July Beauty Kitchen Review

Have you heard of Beauty Kitchen? Found Heather Marianna started it as a YouTube channel and they now have a subscription service, too! They sent me a July VIP Box and Mini Monthly to share with you.

*Disclaimer: This box was sent to See, Shop, Love! in exchange for an honest review.

Beauty Kitchen sends seasonal goodies like custom-scented sugar scrubs, body washes, beauty bars, skin oils, and more each month! All products are all-natural, cruelty-free, made in the USA, and were created by Heather herself! She started Beauty Kitchen to showcase simple, DIY recipes with common kitchen and household ingredients, and now you can get them shipped right to your door each month. Shipping is free.

They have to box options, the VIP and the Mini:

• VIP: $34.95 per month or $95 for a three month trial
• Mini: $12.95 per month or $30 for a three month trial

The Mini ships in a padded envelope and has 4-7 sample sized products with a retail value of over $40. 

July's theme was "Baby You're a Firework"and had four samples.

• Blemish Blaster Skin Polish - This scrub can be used on your face and body and works great to diminish acne. I really like this for summer, since no one likes feeling all gross and sweaty, but it's inevitable and can lead to acne flare-ups. It has a clean scent from tea tree, lavender, bergamot, and lemongrass essential oils.
• Lemongrass and Sage Body Polish - This smells so good and is so zen! Both of these polishes are made with organic fine sugar and rice bran oil, along with their respective essential oil scents.
• As American as Apple Pie Lotion - I love this lotion! It has a smooth, light texture and absorbs quickly into my skin. It's made with an all natural evening primrose lotion base, shea butter, coconut oil, and a Beauty Kitchen blend of apple scents. It smells amazing!
• #Lemonade Luxe Lather Wash - This has an all natural shower gel base and a Beauty Kitchen blend of lemonade scents. It doesn't smell strongly of lemonade, but I like that because I feel like a strong lemon scent would make you smell like cleaning solution.

I also received the Perfect Pout set, which is pictured in the first photo of this post (this set is sold separately from the Mini monthly bag):

• Beauty Kitchen Sunscreen Lip Balm - This is made with beeswax and citrus-sweetened flavor oil. The SPF is not listed. I love natural lip balms and this one hydrates really well.
• Collagen Lip Gel Mask - I had never used a lip mask before so I was really curious to try this. It looked so funny on because it encompassed more than just my lips, but it felt really nice and hydrating afterwards.

The VIP Box features 4-6 full-sized items, as well as complimentary samples, and will have a retail value of $100 or more!

• Pomegranate Plum Perfection Skin Polish - This smells so good! It's my favorite scrub of the bunch. It just smells so perfectly fruity. The full-sized version is 16 oz.
• Black Tie Affair Skin Polish - This is a unisex scent and smells exactly how you think it would, with notes of black peppercorn, leather, warm woods, patchouli, musk, and citrus. I am a huge fan of masculine scents so I love this, but those who prefer more feminine blends may find this to be too strong.
• As American as Apple Pie Lotion - This is the same as the one in the mini, just full-sized at 4 oz.
• #Lemonade Luxe Leather Wash - This bottle is a little bigger than the lotion at 6 oz.

• Charcoal Sheet Mask - I don't usually do sheet masks because I just don't like how they feel on my face (also I can't sit still for 20 minutes to use one), but I will definitely give this one a try because I love charcoal products for my oily, oily skin. The instructions on the package say I can use it for anywhere from 5-15 minutes, too, so that's perfect.
• Collagen Gel Lip Mask - This is the same as the product described in the Perfect Pout set.
• Red Wine Infused Eye Gels - How fun are these? I love eye gel masks, especially after a long, hot day. These are made with glycerin, sweet almond oil, red wine polyphenols, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, collagen amino acids, and water to de-puff and de-stress your under eye area.
• All Natural Bug Spray - This was my bonus item and I'll put it to good use! It's made with essential oils of lemon and citronella with a special Beauty Kitchen blend. Mosquitoes have always loved me, much to my chagrin, and hopefully this will help keep them at bay.

Bottom Line: I'm definitely impressed by Beauty Kitchen! I think both the Mini and the VIP options are a great value and I like that everything is made with minimal ingredients and great scents!

• Visit Beauty Kitchen to view their full line of products and subscribe!
  Connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram

July Book of the Month Review and Coupon

I've always been an avid reader and I've wanted to sign up for Book of the Month for a while, but I never did because usually I just borrow books from the library instead of purchasing them. But then BotM had a $5 promo, so I had to sign up! Plus, the selections for July were really good.

*Disclaimer: This box was purchased by See, Shop, Love! Post contains affiliate links.

Book of the Month was founded back in 1926 by Harry Scherman! I had no idea the club had been in existence for that long. The modern-day club sends you one hardcover book per month for only $16.99 with free shipping. You get to choose the book from five available selections. It's a little cheaper with three- and six-month options, too:

• Monthly: $16.99 per month
• Three Months: $44.97 every three months ($14.99 per book)
• Six Months: $143.88 every six months ($11.99 per book)

You can also add an extra book to your box for only $9.99 per book and skip any month. I think $16.99 for a hardcover book is an excellent price, considering retail is usually upwards of $25 at stores like Barnes & Noble.

July selections are now closed, so if you subscribe now it'll be for August's selections. I chose Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner. Each month, judges handpick the selections, and this one was chosen by Maud Newton. Here's what she has to say about the book:

A beautiful young Cambridge grad named Edith Hind, vanishes from her house on a snowy winter night, leaving behind her cell phone, her keys, her coat, a broken wine glass, and some drops of blood. Surely the culprit must be her handsome boyfriend? Or, her needy best friend? Or, the affable cold-blooded killer just out of prison? Or? 

One tantalizing thing about Missing, Presumed is that the mystery feels as though it should be easy to solve. It's a hard whodunnit to puzzle out. The author embeds clues in intricate psychological portraits of each of her characters. Every cast member is full of surprises. All of them have secrets and most are characters prone to telling half-truths. My suspicions kept shifting as I read.

I knew I wanted this book right away, but I did take a look at the other selections just to be sure there wasn't another I liked more. Nope. This one was it! I love crime stories and books that make you think, so this one sounded perfect for me. I'm only a few chapters in right now but I really like it so far.

• Visit Book of the Month to learn more and subscribe!
• Use coupon code FUN30 for 30% off your first month

Bottom Line: I'm excited about Book of the Month and I think I'll really like this service! It's convenient that you can skip a month, so I don't have to worry about getting books I won't read. I think it's an incredible deal for any book lover!

July Play! by Sephora Review

When I saw that the theme spoiler for July's Play! by Sephora box was "Effortless" I thought, well that isn't helpful. That could be anything. Turns out they included samples for an effortless summer, and the box is pretty good!

*Disclaimer: This box was purchased by See, Shop, Love!

If you haven't heard of Play!, it's a fairly new box from Sephora. Subscriptions have been on a waiting list and the waiting time has been long and frustrating for some, but I think they're opening up more and more subscriptions recently. You can check your status by entering your email address into the Play! site, and you should also get an email when a spot opens up.

Anyway, it costs $10 per month and shipping is free, but if you live in NYS like me there's sales tax, bringing the total to $10.80. That's nothing terrible, though, because I think this box is an excellent value for the price.

Each box comes with a little drawstring bag with the samples inside. I think this is a cute idea, but I don't really know what to do with the leftover bags each month. I guess I'll figure out a way to use them as storage for all the samples I have building up in my closet!

You also get a Play! pass that's good for a tutorial with a Sephora associate using the products in the box and 50 extra Beauty Insider points with any purchase.

I think this month the samples varied a little based on your Sephora profile. I have oily skin, so I received the box catered towards that skin type.

• First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay - I actually use this cleanser currently and I really like it. It's not too expensive for a full-sized bottle and it works well to remove excess oil and balance my skin.
• Nest Fragrances in Citrine - I've never tried a Nest perfume that I didn't like, but I wasn't sure about this one since it has notes of freesia and fresh lotus flower. I generally hate anything freesia, but this one is so nice! It's not overly-floral and the woody base balances out the floral perfectly for me.
• OUAI Wave Spray - I used to use wave sprays all the time when my hair was longer, but for some reason they don't work so well on my short hair. It doesn't make sense to me. Anyway, this one is formulated to give extra texture, volume, and shine. It smells really nice and did give my hair added texture. I'll use this as an alternative to my styling cream.
• Smashbox Photo Finish Pore Minimizing Primer - The last time I tried this primer it made me break out, but so far so good this time around. The texture is velvety smooth and it's especially formulated for oily/combo skin.
• Too Faced Soleil Matte Bronzer in Chocolate - This is my favorite bronzer! It smells like chocolate and gives a great matte glow. I prefer bronzers without shimmer and this one is perfect.
• beautyblender blotterazzi - I've really wanted to try this for a while because I love my original beautyblender, but I wasn't quite sure how effective it would be and I didn't want to waste my money on something that didn't work. I'm glad I got this in a box and didn't purchase it at retail price because it did absolutely nothing to soak up oil on my skin. If you have a regular beautyblender, just press it against your face because that's basically all this does. It didn't absorb any oil, in my opinion. Do not recommend.

Bottom Line: I loved everything in July's box, save for the blotterazzi, but I'm still glad I got to try that because it confirmed that I shouldn't buy a full-sized version!

July Chococurb Nano Review

You what I really love? Chocolate. I've been wanting to try a chocolate box for a while, but a lot of them are kind of expensive. Enter Chococurb Nano, a new subscription from Chococurb that's only $10 a month!

*Disclaimer: This box was sent to See, Shop, Love! in exchange for an honest review.

Chococurb isn't just any chocolate box, they send treats that are fair trade certified, USDA organic, and beyond! The Nano box is a great way to sample all different types of chocolates for a really affordable price.

• One Month: $10 per month
• Six Months: $54 every six months ($9 per month)
• 12 Months: $96 every 12 months ($8 per month)

Boxes ship on the 14th of every month and shipping is free to U.S. and Canadian addresses. They also ship internationally to Germany and England, and shipping to all other European countries, Australia, and New Zealand is calculated at checkout.

So, it's July. And it's hot and humid here in Rochester, and probably pretty much everywhere else. When temperatures are 70°-79°F, your box will ship with a cold pack and cool shield foil bubble wrapping. Temperatures above 80°F call for a cold pack and cool shield foil bubble wrapping inside a styrofoam container. My box arrived as the later option. Unfortunately it didn't keep the chocolate from melting, but that didn't bother me, I just let them reconstitute in the fridge for a little while, but I wanted to point that out for anyone who lives in a really hot climate.

The box featured five chocolates, and unfortunately there was no informational card included. The card in the above photo just had some general information about Chococurb on it. But here's what was inside:

• Menakao Milk Chocolate 44% - This bar is "truly Madagascar" and is made from Madagascan vanilla with notes of caramel, and fruit, acidic notes from the Madagascan cocoa (info taken from the Menakao website). I loved how smooth this was, and the touch of acidity blended perfectly and kept the bar from being overly saccharine. The packaging features a Merina woman, which means "people of the highlands."
• Seattle Chocolates Birthday Cake Batter Truffle - I love birthday cake flavored chocolates! I've had the Seattle Chocolates Birthday Cake Batter chocolate bar before, but this was so much better. It was smooth and rich and absolutely delicious. It has a birthday cake mix center with confetti pieces.
• Ethereal Confections - Here is where I wish there was an info card, since I don't know anything about this other than the brand name. It was a delicious little piece of dark chocolate, though!
• Chocolat Dolfin Noir Citron - I couldn't find this exact chocolate on the Dolfin website, but they're a Belgian brand that makes lots of interesting flavor blends. This was really interesting and had a good lemon flavor without being overpowering.
• TCHO Mokaccino - I've also had this brand and particular flavor before and I could eat a million of them. It's just such a perfect blend of coffee and chocolate flavors!

Needless to say, these little chocolates did not last long in my house. Actually, I exhibited just the tiniest bit of self control and did manage to stretch out their existence to two days. I ate the smaller ones first and saved the Menakao bar for last.

• Visit Chococurb to learn more and subscribe
• Connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram

Bottom Line: I was impressed by this Chococurb Nano box and I would definitely subscribe! Some of the pieces were small, but considering the entire box only costs $10 I don't think that's a bad deal. I am a bit ridiculous and regularly buy more expensive chocolates, and considering the brands here I think the amount of chocolate is very fair for the price of the box. Everything in July's offering was delicious and I would love to get chocolates like these every month!

Introducing ORLY Breathable Treatment + Color!

ORLY just launched a brand new nail treatment called Breathable Treatment + Color and I have an exclusive first look review for you! I'm obsessed with nail polish -- I have two huge boxes full of polishes under my bed -- so I'm always looking for new colors and products to try. The new Breathable line is really unique and I think you'll love it!

*Disclaimer: This product was sent to See, Shop, Love! in exchange for an honest review.

If you're familiar with nail care at all, you'll know that it's generally accepted that you shouldn't wear polish all the time because your nails need some time to breathe. But, if you're like me, then going a day without any color on your nails just isn't going to happen! Enter the Breathable Treatment + Color polishes: they allow oxygen and hydration to pass through to your nails while still keeping them vibrant and beautifully colored!

The Advanced Oxygen Technology allows air and hydration to penetrate the nail, and they also contain argan oil and vitamins B5 and C to help promote hydration, heal damaged nails, and stimulate nail growth. That's a lot of bang for your buck!

ORLY kindly sent me two colors to try: a gorgeous coral/red and soft light pink creme. I couldn't find any names on the bottles for the colors, which is why I'm just describing them instead of providing names. I absolutely adore the coral, since that's probably my favorite color to wear on my nails and is perfect for summer. The light pink is really pretty and understated.

These don't require a base or top coat because they're an all-in-one formula. I applied two coats of the coral shade last night (per the directions on the bottle) and it went on very smoothly and dried fairly quickly. The brush is wide and easy to control. I was pleased with how evenly the color applied.

I didn't swatch the light pink shade, but here's what two coats of the coral looks like! So pretty! I'm very excited to keep using these to see how well they work for my nails. So far, so good though!

You can purchase the new ORLY Breathable Treatment + Color now online at ORLY's website. They'll be available in stores (ULTA, JC Penney, and salons nationwide) in August. Each bottle is only $8.99.

Bottom Line: I love these polishes! I think the idea is so unique and really innovative, and I'm definitely going to be purchasing more shades!