October '13 Birchbox!

HRRNNNGGG IT FEELS SO GOOD TO FINALLY HAVE MY COMPUTER BACK ლ(ಥДಥლ)

Though it's also utterly sad and shameful to realize how reliant on this chunk of magical metal I am... oh well, I guess I'm mostly happy to have it fixed and humming happily in my lap once again.

To kick off my return to the blogosphere (you probably didn't even realize I was gone considering it was only a few days hhahaha *head hang of shame*) I've got my October Birchbox to share with you all! I got this way back on Monday and was so gutted that I couldn't share it with you right away; this has got to be one of the best Birchboxes I've ever received.
Eeeeeeeevvvveeeeeeeeerrrrrr.
And with that many exaggerated italics you know I mean it. Take a closer look after the jump!

Blogger needs to get it together; it's still 'aging' some of my photos... I promise there isn't soot all over my window ledge like it appears in the second photo (it's going to continue throughout the post so I'm sorry in advance #IblameBlogger).

Birchbox nailed it not only with the samples this month but also with the theme; most of these products have definitely created a buzz throughout the blogosphere, so much so that I even own one of them already. The others are things are a couple of gems that I hadn't seen/heard of before but am more than happy to test and welcome into my beauty hoard (welcome to my dark dresser drawer... I'll see you in a few months).

The first thing I noticed in my Birchbox this month was this adorable little sample of benefit's fake up. You may or may not know/remember but I adore this stuff. I raved about it when I first blogged about it and also when I put it at the top of the pyramid in my March '13 Best & Worst of Beauty (which I can't believe both were done half a year ago already! Time flies when you're in grad school, you work, you have a cat-child, you have TV to watch...) and I still feel the same to this day. 

My stick of fake up is nearly all used up and I was shedding premeditative maiden tears over it each morning... but then Birchbox wiped my weepy face and gave me the cutest little sample to hold me over for another few weeks! It looks utterly and pathetically small but this truly will last a good three-ish weeks because you don't need a whole heck of a lot for it to work its magic.

I don't think words will EVER be able to describe how I felt when I saw this beautiful box sitting inside of my Birchbox (though words can express how excited I was to see that fate obviously played a hand in this being sent to me because it matches my nails; that one word is "YUSS"). Ever since the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish started popping up all over the blogosphere (it was the worst case of product acne I think I had ever seen... right next to the Rimmel Apocalypse) I simultaneously suffered heart palpitations and weeping spells because, like most good beauty things, it was only available in the UK. 

BLAST. BLAST IT ALL TO H*LL AND BACK.

But I suppose it's all good because now I have this super duper fantastically sized (it's a whole fluid ounce, people!!) bottle to try out for myself as well as the muslin cloth that's apparently essential to the skincare magic. I was a liiiiiiiiiiittle upset to see that the cloth counted as one of my samples but, upon seeing that you apparently need to purchase them separately anyways, I understand and am just glad I didn't get one or the other (like they do with shampoo/conditioner samples sometimes) and rather got the infamous duo.

Being the lip product junkie that I am (it is, hands down, the biggest part of my makeup hoard) I was more than happy to see this (full size?) lip gloss in my Birchbox. I received the shade "Flowering Fuchsia" which seemed right up my alley so I happily twisted the cap off... only to discover that this is no ordinary lip gloss tube!! The cap is attached to what, at first glance, looks like a spongey doe foot applicator however once you rub this on your lips you see something completely new; this is actually some sort of a soft bendy plastic paddle foot something or another (I know you all read my blog because of my description prowess, right?). Much to my surprise it actually makes the application process quite easy and provides the perfect amount of product on the lips.

Sadly there are multiple downfalls to this lipgloss: it smells terrible (like burning rubber trying to be covered up by a synthetic fruit medley) and the pigmentation is extremely poor. Once this is on my lips it basically blends with my natural lip color so this is definitely something I would layer over a not-as-glossy-as-I'd-like lipstick. The gloss doesn't taste bad (thank gawd) but the smell does linger... which I'm not sure I can get over. Such a shame because this is so lusciously glossy, plush feeling (not sticky at all just purely silk-esque), and has that minty cool feeling that I personally enjoy on my lips.

Oh well. You win some you lose some. 

Which is exactly what I'm hoping happens with this ChapStick; I may have lost with the lip gloss in my box but I sure hope this turns out to be a win! I am just as much a lip balm fanatic as I am a lipstick/lipgloss junkie so a vanilla balm that promises about a gabajillion gallons of moisture to my lips is just super exciting for me.
We shall see!!

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So that's it people! Like I've already (very clearly) expressed, I was so super duper pleased with my Birchbox this month. The sample sizes were banging and the products were all things that I knew I was going to want to try, fall in love with, and just overall enjoy... which is the whole point of a personalized sample box, right? Right.
Well done Birchbox; Good luck keeping up with this standard next month (hahahahhahaha).

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What did you get this month?
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What do you wish you could have received?
Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie