BYOB With Me at Birchbox in Soho | Travel Vlog | Passport Beauty #2

Have you ever wanted to buy a monthly subscription with Birchbox, but fear getting things you might not like, or fear commitment, or don't have the funds? Have no fear, for Birchbox in Soho is here.

Birchbox is like an adult candy store. Wall to wall of great selection, from hair to skincare, it's all there for you to try and buy. My favorite part is all the way in the back, where you can build your own Birchbox (BYOB) for $15. Although it is $5 more than their monthly boxes, you're choosing the five items you want yourself. Sadly, you can't get a Beauty Blender, but you do get to choose one item from each category: hair, skincare, makeup, fragrance, and body. If you're allergic to fragrance, you can opt out and choose two items from one category.

If you head downstairs, there's a salon and a tiny men's department.  There's also a BYOB station and boy oh boy, is there a lot of beard stuff for the fellas! To BYOB for guys, I believe it's $25 (finally, something guys have to pay more for). Salon services aren't too expensive. Nails are just $10, however if you want to get your hair-braided you'll cost you $30!

I honestly had a blast while I was at Birchbox. It was a tad bit stressful to build six different boxes, for six different people. But I had a lot of fun with the two lovely ladies who helped my cousin and I. They were super sweet and informative. It's definitely a must visit beauty spot in New York!

Come With Me to Bite Beauty Lip Lab | Travel Vlog | Passport Beauty #1

When I was in New York, I visited a couple of beauty hot spots. Come along with me as I visit Bite Beauty Lip Lab in SoHo for the first time. 

While strolling around SoHo, trying to find Birchbox. I stumble upon Bite Beauty Lip Lab. Although walk-ins are welcome, I've heard that it gets crazy busy during the weekends! So make sure you give them a ring beforehand to avoid a long wait time. Luckily for me, I stumble upon this miraculous place on a Wednesday. They were able to take me in right away and I walked out of there with a customized lipstick within 20 minutes! 

Bite Beauty is known for their pigmented colors, but more importantly, what they put into their products. Like I mentioned before, it is important to be aware of what you put onto your skin because your skin will just eat it up. Bite gets this concept and have provided great products with healthy and natural ingredients! It's even in their name!

It was a lot of fun for me to see my lip scientist help me concoct a Kylie Jenner inspired nude lipstick. The prefect shade of nudes and reds are so hard to find and what may work for someone may not work for another. So, to have a prefect shade of nude that was made just for me was a huge relief and extremely satisfying! It was also fun to design my lipstick package and choose a scent or two for my lipstick.  Totally worth the splurge! 

You can also check out my visit at Bite Beauty Lip Lab down below!

Come Stay With Me | Airbnb | New York 2015

Last week, I was lucky enough to spend my birthday week in New York with my cousin. Although our roundtrip flight to New York was surprisingly on the low low. Hotels were $1,000+! That was definitely not something we could afford. So, to keep our travel on a friendly budget, we decided to search for a nice Airbnb to stay at.

Guess what...we actually found a lovely apartment in Upper Manhattan! That was more than half of what we would of spent if we stayed at a hotel. Besides the huge saving, our cute little apartment was conveniently close to everything. Just so you can get a visual on how close we were, we were about 15 minutes from Central Park, 34 minutes from Chelsea Market, and 37 minutes from SoHo. Our apartment was also just a few blocks from three different subways! Not bad, right?

This is my third time booking with Airbnb. I've met a lot of wonderful people, learned a lot about the cities I've visited, and how much I prefer Airbnb over hotels. I honestly love how homey it feels. You get to experience how the locals live, like grocery shopping, cooking your own meals,  plus you have someone who can guide you around the city and also places only the locals know about. Trust me, you'll save a lot of time and money avoiding the tourist-y spots and restaurants.

My Airbnb tips: 

1) Location, location, location!
This is so important. I've learned my lesson last year when I choose a cheaper Airbnb in London versus a good location that was only 10 pounds more. So we were in a sketchy neighborhood and took 50+ minutes to get to central London. Don't do it. The best thing to do is, do some research on which neighborhood you prefer to stay in and filter your search to that specific area. Then when you've found a few places, use Google Maps to see what is around. Like is public transportation in walking distant, is there a laundry mat near by, is there a convenient store for last minute emergency, etc, etc.

2) Check fees
You want to know what you're getting. Do you have to pay additional for each house guest, cleaning service, dry cleaning service, and etc.

3) Check availability
You want to know what the minimum stay is and filter your search with the nights you plan to stay. It'll save you a lot of heartache and time. Trust me, you don't want to find the perfect place only to find out that the minimum stay is 7+ nights (welp, unless you're staying that long)!

4) Check amenities
This is also important. If you want a place that has wi-fi, washer and dryer, 24 hour check-in, free parking, tv, shampoo, hair dryer, and simply the essentials...you should probably check the amenities.

5) Check host's profile and reviews
That's just common sense. You want to see if you and your host are compatible and that they're not some creepy person.

6) Check the space
After you've found your perfect place and checked out your host's profile. You want to look at "The Space".  It gives you information like when you can check in and check out, how many bedrooms/bathrooms, how many people can stay, and also what type of space you'll get. The space can be anything from just a private room or an entire home.

7) Check yo' self!
Seriously. You do not want to get denied, because your profile looks sketch. Your host also wants to know that you're real and not some creep too. After all, they are inviting you into their home! Post a picture of yourself. Tell them a little about yourself and if it's your first time, ask your friends if they could write a review for you! You don't have to, but it's nice for your host to know a little about you from a friend.

How to keep yourself safe:

1) Trust your gut. If something feels off, listen to your instinct and just back out. It's better to be safe than sorry.
2) Don't be afraid to ask your host questions about themselves, their home, and rules.
3) Tell your friends, family, and/or significant others where you're going and where you're staying. Check in with them when you're on your way and when you get there. It's also good to have a safe word, so that your person knows that it's really you.
4) Plan a safety exit. Whether for a potential fire or if your host is a creep.
5) Be cautious of your surroundings.

*All pictures are our very own pictures of our Airbnb. I want to thank my Instagram Husband aka photographer/graphic designer/cousin. I would also like to thank Amanda and Peter for inviting us into their lovely home (and for the beer and chips)!

I would love to hear your favorite Airbnb, safe travel tips, or/and your favorite trip! Comment down below!

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