Got My Coastal Scents Mystery Box!

Ello all! I waited and waited and it finally came! My coastal scents mystery box, which I got on sale for $19.95 (a $50 value) here: http://www.coastalscents.com/sets/mysterybox.html (currently out of stock)

Here's what came in it: 

• Divine Line Lolite ($9.95 value)
• A sample of Rouge Flambe Mineral Eyeshadow ($1.00 value)
• Reach Mascara ($4.95 value)
• Jungle Green Eyeshadow* ($1.99 value)
• Coral Eyeshadow* ($1.99 value)
• Petal Peach Eyeshadow* ($1.99 value)
• Lava Eyeshadow* ($1.99 value)
• Peach Du Jour Eyeshadow Pencil ($2.95 value)
• Cosmetic Pencil Sharpener ($3.95 value)
• Sunless Body Art Dark ($7.95 value)
• Bohemian Orange Smacks Lip Gloss ($3.75 value) 
• An Eyeshadow holder (price unknown, estimated 0.60 value)

*I just entered the number on the package onto their website to find the color, it may or may not be correct depending if they changed their inventory or not*

Total Value of Mystery Box: $43.06 

Swatches from Eyeshadow (Didn't swatch the Petal Peach, it's basically my skin tone)

Top: Jungle Green Eyeshadow

Middle: Coral Eyeshadow 

Bottom: Lava Eyeshadow

Swatch from Eyeshadow Pencil: 

My disclaimer with this pencil is simple. I swatched both of these the day before swatching again from the picture, didn't rub them off. The white was gone within an hour and the bronze one is still on my hand after I showered! Also, the white I had to press harder for it to even show up. So I will most likely use one half of this pencil.

My Review: 

After totaling the valued prices vs. what I actually paid, I definitely got my moneys worth. However, a lot of these things are useless to me. Like the dark powder, as you can see, I'm nowhere near dark enough to use it. I also hate using lip gloss, it just gets everywhere for me. And the light eyeshadow that is the same as my skin tone... what am I supposed to do with it? So these things I will definitely not be keeping. 

I really have no interest in the mascara because I wear  better mascara now, so I doubt cheaper will look better. 

I'm most excited about the gel eyeliner and the sharpener (cause I've never gotten around to buying one). 

When I subtract all the items that I find useless to me my box value decreases to $24.42, that's not too bad, but I would definitely not buy another Mystery Box from Coastal. It was fun to open it and look inside, like a mini Christmas, but not enough good stuff to go back for more. I'm not sure why they aren't giving better products in their mystery box, I assume the goal is to get the customer to keep shopping there right? Well, I probably won't. So, good job Coastal Scents (sarcasm).  

My Grade: B-

Have you gotten a Coastal Mystery Box? Was it worth your time and money? Share Below! 

xx

Neutrogena Build-A-Tan Review

**Disclaimer: This is my very first self-tanning lotion I've ever used, please note that some issues may have been user errors and not product errors**

I did a lot of research before buying a self tanner because I knew I wanted one that worked well rather than me doing trial and error on myself and looking like an oompa loompa for a while. 

I chose the Neutrogena build-a-tan because I knew an actual self tanner would get everywhere and I really didn't feel like turning my sheets orange, my clothes orange, or my brand new couch orange (I read numerous times that this was just a side effect of self tanning and not much could be done about it). I really wanted an easy to apply lotion that would give me color until summer came along and I could tan in the sun. 

I'm against tanning salons because I don't want to expose my skin to more damage than I already do and who has the money to pay $10 a tanning session plus the $60 lotion to make sure I don't get burned. Too much time/money. So I chose the self-tanning route.

As a result, I got the Neutrogena Build-A-Tan. I trust Neutrogena because I use their products for facial cleansing (so I knew it wouldn't break me out) and I read pretty decent reviews about it. So on to the self-tanning:

Before First Application: 

After the First Application:

 

The smell of the product was similar to that of sun tan lotion, but it wasn't ridiculously bad and went away after it was completely applied so I didn't walk around smelling like tanning lotion the rest of the day. It went on just like lotion, very smooth and I used my bare hands and instantly washed with soap after finishing applying and my hands are orange free, so I'm impressed by that.

I think the color came out pretty good overall after letting it settle (the color doesn't start showing through until 2-4 hours after application)

There were a few problems on my skin I don't like, but again, I'm unsure if it's user error or product error. Here are the pictures (these areas on me are super white, which might have played into the spotting):

The lighting does not give this product justice at all. I was very impressed with the color it gave me and even had some compliments on how tan I got from it. It gave me a very natural tan and the weird spotting went away after a few days. 

I've used this product an additional time and still loved the results. It fulfilled exactly what I was looking for in a self tanner. One that didn't require maintenance, it comes off my hands so they don't turn orange, and it doesn't turn me orange nor anything else I own orange. I recommend this product to keep a slight tan during those winter months!

My Grade: B+

Did you try out this product yourself? What'd you think of it? What about a different color? Post your thoughts below!