Sunday, May 24, 2015

Empties...Lots & Lots!

It has been a while since I did an empties post, so I have a lot of products to share with you!

Let's start with Hair Products:


1. Pantene Dry Shampoo:  This worked pretty well, not my favorite though. I would repurchase if it goes on sale.

2. KMS Dry Shampoo (2): I really like this. It has a nice fresh scent and works just as well as Batiste (which is my fav!) I would buy this again!

3. Clear Shampoo & Condition: This is nice, but left my hair feeling a bit dry. I liked alternating it with the Fructis. I would repurchase if it goes on sale.

4. Fructis Shampoo, Conditioner & Mask: These worked pretty well. They seemed to keep my blond hair from going brassy, but were nothing overly special. You can find my full review here.

5. Tresemme Shampoo: This again was kind of generic. It worked well, but didn't wow me.

6. Tresemme Dry Shampoo: I really liked this and it's the perfect size for travel. I have already repurchased this.

7. KMS Free Shape Quick Bow Dry : This smelled really good and did cut back on the tie it took me to dry my hair. I would repurchase this i I came across it.

8. Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner: Again, nothing great. I found this gave my hair no volume and left it feeling dry.

Body Products:


1. Dove Purely Pampering Pistachio Cream with Magnolia Body Wash:  LOVE this! It is very moisturizing and smells amazing! I have several more!

2. Pecksniff's Body Scrub in Grapefruit & Lemon: This was pretty good, it smelled nice, but I prefer more abrasive scrubs.

3. Caudalie Nail & Hand Cream: This was really nice and moisturizing for my dry hands. I would buy the full size.

4. The Body Shop Scrub in Candied Ginger: This was nice, but again I prefer harsher scrubs.

5. The Body Shop Body Butters in Glazed Apple & Lychee Blossom: I love the Body Shop body butters! These were both great. I preferred the Glazed Apple over the Lychee Blossom.

6. Gillette Satin Care Shaving Gel (3): This is my favorite type of shaving gel! I will continue to repurchase it.

7. Summer's Eve Cleansing Wash in Summer Paradise: This is gentle and smells nice. I am using another.

8. The Body Shop Mango Shower Gel: This smelled so good! It is one of my favorite body shop scents! I have lots of minis in other scents to use.

9. L'occitane Amande Body Oil: I LOOOOOVE this oil and have purchased the full size!

10. Tan Towel (2): These were awful! They were so streaky and orange. I would never use them again.

Face Products:


1. Rivoli Geneve Le Visage Serum: This was a really tiny sample and it was hard to tell if I liked it or not. So, I guess it was okay.

2. Michael Todd Cranberry Antiox Toner: This lasted me a long time and was gentle on my skin. I have already bought another!

3. L'oreal Miscellar Water: This worked okay at getting off make-up, but I prefer Bioderma.

4. Clarins HydraQuench Rich Cream Dry Skin: I really liked this! It was nice on my sensitive skin and may get it for next winter.

5. Origins Night-A-Mins Cream: This is so thick and moisturizing. I love this night cream and am currently using another jar!

6. Origins A Perfect World SPF 25 Cream: This was a nice light day cream and I really liked it. I may buy the full size. in the future.

7. Dead Sea Sheet Mask: These are really nice and drenched! They feel nice on the face and have a nice cooling effect. I would repurchase these.

8. Sample of Glam Glow: I like using this as a sport treatment. It is quite expensive though. I might purchase the small size one day.

9. Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strip : I like using these once in a while. I still have a few left.

10. Sample of Lancome Genifique Serum: I like this, but don't really notice a difference in my skin when I use it, plus it is really expensive. I would not purchase the full size.

Make-Up Removers:


1. Balea Make-up Removing Wipes:
These are currently my favourite make-up removing wipes! I will repurchase!

2. Balea Exfoliating Make-up Removing Wipes (2):
These removed make-up well, but were a bit harsh on my skin. I like the original Balea ones better.

3. Olay Fresh Effects Make-up Removing Wipes: I received these as a free sample. They were really dry and did not remove eye make-up well. I would not repurchase them


May 2015 Topbox

Another month,another TopBox! This is what I received this month:


Inside was:
  • A 100ml sample of The Face Shop Herb Day 351 Cleansing Foam in Aloe ~ $3.53
  • A 30ml sample of The Face Shop Seaweed Moisturizing Pack ~ $3.27
  • A 5ml Essie Nail Lacquer in Flowerista ~ $3.70
  • A FULL SIZE Medusa'a Makeup Eye shadow in Jungle Fever ~ $8.00
TOTAL VALUE: $18.50
Plus a $5.00 off a purchase of $30+ coupon at The Face Shop

I have never tried The Face Shop products before, so I am excited to try them; however, I don't like receiving multiple items from the same brand in one box. I am probably most excited to try the Seaweed mask! The Essie nail polish is nice to get, and I never use up an entire nail polish, so I like the mini size and the colour is okay (not my favourite though). The cleanser should be nice and gentle. I will not use the eye shadow; it's just not my colour. Also, I won't use the coupon because we don't have any store locations in Eastern Canada.

All in all, this month was kind of a flop for me and had an incredibly low value.

May 2015 Birchbox Canada

After last month's BirchBox being kind of a flop, I was so curious to see that this month's had in store for me. Let's take a peek inside!



This box contained:
  • A 3g sample of Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream
  • A 45ml sample of Essential Elements Wake Up Rosemary Body Lotion
  • A 2g sample of Laqa & Co. Sheer Lip Lube Pencil in Menatour
  • A 44mL sample of Not Soap, Radio Joy Inducing Body Wash in When life gives you too many lemons (and you've misplaced your happy place...)
  • A 30ml sample of Number 4 Non-Aerosol Hairspray
After an underwhelming box last month, this month was a bit better, but still somewhat lacking.

The box this month is so cute! It is my favorite yet! I like the eye cream, I received a sample earlier this year in my TopBox and and currently using and liking it. I like the hairspray sample and am excited to have a small size for when I travel.

On to the negatives...The body lotion has a really herbal scent and seems like it will be hard to get out of the container. The shower gel smells okay, but not great. I have received a lip lube from Laqa & Co before, and found it really dry on my lips. On top of that, the colour of the lip lube is not totally wearable, so I am not excited about the only make-up product that was in my box.

Again, not a lot of variety in this box. Next month's box is supposed to contain an Eyeko liquid eyeliner, so hopefully BirchBox has upped their game!

If you are interested in subscribing to BirchBox click here.

Sephora VIBLONG Review

Just before I placed my birthday order, this promo was sent to my e-mail, so of course I added it to my order! I have never tried any Bobbi Brown products before, and have read one of her books, so this gift with purchase was very appealing to me!

A GIFT FROM BOBBI BROWN. FREE FOR VIB & VIB ROUGE* USE CODE: VIBLONG. Get a flawless look with a trio of everyday makeup essentials—FREE with C$50 purchase. Mini set includes Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Shadow, Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Jet, and Instant Long-Wear Makeup Remover.

Included were 3 deluxe samples from Bobbi Brown: 
Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Bark
Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Jet
Instant Long-Wear Makeup Remover (30ml)



The sample sizes are generous for a gift with purchase! My only problem is that in the description Sephora stated that the Shadow would be in the shade Shadow (a blue-grey colour), but they actually sent the shade Bark (a deep brown colour). I will still wear the brown, but was looking forward to the blue-grey. 

Overall, I am happy with this set. Did you get this? If so, what did you think of it?

April 2015 BirchBox Canada

After really liking last month's BirchBox, I was so excited to see that this month's had arrived! Let's take a peek inside!



This box contained:
  • A 60ml sample of Beaver Professional Hydro Nutritive Moisturizing Shampoo
  • A 40ml sample of Beaver Professional Hydro Nutritive Repairing Conditioner
  • A 30ml sample of BeeKind Shower Gel
  • A 4mL sample of Jelly Pong Pong Glow Getter Highlighter
  • A 12ml sample of Mereadesso All-in-One Moisturizer
After a great box last month, this month was completely underwhelming...

Let's start with the positives....and there aren't many. The Rifle & Co. Box is beautiful! It is so springy! The scent of the shower gel is nicely lemon-scented. It will be a nice, refreshing scent to use in the morning. The highlight is nicer than I thought it would be. It is easy to apply and looks nice on my fair skin.

On to the negatives...I really don't like receiving foil samples in these boxes. I know that they put an effort to make the packaging on the moisturizer resealable, but it's still not a lot of product to try out. I really don't like that the shampoo and conditioner count as two separate products. I feel like they are a set and should count as one...having 40% of the products in the box from the same brand is not good variety. I am disappointed that so many of my products are shower type products and that so few are make-up and skin care. Overall, I just find this box to be quite boring and lacking any sort of innovation. I am especially disappointed, because compared to other boxes that I have seen this month, I feel like I was just given the leftover products.

I contacted BirchBox to let them know how I felt and received kind of a generic response. I am strongly thinking of cancelling this subscription. I'm going to give it one more month.

If you are interested in subscribing to BirchBox click here.