November Birchbox

It's Birchbox time! Here's what November brought...

Harvey Prince Eau Flirt Perfume

 I love perfume samples, and this lovely scent will be added to my sample perfume drawer. These sizes are great for traveling or if you're just in the mood to try a different scent. 

ModelCo Ultra Shine Lip Gloss

I really thought this would be a super sticky gloss, but it's not. I've never heard of this brand, but the gloss gives a pretty subtle color, not sticky at all, it has a mirror [other side of the packaging], and it's a full-size. Can never have too many lip products! 

Oscar Blandi Pronto Texture & Volumize Spray

Sometimes I feel like Birchbox can read my mind. I've been wanting to try this texture & volumizing spray for a long time, but have always resisted. So far, I really like it. It's made for brunette hair and it's the perfect travel size. 

SheaTerra Organics Whipped Shea Body Creme [Bananas & Baobabs]

The winter months are the perfect time to use body butter. This one seems very moisturizing and smells pretty good too! 

Chuao Chocolatier Honeycomb Chocopod

Never tried this, but I never turn down dark chocolate. 

Birchbox is always throwing in some extra seasonal-themed goodies. Also in this box were a Holiday gift guide booklet, a mini gift box, and a discount code for $15 off a pair of heels at ChromaticGallerie.com. 

Side note: I should also mention that I was super-impressed with how quickly my box arrived this month. Birchbox HQ is located in New York-- which, as we know, was a hard hit area from Hurricane Sandy. I've been keeping up with them through Facebook to see how it would affect this month's box. But, it was as if there was hardly a speed bump. Got to love a company that's dedicated to its customers! Huge hugs to all those affected by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast. <3 

What did you get in your box?

Interested in receiving your own Birchbox? Click here! 

happy friday, y'all!

Not bad for a 4 day work week. Next week is 3 days. Gotta love the short weeks! 

Here's some highlights! 

1. Game nights are easily turning into "make your best Pinterest recipe." They should just make Pinterest a word in Webster Dictionary at this point. 

2. Sometimes seeing two pinks in one Starburst wrapper can make my day. Hey, it's the little things. 

3. The tree is up! Along with the rest of my Christmas decorations. If only I was this proactive about the rest of the things in my life. 

4. I ate my taco soup for three days straight. And I ain't complaining. It was the cat's pajamas. 

5. Lana Del Ray on repeat. She's amazing. "Off the Races" and "Blue Jeans".. check her out on iTunes or Pandora! 

See more H54F posts on Lauren's blog! 

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! 

xo, Mal

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products that didn't work for me

Sometimes it's just as important to hear about products that don't work just as much as the ones that do. These are just my personal opinions and experiences with products that I didn't have any luck with. Maybe if you've had luck with any of these, you can tell me what I'm doing wrong! :)
 

Burt's Bee's Citrus Facial Scrub

I purchased this Citrus Facial Scrub expecting something way different. I was hoping to get a good exfoliation out of this, but absolutely no luck! The product seemed very dry, and not even water helped to get a better consistency. I didn't feel like it cleaned my face at all. I love Burt's Bees, but this did not seem worth the money. 

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral 
My biggest issue with this blush is its texture. The blush is neatly packaged. However, after only a few uses, the product gets everywhere. The texture is more like "play-doh" than "bouncy" as it claims to be. Some of the lighter colors in this line, such as Candy Coral, take a lot of effort to get color on your cheeks. 



 If you want just a sheer wash of color, then you might like these blushes. But be prepared to spend a few extra minutes to get some kind of color. To me, there are just way better blush options for even better prices, such as the ones from Wet n Wild or ELF. 

L'oreal HiP Cream Eyeliner
I bought this liner to see if it could replace my MAC Fluid Line in Blacktrack. At first, I really liked this product. But I found over time that it started to smudge easily. The product in the pot also dried out much quicker than the MAC liner. I do like other drugstore gel liners, but this one just did not work. The best gel liner I've found at the drugstore is from Physician's Formula. 

ELF Studio Lip Stain in Fashionista
 I haven't really found an ELF product I don't like... until this one. I think I was drawn to the color more than the fact that it claimed to be a "stain." I applied the pink color to my lips, then waited about two minutes, and then applied the gloss. I think I've come across lip balms that last longer than this. The color settles into any lines or cracks in your lips. (ew!) And it doesn't ever fully dry so it will rub off on anything that hits your lips. Don't expect this one to last longer than your average lipstick! Luckily, this one only set me back about 3 dollars. 

However, I do highly recommend checking out other ELF products such as the blushes, powders, and brushes at your local Target! 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream
This was one of those I-don't-own-anything-like-this-so-I-feel-like-I-should moments in Ulta. Anyone else have those? Just me? :) This matte lip cream is definitely matte. However, it made me look very sick... or that I was about to die. It just didn't do anything for me. Maybe it was the wrong color. But the texture seems a little off too. And I don't think adding a gloss could have helped it out. I'm just going to stick with my comfort zone of lipsticks and lip balms! I tried :)

Covergirl Lashblast 24 Hour Mascara

I know I'll probably get a few "how can you not love this mascara?" thoughts on this one. I know this is loved by many people. I once tried the original Lashblast and it didn't do any amazing things for me. But, I decided to try the 24 hour just to see if this version would work better for me. Unfortunately there were major smudging problems with this. It also didn't do anything to volumize my lashes. So, unfortunately this one didn't work in round two.
Sorry Lashblast lovers! 

 HealthySexyHair Soy Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner

This was an impulse buy at Ulta. I was in a rush and I needed a new shampoo. They didn't have what I was looking for, so I picked up this HealthySexyHair shampoo/conditioner with Soy, Coconut, and Argain Oil because it was on sale. And I really like this line so I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I thought it was pretty terrible. I needed a lot of the shampoo to get a good lather. And the conditioner was very thin and watery. None of the ingredients they highlight on the packaging did more for my hair.  For $20, I definitely expected more. 

The bottles are also made very poorly. Much of the shampoo built up inside and around the cap causing it to run down the sides. I literally had to wash these bottles before taking a photo of them. You shouldn't have to clean your bottles! 
Moral of the story: if you see these on sale at Ulta... look the other way!

Have you had any luck with these products? 

What are some of your unfortunate experiences with makeup or beauty products that you initially thought you'd like? 

happy friday, y'all!

Luckily for me, this was a 4 day work week. And I'm looking forward to another one next week thanks to Veteran's Day holiday. Here's a few things from this past week...

One

I won my first blog giveaway! Anna from Fash Boulevard picked me as the winner of her SleepNaked giveaway. SleepNaked was a promotion by Swisspers to encourage women to always take their makeup off before bed-- something I'm a huge advocate for! It's very important for healthy skin! And I'm SO excited that I won! Anna's fashion blog is FABULOUS so be sure to check her out! 

Two

My Target Fall Beauty Bag came in this week. It's full of great samples I can't wait to try from Fekkai, Clear, Pixi, and more. I just hate that this is the last beauty bag Target will ever release! 

Three

My YHL book is in! Is anyone else a Young House Love reader here? If you aren't, you should be. Especially if you are a homeowner. This down-to-earth couple writes a great blog filled with budget-friendly DIYs and easy home improvement tips & stories with some pretty funny commentary. And they've turned their blog into a book [with all new content]. It's awesome!

Four

My day off this week sparked a little trip to Hobby Lobby to get my holiday decor shopping on. Since I'm a little Mantel-excited now that I have a brand new fireplace mantel, I've been on the hunt for the perfect stocking holders. Too soon? I mean, how could I pass up these mosaic mirrored reindeer? [oh wow. i just typed "reindeers" and was confused as to why it was misspelled. go back to third grade, mallory.] 

Five

My dear friend Brittney's dog, Riley, was recently diagnosed with Lymphona. She's stopping at nothing to get Riley the care she needs. So, Brit is raising money to help cover the cost of the chemo Riley will receive. Here's the link if you're interested in donating for Riley!

How did your week go? Any fun things planned for the weekend?

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my favorite teeth whitener

If I had a dollar for every "best teeth whitener" phrase I have entered into Google... I might have about $20. [Let's not be over-dramatic here]. There's something about white teeth that makes me feel better about my smile. How about you? I've tried every many different brands. The best luck I've had so far is with the good 'ole Crest Whitening Strips back when I was in high school. 

But it's a love-hate relationship with strips. I love the end result, but I cry like a baby hate when I have tooth sensitivity. That was the biggest problem for me with the Crest Strips. Terrible, terrible sensitivity. And that was the major reason why I had a hard time finishing other boxes of strips. I have quite the collection of half-used whitening strip boxes.

So I went on a [Google] search for a whitener that produces real results without the sensitivity... if that was even such a thing. And I came across this little gem: Luster Premium White. What drew me in was the fact that there are no strips. It's just a gel and an LED light. And Luster guarantees zero tooth sensitivity. 

Luster Whitening Claims: 

"In just one hour you can experience significantly whiter teeth with no tooth sensitivity. The secret is in the light activation technology. The high-energy Activating Whitening Light activates the proprietary Super Whitener Gel to significantly whiten your teeth in only 60 minutes. Zero tooth sensitivity. Zero rebound effect. Dentist designed. Clinically proven whitening results. Satisfaction guaranteed." 

What do you get? And how does it work?

In the box, you get a large bottle of whitening rinse, a small tube of gel [with a brush applicator], and the handheld activating light [with batteries!]. 

Step 1: Rinse with 10ml of the mouth wash for 10 seconds. 
Step 2: Brush the gel on to each tooth. Wait about 15 seconds for it to dry.
Step 3: Place the light against your teeth, press the button, wait 2 minutes. The light beeps and goes off automatically when 2 minutes is up. Then just rinse it all out! 

Side note: the girl on the box looks like a professional at this. 
I didn't feel so pretty while holding the light to my teeth. 

The box says if you want instant whitening, then you should repeat these steps 10-20 times in one hour. Or you can just spread the treatments out over however many days you wish. 
I opted for the five day treatment, which meant I repeated these steps 4 times [at night] for 5 nights straight. Five days is pretty quick if you ask me!

Here's a shot of the ingredients and warnings for those curious! 

My results: 

I forgot to take a before shot, but I would say my teeth weren't too terrible before. But they were definitely yellow from my coffee and diet coke addiction. The yellowest part of my teeth were the sides. Maybe I don't brush correctly, but those were noticeably more yellow than my front teeth. On the shade range sheet provided in the box, I measured myself at an 8. Now I would say I'm a 1 or 2. 

This is in natural lighting... and no Photoshopping! 

I love the results. And the best part, I have ZERO tooth sensitivity! Not even an inkling. So if you want good whitening results with zero sensitivity-- this is your jam! I have some left over and will continue to use whenever I want to touch up right before a weekend or something special! 

Where can you find Luster? 
I found mine at Target and it happened to be on sale for $35.00. I think it's regularly around $40. Which is about the same price you will pay for strips. It's also on Amazon. 

Disclaimer: I was in no way paid for this review. I bought this product with my own money. 
Luster has no clue who I am! I just like to share a good product that has worked for me!

Have you ever used Luster Teeth Whitening? 
What kind of whitening products have you had good luck with?