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Subscription boxes: Birchbox, Ipsy

October 17, 2014

Birchbox October 2014 unboxing & ewg scores

Posted in Clothing, Makeup / Cosmetics, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

Lord & Berry Paillettes Eye Pencil soooooo this was the item I picked out this month and somehow it wasn’t in my box. I posted a photo on instagram and did contact Birchbox customer service and they’re shipping one out to me but it will be 10 days before I might get it. So without having it in hand to review let’s look at why I chose it. It doesn’t have cones (I break out with cones) and some of the other nasties I normally see. However I missed the parabens when I was checking this out and choosing it. So lets see how this scores with the EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. skin deep cosmetics database scores it. OUCH. Wow. I did horribly in picking this out. It’s a solid 10 from the cosmetics database. On a scale from 0 to 10 with 0 being the healthiest. UGHHH! And I thought this was going to be maybe a 4 based on skimming through the ingredient list and was the product I was most looking forward to trying!

Harvey Prince Petaly Noir – nope. Just no. No synthetic fragrances for me. Worse, I can smell the Harvey Prince perfumes just by opening the box and they typically give me a headache without opening them. I REALLY really hope that Birchbox will give us the option to opt out of perfumes. I particularly dislike the Harvey Prince products they have been on a roll with sending me each month too. September I complained about this. August same complaint. You aren’t going to win me over. Headaches just make me mean. Stop it. Pretty please?

ModelCo Party Proof Lipstick in Kitty – well another I had high hopes for but it fails. No cones but there’s fragrance. Also one of the ingredients that isn’t harmful I tend to avoid and that’s mineral oil. So with the EWG cosmetics database rating of a 9 I don’t think I’ll be trying this one. Do you know how much lipstick/lipgloss you accidentally eat? Ew.

BeeKind™ Body Lotion – The website claims “The BeeKind™ Collection features Gilchrist & Soames’ Signature formulations, which contain no parabens, phthalates, petrol-derived ingredients, mineral oil, urea, DEA, TEA or propylene glycol.” The bad news for me is that it has dimethicone in it which rules it out for me. Since I couldn’t find the ingredient list online I typed it up from the back of the sample:

INGREDIENTS: water; ceteryl alcohol; cocos nucifera oil; glycerine; ceteareth 20; helianthus annuus seed oil; parfum; dimethicone; honey; trifolium pratense flower extract; calendula officinalis flower extract; chamomile recutita flower extract; Cymbopogon schoenanthus exctract; citric acid; glyceryl dilaurate; steric acid; benzyl alcohol; dehydroacetic acid; acrylates/ c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer; sodium hydroxide; tocopheryl acetate; citral; citronellol; geraniol; hexyl cinnamal; limonene; linalool

If they dropped the added fragrance that would do a lot to make this a healthier product. Despite all of the things it doesn’t have in it, it’s a 4 with the skin deep database. This is not terrible but it’s also not as healthy as they might be leading you to believe.

dr. brandt® Exclusive Clean Up Nice Kit – This is actually just “pores no more cleanser” as the sample. Paraben, paraben, paraben. If they just went with a healthier preservative this would be a healthier overall product. As it is right now it’s a 6 with the ewg cosmetics database.

So I’m a little underwhelmed with the products in this month’s box. Since Birchbox started giving us a choice of one product in our boxes I can’t believe I picked something that unhealthy out of what was available (and I can’t remember what the other options were.) Anyway…

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September 19, 2014

Ipsy glambag September 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Hair, Makeup / Cosmetics, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

Crown Brush Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush – synthetic fibers double ended brush. I don’t have a preference over synthetic vs natural on brushes as long as it’s a good brush for the job. At first glance and feel this seems like a good quality brush and both ends I think I would be likely to use. I think the only thing I’m not sure about is that it’s double ended. I’ve been using brush guards on all of my brushes since I throw them in a bag. I don’t think I can use the brush guard with the double ended brush though. I’m excited to try this.

Hikari Lipstick in Cabernet – so one, I wear more lipgloss than lipstick. Two, I’m not big on red lipstick. It just looks weird on me (or maybe that’s just my imagination.) The good: No fragrance, no dimethicone. The bad: it has parabens and mineral oil. The mineral oil isn’t toxic but it feels weird on my skin so I avoid it. This lipstick is a 5 with the cosmetics database. Do you know how much lipstick and lipgloss you eat? Mmmm?

Pacifica Natural Water-Proof Eye Pencil in fringe (brown) – pacifica is pretty much a hands down winner brand in my opinion. A few products I can’t use because of cones but otherwise it’s a sure bet when it comes to healthy ingredients and a quality product. No cones in this (a reminder, cones aren’t unhealthy, they just break out my skin personally) so I’m excited to try it. Even better that it’s waterproof!! This is a healthy 1 with the skin deep cosmetics database.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Mask – Let’s start with the fact that upfront they’ve said “This product is free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, silicones, artificial fragrances, artificial dyes, and gluten. It is cruelty-free and contains organic ingredients.” WOW. A company that seems to get it. So let’s just check out the cosmetics database report on the full ingredient list. Sooooo EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. judges vitamin A just a little more harshly than I would and it gets an 8 … which makes this a 4 with the cosmetics database. I’m giving this one some slack since the vitamin A seems to be the worst thing here. My hair could use some deep conditioning mask after all of the swimming this summer.

LeeAnni Eco 3-in-1 Revolution Light – Toner, Serum, and Moisturizer in One … and I just ran out of my face moisturizer. No cones, no parabens, no synthetic fragrances, excellent ingredient list … done and done. The cosmetic database ranks it a 1. Trying this asap.

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September 19, 2014

Birchbox unboxing September 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

Harvey Prince Hello – Hello seriously? I just said last month that they should stop sending me fragrances and products from this brand. Synthetic fragrance is an 8. Nuf said. Moving on (and Birchbox PLEASE stop sending me Harvey Prince!!!)

TOCCA Crema da Mano Luxe – Hand Cream – I had high hopes for this one but oh well. Anything over a 4 and I usually start questioning whether I want to use it and I definitely don’t want to use it regularly if it has synthetic fragrance as an ingredient (which this does.) It’s a little too unhealthy for a lotion for my tastes as it ranks a 5 with EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment.’s skin deep cosmetics database.

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Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser Starter Kit – Ok so I chose this sample deliberately even though I’ve received it before. I looked at the things I could choose from this month and nothing was appealing so I figured I would add this and have a travel version. I’ve been re-purchasing and using the full size of this since the first sample I received last October and I LOVE it. Since I’ve never done the EWG ranking for it (it has crazy healthy ingredients) I figured I should go ahead and post that info now too. The few ingredients that cause this to be a 3 with the skin deep cosmetic database do not concern me. There are no parabens, no synthetic fragrances etc etc.

Skin&Co Roma SICILIAN LIGHT™ SERUM Vitamin C Brightening Face Serum – so this has dimethicone in it which rules it out for me (cones break out my skin). This is also a 5 with the cosmetics database with fragrance being one of the bigger bad ingredients.

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ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 5 TEMPTU S/B Highlighter – this has cyclomethicone which rules another one out for me personally. This is also a 5 with the cosmetics database.

ChapStick® Dual-Ended Hydration Lock Day & Night – Ok this one is going to be a weird one in that the two ends have completely different ingredients. At a glance the day side looks toxic to me and the night side looks healthy and perfectly fine to use. So let me run each set of ingredients through the cosmetic database separately:

Day side ingredients: is a 6 with the cosmetics database.

Night side ingredients: is a 2 with the cosmetics database.

So chapstick made half their product good and healthy. I’ll give that side a try. I’m not sure how much I’ll use it though because I don’t want to accidentally use the wrong side. Actually I’ve already solved this – I put some masking tape on the end I don’t want to accidentally use so it would be hard for me to make that mistake.

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August 16, 2014

Ipsy Glambag August 2014 unboxing

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Subscription boxes

Glamglow Youthmud® Tinglexfoliate Treatment – eeee it’s a 5 with ewg’s cosmetics database. The big negative is the fragrance. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to try this one or not. It’s right there on the edge. A bit higher than I would like on the ratings but for using maybe once or twice I might consider it. I like a good mask…

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara not waterproof or even water resistant. Therefor not my cup of tea. BUT it is a healthy 2 with the ewg skin deep cosmetics database so it does have that going for it. I just have now found some healthy AND waterproof mascara so I’m not even really interested in trying anything that isn’t waterproof.

Jersey Shore Sun Mongongo Lip Conditioner Uber healthy ingredients and ranks a 1 with the cosmetics database. No cones, no synthetic fragrances. Basically a healthy chapstick, no color. Plain, simple, healthy. Should be great for winter or for after the pool where the chlorine dries out my lips some.

Lord & Berry Silk Kajal Kohl Eye Pencil no cones, no fragrances but it does have parabens. This is the most unhealthy product I think I’ve been sent in awhile, ranking an 8. It is also the smallest black eyeliner sample I’ve seen. I went to check the price just to see if there was some reason the sample was so small but their online store is offline. So if you want to take advantage of the ipsy discount promo code right now you can’t.

Manna Kadar Cosmetics Sheer Glo dimethicone rules this one out for me. It also uses parabens. It also ranks an unhealthy 6. This looks pretty similar to the e.l.f. Essential Shimmering Facial Whip but at $30 a bottle instead of $1. I will admit that since I’m not going to try this one there’s a chance that it may actually have more staying power than the elf product since the ingredients aren’t an exact match so it may be worth the money.

Given the other products that people were sent this month, I don’t think there were really better options. The few things that looked like I might be interested were ruled out by cones for me.

So some good chapstick. A little underwhelmed this month. But it does also come with a cute polka dot tube shaped makeup bag. 🙂

August 14, 2014

Birchbox August 2014 unboxing

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Subscription boxes

Laura Geller Beauty Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow so clearly this is the item I chose for myself as I mentioned in my last birchbox post. So as I mentioned previously it doesn’t have cones, it doesn’t have perfumes or parabens or other nasties. This is a really healthy product and I’m excited to try it. It’s a gorgeous neutral silver with just a hint of taupe. It should work well on a lot of skin tones. Not glittery but shimmery and looks like it will stay put and also act as a primer for other eyeshadows.

Harvey Prince Ageless Body Cream so even if this were healthier this is still not a product I’m interested in. Besides being synthetic, I think everything Harvey Prince smells just awful. That’s my personal opinion since I’ve had the perfume in a previous Birchboxes. Harvey Prince skinny chic made me gag on opening the box, Harvey Prince eau flirt yuck, Harvey Prince yogini made me sneeze when I opened the box. Birchbox should really just stop trying to send me this brand. I’m typically allergic to it on top of it being a synthetic fragrance. Nothing like a headache or sneezing on opening the box. This is only a 4 with the cosmetics database and most of that is because of the synthetic fragrance. So while I won’t be using it, if you like the scent and aren’t opposed to synthetic fragrance, then it’s not that bad.
ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 3 nügg Beauty Revitalizing Face Mask free of petrochemicals, parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances or colors. It’s only a 3 with the skin deep cosmetics database. One of the ingredients concerns me just a hair since it’s a known allergen. I think I want to test this on my arm because of the benzyl alcohol. There’s only one of these pods so I’m hoping it won’t dry out between my test and getting to use the product if I’m not allergic to it!
Neil George Shampoo no cones, no parabens, fragrance is iffy. Based on how it’s listed it’s not clear if it contains synthetic fragrances on top of natural ingredients used as a fragrance or not. That and the benzyle alcohol are probabaly my main concerns with this shampoo. It ranks a 4 with the ewg skin deep cosmetics database if it uses a synthetic fragrance.
ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 4 Neil George Conditioner dimethicone rules this one out for me personally. Same concern on the fragrance as with the shampoo. It’s another 4 with the ewg skin deep cosmetics database.

Soooo…. It’s an ok box. Mostly I’m happy with the fact that I got to select one of my items this month so it ensured one item I could try. I DO like the element of surprise though too so letting me select one thing is the best of both worlds.

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July 22, 2014

August 2014 Birchbox sample choice –
how they stack up based on ingredients

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Subscription boxes

I was impressed last month when Birchbox gave us a choice of colors on the nail polishes we received. They decided to extend that this month and let us again have a choice on one of the sample items in our boxes but this time it’s bigger than just the color. This time they’re going to let us choose between four products.

So I thought I would go ahead and do the EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. skin deep cosmetics database reports for each of these products now in case anyone wanted factor how healthy they are into their decision making.

* * * * SPOILER ALERT * * * *

ModelCo Bronzer (full size retails for $22.00) Keeping in mind that they often send sample sizes, this one would still be the most expensive to try on your own. This IS free of cones, parabens, and fragrance and other nasties and it ranks a healthy 2 with the cosmetics database.

Laura Geller Beauty Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow (full size retails for $19) color me impressed. This is another healthy item at 2 out of 2 ranking a 2 with the cosmetic database. This is a shimmery cream eyeshadow in “silver sands.”

theBalm® cosmetics Stainiac (full size retails for $17.00) this is one of those products that many many people fall in love with that I just wasn’t personally enamored with it. I’ve had this as a sample before and I just didn’t use it. It’s a dual purpose stain and I stick with bronzers for my cheeks so that might be part of it. But it’s a top seller so…

The link in the cosmetics database may be missing some of the ingredients or might be using an older ingredient list so I decided to do a custom report. It does contain fragrance and parabens and but it ranks somewhere between a 3 (using the report above) or a 5 based on the custom report I did using the ingredient list off of the nordstrom website. The ingredient list wasn’t available though birchbox’s website nor through theBalm site. I didn’t want to go dig out my sample because it may actually be old and might not have the current ingredients either… so it’s somewhere between a 3 and a 5.

Noir Long-Wear Eyeliner (full size retails for $15.00) I actually already own this. It’s a good black eyeliner pencil but I’ve found I’m the weird one who can apply a gel liner faster and better than most pencil liners so I prefer those most of the time. So although I don’t need a backup of this, I’ve kept this one around because it’s a good black pencil liner and it’s a super healthy 1 with the cosmetics database.

So I own the last two already. And the first two are a tie when it comes to the ingredient ratings… Surprisingly all of the options are good choices when it comes to the ingredients (theBalm’s stainiac is the only iffy one and it still isn’t horrendous.)
… Decisions decisions….
Which one do you think you’ll choose? 🙂

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* * * * UPDATE – even more choices! * * * *

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