Beauty Army October 2012 Personalized Box

MACADAMIA NATURAL OIL – for dry damaged hair.  I NEED this!  My hair is so high maintenance and the oils are supposed to be soooo good for your hair… I am ready for some repairing work!

BATH & BODY WORKS
Paris Amour Shower Gel – This is the second month in a row for a Bath and Body Works Shower Gel and I am kinda done… this will be gifted to some beauty fan!

SKYN ICELAND
Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels – I am all about repairing and preventing aging and stress around the eye area, so this is a welcomed addition!

INEKE
Hothouse Flower – I am not excited, but it came in a cool box.

SKINN COSMETICS
Twin Set
(Coral Poppy) – I LOVE this lipstick!  LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. The pigment is amazing.  There is nothing in the lip gloss side – nothing comes out.  This is not one I would buy the twin set of, but the coral lipstick is amazing!

YOU DA BALM
Grapefruit – This was fun!  A nice treat for my lips.  It’s a great size and pleasant taste.

Ok, after reading all of what I have just posted, I feel better about my box.  This one was fun… minus the shower gel.

Sign up for Beauty Army here!   $ 12 a month and you get to choose 6 out of 9 samples!

The box was $15, which was a little on the high side for me.  In contrast, Birchbox is only $10 and Beauty Army is only $12 – both I have been amazingly happy with.

I received my box quickly after I had ordered it.  The box and presentation was unique and kinda fun to open.

There were very few products and included a gift card to a skin care company.  Whenever a box does that, I am always a little put off.  I have already paid for the products in the box… why send me a “gift card” – I did check out the website for Pevonia and it was SUPER expensive skin care for men and women.  Why would I spend $ on skin care I have only seen on the internet with out any prior knowledge or recommendation?  What a waste. 

3 products and a gift card… really?

Here are the actual products I received:

Alterna: Bamboo Luminous Shine Mist – Kiss dull hair goodbye with this shine mist which gives you glossier hair!  I’ve heard Alterna is a great brand, so I will try this deluxe size.

June Jacobs: Green Tea and Cucumber Body Balm – hydrate and replenish dry skin with this balm that’s packed with shea butter and the nourishing oils.

Blinc: Mascara – Stop painting your lashes and TUBE them with this mascara.  It won’t run, smudge, clump or flake.

That’s it.  My entire box.  While I am excited about the Mascara and Alterna Shine Mist, I am insulted by the gift card and nominal about the Body Balm.

Conclusion:  Skip Total Beauty.  Read their beauty articles, but don’t buy the beauty box.  Keep your excess beauty dollars with Birchbox or Beauty Army!

Beauty Army May 2012 – Arica’s Beauty Blog Picks

OK, so the first – most exciting thing – about the Beauty Army May box is that they sent me some guy product for my man!  I got to pick, so it wasn’t a surprise (or disappointment for those who don’t want to share with their man).  

I HAD to laugh, just because it is so ridiculous – the men’s Cologne is called SEX PANTHER.  Well, it smells pretty nice, but the name is hilarious and could quite possibly be a turn off for more conservative types.  R wanted me to make sure everyone knows from a guys perspective… he likes it.

The other item that he got was HEY DUDE – DUDE Wash – Dual Pheromone Body Wash, Shampoo and Shave Gel.  I was really surprised by his reaction to this one.  Aparently Ryan thinks that there should be nothing that washes everything: your body, your face and your hair.  I tried to explain to him that skin, hair and nails are all the same ph… he didn’t seem to care.  He will try this, but is fundementally against the basic outline of the intention of the product: to have men be hygienically lazy:).  Hmmm…. I learned something new about my man through this little beauty box sample.

After just receiving the men’s product, it further cements Beauty Army’s edge in bringing me the latest and greatest.

Here’s what I got:

Arica’s Beauty Army May 2012 Selections

A note on packaging changes:

Beauty Army has slightly changed their packaging.  The wrapping tape on the outter box now has pink in it.  The inner box (the hard black box containing your goodies) now only has their name and no other sponsors.  They have done a great job in using recycled goods to ship product and they encourage their subscribers to recycle their boxes by using pinterest as a way of showing off the good you have done.  I reused one of mine today with my sticker logo for Running with Shears and wrapped a gift for a client.  I always reuse any tissue paper or box that comes with my beauty box!

Ok, onto my pics:

Pink Sugar Perfume – super sweet, just in time for spring fragrance

M.A.D. Skincare – Transforming Daily Moisture.  I have tried several M.A.D. products from Beauty Army and they have not irritated my skin, so I am excited to try this one.  All of their deluxe samples come in a pump that I really appreciate.  It removes the possibility for more mess than necessary and only gives you what you need.

Grand Central Beauty – Active Mask Powder – this is has a couple of steps to activate the product and already looks like too much work for me… It is also for “all skin types” – I am sensitive and am a skeptic already.  Let me be clear about this: I had a choice on what to choose and I chose this product, so if I am not happy with my decision, it was mine to make.  Jury is out…

Clear Prep FX: Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Aging Gel.  HECK TO THE YEA!  I say yes to all of those things!  The sample is a good size so it will last me several applications.  I tried Clear Prep FX – Eye prep last month and really, really liked that.  This is sure to be a winner.

I am SO pleased with my box this month and am even happier that I had great choices to pick from and they were all winners!

Thanks Beauty Army!

Now the other boxes that I subscribe to are: Birchbox.com, beautyarmy.com and myglam.com – these are becoming limited editions and hard to get in and are the latest thing on the beauty scene!

Birchbox currently has openings for new members – they are only 10 bucks per month (month to month) and I have been happy with every box so far – I even ordered my mom a subscription for Christmas!

BeautyArmy opened on January 1st with a huge launch!  They only had 300 boxes available… well there were so many people interested that their site crashed… crashed!  They had 65,000!!! hits once the site went live.  But guess who was persistent and got in on the 300?  That’s right – yours truly!  I will review this box in about a week or so, once I receive it. $12 month to month subscription – you can sign up on their web site, but can’t order anything until they open up new spots.

MyGlam.com launched a couple of months ago and had a similar experience as BeautyArmy – they have been sold out of subscriptions for a while… I have been on a list and they finally opened more spots this morning.  So… of course I signed up.  Last month they had more makeup samples than other boxes:  nyx, two urban decay (full size), perfume sample, tart. That’s a GREAT haul, as the beauty bloggers call it.  Of course I had to be in on this one!  Subscription is month to month and is 10 bucks.

Here is the link to My Glam, in case you want to sign up – I would do it today – it will go quickly.

I will review the box once I get it – later this month!

The release of Beauty Army was New Years Day at noon.  They had a big count down that stretched the page for the past several days.  So, the clock ticked down and… the page went down.  It took over an hour to actually get through, meanwhile the Beauty Army people were on facebook posting updates and trying to recover the space that 65000,  yes 65000 had crashed on their site.  Only 300 boxes were available.  I was lucky (and persistent enough – beauty products will do that to a girl) to get in on the subscription!

Below is the press release that will tell you all the important details about how you too can subscribe and get the wonderful perks I am about to receive in the mail next week!  I will then do a review of what I got!

Our Army is a elite group of beauty enthusiasts who like to try before they buy!  Beauty Army is a monthly premium beauty sampling subscription service that allows our members the choice to choose:  Choose your own samples or have us choose for you.  Giving our members the option to choose their own kit prevents waste and disappointment; you will never receive unwanted products!

Simply click the “Sign Up” page on your computer or mobile device to get started!  After answering a few beauty questions, we will recommend a selection of samples for you to choose up to 6.

The multilevel personalization, you choose or we choose for you, comes at the same value:  $12 monthly or pay for 1 full year at an 11 kit cost of $132 and receive your 12thkit free!! As always, Beautiful, the shipping fee for your kit is included!

Once your kit ships, you will receive an email with your the tracking number.  To ensure smooth delivery all of our kits will ship USPS First Class, which does not require a signature.  You kits will ship as follows: Order between the 1st and the 15th of the month and your kit will be delivered that month.  Place your order between the 16th and 31st and you will receive you kit in the early part of the next month. We are currently shipping only to the US at this time.

Have you fallen in love with a product in your kit? Make sure you leave a review on our website so the Army can see what you think and don’t forget to stop by the shop and pick up a full size, shipping is a flat fee of $5 per order.  Our membership as well as our store accepts all major credit cards.  

Beauty Army is proud to support the Beauty Bus Foundation, an organization that delivers dignity, hope and respite to chronically or terminally ill men, women and children and their caregivers through beauty and grooming services and pampering products.  www.beautybus.org  Beauty Bus accomplishes their mission through:  In-Home Beauty and Grooming Services, Pop-Up Salons and the Bag of Beauty Program: Beauty Bus gives complimentary Bags of Beauty filled with pampering products to remind patients and caregivers that they deserve to look and feel beautiful.