Walmart Beauty Box – Summer

I’m seriously obsessed with this Walmart Beauty Box thing. Even though I cancelled my Birchbox subscription, I don’t even feel guilty replacing it with this, since it’s only $5 once per season!

Sample #1: Coconut Nail Art by Incoco Nail Polish Strips in ‘Double Dare’
My opinion went back and forth on these. It took me a few tries to figure out how to put them on the right way, and it was harder than I thought. Filing the edge off wasn’t as smooth as I had hoped, but the strip stayed on my nail until I peeled it off a week later! I wasn’t a huge fan of the design, but I’ll definitely look into them another time.Sample #2: Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer in ‘Fair to Medium’
Want to hear a funny story? I’ve used this stuff before and loved it, but for whatever reason, I completely forgot to wash my hands after using a little bit of it to massage Daniel’s shoulders. I woke up the next morning and my hands were slightly bronze…I knew why immediately. *facepalm* 
Sample #3: Goody SlideProof Spiky Soft Touch Hair Elastics
I was really disappointed by these. My hair is relatively thick, so my hair elastics have to be warhorses. These were an unfortunate combination of “too small to go around three times” and “got stuck in my hair while pulling it out.” The GOOD news is, I found the most perfect hair ties of allllllll time at Walmart a week or so ago..!!! I’ll post about them sometime. They are life-changing.
Sample #4: Schwarzkopf Essence Ultime Diamond Color & Radiance Shampoo and Conditioner combo (link to shampoo)
I’ve created a mini mental contest with myself. Anytime I get shampoo AND conditioner samples together from the same brand, I’m going to use them together to see if I like anything better than MONAT. That’s the only reason I would stop using it – if I found something I liked better! And so far, I’ve found nothing. My hair definitely felt silky soft when I used this brand, but in a fake kind of way, not in a clean kind of way. My hair actually just stopped detoxing from using these two times…two weeks ago. *thumbs down* Using MONAT again felt like a huge relief.
Sample #5: Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Leg Makeup in ‘Medium’
The first time I used this, I laughed out loud at how dark the makeup looked when I squeezed some into my hand! Surprisingly, it blended pretty well into my skin. It was still a little dark for my taste though – I think a “Fair” color would be better than “Medium.”
Sample #6: Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Clean Mint Fluoride Anticavity Toothpaste
This was a welcome change from my usual disgusting-but-awesome toothpaste as far as taste goes, but it just didn’t whiten my teeth the way my favorite kind does! I always love getting samples of stuff I use every day though – anything to save a little money. ;)
Sample #7: NIVEA® In-Shower Cocoa Butter Body Lotion
Not really impressed with this stuff. I was disappointed, to be honest, because I thought this would save me step after getting out of the shower! It felt like it melted off my skin as soon as I rubbed it on, and rinsing the rest of it off seemed to defeat the purpose of using it at all, even though that’s how you’re supposed to use it. I was also terrified of falling down; it made the tub really slippery. When I got out and dried off, my skin didn’t feel any more moisturized than it did before I got in.

All in all, I consider this box a win! I’ve looked at half of these things in the store before (or similar ones) and wondered whether or not to try them. And now, I know! I can’t wait to see what’s in my fall and winter boxes.

Final Birchbox – July

Sample #1: Elizabeth Mott It’s So Big Volumizing Mascara
This mascara doesn’t live up to my personal favorite (Mally Beauty), but it was still a good option! I put multiple coats on and my eyelashes didn’t feel heavy or caked in mascara. I might use this on days that I want a touch of makeup but not full eyes.
Sample #2: dr. brandt® PoreDermabrasion
Haven’t gotten around to using this, but I’ve loved everything I’ve tried from dr. brandt! Although I don’t really struggle with noticeable pores, so I’m not sure how much I’ll actually get out of this..? We’ll see.
Sample #3: Klorane Smoothing and Relaxing Patches with Soothing Cornflower
I liked these! Inside the package were ‘patches’ that went under my eyes. They were almost like stickers with a squishy foam outer side. I used them after a particularly long day, and they felt wonderful – soothing is an accurate description! I’ll definitely order a full size of these sometime soon.
Samples #4, 5, & 6: Living proof.® No Frizz Shampoo, Conditioner, & Nourishing Styling Cream
Yet again, another hair product trio that left me disappointed. Of all brands, I was sure that this one might make me reconsider MONAT, after all the amazing things I’ve heard about it. But NOPE. My hair felt soft, but it wasn’t as shiny as it is when I use MONAT, and I couldn’t get it to blowdry as smoothly either. It smelled good though!

Somehow, I forgot to take a picture of that little bottle on the bottom! It’s called Milk Makeup Sunshine Oil, and I actually really, really like it. It smells DIVINE, and I love the dewy glow it gives my skin without making it look or feel greasy. So far, I’ve used it on my face and on my arms when my skin felt dry. My only complaint is that it takes some work to get a decent amount of oil out of the rollerball, but the full size has a button that helps push the oil through. Overall, big fan!

Goodbye, Birchbox – at least for now. :) From this point, I’ll probably share my Walmart Beauty Boxes via Facebook Live, so if you want those updates, head over to Facebook and add me as a friend!