Birchbox is a beauty sampling subscription service that sends 5 new items each month so you can try before you buy. Birchbox is $10 a month and you can choose a monthly sample during selection time, let Birchbox decide, or pick a pre-curated box. This is a review of a regular, non-curated box with sample choice. How well did it match the profile that I created when I signed up? Read on to find out!
DEAL: For a limited time use coupon code FREEFROG to get a FREE mini Lipstick Queen Frog Prince Lipstick with your first month of a Birchbox subscription!
I received two bonus foil samples this month!
This month, Birchbox’s theme is Soak in the Sunshine. Summer has already reached my part of the country so I am ready for all-things summer related!
The information card gives brief details on each item as well as the price if you were to buy the full size.
You can visit Birchbox.com/MyBox to easily see the details of your box, which I recommend because sometimes they have videos on the item product pages which I find useful.
Everything in my May box!
Davines Ol All In One Milk ($11.85) Davines has the best smelling products and they come all the way from Italy! My hair is too fine for leave-in products but my daughter loves this so I am passing it along to her. Just spray on freshly shampooed hair and comb through, then style as usual.
Davines Ol Shampoo and Conditioner ($2.45) go along with the conditioning spray and both have that same amazing smell. These items are SLS-free so they shouldn’t strip hair color, plus they are supposed to provide UV protection. I used them together and while my hair smelled great and was super soft and shiny, it also refused to curl. I tried two different curling irons and some volumizing spray but it didn’t help. Please keep in mind that my hair is exceptionally fine so I think most people probably wouldn’t have the same results as me.
Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser With Orange Extract ($0.90) is an effective cleanser/exfoliator that has a light orange scent and isn’t too abrasive. Since it has orange oil I would suggest using it in the evening to avoid any interactions with the sun.
Marcelle City Multi-Protection Tinted Cream ($5.06) Speaking of the sun, I am a big fan of SPF and beauty balms so this item really does match my profile, and I received it in the shade “Light to Medium.”
You may also get some pore-tightening, hydrating, and anti-aging results with this product.
I won’t be switching from my usual tinted sunscreen, but maybe this would work well as a primer with SPF. I didn’t get enough coverage and the color looked kind of blotchy on my skin. Swatched below.
Love Of Color One And Done Shadow Stick In Heavy Petal ($10) was my sample choice. I’m pretty sure I either already own this or received one at some point but I really like the formula and color so I was happy to get another one!
One thing I discovered when Birchbox first introduced this pencil a few years ago is that it won’t fit in a traditional sharpener. You can either purchase one from Birchbox here or get one with a removable sleeve (I found one at Sephora). The color glides on smoothly and you’ll need to wipe away errors or smooth it around very quickly because once it sets it stays.
The top swatch is the tinted moisturizer and the bottom is LOC in Heavy Petal, which is described as “light rose gold”. It is very shiny but I like the look it provides.
Vita Liberata Fabulous Self-Tanning Gradual Lotion ($7.50) If I had received this 20 years ago I would have been so excited but I’m at the point where I am really just worried about keeping my skin from aging or getting cancer. I swatched my inner arm and didn’t notice any weird self-tanner scent, which is a big plus.
I did a big swatch on my inner arm and then forgot about it until I checked a couple of hours later and was surprised that my skin color actually changed! It’s not super noticeable so it lived up to its name and worked gradually. I’m actually a little impressed.
My favorite product this month was the LOC shadow stick, which was my sample choice and costs $10, the same price as this box, so I felt like all the other items were bonus items! I discovered my favorite CC creams through Birchbox so even though the Marcelle one didn’t work for me, I still enjoyed trying it. The hair items, while nice, were just too moisturizing for my hair, and I’m not into self-tanning but maybe I will see if it can hide the weird tan lines on my feet. My box had a value of around $38, which is almost 4 times the cost of the subscription! Please keep in mind that boxes vary depending on your beauty profile and my box is just one example of many.
What do you think of the May Birchbox? What was your favorite item from your box?
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