Devine Designs Jewelry

Last year I went on a journey trying out many subscription services that offered beauty products and samples, hair care, nail products, and food items. So I decided to write a post that briefly describes the boxes I tried, my opinions of them, why I quit them, and my overall conclusions. So many boxes, so little money! I think the first 3 subscription boxes I tried were Ipsy, Birchbox, and Julep. Ipsy : $10.00/month: seemed geered towards younger girls interested in trying out make-up. I quickly did not like the types of make-up I was getting. Birchbox (similar to Ipsy); getting you about 5 sample size products for $10.00/month, but with much better choices; which included skin care items. Julep : $24.99/month gets you 3 full size nail polish or related products. The brand is much about hype; some pretty polishes, not everyone likes them though. I got hooked on this one for a while, stocking up on different colored polishes. Glossybox :$21.00/month: seemed more upscale, offer...

What I liked right away: What I didn't: What "Wowed" me: The Lumene Vitamin C+ BB cream. It's the first "drug store" BB cream that I've tried that I've actually liked. It has a broad spectrum sunscreen of 20. It's a tinited, illuminating and anti-aging BB cream. I believe it only comes in 2 shades; 01 (light) and 02(medium). I got 02. I definitely would use this in place of a foundation on days when I want to go light on makeup. It gives a very light, if any illumination, and has a mattifying quality to it. The color seems to stay all day. This is a good BB cream in my opinion. Next, the Macadamia "flawless cleansing conditioner", claims to be a "6 in 1 cleansing conditioner product". Ideal for coarse hair, Surfactant-free and paraben-free and a no suds formula. It comes in a can with a push top, much like shaving cream; I don't understand the packaging, because the product is not a foam. I just LOVE thi...

Here's a new(er) subscripton service you might not know about. It's a monthly service for us curly girls that sends you 5-7 hair care products just for curly hair. The box costs $20.00 plus $5.00 shipping. You cannot choose what products you get, but you will be surprised. You can find out more and sign up here . This is what I got in my first box. The brand is "One and Only" Argan oil. I got 6 products; 4 out of the 6 I believe are full size products. Shampoo and conditioner, conditioning mask, curl cream/daily conditioner, argan oil, and argan oil spray treatment. My thoughts: These products work well on my dry curly hair, although I am not fond of the fragrance. It's a bit strong for me. It has a musky, amber/sandalwood fragrance-very heavy. But, I do like the products, especially the restorative hair mask. You do get more than your money's worth too. Sold separately, these would have cost much more. I'm looking forward to receiving nex...

A newer beauty subscription service is "BeautyDNA" . It claims to be a REAL personalized service, matching you with full size products that do address your beauty concerns. This is a monthly service that costs $25.00. You fill out a rather detailed profile, which can take 10-15 minutes. Once this is done, they will let you know when to expect your shipment. You'll get a personalized "report" customized to your needs. It not only explains the product really well, but also explains why they chose this particular product for you. On the back page is your receipt and invoice number; where is shows you the actual full price of your item, as well as what you paid. This serum retails for $39.95. I got this "grande- face lift finishing serum". It claims to instantly smooth fine lines and lift and tightens the skin. It is said to treat large pores (which I have), and is correct for my skin type. The formula contains collegen, aloe, vit. A, C, and ...

A new feature, that I love, is that you can pick out what products you want, instead of just choosing a curated box or just swapping out from a curated box with certain selections. With this improvement, I opted for all make-up this month. A nice compact, but nothing that special about these eye shadows. But Julep does make the BEST gel eye glider crayons I've ever tried. I got a teal and the new radiant amethyst. Till next time!

This is a new subscription to me. Your Best Kept Rx is a quarterly beauty and lifestyle box that sends you 5 full sized curated products for $49.00. Your Best Kept Rx is a 5 woman team of beauty adviser, personal stylist, health coach, and career coach. They tend to choose products from smaller businesses, that take pride in what they do. You can read more about Your Best Kept Rx here . My "full" box. Ha'Andah products dry brushing kit . Using it is said to stimulate circulation and help with lymphatic drainage. (Good for stress too). This is a small batch spa company. Read more about them here . Twelve Springs Argan oil and Deep Steep bubble bath Portable charger - to charge your phone, etc. on the go Hollywood Fashion Emergency Kit plus sampler size fashion tape. A great kit for travel, on the go professionals, and just plain everybody! Includes safety pins, sewing kit, deodorant removing sponge, lit removers, buttons, hair band, shoe shine sponge f...

Since I have the week off, I have a chance to add another blog post. November's Julep box included: "Gayle" nail polish- a purple cream, Oh, did I mention that all Julep's polishes are named after women? And did I mention that they have pull off tops so that you can swatch the color, and also so that you can attach their "plie' wand" for nail designing. A great concept. The other color I got this month is called, "Sawyer". It's a bio-chrome brown"ish" color with a green flash of iridescence. Hard to describe. I'm only wearing one coat in this photo. Next, I got the "Go Big" volumizing mascara. I like the formula of this mascara, but don't get the wand. It's small, making it perfect for the bottom lashes, but doesn't cover the whole upper lash line, and I do prefer a curved wand. Still I do like this mascara. I have a great "mystery box" to post about coming soon, so stop back for...

A quick overview of the product samples I received in this month's Birchbox . ~Amika nourishing hair mask~ A nice moisturizing conditioning treatment with natural ingredients. I liked this product. Very mild scent. Did a nice job conditioning my over-curly thick dry hair. ~Spa therapy body wash~ I do not like any product that has the "sea, or ocean" scent. Will not use. I'll probably add this to a giveaway package. ~White Almond body butter~ I have used Perlier products before and like them. My favorite was a "gardenia" scented lotion. (Don't know if they still make it or not.) The white almond fragrance I do not like. It smells like "old lady french lavender". What is white almond anyway? ~Red Flower rose collagen renewal face serum~ It's suppose to be a hydrating treatment that helps with wrinkles and skin's elasticity. It's an oil based product. You are to use a few drops. I do not like oil products, they ...

I finally got off the wait list and got my first ipsy bag. "Girl meets glitter" is not quite the theme for me. What I got: ~Oil of Morocco hair spray ~Tempu highlighter ~be a bombshell eye base ~Starlooks eye pencil in ultra orchid ~Wonder lip paint ~A silver glitter makeup bag Out of all these products, I might use the eye pencil, and I'm going to try the be a bombshell eye base. The eye base color is called "submissive", which is a dark golden bronze color. I'll be looking to trade some of these items or save them for an upcoming giveaway, that I'll be putting together. The good news it that you can trade your stuff on ipsy's FB page . Good to know. Hopefully next month's bag will be more inspiring.

Here's what I got in this month's box from Naturebox . pb&j granola Not the usual dry, crunchy granola. It is a moist granola, I guess from the peanut butter they use. The dried fruit includes strawberries and raisins. It is tasty with a glass of milk! peanut butter nom noms These are mini peanut butter and oat cookies. These I would not order again. Mild in flavor, not too sweet or cookie like to me. One piece constitutes a serving size, and you get about 5 servings per bag. Judge for yourself. coffee kettle popcorn Now these never made it to the dish for photos. Enough said?! black sesame seed clusters I'm really enjoying these. They remind me of those little sesame and honey individually wrapped candies from days gone past. Do you remember those? Very nutty. They have peanuts, cashews, almonds, flax seeds, chia seeds, and of course black sesame seeds. These are a "limited edition" snack so I wouldn't wait around if you want to try...