EcoEmi - January 2014 - Full Review

Hi friends,

Oh my, oh my! 2014 is starting really good with EcoEmi, this was by far one of the best boxes I have received this year! (LOL).

 

EcoEmi January 2014

 

 

Aura Cacia - Foam Bath - A+

Full Size (one packet) $3.29

 

 

I love Aura Cacia! Their products offer a great quality bathing experience and they are cruelty free and entirely botanical. This one has a very bright (summery) scent which I needed when considering the amount of blah weather we have had in NJ these past few weeks. The foam version of this aromatic bath is very soft and puffy...I thought it was very nice to play around with (yes, I am like a 5 year old when I take baths) and it lasted a long time too! Check out the Aura Cacia website for more fun products to try.

 

 

Sweet Riot - Dark Chocolate - A+

90 square cubes - $29.99

 

 

 



These chocolates are just divine! A cube of four was all I needed to satisfy my chocolate craving this week! Each square is only 25 calories and the intensity of the 70% cacao is really all you need to feel like you are indeed treating yourself, guilt-free. SweetRiot, as a brand, has been getting a lot of publicity lately (as seen on tv etc.) Check them out here.

 

 

Marie Natie - LipGloss - A-

0.27 oz is $18.00

 

 

 

Originally, I thought that $18 was a bit pricey for a simple  lip gloss. But overall, the quality does justify the high price tag. This is a beautiful shade of hot pink meets raspberry  glitter glamour! It is very suitable for daytime and nighttime wear and the color payoff is very close to what you see on my hand (above). As for the formula, it is a lacquered, thick gloss, so if you are not into gooey lips and thick layers of gloss, this one is not for you. For that reason I cannot give it a higher mark since I felt it was a bit too much as a sensation (heavy feeling). Otherwise, it is very hydrating (enriched with natural oils) and I would recommend you check out the Marie Natie website for see other colors within this line...

 

Image Source

 

 

Derma E - Evenly Radiant kin Trio - B+

Full Size - $15.95 to $27.95

 

 



 

The cleanser was very nice, a clear gel-like formula that did a great job at removing my makeup, even tough mascara. The dark circle cream was also nice to use, however, I did not care for the brightening night cream. I thought it was too thick and required a lot of working through the get it to penetrate my skin. That being said, all three left my skin moisturized and supple. You can check out their entire line and other ranges at the Dermstore online.

 

African Black Soap and Shaving Kit - F

Full Kit $29.99

 

 

I just hated this product and I can tell you why: I could not get past the smell. It is very intense, sort of like hemp mixed with wet cardboard. It bothered me while I was doing the video review and could not get rid of the scent throughout the day. As a result, I did not try the black soap - plus it looks too gross.

Sorry, EcoEmi, I know a lot of people swear by this stuff, I guess it's just too different for me.

 

Aquanatural - Sponge - B+

7 pieces - $7.75

 

 

I think this is a pretty good deal for natural sponges (just a bit over $1 each). I tried mine on my face the first night and it was a bit rough, so if you are looking for an exfoliating sponge, this one would be very good. As a body sponge, it's a tad too small (at least the sample was) but does a great job on elbows and knees. I like it.

 

Natural Flower Power - All Purpose Cleaner - B+

$7.99

 

 

I was very excited to try this product on my wooden floors. Overall, it did a good job as a cleaner, did not leave much streak and smelled delightful with hot clean water. Nice suds too. Unfortunately, I did not find that it had great lasting scent - I would have expected the Lavender to linger a bit longer. If you are allergic to cleaners or have pets who are allergic to cleaners, this one would be ideal. I did not try it on tiles, and therefore cannot rate it for that kind of surface. There is a large variety of natural cleaners on their website you may be interested to check out for yourself.

 

 

Unfortunately, I also received a soy candle I cannot review since I did not take pictures and already used to the bottom of the tin. It was a soy candle in chocolate raspberry scent from Natures Natural. I loved it and sure enough, I cannot find them on the web to provide you with a link. I apologize for that.

 

So, overall, this was another great box from EcoEmi, aside from the black soap scent aversion episode. I am still very much looking forward to my monthly box and cannot see myself cancelling the subscription anytime soon! Thanks again Christine!

 

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog.

Happy New Year,

Sophia, NJ.

You can find me on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE.

 

*This blog contains affiliate advertising such as Vera Bradley. I am not solicited to advertise or review products, all opinions are my own. I am not affiliated with ecoemi or any other brand mentioned in this post.

 



Birchbox - January 2014 - Full Review

Hi friends,

I sort of knew it would be too good the be true, the last Birchbox (December 2013) which was pretty good and reconciled me with the entire concept, gave way, alas, to a lousy batch.
And, after an entire year of being on the fence, I think I am just about ready to cancel my subscription.
I will wait for the February Box to make a final decision, but I am close to 90% sure Birchbox is toast for me! Why?

DRY SHAMPOO OVERDOSE!

BIRCHBOX JANUARY 2014

 

Klorane - Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk - D

Full Size $18

 

 

I know that a lot of bloggers rave about this product and dry shampoos in general. As with every other review on my blog, this is my opinion, and my opinion only, based on my experience.

Outside of camping and being under medical care (unable to move) I just cannot see the point of Dry Shampoos, any of them.

Further, Birchbox is supposed to be tailoring the boxes to my needs and likes. Quite frankly, having written in my profile that I have coarse, frizzy and unmanageable hair, that should be a red flag that Dry shampoo just ain't for me!

I explain: in order to get the product to work its supposed magic, one is expected to repeatedly comb or brush through their hair so that the stuff is provided ample opportunity to absorb oil and other gunk  (the result of lack of shower). At the end of said ample brushing and combing through,  two things will happen to my hair:

 

1- it completely loses its natural curls, bounce and otherwise shape to morph into

2 - a two sided flat panel in shades of dull.

 

I now have tried 4 dry shampoos between January 2013 and January 2014 - three of them from Birchbox, each was a disaster. Klorane, though is in the better scent category, provided the exact same effect. In conclusion, Dry Shampoo is not for frizzy curly hair, all it does is deodorizes the scalp in manner of powdered carpet shampoos...and we all know that these don't work at cleaning the rug either! 

 

Camille Beckman - Body Butter - Midnight Monarch - B+

Full Size $15

 

 

This is an okay body lotion with a very nice scent - in the like of high end perfumed body lotions. The formula is pretty standard, again, nothing out of the ordinary here, but there is an added bonus from the scent, a flowery musk,  which makes it very suitable as a wear alone scent. I enjoyed it, but will not go out of my way to purchase it on my own. Check out Camille Beckman's website, there seems to be a lot of goodies to look at and maybe purchase.

 

 

Paula's Choice - C15 Booster - C

Full Size $45

 

I have heard of Paula's Choice - in a good way - and was excited to try this product. However, it was a big disappointment to me. The formula for this anti-aging liquid is nothing like that of a serum, which I thought it would be. The texture is more like water, it completely runs in between fingers and to me that is a lot of expensive product being wasted on knuckles. It has no scent, I am assuming this is a good thing, and once applied (whatever was salvaged) it quickly absorbed like a nothing. I used this for an entire week and did not see any difference but I heard that Vitamin C helps other creams penetrate deeper, hence the C rating rather than a complete fail. The price is just too prohibitive for something that is so wasteful in its application. Check out more Paula's Choice products here.

 

Under Armour - Braided Mini Headband - D-

3-pack $19.99

 

 

Under Armour is a very interesting brand. They provide a lot of undergarments (tops and bottoms) for sports fanatics, tough mudders and the military, not to mention hunting enthusiasts. Their fabrics are sweat and odor resistant, sustain extreme cold temperatures etc. If you are very athletic and run a lot, you probably know about the company itself.

At first, I was not all that thrilled about the headband: the color itself is very reminiscent of sneaker laces to me, even worse, 1980's laces and I try my best to forget my 80s growing pains, hair and all...It's just not my style. Well, lo and behold, the band did not fit my head, it's just too small. I can't give it a fail since my head size is the problem, but it sure is not all that good looking in the first place.

 

 

100% Pure - Fruit Pigmented Mascara - B

Full Size $18

 

This is an okay mascara. What I liked about it is the scent: fruits! Other than that, the brush is a standard mascara brush, no big deal, the pigmentation is pretty good and it has okay staying power. There are better mascaras for the same price. But check out 100% Pure online, they have a lot of organic, cruelty free and environmental friendly products.

 

So there, Birchbox was a semi fail this month for me. Outside of the body butter, there was nothing impressive about this box and still it was just an okay lotion that turned out to smell great! I get plenty of that with my vast collection of Bath and Body Works stuff already.

 

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, February will probably be my last box.

If you were on the fence about whether to get Birchbox, I probably will do a final post with an entire year worth of boxes (next month) to give you an idea (and average) about the boxes, month after month. They are still fun to get, but since I am finally off the Ipsy (Glam Bag) waiting list, I won't need three subscriptions!

 

 

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog.

Happy New Year,

Sophia, NJ.

You can find me on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE.

 

*This blog contains affiliate advertising such as Vera Bradley. I am not solicited to advertise or review products, all opinions are my own. I am not affiliated with Birchbox or Ipsy Glam Bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



How to organize a catch-all drawer - Part I

Hi friends,

Today I begun the process of sorting out and organizing my many catch-all drawers around the house, specifically the dining room and living room.
Next week, I will tackle the living room dresser, but today, I went up against this monster:

Well, at least the top drawer, which looked like this:

I think we all have one of those catch-all drawers, maybe you call it a junk drawer. It is the "quick hide this" option for those of us who never really thought through this entire process of O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N, until today.

You can watch the entire process in this video where I also explain some of the thought process that went into determining the function of this specific drawer:




I started by methodically emptying the drawer and using the top surface of my dresser for sorting. On the right side, I kept all items related to stationary and writing (sort of like a mini office) and on the left, all items that are dedicated to the dining room itself.

And in the middle, all the stuff that does not belong to either category and needed to be sorted and moved somewhere else! And that was most of the junk in there!

 

 

I cut a flat piece of wood to size (a leftover from my boys' bunk beds) and used it as a divider for the drawer itself, clearly separating the two categories/functions I designated for the drawer (stationary + dining items only).

 

 

And here is the right side: all stationary - I am up-cycling the tin box to store all the new batteries.

On the left side, I am using the same system whereby I separate my category further with additional containers. I find that when things are contained, they do not fall out, roll or get tangled.

And voila!



Overall, this was a rather fast project to complete - and I truly feel like an idiot for having procrastinated for so long! Next week end I will be moving on to the three drawer monster that is in my living room!

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog.

Happy New Year,

Sophia, NJ.

You can find me on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE.

 

 

 

 

 

*This blog contains affiliate advertising such as Vera Bradley. I am not solicited to advertise or review products, all opinions are my own.