So this is also one of my very late reviews, I apologize. But hopefully it will still be helpful if you're thinking about subscribing to this particular subscription box. Birchbox is THE original subscription box (from what I understand). They are the ones that came up with sending beauty products to women around the US every month, for the low price of $10/month, which includes shipping. This is the one where I had to wait about 2 weeks or so to get an invitation to receive a box. Birchbox has you fill out a beauty profile when you join asking you about your particular style, skin tone, hair color, what kind of things you would most like to receive, etc. They use this information to choose which box would be best for you, since they put together a large variety of boxes. If I feel like I want to know what's coming up in the box, I just google the month and year of the box (ie. "October 2012 birchbox preview), and I usually end up on Zadidoll's page where she has it posted what's going to be in that month's boxes before they are shipped out. You can see an example of October's sneak peek here. I don't want to post November's link just because I kind of want to be surprised for November's box. :)
Birchbox also has a referral program, while Ipsy does not. For every friend you refer to sign up for a Birchbox, you get 50 points, and the points can be redeemed to use in the Birchbox store for full sized products. Awesome, huh? You also get 10 points for each Birchbox you purchase every month, so it's easy to accumulate points that way too.
The brown box is what came inside of the pink box.
October's theme - Transformation
I believe I got box #39.
I really like that they include the price of the full sized item in their packing list.
Since everything was a sample size version, I don't really want to do the math, but I'm predicting that it was pretty close to the $10 price tag.
What I saw when I opened up the box.
They wrapped some of the items in tissue paper with a ribbon.
It's like I opened up TWO presents. :P
Everything I got in this box, 6 items total.
An up-close shot of of theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer, which can be used as an eyeshadow, highlighter, or all over shimmer.
Item Review:
Juicy Couture - Viva la Juicy La Fleur:
I actually have the regular Viva la Juicy fragrance so I was really happy to see the La Fleur version in my box. It's a lighter, brighter version of the original so I would probably compare them as the original being the night version and La Fleur being the day version, even though they both probably lean more towards a daytime fragrance. I liked it.
Lulu Organics - Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder:
I was also pleasantly surprised to see a hair powder sample because I was recently looking for a good dry shampoo. It's supposed to take away the oil buildup from your roots away so you don't have to wash your hair for a couple days (if you want), and also "lifts" your roots so your hair has more volume. It did lift my hair a little but eventually, it ends up flat again soon enough (I have really thick hair though). A lot of people liked the smell, but I thought it was a little overwhelming. If you like lavender, then you'll definitely like the fragrance of it, but I'm not a huge fan of lavender, so I'm indifferent. I probably wouldn't purchase this on my own, but it was fun to try it.
Mox Botanicals - Pomegranate & Fig Lip Butter:
Lip balm junkie. That's me. SO, I was pretty ecstatic to see a lip balm sample in my box! I thought the size was fine though. In fact, I didn't even know if it was a sample or full size. Indeed, it was a sample, but it's still the perfect size to go into a clutch or purse. I loved the flavor. The texture though, I wasn't that pleased about. I feel like it would make a good protectant-type balm if you want to keep your already-moist lips moist, but it doesn't have a huge moisturizing effect. It doesn't last that long either... I found myself reapplying every 30 minutes or so. It was nice to try a lip balm though, you can't have too many lip balms. And my boyfriend could use it too, which is a plus.
theBalm Cosmetics - Mary-Lou Manizer:
This eyeshadow/highlighter confused me... only because I don't use too many highlighters and it seemed like an awfully abundant amount for eyeshadow. But I have to say, when I tried it, I absolutely fell in love with it. The powder holds on a brush really well and it goes on reeeeally nicely as an eyeshadow. The quality is up there, at least to me, since the highest quality eyeshadow I've ever tried is Urban Decay. I would say this was a win, because I actually don't have a highlighter product in my vanity, so I'm probably going to look up some YouTube videos on how to use it.
Twistband - Hair Tie:
Also, a win! I use hair ties every day, the Goody Ouchless version to be exact. I've noticed that they've gotten a bit tighter over the years though, so I can't keep them on my wrists anymore without cutting off circulation. So when I saw this Twistband in my box, I was happy. It did a good job of holding up my hair AND I could wear it on my wrist without feeling like I was losing feeling in my fingertips. Plus, it came in a really cute salmon color, another plus. One bad thing though was that mine were kind of falling apart at the ends, like unraveling, so I took a lighter to them and that solved the problem.
Tili - Bag:
This was a cutely designed plastic baggie that resembles the kind that you find at the airport to hold all your liquid items. Although it's not really anything that special, I appreciated the fact that it was a practical item that I would eventually use. I don't know about the rest of you ladies, but for some reason, when I pack for a trip, my makeup and knick knacks end up taking up 3 cosmetic bags. And I don't even have that much makeup, honestly! So I definitely was happy with this little baggie too.
Final Thoughts
Overall, even though the value of the bag was nowhere close to Ipsy's Glam Bag, I was still very happy with my Birchbox. The biggest reason being that they did a really good job with my profiling (at least for this month) and gave me items that I would actually use. I could and would use everything that I got in my box, and that's a win. I'm really looking forward to November's box, and hope that I'm just as pleased!
If you're looking for an inexpensive beauty box every month, I would definitely recommend Birchbox.
I'll be getting Glossybox in November, and PopSugar's regular AND luxury box in December, so look out for those reviews! Please, "like" my Facebook page if you want to be updated on my upcoming reviews!
Thanks for reading!
TheRxNina
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