Friday, September 27, 2013

September Birchbox Review

I was going to review Julep Maven next but it still hasn't arrived. I'm getting a little frustrated with that (hope it arrives soon). In the meantime one of my other boxes arrived that I decided to try. It's called Birchbox and it's $10 a month for a box of health/beauty samples.

I opened the box only to be a little disappointed. I understand that $10 isn't all that expensive but I expected the "samples" to be a little larger than what they are. The sizes that they sent I could probably get from beauty counters for free. I would have to travel around and find them though. Unless of course I could get online and request a sample from the companies that make the product directly. That could also be time consuming so I'm going to give them a chance here.



This lip balm is nice it's called Original Nipple Balm for Lips by Dr. Lipp. It's interesting that it used to be for nursing mothers. You can also use it on cuticles and elbows. The full size product cost $14.50. My information card does't say how large the full size is but I did a search online and found that it's slightly over 1/2 an oz. Not sure if it's worth that, I will have to use the product a little longer and find a cheaper comparable product to determine if it's worth it.


I'm excited to try this product the Keratherapy deep conditioning masque. The package is maybe enough to get 2 uses out. I'm not sure if that's a big enough sample to determine if it really "works" or not but I will let you all know. I have very curly and very frizzy hair and I'm in search of a product that tames all of that down. The full size is 8oz and it's $23.


I was so excited to see this in my box in this color. This is the Ruffian nail lacquer in Delirium. I need to sit down and give myself a pretty manicure with this pretty polish. The full size (not sure what the full size is)cost is $10. Not unheard of for a good nail polish.


This is the Serge Normant meta luxe hair spray. The full size is 7.5oz and it costs $25. Currently I spend $2-3 on an 11oz can of hair spray. I'm a cheapy person but it doesn't work well in my hair. I'm wondering, and excited to try, if a more expensive quality brand will help with my out of control hair. I did try this product and so far so good. It has tamed my locks and it's still soft to touch not "crunchy" like those other hairsprays. I still don't know about spending $25 on a can....maybe I'll have to use it for a little while and thanks to the decent size sample I should be able to use it for at least a week or two.


I still need to try this product it's called S.M.A.R.T Skin Perfecting Polisher by Grand Central Beauty. A 1 oz (full size) container costs $38. Directions read that you only need a dime size amount. You massage that amount into clean dry skin for 30 seconds. Rinse is optional. It is supposed to exfoliate, tone, smooth and moisturize your skin all in one.


This first insert has a cute little saying on the front and then it has a nice little message on the back. I might keep them and turn them into small cards or something.


This insert has information about each of the products included in the box (on the back not pictured). The front of the card, at least this month, is a little letter from the Birchbox team. This month they "turned" 3. I do hope you found something from my review that helps you either decide to get the birchbox or to maybe buy one of the products. If you want to try birchbox click here.I really do hope to be back soon with that review on the Julep box.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Bluum Box Review: Three Month Boy Theme Smiley Baby

Bluum Box is a monthly subscription box for mom and baby delivered to your home. You can purchase monthly at $24.95 or get packages (3 month, 6 month and 12 month) to reduce the cost of the box. If you would like to check them out here's a link to sign up. I signed up for a year and got a pretty good deal. It's going to be like getting a present every month for the first year of my son's life. As you can see from the picture above, this months theme (for my 3 month old) is smiley baby.


This was the first item in my box that I tried. Side note, there were a lot of mommy items in this box. I hope to see more baby items in my next box. This Luna bar tasted pretty good, I've never had Luna bars before, it reminds me of the nutragrain breakfast bars.


I threw this bar in my bag that I take to work every day for a quick snack in case I don't get a chance to get a "real" lunch in. I haven't had to use it yet so I can't really rate taste.


I'm not sure why these were in my box. Three months post partum and I've lost all the baby weight so my pre-pregnancy clothes fit just fine. These would have been better for that stage between your regular clothes and maternity clothes. It is a wonderful idea just not useful to me.


I need to check this website out and see what they offer. I will have to review this in more depth if I decide to purchase something.


I love books like this. This was probably one of my favorite items from the box. I like the durability of the think pages in these types of books. Little hands can't tear up the pages when he starts grabbing things. It's a bonus because it comes with a cd.


Anoter mommy item. I've started using this oil on the few stretch marks that I got during pregnancy. I will have to give it some time to work, if it's going to. I will do another review in a few months to let everyone know how it works.


I would consider this a mommy item as well. I used this to just test on a bottle and it seemed to work like any other dish liquid. I do like the smell though.


Finally another baby item. Even though it's plain I really like this item. It's really soft and I see myself adding an iron on or something to dress it up a little for my boy.

I'm happy with the first box but I hope to see more baby items in the next box. I do believe it was worth what I paid for the box. I look fwd. to reviewing more boxes later. My next review will be on Julep.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

It's Been too long

Hey everyone, it's been a really long time and a lot has happened. I will get to all of that soon but first I want to let you know that the direction of my blog is going to change. I still love making things and I will still post about making those things (when I get the time again) but I want to change the focus to my opinions of everything. By that I mean I will be doing lots of reviews. When I'm in search of a new vacation sport, product or even a new resturant I go to the interenet in search of what other people think about the particular item/place I'm interested in. Those reviews really do help me make a decision and I hope to be helpful to other people.

Now onto why I've been MIA for a LONNNNGGGGG time. I had a baby!!!! The pregnancy was unlike the other two that I had been thru, they were a breeze. There were some complications with this pregnancy/baby but in the end I had a healthy baby boy. He was born on June 14th. I took the max amount of time off work to spend with all three of my children...12 weeks! I just recently came back to work and life is starting to fall back into it's normal pace. So needless to say I was an emotional wreck during my nine months....actually only 7 of those were emotional all the "stuff" doesn't usually kick in until around 6-8 weeks.

I made a few things during my pregnancy for the new baby that I absolutely adore. Sewing has become one of my favorite things to do (when I have time of course).

This is a puff quilt that I made:

I also made a boppy cover but blogger is being complicated right now and will not let me post anymore photos. I will try to edit later and add it.

I didn't know the gender of the baby while I was pregnant. That was the most exciting thing that I have ever done my life. I can't explain the thrill of finding out at birth. I will highly recommend this to anyone asks (I found out with my first two and decided to wait with the third).

Speaking of babies and all things baby I will have a post soon on Bluum box. I hadn't heard of it before. I went to open a box of pampers for my new baby and a little insert fell out with a 50% off your first box. I was curious so I went to the internet to search for reviews. It's a mix, some people love it and some people hate it.

I'm taking a chance...I signed up for a year. Now I know those haters out there are going to say I'm crazy but I feel like to really give products/companies a chance I need to give them (in this case) more than just a couple of boxes to prove themselves to me. Besides it should be completely worth it, I got a pretty good deal for doing a year (almost 4 boxes free). The normal fee is $24.95 (or something like that) per month if you sign up for more than a month (3,6 or 12) they discount it.

My first box arrived today, I can't wait to get the chance to bust it open later tonight and tell you all about it.

That's all I have for right now, next up bluum box review.