January Birchbox: Let's Do This!

I'm a bit late posting on my January Birchbox, as getting outside to take pictures has been hit or miss lately.  However, this was a good box, so let's do this!

The rosemary and mint scented body lotion from Essential Elements ($3.80) is a nice companion piece to the body wash from the line that I received a while back, so it'll get used.  It's a lighter lotion and I'm veering towards rich body butters right now, so I'll save it for warmer weather. 

My favorite item from January's box is the CC Cream from Supergoop ($2).  I was surprised that it gave me enough coverage to work on it's own as a foundation (I do mix with a cream highlighter), and the finish does not sink into or emphasize pores and is oh so natural.  The color is supposed to be self-adjusting, and the light to medium matches my fair but warm skin pretty well.  The finish is a satin and after setting with powder I get all day wear.  Really liking this, a full size tube may be in order!

Stainiac with By Terry's clear Baume de Rose on top

Stainiac by theBalm is a rosy pink cheek and lip stain that really does stain the skin.  I prefer it as a lip tint with gloss on top, as it gives a nice pink stain that lasts for a good 4 hours or so.  Sample value is $2.27.

The Whish shave cream in grapefruit ($2.97) works fairly well, and it did inspire me to layer several different grapefruit scents (Julep's discontinued grapefruit body butter and Fresh's Hesperides Grapefruit perfume) on Monday.  I'm not one to invest in a shave cream, however.

I've yet to try the Wei Manuka Bee Venom anti-wrinkle mask pod ($7.50), but I'm intrigued.  I'll have to have an at-home spa day this weekend and give it a whirl.

Here I'm wearing the Supergoop CC cream mixed with a pea-size amount of Le Métier de Beauté's Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Complex Tinted Luminizer (need to review that soon), and theBalm's Stainiac on my lips.  The value of January's Birchbox was $18.54, but considering they are all products I will use, a good start to 2015!

Chantecaille Luminous Lip Gloss in Passionfruit

 Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

The Luminous line of lip glosses from Chantecaille are supposed to be long-wearing, super-hydrating, with a fluid 3-d like gloss effect, and provide high shine with a splash of color.   At $34 each, they are definitely on higher end of the price spectrum (but hey, it's Chantecaille), so it would be nice if they deliver on their claims.  Do they?

Actually, for the most part, Passionfruit does!  I don't get the claimed 6 hour wear, but I don't get that on any lip product.  They are long wearing and comfortable for the 3+ hours I do get, however, and my lips do feel hydrated. 

Where Passionfruit excels for me is in the 3-d like gloss effect, which is due to shiny polymers in the formula.   My lips look fuller, and the shine is stellar.

I like the coral tint of Passionfruit, but it doesn't provide a whole lot of color.  It's not exactly a clear gloss, but I think you'll be disappointed if you are looking for color impact.  It works best as a layering gloss, IMO, as it provides warmth and high shine to underlying lip colors.

Passionfruit over Revlon's Brown Sugar Lip Butter

Passionfruit over Tom Ford's Luca

Passionfruit over LMdB's Nudite lip pencil

I received Passionfruit as part of the Birchbox Vanity Affair set ($98), and while I'm happy to have it, I'm not sure I would have purchased it on it's own had I known how sheer it looks on.  Lovely formula, though, so no complaints there!

February Julep Boho Glam: The Afterglow

Julep's February collection is entitled "The Afterglow", no doubt due to the beauty products offered this month:  a liquid eye brightener and powder highlighter.  I chose the powder highlighter in Champagne instead of the liquid click pen eye brightener, given my current use of Estee Lauder's BB  highlighter pen (see review here).

The Boho Glam polish colors were the purple/bronze duochrome Hazel and the Taos turquoise cream Brandis.  Everyone who took a box in February also got the Valentine's themed heart polish Hartleigh.  Some Maven's randomly received 5 more Hartleigh's to give to their girlfriends, and I was one of the lucky ones!

Hartleigh

Hazel

Brandis

The Glow Highlighter in Champagne is a soft vanilla cream that, at least based on some initial swatches, provides a subtle shimmer.  I'll post a review after I get a better feel for it.  I added on Julep's new fan brush as well.

I'm still on the old Maven subscription plan that costs $19.99 a box, and the full retail value of my February box was $94.  Looking forward to playing with everything!

The Phenomenon Ready 2.0 Eyeshadow Duo by bareMinerals

The Phenomenon Ready 2.0 Eyeshadow Duo by bareMinerals is putting me in the mood for spring, even though it isn't quite here yet.  Mobile will be experience some warm weather in the next few days, however, so I can pretend for a while :-)

Azure Isis is a soft but bright lilac/lavender, and while it's the less pigmented of the two, can be built up quite easily in a few passes.  Golden Iris, on the other hand, took only one swipe to get the color you see above.  

I don't automatically think of lavender and gold working together, but somehow they do.  You can even layer them to get a soft taupe.  Who knew?

I'm a big fan of the bareMinerals Ready eyeshadow formula, and have found them to be pigmented, smooth, and long wearing over primer (primer is always a must for my oily lids).  The Ready 2.0 duos are $20 each, which is on the steeper side.  I've mainly collected the Ready 4.0 and 8.0 palettes, but this lovely was a GWP, and I'm quite happy to have it!

BECCA Beach Tint in Grapefruit

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Described as a pale coral pink, Grapefruit is one of the lighter shades available in BECCA's Beach Tints.  It looks more peach or cantaloupe to me, and the effect is very natural on my cheeks.

These can also be worn on the lips, although I don't and prefer them as a blush.  The texture is a light creamy gel, and I find that they apply easily with fingers and do not disturb my underlying foundation.

I've been wearing Grapefruit quite a lot since I acquired it as part of the Tints 24/7 set from Sephora (no longer available), and my only complaint is that sometimes after I apply it, I think, "oh, that looks nice", and then 5 minutes later I'm like "where'd it go?"  So, I've been applying a bit more and that seems to work.  However, I doubt it would show up well for those with darker complexions.

 

These are water-resistant, enriched with vitamin E, and are supposed to work as a stain. I do think they are longer lasting for a cream blush type of product, and they seem to meld with the skin as opposed to sitting on top.  Each one is softly scented with the corresponding fruit they are named after, and I found Grapefruit's scent pleasant and unobtrusive.

The Beach Tints are on the pricier end of the spectrum at $25 each, but I'm really liking the ones I've collected so far!  You can see my review of the Watermelon Beach Tint here.

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Double Wear Brush on Glow BB Highlighter in 1C Light (Cool) by Estee Lauder

I've been a big fan of Estee Lauder's Double Wear concealer, as it is one of the few I've tried that does not emphasize my fine lines yet still provides good coverage.  So, the idea of the Glow BB Highlighter ($28.50), which brightens as well as conceals with a purported 8 hour wear, was quite appealing.

There is no visible shimmer in this formula that I could detect, but Photo Optic™ Technology is supposed to brighten shadows and help erase the look of fatigue while highlighting facial features.  It was a challenge picking the right shade online, but I lucked out with 1C Light (Cool), which works well for me as both an under eye concealer and as a highlighter on the bridge of my nose/cupid's bow.

The click pen brush applicator is not my favorite way to dispense product, but I'm not experiencing any problems such as too much product gushing out with this one.

The product darkens a bit as it dries down, and 1C Light is on the light-medium end of spectrum of the 8 available shades. 

The BB Highlighter has many of the attributes of the Double Wear concealer, in that it does not emphasize fine lines and has a realistic looking finish.  It's not as pigmented as the concealer, which I prefer using on dark spots and reserving the BB Highlighter for my eyes and to highlight high points of the face.

Realistically, would you need both?  I don't think so, as they seem rather interchangeable to me.  Given that the Double Wear concealer (see review here) is less expensive at $24 and has a longer wear time of 15 hours, it remains my favorite!

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Empties! Products I Used Up in January

I feel like I go through more shampoo than any other product.   I have probably 5 bottles of conditioner in my shower, yet I'm always running out of shampoo. 

My favorite of the two shown is definitely the herbalosophy, with it's sulfate free formula.  However, I've got another big ass bottle of the Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, which was given to me, and is the only shampoo in the house at the moment.  Since I'm trying to use up product as opposed to acquiring more, I'll be on a steady diet of Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy for quite a while.

The Aubrey NuStyle organic hairspray got used up when I ran out of my regular spray.  It doesn't provide enough hold/texture for my taste, but if you are looking for a cleaner ingredient spray, it might be worth checking out.  The Agave Healing Oil Treatment didn't make much of an impression on me one way or the other. 

A sample from last month's Birchbox, I liked theSeaRx Anti-Wrinkling Serum, and it's gel textured formula worked well with my oily skin.    The Jouer luminizing tint is nice blended with Jouer's matte tint, although not something I'd buy on it's own, given my plethora of liquid highlighters on hand.  I did not care for the Dr. Jart+ Black label Detox  BB cream, another sample from December's Birchbox, so it's getting tossed after 2 uses. 

My favorite item from this group of products was actually the cheap lip balm, a freebie GWP from Cherry Culture.  It has a questionable ingredient list, but dang if it didn't do a good job of keeping my lips soft and moisturized.  Plus, it smelled like banana!

Of the foils that I used up, two stood out in a positive way and one in a negative.  The two positives were the

I was contemplating buying a bottle of Le Couvent des Minimes Botanical Cologne, and having a sample on sale sealed the deal.  Full review coming soon.

Jurlique's Radiance Serum, while not to really test out, still made a positive impression.  It's a brand I'd like to explore more at some point.  However, one of my resolutions for 2015 is going to be to use up the surplus of skin and body care products I have before purchasing new ones, so it may be a while!