My Allure Beauty Box and Some Samples!

HAPPY HUMP DAY EVERYONE!! Finally, a week that is flying by! I have been SO busy, and have neglected my blog once again. Sigh. To make up for it, I'll be doubling up my posts for the rest of the week! Today will be focused on my Allure Beauty Box and some samples. I have a major abundance of samples, so I thought it would be cool to try a couple every week and review them! I'll have sample reviews added on to my blog posts. Ok let's get started!

Beauty...

My Allure Beauty Box

Remember when I told you guys to get on over to Allure, in this post? Thankfully, I followed my own advice and snatched up a Holiday Beauty Box, because sadly they are now sold out. Hopefully you grabbed one too!

I was expecting this to be a box of samples and a few full-size products because the price was $29.99. I was expecting around five full-size products to justify the price.
Here is what I received in the mail:

There are more products under the bubble wrap. SIXTEEN FULL-SIZE products to be exact! My jaw dropped open! I totaled everything up, and the grand total of everything in the box was $199.97...and I only paid $29.99. How is this even possible?? I still can't wrap my head around it. I decided to try everything, except for the things I handed over to my mom, and I'll be doing reviews on the products! The first two products I tried were lip products.

NYX Glam Lipstick Aqua Luxe

The shade is called Enchanting. Believe it or not, this is the first NYX product I've ever tried! It's comparable to e.l.f in their affordability for quality products. No store around me sells this brand, so I was ecstatic to receive it in my box. I love the color too; sort of a pinky nude. When I first put it on I thought, "Wow I'm really gonna like this lipstick" because it felt so hydrating and went on very smoothly. Then after about an hour, my lips were entirely dried out. They were peeling and cracked and gross...because of the lipstick! I was very surprised and disappointed. I might still wear this lipstick with a gloss over it because I absolutely love the color, but I would never buy any on my own. I have heard great things about NYX however, so I'll still be trying more products from them!
MY GRADE: C+
AVAILABLE AT: Ulta, drugstores, nyxcosmetics.com for $6
12 SHADES 

Maybelline ColorSensational High Shine Lip Gloss

This on the other hand, I LOVE. Can you say pigmented?? This shade is called Plum Luster and this is how the bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie should have looked. This gloss goes on very smoothly, but it almost wears like a lip stain. I had no problem with drying or peeling either. It's a dream! I will no longer walk right by this in the drugstore! I can't wait to buy more shades.
MY GRADE: A
AVAILABLE AT: Target, drugstores for $6.49
12 SHADES

Now for some samples!

Philosophy Amazing Grace

I recieved this in Philosophy's Birthday Girl set, which I bought for myself for my birthday (pathetic I know). I have always been interested in trying their products so I thought this set would be the perfect way to do that. If you're looking for a gift for yourself or someone else, you can find the set here or on Amazon. Amazing Grace is Philosophy's best-selling fragrance so I was excited to see if I would like it. Ummmm ok, I LOVE it. It is the cleanest, most feminine fragrance I've ever smelled. And there's a sharpness to it...it wakes me up in the morning. I don't know how else to describe it and weirdly, philosophy doesn't list the notes. Hmm. I love it as a shower gel, but I would never use it as a shampoo. The formula is pretty thin and watery. It doesn't really do anything amazing for my skin either, but the scent makes it so worth it. I'll probably buy a bottle of it closer to the summertime, because I think it would fit the best with that time of year.
MY GRADE: A
AVAILABLE AT: Sephora, philosophy.com
Prices range from $5 to $34.50 depending on what size you get

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

The only Cyber Monday deal I took advantage of was Ulta's. If you spent $35 you would automatically receive a free cosmetic bag full of samples. There was a good amount of samples in there, and this lotion was one of them! I've actually never tried Aveeno lotion before, I'm more of a St. Ives type of girl. It's not necessary for me to buy fragrance free products because I don't have very sensitive skin, but in the winter time, a fragrance free lotion is probably the best. I especially have issues with dry skin after I shave my legs, so I decided to use this on one of those days. Love it! It was super moisturizing and left my skin smooth for most of the day. If you have dry or sensitive skin, grab a bottle of this!
MY GRADE: A
AVAILABLE AT: Target, drugstores for $8.69 for 12 fl oz

Now for some Justice...

I wanted to see if any of the companies I'm talking about today, did anything good for the world so I did some research. Philosophy has a great program called "Shower for a Cause". You can pick from four different shower gels, each one of them correlating to a different charity.
Shower for the Cure = Women's Cancer Research Fund
Graceful Journey = Look Good Feel Better
Green = Rainforest Foundation
To Believe = Why Hunger
Learn more here. So cool right?? What a great way to try Philosophy products, and give back at the same time.

Whew that was long! That's what I get for slacking off. See you tomorrow!
Elizabeth