How to get high end beauty products on a budget

How much money do you think I spent on these items?

Color Club Insta-this-swatch

Today I bring to you a swatch of this gorgeous bright cobalt blue creme from Color Club in the shade Insta-this.

I'm pretty sure this is a birchbox exclusive shade.

I got a sample of Color Club's Put-a-pin-in-it *Swatch here* and had some points to spend so I got this shade to try out. 

Insta-this-$8 at Birchbox

Color Club- Put a pin in it-swatch

I love this polish!

I got it in last month's Birchbox and I'm pretty sure this shade is a Birchbox exclusive, but it's so gorgeous I had to share.

October Goop Birchbox

Hey, Everyone.

I wasn't expecting my Birchbox for a few days but it was in the mailbox today! What a surprise.

I got an email a little while ago to opt in or out for a special Goop birchbox. I didn't do either and let fate decide which box I'd receive. 

Well, I ended up getting a Goop box.

And since it did come so early, I actually didn't peek for once. Haha.

So shipping was fast, I got a Goop box, and it was heavy. 

What could go wrong?

The packaging was white with "Goop" written all over it.

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.

My February Birchbox

Hey, Everyone!

I got my February Birchbox about two days ago and I almost  didn't cheat. Birchbox had the preview box links on lockdown this month. They didn't ship out my box until the very last day they had to ship them and they post what your box is the very next day....so I cheated. *gasp*

I see it this way though, I want to be prepared if I get a not-so-good box...makes sense, right?

Anyway, I got Box #1

Not the box I had hoped for, but I actually like my box, so I'm glad.

It had silver paper instead of the usual mauve-ish color.

The smaller package was wrapped in gold instead of pink.

BLK DNM perfume 11. 

I don't have my card near me, but I think this was $110 for a full size.

*I hate getting perfume samples-generally, because I can get them for free elsewhere...*

I can't tell you what this smells like because I can't smell right now. :0( 

Eye Rock-Stick on Eyeliner-

A full pack is two packs of four. $13

*We got a half size*

I don't know, but they look kinda tacky...I guess I'll see when Halloween rolls around. lol.

They just look like they'd get in the way of blinking and they look like stickers....I don't know...I just don't know. 

One of my extras was a heart shaped nail file.

The other extra was a free digital download.

Exude Lipstick in Nude- full size is $29

This is what made me LOVE my box.

This is a full size! Yay. 

And not to mention, my first lipstick. *Not in my whole life...lol*

Yeah, how do I not own a lipstick? I'm more of a gloss girl, but I wanted a lipstick.

That makes me sound about 12. I'm 25, I swear. 

 It has alot of sparkles in it.

It's a pretty nude shade.

The packaging is a matte white, and it gets dirty! When I picked it up I thought it was really old and dirty looking, but it was the gold paper that rubbed off all over the cap. Ugh. 

It's like NARS, but white. Oh, goodness. 

LA Fresh-nail polish remover-

We got two samples.

A box of 18 is $9.99

Overall, I love my box. I wanted to try the beauty blender and the Violent Lips lip tattoos, but I can get those things for pretty cheap at Sephora right now, so I'm glad I got this box.

I love the Exude lipstick. 

I can always use nail polish remover, and who knows, maybe I'll love the eyeliner stickers. lol. 

Do you get Birchbox? Did you love your box? Tried any of these brands? Let me know your thoughts.

My January Birchbox

My January Birchbox is here!

And, once again, I cheated. I'm a cheater. I looked up my box, again. *sigh*

One day, I'm not going to cheat so I can be surprised. One day. LOL.

Anywho, 

I think I got Box #3, and I really wanted Box #4.

I wanted the polish and eyeliner, dangit! :0)

This month's theme was Clarity.

I was SUPER excited for this. 

Stila-Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Peacock.

Full size 

$20

This is a gorgeous color.

Borghese-CuraForte Moisture Intensifier

You put this on before your moisturizer....hmmm, I don't know how I feel about adding more steps to my face routine. It's supposed to make your moisturizer work harder...? We will see, I guess.

A full size costs $67.50

Jouer- Body Butter

This has shea butter, olive and avocado oils in it.

It smells like flowers. It reminds me of being at my grandma's house playing outside next to her flowers. It has Gardenia, Jasmine, and Honeysuckle in it.

A full size is $32

I really like the consistency of this, it's not greasy at all. 

I wish it didn't smell like flowers. I do like the memory I have tied with the scent, but I can't do flowers on me.  This is a migraine trigger scent for me. I love everything else about it though. :0(

Juicy Couture- Viva La Juicy-full size $69-$89

Okay, I didn't like getting this as a sample, let me tell you why...

I have THREE bottles of this! LOL...big ones...and I did NOT pay full price. 

You can get this, and the other Juicy scents, at TJ Maxx for a fraction of the cost. 

With that being said, I love this perfume, obviously...I just don't need another sample of it. ;0)

Larabar-Coconut (I forget the real name, but it was coconut something...lol)

This was the Extra.

I got a Larabar free from influenster last month. I love that it's all natural with no fillers and only has a few ingredients in them. 

Oh, and I got a magnet. 

You can never have too many magnets...

All my goods.

A naked Larabar.

Overall, this box was a great deal with the Stila eyeliner alone. 

This box was a pretty good box. 

I can't wait to see what next month holds.

Have you signed up for Birchbox yet? What box did you get? Love it or Hate it?

Are you a member for a different sampling program? Let me know your thoughts.

December Birchbox-Love it, or hate it?

I got my Birchbox in the mail today!

I almost made it without cheating, but, as the old saying goes, "Once a cheater, always a cheater..." Haha. 

I just can't help it. I NEED to know what to look forward to. 

:0)

Look how cute the packaging is!

They used white glittery paper and the card that tells you what you got was made into a Christmas card. 

How cute!

And here is all my goods.

I got Harvey Prince-Yogini-8.8ml is$26 or 50ml for $55

This sample is HUGE! This is what I want out of a perfume sample. 

It's about the size of two samples put together.

I normally try to dip, dodge, and dive away from perfume samples from BB.

I can get perfume samples for FREE...but if I'm going to get one from BB, I want it to be like this.

The only thing is, I HATE this perfume. :0( Waah. 

It has sandalwood, Egyptian myrrh, and grapefruit. I'm smelling the myrrh, good for Christmas, not good for my headaches. Ugh. 

This was a fail. 

Befine-Gentle Cleanser-3.4fl oz is $25

This is a 1oz travel size.

This is what I expect when I pay money for samples.

I love travel size products because it gives you the opportunity to try it for a while. 

This is made with sugar, rice, and oat extracts.

It smells minty, and I looked at the ingredients...it has peppermint extract in it.

My picture flipped! Lol.

JOUER-lipgloss in Birchbox Pink-full size is $20

This is the smallest lipgloss I've ever seen...but it is a sample, after all.

It goes on pretty sheer, but it is buildable. I put a couple of coats on this swatch.

L'Oreal Professionnel

Mythic Oil

4.2 oz for $30

I don't know if it's because last month I got an Oscar Blandi hair mist in a 2oz travel size or what, but I thought I'd get something bigger....Hmmmph. lol.

This is smaller than the perfume sample. Meh.

It is oil though, and oil goes a long way...

Nicely packaged goody bag.

These were my "extras." Prep-Show Stoppers-Designer fashion tape

24 for $9.99

Recharge-eboost

Orange Natural energy booster

20 packets for $28

My final thoughts: 

I really liked the packaging of this month's box. It was super cute and festive. 

I thought the contents of this month's box was meh. I think out of all my past boxes, this was the one I liked the least. I wasn't impressed with any of the products. I didn't hate it, but if I could have, I would have skipped this month and saved my $10 for a rainy day. 

What did you get in your box? Love it? Hate it? Have you tried any of these products before? 

What are your thoughts?

XO

November Birchbox-Getting Gifty

I FINALLY got my November Birchbox in the mail today. Yay!

I was getting pretty worried since it's been sitting at the post office since Thursday. I actually had to stop by the post office to see what was up. With Veteran's Day and Sunday, they just hadn't got to my box yet....anyways, I finally got it today and it was worth the wait.

I have to say this is my favorite box so far. 

-Getting Gifty-

Since it took my box so long to get to me, I cheated and looked it up on the BB website. 

I would have cheated anyway, who am I kidding?

I got BB#21

I was really shocked that I earned the Baublebar, I didn't do anything extra special other than just reviewing the products. *shrugs* I am super excited about though. I really wanted one. 

I got Oscar Blandi-Jasmine Protein Mist-250ml is $18 

This came in a 2oz travel size. I love it when they send travel sized items. 

I am curious to see how this works. It's supposed to protect, fortify, and revive damp or dry hair. 

LaROCCA Skincare-Champagne & Shimmer Body Polish

6.76oz is $35 and this came in .05oz.

It says it features 24K colloidal gold...Oooooh, luxurious.

It smells a little medicine-y though, like when you have a cold and need vapor rub, yeah, like that.

My Bauble Bar! It's made of wood and has a sparkly ball in the center and is on a leather cord. It's actually very nice.

I totally feel like Justin Bieber and I are BFF's now.

You can get this for $20 at:

http://baublebar.com/index.php/fashion-jewelry/womens-bracelets/black-wood-pop-bracelet.html

Klorane-Soothing Eye Makeup Remover with Cornflower

3.4oz goes for $9

They sent a .08fl oz, nice for traveling.

It says it's for sensitive eyes and is paraben free, so that is awesome.

I was so happy to get a nail polish in my box, I think I have an addiction. lol.

Zoya nail polish in Noel.

.5fl oz is $8 and this was .25fl oz.

This is a nice blue denim shimmery shade and it's a Holiday 2011 collection.

My treat was this Chuao Chocolatier-Firecracker Chocopod

The card says it's dark chocolate laced with chipotle and popping candy....hmmm, I am curious to see how this tastes. I don't really like spicy things...

2.8oz goes for $6

This was .39oz

I was very impressed with this months box. This has got to be, hands down, my favorite box so far. I give this box an A+

What did you get in your birchbox? How did you like your box? Did you get the Bauble Bar? Do you feel like you're BFF's with Justin Bieber, too? 

XO

October Birchbox

My October Birchbox is finally here, after sitting at the post office for about 5 days..

I tried cheating and looking up my info on my account and they didn't have any info posted so I actually had no clue what I was getting this month. I did, however, turn to youtube and get a sneak peak of some boxes.

My Box was labeled BB#8

All my goodies.

The first thing I got was Ahava Mineral Hand Cream. A full 3.4oz sells for $20. TJ MAXX sells Ahava and I see it there all the time, so if I like this, I'm heading to TJ's. lol.

The second item I received was this Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze. 

A full 2oz of this sells for $25.

Funny thing about this is I just got a Smashbox tinted primer in this color and I got it for free at Sephora, and I'm thinking the Smashbox one is more expensive...

I love the Smashbox one, so I'm excited to compare the two. 

My next item is Sunday Riley Modern Skincare Juno Transformative Lipid Serum.

A full 30ml of this sells for $125!

Apparently celebrities and models love and swear by this stuff.. I on the other hand, am not rich and probably, PROBABLY will not purchase this, unless, of course it has magical properties and turns me into a super model...ha. 

It's supposed to replenish, firm, and protect skin. We shall see...

I got this Ouidad Moisture Lock Leave-in Conditioner. 

A full 6oz sells for $18.

I got Ouidad in my August box, and I liked it, so we'll see how this conditioner works.

You can find these products on Hautelook alot, so you can get these at discounted prices. 

I don't know why this picture turned sideways...but I can't fix it now that I'm actually blogging, so forgive me.

My card didn't say I was getting an extra, but I got this Ahava foot cream and they were not listed on my card, so an extra.

I really hope I like Ahava, because, like I said, TJ Maxx. lol.

My Overview:

I looked at all the other boxes before I got my box, and maybe I shouldn't have. I thought my box was okay, I pretty much have tried everything in it, just with different brands. I was really hoping I'd get something from Stila, like the eyeshadow or mascara, even though I have about 200 mascaras that I need to try before I could even get to it. haha. 

It wasn't a bad box, and I'm curious to see if I turn into a model. LOL. 

And now for a bonus.

I just wanted to share that I entered into a contest and just for entering I was sent this Clean Start by Dermalogica starter kit.

I am super excited to try this kit. I've heard wonderful things about Dermalogica. I'll give a review after I've used it for a while. 

The first two steps from the kit are 1.7oz and the moisturizer is .5oz. A good travel size kit.

Alright.

What did y'all get in your Birchbox? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments.

xo