Ipsy vs. Birchbox February 2015

Ipsy vs. Birchbox 1 of 3 February 2015

For Valentines day my boyfriend got me a 3 month subscription to Birchbox so I could try it out and see if I was really missing anything now that they have arrived in Canada. So I thought starting this month I would compare the two while I am receiving them both and see how they hold up against one another! **ALL PRICES ARE IN CAD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

We are going to start with Birchbox this month because it arrived first.

The packaging is so different from ipsy and it kind of seems a bit wasteful to have a box within a box, like they could have just designed it to have just been one box but I do like the smaller box, it was cute so I guess I can't complain too much.

I was super excited to be getting the February box from Birchbox because some of the products looked awesome but when you get a gift subscription apparently you don't start out with the month you get gifted it, instead you get a “welcome box” which I found disappointing. I messaged customer service asking about this and they said it's because most people gifted a subscription don't have their preferences filled out but I dunno, I kind of feel like I am losing a box, but this could just be me being weird.

Enough of me complaining and on to the actual box itself!

Birchbox costs 14.95 CAD per month and you can find my referral link here.

This box had no theme as it was the welcome box.

Contents: Total Value 16.10

Dr. Lipp OriginalNipple Balm For Lips --Sample Value $3.40 (Full Size $14.50)

It's a super thick yellow ointment consistency that absorbs into your lips pretty easily. When you first start trying to get the product from the tube it is super hard, but as the product warms it is a bit easier. It isn't the best lip balm I have ever tried in my life but it is one of them and I am glad to have it around as we are getting a crazy late winter right now and it's -18 on a regular day here. Overall I am going to rate this product a 9/10 and I absolutely would buy a full size of it, it's definitely on my pre-winter shopping list for next year.

Harvey PrinceHello Body Cream --Sample Value $1.08 (Full Size $22)

The container says Sicilian lemon, Spanish mandarin botanicals and Shea butter. To me it smells like Shea butter and faintly like lemon. I don't find the lotion to be particularly moisturizing, I find it sits on the skin a bit and is a little sticky, especially on my hand. I am rating this product a 4/10 especially when I compare it to my Bath and Body Works lotions. I won't be purchasing a full size of this lotion.

theBalm cosmeticsStainiac in Beauty Queen --Sample Value $2.40 (Full Size $17)

This isn't supposed to be a full coverage tint and it isn't which is great because sometimes you need a subtle bit of tint and that's what this product provides. It is a gel type consistency and blends nicely into my skin and I like it. I am rating it at a 7/10 and I might repurchase it if I am ever looking for a subtle red tint again. But I currently have a tonne of red tints so I am focusing more on getting through them.

Vasanti CosmeticsBrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator --Sample Value $5.66 (Full Size $34)

I was super excited to try this cleanser, it's super gritty and smells amazing, it contains papaya and I can definitely smell it. It left my skin feeling clean and soft and left my fingertips super soft as well. My skin was also left looking brighter and it lessened some of the redness around my nose. As far as exfoliating cleansers go I am going to give this one an 8/10 because a lot of cleansers that exfoliate tend to leave my skin dry and this one left is soft and smooth. I think I will for sure be buying a full size of this product.

Whish Shave Crave in Acai Grapefruit --Sample Value $3.56 (Full Size $20)

The smell of this shave cream is super sweet and flowery, I don't get the grapefruit smell at all. It did soften my skin a bit but no more than applying lotion to my skin after a shave. It didn't lather very well and all and all I wasn't super impressed so I am going to give it a 5/10 I definitely will not be buying a full size of this and might in fact pass this sample size on to someone else.

Average rating for items in this month's box is 6.6

Overall I am not super impressed with this month's box but I am looking forward to my first proper box next month!

Now on to ipsy!

Ipsy cost $19.62 this month and you can find my referral link here.

This month's theme was #ipsyLove

The bag is super cute I love the pink and grey together and I can honestly say this has been one of my favourite bags.

Contents: Total Value approx $91.70CAD using exchange rate on 17/02/15

City Color Cosmetics Creamy Lip Stain in Flirtini –Sample Value $4.99USD (approx. $6.18CAD)

This Product is Full Sized. When I swatched this I was super excited, it was really opaque and it's a really nice pink. When I put it on my lips though I found it quite drying, even though I did moisturize my lips before applying it but it still dried my lips to the point of flaking. It looks pretty on my lips but it isn't super long wearing, though it does cling in some spots, so I recommend bringing it with you if you are wearing it out for touch-ups. I give this product a 6/10 and I won't be repurchasing it in the future.

Emite Make Up Professional Eye Lash Curler --Sample Value $25USD (approx. $30.97CAD)

I love this curler, it is wide enough to get every single one of my lashes! Most of the curlers I have tried I have to curl in two seconds but this one it is just so easy. I love it and I am so glad to have gotten it. Would I have spent $30 on it? I have no idea, but I am glad I didn't have to make that choice. 9/10 You go Glenn Coco!

Eva NYC Up AllNight Volumizing Spray --Sample Value $10USD (approx. $12.39CAD) Travel

This product is travel size. I haven't had a chance to do a blow out with this product but I have tried using it for texture and it does deliver. Mine was only partially full because of the cap not being tight enough but we'll see if I get enough uses to get a good opinion about it. Look for a proper review in the future. 7/10 for now.

Mitchell andPeach Fine Radiance Face Oil --Sample Value £15 (approx. $28.53CAD)

This product is half of a full size. The oil smells amazing, you can smell it when you are putting it on your face and I am not sure exactly how to describe it, it's just amazing. It starts absorbing right away but not not too fast and it makes my skin feel so soft, I could definitely see myself using this with the cleanser I got with the Birchbox welcome box. I'm giving this a 9/10 and I will seriously be looking into purchasing a full sized bottle of this depending on how long this lasts me.

ModelCo BLUSH Cheek Powder in Cosmopolitan 01 --Sample Value $11USD (approx. $13.63CAD)

This product seems to be about half of a full sized though it's hard to be exact as the Modelco

website doesn't list sizes, I had to research through YouTube videos. Cosmopolitan is a super pretty ballet slipper pink and it blends very nicely, it does seem a bit powdery and I will have to use it a few more times to see how it compares to the other blushes I own but for now I am giving it a 7/10. I don't think I'll be looking for a full size of this though.

Average rating for this month's bag is 7.6

Overall I think Ipsy took it this month but it wasn't really a fair fight given that it wasn't a normal birchbox. But we will see next month!

See you next time!

Alex

xoxoxo

Springtime/Summer Makeup wish-list

My Springtime/Summer Makeup wish-list

Hey guys!

I thought I would share with you my top items on my to buy/wish-list for Spring and Summer 2015 and why exactly they are on my list. Some of these items are ones I know I probably won't be able to afford but they are still on my list for reasons you will, hopefully, read in a moment. These items are organized by type not by how much I want them, the thought of trying to rank them in order was a daunting task and I don't see any reason to do that. I limited myself to three entries, kind of, per section, or this post would be ages long. This is also all makeup and tools, no hair no skincare and no hair tools, just stuff to put on my face and stuff to put it on there. So without any further blabbing onward lets get down to the list!

Note: All prices are in Canadian unless otherwise noted.

Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick Duo Tangerine/Lingonberry $15.00

I love the bite beauty products I have tried so far and I've been wanting to try an orange lipstick so badly but it's a very intimidating colour for me, so this duo is perfect for me. The Tangerine colour is a kind of reddish orange and the Lingonberry end is a really nice creamy rose which is right up my alley. It's $15 for two colours and while neither end is a full-size it is still more than worth it!

Colourpop Lippie Stix Corset, Wifey and Lumiere $5.00USD each

The colourpop lippies have taken YouTube by storm in the past year, they are everywhere and I confess myself curious. There are so many different colours that I would like to try from them but I think my top three are Corset, Wifey and Lumiere.

Corset is a pink lavender colour with a high gloss finish and is something I find missing from my lip collection at the moment. Especially as I don't really have any glossy finishes at the moment.

Wifey is a bright bubblegum pink with a hint of lavender to it and I love it. It has a satin finish and a matching lip pencil that is just a hair darker than the lippie itself. The name and the colour are just perfect they make me think of aprons and cookies and it needs to be mine.

Lumiere is a collaberation between colourpop and Kathleen Lights (KathleenLights on YouTube) it's a dusty mauve colour and has a matte finish. It's a lovely colour and Kathleen did an amazing job making the perfect shade. This lippie also has a matching pencil in a shade just a hair darker than the lippie itself. I can't wait to try it.

Buxom Full-On Lip Cream White Russian $23.00

I've been wanting to try the buxom lip creams for quite a while and I think White Russian is just a lovely colour it's a nude pink and I am constantly on the hunt for a perfect pinky nude.

Okay now lets move away from lip products though I could go on all day...

Kat Von D Innerstellar Eyeshadow Palette $55.00

I just got my first Kat Von D palette for Christmas and I am hooked, her shadows are so smooth and buttery and perfectly blendable. This particular palette has a nice range of colours and they are just to die for.

Kat Von D Monarch Eyeshadow Palette $58.00

Much the same as the other Kat Von D palette on this list the colours look amazing and this palette is very warm toned which is something I am lacking in my collection really.

Colourpop Eyeshadows Not a Box of Chocolates $30.00USD

This isn't so much a palette as much as a collection, the Colourpop shadows aren't able to be in a palette due to their formula, they would dry out but they do have a few collections the Not a Box of Chocolates being one of my favourites. The collection is all limited edition shadows and they all look absolutely gorgeous.

On to blushes!

Benefit Cosmetics Rockateur $36.00

The benefit box blushes have always seemed sort of neat to me and the prettiest one by far is Rockateur, it is a beautiful rose gold shimmery shade and I just need it in my life.

tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush Dazzled $31.00

I have two tarte blushes and they are some of my absolute favourite blushes that I own. I have Achiote and Magic. Dazzled is nothing like either of these colours, it's a soft rose and is included in the section of products that match for Colour of the Year. It's lovely and is unlike anything I currently own.

NARS Virtual Domination Cheek Palette $75.00

I've had my eye on this palette since it first came out around Christmas time and I have gone back and forth over whether or not I really wanted it. The problem is I mostly want it for two blushes, I mean I want the bronzer, the other blush and the highlighter, but the main point of the palette for me is the blushes Sex Fantasy, and Final Cut, both of which are unavailable on their own. I love Deep Throat and planned on buying it eventually and I have heard amazing things about Laguna and Miss Liberty but those main two blushes are what really makes me want the palette, and I guess I have to decide if I can bring myself to spend $75 on a blush palette, even if if has a $174 value.

Next is misc face products...

TOO FACED Hangover Replenishing Face Primer $40.00

I've been on the lookout for a moisturizing primer for a bit and I saw this on someone's monthly favourites on Youtube about a month ago and have wanted to try it ever since. I'm on the look out for a sample to try before I buy it but I am looking forward to seeing how it works with my skin.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Vanilla $35.00

I had this used on me during my complementary makeup application for hitting VIB at Sephora and my normal concealers have been falling flat ever since.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation 2.5 Warm Sand $56.00

This was also used on me during my makeup application at Sephora, and they sent me a sample of it home. I have to say I love my Kat Von D for a full coverage application but for a light to medium this one is perfect. It's perfect for an everyday application and I am looking forward to getting my hands on a bottle of it for myself.

Now for brushes I have been looking at Morphe for the most part so there are three things I am currently looking at from them.

Morphe Brushes SET 700 8 PIECE CANDY APPLE RED SET $19.99USD

Morphe Brushes SET 686 18 PIECE VEGAN BRUSH SET $49.99USD

Morphe Brushes Individual Brush G30 Flat contour $14.95USD

The individual brush is from their new Gun metal collection and I have to admit I want a lot of the brushes in that collection.

Now this isn't to say that there aren't other things from other brands that I haven't mentioned that I have wanted and may pick up over the spring and summer seasons but these are some of my most wanted, and things that I thought other people might be interested in seeing and adding to their lists too. There are things I wanted to include on this list that I just know I won't be getting because they aren't available where I am, the lorac unzipped palette for one, which sucks but ultimately I decided not to.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this post!

See you next time

xoxoxo

Alex~

Ipsy Bag January 2015

Ipsy Bag January 2015

YouTube un-boxing video can be found here.

Products received:

Elizabeth Mott - All Over Shadow Brush in Pink ($9.99)

Hikari Cosmetics – Mechanical Eye Liner in Storm 0.2g ($13 / 0.2g)

(Malin+Goetz) – Mojito Lip Balm 0.2oz ($12 / .35oz)

Pacifica – Natural Mineral Coconut EyeShadow in Ethereal 0.08oz ($14 / 4 colour palette)

Velvet 59 – Velvet Rose Lipgloss in Noisette 10ml ($19 / 10ml)

Value: $55 aprox.

What I paid this month: $17.82 CAD

Rating: I really liked some of the products this month, I have to say the item I was the most disappointed with was the bag itself but that is just personal preference. Overall I like this months bag and rate it an 8/10

Product Breakdown/Mini Reviews

Remember as always if you want a more in depth review on any specific product feel free to ask!

Elizabeth Mott - All Over Shadow Brush in Pink

The brush is quite soft and while it isn't super firm it isn't flimsy either it holds a good amount of product and does a good job in blending as well. Overall 8/10

Hikari Cosmetics – Mechanical Eye Liner in Storm

The liner itself is pretty firm and isn't amazingly creamy. The colour is a very light silver more than it is a grey and it isn't super pigmented but if you are willing to go over it multiple times you will get some colour out of it. I think I need to play with it more but so far I am not super impressed. Overall 7/10

(Malin+Goetz) – Mojito Lip Balm

The balm has a thicker consistency and has a kinda artificial limey smell, it is sticky but that is a typical problem with thicker cream type balms. It was exactly what my lips needed right now between between me being so sick and winter deciding it actually wanted to start happening lately. I like it for when you need some extreme hydration but on an every day basis it would be way too much. Overall 8/10

Pacifica – Natural Mineral Coconut EyeShadow in Ethereal

The shadow while not being what I would call creamy is certainly velvety and it does pack quite a bit of pigment for a light shadow especially when I compare it with the other pacifica shadow that I have tried in the past. It certainly isn't a colour that would work as anything other than a highlight or a base but for those two purposes it certainly does it's job. Overall 7/10

Velvet 59 – Velvet Rose Lipgloss in Noisette

I'm going to be doing a full review for this product so I'll make this quite brief. I had been told the scent was unpleasant and I very much disagree with that. It has a very classic smell to it and reminds me of watching my grandmother doing her makeup. I love the brush and while the gloss was super sticky on my hand it isn't sticky at all on my lips. I love it and I can't wait to see more from this brand! Overall 9/10

Review: GLAMGLOW POWERMUD

Review: GLAMGLOW POWERMUD Dualcleanse Treatment

Scent: Kinda apple-y

Price: $21/0.5oz $76/1.7oz CAD (I got a sample at Sephora)

Where to buy: Sephora in Canada

Time: 5-10 minutes (I went for the ten)

How did it feel on?

It went on smooth and it was tingly in a not-unpleasant but not quite pleasant way, the best way to describe it would be a bit stingy or sting-ly (stingy and tingly). It dried leaving the face with that elmers glue, tight kinda feeling that we all know and love.

On to the review...

The mask is light and dries kind of clear

I have been incredibly sick lately and my skin is reflecting it, I am currently battling a case of bronchitis so bad that it's threatening to develop into pneumonia, and that the coughing has been so bad I actually pulled a muscle in my neck as I found out in a fun ER visit the other day. Like I said my skin is definitely showing how sick I am and it's not pleasant (pardon the pictures in this post if they frighten you hehe). So I decided this was the perfect opportunity to test out and review a sample I had of the GLAMGLOW powermud mask which is the one that comes in the green bin.

First off I have to say I didn't believe the hype about these masks, I mean really $76 for a mask? But I think I am kinda sold on this one. As the mask dried I noticed there were dark spots appearing all over my face where I had blackheads or other acne going on, at first I just figured this was the mask being a bit thicker in spots and drying into little balls but when I rinsed I decided otherwise, it actually pulled all of the blackheads from my skin.

The mask was actually pulling out the impurities... badass.

The mask says it is mud to oil but in my experience it was more like mud to gone, there was no real transition into oil but maybe I rinsed with too much water, who knows? It's not really a complaint so much as an observation. My face did feel a little residue-y afterwards and I just washed it with my regular cleanser and then when my face was dry I finally looked closely, not a single blackhead to be found and my skin is smoother and more even than it has been in weeks. I still have some acne, which obviously one use of a mask isn't going to fix but even that is less inflamed and somewhat diminished.

The after effects, I'm wearing a top I swear

All in all it is probably one of the best masks I have tried, and I have tried a few. I have samples of some of the other GLAMGLOW masks and I am going to try them in the upcoming weeks, probably once a week, and let you know my experiences with them. And at the end I will compare the ones I have tried.

I hope this review was informative and helpful. Will I buy it? Maybe? Not the fullsize no, I just can't see myself paying that much all at once for a mask. But Sephora does carry a 0.5oz of this particular mask for $21 CAD which is much more manageable as a treat to myself.

See you next time!

xoxoxo

Alex~

Happy New Year

Hey guys!

Sorry I have been so absent lately, this winter has been terrible for me getting sick, just before Christmas I finally beat a sinus infection that required two rounds of antibiotics and moved into my throat and ears before it was beaten. And now that it's the new year I seem to have picked up a stomach bug of course. But the show must go on!

So first off let me say Happy New Year! Welcome to 2015, hopefully it is an awesome year and I look forward to sharing it with you all. I plan on focusing more on this blog and on my YouTube videos and making a post on here once a week as well as uploading a video once a week, now of course that may just be my new years idealism talking and in a few weeks it may turn out that a different schedual is what I need, but we will find that out as we go I guess.

So to you guys I pose a question. Do you only want to see beauty posts? Would you enjoy lifestyle posts? Gaming posts? What all do you guys want to see?

Any feedback would be appreciated and taken into consideration.

See you next time!

xoxoxo

Alex

New Video~!

My first what I got for Christmas video ever just went up!

You can watch it here and tomorrow my December favourites should be up as well.

Also keep your eyes peeled for an actual post here, I've been so ill lately that it's kept me from really having the energy to really even blog, and between that and the Holiday I've been somewhat of a hermit on the internet. But there are new things coming, be prepared.

See you next time.

xoxoxo

Alex

November 2014 Favourites

My November favourites video is up over on my YouTube Channel, you can watch it here if you would like but here is the full list of items in no particular order, plus where you can get them and how much they cost (in Canada at least).

• Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Perfection Matte in 104  $7.99  - Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, Target
• EOS Visibly Soft Coconut Milk Lip Balm $3.99 - Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, Target
• Beyond The Zone Smooth Criminal Hair Primer $8.34 -  Sally's Beauty
• Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Achiote $31 - Sephora
• Tokyomilk Dark Everything and Nothing No. 10 Full Size $44 - Sephora
• J.Cat Wonder Lip Paint in Mad Splatter and Red Potion $4.99 each - J.Cat Website
• Seven Sisters Tea Baked Apple $5 /50g  - Markol Coffee & Tea or Seven Sisters Tea website.

Let me know if there are any of these items that you would like a more in depth review of and I would be more than happy to do so!

See you next time! 

xoxoxo

~Alex