Birchbox - July 2017

I was on the fence about signing up for Birchbox. Long ago, when I still used Uber (since deleted account after a v negative experience with their cs #LyftLife), they were doing a promotion in Chicago where you would request a "prize Uber" and they brought you free things. It was actually pretty cool. During this period I received a Birchbox. I only used 2-3 things from the box, but wasn't feeling the other samples. BUT, I feel the samples have gotten better since last year. Cough, cough, MAC! Unfortunately, I signed up too late to get the MAC make up samples this month, but I was still very impressed with my first box.

I very much enjoyed this months box!

So, Lets get down to the goods. I really liked the samples that came with this months box. I have had a chance to use all of them and they are great. I actually think I will be getting the full size of one of the products because that's how much I love it. 

Shout out to my work for providing me with sweet lunch tables for me to take pics on. Anyway . . . 

One: Arrow - Boost Color Enhancing Lip Balm

• Love it. Per the review on Birchbox, "Formulated to adjust to your unique pH". That means, every person who wears it gets a "customized" color. This starts out clear, but within 5 minutes it was a bright pink, but not so bright that it made my lips look seriously cray. 5/5 for Boost! 

Two: Beauty Protector - Protect and Detangle

• This stuff has changed me. Literally. The knots in my hair after showering are so easy to run my brush through. I can't express the love I have for this product. I am purchasing the full size because it is the first detangler that hasn't ripped half the hair off of my head. It also acts as a heat protectant and smells amazing! My hair from two days ago still smells good after using this stuff! (6)5/5!!!

Three: Oribe Apres - Beach Wave and Shine Spray

• I like this brand, but I'm not a huge fan of "beach wave" products. I don't think they work very well with my hair type. I have very curly/frizzy/dry hair and when I used this product, it made my hair feel very oily. Not to say that it won't work for you, but this just didn't do it for me :( 3/5. 

Four: Marcelle - Hydra-C 24H Energizing Hydrating Gel

• I really liked this face gel. It did make my face feel a little bit oily after using it, but I also didn't wash my face before I put it on, so I believe that is my fault! Goes on very smooth and made my skin feel soft and dewy. Def did it's job! 4/5 for this face gel.

Five: The Beauty Crop - Blush Duo

• Not a huge fan of this. The powder color is pretty and I like it a lot, but it's hard to get one out without getting the other on as well. I'll have to give this one a 3/5 just for the difficulty of getting it out of the jar!

This box gets an 80% this month. I love that I am now able to choose one sample I will get every month. So, I am patiently awaiting next months box! Want to get your own Birchbox? Pay $99 for the whole year (that's two free boxes!!!!), use code BESTYEAR99. Follow the link below to sign up!

Try Birchbox Here!

Ipsy - July 2017

Ipsy review time! I liked this month's Ipsy bag. Everything I received was really pretty and worked well. The makeup bag that came this month was quite interesting . . . and it had a butt. On the back of the bag, there is an egg butt . . . I felt a little wierded out, I can't lie.

I mean, the egg just looks so seductive . . . ANYWAY, that's not what we're here for. We're here for the face stuff. So, let's get to it. From what I can tell, four full sized products and one deluxe sized sample. All but one passed the test. Lets get a close up.

I got my bag the first week of July and have had time to use all the products. I LOVED everything except the eye shadow. I'm not a huge eye shadow fan and I only use it when I am going somewhere fancy. 

One: Hempz - Ultra Moisturizing Herbal Lip Balm

• I really like this lip balm.I will buy more when I run out that's how much I like it and I am VERY particular about my lip things. I would give this a 5/5. My mom also gets Ipsy and she did not like this, it dried out her lips so she passed it onto my sis. We both have very different skin types she is more dry skin and I have combination oily and dry. Maybe that had something to do with it. 

Two: Winky Lux - Double Matte Whip in Angel Food

• I have mixed feelings about this. The first time I wore this, I just put it straight on my lips nothing underneath. It dried my lips out a little bit, but, if you know me, you know I'm REAL bad at taking my make up off before bed. SO, I wore this baby all through the night and when I woke up the next morning it was STILL on my lips... Like.... I literally couldn't get this off my lips with just a napkin. I had to use my make up remover. Which is great. The next time I used this product I used a smooth lip balm underneath and it still stayed on until I wanted it off, but removal was MUCH easier. 5/5 all the way. 

Three: Seraphine Botanicals - Lychee + Gold

• LOVE THIS BLUSH! At first I thought  I was so scared to try this because it looks so dark and bright. I honestly thought to myself, "If you put this on, you will 100% look like a clown...". So, what did I do, I put that sh*t on. It was so smooth, has a little bit of shimmer and the pigment isn't overwhelming. 5/5 for Lychee!

Four: OFRA Cosmetics - Gold Rush

• Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. As previously stated, I don't wear that much eye shadow. ALSO, I'm a little bitter Ipsy. Hope you're reading this review BECAUSE y'all sent me TWO gold eye shadows IN A ROW. No. I would like to have a variety of eye shadows, not all gold eye shadows. Needless to say, back to the actual eye shadow review. I'm giving OFRA 3/5. The eye shadow is not very pigmented and although I didn't use an eye shadow primer, but the eye shadow was not showing up on my eye very well. Therefore, not a huge fan. 

Five: Ciate London - Wonderwand Gel-Kohl Hybrid Liner in Black

• BLACK EYELINER! My fav. The only thing I'm not a fan of is that this needs to be sharpened. *Insert cry face emoji* Other than that, it is smooth and I like it a lot. It goes on well over eye shadow. 4/5 for Wonderwand because I am sad that it needs to be sharpened. 

22/25. Not too shabby. I will be highly disappointed if I get ANYMORE gold eye shadow. I've included some pics for you below of my face with makeup. Semi full make up on left and half make up on right. If you want Ipsy, Follow the link below.

Ipsy 👈👈

 

South Carolina Trip - July 2017 Part 2

After our friends so graciously showed us around their neck of South Carolina, my boyfriend and I traveled down to Myrtle Beach, SC. We used AirBnB and stayed in a private room in a condo on the sixth floor of the building and had a wicked view of the ocean. 

Beautiful, right? Even though we were only here for a day and a half, being on the beach was so relaxing. We arrived later in the afternoon and took a walk down to the boardwalk. It was so perfect. It is definitely very tourist focused, but duh, we're tourists! There were a few permanent carnival rides, oh and Ripely's Believe it or Not is EVERYWHERE. We finally ended up stopping at a restaurant called Pier 14. Side note real fast. The WHOLE time we were in SC, it was over 100 heat index. So, let's just say the sweat game was REAL. Side note finished! We opted to eat inside since it was super humid and suffocating outside. The food was great. I had salmon, opted for fries instead of veggies and Bae had steak. The salmon MELTED in my mouth. I truly don't think I've ever eaten so fast in my whole life. *please note Bae holding his knife up to "ruin picture"*😆 Would recommend going here.

With day one complete we ventured back to our AirBnB, sat on the patio and listened to the ocean until it was time for bed. Day 2 *Law and Order sound*. Out early for a long walk on the beach. Long. If I remember correct, three hours. Def got a little toasty again. The SC strug. After our walk, we went back to cool off and take a nap before going out for lunch. Again, we walked down to the boardwalk and explored the different restaurants. 

Lets first talk about my pina coloda . . . in a pineapple. PERFECT!!! We got this at Moe Moon's. We both got burgers, and they were DELICIOUS. Also, their fried pickles were delicious as well. We did sit inside, because again, it was over 100 degrees again and death was upon us. We had a great view of the ocean still though. After lunch we walked around the boardwalk again and went back to the AirBnB, changed and went to lay out on the beach for the rest of the day. 

Unfortunately, we only spent about a day and a half at the beach, but it was so beautiful and perfect. Until next time.

South Carolina Trip - July 2017

Not only do I enjoy beauty products, but I love trying new restaurants. My boyfriend and I went to South Carolina to visit our friends and the beach! We went to so many new places and I swear, each one was better than the last. It seriously made moving to the south that much more appealing, and something I'm already desperately trying to do!

We got to SC on a Saturday night and met our friends at a brewery called, Legal Remedy Brewery. This place has such a great atmosphere! Everything in this place is legal themed. The beer and food are both amazing, and you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. I had the Sequestered Blueberry Saison, super easy to drink. My boyfriend and I split an app of fried pickles and I had the mandatory grilled chicken sandwich. Both equally delicious.

Sunday we slept in after 13 hours of driving the previous day and had a baseball game in store for the afternoon at BB&T Ballpark. Let's talk about the sun for a minute . . . South Carolina sun > Chicago sun. I got extra crispy on this 100 degree, no cloud, full sun seats at the ball park. Luckily I was distracted by the beer and food. I had a pretzel and a jumbo hot dog, because you can't go to a base ball game and not get a hot dog! I can't lie, Wrigley Field will always hold #1 for hot dogs, but BB&T wasn't a bad second! Going to be in Charlotte? Check out tix here.

For dinner we went to a place called Hobo's. Now, I've never had chicken and waffles, and let me tell you, I.AM.CHANGED. Freakin' delicious. I could have had two more plates of chicken and waffles and still needed more. They put this delicious maple aioli on the chicken and yum. You need to have chicken and waffles if you haven't yet. 

Monday was a lounge day. We met our friend at his work and he showed us his office and took us to a place called Nick n' Jims. When you order your drinks, they bring out these sweet, delicious, cheddary muffins that are literally to die for. I ate enough for all four of us . . . It was a problem because I couldn't finish my entree, which was equally delicious. I ordered the Carolina pulled pork. Ugh, there are not words to describe how moist and yummy it was. 

Tuesday, July 4th, we accompanied our friends up to Charlotte again. We started of at Legion Brewery, then stopped by the Peculiar Rabbit and ate dinner at Viva Chicken. Legion brewery is a cute rustic decorated taproom. I had their sour, Carolina Sparkle Party with Strawberry Basil simple syrup. It was delicious and was a great summer drink. If we were going home after I totally would have gotten a growler of this! We sat on the rooftop of Peculiar Rabbit which overlooked downtown Charlotte. I had a strawberry beer that was on their tap menu and was perfect for the warm day. For dinner, we made our way over to Viva Chicken. Rotisserie style chicken with three types of dipping sauces. This was SO GOOD. I wish there was a Viva Chicken in Chicago, because I would be there all the time!

Viva Chicken was not the end of our day! Our friends are members at the US National White Water Center. This place is seriously awesome. We brought some lawn chairs and claimed some spots right by where the rafters come by. Unfortunately, it ended up pouring while we were there so we didn't stay for the fireworks, but we got some pretty good action shots of the white water rafters and kayaks!

Part one of our trip was amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better time! Thank you to our friends for letting us crash at their place for three days and showing us around their favorite places! Look for SC Trip Pt 2 next week :)