Birchbox: July 2015 “Go Bold”

Welcome back, my lovely little cabbages!

I hope you’re all enjoying your summer – and are staying safe with SPF! It seems like such a silly thing to harp on about, but I really can’t emphasize enough how important wearing sunscreen is. If you don’t like using it as an extra step in your makeup routine, then I highly recommend you wear products that have SPF 30 or above already built in! These days you can get foundation, blush, bronzer, setting powder, lip products, just about anything, with SPF already in the product. Don’t risk your lovely skin, coralistas, protect it!

With that little rant over, let’s talk about this month’s Birchbox!

Product Spotlight: Bite Beauty’s Watercolor Lip Gloss Library

Hello my lovelies!

I managed to snag this beautiful lip gloss set while it was still exclusive to VIB Rouge members, which also coincided with one of Sephora’s VERY infrequent (and therefore highly anticipated) sales. More Bite products but for 20% off? Yes please! I’d been hearing about this one quite a bit, so naturally it became a ‘must try’. (And now I’ve left this review sitting here for so long that the library is now in Sephora’s sale section for $24!)

A Quick Update!

Hello my lovely little cabbages!

Have you missed me? I’ve missed you.

I just wanted to update you on some goings-on in my life that have made it difficult for me to post recently!

The big news: I’m moving! All of 3,000 miles, from Washington DC to Los Angeles. I’m thrilled out of my mind. But it’s been an intense couple of weeks planning and executing the move, as I’ve never moved with furniture before and am not really sure what I am getting myself into.

Also, I’m planning some changes for this here space. I’ve really whittled down the number of boxes I’m subscribed to (I have so much stuff you guys, it’s insanity.), and am currently just sticking with Birchbox and the occasional Julep or Golden Tote. I want to start expanding into more fashion and lifestyle articles, review the plenitudes of makeup I manage to buy on my own regardless of how many subs I have, and really go through what I already own.

I’m also going to start doing videos! I plan to set up a space in my new apartment that I can use as a ‘video corner’ (this will require delicate negotiations with my other half, and I’m sure there will be a learning curve of him making weird faces at me while I film. Ah, love!). Unfortunately in my current place this just hasn’t ever worked out. It was too small for me to find an area that had good light and that also looked nice enough in the background, that wasn’t like my entire apartment behind me (which would require a level of constant cleanliness that I’m just not comfortable with haha!).

I hope all of this pleases you lovely people! Please let me know what sort of videos you’d like on the regular. I’d like to start with maybe 2 a month (one a week if I feel REALLY ambitions), and mix it up between hauls and tutorials and just chatty sessions where I talk about cool stuff. Stay tuned!

Bisoux!

GlossyBox April 2015

Hello my little cabbage loves!

Glossybox has just been hitting it out of the park lately, haven’t they! This month the products almost took a second seat next to that awesome box design! But, as usual, we got a really well thought out collection of makeup, skincare, and fragrance, all deluxe or full sized. With an adorable little makeup bag to boot!

I’m using a lot of exclamation marks today aren’t I?

What can I say, this is a great box! And a great day! Everything is awesome!

(Also, forgive me for the huge photo. I wanted to capture the glory that is this awesome box, and that required some stylistic changes. Cropping it also made it look funny. So, c’est la vie!)

PopSugar Must Have April 2015

Mes petites choux, this is a momentous day. On this day, I review my last PopSugar Must Have box for a while.

WHY?! you may ask. Rightfully so! You see, I just have too much stuff.

It’s becoming a problem, especially since the other half and I would like to move across the country sometime soon. So I really need to start culling the amount of things I just keep around, which includes cutting down the amount of stuff I acquire each month. Unfortunately, this box didn’t make the cut. While I’m consistently impressed with the boxes – even those that don’t seem great end up having at least a couple gems – it’s just too much money to be spending on even more stuff. So, April is my last month for now!

But this month really did end up impressing me, so let’s get cracking shall we?

Birchbox April 2015 – Fresh For Spring

My beautiful cabbages, I am back from my vacation! A few days in the sun and I feel restored! While I was out some of my boxes came, wheee! It’s always nice to get that notification and then come home to cool new fun beauty products.

This month Birchbox partnered with Rifle Paper Co. to bring us this gorgeous flowery box. While I would have preferred the contents of one of the Mad Men-inspired pre-curated boxes, I just had to have this. It’s so pretty! Look at it!

Let’s delve in, shall we?

OuiPlease 1.2 Dreaming of Normandie

My favorite coralistas! Let’s dive into the world of truly luxurious subscription boxes, shall we?

OuiPlease is a brand new subscription service intended to bring the best of French fashion, beauty, and epicure to the discerning American woman. Coming in at $150 every two months, $175 for a single parcel, or $650 for the whole year (six boxes), it’s certainly one of the priciest standard (not counting limited edition special boxes put together by companies like PopSugar or Fancy) boxes on the market. Thank goodness it’s every two months, right?

So far, however, the value has been phenomenal. This is my second box (I also received the first, ‘Paris, I love you’, in December), and I’ve decided I like it enough to review it for you guys! Please keep in mind that this is NOT what I would consider a bargain – you are laying out quite a lot of money, even if you do get an exceptional value. This is not intended as a way for me to brag, I realize how lucky I am that I can afford any of this lifestyle at all. I do pay for this myself, (thanks day job! You’re boring but look what you let me do!), and I hope you enjoy living vicariously through me if you’re unable (or unwilling!) to spend this much on a box of ‘stuff’.

Let’s venture into that wonderful region of Normandy, shall we?

PopSugar Must Have – March 2015 “Travel”

Welcome back to the last installment in “Jess Reviews All The Boxes” week, my lovely coral cabbages! Okay, there is one more tomorrow, but it’s for a box that isn’t anywhere near what I usually review! Get excited!

This month, PopSugar put together a travel themed box – probably aimed towards everyone who goes on spring break in late March and early April! Fortunately, I’m going to be on vacation soon, so these products will get a lot of love. This is probably one of the most ‘practical’ boxes I’ve gotten, and I am loving that PopSugar is back on track with actually well thought out curation. They were slipping a bit last year, but they seem to have pulled themselves off the brink.

Let’s dig in, shall we?

Birchbox – March 2015 CREATIVITY

Mes petites!

This is just the week I catch up on box reviews, isn’t it? Better late than never, I always say!

Birchbox has been doing this thing where they are sending us pretty fancy boxes. As much as I usually hate change, this is pretty cool. This box is supposedly all about creativity – how they decided March was the month of creativity, I will never know. But you do you, Birchbox, you know we still love you!

Glossybox – March 2015

Bonjour mes petites choux!

Glossybox certainly was… interesting this month, wasn’t it? It almost feels like a bunch of products were just thrown in a bin and the packers scooped up handfuls to throw in boxes! I kid, but there is no curation, and certainly no obvious relationship between the products. C’mon Glossy, you’re my favorite, don’t let me down like this!

Shall we discuss, my friends? I think the meh photo pretty much sums up my feelings, but the products themselves aren’t *that* bad. Just not great! Onwards and upwards!