July Birchbox-The Final

I've been saying it for a long time, but now it's final.  After 14 months, I cancelled my subscription to Birchbox. (I also cancelled Beauty Army after only 2 months.)  July's box was my last box. I think it ended on a pretty good note though.  This month's box was all about the five senses so it included ear buds, mints, perfume, etc.  

I had fun receiving Birchbox, especially since it is a surprise each month and more often than not, I thought the boxes were sub par but what do you really expect for $10 a month?  Just a handful of fun items that may or may not be useful to you.  

Girly Organization

Many months ago, a couple of you asked how I organize my jewelry.  I don't have the best system but it works for me.  I may have more jewelry than the average person so this might not work for you.

You may have seen all the cute ways to display necklaces on Pinterest and while cute, I have too many necklaces for most of those ideas.

Here's what my necklaces look like with just a necktie-type hanger with a hook:

Earrings/chunky bracelets/delicate necklaces:

What it looks like altogether...this sits atop of the armoire that was given to me when my gramma passed away.  Inside it holds rings, pins, expensive necklaces and bracelets that I wear on often.

Perfume/Sprays/Lotions are held on a mirrored tray:

Makeup brushes on the vanity:

My makeup is organized in plastic drawers by type.  I bought the blue drawers during back-to-school season and cost $1-2 at Wal~Mart.

Makeup palettes are kept in the wicker basket drawers:

Finally, nail polish.  I did find this on Pinterest so this is how I store/display mine:

All of this stuff encompasses my bathroom. Our house isn't the most space-efficient but I do my best.  As much as I love the idea of having a minimalist home, when it comes to girly stuff, I fail miserably.  Plus I live with a pack rat who I'm trying to reform but it's a slow process.  At least he's willing.

Birchbox/Zoya Collaboration

Birchbox and Zoya teamed up to offer a trio of nail polishes that were colors inspired by three bloggers as shown below as voted by fans.  I really loved these colors and decided I needed to get them.  The set cost $22 with free shipping but since I had some Birchbox points accumulated, I was able to knock off $10 and get it for $12.  The package arrived early last week and the colors are so beautiful and perfect for summer.  I'm pretty sure I need to be done with Zoya for awhile now.  I have PLENTY of colors to last me through the whole year, but I can't promise anything when it comes to addictive little company.

Birchbox

Makeup Makes Me Happy

Sometimes it pays to talk about the things that interest me on this blog.  An advertising agency contacted me and sent the following goodies to me because I talk about makeup and beauty items.  I was more than surprised when I received all this stuff including items from Smashbox, Bath & Body Works, Sally Hansen, Burt's Bees, John Frieda and a few other brands that are new to me.  Yay for beauty!

Sample Society Beauty Box

I found what looks to be like another great monthly subscription beauty box.  It's called Sample Society which is a collaboration between Beauty Bar and Allure magazine.  It was just released this past March and here are some of the goodies that went out in last month's box:

The first box—the March box included: Fekkai Advanced Glossing Cream (1.6 oz), Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (.45 oz), REN Glycolactic Skin Renewal Peel Mask (15 ml),Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen (.14 oz) and Oscar de la Renta Espirit D’Oscar Eau de Parfum Rollerball (.1 fl oz).

 

A Sample Society membership introduces consumers to the latest trends and innovations in beauty through sampling. As members, customers receive the following every month:

• Five deluxe-size samples from premium brands such as By Terry, Dermalogica, Fekkai Advanced, and Bond No. 9. Samples are deluxe-size, meaning they are intended for more than one use, allowing customers to truly experience and test products’ efficacy.
• Original content written by Allure editors with each month’s samples, giving the customer relevant expert information that can optimize her experience and ultimately help her make purchase decisions.
• A $15 gift code that can be used toward the purchase of any product from the featured brands received that month (not just the specific product sampled), meaning that each box pays for itself.
• A one year subscription to Allure magazine

The monthly cost of $15 seems like a good deal, considering that if you are interested in purchasing one of the featured brands for the month, the $15 gift code can go towards the cost of the purchase so your box ends up being free. 


The program is so popular right now that there is a waiting list for new customers who want to try it out.  I've put my name in and we'll see how quickly I can get signed up.  Do you think you're interested in signing up? 

Beauty Army- March Box

I received my Beauty Army box in the mail earlier this week.  I picked these items myself so when it arrived in the mail on Wednesday, I didn't getting around to opening it.  In fact, I just opened it up today, Saturday.

I do love the box it comes in and can be used again for organization or using as a gift box but when I opened up the box, I thought, why would I have chosen that product?  I looked online and yes, I did choose all of the products in the box, however I probably chose those six because there wasn't that much to choose from in the first place.  I'm like all the other Beauty Army subscribers, which want more makeup samples and a little less skincare products.  I think for the past two months, it's pretty much been exclusively skincare items.

Anyway, here's what I got and I'll use the products but let's see some makeup next month or some more variety in products otherwise I'm cancelling!

March Birchbox

I received my March Birchbox in the mail last week.  I discussed recently that I think I'm over Birchbox and just when I feel I'm ready to cancel, I get a box that I like.  March's box was one of the best I've received.  I guess I'll keep hanging on for a month at a time.

On the same day I received my Birchbox, I also received some makeup brushes I ordered from Makeup Geek.  If you love makeup and want to know more about the latest products and reviews, tutorials or order products from the store, check it out.