birchbox

October 21, 2013

Birchbox & Ipsy for October 2013

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

Birchbox & Ipsy for October 2013

In my Ipsy Glambag for October 2013:

Zoya Nail Polish in Neve – as always, another great Zoya color. Perfect for fall and winter and really great because it’s a classy cobalt blue shade. All Zoya polishes are 3-free.

Sexy Hair Blow Dry Gel – dimethicone, can’t use it personally. Cosmetics database rates it a 6! Remember, lower is better!

Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush – this is going to be my goto eyeshadow brush. I love this shape brush and previously had been buying the ELF brushes that are this shape (a brush doesn’t always have to be expensive to be quality.) The quality of the ELF brushes has gone downhill however as my last purchase of these brushes from ELF, the brush bristles were a little mis-shaped. The Coastal Scents brush is a little long but otherwise it’s a real step up from the ELF brush in terms of quality. The bristles are in the perfect shape and size and the handle coating is much better. This seems like it will last a much longer time and I’ll probably be buying a few more in the near future. It is a synthetic brush in case that is a deciding factor for you.

La Fresh® Eco-Beauty® Oil-Free Face Cleanser Wipes – I haven’t used this yet but I’m looking forward to trying it. I think they’ve changed the ingredients some since the last time I checked out this product because the current ingredients are healthier than what I remember. I’m already a big fan of the LA Fresh nail polish remover wipes. Cosmetics Database rates this a 4 … I suspect the real life rating would be lower if EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. would account for natural scents. Checked without the “fragrance” this was a 2.

Wet n Wild Photo Op Eyeshadow – dimethicone, can’t use it personally. Cosmetics Database rates this a 1! I’m surprised! But I still can’t use it personally. :/

Sign up for Ipsy:

http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h051sec1kqq5g8p
{affiliate link – I get 250 points which points equal products but it’s still a little unclear how many points to the dollar}

In my Birchbox October 2013:

Bain de Terre macadamia oil NOURISHING CONDITIONER – argh dimethicone, so I can’t personally use. Cosmetics Database score is a 4.

POP Beauty Aqua Lacquer – nothing to keep me from trying this but it’s not exactly healthy either. It uses mineral oil, propylparaben, and fragrance. The color is a fun color that reminded me of a cherry lollipop but goes on a little more subtly like a thin layer of something that should pop over neutral lip tone. The color is good. It is fairly sticky sticky however so even if I hadn’t looked over the ingredients, I’m not sure I would choose to wear this regularly. Cosmetics Database score is a 4.

ChapStick® Hydration Lock – dimethicone, can’t personally use. Cosmetics Database score is a 5. Remember, lower is better.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser Starter Kit – INCREDIBLE ingredient list. The only one I wasn’t sure about in terms of personal allergies is hops. I know I have some problems consuming hops but I’ve never had the occasion to try anything topically so I don’t know if I have a skin sensitivity to it. I HAVE used this though for the last 4 days both morning and night and so far no problems. I’m in love with this. My face looks and feels healthier. It doesn’t cause my face to get oily, it doesn’t strip away like a regular soap cleanser might AND I still feel clean after using it. This is a tough thing to accomplish, healthy natural ingredients and not left feeling like you still need to clean.

Really – my face has a nice healthy glow to it now. I can’t tell how much of that is the muslin cloth and how much is this cleanser but this cleanser is definitely good still. Liz Earle has done an excellent job with this product! Cosmetics Database score is a 3.

Liz Earle Pure Muslin Cloths – LOVE this. Already tried this and absolutely love love love it. This is just the right amount of exfoliation for 1-2 times per day use. It’s surprising because holding the cloth I really didn’t think I was going to be that impressed by it. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to scrub much but somehow it does. I don’t know if all muslin would be scrubby or if Lis Earle has just sourced the perfect cloth but I think I’m in. As long as I can find a better way to store / dry these I think I’m going to buy a few more to have on hand / keep as backups!

Still not signed up for Birchbox?

http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

September 14, 2013

Birchbox September unboxing 2013

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Birchbox September unboxing video 2013:

Sign up for Birchbox: http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

In my September Birchbox • a rundown of my items and reviews:

• RUFFIAN Nail Lacquer in Fox Hunt – This is a lovely fall shimmery burnt orange color that I’m really happy to get. Not too orange so you don’t look like you’re ready for halloween a little too early. I expect this to be a very versatile color to wear. I saw photos of some of the other colors and I may just have to go back and buy the olive-y green called Hedge Fund that I saw in some other box photos. These nail polishes appear to be “5-free” so they are less toxic than some of the nail polishes on the market (it was a PAIN to peel off that label to get to the ingredient list so I’ve posted that below. So tiny!) I’m not quite ready to switch to fall colors yet but I’m really happy to get this in my box! Swatch of Ruffian Fox Hunt shown below side by side with the Nailtini Mai Tai swatch.

• Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips – 100% Medical Grade Lanolin… that’s it! It’s a 1 with the cosmetics database. This company apparently makes one product from one ingredient and it’s healthy. If you are opposed to sheep wool, you’ll be opposed to this but animals are not harmed in this process (so it depends to what extreme you take your “no animal products” stance.) For more info on how it’s processed, visit: www.drlipp.com So aside from the strange name this stuff is awesome. This actually should be wonderful come winter for chapped winter lips!

• amika Obliphica Perk Up Dry Shampoo – No dimethicone – yay! Still has synthetic perfume so there’s that but overall I was excited to try this. It IS however a 6 with the cosmetics database as a custom report which is a little higher than I prefer to go.

Review: is that it really does what it’s supposed to do even on brown hair. The main drawback is the scent – it’s a bit overpowering for me so this relegates this product to occasional / emergency use only category. Absolutely going to keep this product around but I would be happier if they also offered a scent-free for those times when you just want to use dry shampoo for added volume and for people like me who are trying to avoid a lot of synthetic fragrances because it can mess with my sinus allergies.

If they could get rid of the fragrances it would have a better score with the cosmetics database as well (hint hint.)

• SARAHPOTEMPA The HALF-UP™ bun tool – No ingredients here to worry about. I sometimes wear my hair in a bun so absolutely going to try this. I DO wonder how long it will last since it seems to be a combination of foam and metal but otherwise looks like a pretty nifty and useful hair styling tool.

This does a decent job of making a bun and it’s comfortable. Where it’s a problem is layered hair – it’s really hard to bring the tool towards the bottom of the hair without loosing pieces IF you have layers. Not impossible but something to keep in mind if you’ve had problems with other bun tools as a result of your layers. I think I’m most impressed with how comfortable it is to wear. We’ll see how much use I get out of it over then next couple of months. I’m curious how long it will last simply because of the materials it’s made of as well. I have a plastic bun tool somewhere and though this is easier to use because it grips the hair a little more it just doesn’t seem as durable.

• VOESH New York Aroma Spa Pedicure Lotion – Dimethicone … but it goes on your feet and since I’ve never had my feet break out in acne and my feet are REALLY far away from my face I may still give this a try (if you’re new to this blog, dimethicone causes major acne problems for me.) The synthetic fragrance is the other concern but … my feet could really use some hydrating and pampering after the summer sandals so and I might just have to try it anyway. It is a 5 with the cosmetics database as a custom report. I really prefer scores below 5 … again synthetic fragrance is keeping this from being healthier.

So my birchbox rocked for me this month. It has it’s ups and downs but the last few months have started to make up for the crappiness that was last fall’s boxes. Now if you got the same box as me this month but you were looking forward to makeup, well there was no makeup in this particular box but it looks like a few had makeup items available. This September seemed a little light on the makeup inclusions though based on what I’m seeing in the Birchbox “Shop September” section though. But I’m good with hair tools, nail polish and natural lip treatment. Particularly since they are things I CAN try and I’m not flat out allergic/have a reaction to. YAY!

Still not signed up for Birchbox?

http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

August 21, 2013

My Birchbox vs Ipsy August 2013 unboxing

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Product details and rating are below my Birchbox vs Ipsy August 2013 unboxing video:

Birchbox August 2013

Curly Hair Solutions™ Curl Keeper – no cones yay! A custom report with the cosmetics database returns a 4 which is ok but it would probably rank lower if they didn’t have synthetic fragrance which as an ingredient on it’s own is an unhealthy 8. As long as it doesn’t make my nose curl though I will be trying this one but I would encourage the company to consider going with natural fragrance sources or no fragrance. 4/5 stars – docked one for fragrance

Whish Hair Inhibiting Deodorant Swipes – anything “hair inhibiting” creeps me out a little. And although this has a lot of natural ingredients, it also has a lot of questionable ingredients. One ingredient didn’t even register with EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. which was Amino-esters. This one is one that although it doesn’t have a lot of the usual suspects when it comes to ingredients I avoid but it’s a 7 based on a custom report and fragrance isn’t the only ingredient that concerns me a little. Plus if it’s supposed to help inhibit hair growth, how are you going to be able to tell if that’s actually happening with one wipe? I think I’m going to pass on this one. 0/5 stars (creepy and toxic! in my opinion…)

Whish Exfoliating Body Wash in Coconut Milk – So this product is a winner in the quality ingredients category with the exception of about 4 ingredients. The overall score for a custom report was a 4 with the cosmetics database but the four ingredients that on their own rank a lot higher are: fragrance (again), geraniol (which is a natural fragrance but possible allergen … I’m not too concerned about this one personally), citral (which is a skin irritant … but it’s natural and I suspect they are using this as a natural preservative), limonene (again natural, again low on the list and I suspect used for preserving.) So overall other than the synthetic fragrance on this one this is a good one. I’m going to give it a try. 4/5 stars – docked one for fragrance

OC8® Professional Mattifying Gel – holy cow I’m actually excited about this one. No cones, no parabens, no fragrances, no other major nasties AND it ranks a 2 with the cosmetics database! AND mattifying products are something I’ve been casually looking for. Birchbox you are redeeming yourself with this one! 5/5 stars

CAILYN Cosmetics Gel Eyeliner – dimethicone is on the ingredient label. Here’s the thing though, on their website the ingredient list does not include dimethicone so I’m wondering if a) they haven’t updated their labels, b) this is an old batch of eyeliners c) well it’s possible they missed it in the ingredient list on their website. I sent them an email and I’m waiting to hear back. MEANWHILE there is a redeeming quality here – the brush lid that it comes with fits my Mica Beauty eyeliner jar! So I’m going to give the brush a try. Honestly these two look so similar that it makes me wonder (if the ingredients don’t actually include dimethicone) if Mica Beauty and Cailyn are using the same supplier. 3/5 stars Response from the company about the ingredients: “We are updating our website recently and the new ingredients hasn’t [sic] been updated yet in the ingredients section. I apology for the confusion. The ingredient label in the gel eyeliner label is the most updated one.”

Ann Taylor discount codes … so I’m going to treat this like the ipsy bag and not count it in the star rating because I do have to still spend money for this to be of benefit but I did just want to quickly mention it. 20% off one product or 30% off two or more products from Ann Taylor. Valid from August 12 – Sept 16 2013. I’m wondering if this can also be used with Ann Taylor Loft but it’s a nice little extra here since I like the brand. UPDATE: Nope, it doesn’t work on the Ann Taylor Loft site.

Ipsy August 2013:

Pixi Beauty Lash Booster Mascara in Blackest Black good looking set of ingredients, no dimethicone, no fragrances AND after checking out there website I found out it’s waterproof which I prefer. Waterproof mascara is one of the few times I will accept a slightly less healthy score since I have yet to find a natural AND waterproof mascara rolled into one. But I don’t have to sacrifice on this one because it’s score is only a 3 with a custom report on the ingredients. I will probably be doing a waterproof mascara review post sometime in the near future. 5/5 stars

Michael Todd Jojoba Charcoal Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub excellent list of ingredients. Michael Todd True Organics – I’ll have to do a little research and see how organic this brand is but this particular product has no dimethicone, no parabens, no synthetic fragrances, no other toxic ingredients. It’s a 3 on a custom cosmetics database report. I’m a big fan of facial scrubs so I’m really looking forward to this one. Stress and dimethicone have the biggest effect on worsening my breakouts but exfoliating either with a scrub or something like an exfoliating glove helps to keep breakouts at bay when stress and dimethicone aren’t playing a role. 5/5 stars

City Color Cheek Stain dimethicone and parabens and paraffin and synthetic wax – this one isn’t natural or as healthy for you. It’s only a 4 with the cosmetics database (keeping in mind one ingredient wasn’t found in the database) but because of the demethicone though I’m not going to be trying this one. 0/5 stars

noya Lip Balm excellent list of ingredients. I’ve already tried this one and it’s REALLY moisturizing. I’ve been leaning towards lip glosses more instead of chapstick types more lately though so I’m not sure how much use this will get. I’m going to throw it on the desk and see if I end up reaching for it. It’s a really good quality product though and rates a 1 with a custom report (natural flavor shows up as “flavor” and as such I think this is a real world zero for being healthy.) 5/5 stars

Pacifica Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream LOVE this brand and with them I feel fairly certain (given their stance on fragrances and the fact that they started out as a natural fragrance company) that when the ingredients say “fragrance” they aren’t likely to mean synthetic. However this product has dimethicone in it so this product is ruled out for me. IF however you are looking for a BB Cream, I hear this one matches skin tones well and has a dewy shimmeryness to it so if that’s your cup of tea, you might want to give this a go. A custom report ends up getting it a 4 BUT it doesn’t distinguish that this company only uses natural sources for fragrance so I re-ran the report without “fragrance” and it gets a 2 which is more realistic for this product. For the box and how this product fits for me I give it 1/5 stars – I gave it a star because if it simply didn’t have dimethicone in it I would try it in a heartbeat.

August Birchbox 2013: 3.2/5 stars
August Ipsy 2013: 3.2/5 stars

We’re on pretty even ground for the two boxes this month and I’m really happy with the selection that I got from both Birchbox AND Ipsy this month. For only $10 per box I got a variety of products that I’m actually interested in trying and I’m introduced to several new brands I’ve never heard of before that I’m going to check out to see what else they carry. 🙂

Birchbox – all August products page: http://www.birchbox.com/shop/august-2013-box
Ipsy – other August products:

Screen Shot 2013-08-21 at 2.41.59 PM

July 17, 2013

July 2013 Birchbox vs Ipsy

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Unboxing video for both the July Birchbox as well as the July Ipsy:

In my July 2013 Birchbox:

Marcelle BB Cream Golden Glow – perfume free is a pro on this one … but there are two forms of dimethicone in this. Some good ingredients in this and some ingredients I recognize to not be so healthy. I can’t find the ingredient list online to copy and paste and it’s rather lengthy so I’m not going to run it through the cosmetic database for a score (it’s not in there without the custom report.) 0/5 stars
Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Cream – I don’t know how accurate or current this ingredient list is but it does say there is dimethicone which rules it out for me personally. There are too many ingredients here for me to type it all into the cosmetic database for you to check the score to see if it is otherwise healthy for you. Generally it doesn’t look too bad but for me this is a 0/5 stars (Can more companies or Birchbox start posting full ingredient lists online in a way that’s more accessible? This gets frustrating even outside of Birchbox at times.)
Beauty Protector Protect & Shampoo – fragrance and two types of dimethicone. Custom cosmetics database report on the ingredients brings it up as a 6 which is not exactly healthy either. 0/5 stars
Beauty Protector Protect & Condition – fragrance and dimethicone. Custom cosmetics database report on the ingredients brings it up as a 5 so again not exactly healthy either. 0/5 stars
FRAIS™ Towelettes Individuals – amazing ingredients but I think this has to be one of the most expensive per use products to date. Cosmetics database ranks it a 2 which is excellent and there are a lot of healthy oils and other ingredients in this AND it’s supposed to remove waterproof mascara. However most makeup remover, moisturizing facial towelettes come in packages of 30 for between $6-$10 (so at most about $0.33 each.) This is $8 for a package of 7 towelettes! ($1.42 per use!) Since it’s individual packets I do think this might be good for travel but … I just can’t see using this regularly. Then again Birchbox hooked me on the LA Fresh nail polish removers for $0.50 a pop when regular bottles of nailpolish removers are only a couple of dollars and last an untold number of uses. So we shall see. Since I haven’t docked any others for price I’m going to leave this at 5/5 stars

In my July 2013 Ipsy: My July 2013 Ipsy bag - cute hot pink!

POP Beauty – Pouty Pop Crayon in Coral Crush – No dimeticone but it does use fragrance and petrolatum and mineral oil. A custom cosmetics database report brings it up as a 4. Between that and the fact it doesn’t have dimethicone I’m going to give it a try. It’s not super healthy but it’s … ok. If the manufacturer would skip the fragrance it would bring it’s score down quite a bit and be healthier even though it still would still not count as a natural product. I have tried this on and the shade is a little odd on me … I’m still undecided on it. 3/5 stars
BH Cosmetics California Collection Eyeshadow Sample – mineral oil, talc, parabens. Meh moving on. I know I don’t want to use it. 0/5 stars
COOLA Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented Moisturizer – I checked out this company’s full line back when I received the COOLA Classic SPF 30 Cucumber Moisturizer for Face back in the May Birchbox and pretty much everything looked awesome. So good in fact that I bought the unscented sport sunblock already but had been hoping to try the unscented face spf at some point. Scents right on your face can get a little old quickly if you aren’t in love with them and I wanted to see if this was something that worked better for say somewhere you might be out all day that isn’t the beach. 5/5 stars
Sexy Hair – Weather Proof Humidity Resistant Spray – at first glance I thought “well it’s only the fragrance I’m annoyed about. Then I ran it through a custom report 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 cosmetic database and ended up with a 10 … TEN out of ten for highly hazardous ingredients. Bah! Ten is the worst possible score! But no dimethicone in this one… ugh. 0/5 stars
derma e – Microdermabrasion Scrub – 100% vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, mineral oil-free, glycol-free, lanolin-free, gluten free, GMO-free. No dimethicone or synthetic fragrance either (it does have a natural scent to it that smells fairly lemony.) And it ranks a measly 2 with the cosmetic database so this is a winner for being a healthy product and I look forward to trying it. Fingers crossed! 5/5 stars

Birchbox 05/25 stars = 0.2 stars total
Ipsy 13/25 stars = 1.92 stars total

If I had to choose between the two boxes, month after month Ipsy has been winning hands down for me personally. It’s just those occasional gems and finding out about new brands along with Birchbox’s points system…. and well basically all the things I wrote about in this post that’s keeping me with Birchbox. It is what it is. 🙂

PS – my fun and funky straw fedora came from Kohl’s. Since Birchbox mentioned Power Plays being “A move that puts an individual in a position of victory and strength and/or maximizes one’s happiness or confidence and allows for extreme freedom”… I would have to say this hat would be my current power play. I hate having to dry my hair in the summer and this hides the fact that I keep washing and running or going to the pool and then not having styling tools with me… or for today it was an instance of not washing so I could make it to an early morning meeting and then my hair looking a little frazzled by the end of the day but I still wanted to get this video done so I plopped on the hat. I also wore it to Forecastle Music Festival so my forehead and ears didn’t get burned (with or without sunscreen my forehead seems to burn if out way too long) but I do think I need to find a hat that has a bit better ventilation because this one has a tendency to heat up when it’s 85+ degrees outside! 🙂

June 13, 2013

Why stay subscribed to Birchbox and Ipsy?

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Subscription boxes

I was just asked why stay subscribed to Birchbox and Ipsy?

“Just curious, why order these boxes if you have such strict qualifications for products? Why don’t you order the organic specialty boxes or just handpick your products? Seems like a waste of money, and products. And being wasteful doesn’t seem very healthy for the environment either.” — Sarah

It’s an excellent question and the answer is not as simple as simple as just liking or disliking/having problems with the products in the boxes. It ended up being long enough that I thought I should write a blog post quickly instead of simply responding in the comments.

Here are my top 10 reasons that I stay subscribed to Ipsy and Birchbox:

I DO like trying new products.
They’re only $10 each.
The natural / organic boxes still have some of the same problems – dimethicone and other cones. These ingredients aren’t toxic, they just break out my skin. I suspect other people may also have this problem and not have pinpointed it to the ingredients in their hair and skin care (even if it’s something other than dimethicone causing or increasing acne problems.)
Many of the natural / organic boxes aren’t focused on makeup and beauty products. I have food allergies and sensitivities too and what I’ve seen of food in these boxes I’m not too interested in. I have almost bought Eco Emi before but Ipsy won out. I had a lot of people recommending Ipsy after I complained about Birchbox a bit on instagram. When I reviewed previous box contents, that’s what sold me. There’s at least one exclusively natural makeup subscription box but I think it’s $45 a month which is in a range where I might as well just buy a full size product. And the last time I looked at it, the number of brands in that expensive natural box was very very limited.
To bring awareness to products that could be healthier if they made a few minor changes.
To bring awareness to individual products in a line of otherwise not-natural products that are actually nontoxic and quite good (I don’t want to just stick to brands that market themselves as natural / organic.)
I have received products that I love or have had an interest in trying that are worth WAY more than that $10 price of the subscription. Just going and hand picking products to try it would have cost me more to try them.
I end up with brands I’ve never heard of and might never have found on my own..
One example that covers a fair number of these reasons is an eyeliner I received in an Ipsy box. I wear it daily now. It’s healthy and it alone is worth $30+shipping. Would I have tried a product for $30 if I wasn’t sure I would like it? Not as likely. Plus I had never heard of the brand so it wasn’t even on my radar to try.
.
Same will probably go for the highlighter pencil. Never heard of the brand or the product but I’m likely to add that to my routine and likely to re-purchase it when I run out.
.
Color Club would be another example from Birchbox, and I haven’t found those polishes locally yet. And there are some products I will also compromise on IF they aren’t something I’m going to use daily (and if they don’t break me out … as I said, dimethicone is a deal breaker.) They have to be awesome though in order for me to compromise.
.
Two Birchbox Specific reasons:
Birchbox exclusive items. I sometimes want them and there’s no way to get them outside of Birchbox (ok maybe a swap site or ebay but there’s less risk and money to just staying subscribed.)
Birchbox Points for reviews. This one is a bit lame on it’s own but I do leave my feedback to get points. This means that every two months I’ve earned back one month (so essentially my boxes end up being $5/month. Or you could say I spend that $10 a month and get even more free products.) I recently ended up with a 20% off for some reason that I can’t remember and combined with points rewards I bought an expensive shampoo I had been putting off buying (because it was normally $55 a bottle!!!)

I should do a post soon on what has made it into regular use from these boxes and what I have gone back and purchased just as a sort of summary of how much I have found and love from these boxes.

I do know that I have become a bit grumpy with Birchbox. There was a period of about 6 months where nothing was exciting or usable for me in the boxes and it made me just a bit sour on them. I’m trying to be aware of that.

I did do this sort of breakdown in my head before this post and felt like for $10 it was still worth it to stay as long as I got one ok product per month. Another 6 months stint of nothing that I can use and I will probably switch from Birchbox to another subscription. It will probably be Eco Emi or Goodebox unless they take a dive in quality or unless something better comes along before then (via recommendation or a new company.)

As for being wasteful, I don’t toss the unused products. I usually either give them to friends or run a giveaway of these products. I know that some of them I’m not using simply because I have a sensitivity and that other people won’t have a problem with them. Others might be in different places and priorities and would LOVE to have things I consider not healthy enough to use myself. Plus there are some products that I wouldn’t recommend using daily but every once in awhile it’s not going to have a significant long term affect so I’m not going to be a Debbie downer – have some fun! But here’s the educational PSA portion: look for healthier everyday options where you can. So bottom line, these samples aren’t going to waste just because I don’t want them! 🙂

June 13, 2013

June 2013 Birchbox vs Ipsy Glambag

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

My Birchbox unboxing AND my Ipsy unbagging in the video below along with some swatches and commentary. AKA June 2013 Birchbox vs Ipsy Glambag:

My June 2013 Birchbox:

Davines 3-Step System – Davines Love Smoothing Shampoo, Davines Love Smoothing Conditioner, Davines OI/ OIL. dimethicone… 0/5 stars
Mirenesse Glossy Kiss in “Quick Kiss” – the color was growing on me and at first glance I thought that the ingredient list looked ok. Not super healthy but not super toxic. What I missed was that they include fragrance AND dimethicone. The dimethicone is a deal breaker for me personally. And it’s a gorgeous color.Argh. Cosmetics database custom report has it about a 4. Since I had already swatched on my hand, I tried on my lips just because I was curious about the color. I think it might be a little hard to wear but I do think it might have certain occassions that it would be nice to have that extra pop. Then I washed my face intensely and I’m hoping that a limited test isn’t going to cause cystic pimples anywhere near my mouth. I was thinking of the Laqa & Co Lil’ Lip Duo when I was doing the video so I’m frustrated I didn’t get this product. 0/5 stars for the Mirenesse (would have been a 5 star if it had been without dimethicone and fragrance … or if it had been the other product.)
Color Club Wanderlust Collection – I received “Pardon My French” which is a nice lavendar but I was hoping for “Reign in Spain” because I have a thing for corals. My problem with this isn’t that I have to buy the nail polish color I want, it’s that they don’t have full size bottles and you can only buy the set. Since you already have one of the colors, then you’re buying a second of that color no matter what you got in your box. The purple is a good enough color to have as a mini but I don’t need two and I really wish that they offered these as full sized individual bottles instead of the collection. I will probably buy the collection though at $8 and free shipping, so whatever. 3/5 stars (I’m just not a big purple fan plus my comments about the collection above and no full size products even available. For purple it’s an excellent shade and always love the Color Club polishes.)
Oscar de la Renta Something Blue – synthetic fragrance. They now have a new check box for “don’t send me more than 6 fragrances a year” but I really wish I could make that setting “don’t ever send me fragrances” …. maybe with the additional of “I’m allergic to half of them and I don’t want to use the other half and this is such a waste. One even gave me a headache just from opening the box so please stop sending perfume already.” Sigh. Just know, unless it’s natural / organic and it doesn’t give me a headache (which does exist, just rare) I’m not going to give a fragrance a positive review. 0/5 stars

My June 2013 Ipsy Glambag:

Starlooks Lip Pencil in “Bare” – I had high hopes for this one. However the color made me unsure if it was meant to be a lip liner or a light eyeliner (though lip liner makes more sense …) Nothing jumped out as obviously bad ingredients that I could identify. No dimethicone, no frangrance, no parabens. But the custom report, it ended up a 6. (pdf linked on this one.) 0/5 stars
J.Cat Beauty Eyelash + Eyelash Glue – even the glue on this isn’t bad for you. I may cut these apart into individual lashes instead of trying to use the full strip but I’m happy enough with these. Until you get into some really specific eyelashes, those in the under $8 price point are all fairly decent and your biggest factor is lash style / cut. Latex free glue. And these are human hair … ok so a little higher quality than your average drugstore lashes but also a little creepy in that sense. Cruelty free (not tested on animals.) I don’t wear false lashes maybe more than … once every three years but I will be using these for an upcoming special event probably fairly soon. 5/5 stars
Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil – AWESOME no cones. Turns up a 3 in a custom report. Talc is the worst ingredient and in this case I’ll forgive it since it’s not going to go on my eyelids (where talc tends to crease) and it’s not filler reducing impact of some other pigment. I love this in the inside corner of my eye and this looks perfect and natural. No shimmer so it can be used easily and I wonder if it might make a good concealing pencil as a result as well. 5/5 stars
J.Cat Beauty Sparkling Cream Palette – this is categorized under “body glitter” instead of eyeshadow. It’s a chunky glitter so this makes more sense. No, just no for so many reasons. Plus there are the ingredients which aren’t good as well. Kind of on par with petroleum jelly mixed with glitter. It even says “This product should be used on the body and not on the eye area.” I’m not sure what they were thinking. Halloween? Rave? 8 year old girls? I don’t know and this just really doesn’t seem like a great fit for an ipsy bag even ignoring the ingredients for a minute. Yes it’s wild but… Might have made more sense it to be sent out in October just for the Halloween reason. 0/5 stars
NYX Blush in “Pecan” – awesome bronzer shade but there’s dimethicone and talc so I won’t be using it. I haven’t swatched this but I suspect the color is excellent for a beachy summer look. 0/5 stars

I also just realized that people were commenting below the products on ipsy (linked to in the glamroom) if they wanted to trade. OR there’s also http://mygl.am/glammieswapforum (though the other seems more efficient… or makeupalley would also work better than the facebook page.)

And I’m happy with the leopard bag with the neon zipper. I’ve been leaving the chevron bag in my swim bag recently just to throw my jewelry in so it’s not lost at the bottom of the bigger bag. I’ll probably find a use for this one too.

So there you have it … another mildly disappointing month with Birchbox and a good month with Ipsy. I think I wouldn’t even be saying this if I had received the Reign in Spain polish and the other lip gloss Birchbox had promoted on facebook. Actually I’d probably have been happy with just the other shade of nail polish just because the swatches I saw of it looked like a nice bright fun summer color. The creamy shade is one that I already own something similar and the green … meh, not as versatile. Actually the purple I already own something similar to as well just the that Color Club purple is just a hint better actually.

Swatches of some of the products from these boxes: