Birchbox is a monthly subscription service for beauty samples. For $10 a month you get 4-5 large samples of makeup, hair, or health products. When you sign up, you take a survey to tailor the products to your tastes. Try it, you know you want to.
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| Each month you get a card that explains the theme of the box and gives some details about each product. |
My Thoughts:
Essie Luxeffects (As Gold As It
Gets) – I was excited to get a full size polish in my first box !!! I already had one of the other top coats from
this collection so it was nice to get in the box because I wouldn’t have bought
it for myself. I wasn’t sure about the
gold because I naturally would have chosen the silver, but I layered it over CG
Ahoy! and I thought it was very pretty (check my 2012 Nails album). If I ever
do a gradient with warm toned colors I will definitely use this to blend and
add some sparkle. Sample value $8
Kate Spade Twirl perfume – The nice
thing about this sample was that it was a spray top (versus one of those vials
with a stopper that I would probably lose control of and end up spilling all
over myself). I bought a full size
because I thought I loved it and it’s hard for me to make a decision about new
perfume. Well now I’m not sure I love it as much. I looked up descriptions of
all my favorite perfumes and I lean towards scents that are heavy on the floral
and lighter on the musk and fruit. Twirl is heavy on the fruity and light on
the floral, so I still like, but it’s definitely not my go-to. Sample value $1.91
Kérastase Elixir Ultime – Ok so
I tried it and for something that is $54 for a full size I expected to put it
on, dry my hair, and look like a Kardashian….that didn’t happen. I am really
interested to try new hair products because I’m not very adventurous when it
comes to my hair, but I better lose my mind at how good it looks if I’m going
to spend that much money. Sample value $2.16
Tarte LipSurgence lip tint (Lucky) –
I have never been a lipstick/gloss person; I think it comes from years of skating/dancing
and being required to wear atrocious colors. So once again I was excited to get
out of my comfort zone…. wahh wahh. This isn’t the product that is going to convert
me. Lucky is a medium pink, but because I have fairly red lips it looked too
pale. Ok so it’s supposed to promote moisture, except it’s matte (does that
makes sense to anyone, cuz it doesn’t to me). It dries weird and never seems
smooth or glossy, it looks like it’s been all day and cracked the moment you
put it on. I put a gloss over it and that improved it slightly but you can’t
rub your lips together or it clumps up. Overall, not impressed. Sample value $24
Twistband Hair Ties – The one in the picture is white, but I actually got a light pink in my box (I know it looks weird, I promise it's a regular looking hair tie). I really liked these so I actually purchased a bunch more. They claim to not leave dents in your hair, but because I have thin hair I have to wrap it around a lot so it did leave a dent (but not a very obvious one). I mostly wear them at night, what I like most about them is that my ponytail is in the same place when I go to bed and when I wake up. I suppose if I ever exercised I would use them then too, because they don’t budge. As a bonus, they kinda look like you’ve wrapped a ribbon around your hair because they are actually knotted with a short tail (as opposed to a circle like most hair ties), it’s cute and I like it. Sample value $1.50
ModCloth discount card – I think I threw this out cuz it was some amount off a clothing website, I think mostly for prom dresses….nice idea but clearly not for me.
Wrap Up:
Value of the Box - $37.57
The Good – Twist bands, Twirl, Essie polish
The Bad – LipSurgence, Kérastase hair business
Verdict – I think this was a great first box! There were things that I would never have bought myself that I’m glad I had the chance to try.
