Purge 2

Here are some more products that I have used up recently!

1. Spring Valley Hair, Skin & Nails Biotin/Collagen/Gelatin Supplement
For review see this previous post.

2. Boscia Pore Purifying Black Strips
I love this product! While it is more expensive than a drug store Biore-like pore strip, the price difference makes a huge difference in results. These Boscia strips really grabbed onto the gunk in my pores and have made them look the best they have looked ever! Following these strips with a face mask and I managed to actually make my pores on the side of my nose less noticeable (though the retnoid that I was prescribed made them practically disappear) which I think is amazing! I would re-buy these but at this time I am putting it off due to the retnoid cream I am using. I am considering buying the peel off face mask though! Given the success of these strips I think I would also like the peel off mask. Has anyone tried the mask?

3. Garnier Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream
This was actually my second contain of this face gel. I LOVED the first container but some how once I was about halfway through this one I got bored. I loved the texture and the smell (garnier really needs to sell a body spray of the scent of their products!) and felt that it helped me to retain moisture. However I don't think this gel actually GIVES you any moisture, just helps you retain what you have. Also, I found that if you have a dry area of your face that is dry enough to flake, this gel didn't help that and that area would actually sting. So, pros and cons. I could see this gel being highly loved by oily skin users! With my combination skin, parts of my face loved it and parts hated it. I bought the SPF cream version from this line thinking I would like it more since it should sting less. When I form a full opinion on that product I will review it here

4. Chap Ice Lip Balm
I got this chap stick for free at my school during finals week (we have random acts of kindness during finals and one of the days was chap stick day). I love it in the sense that it feels like a stick of petroleum; I hate it in the sense that it goes through itself rather fast since it tends to go on your lips thickly. I probably wouldn't buy this, but I would enjoy getting it for free again. It did get me through so hard chapped lip times haha.

5. Befine Night Cream
For review see this previous post.

6. Kate Spade Twirl Perfume
For review see this previous post.

7. Liftlab Lift & Fix High Potency Solution
For review see this previous post.

8. Degree Nature Effects Honeysuckle + Tea Tree Oil Body Mist
For review see this previous post.

9. Nexxus ProMend Split End Binding Targeted Leave-In Treatment
For review see this previous post.

10. BareVitamins Skin Rev-er Upper
This was my second bottle of this product. I first received this product when I got my Bare Minerals starter kit a while back. I neglected the product at first because I didn't know what it was for but then I started using it because I figured using it up was better than throwing it away. After I started using it as a moisturizer I realised the wonders it was doing for my skin. This plus a regular face washing routine made my face so much clearer than it has ever been! Because of this I bought the 2nd bottle. I definitely will re-buy this product again if I stop using the retnoid i was prescribed by the dermatologist.

September Birchbox!

Yay September Birchbox!
Don't know what Birchbox is? Or wanna sign up? Click Here

Here is what I received: (As last time, will update with reviews and I try and form opinions on products)

1. Incoco Nail Polish Applique in a Sparkly bright blue color
Because of where I work I have yet to have the opportunity to try these out, but I am still excited to! If not sooner, I will definitely try these out by the holiday time when I am done with my internship and I can get away with fun nail polish. While I could probably use these on my toes just fine, I feel that would be a waste because then I couldn't look at the fun color all day. It's like a party on your nails!


2. Jouer Lip Enhancer
I like this lip product. It has a good scent, no bad taste or anything either. It doesn't dry out my lips but I wouldn't say it is super moisturizing either. It definitely does maintain the current moisture level of your lips, and never stings. But, that's just it about this product: it kind of boring and eh. I don't think I'd ever buy this full price because the price doesn't seem worth it to me for something that is just fine. Especially when I can get the same reaction from something cheaper. 


3. Liv Grn Earth Eau de Parfum
I wouldn't buy this product either. It has a lovely scent, but is just too sweet and green apple candy like to me. It's refreshing to smell after my floral heavy summer, but I wouldn't buy something this scent in a perfume, this is a scent better left to cheaper body sprays and the like (like maybe a Bath and Body Works scent that is similar to this one? I wouldn't mind this scent in a shower product! In fact... I might love that.)


4. Pangea Organics Facial Cream for Normal to Combination Skin
I would never buy this product. The cream itself is fine, seemed to moisturize my skin nicely. However, I wasn't super convinced by its moisturization due to the runny nature of the cream; it's definitely a lotion, not a cream in my opinion. But what really turned me off from this product was the smell. Thyme and Lavender alone or together (like here) are not scents that are meant to be in moisturizers in my opinion. Because moisturizers go on the nose and the scents may linger for a bit scents of my moisturizers are important to me. I love thyme in food, and I love lavender in sachets, but that is how I want to keep those scents. Get them out of my moisturizer!


5. BONUS Birchbox Friendship Bracelet
While cute, I think this bracelet is kinda lame. Maybe it's because I feel like I could definitely make a bracelet like this myself, or maybe its the low quality and thin feel of the charm, but I don't like it and I'll never wear it. I'm going to see if I can sell it on ebay or something. The bracelet itself is nice quality though (unlike the charm), but that doesn't save it for me. Plus, I'm not really into that whole bracelet stacking and clothy bracelet trend that is going around, I did that when I was 13 and when I worked at summer camp so I've been over that look for years.

Steals and Deals: $100/90 Anthropolgy Sweater for $10 and $38 Collective Skirt for $8!!!!

So I don't know if any of you have heard of the magical place called Gabriel Brothers, or its brother company Rugged Warehouse? It is truely a magical place. It had name brand designers for less like Marshalls and TJMaxx does, but usually for even better prices! To find the real deals you have to be willing to dig and go through everything but it is so victorious when you find things like I did last week!

So while waiting for an oil change at my car dealership place I saw a sign for Rugged Warehouse in the shopping center accross the street and just KNEW I had to go after my car was done because I knew about the wonders of Gabriel Brothers in Pennsylvania and also knew that Rugged Warehouse was supposed to be the same. I never knew that there were any Rugged Warehouses in MD or even that one would be super close to me! So I was ECSTATIC!

As you can probably tell from the title I got two amaaaaazing deals there.

The first was from the tiny little Anthropologie rack, that I really did freak out over the fact that there even was a rack. Then I freaked out more when I found this goooorgeous sweater. Its a size large, but I don't even care! It's moth brand, its gorgeous, is bordeaux, it has buttons on the shoulders, its wool. I. am. in. love. AND IT WAS ONLY 10 DOLLARS!!! Anthropologie for 10 freakin' dollars! I have died and gone to heaven! I love practically everything from Anthropologie but have never been able to even afford their sale items haha.
Here is a similar item being sold on the Anthropologie website so you can compare the price difference etc: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?navAction=jump&id=22565295&parentid=SEARCH_RESULTS&color=004

The second item was on the Urban Outfitters rack that I almost didn't see! And then also mildly freaked out over once I found it. Wasn't as earth shaking as the Anthropologie rack, but was still super exciting. For some reason Rugged Warehouse seems to have every cute thing in like size 10, and not something even remotely close to my size, but then I found this skirt! In my size! In bordeaux! In a style I've wanted to try after seeing Sarah Hawkinson haul some similar UO skirts in a youtube video (don't know which so just linked her blog. Isn't posted on her blog as far as I can tell). And I got this for only $8! OMG! I could wear this for one season and be justified in the purchase. But the quality is SO good because its UO, so I think it'll last me quite a while! Yippie! Cuz I've been trying to get a nice skirt collection because I literally only have like 4 in styles/patterns that are hard to style in more than one outfit each haha. This one should be more versatile :)
Here is a similar item being sold on the Urban Outfitters website so you can compare the price difference etc: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=18022988&color=041&itemdescription=true&navAction=jump&search=true&isProduct=true&parentid=SEARCH+RESULTS


As you can see I was really feeling the bordeaux that day! haha. I didn't own anything in bordeaux until now. I think it is a prgression from my purchasing of pink items this summer, a color I also didn't really have anything. Bordeaux is kinda like the fall version. But I love it even more than my pink phase. How did I ever go without bordeaux in my wardrobe until now???!!!

I also got a pair of earrings for like 3 dollars or something, but was a nothing brand so haven't taken a picture or anything. If someone is super interested, comment below and I'll edit the post and include it.

What about you guys? Have any secret good-deal places? Make any amazing purchases recently for ridiculously low prices? Share your steals and deals in the comments below or leave me a link to your blog post! :)