December Birchbox Review

I am a subscription box addict. I love getting surprises & mail, so combining the two is a definite win for me! The first box that I ever subscribed to was Birchbox. That was two years ago, & I've been a loyal fan ever since. Around the 15th of every month, I receive a cute little box in the mail. Inside are several different samples of high end beauty-related products. Sometimes there's a full-sized item included which is always a nice bonus!

The best surprise to come back to after break!

The packaging of December's Box

Inside each month's box is a cute little card explaining why the products included were chosen. 

On the back of the card is a list of all of the products inside as well as their full-sized retail price. 

Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips, $14.50

After getting past the fact that this was originally made for breastfeeding mothers, I fell in love. My lips are always, always chapped & I will welcome anything that can help me stop using chapstick every half hour. 

Greenleaf Starlight Candle, $17.00

I've never gotten a candle in my Birchbox before & I love them, so this was a nice surprise! It's a great scent, but pretty strong so I know I'll be burning this alone or with other candles that are a bit more neutral. 

dr. brandt BB matte with signature SHINERASE, $39.00

BB cream is amazing. I've never tried this brand, but I definitely want to see how it compares to my everyday brand. I received two samples of both light to medium & medium to dark, which is great so people with a range of skin tones can try the product. I have fair skin, so I'm going to give the darker samples to a friend!

ARCONA Magic White Ice, $40.00

I definitely had to read the description on this one. Turns out it's supposed to be an AMAZING moisturizer. My skin is incredibly dry during the winter, so I was excited to give this a try! From a couple days of using it, I've been really happy with it. I have a feeling I won't be purchasing the full-sized version considering the price, but this was a nice way to try such a great product. 

TONI&GUY Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray, $15.00

My hair usually falls limp about halfway through the day, but texturising sprays work great for me if I need a little extra boost. I've been using a different sample that I got a few months ago that's lasted forever, but I might sneak this one in to see how it compares! 

♦ ♦ ♦

I obsess over Birchbox to the point that girls in my sorority have now subscribed, and I purchase them as gifts! Here are some of the reasons I love Birchbox:

1. It's only $10 per month
2. For every product you receive that month, you have the opportunity to do a review. After you finish your review, they give you 10 Birchbox points. Each 100 of those is worth $10 in their online store! I use these to purchase the full-sized items of things that I've loved. 
3. You also get a Birchbox point for every dollar you spend in the online store
4. They do promos often, and usually they're for extra points with purchases of a certain amount. 
5. I rarely receive an item that I don't use or love!

If you've ever thought about purchasing a subscription box, I definitely recommend Birchbox! It's a great one to start with & if you're not completely satisfied, they have amazing customer service & are more than happy to solve whatever issue you might have. 

If you receive any subscription boxes & love them, let me know! I'm always on the lookout for new ones to try.

                                     xx,

^♦SPJ^♦

Photo Challenge: Something You Wore

Day Five

I've been moving back into my sorority this weekend, so today was a comfy Sunday! We just got these Patagonia themed shirts in & I absolutely love them. It was pretty cold today so it was perfect paired with leggings. 

                                     xx,

^♦SPJ^♦

Photo Challenge: Mailbox

Day Four

Winter is here in full force! This is the view from my front porch. Our mailbox has made it through quite a few snow storms over the years, & I absolutely love seeing this when I wake up in the morning. It makes the perfect backdrop for a cup of coffee and relaxing before starting my day.

                                                          xx,

^♦SPJ^♦

Photo Challenge: Something You Adore

Day Three

I can't make it through the day without my Lilly Pulitzer agenda. These are some of the prints that I adore the most in this edition! 

November 2013

 

January 2014

 May 2014

December 2014

                                           xx,

^♦SPJ^♦

Fitness Apps

Over time, I've found some fitness and/or health related apps that have been really helpful to me & I wanted to share them in case any of you have been looking for some guidance, especially in the new year! Click the titles for the link to each app's website. 

My Fitness Pal

This is the app that I've been using the longest. I definitely go through phases where I log my meals & activity every single day or take some time off, but either way it helps me stay on track with calories. It's incredibly easy to use, & it has tons of great features like a barcode scanner for packaged items, a large database of exercise options with their corresponding amount of calories burned, and an easy way to track your changes. I like that it tracks your water consumption and vitamins. I also love that I can sign in on my computer, phone, or iPad & they all sync together! It's also free as an added bonus.

Moves

This is by far the most simple app that I use, but that's also why I love it. It runs in your background all day to count how many steps you take, and with GPS track your movements by distance, time spent, & calories if you want to link it to My Fitness Pal. Moves is helpful because you don't have to actually do anything with the app or enter any data to get something out of it! It's interesting to see how the amount of activity you do day to day changes, & I liked using it over the summer when I lived in D.C. because I was walking everywhere. 

Runtastic

I downloaded this app while starting to train for a race I ran last fall. I was looking for something to track my progress & Runtastic fit the bill! It uses GPS to track your activities & give you all the information you might want. I don't use this as my primary app, because My Fitness Pal does quite a bit more all around, but Runtastic has been really helpful for things specific to my run. There's a limited version available for free, or the full app, Runtastic PRO, costs $4.99. I found that Runtastic PRO was worth the money because it integrates with my music! It also talks me through my workout in a way that isn't too annoying or overbearing.

Pact

I'm always on the lookout for cool new apps for either my phone, iPad, or both. Recently, I came across Pact & decided to download it. It has three different features, & all of them are really cool. The basis of the app is that you're rewarded when you complete your goals, and charged when you don't. The money that you receive comes from other users that didn't meet their goals. You can set the amount of money for each & your activity is tracked through GPS & pictures! I think this is a pretty cool way to make yourself be accountable, especially since you don't want to have to pay $5 or $10 when you miss a gym day. The three different types of pacts you can make are for number of workouts per week called Gym Pact, amount of fruit & vegetables you eat called Veggie Pact, or committing to tracking your meals through My Fitness Pal called Food Logging Pact. The last option stood out to me because I already use My Fitness Pal! I'm also taking a yoga class twice a week this semester, so adding in a third workout would be fairly easy to do for the Gym Pact. Plus, who doesn't want to make some money by achieving their goals? That's a pretty great incentive to me! It's free to download & only costs money if you don't keep your goals & that money goes to reward those that kept theirs. 

Sleep Time

The last app that I use is Sleep Time. It monitors your sleep patterns and wake you up at the lightest part of the sleep cycle you're in. You set the time you want to wake up, like 7 a.m., it wakes you up within the half hour prior to that. As a college student I never get enough sleep & I'm trying to cut back on my caffeine (not as easy as I thought it was going to be). There's also a lot of talk these days about the relationship between amount of sleep & your health, so I thought this was a great way to combine the two to hopefully get me on track for that early wake up for 8 a.m. class this semester. It's free, which was important to me since I don't know how well this is going to work for me yet!

What are your favorite health related apps?

                                             xx,

^♦SPJ^♦

Photo Challenge: Breakfast

Day Two

I had to work early this morning & I was in a bit of a rush, so I grabbed a latte & a bagel from Starbucks on my way into town. I hope y'all are having a great morning!

                                    xx,

^♦SPJ^♦

Photo Challenge: You

Day One

I spent a week in the San Juans last summer & I had so much fun salmon fishing. I don't know who was more proud of me catching this guy, me or my dad when he saw the picture!

                                     xx,

^♦SPJ^♦