Birchbox is a beauty sample subscription box that sends 5 new items to test out each month so you can try before you buy. Birchbox recently made some changes and is now $15 a month, or sign up for longer terms and save a buck or two per month. Birchbox lets you choose a monthly sample during selection time or let Birchbox decide. You can also pick a pre-curated box and from now on they are supposed to have at least two different curated boxes to choose from (June had 5 to choose from!). This is a review of a regular box with sample choice.
NOTE: You can read all about the recent changes, including pricing structure and ACE prices.
DEAL: For a limited time use the corresponding coupon code to grab a free gift with your Birchbox subscription!
Birchbox sends the cutest boxes and I have them all over my dresser, corralling beauty products. This one was new and has a “drawer” that you pull out by the tassel. Most of my boxes are open-top and my products stand up inside them, so I’m not sure if I’m a fan of this new style, although it is adorable.
Unfortunately the inserts were jammed in the box and so my box is misshapen.
Anyways, just pull on the tassel and the box will slide out.
Hmm, someone was in a hurry.
Birchbox sent an intro about their service.
They want to remind us to take time out for ourselves.
There was a poem on the back.
The front of the product info card had some self-care ideas.
The information card gives brief details on each item as well as the price if you were to buy the full size. Keep in mind that Birchbox sends a variety of product combos each month and your box may vary from mine.
The tissue paper is back but again, someone put my box together rather sloppily and the products were sitting on top of most of the paper, instead of having both sides of the paper meeting at the top. Yes, I realize this is nit picky but for $5 more a month I think they could do better.
One more card was in the box. Earn $20 in credits when a friend subscribes using your referral link.
You can use those points to get products for a reduced price, or even for free if you refer enough people.
I filled out a profile when I joined so I could let Birchbox know which types of items I would like to receive, plus I selected my skin type, hair type, and other info so they could send products that work for me.
Everything in my box!
R+Co Spiritualized Dry Shampoo Mist ($11.80) This was one of the three sample choices but I didn’t choose this one; Birchbox will frequently send one (or more) or the other sample choices if they think it matches your profile. I’m not a dry shampoo fan, I wash my hair every day and have no plans to change, but I was intrigued by the fact that this dry shampoo is a liquid! Luckily my daughter loves dry shampoo so I am passing it along to her.
Oribe Maximista Thickening Spray ($3.84) I almost chose one of the curated boxes just for this sample so I was very pleased to see it in my box! Flat, lifeless hair is my biggest beauty problem and I was hoping this might give my locks some temporary lift.
Simply spray it on towel-dried hair and then use the blow dryer. I thought it was ok, I didn’t have “fluffy” hair after drying but my hair held the curl from the curling iron pretty well.
Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream ($4.73) is a facial moisturizer that is light-weight and can be used night and day.
It is creamy and my skin absorbed it quickly. It has two alcohols though, plus some moisturizing plant oils, among the other ingredients. Luckily it doesn’t have any fragrance added.
Clean Rain Eau De Parfum ($2.20) When I first started working full time I went out to Sephora and bought a rollerball set of Clean scents, and this was one of the scents in that set.
It has notes of melon and musk and is supposed to have a rain accord. After using the rollerball set I decided Clean is not the brand for me because although the scents were strong and long-lasting, they all kind of smelled like dryer sheets for the laundry.
Winky Lux Eyeshadow in Frothy ($5? No size given but this is part of a palette that sells for $25) Along with the eye shadow brush shown below, this was my sample choice this month.
Isn’t the packaging cute? Look at the kitties in the teacups!
I chose this to use as a base color and it works decently for that purpose.
Here it is swatched. The formula was decent, but as with other shimmery shades it picked where it wanted to stay on my lids, so a primer might help it out some.
Luxie 239 Precision Shader Brush ($14) I like the Luxie brand, which is vegan and has synthetic bristles. I have several of their brushes thanks to beauty boxes. I rarely received brushes from Birchbox before their updated service, so this was a nice item to get.
The brush has fluffy bristles and I used it to apply shadow to my lid, but it also did a good job of applying a deeper shade to the crease thanks to the point at the top.
Overall I was pretty happy with the items I received and I felt that they matched my profile well. I think the changes have been nice so far and I do enjoy taking the time out for myself to try something new, it is a treat and unlike in department stores I don’t feel the pressure to buy buy buy. The value for my box was around $41.57 which is well over the price paid for the box. I think the curated boxes have looked especially good too so those are worth checking out if you get the chance.
What did you think of the June 2019 Birchbox? What did you get in your box?
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