Birchbox Review ~ January 2013

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My camera is still on the fritz, so no individual product photos or examples of me using them this time around. But! That won't stop me from reviewing these products!

What I Got:

• Number 4 Clarifying shampoo - sample size
• theBalm Cosmetics Hot Mama shadow & blush all in one
• Harvey Prince Skinny Chic - perfume sample
• Lashem Measurable Difference - Lash gel serum sample
• Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face cream - two samples

What I thought:

I love trying new shampoos and I was stoked to get this nice sized sample in my box. The Number 4 Clarifying shampoo smells great, I like the way it lathers and while I wish I had a conditioner to pair with it after using, it still seems to make my hair feel squeaky clean and soft after rinsing. It definitely takes care of product and hair dye build up and  it very gentle on my dried out hair.

I only just recently started wearing a little bit of blush on my cheeks, November's box came with Stila all over shimmer liquid luminizer, in a pink blush color and I love it. I was excited to try this shadow and blush all in one from theBalm Cosmetics. The packaging is adorable off the bat, featuring a cute pin up style beach girl and it has a magnetic closure. The color is a peachy-pink which I was a little stand offish for my skin tone, when I wear it on my cheeks I have to put it on very lightly as this stuff goes on strong, as for wearing it as an eye shadow...I LOVE IT! It's so pretty and stays on all day, it goes great with a smokey brown or a summer bronze. I am surprised how versatile the color is as an eye shadow and it is more than welcome in my extensive collection of eye shadows.

I seem to have an ever growing collection of perfume samples which I quite enjoy. I get tired of scents after prolonged use, so being able to switch it up without committing to purchasing a full size is great. The Harvey Prince Skinny Chic perfume has a cheerful package and I love the way it smells. It claims to have a scent to help you feel energized and curb your appetite. I unfortunately have misplaced this small sample bottle over the course of the month, I hope to find it cause I truly did love the way it smells and I'd like to test out this appetite curbing theory...

I would like to assume that I don't yet need "youth preserving" for my face, but I always am open to try moisturizers on my sensitive and picky skin. The Fresh Lotus face creams smells absolutely amazing, very clean and botanical. I love the way it feels and it certainly brightened my face and evened out my skin tone. I've already used up both samples and am considering buying a full size. 

And last we have the main thing that stood out in the box. Lashem gel serum. I have looked into ways to make my lashes longer and fuller, I have always disliked how short and fine mine are. I have very sensitive eyelids and have been weary about trying a serum after hearing about them drying out your lids. I was still willing to try this stuff. I took a before picture to document if there has been any change, unfortunately I haven't been very good at applying this stuff every night. I can say however that it has not dried out my lids or caused any irritations, and I could swear that after a week my lashes seemed to be a BIT fuller, but not longer. I hope that this tiny sample has enough in it to keep trying it and see some results, although I almost hope I don't because a full size of one of these is pretty pricey...

So there it is! I will stick to these reviews whether or not I have nice camera photos to share along with them. I love getting a Birchbox every month and look forward to new things to try. If you want to sign up, click here, it's only 10 bucks a month!

See my first and only Birchbox review I've done here.

xomando

Birchbox Review - September

A friend of mine told me about Birchbox.com. If you're not familiar, it is a monthly subscription, in which you will receive a box of goodies each month for a monthly payment of $10, and free shipping!
Each month the items vary from beauty and skin care samples to non-beauty "lifestyle extras".
I love getting things in the mail and opening up a box while not knowing what's inside is like opening up presents each month, who wouldn't love that!?

So! Without further ado, here is my review on each item in my very first Birchbox.

1. Benefit Cosmetics ~ Foamingly clean facial wash and refined finish facial polish
2. Dr. Jart+ ~ Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25
3. Color Club ~ Birchbox Custom Polish "Status Update"
4. Twistband ~ Red hair tie
5. Band-Aid ~ Cynthia Rowley Dress Up Band-Aids
6. Kate Spade New York ~ Twirl
7. The information card that lists each product and their value
8. The Fall Lookbook
9. $25 off of a $75 purchase to madewell.com

First of all I was very excited to see this dainty box in our mailbox, it's pink and very inviting. I slid out the pretty brown cardboard box and opened it up, I LOVED peeling back the tissue paper because it felt like a present full of surprises.

I'm always excited to try face-wash, my skin is sensitive and temperamental, I have to alternate between what I use so that it doesn't dry out my skin, and I require something that won't leave my skin oily cause I'm prone to breakouts on my T-zone and chin. The small tubes of the face wash and exfoliator have a lot of usage in them. When using the face wash I found that a little drop goes a long way. I love the way it lathers and it made my skin feel soft immediately during rinsing. The facial polish should be used 1-2 times per week, I've only used it a few times and I love the way it feels, creamy with a little bit of graininess, it also makes my skin feel very soft. I definitely noticed smoother, brighter skin after using these products. The value of each of these full size is $21-22. I can see myself purchasing this in the future to alternate to in my skin care regimen.

I also enjoy using new foundations, I'm super picky about how things blend into my skin. I don't like a foundation too heavy or thick, I like a little bit of coverage and a light feeling. I mostly use loose powder on my face. This Dr.Jart+ Beauty Balm is AWESOME! It feels so nice and it blends right into my skin tone, my skin feels and looks soft with it on and after using it for a week I didn't get any breakouts like some foundations I have used. I am really digging this stuff. One day I just used it as a little concealer with my powder on top and it did great! The value of a full size tube of this is $32, the sample is seeming to last me a while.


Nail polish is obviously something I love trying out, all colors, all the time. I was excited to see a beautiful dark color for Fall in the Birchbox. It's like a dark navy blue. It goes on smooth and was almost perfect in only one coat. I painted all of my nails with it right away, I waited too long to take photos for this post so since then I've re-painted my nails, today I went ahead and did some pretty Fall colors including this pretty Color Club polish. Valued at $8

I wasn't sure exactly what this was for when I pulled it out of the box, It appeared too big to be a hair tie and I had to look up Twistband on the internet. Sure enough it's a hair tie. It's a very soft and light elastic material. The story behind it is pretty cool, a woman wanting something comfortable and reliable to put her hair up, it's pretty and comes in different colors to wear on your wrist, and it's supposedly not going to leave a dent in your hair after wearing it. I've been using this every time I put my hair up, it is indeed very comfortable and doesn't give me a ponytail headache like I am prone too, it doesn't pull my hair out or hurt when I take it down, it does leave a bit of a lump in my hair but that may be due to the length of the layers in my hair. It's comfortable on my wrist and it did come in handy a couple of times when wearing it. The only thing I dislike about this hair tie is the ends of it fray very easily. I kept trimming off the little frayed ends and today finally decided to use a little Fray Check, I imagine that will do the trick. I also love how it looks like a pretty ribbon in your hair! Valued at $18 for a set a 12, or $2 each. They also have headbands that I'd love to try out.

This was the very first thing I saw when I opened the box and frankly, I was excited. I have always been a fan of novelty Band-Aids and these are the bees knees, I kind of can't wait to need one. Valued at $15

I love perfume and I'm only slightly picky about it. I thought this smelled okay, but I just got some Armani Code for women for my birthday and nothing can top that delicious scent right now. I gave this sample to my mom and she agrees it's just okay, but scents are hard to rate as everyone has different taste. It doesn't at all smell bad, it's just not for me. Valued at $18-80.

The Fall Look book is pretty cool, it's full of style ideas from make up to nails, a little hair style tutorial, pretty outfit inspirations and where and how to get the look. I will look forward to each months ideas and inspiration.

I had never heard of Madewell.com, maybe because I don't shop expensive items often at all. I checked out the site and saw a lot of things I liked, and not a lot in my size. They did have shoes and accessories I liked it a lot so I would have used this giftcard if it didn't expire before I got paid. It looks like a great site with really nice things and I wish I could have used it.

So there you have it. My first Birchbox! I feel that it was quite a success and well worth $10 a month. I can't wait for the next one! When I signed up I was put on a waiting list and didn't get to officially join for a little over a month. Once you are a member you can invite friends to join and earn points. I think if you get an invite you can join right away but I'm not sure. If you would for me to send an invite to you to test out this theory I would be more than happy to, just leave me your email address in a comment :)
Also! They now have Birchbox for men! So if you have a guy that likes products and stuff then sign him on up!

xomando