July's BirchBox! Some Fun, some bleh...

Last Friday I received my July BirchBox. I was so excited to get it when I found out that they were teaming up with Glamour Magazine because I was thinking we would be getting samples of the newest trendiest things on the market. I was incorrect, it turns out it was more like a way for Birchbox to get rid of a bunch of samples they had and throw a couple of new bones to people. Now I am not fully upset about this, there have been things in past boxes I really wanted but didn't get. So without further ado BirchBox July.

The theme as you can see is See it, Hear it, Taste it, Touch it, Smell it. I do like the box cover, very pretty.

As usual when you open the box there is a card on top telling about the box and on the other side of the card is the list of products included.

Here is a shot of under the tissue paper, as usual I love the little wrapped goodies.

First up is the See it item. I received the boscia Green Tea Blotting Linens. I must say I was happy to get these. Living in the humid humid south and having oily skin sucks. I am constantly blotting my face to get rid of the shinies. This is a pretty good sample size to. The sample price is $2.50.

Also in the See it category is my second item. Eyeko Skinny liquid eye liner in Olive. I was planning on using this today for part of my work makeup, but I got up super late and ended up with no makeup on. The tip is really cool and very unlike most liquid eyeliners, think felt tip pen instead of a brush. I am really happy to get this item as well. Best part this is a full size item!! Retail is $15.00.

If you feel like you are having dejavu for the next 2 items, no fear, you are. In the Feel is slot is Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint. I received a sample of this in my Sample Society box this month, if you remember correctly it was in bronzed and to dark. Well, Birchbox sent me Golden, guess what, its to dark too, and much smaller than the one sent from Sample Society. This went into the pot for the giveaway collection that I am building. Ok, so the sample value that was in my Sample Society box is $3.80, this sample value is $1.56. Pretty big difference.

 In the Smell it category I recieved Oscar De La Renta's Live in Love fragrance. Again, I had already received this fragrance in my Sample Society box, and again in a much larger size. I will say I really love this fragrance so the more the merrier. This is a tiny tiny vial though, I am trying to figure out how to put this tiny amount into my bigger bottle. The sample value from Sample Society was $5.80, from Birchbox the value is $1.37. Another big difference.

 For Taste it I got a LaraBar in Cherry Cobbler. First may I say that I haven't had a whole lot of luck in the bar department taste wise. Second, I do not like cherries at all. So with all the luck in the world I am handing this off to my giveaway collection. The sample value is $1.74.

Last is the Hear it. These are BirchBox exclusive ear buds. Sadly I cannot use ear buds because my ears are shaped funny and will not keep them secure. So these will be in the giveaway as well. I put a sample value of $3.00 on these, I had to guess at it, but I figured higher than lower. 

So all in all it was half and half. Half products I will use and half I won't. The total value of the box is $25.17 the only reason it is this high is because they included a full sized eyeliner, without the eyeliner it is $10.17. Not the best box, but I have high hopes for next month!!

*I bought this box, all reviews are honest and my own.*

Dino Lingo

Last month I received my first Influenster VoxBox to test and review for free which is pretty awesome. It was the Mom VoxBox. In it I got a demo of Dino Lingo www.dinolingo.com It seems like a really good program for younger children, but at Diva's age (6) she got really bored with it pretty quickly. The full program in the language of your choice costs $99.00 which is a pretty steep price tag, but I think if you truly needed to have your younger child learn a new language it would be a good option.

Here is the explanation of the program from the website itself.

"Dino Lingo for Kids is a language set where cartoon dinosaurs introduce the most common 200 words of a target language. This language set consists of 5 DVDs, each DVD focused on specific learning topics. Colors, numbers, family, animals, food, fruit and vegetables, vehicles, body parts, clothes, nature and verbs and actions After watching our videos several times, most small children can easily name everyday objects and understand basic phrases such as "Hello", "What is this?" in their target language. Dino Lingo is ideal for fostering a toddler's cognitive development and has won the 'Influential Parents Award' in 2010 and 2011 in education category. Dino Lingo language learning programs are most effective for children up to 7 years of age and anybody interested in learning the basics of a new language." 

What do you think? Would you pay $99.00 for a language dvd for young children?

Cooler than a Sample Box! You Are What You....

EAT!!!

OK OK, I know this is a beauty blog, but the old saying is true, you are what you eat, and a good complexion begins with putting good things in your body!! That's right darlings there is something else in this world that makes me even happier than a fantastic beauty product!!!  That thing is Gardening, and today my Holy Grail came in the mail, my Fall seed order!!! By the way I live in the deep deep south of Coastal GA, I don't think I have ever told you all that. The most amazing thing about living here is the fact that we not only get a Spring growing season like the rest of the country, but we get a Fall and Winter season too!! I have a rather large homesteader garden, 8 rows 70 ft. long! So, drum roll please!!!!!! This is what I am planting this fall!!!

But first a little about the company I order seed from. The company is called Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. In the vast world of seed they are a small company. Their company sells Heirloom Seed, which in easy terms means you can harvest the seed from the fruits, vegetables, or flowers and plant it again and again without the risk of unnaturally genetically modifying it. For the already garden savvy they are Non GMO. Please visit them at http://rareseeds.com/

 First up Cowpeas, or as they are known in my neck of the woods, Black Eyed Peas. These grow amazingly in my area! Last fall I was able to pick and dry over 2 lbs. of beans on a shorter row than I have now! They will be planted mixed together on one row. The 2 varieties I will be planting on the same row are Purple Hull Pink Eyed and Purple Hulled Specked peas.

 Next are the Green Bean types. Another fun fact about me is that I Preserve by canning, a lot!!! Green beans are my favorite thing in the world to can as well! I was able to put up 22 jars of beans over this summer, but that will not be enough to last through the winter and back into next summer as I learned last year. So, I am growing them again, but this time I am adding a variety at my Husband's request. The 2 varieties are the classic Blue Lake Bush 274 and the new is the Roma II Bush, which is a Italian style flat green bean. Each will have a full row.

Last in the Bean category are the Butter Bean/ Lima Beans. These like the Black Eyed Peas will be dried. I have never tried to grow Lima's but I have been told I live in a good area for them to thrive! They will be planted together on 1 row half and half. The 2 varieties of these are Dixie Speckled Butterpea and Henderson's Bush Lima beans.

In a category all its own is the Corn. I will be planting 4 rows of corn this fall!!! This spring I had only 2 rows and I really really hoped it would be enough to can, but no, not even close. I will be planting both sweet eating corn and dent feed corn for the critters. I am changing the variety of sweet corn after the really very sad sad yield I got this summer. On the other hand the Dent corn really produced amazingly and we already have a quarter of a 5 gallon bucket filled with dry kernels and still have more drying to add. The 2 varieties are Golden Bantam 12 Row, the sweet and Thompson Prolific Dent Corn the name is very fitting.

The final, I am growing you to stick you in a jar veggie, is Cucumbers!!! I love pickles so so much! Sadly because of all the rain this spring my cucumbers I planted didn't make because they were choked out be weeds before they had a chance and we couldn't fight them fast enough! Hopefully this Fall we will have better luck and I will get a TON to make up for it!!!!! These 2 varieties are Delikatesse Cucumbers and Parisian Pickling Cucumbers, awesome names I think!!!

Last, but certainly not least is the one type of plant any good fall garden should have!!! PUMPKINS of course!!! I hope we have a good yield, because not only do I want to have a fully decorated yard this year, but I would also like to sell a few to fund my more well known, on this blog at least, makeup and beauty item habits!!! The varieties we are planting are Connecticut Field Pumpkins and Jack be Little Pumpkins!

Ok, now, this little beauty is the freebie I got with my seed order. Every order gets a free packet of seeds, I am not sure if there is a certain amount you have to spend before you get it or not, but I have received a packet with everyone of my orders. I do grow tomatoes, but I have a really hard time starting them from seed because of the spring humidity and rain and my lack of a green house for winter sprouting. I buy seedlings. So, I am going to be adding this packet of tomato seeds to my giveaway collection. Like I said in my previous post, I don't know when I will do the giveaway, so keep an eye out! 

So now you all know a little more about me... I am part pretty girl who loves sparkleys and part homestead farmer... Keep reading, you never know what other tidbits you will find out! LOL. I am like an onion!!!

*all my reviews are honest, I purchased these products with my own money, I am not paid to review them*

July Sample Society Box!!!

Hey again, I am on a roll, 2nd blog post in 2 days!!! While I was on vacation I received my Sample Society box for July! Thankfully my Dad came by that day to check in on my fur children so he brought it inside! I am thrilled with the box this month!!! So without further ado here is what I got.

This is how the box comes! I really love the sturdy boxes and pretty silver tissue paper that I can use for gifting or storage!

On top of the products underneath the tissue paper is the Allure Magazine monthly beauty guide, these are so nice.

And then under the guide we find the products all nestled in their confetti bed. The packaging is great nothing moves or gets jostled!

The first product in the product guide is the Borghese Tono Body Cream. I am a sucker for body cremes and lotions and this size is perfect to throw in my purse. It is really really thick so a tiny bit goes a long long way. The scent is very nice not really really heavy which I like, there is nothing worse than the scent of your lotion overpowering your perfume. The sample worth is $4.34.

Second up is VBeaute Eye Never Nourishing Repair Eye Cream. I don't know what it is about eye cream but I love it, I just wish they weren't always in such tiny tubes when you get them as a sample. This stuff is very nice, I have been using it since I got home on Friday and I can definitely tell a difference in my dark bags under my eyes! Hopefully this sample will hold out long enough for me to find some that I like. The sample worth of this is $5.61.

 

Facial Moisturizer is something else I am a sucker for I use it 2 times a day normally. This is Sisley- Paris Hydra Global Intense Anti Aging Hydration creme. I know it is anti aging, and I know I am only 26, but its never to early to start worrying about things like wrinkles, lol. This stuff is nice, it goes on rather well and doesn't make my skin oily at all! The sample worth of this tiny .14 oz sample is $25.00, yes you read that right. The full size retails for $250.00. Personally I will never spend that kind of money on a face cream, but its really nice to try it.

 Next up is a Vincent Longo Duo Lip Pencil. This my dear readers is worth getting sample boxes, its Full Size!!!! As you can see the colors I got are White Glimmer and Sangria. Only problem is that I don't use lip liner, but a little known fact is that you can use lip liner as eyeliner too!!! I used the Sangria color last night when I went to go see Magic Mike, because you know I wanted to look pretty for the hot guys on the movie screen, LOL, it all made sense in my head. It goes on sooo smooth and the color is awesome, not to red but not to brown!!!! The worth of this product is $26.00!!!!

Last but not least is Jouer Cosmetics Luminizing Moisture Tint SPF 20. I received the shade Bronzed, which I am tan, but definitely not bronzed by any means. I swatched it on my hand just to be sure and though it blended in quite nicely it was way to dark for me. So, what I have decided to do is start collecting really cool samples like this that I can't use to at some point giveaway to one of my lucky blog readers. I am not sure when I will give the samples away, but it will be awesome! The sample worth of this is 3.80.

So, what do you guys think? Definitely worth the $15.00 that the sample box costs? I think so, the total worth of the whole box is $64.75 this month. If you want to sign up please use my referral code SSBeauty. Remember if you sign up using my referral code money is donated towards the charity of my choice which happens to be Kaboom Playgrounds! Thanks!

*please remember I am reviewing these products honestly, I spent my own money purchasing them*

Ahhhh, I am officially back now... All Natural June Green Grab Bag

Hi everyone I am Baaaacckkk! LOL. I took a blogging break after I received my Green Grab Bag, there were a few reasons, but mostly it was because I was so disappointing with the bag that I didn't even feel like talking about it... I have found the gumption to blog about it though, because I just started receiving July's boxes and I don't want to be to far behind. So here we go...

June's White Apricot Green Grab Bag

This is how it comes in a box which I took a picture of and posted with June Look Bag post. First off, when I took it out of the box it was smashed down in there so the bag looked horrible. It still doesn't look great, this was taken after I tried to straighten it up a bit. 

Attached is a card with the products inside listed, like most all other sample boxes/ bags.

Here are the products that were inside.

We will start with Brigit True Organics Magic Skin Balm. This is a really neat product and is one of the few in the bag I have actually enjoyed. It goes on a little greasy, almost like Neosporin. Once it soaks in the skin though its really not. It works well for all kinds of ailments, I know I have used it on bug bites to heat rash. The balm smells a lot like menthol, which it refreshing. The sample size is worth $4.20.

Next up is a great product Glam Nation Perfection Eye and Makeup Remover. I was very very disappointed in how it was sent out. Let me explain. I liked this product so much I went to the actual Glam Nation site to see about ordering the full product. While there I saw that they offered a free sample of their facial cleanser. So I went ahead and ordered it to see if I liked it too. I was so surprised when I received not only the facial cleanser but I also received this exact makeup remover and a sample of their facial cream. I then questioned Green Grab Bag about this and received a very sarcastic message back basically saying that they could not control what the manufacture sends them or sends out themselves. So, the sample value of this is $0.00.

This is Pangea Organics Facial Scrub, I actually haven't used this product yet, even though I brought it on vacation with me with the full thought of using it. It smells really nice and I will definitely use it soon. It's sample value is 10.00.

This cute little package contains a lotion pellet that is heart shaped. It is made by JourneysMother. I had to put it in the freezer as soon as I got it because it was pretty squishy, thanks GA heat. The fragrance is interesting to say the least. I am not sure I love it or not the combination of Cocoa and Lavender, the Vanilla scent is totally not even there. On hands a little goes a long long long way if you have ever used a beeswax based cream you know what I mean. I read the packaging and it says they can be used on everything from hands to split ends. The sample price is $.23.

It seems like Green Grab Bag sends out a lip balm type product almost every month from what I have read about their previous boxes. This is Organic Indulgences Lip Butter in Chocolate Mint. I actually like it a lot the scent is awesome without having the icky taste that lip balms like to add when there is a smell involved. It is full sized which is normal Chap Stick size. The price for one is $2.95.

Last but not least is Bamboo Cosmetics Bamboo Lash. It is an eyelash enhancement serum. The sample is double sided and actually includes the eyebrow serum as well. I don't know if I have been using this long enough to give it a full yea or nae on whether or not it really works. The sample size is worth $77.00. My only issue with this is I later found out that they actually sent these out because they had extra's of it from a give away that was done for mother's day...

So, overall it was an ok bag. Because their customer service was so snarky acting I decided to cancel. If you are interested in the bag there is still open subscriptions with no waiting list, it costs $15.00 a month. The total worth of this bag was $94.38 the bulk of that being the lash serum, without it the worth is $17.38. See you soon readers!