BeautyBox 5 for December 2012

I usually do videos on all my beauty/lifestyle/dog subscriptions, but with the holidays and trying to get things done.......I didn't do one for BeautyBox 5! It was actually one of the better ones this month. When I signed up for BeautyBox 5 I opted to pay for a year in advance, which came out to be $8.33 per month. What I like about BeautyBox 5 is that they use minimal products in shipping. The box is small, the items inside are packed in a small bag and the box has the crinkle cut paper for packaging and protecting the items.

Here's what was in December's BeautyBox 5:
1. Jean Pierre Cosmetics Exfoliating Facial Cleansing Pads
Retail: $1.99 16 pad
2. Everyday Minerals Flat Top Brush
Retail: $12.99
* Use code BB5 before 1/15/13 to get 20% off statewide on everydayminerals.com
3. MaskerAide Hydrating Facial Sheet Mask
Retail: $4.99 1 sheet
* use code BB5 before 1/15/13 to get 20% off statewide on maskeraide.com
4. OFRA Cosmetics 3D Eye Shadow
Retail: $19.90 0.14 oz
5. Demeter Roll On Perfume Oil
Retail: $10.00 0.29 oz
* Use code BB520 before 1/31/13 to get 20% off statewide on demeterfragrance.com

POPSUGAR Must Have Luxury Edition Holiday Box

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately.  I haven't done ANYTHING for the month of December.  Just a busy month.  I need to be more diligent on keeping up with blogging.  I will try in the New Year....that will be my New Years Resolution!!

Anyways I just started getting Popsugar's Must Have Boxes.  My first one was for this month, and I did post of video on YouTube.  I will try and blog about that in the next day or so, but right now I want to share with you Popsugar Must Have Luxury Edition Holiday Box!  I was literally shaking and tingly when I was opening the box and doing the video.  I was so very impressed with what they had in their box. 

Fist of all it came in a very nice black box tied with a silver tie!  When I opened it, it came with everything wrapped in a silver paper, and then opening that.....everything came wrapped in black tissue paper and bubble wrap with the black crinkle paper inside to help protect in shipping.

Opening it and pulling out each individual item was so exciting for me.  Like I said I was literally shaking!  They had a really nice selection of products to surely please and pamper the woman in you!  Everything from chocolates, candles, an antique clutch, moisturizer, a lip and nail dual, hand soap and gold colored cuff piece of jewelry!  Popsugar you did an awesome job!  I was so excited opening this box!

This is what was in my box:

What was in my box:
~ JewelMint Clutch  www.jewelmint.com
~ Epicuren After Bath Moisturizer   www.epicuren.com
~  Vosges Mini Chocolate Bar Library  www.vosgeschocolate.com
~  Compagnie De Provence Liquid Hand Soap   www.compagniedeprovence-usa.com
~  Tocca Scented Candle   www.tocca.com
~  Heather Belle Cuff  www.heatherbelleco.com
~  Deborah Lippmann Lip & Nail Duet www.lippmanncollection.com

Taking the Full Advantage of Birchbox!!

Lately over the past couple of months there has been a lot of disappointed subscribers with Birchbox.  Some are saying that the sample boxes are lacking, they didn't feel like they got their money's worth or that it just wasn't up to par.  But this is my take on the whole Birchbox subscription.

First of all you only pay $10 per month for your Birchbox!  A lot of times you receive at least one full size sample.  A lot of times this full size sample pays for the box itself.  A lot of times people get foil packets, protein bars, or earbuds.  People have to remember that this is a lifestyle box...not necessarily a beauty box.  How I have seen Birchbox, and a lot of the other monthly subscriptions, is that it has opened my eyes to a lot of products out there that I didn't know about.  So now when I see something....I'll know what it is and I'll know how I came to be familiar with it!

Secondly I bet that the majority of people who subscribe to Birchbox don't use the subscription to it's full potential.  I do and I have been really happy with it.  And what I mean by not using it to it's full potential is that every month when you get your Birchbox you can go onto their website and do product reviews.  You basically do 5 reviews per month.  With the reviews you get 10 points per sample and each 10 points equals $1.00.  Ok so if you do 5 product reviews each month, you are basically getting $5 that will go toward anything that Birchbox has in their shop!  This is actually awesome!!  You get half the price of your box back toward purchasing products in their online store!!

So I had a total of 400 points which equals $40!  I then went online to their store and purchased 2 Eyeko eyeliners ($15 each) and Juicy Couture Rollerball Duo: Viva La Juicy La Fluer and Viva La Juicy ($25).  

They had offered the Eyeko eyeliner a while back in the summer in a Birchbox, but I didn't get it in mine.  I heard many great reviews about this eyeliner, so I went online to Birchbox's store and bought two....at that time they didn't have the selection as they do now.  I got an olive and a turquoise color.  The olive I use quite a bit, it's subtle.  The turquoise I plan on wearing for an added pop of color to my eyes for like spring and summer.  This time when I went online to check them out I purchased black and purple.  The purple is quite close to black....but I love love LOVE this eyeliner.  The precision pen tip allows you to control the thickness of the line and it goes on so smooth!  It also has a fade proof formula that makes the eyeliner last and last.

The second thing that I decided to get was the Juicy Couture Rollerball Duo: Viva La Juicy La Fluer and Viva La Juicy.  I originally was going to use my $40 points money toward a full size perfume of either Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy La Fluer or the Viva La Juicy.  I was reading reviews, smelling samples, getting confused and couldn't make my mind up on what to get.  The price was about $69/$70 for either. I saw this rollerball duo and instantly knew that this would be the solution to my dilemma on making a choice!  I didn't have to choose and got both fragrances.  So a great way to get both without spending a lot of money.  It was only $25 for the rollerball duo!  And what I love about rollerballs you can just throw them in your purse to use for a quick splash of fragrance.

But wait!!!!  Stay tuned.  I have ordered one more thing through Birchbox that I'm really excited to share!

Sebastian Color Ignite Multi Tone Shampoo and Conditioner

I haven't been keeping up with blogging as I had liked and have so many things to blog about that I know I'm not going to get to.  If you'd like to see a lot of my monthly beauty/lifestyle/doggy subscriptions you can check them out on my YouTube channel littlebitofbeauty050.

Today I wanted to blog a little bit about a particular shampoo and conditioner that I got in my July 2012 Glossybox.  I have used many types of shampoos and conditioners, from drugstore to products highly recommended to me by my hairdresser.  And with these monthly subscriptions I have been getting I have to say that I was really impressed with the deluxe sample sizes of Sebastian Color Ignite Multi Tone Shampoo and Conditioner!  

The shampoo went on as any shampoo did.  It has a very nice fragrance...but when I rinsed my hair I literally had that "squeeky" clean feeling to my hair.  After using shampoos, and usually the same after a while, you can feel the residue of continual use in my hair.  But I have to say this felt so clean!

Okay now for the conditioner!  It's awesome too!  And what is so unique about this conditioner is that it's not like your normal conditioner.  First of all when you take the top off of the container.....and I wish I would have gotten a picture of this....the conditioner comes out like a mousse!  I love this!  And when you put it in your hair and work it in, it's really different.  It doesn't have that slick slippery feel as you work it in....and all over your body when you rinse it out if you're in the shower using it.  No...it just rinses out very nicely.  

So this is definitely a shampoo and conditioner to try.  Very nice, very unique and very GREAT!

 The sizes here shown are the deluxe sample size of 1.75 oz

November's Little Black Bags for $29.95!!

I have been taking advantage of the special offer that Little Black Bag is doing.  They are offering bags for $29.95 along with their original bags of $49.95.  What I love about this is, you don't have to get another handbag each time you want to open a bag.  You can get accessories and jewelry or home items, cosmetics and also an extra little goodie they throw in your back.

If you don't know what Little Black Bag is, it is is a monthly subscription.  It costs $49.95 + shipping if you decide you want to do the subscription or $59.95 + shipping for one time.  (For a short time they are offering a bag for $29.95). You go on their site and do a style survey and from there you can go into their gallery and choose 1 item to put in your "virtual" bag.  From there LBB will go in and put in 2-4 more items totaling over $100.  Once you pick your item and accept it, you can then see what was put in your bag.  You can trade out any items that you'd like with others on the site.  You have 7 days to trade (3 days for the $29.95 bag).  You can opt to ship your bag at any time or go for the full 7 days of trading.  You also have an option to skip a month.  If you like to use me as a referral you can sign up at:  http://www.littleblackbag.com?rf=YWxsIGdyZWF0IHNpdGVzIGRlc2VydmUgYSBncmVhdCBsYXVuY2g2OTkyMjY%3DLbbsePotLbbsePLbbsePLbbsePLbbsePLbbseP&utm_medium=Other&utm_campaign=UserReferral&utm_content=Invite_179359&utm_source=other  Check it out!  It's an awesome site and a lot of fun when you get involved with the trading!

Here is what I got in this month's Little Black Bag:

First Little Black Bag

1. 'Zad Slim Leaf Cuff - $18
2. Mata Traders Connected Bangle Set - $24
3. Mocha Square Stone Earrings - $16
4. Pureology Precious Oil Conditioner - $7.50
5. Lavanila Vanilla Passion Fruit Body Was - $14

Total value of this bag is $79.50

Second Little Black Bag

1. Cejon Heart Printed Scarf - $32
2. Pureology Colour Radiance Amplifier - $7
3. Mata Traders Persian Earrings - $22

Total value of this bag is $$61

Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin

I received the Goody Simple Style Spin Pins complimentary from Influenster in my Beauty Bloggers VoxBox.  This product was ok for those of you how put your hair in a bun.  For me it was rather difficult because I don't master this particular hair style at all.  I prefer to leave my hair down.  I did try it and totally forgot to have my husband take a picture to post here of what it looked like.  But that's okay because I wasn't particularly happy with the way it turned out.

These Spin Pins are pretty unique.  I can see that if someone was in a hurry to put their hair in a bun would like these.  The box showed how to use them in three different style buns.  They went in rather nicely and held my hair quite well.  So whoever made this little twisty pin did a great job!  It costs around $7.29 for two pins.

To see more information about the Goody Simple Style Spin Pin and other products by Goody you can got to:    http://www.goody.com/  Oh....I see some other products that interest me on their website!  So check it out!!

Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream

I was really excited to receive Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair in my Beauty Bloggers VoxBox from Influenster!

What I really like about this product is that I use it on my towel dried hair and helps with the frizz. I have thick wavy, curly hair.  And what is really weird about it is that it is a lot thicker on the left side than the right.  So I use this product a little more on the left side because it's a little more frizzier than the right.  I love the texture of the cream and it has a really nice coconut fragrance to it.  It helped with styling.  Also living in the Pacific Northwest we have a lot of rain at times and just recently I got caught in the rain.  When I came inside my hair was overly frizzy!  I took the cream and put a small amount in my hair and rubbed it in!  And the frizz went away in no time!  It costs around $6.00 for a full sized 4-oz bottle.

For more information on Not Your Mother's products you can go to:  http://www.nymbrands.com/

Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair cream was sent complimentary from Influenster.com