Birchbox Review: February 2014

     I have been  really looking forward to receiving my Birchbox in the mail. I have heard about it so many times, I was too curious to resist trying it out. I have watched and read several reviews for Birchbox, so I couldn't wait to get a box and try it out for myself! I have also ordered an Ipsy box, but I have not received it yet, comparison to come!

     I was really excited to find my Birchbox in the mailbox, and I had to persevere throughout my family's dinner before I opened it. For anyone unfamiliar with Birchbox, it is a beauty subscription company. You can pay $10 per month, and they will send you high quality samples of beauty products that match a beauty profile you fill out online.

I loved the packaging, it was so cute and definitely caught my eye!

     




   Once I opened my box, I noticed something was awry. It seemed that a small bottle of hair oil had broken open. I was really sad, but still excited to see the rest of the box.

The box also contained a truffle face serum, two lovely tea bags, a cute perfume sample, and a OPI nail polish sample.

(Let's ignore the carpet, aye?)

The truffle face serum:
So, I am definitely not a anti-aging serum sort of person, but this smell SO good. Like a baby angel. Since it says it is also to renew skin, I have just been dabbing a little bit on my neck as perfume.

The "Hello" fragrance:
I think it is the cutest bottle ever. Not that perfumes need to be cute, but it does increase my likelihood of putting it on in the morning. It smells OK. Not the worst, but I am not sure how often I'll be wearing it.

The Teas:
I haven't had the teas yet, but I have never disliked a tea, so I am not too worried.

The OPI Nail polish:
You can't see it very well in the picture, but the polish is a clear purple. I am in LOVE with it. I am going to have to purchase the full size. I love how subtle the color is. On the information card, the instructions said to either paint alone or over another color. I haven't tried the latter, but the former is my new favorite.

The Hair Oil:
As I said before, it was broken when I received it. I definitely wasn't mad at Birchbox, they didn't hand deliver it to me, but I thought I would email them anyways, just to let them know. I was very impressed when they emailed me back within 10 hours, and they even offered to send me a replacement box. Their customer service is top of the line.



Overall:
I loved the information card and nail polish, the customer service was great, and the only thing that Birchbox could improve on would be making more personalized boxes (i.e. not giving anti-aging serum to a 19 year old. Ha.)

I would recommend Birchbox if you want to find new beauty products, not as much makeup as hair, skin, etc.






This review was not written for compensation, I paid to have the product sent to me, and all opinions are my own. I did include my referral links in case anyone signs up.

Beginning Anew.

There is a season for everything. A time and place for everything. This is a new season, and I felt the need for a new blog name, if only for a time. This is a new season. I have been out of high school for almost two years, I have been at my current job for over a year and a half, and I am rapidly approaching my twenties. Woah. Feels weird to even say that. I know that this next season is going to be one that solidifies God's faithfulness to me. The new name came from one of my favorite songs, "Explode My Soul" by Jonathan and Melissa Helser. This song is what I felt God is showing me for this next span of time.

Hello Promised Land.

Book review: The Quaker and the Rebel by Mary Ellis

I thought that this was a good book. Although it seemed to lag a bit towards the beginning, it became stress fully suspenseful shortly after. I enjoyed the historical fact threaded throughout the book. I always enjoy learning more about history. I liked the way the author described each scene, especially the galas and balls. I think one of the harder things to do as an author is to accurately describe a difficult time, i.e. the Civil War, while still having readers who want to read your work. I think the Civil War is a very difficult time to write about, simply because of the misery that spanned such an enormous amount of time.

Overall, I would recommend this book to history aficionados, Civil War enthusiasts, and anyone who would like to learn more about this time in America’s past. One thing I disliked about the book is that the timeline seemed very scattered, especially towards the end. During the beginning, the timing was congruous, but towards the end, it seemed to skip multiple portions. I do resolve this in my mind, knowing that the Civil War was a long war, and if the book had not skipped portions, it would have been about a thousand pages! There were a few scenes that were a bit risqué for my taste, but other than that, this was a great book!


This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for this review.

Book Review: Gunpowder Tea by Margaret Brownley

   

  Miranda Hunt is a Pinkerton detective, and a good one at that. When she is given a very important assignment, she knows her future success is fully dependent on whether or not she succeeds. Little does she know that a Wells Fargo detective, Jeremy Taggert, is also undercover working the same case. Even with two detectives working the case, the elusive Phantom still manages to evade their detection.

     I really enjoyed this book. I loved Dawn Comes Early (The first book in the series) and so I was hopeful that this one would be just as enjoyable. One of my favorite things about this author is the humor she puts in her books. I believe I laughed aloud at least eight times, and I chuckled to myself several others.

     I really enjoyed the mentions of past characters, although they were brief. One of my favorite things about the book was the mention of gunpowder tea. It is always fun to have the timeless element in a book, i.e. it takes place in the 1890s, but you can go and buy gunpowder tea still.

Overall, besides a few brief paragraphs I had to skim (I do not particularly enjoy overly descriptive “romantic” scenes. Ahem) I really enjoyed this book. I absolutely love stories about the Pinkerton detectives, and this mystery did not disappoint.

This eBook was given to me for free in exchange for this review by BookLook Bloggers. Thanks!