May Sephora Play Unboxing

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I subscribed to Sephora Play last month, but I never got around to posting an unboxing of my April Sephora Play, which I regret because it was a great box. There was the NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien, the Sephora Collection Colorful Cheek Ink Gel in Peony, and the Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream, among other things. Admittedly, I haven't actually tried any of the three products I mentioned, but they're the ones that I was most excited to see.

When I opened my May Sephora Play, I was immediately disappointed by the packaging. I was expecting the gorgeous box that my April Sephora Play came in, complete with confetti and booklet, but all I was greeted with are a folded sheet of paper in place of the fancy booklet and a flimsy linen bag in place of a sturdy box. I'm not sure if they only pull out all the stops for your first box, or if they're cutting down costs now that the service is open to everyone, but even if my April Sephora Play didn't raise my expectations, this packaging is still subpar compared to the other beauty subscription boxes out there. The Ipsy Glambag also favors flimsy bags, but at least they're cute and reusable, and Birchbox may just come in a cardboard box, but at least it's sturdy and pretty.

The products themselves, though, are not too bad. I'm especially excited about the fragrance, lipstick, and mask primer. I feel meh towards the mask and lip liner. As for the hair mask, I already have the exact same sample from a previous Birchbox, which I also haven't used, so that's that. Here's what everything is:

1. Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial, $48 (1.35 fl oz) at Sephora.com

2. Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask, $36 (8 fl oz) at Briogeo

3. Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine Cologne Absolue Pure Perfume, $120 (3.3 fl oz) at Sephora.com

4. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Kimchi, $26 (0.15 oz) at Sephora.com

5. Tarte Tarteist Lip Crayon in Latergram, $18 (0.01 oz) at Tarte Cosmetics

6. Origins Maskimizer Skin-Optimizing Mask Primer, $22 (3.2 fl oz) at Sephora.com

Have you tried any of these products?

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Sephora Mini Haul

This is a super mini haul because I actually only bought two things:

1. Boscia Pink Peppermint Blotting Linens, $6

This is a limited edition product that I immediately jumped on. I'm a huge fan of Boscia blotting linens; the Boscia Green Tea Blotting Linens is my holy grail blotting tissue. I've tried this already. It works just as well as the Green Tea one, and the peppermint scent is very strong and refreshing.

2. Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, $19

I know I just bought the ELF Waterproof Eyeliner (as I mentioned in my Drugstore.com haul) because I wanted a felt tip eyeliner for cheap, but since I had a gift card, I couldn't resist skipping on this product from the brand created by the woman whose eyeliner game is always on fleek.

The other three items are the three free samples I chose (This was an online trip):

1. Atelier Cologne Mandarine Glaciale Travel Spray

Atelier Cologne is one of my favorite fragrance brands. I've tried quite a few of their scents from Birchbox, and I've loved them all! They're mostly rich, musky scents (my favorite).

2. Ralph Lauren Polo Blue

I'm not even sure if this is a women's fragrance; I just chose this sample because there were only three fragrance sample choices this month. I always get the fragrance samples (unless there's a sample of something I really want to try) because I find them to be the most worthwhile. Skin care and makeup samples aren't worth it because you can really only get a few uses out of them, but fragrance samples last much longer. I also need to test out scents before I splurge on full-sizes anyway.

3. Burberry My Burberry

I've never owned or tried anything from the Burberry brand, so needless to say, I was ecstatic that this was an available sample.

This clutch full of samples was one of the promotional code things that Sephora always has. This one specifically was one that let me choose among three holiday-themed clutches filled with 12 samples, but unfortunately, this was the only style left. I really like the clutch, but the samples were pretty meh. The only sample that really excited me was, of course, the Versace fragrance. I have a whole collection of Versace minis which I am absolutely in love with, so I'm glad this was one of the samples. Also, you can't see it from this picture, but the Urban Decay eye primer one came with four samples of four different eye primers, so I'm really excited about that too.

Have you tried any of these products?

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Birchbox: April 2013 Unboxing

Hello, world.

My April Birchbox is here!

Overview

The theme for this month is "Tiny Tweaks, Big Results."

We all know that if you look good, you feel good, but the problem is that not all products work for you, and even if they did, you might not be going about your daily beauty routine properly.

So, for the month of April, Birchbox has teamed up with Womens Health magazine to bring us samples that will help us make "tiny tweaks" in our daily beauty routines to get "big results."

Products

This is the Ambre Nue fragrance from Atelier Cologne. I was super excited to see this because I absolutely adore Atelier Cologne! The scents that they have stand out. The Ambre Nue is no different. I love earthy tones like myrrh and sandalwood, and this product incorporates both with floral notes to create a bouquet that is just love at first smell. If youre a fan of musk like me, this fragrance should be at the top of your list! Fragrance is a good way to change up your beauty routine; when you have wonderful scents wafting off of you, you not only put yourself in a good mood, but the people around you as well.

This is the Mesolift serum from Lierac Paris. My first thought when I saw this was, "The packaging contains not a single lick of English; how fancy." I dont speak French, so needless to say, I had no idea what this product actually was besides being a serum. After a little bit of research, I learned that this product packs a triple punch: it hydrates skin, shrinks pores, and fights off wrinkles. On paper, this sounded like the perfect serum, but after trying it out, Im not too big of a fan. It takes a lot of product to cover my whole face, which is never a good sign. I dont know the extent of its claims yet; it might work really well, but besides the citrus scent of blood orange, I dont see myself liking this product. Serum is an important part of anyones facial routine because it does all the things that a simple moisturizer wouldnt be able to do.

This is the Blow Dry Lotion from Number 4. Ive previously sampled the Clarifying Shampoo from this brand through my December Birchbox, and I was relatively surprised by its effectiveness. However, this does set up higher expectations for the Blow Dry Lotion. Its unique, though; Im used to heat protectants being mists that you spray on your hair, but this is apparently a lotion. I havent tried it yet, but Im excited to because this is not just a heat protectant, but a smoothing treatment as well. I dont know about you, but I love my hair, and I love taking care of it. Whatever the climate you live in, the elements can be harsh on your hair, so adding in an extra step in your hair care routine can do wonders.

This is the Color Changing nail polish in Peony from Ruby Wing. I was super excited to receive this product because Ive heard so much about color changing nail polish, and Ive been wanting to try it out for myself. Color changing nail polish is the latest innovation in nail polish. Basically, your nail polish will be a different shade when youre outdoors. Peony is a peach shade that will supposedly turn bright red in the sun. Nail polish is an easy way to look polished (pun intended) without doing too much. Although, that being said, chipped nail polish is always a no-no.

This is the Revitalizing Eye Roll-on from Simple. This product is one of those that I was excited about. Simple is one of my favorite drugstore brands because it boasts natural ingredients, and it is super gentle on skin, which makes it perfect for everyday wear. Ive previously tried the Soothing Eye Balm, which I really loved, and this product is ten times better because it is a roll-on, which minimizes the use of your fingers on the sensitive eye area. This roll-on is super soothing and cooling, especially after heavy use of makeup remover. Wrinkles and crows feet can start in your early 20s, so regularly using eye cream is the best way to combat that.

Shop

1. The 200ml version of the Atelier Cologne Ambre Nue Cologne Absolue can be bought for $136 on EBay.com.
2. The 1.1oz version of the Lierac Paris Concentre Mesolift Toning Radiance Serum can be bought for $48 on LovelySkin.com.
3. The 150ml version of the Number 4 Blow Dry Lotion can be bought for $32 on Birchbox.com.
4. The 15ml version of the Ruby Wing Color Changing Nail Polish in Peony can be bought for $10 on Birchbox.com.
5. The 0.5floz version of the Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-on can be bought for $8.74 on EBay.com.

Final Verdict

I love this months Birchbox because the samples are products that I would actually use. I will be writing separate reviews for the products that I havent gotten around to trying yet, so please check back if youre interested.

Do you subscribe to Birchbox?

If you do, include your link in the Comments section, and I'll check it out!

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