Why I "cancelled" my monthly subscription boxes;

You may be wondering why cancelled is "". So I'll just come right out and say it, what actually happened was there was a fraud attempt on my credit card and so my bank sent me a new card and therefore the automatic payments stopped coming out of my account and therefore the boxes stopped coming. What this post should be called is "Why I couldn't be bothered to update my credit card information on my monthly subscription boxes" but that wouldn't exactly be the most uhm.. catching title, now would it?

But why didn't I update the information, you ask? Because what was coming to my door wasn't worth the money I was paying out. I was subscribed to Ipsy(myglam), birchbox, beauty army, test tube, and little black bag. If you add that up, that is $32 automatically a month, $30 a quarter, and $54.90 when I saw something that caught my eye on LBB. I know that it is my fault for signing up to all of the boxes, but they were so enticing at first; Who didn't want a box full of goodies showing up every month for only $10?

Birchbox!

Hello Adventerers! I'm a little aggravated right now, I took tons of pictures of my birchbox (ie. opening it, each layer, how it's packaged) and I just checked right now and about 50% of the photos are corrupted soooo just deal with me, haha. I just literally deleted all the photos off my camera about 20 minutes ago because I usually check cause my iPhoto has been known to do that. Butttt I didn't check these. :( But anyways August's birchbox was "Beauty School Supply Kit" the box it came in was yellow this month instead of the usual pink and I guess they just took the extra bits that they had from the previous year and threw them into a box and named it Beauty school...

So here are the contents of my box, this was rumored to be one of the better boxes which I guess I'm glad about cause if you've been watching my youtube video's you'd know I kind of get the short end of the stick a bit. The items I got were the shick razor, a pixie lip color, a stretch silkening creme which is actually for your hair, a little sample of yu-be cream, and a sample of viva la juicy la flour--which in my opinion has the cutest bottle ever! The La Fleur doesn't really smell different to me because I own the full size of the regular viva la juicy and so I can say that. 

Overall I'm ehh about the box. I don't really expect much from Birchbox any more though. I'm debating about canceling it to be honest. What do you think? Should I cancel it? or no? Did you cancel your subscription? if so, why? if not, are you thinking about it?

August MyGlam Bag!

Hey Adventurers! Today's post is pretty short and to the point. Its that time again where I get all my monthly subscription boxes in the mail and today's post is MyGlam! With the bag I feel like they cheaped out and used a bag pretty much the same as last months bag and they threw in another Circus by Andrea's choice nail polish--I got the yellow one last month, absolutely hate it, chipped in a few hours-- so two of the items are pretty much the same from last month. BUT onto the contents!

1. MyGlam Glam Gloss in 02(original hahaha) and it's a hot pink with shimmer, almost exactly like the box. The packaging is really nice actually pretty sturdy contents. I'll try it out and let you know how I feel about it.
2. Circus by Andrea's Choice nail polish in Ringmaster, hot pink shade.
3. Dragon fruit roll on Perfume oil- Smells really sweet and fruity and it's an oil. I'm not sure if I'll use this but it is different and I like different---ha.
4. S.a.l.t.y Cosmetics Loose Luxury Mineral Eye Shadow in Glama-ZOID! It's a white with glitter and it's a rather small amount in the container and the container is small as well, I'd say it's about halfway filled length wise.
5. Eclos Plant Stem Cells Anti-Aging Regenerative Cream- The smell of this is really organic and kind of alcohol-y. I'm not really sure how I feel about the whole 'Stem cell' aspect of this cream. Kind of freaks me out to be honest only because of what I've heard about 'stem cell research' and stuff. So I'm not exactly sure about this.
6. Eclos Plant Stem Cells Anti-Aging Cellular Activator Face Serum- I don't know about these subscription services sending me a bunch of Anti-aging things. I guess you can never start to early... But same with #5 about the stem cells and I didn't bother smelling this one.


That's everything that was in this months MyGlam bag.

Overall I think I'm a little underwhelmed with this bag(no surprise there) but I feel like MyGlam is there to make a name for itself instead of doing what it promises to do (i.e deluxe size samples from your 'favorite' brands) making MyGlam brushes and MyGlam lip gloss. I just feel like their out to gain more here and it's going to change into more and more MyGlam official stuff every month and less chances of getting a product from an actual brand.

Another thing is, I don't know anything about the MyGlam company and how they made this lipgloss or those brushes, I could be getting something that has tons of chemicals in it. There's a lot that I just don't know. I wish they would just do what they said they were going to do when they started and just stick to the script.


Rant over, sorry about that guys.

xoxoAlaina

Birchbox, Glamour style!

Hey adventurers! It seems that all of my monthly subscription services arrived at around the same time, I hope you don't mind all of the alike posts! This time it's Birchbox! If you don't know it's 10 dollars a month to get surprise samples to your door every month! This month they had a collaboration with Glamour Magazine.

In this month's box I received: 

Color Club's nailpolish in the color Blue-Ming(get it? blue-ming/blooming HA!) Full size $8

Gloss Moderne- High-Gloss Masque Full size $39

Harvey Prince- Eau Flirt (who woulda thunk it? Another perfume sample....) Full size- $55-$98

Manna Kadar Sheer Glo Shimmer Lotion Full size- $29

Suki Balancing Kit( the five packets that you see in the picture above) Full size- $40

The two extra's which were included in this kit is the Larabar Roasted Nut Roll and a pair of headphones.

Overview: I am not exactly sure how I feel about this box to be honest. I'm excited about the hair mask cause I have a lot of those to try, I'm just too lazy to wash my hair out 20 minutes later(to be honest again) and the nail polish is a really pretty color. But I'm just not that excited about this box.

Bottom Line: I don't feel like I got my 10 dollars this month. I mean if you look at the box, you'd see 10 dollars worth, but I feel like I could of spent my 10 dollars some other way, better.

and now pictures of how it comes wrapped!

xoxoAlaina

New Beauty Test Tube!

Hey-lo Adventurer's I received another TestTube in the mail and I was a little surprised to be honest. But It's different than the first one. I'm not sure the schedule of receiving them, so I'm a little confused about it. I know it's every couple of months, but I'm not sure the exact. Anyway, lets get into it!

The items in this months test-tube were(in no particular order):

Lumene: Time Freeze Firming Night Cream- Full size $21.99

Neutrogena: Rapid Wrinkle Repair Serum- Fullsize- $19.99-$22.99 (This item was full sized!)

It'a 10: Miracle Leave in plus Keratin treatment(I got the regular and not + Keratin)- Fullsize- $20

Olay: Pro-X Clear Complexion Renewing Lotion- Fullsize Unknown because this item is only included in a kit.

Neutrogena: Brightening Eye Perfector- Fullsize- $13.99 (This item was full sized!)

Hydroxatone: Instanteffect- Fullsize- $60

Mally: High Shine Liquid Lipstick- Fullsize- $20 (This item was full sized!) 

Smashbox: Photo Finish Primer

and a few other things that weren't listed in the booklet that comes with it.

Overview: This quarter's tube was really focused on anti-aging in my opinion and I'm not looking for that, I'm a young person and so that was slightly disappointing for me. But I do like the fact that they put a concealer in this tube and they included multiple shades in there depending on the answer that you provided in your quiz that you took. I enjoy that fact that I can see that those answer's aren't just a fake mask that they put on and that they actually take that into account. From the booklet they had 4 shades to choose one. There were 3 full-sized products in this tube which I think is absolutely amazing, if you add only those 3 together you get around 45 dollars and I only pay 39.95 for the tube so those 3 items pay for the tube. I'm also really interested in trying the it's a 10 because I've heard amazing things about it, but never wanted to pay the price for it. 

Bottom line: I'm not as over thrilled about this tube as I was the first one, but I am still really happy with this purchase and I honestly think I got my money back in this tube. This is one subscription that seems to know what they're doing and all other's should take note!

xoxoAlaina

July Birchbox!

Hey guys, another monthly subscription has arrived at my door! I am debating on closing this one out though. Because I'm not really using the items I have received from it. So I'm not entirely sure about this one. :/ But if you don't know, Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that costs 10 dollars and sends samples to your door every month.

For the month of July I received:

Modcloth- a hair accessory including instructions to put it on, it's one with the wire in it.
Coola Mineral face spf 30- This is a sunscreen which is pretty cool I guess, but for the 10 dollars I could of just gotten sunscreen from the store. But I appreciate the summer twist on the item.
TheBalm Staniac- a lip and cheek stain which I haven't heard of before so I will be trying this one out, probably as a lip stain, not a cheek stain because I'm not to skilled at blending before these types of products dry.
BeautyBlender Cleanser- Useless to me because I don't use a beauty blender, I wonder if it could be used as a brush cleaner?
A Cologne sample from Birchbox Man- I wonder how all the single girls feel about this being in their box?
A Self tanning cloth(2)- I don't think I'll get much use out of this because I feel like these cloths are very gimmicky and I don't fake tan. :(

So July's Birchbox: Pass.

The only item in the box that I was excited about was the Staniac and that's just because I have been wanting to try theBalm products but I have no idea where to purchase them at a store.


Should I continue birch box or should I cancel?


xoxoAlaina

June/July Beauty Army!

Hello Adventurer's! I made a post a little while back stating which monthly subscription services I belong too, and back then I was on the waiting list for Beauty Army but I have since got off the waiting list. Beauty Army is 12 dollars a month and you get to PICK--yes, you PICK up to 6 beauty samples in your 5 day window. My 5 day window is the 24th-29th so I picked these out in June, but they arrived in July which is why I call it the June/July box. Because inside the box, the little card actually said July on it. So anyways I digress, you get to pick up to 6 beauty samples and if you don't like what they have to offer you can skip that month, every 24 hours in your 5 day window they will refresh your samples. You do fill out a little beauty quiz to sign up--do they even listen to the answer's of those quizzes??--- This month I only liked 5 things so I only received 5 things.

The five things I received which I am super excited about because I got two different primers and I've never tried primer before, arrreeeeee--from left to right--

• Besame(?) Crimson Rouge Cheek and lip tint-- I was a little disappointed with this because it is very small, I thought that it was going to be a bigger size, but that's kind of what you should expect with these things.
• Youngblood's mineral primer-- Super excited about this because I've never heard of the brand but I've seen it on Hautelook and the products are kind of expensive even when they were on Hautelook, but I'm definitely going to be trying this out and telling you guys how I like it.
• Clear Prep fx Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne treatment gel-- I love the sound of this, a primer that will fight acne?! Uh hellloooo? Why have I not heard of this before, I have high hopes for this one and if it works I WILL be buying the full size of this baby.
• CellCeuticals Active Moisture and barrier- To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what this is, is it a moisturizer? I'm not sure. But I recognize the brand from my New Beauty Test tube.
• Pssssst! Dry Shampoo-- Now, this sample has been in almost every single Monthly subscription service that there is, but I have never gotten it and I'd like to try it. I know for a fact that it will leave a white cast because I have dark hair, but If you actually rub it in, it'll go away and I'm curious to see how many uses I can get out of this can since people are saying the full size of the Dove Dry shampoo doesn't get you very far.

Now if you don't have Beauty Army or have never seen it, I'm below are going to be the pictures of how it comes packaged and wrapped in case you were wondering! 

All in all, I was very happy with this months box completely worth my 12 dollars in my opinion. Talk to you guys soon!

xoxoAlaina

PS. Did you get a Beauty Army box this month? If you did, tell me what YOU got down below!

New Beauty Test Tube!

Hey guys!,
        I received my first Test tube and needless to say I am/was super excited about it, not only is this only around 40 dollars every season, it's totally worth it in my opinion! The picture above is everything that came inside my test tube. They even were nice enough to give three coupon codes so that if you buy from Spalook.com you can get money back (I don't think this is a gift card even though it says gift card on it, it's more of a coupon) This is one of those subscription services where you don't know what you're going to get every season, so you're putting the money in and then getting surprised. It came in a pink box with a New Beauty magazine and a booklet with all the products in it.

 A close up of the cards, it included a 10 off of 60, 25 off of 125 and 50 off of 200! Good for me I believe, I still have not gone to the website to see if I will use them, but they don't expire until 7/31/12 so I have some time to look and see.

Included in this test tube were: 

Mally Evercolor shadow stick in the color Platinum- Full size $25 Included worth: $25 

Neostrata Skin active Cellular Restoration- Full size $79 Included worth:  $2.26

Moroccan Oil Frizz control- Full size- $32 Included worth: $32

Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex- Full size- $28 Included worth $3.78

YBF Eye liner in Plum Noir- Full size $14.50 Included worth: $14.50

Memoire Liquide Lotion and two perfume samples- Full size perfumes- $95 Full size Lotion- $48 Included Perfumes worth- $2.76 x2 Lotion worth- $48

Skin Ceuticals SPF collection- Full size dropper- $146 Full size Cream- $32 

dr. brandt flexitone BB cream- Full size- $39 Included worth: $9.75

Perlier & Elariia Body cream- Full size-$24.50 Included worth: $24.50

I'm completely blown away that 5 of these items were full size, how generous is that?! I only paid I believe something like $38 dollars for a tube worth, are you ready?! $159.79 NOT including what the SPF Collection is worth because I didn't want to figure it out. THAT is completely worth it. As far as what the little magazine told me there are 5 full size items, I'm not completely sure if they are, BUT regardless, I find this tube VERY worth the money I paid for it. So I, am VERY happy with this season's Test tube! 

***The test tube itself is only $29.95, shipping was what brought it up to $38.90, but I live in Hawaii, so it costs more! ***

Interested in trying it out? http://testtube.newbeauty.com/

xoxoAlaina

Quickie Post: What I've been loving currently!

Willa Naturals Facial Cleansing Towelettes.

I received this in one of the birch boxes and just started trying it this month. I love these things. They are lavender scented so if you don't like lavender than I would stray away. Except that I hate lavender and I don't mind them, I guess it's just preference. They are pre-moistened towelettes and they get about 90% of my makeup off which I think is fantastic, none of my other wipes removed that much makeup. I love my Formula 10.0.6 wipes but these wipes are soft on the face and so nice. I honestly feel like they are lotion to my face! I always follow up my wipes with MAC's Charged water Cleanser anyway so it's good that I use less of the MAC and more of the wipes. 

xoxoAlaina