- monthly subscription or
- cancelable any time
"Tell the chef, the beer is on me."
Recent empties: 1⃣Rock Green laundry soap - it’s a great soap for soaking. Removes tons of dirt real fast. 2⃣ BerryPlus laundry soap - received two capsules which were good enough for two loads. Good stuff again! #naturalliving #greenbloggers #greenbbloggers #iphone #igers #iphoneonly #dailyigers #followme #followback #household #laundry #soap
Goodebox spring cleaning box # 2 arrived this week a well. Did I mention life is good? #goodebox #greenbeauty #greenbloggers #greenbbloggers #subscriptionbox #skincare #makeup #followme #followback #iphone #iphoneonly #igers #dailyigers #starkskincare #lavera #benecos #revolutionorganics #yarok #bamford #metropolissoapco #simplesugars
I thought ordering a box of samples would be my first and maybe last purchase from Spirit Beauty Lounge. Hah! How wrong. So, here’s what I ordered - I received 9 samples for a flat rate of $25 (free shipping). I also received a $10 off coupon code towards any future order. It’s these coupons that almost always get me. For reference, I am in my late 20s with normal to dry skin and have some dry patches around my mouth and chin. I’m also break out prone with an oily forehead.

In summary, the only products I will think of repurchasing are the three Tata Harper products. I am glad I got these samples since most of these products are so expensive and it would be sad to spend all that money and not like anything.
Birchbox June - the only thing that I will use is the suki foaming cleanser. Everything else is filled with nasty chemicals 😞 that lip color is too bold for my liking. All I get are bright pinks and reds. #birchbox #bbwanderlust #subscriptionbox #skincare #makeup #skincarejunkie #makeupjunkie #igers #iphone #followme #followback #sukiface #colorclub #davines #laqaandco
My June Goodebox arrived today! I’m a little bummed to have not received any item from Inika cosmetics (even though I wouldn’t have used the brow pencil, but the eyeshadow would have been nice). Very excited to try the KYI Argan Oil Serum. #goodebox #subscriptionbox #greenbeauty #greenbloggers #greenbbloggers #suntegrity #smbessentials #hollybethorganics #phreshdeodorant #kyi #yestocarrots #skincare #iphone #iphoneonly #followme #followback #igers #dailyigers #iphoneonly
Sneak peak - This package from Spirit Beauty Lounge made my day 📦❤ I ordered a sample pack for $25. So excited to try samples from Tata Harper, Mun, Amala, Kahina, A perfume organic and Honores Des Pres 💜 #tataharper #spiritbeautylounge #kahinagivingbeauty #organic #skincare #greenbloggers #greenbeauty #aperfumeorganic #amala #mun #honoresdespres #samples #subscriptionbox
I finally gave in and ordered the new face oil that the lovely lady Vicky Tsai put in front of me. I’m such a sucker for all things Tatcha! Of course, my order was delivered with a hand written note (not from Vicky though…one of these days maybe she’ll write me one?) and a free box of Aburatorigami papers, which if you’ve read my previous reviews, know that I absolutely love! I’ve been using the only since the past couple of days and nearly not for a long enough time to write a solid review. I can tell you that so far, I love how light it is, how it doesn’t break my skin out and managed to impart a dewy glow which no other moisturizer has ever done. And yes, those are real gold flakes.
Here are some pictures - soak them up and go order yourself some! :)






I have made a decision to cancel almost all of my monthly boxes, not because I cannot afford them, but mainly due to the fact that I have way too many samples that I accumulated over the past 6 months. I am sure there are many others who have bigger stocks, but I don’t rely on these samples for my primary skincare and beauty needs. I have other full sized items that I need to use up as well! All my samples can comfortably fit into a big drawer of dresser, but for me, this is a lot.
So, starting next month, here’s what I’ll be receiving in the mail (and reviewing on this blog) -
Birchbox (2 accounts) - I might cancel the other account…not sure at this point
Goodebox - Love and it fits into my eco-friendly lifestyle
Pawalla mini - Sasha subscribed to this, not me!
Graze box - Currently set to every 2 weeks.
I plan on reviewing my other skincare items in rotation - so stay tuned!
I was able to get a free code to sign up for Graze Box through my coworker, who loves his! :D I am so happy! For now, Graze Box is invite only. It costs only $5/box and you get to choose how many times you want to receive one (once per week, once every two weeks, once a month). You can even choose to skip weeks or months! You get to rate the snacks into “Try”, “Like”, “Love”, “Trash” and based on your ratings, your snacks are selected. They even have a healthier version (Light box) that you can choose. I went with the Nibble box for now since it has more variations and I wanted to see just unhealthy these snacks are before switching over to the Light box.
Here’s what my first box looks like -

My box contents:

I love that they’ve included nutritional info!

These are such cute fliers - The idea is to tear a small flier and gift it to someone along with a mini snack box. Hah, as if that’s gonna happen.

This box was free for me. If I stick around, my fifth box will also be free! So, it’s working out to be $3/box for the first five boxes :D
I might actually switch the address to my office address. I can eat one snack box every work day!
I’m so glad to have received the EcoEmi within 2 days of the box being shipped - Yes, you read it right. The box shipped on a Saturday and I received it next Monday. A lot folks have had shipping issues (not receiving boxes, being charged twice without receiving a single box etc), but I haven’t had any such issues.
This month’s box is probably my personal favorite -




The Seaweed Bath Company Bath Powder - I am not a big bath fan (more of a shower person), but my husband will probably like these. I do love anything Lavender though.

Athena Gree Yoghurt Bar - This was delicious.

All Terrain Aqua Sport SPF 30 - It’s summer time. It’s the season of sunscreen. Every box is sending one! I am experimenting with a couple currently (Suntegrity, MyChelle, Josie Maran) and this will get gladly added to my sample pile.
All Terrain Insect Repellant - How cool! I usually just dab some lavender essential oil. I will give this a try next time we’re out in a park or something.

Suncoat Natural Mascara (full size!) - I gave this a try. Sadly, I didn’t like it a whole lot. It didn’t hold up my curls, felt too sticky and smudged onto my upper eye lids :( It gives you a very natural look. I’ll use it some more though before calling this one a fail.

Suncoat Nail polish (full size) - It’s supposed to be water based without any of the toxic fumes found in other brands. It’s because of the toxic fumes that I actually hardly ever put nail polish. I’m excited to give this a try.
Mongo Kiss Lip Balm by Eco Lips (full size) - I don’t really need another lip balm, but I’ll definitely use it some day! It’s a huge, jumbo size.
Lauren Brooks Eyeshadow (full size) in Pink shimmer - I am loving this shade, even though I’m yet to try it. Between all the eyeshadow samples that I receive in my Goodebox and Eco-Emi, I don’t think I ever need to buy another one!

Beauty Without Cruelty Rosemary Mint Tea Tree Hair Conditioner (2 oz) - I have always wanted to try this brand, but I just wish I’d received the body lotion or the shampoo!!! I don’t use a lot of conditioner since I have thin hair. So it takes me a while to get through my bottles.
Overall - I loved this box so much! I haven’t ordered a May box, since I’m still deciding between Eco-Emi, Petit Vour and Vitacost Be “Beauty” box…I am only allowed to order one of these. Decisions, decisions!
This is going to be my last BarkBox, unless I find another fab.com deal. I had subscribed to a 3 month deal for small dogs at $49 through fab.com. I’ve (rather, Sasha), have really liked all their boxes so far. We had a slight issue with one of the toys that was sent in the last box, but the BarkBox team reached out to me and sent a lot of replacement toys and treats for Sasha as compensation. I almost feel bad for leaving them, but I would like to try something new for now. Luckily, I found a deal for Pawalla mini at Living social. For the next two months, Sasha will be receiving the Pawalla mini box in the mail!








This box has been declared a huge hit by none other than my beloved boy, Sasha! He enjoyed the Barkworthies chews for several hours and loves his Orbee-Tuff as long as I stuff it with some treats. He hasn’t received alot of the Grill-icious Beef Treats and the Green Smoothie treats yet, but he liked the small samplings so far.
Overall, I’m sad to bid BarkBox a goodbye for now - maybe we’ll give them another try if we come across a good deal.
Because of the subscription box addicts at MUT, I ended up resubscribing to Ipsy. Not just that, after seeing all the spoilers, I found myself subscribing to a second bag…only to learn a couple of days later that all new subscribers will be receiving a generic “crowd pleaser” bag. Technically, with both my accounts new, I now find myself stuck with two bags that are *almost identical.
Thankfully, I’ve traded a couple of these items already.


Discounts available through Ipsy for the month of May

Products received across TWO Ipsy May 2013 Bags
So, here’s what I received:
Bags # 1 & 2
I spent a total of $20 and the only items that I am going to use are the Roller balls that cost $12 each. So, my personal ROI = 24/20 = 1.20. Very low. I ended up unsubscribing again even though this is supposed to be the best bag they’ve sent out in the longest time!
Like many others, I was introduced to the world of Tatcha skincare through their Japanese Blotting Papers, aka. Aburatorigami. As most of you know, these are no ordinary blotting papers. These are made of 100% pure Abaca leaves and fine gold flakes that miraculously don’t transfer on to your face skin, don’t disturb your makeup, don’t dry up your skin like many other cheaper alternatives in the market. In fact, until the day I started using these, I didn’t even know I needed them! That to me, signifies sheer genius. How did I go through all these years with these and now that I’ve discovered them, I use them at least once every day?!
Soon enough, I found myself investing in full sizes of their main skincare line, called “The Ritual” set. Let me pause here to explain my skin. I have normal to dry skin, that’s acne prone. My T-Zone is normal, whereas my chin is oily. My cheeks and chin are acne prone. Simple enough? I bought the Ritual Set for Normal + Combination skin since it seemed to most closely match my skin type…just in time before they were declared sold out on the website. It seems like they’re still sold out. These products are made in Japan and take a while to be stocked up with. If I were the CEO, I would solve these inventory issues first and foremost.






The set contains the following -
- PURE Camellia One Step Cleansing Oil - 150ml | 5.1oz
- POLISHED Classic Rice Enzyme Powder - 60g | 2.1oz
- RADIANT Deep Brightening Serum - 30ml | 1oz
- SUPPLE Moisture Rich Silk Cream - 50ml | 1.7oz
- PETAL FRESH Original and Evening Beauty Papers - 1 pack each
In addition, I also bought Nonie Creme’s Favorites set.
This set contains the following -
- LUMINOUS Deep Hydration Lifting Mask (4 mask set)
- LUMINOUS Dewy Skin Mist (40mL / 1.35 fl oz)
- PETAL FRESH Original Original Aburatorigami - Japanese Blotting Papers (1 Pack | 30 Sheets)
I’ll only be reviewing The Ritual Set in this post.
PURE Camellia One Step Cleansing Oil - 150ml | 5.1oz: This cleansing oil can be effortlessly used to clean my face and ALL waterproof makeup at the end of the day. All I have to do is start with dry hands and a dry face, take about 6-7 drops of oil and massage it gently on my face. Once I’m done massaging, I run the tiniest amount of water on my face, which emulsifies the oil into a milky white paste. After this, you can just wash off the oil like any other face wash! Now, you’ll wonder, what’s different? Why should I pay top dollar for this oil when I can use jojoba, coconut or any other oil in the market that’s readily available and costs a fraction? I’ve used Grapeseed oil, coconut oil and jojoba oil in the past to clean my face and it was not convenient. I had to first massage the oil, then take a damp cloth or at least 2-3 pieces of dampened cotton wool to wipe off the oil. I cannot just splash water on my face and remove these other oils. For someone who is usually very tired (and lazy) at the end of the day, Tatcha’s Camellia Oil is really a one step cleanser. The fact that is removes the most stubborn eye makeup is a plus. I only use this oil at night time when I have some makeup on. I could possibly use this in the morning as a light cleanser, but I don’t think I need oil in the morning.
POLISHED Classic Rice Enzyme Powder - 60g | 2.1oz: The Polished Rice Enzyme Powder comes in three variations - Gentle (very fine rice particles), Classic (moderately fine rice particles) and Deep (Coarser rice particles) - and are designed to be used daily after the Cleansing Oil. My set came with the Classic type of powder. I primarily use this every night since my skin needs a deeper cleaning at night time. I have also tried samples of Deep and Gentle. I really like Deep for a one-off deep cleanser. Gentle is gentle enough to be used twice a day, both AM and PM. In fact, it would be great for me to invest in a separate full sized bottle of Gentle for my morning skincare ritual since I feel the Classic type of a little too much for my morning routine. Right now, I used a different cream based cleanser for AM and the cleansing oil and Classic Rice Powder at night.
To use the Rice Powder, you need to pour a small amount into your wet palm and gently rub both your hands together to make a foamy paste. To see this transformation from powder to foam is magical (almost like molecular gastronomy in food kitchens!). I rub the foam onto my wet face for 20 - 30 seconds and then wash off with lukewarm water. I am not hallucinating when I say that I skin simply glows after I use this powder. Nothing else that I’ve used so far even comes close to the way this rice powder makes my skin feel. You could leave the powder on for a longer time to use it as a face mask. The rice powder is much reasonably priced compared to the rest of the products and is a wonderful buy for all.
RADIANT Deep Brightening Serum - 30ml | 1oz: I really like the thin and light consistency of this serum. It’s neither sticky nor does it make your face feel unnecessarily tight. Having said that, I haven’t used this serum long enough to really tell a difference. I guess I need to get through at least more than half the bottle before I can expect to see any results. I am always scared that the serums will be too heavy or sticky or drying. Well good news - at least my skin feels very luxurious when I put this on. All it takes me is 1 pump per application.
SUPPLE Moisture Rich Silk Cream - 50ml | 1.7oz: This product provides just the right level of moisture for my skin. The jar itself comes with a very pretty gold colored spatula. All you’re supposed to use is 1 spatula per application. Anything less is too less, and anything more is too much, believe me. I usually like to use this at night time after using the cleanser, rice powder and the serum. The best thing about this cream is it hasn’t made me break out, which is quite an achievement! I would like to use this in the morning as well, but it has no sunscreen. Since I walk my dog in the Texas heat every morning, I don’t feel comfortable without SPF (even though I hate wearing SPF). If Tatcha were to come out with an SPF version for day time use, it would be awesome!
OVERALL - If you are hesitant to buy the complete Ritual set, I suggest that you definitely buy the Rice Enzyme Powder because there is nothing like it in the entire US market! I am still debating if the serum and moisturizer are worth the moolah, but haven’t reached any conclusion yet. I’ll write a separate post after a couple of months, once I’ve made some more headway into using these wonderful, luxurious products.
This is my second month with Green Grab Bag. Overall, it was a good month, even though I feel like the previous month was much better. One of the main reasons why I feel this way is because the big ticket item in the box “Hydra Soap Chill Pill” doesn’t really appeal to me.

Contents of the box

Info Card

Blum Naturals Daily Cleansing and Makeup remover toilettes for Combination & Oil Skin (10 pcs) - I really like these. These have a very strong smell of tea tree oil which I personally love, but if you’re sensitive to smell, you might not like these. The towels left my skin very clean. Haven’t tried these with makeup yet though.

Alaska Glacial Mud Co. “The Glacial Facial” in Lavender - Peppermint and Vanilla - Lavender (each 0.24 oz/7 gm) - I have been on a face mask kick recently. I can’t have enough of face masks ever. The sample size is big enough for 2 facials.

Alikay Naturals Lemongrass Leave in Conditioner (1 oz) - This smells amazing! Yet to try it though.

Hydro Soap Chill Pill (2 pcs) - This is the big ticket item. Unfortunately, I am not a bath person at all. Per the instructions, you just need to throw one piece in and “watch the fun” when the water is running.

Metropolis Soap Co. Lavender and Tangerine Vegan Artisan soap (0.7 oz) - This smells amazing. I love handmade soaps of all kinds! The sample size is very small though.

Sisters of the Black Moon Essential Oils blend in Moonshine and Ether - This is hands down my favorite pick from this month’s box. I have been using these as my perfume (small dabs behind my ears and my wrist). These are strong, very unique fragrances. I used Moonshine a couple of times as a sleep aid as well and it worked very well - I had the deepest sleep in a LONG time. I was struggling to wake up.
OVERALL - Even though not the best, I really liked a couple of items (face towels, face masks & essential oil blend). Three out of six items is not at all bad, especially since I’ll still be using every single thing!
I signed up for a second Birchbox this month because I feel like this subscription service provides GREAT value every month (most of the months anyway). The Birchbox points system is amazing and after taking into account the points you earn, the box per month costs $5 or less. For $5, the samples I receive are great! Many times, you also get full sized products, even though this is not the norm. What is great about Birchbox for is the fact that unlike Ipsy, they almost always choose higher end samples, which I appreciate. I would rather have 5 small samples of higher quality, well known brands versus 5 full or deluxe size samples from brands I will not use. This the main reason I keep unsubscribing from Ipsy because I’ve hardly used up any of their samples (I did end up subscribing for TWO Ipsy bags this month because of the spoilers at MUT, but I’ve unsubscribed again…oh well).
Moving on to the actual box - This is the first box for my second account.


Info Card - Birchbox
Cargo Lip Gloss (full size) in Route 66 - I’m sure I’ll like it, but I already have one and don’t need anymore lip glosses…
Another Acroball pen in Purple Ink - It’s okay. Nothing great.
LA Fresh Eco-Beauty Oil-Free Facial Cleanser (2 wipes) - I really didn’t want this since I ordered quite a bit when LA Fresh was on HauteLook. Well at least I’ll use these…
Beauty Protector (1 oz?) - Already swapped one from a previous box. This will be swapped as well.
COTZ Face Natural SPF 40 Sunscreen (3 gm) - AARRRGGHH. This made me break out like crazy the last time I used it.
It’s a good sunscreen that goes on very smooth, really helped me not get tanned, but if you have acne prone skin, you’ll need to be careful. It does go on with a tint and is supposed to match every skin tone. It matched mine perfectly even though initially I thought it would be too light. Too bad it broke me out!
I’m selling a bunch of my NARS blushes since I’m moving to more Eco friendly and cruelty free brands. Will sell Casino/Sin duo for $32 shipped. Used a total of 3 times. Email me at ruhi223@gmail.com if interested. I’ll be listing more blushes shortly. #makeupsale #blushsale #makeup #beauty #nars #narscosmetics #instabeauty #followme #followback #makeupswap #makeupjunkie #beautyjunkie
"Tell the chef, the beer is on me."
"Basically the price of a night on the town!"
"I'd love to help kickstart continued development! And 0 EUR/month really does make fiscal sense too...