Phone Case of the Month July 2014

I was recently introduced to a phone case monthly subscription service called 'Phone Case of the Month' or PCOTM for short and took advantage of the $5 discount using someones refer link.

If you are interested in trying out the service then please feel free to use my referral link to receive a $5 discount on your first case!

Each $10 case is a limited edition and comes with a small treat such as a sticker or piece of candy.

I received the phone case 'Living Happy' and a small pixi stick candy.

While I like the message I am really disappointed in the case itself.

I opened the package to find it already chipping along the top edges and along the back edges. The case itself feels solid enough and fits my iPhone 5s well. I was able to easily pop the case on or off.

The bottom right edge of the design is slightly warped. I don't think I'll be using this one and no one I know seems to want it.

 $10 is a pretty good bargain for a phone case and from what I see them usually send out I thought I would like whatever they sent.

I've never seen anyone get this design or any like it before. If the logo wasn't on the inside of the phone I wouldn't have even believed this was from PCOTM. They can do better than this. Anyone with access to photoshop could do better than this.






I will give the service another try and hope for something better next month.

Birchbox Limited Edition 'Modern Mermaid'

I couldn't resist purchasing the Modern Mermaid limited edition Birchbox this month. Everything in it is gorgeous and at only $44 the value of products was too good to pass up. All products listed can be found in the Birchbox store.


The Knobs:

- Captain Blankenship Mermaid Mane Sea Salt Spray $12
- Birchbox exclusive Stephanie Johnson Mermaid Mirror $22
- Vasanti Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in  'Electric Navy' $18
- Atelier Cologne Cédrat Enivrant Cologne Absolue Travel Spray $16.25
- Coola Liplux SPF 30 Balm $12
- Anastasia's Beverley Hills Lash Genius Waterproof Top Coat sample $10 (?)
- Birchbox exclusive Ruffian Endless Summer Collection $26.50

Box Value = around $130 (some products are given educated estimates based on full sizes price)


The Bobs:

Textured Beach Waves are always popular during the summer. I'm new to this particular brand but the product seems to work wonderfully! As a plus this all natural concoction smells amazing!

I will be looking into this brand and possibly purchasing the full size.

Stephanie Johnson created this soft compact mirror for Birchbox! The design is gorgeous and perfect for Summer. The outside looks like luminescent fish scales (or mermaid fin) and the inside shows the designers nautical logo closely resembling the coolest compass ever.

Next we have a very nice eye pencil from Vasanti.

The Electric Blue color compliments almost every skin tone and applies very smoothly. The product is waterproof and long lasting but still easily blendable. I love that the cap also includes a sharpener!

Swatching the Vasanti eye pencil. Please excuse my paleness.


Above: Applied strait onto skin

Bellow: Blended using the attached rubber nib

After receiving a small perfume sample in one of a Birchbox a few months back I have been obsessed with the Atelier Cologne line. All of the scents are delicious and this travel spray bottle is no exception.

The key notes with the Cédrat Enivrant Cologne Absolue scent are Fresh Citrus, crisp lime, Moroccan cedrat, juniper and sweet mint. As advertised, it is indeed summer in a bottle and my go to scent for the season.

While I really like the Coola brand, this SPF treatment isn't very moisturizing and it tends to leave my lips feeling tingly. But it's main purpose is protecting lips against UV rays and it seems to get the job done. There are plenty of other more affordable SPF lip balms that protect against the sun and also moisturize.

Anastasia is a pretty well known brand. This product is a lash topcoat that goes on top of any mascara you are already wearing to make it waterproof. It's genius and works surprisingly well!

I will definitely consider getting the full size once this runs out.

The Ruffian Endless Summer collection is exclusive to Birchbox and the colors are perfect!

Sahara is a light shimmer/metallic gold nude.
Blue Lagoon is a bright metallic aqua blue.
Endless love is a dark metallic plum/pink and my personal favorite of the trio.


Final Thoughts:

For $44 I received over $100 worth of some perfect summer products and the theme was adorable! Lots of things I will be able to get a good deal of use out of this summer. Thank you for a great limited edition Birchbox!

Loot Crate June 2014

I decided to give the Geek/Gamer subscription box a try this month. 

Loot Crate is a monthly subscripton service that offers unique and fun popular gaming, comic, television, etc. items for $16 a month. Each month will introduce new theme and many items included are made exclusively for Loot Crate. This month was Transformers!


The Knobs:

- Marty McPrime Shirt (exclusive)
- Transformers Blind Box
- Transformers Sticker Set
- Transformers Hex Bbug
- MLG Terry Cloth Wristband
- MLG Starter Kit with Stickers
- Warheads Candy (bonus?)




The Bobs:

This awesome Loot Crate exclusive shirt shows a mash-up of Marty McFly from 'Back to the Future' and the Autobots leader himself, Optimus Prime.

The shirt is really comfortable and I love the art!

The Transformers Blind Box includes a mysterious Transformer Autobot or Decepticon. The small soft plastic figurine feels very sturdy and looks great on my desk!

These seem more like collectables than toys. I seem to have received the bad ass Dinobot!


In contrast, I received the Decepticon decal sticker. It will look magnificent on my car. >3

The Hex Bugs are really cool looking. They resemble insects and when turned on vibrate to move across any smooth surface.

I received the Decepticon Lockdown!

There were several MLG (Major League Gaming) items in this months box.

The comfortable, if slightly tight, wristband is one of them, along with an MLG Starter Kit and team stickers. This included a code for one free month of GameBattles Premium Access and an exclusive Loot Crate badge!

And then there is the monthly Loot Crate pin for the Transform month!

I'm a casual pin collector so I always love things like this.







Final Thoughts:

I absolutely LOVE Loot Crate! The items given are really fun and made feel like an excited kid again! Next months theme will be 'Villains'. *crosses fingers for something with The Joker*

If you're not yet a member and are considering joining enter the code: VILLAINS to receive 10% off of your first box!

IPSY June 2014

I received my Ipsy bag a day or two after Glam Rooms were updated. But I've been very busy with personal things this month. Very excited about everything I got!


The Knobs

- Be a Bombshell 'Lash Out Mascara' in Black ($15)
- Jesse's Girl 'Waterproof Liquid Liner' in Black ($7)
- NYX Butter Gloss in 'Apple Strudel' ($5)
- Marc Anthony 'Dream Waves Beach Spray' (full size retails $8.79)
- Essence of Beauty Fine Fragrance Body Mist in 'Forever Paris' (2 oz. $3)

Total Bag Worth = around $30-32!


The Bobs

Be a Bombshells Lash Out mascara had a very strong bad chemical smell, but worked fine. No smearing or smudging. It must have been from a bad batch or something.

 *Edit: After more use it does seem to irritate my eyes more than I'm comfortable with. I contacted IPSY care and was told that after Be a Bombshell was alerted to the high amount of unsatisfied members they tested it again and reported it to be safe. They stated that the company doesn't add fragrance so that sensitive skin isn't irritated and that's why it smells. I'm fine with not receiving a replacement. If this product is supposed to smell like this then I would rather throw away the one I have and be done with it.

My grandmother taught me a valuable simple lesson growing up...if it smells bad don't touch it. There are plenty of natural oils that are non-irritant that could be used. There's no excuse for that smell. It's putrid.

Jesse's Girl is a great affordable brand. But this liquid liner had multiple reports of exploding once opened. My own liner was leaking a little so I let it sit upright a few hours. It works fine now and has a very nice fine felt tip for more controlled application.

The liner can dot thick, thin and anything in between. I noticed a slight problem with running but it's only noticeable when very close. Once it's on though, it's incredibly hard to get off. So it would probably make a great liner for summer traveling.

NYX is another affordable brand and I love their Lip Butters! Very pretty color, smooth non-sticky application and a nice selection of colors.

Apple Strudel is a pretty and bright pink color and will compliment almost any skin tone.

I tend to not use hair styling products so I was excited to try something new and venture out of my comfort zone. The Beach Spray smells very nice and does exactly what it's supposed to do, give you the appearance that you've been swimming in the ocean. Ipsters were given a large 1.52 oz sample size.

I've seen Essence of Beauty products in local CVS stores. It's a good dupe for Bath & Body Works mists and the price is very affordable. Ipsters were given a 2 oz. travel size.


Final Thoughts

This month had a great selection and value for Ipsy subscribers! I loved the products I received and any issues were fortunately minimal.

*A word of warning concerning the Jessie's Girl liquid liner. There are many woman on Ipsy right now very upset due to their liner exploding and splattering waterproof black liquid all over themselves and anything around then after pulling the cap off. Be cautious when opening and contact IPSY if you run across this issue.

*Edit: Be a Bombshell claims that, even though the mascara has a very putrid smell, it is perfectly safe to use. Use at your own discretion. Personally, I find the product irritating to the eyes and will be throwing mine away.

(belated) Lip Factory May 2014

My May Lip Factory box arrived late last month and I just haven't had enough free time to post something up. To be honest, I'm getting a little tired of having my payment process on the 6th and not having anything ship unless I personally email customer service requesting a shipping notice at the end of the 3rd week. This has been happening for the last four months.

They are always very polite and at only $22 a month the service is an incredible value! I always love my box. 

The Knobs:

- MeMeMe Blush Me! box in 'Pink' (8 pounds uk)
- Medusa's Makeup eye shadow in 'Jungle Fever' ($8)
- teez Golden Glow Lipgloss in 'Classy Champagne' 
- Pari Beauty lipstick in 'Ballet Flats' ($12)
- NCLA Nail Wraps in 'Jenna's Nude Moon' ($16)


The Bobs:

MeMeMe is a brand from the UK that I am unfamiliar with. 

The packaging is very similar to Benefits Hoola Bronzer and is made of sturdy cardboard. The one I received was slightly warped at the base. It's a neat design but not travel friendly since the lid can slid off easily.

The color Pink is bright, light and very spring feeling.

Medusa's Makeup is a very colorful line of cosmetics! 

I received an eye shadow from their Safari collection in 'Jungle Fever', a dark aqua green. It's very pigmented and applies smoothly. However, there is some fall out and it creases after a few hours. 

I love teeez cosmetics! We're really lucky to try out their products in Lip Factory boxes this year. (:

This is a nude gloss with some slight pink shimmer. It mainly applies like a clear shimmer gloss and looks great over most nude/pink lipsticks.

Pari Beauty is a brand that seems to be made in Canada. I received a very pretty cool pink lipstick in 'Ballet Flats'. The formula is very smooth, shimmery, pigmented and creamy!

 I will definitely be looking into purchasing more products from this line.

Swatch time!

From left to right:

Mememe Blush Me! in Pink -

Medusa's Makeup in Jungle Fever -

Pari lipstick in Ballet Flats -

teeez lipgloss in Classy Champagne -

After seeing the gorgeous designs everyone was receiving all month I have to admit that the ones I got are very...bland. These look terrible and grainy, like someone printed them off their home computer. It may just be this particular style. I personally wouldn't spend $16 on this style.

Final Thoughts:

As always Lip Factory sent at an awesome box this month! Lots of new brands and excellent products to try. No idea what's going on with the shipping or how they process everyone. It's definitely not by date of purchase or name. But I'll give it one more try.

IPSY May 2014

It's that time of the month again! My ipsy bag came in the mail last week!

This months theme is 'Fresh Picks' for Spring.


The Knobs:

- Avène: Thermal Spring Water
- Pacifica: Mineral Eyeshadow Duo #1
- Hang Ten: Classic Sport SPF 50
- Nailtini polish in Bloody Mary
- pur~lisse: pur~moist hydra~balance moisturizer 




The Bobs:

I was interested in trying this due to the early high heat temperatures where I live. It is very refreshing to spray on the face or arms.

The can does provide a very convenient travel container and it is very cooling. 

But there's nothing special about it. It's literally just water in a can. 

I really like products from Pacifica. This particular eyeshadow is Duo #1 which has the colors 'Celestial' and 'Opal'.

The tones for this duo are very flattering and light. It does take some building for full pigmentation and there is can be significant fallout. I had to wear eye primer to get this product to stay on my lids.

But it does look really nice and fresh so I will be getting a lot use out of this.

Nailtini has some really nice nail polishes.

I don' have any bright cherry reds so I was very excited to see this in my bag!

It applies smoothly and can take two coats to be fully opaque. A good deal of chipping appears after 24 hours so a top coat is highly advised.

Hang Ten is a brand I'm unfamiliar with. I burn very easily and never tan. Having a travel size SPF 50 sunblock in my purse is always a good idea!

Sunblock has a very specific smell. However, this tube really didn't have much of a smell.

There's only enough product for 2-4 uses, depending on where you apply. I may be purchasing the full size. (:

pur~moist is a very nice moisturizer. The smell is very light and quite pleasant. I have combination skin and did not notice any oil build up or flakyness when using pur~lisse. This is a very small sample but enough to last a bout a week or so.

The full size seems to go for around $55, which is pretty pricey. 






Final Thoughts:

I really like the variety this month and getting to try so many different product types/brands! A very good mix of skin care and makeup. A full size eye shadow duo, nail polish and water spray is worth much more than $10. An excellent value!

Referral Links!

Here are referral links to the beauty box subscription services I really enjoy. They range in price and products. I am unabashedly advertising here and no one is required to use my links. But if you are interested in one of them and wish to try them out, using my link or number is greatly appreciated! (:

- Boxycharm.com @ $21.00 per month                       Referral Link

- Ipsy.com @ $10.00 per month                                  Referral Link

- Lootcrate.com @$19.37 per month                           Referral Link

If you are unhappy with one of the listed services or would rather not spend any money on them, you are free to cancel them at any time. Each service listed has a simple 'cancel my subscription' button for each account. Just be sure you do so before the next billing date. Shipping is free or included in the subscription price for all three. 

For price and value sake, Ipsy is the most affordable. They tends to have more full sized products and well known beauty brands as well as a customized bag each month. Although some months are on the light side and feature mainly sample products.

Boxycharm is an amazing subscription service that offers 4-5 full sized beauty items each month! Shipping is quick and the products are always very nice quality. For $21 you get $50+ worth of products in each box.

Loot Crate is a very fun nerd/geek/gamer subscription box service. For less than $20 (the price I have listed also includes shipping) you get a themed box of awesomeness each month! I have several other friends who joined and they also love the service. Great customer service, fun community and exclusive items. It's my favorite subscription service. (: