Black Box Subscriptions October 2015

Today I'll be talking about my second Black Box Subscriptions box! This is a monthly $20 gothic goodies box that delivers everything from dark makeup, jewelry, and bath and body products! The best part is everything is hand picked just for you based on a survey.

I liked this box a lot better than last month so I don't know if Vixx has seen my video/blog review and updated accordingly or if she just followed my survey answers a bit more closely this time regarding the silver jewelry and hair clip issue. :P

Either way this box was really fun.  It had a mix of Halloween, skull, and spider decorations making the box look really festive and fabulous.

 S.he Makeup Nail Lacquer in Black

This nail polish came with her logo sticker on it so I had to do a bit of searching to discover the brand.  I have never heard of S.he before but after throwing it on my nails quick I can already tell I liked the Wet n Wild formula from last month's box better, so that will remain my go to black polish for now.

Where to buy: ikatehouse.com

Price: $1.80

Free Book Downloads

So this was a new and interesting item!  I got a free download for a book and 2 short stories.

The short stories are from the book KAOS Obsidere: The Nightmare Has Begun: A Dark Fiction and the novel is Charlie Sullivan and the Monster Hunters: The Varcolac's Diary. I am really excited to download these books and check them out.  I love dark fiction such as Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Darren Shan, so I am very pleased with these!

Where to buy: Amazon.com

Price: ~$3

Halloween Stickers

Like last month this box included a set of 4 Halloween stickers.  Not sure what I'm going to be doing with these yet but they are pretty cute.

Price: ~ $.025

Doe Earrings

My first piece of jewelry this month were these very adorable little deer earrings.  They are small and delicate and pretty cute.  I also noticed after taking this close up shot that I think they have little skulls engraved on their sides which is pretty awesome.

Here they are dangling from my ear so you can get a better idea of size. They are cute and silver so I have no complaints! 

I did some googling and found a picture of these in google images but when I followed the link it took me to a no longer existing Etsy page so I have no idea where to get these or how much they cost.

Price: ~$2-3

Wire Wrapped Bead Necklace

My second piece of jewelry was this presumably handmade by Vixx herself wire wrapped bead necklace.  The pendant is a purple bead with a wire wrapping design, attached to a necklace made of ribbon and string.  It is very unique and I have nothing like it, it also looks very nice on. I approve!

Because this is handmade I can only estimate the price

Price: ~$2-3

Black Gothic Bow

My accessory this month was a very beautiful and elegant black bow.  It has a more secure clip meaning it will actually stay in my hair.  Even though I haven't worn a hair accessory in about a year I really like how this looks and decided to wear it to school today. It is definitely my style!

I doubt I'll be able to find this exact bow but bows of this kind seem to go for about $5 on Etsy

Price: ~$5

Dark Candles Chocolate Bat Tealights

I was super super happy about this item! I love candles and have one burning almost all the time.  These candles are in the scent Chocolate Bat and are from Dark Candles Halloween collection. 

This candle smells divine. I love it.  It isn't too sweet like I feared with a name that has chocolate in it, but instead the chocolate is balanced with other pleasant notes.

The website says "A tantalizing blend of chocolate and a mixture of Halloween candy!" 

I feel like the scent smells darker and more mysterious than their description make sit seem, but its not a big deal, I love the scent and that's all that matters. The next time I am in need of some new candles I will definitely be checking this company out.

Where to buy:darkcandles.com

Price: $2.00

Spider Web Pen from Strange Omens

This pen and the soap that follows were in a bag with a tag that said Happy Haunting! From Strange Omens.  When I went to Pagan Pride my boyfriend and I made some purchases from their stand so I was already familiar with this company.  I can't find this pen on their website but it is pretty cute.  It is quite small, about half the size of a regular pen.  It has a spider web design on the body and is encased in bright orange plastic.  Not going to lie it feels a little cheap but the small size makes it really nice for carrying in my wristlet wallet, so I'll be using this regardless.

Price: ~$1

Dreaming Tree Monster Mash Soap

These soaps are available for purchase from Strange Omens website but the brand itself also has a website so I'll link that for this item as well.

I love handmade small business bath and body products as is evident with my intense obsession with Fortune Cookie Soap so I was quite pleased to see this in my box! This soap is by Dreaming Tree Soapworks and it smells amazing. There are way too many delicious things going on at once so I couldn't even begin to tell you the notes but the website provides this description: "Drac's own secret recipe! A fun and fruity punch blend of cranberry, raspberry & citrus vanilla, magical herbs and autumn spices."

 I would totally buy this in a full size, it smells so lovely. It is a truly perfect autumn scent.

Where to buy: Strangeomens.com and dreamingtreesoapworks.com

Price: Full size is $7.50 so this sample is probably around $2-3

And that is it for this month's Black Box! This box had so many one of a kind items and fun small business additions.  I am very very pleased with this month.  I don't even care how much the items add up to because there is no other way I would have been able to try Dark Candles and Dreaming Tree without committing to full size products first.  The jewelry is also so my style and I am just so happy with this box.

www.blackboxsubscriptions.com

Want to watch me unbox it?

Ipsy Glam Bag October 2014

Get ready for Ipsy's October glam bag! YAY! I was actually not looking forward to this bag at all but after trying everything out my mind was definitely changed.  

Why was I not looking forward to this bag you ask? Well hair products tend to not work with my short hair, I prefer lipstick to lip glosses, cleansers can smell really annoying, hand lotion can give me a rash, and the eye shadow looked like it might be lame.  I was proven wrong with EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT.

As far as the bag itself, so cute! Such an adorable teal color, I love it! I could see using this as a clutch with either of my two teal dresses :)

1. ECRU New York Acacia Protein BB Cream for Hair

"A first in haircare. Finally, an ultra-light, incredibly versatile, all-in-one multifunctional beauty balm that harnesses the moisturizing and protective power of the patented Acacia Collagen™ for ultimate repair, conditioning, manageability, smoothness, body and shine. Perfect for all hair types. Color safe. Paraben free."

4/5

I was a little bit nervous about this product as over 50% of the time hair products don't work very well with my pixie cut however I am definitely a fan of this product! When used in damp hair I can style it without using my hair fiber and when I put it in dry hair it gives it a boost of softness and body.  I've used this every day since getting it in my bag! Only issue would be it has a slightly weird smell.

Here is the best attempt I could get at a before and after for this product.  It adds more shine and makes it easier to achieve volume.  What you can't see is how soft it makes my hair. <3

Where to buy: Ecrunewyorkcom

Price: $12

2. Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser

"Indie Lee’s bestselling Brightening Cleanser naturally washes away impurities to leave skin soft, refreshed, and luminous."

3/5

I usually hate clear cleansers because they tend to be super runny and hard to use but this formula has some viscosity to it making it not run everywhere when squeezed from the tube.  When rubbing it  into the skin it foams up a little bit and seems to throughly clean my face.  I have not broken out from this which is always a good sign.  My only issue with it is that it has too strong of a smell.  If the smell of my cleanser is going to be strong it had better be a freaking amazing scent, but unfortunately this is not the case for this product.  The smell isn't bad...just not wonderful.

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Where to buy: Indielee.com

Price: $32 ($4)

3. Figs & Rouge Hand Cream in Rose Berry

"Figs & Rouge Shea Butter Enriched Limited Edition Hand Creams are deliciously fragrant & indulgent. These delectable creams soften, nourish & thoroughly pamper hands throughout the day, quickly absorbing to provide super-soft skin. Apply Figs & Rouge Hand Cream onto your hands and massage into skin throughout the day as needed."

5/5

Hand creams always make me nervous because the scent can either suck or I can sometimes get a rash on the back of my hands.  This lotion did not suffer from either issue.  I've used it a few times and have had no rash or burning.  The smell is also WONDERFUL.  While in Istanbul, Turkey my mom and I drank a lot of what they called Love Tea.  This lotion smells just like that tea so it brings back many fond memories every time I use it. :)

This may be a new product, I had trouble finding it for sale.

Where to buy: feelunique.com

Price: $6.50

4. Jesse's Girl Mneralized Baked Shadow Powder in Plum Frost

"Get out-of-this-world eyes with Jesse’s Girl Mineralized Baked Powder Eyeshadows. "

4/5

At first this eye shadow was a huge let down.  I wasn't able to get any pigmentation from it at all, it swatched as a very slight wine shimmer.  However after I kept using it and using it I noticed that as I got past that first initial layer the color went from barely there to a very nice deep shimmery wine.  I am now  very happy with this shadow and so glad I got this color over some of the alternatives. Use over primer or wet for maximum pigmentation.

Where to buy: Jessesgirlcosmetics.com

Price: $3.99

5. Starlooks Lip Gloss in Guilty Pleasure

"Starlooks Lip Glosses are created with a truly moisturizing, luxury, non-sticky formula. This neutral-rose, yet glamorous shade provides the perfect glisten for any lip look and complements any skin tone! Can be worn alone or in combination with other Starlooks lip products for a truly customizable finish"

4/5

I was worried this lip gloss was going to be a repeat of last month's Caylin gloss.  I should have put more trust in Starlooks because it definitely is not! The color is very flattering and it does not settle into lip lines. It lasts a good 2 hours, gradually fading evenly during that time. Would have liked to potentially see a longer lasting potential

  It reminded me of Urban Decay's Naked lip gloss in Lovechild so I swatched them next to each other.  Guilty Pleasure is a bit darker and has a bit more pigmentation with an equally good performance. Perhaps this lip gloss could be a good dupe for Urban Decay's Naked line.

Where to buy: Starlooks.com

Price: $12 (Website does not list size so this mini I'm guessing is about $4 worth)

In total I really liked this bag much more than I was expecting.  I even bought the Guilty Pleasure lip set that Starlooks had as a special so look forward to a review of that!

All in all this bag came out to be about $30 which is extremely low for what it usually is.  However I like the products so much that I don't even really care if its not in the normal $40 range.  As long as I like the products and they work I'm not too concerned that they don't cost a fortune.  If anything there is a much higher chance I'll buy them because of affordability.

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