Hey friends!

Happy Monday! (I think.)

I hope you had a great weekend. I actually left my house to do things other than work and grad school! (Naturally I used this as an excuse to wear all of the glitter.)

Mr. Danger and I went with some friends to the Oddball Fest Comedy Tour to see Hannibal Buress and Louis C.K. We got lawn tickets for $20 each on Groupon, so it was definitely a fun beer budget night. (Except for the craft beer being served at the festival at $13 a beer. OMGWTFNO.)

Anyway, enough about my adventures. I know you’re really here for the latest blood-thirsty show-down between the two cheapest beauty subscriptions on the block: September 2014 Birchbox Vs. Ipsy Face/off!

Disclaimer: Neither Birchbox nor Ipsy are affiliated with me or my Face/Off references. All opinions are my own.)

Birchbox, $10

Shipping
I never got a shipping email from Birchbox and my account wasn’t showing anything about my box, so around the 16th I started to panic, and emailed them. They emailed me back the next morning with a link to the tracking, and the box showed up the next day. Shipped on the 10th, arrived on the 17th. Ipsy won this month on delivery time, but I give Birchbox +.5 for quick customer service response

Packaging
Birchbox was celebrating their 4 year anniversary this month, and the packaging was adorable. I also got my box addressed to me as, Rebs “You’re The Tops” Danger. Yes, I enjoy when subscription boxes stroke my ego. +2 Birchbox’s pretty box totally beats Ipsy’s weird bag this month and I appreciate that Birchbox includes an info card.

Products
I apparently picked the Fashionista box this month, I don’t remember doing this at all, so it was a nice surprise. (Not blaming Birchbox for this, I haven’t been sleeping very much, which means I’ve been doing weird things like putting my keys in the fridge and ordering Fashionista boxes.)

Macadamia Flawless Cleansing Conditioner, Full Size, $15-33
As someone with ridiculously oily hair, I was fully prepared to hate this. I waited until the weekend to try it in case it turned my hair into pirate- style greasy strands. However, I was pleasantly surprised that my hair not only felt clean after using it, but also very soft. I don’t think I could use it daily, (I noticed my hair’s volume didn’t hold up as long as it usually does), but it might be nice to use this a few times a week. +1 for soft hair, and nice 2 in 1 action!

dr. brandt Pores No More Vaccum Cleaner, Full Size, $45.
First, I don’t like that this is named Vaccum Cleaner, the image of a vaccum cleaner sucking up clogged pores bothers me for some reason. Second, I’ve used this a couple of times and I think my pores are a bit smaller? But I don’t know if I’m just imagining it? I might have to report back. +0.5 for maybe working? I’m confused.

Naobay Body Radiance Lotion, Full Size, $24.
I was excited that this was natural and organic, but I absolutely hated the smell. I tried to get used to it, but all I could smell was Citronella candle. As a lotion, it seems to be pretty lotiony. Nothing special. +0 for mosquito repellent smell

Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Supreme Mascara, Full size, $24.
Sorry Laura Mercier, no matter how many adjectives you give to this mascara, it’s still just a mascara. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s not amazing. I would never pay for a full size one. I know several drugstore mascaras that work just as well, so I’ll just be enjoying this little sample until it’s gone. +1 it does what it’s supposed to do, but that name is excessive

Cynthia Rowley Silver Eyeliner, Full Size, $16.
This might be the best packaged eyeliner I’ve ever seen. As an eyeliner, it’s creamy and easy to apply, and I haven’t had any issues with transferring. The silver color is pretty and stylish if you’re going for the metallic fall trend, (that I mentioned here, I’m so on it for once!) Wouldn’t pay full price for this, but I’ll enjoy the sample. +1 for easy application

Final Birchbox Score:6pts (Beating their score from last month, good job, BB!)

Ipsy, $10

Shipping

I got an email with my tracking number on September 8th, and my little pink bag showed up on September 11th. I was so shocked, because for once my bag didn’t spend 5 days sitting in Grand Prairie, Texas! +1 for fast shipping!

Packaging

Aside for my normal adorable pink bag, I was not a fan of this month’s bag. Weird fake grey leather with studs might have been cool for me when I was an emo high school kid in 2003, (I’m internet old), but it’s not a good look for me now. I understand that the overall theme was “Street Style”, but fun fact: I apparently have none if this bag is any indication. +0 for bag style 

Products

Hikari Lipstick in Cabarnet, $13

I think I got this in full size, and it might be my favorite product in the bag. It applies smoothly and has a red-berry finish. It’s not long lasting, but I think it’s a great fall color and will probably use it this season. +1 for the value of the sample and pretty color

Be A Bombshell Smooth Criminal Powder, $12
This seems to be another full size product. I usually use Bare Minerals Mineral Veil to set my face products, (one of my only splurge items), when I switched to this powder for testing purposes, I didn’t notice a difference. Which is actually a compliment because this powder is about half the price of BM, so I’m pretty pleased. +1, good deal for an effective powder.

Pacifica 7 Free Nail Polish in Red Red Wine, $9
Another full sized product in my bag this month, nice job Ipsy! You get a bonus +1 for that! This nail polish went on very smoothly and was easy to apply, the color is nothing special for me, but it’s still pretty. I would count this as a +1, because I will wear the polish at some point this season.

Mitchell and Peach, Luxury Hand Cream, full size appears to be $27 in USD.
I don’t love or hate this. It’s a hand cream. The scent is not offensive or amazing. My hands appear to look the same. I’m going to give it +0.5, because it’s meh.

Nourish Organics, Moisturizing Organic Face Wash, full size, $14.
I was excited to try this, because my Derm’s new facial regime has changed my oily skin into combination skin. For the first time in my life, I actually need moisture (WHAT) instead of being a natural source of oil. However, I didn’t really notice anything special about this face wash. Again, it’s not hateful, but it’s just ok. +.5 for being organic.

Final Ipsy Score: 6pts! (If I did my math right, halfway through I started getting distracted by my nail polish. It’s Rainbow Honey’s Asteroid B, don’t judge.)

We have a tie this month!

Congratulations to Ipsy and Birchbox for scoring equal points on my completely arbitrary made up point system! I guess the real face off will have to wait until October.

Questions of the Day:
-Do you think there really was a tie? Or was one box better than the other and my point system failed?
-What did you get in your subscriptions this month?

Love,
Rebs!