April Allure Beauty Box

The theme for this month's box is "Shine On" and fittingly contains products to give you radiant and glowing complexion. According to the editor this box has got you covered whether you're celebrating a happy moment or just figuring out how to get through Tuesday!

• Ahava Mineral Body Lotion
• Dr. Brandt PoreDermabrasion Pore Perfecting Exfoliator
• Skin & Co roma Truffle Therapy Eye Concentrate
• The BrowGal by Tonya Crooks Highlighter Pencil in O2
• Laritzy Lip Pencil in Cabernet

This box was both a hit and (somewhat) of a miss for me which is pretty unusual for my favorite beauty box!  I'm happy with both of the skincare items as well as the body lotion, but unfortunately both of the cosmetics (each are full-size!) were a bit of a miss due to the shades I received.

As for skincare, Dr. Brandt's Microdermabrasion is one of my favorite exfoliators so I have no doubt that I'll love this PoreDermabrasion also.  I'm always more than happy to test out a new eye cream too.  Even though I'm just starting to see fine lines around my eyes I'd like to keep them from worsening for as long as possible and  Skin&Co Roma Truffle Therapy Eye Concentrate gets great reviews.

As far as bath and body goes, I have a couple of Ahava products in my shower currently so their Mineral Body Lotion will fit right in with my daily routine.  It is said to have a clean floral scent so it should pair nicely with many of my spring/summer fragrances.
And onto the makeup... 

The Highlighter Pencil from The BrowGal by Tonya Crooks is a product that's right up my alley!  One side conceals rogue hairs between appointments while the other side highlights.  Unfortunately, I received shade 02 which is too dark for my fair and pinky-toned skin.  At only $20 and free shipping on their site though, I may go ahead and order the lighter 01 myself!

Lastly, I received a Laritzy Lip Pencil in "Cabernet".   As the name would imply, it is a deep and rich red.  I love Cabernet in the form of wine but red lip color just never seems to work for me.  Most of the shades on their site are sold-out so I may try and blot this down like I do any other too-dark lip color and wear it as a muted lip stain.

April Birchbox

"Pretty beauty packaging might have us at "hello," but in the long run it's what's on the inside that matters the most."

The above is quoted from the card that accompanied the items in my box and that's the focus this month - what's inside.  Vitamin C, charcoal, salicylic acid... all ingredients inside this month's products because Birchbox knows we all like to look good on the outside too and that's what those ingredients do!

 

• Benefit Cosmetics the POREfessional Primer
• Michael Todd Blue Green Algae Antibacterial Toner
• Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant
• R+Co High Dive Moisture & Shine Creme
• The Beauty Crop GRLPWR Liquid Lipstick in Imma Bawse

Benefit POREfessional is my daughter's favorite primer so that will be going directly to her along with the Michael Todd Toner.  The Blue Green Algae Antibacterial Toner is described as being gentle but still able to rid skin of oil and impurities.  Sounds perfect for sensitive and acne prone skin!

The Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant from Paula's Choice has been on my "to-try" list for awhile now.  I've heard great things about it's ability to fight wrinkles and acne while leaving skin baby smooth besides, so I'm excited to try it for sure!  Then, R+Co High Dive is a product that doubles as a leave-in conditioner and a pre-styling frizz fighter, so I'm certainly looking forward to testing that on my long frizzy locks.

While the GRLPWR Liquid Lipstick from The Beauty Crop sounds amazing, (it's supposedly long-wearing, matte, and moisturizing,) I unfortunately received a color I just will not wear.  "Imma Bawse" is a very deep and rich red that is too bold for my taste and not very flattering to my coloring either.  I'm sure one of my friends will love it though, so it'll be set aside for one of them to snag at our next get together.

Graze Box Review

I've been subscribing to Graze for a couple of years now.  I have no idea why it took me so long to write a post about it.  I love it!  I've subscribed to a couple of other snack boxes over the years but this is the only one I've stuck with.

 

Graze Snack Box allows you to decide how often you want to receive a box, from weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.  They also allow you to rate the snacks you receive and customize your boxes.  If you tag something as a "Love" you'll receive it fairly frequently.  If you "trash" it you'll never receive it again.  They make it easy to do too.  As you can see from the screenshot below, I "trashed" Banana Cream Pie.  I do not like their chewy banana coins.  At all.  So I sorted the snacks by category on their site, scrolled through all the fruit, and trashed everything with banana coins.

 

A booklet with nutritional information is included with every order so it's easy to avoid certain allergens and/or stay on track with calories or carbs.  You can even order boxes specific to diet plans by choosing low-sugar or low-calorie (under 150 calories) snack boxes.
If a snack subscription box is something you might be interested in you can check it out here - https://www.graze.com/us/.  If you'd like to get your first and fifth box free you can enter my referral code below and help me earn free snacks too!  Happy snacking!



Target Beauty Box - April

This month Target again offered 2 different Beauty Boxes, but I chose only the one titled "April Naturals".  This box contains products with all-natural ingredients and has a range of items I can split between myself and my eldest daughter.

 



 

Juice Organics Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner

Burt's Bees White Tea Extract Facial Cleansing Towelettes

Hello Extra Whitening Pure Mint Fluoride Toothpaste

Yes to Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Mud Mask

ACURE Pore Clarifying Red Clay Scrub

Raw Sugar Lemon Sugar Body Wash

Shea Moisture Kukui Nut Facial Cream Cleanser and Face & Neck Cream (sample packets)

I love having facial cleansing wipes around for nights I'm too tired or lazy to go through my normal PM skincare routine, and I adore lemon anything, so I'd have to say the towelettes and body wash are my favorites so far!  My daughter is dealing with oily and acne prone teenage skin so I'll be passing off the mask and scrub to her, and the remaining items will be going in the travel bag for our next trip!
Target's Beauty Boxes are always a great value and I love that you get to see the contents before you purchase.  Hopefully I'm quick enough again next month to snag another one!

Wal-Mart Spring 2017 Beauty Box - Classic

My Spring "Classic" Beauty Box arrived last week!  Typically I receive both of my Wal-Mart Beauty Boxes within a day or so of each other, but I'm still waiting on the second one so I figured I'd go ahead and post.  A couple of weeks back I received an email from Wal-Mart asking me if I wanted to opt-in to a special edition "Me Moment" Beauty Box in place of my Trendsetter, (I did), and I'm thinking that is why the normal scheduling is off.  Hopefully they won't keep me waiting too long!

 

 

My "Classic" Box contained:

• Colgate Optic White Toothpaste
• Ban Roll-On Deodorant
• Schwarzkopf Gliss Hair Repair Shampoo and Conditioner
• Soapbox Soothe & Replenish Body Wash
• Jergens Natural Glow Wet Skin Moisturizer
• Pure Ice Nail Polish in "Hautumn"
• SOO AE Vitamin Collagen Essence Mask

I'm most excited about the sheet mask and toothpaste!  The sheet mask because it's a brightening version (dull and dry skin here), and the toothpaste because well... toothpaste.

Deodorant is another item I always love receiving.  It's been ages since I've used a roll-on deodorant and I don't have pleasant memories of the last one I tried, but I'm cautiously optimistic about this one.  According to the packaging, Ban protects for a solid 24 hours and glides on clear with no messy white residue.   Hopefully that last part means no more walking around fanning my under arms while pleading with it to go ahead and dry already!

As always, this Beauty Box is a major steal for $5 and I can't even complain about the Jergens* because of it!  The contents are always a "win" even if one is actually a major miss!

*Side note - I received the Jergens Natural Glow Wet Skin Moisturizer in a previous beauty box and set about testing it immediately.  Absolutely no "natural glow" was to be found.  Varying splotches of yellow, orange, and brown were to be found instead.  My legs resembled those of a short, splotchy giraffe. Thank goodness it's still cool out and pants are in order!


Love It, Like It, or Lose It v. 10

It's been awhile since I've done one of these!  It certainly hasn't been for my lack of testing out new products either.  Between work, kids, sports, old dogs with ailments... you know life in general... sometimes I lose track of what I'm doing.  (But we could all write an entire post on that couldn't we!?)

This product testing round, I came across a "new" product that was actually new to me 2 years ago.  I didn't like it then, I don't like it now, and I didn't realize it until I got online to write a review and saw that I'd already written one!  (Clinique Superprimer in case you're wondering.)  That is precisely why I write these posts - to keep track!

Coola Daydream Mineral Primer SPF 30 - "A weightless, multitasking primer for flawless makeup, infused with Coola’s signature Plant Protection® and a mineral broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen to protect the skin."

Thoughts:  I was pleasantly surprised by this product!  I expected a mineral primer with SPF to be thick and chalky but this isn't at all.  It feels almost serum like during application and does a decent job of blurring pores.  Seems best for oily to normal skin types.

Clinque Superprimer - "Lightweight, oil-free primer creates an ideal makeup canvas."

Thoughts:  The above description is literally all it does.  Helps my skin feel a bit smoother but it doesn't do anything for pores, fine lines, or foundation longevity.  On my 3rd use I put it on only half my face - I could feel a slight difference in application (easier to blend on the one side) but I couldn't see any difference in the way my foundation looked. When I checked again hours later I still couldn't see any difference.  I definitely prefer a multi-tasking primer.

MAC In Extreme Dimension 3D Mascara - "A carbon black mascara with a large molded brush that creates extreme volume and curl."

Thoughts -  This does give a bit of curl but I found it pretty lacking otherwise.  2 coats was absolutely necessary for volume and length.  Didn't smudge.

Bumble and Bumble Hairdressers Invisible Oil Primer - "Infused with 6 featherlight oils it helps soften, detangle, de-frizz, tame flyaways, ease styling and protect against breakage, heat-styling and UV damage."

Thoughts -   I saw a noticeable reduction in frizziness when using this prior to blow drying and flat ironing.  Love the UV protection for my colored hair!  It's ok as a detangler after showering.

L'Oreal Color Vibrancy Shampoo and Conditioner - "Instantly nourishes and helps shield color from fading, leaving hair protected and color vibrant over time. Experience 8 weeks of vibrant color*"

Thoughts - I wasn't a huge fan of the shampoo - it smelled nice and did well removing buildup but it left my hair feeling straw-like.  I really liked the conditioner though and found it to be very moisturizing.  It also left my hair nearly tangle free.