's what came inside:

Too cute, right???

This kit comes with a little pot of the Original Foundations, the Matte Foundation, the Mineral Veil, and the Concealer. I bought mine in "Fairly Light", since that's what my Original foundation is in. Both the Matte and Original came in Fairly Light, the Mineral Veil in Original, and the Concealer in Bisque.

It also comes with two brushes, a mini Full Flawless Face brush, and a mini Concealer brush:

Now the little pots are little. Like LITTLE. Here's the best comparison I could think of:

Order of size: Full size, Kit's Face ones, Kit's Concealer

Overall, I'm super happy with this purchase! Even though I already love the Original foundation, it doesn't work that well for me in the summer. It makes me look flat out oily, instead of dewey, like it does in fall/winter. So I figured I'd get the Matte one a go. But after reading reviews online, it sounded like unless you have oily skin (which I don't, I have pretty normal skin), it makes your skin super dry. So instead of spending $27 on a full sized, this was a great way to try it for less! PLUS I always wanted to try the concealer and was curious about the Mineral Veil (which, by the way, is awesome!! It gives a beauty, air brushed look! I loved it so much, I already bought the full size! I'll do a post of this soon!)

Here's a link for where to find it at Ulta (it came in lots of different shades in store, but online it seems to only come in two right now): http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod2980097
Here is is on the actual bareMinearls site (it comes in 7 different shades there): http://www.bareescentuals.com/Try.-Believe.-Love./USmastertrylove,default,pd.html

Hope you have a great rest of the day!

Em

Birchbox, January 2014

Good evening! How've ya been? I've been doing okay, considering this crazy Wisconsin weather! One day it's sunny, 40 degrees, making you think Spring is around the corner and BAM!!! Snowstorm. Ugg! Well, tonight, I thought I'd do a post of something I love getting each month :) Birchbox! For those who aren't familiar w/ Birchbox, it's basically a monthly subscription service where for $10 a month, they will send you a box that looks like this:

Inside this box are 4-6 (or sometimes more) deluxe sized samples. These range from skincare, make up, hair stuffs, perfume, etc. Sometimes there will be something a bit different, like lifestyle or food, but is mainly based around beauty products.

I have been a subscriber for 2+ years now, and so far, have not been disappointed :) Of course, some months are better for me than others, but I think that's just the way the cookie crumbles. As a whole, I love this company :)

So I thought for this post, I would show you my January Birchbox! Here we go!

When it arrives in the mail, it looks something like this:

And then you tear into it, and then looks like this!

Take off the cover....

Always wrapped so nicely!

Ooooooooo!

They put so much detail in to this, that even the inside of the box has a neat design!

But of course, that's not really what we're looking for, right? Right, lol :) This is more what we're looking for:

Just glancing at it, I can tell I'm going to like this box :) Right off the bat, I see something Burt's Bees (one of my absolute favorite brands) and a shampoo/conditioner. Sweet!!

Digging into the box, I find there's also a perfume sample and an eyeshadow in the little mint pouch thing:

I also notice the little mint pouch thing had a bit of an accident :S

Whoops! Oh well, the stuff inside wasn't damaged at all, so no biggie!!

So here's a rundown of what I received this month:

• Fekkai Brilliant Gloss Shampoo and Conditioner (full size: $19.99-$39.99 ea)
• Harvey Prince Journey (full size: $55)
• Coast Scents Revealed Eye Shadow Palette (full size: $34)
• Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion with Clary Sage (full size: $18 according to Burt's Bees website, http://www.burtsbees.com/Intense-Hydration-Day-Lotion/01682-00,default,pd.html?cgid=facialMoisturizers&start=1&q=#start=1)

Let's start with the Fekkai stuffs!

I've never tried this brand before, but I have seen them in stores. First thing I did was take a whiff (honestly, that's probably the first thing I do with any hair product-scent is important to me!). Wowzers! I was super surprised at how calming the scent was! I was expecting a heavy salon perfume scent, but instead it was light, slightly fresh, and even a bit olive oily! I really liked it! 

Now I only really used the conditioner, for the shampoo does contain sulfates, and they don't play nice with my scalp :(. So I can't say how well that worked for hair hair, but it worked great for my make up brushes! :D The conditioner was nice, but definitely on the light side. It did make my hair shiny, and didn't leave a coating or anything like that, but it wasn't moisturizing enough for my super dry hair in this Wisconsin winter air. Granted, it isn't marketing towards moisturizing at all, so it wasn't false advertising or anything. I can see this working for someone who has fine hair, since it was lightweight, or who doesn't have super dry hair. I could see maybe trying this again in the summer, since my hair isn't quite as dry then.

Next was the perfume sample. Now, I know a lot of reviews don't like when Birchbox throws one of these in, but I personally do! I'm not one who goes to a counter often to sniff a new one, so I do like getting these! I've had Harvey Prince ones before, and wasn't a fan, so I was a bit iffy to try this one. But luckily, I was pleasantly surprised!!

This scent is described having notes of South African Freesia, Japanese orange flower, Moroccan rose, Indonesian clove bud, and Australian sandalwood (can you see where it gets it "Journey" name???) Just reading those notes alone is a no wonder I really enjoy this perfume, I love all those types of scents! This a wonderful fall/winter perfume, for it has that warmth and depth one looks for in a heavier scent, but it still has a light, floral scent lingering in there. I will probably be purchasing this soon!!

Next is the the little eyeshadow quad from Coastal Scents:

Again, a little skeptical. Not because I didn't like Coastal Scents, but because the colors I've received before weren't really my taste. And, again! Was pleasantly surprised!!

Whoo-ooh!! NUDES!!! Here's what the whole Revealed palette looks like:

Picture via Birchbox

As you can see, it's Coastals Scent's version of the Naked palettes! Just by glance, there seems to be a lot of similar colors between this and the Naked and Naked 2 palettes! With this being only $34, and each Naked being $52, this seems to be a steal! Would be awesome for someone who has been interested in owning a "nude" palette, but didn't want to shell out the cash for the Urban Decay ones (and honestly, who does? I've been saving up my Ulta points for the Naked 3!!). 

Each one of the colors is nicely pigmented, goes on smoothly, and feels buttery!

If I didn't already have the first two Naked palettes, I would seriously consider getting this!

Lastly, is what Birchbox considers their "Latest Discovery Finds"

Is the Burts Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion, and it came in this super cute little jar!

Even though this is a "day" lotion, I did try it at night, and honestly? IT'S AWESOME!!! It has a light scent (if you have ever used any of Burt's Bees facial lotion, it's a similar scent), sinks right into the skin, doesn't feel greasy, and leaves my skin moisturized and lovely. I would consider buying this in the future!!

And of course, Birchbox likes to put in extra papery things:

As well as the "info" card that's included each month:

Overall, I think this was an awesome box!!! Lots of new, fun things to try, and most of them were a hit!!

Well, I think that's about does it! Thanks for hanging around for a longerish post!! Hope you're having a great night!!

Emily

Yes to Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub

Yes, I know, another skincare type of a post. I'm on a roll, aren't I? This is a bit different though. This product was a little more thought out, researched and planned than the toner (which I consider a happy accident). Before I get into the review, I'd like to bring light to one of my favorite websites: www.nomoredirtylooks.com . Actually, they have a book by the same name, and I do have that, but their website is also fantastic. If you are not familiar with No More Dirty Looks (or NMDL for short), it's about how two ladies discovered what stuffs really are in the majority of beauty products we buy - and it's not pretty. I highly recommend checking out both their book and their website, it really is an eye opener.

With that said, I do try to find things that are cleaner, greener, and better for you. This doesn't always happen, and I'm okay with that. I do try to make more of an effort with skincare than makeup, since skincare is on your face longer, and really sinks in. Also, by trying greener things, I have found what ingredients have actually been irritating my skin and causing it problems. No, not acne, but something else. Something called : Psoriasis.

For those who don't know what psoriasis is, don't worry, I didn't either. Basically, psoriasis is when your skin produces skin cells faster than they naturally shed, causing it to build up, itchiness and redness. There's no cure for it, and doctors aren't completely sure what causes it either. However, there are things that can aggravate it and can help it.


Now that that's out of the way, back to the review. :)


I love face scrubs. No denying it. Though I'm not why I would try to deny it. Seems like a silly thing to try to deny.

I was previously using one from Garnier and LOVED IT. It wasn't too course, melted into my skin, smelled fantastic, was affordable, and just seemed perfect. However, after my second tube, I started noticing something on my face. It was around my eyes, and on my left temple:

PSORIASIS

I couldn't believe it! I've only had it on my scalp (and the lower half of it, at that) before, no where else on my body (though later it started creeping up in places, but more on that later). I couldn't figure out what would have caused this. I've been trying different things, both skincare and makeup wise, so I wasn't sure what did it. So, I started eliminating things. First was the face scrub. I do love it, but I don't really need to use it every time, so I figured might as well start with that.

So I didn't use it for about a week, and I was flabbergasted: the bits of psoriasis when away! It did, however, pop on on other places, so I decided to do some investigating.

I had it previously on my scalp, but bought a shampoo designed to treat it and it did help (though hasn't gone away completely). So I compared the ingredients to try to figure out what was aggravating it (as far as I have found, nothing really causes psoriasis, just sort of happens, and nothing can cure it, but there are some things that can treat it). I was actually really surprised to see the shampoo did not have Sodium Laurel Sulfate, which I knew was in a lot of stuff from NMDL, and did know it can strip the skin of needed oils. I also notice the body wash I was using also had SLS in it, and I was getting patches of psoriasis on my body.

So I figured, that must be it! So out the door went my Garnirr face scrub (and my Suave body wash), and onto finding a new facial scrub!

After researching the internets for a replacement, I came across this:

Hmmmm......this definitely caught my eye. I've tried other things from the Yes To line, and have loved all of them (which I'll be having posts on later), so I already trusted the brand. And it was grapefruit (yay! citrus)! This was new, and I love how they keep adding fruits and veggies to the line (I think this was the 5th one). Luckily, the website actually has the ingredients listed on there. So I took a gander.

I found it at Target, and took sniff it right there. Holy. Moly. If you are a fan of grapefruit, or just citrus scents in general, you have to try this. It smells like a slightly sweetened version of a real grapefruit, which I think is heavenly. So I brought it home (after paying it, no swiping here!) and tried it out.

O. M. G.

This blew the Garnier stuff right out of the water. RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER. The texture was similar, but not as thick, which actually made it easier to work with. And those little "scrubby" bits? Amazing. Just amazing. I thought the Garnier one melted into my skin, but that was like using rocks on my skin compared to this. YSG just meeeeeeeeeeeelts into my skin. And, because it doesn't have sulfates in it, my skin doesn't feel tight afterwards, which did happen with the old stuff. Another thing I wasn't expecting? This stuff makes my skin makes my skin looks amazing, which I think the "brightening" aspect of it contributes to (probably the lemon and grapefruit in it). It looks smoother (feels smoother too, again, I think, again, because of the lemon and grapefruit, I know lemon extract is a great chemical-like exfoliatent), looks more glowy, and just plan better. I use it almost every time I shower (I don't usually wash, wash my face on days I don't shower, for that's for another day). Pricier than the Garnier stuff, but not too horrible (Garnier was about $7, this is about $10). And, best of all, doesn't aggravate my psoriasis. :)

Overall, I am sold. I will be repurchasing this, and don't plan on trying any other face scrubs anytime soon. It's a keeper. :)

Ttfn!

Em



Product site:
http://www.yestocarrots.com/product/yes-to-grapefruit-daily-facial-scrub?product_id=6311301

Burt's Bees Radiance SPF 7 Day Lotion

Let's start out with skincare. Why? Because I really don't think much about it, so might as well put at least one post about in here. :)
A number of years ago, I was in love with the Burt's Bees Radiance day lotion. It smelled amazing, loved the way it made my skin look and feel, was the perfect amount of moisture (I have pretty normal skin) and I liked that fact it was 90 something percent natural. It was perfect. And then...........it was gone. I couldn't find it! I went everywhere, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, but nothing. It was no where to be found.

Fast forward to about a month ago. I was looking the "natural" section at Target (you know, the half of an aisle with Yes to Carrots and Burt's Bees and such) and something caught my eye. No. Freakin'. Way.

It was my lotion! I didn't recognize it at first, because the box it came in was different, but it was my long lost lotion. I was giddy that I found it again! :)

......or so I thought.

From day one, I could tell something was.....different. A bad different. It felt sticky after I put it on (it kind of did before, but went away after a second, now it stays for a couple of minutes), doesn't give me the same effect it did before, wasn't as moisturizing, and, I guess, just didn't wow me. The only thing I could find that was the same was the scent. Maybe I thought it was better than it was because I couldn't find it? Who knows. But I do know it's not what I was looking for, and that makes me a bit sad. However, after paying almost $20 for that sucker, I'll be using it up for sure. Luckily, I guess in this case, it's a smaller bottle, and I'm a third of the way done already, so it shouldn't be too much longer.

Also, how weird is it that it has SPF 7? I mean, 7?? What the heck am I going to do with that??

Oh well. Maybe the next one will be a keeper :)

Thanks!

Em

P. S.Here's a link to the Burt's Bee's website, if you are interested: https://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/face-care-facial-moisturizers/radiance-spf-7-day-lotion.html