Sunday, July 15, 2012

A surprise in every box


My July 2012 Birchbox* arrived this past Friday, and although I was excited when I first opened the box, after trying some of the things within, I was grateful that this is a sampling service. For those unfamiliar with Birchbox, you pay $10 a month to receive a box with deluxe beauty and lifestyle samples (with a full-sized item here and there). The best part is that you never really know what you're going to get -- every month they have about 30 or so variations on the box, so just because one person received a particular box doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the same box.

*The link above is an affiliate link. Should you decide to sign-up for the service under the link, I will get points credited to my account.

My Larabar was quite a bit soft and melted, so that went in the fridge as soon as I plucked it out. (I haven't eaten it to this day.) The Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint felt nice (oil-free!) as I swatched it on the back of my hand, but as I rubbed it in, it was a shimmer explosion. No pictures, but I won't be buying this in the future. The Oscar de la Renta Live in Love EDP smelled nice (that is, it wasn't too offensive to me), but as I currently have too many fragrances, I won't get a full-sized version. It's woody and floral, nothing to write home about. I've tried the Boscia blotting sheets before, so I'll throw this package into my travel bag.

I don't like earphones with little rubber canals. I'm terrified of this happening. Besides, I'm content with my Apple-supplied earphones for my iPhone, mostly because I like being able to navigate through playlists with the little control on the actual wire.

The full-sized product was the Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in Purple. I swatched it on the back of my hand, and it held up really well -- no smearing or bleeding. So I then decided to put it to actual use.


A couple of things before I begin: 1) I really don't like using eyeliners. I know my giant Urban Decay and MAC Fluidline collection might beg to differ, but I'll find other uses for them, like using them as a base or just as shadow. It's a combination of my lack of skill when it comes to eyeliners and that I just don't like the look of them on my face. If I wear eyeliner, I usually wear it alone without shadow. Maybe in a couple months I'll refine my technique. 2) I was testing a foundation shade here that's half a shade lighter than what I usually wear. I think it's a little obvious. 3) I also wore MAC Red Full-Stop on my lips, Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill mascara, and a very light dusting of MUFE 26 on my cheeks.

So with that all aside, I put the liner on my eyes. I purposefully did not wear eyeshadow primer or any other shadows on my eyes to test the longevity of the product. It went on smoothly and didn't tug too much, and it was easy to draw a quick winged liner look. It didn't look too bad for the first 30 minutes, but then my oily eyelids started revolting, and the liner started breaking down. By the end of the first hour, the liner had smeared all over. No pictures (sorry!), but I'm sure you can imagine how it looked like.


So while I was glad that I didn't seek out the Eyeko pen by myself, I'm a little bummed that I didn't get a box that had a Boscia BB cream or a BeautyBlender. Yeah, yeah, grass is greener. I'm not one to trade my makeup, so I'll keep what I got.

I think I'll go dig into that Larabar now...