A lifestyle journey
Another beautiful candle filled with crystals and a charm. I am currently enjoying the fresh scent of this candle in March. I don’t always burn them on the month they are for. Sometimes, I don’t need the blessing and later, I will want it. I need to clear my mind recently, so I’ve been loving this candle.
With Love,
I am back to show you the candle of the month for last October. I look forward to getting this candle at the beginning of every month. It is always here by the 10th at the latest, usually anywhere from the 5th to the 8th of the month on average. The amount of burn time, the scents, the energy, the crystals, and bits and bobs in the candles; this is all worth the $18.50 for me. October is spooky season, and the candle’s name, Bat Spirit, is fitting. Burn this candle to welcome rebirth and renewal.
As always, the candle is gorgeous, and I will reuse all the trinkets inside for my own spellwork.
I had technical difficulties removing the tarot card.
My tarot card means justice, which is fitting as this was the month that I started seeking justice for myself against all of the men that have harmed me in my life. I refer to them as the three horsemen.
I love the letter that always come with the candles that give me a deeper understanding of the Pagan world that I live in. I love learning more about my culture and my spiritual beliefs. I am anything but traditional.
With Love,
This was my first purchase of the candle subscription from the Wetch Betch shop, where I get all of my witchy supplies. She has her own website and a shop on Etsy. Each platform has a different inventory, so check out both if you consider purchasing. Use the code HocusPocus for 20% off your purchase. The candle subscription is $12/month for one candle, but with shipping comes to $18.50. I requested to start my subscription with this candle as I have been dieing to get my hands on it.
Being a sea witch, I totally align with this candle. I am saving it for a really special occasion. I love this subscription and have many more months to show you all to catch up on! I love the letters that come with the candles; that enriches my knowledge of the candle and crystals. I highly recommend this subscription. The candles are beautiful, and hand poured. Lots of love goes into these candles, so their magic is strong.
With Love,
This is my last Boxycharm as I don’t see the value in it anymore and the excitement factor has worn off. The move has made me realize that I get more enjoyment out of going to Marshall’s, picking out items myself, and getting a great deal on them. I did Boxycharm for a year and that seems to be my maximum for most beauty subscriptions. I don’t know when I will subscribe to another beauty subscription. But alas, here is the last Boxycharm unboxing.
I really enjoy this brush. I only brush my hair when it is dry to minimize damage to my bleached hair. Definitely the most expensive brush that I have ever owned before. There is nothing else to say than that I enjoy it and have been noticing less breakage.
I am excited to try out another drybar product. I have very frizzy hair, so anything that can tame my frizz I am willing to try. I have so many hair products now as I have really gotten into the investment of my hair. I have so many things to try. I love it!
Sheet masks are always welcome in our collection. The soothing aloe mask will be nice after a day in the sun. I haven’t found a sheet mask that isn’t like any other. I don’t feel loyal to any sheet masks.
I am always excited to try a new eye cream and anything to improve my dark circles, I am willing to give a shot. I tend to fly through eye cream, because I use it religiously. I am happy to have this in my back stock until I am ready to use it.
I do not like the scent of this and neither does Martin. We will be giving this to Jenna. lol
I really like this lip gloss. It doesn’t hurt like the Too Faced one. It is a nice consistently. It is like a balm and not sticky. It has a nice candy scent.
Neither one of us are attracted to these colors. This will be given away.
Martin and I are excited to utilize this palette. It has colors to suit both of our skin tones. I have been into creams lately, so I am highly interested in this palette. I cannot wait to set up our vanity and have all of our products spread out. It will be so fun.
The value of this box was $268.94. I don’t feel like Luxe is worth it. Some of my Boxycharms have had this great of a value. There is a couple of things that we aren’t interested in, which brings down the value of this box. Overall, it is an end of a fun year, but all good things must come to an end at some point.
With Love,
Another haul and you can expect a few more as I indulged for my birthday. We also have some excited news, so we are making some purchases for that as well. It is an exciting time with a whole bunch of new content in the works. One of my favorite products showed up on the popup shop. My fiancé wanted a couple of things as well, so we made a haul out of it. Our budget will be tighter starting with May, until he is able to get his job situated as he is currently between positions.
My fiancé wanted this one. I hope he likes it.
My fiancé wanted this one as well.
As you know, I am obsessed with setting sprays and primers. I am happy to add another setting spray to my collection. I really love the variety and having a hydrating and matte spray open at once for options. It has a natural finish, so I would categorize this more on the matte side until I start to use it and can give a more informed option.
I didn’t realize that this retailed for so much. I just liked the sound of this product and wanted to try it out. We love face masks and are always trying new ones! I do like that this one comes in a pump for ease of use.
This is a repurchase. I love this sleeping mask SO MUCH. My skin always looks good with this in the routine. I went without it for a few months and missed it in my routine. That is when I knew that I needed it and enjoyed it.
This had to be cranked a lot before the product started to come out of the tip. I think this will be a pretty easy lip product to use up. The shade is bright and fun for Spring and Summer. I am looking forward to wearing this shade, especially now that you don’t have to wear masks as much anymore. My lip products are going to be used again!
I paid $55 for these products that are worth $202 full price. I love all the items that I got, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought them. They peaked my interest and hopefully, I love the mask when I do try it!
With Love,
This month’s Boxycharm theme was Spring Revival.
I gave this to Martin. This is pretty much a basics palette with a pop of blue. The blue is weird and doesn’t fit in with the rest of the shades. It does match the box though!
We love a good face mask as you guys very well know. We are looking forward to trying out this peel off mask. Boxycharm must have felt that we are trying out peel off masks, because this is the second one that we got this month as I purchased our first one at Marshall’s. I am sure that this will be an empty soon enough based on how often we mask. I love that my guy isn’t afraid to do “girly” things with me.
I am SO EXCITED to try out one of these fancy eye serums! It has a ceramic tip and I am ALL about this product. Do I think I need an eye serum in my routine? No, I think eye cream is enough and I use my face serum on my eyes (when appropriate). Will I absolutely enjoy this product while I have it? Most definitely!
I enjoy trying out different mascaras, because it is hard for me to find ones that I like. Sometimes, I have to open up a few mascaras to find one that I like in my collection. I am currently using a Smashbox one and I am not feeling it. I think that I will be cracking into this one soon, because I’m not completely happy with the one that I have open. I love wearing mascara, so if I don’t want to do it as it feels like a chore, then it isn’t the one for me. Hopefully, I like this one.
This is FUCKING BEAUTIFUL! It sets and doesn’t budge. It doesn’t go into my crease either! I do use a glitter primer, because I have oily eye lids. I always use a primer with creams, liquids, and glitters. Powder eye shadow tends to stay in place and lightly fade by the end of the day. I also use high quality eye shadow, which might explain the staying power on my oily lids.
The total value of this box is $259. I absolutely love 4/5 things and I am eager to use them. I just tried out the mascara and fell in love. I did cancel my Boxycharm for the time being. I love going to Marshalls and TJ Max. I can get what I want for the same price. I’m just tired I think after a year.
With Love,
Another lackluster month from Boxycharm. We will use everything, but there was nothing that really excited me or was something that I really wanted to have/try. I have been thinking about upgrading to LUXE, because they seem to have a bit more exciting products than the base box. I’m not looking to go to premium. I think it would be nice 4 times a year to pay a little more to get some more exciting products and more of them as well. I am saving this for when we move out though, because space is a concern right now. There is nothing wrong with this box at all, just nothing that made me go wow.
I do really like the theme of March, though.
My boyfriend will be getting this set as he loves his makeup sponges. This one is very on par with the softness of the BeautyBlender. His favorite color is also red, so it works out. He is excited about using both items.
We ran out of our toner pads and we are almost out of two other toners. As soon as we have finished those off, this will be our only toner. We look forward to using this, but we do prefer toner pads. This is much preferred over another toner spray though. This sounds really interesting, but we are into clarifying toners due to our acne prone skin.
We love face masks, so this was a welcome addition to our skin care routine. This is a quick 5 minute mask, which is nice when we are not in the mood for a 20 to 30 minute one. Sometimes, you just wanna go to bed but also treat your face.
I love primers. This will be the 8th one that I currently own in my collection. I am excited to try something from Selena Gomez’s line as I am a huge fan of hers. I also go through primers quite a bit as I usually wear a light base even if I am not wearing makeup. I think I am already on my 3rd primer this year, but all three have been minis or deluxe sizes so far. They all have been brand new and never opened before as well.
As you can see, this is a very pigmented formula. It isn’t super drying on the lips and does dry down to a powdery finish. It still contains a natural sheen, so not totally matte. The first photo is my natural lip color. As you can see, my lips are pretty pigmented on their own, but I do have a wonky bottom lip line that does make it a challenge to make lipsticks look right. For me, this color was a your lips but better look/color. It is a bit darker than my natural lip color, but it is pretty close. I do wish for more adventurous colors, but I will use this one.
This months value was $119.95, which is probably the lowest value box thus far and it shows in the products that were selected. We are most happy about 2/5, but we will use all 5 products. The value of this box is still a 5/5, because of that fact. Did you like all the items that you received in your March Boxycharm?
With Love,
I know, I know. I say that I don’t buy that many beauty products and I have done SO many purchases so far this year. I swear that I am not normally like this. LOL. I’ve just been so into investing in myself that I haven’t been holding back. Still spending responsibly though, because I want to move out by the time it is Spring. I also haven’t purchased everything for myself. Some things I buy to share with my boyfriend and other things I have purchased just for him. Taking that into consideration, I think that I have been doing fairly well for myself. I expect that I’ll probably make at least one purchase a month with some beauty products as it is an area of my life that I really enjoy and I consider it a hobby. Lots of people spend money on their hobbies. I just have to keep up with my promise to myself to use up as many products this year that I enjoy and toss/donate anything along the way that doesn’t give me joy.
I originally bought this for my boyfriend’s mom, but she went to a distillery and purchased a CBD balm there for $50 that is roughly the same size as this one. I know how long it takes for her to use up product, so I thought that we would use this instead for any of our aches and pains. I’ve only used it on my sore ankles so far and it is really no different than using a muscle cream. However, it is more natural and I prefer it because of that fact. It has a nice herbal and peppermint scent. It has a cooling sensation on the skin. I love how full the container is! It is a balm that does melt or liquify, so I find it very easy to apply and prefer it over a traditional greasy balm.
I know that I have been complaining about black eye liner, but this one is actually different from the rest. It has a wing that you can stamp on and an eye liner side to line your eye. I am looking forward to trying this out, because I cannot do a wing for shit. lol
This was a purchase for my boyfriend. I was shopping the sale, so I asked him if there was anything that he wanted. He picked out this primer to try out. He has a few primers now that all do different things. He is excited to try it out.
I know that I said that I wasn’t sure if I was on the dewy, glowy train fully, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like a bit of a glow at times. I have been very into the “sun-kissed/burned” look with my blushes and doing the same technique with bronzer as well. I thought this would be a nice one to try out. If it is too much for me, I know that my boyfriend would be all over this one. He only has the ELF Matte Setting Spray, so this would be a welcome edition to him. I told him that I don’t mind him using it though if I do like it. I am totally into sharing.
In total, I paid $33.87 including all taxes and such for $113 worth of product full price. I basically paid a bit less than 1/3 of the price for all of these items. It is such an amazing deal if you do want items in the sale. I don’t buy things to buy things, because they are on sale. I buy things if I really want them, but a sale is really motivating for me to actually purchase something that I do want.
With Love,
I am excited for this series this year. My boyfriend and I have a bet going on with how much I use up and spend in a year. The results are going to be very interesting. I decided to structure this post with everything I purchased first in photos and the monetary amount that was spent. Everything that I used up will follow and the cost of what was used up. I will then compare the numbers and give predictions on how the next month will go or comments or whatever I feel that I want to add. This is just for fun and for my own data and I am excited to see what the end of the year will bring.
The perfume was $118, which was a splurge and not typical of me. The Batiste was $8.99. the pack of makeup wipes was $4.99. The hair detangler was $5.99. The BECCA powder was $10. The Pretty Vulgar was $7.99. The BECCA primer was $9.99. The brushes were $6.99. The other 5 items are from Boxycharm, which costs me $27.99 a month. The total amount of money that I spent on beauty products in January was $200.98.
In January, I have used up the below products. I managed to use up 10 items and I brought in 13 items, leaving a deficit of 3. So, -3 items in my beauty balance for the month of January. Hopefully, I will turn this number into the positives next month!
The Olay serum was $9.99. The 1 nose strip is being counted as $1. The MILK mask stick was $26. The Batiste dry shampoo was $5.99. The Pureology hair detangler was $29. The Anastasia Contour stick was $25. The Palmer’s lip balm was $2.95. The Pink Rose eye shadow stick in hip hop was $10. The lip liner duo was $16. The bronzer powder was $18. This month, I used up or decluttered a total of $142.93.
This means that I have purchased $200.98 worth of beauty items and I used up $142.93 worth of beauty items. This means that I purchased $58.05 more than what I was able to use up. So far, my beauty total for January of 2022 is $58.05 over budget and my collection is -3 out of it. I think that Feb will put us into the positive numbers as I have used up a few items and I think only my boxycharm is coming into my collection.
$200.98 purchased/$142.93 gone
With Love,
I got my Boxycharm really late this month. It sat for 5 days in a distribution center, before being passed off to the USPS carrier. At first, this box was a bit of a letdown, but then I started to brighten considerably as my boyfriend offered a new perspective. I love doing these boxes with him and sharing as I feel like he gets caught up in my excitement for new items to play with. He doesn’t feel free to wear makeup and explore that side of himself while we are living with his family, but he has talked about buying a vanity big enough for two and how excited he is when we move out to get back into experimenting again. The excitement of moving out is getting very real as his first paycheck from his new job is around the corner.
We already have 2 eye creams open currently, but it looks like our morning one will be gone pretty soon. I am super excited to try out a Saturday Skin product as I haven’t tried anything from the brand yet. It sounds perfect to use in the mornings and I love the holographic orange on the lid. This will go in the backstock until it is ready to be opened.
My boyfriend is excited to try out this primer. I just bought myself a BECCA primer, so I thought that I would let him have this one. Plus, glowy primers are up his alley, while I am not 100% on the glow train. Primer is one of those products that I go through fairly easily and I know he is the same way. He also doesn’t have a glowy primer currently, so this will be a good addition to his budding collection.
I love how soft the blush brush is and it is always nice to have more eyeshadow brushes. We don’t really travel, but we do have a trip in the works for this year. This will come in handy for that if I even end up wearing makeup. The sponge part is weird and hard. It would probably be best dry for baking or applying undereye concealer.
Another black eye liner. I will throw this into the backstock in case one of our eye liners is dried out when we go to use it. I will only keep 2 backups, one for each of us, at a time. There is no need to keep more of them unless we were really using them and we currently don’t really wear liquid eye liner.
This came just in time for me, because I have recently used up my previous mascara and I didn’t have any left. I am unsure about the short bristles, but I am willing to give it a try. I really love to wear mascara. It is something that I wear every single day and I have been missing it in my makeup routine. I am happy to have a new tube to try out. I’m not loyal to any particular mascara.
This box is a bit on the lower said at $130, but I love the eye cream. The value of the eye cream pays for the box itself. I’m not mad at it. I would give it 3/5 for excitement and I would give it 5/5 for value as we will use everything.
With Love,
Home Sweet Phoenix Cove 