Ipsy April 2014

As I mentioned previously, my Ipsy bag arrived the same time as my Birchbox.  The theme for Ipsy this month is "beauty rocks."   Here is what was included in my bag.

Here is the bag itself.  It's not one of my favorites compared to previous make-up bags.

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Eyeliner (full size: $20, sample value: $15)

I love a good eyeliner that glides on easily and this brand.  This will make smokey eyes even easier!

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant (full size: $78, sample value: $9.75)

This is another brand I've enjoyed previous products from.  I look forward to trying this deep cleanser.

Elizabeth Mott pop! Goes the Shadow in Champagne (full size!!!!  $12.99)

Full sized items are awesome!  I'm pretty set in the eyeshadow department thanks to the amazing palate in the pop sugar box, so I'll save this for when I'm running out.  

Big Sexy Hair Root Pump (full size: $17.95, sample value: $2.71)

I'm only recently been blowing out my hair more myself.  This mousse has great reviews and I'm excited to get a little volume going!

Starlooks Nude Lip Liner (full size!!!! - $14)

Lip liners just aren't for me.   I appreciate the full sized item though!

Even though I'm not particularly fond of this months bag design, this was a very diverse and high value bag ($54.45) and I'm excited to try many of these items.  Ipsy seems to be more makeup heavy than Birchbox and is definitely a great deal for $10/month!

Interested in trying Ipsy?  Please use my referral link! http://www.ipsy.com/r/5iay

#ipsy

Birchbox April 2014

This month my Birchbox and Ipsy bag arrived on the same day!  I've seen some other bloggers compare the two in a single post, but I'm going to keep them separate.

The theme for April's Birchbox is "Rainy Days."  With the crazy weather lately, it should have been "unpredictable days" but my input isn't asked for when the box theme's are decided.  ;-)  It included a little numbered card with a tip for rainy day activities.  I got tip #7 which was to read a book.  While not super original, it is a good idea.  

Here is my April box:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel (full size: $22, sample value: $6.68)

I'm a bushy eyebrow gal who threads regularly.  I've never used brow gel before, but I do admit this helps make them appear super neat and uniform.  A fun sample, but not something I plan to add to the beauty regimen.  

BeeKind Body Lotion (full size: $15, sample value: $1.90)

This lotion is made of honey and chamomile, but has a VERY strong flowery scent.  Not really my style (and I have lots of lotions right now).  This will go in the gift/trade pile.

Davines Oi Shampoo and Oi Conditioner (full size: $26/$32, sample value: $1.11/$1.54)

Not a fan of foil packet samples, but it is always nice to try a new shampoo and conditioner.  These will be good to take on a weekend trip away.  

Shea Terra Organics Rose Hips Black Soap Facial Cleanser (full size: $16, sample value: $4)

I've read some amazing reviews of the black soap from Shea Terra so I was super excited to try this.  The consistency is a little thick and reminded me of molasses.  I wasn't really a fan of the smell.  It definitely cleaned my face, but it felt a little too "squeaky clean" when I finished.  This won't be a cleanser I use again.  I'm glad I tried it without having a full size!

Kind Snacks Healthy Grains Bar ($11.88 for 15 bars, sample value: $0.79 (1 bar)

My bar was the Maple Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt (I use the past tense because I enjoyed this pretty much right away).  It was delicious and not as sweet as many of the other Kind Bars I've had in the past.

Overall this is one of the most disappointing Birchboxes I've had in a while.  The value was on the lower side ($16.02) and I'm not thrilled about any of the items.  Hopefully next month will be better.

What did other people get in their April Birchboxes?  

Interested in trying Birchbox?  Please use my referral link!  https://www.birchbox.com/invite/vnw45

#birchbox

Popsugar Must Have Box April 2014

It's definitely officially spring!  As usual my Popsugar Must Have Box was one of the first to arrive this month and also as usual, it didn't disappoint.

Here is this months box:

Must Have Fashion
Blueavocado (Eco) Shopper (retail: $25)
I love foldable bags like this.  They make perfect beach bags or extra bags to take on vacation.  This one is a nice size, is supposedly easy to wipe clean, and I love the cute flower pattern. 

Must Have Beauty
Too Faced Natural eyes (retail: $36)
This is my favorite item in the box!  I was actually looking at this palate at sephora about a week ago.  I love different shades of brown for daily wear and I love that it comes with instructions for different looks.

Must Have Home
Graphic Image Pocket Notes (retail: $20)
Most of my note taking is done on my iPhone, but sometimes it's nice to write down notes by hand.  It's the perfect size to fit in a purse.

Caldrea Rosewater Driftwood Hand Soap (retail: $10.50)
This soap has a pleasant scent without being overpowering.  I like getting full sized daily supply items like this.

Fresh Pastry Stand Totally Awesome Tea Towel Set (retail: $18)
This is my least favorite item in the box.  These are two tea-towels.  Tea towels are meant to be used to keep pastries in a basket warm or to gently dry/polish hand washed items such as silver.  I don't really have a use for even plain tea towels really and these just really aren't my style.  These will go in the gift pile.

Must Have Food
Naturebox Popsugar Must Have Mix (retail: $5)
I used to subscribe to naturebox, but then we decided to just start buying our own snacks.  This trail mix was specifically made for pop sugar and includes almonds, soybeans, corn, and cranberries.  Sounds delicious!

This was another great Must Have box.  The total value is ~$114 which is amazing.  Even though the tea towels aren't a winning item for me, everything else is definitely worth getting excited over.

What did other people think of the April Popsugar Must Have Box?

Interested in trying Popsugar Must Have?  Please use my referral link!  http://popsu.gr/ndbC

#popsugar
#popsugarmusthave

Blue Apron 3/31/14

Blue Apron is Back!  Looks like the Plated vs. Blue Apron battle of meal delivery will continue for a while.  After doing Plated for the past few weeks, we decided to give Blue Apron a try again now that we have the option to have meat/chicken dishes in addition to the vegetarian ones.  

Here is what we enjoyed this week!

3-Chile Beef Chili

There are so many chili recipes out there, so I was expecting this to be just a standard chili dish.  This recipe went a step beyond the chili I've made in the past by including 3 varieties of roasted chiles.  There was a nice level of spice and the flavor was amazing.  An added bonus was that the recipe made 3 servings so I got to enjoy it for lunch the next day!

Roasted Chicken with Jalapeño Herb Salsa

Lots of chopping to make this salsa!  This was the first time I made salsa and included the seeds of the jalapeño, but the spiciness was nicely paired down with the citrus.  My "supreming" skills for segmenting the grapefruit is still a work in progress.  Overall a great dish, but our least favorite of the week.

Spaghetti with Zucchini and Pistachio-Spinach Pesto

This was our vegetarian replacement to the seafood option this week.  I love zucchini and pesto, so I knew this would be a winner.  There was lots of chopping involved to make the pesto (chopping pistachios isn't easy!), but it was worth it!

This was a great menu to be reintroduced to Blue Apron.  The quality between the two services is equal (both are amazing).  I think the serving sizes from Blue Apron tend to be a bit larger and that there are more ingredients for many of the recipes.  D and I are going to continue going weekly deciding which service we go for based on what is being offered.  Be on the lookout for another Blue Apron week ahead for this week!

#blueapron

Plated 3/24

We had an amazing plated week this week.  As usual, great variety and super high quality ingredients.  We are going to take a little break the next couple of weeks and return to our BlueApron roots now that they have an option to customize our menu to include meat and poultry dishes.  Having more options every week is a good problem to have.

Here is what we enjoyed the week of 3/24.

Chicken Souvlaki Pitas with Tzatziki and Greek Salad
This was delicious.  The chicken was super tender and flavorful and I loved having a greek salad that didn't include olives (which I don't like).  Anytime a recipe includes Tzatziki I'm on board.

Dijon Pork Medallions with Broccolini and Smashed Potatoes 
The pork was perfectly tender.  This recipe instructed to make the smash potatoes using only olive oil, salt, and pepper.  D and I were both impressed how creamy they were!

Risotto with Roasted Radicchio, Mushrooms, and Lemon
Making risotto is always more labor intensive due to the constant stirring, but this was worth it.  The radicchio had a nice bitter flavor that was subdued by a honey glaze and acid from the lemon.

It's great to take our break on such a high note.  We'll definitely be back to plated in a couple weeks I'm sure!

Interested in trying plated?  Please use my referral link and we'll each get 2 free plates! https://www.plated.com/invites/c68767

#plated
#platedpics

Rocksbox #13

As I've mentioned in previous posts, Rocksbox definitely seems to have my style mastered at this point.  The past few boxes have been amazing and this 13th set is no exception.  Here are the pieces I'll be rocking for the next couple of weeks!

Raindrop Earrings in Turquoise by Urban Gem (Retail: $46, Member Price: $36.80)

I love the color of these and they aren't too heavy.  They are a bit too large to wear to work, but they are a great way to get spring started with a pop of color.

Five Station Necklace in Cobalt by House of Harlow 1960 (Retail: $75, Member Price: $60)

This is another necklace I had checked in my online style profile.  Excited to find the right outfit to wear it with!

Sophia Cuff in Orchid by Loren Hope (Retail $78, Member Price: $62.40)

Bracelets are usually the item I wear the least of, but this cuff compliments my manicure perfectly.  It was a nice statement to all my black orchestra outfit for my concert yesterday.

Overall this is another great box.  As usual, the pieces are a little too trendy for me to want to invest in, but I'm excited to enjoy wearing them for a few weeks!

Interested trying Rocksbox?  Please use my referral link!  http://curebit.com/x/eUs8Yp

#rocksbox

Stitch Fix #6

I recently decided to revisit stitch fix after realizing I need some new items once I finally put away my sweaters (which will hopefully be soon).  This time, I was very clear that I didn't want to be sent any items from the brand that just wasn't working for me.  

My stylist this time was "Noemi" and she focused on choosing items that would make good transition pieces as the weather starts to get warmer.  

Here is what was in my fix:

Corinna Striped Dolman Top by Pomelo

This top is a light weight sweater that will be perfect as the temperatures start to warm up.  I love how the shape is loose-fitting but still has a shape to it.  Status: Kept

Daniella Lace Detail Cinch Waist Blouse by Collective Concepts

I had complained about previous blouses being "too boxy" so this was the solution Noemi mentioned in  her note.  I like the bright blue color, but I wish the cinch sat a little lower on my torso to define my waist.  It was interesting to try though.  Status: Returned

Ivy Colorblock Tab-Sleeve Blouse by Pomelo

Different brand, same problem.  This blouse is too boxy and definitely designed for someone who is bustier than I am.  Status: Returned

Cliff Solid Roll-Tab Henley Knit Shirt by Tart

This top wasn't boxy, but the fit seemed to be for someone with bulging shoulder muscles.  Status: Returned

Jude Nautical Print Maxi Dress by Tart

I only discovered how amazing maxi dresses are a year or two ago.  They are probably the most comfortable thing to wear on a hot day and that still makes you look super stylish.   This dress is amazing.  I love how the top fits and how nicely it drapes.  Status: Kept

This is the first time I've kept two items from a fix.  The set was definitely worth the $20 styling fee (which was put towards the items I kept).  I was thrilled to see my feedback was seemingly taken into account when these items were chosen.  Now it needs to warm up a bit so I can wear my new dress!  :-)

Interested in trying stitch fix?  Please use my referral link!  https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3184070

#stitchfix