Subscription Addiction | My Last BB5

Sigh. I'm so glad this is my last experience with BeautyBox5. It was a waste of $12 a month, honestly. I'm beyond frustrated with how hit or miss it was. This is my last month since I canceled in September. They didn't make me regret my decision at all.  I will say I was happy with one product in here. The others were either 'meh' or way off the mark.

Product #1: Lashem Picture Perfect Instant Wrinkle Reducer 
Let me say that I get why people would like this. I really do. But I don't... need this? They say you can use it as a primer if you're not concerned with wrinkles, but why would I use a wrinkle reducer as a primer when I can... I don't know, use a primer?! Fail.

Product #2: Extend Your Beauty Cosmetic Tool

I will say that I saw this on Shark Tank and was excited about it then. It's definitely cool to have this on hand. I will use it. I think they called it the Spatty Daddy? But yes, I'm cool with this. It's a nifty tool I never would have purchased for myself and it's useful.

Product #3: Chapstick Hydration Lock

Reggie got this in her Birchbox as an extra, and she said she liked it, so I'll keep it and try it out as a lip primer. We'll see. I'm not blown away, but it's all right, I guess.

Product #4: Nanacoco Nail Polish in Mermaid Dreams

The thing that weirds me out is all the sticky polish on the side of this. Look at that! It looks USED. You can see little specks on the top too. The color isn't all that bad, but considering I wasn't a fan of the Nanacoco lipgloss I got from BB5, I'm not about to jump for joy with such a... vibrant color? And it still concerns me that the nail polish was all over the freakin' bottle.

Product #5: Bellapierre Cheek and Lip Stain in Pink
I just don't have a use for this. It may be great for someone out there, since Bellapierre is apparently a nice brand. This sort of thing is weird to me. Kind of like the wrinkle reducer slash primer. Use it for what it was intended to be used for... or make it useful for one thing. I know right off that I wouldn't be cool with the application, and that sort of sticky texture on my cheeks? Not really. This may be a great product for someone other than me, but... nope.

I really feel like I'm hating on BB5 unnecessarily. But with piss-poor response times from customer service, boxes that barely recoup the $12/month price (if they do at all), and products that are underwhelming, I'd rather save that $12.

Subscription Addiction: BeautyBox5 should be BeautyBoxZero

First, let me tell you a tale. A tale of a broke graduate student attempting to purchase a gift for a friend. To make a long story short, I ordered some nail polish from the BeautyBox5 shop. Yes, it's cheap. $7 for 4 bottles, one of which they tried to stick in my August box and pass off as fabulous. Immediately after I ordered the set, I emailed customer service, asking if my order could be canceled. My friend already had a set very similar to it. Five days later, I receive a response saying that my order has already been processed, too bad, so sad.

Of course it's already been processed when you respond 5 days later...

With all my disappointment with BeautyBox5, that was the last straw. I emailed them to ask that my subscription be canceled. Another week or so later, I finally received a response. October's BeautyBox5 will be my last. Thank GOD. $12 for this shit? Nopetopus.gif. Allow me to show you what I received in my September BB5.

Product #1: Sally Hansen Toe Spacers

Are you freakin' kidding me? I can get these at CVS as an impulse buy when I'm getting cold medicine. I just think that's kind of a letdown, honestly. Toe. Separators. I sound selfish and whiny when I say that. While I'm not a makeup elitist by any stretch, and I don't mind getting beauty supplies, I'm completely bored by toe separators. They're a stocking stuffer, or something a clueless aunt gets you as part of a "manicure" package with bright green nail polish she thinks you'll like (because of that one manicure she gave you at age ten), even though you're in your mid twenties.

Product #2: Dr. Lin Acne Spot Corrector

I will give this product a thumbs up. One morning recently, I woke up late and didn't have time to do as much makeup as I normally do. I was PMSing pretty bad, and I had a few breakouts on my cheeks and chin area. My students kept asking me if I was sunburned or chemical burned. Ouch. So I used this spot corrector that night and the night after, and it cleared up a pretty big blemish that normally would have been uncomfortable and lingering. So I am pretty thankful for this product. I would say that it is a bit drying, but that's its purpose. Apparently you can use it up to thrice daily (um, what?), but once in the evening works just fine for me.

Product #3: Nicka K Eyelight Crayon

I'm sure as I become more versed in makeup and creative uses for different products, I will appreciate this. But for right now, it's a metallic silver stick that sits in the makeup container on my bathroom counter. I swatched it and it is some METALLIC SILVER stuff as opposed to a subtle sparkle or something like that. Again, it may be something I use in the future, but still. Meh.

Product #4: Natural Style by FUBU Deep Conditioner & Co Wash

So... FUBU? Like the clothing brand, FUBU? Daymond John-Shark Tank-Hip Hop clothing mogul-FUBU? Something is strange here. Who knows, maybe it's an incredible deep conditioner. Maybe it's the greatest conditioner known to man. But, when I think FUBU, I think Daymond John, LL Cool J, etc. I do not think hair care. And hey, maybe Daymond John has assembled a team of experts when it comes to hair care. But, the man is bald. Therefore I don't trust him. Kidding, kidding. I like Daymond John, for the most part. I think he's an innovator and an interesting guy. But with his hands in the hair care industry, I'm not so sure it's a fit. Who knows.

Product #5: My Beauty Spot Nail Polish

Yaaay, it's another nail polish from a set that we're supposed to be in awe of, since the whole set is $24.99! I'll say that the color on this one is pretty (it was a deep purple color), and I love it. I haven't tried it yet, because I have about four similar colors. Yes, it's a pretty color. Yes, purple is my favorite. But I bought a $2 nail polish on clearance at New York and Company the day before in a strikingly similar color, and I'm sure it will serve the same purpose.

Am I being too harsh? Too whiny? BB5 just isn't worth the money for me, especially compared to Ipsy, Birchbox, and Boxycharm. Thoughts?

Subscription Addiction: Is There Another Word I Can Use Besides 'Meh'?

So the beginning of my subscription box addiction came with the arrival of my BeautyBox5. I got my first box for free, which was the August box. Here, I will tell you about it!

Subscription Box: BeautyBox5

Description: Every month we'll send you a mix of makeup, beauty accessories, hair, skincare, fragrance, body, and nail products that we can't get enough of. Our secret? We share products that really work, so you'll receive luxury, drugstore, niche, eco-conscious, and even vegan brands. Whether you're a cosmetic newbie or a beauty guru, identify yourself as adventurous and playful or classy and mature, like to splurge on high-end items or be a savvy spender, we have everything you're looking for.

Pricing: $12/month and free shipping to the US.

Referral Link: Here

I signed up toward the end of the month. So, it's quite possible that I received some of the "leftovers", so to speak. However, because of that, I feel like some of the products I got were... underwhelming to say the least. I already unboxed many of the products, so there won't be as many pictures as there should be. But, I will be sure to link my YouTube video unboxing here for you to watch.

Product #1: Pur-Lisse Sunscreen/Moisturizer (SPF 30)

So for a fair, Irish redhead like me, one would think that this would be making me jump with joy. However, I was kind of under the impression that it would be a moisturizer with some SPF. It smelled just like sunscreen. If I want to use moisturizer as a part of my daily routine, it probably shouldn't smell like sunscreen. I mean, it probably works just fine as a sunscreen, but with summer ending and me living so far from any sort of beach or anything, I just don't see myself using it. But that's not anyone's fault, it was just a miss for me. It was a nice sample size, and I'm sure some people loved it.

Product #2: Nanacoco Lip Gloss (Shade: Popular)

The packaging on this was really nice. It didn't look cheap. It's a relatively inexpensive, accessible brand, but it definitely didn't present itself like that. However, it was so bright pink, it was almost Barbie pink. I love subtle pinks, and even some bright pinks, but that bright hot pink Barbie lip gloss wouldn't work for me. It was also really sticky when I swatched it. I probably couldn't stand having that on my lips for longer than about an hour. Just another miss.

Product #3: LaFresh Oil Free Makeup Remover Wipes (8 wipes)

I've used about half of these so far. They do a good job at getting the surface level makeup off. I still have to go in and use an eye makeup remover to get the rest of my eyeliner/mascara, but I can see a ton of eyeshadow/foundation/whatever on it when I toss the wipe. I've been using it before I go work out in the evenings, and then hopping in the shower to remove the rest of my makeup/get un-sweaty. I would probably repurchase these! This is one I'm happy with, for sure.

Product #4: Style Essentials Nail Polish

Black and sparkly just isn't my thing. On Halloween, sure. But on 364 other days of the year, I don't think I can pull it off. Sparkly nail polish is a beeyotch to get off, and most of the time, I would just rather not wear it than use something sparkly. If it were a different color, I would probably give it a shot, at least, but the black nail polish just wasn't going to be my jam.

Product #5: Novex Brazilian Keratin Hair Mask

So, this product was from another country/in another language? I'm not sure if it was Portuguese, or something similar. But the language that was primarily used on the package was not English. I'm okay with not 100% made in the USA products, but I'm not sure I would even have been able to repurchase the product if I loved it. On top of that, you have to leave it in for 25 minutes with a shower cap, and let's be real: ain't nobody got time for that. Not really interested in trying it.

So, for a free box, I'll take the wipes and be happy. My next month's box should be here soon, and I'm hoping it will redeem itself. I really want to like BeautyBox5, because it's affordable and I've heard good reviews. But if my future boxes are like this one, I may invest my money elsewhere. Sometimes I worry I'm being too picky with what's in my boxes, but if I can use and like 4/5 Birchbox products (post to come later), and use only 1/5 BeautyBox5 products, there's a clear winner there, and for $2 less per month. That being said, I see tons of reviews raving about this box and in general, people seem to really enjoy the contents as a general rule. I'm guessing this was just an "off" month, especially since they're still running the free August box promotion well into September. I'm willing to give it another shot or two, and I hope I won't be disappointed!

Subscription Addiction: Subscription Boxes are my Beauty Gateway Drug

I've always wanted to educate myself on makeup. I've just really been lazy about it for years. When I was in middle school, we weren't allowed to wear makeup to school (Catholic school, for the win!). In high school, I went to an all-girls school (again, Catholic school, for the win!). In college, I was never an early riser, and just did some quick lipgloss and mascara, if that.

More recently, throughout graduate school, I've been a tiny bit better. I'm a teacher's assistant three days a week to help me pay for school, so now I have to be an early riser. And my body clock usually wakes me up about 20 minutes before my alarm: just enough time to put on some makeup.

I wanted to learn more. My mom has been getting me BareEscentuals every holiday for years, but I wanted to learn more about other brands as well. About a month ago, I subscribed to Ipsy and Birchbox. Both services are $10 a month and they are beauty subscription services. Once a month, they send you a box or a bag with an average-ish of 5 deluxe beauty samples (hair care, skin care, makeup, etc) or, in Birchbox's case, lifestyle stuff as well (tea, snacks, etc).

I was obsessed with my Ipsy and Birchbox, so I started googling. The more I googled, the more I learned. I came across My Subscription Addiction, the worst/best thing ever. I could figure out which boxes were free for your first month with a code, which gave you money off, and which were expensive as crap. I started watching YouTube unboxings, and that was where I ended up getting sucked in. My cat and my dog both have subscription boxes. My boyfriend doesn't yet, but he hasn't finished the one month Mistobox gift I gave him last year. But he will.

So, this post is going to kind of be an introduction to the subscription boxes I have tried or want to try. I will make a new post for each unboxing (including pricing, contents, etc), but this will be an overview.

Boxes I have tried (and received a box):
Birchbox
Julep Maven
BeautyBox5
KitNipBox (this one's for my cat, haters gonna hate)
Nadine West (technically not makeup, but it's fashion. I'll make a new post on that later.)
RocksBox (jewelry subscription box)
Toothbrush Subscriptions (um, I forget to change my toothbrush, okay?)

Boxes I Am Expecting Any Day Now (but have not yet tried):
BarkBox
Ipsy
Boxycharm
Love With Food

Boxes I Would Love to Try (but am too broke, let's be real):
Glossybox
Scratch
Sample Society
Loot Crate
Wantable
Beauty Army
Beauty Test Tube
Whimseybox
LipFactory
Total Beauty Collection
Bonjour Jolie
Beauty DNA
BezelBox

Obviously there's a box for almost everything. In my next post, I'm going to answer the obviously looming question: What the hell am I going to do if I hate what's in the box?