sarea | Beauty boxes for January

It's that time of month again! Somehow! Crazy how fast it happens.

At work one of the gals created a "Glam Squad" group for the 6-7 of us who are really into this kind of thing; it's been great to hear everyone's experiences with products and get their feedback on my stuff, too. They all seem much more in the know about specific brands than me.

Birchbox

Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk - One of the gals at work said that this brand was all over the pharmacies in Paris, and she regretted not stocking up while she was there, because it's like half the price. Given the recent horror stories about dry shampoo that

akscully brought to my attention, I offered it to her. Of course, immediately after that, another girl chimed in and said that Klorane dry shampoo was the best, making me immediately regret my generosity. ;) I mean, like all things, I'm sure it's fine if used in moderation.

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner - I definitely like eyeliners, but I've gotten so many now that I'd prefer to get something else. They're all generally the same, honestly, especially when you almost exclusively use black, like me.

amika Bombshell Blowout Spray - I'm kind of excited about this one, because yay blowout hair product! That said... the one thing subscribing to all these beauty boxes has done is made me realize that there really isn't, for the most part, that much difference between products.

Sunday Riley Good Genes All-in-One Lactic Acid Treatment - I'm looking forward to this, if only because the full size product is $120. O.o It better be the best thing ever.

Pixi by Petra Glow Tonic To-Go - These are disposable pads that I'm not UNinterested in; I just have a pretty lazy skincare routine so adding something to it isn't usually something I look for.

Ipsy

Sally's Box Loverecipe AcaiBerry Mask & Loverecipe Aloe Mask - Masks -- the disposable kind -- seem to be a big thing these days. I might've been more excited about these had I not bought a bunch of Korean ones recently!

Pretty Woman Nail Polish in I Can't Deal or I'm Not A Ballerina - I really like this. I'm always looking for a good pink, so I kind of wish I'd been sent I'm Not A Ballerina, but the I Can't Deal gray is nice, too, and unusual.

Coloured Raine Cosmetics Matte Lip Paint in Mars - From the tube I'm not sure this color is for me, but I'm game to try!

ModelCo BLUSH Cheek Powder in Peach Bellini - Always feel 'meh' about blushes.

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35 - After trying Korean BB cream I'm both more and less interested in trying Western BB cream, lol. We'll see how it goes!

Sephora Play

tarte FRXXXTION Stick Exfoliating Cleanser - I'm intrigued by this. I mean, a cleanser? In stick form? Odd. And yet COOL!

Clinque Almost Lipstick in Black Honey - This is very sheer, and I like what I saw of it when I tried it on the back of my hand.

Ouai Treatment Masque - "Hair mask" is apparently what they're calling leave-in conditioner these days. Anyway, I pretty much like all haircare-related samples, so I'm cool to try this.

Farmacy Honey Potion Renewing Antioxidant Hydration Mask with Echinacea GreenEnvy - So many masks! This one sounds pretty cool...

AmorePacific Color Control Cushion Compact - I'd only just learned about cushion compacts recent from

adelagia... perhaps I shall give this a go and see if I want to graduate from BB creams.

Tory Burch Love Relentlessly - As always, I'm ambivalent to fragrance samples, but this one is very highly rated, so we'll see if I like it any.

The gals were all very envious of my Sephora box, possibly because they're more familiar with some of the brands than me, and possibly because they're all still on the waitlist for it, lol.

akscully, did you get the same stuff?

The winner this month: Sephora. I like pretty much everything, and find them all usable. Birchbox was a very close second, though, and if the Klorane sample had been anything but dry shampoo, probably would have taken it. Ipsy was decent this month, also, so really, January was a win!