Birchbox: June 2013

It’s that time of the month again! No..not that one! BirchBox time! This was the box that would break it or make it.

Here are the contents of the box when I opened them.  BirchBox revamped their logo and I wasn’t feeling it but I soon came to like it!  I absolutely love the inside of the box though! I am a sucker for chevron, so I will try to reuse and recycle the box.

At the bottom of the box there were some cute post cards! I absolutely adore Europe so I was really happy with this little treat. I will probably frame them or just put them in my bookcase. My favorite one is of London <3.

Here are all the samples I received this month.  I liked how we got 6 instead of 5, but the only bad thing is most of them are pretty small and 3 are from the same brand, I want more variety but I decided to give them all a try.  A great thing is that on the info card they have added directions on how to use your product! Yay!

suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser | Full-Size, $32.95: When I unscrewed the top and sniffed it, I fell in love. I love anything lemony so  I was excited to try this product.  I took the opportunity to use it when I was in the shower. I have combination skin but it is primarily dry.  It foamed nicely and I didn’t need that much product, it made my skin dry, to the point that I FELT that I had no moisture in my face.  I tried it once again today and it left it feeling soft and clean, it also left a wonderful lemon scent. I would recommend using moisturizer on your face after exfoliating.

LAQA & Co. Lil’ Lip Duo | Full Size, 2 for $16: I was happy to get this item in my box.  I’ve always wanted to wear lipstick but I find my lips chap very easily and I can’t even wear it or it looks bad.  I have a color similar to this that is Lancome’s Rouge in Love.
I haven’t used it on my lips but I swiped it once on my hand and it was very pigmented and glided on smoothly, this makes application a lot easier and less messy! I will be using this for sure, I’m glad that I got this color as it goes great with my skin.  It’s a fuschia/ hot pink color.

Birchbox + Color Club Wanderlust Collection | Full-size, $8: Yay! Another nail polish, I’ve been getting a lot and it’s been amazing! At first I was kind of taken aback by how bright this nail polish was but once I had it on it wasn’t so bad.  I also loved that I got the color that was inspired by London (obsessed) but I found it kind of ironic.  It’s always raining in London…so shouldn’t it have been a more subdued hue of green? It is also a lot more longer lasting. Needless to say this one is a keeper but it’s a steep price for nail polish when I can get OPI for less thanks to my cosmetologist mother.

Davines Love Smoothing Shampoo | Full-size, $27.50: I was surprised to find this bottle of shampoo inside my box.  It’s a pretty good size for a sample. It has a slight scent of baby powder, it’s a strange scent, it’s not revolting but it’s hard to put a finger on it.  I tried it out and it made my hair smell light and it left it clean and soft, it also helped lessen the frizz.  I have dry/ frizzy hair so this was perfect! I swear, I think Birchbox knows me.

Davines Love Smoothing Conditioner | Full-size, $27.50: THIS is what I was expecting. A packet. I also used this after I used the shampoo and it really did help smooth and moisturize my dry tresses.  I still have some left over for maybe 2 more uses.  I like trying out new brands but I don’t think I would spend this much money on the product as I could find some other ones for cheaper.

Davines Oi/Oil Absolute Beautifying Potion | Full-Size, $40: Another packet.  The full-size product is pretty steep so I am going to wait until I decide to blow dry my hair and use this oil.  I have plenty of oils that get the job done so I don’t think I will be buying this full-size product either.  I do want to try it and see how it works out though!

While I liked this month, it didn’t spark much of an excitement in me.  This was the month that was going to make me decide if I was going to keep Birchbox or cancel…I’ve decided to cancel.  While I love the guessing that Birchbox leaves me with..I don’t think that the products were worth it.  I’ve decided to keep my Ipsy as it gives me FULL SIZE products.  I loved Birchbox’s customer service and some of the products but I can’t afford to keep spending $10 for mediocre boxes.

What did you think of this months box? Tell me of your experiences with Birchbox and what you think of their products!

Ipsy: May 2013

I received my first Ipsy a week ago and I was uber excited to see the cute hot pink package in the mail.  I didn’t know what to expect as I am a BirchBox subscriber.

My first thought was how great the glam bag was. I think it’s really cute and will make a great cosmetic bag or pencil case. I love the colors and the design, it’s very cute.

When I reached in there were 3 cards inside.  The above was in it and it just has some offers on it. I didn’t really came much for it but maybe they will be useful in the future.

Zoya Nail Polish in Gie Gie: As a nail polish addict, this was the product I was most looking forward to receiving. I was silently praying to get the blue or pink one and I got it! I think most of my nail polish collection is blue so I think it’s a good thing that I got this. It’s a really soft pink and I love the Zoya brand. It doesn’t have that strong smell of nail polish.  The only problem is sometimes I think the formula is too sticky and it’s a little messy but I think it’s because I’m more used to liquidy polishes like Essie. I love all their colors and the brand anyways. Did I mention this was full-size?Amazing!

Anastasia Brow Gel: As a girl who threads her eyebrows, I find it completely transforms how my face looks.  I was thrilled to see this in my bag as I always like to keep my eyebrows tidy. I just can’t get over how this is full-size as well. I’ve used Anastasia’s Brow Pencil and I can’t wait to replace that with this gel. It seems more reliable as I could never sharpen that pencil and ended up with a wasted product.

Mirabella Lipstick in Bellarina: Another full-size sample! I don’t think I can get over all of this full sized madness! I was ecstatic to get some lipstick because I’ve been wanting to test out some lipstick that I could wear in the summer. This is a very sheer color, so sheer it just came out as shimmer on my hand. I was a bit disappointed at the color but maybe I can layer this lipstick on top of another. It was creamy and I know it will probably be used several times.

Yaby Concealer Refill: This would be great…if it wasn’t some random little sample. This was one of the ones I didn’t like. I am willing to try it but it is so tiny, I think I will end up losing it before I use it. I do need concealer badly, but where will I put this? No idea. Not worth my ten bucks.

Pacifica Roll-On Perfume: I don’t wear perfume so I wasn’t really excited about this one. I rolled some onto my wrists and was instantly nauseous.  It was way too strong and floral for my tastes. I will most definitely be giving this away to my cousins, who may appreciate it and use it more than me.  This was a no go for me.

For my first month, I can only say I was uber excited about 3/5 of the items and I will continue my subscription to see what the month of June brings! For all the full-size items, I may even decide if I want to keep Birchbox or not.

Do you subscribe to Ipsy?What are your thoughts and favorite items you’ve gotten from them?