Review of February 2015 Birchbox

Birchbox is a $10/month subscription box. You get around 5 sample or deluxe-size samples of beauty (makeup, skin care, hair care) products. Like ipsy, you take a quiz to customize your box. Birchbox lets you choose one of the samples you will receive each month, a curated box (you'll know all the contents ahead of time), or a box based on your personalized profile. I wanted to try out Birchbox since it is a similar price point to ipsy. Like ipsy and Boxycharm, you get points for reviewing products in your box and for referrals that you can use to “buy” products on the Birchbox website.

Birchbox comes packaged in a box within a box. The box is actually quite sturdy and has a chevron print on the inside. I will use it to organize my makeup. Score for not having to buy makeup organizers!

The box also contains a card detailing the items and the (full-size) value of each item. This month, there was also a coupon for $30 off at Rent the Runway and a coupon for a free Benefit Porefessional Primer Deluxe Mini with any full-size Benefit purchase at Birchbox.com

Product #1: Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle Leave In Conditioner (0.5 oz.?)

            This is nothing I would ever buy on my own. I own like zero hair care products outside of shampoo, conditioner and a new addition, dry shampoo (and the hairspray I got in my February ipsy). This leave-in condition smells really nice; it’s hard to actually describe what it smells like (helpful, I know), but it’s nice. Clean with a hint of something… It worked well in detangling my hair after showering and left my hair soft, so that alone makes it worth it to me.

Value: $1.37

Product #2: BeeKind Shampoo (1 oz.)

            I was not too thrilled to see a shampoo in the box. Shampoo is just not very exciting to me. It’s a good size for a shampoo sample though—I’ll definitely get several uses out of this. It smells very good, like lemon verbena. It contains none of the bad stuff (e.g., parabens, phthalates) and contains honey and red clover extract. Plus, a portion of the proceeds go toward helping honey bees survive!

Value: $1.88

Product #3: Cynthia Rowley Beauty Eyeliner in Black (0.03 oz.)

            This is very creamy and black. I like it for tightlining. I would not recommend it on the lower lash line or in the waterline. It transferred immediately on me. I even tried setting it with a black eyeshadow, but it still smudged a lot and not a good smudge. I will definitely use this, just only on my upper lash line.

Value: $12

Product #4: Harvey Prince Hello Body Crème (0.50 oz.)

            Smells so, so good! The notes are lemon, mandarin and plumeria. I used this on my hands and it left them very soft. The scent stayed around, which I like in a body crème—especially since this one smells so good. I will probably use this more as a hand cream since the size isn’t really big enough to use as a body cream more than once. This is something I would consider buying.

Value: $1.83

Product #5: Supergoop! Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream in Light/Medium (3ml)

            It’s hard for me to give an assessment of this product for a couple of reasons. One, the color is way off. I put a little on to test and it looked like I had a horrible fake tan. I wish Birchbox had sent me the Fair/Light color instead of Light/Medicum as I am nowhere near Medium in skin tone. Second, the sample is so tiny I’m not even sure there would be enough to cover my whole face. So, this was a miss for me. It’s nice that face products are getting on the bandwagon and including higher SPF (physical only, not chemical) sunscreen.

Value: $2.04

Overall Value: $19.12. The majority of the value came from the eyeliner. Overall, it’s an okay box for me. It’s probably not good when the thing I’m most excited about is the box that the items came in... This was my first Birchbox so I’ll give it a few months before deciding if it’s a box I would like to keep.

What are your thoughts on Birchbox? If you’d like to sign-up for Birchbox, feel free to use my referral link.

Disclaimer: This bag was purchased with my own money and all opinions are 100% honest and my own. I do not provide positive reviews for payment. I do receive points if you sign-up for a subscription using my referral link; however, I am not affiliated with Birchbox.