April 2012 Birchbox: Love it!

Ladies, I am really happy about this month's Birchbox! I think next month's might be my last, but this box has seriously made me consider re-upping my subscription.  The theme is "Natural Wonders," and as you can probably tell by my blog mini-facelift and recent FOTD post, I'm trying to convert more of my routine to vegan/cruelty-free products (of course, these aren't necessarily one and the same; OPI and MAC, for example, have vegan products in their lines but are technically NOT cruelty-free because their parent companies test on animals.  But I'm not here to moralize, so... moving on).  This is partly inspired by the fact that my husband and I want to try to have a kid so I've already had to quit caffeine and alcohol for the time being. I also need to avoid phthalates (in a lot of fragrances) and other iffy ingredients, so I thought it might be time to give away some of my stash and seek out replacements.

Well, this month's Birchbox fortunately has nailed that theme! The timing couldn't be better.
Contents:
Befine Exfoliating Cleanser and SPF15 Daily Moisturizer packets - "single serving"
I'm intrigued to try this skincare because of their "No animal testing whatsoever" statement.  Individual packets like this keep the samples fresh and are nice to have for travelling, too.

Lulu Organics Lavender Hair Powder -
In the beauty blogging-and-Youtube world, powder shampoos have been raved about for the past year or so.  I have quite short hair so I didn't want to invest in a bottle to try it out because I can often go a couple days without a wash without having any oil issues, but this little sample is the perfect size to give the trend a whirl.

Wonderstruck Taylor Swift -
This is the only dud in the box for me at the moment, because I'm concerned about phthalates and companies that are cruelty-free... and I don't know if the company that makes this tests on animals or not.  I'll have to look into it.

Zoya TRUE Spring Collection - Bevin
I've never met anybody named Bevin.  In fact, I'd never have heard of this name at all if it weren't for Flight of the Conchords (45-second mark):

 The manager, Bevin, starts to abuse me. Hey, man, I just want some Muesli.

Everytime I wear this Formaldehyde, Toluene, and DBP-free vegan polish, I'm going to think of these funny Kiwis <3
I thought Bevin might be a dupe for OPI Mermaid's Tears.  A nail swatch shows they aren't identical, but... close enough for me to feel comfortable donating my OPI shade to my sister.

Left: Mermaid's Tears, Right: Bevin

Honestly, I'd be pleased as punch if Birchbox just sent me a mini Zoya polish every month... y'hear that, Zoya and Birchbox?

The Beauty Extra is Yes to Blueberries Facial Cleansing Towelettes.  I love my face wipes!  Plus, these are cruelty-free and vegan (of course. Most of the Yes to... line is vegan <3)  I didn't much care for their Cucumber ones because the scent was so strong, but I have some hopes for these. I wasn't going to shell out to try them because of disliking the Cucumber ones and now I can try without paying :)

Any birchbox twins out there?

Anti-nothin' Serums

I'm not feeling so well today so I don't know if I'll be taking pictures or writing up a product review... hopefully my headache medicine will kick in!  Inspired by this post by the Muse, I thought I'd share some "miracle" anti-aging products I've tried entire bottles of that didn't do anything for me and were a big 'ol waste of $$$:

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster $48 for 1 oz. (sticky to boot)

Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector $49.50 for 1 oz. (no difference, sensitized my skin a bit)

Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle and UV Damage Corrector $44.50 for 1 oz. (no difference)

Givenchy Vax'in for Youth $90 for 1 oz. (might be contributing to breakouts :( no improvement in skin, but the sample that got me to buy this made my fine lines disappear for a week! Actual product I paid for was a fail, though)

Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate $78 for 1 oz. (actually, I saw fine lines disappear temporarily, but this made me break out A LOT)

Dior Capture Totale Multi-Perfection Concentrated Serum $135 for 1 oz., but I didn't pay that, I got four .33 oz. samples! (I actually liked this as a light summer moisturizer, but it didn't do anything else)

Dior Hydralife Pro-Youth Sorbet line $40-$73 (I actually like this, but no lasting improvement and pricey. I feel Garnier things I've tried are comparable and way cheaper)

Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads $45 for 60 pads (these last forever and seemed to diminish my fine lines at first but I've been using them for ages -on my third pack- and I haven't seen any change since that first couple of weeks. I think I won't buy these a fourth time, because I'm preferring Kate Somerville Exfolikate for Acne)

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm $45 for 1.7 oz., a classic product and was a good foundation primer back in the day but now it just seems majorly heavy and newer products are better

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads $18 for 10, are a great facial self-tanner but I don't think they do anything "anti-aging"

Kate Somerville Exfolikate Acne Clearing Exfoliating Treatment $65 for 2 oz. is amazing at exfoliating.  Blackheads and clogged pores seem to pop themselves out with the tiniest nudge after I use this. But it doesn't do anything for my fine lines (worry line between brows, horizontal forehead lines, or nasolabial folds on sides of mouth). I am going to keep getting this for my adult acne, though!

I used a Neutrogena line with copper peptides or something about eight years ago. It didn't touch my fine lines, but it did seem to "firm."  However, I believe it's discontinued (figures, they'd discontinue something that works...)

Semi-related Bonus:  Mederma Cream $21 for 20g, didn't do anything for the scar on my nose (yes, it's a scar), BIG frownie-face.  I used it faithfully for six weeks, however I did use it six years after I got the scar in the first place so that might be the issue. It's not that expensive but I was really disappointed that I was unable to reduce that scar as it's smack-dab in the middle of my face.  Have any scar treatments on the market ever worked for you?

If you know of any products I haven't mentioned, or have a story about one that I did mention, please comment below! I'd love to get a recommendation for anti-wrinkle/firming/dark-spot-corrector/scar-reducing "miracle" products that worked for you :)