I'm so happy the weather's finally getting better - I hate taking photos in the winter time because they all come out really dark! Anyway... this month's Birchbox is called 'Word Up' and contains the following:
- Polaar IceSource Moisturising Gel
- a nourishing hair mask by amika
- a brow wand by ModelCo in the shade medium-dark
- Philip B's drop dead straightening baume
- colour enhancing lip balm by Arrow Boostand
- a sleep plus pillow spray by This Works
I adore Birchbox and I honestly feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I open the pink cardboard box with my name on it. This month's box was created in association with Pinterest and had lots of goodies inside to help wipe away those New Year's blues, as well as five specially designed postcards that can either be used or displayed.
The first product is a 'protect and detangle' leave in conditioner spray by Beauty Protector. I've used this product twice now and I have to be honest here... it's... okay. That's it really. It smells really sugary sweet that it's a little bit sickly and it doesn't really make my hair feel any smoother like you would expect from a conditioner. On the plus side though, it seems to be good at protecting against heat and it doesn't feel sticky or heavy in my hair like some other products have done in the past.
Next up is the Whish body butter. This smells so fresh and creamy and contains shea and raspberry butter to moisturise, seaweed extract to firm and rice bran oil to purify. I've actually only used this product on my hands as a hand cream as I tend to wash my hands quite a lot at work and they get very dry, but the results are quite long lasting and it doesn't leave that horrible sticky film on your skin.
I haven't had a chance to use the Absolution 'night and morning water' yet so it would be unfair of me to comment, but it smells very fresh and so I'm looking forward to trying it!
The first item of make up is Benefit's 'They're Real' tinted lash primer. This is a brown primer that you apply to your lashes before putting on mascara. It did work quite well and made my lashes look long and healthy, but since I usually layer up several coats of mascara anyway, it didn't look too dissimilar to my usual look.
The next item in the box is probably my favourite out of all of the items this month. I'd never heard of Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics before, but their illuminating eyeliner is actually amazing. Apparently it's 'in fashion' at the moment to wear light eyeliner to make your eyes look bigger and more awake and I actually love it! It lasts for a super long time and has earned pride of place in my daily make up bag.
The final item in the box is a compact mirror. Although I have lots of these already it's always useful to have spares in case of emergencies!
Do you subscribe to Birchbox?
Have you used any of these products?
I'd love to know what you think!
The November edition of Birchbox arrived on Friday and as usual I was really looking forward to opening it. I love that it arrives on a Friday because it really is the perfect end to the week. This month was a pastel blue and pink 'Skinny Dip' box,
The 'menu' contains all the information about the products as well as instructions.
The box contained 6 products:
- moisturising hand cream by Cowshed
- facial exfoliator by Pure & Light Organic
- nourishing styling cream by Living Proof
- a neutral lip liner by Lord & Berry
- acquaconfort cream by Delarom Paris and
- a grab and go ponytail holder by L.Erickson
I'm SO pleased I received hand cream this month. My hands have been so sore and dry at work recently and I think my usual hand cream has gone out of date - oops!
The neutral lip liner is really interesting actually. It's a one-shade-suits-all product that you actually can't see when it's on the skin. I thought it was a white eyeliner originally and thought my lips would look a little silly with a white outline
A couple of days ago I wrote about the Birchbox subscription box that I had received through the post, however when I visited Selfridges in London the other day I noticed that Birchbox had opened a pop up stall for a limited time, selling pick and mix style boxes for £15, incluuding some full-sized products as well as samples. You were allowed to pick 6 products; 2 make up, 1 skincare product, 1 haircare product, 1 body care product and 1 beauty treat.
As usual the proucts were presented in a box and drawstring bag
The products I chose were:
Wild About Beauty Nutrilips Balm in 001 Lorella (FULL SIZE) - RRP £14
Clarins Hydra-Quench Mask (FULL SIZE) - RRP £34
Macadamia Professional shampoo (FULL SIZE) - RRP £18.95
Benefit Air Patrol BB cream eye primer (SAMPLE SIZE)
Korres Bergamot Pear Showergel (SAMPLE SIZE)
Birchbox Keyring
So far I'm realy happy with the products I chose. I've already started using the lip balm, which I especially love because it is petroleum free, paraben free and not tested on animals, and the Macadamia shampoo, which is also paraben and cruelty free, and smells *amazing*. It makes my hair feel really soft and nourished. I've used the Clarins cream mask once so far and admittedly did make my skin feel really soft and cleansed, but I'm not completely convinced that it was 'moisture-quenching' as such. Maybe I need to use it a couple more times to be able to make a better judgement! I'm yet to try the body wash and eye primer, but having been impressed by other Benefit products I've used in the past, I'm expecting great things!
A few weeks ago I came across a link on Facebook advertising Birchbox. I've heard a lot about the brand before but have never bothered to subscribe, largely due to the price. (If I had a better job with more expendable money I would!) However September happens to be Birchbox's Birthday and by clicking a link, I got my box half price.
I was really impressed with the quality of the box. When I receive my monthly Pink Parcel box, it's quite a thin card box that it easy to unfold and recycle, which in some ways is good but is easily crushed in the post if you happen to have a heavy-handed postman. This box however is really thick and so pretty that I really want to reuse it somehow, although I'm not sure what for yet!
When I opened the box there was a booklet explaining each of the products, as well as a discount voucher for being a new customer.
Underneath the booklet was a cute little sack containing all the goodies...
Inside was a bundle of 5 product samples and a tangle teaser - which is great because my hair is really long and the windy autumn weather is approaching!
The samples were:
License to blot by Benefit
Cheek and lip tint by Laqa and Co
Lemon and sage soapy suds by Bliss
Flawless skin face polish by Laura Mercier
and a Citrus detangler by John Masters Organics
In my opinion, the Benefit blot stick is amazing! Admittedly I've only used it twice so far, but I've been so impressed both times that I'm already planning on buying the full-sized product when I've used up this sample! I was a little disappointed with the lip tint though. Don't get me wrong, the quality is great, pigmentation is really strong and the consistency is great, but firstly the website promised a Limited Edition version in gold packaging and secondly, it's just not my colour.
So far I'm really impressed with the box and although I'm not entirely sure whether I can afford £12 per month, I think I'm going to keep my subscription going for a little while to see what other surprises are in store! Apparently you can create a profile and the products included in your box each month will be selected based on your preferences. I'm certainly looking forward to my next box!
