Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Beauty Subscription Smackdown Part 3: Ipsy vs. Birchbox February 2015

February was a busy month for me (sorry I suck at being on time with these guys). Several birthdays to remember (including my own and Johns), Valentines day and some other important dates in my life are in February but I'm still as excited as ever to get my subscription boxes so let's get into it!


I'm going to start with Birchbox, now for the last boxes I've gotten I've noticed one things that has really bothered me--they keep showing sneak peeks of amazing products to be in the box but then I get stuff that I'm not all the excited about. However I peaked this month (unable to contain my excitement) and I'm pretty excited to say that this month Birchbox may give ipsy a run for their money.



Keeping up with their promise of beautiful boxes, the February Birchbox has put a modern twist on their theme "Friendship" with this box using text blurbs. I think it's pretty cute so like the others I will be keeping this box.


Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser $2.63- I'm not sure if it was hormones or the product itself but I broke out so bad while I was using this. I was excited to see this brand and the sample size is decent. It was lightly foaming, which I like, but I just wasn't that impressed. I think I may try this again in a few weeks and see if it makes a difference.


Gilchrist & Soams Spa Therapy Body Wash $2.53- So I haven't tried this yet, but I do like that I get travel-convent sizes in subscription boxes. I will most likely save this for a trip with John.The scent is nice and pretty gender neutral so we'll probably share it.


The Balm Cosmetics Read My Lips Lip Gloss (BAM!) $4- As much as I've always wanted to try some The Balm products I rarely wear lip gloss. I like the color and the texture but I just don't wear things like this to work or running errands, so it doesn't get a ton of use. Still it's a great color and texture and the size is fantastic for a lip gloss sample.


Beauty Blender and Mini Solid Cleanser $25- I was very excited when I saw this was coming in my box. I have had one beauty blender in my whole makeup life and when it died I was unable to justify a new one. Since then I have been searching for a cheaper dupe but no such luck yet. I defiantly love this product and I'm glad to have a new one. As for the cleanser I haven't tried that yet but I'm excited to get the chance.


BeeKind Conditioner (1.87) $- Again this is another product I will most likely keep for traveling. I'm not really one for conditioners that I use in the shower so I couldn't really tell you how well this works. However I do have to say that I'm very disappointed in the packaging since it isn't resealable.


Box Total:$36.03 So I wasn't super excited about this box but it wasn't necessarily a miss for me either. I think I will eventually use these products but for the most part I'm just going to travel with them at some point. Obviously I liked the Beauty Blender and that definitely made up for the other not-so-exciting products.

Now Onto Ipsy...

This Month's Theme was #IpsyLove. Quite frankly the theme wasn't all that exciting to me and it did sound pretty cheesy but I did like the bag design. I thought that it was really cute and it feels super sturdy.



So here's what came in the bag:

City Color Cosmetics Creamy Lip Stain (Flirtini) $4.99- The texture if this is a lot thicker than I was expecting. It still feels light weigh which was surprising as was how comfortable this was to have on. I wish the stain lasted a little longer on the lips but it does stay fresh looking for a few hours. Overall the product was good for what is was but not something I would purchase in the future.


Emite Makeup Professional Eyelash Curler $25- The reviews I saw on this made me nervous because everyone was talking about how it chopped off their eyelashes. Ipsy did send out an email about some being defective. I have not had any such problems with this. It actually fits really well to my eye shape and is comfortable to use. I wouldn't say it changed my mind about spending lots on a lash curler since it didn't curl my lashes a lot and I much prefer my Andrea's Choice one.


Eva NYC Up All Night Volumizing Spray $10- Unfortunately I haven't been able to try this yet.
On the directions it does say to use before blow drying to add volume or on styled hair to revitalize the look. I haven't blow dried or styled my hair since I got my bag but I didn't need another blow dry thing. I have 3 but I guess I'm stocking up. Regardless I'm still excited to try.


Mitchell and Peach Fine Radiance Face Oil $17- I wasn't sure if I was excited to try this or not. On one hand my skin is very sensitive and I break out easily. On the other hand I've been interested in face oils for a while since they are supposed to be good for your skin. I ended up loving this. I use it after my nightly cleansing mask to hydrate my skin and it leaves my face so soft. I will definitely be buying more.


Model Co. Blush Cheek Powder (Cosmopolitan) $9.42- This is such a pretty color. Lately I've really been into softer pinks for blushes and this is no exception. It sheers out beautify for a more natural look or it can build up nicely to a very barbie pink color. This is definitely my new favorite blush.


Bag Total $66.41 As a whole I really enjoyed this months bag. I think I got some products that  I will continue to get great use out of. I liked that I got a mixture of makeup, skincare and hair and the value is hard to beat!

The winner is...IPSY! Again I just think that Ipsy had the better month. I got some awesome samples, great spring colors, a tool, skincare that works great, and some more hair products to try. I think they had some quality products and a great mix this month. Birchbox also sent out awesome brands and I am still very excited about it but it just wasn't as exciting to me as Ipsy.

If you are interested in signing up for either of these boxes my referral links can be found to the left of this post! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

xoxo
Courtney

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