PSA: New Ipsy Points Perks!

New Ipsy Points Perks have been released today. Unfortunately, nothing I want- but maybe you'd be interested.

Take a look!:

PSA! The Allure's Sample Society December 2014 Spoiler is here!

Allure's Sample Society December 2014 Spoilers are here! Let's take a look!:

THREE Full Sized Items?? Oh yeh!!

Looks awesome to me!

Facebook Fan Page!

With the little victories I have been having with this blog, I thought I would create a little Facebook fan page to share all my updates, unboxings, and free samples.

So now, instead of just checking back on the blog, feel free to follow my journey on Facebook!

Click The Picture Below To Like Us On Facebook!:

Free Sample Alert! Free Dove Body wash from WalMart!

Get your own Free Sample of Dove Body Wash from Walmart!

Click the picture below, watch the video, sign up for your sample!

Random Free Sample! Truvia Sweetener!

Ok... I normally don't use sweetners for anything. So, I'm not entirely sure where this sample came from.

That being said, check out the free samples I got in the mail from Truvia today!

PSA: BirchBox Ace Sample Choice Emails Are Going Live!

Yesterday, I posted spoilers for the BirchBox Ace Sample Choices.

Emails should be going out today! So get ready to pick yours!

Choose Your Sample:

 Or 

Choose To Get The Party Box! 

I went with the Ace Sample Choice and chose the Rose Gold liner. Happy picking!

PSA: BirchBox December 2014 Sample Choices!

BirchBox December 2014 Sample Choices should be available soon.

If you don't know what they are yet, here you go:

Sample Choices Are:

Manna Kadar Lip Locked in Lucky

Vasanti Cosmetics Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in Rose Gold

Mirenesse Secret Weapon iCurl 24HR Mascara

W3LL People Bio Brightener Stick

PSA: Birchbox December 2014: Sneak Peek Part 1

Here's the first BirchBox December 2014 Sneak Peek!

Lip Gloss

PSA: Ipsy December 2014 Spoiler #1

Spoilers for the Holiday boxes are starting to come out!

Here's the first Ipsy Spoiler for their December 2014 Bag!

What are you excited for??

Free Sample Alert! Garnier Clean Samples!

Free Sample Alert!

If you haven't seen it yet, Garnier is offering yet another free sample!

Grab yours here: http://www.startsampling.com/sm/590sulpnaelc/

Another Free Sample Site! SampleSource.Com review and unboxing:!

Yet another set of free samples has come my way! Woo!

These samples have come to me via SampleSource.com

They're currently out of samples at the moment. But you can register and sign up to be made aware of new samples when they come in.

Here's The Box:

Inside, I received:

1. Tums and Gevalia Coupons

2. A 1.05 oz/ 30 g sample of Nature's Path Organic Sunrise Crunchy Vanilla cereal:

3. Another .84 oz sample of Gevalia!:

4. A pack of 2 Tums Freshers Antacid + Coupon:

5. A pack of 2 Tums Chewy Delights + Coupon:

All in all- not bad for my first SampleSource.Com haul!

Free Sample! Garnier Fructis Marvelous Oil!

So, I'm feeling kind of good that I'm actually starting to see progress with my free samples mission. Although I didn't post the link earlier in regards to this sample being available, I did want to share what I received from Garnier Fructis!

That means we're well on the way for me to share my samples in the future with the online world.

Here's the sample of Garnier Fructis Marvelous Oil I received:

I'm going to have to say though- for such a small sample, they did use a whole lot of packaging!

Still came through from me though- so that's awesome!

Another PinchMe Free Sample!! Woo!

Earlier this month, I wrote my first review about using PinchMe.Com to receive and review free samples.

I mentioned in that review that I was originally a bit wary about PinchMe because I never received my original sample.

Welp, I take that back! PinchMe came through for me!

The sample FINALLY made it's way to me and here it is in all it's glory!

My free Gevalia sample and coupon:

If you are interested in receiving and reviewing free samples from PinchMe, feel free to read my review on how it works HERE or visit the website at PinchMe.Com

Another Random Unboxing from Thierry Mugler's Angel!

I swear, this company is full of awesome surprises!

Last month, I received a random little box of goodies from Theirry Mugler and I was over the moon!

I can't believe they followed up with another little gift! This I received via The Mugler Circle. Basically, when you buy an Thierry Mugler fragrance product, you are given a code inside the box. When you register your products on The Mugler Circle website, you add up points and are often sent offers and gifts.

Found this little envelope in the mail today!:

Let's Take A Look Inside:

I received a Boudoir Sachet!

How awesome! Basically, the directions are to spray the sachet with perfume (preferably Angel!) and hang it in your closet or drawer.

Hitting it out of the ballpark again Angel! This was an awesome little surprise- Thank you!!

I have also signed on for Beauty Box 5!

Last night, I wrote about how I was signing up for GlossyBox with the funds that I will no longer be using from Escape Monthly.

Since GlossyBox was so much more in expensive than Escape Monthly, I decided to use the rest of the funds to experiment with Beauty Box 5! I don't know much about the boxes and I kind of want to keep it that way!

Here's some info about Beauty Box 5!

What it is: Beauty Box 5
Where to get it: beautybox5.com
How much is it?: $12 monthly with 3 month and annual subscriptions available
Types of Products: Each box contains 5 luxury deluxe or full sized beauty products.
What are the Perks?!: Beauty Box 5 is relatively new, they are working on rolling out a referral program shortly!

I was too late to get the November box. But I DO have a coupon to receive it! To receive the previous month's Beauty Box 5, the coupon code is FREEBOX1

Yay!

I have switched to GlossyBox!

In my last post, I candidly outlined my hasty retreat from Escape Monthly.

Having the weight of such an erratic and expensive box off of my shoulders is a big relief for me. Being in the infancy of my blog and really just beginning to delve into the blogging world- the cost was not worth the return on investments for me.

I am able to feed my need for subscription boxes by gifting and reselling items that I do not use or swatch. Escape Monthly was supposed to be my "fun" box. To share my unboxings with the world and the snacks with my fiance. It ended up that the value just wasn't there and with so many broken, wrong, and misrepresented items- I just couldn't do it any more.

But, when one door closes, another door opens! Cutting costs nearly in half, I decided to subscribe to GlossyBox for now. If you haven't heard of GlossyBox, here's some info:

What it is: GlossyBox is a monthly luxury beauty subscription box.
Where to get it: GlossyBox.com
How much is it?: $21.00 + tax monthly
Types of Products: Each box contains 5 luxury deluxe or full sized beauty products.
What are the Perks?!: Write reviews, refer friends, and take surveys to add up GlossyDots. 1000 GlossyDots earns you a free month of GlossyBox!

Now, I would like to leave a disclaimer that I am (and you should be aware) that GlossyBox has had some shipping issues as a late. But, I want to give this box a chance because I feel it may be worth it!

I signed up in time to receive the Glossy Box November 2014 box. That being said, with the issues mentioned above- I don't hold my breath in regards to actually receiving this box and I may have to wait for December to write a review. But, fingers crossed that I can get a review out to the world sooner rather than later!

Anyways! Here's to new reviews! 

Escape Monthly November 2014: Hawaii Unboxing!

What it is: Subscription box with items from all around the world. 
Where to get it: EscapeMonthly.com
How much is it?: It used to be $39.99, now it is $49.99. They often offer $10 coupons
Types of Products: Snacks, Beauty Products, Souvenirs, Gift Items and Toys from around the world.
What are the Perks?!: $10 off coupon + monthly entry for a vacation voucher.

Escape Monthly November 2014: Hawaii 

Unboxing and Review!

It is a sad day... This will be my very final Escape Monthly Box. Part of me is sorry to say good bye after only a few months of exploring different parts of the world. But, most of me is resigned to the fact that this box is just not worth it anymore. I will fully explain at the end of this unboxing review.

Let's Take A Look...

Upon Opening:

Ok, this looks a little weak. But, it's Hawaii, stuff's expensive there! Let's see what we got!

Our Menu:

1. Moon Hawaii Travel Guide: Listed at $19.95

2. Honey Girl Organics Gift Bundle: Listed at $38.00

3. Personal Paradise Noni Papaya Pineapple Body Wash: Listed at $3.00

4. Personal Paradise Noni Papaya Pineapple Body Lotion: Listed at $3.00

5. Kona Glazed Macadamia Nut Bag: Listed at $6.00

6. Royal Hawaiian Orchards Papaya-Lime Crunch: Listed at $6.00

7. Hawaiian Rainforest Naturals Stress Release Bath Crystals: Listed at $4.00

8. Bonus Seashell Lei: Listed at $10.00

1. Moon Hawaii Travel Guide:

Listed at $19.95

As opposed to last month's travel guide that was listed at $19.99 and ended up retailing for $12.99, I was actually able to find this listed for $19.99 on Moon's website.

But, all in all, I am just stacking up travel guides that I most likely never use in reality that have a very low resale value on Amazon.

2. Honey Girl Organics Gift Bundle: 

Listed at $38.00

Oh boy. I received a full sized Honey Girl Face and Eye Cream that is available on Amazon for $33.99 and on the Honey Girl Website for $32.99. Though, the listing is in red- so it may be on sale. And, a tiny sample of Honey Girl Night Creme. 

At least these two items technically make up for the cost of the box. Though, I don't see how they add up to $38.00...

**I want to add an edit- I do not think this is the full-sized product as it has been advertised**

3. Personal Paradise Noni Papaya Pineapple Body Wash: 

Listed at $3.00

Soooooo Escape Monthly actually sent me the shampoo instead of the body wash. This would be ok if this wasn't like, the 5th time this has happened. I have tried to err on the side of being optimistic and supportive of my subscription box companies. I am honestly kicking myself for not mentioning this in past reviews. But, this has also occurred in boxes I have received well before I started blogging here.

Also, with some sleuthing work, I was able to find out that the full sized bottle of shampoo is $9.95. So, the sample price seems about right. However, I was also able to find out that this size and product is typically given in Westin Hotel rooms as complimentary body products... o_O

4. Personal Paradise Noni Papaya Pineapple Body Lotion: 

Listed at $3.00

I actually did receive the body lotion though. 

5. Hawaiian Host Kona Glazed Macadamia Nut Bag: 

Listed at $6.00

This was the highlight of the box to me. The macadamia nuts were delicious. My particular bag was glazed with Kona coffee. Which I loved. They were also listed for $6.00 on the Hawaiian Host website.

Though, I have to say, I'm gotta to be careful with these- the fat content is out of control!

6. Royal Hawaiian Orchards Papaya-Lime Crunch: 

Listed at $6.00

This was actually another mistake I got in the box. Instead of Papaya-Lime crunch, I received Kona Coffee Banana Macadamia Crunch.

Whatever, I thought this would taste better than Papaya-Lime anyway. But, I did feel like they were slightly overdoing it with the Coffee/Macadamia situation. I rationalized it like- I love coffee, I love banana, I love macadamia nuts. Who am I took complain?

I just apparently don't like the combination of these 3 things together because I didn't enjoy this snack at all. And, I mean, I had a melt down about how much I love cookies last month... You have to pretty low on the snack totem to get a thumbs down from me. Oh well, I can't win 'em all.

7. Hawaiian Rainforest Naturals Stress Release Bath Crystals: 

Listed at $4.00

The Hawaiian Rainforest Naturals website has this listed nefarious for $4.00 but what seems to be a perpetual sale of $2.80

I can dig these. I like bath salts. They smell pretty good. And, it will be used. I can dig it.

8. Bonus! Seashell Lei: 

Listed at $10.00

I still don't get these "bonus" items. They're always listed well overpriced souvenirs that look like something you would purchase quickly for a coworker that you despise but have to keep face with.

This time, I received a broken and mangled shell necklace... Ok... And, I would literally be angry at anyone I know who would pay $10 for this item.

I'm really at a loss for words in regards to voicing my reasons for ending my Escape Monthly subscription and reviews for everyone. Although every reasoning I have had I can definitely foresee counter arguments for. But, I'll break it down in a list to give an overall feel for why I chose to opt out.

1. Pricing, Billing, and Shipping: Escape Monthly is not a cheap subscription box. It is by far, the most expensive sub box that I personally subscribe to at this time and I have the $10 discount coupon. It is enough that I spent $40 on items of this quality. But, it would be another to spend $50. It is often the very first sub that I am billed for at the beginning of the month- kind of like the clock strikes 12 and the funds are gone. However, it remains to this day, the last box that I receive at the very end of each month. There has always been quite a large discrepancy between the date I get a shipping email and the actual date of shipping and date I receive the product. As an Ebay seller, I would imagine that I would receive quite a bit of negative feedback if items I sold arrived week(s) after apparent shipping date.  
2. Mistakes: Everybody makes mistakes! I totally get it. And, I'm totally okay with receiving an incorrect item. Hindsight being 20-20, I now realize that I should have been completely transparent and candid that I have received many mistakes in my Escape Monthly boxes. This is my first real attempt at writing a blog and there is a learning curve. That's my mistake! I have never had a missing item from Escape Monthly. But, the misrepresented items did rack up and that is cause for concern. In my first box, I received 2 body washes instead of a body wash and body lotion. I rationalized it that there will probably be oversights on products from time to time- I psychologically gave E.M an out and didn't even realize it. But, if you compare this with all my other subs- some of which I have been a subscriber of for over 2 years- I have never received ANY mistake items! Missing- yes, broken- absolutely, off or bad - once or twice. It's just the consistent oversight that every box I have ever received from them had an error.
1. Paris: Two body washes instead of a body wash/body lotion.
2. Puerto Rico: Expired plantain chips.
3. London: Two dry oils instead of one (that I wrote about favorably). That upon opening later on were leaking and cracked at the top of BOTH!
4. Hawaii: Shampoo instead of body wash, wrong/double flavored snacks, broken necklace.
3. Quality of Products/Overall box: There are a few philosophies of thought in regards to the value of subscription boxes. Most of the rabble you hear is arguments for/against the value of a specific month sub box value. I'm a big picture type of girl and never throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think Ipsy is a great example of this. Ipsy is inexpensive and also seemingly random in regards to product distribution. Some months I get items that I love that are worth the full $10 or more. Other months, there might be only one item I love and it's worth less than, say, $4. Or, I may be initially disappointed then find a product I love. It evens out and at worse, I'm stuck with some items I can resell on Ebay to make some money back or I can trade the items for something I may want on the Ipsy website. I just don't feel that E.M. has found their niche yet for creating a comprehensive monthly escape box. The execution just isn't there yet. Money is wasted on the travel guides. Some boxes will maintain an even cost of items. Some cheap, some more expensive, some in between, etc. Other boxes, like this month, will completely be lopsided with one expensive item and cheap snacks and free shampoos. There's no consistency with product.
4. Misrepresentation/Box "Padding": Void all arguments of discount purchases from wholesale to our "retail" sub boxes. If it is not obvious to you, sub boxes make a lot of their profit from buying mass amounts of an items at low wholesale prices then reselling to the consumer at a more fitting retail cost. That being said, as the consumer, we are not obligated to sit and count up the retail value of the cost of a sample of an item then count that into the cost of an overall sub box to rationalize our expense. But, I always felt I had to do this with Escape Monthly. I just didn't trust the company. I would look at an item and say to myself, "Hey now. This cost just doesn't add up..." Upon researching, it was fairly transparent to me that EM was padding a lot of their products to give the box more value. Having a $13 book listed at $19, complimentary hotel soaps listed at $3 dollars, or toy cars listed at $12 when you could easily look up the manufacturer and find the item for less than $5, put a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not saying it's fraud. I wouldn't miss the $12 die cast buggy if it wasn't included. But, it's pretty insulting to try to convince me my box has a much overall high value and worth due to item padding. Yes, you can argue that I may spend over $40/$50 if I bought all those items individually. But, I wouldn't buy an item from a shop owner if it's tagged at $4 and he willy-nilly just decides to charge me $12 because he feels that's the value of it that day. For most sub boxes this works the opposite. You spend $10, get maybe $15-$25 worth of retail priced items and they back that claim with product/price break down that is fairly transparent. EM does the opposite by completing making up their price per product list to create a nonexistent value. Most subbers I know are aware and expect a sub box value to be OVER the actual the amount that they are spending- that's why they sub. Yes, I may be getting "$50" worth of items back with EM. But, that's if for what I've seen. The additional extras are fake. 

If you made it this far, congrats! You have a better attention span than I do. All in all, I will have to give Escape Monthly's Novmember 2014: Hawaii Box a 5/10. It was a fun box. But, with too many misplaced, broken, and lopsided items- I felt I was pushed to say good bye for now! 

StarLooks StarBox November 2014: Mineral Inspired Unboxing

What it is: StarLooks.com is a newer cosmetics company that has a monthly StarBox

Where to get it: starbox.starlooks.com
How much is it?: $15.00 monthly + tax
Types of Products: High end, cruelty free cosmetics
What are the Perks?!: Starlooks.com just recently rolled out a points program where every $ spent on the site equals 1 point used towards discounts on their site.

StarLooks StarBox November 2014: Mineral Inspired 

Unboxing and Review!

Woo! Starlooks coming in for the win this month! Last month, I was really disappointed with only receiving a brow set, which I do not need. Oh man though, they totally made up for it this month!

Let's take a look!

Upon Opening:

Our menu and special holiday insert:

I'm already excited for next month!

1. Longwear Matte Lip Liner in Terri's Choice:

Full Sized Listed at $14

Ok, I'm not a lip liner person. But, the liner is a new, unique color. Instead of staying in the prototypical color shade zone. For a $15 box, to get a full sized $14 lip product right off the bat, I'm cool with that.

2. Cosmetic Glitter in Quartz

Full Sized Listed at $18

THIS is the type of stuff Ipsy should have sent with their glitter bag this month. So, I'm insanely happy I was able to get an item like this at all this month. Starlooks suggests the cosmetic glitter can be mixed with primer to create a sparkly gel liner or mixed with polish, among other uses. 

The glitter has nice pink and silver undertones and has a nice shine. I think it may even work mixed with a little gloss for some lip shine!

3. Long Weat Pot Eye Liner in Star Dust

Full Sized listed at $16

I was SO happy to get this liner in Star Dust. The other option would have been Wyld, which is a brown tone.

Since Urban Decay has discontinued my light silver every day shadow (Strip)- I've been desperately in search of a replacement. And, I think I found it here!

4. Bonus! Surprise pink rhinestones just for fun!

In reality, I probably won't use these. But, they were a fun surprise!

I'm going to have to say, this is what I look for in a perfect subscription box. Although I'm not going to use all these products, there was a nice selection of different and NEW things to try. Starlooks had a theme this month and followed through with it nicely. The contents of the box was worth the $15 topped out at $48! And, there was a nice little extra surprise too!

This month, I am going to give Starlook's StarBox a 10/10 for being absolutely fabulous and fun!