
I’m no longer relying on my phone (my laziness) for photos anymore. The amount of phone photos on this blog in the last year has been obnoxious. Especially when I live surrounded by excellent camera equipment. So no more!
Anyway, here we are again, with my endless Birchbox subscription. I am quite literally a month behind reviewing these products. The next box should be at my door any day now and I am just getting to this post. But this time things will be a smidge different. I’ll talk about the new products, but I’m also going to share with you what I actually use. But we’ll get to that. First the box:

This body wash smells AMAZING. I am generally a bar soap person but this immediately made me feel like I was staying in a fancy hotel. And that feeling is what I’m going for in every aspect of my life. Does this product (any product – home decoration, wardrobe, soap, etc) make me feel like a fancy lady in a castle? Excellent!
The only issue is that I don’t feel like the body wash really does anything for me except smell divine. I am a dry skin person and I need gentle, moisturizing, natural soaps. I am a dainty flower and I must be treated as such! So as amazingly delicious smelling as this is, I’m not going to actually buy it. But you should! Also an excellent scent for men! I recommend it, even if I’m not willing to pay for it.

I cannot fully express to you how much I adore shampoo, conditioning, all things hair. So whenever I get a shampoo sample, it is with great joy. Unfortunately, this product was the exact opposite of the body wash. I didn’t even use it, when I opened the shampoo packet and poured it on my hand in the shower the smell was so medicinal, so after shave-y, so gross, that I quickly rinsed it off my hand and hoped the smell wouldn’t linger there. This shampoo/conditioner combo gets a big fat FAIL.

Supergoop! What a fun name. So, around the time I started experimenting with this box of products I also started using my brand new Smashbox BB cream (Finally!!). My thoughts on that will come a little later, but I have found that this is a great layered underneath the BB cream for additional sun protection and moisture. I really like this. It’s not oily and it gives me more sun protection than a 10 or 15 block which is in most daily moisturizers. It would be a great option for layering under mineral makeup as well (I think, it’s definitely worth a shot either way).
Once this runs out, I think I may actually buy some for semi-every day use. Two thumbs up.


An eye pencil! Yay!! Maybe I will now officially be able to do my beloved (yet elusive) cat eye! This eye pencil glided on amazingly well, shockingly well. I’m used to using darker powders for a smudgy (and rather forgiving) look, and this went on straight and true the very first swipe.
Unfortunately, I tried it about 10 minutes before I had to get the whole family in the car and off to daycare and work. I don’t know if I am entirely comfortable with the harshness of a black liner. It may also be that I am a moron and it looked terrible. It did kind of look ridiculous. I need someone to hold my hand and show me how to do it. But also maybe with a grey? I’m not sure. It just felt so brash and over the top.
The good/bad news is that it was a BITCH To come off. Holy hell. I had to scrub at it and apply multiple applications of coconut oil (my go-to for stubborn makeup removal now) all while Kamel was calling to me that, “Lauren! We’re going to be late!” I was two seconds away from running out the door with 1 eye all fucked up from a botched eye-liner removal. So yay long lasting? Just don’t fuck it up… But ultimately I just don’t feel like I’m ready for an undertaking like: Real person eyeliner.

Now then!! I wanted to talk to you about the products I actually do use. Things have changed quite a lot from when I started this experiment. I am, though it may not seem so with the above reviews, actually way more comfortable with makeup and products in general. So, everything above is everything I use fairly regularly. I wear this stuff to work, not just on the rare rare fancy occasion. A year ago I would wear mascara, maybe some powder and that’s it. And there is nothing wrong with that at all, that’s still what I wear sometimes, but the reason I wasn’t wearing anything else wasn’t because I didn’t want to – it was because I wasn’t comfortable with it. I’ve learned that makeup is fun, not scary. And that’s a big step for me.

So, first – the item I’ve been lusting after for quite awhile. The Smashbox BB Cream in very pasty. Actually, I think it is called “Light.”

It’s hilarious because it looks like a concealer in this picture, but it really isn’t. It does smooth out any darkness around my eyes, and generally evens out m complexion. I tend to have some unevenness, especially if I’m tired and this helps brighten me up a bit without being 1) complicated or 2) too heavy.
The first time I used it I definitely used too much. With BB/CC creams it really depends on the product how much you need to squeeze out. So for my face I need a little more than what is shown above and that’s it. I’ve also noticed that it can be a little drying for me, so using a light light light lotion, either blended in with the BB cream or as a base layer works best for me. And then if I am feeling ambitious I’ll finish it off with a multi-tonal powder, but I don’t find it overly necessary.
It’s pretty expensive and I don’t know if I like it more than the Olay one I had been using before, honestly. I might try the Garnier option that someone mentioned in comments just to compare. I mean, Smashbox clearly makes a good product, but I’m not interested in using it like a concealer, I just need something to rub around on my face to make me look a smidge better than I do when I roll out of bed. This does, but… I don’t know, I feel like it isn’t quite “everything I need in 1 bottle.” I do like it, but I’m not 100% there yet. Does anyone else have experience with Smashbox BB cream? Did it live up to your expectations?


This is an eye shadow sample my mom got in her free gift bag with purchse. I love it. I use it for a smoky look all of the time. Although – I don’t really know what to use the pink for. I worry it would make me look crazed. Thoughts? I’m assuming it is a highlighter for the crease of your eye but it intimidates me.


For Chistmas I asked for, basically, a bareMinerals starter kit and these eyeshadows were in it. I love the gold, I love the brown, they are perfect and I love love love me some bareMinerals.

Speaking of Christmas, I also got a Clinique face wash and lotion gift set. I use the face wash with my Clairsonic and it is the greatest. It smells really really good and is gentle on my sensitive skin and it does a fantastic job. Clinic lotion is classic. It can be a little heavy, but with my dry skin I’m cool with it. Plus I alternate with the BB cream, or I mix them together, or I go with the Supergoop, depending on the weather.
If you’re looking to upgrade your face wash/lotion routine (I was, I felt like it was time for some grownup shit), I highly recommend.

This is the greatest lip gloss/chapstick thingy ever. EVER!!!!!! And I don’t even like Rose scented stuff!

It has a little tint, which is very much welcome in my life, and it is incredibly smooth, not overly thick, and I just ordered 2 more kinds because this lives on my nightstand but I also want one for my desk at work and my purse. Ba. Bam. It’s happening. Anyone who lives chapstick as much as I do…. don’t even hesitate! Go buy this right now! It can be hard to find in real life but I found it here. Does anyone else use this? I know it can also be good for your hands, too.

Mascara! bareMinerals again. I love this because of its brush head. I find it a little clumpy so I’m still kind of bouncing around between a few, but this is my every day standard.

Look at that spiral. it’s just so cool to me, and it does a pretty good job, better than a standard brush head, that’s for sure. But the clumping. I just recently wiped it off and things have been better since this picture was taken but still… it can be kind of annoying.

And last, but not least, some Moxie lip gloss. I don’t use it that often because it wears off and I don’t feel like reapplying. But! I use it probably a few times a week. I just feel like the color and the application head and how long it lasts makes it a way superior lip gloss, and I have used some expensive damn lip glosses for weddings and stuff. This one kicks their butts. But I am also starting to feel like I want to move away from the gloss world and use a lip pencil with some of the rosebud stuff over the top of it, or just something a little longer lasting and a little more subtle.
To be honest, the whole lip stain thing I was trying to make happen a few months ago just never took off. It does dry out my lips and I don’t feel like I can maintain it while I’m at work. Suggestion? I’m kind of afraid of lipsticks, I worry they will be like the eye liner and overpower me and make me feel like a clown. Even though! I feel like they look amazing on 80% of women who wear them…. 20% not so much. Maybe I am just in the 20%…
So, what are your go-to every day products? What has changed for you in the last year in regards to your routine? Have you taken any risks? Have any of them been a success long enough to stick around? We little over half way through this product journey and I’m hoping I can still roll out a few more new discoveries in the months to come.