September Birchbox

Special delivery! Look what I found in my mailbox on Thursday-my September Birchbox AND our ACL tickets! I felt like it was Christmas or my birthday :). My Birchbox took super long to get to me-turns out USPS lost it for a little bit. I was so jealous seeing other people's blogs and just waiting to get mine. I contacted Birchbox about the missing package and one of their awesome customer service people sent me out a new box in the meantime. I told them they didn't have to do that once we found out where the package was but they insisted and said I could always give it to somebody who doesn't get Birchbox to try out. How awesome is that! They were celebrating "Customer Appreciation Day" yesterday and I did feel appreciated as a customer when they did that. Thanks, Birchbox! 

The products I received were: 

1. Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Supreme Mascara

Meh, another mascara. I had received a mascara in this month's Ipsy bag and had ended up giving that one away. I just love my DiorShow too much. I'm not a fan of the applicator that comes with this sample. The mascara had a nice color to it but didn't lengthen or make my lashes fuller. 

2. Cynthia Rowley eyeliner-silver

This was the product I was most excited about and the reason I chose the Fashionista box. I love the color! I wasn't quite sure how it was going to show up on my fair skin. I've used it on my bottom lid and love the extra sparkle it brings to my eyes. Now, it says its smudge proof and lasts all day. I've never had any issues with smudging when I use my black one on my top line. However, on my bottom line, when I used the silver color it does smudge a little which makes the silver color go everywhere. I also had to reapply it (and honestly my eyes don't really water that much). It just takes me a little bit of extra time to do my eye makeup but I love the end result! 

3. Naobay Body Radiance Lotion

This was the product I was least excited about. I had gotten this in my July box! Just too soon to be given this product again. I'm not a fan of the earthy smell. It does make my hands and arms soft but I like a more floral scent. I gave this to my best friend-I think she will enjoy it more. 

4. Macadamia Professional Flawless Cleansing Conditioner

I was super curious to try this product out. It is a no suds shampoo and conditioner all in one. It smells nice and my hair felt soft after I towel dried it. However, it did not leave it as soft as my normal conditioner does and I noticed my hair felt coarser than normal at the end of the day. I also noticed more frizz in my hair, though it claims to cut down on the frizz. It did leave my ends looking better than my normal shampoo does. It's a great size and I would definitely bring this with me while traveling or whenever I want to cut back on the amount of shampooing I do. Some other reviewers had the same complaint and so I used a leave in conditioner along with this product and my hair feels so healthy! 

5. dr. brandt pores no more vacuum cleaner 

Both my husband and I tried this one out. I don't really have blackheads; he does. It didn't work for either one of us! It is supposed to have a cooling sensation and neither of us felt it. Bummer. I'll add it to my weekly routine though. 

Overall, this box was good. I did enjoy the Ipsy bag more than the Birchbox this month. However, in the grand scheme of things, I am more loyal to Birchbox. In fact they are running a promo right now-if you sign up to receive 12 boxes they will only charge you for 10 AND they will credit your account 100 points (which is $10 store credit) AND they will send you a Cynthia Rowley gift AND you can add on a mystery sample pack (usually valued at $10). I went for it and subscribed for a year and I know I'm not going to regret it. Use promo code UPGRADEME and tell them I sent you ;) https://www.birchbox.com/invite/crystalking

Now I just bet you are dying to know who I am most excited about seeing at ACL. My top 5 can't miss acts are: 

1. Outkast

2. Foster the People

3. Phantogram 

4. Lana Del Rey 

5. Fitz and the Tantrums (I've seen them before here in Dallas but I was several months pregnant with the twins and didn't enjoy the show as much as I would have liked.)