Beauty Review: Vasanti BrightenUp!

Oh look!  Better pictures :D.  Okay, you know the drill.  Birchbox is a monthly beauty subscription for $10/month.  I love my Birchbox samples.  One of these days, I'll do a Birchbox vs. Ipsy with the finer points because each are important to me for different reasons.  If you'd like to read more about Birchbox click here.  Below is the October 2014 box I received:

My October 2014 Birchbox

So today's product review is on my 20 g sample of Vasanti's BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator.  It's an exfoliating cleanser that I'm absolutely in love with.  I'm so in love with it, I gave it to Sabrina!  WHAT?!  Yes, I love it so much that I gave it away!  Sabrina, Dustin and I all suffer from horrible cystic acne.  You can't tell so much with me anymore, I only really get those wonderful monthly breakouts now.  But Sabrina has serious scarring.  We've tried everything including ProActive and prescriptions, they haven't worked.  I tried BrightenUp! and my first reaction was that it wasn't going to be able to do much to my skin.  Then I started scrubbing and ouch!  Be careful with this stuff.  The formula isn't powerful (that I noticed) but those micro-crystals, oh yeah, they do the job!  They are micro, they feel like very fine grain sugar but they work.

The smell is usually the first thing I comment on and there's not really anything outstanding about this one.  Not great, not bad, it's face cleanser, I can stand it.  Especially for the amazingness of this product.  I used it for the first time yesterday morning and my skin is still silky soft and smooth.  And I only needed a tiny bit but like I said, scrub softly, don't go all power massage like I did!

$34.00 for 4.23 ounces

Okay so the details.  A 4.23 oz. tube sells for $34.00.  It's very worth the money and I'm putting my November subscriptions on hold for both Ipsy and Birchbox to get Sabrina a full tube of this.  I have a $40/month self-given budget for beauty supplies so that's going to eat it up this month.  But once again, it's worth it!

How it works:

"This powerful exfoliator mimics the results of professional microdermabrasion, minus the potential for redness and sensitivity. First, papaya enzymes break down dead cells while evening out your skin tone. Next, dermatologist-approved microderm crystals fade the appearance of fine lines and acne scars, leaving skin smooth and free of imperfections. Finally, aloe vera, coconut, and vitamins B and E nourish fresh skin to keep it free of irritation."

How to use:

"Three to five times a week, wet your face and massage a pea-sized amount of product into skin, concentrating on trouble zones. Rinse away. Used consistently, a single tube will last you four to six months."

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Aluminum Oxide, Cetyl Alcohol, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Propanediol, Panthenol, Emulsifying Wax NF, Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice, Tocopheryl Acetate, Papain, Parfum, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol

If you'd like to try Vasanti's BrightenUp! for yourself you can order directly through their website.

***I am not reimbursed in anyway for my product reviews. Opinions are completely 100% my own***

Baking, Beauty and Bugs

Did well today.  Late last night I ended up making some dark chocolate chip pumpkin bread, which I honestly didn't like but the rest of the family did.  That tends to happen a lot.  I'm a "eat to live" while the rest of the family is "live to eat" and it causes us to have much different tastes at times.  But I like making them things, so I'll keep trying new recipes.

Fridays, my father-in-law and I have a standing "date" where I run him to his Diabetes Dr. followed by lunch.  Had some nice chatting time with him and then we hit Popeye's Chicken afterwards for lunch.  I tried the new Hushpuppy shrimp on his recommendation but wasn't really a fan.  I don't like fried food, but every once in awhile I'll eat it.  Fried shrimp and hushpuppies are both a nice liking of mine, but I didn't like the combination.

I also got out into my garden today.  A couple of weeks ago, I planted green cabbage, garlic, broccoli, radishes, spinach and basil in a raised bed.   I lost a few broccoli plants and one of my cabbages is struggling but other than that, it's growing!  I seriously have a black thumb so I'm surprised it's lasted this long.  I'm doing exceptionally well at growing clover.  If Lucky Charms ever runs out, I can help!  Pink hearts, orange stars, yellow moons, green clovers, ya know?  This afternoon, I thinned my radishes and spinach and pulled all the little tiny clover patches.  In half the garden anyway.  The mosquitoes chased me inside before I could finish.

Sabrina and I also received our favorite shipment of the month: Ipsy!  Below is my haul.  The Warm Love is a pumpkin exfoliate mask.  The Indie Lee is a facial cleanser.  I also received a Tattooed eyeliner in black, Starlooks lip gloss and Rose Berry hand cream in Fig and Rouge.  The eyeliner was full size.  I plan on reviewing them eventually.

Sabrina's haul included Ayres Body Butter, Epice Facial cleanser, the same lip gloss by StarLooks, Volumeyes mascara and Nicole Opi nail polish in On A Gilt Trip.  Both the mascara and nail polish were full size. 

I received my monthly Birchbox as well which included: Vasanti Brighten Up facial exfoliating cleanser, Ellovi butter in vanilla (for body and hair), Ojon Hair Oil Therapy, Jouer Matte Moisture Tint and ModelCo Powerlash mascara.  I'll be reviewing these as well and seeing if I can get Sabrina to review hers.

This evening, it was just me, Sabrina and Zakk in the house.  As a lot of ten year old boys do, Stitches has stinky feet.  So I jumped on the "girl's night +1" bit and did a pedicure on him.  Started with an eucalyptus and spearmint foot soak.  Normally he clips his own toenails, but he's a boy and hates doing it so they always look horrible.  I clipped those, pushed his cuticles slightly back then scrubbed them down with a pumice stone.  I then followed with a peppermint and plum foot scrub.  After he was all rinsed off, I gave him a nice foot massage with Burt's Bees Almond Milk cream, tossed on a clean pair of socks and told him to keep them on til morning.  Zakk has always loved foot rubs so he ate up all the attention big time!

I also finally picked up my used iPhone 4 from my sister-in-law.  I've been fighting getting a touch screen phone and she bought a new one, so handed me her old phone.  I happily accepted it mostly because of the better photos I could get with it, lol.  So, I've been having a little fun playing with it and of course, all pictures in this post were taken with the new phone.  Still don't know if I'll ever turn into an Apple person but we'll have to see.  All in all we had a really nice day.