April 2018 Boxycharm

I received my first ever Boxycharm last month, and I just got April's box in the mail yesterday. Here's all the exciting products I got this month!

This month's theme is called Eye Candy. There are different variations to the boxes, and I'm happy to report I got everything I wanted! 

They were giving everyone a Colourpop eye shadow palette, and I received the Element of Surprise. This is the main one I had my eye on, and was hopeful I'd get it. I cannot wait to play with this baby. I've only tried Colourpop's Super Shock shadows, but not their pressed formula, and I've heard mostly good things. This palette retails for $16. 

When I saw a sneak peek of this month's box, an either/or product was a MAC Liptensity Lipstick or a Tarte liquid highlighter. I don't care for highlighters in general, so I was incredibly happy to see the MAC lipstick. I received the shade Burnt Violet, which is very pretty, but looks a bit dark for my liking. I definitely am going to try this out, but it may be one I only use in the Fall/Winter. This lipstick retails for $21.

I received brushes last month, and got some more this month. I received the SL Miss Glam Eyeshadow Brush and Eye Beauty Blender brush. I'm not sure if I'll like the eyeshadow brush, but the blending brush feels so soft and seems like it will blend shadows nicely. This duo retails for $38.50. 

You all know my love for face masks, and we all got the Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner Pore Purifying Mask. I absolutely adore Dr. Brandt skincare, but it is pretty expensive. I'm not sure if the tube I got is a full size product (it comes with 1 ounce), but the card says it retails for $47, yet Sephora says $42. 

The last product I got was the The Browgal Instatint Tinted Brow Gel in the shade Light Hair 03, which is the perfect shade for me. I don't know much about this brand, and I usually don't do much with my brows, but I'm curious about this product so I'll give it a try. This retails for $22. 

Total retail of the box is $139.50, which is incredible to me. I don't know how Boxycharm does it, but I'm more than impressed and already can't wait for May's box!

If you're subscribed to Boxycharm already, what did you receive this month? If you're interested in signing up, I'd love it if you used my referral code here!

Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty Sale Haul

Ulta recently had their Spring 21 Days of Beauty sale, and I set myself a budget since I knew I wanted to pick up a few things I've had my eye on. 

Dose of Colors is a brand highly hyped up, and their Marvelous Mauves eye shadow palette has stood out to me for a while. At 50% off, it was a total steal and had to be mine. I've also had my eye on the Lorac Pro Palette 3 since it came out, but didn't really want to spend $42 on it. This was also 50% off, so I finally pulled the trigger and bought it. 

I feel like everyone and their mom talks about MAC Fix+, so when I saw this was going to be only $13, I figured I'd try it out for myself to see what all the fuss is about. Same thing with the Smashbox Primer Water. Everyone says great things, but I'm not totally sure if it's something I'll like. It was inexpensive enough, so if I end up not liking it, I'm not out too much money. 

That is all I bought, and I'm really proud of myself. I've made an effort to stay on a budget this year, and this sale only cost me $67 before tax. That's less than half of my budget I set for myself of $150. 

Did you pick something up during the 21 Days of Beauty sale?

March 2018 Empties

April is here, which means it's time to share all the products I used up in March. I've been doing really well so far this year, and I'm really excited to share my progress with you all!

For skincare, I used up a Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash. I used to really like this stuff, but I realized it doesn't do anything for my skin.

The Algenist Overnight Restorative Cream was really freaking amazing, and I want the full size at some point. This made my skin look and feel so nice!

I wasn't able to use up the Neocorium Derma Carrier and EGF & Stem Cell Concentrate before it expired. It's a shame because this duo was pretty nice, and it's super expensive. 

I really wasn't a fan of the Derma-Nu Blueberry Cranberry Oxygen Facial Scrub. It smelled nice, but felt way too harsh on my skin. 

Montagne Jeunesse is a brand I'm unsure of, but I did like their Creamy Coconut Hydrating single use mask. It made my skin feel really soft and supple. Four more packets of the Dickinson's Oil Controlling Towelettes done, and just a few more to go. 

I usually don't wear perfumes or body sprays, so this Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction Body Splash took years to get through. I have different scents hanging around, so I'll try to use them more. 

I have another Philosophy Cranberry Medley hand cream used up, which I do like. I think I mentioned before, but this doesn't work very well if my hands are extra dry and cracked, but for a little moisture, it works just fine. 

I really enjoy Serious lip balms, and I used up a Peppermint one. I loved this so much. It makes my lips feel soft, and the peppermint scent is really nice. 

I have little samples of the Exuviance Evening Restorative Complex and the Caudalie Eye and Lip Cream. The Exuviance was nice, but felt maybe too hydrating at times, and I really enjoyed the Caudalie eye cream as well. It felt like a balm, but wasn't too heavy so I used it during the day. 

I had a deluxe sample of the Tom's of Maine Rapid Relief Sensitive toothpaste, so I used this up quickly. I didn't care for it much as it didn't help the sensitivity I have. 

I finally have some makeup! The Miss Mona Lisa Eyebrow Pencil was all dried out, and it fell out of the packaging, so I had to throw it away. I've been a fan of The Body Shop's Lightening Touch pen in shade 01 for ages now. I honestly am not sure if they still make this, but I may have a backup to use. I LOVE the Rimmel Match Perfection concealer in shade Fair. It's such a nice color for my under eyes, and blends in like a dream. 

Products used up: 19
total for the year: 57

I truly am so proud of myself right now! I never thought I could use up this many products so early into the year. I'm not sure how April will go, but I may focus a bit more on using up deluxe and foil packet samples. I have a ton of those to go through and really need to start using them up. 

What have you used up recently?

Review: Green Goo Foaming Hand Soap, Healing Bar & Castile Soap

 *Products sent for review purposes*

Natural products are not typically something I use on a regular basis, so when I got the chance to try out a few items from Green Goo, I was intrigued. I got to try a Foaming Hand Soap, Healing Bar and Castile Soap. 

The hand soap is said to "envelope your hands in a cloud of rich nourishing foam that enchants your senses while washing away bacteria and dirt, restoring your hands to feeling luxuriously clean." The healing bar "ensures a creamy, extra gentle, and long lasting bar that is guaranteed to brighten your spirits." Most of their soaps are also gluten free, with the exception of some that include oats and bran. Their castile soap "can be used as dish soap, laundry detergent, stain remover, all-purpose cleaner, shower soap, bubble bath, and even pet shampoo." You can find their products on their website here. 

Out of the three products I tried, I love their hand soap the most. I received the Lemongrass Zinger scent, and love it for use in the kitchen. It's very invigorating and I get compliments from visitors when they use it. It cleans my hands and also rinses off well. The scent hangs around a little, but it's not overpowering. I'm not the biggest fan of bar soaps, but I like using the Lavender & Comfrey soap at night when I'm super tired and really need to get some good sleep. Lavender always helps me relax when I need it. I'm always amazed at how castile soap has so many uses, and I like using the lavender scent I received as a makeup brush cleaner. It gets my brushes squeaky clean, and leaves a nice calming scent, but doesn't irritate my skin when the brushes are used. 

Their prices are a little high, but typical for natural products. The hand soaps are around $9, bar soaps are around $8, and castile soaps start around $5 and go up depending on the size you get. 

Have you tried anything from Green Goo before?

February 2018 Empties

February wasn't as good of a month as January was in regards to used up products, but I still have a few to share with you today. Like I said in my January empties, I've been hoarding all this stuff, and now I have the time to share and finally get rid of everything. 

Starting off with the few skincare products, I used up two masks. One Tony Moly I'm Real Rice sheet mask for clear skin, and a Montagne Jeunesse Mint Choc Chip one time use mask. I've been really getting more into sheet masks lately, but need to take the time and use them more often. The sheet masks from Tony Moly are quite nice, and not so expensive when purchased on sale at Ulta. I'm not sure how I feel about the Mint Choc Chip mask. It definitely looks like mint chocolate chip on your skin, but the peppermint in it was quite overwhelming and made my eyes water a bit. I purchased a few different masks from this brand and haven't been too overwhelmed by the other one I tried either. 

I used up three more of the Dickinson's Oil Controlling Towelettes, and have just a few more to use up. I'm fairly certain I've mentioned already, but I do like these. I just think they're better, for me, in the warmer months when my skin is much more oily. 

I love Fresh products, but they're ridiculously expensive. Which is why I'm sad to report that I LOVE the Lotus Eye Gel! It's hydrating although it's a gel, feels amazing going on, and is perfect for daytime use. I do have quite a few eye creams in my stash to use up, but I'm incredibly tempted to buy a full size of this at some point. 

I just have two body care products, and they're both body washes. One is the St. Ives Rich & Creamy Vanilla Body Wash, and the other is the Derma e Psorzema Body Wash. My husband and I both used the St Ives wash, and I adored it. It made my skin feel very soft, and this bottle is very inexpensive when I can get it on sale at our grocery store. I did like the Derma e as well. It really did help with dry, itchy skin. The only downside I noticed was that I would get some body odor, so this doesn't help in that area.

Lastly, I have a few random products. I used up another Bath & Body Works 3-wick candle in the Pumpkin Cupcake scent, which I adore! This was my last one, and I kinda want it to be Fall again so I can get another. I also used up one of their Deep Cleansing Hand Soaps as well in the Peach Bellini scent. Loved this scent, but I know I've mentioned that I feel they're so expensive, even when on sale. I'm slowly phasing them out of my stash and will look for something that costs less. 

I used up an Aquafresh Sensitive toothpaste, which is nice. I can only use sensitive toothpastes because my teeth freak out with anything, especially cold things. Sensitive toothpaste helps for the most part, and I haven't noticed one that's better than another. 

Products used up: 11
Total for the year: 38

I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like I'm on a roll already! 38 products in just two months is amazing for me, and makes me feel like I can really hit my goal of 150 used up products for the whole year. I kinda hope I can use up way more than that, but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot and end up not hitting my goal. March's empties should be coming up in the next week or so, and I'm happy to report (sneak peek here) that I have a few makeup products! Even though I'm primarily home with my daughter, I started doing my makeup again at least a few times a week, and hope to use up a few things this year. I'm so excited!

Boxycharm: March 2018 - My First Box!

I unsubscribed from Ipsy quite a while ago, and was getting the itch to try a different beauty subscription service. I've seen videos on Boxycharm, and am always impressed with the products everyone receives. Boxycharm is only $21 a month, and you receive 4-5 full size products, which makes the cost of the box very worthwhile. I subscribed around the middle of March when there was no waitlist, and received my box just a couple days ago. 

So it looks like the theme this month is called "Baecation" which is a little weird. I can't stand the word bae at all honestly, and wish it would go away. Anyway, there are different variations of the box, but everyone received the Boxycharm & PUR eyeshadow palette, which has some gorgeous colors for Spring and Summer! I cannot wait to start playing around with it, even though I've been reading some mixed reviews. The palette is worth $36, which more than pays for the box.

I'm always looking for new brushes, so I was happy to receive The Vintage Cosmetic Company Smokey Eye Brush Set. It comes with shadow, angled, and smudger brushes and the set is worth about $23. 

I'm loaded with unopened mascaras in my makeup stash and will probably never have to buy any again, but I'm excited to try out the Bellapierre Cosmetics Volumizing Mascara at some point. Volume is typically what I go for in mascara, so I hope this is a good one. This mascara is worth $20

Believe it or not, but I have never tried any eye masks, so when I saw a 3 pack of the South Mane Beauty Eye Gels, I was curious. It says these are good for puffiness, dark circles, and is moisturizing. These are all things I need, especially with a toddler. These eye gels are worth $10

The last product is something I'm really excited for, and it's the Pretty Vulgar Make Them Blush in the shade Prim Vixen, which is a bright, matte pink shade. Perfect for Spring and Summer, but it's a blush I may need to use a topper with, as I'm not really used to matte blushes. This blush is worth $26

Needless to say, I'm SO happy I pulled the trigger and decided to subscribe to Boxycharm. The whole box was worth $115! I mean, you can't really get better than that for only $21. I will be continuing my subscription to Boxycharm until I start getting bored, which hopefully isn't for a while. If you would like to check out Boxycharm yourself, you can do so via my referral link here.

If you're already subscribed to Boxycharm, what did you receive in your box?

January 2018 Empties

Hey guys! I know, it's been ages. I know, I say that every time I haven't posted in a while. Life is absolutely crazy lately and there are times where I just need to focus on my family and not worry about blogging. I really miss blogging so much though, and want to start again, so bear with me as I figure out a new schedule. I realized I've been hanging on to all the products I've used up since the beginning of the year, so today I'll be sharing what I used up in January, which was a great month!

I'll start off with all the skincare I used up. I have 3 of the Ole Henriksen Ultimate Lift Eye Gels that I'm decluttering from my skincare stash. I had used one of them once and absolutely hated how it felt on my skin, so I'm just getting rid of them. 

I loved the Caolion Hot & Cool Pore Pack Duo! It's this 2 step process that is said to help get rid of blackheads, and it's just awesome. I purchased mine a while ago from Sephora, but I don't think they carry it anymore.  

I had a deluxe sample of the Lancer Eye Contour Lifting Cream that I got from Influenster. I liked it, but it was nothing remarkable. Lancer products are so expensive, I don't think I could ever purchase anything myself. I also used up The Method: Nourish moisturizer and did like that but again, wouldn't purchase myself. 

Valentia is a brand I've liked for a long time, and I finally used up their Clear Lift Revitalizing Serum. I'm not as big of a fan of this product as I am with their other products, but this was still nice. I used it at night and woke up with nice, soft skin. 

Glamglow products are hit or miss for me, and their Youthmud Treatment is definitely not something I care for. Luckily, this deluxe sample was only a one-time use. 

I'm decluttering the BareMinerals Eye Rev-er Upper. It just got old and smelled funky, so in the garbage it goes.

Kate Somerville products are ridiculously expensive, so when I get samples, I'm happy. I really did enjoy the SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen. It was nice for my oily skin, but I don't think they even make this product anymore. Thank goodness too, otherwise I'd be tempted to buy it. 

It took me ages to use up the Garnier Blackhead Eliminating Scrub. I liked it at first, but realize it's too harsh for my skin. 

I love vitamin C serums, and the Kleem Organics Professional Age-Defying Vitamin C Serum was really nice. It smelled good, and made my skin look much brighter. 

Now for some body/haircare. I got the Softsoap Coconut Scrub in an old Influenster box and it took me far too long to use it up. I like the scent, but it wasn't an effective scrub. 

I also got the Curel Itch Defense Moisturizing Spray from an Influenster box, and I did enjoy this. It helped my dry skin feel soft and less itchy than usual, and I like the idea of a spray moisturizer. 

I'm decluttering the Monat Rejuveniqe oil. I keep hearing different things about this brand and I don't feel comfortable putting this in my hair or on my skin anymore, so it has to go. 

This isn't too fascinating, but I managed to use up a sample of the Degree Dry Protection deodorant. In all honesty, I don't wear deodorant much since I stay home with my daughter and don't leave the house much, so I don't go through it as much as I used to. 

Two hand creams I managed to use up are the Vaseline Healthy Hand & Nail lotion and the Philosophy Cranberry Medley hand cream. I ended up not liking the Vaseline one because it burned my hands, but I do like the Philosophy. It smells nice and is hydrating, but when my hands are really dry and cracked, it doesn't do much and I need something heavier to get the job done. 

I used up a Desitin diaper rash cream on my daughter, in case anyone wants to know what she went through. I'm not the biggest fan of Desitin products and like other creams better, but this was fine and helped when she was a bit rash-y. 

I've been trying to use up the Absolute You're the Balm Green Apple lip balm for so long, and it's finally done. I really, really liked this balm a lot. I used it primarily at night and always woke up with hydrated and plump lips. 

Lastly, we have some foil packet type products. I used up 5 of the Dickinson's Oil Controlling Towelettes, which I do like, but they can be drying. The Blue Agave Hydrating Paper Mask by Freeman was nice, but it's not my favorite. I've really been enjoying using sheet masks after a clarifying mask, and it makes my skin feel so incredibly soft, and I wake up looking so nice. I've been wanting to try products from Andalou Naturals, and I had a sample of the Probiotic + C Renewal Cream. I LOVED this so much! I think it would be better for me in the warmer months, but it made my skin feel so soft otherwise. 

Products used up: 27
Total for the year: 27

I already feel so proud of myself! I had lofty goals last year, and only finished up 92 products. I said in my previous empties post that I want to use up 150 products this year, and I feel like I could make that goal possible! I'm also making more of an effort in doing my makeup as well, so I'll likely have some of those products to share at some point. I'm determined to make 2018 better in all aspects, not just with beauty and blogging. Thank you to those who have stuck around with me. I know I've been really slacking with my blog, but I really do want to make an effort and post more often. 

What are some products you've used up recently?