Beauty Army October Box!

   This month Beauty Army did very well with their samples selection, I even managed to grab two full size products! I was so happy and excited, I couldn't wait for it to get here!

aw, it's pink!

Breast Cancer Awareness! <3

   

      I loved that this month's box was pink! It was in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, and proceeds from this month's sales went to Strides Against Breast Cancer! That is so awesome!

   This month I received a sample of Bath and Body Works Paris Amour shower gel, Ineke Hothouse Flower perfume, Lipsi Cosmetics Aphrodite Powder, Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels, a full size Skinn Cosmetics lip color, and a full size of You Da Balm Coconut lip balm.




Bath and Body Works Paris Amour Shower Gel ($11.00 for full size)

   I am a loyal Bath and Body Works customer! Everything I get from them is amazing and the wide variety of scents makes it difficult to want to leave one their stores! This was a scent I actually had never tried yet, so I was very excited! This has a blended floral and fruity scent that I loved! It isn't overpowering, and it leaves my skin with a very subtle accent. The shower gel itself is great as always, it lathers well and cleanses great. There is no residue or feeling like you aren't completely clean. This is a great product, I highly recommend it!


Ineke Hothouse Flower Perfume ($95.00 for full size)

I am in love with this perfume! I am a fragrance junkie, so I am always looking for the next great addition to my collection! If you are also a lover of perfumes, I highly recommend you try this! This perfume has a very light gardenia scent, and lightens ever so slightly on the skin. It is a very sophisticated fragrance, and a little goes a very long way! I am so glad I got to try this, my pocket unfortunately can't handle the price tag so I'll just have to nurture this little sample like it's the One Ring!

my precious!

Lipsi Cosmetics Aphrodite Powder ($20.00 for full size)

unblended

blended

   This is a finishing powder made to absorb excess oil, leaving makeup looking fresh and your skin glowing. You can use this over foundation or stand alone, either way it's a great powder! It blends effortlessly into skin, and is very light! The best thing about this powder is that it is good for all skin types and tones! Before blending the powder looked so pale, and with my Olive skin tone I was worried that this would not work for me. But after blending I was surprised to see it was virtually invisible! This is a wonderful product and a must try!




Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels ($30.00 for 8 pairs)

   I was really excited to try this product, it seems that everything I use for my poor puffy eyes don't really do anything. I saw some great reviews on this product, so I was hopeful that I had found the answer for my tired eyes!

before, sorry about the slight blur!

   These eye gels stick to the under eye area, and have to stay there for 10 minutes. Afterwards you simply peel off and dispose, hopefully revealing rejuvenated skin!

   When I first put them on I immediately felt the cooling sensation! The gels feel a little weird at first under the eye but you get used to it.

I dunno why, but I thought I kinda looked like a panda! XD

   And the final result:

   I know the before pic was a bit blurry, but you can see that the slight darkness under my eye is gone, and it does look like it reduced my puffiness. It sure felt like it! I think that 30 dollars for only 8 pairs is kind of steep, especially since they recommend to use it once a week. There's usually like 4-5 weeks in a month, so I guess for about a month and a half's worth of eye gels it isn't terrible. I really like the results, but I don't know if I want to spend that much right now. Maybe another time I'll splurge, but til then I'm very glad I got to try this, and I recommend that anyone who can afford it to try it!




Skinn Cosmetics Twin Set, Coral Poppy ($18.50)

I love that there was a mini mirror on it!

   This was the product I was anxious to try! And it was full size, yay! This was an awesome lip duo with a lipstick and gloss. The quality was great, and they both had separate features that I loved!


   Even though I wasn't a huge fan of the gloss, I like that it has vitamin E and soy for soothing dried lips. It was a little too sticky for me, and didn't look very shimmery on my lips. It also seemed like the gloss wasn't glossy enough, so if you do buy this I would suggest maybe two or three applications for a more glossy pop.

   I really like the lipstick! It looked a little too orange when I first saw it, but when I put it on my lips it looked a little more red. I am always ready to welcome a new shade of red to my collection, and this one was a nice addition! It is matte, but very creamy. The added bonus to this lipstick is that it boosts collagen production! It claims to not feather, but unfortunately I did have a little of that. It isn't a big deal, I still like the product very much. My lips felt moisturized and looked great! 

gloss over color

   Some people said that the gloss had a taste and that it tasted good. It didn't taste terrible but it didn't taste good either. I doubt taste factored in when the company released this product, but it definitely smells good! It smells like a fruity candy, making you wish it were edible!




You Da Balm Coconut Lip Balm ($8.99 for 3 tubes)

   This is a nice lip balm. It smells very good, and leaves my lips feeling soft and moisturized. It has a bit of a sleek feeling at first, but my lips absorbed it quickly and there was no problem. This was another full size I managed to snag, and I'm very glad I did! It isn't sticky either, and the coconut scent isn't too strong. 



   If you would like to try out Beauty Army and try out amazing beauty brands you can sign up here!

October Lookbag Debut!

   Ready for the new Look Bag? (check out description of service here!) This month I got 3 full sized products along with some deluxe size samples! I was so excited! This was their first bag since they shut down the service a few months ago so I was expecting great things! 

   While I enjoyed my bag, there were some issues I had with some of the products in it. For instance, I could not find price listings for some of them, leading me to believe they gave me discontinued products. It almost felt as if they were unloading old stock on customers, which is not a good foot to start on when you are making a comeback. I got three full size products and 2 deluxe samples, which I did enjoy, and I was happy to see the assortment of beauty products they were offering.

   In the bag I received a full size of Pixi's Lip and Line Primer, a full size York Peppermint lip balm, a sample of Freeman Beautiful Body body wash, A full size Stila eyeshadow, and a full size Pop Beauty nail polish. Is that not an awesome bag of goodies or what?




Pixi Lip and Line Primer ($18.00)

   This was my favorite product in the bag. I was introduced to this great lip primer by my friend Nikki. I love how well this works! This primer makes my lip color look amazing and keeps it from feathering. Since using this primer my lip color has lasted much longer than before, and I love how it conditions my lips so I don't have to worry about whether it's drying my lips out. I was going to buy this on my own, but I'm so happy this was a part of my bag! This is definitely a product to try!




York Peppermint Lip Balm (Price Unknown)

   This is apparently a very rare and hard to find lip balm. I thought it was very nice that they included these in our bag, and I love York Peppermint Patties, so I was excited to try this. Unfortunately it was not everything I had hoped. It smelled pretty weird, I was not at all a fan. The smell reminded me of that bootleg play-doh you would get at a drugstore. If you can hold your nose it's a decent lip balm, it did make my lips smooth, but I just could not get past the smell, my stomach was actually turning from it. The upside to this is I am now the owner of a rare item. :)

*Update: I just found out that this item is in fact discontinued, and could have been expired and bought from an overstock in a factory, thus explaining why it smelled weird. C'mon Look Bag, get it together here!*




Freeman Beautiful Body Body Wash, Cucumber, Melon and Ginseng ($14.99 on amazon)

   I liked this body wash a lot. It smells very refreshing and left no residue on my body. It lathers very well, and I felt clean and soft after my bath. I liked this wash so much I went to find it online to purchase a full size. But the brand site no longer carries this, and the only place I could find it was amazon. I'm confused, the point of these subscription services is to introduce us to different brands we may like and buy from them, so when I go to buy a full size I expect to find it. This was another reason I felt like this may have been old stock from previous bags.




Stila Eyeshadow, Sajama (you can find it super cheap if you Google it)

   Ok here's the one thing where I have say they really messed up. I really liked this color, and when I swatched it I had no problems. But then a few days ago I received an email from the Look Store saying that the Stila eyeshadows may have been past their expiration date! Really? They were still factory sealed but even so, I feel like they should have been more attentive to this sort of thing, as this can pose a health risk to customers. After doing a little research I found that so long as it was sealed, and didn't smell weird or look weird and you are the only person using it, you can still use it. I swatched it, and I love the color, but I feel bad now because I received a nice product I'm reluctant to use. 

Pop Beauty Nail Polish, Broken Black ($10.00)

   This is a black crackle polish. It works well, and apparently you get a different design every time. I already have a crackle from Julep, but I don't mind another. I didn't swatch this because it needs to sit over another color to crackle. I had just done a Ciate manicure so I was like naaaaah. I did like that this was full size, and I plan to use this to make some cool nail art!



   On the whole, I feel like this comeback wasn't horrible, but with two strikes as far as product quality and one with availability I just felt like I didn't get that wow factor I was expecting. And with the new development with yet another possibly expired product in the bag I honestly don't know what to think. The last time I received a bag was in July and it had some really nice things, so I'm hoping this is just a fluke, and that they will warm up to the really good stuff. 

   My friend contacted the Look Store regarding the expired items, and basically she was told that they aren't allowed to say whether it is safe or not, but that they recommended we didn't use them. I don't understand why they wouldn't be able to, maybe it's a brand policy rather than the company. However, we were told that to make up for this we were getting an extra item in the November bag, so here's to hoping it's better!

   If you would like to try out The Look Bag, sign up here! And if you use promo code TLB you can get 25% off your first bag! I'm not sure how long the promo will last so get it before it's gone!

Green Grab Bag October

   Ok ready for yet another subscription? This one is for all you greenies out there who are dedicated to protecting our environment and using everything and anything organic or vegan! Even if you're not so into going green, maybe a program like this could turn that around!

everything came in a cute and recyclable brown paper bag!

   The Green Grab Bag is a monthly beauty subscription for 15 dollars a month (free shipping) that sends you deluxe and full size samples of organic and vegan beauty and skincare products! And everything is sent to you in an adorable (and reusable!) bag! This is my first one, I have read a lot of great reviews on this program and I like being green, so I figured why not try it and share the fun with all of you?

   I was blown away by everything I got! Everything was so cute and the samples were very generous! In my bag I received samples of ethicBioskin Organics Infusion Facial, Me and the Girls Moon Anti-Aging Night Facial Moisturizer, Beeseline Original, Coconut Hazelnut Sugar Scrub and Dark Chocolate Body Butter from Angelina Organic Skincare, two eyeshadows from Ferro Cosmetics, and two facial products from Pangea Organics.




ethicBioskin Organics Infusion Facial ($24.00 for full size)

   This is a cleansing oil, good for pre-cleansing, unclogging pores, makeup removal and ridding the skin of dirt and environmental toxins. It smells very botanical, a little like roses with a hint of eucalyptus. It is an oil, but it doesn't leave skin feeling sticky and slick. After using this my face felt very soft and clean!  




Me and the Girls Moon Anti-Aging Night Facial Moisturizer ($36.00 for full size)

   I like how this felt on my skin, it has an oily texture at first but my skin absorbed it quickly.  It has a very soft hint of fragrance, kind of like shea butter. This moisturizer is supposed to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and is rich in Vitamin E. It also won an award at the HBA GLOBAL BEAUTY EXPO 2012, not too shabby!




Beeseline Original ($3.99 for 0.5oz, $7.99 for 4oz)

   This is a natural alternative to petroleum jelly, and can be used for everything petroleum jelly is used for! There are only three ingredients in this product, coconut oil, antiseptic and honey! You can use it on your lips, hair, face, feet, anywhere! You can even use it to prime your face or remove makeup! It's also gentle enough to use on babies! This product is awesome! I put some on my lips and it made them feel so soft! You can't go wrong with this stuff!





Angelina Organic Skincare, Coconut Hazelnut Sugar Scrub and Dark Chocolate Body Butter ($6.00 and Up)

   I love these products! The scrub exfoliates really well and smells delicious! My skin felt super smooth and soft! And the body butter melted into my skin, it was heavenly! Apparently the butter is lickable too, or so the site says. So, I tried it...don't do it. It isn't as delicious as it smells. 

Ferro Cosmetics 15HR Mineral Eyeshadow, Champagne and Dirt ($17.00)

These are great shadows! They're highly pigmented, and have very unique textures! The container was a little stubborn and some fell out, so be careful when opening these! They blend so well! Champagne is pearly and soft, while Dirt is a matte cool brown with flecks of shimmer in it. And I love the little two-sided applicator that came with it, it was a nice addition!




Pangea Organics Australian Wild Plum & Willow Facial Cleanser ($8.00 for 1oz), Moroccan Argan with Willow & Rosemary Facial Cream ($16.00 for 1oz)

   I have actually sampled this brand before through Swaggable. The cleanser I received is actually the same as the one they sent me to review. So to quote that review, I like the cleanser a lot, but the scent was too strong for me. If they made the scent a little less strong I would love to use it regularly. As far as the facial cream goes, it smelled much better. It had a very light refreshing scent, and it absorbed into my skin very well. My skin felt soft and supple, with no oily residue. I may get the full size of the cream, I liked it a lot!




   So if you would like to try out some great beauty products while being environmentally conscious, check out the Green Grab Bag! You won't be disappointed!