Burt's bees -- intense hydration day lotion with clary sage.

I recieved this lovely little glass pot of moisture in this months birchbox. I have been looking for a good moisturizer for quite a while (currently using Cliniques dramatically different) but still haven't found my holy grail. 

This moisturizer was a surprise in many ways. The consistency feels and looks very thin, and a little goes a long way. I've been using this twice daily for about 5 days and haven't made much of a debt in this sample size. 

The smell is another odd thing. The smell did not please me at first, and seems like of like a herbal and citrus blend. Luckily it doesn't linger on the skin and actually wasn't unpleasant at all after a few applications. 

Like I said, a little goes a long way. My face feels moisturized all day after using this, with a little tightness remaining on my dryest area (my forehead). Right away it feels a little greasy but I have found that  that feeling goes away once the product has a few minutes to soak in. It is not heavy feeling at all.

Overall, depending on the price after I use the $3 off coupon, I will likely purchase this moisturizer. As the title suggests I will likely use as a day cream, and find a more intense moisturizer for night time. 

Glam glow-- youthmud tinglexfoliate treatment

Upon opening the product was watery and squirted out in my hand. I even kneaded the tube before opening but apparently not enough. Once I applied ( I went thin and used about 2 quarter sized globs) I felt the immediate tingly feeling that all other reviews warned me of. My skin is sensitive and it did not hurt in any way or cause discomfort. The tingly feeling went away within a minute, and I did not feel any burning or irritation during the 10 minutes it was on my face. 

The smell is very fragrant in a natural floral/herbal way. The smell lingered even after washing off the mask, which is something that I like. 

After 10 minutes of watching "Restaurant Nightmares", it was time to wash off the mask. I used warm water and my fingers to scrub the mask off using circular motions. The muddy grit of the mask went to work and I could feel it exfoliating my skin without being abrasive. There were awkward chunks of what I assumed was seaweed (not in the ingredients, so must be another leaf of sorts) lingering on my face that I had to towel off. 

My skin was left super soft to the touch after this mask. There was a little tightness in my usual dry zones (forehead and chin) and even on my hands after I washed off the mask. 

I have used this mask two times this wek, as suggested, and the only real difference I saw was the immediate softness of my skin after removing the mask. Strangely, I did not feel any tingle for my second application of this mask.  

As a side note, I also hate the packaging and the marketing that seems to prey upon weird older Hollywood socialite types. 

Overall, I am not sure this product lives up to the hype, or is worth the price. The 15 ml size retails at $24, while the larger 1.5 oz is $69. The sample I tried was .5 is and probably could give you three uses, if used moderately as suggested. 

Jack Black-- Face Buff

Yeah yeah, this is a sample for men. But what's a girl to do when the sephora sample page is all perfumes? I tried this scrub out anyways, even though it's not made for me and I am glad that I did! 

This face buffer is designed to exfoliate for a better shave, brighten the skin and to invigorate the senses for a morning pick me up. Aside from the shaving part which I cannot vouch for, this scrub did all these things. 

The smell was a not too strong minty menthol aroma that really helped me to feel awake. The scrub itself was a good consistency, more like a paste and a little went a long way ( I got 3 uses of my little sample pouch) 

My face felt noticeably smoother and it seemed that my pores were clearer, as promised in the description. My face dos not feel the usual tightness or redness that exfoliating scrubs usually give my skin. Compared to another face buffer that I have (refined finish facial polish by Benefit) this one is by far superior. 

This scrub is available at sephora and also at birchbox.com, $18 for 3 oz. 

Benefit's Dandelion Gloss

I've always loved advent calenders. Who doesn't like getting a small surprise everyday for 24 days? That is why this year I splurged on the Benefit beauty advent calender. Hidden behind each day's door is a small beauty item, which is where today's sample came from. 

This gloss was love at first sniff. It smells just like these Japanese hard candies I used to eat. Very fruity and girly smelling. Upon application I noticed another great thing. This gloss is not at all sticky! It feels really good on my lips and gives them a subtle sheen. The color is close to my natural lip color, with no crazy sparkles which makes it a great everyday gloss. It also has no taste. This is good on two levels. Not only will I not be tempted to lick it off, as has been a problem with other glosses, but it doesn't have a bad taste that will make me not want to wear it either. 

Overall this a great lipgloss. At .22 fl. oz. this sample will last me a long time too. I will definitely consider buying the full size if I ever am in need of a good everyday lipgloss. 

Juicy Couture-- Viva la Juicy Noir

Like I said before, I am one of those few people who like perfume samples in their birchbox. This month I got a tiny spray sample of the new Juicy fragrance. This is a take on the original Viva la Juicy, with berry and gourmand base and sandalwood and honeysuckle accents. 

I do not own, nor have tried Viva la Juicy, but own the original Juicy Couture fragrance. Compared to the original, this scent is for a much younger crowd, and seems to be catering to the early 20s party girl. It is a very fruity scent and the berry notes really hold up. It has hints of a super sweet bakery item in there too. 

With a name like noir, I expected this scent to be heavier on the sandalwood and feel a lot less light and sugary. Sweet scents are definitely not my favorite when it comes to perfume  (I'm not into smelling like a cookie) and I'm not super thrilled by fruity scents either. Surprisingly I don't hate this scent, it's just not one I will purchase.

Overall the best part of this fragrance is the bottle. I love the shape of Juicy's bottles and the faux diamonds on the top of the cap. This one is even better than the original because it features a giant pink bow tied around the neck of the bottle. Although I don't want to smell like it, I would love to look at Noirs bottle on my dresser every day! 

This perfume is available in a few sizes, the largest (3.4 oz) is $90. 

Color club-- Top Shelf

My birchbox arrived today! Must have been some 11/12/13 magic because I'm pretty sure it was the box I was eyeing the most on the forums. 

It included this mini bottle of "Top Shelf" by Color Club. I am generally unimpressed by color club as a whole. It's not a bad polish brand but I never feel wowed by it, and it for sure isn't worth the $8 it goes for in the birchbox shop. (You can get it a Rue 21 for $4) 

This color is like a few that I have in my collection already. (Good thing I can never have too many) It's almost a rose gold, and hovers toward the coppery side of gold. It reminds me a lot of Essie's Copper Penny.  I like that it is gold without being glittery. Most golds in my collection are super glittery or too yellow, which I am not that into. 

The formula on this one is good. I needed 2 coats and it dried really fast. It is a bit streaky, which doesn't bother me at all. The streaky-ness actually makes it more interesting to me, and reminds me of a gold version of hook and line from the Hunger Games collection by China Glaze. Copper Penny (mentioned earlier) also has this streaky effect.

Ignore my awful nails and cuticles... Also ignore the fact that this picture doesn't really capture anything about the polishes "texture". It's pretty much what you see in the bottle, maybe with a slightly heavier  silver tone when on the nail. 

Overall, I like this sample a ton, but would never buy a Color Club polish unless it was on sale or part of a set of some sort. This color is one I will wear and one that I like, however it doesn't feel very exciting to me and that is slightly disappointing.   

Jurlique-- Herbal Recovery Night Cream

This sample came to me in a pick two pack from birchbox. The good thing about normal birchbox, which i just learned is something that I take for granted, is the little postcard that tells you about the item. In a normal birchbox I would have gotten a card telling me the value of this cream. If I would have realized that this was a sample of a $51 night cream I would have definitely used this sample far less liberally. 

The smell is the first thing about this product that stands out to me. It has a strong floral scent that is at the same time light and airy. The fragrance is heavy on the rose and is similar to Dr. Smiths rosebud salve (one of my favorites). The smell even lingers as you are falling asleep and in my mind works as a sort of relaxing aromatherapy. 

This cream boasts the benefits of 3 specific natural ingredients. It includes moth bean extract which is a natural alternative to retinol and is loaded with vitamin A to help with anti aging and refining texture, African birch extract to promote firmness, and Kakadu plum extract to even skin tone. I am a little skeptical of the benefits of natural ingredients in cosmetics, mostly they seem to be used as buzzwords trying to cater to a trend. I did a little research on these extracts and they seem to be used widely in the Pacific islands. Kakadu plum is indigenous to Australia, which is where jurlique is based. These details help me feel that these ingredients are used in a legitimate way in this product. 

I used this cream overnight, as intended and did feel like my skin was more radiant and softer the next day. Instantly upon application my face felt extremely smooth. There was no oiliness or strange residue left on my face from using this product and although I have sensitive skin I did not experience any abnormal redness or irritation. 

Overall this product seems to do exactly what it is supposed to. I really liked the effects given when used for a week, and can imagine that results would be great if used over a longer time period. The smell is amazing and they probably should make a perfume with this scent if they haven't already. 

If you would like to try this cream for yourself, www.jurlique.com offers 2 free samples with every purchase from their website.