Mary Lauren Anderson
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March Birchbox Review

4/2/2017

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Hi friends! Many years ago, when Birchbox, and then Ipsy, and then a slew of other beauty sample boxes came out, I was eager to sign up. For a mere $10, I could get about 5 products delivered right to my door, that felt like a monthly “present” (that I paid for). Who doesn’t love presents? I started with Birchbox–at the time, their products were a bit too high end and not really matched for my needs. After a few months, I made the switch to Ipsy, which offered a great mix of higher end brands(Benefit, Stila, etc.) with drugstore brands that were more affordable. The products were closer matched to things i’d actually purchase, but after receiving one too many glitter eye liners, I threw in the towel and spent that $10 on products I actually wanted. Now, a few years later, with a little more change in my pocket, I decided to give Birchbox another shot. I updated my preferences, and soon enough, a box was on it’s way to me. A bit has changed since the last time around, and they now give you the option of a surprise box, or a curated box (where you can see the products ahead of time) every month. A couple of the products in the curated box caught my eye, so I went with that.

So what was in the box?
  1. Benefits Cosmetics the POREfessional Face Primer
  2. Davines Ol All in One Milk
  3. Davines OI Shampoo - Absolute Beautifying Shampoo for All Hair Types
  4. Davines OI Conditioner - Absolute Beautifying Conditioner for All Hair Types
  5. R+Co DALLAS Thickening Spray
  6. ARROW BOOST Color Enhancing Lip Balm
  7. Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Silky Cream - Normal to Dry Skin

So what did I like? Let me start by saying that I am not paid in any way for my feedback of these products, and as a New York City lady with limited space, something has got to be really great for me to keep it.

I’ll start with the good–
  1. R+Co DALLAS Thickening Spray ($28) - this was one of the reasons I got the curated box. Thickening sprays can often go the way of heavy and sticky, or not at all effective, and I’m happy to report that this is neither. I use about 4-5 spritzes at my roots, and this lightweight formula really helps give my fine hair a little extra oomph, and the smell is divine.
  2. ARROW BOOST Color Enhancing Lip Balm ($14) - This was another one I was really looking forward to. I love a similar product from Dior, that uses your own pH levels to get the perfect shade of pink, and while the Dior is great, the price tag is not. I am very happy to report that this product didn’t disappoint! I’d call it a dupe for Dior’s Lip Addict Glow, and it’s half the price. Gives my lips that perfect pink color, with a little glossy but not sticky shine. The sample was also full size. This has already become a staple in my makeup bag. I’d call that a win.
  3. Davines Ol All in One Milk ($32) - Another promising product that I was excited to try, but I have mixed reviews. First off, the smell is DIVINE. If it was slightly less expensive, I’d buy for the smell alone. But how’s the product? I’ve used it on both air-dried and blown-dry hair, with very different results. As a blow-dry aid, it’s lovely. It makes my hair very brushable, and adds a great softness and shine. However, when used on my hair that was left to air dry, it didn’t seem to do much. My hair may have been a bit softer, but it was frizz city, and didn’t do anything for texture.

Ok, let’s go into the not as great.
  1. Davines OI Shampoo - Absolute Beautifying Shampoo for All Hair Types ($29)and Davines OI Conditioner - Absolute Beautifying Conditioner for All Hair Types ($36) - So let me preface this with saying two things–first off, these samples were teeny tiny and I got about 1.5 uses out of them, which is hardly a fair trial period, and secondly, if I’m going to spend over $60 on shampoo and conditioner, I better walk out of the shower with the best hair of my life. Guess what? It wasn’t the best hair of my life. It seemed I needed a lot of product, and I saw no noticeable benefits. The smell is heaven (like the milk I mentioned above), but hardly a reason to spend so much on shampoo and conditioner. Suggestion to Davines Ol–please make a candle and/or perfume with that smell. Seriously. It’s. that. Good.

And last, the neutral.
  1. Benefits Cosmetics the POREfessional Face Primer ($31) - I think we’ve all gotten a sample of this at some point. It’s not a bad face primer, but for me, it works the same as my $6 ELF primer. But it is wildly popular, so I’m guessing i’m in the minority here.

But there’s one more! What about Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Silky Cream - Normal to Dry Skin? Well, unfortunately it contains my allergen, Propylene Glycol. And while I’m committed to trying new things, I’m also committed to not knowingly flaring up my skin. It gets great reviews, and one of my friends will be the lucky recipient of this Birchbox sample.

Is anyone out there doing Birchbox? What did you get in your April box? Share in the comments below. And if there’s a product you want me to try, let me know! Stay tuned for the next box.

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Wishing for Spring, but stuck with snow.

2/8/2017

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snowpocalypse 2016
Up here in NYC, we’re enjoying a lovely, warm, 62 degree WINTER day (hi global warming). Despite today’s balmy conditions, the northeast is expecting to get slammed with snow early tomorrow morning. While the thought of a snow day filled with hot chocolate and bagels (can those be paleo?) is nice, the thoughts of upcoming spring things are even nicer. From clothes to beauty to destinations, here are some of the things that I’m most excited about for warmer weather.

  1. Wearing rompers and jumpers all the time. I LOVE a good romper/jumper, and the effortless ease of wearing one on a nice spring day makes me very happy. I just ordered this one from HSN of all places, and am excited to see what it’s like when it arrives. And it was on sale! How could I say no?
  2. Less fussy hair. This past fall I took the plunge and cut my long, long locks to a fashionable lob, and haven’t looked back since. I’ve almost perfected the use of a flat iron with texture spray and hair spray to get “effortless” waves, but once the humidity starts to rise, my desire to use a hot tool drops dramatically. I’m on the hunt for products to accomplish this! Maybe this Moroccanoil Curl Cream or this Bumble and Bumble Curl (Style) Defining Creme.
  3. Travel to fun places. This time last year I was preparing for TWO separate bachelorette weekends, so the thought of taking a vacation for myself was out the window. So far, none of my lady friends are getting hitched this year (sorry not sorry), and the possibility of taking a “me” trip is rising. So far, New Orleans and Savannah are topping my list.
  4. Excellent skin care. Like my hair, I take considerably less time on warm weather makeup, since I know half my face is going to melt off in the NYC subways. I have a pretty solid skin care regime (more to come later), but I like to add in an extra mask or two here and there to really keep my skin clear and glowing. I just picked up Lush’s Catastrophe Cosmetic mask the other day, and HOLY CRAP, it’s amazing. Loaded with antioxidant-rich blueberries and soothing calamine powder, this cleared the tiny pimples I get on my face, and left me with glowing skin. It also smells divine. Seriously, go get it now.
  5. Iced coffee. I know, I know, this really isn’t seasonally specific. While I drink iced coffee year round, I tend to only make it at home when it starts getting warmer out. The Pioneer Woman’s recipe is on point. Don’t want to make that much? Cut the recipe in a quarter, and make in a standard french press-no cheesecloth required!
  6. Outdoor cocktails. My closest friends will tell you that there is really nothing I love more (relatively speaking) than sipping a tasty whiskey or gin cocktail outdoors as soon as the weather perks up. I've already got my short list of places to go ready.

What are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments below!
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Gimme a Lip

1/5/2017

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Here's a not-so-secret secret-I love a full face of makeup. Flawless foundation, well-rested (looking) eyes, long lashes, rosy cheeks-you get the picture. But I've always coveted the looks of women who appear to be wearing little to no makeup, yet somehow look perfect. Maybe their skin is a little dewy, their eyes are a little soft from the lack of black eyeliner rimming their peepers, but they look effortlessly cool.

So when I saw the Glossier ads all over the subway one morning, where all of the women are barefaced with just a hint of brow, concealer, and lip makeup, I was intrigued. If you're not familiar with Glossier, let me give you the briefest of overviews. Launched by beauty blog “Into the Gloss,” they emphasize that "Skincare is essential Makeup is a choice (make good choices)," emphasizing that a good skin care regimen is the foundation of a great looking face. Last spring, they launched Phase II, a small makeup line of brow gel, concealer, and a lip tint. They later launched a couple other products, including an oh-so-dewy highlighter.

Unfortunately (for me), many of their Phase I skin products contain a version of Propylene Glycol*, which I am very allergic to, so I stuck with trying their makeup, specifically Generation G (and also their highlighter, but we’ll focus on that another day).

Glossier describes Generation G as "a new kind of lip color that gives the look and finish of a stain, but that glides on and wears like a tinted balm." They sell 6 different colors-three that are close to "natural" lip shades, and three that offer a bit more of a color pop. After much debate, and telling myself to not just order all six, I decided to start with Cake, a brownish nude that looked flattering on the girl with a similar skin tone to mine on the Glossier website. A few months later, I also picked up Jam and Zip, purply and poppy colors, respectively.

I can honestly say it's different than any other lip product I've ever tried. Imagine lipstick, then take away about half of the moisture, and half of the color. The effect? Buildable, lightweight, sheer-matte coverage. You can see the effects of one swipe and a few more in the photos at the bottom, plus my full lineup of colors.

Generation G isn't really drying, but it isn’t really moisturizing. I tried adding a little lip balm under my first swipe, but I lost the matte finish. It has a pretty good lasting-power, and since it's sheer anyways, a bit of fading isn't that noticeable (specifically with Cake, though the others tend to evenly fade, rather than just on the inner lip ring).

Overall, I'd recommend this if you're looking for an easy way to get a little color on your lips, with very minimal effort. The price tag is a little steep at $18 for a small tube, but I was able to find a 20% off and free shipping code via a quick Google search. Has anyone else tried Generation G or the other products from Glossier? What do you think?

*I'll revisit my allergy to Propylene Glycol in a soon-coming post. If you happen to suffer from this frustrating allergy as well, I'd love to hear from you!

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    Just a girl living in Philadelphia, PA with her two cats, trying to make an ordinary life less ordinary.

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