Beach Tested: Beauty & the Beach's Sunscreen Awards

Today I'll be talking all about one of summer's most important beauty items - sunscreen! This is an essential part of every summer beauty regimen. You should be wearing SPF 30 on your face every day, whether it comes from your moisturizer or and actual sunscreen lotion. It's the best way to prevent sun spots, premature aging and skin cancer. I'm pretty lax about wearing sunscreen on the rest of my body for regular days, but at the beach it's absolutely essential. Below are my tried-and-true picks, what they're good for and why I love them. Enjoy, and always remember to keep yourself protected!

Category: BODY
If you have truly fair skin or burn easily, please don't use a number this low. Also, try never to wear anything lower than 8. It's a nice, low number that still gives you fair protection - anything less is basically no protection at all.

I do not have an opinion on spray sunscreens. I don't use them and quite frankly, I don't recommend that you use them. No matter what formula you use, they will always wear off quicker and you are far more likely to miss spots with spray than you are with a lotion.

Best All-Around: Sun Bum Sunscreen

Image via trustthebum.com

I am a HUGE fan of Sun Bum's sun care products. They're an amazing brand out of Florida that got their start in small, local surf shops. Surf shops up the East Coast and into the West Coast started picking up the brand, and now you can find it on the shelves in Ulta and at some drug stores. I love they're classic sunscreen because it has a super rich formula that's emollient and feels like you're getting really good coverage. It's water resistant without being sticky, and only needs to be reapplied if you rub it off on your chair or towel. It gives great protection and they offer SPFs of 15, 30, 50 and 70. It's broad spectrum so you know you're covered, and the light coconut-banana scent is WAY less cloying than that of another popular sunscreen (it's Hawaiian Tropic. That is NOT what Hawaii smells like. I know.) It's a sunscreen you'll actually enjoy wearing, and the adorable packaging, fun mascot and pleasant scent make this a home run.

Best Low-Number Sunscreen: Coppertone Tanning Lotion SPF 8

Image via coppertone.com

Sorry to all the dermatologists out there, but when I go to the beach I want my skin to show it. I wear SPF 15 for the for the first few days until I get a good base tan going, then switch to SPF 8 when I want to get that covetable, golden color. I have an ancient bottle of this stuff and I love it! I don't know if the formula's changed much, but I hope not. From my experience, this is a lightweight lotion that sinks right into your skin and doesn't leave any greasy residue. I rarely burn when I wear this, but I do reapply if I get chair marks on my legs from laying on my back. This is an awesome formula that'll give you great color while still keeping you protected.

Category: FACE
I don't recommend that you use anything less than SPF 30. I know, I know - then your face won't get as tan as your body. Your face is more prone to sunburn and the first part of your body to develop skin cancer because facial tissue is so sensitive. Never forget to cover your ears, and make sure you get sunscreen up into your hairline and down your hair part if you have one.

There are lots of moisturizers containing SPF, but clinical trials have shown that you'd need to drown your face in the stuff to get the full effect of the sunscreen. My suggestion? Mix one of the following face sunscreens with your SPF-free moisturizer to get a one-step layer that's both moisturizing and protecting.

Best All-Around: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer 

Image via ulta.com

I have a fair amount of experience with this sunscreen and I've heard really great reviews for this product. It's a lightweight formula that dries to a matte finish. It's long-wearing and comes in a wide variety of SPF numbers starting at 30 and going up from there.

Best for Normal to Dry Skin and Sensitive Skin: COOLA Classic Face SPF 30 (Cucumber or Unscented)

Image via birchbox.com

I discovered this product in my Birchbox last summer and just recently bought the full-size version. This is an incredibly gentle formula that combines SPF with moisturizer. Don't fret, this is a full-strength sunscreen, not the watered-down version that you find in most moisturizers. COOLA is a great new brand that uses as many organic ingredients as possible in their formulations without sacrificing sun protection. The moisturizing base is super lightweight and the cucumber scent is very pleasant. If you have sensitive skin, opt for the unscented version.

Best for Oily or Acne Prone Skin: Neutrogena Clear Face Liquid-Lotion 

Image via ulta.com

As an extremely oily, extremely acne-prone person, I spent a lot of years breaking out like crazy from sunscreens that were too heavy for my skin. This formula is the holy grail of sunscreens for those who just can't tolerate classic formulas. Available in SPF 30 or 55, this sunscreen is extremely lightweight thanks to its liquid-lotion base. It sinks right in and dries to a matte finish and controls oil while you're out in the sun. I love this because I can wear in under makeup like a primer and it doesn't make my face oily. Don't be fooled by the lightweight formula though, this will stay on all day and keep you protected with broad-spectrum SPF.

Best Touch-Up Stick: Sum Bum SPF 30 Face Stick

Image via trustthebum.com

For days at the beach when I don't want to bring a tube of sunscreen to reapply to my face, I love to pop this convenient and sweet-smelling stick in my beach bag. It's small and compact so it can go with you anywhere and offers relatively non-greasy coverage when you need to touch up. Face sticks making touching up super easy and this one doesn't need to be rubbed in thanks to its invisible formula.

Best Lip Balm: Zinka Lip Balm SPF 30

Image via zinka.com

I found this stuff at one of my favorite surf shops in North Carolina, It's a little hard to find and you may only be able to get it online or in surf shops, but it's worth every penny. It's a nice, thick, colorless formula made with zinc oxide, a sunscreen powerhouse that's been used for almost as long as sunscreen has been around. If you can envision the white sunscreen on lifeguard's noses or the colored stuff on surfers, that's zinc. It's basically a shield against the sun that lets in no trespassing UV rays. This stuff stays on and I like that it comes in SPF 30 - most of the lip balms I find with SPF only come in 15. If you've ever been surfing or skim boarding you'll recognize the taste of surf wax - for the average person, it can be a little hard to get used to, but it's worth it for such a great sun protectant.

Category: AFTER-SUN

Best Gel: Sun Bum Cool Down Hydrating After Sun Gel

Image via trustthebum.com

Last year I made the mistake of getting more than a little drunk and laying out by the pool at the beach house I was visiting for WAY too long. The result was an extremely painful burn all over my legs that I had to recover from while I was severely hungover. Not fun. This gel was my saving grace - I kept it in the fridge and applied it every few hours to my aching burn. It provided immediate cooling relief even when I didn't refrigerate it, plus thanks to its formula containing aloe vera and Vitamin E, I didn't peel at all after the burn had faded. Needless to say, I use this whenever I get a burn (which is rarely) and sometimes as a lightweight moisturizer in the summer. It's great for soothing after shaving and as a treatment for household burns, provided they don't blister.

Best Lotion: Hawaiian Tropic After Sun Lotion in Lime Coolada

Image via hawaiiantropic.com

This is a fantastic after sun product because it's formulated as a lotion. It's highly moisturizing and leaves a delightful tropical lime scent reminiscent of a beachside bar and your favorite cocktail. The moisturizing formula helps extend the life of your tan by keeping your skin moisturized, and helps prevent peeling after sun burns. Plus, it comes in a gigantic bottle that you can siphon into smaller bottles to take on vacation, but you'll never run out of it!


That's about all I've got for you! You'll notice I didn't review any makeup products - that was for a reason. BB and CC creams are great for daytime sun protection, but they can slide around your face if you're sweating, so I always recommend starting with an actual lotion as a base. There are also a lot of mineral powder sunscreens, but studies have shown that these aren't great protectants, plus inhaling sunscreen particulates can lead to buildup and possibly cancer in the lungs. If you're going to use these, use them EXTREMELY sparingly, and don't rely on powders with SPF for your daily sun protection (I'm looking at you, Bare Minerals).

June Birchbox Review

So it's a little later than I had hoped but here it is: my June Birchbox review! June was another good box, I was happy with the majority of the products I received and all were deluxe samples as opposed to one-time-use samples. Here's what I got in my June box:

I was really excited to get Number 4 haircare again, it's become a favorite of mine and although I haven't sprung for any of the full sizes yet, I think I'm gonna cave pretty soon. I received the Super Comb Prep & Protect, a product I'd read a lot about and was excited to try. I took it with me as my only hair product option on my recent trip to the beach so I got to do an in-depth assessment of it. It's a leave-in conditioner that you spritz into your hair while it's damp, and you can either leave your hair to air dry or blow dry it. Super Comb is a heat protectant in addition to being a detangler, and I absolutely loved this product. It made my hair extremely soft and shiny and really helped with the snarls my hair gets when it gets dried out by salt water.

The next product I received was SuperGoop's Everyday Sunscreen SPF 30. I love SuperGoop's products, and this was no exception - however, it's not a product that I see myself investing in. I'm a much bigger fan of SuperGoop's more innovative products, like their AMAZING CC cream and their Sunscreen serum, which is so lightweight that even with my oily skin, I can wear it under my makeup. However, this is just a run-of-the-mill sunscreen and I was not sufficiently impressed by its ingredients list. Also, they say this is a face and body sunscreen, but the full-size tube is SO small! What's up with that? The sample I received was also really small so I've only gotten about two uses out of it, and that's only applying to my face. Meh.

The next product in my box was a set of four Coastal Scents eyeshadows from their new Revealed 2 palette. To be perfectly honest, I haven't tried these yet, but I've used Coastal Scents products before. They're okay, but you certainly get what you pay for. I know Coastal Scents shadows to be somewhat dry and sheer, and I also get a fair amount of fallout with these. When it comes to nude eyeshadow palettes, I'll stick to Urban Decay's Naked.

The next product I received was Joie's Folle de Joie perfume and WOW do I love it! This scent is amazing, it's the perfect combination of floral and fruity but it has an incredible soft note to it that makes this a truly delightful, wearable fragrance. This would be perfect for spring and summer, but would also make a good transition into fall, and can be worn day and night. I will savor this sample forever, because the full-size only comes in one size and would put a large dent in my bank account.

The last sample I received was Jasmine Seven's Fresh Feet Wipes. This was one of those bonus samples that was pretty silly, and I'm not going to buy it, but was fun to try out. I used one after a long day at work (I work retail so I'm on my feet for 6 hours at a time), and I like that it had a pleasant fragrance, plus it felt like I was wiping away any dirt and grime I may have picked up while wearing my sandals, but I didn't find it particularly relaxing or soothing. Like I said, nice to try but not something I'm going to invest in.

All in all I really liked this box! There was nothing in the box that I was unhappy with and I've enjoyed all of the products I've tried so far. Although I wouldn't buy most of these products, it's always fun to sample them.

Belated Birchbox Reviews: May and June

My May Birchbox was held hostage by my school's postal services office for a month before they finally got around to notifying me of it. Unfortunately, by the time they shipped it to me it came during my vacation. However, I just picked it up at the Post Office today and I now present to you both my May and my June Birchboxes!

We'll start off with May since, chronologically, it came first. This box's theme was "Freewheeling," a fun theme for the transition from spring to summer. It was partially sponsored by Kate Spade Saturday, which involved a bright yellow outer box and fun black-and-white stripe inside the main box. Here's what I got:

This was a pretty great box in terms of value. The Gilchrist & Soames, Marcelle, Number 4 and Cynthia Rowley samples will all last me a while. The only single use samples I received were a Number 4 conditioner a sample of Smarty Pants vitamins, and the conditioner was a bonus sample to accompany the shampoo.

The two makeup samples I received are Marcelle's BB cream in Golden Glow and Cynthia Rowley's eye liner in Silver. The Golden Glow BB cream seems to be intended to be a primer more so than a base product. If you had really fabulous skin, this might be all you needed, but otherwise this is simply a sheer luminizer. It does help even skin tone and gave my skin a really beautiful glow. The eye liner is extremely bright and full color, which I love. It's super waterproof - I tested it on my hand and it stayed on during my shower, even after being scrubbed with a loofah - and doesn't smudge once you let it set for 30 seconds. Here are some swatches of the two products:

Left: Indoor light. Right: Outdoor light.

The next products I received were the Number 4 haircare products. I received a travel size of the Fleur du Temps volumizing shampoo and a single-use packet of the accompanying volumizing conditioner. I used it today and I have to say it made my hair really soft and full, even when I used it with an oil, which tends to weigh my hair down. The smell is lovely and you can use the product very sparingly - Number 4's formulas are highly concentrated.

The next product I received and LOVED was Gilchrist & Soames' Spa Therapy Body Lotion. It's a lightweight formula that moisturizes without feeling heavy, and sinks into skin quickly so it doesn't leave greasy residue. It's formulated with sea fennel, a spa ingredient used for relaxation, and it has a light citrus fragrance that's very pleasant. 

The last product I got in my box is a sample of Smarty Pants gummy vitamins. These are a three-in-one multivitamin plus Omega-3 and Vitamin D3 supplements. They have a nice texture that's reminiscent of soft gummy bears. They pretty much just taste sugary, and the full serving size is six vitamins which seems a little excessive to me. They're good, but I'll stick with my regular vitamins. 

Stick around, the June Birchbox review is coming soon!

Beach Tested Day 3: #SurfsUpVoxBox

As part of the Influenster program, I've received another awesome Vox Box: the Surf's Up Vox Box! This is a great box that had a bunch of awesome products for summer in it and I'm super excited to share my initial impressions and product reviews with you.

These are the contents of the box I received. The box itself was bright orange and quite cheerful!

The box included three beauty products and two "lifestyle" products. The thing I deemed most valuable is the full-size CoverGirl Bombshell Curvaceous mascara. It's a brand new product that hasn't been released fully yet and I'm really quite excited to have received it. Unlike the first Bombshell mascara which I have purchased, tried and am NOT a fan of, this mascara has a curved brush on one end accompanied by the fluffy building brush on the other end. I'm almost positive that this is the Clump Crusher brush combined with a run-of-the-mill volumizing brush, so I'm hoping I'll like this better than the original since I'm a huge fan of the Clump Crusher.

The next product is Sinful Colors' nail polish in Ocean Side. It's a mid-tone to deep blue that does, in fact, look like the ocean. This polish receives awesome reviews and Consumer Reports often ranks this brand number one in overall quality for nail polish, even when compared to the likes of Chanel and Dior. At $1.99 a bottle, it's a great polish for the price, and I love that I got such a summer-appropriate color right before my beach trip! Here's the polish on my toes:

I only applied two coats and got full color from the polish which is always a plus. The color is a little deeper than I generally choose for blues, and while I wouldn't use this on my nails it does make a nice toenail color. 

The next product I received is Hawaiian Tropic's Silk Hydration After Sun balm. It's a sweet-smelling lotion with aloe and other hydrators like shea butter. It's a fantastic product for soothing and treating sun burn - it helps cool the burn while the hydrators repair and prevent future peeling. It's also a great, lightweight moisturizer if you want an alternative to heavy body lotions and creams in the summer, but aren't ready to switch to dry oil sprays. For an extra dose of soothing, keep this product in the fridge for an even cooler application.

The first lifestyle product I received is First Aid Shot Therapy's Pain reliever medication shot. It's packaged in the style of 5-hour Energy, and contains an aspirin-like NSAID pain reliever and caffeine. I'm a little skeptical of things like this and 5-hour Energy that promise instant relief in the form of a concentrated liquid shot, but this product could be awesome for someone looking for fast relief from a migraine (caffeine is a fantastic treatment for migraines - it helps expand constricted blood vessels which cause migraine pain).

The final "product" I received is a coupon for a free Jamba Juice at-home smoothie. I also received a second coupon for $1.00 off a second smoothie for future use. I haven't redeemed the coupon yet but I do have some experience with these smoothies. They're sold in many major grocery stores and are sold in bulk at Costco. They're a little lacking in flavor, but what frozen fruit isn't? I'm happy to give these another go to see if I can find a flavor I like.

All in all this was a great Vox Box and I'm happy with everything I got. As I've said before, all of these products were completely free and were sent to me for testing purposes by the brands and Influenster. I'll give more in-depth reviews if I continuously use a product and fall in love with it, and I'll try to get out a full review of the mascara soon.

GEL POLISH UPDATE: It's become increasingly difficult for me to not pick at my nail polish due to the severity of the chipping on my right hand. By the grace of God, my left hand has yet to chip of its own accord; any chipping was deliberately caused by me. My right finger are now chipping at the base and the top of the nail, and half of the polish on my index finger peeled off with very little effort on my part. 

Beach Tested Day 2: My Favorite Bronzers

I have the pleasure of having a body that tans quite well and doesn't easily burn even when I use sunscreens with very low SPFs. I am aware that this is not good for my skin, and that wearing low SPF sunscreens increases my risk for skin cancer, but whatever, I like being tan: I rarely use an SPF lower than 8 so we're good. However, my face has refused to conform to this standard of bronzing and instead burns like no tomorrow unless I wear an SPF of at least 30 and reapply at least every two hours.

So why is this relevant? Well for the excellent reason that I found myself needing to make my face as tan as the rest of me. Enter bronzer, which has been my summertime companion for a number of years. Because my face doesn't tan nearly as much as my body, I choose not to invest in a darker foundation and instead invest in bronzer to make my regular foundation darker. I've tried many brands, finishes, consistencies and even different formulas but I have found my two all-time favorite bronzers, and they both come from the same brand.

The first is Too Faced's Milk Chocolate Soleil bronzer ($30). Milk Chocolate was the light-skinned ladies' answer to the classic medium-dark Chocolate Soleil, one of Too Faced's most poplar bronzers. Chocolate Soleil is a fantastic, true brown formula that has absolutely no shimmer and blends like a dream thanks to its sweet-smelling formula. Milk Chocolate is Chocolate's lighter-colored cousin, which truly looks like milk chocolate in the container, and smells like it too. I like to use a fluffy bronzer blush (the one in this set from EcoTools) to apply bronzer to the places the sun naturally hits - namely my cheekbones, the bridge of my nose, my hairline and my chin - then I apply right under my jawline so my face doesn't look too dark for my neck. I then blend it with a kabuki brush to smooth out the edges and make the color look more even.

Image via toofaced.com

The second is Too Faced's Sun Bunny bronzer ($30). This is a FANTASTIC bronzer for travel, especially during the summer, because the palette contains two colors which can be used alone or together. The formula is less silky and a little more powdery because it's lightly shimmery. This imparts beautiful, non-orange bronze color and a dewy glow that's perfect for summer vacations. At the beginning of my trips I stick to the lighter shade, then gradually blend the shades together as I build my tan. I rarely use the dark color alone, but who knows, someday a two week vacation might just get me there!

Image via toofaced.com

This is also a great palette if you like to contour with bronzer, since you get a lighter shade and a darker shade. I use the same technique as I do with Milk Chocolate Soleil but I blend a little more with the kabuki to even out the color since this formula is significantly darker than Milk Chocolate. It also applies more heavily, so don't start out with too much color on the brush and just build up to your desired coverage.

BONUS!!! Right now, ULTA is running a promotion that when you buy $25 worth of Too Faced cosmetics, you'll get a free deluxe sample of Chocolate Soleil, Too Faced's best-selling bronzer and Milk Chocolate's older cousin! Even more reason to run out and buy these babies ASAP ;)

***GEL POLISH UPDATE: My right hand is NOT doing well, but my left hand still looks pristine. Clearly, the start of chipping means the imminent ruin of that nail's polish. There are now two visible chips on my left hand and color wear on both hands. The front edges of the first two nails of my right hand have lost almost all of their polish, and my third finger had significant chipping at the front edge. My nails must be growing rapidly because the polish mo longer reaches to my cuticle.

Beach Tested, Day 1: Gel Polish

As the name of this blog would imply, I love the beach. I love the beach quite a lot, and lucky, lucky me is currently spending a week at the beach. I'm staying in North Carolina and it is fabulous and wonderful. Luckily, this give me the opportunity to bring lots of beach-specific posts, so stay tuned for new posts all week!

I recently got my first-ever gel manicure thanks to a nice welcome package from my new employers at Ulta. I got an OPI gel manicure in the Ulta salon in this lovely pink color and somewhat enjoyed the experience. I wasn't crazy about the tanning bed for your nails or the fact that it burnt one of my nails pretty badly, but the manicure looked nice and shiny and didn't have a single chip the next day, despite regular wear and tear.

I got the manicure specifically for my trip to the beach but unfortunately had to schedule my appointment for about a week before my departure date. However, I had seriously underestimated the power of gel polish because my nails looked close to perfect the day of our trip south. So, I decided I would leave the polish for the trip and live with the somewhat silly glitter I impulsively decided to get on one of my nails.

We all love a great manicure, and having pretty-colored digits is extra nice at the beach, but between salty seawater and abrasive sand, the color tends not to stay. So this week, I've decided to test the gel and see how well it holds up to the elements since gel is supposedly the be-all end-all of long lasting nail color. Here's what it looked like on Monday:

I know this is not a great quality picture, but as you can see there is nary a chip in my manicure. My right hand was slightly worse for the wear as that is my dominant hand, but there were only a few chips in an otherwise still very good-looking manicure.

Every day in addition to a fun, beach-themed blog post, I'll give you an update on how the manicure is doing. On the last day of my trip (next Sunday) I'll give you a picture and assess the durability of the gel polish.

Today is now Tuesday, and I have to say the left hand is holding strong, however I think the preexisting chips in the right hand have really been a detriment to the integrity of the polish. The chips are now two to three times as large on my right hand and there are a number of large chips on the edge of my right thumb nail. The only deterioration on my left hand is that some of the polish near the edge of my nails appears to be wearing off, but this is a slow process and is not pronounced. Three of the nails of my right hand have pronounced chips and only one nail on my left hand has any chips at all.

Summer Beauty: Casual Day

Today I'll be beginning my Summer Beauty series, in which I'll give you all the products you'll need for different types of summer days/outings/occasions. I'm starting off simple with a basic, casual day look. This is great for lazy weekends, trips to the farmer's market and walks with your dog - basically when you want to not look like a pale zombie but don't need a whole lot of makeup.

To start off, apply a base of your favorite tinted moisturizer. I say tinted moisturizer and not BB or CC cream because these can sometimes feel heavy on hot summer days, plus they have a tendency to oxidize in the sun and turn a bit orange-y. If you don't have that problem that's fine, but from personal experience I prefer the lightest possible thing I can put on my face for lazy days. I'm a fan of Clinique's Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer ($27), but I've heard really fantastic things about Laura Mercier's Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer ($43) which I'm hoping to try very soon. Both have SPF so you're good to go - just make sure to apply a generous layer of the product to make sure you're getting full coverage.

Photo via lauramercier.com

The next steps all depend on what kind of skin you have. If you have oily skin, apply a dusting of pressed powder with a big, fluffy brush to help keep oil at bay - I'm a huge fan of Revlon's Nearly Naked Powder ($9.99). If you have dry skin, skip this step and move on.

Photo via revlon.com

From here I'll split this how-to into dry skin and oily skin, because the types of products to use vary drastically between the two. For dry skin, apply a liquid or creme bronzer where the sun naturally hits your face - I usually apply to my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose, across my hairline and along my jawbone. Blend a little bit of the product down your neck and on your collarbones so the color looks consistent. Try CoverGirl TruMAGIC Skin Perfector in The Sunkisser ($11.99) or Benefit Cosmetics' Sun Beam highlighter ($26). Next, apply creme blush to the apples of the cheeks - Revlon PhotoReady Creme Blush ($12.99) comes in great colors that look scary but go on nice and sheer, or go for Stila's classic Convertible Color ($25). 

Photo via sephora.com

For oily skin, continue using powder bronzer. I usually apply to my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose, across my hairline and along my jawbone. My personal favorite is Too Faced's Milk Chocolate Soleil ($30) or NYX Cosmetics Matte Body Bronzer ($8.99). Then apply powder blush to the cheeks for a touch of color - I like NARS Blush ($30) for its smooth consistency, but you could also go for Maybelline's Dream Bouncy Blush ($7.99).

Photo via sephora.com

Now that we're done with face products let's bring it back together. For the eyes, apply two coats of volumizing mascara - I like Mally Beauty's Volumizing mascara ($20) or CoverGirl's Clump Crusher ($7.99). You can also apply a nice coat of eyeliner if you, like me, feel naked without it. My favorites are Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil ($20) or Rimmel London's ScandalEyes waterproof liner ($4.49). Finally, swipe on an SPF-loaded tinted lip balm. My new favorite is Jouer's SPF 15 Lip Sheer ($22), but you could also try Neutrogena's Revitalizing Lip Balm SPF 20 ($8.99). After that you're good to go!

Photo via birchbox.com

Influenster Uni Vox Box Review!

I'm part of the Influenster blogger program, which is a fantastic program that matched blogger's interests to relevant products which companies provide for free to the bloggers to review and test. Recently, I was matched to the UniVoxBox, a box containing beauty and lifestyle products for college-aged women. I was so excited to receive my first box and I'm so happy to share the products with you! As a disclaimer, I received all of these products for free from their respective companies for testing purposes and have not been paid by the brands in any way.

This is what the box looked like when it arrived! So cute, right?

The first things I was most excited to see were the beauty products! I received Rimmel London's Stay Matte foundation in light ivory, imPRESS' Press-on manicure in a pretty, spring floral print, and NYC Expert Last Lipstick in Forever Fuchsia, all of which were full size products. The Rimmel foundation is a little light for me, but I tried it on anyway to see how I liked the consistency. It was very lightweight, felt a little dry but not enough that it was bothersome. It blended smoothly and gave me a relatively even, matte look. I didn't wear it very long because of the color but I'll give it another go sometime soon to see how it wears and absorbs oil.

The manicure ended up being the wrong size, the nail covers were too small for my nail and pretty much unwearable, so I plan to go buy one at a drugstore and give it a try since I feel bad that I can't review it properly. The print is really beautiful and I love press-on nails, but these ones simply will not work for me.

The lipstick is SO fun, I love the bright pink color and the formula really lasts! It's not drying which is excellent for a long wearing lipstick and it applied smoothly and the color is very even. Check out the picture of me wearing it below =)

I also received a number of really awesome lifestyle products! One of my favorite samples is something I'd received in a Birchbox before - a Pilot Acroball pen! It seems silly that I'd be so excited about a pen but these ones are really, really great! They write incredibly smoothly and have nice, rich color. I absolutely love them and I use mine all the time! 

I was also pretty excited about the tampons because they're almost the same kind that I already use. I love Playtex Sport's tampons because they're really small and you can't feel them at all. Plus, they have a plastic applicator which I like WAAAAAAY better than the nasty cardboard ones. I don't know how the Fresh Balance ones are going to be too different from the ones I already use, but they claim to be odor neutralizing and who doesn't like that?

The last lifestyle product I received is Red Rose's Real Tea water enhancer. I am OBSESSED with water enhancers, I keep one in my purse at all times and I was so excited that there's finally a natural enhancer with less chemicals and artificial ingredients! I will say, it's not sweetened tea, and if you prefer that you'll have to add your own sweetener, but it tastes really good and is definitely something I'll use up at some point!

I'm so excited to be working with Influenster and reviewing products for their brands. I don't know when I'll receive more Vox Boxes, but hopefully there will be more of these reviews in the future! =)

April Julep Maven Box Review

Now for my April Julep Maven Box! I just received it recently and it's a good one! First off, the add-on options this month were phenomenal! There were so many great things on sale it was hard to decide which ones to get, but I'm happy with my decisions.

These are the products that came in this month's Bombshell box. It included Julep's new Pore Minimizing blush and two nail polish colors. I chose the blush in Petal Pink, it's a nice, bright pink and it's very flattering. The formula is quite powdery, so you only need a tap or two with a blush brush to get good color. I'm not sold on the pore minimizing aspect just yet, but I'll give it a few more days before I declare a verdict. The polishes this month were part of the "Vivids" collection and they are most certainly that! The colors I received are Kayla, a periwinkle blue with purple pearl and Tatum, a bright, shimmery lime.

For my add-ons, I chose the Party's Over Glitter Nail Polish Removal kit and Felicia nail lacquer, a mint green with black speckles of different sizes. Felicia is a fun color that will be great for spring, and the speckled polish is now also available in pink and purple on the Julep website. The Party's Over kit is a totally genius idea that I plan to use all the time. I love glitter polish, but it's so hard to remove, and wrapping it in foil is time consuming and annoying. I usually end up soaking my nails in acetone, but that's really drying to my nails and the surrounding skin. Party's Over comes with reusable sleeves that act the way foil wraps do by keep a remover-soaked pad pressed against your nail and enough pre-soaked polish removal pads for 5 rounds of glitter polish. It's not a lot, but the caps can almost definitely be used with cotton pads and regular nail polish remover.

This box ended up being a great value. As usual, the box cost $20 and the products in the box would have retailed (non-Maven) for $52. I used Jules for the Felicia add-on and got it for free, and the Party's Over kit cost me $20 extra, but retails for $28 so I got decent savings on that. So all in all, between Jule savings and Maven discount savings, I saved $54 on products which is far more than I actually spent on the box + add-ons ($40). Julep continues to be a fantastic value, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for next month!

March Birchbox Review

So now that my April Birchbox has shipped apparently I've decided it's high time to review the products in my March Birchbox! I apologize for not getting these out earlier, I've been extremely busy with class, extracurriculars and work so I haven't had a lot of active downtime. I'll be bringing you this plus a few more box reviews in the next few days so stay tuned and look out for new posts!

Here's a picture of my box the day I received it:

I received some winners and some losers in my March box. I ended up getting rid of the keims shampoo sample as it contained Macadamia oil which I am allergic to. I also didn't end up using the Jurlique samples as brightening is not one of my main skin concerns. 

The big winners in this box for me are the body lotion and the eyeliner. The lotion is so luxurious and I love using it on my hands when they're dry. I haven't tried it on my legs yet (that's pretty much the only place I ever apply lotion on my body) but I'm sure it's just as nice there! It's lightweight and has a pleasant, herbal scent, plus it absorbs quickly so your skin won't feel greasy. The eyeliner is fantastic, it's a beautiful metallic mint green color and the color is bright and noticeable when applied. It applies easily, the pencil is very smooth, and it comes with a pencil sharpener cap. 

This was a fairly short review but there are more coming soon! This was a pretty cut and dry Birchbox, nothing really exciting and nothing really revolutionary, but the eyeliner was full-size and the lotion is large so I'll get a lot of use out of it. 

To go on a bit of a rant, I feel like Birchbox needs to reanalyze style profiles, and needs a way to specify if you're allergic to beauty product ingredients as I've repeatedly received either beauty products with tree nut oil or food extras containing nuts. It's getting seriously annoying, and because of it I end up throwing away at least one product almost every month. I'll try giving the products to my friends to test from now on just so I can review them, but it's getting old. Just a thought, hope you enjoyed this short but sweet review!

Coming Soon: Not one, but TWO box reveals!

Hello dear readers! I know it's been a while since you heard form me, it's been a really busy week and a half, but lucky for you I'll have two new box reviews coming in the next couple of days, plus I have lots of ideas for articles I know you'll be excited about. Stay tuned!

What to Do When You Burn Yourself With a Curling Iron

So today, like the genius I am, I was curling my hair with a clipless iron and accidentally grabbed the end heated to 370 degrees as opposed to the room temperature one. It took me a second or two, but I freaked out, dropped the iron on the floor and proceeded to scream "HOLY JESUS!" loud enough that I'm pretty sure everyone on my hall heard me. Once the momentary panic subsided, my hand was in quite a bit of pain. Here's what I recommend for anyone who finds themselves in this situation.

Image via the stylishhousewife.com

Step 1: Quickly go to a sink and run the burned area under cold water, or submerge burn in a bowl of ice water. If the burn is somewhere that cannot be easily be submerged, grab an ice pack or fill a plastic bag with ice, wrap in a paper towel or thin wash cloth and apply pressure to the burned area.

Step 2: Dry hand off and apply aloe vera to the burn. It's cooling and moisturizing, which may help prevent a blister.

Step 3: Every couple of hours after the burn, apply a healing balm like Surfer's Salve or The Honest Company's Healing Balm. This will help prevent blisters and continue soothing the burned area. If the burn begins to throb again (like mine did), apply an ice pack wrapped in a paper towel or thin washcloth until the pain subsides.

Step 4: The next day, apply a lotion with aloe to the burned area. This should sufficiently soothe and moisturize the area for the rest of the day. If your burn has started to blister, instead apply Neosporin and a band-aid to prevent infection.

Obviously, this should work for any burn you get, but since this is a beauty blog I figured it would be appropriate to do this article for beauty-related burns. I'm usually very careful about this sort of thing, I promise you this does not happen often, but when it does you need a good routine to get rid of the pain, fast. I hope this helps you next time you accidentally burn yourself (it happens to the best of us).

Spring Trend Report: Orange Lips

Orange lips have been all over the spring runways, and it's a trend that's going to be everywhere before you know it. Here are some of the totally awesome, totally chic looks from the runways:

                           Photo via harpersbazaar.com                                      Photo via harpersbazaar.com

Rag & Bone and Prabal Gurung

                    Photo via harpers bazaar.com                                                     Photo via thecitizensoffashion.com

 DKNY and Nanette Lepore

Photo via harpersbazaar.com

Creatures of the Wind

As you can see, runways of all kinds were sporting this trend for S/S '14. Personally I think this trend is best worn matte, but many of the looks from Fashion Week were worn glossy. For bold beauties who want a bright tangerine orange, try Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Siren or Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Electric Orange. If you're not crazy about the color of clementines, try a red-orange. It's a nice compromise if bright orange doesn't compliment your skin tone. My favorite is MAC Lipstick in Lady Danger, but Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Vibrant Mandarin is a great low-budget option. If you want a really subtle take on this trend, try Bite Beauty's High Pigment Lip Pencil in Chablis. It's a soft coral with just a hint of orange, and it's extremely wearable for those of you who aren't crazy about brights.

It's February Birchbox Time!

I've got an extra special Birchbox post for you today - I've finally received my replacement box! In addition, I also received an order I made from Birchbox about two weeks ago with some really great stuff in it, so I'll share that with you too!

As you know my first Birchbox contained a lot of Smashbox makeup and a nail polish, but my second Birchbox contained more skincare and a fragrance sample, and I actually think I like this box better!

This month's box is the Us Weekly box, and in the spirit of awards season, it's filled with all sorts of fun products made for getting red-carpet ready. Although  I assume not many Birchbox subscribers actually have occasion to do that, it's nice to think that we're being given products used by the stars that help them look fabulous. My second box contained some really fun products that I was really excited to try:

My main products were the Beauty Protector Protect & Oil, OPI's new Sheer Tint color-tinted top coat in Don't Violet Me Down, Dr. Brandt's pores no more treatment from the new Birchbox-exclusive Camera-Ready Kit, and Joan Vass L'eau de Cristal perfume. I received two Harney & Sons teas as my monthly extras in Cleansing White Vanilla Grapefruit (white tea) and Enlightening Paris (black tea).

I was most excited to try the Dr. Brandt pores no more, I've heard fantastic things about this product so I was happy to have received it. ON first impression it felt like every other gross, matte pore refiner I've ever tried, but unlike the other treatments this melted right into my skin and really reduced the look of my pores. I feel like it helped the makeup on my nose stay better and kept me looking poreless all day. I'm really excited, because I have massive pores, so I'm considering buying the Camera-Ready kit. It's an amazing value, the kit includes the full size pores no more treatment and costs less than the product by itself, plus includes three other deluxe samples and a mirror. It's hard to say no to a deal like that!

The other products were surprisingly great this month. I'm not overjoyed about the Beauty Protector oil as it shattered in my first box, and clearly someone in shipments needs to be fired because my second bottle was not closed tightly and had leaked in my box. Luckily this time it wasn't enough to ruin anything but it was still annoying. I would call the product average as it pretty much does what every other hair oil does (softens, shines and de-frizzes), but this release is behind the trend. The OPI nail polish is really fun, I love the sheer tint, it's a lot like Julep's Rock Candy Nail Glaze, and I like the color range. This will be really fun for spring time, and I love that the color is layerable so you can use it to create fun looks with your other nail polishes. The perfume was a surprising champion in this box - I never expect much from the fragrances, I've received some really sub-par scents from Birchbox, but the Joan Vass smelled AMAZING. It manages to be soft and sexy and not overpowering. It's extremely feminine and smells really expensive. I was pleasantly surprised and will definitely enjoy spritzing this on. I haven't tried the teas yet but the flavors sound so interesting and I'm glad I'll get to try them!

My other shipment is something I was really excited about - I had racked up $20 worth of Birchbox points and decided to treat myself to a product I've put off buying for a long time - Dr. Jart's Detox BB cream. I've heard fantastic reviews about this product and its ability to cut back on shine, calm and reduce acne and reduce the look of dark spots. I've been having serious acne flare-ups for the past few months so I decided I'd finally splurge and spend the $16 to hopefully soothe my irritated face. I managed to pick up three free samples in the Birchbox Bonus Shop, two of which were mystery samples and one of which was a deluxe-sized Leave-In conditioner from EVOLVh. When I got the package, I had received Harvey Prince's hello. and The Honest Company's Healing Balm as my samples.

The samples of the conditioner and Healing Balm were actually really large and I'll probably get quite a lot of use out of them. I was ambivalent about the Harvey Prince fragrance, it smells like a lot of other citrusy spring scents I've tried. The leave-in conditioner is really great, it made my hair really soft and silky even after blow drying. The Healing Balm actually seemed familiar to me, I've used a similar product called Surfer's Salve which I like a bit more than this balm, and it's meant for essentially the exact same thing. Although this is formulated with babies and diaper rash in mind, it's a product that help soothes dry, chapped skin, sunburns and bug bites, which Surfer's Salve does just as well but with a few different ingredients. I'll definitely use the tube, but I do prefer Surfer's Salve over this.

I'll do a separate post about the BB cream as this one is getting a bit long, so stay tuned for that coming soon!

Nail Fashion: French Manicures Are Upping Their Game

There are a lot of cool nail trends going around right now but my favorite has to be all the cool takes on the French and reverse-French manicure. Whether it's reversing white and nude, adding color, or changing the placement of lines, the French manicure is getting cooler and cooler every season. S/S '14 is no exception, as you can see here:

Photo via elle.com

Photo via stylist.co.uk

And my personal favorite, from Peter Som... 

Photo via refinery29.com

How cool is that? A reverse French mani in mirrored silver/gold with black. I'm obsessed. Lord, let my hands be steady, that I may rock this look on my own time. I also love that this look combines this trend and another popular mani trend on the rise: metallic silver nails. Silver has been seen all over the runways (check out the first photo) and it looks awesome. Stay tuned for more Beauty & the Beach Fashion Week, coming to you tomorrow!

Lazy Girl Beauty: Unkempt Hair Reigns Supreme

It seems that my Fashion Week post was extremely popular so I'm gonna keep them coming with a week of Fashion Week beauty posts! It's Beauty and the Beach Fashion Week!

For my second installment, I wanted to highlight a trend that I as a lazy girl am super excited about: relaxed hair! At many shows, models were sent down the runway with soft, flowing hair full of flyaways and soft texture. Sound awesome? Yeah it is!

Photo via marieclaire.co.uk

Photos via harpersbazaar.com

To get this look, all you need is a hair oil to give it shine and air. Use the oil sparingly, and just let your hair air dry! To do this, I usually warm the oil between my hands and press the oil into the ends of my hair, then distribute the rest through the top two-thirds of my hair. It gives the hair shine without being heavy, plus it's great for your hair an helps prevent split ends! My two favorites are Josie Maran Argan Oil Hair Serum and Ojon Rare Blend Oil (original formula) but I've heard that Garnier Triple Nutrition is a great bargain buy. After that just let your hair air dry and you're good to go!