Birchbox: November Review

I recently signed up for Birchbox just to see it if was any different from ipsy and to see why people liked it. For those of you who do not know, Birchbox is a monthly subscription of $10 and you get 5 sample-sized products ranging from drug store products to high end products.

After I got an email that I was receiving a handpicked Birchbox, I received the box in the mail two days later. I thought it was fast shipping, but then realized that they ship it first and then, the next day or two, they send out an email saying it’s shipped. So it wasn’t as fast shipping as I thought it was.

When I received the box, it was a light green color. Loved the color – I love any shades of green. However, packaging wise, they could have done better. The box was ruined a little bit, probably due to shipping, but it just looked like they didn’t care about the box whatsoever. It said “birchbox” on the side on the top it said “nicely done” but the package wasn’t even that nicely done, so I was confused. It was ruined in the corners of the box.

When I opened the box, there was plastic paper to keep the products safe. I’m really glad about that because even though the box was damaged, at least I know the products itself was going to be okay. After I took out the green plastic, it was another box inside with this benefit mascara outside of the box in a plastic bag. Again, the box was cute. It was packaged better. You had to tear the ends of the box to get it opened, which made the box “safer” and “more packaged.” The box said “YES!” on it which I thought was cute and I like the orange color. Makes it better.

The best part, which is actually quite funny but I was rather annoyed, was when I opened the box to find ANOTHER box. Is this a joke? Are they playing a joke on me? Why is there a box within another box within another box? This box was the regular Birchbox box that I saw on the site. The design was cute – navy blue. And it was pretty easy to open the box. Before I opened the box, I thought, “There better not be another box.” And I opened it only to find a card and then underneath were my products.

The 6 products I received are Marcelle LumiPower New Age 3 in 1 Multi-Action Care Skin Care, Rene Furterer Lumicia Shampoo and Conditioner, Pure Vanila Lavanila The Healthy Fragrance, Oribe Gold Envy Luminous Face Mask, and Clinique Cream Shaper For Eyes.

I only received the benefit mascara roller lash as a gift for signing up.

Before I signed up, I thought I was getting full sized products because that’s what a few people told me. I guess I misunderstood because when I got my box, they were just sample sized products.

The sample sized shampoo and conditioner by Rene Furterer was a bummer. I have long, thick, wavy hair so these sample sized products were literally useless. I’ll try my best to review them. I pumped the shampoo all on my hand and emptied out the product and put it on my hair. The product is soft and it worked well with my hair. No smell, nothing wrong. Just your normal putting shampoo in your hair while showering. I scrubbed the shampoo in my hair for about 2-5 minutes. Couldn’t really do much because I didn’t have enough product on. I rinsed it out and it didn’t really make a difference on my hair. Not sure if it’s because I didn’t have enough product on my hair? Waited a few minutes and then, put the entire conditioner bottle on my hand and put it on my hair. It was soft even when wet and it applied quickly and easily. Washing it off was easy too. Again, can’t really give my best review because I didn’t have enough product to use for my hair. When I got out the shower and air dried my hair, I didn’t really notice a difference. I brushed and combed my hair and waited a few hours – again, didn’t really notice a difference. Maybe it made my hair softer. Can’t really give you a fair review because I need a TON of product for my hair in order for the product to actually work. But applying it was fine, washing it off was fine, no scent.

The next product that I used was face mask by Oribe. It was just a sample size. When I ripped it open, I noticed the product was yellow, hence the name. It didn’t feel weird when I touched it and I just plastered the product on my face. It made my face golden-yellow and I thought it was actually cool to be honest. I genuinely liked the “golden” look so I just kept putting more and more on. It said to wait 10-15 minutes before washing off. I think I waited 20 minutes. It was easy to wash off my face. I didn’t really notice a difference. I wish I did a before and after picture but unfortunately, I just have an after picture. My boyfriend said he noticed a slight glow on my face but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the lightning. I did notice that it made my face softer. When I googled the price, I laughed. I don’t think I would EVER spend that much on a face mask. $95 for a face mask that didn’t really “glow” my face? No thank you! It was soft, I’ll give it that. And I love the golden color. So I wasn’t too dissatisfied.

I used the Marcelle LumiPower New Age 3 in 1 Multi-Action Care Skin Care after. I used it after I took a shower and dried myself, right before getting ready to bed. It said I was allowed to put it all over my face so I did but I mainly focused on my under eyes since they really do age me by a lot. When I woke up, I noticed my face was softer. I’m not sure if that was the purpose because it’s supposed to not age my face, but I’ll take soft skin over my combination skin any day! I’ll continue to use it and maybe I’ll buy the full product! But I really liked how soft my under eyes were! A+ for that.

I read reviews that people hated the Pure Vanila Lavanila The Healthy Fragrance because it smells like “old lady.” I guess I’m an old lady because I actually genuinely like the smell. It’s a vanilla scent and I’ll admit, it’s a scent I would rather have on a candle than perfume but I did like the scent. It’s nice scent to smell and relax to, so I used it a little bit and it was fine for me. I understand why people would think it’s a candle scent but nonetheless, I will continue to use up what I have.

I used Clinique Cream Shaper For Eyes the morning after. It was somewhat easy to apply and use. I think it was only hard for me because I moisturized my face and so, my face was too “damp” to put eyeliner on. It could be because of that but nonetheless, applying it on wasn’t too much of a hassle. I noticed that it’s not a dark black color how I normally like my eyeliner, but it didn’t smudge throughout the day. It stayed on. It didn’t end up on my under eyes but then again, I only wore a little bit. Next time, I’ll put a heavier look to see if it’ll smudge but so far, I like it. I didn’t have any problems with it.

Finally, I used the benefit roller lash and surprisingly, it gives my eyelashes a little something. I mean, you still can’t see my eyelashes but it gave it a little lift. I tried it on without eyeliner, that way it was easier for me to nice the mascara and you can only see it up close, in my face, but the mascara does make my eyelashes a little bit more noticeable. And then, I tried it again with the Clinique eyeliner and it wasn’t as noticeable without eyeliner but you can still see something. I genuinely like this mascara – it doesn’t clump and it lasts throughout the day. I like how it makes my baby eyelashes look a little bit more noticeable.

After I received and used my Birchbox samples, I did unsubscribe and cancelled my membership. I love Birchbox and I had a pleasant time using it but I joined specifically for JUST makeup products. Don’t get me wrong, the skin care and hair products were nice but my specialty and interests are for makeup. Maybe I’ll regret it down the line when my face starts to break out or when my hair gets frizzy easily, but right now, I’m only interested in makeup. The hair and skin products were great but I was expecting maybe a product of a new highlighter or new eyeliner or new eyeshadow, something along those lines. I can easily get free samples of hair care and skin care at Sephora and Ulta. I mean, the same with makeup, but I usually just get free skin care at Sephora so if I wanted just a SAMPLE of skin care or hair care, I’d go to Sephora or Bath & Body Works and get them FOR FREE. Loved my experience with Birchbox, but I’m going to try out Ipsy now. Birchbox is great for people who want a variety of products, though! So if you’re not interested in just makeup, Birchbox is for you!

I would give this box a 6/10.

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