Birchbox July 2015 Unboxing

Overall, the box this month was pretty good for me. It was worth my ten dollars even if my overall opinion of this box was "okay".

We'll start with the actual box. I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it.

 The theme of this month was Go Bold which makes sense with the packaging and neon yellow-green tissue paper. I'd say the beachy wave spray and the brightly colored lipstick samples lived up to the theme, while the other products were seasonally appropriate.

Another okay.


Benefit has a deal in the Birchbox shop where if you purchase a Benefit product you can get a deluxe sample of the black They're Real mascara or the black Push-Up liner for free using the code REALLASHES or REALLINER. The inside of the card is an advertisement for Benefit's new colored version of these products, available in the Birchbox shop.




There was no pillow box this month. Which is fine by me, but an odd change since I'm used to getting one even though I never really saw it as a necessary or even logical thing. I'm expecting to get 5 samples. Putting some of the 5 samples into a pillow box doesn't make them a bonus gift.


Birchbox has a way of giving me lots of things that I need and am too lazy to buy. Take for example the winter and spring months where they loaded me up on hair masks, I was almost out of my current hair mask and didn't need to buy a new one for months because of Birchbox. Now, they've given me two different face sunscreen samples, as if they magically know that I am out of face sunscreen and have been using CC creams every day because they are the only face sunscreen I currently own.

 This product is Daisy Approved. ❁

   I'm going to be honest here and tell you that I was most excited about this box because they promised me a Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick sample.  I'm working on a Liquid-to-Matte lipstick post similar to my Two Step Liquid Lipstick post and as such need to collect a wider variety of brands. Stila was one of the ones I didn't have. 

It is a super bright pin-up red color from a brand of lipstick I didn't have and was getting ready to shell out 20$ to buy, and as exciting as that is I find it even more exciting because I already own an exact dupe for this product in my collection (Sephora Cream Lipstain in Always Red) so I know that I don't need to buy more of these unless they have a shade I really want.


Daisy Approved ❁

 Birchbox has a love affair with Dr.Brandt that I just don't understand and can't approve of. Because of them I have tried a lot of Dr.Brandt products and I haven't liked a single one of them. Honestly, I don't need a new exfoliant and I'm just going to pass it on to someone who will actually use it.



Coola Setting Spray. This will be my third setting spray and I'm excited to test it out because I have yet to find one I really love. Even Skindinavia's setting spray hasn't stolen my heart.

Coola is known for being an organic all natural brand, and this product has SPF 30 in it. As a super pale child I am hopeful for this product because SPF is my life in the summer.



Daisy Approved ❁

Finally, this super adorably sized Oribe beachy wave spray. I've only tried out one of these before and I didn't really like it but this is a high end product, so it might work out. I'm going to try it.

Value and Personal Value

Value is determined using the price per ounce of the full sized product multiplied by the amount of product in the sample unless otherwise stated. 

MD Solar Sciences- 4.42$

Stila Lipstick- Going by the 20$ for the set of three on the Birchbox shop the value is 6.67$

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion- 9.75$

Coola Setting Spray- 7.20$

Oribe Beachy Wave Spray- 4.59$

Total Value= 32.63$ which works out to be more than three times the cost of the Birchbox itself. 

Personal Value is determined by how much I would be willing to pay for each of these samples. 

MD Solar Sciences-  2$

Stila Lipstick- 5$

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion- 0$

Coola Setting Spray- 5$

Oribe Beachy Wave Spray- 5$

Personal Value= 17$ which is still almost twice the cost of the box, so I'll take it. I ended up with two products I am excited about, one I'm going to try, and one that I needed and was lacking in. 

Innocent and Twisted Alchemy June 2015 Subscription Unboxing

 This month's theme for i+ta's subscription is based on a character from one of Linda's old comic books named Ethereal who was the subject of her most popular drawing ever (see the angelic powder and it's baby eyeshadow twin). Mostly, I'm excited that she gave us a print of Melusine which she did for Aromaleigh's Ephemera subscription and I love it. It's so pretty I am actually considering framing it and putting it on my wall.

 This is the bag my subscription came in. The back of the bag is actually bright yellow, which is kind of cool, and very summery.

 We only got two bonus samples this month (though it is compensated for with extra products in the actual collection). Included is a sample of a bronzer from DarkHeart Designs, and a sample baggie of Mermaid Tears from Uponaworld Cosmetics, a color specially made for this month's subscription.





Here are closer shots of the jars this month, as always sealed with decorative tape. It usually doesn't do very much, but this month the powder was pretty messy and the tape did a good job keeping me from opening a box of eyeshadow insanity.

We also got another angelic powder, which I am so excited about because I loved the last one, it made it into my favorites and will probably be my go to for special occasions for a long time.

To the left is the new angelic powder, and on the right is the bronzer. The angelic powder is a cool toned pink, goes on beautifully, if you have the right coloring this could be a holy grail level product for you easily. The top of the swatch is heavy, and the bottom blended out. You can see how it settles into the skin and attracts the light without leaving a sheen when blended out, but still gives you the option of applying it heavily for an intense highlight.

The bronzer, is a different story. Of course it doesn't help that the label is illegible and looks like my ten year old sister drew it with a sharpie, but the product itself is patchy and chalky. Once you get past the patchiness though, it has a nice subtle shimmer, kind of a satin finish bronzer. It is too dark for my skin tone, but doesn't pull too orange so I'm sure someone is going to like it.



These swatches are done using my elf eyeshadow brush. The top and main part of the swatch was done using the elf eyeshadow primer, the middle/lower section was with no primer, and the bottom was done over Geek Chic's Power Up Primer.

Left is Mermaid Tears, right is Divine. Next to Mermaid Tears Divine looks very blue but it's actually a strangely well balanced turquoise.

The colors look super matte in the photo above, so I've also included an angled shot so that you can see how glittery these are in real life. Mermaid Tears has a beautiful golden shimmer, while Divine has blue and purple sparks.









From top to bottom: Breaking Down, Ethereal's Tears, and Voiceless

Breaking Down definitely benefits the most from a primer, and it is a very interesting shadow because depending on the primer you use it can look completely different. I'd say you can get like three distinct shades out of this.

Ethereal's Tears has one of the better formulas, I think it applies the most consistently out of all of Linda's shadows this month.

Voiceless is a much more shimmery shadow in person, but it is subtly shimmery like it almost wants to be a satin finish.



Also, here is a picture of the swatches after I gave them a decent rub with my hand.

Final Thoughts/ Value

i+ta deluxe sample shadows (4) = 12$
i+ta angelic powder deluxe sample = 6$ (?, no idea, this is just a conservative estimate)
DarkHeart Designs bronzer sample= 1$ (? also a conservative estimate, it is likely more)
Uponaworld sample= 1$

Total Retail Value (w/o shipping) = 20$

As always, this box goes way beyond its actual cost (12$ shipping included), and now I'm interested in looking into Uponaworld shadows because I adore Mermaid Tears, it has a fantastic formula. I am glad we got to see some bright fun colors for summer, though most of these products will be getting passed onto a friend this month so the personal value wasn't there for me.

Graze Box- College De-Clutter

**This is not a sponsored post, I do not get paid or receive these boxes for promotional purposes. I have a standard referral code given to all graze box participants that does give you and me a discount on boxes, but that is it and it does not reflect my review**

About the Service

Graze is a wonderfully customizeable snack box that costs 6$ a box and can be delivered in essentially whatever intervals you want. I get my boxes monthly, but you can also get them weekly or bi-weekly, snooze them for as long as you would like and schedule vacations. It is incredibly easy to cancel as well, no phone calls, no nothing, you just log in and say you would like to cancel your subscription.

They focus on healthier snacks in proper portions, a lot of their snacks are based on using a mixtureof whole foods to create something that tastes good with minimal sweeteners and what not. For example, one snack option has unsalted almonds and pecans and then includes dried cranberries. Another snack I like uses dried banana coins, dried unsweetened coconut, and dried pineapple. The banana coins and pineapple have their own natural sugars that bring out the flavors of the coconut without needing to add sugar to the mix. I am an incredibly picky eater not known for my healthy dietary choices, and I like quite a lot of their snacks.

Their popcorn comes in the most adorable single serving bag. It tastes delicious and I get compliments on my cute popcorn bag every single time I make it. Dear graze, if you are reading this, please make the tiny popcorn bags available to purchase on their own in multiples.

My sampler box, contains four snacks. I really like this closure method
 using the two plastic pieces. It is very secure, but also minimizes waste.
Film plastic can be recycled with your grocery bags. 

You can get the usual sampler box, or larger bags of some of the most loved snacks with 20 portions of the snack inside. I think recently they also started offering a bigger box so that you can get more snacks in every delivery. Most of their packaging is recyclable, which I really appreciate. 

What snacks you get is also really customizeable, they have sections available so if you are not severely allergic to anything you can easily just 'trash' what you are allergic to (they cannot guarantee that trace amounts of tree nuts will not be in your snacks but if you aren't so sensitive that trace amounts of nuts will provoke a reaction but a whole nut will it is easy to remove those from your boxes) or do not like, such as spicy food. 

Each snack is described to you on their website, you can get its nutritional information there but they also send you a card with your box with the nutritional information of each snack on it. You can at any time mark any snack you would like as trash, try, like, or love. Trash means they will never ever send you that snack, try means you have not yet tried it, like means you want it sent sometimes, and love means you want it sent regularly. After your first few boxes the boxes they give you become a mixture of snacks you like and love and snacks you have marked as try. I have never ever gotten a box where I hate every single snack in it and that is saying something.

You also get 4 little tear away cards with your personal promo code on it so that you can share with friends. I used to put them in with trades.

Unboxing, Discount, and Why I Won't be Taking this to College 

This is my box for the month, as I usually get my boxes monthly.  This is my 11th box with them and I am still trying new snacks. The top two snacks are ones I have eaten and liked, and the bottom two are brand new snacks I haven't tried yet.









Deconstructed Carrot cake is carrot chews, cinnamon flavored raisins, walnuts and ginger fudge

Herby Bread Basket contains mini basil breadsticks, oregano rice crackers and garlic crostini

Vitamin C Crush is mango, pineapple pieces and coconut flakes

Nature's Essential Nutrient Nuts contains roasted unsalted cashews, brazil nuts and raw pistachio kernels.

I don't think I will be keeping it for college though as I will be in a large city with lots of new foods to try as well as being on a meal plan and I just don't need it. If you pack a lot of lunches though or you are a parent looking for good things to get your kids as a care package this may be a good option for them. It is especially a great option for people who aren't picky eaters. I happen to be a very picky eater, and while I still love this box I feel like people who like more foods and like trying new things would benefit the most from this box.


To get your first and fifth boxes for free (you can cancel before your fifth box and will still get your first box free) you can use my personal promo code 3XQX2HXNB. I think I get 1$ off of a box for each person who signs up, but since I'm considering canceling I'm mostly giving it out so you guys can try the box for free. 

Innocent and Twisted Alchemy May 2015 Subscription

The theme for the month of May was Alien, as in the movie. I am ashamed to admit I don't think I have ever seen this movie. Good news though, this review is done completely without fandom bias which is something I can rarely say, so its an interesting new perspective. I want to apologize for how late the review is this month, I'll get more into it in my monthly favorites but essentially I was graduating, and after I graduated I had my wisdom teeth removed and am still recovering from that.

New subscription swaps open up each month, deluxe sample size subscription costs 12$, and I believe full size subscriptions cost 20 or 21$, this includes shipping.

 Above is the packaging my subscription box came in, you can see in the back shot of the samples that it is a brightly colored plastic sandwich baggie. The samples this month include a petite jar from both Femme Fatale and Limnit Lipsticks, alongside two other traditionally sized samples.

 Linda apologizes in this month's note for using mostly neutral colors, but I personally love neutrals and I feel like overall the products in this box coordinate so well that it more than makes up for any lack of color this month.

I have raved about i+ta's shadows for a while now but another thing I like is that while this month's colors are neutrals and make great neutral looks, they are unique (particularly with regard to drone). Yes, I do own similar colors that would create a similar result, but I don't own the same colors.

Also, getting a box of neutrals for summer is great for girls like me, because I like to lean towards neutral eye shadow looks with bright lips and cheeks instead.





Left: Drone
Middle: Face Hugger
Right: Ripley

This month's swatches are heavy brush swatches done over elf's eyelid primer

From left to right: Limnit Lipstick Extraterrestrial, Femme Fatale,
Siren Song, Quarantine by Aromaleigh 

As always, I am impressed with the brand selection this month, receiving shadows from Femme Fatale, Limnit Lipsticks, and Aromaleigh. 2/3 of the samples this month are also deluxe size, which is super cool. I have ordered from Aromaleigh a couple of times before, and I love this brand quite a lot. Femme Fatale is a brand I was never super jazzed about, but a brand I am glad to get to try out, and I had been looking at Limnit Lipsticks for a while now.









The Femme Fatale eyeshadow is a deluxe sample size, packaged in a small jar that had a heat sealed shrink wrapping, and also a sifter and plastic sticker over it. This is incredibly fancy for being a sample.






The Limnit lipstick is a petite sample jar of their new color. It is a lovely brown shade. This is applied with an elf lip brush, though I like it more applied with my finger. As I type this I am recovering from the removal of my wisdom teeth, but I am hoping to try this using an eyeliner smudge brush and plan on ordering tubes of lipstick.

Also, attention readers, I now must admit to an indie sin. When I had first heard about how great this brand is I thought it was probably really good for being an indie company, but after honestly getting to try the formula, it is just as good if not better than a lot of high end product formulas. It dries down to a satin (semi-matte) as described, is true to color, and feels very solid but comes off creamy and pigmented

Value and Final Thoughts

 Once again, overall I am quite happy with this subscription, the only thing I would say is that being an end of spring/early summer box the looks you would create with this box are all pretty winter/fall oriented (given just this box and nothing else). However, overall I am impressed once again. I love the amount of love that goes into each monthly box concept, and even more than that I adore that Linda is able to include that love and creativity into her monthly box without sacrificing value and quality.

Limnit Lipsticks 2g Extraterrestrial-  4.60$
Femme Fatale Eyeshadow Petite- 3.85$
Aromaleigh Quarantine Eyeshadow Sample- 1.00$
Siren Song Cosmetics Clam Shell- 3.00$
Innocent and Twisted Alchemy Deluxe Sample Jars (x3)-  9.00$

The total retail value of this box works out to 21.45$

that is 9.45$ over the actual price of the box just for the product. This isn't even taking into account the amount you save in shipping, the custom label art, and the 30% of coupon code you receive every month.

Fortune Cookie Soap Box Summer 2015 Review and Unboxing

 This is the Fortune Cookie Soap Box for Summer of 2015. It is Peter Pan themed.

For those of you who don't know Fortune Cookie Soap Box is a seasonal subscription box from an indie company called Fortune Cookie Soap (FCS). Each season they come out with a new collection and this box contains samples of a bunch of the new scents and various products from said collection. Usually these collections are fandom/pop culture themed in some form. For example, my very first box was a Wicked themed box.



Subscribers are always guaranteed a 10$ off gift certificate for something in the shop (it never expires but you can't stack the codes together which is unfortunate), a full size fortune cookie soap, a full size hand sanitizer and a mini body butter.

This month we ended up getting a bunch of new products from FCS. Also, the tiny feather is adorable. I am always really pleased with their sample packaging as well, it is very high quality.

I tend to like their spring/summer scents more than their winter scents. This box did not overwhelm me with fragrance upon opening, it was very light.

 This is too small to see right now, but you should be able to enlarge this on your screen so you can read the fragrances.

Guys, I am so excited about this. It is a vegetable protein deodorant! A lot of indie companies tend to use vegetable protein deodorants, the differences between them are smell and maybe the use of certain ingredients like baking soda.

It smells a little fruity, mildly floral, not too far off from what you would find in a woman's deodorant at the store but different enough that it is unique.

According to the card it is supposed to be a bright green apple fragrance with a tropical twist, which is pretty on point.

Next, the Tink! hand sanitizer. It is glittery but not invasively so. It smells mostly like delicious coconut, but with some green apple to it. I actually really like it, for those of you who want a summery scent or a coconut scent without having to be stuck with pineapple all the time, this is perfect.

In actuality, according to their card it is supposed to be fresh cherries and cream, with toasted coconut and a dusting of powdered sugar. I can see the cream and powdered sugar (the toasted coconut it actually perfect, it smells exactly how toasted coconut tastes), but I'm not feeling the cherries.

This is a shower steamer (the best things ever by the way). It smells clean and soapy with some floral and a little fruitness to it.

This is called The Captain, and it is supposed to be dewy magnolias and wild berries drenched in fresh cream.

This teeny tiny lip balm looks pink but is actually clear. It smells exactly like pez but before that I had described it as smarties and watermelon, maybe a little citrus and a floral.

I was right about the watermelon and citrus. The other things I was smelling were pineapple and coconut water, which makes sense in hindsight.  Also, this lipbalm is so cute, it is smaller than my pinky.

 This is a mini salt scrub that came in the box. I am eh about salt scrubs, because while they are a bit grittier than a sugar scrub I can only use them without causing myself pain when I can guarantee I have absolutely not cuts on my hands or legs, which is basically never. I mean, it doesn't sting that bad, but I feel like walnut shells could accomplish the same thing without hurting me.

It smells like lemon-lime, which makes sense because they describe it as a tropical margarita.

 Mermaid Lagoon is a miniature spray perfume. It looks to be an oil based perfume that had some liquids added to it so that it would spray properly. The oils separate from the liquid, so you have to shake it. It may stain clothing, which makes me not want to spray it on my body for fear of getting oil stains on my clothes.

It is kind of fun because it shakes into a turquoise but settles into a green lagoony liquid with a white bubble at the bottom. It smells like a tropical buttered popcorn jelly bean in the bottle. It sprays out as turquoise colored goo and smells still vaguely buttered popcorny but mostly just indistinctly fruity.

 This is the body butter or "whipped cream", this season everyone got the scent Lost Boys. It smells like indistinct fruits, possibly berries. I do like the scent, but I could never tell you what it is.

Apparently, it is actually apricots and peaches.

 Finally, we have the soap which is not as impressive as it looks in their spoiler photos, but is still really pretty. It smells like berries, and reminds me a little of Moonlight Path from Bath and Body Works.

It is in fact, crushed berries and mint leaves with a splash of pomelo and iced sugarcane.

I don't know what pomelo is, but I like this scent.

it+a Alchemist's Subscription April 2015

I am like a week late in reviewing this month's Innocent and Twisted Alchemy's subscription box, but I am going to review it anyway. Besides, I figure most people who read this are considering buying the subscription anyway so as long as it is before the date new slots go on sale I should be good, right?

This month the subscription came with two eye shadows and a highlighter. I adore the products we got this month, but I feel like I say that every month.

 I still have not mastered how to properly photograph these cards. I tried, but I think it's going to be hard to read the top portion of the card. Essentially, Linda got into anime as a kid because of Sailor Moon and so this month's theme is "I Want To Be A Magical Girl". The art is by April Hurtado.

 Here is the artwork. This is kind of difficult to see again because I suck at photographing these cards but April has the image up on her DeviantArt in all its digital glory!

Here are the samples for this month. We ended up getting one of Blackbird Cosmetics' infamous matte shadows, a sample from AFK cosmetics, a sample form Notoriously Morbid, and a sample from Eccentric Cosmetics.

 I don't know how well you can see it, but this is the highlighter. It is a white highlighter with just a touch of pink. I did both a heavy and blended out swatch. It doesn't have a ton of shimmer, mostly it is meant for glow. This particular product is perfect for spring, when glow is in but tanning has not blown up yet. It reminds me a lot of Becca's opal highlight, just for people who are after glow and not an intense sheen.

This is Berry Bomb. It is the same swatch just at different angles. It is the most gorgeous berry color (as usual swatched over elf eyelid primer). This is by far my favorite product in my bag this month.







This is Green Grenade. It is a pretty pale green with a silver shimmer. This might be good as a wash of color over the lid.

Here are all four of the bonus samples swatched on one hand. Upper left: No More a Witch from Notoriously Morbid. When I first saw this shadow I thought this was going to be just your usual brown/green duochrome (don't get me wrong, I adore that color, but it isn't unique). However, I was terribly wrong. This is a deep black brown with an intense green shift, not for people who are afraid of commitment.

 Upper right: Dog Days from Blackbird Cosmetics.This didn't really need a primer so when I applied the shadow over a primer that was a little too wet it caked up and was difficult to blend. It is a unique taupe/purpley color, but it is also a very wearable color. I am impressed.  I have heard so much about Blackbird's mattes in the indie world, and I was not dissapointed. Based on this shadow alone, these mattes easily rival my mainstream pressed mattes.

Bottom left: Sea Spirit from Eccentric Cosmetics. I had never heard of this brand before recieving it in this subscription, but I am super pleased with the product that I received. Sea Spirit is a wearable taupey-warm brown with an aqua shift.

Bottom right: The Earnest Elf from AFK Cosmetics. I have been wanting to get something from them for a long while. This was the only shadow that I thought really could have benefited from an upgraded primer. The green didn't feel nearly as opaque as it was supposed to be.

Price and Final Thoughts

This subscription costs 12$ per month, that includes shipping. The actual value of the box (by my math) is determined by how much the product costs (if a sample from a company is usually 1.50$ I am counting the value as 1.50$ even if it is an exclusive shade), this does not take into account the coupon codes received, the custom label art, or the shipping it would have cost to get all of these items.

Petit Jar of Eyeshadow from i+ta- 3$
Petit Jar of Eyeshadow from i+ta- 3$
Angelic Powder from i+ta (1)- 8$
Sample from Notoriously Morbid (2) - 1.25$
Dog Days from Blackbird Cosmetics Sample- 1$
Sample from AFK Cosmetics (The Earnest Elf full size is only 3.50 as of right now though)- 1.50$
Approximate Sample Cost from Eccentric Cosmetics (3)- 1.20$

Total Value- 17.95$

Personal Value-  Berry Bomb + Highlighter+ Blackbird+ Sea Spirit= 13.20$

I don't know if I would have bought the highlighter because I am drowning in it currently. Well, I don't know if I would have paid 8$ for it, 4$ for half the product is much more up my alley. Basically that means if I had my way the box value/personal value would be a little under but I am still completely pleased. I was a Mew Mew Power kind of girl as a child, so I am in love with the theme this month, not to mention the new product in this box and that the brands she includes always have me stoked.

1. This is a new product, it isn't even up on the website yet. It looks to be a packed full 10g jar with a sifter, so I'm pricing it based off of a 10g subscription box blush. I could be totally wrong.

2. they are undergoing website updates so they don't have the exact color up yet

3. They only sell sample packs, so this is based on the 5 sample pack that costs 6$