Julep Maven April 2012 American Beauty

Are you a Julep Maven? Want to be? Get your first box for a penny… that’s right! 

Follow my referral link  http://julep.com/?r=18266057 and use coupon code PENNY to get your first Julep box for a cent!

My style profile is American Beauty, and once again I stayed with my pre-selected colors, it seems Julep is pretty good with knowing what colors you like, based on your style profile, and they’re flexible because if you’re feeling adventurous, you can always choose a different style for a month, or even skip a month!

*sorry the photo isn’t the best quality, took it in the living room and the lighting in here is more subdued!

On to the box:

Julep  toe separator, great for those at home pedis

Julep nail polish

• Eva   -  a juicy raspberry cream color
• Renee  -  a spring lilac cream

The Best Pedi Creme Ever  -  the name says it all! 

extra bonus: little chocolate Easter eggs

~If you sign up for Julep via my link- let me know!! 

BirchBox April 2012

I’m always impressed with my monthly BB and this month my husband was the one to bring in the mail so he was around for the unboxing. I think he was feeling a little left out and commented on how many samples were inside… what he doesn’t know is that this month I signed up for Birch Box Men so next month he will have his own box to open up!! 

Don’t get Birch Box yet? Copy and paste my referral link and get started - just $10 a month  http://www.birchbox.com?raf=i7x7z 

I wanted to get a quick post to show what was in my April 2012 Birch Box.

Benta Berry  G-1 Exfoliating Facial Cleanser  -  an exfoliating cleanser made with finely ground apricot seeds

Pangea Organics  Lip Balm  -  Egyptian Fennel w/ Grapefruit & Sweet Orange  this is a  gluten free lip balm 

Weleda  Pomegranate Firming Day Cream  certified natural skin care, keeps skin soft and protected through out the day

Wonderstruck Perfume by Taylor Swift  -  it’s fruity, sweet and flowery

** Extras:  Pangea Organics  Facial Scrub and Pangea Organics Eye Cream   -  getting extras is always great, especially when they can be used with some of the other box items! The facial scrub is made with ground adzuki beans and cranberry seed enzymes; the eye cream contains Turkish rose oil and tea extracts!

There are some great products this month, and I’m super excited to try them all out. Everything has a fruity theme and made with wonderful natural items found right in nature. 

Don’t get Birch Box yet? Follow my link and get started - just $10 a month  http://www.birchbox.com?raf=i7x7z

Hand Made Tea - April 2012

Tonight I’m enjoying a NEW box subscription service.

The service is called Hand Made Tea, an artisan tea of the month club. My husband came across this company through a friend of a friend on the twitter, then sent me the company link and the rest is history!

I went to the site and was able to chat with Caleb, the proprietor, creator and man behind the teas. He was so informative, helpful and personable, and great customer service goes a LONG way with me so of course I had to subscribe!

Here’s my referral link if you are looking for a high quality tea that is presented with consideration!! http://handmadetea.com/?invite=91-e08dfa

The teas are shipped the first week of every month. And the tea tin has approximately 30 cups of tea to brew. There are a few different options for billing and pricing, you can find on the website AND… if you have any questions about the service or tea, Caleb is right there to chat with you and answer all your questions. How cool is that?

Let me just say that the packaging is so incredible. It’s so nice, nice enough to gift just as it is sent! Yes it’s that nice. Included in our first tea subscription was a micro strainer and small saucer to place it in. I just love the attention to detail!

What makes this a truly special experience is how thoughtfully put together the monthly tea offerings are. The April 2012 tea selection named Garden Rooibosch is a perfect spring time blend. Green Rooibos tea, coupled with Elder Flower and Orange Peel is a wonderful combination to celebrate spring. This is a smooth tea that is sweet and citrusy, without being overpowering. And the flavors blend well together.

What I really liked about Hand Made Tea was the personalization of the product. Having each component of the tea in a separate little tin, allowed me to see and smell the quality of each of the ingredients. On the outside of the tea tin are brewing suggestions, taking the guess work out of that age old question, “How long should I steep this tea for?”

What sets Hand Made Tea apart form other services is how special you feel when getting your box. Inside the box isn’t just the amazing tea, but something a little more heartfelt. The wax sealed envelope contains a welcome note about Hand made Tea and their mission, an information card on the artist of the month that did the artwork for the tea box, and a card with brewing suggestions, and tasting notes and a link to a taste along video. (I’m going to do that soon, so I can not only enjoy the tea, but maybe learn something about it!) 

Julep Maven March 2012 American Beauty

Want to be a Maven too? Use coupon code PENNY and get your first month for a penny! Just Follow my referral link 

http://julep.com/?r=18266057

My March 2012 American Beauty box from Julep, had some pretty nice things. Emphasis on the word pretty!

Julep Elixir Organic Moroccan Argan Oil  -  $24  Argan Oil is great for your skin, hands, nails and hair. It’s really light-weight and does a fantastic job at repairing and improving over all skin and hair health.

Julep Nail Color in

• Emma  -  seashell pink shimmer    $14
• Kelly    -  blushed/white cream (super neutral)    $14

Julep Emory Board  -  Great for on the go, I leave mine in my car!

Birch Box MAN

Guess who just signed up for Birch Box MAN - that would be me! Oh the boy is going to be so excited that a box will be coming to the house just for him!! LOL In all seriousness, he’s not the kind of guy that gets excited about skin care products, but he HAS recently decided to wash his face with something other than bar soap. He’s a neutrogena boy… he likes the deep clean gentle scrub. So it’s a step in the right direction!

So if you have a boy/man in your life (or know a man that likes to try great personal care products) check out BirchBox MAN for $20 a month - free shipping.

Just follow my referral link to get more info and get started, and If you’re a girl that likes skin care and beauty products, Birch Box for Women is just $10 a month with free shipping. 

http://www.birchbox.com?raf=i7x7z

APRIL MAIL CALL 2012

Today, my husband brought the mail in… He was quite overwhelmed by all the boxes addressed to me…

From top to bottom we received: Birch Box, Beauty Army and Hand Made Tea subscriptions… Guess what I’ll be going this weekend and over the next couple of days?? That right posting photos and stuff.

And of course Lizzy was there and is excited to get into these boxes too!

Needless to say the boy was intrigued at all the goodies that I got this month. I think it made an impact on him to see multiple boxes arrive.

Beauty Army Update

Hello Beautiful!

Got an email from Beauty Army about their waitlist… They are now accepting new subscriptions, so if you’re wanting to become part of the BEAUTY ARMY now is the time to sign up.

Just follow my referral link to get started

http://tinyurl.com/84ogbya

Just $12 a month and shipping is FREE! and an added bonus: their customer service is really friendly and helpful… and now if you need to skip a month (once signed up) you have that option!

LMK if you use my referral link to join or if you have any questions about Beauty Army or any other subscription services… search my blog for reviews of products and photos!

Nail Art Brushes

Going off the rails today, just wanted to post a quick blog about these cool nail art brushes I ordered off eBay.

As you can see, there are quite a few brushes in this lot. I paid a whopping $2.82 and shipping was included. I’m serious! They were shipped from overseas, so shipping was about 2 weeks, but I think they were well worth the wait!

I’m in no way a professional nail artist… but I do like to be creative from time to time and brushes can be expensive. 

If you have any original nail art - I wanna see, so post your pics and let’s share our creativity!

p.s. if you want to know where I got my brushes from, LMK and I’ll send you their link. ;)

Java Juice + Good Kind Natural Coffee Creamer

Today I’m starting my day off with 2 great Conscious Box products! 

Java Juice is a liquid coffee extract you add to either hot or cold water for an instant coffee experience. It’s that easy! It’s USDA organic and made in the USA. Java Juice Inc is committed to equitable and sustainable coffee buying practices, and is part of the fair trade movement. So not only do you feel good about drinking this coffee, but you can feel good knowing that you’re making a conscious decision to support a company that is doing something good.

Good Kind Natural Coffee Creamer is a great natural creamer additive for your morning cuppa joe. Made with non fat dried milk and organic sugar, it dissolves best in hot coffee, which is how I used it.

Everything tastes good in my PUG mug! Armed with my Java Juice, Good Kind Creamer and a little extra sugar, I’m ready to start my day! I’m heading to Busch Gardens, so I’ll need that extra bit of sugar to keep up with Lizzy today!

Want to subscribe to Conscious Box - follow the link! http://www.consciousbox.com/

Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crackers

Our ConsciousBox has given us so many little treats that I’ve been using for our lunches and so far we haven’t been disappointed!

Today we had some left over BBQ chicken salad on the Crunchmaster Sea Salt Multi-Grain Crackers. The crackers are certified gluten free, cholesterol and saturated fat free and all natural!

Lizzy and I liked that they were nice and crunchy, and Lizzy commented that, “they have a nutty flavor and I like that.” Whole grain products tasty and good for you.

If you are looking for gluten free products and other great natural and healthy health and beauty products, check out ConsciousBox http://www.consciousbox.com/

traditions by Nick Chavez Yucca Root Shampooing Cream

Here’s a picture of my hair taken by my mini-me, Lizzy. This is my natural hair, no color or dye and if you see any gray, well I like to call them my “high-lights” but for almost 40 I think my natural hair color looks pretty good.

• I was my hair every other day. 
• I’m a wash and air dry kind of girl.
• I rarely flat iron or blow dry my hair.
• I occasionally use products like hairspray.

ok enough about my luxurious locks… although I kinda look like COUSIN IT  ;) LOL

In my March 2012 BirchBox, I received the traditions by Nick Chavez Yucca Root Shampooing Cream. I’ve been using it for 2 weeks now and wanted post my review. 

I used a little more than a quarter size of the product and followed the directions. Massage into scalp and then rinse with cool water. I didn’t do anything else but air dry my hair for the entire 2 weeks! 

The product lathers pretty well, I managed to get some decent bubbles. The first week I didn’t feel the need to condition, and my hair felt soft and manageable. Week 2 I was having dreams of returning to my old ways of shampoo and conditioner, I’m not kidding.  

After 2 whole weeks of washing with the traditions by Nick Chavez Yucca Root Cream Shampoo, my opinion is this: My hair feels clean and soft, but not as “silky” as I’m used to - probably why I had dreams of using conditioner!  I think it’s great for either going on vacation and wanting something easy to use and transport that delivers results or for people on the go, that like a 2 in one product. I imagine if you have oily hair or scalp, this would be a great product for you to try! … HOWEVER, because I’m a wash and go girl, I don’t use other products that deliver any extra moisture to my hair, and after 2 weeks, even though my hair felt nice and manageable for me it wasn’t as silky smooth as I’m used to (maybe because it didn’t have a coat of conditioner?) 

On a side note- I will say that the shampoo has a really nice fragrance to it, not overpoweringly anything but a pretty fresh and clean scent. I actually had a few compliments on how pretty my hair smelled… 

If you haven’t subscribed to BB yet - follow my referral link and get started for $10 a month (free shipping)  http://www.birchbox.com?raf=i7x7z