Birchbox Review | May Box

For those who haven’t heard of it, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box service for women and men. The cost is $10/month for the women’s box and $20/month for the men’s box. You fill out a survey and the company sends you products that pair well with your results. Product sizes may vary – many are smaller samples, but a full-size product or bonus item slips in now and then. Each order nets ten points, and you earn more points with reviews for the box products. You also earn points when you make a purchase from the store or refer someone to the service. Every 100 points is $10 to spend on goodies.

My May box featured the following:

• Whish | Shave Crave Shaving Cream in Acai Grapefruit
• 32 Oral Care | Effervescent Breath Crystals with IsoVoxy in Peppermint and Honey Mint
• PIXI Beauty | Shea Butter Lip Balm in Coral Crush
• Gilchrist & Soames | Spa Therapy Body Lotion in Sea Fennel
• Nexxus® | Color Assure™ Pre-Wash Primer, Vibrancy Retention Shampoo, & Vibrancy Retention Conditioner

Whish | Shave Crave Shaving Cream in Acai Grapefruit
I don’t really use shaving cream – except the ones in the showers at our gym. I’ll tuck this away to try out, but I doubt I will purchase this.

Gilchrist & Soames | Spa Therapy Body Lotion in Sea Fennel
I didn’t look at the scent of this before I put it on, so I was a little confused by the “fresh vegetation” and “aqua-esque” scents. Oh, wait – sea fennel. Makes sense now. If anything, the fact that the combo comes through so well is impressive. This is very moisturizing and the scent isn’t overwhelming. It doesn’t have a super thick, creamy texture, so it smoothes in pretty easily.

32 Oral Care | Effervescent Breath Crystals with IsoVoxy in Peppermint and Honey Mint
The “lifestyle extra” of the box piqued my curiosity. As soon as I opened the packets, though, I was smacked in the face with an off-putting aroma.

PIXI Beauty | Shea Butter Lip Balm in Coral Crush
Standout product! The swatch is true to the color of the tube, just sheer and buildable and crazy moisturizing. I have a feeling this color will be my go-to for the summer.

Nexxus® | Color Assure™ Pre-Wash Primer, Vibrancy Retention Shampoo, & Vibrancy Retention Conditioner
I remember these old-school packet samples. I tucked this away to try the primer as a color sealant before swimming.

Overall, Birchbox was decent for May. The PIXI lip balm is great, and for $8 full-price, it’s a perfect alternative to more expensive options. I still stand by my statement that I’m really keeping the subscription for the bonus points and the extensive online shop.

Disclosure: I am not sponsored by or compensated by Birchbox, but I do get a referral credit if you sign up using the links above.

Any other Birchbox subscribers out there? What experience did you have with the May box?

Follow me on
Twitter | Google+ | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest

Birchbox Review | April Box

For those who haven’t heard of it, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box service for women and men. The cost is $10/month for the women’s box and $20/month for the men’s box. You fill out a survey and the company sends you products that pair well with your results. Product sizes may vary – many are smaller samples, but a full-size product or bonus item slips in now and then. Each order nets ten points, and you earn more points with reviews for the box products. You also earn points when you make a purchase from the store or refer someone to the service. Every 100 points is $10 to spend on goodies.

My April box featured the following:

• Cynthia Rowley Beauty Eyeliner
• KIND Healthy Grain Bars
• Color Club Art Duo Pens
• Madison Reed Nourishing Color-Enhancing Shampoo
• Madison Reed Nourishing Color-Enhancing Conditioner

Cynthia Rowley Beauty Eyeliner
The standout product of the box. The silver shade is amazing. I swatched it twice below so you can see how it looks with immediate smudging and after about 10 minutes. If you wanted to play around with the smudged eyeliner look, you’ll need to start blending ASAP (you can barely see the smudged squiggle on the left). After 10 minutes, this eyeliner barely budges.

I can see this being my new favorite edgy color, and I can’t wait to pair it with a smoky eye and some of my favorite plum/rose gold looks.

KIND Healthy Grain Bars
At first I thought, “who puts a granola bar in a beauty box?” But…it’s Birchbox, known in the blogging community for the random lifestyle extras. This was one of the rare wins; I really liked the bar (it hit the spot as a mid-morning work snack this week), and I will try other flavors.

Color Club Art Duo Pens
This product disappointed me. I got two samples, both black (not sure if that was a mistake…), but the packaging was so cheap. I always do a polish test on a piece of paper, and the pen applicator was so scratchy and inconsistent that I didn’t even try it on my nails. It either had no polish or was really goopy. The stippling brush pulled so much polish that you couldn’t tell it was a mini version. So…pass. Which was a bummer, because I was really excited about trying this.

Madison Reed Nourishing Color-Enhancing Shampoo & Madison Reed Nourishing Color-Enhancing Conditioner
I liked this. Not enough to buy the full-sized products, but enough to squirrel it away for rainy days. Given the box’s “rainy day” theme, I find this use appropriate.

You’ll also note there is a rainy day tip in the top right corner. All I’ll say is: read the BBITB review and comments section.

Overall, Birchbox was slightly better than usual. There were more hits than misses, and several products I will get multiple uses from. I still stand by my statement that I’m really keeping the subscription for the bonus points and the extensive online shop.

Disclosure: I am not sponsored by or compensated by Birchbox, but I do get a referral credit if you sign up using the links above.

Any other Birchbox subscribers out there? What experience did you have with the April box?

Follow me on Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest

Birchbox Review | March Box

And at the end of it all, the Birchbox review! Time for my usual shill:

For those who haven’t heard of it, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box service for women and men. The cost is $10/month for the women’s box and $20/month for the men’s box. You fill out a survey and the company sends you products that pair well with your results. Product sizes may vary – many are smaller samples, but a full-size product or bonus item slips in now and then. Each order nets ten points, and you earn more points with reviews for the box products. You also earn points when you make a purchase from the store or refer someone to the service. Every 100 points is $10 to spend on goodies.

My March box featured the following:

• Tea Forté® | minteas
• COOLA | Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face
• Beauty Protector | Protect & Detangle
• Gilchrist & Soames | London Collection Body Lotion
• Harvey Prince | Cherie Blossom
• Ghirardelli | Intense Dark Cherry Tango

Tea Forté® | minteas
I…did not like these. I think for me, it’s a matter of the mint and tea flavors tasting good on their own, but not combined. So…pass.

COOLA | Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face
I rarely try these as soon as I get them. I just chuck ’em my samples drawer for a rainy day or travel, whichever comes first.

Beauty Protector | Protect & Detangle
This product did not pack well. The rubbery bottle was cute, but the spray nozzle was clogged. I ended up transferring the liquid into an extra empty travel spray bottle. It was smooth sailing after that! The Beauty Protector line is becoming a favorite of mine.

Gilchrist & Soames | London Collection Body Lotion
This is a non-greasy, subtly-scented lotion. That’s pretty much all that needs to be said.

Harvey Prince | Cherie Blossom
Blergh. I am not a huge perfume person, so this got added to the samples drawer.

Ghirardelli | Intense Dark Cherry Tango
I’m not one to complain about the chocolate extras. This was a nice treat. I doubt I’ll purchase this one in stores – I like the hazelnut flavor too much – but it wasn’t bad.

Overall, Birchbox was pretty standard. A few hits, several misses. At this point, I’m really keeping it for the bonus points and the extensive online shop.

Disclosure: I am not sponsored by or compensated by Birchbox, but I do get a referral credit if you sign up using the links above.

Any other Birchbox subscribers out there? What experience did you have with the March box?

Follow me on Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest

Birchbox Review | February Box

I decided to resume my monthly Birchbox reviews! Time for my usual shill:

For those who haven’t heard of it, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box service for women and men. The cost is $10/month for the women’s box and $20/month for the men’s box. You fill out a survey and the company sends you products that pair well with your results. Product sizes may vary – many are smaller samples, but a full-size product or bonus item slips in now and then. Each order nets ten points, and you earn more points with reviews for the box products. You also earn points when you make a purchase from the store or refer someone to the service. Every 100 points is $10 to spend on goodies.

My February box featured the following:

• Bain de Terre Passion Flower Color Preserving Shampoo
• Bain de Terre Passion Flower Color Preserving Conditioner
• Caudalie S.O.S. Morning Eye Rescue
• OPI Sheer Tints Color-Tinted Top Coat (“I Can Teal You Like Me”)
• Harney & Sons Wrapped Tea Sachets (“Paris” and “White Vanilla Grapefruit”)

Bain de Terre Passion Flower Color Preserving Shampoo // Bain de Terre Passion Flower Color Preserving Conditioner
I didn’t love this as much as the last shampoo/conditioner duo from Bain de Terre. These were a little greasy for me. They got added to the “meh” pile.

Caudalie S.O.S. Morning Eye Rescue
Caudalie gets high marks from several beauty bloggers I started following, and this was one of the top wish list items for other subscribers on the subscription box subreddit. Unfortunately, I have very sensitive skin around my eyes and I need to be careful about dryness and irritation. The Caudalie eye cream did nothing but create an itchy, unpleasant experience.

OPI Sheer Tints Color-Tinted Top Coat (“I Can Teal You Like Me”)
I adore this product, but make sure you read the Birchbox tips for the best results. When layering over another color, that polish should dry overnight. I’ll add this top coat was somehow super chip-prone and resistant to remover. However, a very basic polish job (layering the blue over white nails) resulted in lots of compliments.

Harney & Sons Wrapped Tea Sachets (“Paris” and “White Vanilla Grapefruit”)
I love H&S, so I was excited to not only see them partner with Birchbox, but send me a sample! These were delish, and I’ll definitely be ordering more.

Any other Birchbox subscribers out there? What kind of luck have you had with the February box?

Birchbox Review | October Box

Another delayed Birchbox review! Time for my usual shill:

For those who haven’t heard of it, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box service for women and men. The cost is $10/month for the women’s box and $20/month for the men’s box. You fill out a survey and the company sends you products that pair well with your results. Product sizes may vary – many are smaller samples, but a full-size product or bonus item slips in now and then. Each order nets ten points, and you earn more points with reviews for the box products. You also earn points when you make a purchase from the store or refer someone to the service. Every 100 points is $10 to spend on goodies.

October’s box featured the following:

• Bain de Terre Macadamia Oil Nourishing Shampoo
• Bain de Terre Macadamia Oil Nourishing Conditioner
• Benefit Cosmetics Fake Up
• Karuna Clarifying Mask
• Birchbox Find (a mass market bonus product): Chapstick

This box was mostly hits:

Beauty de Terre Macadamia Oil Nourishing Shampoo // Beauty de Terre Macadamia Oil Nourishing Conditioner
I can tell this will be a good shampoo and conditioner “interval” duo.  When I need a weekend break from my regular hair products, these will be nice stand-ins. Also: tons of shine, but no grease.

Benefit Fake-Up
I have trouble with concealers, but I’d heard good things about Benefit’s Fake-Up and Erase Paste. I love my trial sample and have used it several times – it’s super moisturizing and blends really well. I will definitely pick this one up at Ulta next time I go (as it is cream-based, I’m hesitant to order it and have it sitting in my mailbox).

Karuna Clarifying Mask
I wanted to try this mask per the instructions (clean face, plenty of time to sit around), so it took a while. When I finally opened up the sample, I realized that I do not like cloth-based masks. Seriously, it was like a serial killer thing. Next time a cloth mask will just go in my giveaway pile.

Also, the Chapstick was…Chapstick? Yeah, I got nothing for you.

Any other Birchbox subscribers out there? What kind of luck have you had with the September box?

Birchbox Review | September Box

This one’s a little late, given that my rigorous October box sampling is underway…

For those who haven’t heard of it, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box service for women and men. The cost is $10/month for the women’s box and $20/month for the men’s box. You fill out a survey and the company sends you products that pair well with your results. Product sizes may vary – many are smaller samples, but a full-size product or bonus item slips in now and then. Each order nets ten points, and you earn more points with reviews for the box products. You also earn points when you make a purchase from the store or refer someone to the service. Every 100 points is $10 to spend on goodies.

September’s box featured the following:

• Beauty Protector Protect & Shampoo
• Beauty Protector Protect & Condition
• RUFFIAN Nail Lacquer – Fox Hunt
• Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Monaco
• Supergoop! Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream

As far as the box itself, there were some standout pieces and some meh ones.

Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Monaco
Definitely a standout piece. It goes on sheer but adds a nice dimension. I have definitely fallen in love with the Jouer brand, and I never would have tried it without Birchbox.

RUFFIAN Nail Lacquer – Fox Hunt
The color is a nice orange-red, and a perfect summer-to-autumn transition color. The cap has a little guard around the top that helps you keep your hand steady. There wasn’t really anything special about this polish other than the color and cap, but it may be worth a try if you’re trying to find a standard brand.

Supergoop! Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream
Much like the COOLA SPF, I haven’t even tried this one yet. I am one of those rare folks who doesn’t love scented lotions or sunscreens, so I want that in very small doses. I’ll add this to the giveaway samples pile.

Beauty Protector Protect & Shampoo // Beauty Protector Protect & Condition
This did nothing for me except make my hair super greasy. Pass.

Any other Birchbox subscribers out there? What kind of luck have you had with the September box?

Birchbox Review | August Box

I finally decided to pull the plug and get a subscription to Birchbox after hearing some great things from other subscribers. For $10/month, I figured I could give it a whirl and cancel if it wasn’t for me.

For those who haven’t heard of it, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box service for women and men. The cost is $10/month for the women’s box and $20/month for the men’s box. You fill out a survey and the company sends you products that pair well with your results. Product sizes may vary – many are smaller samples, but I got a full-size eyeliner that was easily worth the amount I spent for the August box! Each order nets ten points, and you earn more points with reviews for the box products. You also earn points when you make a purchase from the store or refer someone to the service. Every 100 points is $10 to spend on goodies.

My August box arrived in the mail in a bold, beautiful pink package. Wowza!

The inner box was less flashy, but with a nice modern look.

August’s box had a “finishing school” theme.

There’s a nice card with an overview of the products and their full-size counterparts’ costs.

My box featured the following:

• Obliphica Blow Up Spray
• COOLA SPF 45 Sport – Mango
• Jasmine Seven Fresh Feet Wipes
• Jouer Eye Definer in Noir
• Benefit Cosmetics sampler with Triple Performing Facial Emulsion, Total Moisture Facial Cream, It’s Potent! Eye Cream

As far as the box itself, there were some standout pieces and some meh ones.

Jouer Eye Definer in Noir
Definitely a standout piece. I loved this eyeliner! It really stays put, and it’s highly pigmented. I already ordered two other colors, and I have a feeling I’ll end up with all the ones sold through Birchbox before the year is out.

Benefit Cosmetics sampler with Triple Performing Facial Emulsion, Total Moisture Facial Cream, It’s Potent! Eye Cream
Normally I hate facial products, but these were great. The eye cream alone was wonderful. I started using it during a week with a few four- or five-hour nights of sleep, and you really couldn’t tell. With continued use, I wonder if I will even have to use concealer…

Obliphica Blow Up Spray
I like the idea of this product, I just haven’t figured out the best way to use it. I love volume, and this product promised that – but didn’t deliver. Now I’m trying to play around with using it as a texture product, since it also promises that. Results have been mixed.

COOLA SPF 45 Sport – Mango
I haven’t even tried this one yet. I am one of those rare folks who doesn’t love scented lotions or sunscreens, so I want that in very small doses. I’ll add this to the giveaway samples pile.

Jasmine Seven Fresh Feet Wipes
These were effective, but there is absolutely no reason for me to purchase wipes for my feet.

Any other Birchbox subscribers out there? What kind of luck have you had with the August box?