birchbox

atthequillsmercy

July Birchbox

Yes, I have fallen behind in my quest to become more girly. Or well, as girly enough as it takes not to have a heart attack when I enter the makeup aisle of a drug store. I don’t do hot very well so when summer comes, I am not likely to put much effort into doing my hair or wearing makeup. I rock the snood, wear sunscreen, and just try and get through the day without melting. But the Birchbox still comes. Here’s this month’s offering.

This month’s box is inspired by Glamour.

I haven’t tried any of this stuff yet. However, I am proud to say I am completely aware of what mints do and what ear buds do. XD The rest I can figure out as I go.

I think what gives me the most pause about what I’ve been getting is the perfume. I can over do make up and just wipe it off but too much perfume can down every breathing person within a 20 foot radius if I’m not careful. o_O Of all the items I’ve gotten, those are the most likely to sit unused or be given away. Maybe I’ll hold another contest and in addition to my book, I’ll give away some of the samples I’ve been hoarding. They’re not bad; I enjoy the scents. I’m just a body spray sort of gal, not perfume. It’s lighter, cheaper, and hard to overuse. XD

atthequillsmercy

April Birchbox

Ah, it’s been some time since I posted about my Birchbox.

I am a tea lover so I’m excited to try the tea. But I’m at a loss as to what to do with the beauty balm. I am the type of chick who is lucky to remember her spf 15 face cream in the morning so I’m sure I’ll beg my much more knowledgeable friends for help. XD

The Be Fine Moisturizer was expired but Birchbox sent me a 100 point credit for that. I used that credit with the 110 I got for signing up and purchased the Zoya Blogger Collection. With my points and including shipping, I got it for $3.95! 😀 And I enjoy bright nail colors when I have the time to put them on. I’d love to use these colors to try the Sponge Manicure. I think it would make this really cool sunset/fire looking effect. 😀

Tomorrow it’s back to writing news but if I ever do that sponge thing, I’ll post about it. I’ve got to get back to prepping the house for my husband’s birthday “party.” (meaning just a couple people and an ice cream cake)

atthequillsmercy

Review Dump – Birchbox Product Reviews

I have been lax with reviewing the stuff I’ve been getting in my Birchbox. Inspired by the shipping notification telling me December’s box is on the way; here’s a review dump of all the stuff I’ve used so far:

The Ouidad gel is fantastic. Honestly, I dunno if I would use it if my hair was as long as it once was, but that has nothing to do with the product itself. Just the sheer amount of product long thick hair like mine makes using a product like this fiscally irresponsible. XD However, my curls stayed friz free and light for the entire day. I would totally buy this as an alternative to the gel I use; which makes my curls crunchy.

The Pangea Face Scrub is also wonderful. I didn’t feel like my skin was dry after I used it, the scent isn’t over powering and the exfoliation doesn’t make me feel like it’s scraping my skin off. It also removed all the makeup I was wearing without having to rub too hard. I am hesitant to spend so much on face cleanser seeing as how I get Aveeno on sale (and coupons) and it does the same thing. But the Pangea scrub is a great way to pamper myself. 🙂

Mascara is one of the first things I learned to use concerning makeup and one of the few I feel confident enough to give an opinion on. Blinc is a great product. It goes on MUCH smoother than the Sephora waterproof I’ve been using and packs just as much punch. My only problem with it is getting it off. You MUST USE MAKEUP REMOVER. I had such issues getting this off with soap. >_< And it was creepy to see the little tubes come off. It was like tiny spider legs all over my face. *shudder*

The Anastasia Lip Gloss comes in the perfect size for a color I am not inclined to use too much on my face. I was pleasently surprised. my lips were glossy, shiny, and I didn’t feel my crippling chapstick addiction kick in for several hours. I’m not a pink girl but I can deal with this because the color isn’t too glaring. It’s a very subtle touch to my lips.

The Thymes Body Lotion is also another product where I was shocked by the softness of the scent. I don’t like heavily scented lotions (which is why you won’t see me rating the perfume I get in these boxes. I so rarely wear it, it’s not worth it) but Tymes is so light and herbal and I like herbal scents a LOT. 😀

So, there you have it! All the stuff I’ve used so far.  I haven’t used some of them but when I do, I’ll review them for your makeup-geek pleasure. 😉

I will get back to posting about writing, I swear. I do have to admit, though. When I write characters who use this stuff on the regular, it helps to use it yourself. 😉

atthequillsmercy

Review of the Ahava Foot Cream

I should have reviewed this before the November Birchbox came but rather than scramble for things to post for NaBloPoMo, I’ll catch up on things I should have done a long time ago. :p

This time is the Ahava Mineral Foot Cream. It smells nice and all but honestly, I get more moisture from my MUCH cheaper Lubriderm Advance Therapy lotion and for a fraction of the price. I just can’t justify the cost for what it does. If I’d want to splurge on some fancy foot cream, I’d get Burt’s Bees.

Here’s all the stuff I got in this month’s box:

I’ll finish reviewing the last box before I start in on this one.

No, I do not get paid to review these products. I pay for the Birchbox service and I share my thoughts. Nothing more, nothing less.

atthequillsmercy

The First Birchbox – My First Impressions

In my attempt to be more involved with girly stuff, I subscribed to Birchbox and today I received my first one. 🙂

My first reaction was it was smaller than I thought it would be but they are only sample sizes after all.

You take off the outer pink box to find this pretty cardboard box. I threw it away before I could decide to “do something with it one day” which turns out to be never and I just have a pile of them…

Everything comes wrapped in pink paper with these cards in it. The big one explains what everything is and the little one asks for feedback. 🙂

I like how it came packaged! It’s pretty and the tissue paper can be recycled or used to pack other gifts (I’ve done that before). Nothing leaked or anything, which I was happy with. It all looks packed with care.

The above swag is (from left to right) foot cream, mascara, a lash card sample, face scrub, and above that is frizz cream. I’ll review them as I use them. 🙂

I think it’ll be fun to slowly try out different things and see what I like.

But today wasn’t all fun and makeup. I was off in exchange for working this Saturday and I spent the morning knitting so I could spend the night writing. I also had a meeting with my accountant to see how Ma’s final business is coming. I’m still having to make calls and annoy people to make sure they give me Ma’s due.  Ma did warn me that her union would try to be shady with her pension money so I’m keeping on them to get what we’re owed.

I think it’s times like that which make me upset. Like going to the gyno yesterday and seeing she was my emergency contact or having to explain over and over to Mr or Mrs McCorperate Person that Ma is dead and to give me my fucking money. I feel like a vulture! But Ma wanted me to have that money so I’m gonna make her proud by annoying the ever-loving crap outta them to get it. >D

In other news, I lowered my WiiFit age from 32 to 24. And lost two pounds. 🙂

I believe that’s all the excitement for the day. I will spend the rest of the night trying to finish this short story. This one is just for the lulz, not for an anthology or anything. After that, it’ll be all anthologies and vampires for the rest of the year! 😀