Welcome to my first post in the Subscription Box Series! For the first month in this project, I chose to go with the Beauty Army. I ordered the box back on the 27th of last month (I was in the process of cancelling my Birchbox so I figured I'd go on and pick my first box for the series while I was at it) and my confirmation email said that it would take around 10 business days to receive my box. I believe it shipped around New Year's and I received it on Monday.
One thing I really liked about this box was that I was allowed to select my 6 samples. After creating a beauty profile on the basics--my skin color, skin concerns, preferred makeup looks and the samples I would like to receive, I was taken to a page with 9 samples and asked to select up to 6. I wasn't crazy about the samples, but I believe I would have had to take another test to get different results. I wasn't trying to do all of that, so I just stuck with these 6. Here's what I chose:
I chose these because for me, these were the most practical. The other three were samples I'd never need and never use; these weren't exactly what I was expecting but at least I got to choose. Even though we're in the midst of winter, Texas (my city in particular, which I am close to believing is right on the tip of hell's balls) is still pretty sunny so I'm in need of another sunscreen; I've been out of my COOLA sample for months. I'm not in strong need of a face wash, but I don't mind trying out another one. I'm trying to be a little more fitness-friendly this year, so $25 of downloadable workouts seems feasible and I wonder how many workouts you can get for $25 these days. I don't do much right now other than walking a few times a week and the occasional game on Wii Sports, but my stamina sucks ass and I really want to improve it. I believe I've heard of English Laundry, but I want to try out a new fragrance. My current makeup remover wipes are A+, so this option was partially to see if there was anything better. Lastly, I picked the BH because it was the only real makeup product on the sample list and I've been wanting to try more of the California Collection anyway. I have the San Francisco palette, but the one I've really been wanting to try is the Malibu. Each one of these are things I haven't tried or heard of; I wish there had been a few more makeup options but I'm aight without them. So let's give 'em a whirl, shall we?
I ordered my box right in the midst of holiday madness, so it took me awhile longer to receive it than it probably would have had I ordered it at another time of the year. So this is what came in the box:
I was hot when I first saw this in the box. I could lose this in a clutch bag easy and in order to stretch it out, I have to use it very sparingly. I've never received a sample this small, so maybe I'm an asshole but that irritated the hell out of me. However, it's a wonderful product. It blends translucently just like it says, I love that it has a high SPF, and it feels like velvet on the skin. It smooths out the texture of my face, makes it feel a lot softer, and blends in really easily. At first when you're smoothing it out it feels a little like a dry mousse, but it still blends in really well. Despite the fact that the sample size is baby ant small, it's a great product. I would recommend still moisturizing your face before using this if you have dry skin though; I used it this morning without lotion underneath and I noticed that it showed the small dry patches on my cheeks so that's a no-go. Moisturize your face first for better results, especially if you have dry skin.
2. Menza Daily Face Wash, $40
First of all, this is a men's face wash. Why was a men's face wash in my recommended samples? Despite the benefits it boasted, it ended up being nothing special at all. It smelled like hospital soap, firstly. I know that usually face & body washes for men are typically cleaner in scent than face & body washes for women, but I know many men aren't trying to walk around smelling as sterile as a hospital lobby. It was off-putting for me. The instructions say to pour a small amount of the wash into your hands and rub into a thick lather before putting on your face, but no thick lather ever develops. I get more lather and bubbles out of my Dove bar than I did this wash. Not only was I disappointed to (finally) realize that this was a men's face wash, I was disappointed that it smelled too sterile, didn't really lather at all, and didn't make my face feel any different than a dollar store face wash.
3. $25 in iTrain downloadable workouts
I honestly think I might try to find a way to get more workouts on here after I go through my full $25. The workouts are structured in terms of the type of exercise you want to do as well as your exercise level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and even differ in workout times. I really like that there are options for someone who wants to dance for a few minutes and not put up too much of a sweat in the process. I always figured I was asking for too much. LOL All of the workouts that I've seen are under $9, a few that I've picked out are only 99 cents so that's great, and I've seen workouts listed that last for either 20 or 30 minutes. The options are pretty wide ranging and I think it would be easy for people to find something that will benefit them and their requirements for a good workout.
4. English Laundry No. 7 Fragrance, $90 for 3.4oz.
I feel like I've smelled this before. It reminds me a lot of the fragrance I got in last month's Birchbox. It has a strong fragrance, but it fades a little in intensity the longer you wear it. It's not really my go-to for preferred fragrance scents, but I like it. It's kind of tart but sweet and depending on how much you spray you can get about 2 good uses out of the sample. The top notes of the fragrance are listed as a combination of fruits like pear, melon and apricot with jasmine, and secondary floral and nutty notes. The base notes are sandalwood, vanilla and musk, which explains why it smells similar to last month's Birchbox fragrance. I'm not crazy about it, but the tartness stands up to the colder weather, the floral notes soften out the pear and balance out the vanilla, and it's a clean sort of smell, not heavy or stuffy at all. Unless you drown yourself in it, at which point it becomes a personal problem and not my fault. LOL
5. Every Beauty Cleansing & Makeup Remover Pads, $6.99
These pads are sorta cool in that they start out dry and feel thicker than the average makeup remover wipe, and when you wet them the properties activate and help remove your warpaint. It was hard for me to abandon my current makeup removers but I wanted to see how this worked by itself. The pads are pretty thick, which I like. I guess if I did have a complaint with my current makeup remover wipes, it would be that they're very soft but could stand to be just a tad thicker. These come in a stack of 5 little square pads that you can tear off and use as needed, so thankfully it's not just one or two large pads. They work really well without you needing to rub the skin roughly, which I liked, and my skin didn't feel as rough or turn as red as it does when I use makeup remover pads other than my regular. If I was coming home after a long day and didn't feel like bothering to go through my entire skincare procedure and just wanted to take off the warpaint, these would be good.
6. BH Cosmetics California Collection Sample Trio, $17.95 for the San Francisco Palette
This sample trio includes an eyeshadow from each of the three California palettes, one of which I already own. When I tried to swatch the colors on my hand though, I was rather disappointed in the purple and tan shades; the purple had no intensity and the tan was too close to my skintone to really show up. It came off as more of a sheer shimmery color on me than anything actually pigmented. The gold was beautiful though. The funny thing about that is that the gold is from the Malibu palette, which is the one I wanted the most. Maybe that's a sign?
Fave: iTrain Gift Certificate
I wasn't expecting to order a beauty box and get some workouts for my troubles. One of my many excuses for not working out on the regular is that I can't find anything that I feel I can do and have fun with, but this gift certificate effectively shut me up. It was easy to register, find a number of workouts that are moderately timed for my desired level of exercise, and wouldn't immediately use up my gift certificate. For someone who doesn't really care for exercise, I'm really surprised that this ended up being my favorite product in the box.
Dud: Menza Face Wash/BH Cosmetics Trio
Funny note, when I was typing out the BH Cosmetics right now under the 'dud' category, I accidentally typed BS first instead LOL but then I realized that's how I actually felt about it. lol I was so excited to receive the trio because I love the company's eyeshadows and usually don't have too many problems getting a color to show up; they usually layer really well for me if I'm trying to increase the intensity. That wasn't the case with these, though, and two out of the three colors really disappointed me. The Menza was a dud on a few levels. No more to say about that.
Rating:
Overall: I came into the Beauty Army subscription expecting a little more than what I got, but I did get out of here with some cool stuff that I hadn't gotten from Birchbox, which was one of the major things I had been looking to do. I didn't want to change subscription boxes only to be exposed to the same products and Beauty Army didn't disappoint me there. The COTZ was a completely new thing to me and gave me a good alternative to my COOLA sunscreen & moisturizer. I might actually end up working out a few times thanks to the iTrain gift card, and if I run out of Avon makeup remover wipes before I can get some more, the Every Beauty ones are a more than worthy substitute. I'm a little interested to see what I would have gotten for next month had I continued my subscription, but not enough to actually order the box. lol
Rating:
Just average. Nothing special.
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