Blitz Blogging: Birchbox April 2012

After most of the estheticians I work with started raving about being able to sample products every month with no effort of searching around stores or the web, I caved and forked over a $10.00 USD per month subscription to Birchbox. I am not disappointed! I get 5-6 samples of really great products, most of which I adore and usually one of which I could skip...but those are for gifting, yeh!

First off, my pass-product, Wonderstruck Perfum by Taylor Swift. What can I say I am not a fan of hers or her perfum; I hate the smell, so lets just leave it at that. (Find this product here.)

Moving on to the good stuff-- three amazing products from one ecocentric company. Pangea Organics  Egyptian Fennel with Grapefruit and Sweet Orange Lip Balm has blown my mind. I received a full-sized tube in my Birchbox, and full-size to Pangea is over-size, i.e. about twice as much as any other balm/lipstick/gloss will ever be! Now I want to try the other scents/flavors but will probably never finish the tube... dilemma... (Find this product here.)

Pangea Organics Turkish Rose and White Tea Eye Cream for all skin types is very smooth, hydrating, and very little goes a very long way. My tiny little sample pack actually lasted me over a week using it twice daily. Wonder how far a full-size tube will get me...and if you couldn't tell from the name, it smells fantastic! It also never caused even the slightest bit of irritation on my sensitive skin and eyes. (Find this product here.)

Pangea Organics Egyptian Geranium with Adzuki Bean and Cranberry Facial Scrub for all skin types is a thick but workable scrub that is lovely and smells very good, but I am not convinced it does more/better than any other scrub I own. That said, for any of you looking for a natural or organic way to polish your visage to a healthy glow, look no further because this is a treat to use. (Find this product here.)

Weleda Pomegranate Firming Day Cream was really the biggest surprise in my Birchbox this month. Since I have problems with oil and blemishes, I had to force myself to start using this even though I thought it might really mess with the tentative balance of my skin this spring. I was wrong--it works great even for my oily skin! After using it all week, my skin feels firmer and more evenly hydrated than before, and I don't seem to be creating as much oil throughout my long work days.  Tip of the hat to Weleda for this diamond in the rough. (Find this product here.)

Benta Berry G-1 Exfoliating Cleanser is again your more natural version of the average scrub, but I do find it a bit more drying than the Pangea formula I tested out. I also like the scent a little less; however, this is a less-expensive option for the natural scrub market and an excellent option for travel as it comes in a 1 oz/30 ml tube. (Find this product here.)

You can sign up to receive your very own Birchbox sent to your door at Birchbox.com!

Mask of the Month: Estée Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme Ultra Firming Mask

$40.00 for 2.5 oz.

I haven't done a MotM in so long, probably due to my obsession and religious use of the Borghese mask that literally changed my skin into something I don't hate, but today's little diddy is well worth a gander!

Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme Ultra Firming Mask is a thick, creamy, iridescent mask that smells good, like a light musk/floral infusion (but I am very bad with scents so don't go by my description of that). Over a year ago, on my bf and I's road-trip, cross-country move, I used this mask every night to relieve some of the stress of all-day driving that my skin was definitely suffering from. My under-eye circles were almost purple by the time we got to our hotel rooms each night, and that is where the lovely EL Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex (below) came in super handy. But for the moment, lets go back to our lifting mask...

I'm not even to my mid-20s yet, so I will be the first to admit that my face does not need to be "lifted" at all, but one of the claims of the Resilience Lift Mask is that it "brighten[s] up the look of tired skin," which is most certainly a category my skin fits into about...oh, I don't know, all the time! While Resilience Lift sits on my skin I feel tightening, but it's not uncomfortable. Mostly, the aroma is relaxing, and my skin seems to be absorbing that iridescent glow from the cream. Usually, I left this on for as long as I could before I had to rinse and moisturize in order to actually fall asleep, but I also noticed that my moisturizer seemed to absorb more quickly after this mask. My skin also seemed much better hydrated in the morning after using this mask. Although I started with a sample size tube of 1 oz, I will be purchasing the full size when I have the funds and run out of other masks. It's worth it, bottom line.

The eye cream/gel is like liquid gold though! You seriously need to try this stuff if you have not because every night I put a tiny amount of this under my eyes, I woke up the next morning with absolutely no under-eye darkness of any sort. Literally, I looked like I had a full-coverage layer of concealer already on, but not as though I had makeup on, you understand; I just looked rested and like a photo-shopped model...at least in the eyes, well, the under-eyes... This goes into my all-time favorite skincare products category, and I strongly encourage you to see if it works this well for you! At $49.50 for 0.5oz, it certainly costs like liquid gold, but I used a 0.1oz tube over four weeks with no skimping (a very little bit goes a very long way).

Beauty Newb Rating: (mask)✪✪✪✩✩ (eye cream)✪✪✪✪✩
Available at Estee Lauder counters (and online) in Macy's, Nordstrom, and other fine retailers, and also online at Estee Lauder.com for the mask and eye serum.

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Age-Defying Protective Eye Cream

$14.99 (may vary) for a .5oz Eye Cream and 1.7oz Night Cream

The first use, the dry corner of my eye stung like crazy, but my eye didn't water. The discomfort went away after a minute or two, and my under-eye felt very moisturized. I can't place the smell of this, but it isn't really bad and dissipates after a few minutes.

Now that I have been using it a couple of months, I don't feel any discomfort and I still have over half the jar left. I can't say that the smell even gets my attention anymore, but it's something to be aware of. My under-eyes don't particularly look more youthful because I don't need it for that reason, but they feel far more hydrated; with use twice a day my dark circles have diminished significantly. I love this set, and it's worth a shot for the price, amount, and results.

Beauty Newb Rating:✪✪✪✩✩
This Eye Cream comes in a package with Kirkland Signature Age-Defying Restorative Night Cream and costs $12.99 for both. Sometimes available online at Costco.com and at Costco Wholesale Warehouses.