I totally forgot I had received my November 2014 Birchbox because the mail came while I was unloading my groceries. So it sat out there in the cold for a few hours before I remembered. At least I did remember. Not like I forgot to turn off the burner I was using to make stew. I’m just glad we had eaten some of it before it all BURNED to the bottom of the pot. I was not happy.
Anyway! Birchbox! Birchbox sends beauty samples right to your door (or mailbox) and it’s one of the first (or most famous) beauty subscription boxes out there. The great thing about it is that it is super affordable at only $10/month. When I saw my samples for this month, I was pretty, pretty happy. 😉
The Cost; $10/month
What You Get: Samples and sometimes full size items, including everything from makeup and skin care to non beauty essentials like candles and tea.
Oh, Canada!! Birchbox is now shipping to youuuu!!! Sign up if you’re interested!!
This month there were five samples and one bonus! The bonus is the chocolate and I think it’s a super fun thing to include. Meanwhile, I’m drooling over the Laura Mercier product!
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 in Sand-1oz- Oh, wait. What color is sand? The website says neutral to warm undertones. Nooo!! I’m cool with pinkish undertones. *weeps copiously* Maybe someone else got a different color and would want to trade. I like this brand a lot and have had great experiences with it.
theBalm cosmetics Cindy-Lou Manizer- A shimmery, soft pink (yay!) highlighter perks up your features with a natural glow. I’m interested to try this. I have a luminizer that I love by bareMinerals but I do like theBalm as a brand so I’ll try this. It’s a pretty color (sorry I didn’t show it, I couldn’t get it to stay open) and if anything I could use it on my eyelids.
Bain de Terre Argan Oil and Passionflower Color Therapy Styling Oil- A lightweight blend of essential oils that nourishes and adds shine to your hair. So I just fell in love with my John Frieda one from the New Beauty Test Tube so I don’t think I’m going to give this one a chance. I know, I’m so mean but ehh. Okay, it does smell amazing. I might have to use it after all. Okay. It smells waaay too good in my hair not to use it. See, this is what sampling is all about! Wow. If they made that into a perfume, I would wear it.
Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner- An award winning gel that degunks pores for fewer blackheads and smoother skin. You leave this on for 5-10 minutes then rinse. I’ve actually been wanting to try this. I thought I got one earlier but I think I gave it away. Now’s my chance!
Perlier Absolute Comfort Body Butter in White Almond- Perlier is an Italian skincare brand and this is a richly nourishing cream that improves tone and elasticity. Well, I was going to turn up my nose until I read that it was almond scented. I love almond scents! But I don’t use body lotions. Then I saw the ingredients and I wasn’t too impressed. Shea butter and almond oil. Now if almond oil smelled like almonds then that would be fantastic but it doesnt. I know this because I have some that I use to make soap.
And the bonus item! As you can see, I almost forgot I needed to take a picture of it before I ate it.
Hence the huge “I’m going to open this and eat it RIGHT NOW” rip down the center. This is a Pop Corn ChocoPod Mini Chocolate Bar by Chuao Chocolatier. This was seriously interesting to eat. So I look at it and I think that it’s just like a Nestle Crunch, right? Then I take a bite. And it’s like Nestle Crunch and Pop Rocks! What!? I don’t even get how that works! The bits are POPPING inside my mouth. I don’t even know how that works but I love it!
VERDICT: So I was super thrilled to see the huge Laura Mercier moisturizer and then super sad when it’s seriously not my color. I couldn’t get away with that if I tried. I ended up loving the oil which I thought I would hate and also am glad I got the Dr. Brandt Vacuum Cleaner to try. I pretty much knew that I wouldn’t like the body moisturizer but the theBalm highlighter totally makes up for it. This was actually a great box. The variety is really spectacular for this one. If the color of the Laura Mercier had worked for me I would be over the moon with grinchy glee.
If you would like to sign up for Birchbox, you can do that right here. It’s $10 a month, you can cancel any time right from your account. No hassles. And if you review your products each month you’ll get points. Ten points per review and 100 points is $10 to spend! It’s basically free money and the Birchbox shop has some exceptional items in it.
If you do sign up make sure you use a code and you can get $10 right away! Use Code BBRED100 when you sign up and you’ll get 100 points put in your account. There’s some great stocking stuffery items to spend it on, too. Either your own stocking or someone elses… 😉