My September 2012 Birchbox

Hey, Everyone!

I haven't been posting what's in my birchbox for a few months now, simply because by the time I get my box everyone else has already gotten their box. 

I used to get them early and now I'm one of the last to get my box. Ugh! lol. 

I was pretty excited by this box so I just had to share my thoughts.

September 2012 Julep Maven boxes-feat. Trina Turk-with swatches

It's Julep preview day!

September Favorites

It's October already!? Where does the time go!? It feels like it should still be the beginning of the year to me...Ugh. Lol. 

Alright, I guess I should move on now. 

Here we go.

My first favorite for September is the book Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

I've been eyeing this book for a while, since last year, but I didn't pick it up until now. It's a young adult novel, but I really like it. I've always been obsessed with Vampires and the supernatural. FYI-I was a vampire almost every year growing up, before Vampires were considered "cool." Lol. There is just something alluring about being immortal, to me. Haha. * Bahahahaha- I totally meant for Halloween, I'm not a vampire, although I wish I was. *

Next up is this Bath & Body Works candle in Frosted Cupcake.

I had to refrain from adding all my BBW collection from this post. I decided to only add the products that I've used as of yet, otherwise I might as well link the BBW site. ha. 

Apple Crumble-BBW candle.

I really really LOVE this scent. I normally don't like spicy scents too much and this does have a spicy scent, but it's just the right amount. I think of fall when I burn this and I love it! I love the tartness of the apples, it's just perfect for burning on those chilly fall mornings. 

I need to get a backup of this asap! 

My next favorite has to be my overall favorite.

This is the most gorgeous purse I've ever seen. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but I do LOVE this purse.

It's a Jessica Simpson bag and I picked it up at TJ MAXX for $50! Awesome deal, and they still have it there if you're interested. It's perfect for the fall. 

EOS lip balm. 

I had this lip balm before and my two year old got a hold of it and ate most of it. Eeek! It does taste pretty good though, I must admit. 

I got this at walmart for about $3. I think it's in summer fruit. 

Another BBW item! 

Mmmmmmm.

Forbidden Apple.

YUM. It tastes soooo good. I am an apple kinda girl. It tastes like a candy apple from the fair or something and I love it. That alone has won me over, hands down. 

It goes on very smooth and is not sticky at all and lasts for days. It also has a sheer red tint to it. And it's from their Halloween collection and on sale right now for $5.

Next up is this Physicians Formula liquid eyeliner plus eyelash boosting serum.

I didn't think this was going to live up to its claim of seeing 100% results, but I must admit, I have seen some lash growth after using this for awhile and I am impressed. I love this stuff. 

I've heard rave reviews for this product and finally decided to give it a try.

I honestly can't say I see a major difference in the amount of puffiness under my eyes, but I do love that the little roller ball is made of metal and is super cool on my skin. I just want to keep rolling it over and over and over. 

I got this Clinique eyebrow crayon free when I purchased my moisturizer and it's in the shade blonde, and I'm a brunette, but my eyebrows are really light and most brown colors are too dark for me so this ended up being a perfect shade for me. It also has a highlight on the other end. 

Oh, look, BBW again. 

I got this cute little guy because I love owls and I needed something for my little candles.

He was $5.50, I think. 

Oh, BBW, and another owl! LOL.

And the scent I'm using is Apple Crumble, of course.  

I've been using my Viva La Juicy perfume pretty much the whole month of September.

It's fruity and I love fruit. Perfect. 

I've been using this Biore warming anti-blackhead cream cleanser and I love that it gets really warm when your rub it on your face. It doesn't stay warm long enough though. It smells pretty good. I got this at walmart for $5 or so..

I used MAC's well dressed blush the most in September.

I'm actually looking for new blushes so if y'all have any recommendations let me know in the comments.

Another lip product that I used in September was MAC's lipglass in Love child.

I wore MAC's All that Glitters alot in September. It's my go-to, don't know what to wear, shade. 

What were some of your favorites for September?

Happy Birthday, Birchbox!

I got my September Birchbox in the mail today, finally!

The September box shipped out later than August's box so we got them about a week later than "normal." I say "normal" because I've only had the Aug. box to compare it to. lol.

I have been super excited for this Birchbox since it's the 1 year anniversary of the company starting.

Enough of me rambling, let's get started.

The little brown Birchbox

This is what it looked like when I opened it.

My first item was these Incoco nail strips in blue glitter. 

These retail anywhere from $7.99-$10.99 

Now, my opinion on these: I went ahead a watched youtube videos and knew what to expect with the different designs birchbox had to offer and these were the ones I did NOT want. Hmmmph. Blue glitter!? I can just paint my nails blue and add blue glitter, not a real big deal. I really really wanted a design. They had cheetah and rainbow glitter and zebra glitter and I get the plain blue ones? What the heck!? My profile says I'm adventurous...but, I have really wanted to try this since Sally Hansen's nail strips came out and haven't bought them and now I get to try them so I'm okay with the blue glitter....just okay. 

My second item was this Pangea Organics facial cream in Nigerian ginger with lavender & thyme.

This is a 1oz travel size sample and I am happy with the size, this is what I expect to get for a sample that I have to pay for. I was pretty excited for this since I am slightly obsessed with face products, but I know Birchbox sends out Pangea Organics products in their boxes all the time so if I had been a member for a while now, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been too happy about this.

I don't have my card with me at the moment, but I think this retails in full for about $40? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Next is this Jouer lip treatment in an extremely small sample size that says "not for retail" on the back, which means it is a FREE sample size! Ugh, come on Birchbox, I thought this was a DELUXE sampling program? I like to consider myself resourceful enough to find a free sample of this on my own and wouldn't have had to pay the $10 a month member fee....I have wanted to try Jouer and I'm glad I get to now, but I could have found this on my own, and it would have been free....just saying..

This would be $14 in full size.

This was what I was least looking forward to, LIV GRN perfume sample. First of all, I am very particular in my perfume and getting a sample is kind of hit or miss so I don't like getting random perfume samples, second of all, perfume samples are FREE! I just got a Burberry sample for FREE in the mail and I can get them anytime I please at the mall and I can grab 10 if I like. You only get one in this box. So, two out of four products I was sent was absolutely FREE for Birchbox to send me....Ugh!

On a positive note: I actually do really like this perfume, so the only thing Birchbox got accomplished is I am now aware of this perfume, but it is $60 and that alone deters me from making a purchase.

The "Extra" for this months box is a friendship bracelet in the shape of the Birchbox logo. 

This is kinda cute and I am wearing it right now. I appreciate the thought behind this, Thank You, Birchbox.

Everything that was in my box.

My final thoughts: Overall, I am kinda disappointed in this month's box especially because this was the 1 year anniversary. Two out of the four items should have been free so I only got two that actually counteracted the $10 I pay a month and the nail strips were not the "coolest" design so I could have just took my $10 and bought Sally Hansen's in a design I liked and skipped this box. I really wanted to love this box, I don't hate it, if this were any other month I would have actually liked it, but it was very underwhelming for a birthday box. 

I am also very disappointed because I've watched videos of boxes in the past and it seems the quality of products have went way down. Birchbox has sent out free full sized items before, like a $30 blush and a full size $18 eyeshadow. I don't expect a full size product in every box or even at all, I just expect to get deluxe samples, not super tiny FREE samples. I really like the idea of Birchbox, but they have alot to work on. I am going to keep my membership and hope the quality gets better, I have faith this can be a good company.