Birchbox August 2014

This review is for the Birchbox from August 2014. Birchbox is a very popular subscription box. It is $10/month for 4-5 beauty and lifestyle samples, which are personalized based on a quiz you take. They seem to stick to the quiz fairly well, though they do state that even if you "dislike" a particular product, you may still get it once a year or so. The great thing about Birchbox is its reward system. You get 10 points for every item you review from your box, as well as a point for every dollar you spend in the Birchbox shop (which includes the purchase of your actual box). You can also get points for referring friends. Every 100 points you accumulate is $10 toward a purchase from the shop, which contains full-sized items, some of which are exclusive to Birchbox. So, it's a pretty inexpensive way to try out products and then use your rewards towards buying the ones you ended up liking or something else entirely.

I received this box on August 9th and it is my third Birchbox. They send out the boxes in waves depending on what you are getting, but it's generally pretty early in the month. Here is the box as it looks upon arrival:

When you open the outer shipping box, there is another cardboard box inside. I keep these because they are perfect as gift boxes. This is what it looks like already opened up. The card discusses the theme for the month, which was "not taking yourself too seriously".

Here is the description card showing what I received and the value of the full-sized versions of the products:

I have also typed out the list with links to the actual items either on Amazon or Birchbox:

amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo
Cailyn Cosmetics Dizzolv'It Makeup Melt Cleansing Balm
Harvey Prince Ageless Body Creme
Marcelle BB Cream Golden Glow
theBalm Stainiac

And here are all the items nicely packed in the box!

Since I have had this box for a week, I have had the chance to try out some of these products and hopefully provide a better review. The first item up on the list is the amika dry shampoo.

I have never tried dry shampoo before, though it has been on my list of things to get. I usually go as long as possible without washing my hair to prevent it from getting really frizzy, and I prefer to do co-washing rather than using shampoo, so dry shampoo would be perfect for refreshing between washes. I tried this out on an evening where my hair hadn't been washed in a few days and my roots were getting a little greasy. I just sprayed a little bit onto my roots from about 12 inches away, ran my fingers through to distribute it, and put my hair up overnight. In the morning, my roots looked pretty refreshed without being dried out, which was great. I was a little concerned with alcohol being a main ingredient, but it ended up looking very natural. This product is definitely a candidate for buying with my birchbox points.

The next product I looked at was the Cailyn Cleansing Balm.

This sample is a pretty good size for sampling, as it is enough to patch test for a couple weeks or use on your full face a few times. I did not try it myself, as my skin is very picky about cleansers. I will probably find someone to give this away to. It looks like it has a nice creamy texture and has a pleasant smell.

Up next is the Harvey Prince Body Cream.

The formula for this is very nice, as long as you don't have any sensitivities to coconut oil (which can cause reactions in some people). It's quite a small sample, so I used it a couple times on my elbows, which get pretty dry. The smell was very nice and lingered for awhile and it was definitely moisturizing. If I was more diligent about using body lotion, this would be a candidate for purchase as well.

Finally, we come to the samples inside the pillow pack. Here is the Marcelle BB Cream:

As you can see, it is a tiny tiny sample. Also, it only comes in one color, which is a scary idea for someone with fair skin. It is quite glittery and doesn't appear to have very good coverage, though it also isn't outrageously dark. I can see myself using this on top of my base foundation/BB cream for extra glow or as a highlighter.

The pillow pack also contained theBalm Stainiac sample in the shade Beauty Queen.

This is the one sample I chose to have in my box, since I am intrigued by products you can use both on the lips and cheeks. I also like stains because I prefer not to reapply any of my makeup during the day. The color is a very mild pinkish color, which turns out to be a "my lips but better" sort of shade on me. I wore it one day to work as a lip stain and it survived until around lunch time, when it started to fade. The application was a little patchy, but I could chalk that up to my own skills. I have not had the courage to try it on my cheeks yet as it seems like it would leave little room for mistakes.

I took a picture of swatches of theBalm Stainiac and the Marcelle BB Cream on my arm, as well as theBalm Stainiac applied onto my lips.

I did enjoy most of the products in this box, and the rewards program is hard to beat, so I think I will be sticking with Birchbox for now. I received a coupon code for my 3 box anniversary, and I have racked up about 200 points, so I think it's time to do a little shopping!