Trash Talk: August 2015 Empties

Hello, friends! It's time for another Empties post! Can you believe I haven't done an actual Empties post since February (not counting the Spring Cleaning Edition)? I've decided to title this series Trash Talk, because I'm feeling particularly witty today. Everyone does a little trash talking now and then--don't deny it!

In these posts, I'll give you my full disclosure on what I thought about these products, since I had plenty of time to test them out.

These products were emptied because of three reasons:

1. I liked them so much that I used them to the last drop.
2. I didn't like them, really, but didn't want to waste anything
3. They were expired and/or smelled funny so they had to go.

We have some catching up to do, so featured today are products I used up (and that were photographed) back at school on my old point-and-shoot camera. But we'll get through it, I promise.

But enough about that. Let's get to the good stuff!

Birchbox: July 2015 Review

Hi, friends! Today I'm here to share with you the last-but-not-least subscription box from my "Mail Time!" post--my July Birchbox. After this, we are all caught up, and it's time to focus on what's new. 

Birchbox? What's that?

Birchbox is a monthly beauty and lifestyle subscription service. It sends 4-5 deluxe samples that are curated to your beauty profile. It is $10 a month, and has a wonderful rewards program, in which you can earn points for reviewing products and making purchases in the Birchbox Shop. You can then redeem those points for full-sized products! It's probably the best rewards program out there, in my opinion, which was one of the big draws in me signing up. They're always adding new products to the shop. In the past, they have sampled products from Amika, Juice Beauty, Shiseido, as well as pages of others! Some products are even exclusive to Birchbox, like Cynthia Rowley's new makeup line and the cult-favorite Beauty Protector brand. If you're interested in subscribing to Birchbox, I would love it if you used my referral link! Thank you!

Ipsy Glam Bag: July 2015 Review

Hello, friends! I know your eyes are probably bugging out of your head at the sight of an Ipsy review on this blog. I mentioned in my July Mail Time! that I had resubscribed, and I wasn't lying. When a pink envelope came in the mail, even my brother was like, "Wow, I haven't seen one of these in awhile." So let's take a look inside and see what we've got here! 

Ipsy? What's that?

Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription service that sends you five products with a themed makeup bag for $10/month. They offer a variety of products that change monthly, and determine which ones you receive based on the results of your beauty profile quiz. Ipsy also has a rewards program, in which you can earn points for reviewing products and redeem them for prizes. This month they sampled products from Tarte, Ole Henrikson, Essie, and plenty of others! If you're interested in subscribing, I would love it if you used my Ipsy referral link! Thank you!

Birchbox: June 2015 Review

Hello, friends! And Happy Friday! Welcome to the first day of catch-up day, in which I rip open all of the subscription boxes that were sitting in my room when I returned home from my two-month internship. Today's post is all about unboxing my June Birchbox. This was one was a surprise, since (for once) I didn't go with the guest curated box. I'm really excited to dig in, so let's get started! 

Birchbox? What's that?

Birchbox is a monthly beauty and lifestyle subscription service. It sends 4-5 deluxe samples that are curated to your beauty profile. It is $10 a month, and has a wonderful rewards program, in which you can earn points for reviewing products and making purchases in the Birchbox Shop. You can then redeem those points for full-sized products! It's probably the best rewards program out there, in my opinion, which was one of the big draws in me signing up. They're always adding new products to the shop. In the past, they have sampled products from Amika, Juice Beauty, Shiseido, as well as pages of others! Some products are even exclusive to Birchbox, like Cynthia Rowley's new makeup line and the cult-favorite Beauty Protector brand. If you're interested in subscribing to Birchbox, I would love it if you used my referral link! Thank you!

Mail Time! July 2015

I'm back, friends! It's been a busy two weeks, but I am happy to report that my laptop is up and running! My internship is over, and I plan to get down to business with keeping this blog updated. My goal right now is to up my posts to twice a week. Think I can do it? We'll find out!

Today I'd like to bring you another "Mail Time!" post. I've had some mail pile up (including some subscription boxes) and I always like sharing. It's essentially a haul from my mailbox. Plus, I think these are a good sneak peek of what's to come on the blog.

Let's get to the good stuff~

Two Week Blogging Hiatus!?

Hello, friends! I am unfortunately not here with a fun, new post, but rather a quick update. The Beauty Buff Blog will be going on a short two-week hiatus. Why you ask? Well...

• My laptop is broken

AKA...

1. Typing on a tablet sucks and is very slow
2. The Internet does not like mobile anything
3. I cannot insert my camera-s SD card into my tablet 
4. Resulting in terrible or nonexistent photos

Also:

• My internship is finishing up

AKA...

1. I work a lot of hours, six days a week?
2. I barely have any free time to write (or photograph inevitably terrible pictures)
3. On my one day off I like to not be working (I know, what a bum, right?)

And finally, the most important:

• I don't like putting out posts I'm not proud of.

AKA...

1. I stumbled through last week's post. 
2. Blog posts without nice pictures makes everything look poorly done and dirty. I like to at least try to have good pictures (And they'll be even better with my new camera)!
3. I want to put out posts with substance, not ones that are short just because I got tired of typing on a tablet.

I know this post might seem very whiny and me-me-me to some of you, but I just wanted to bring all of you up to speed. I thought you all had the right to know why there wouldn't be any posts for a bit. Because you guys matter so much to me, and I wouldn't want to churn out crappy posts just to stay active! 

In two weeks, my internship will be over, and I'm hoping my laptop will be fixed. And then I will be back to producing quality content on this blog! 

How is life going for you lately? Hopping aboard the #strugglebus with me? Hm... "The StruggleBus with Sammi." It worries me how catchy that sounds. 

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Procrastinating Blogger [Tag]

Hello, friends! I have some sad news: my laptop is broken. It just doesn't want to turn on, no matter how many times I try. When I get back from Connecticut, my computer-savvy friend said he would look at it, but until then, these next few weeks are gonna be rough. I'm typing this post on my little tablet, and with no SD Card slot, I have no way to upload any pictures from my camera. So, just bear with me as I chug along for these next couple of posts, and I promise the beauty buff blog will be back to its prime in no time!

My pal Priyanka over at Glamour and Giggles introduced me to the Procrastinating Blogger Tag last week. It looked like fun so I thought I would give it a go. And you guys know I can't resist a good tag. But enough about that. Let's get to the good stuff!

1. Name a beauty regimen you rarely do.
Paint my fingernails! I wish I could polish them more, but I've worked as a scenic artist for the past four years painting sets (for theatre), so it's kind of pointless. My manicure inevitably gets covered with actual paint! My toes are always painted, though (occasionally those will get covered with paint, too).