Glossy Box, Birch Box, Beauty Box

With so many beauty and skincare products out there, who knows what to try? I'm an avid user of MakeupAlley.com where people post reviews about products, but reading reviews can only go so far. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and try the products itself.

I've signed up for Birch Box before, where it's $10 a month per subscription. In the box is usually about 4-5 products ranging from nail polish to lipstick to skincare to haircare. Basically any beauty item. I had a subscription for several months before I just realized that I just didn't care for any of the selected items each month. It was kind of disappointing to be honest, even at a mere $10 loss. I could put that money toward food, you know?

Until last month, I wasn't ready to try any more beauty box subscriptions, but Glossybox kept enticing me with deluxe samples of products from lines I genuinely really wanted to try. So I signed up. At $21 a month, it's not as easy to drop money as it was for Birch Box, but the samples are bigger and I found that a lot of the brands were familiar.

Glossy Box shoots you an email when it's about to be shipped and provides you with a tracking number. They ship via USPS and the box came within 3-5 days for me.

In March's box were five items (there are always five):

1. Sisley Paris Black Rose Cream Mask (0.38oz, full size 2.1oz at $158)
2. nails inc. Baker Street Nail Polish (0.13oz, full size 0.34 at $9.50)
3. Alex and Ani Scent 7 Body Mist (3.4 oz at $18, full size included in box)
4. Alex and Ani Swan Charm Bangle (priced at $28)
5. Alterna Professional Haircare BAMBOO Luminous Shine Mist (full size 4oz at $24.00)
6. Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush in Marshmallow Pink (full size $20)

I've only been able to try the body mist, the nail polish, and the lip blush; of those, I only liked the nail polish out of all of them. The mist has sort of a strong and masculine scent that's hard for me to wear since I prefer more lighter and floral scents, so I don't think one will be a keeper. The lip blush is extreme baby pink, which is a shade that is very difficult for me to wear. I tend to gravitate towards more natural lip tones or reds, but never light pinks, so that will likely be tossed as well.

The bangle is a nice gift, and itself pays for the entirety of the box if you think of it that way, but silver tones do not flatter my skin tone as much as gold does, but I'll probably keep it and wear it out from time to time.

All in all though, I think I'd probably try out one or two more months of GlossyBox before I make the decision to cease my subscription. I've seen pretty good boxes previously so I'm holding out hope.

What beauty boxes have you tried, if any?

Winter Recovery: How To Get Rid Of Dry, Flaky Skin

Hello all!

Congratulations on surviving the Polar Vortex. It's been a long and hard road, but I am beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But for some of us, we still have a few more weeks left of unpredictable weather and dry rooms. So I decided to share some of the products that are helping my skin through the tail end of winter.

I started to notice how bad my skin was looking when one day I was applying makeup and my skin turned to sand and blew away. I was a little mortified how long I had let this go on, so I started YouTubing and Googling several homegrown methods- anything I could do at home at 1 AM.

Let's be real, I did not try all the rice wrapper or deconstructed guacamole face masks. Don't get me wrong, they sound kind of fun/experiment-y, but I don't think perishable items are a good solution for me. Last thing I want in the morning is a spray bottle full of rotten lemon and honey toner.

So, after doing some research and digging through my supplies, I think I have found a solution. Some of these products may be a little on the pricey side, so if you have any cheaper alternatives please leave them in the comments.

Find out more below!

Since 1851

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 

Sometime early last week, I sent Jen a text about wanting to make a semi-spontaneous Kiehl's haul, but still needed a little convincing. Two hours later, I came home with all this shit. What are friends for if they can't convince you to treat yourself once in a while? Excessive, sure, but well worth it and hell, I deserve it! I say semi-spontaneous because I've been meaning to try more Kiehl's products (outside the Ultra Facial line) and have done lots and lots of research on MakeupAlley, beauty blogs, etc to see which of their specific products would work best with my skin, but I just hadn't gotten around to actually purchasing anything because of time and money.

I've been using Mario Badescu products for years, but I'm not sure my skin was ever actually any better because of them. Still dull and uneven as ever. Along with Mario Badescu's glycolic acid products and a variety of harsh drugstore ones, I was completely stripping my skin of all the good stuff and further aggravating it. Since my skin is combination (regularly moisturizing? pfft) as well as super prone to hyperpigmentation and breakouts, I'm hoping that a more gentle skincare routine will benefit me more than an overload of benzoyl peroxide and glycolic acid.

A week isn't enough time to see major improvements of any sort, but I am loving everything above (OK so the lip balm is glorified vaseline, but it smells really, really good). I am especially loving the Midnight Recovery Concentrate! From the Kiehl's website, "A replenishing elixir of pure essential oils distilled botanicals to visibly restore the appearance of skin by morning" which includes primrose and lavender oils. It leaves my skin ridiculously soft and moisturized in the morning without being an oily mess. Another customer instore bought SIX bottles right before me! Since I work such long hours, this is going to be an essential from now on in my routine. I haven't tried any products from the Rare Earth line prior to these, but I love that Amazonian Clay is a main ingredient. The cleanser provides gentle exfoliation for days I have dry patches and am in need of something stronger than the Ultra Facial cleanser. Oh and that Calendula toner has marigold flower petals in it and smells like ICED TEA! It's also alcohol free and a step above my Mario Badescu glycolic acid toner which more often than not, burned off multiple layers of my skin.

My skin is not perfect by any means and as a South East Asian woman, I suffer more from issues such as hyperpigmentation, scarring, and unevenness. It is a constant battle to find products that work well as a woman of color with problematic skin and a shame that dermatologists aren't easily accessible. I did notice that Kiehl's had a Clearly Corrective line for discoloration and received a few samples of the serum/exfoliator so I'll see where that goes.

Have you tried any Kiehl's products? What are your skincare issues as a WOC? What is your current skincare routine?