Birchbox: Beauty Buzz

     October came and went in some sort of crazy flash of a whirlwind. Halloween (I was both Spider"man" and a Vampire Victim....oooh fun) and celebrated my 6th Wedding anniversary with the PR (traditional Melting Pot dinner). So I guess you could say I had a lot going on festively speaking. Technologically speaking, the internet to the house doesn't work still, despite buying new net gear equipment, and I still can't figure out how to navigate my new iPhone to upload pictures to my blog posts. ::sigh:: I did just have a random OCD burst to clean closets and sort through clothes though. Random midnight action. Oh yes.
     So October was a mediocre box, at least mine was. I think I was slightly more excited about the PR's Birchbox Man box, which I keep asking him to give me more reviews on. This box is supposed to contain some of 2013's best, trendiest, stuff. Well then, there's a slight chance I got the wrong box. I do love my BB, and there was one little gem inside, but sorry Birchbox, sticky lip gloss is not a trend I'm aware of or want to be a part of.
Let's discuss...
*Joie Folle de Joie perfume mini...The thing I love about those little mini perfume sample bottles is there cute to collect in a little drawer on your vanity to allow you to mix up your scents every now and then. So, basically they are adorable and serve a purpose. We all have our signature, go-to fragrance but if something new smells good it smells good. This fragrance from Joie is a blend of mandarin, rose and sandalwood and it's actually quite lovely. Full size is $98, so pricey from my standpoint.

*Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser...I wish I didn't have to download Google+ to be able to upload photos to my posts, because these Liz Earle products are the gem of the box I was referring to previously. I'll make sure to do a review post that contains pictures, I pretty much have to!! Anyway, this is a UK brand cleanser that uses a 2-step process to purify and exfoliate. This one was a Birchbox exclusive, side note. You massage the cleanser into the skin and use a muslin cloth to wipe off in small circles. Full size is $21.50.

*Liz Earle Pure Muslin Cloth...these go with the aforementioned cleanser^^. These pure muslin cloths are meant to take the place of harsher exfoliators. They basically polish your skin in a gentle way, with a little warm water. $6 will get you 2 cloths.

*Miss Jessie's Original Creme de la Creme Conditioner...I feel like I've seen/heard of this stuff before now. Target maybe?? I know I'm usually kind of a hair product snob but I feel like I could use this one! Ever since I did the whole ombre thing to my hair, then less than a month later reverted back to my darker hair color, well my hair has felt sad & dry you could say. It's supposed to be really nourishing for color treated, dry hair so hopefully it will help me out. You can also use it as a leave-in treatment. So, earlier when I referred to the box as mediocre, bear in mind it's going off of my personal first impression of products...just thought I'd throw that little bit in there,

*POP Beauty Aqua Lacquer...Another British brand. I do love me some Brits but I do not love me some of this lip gloss :/ It's a sheer gloss (mine has a red hue) that plumps and hydrates with jojoba oil. It also looks like a squeeze tube but contains a little paddle/wand applicator like most other glosses. Well, that's all good and well, but the lip gloss is sooooooo sticky, almost uncomfortably so. A sticky lip gloss just irks me and I immediately wanted to wipe it off after applying. Do that was indeed a bit of a let down.

BONUS JONAS:
*Birchbox Find: Chapstick Hydration Lock...This was an extra in my box this month (perhaps to make up for the POP gloss?!?!) This new lip moisturizer from Chapstick has a "breakthrough" 8 hour moisture technology. It doubles as a lip primer and contains antioxidants like CoQ10 and Vitamin E to defend against damage. The "flavor " I got was vanilla Creme, FYI. I have not used this yet because I've been absolutely in love with my Vaseline Rosy Lips, but I really hope it lives up to the hype it's now been given!!

Thank you to everyone who does read my blog, and thank you further for your patience while I try to be more legit about this whole blogging thing. If you do read, or even if you just stumbled upon this page, please subscribe so you don't miss out!! I do have my act together every now and then ;)
As it is now November, make sure to remember to count your blessings and be thankful for all you've been provided for in this life, even when things seem less than ideal. Just like anyone else I've had and have my setbacks, but I remain hopeful, and faithful, that I will get to where I need to be with my little family.
XO,
J <3.

Birchbox: Wanderlust.

    Is it really almost the end of June?! Wow. I'll be 5 weeks cancer free tomorrow!! Last weekend my best friend and I took a little time off for a girls day to celebrate the 1 month mark. We got manis/pedis, took a Target trip, ate some yummy food, did a little shopping and got tattoos (I got some Royal Teeth lyrics on side of my leg)... Talk about an amazingly rad day. Speaking of talking...lets talk about the June Birchbox!!

New Box packaging.

**Birchbox + Color Club Wanderlust Collection nail polish**

There were four neon pastel shades released. I received the pastel green one named London Calling...which I was pretty stoked about, one, because it's a lovely shade, and two, I have what you might call a mild obsession with British things. This shade is comparable to Essie's Absolutely Shore and comparable price wise as well since a full size bottle costs $8.

**LAQA & Co Lil' Lip Duo**

This is essentially a lip color that comes in jumbo pencil form. It has a creamy texture when applied and there is a little minty "taste" left behind as a sort of afterthought. The color is actually quite pigmented. I love mine, in a pretty bright rosy pink shade, especially paired with my NARS Easy Lover lip gloss. A full size is $16 for 2, so definitely worth checking out.

**ORIGINS Clear Improvement Active charcoal mask to clear pores**

ORIGINS is always a brand I love to see since I really love their products. I'm a big fan of masks right now so I can't wait to try this out this weekend! It's a white clay and charcoal based mask that tightens your pores and draws out impurities, all while making your skin appear less dull. It's supposed to be a great once a week mask and the full size product retails for $23.

**Oscar de la Renta Something Blue perfume sample**

This is a new scent from Oscar de la Renta, but it smelled really familiar. A lot of designer fragrances carry such similar notes. It starts with notes of mandarin and linden blossom and picks up to notes of bourbon vanilla and white musk. It's definitely a warmer scent, something I would find more wearable for an autumn date night or the like. With a price point ranging from $85-$115, there are other very similar scents at more affordable prices if you are looking for something more economical. 

**ORIGINS GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer**

Another ORIGINS product!! This moisturizer contains ginseng and coffee to combat lack-lustre skin. It's also supposed to make your skin look energized and radiant. Now, I don't know what "energized" skin appears like, but, my skin did have a radiant, dewy gloe! It also felt good, no greasy residue or anything!! Very lightweight and great for everyday use. The full size is $26.50.

****BONUS JONAS****:

Check out my new tattoo!! ((Royal Teeth lyrics))...and make sure to pick up the band's full-length album, "Glow", out this August!!

Check out my Instagram for more pics: jacquelinecxo

Hope everyone has awesome weekend plans in store!!

XO,

J <3.

Birchbox: All Wrapped Up

          I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas, happy holidays, and just a great time of merriment in general. We had a very laid back holiday season, which I am beyond totally fine with, as the holidays for the past 2 years have been a little difficult without my dad. But New Year's is around the corner (an especially hard time for me), and I want to embrace all the goodness and possibility that this time of year means. So, doing my best to put my pessimistic tendencies aside and moving forward. Birchbox!! December's BB was a nice little holiday treat, so let's just go ahead and talk about that shall we!!

The Contents:
*Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream...so by now we all know about BB creams, but this is a newer product seen about, the CC cream. This one by Juice Beauty, a fave brand of mine now, improves skin tone with Vitamin C and grape-derived resveratrol. The CC stands for Color Control, and the full size product runs about $40.
*ModelCo SHINE Ultra Lip Gloss...I have heard about ModelCo before, but had never tried it before; so to get a full size gloss, in the berry shade, in my box was pretty sweet. I immediately tried it on, and not only does it look really pretty by itself, it looks really pretty paired with your favorite lipcolor. It's also not a highly sticky gloss, which is always a plus for me.
*Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Advanced Volume Shampoo...As a stylist I love to try to new hair products so I can help out with recommendations and whatnot to clients, but at the same time I'm also skeptical of new products, go figure. This volume shampoo by Nick Chavez uses hyaluronic acid and keratin to build body and add shine. Now, keratin is amaze for your hair, I can't say enough good things about it...as for the hyaluronic acid, yeah, I don't know much about that, so perhaps a little investigation is in order. I also do not believe this is a color-safe shampoo, so fact checking is certainly in order.
*Nicole Richie Fragrances: Nicole by Nicole Richie...Now I have an abundance of perfume/fragrance samples, it's almost a little ridiculous. To be honest, most of them get thrown into a box and never see the light of day. But I went ahead and tried this one as soon as I opened it since one of the fragrance notes was amber, which I love in a fragrance I wear. The perfume itself is a blend of amber, rose and vanilla. I loved it. I would actually buy the full size bottle, they retail between $20-$69...potential birthday gift, **hint hint**
*La Fresh Eco-Beauty Healthy Hand Sanitizer...these are actually sanitizer wipes that contain aloe and vitamin E to help moisturize while they sanitize. I like the idea of sanitizer wipes like this because you can throw them in your purse and not worry about them potentially leaking like the little bottles sometimes do. A pack of 30 wipes is just $6.99.

There you have it! There were definitely some little gems this month...products I'm both interested in buying and trying. If you got a buzz-worthy product/item as a gift this Christmas share in the comments below!!

XO,
J.



Birchbox: Beauty School

A Birchbox post on time?! Yes, yes I do believe so! It's still August and I'm posting my August Birchbox overview! And since I'm not being apologetic for my tardiness, I do wish to apologize for the fact that the pictures I took from my Android for this post aren't of the best quality, which given the fact that I have so many photog friends, well, let's just say I should be able to take a decent picture from my cell phone at best!

This month's box was titled "Beauty School", so without further delay let's break this down:

Cover.

The Goods.

On Display.

Okay, you can see (above) all the little treasures that came in this month's box, so let's discuss...

* Dr. Jart Waterfuse BB Cream ...who doesn't love a good BB cream, they do so many wonderful, fantastic things for your skin (detailed post coming soon)! I haven't tried Jart's as of yet, since I've been using other things, but this product is advertised as a 4-in-1 moisturizer, serum, sunscreen and skin-perfecting tint. They compare it to "the beauty version of a Swiss Army knife"...well, we'll see about that Dr. Jart, we'll just see about that!

*DDF Brightening Cleanser ...this is a foaming gel cleanser loaded with skin brighteners that help to fade any skin discolorations you may have and even out the skin's tone. This one sounds like a winner, and they were pretty generous on the sample of this guy! You can buy the full-size bottle for $38.



DDF Brightening Cleanser.



*Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy La Fleur Perfume Sample ...it's Juicy Couture; who hasn't heard of Viva la Juicy, or at the very least witnessed it's bright, spunky packaging?! This scent is a blend of wild berries, mandarin, and waterlily. It is really more of a spring, early summer scent in my opinion...I tend to go for a warmer, deeper fragrance (anything with amber) for the fall/winter season. P.S...Fall, excuse me, "Autumn" is my favorite season, so this gal is stoked!!

*LiQWd Professional Volumizing Catalyst ..."volumizing catalyst", that sounds pretty legit, right! This is a weightless mist that is supposed to add body to your hair. I'm a bit picky when it comes to hair care, so this might be a good giveaway prize for someone else to scope out.

*LARABAR uber bar... pretty much within the same scope as a Lunabar and the like, this little guy is made of fruits and nuts and is a super healthy treat.

Well, that pretty much sums things up. I do have some posts planned up that will be debuting soon, so, you're welcome ;) I will also finally be posting information/details about my 100 Followers Facebook contest, so definitely stay tuned for that. I hope everyone has a rad Wednesday, and rest of the week. As for me, I think I foresee a Target run in my future. Peace and Love.

XOXO,

J <3.