Coppertone Clearly Sheer

This month I was lucky enough to be chosen to try a bevy of products by Coppertone from BzzAgent. I was given these products complimentary for review purposes.

I have reviewed a few products through BzzAgent, but I have never received a box so stuffed with product! This was so exciting to dive into.

 
Wow! Look at all that stuff! BzzAgent really wanted me to get the buzz out. I had a deluxe size for myself, and several others to give to a select few cool people.

 Also included was a tear pad of coupons! Most of these went to close friends and co workers. I love a nice high value coupon and so does everyone I know!

The first product I tried was the Coppertone Continuous Spray w/ an SPF 50. I loved that this spray was so easy to apply. It felt cooling on my skin, left no residue, and applied evenly. It was effective and lasting the entire day! My only slight complaint was the scent was a bit strong. It smelled a bit like baby powder and bug spray. Not my favorite. I am cool to wear this while swimming, but prob not going out around a lot of people.

I received several mini Clearly Sheer for Sunny Days SPF 30 lotions and one deluxe size! This product is amazing!! You must try it. It smells like coconut, Hawaii, and beaches. You know, a vacation in a bottle. It is like wearing body lotion with benefits. It did not leave a residue and absorbed immediately and smoothly. I experienced no break outs or sensitivity, and I did not get a sun burn! Even after an entire day on the boat. Wonderful!

This was clinically tested on acne prone skin and proved to be A-OK. And I can attest for that. I break out easily, but this was great! It says you can use this under make up as a great primer also. I was not that brave, and I also have a primer that has an SPF in it, but I am sure this would have been fine.

I would highly recommend trying Coppertone Clearly Sheer as a great sun screen and moisturizer for summer. Everyone that I let try this product loved it!

May Ipsy- Quick Pic Post

Not Ipsy's best month. I liked the bag because it's very earthy. And I get where they were trying to go with this. But I miss getting a bag focusing on make up. I thought that was what Ipsy was about!

Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask and Sans Tan Sun Tan Lotion SPF 35. Moisturizer and a hair mask.. 2 things I simply cannot use for I am a walking oil spill.

Barefoot Spa Professional Exfoiliating Polish. I will use these. I just have not yet. 

Pacifica Mineral Eye Shadow. This is kind of fugly. I didn't bother with this. It's somewhere.

Olive Natural Beauty Olive Lip Balm. Also something I have not opened. I will use this though.

I can totally appreciate having several full sized products. That is why I will still stay true to Ipsy. I may not have loved May's bag, but I know there will be plenty more to love in the future. Plus, for $10.00 a month, I think the value is still here.

If you'd like to try Ipsy, and I do recommend them highly.. Click here. It will take you to sign up!

May Birch Box

I'm not going to go into too much detail about May's Birch Box. Just going to show you what I got and bust out a few opinions.

May's box was partnered with Kate Spade Saturday. The box itself had the signature stripes and bright yellow tissue paper. It also included a $25.00 gift card that expires in July. $25.00 at Kate Spade won't getcha much so I am holding onto it until some items I like go on sale.

Everyone got 2 Smarty Pants Gummy Vitamins. A package of these is expensive! Wow. Like 30 something bucks. That's crazy. These tasted way too much like a vitamin and the serving size is 6 gummy pieces. The ones I usually take are only 2 pieces and taste much better. Pass.

This Marcelle BB cream is dark on my ivory complexion. I really have to smooth it in for a long time for it to blend at all.  I also got Cynthia's Rowley's eyeliner in Silver. I don't use silver eye liner because I am blonde w/ green eyes and ivory skin. Light colors wash me out, I pretty much stick to warm colors.

I know this shampoo and conditioner is super expensive. I haven't tried it and I've got it stashed for my next vacation.

This lotion is Gilchrist & Soames Spa Therapy and it smells very light, beachy, and airy. I really like it but I won't be repurchasing. It kind of smells weird when it is rubbed on the skin.

So my May Birch Box was okay. It didn't wow me and mostly I won't use any of this stuff really… Kind of a waste. But considering the review points and the deal I got on the year subscription, I am not that upset. Sometimes BB is amazing, other times not. But when it is.. it more than makes up for it.

I didn't do a cost break down because these are all sample sizes and not one full sized item this month.

Lush Haul

I finally gave in to the hundreds of reviews I've been seeing recently going on and on about how wonderful Lush is. So I ordered a couple of things online to give it a shot. We have a Lush somewhat nearby (Okay..about 45 min away) but not near enough to warrant a trip through stop and go traffic due to construction.

I started out with Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter -$16.95. That's a lot of money for a tiny tub of gunk. But this stuff is great and I'm glad I tried it. You may have noticed in the past couple of nail polish pics that my cuticles are shot. We had over 40 days of -15 degree weather and my skin suffers a lot. I need all the help I can get. I keep this on my desk at work, slather my nails in it and keep on typing. The smell is like Suki's Exfoliating Scrub. If you've tried that (who hasn't?) and liked it, you'll like this.

I had to get Grease Lightning because along with the cold dry winters we also get muggy hot summers.  My face 'glistens' with oil more than I'd care to admit. I also have large pores and an oily complexion that makes me prone to acne. I don't get acne all the time but usually once a month for about a week (haha..wonder when that is) and then it is pretty darn bad. I am hoping this helps. So far I can't say for sure. This set me back $13.95. 

Below is the Stimulating and Reviving Minty Shampoo Bar -$11.95. This smells like cinnamon but the scent doesn't stick around. I've been using it every day for weeks and I haven't even made a dent! I cannot believe how long lasting this is. Most all natural shampoos have no lather and are hard to manage. This is not the case for this, it's bubbly and squishy and perfect. I chose this one because I have very thin hair that falls out constantly. This is supposed to stimulate your scalp to promote growth. I now need to figure out what to do with all the extra shampoos I have accrued.. because I don't think I will ever use anything else. The case for this was $3.95.

Most bath bombs are $4.95 and this was no exception. This one is a therapy bomb for sore muscles. Ever since a car accident I was in 10 years ago I have horrible back pain. I often sit in epsom salt baths and thought this would be fun. Honestly, this didn't do anything for me and I will stick to Epsom Salt.

I got a tiny Porridge Soap sample but I haven't tried it yet because it's teeny weeny.

 Other than the bath bomb I really loved what I got and I will for sure be repurchasing at least 2 of the items.

April Glossybox

Glossy Box dropped the ball in April. I don't remember exactly when I got my box.. but it was not in April. I also did not receive an e-mail letting me know of any delays, and no compensation for the long wait. On top of that I had planned to take the product surveys for glossy dots, and use said glossy dots for my May box to be free. Instead, because the box was so late, I was charged for May before I even received April or had the chance to redeem points. 

I'm not going to provide links or referral links because honestly I feel that Glossy Box has taken a turn for the worst lately. The products are just eh. Not the high end, beautifully curated box that lured me in.

I really ended up enjoying Aqua Spa's Relax Body Creme in Lavender Chamomile  2 oz-$1.75. A lot of customers were very let down by this Wal-Mart brand hand creme. I completely agree that it is not something I would expect from Glossy Box. Now if I had bought this for the $1.75 I'd be enthralled. I love this smell, and I have it right next to my bed to use before I sleep. 

We received a full sized LASplash Comestics Splashproof Sealer Eyeshadow Base -$9.00.  I use Urban Decay's Primer Potion so this would never even compare. Not even close. I did use it for several days and by the end of the day I had significant creasing.

Also included was a full sized BellaPierre Cosmetics Super Gloss in Vanilla Pink -$24.00. I haven't opened this yet because I literally have dozens of lip glosses. I'm just not sure how many more I can handle. I try to use a different one every day but I have too many.

Something that was varied was  1 oz of Caldrea's body wash -$1.50. I got the scent of  Tea Olive Lime and I was kind of hesitant. I don't think the name (or at least the olive part) gives a good head image. But I am pleased to report that this is such a lovely scent and smells nothing like olives. I even swapped for a full sized moisturizer.

Lastly is Ciate's Paint Pot in Skinny Dip -$15.00. I was very happy to receive this brand since I have never tried them before. I was worried that the cute packaging was going to be all for show and that the polish would be lack luster. Not the case. Love this. I really would have preferred a more summery color, I think this is a little more Halloween than summer. But the formula was great, the color was bright and smooth and opaque in one coat. And this with a top coat was very long lasting! About 5 days without chips! Now that is impressive.

The total value for this box is about $51.25. That is a good value for the $21.00 it cost, but I wasn't wowed. I just wasn't feeling it. And I really own so many beauty products at this point that I have been giving them away.. so why am I paying for them?

I'm really interested in more house hold, gift,  and accessory subs that I can use more in my daily life than 200 lip glosses. If you want to recommend any.. that'd be cool. 

More Outside

We have really been enjoying being new home owners. But it is a lot of hard work!

We have about 5 bunnies that live in our woods and mostly chill in our yard so I had to think of a way to grow strawberries where they wouldn't get eaten. This hanging bag works great.

We had some old torn out fencing that we were going to burn but instead Tony built a raised bed.

Is it weird that I love doing laundry? Like.. really love it. I find it to be very calming.

And of course I had to include a haul picture. Recent Bath & Bodyworks haul. They had a promotion for a free candle so I couldn't resist.  Also, this mini perfume of Endless Summer smells so great.