Monthly Sub-Box Line-Up

Birchbox

I thought I would spare you guys the details of my Birchbox this month. I've been on the fence about Birchbox for awhile, sometimes they're good and sometimes they're bad. This one fell in the bad category. I got two hand soaps, a cupcake bath bomb, a nasty cranberry bar, grandma perfume, and some awesome mascara. I'm not a big fan of getting 1) food in my box and 2) hand soap. I feel like this is all I ever get. Most of the time, the perfume samples are amazing. This one smelled like straight up grandma. I wouldn't come near it with a 10 foot pole. The mascara on the other hand was pretty cool. If it wasn't full size, I would be complaining. The best part about it though is that it has a mirror on the side (aka cool factor). Like I said, if the mascara wasn't full size I wouldn't be happy. The value of the mascara is $24 and the box is $10. 

Glam Bag (Ipsy) 

For this being my first ever glam bag (ipsy?), I'm impressed. I will get use out of everything in this bag, even the bag! Let's start with the Starlet eye pencil. I've been wanting a brown eyeliner, so this is perfect. It's not automatic, but you win some you lose some. The lip gloss from BareMinerals is ok. It's a pretty color and all, but I'm just not a big lip gloss person. I will try it out though. The Meet Matt(e) eyeshadow is pretty cool. When I first opened it, it looked dark brown, but when I swatched it, it became a deep purple! (I could be crazy though). I have also been wanting to try the Benefit They're Real mascara. I've been seeing it everywhere lately. AND I have been wanting some glitter nail polish. Guess what the last thing is? A glitter nail polish! 10 points for you Ipsy!

So this month the Ipsy bag wins by a landslide and this was the first one I've ever received. If my Birchbox isn't better next month, I might have to consider cancelling my subscription. 

What subscriptions did you get this month? 

Beauty Secrets from Around the World: Egypt

I don't know about you, but when I think of ancient beauty I think of Cleopatra. I mean, come on, two men fell in love with her because she was so beautiful. After doing some research, I found that there was a jar of cleansing cream, a natron mix, and bath salts in her tomb. These were obviously her secrets to glowing skin since they were buried with her.

So I decided to try the cleansing cream and the natron mix so I could just focus on my face. I couldn't find any recipes by anyone else so I had to do a trial and error kinda deal.

First of all, let me tell you what's going on with my skin as of now. I have a few small breakouts on my chin and both cheeks. Nothing that's too big of a deal, but they're pretty red.

Natron Mix Recipe
1 teaspoon baking soda
4-7 drops of lime juice (judgement call, you can do whatever you feel.. 4 if your skin is sensitive or 7 if normal, just depends)
few drops of water
few drops of almond oil (I used olive oil though)

I did this first since the oil/cream recipe is more of a moisturizer. This is supposed to brighten your complexion. Baking soda and lime juice are natural whiteners.

I used a small bowl to mix this. First, put the baking soda in your bowl then the lime juice. It will start to fizz, but don't worry. Continue to add the remaining ingredients. Mix. Apply to entire face or just where you have blemishes or dark spots. Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water.

Now, you'll notice that this mixture separates quite quickly because of the oil. Just make sure that when you apply it to your face that you stir it back up. When I first put this on my face it burned slightly, but I did have some open blemishes (oops). It only burned for around 10 seconds, but I wouldn't suggest putting it in a cut or anything huge because it will hurt (lime juice is very acidic). Once you have it on your skin for a few minutes you can't really tell that it's there. If you touch your face though you'll feel the oil. When I rinsed it off, my skin was slightly red where I have blemishes, but I have very sensitive skin.


Cleansing Cream (Oil) Recipe

1 teaspoon of olive oil

3-5 drops of lime juice

I know it looks gross, but the color of the olive oil didn't really help. I just took this picture so you could tell how much I used when making it. I forgot to take a picture of the Natron Mix, but I actually measured for that one. 

As you can see from the picture above, I just mixed this in my hand. I more or less just eyeballed how much I would need. I actually made more than I would ever need. To mix it together, I just rubbed my hands together and applied it to my face with my hands. This felt very good when I put it on, plus it smelled like limes. Yum. I left this on for around 30 minutes. Olive oil is a natural moisturizer so you can leave it on for as long as you want. I'm just not a big fan of oil on my face.

I put this on after I used the Natron Mix because my skin was a little red and I figured what the heck, Cleopatra did it, so can I. Once I got all of the oil off of my face, my skin looked very dewy, smooth, and calm. My red pimples had actually gone down! I was so surprised that the pimple that I tried so hard to cover with makeup that morning was diminishing from things from my kitchen! Crazy talk.

I'll most likely be doing this more often now. I really liked what the combination of the two remedies did for my skin. It really opened my eyes for natural facial care. Sometimes you just need to look around your kitchen for things instead of going to the store.

Let me know if you decide to try this! I highly recommend it!

Update: I used the Natron Mix the next night also and my face is completely clear now. I will continue to use this recipe when I get breakouts. I probably won't use the Oil recipe as often though. This is the best my skin has looked in a long time. 

My Favorite Places to Buy Organic Products

Hi everyone!

So I decided to put together a post with all of the websites I like to purchase my organic and natural products when I don't buy them from Whole Foods or Earth Fare.

iHerb If you use my referrel coupon code, you will get $5 off your first purchase!
coupon code: YUZ272

Vitacost I don't have a coupon code for here :(

Lucky Vitamin
My personal link --> http://refer.luckyvitamin.com/a/clk/1TH2KZ

All three of these websites have many of the brands that I mention for a discounted price. It can range from 10% - 60% off of the retail price! I've scored some good deals from all three of these websites! You can get food, vitamins, beauty products, household things, pet things, etc. from all of these websites. I have only gotten vitamins and beauty products though, most everything else I will just get from my local organic store. 

Check them out!

Do you know any other websites like these? Let me know!