A New Subscription Box: Beauty Army

I shared my May Birchbox yesterday, so today I wanted to share my my experience with Beauty Army. I should note, this post is completely un-sponsored. I simply want to share my honest opinions with y'all about these two services. So let me introduce you to 

Unlike most subscription boxes out there, Beauty Army allows you to actually choose what products you want to sample in your box. You take a fairly extensive profile quiz about your beauty preferences, then a slate of 9 products is presented to you. You can choose up to 6, or try re-taking the quiz to see what the other options are. 

One of the best parts is you you actually get to see what size the sample is. Because lets be honest, I'm going to be a whole lot more excited about a 1.5 oz sample of shampoo as opposed to a little .2 oz packet. 

I will say, when I got the box I didn't get quite the same thrill of "oooh what'd I get?" as I do with birchbox, but you know what? I'm 100% happy with my box, so no disappointment! 

The cost is $12 a month, but you can easily opt out of a box month to month which is great if you're overwhelmed with samples, or just want to test the waters to see what else is out there. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, it comes in the cutest little pink box that is pretty enough to use over and over again (mine just happens to coordinate perfectly with my bedroom and is proudly displayed on my vanity). 

Now, here's what I got this month.

Nelson J Argan Oil Non-Foaming Shampoo- This shampoo promises to cleanse your hair with out harsh detergents that dry out hair, meaning it should in theory be great for my dry color treated hair. Well, it actually did make my hair look great, but I was an oil slick within 8 hours. Thank goodness I had some dry shampoo with me. Maybe I used it wrong? Or not enough? But I thought it was kind of hard to tell if my hair was clean or not after using this, and I'm not going to lie, I missed the lather. 

GG Gatsby Raise Volume Conditioner- This conditioner smelled great and definitely didn't weigh my hair down when I tried it. I don't know that it left my hair quite as bouncy and voluminous as promised, but I don't really have anything negative to say. 

Say Yes to Daily Pore Scrub- I tried the grapefruit version a few weeks ago, so I was happy to test out this "tomato" version. I definitely love this line, and this version left my skin feeling fully scrubbed and a little tight (in a good way). I do think I prefer the scent of the grapefruit scrub, but this one is great too if your looking for something a little less scented. 

Mark. Scanda-Lash Black Mascara- I was actually really surprised with how much I liked this mascara. Lengthening like woah, and even a little volume to boot. I would compare this to the iconic Maybelline Great Lash in that iconic pink and green tube. Definitely a great option at only $6.50 a tube. 

New York Streets Dry Shampoo- This dry shampoo is probably one of the finest mists I've ever tried. Lightly scented, but still enough to make your hair smell great. For you darker haired ladies, this is one of the "clearest" powders I've tried. Plus its sulfate and paraben free, who doesn't love that! 

 

Addiction NV Gel Liner Pot in Gold Digger- Oh my gosh y'all. This is hands down the best gel liner I have ever tried (moment of honestly I've only tried like 3-4 others). The consistency is super duper creamy, tons of pigment and dries quickly. I've been wearing it every single day since I received it. I've also tried it as a cream base shadow, and it works perfectly. 

So that's my experience with Beauty Army. Any other subscriptions out there I need to try? 

May Beauty Favorites

Holy Cow! How is it the last Wednesday in May? Seriously, when did that happen? After a wonderful long weekend and a very stressful start to the work week I'm feeling slightly dazed this lovely Wednesday. But you know what makes me feel better? Being able to share my May beauty favorites with you! Monthly favorites are some of my favorite posts to write, so I hope you enjoy reading them!

I have to say, this month was pretty epic. I did a little birthday shopping at Sephora, so I had lots of new goodies to play with!

1. Benefit They're Real Mascara- I am officially a believer in this mascara! If you want LONG and defined lashes you need to try this mascara. I will say the formula is probably the wettest one I've ever tried, but after a few coats I've never quite seen my lashes look as good as they do. I will say this isn't the most volumizing mascara (i.e. thickening), but my lashes are definitely longer and more defined than with any mascara I've used... ever.

2. Suave Dry Shampoo- I've gone back and forth on this product a lot since I've discovered dry shampoo, but I have finally decided this one is the best deal on the market. First of all, it's the least expensive one out there, it smells amazing and it works! I think that I have to use a little more of this product than some of the higher end dry shampoos I've tried, but for the price it's still worth it.

3. Simple Soothing Eye Balm- I have a full review of this and a few other simple products coming soon, but I am loving this eye balm after only a few days. When I turned 25 I decided it was time to start taking care of the skin around my eyes a little better and I can't tell y'all how much better my eye area looks already. If you're guilty of not taking off your eye makeup way too often every now and again, you need this product. It soothes the tired eyes you didn't know you had, plus it helps keep those dreaded bags at bay!

4. Benefit Watt's Up! Oh my goodness. Hands down the best highlighter I have ever used. I love this creamy little stick of glowing perfection. Mendi and Jayme of HLNC did a highlighter review recently and I couldn't agree with their assessment of this product more!

5. Juice Beauty CC cream- Okay, I'm eating my words a bit with this one. In my last birchbox review I didn't exactly give this product glowing reviews, but oh have I changed my mind. I guess it's something in the product but my skin has been absolutely glowing with this product! I stand by the fact that it's on the light to medium side coverage wise, but it has definitely improved the condition on my skin. PLUS my baby sample lasted me almost 4 whole weeks of daily use! Love that!

6. bare Minerals in Warmth: Remember when we all used bareMinerals for everything? I never used up that container of the matte warmth powder, but I'm loving it as a bronzer lately. Since I've switched to liquid foundations I've forgotten about how great this brand is. Definitely loving this as a bronzer to finish out spring.

7. Sephora Pro Lesson Palette: Blue Eyes in all honesty I quickly added this palette to my shopping cart so I could get the free shipping, but I'm so glad I did. First of all 6 shadows for $9? Great deal. Plus it comes with instructions for 2 different looks. On top of the good deal the shadows are extremely rich and very smooth. Only one is matte, with the rest shimmery, but no glitter. My favorite shade is the coppery color (they call it soft beige), it had such pretty pigmentation that is very build-able.


In other big beauty news I've decided to add another subscription box to my beauty buying regimen. I may be going a tad overboard but when I found out about Beauty Army I couldn't help it.  Unlike most subscription services you actually get to pick your products (love that)! You start by filling out a pretty extensive beauty profile then you get 9 options to pick from (you can order up to 6). If you don't like the options? Just re-take the survey! It's $12, but I have to say this month I'm getting 3 full size products and 3 more large samples. While I still haven't received the box, I have to say I'm loving it already! If you want to learn more or sign up yourself just click here. 

Alright girls. I think that's about it for my May beauty favorites! What have you been loving this month?