Birchbox Unboxing! (February 2015)

Hello Everyone!

 Today I received my very first Birchbox, which I have been super excited about for weeks and I am so happy to share it with you!

In case you don't know what Birchbox is, it is a monthly subscription service that allows you to sample 4-6 beauty products each month for $10! This box tries to do higher-end make-up product samples so you can try before you buy, and they also work with newer brands so you can try out products that are new to the market.

One of the things I thought was the most awesome about Birchbox is the ability to earn points for your reviews of products. Each product review is 10 points and you usually get 5 products so you can get 50 points, 100 points equals $10 in their online store, so you have the potential to earn back half of your money each month!!!

So, this is how my first box looked for February 2015:

BirchBox

As you can see it came in a beautiful pink box with pretty blue tissue paper (I really appreciate packaging and presentation) as well as a card which details each product, it's price in the full version, and how to use it. The card also told me the theme for this months box was friendship and I got a card with a coupon code on it, along with my five samples. I will be providing the approximate values of each item, which I have calculated by comparing the birchbox site's price to the amount I received.

*My coupon code is for a FREE deluxe mini The Porefessional Primer from Benefit Cosmetics with any full sized benefit purchase on https://www.birchbox.com, valid 2/9-2/26, feel free to use the code, BENEFITGIFT. Just to be clear I think you do need an account to purchase from their site, but I don't think you have to have a subscription, could be wrong though. *

My first item was: 

Hello by Harvey Prince-  $1.50

While researching Birchbox before subscribing I saw that LOTS of people get this sample. This is a fragrance by Harvey Prince and the full size retails for $55. It came in a small spritz bottle with really cute packaging and actually has a pretty nice scent. It is supposed to have citrus notes (meyer lemon, mandarin, and grapefruit) as well as floral (forsythia and plumeria). I can definitely smell the citrus and florals mixing and it is nice, but smells a bit too much like rubbing alcohol for my tastes. I will use this though!

Super Comb Prep and Protect by No. 4- approx. $4

My next sample is a hair care product from a company that I have never heard of, but I am very interested to try this product. It is a sulfate-free (which I am pretty conscious of because I have very fine hair) leave-in conditioning spray. Though I am pretty psyched to try this out, I will say that the smell isan't the best. Oddly, it almost smells like a chemically version of berry flavored poptarts? The full size of this is retails for $32 (6.7 fl. oz.) on the birch box site, but mine is a 1 fl.oz. bottle. 

Color Contrast Eyeliner by Sumita- $3

This liner is in the shade Raina, but its essentially navy blue. I do really like the color, but after letting the test swatch sit on my hand a few minutes I noticed that it dried very waxy and almost looks like crayon. I personally really enjoy colors like this, but I know a lot of older people would not appreciate getting a color like this in their box. The full sized liner retails for $11-$21, I am assuming the gap is dependent on the size? But mine was a veryyyy small sample, (though it looks big in the box) it is actually only .024 oz. I am not super impressed by this product, but I will certainly give it a try. 

Creamy Lip Stain by Cynthia Rowley Beauty- $3-$4

I really love the color if this stain that I received, it is called Heart Throb. Unfortunatly, even though they advertise it as "long-wearing", mine wore off within an hour or so! Definitely not worth the $20 price tag of the full size, but fun as a sample! Guess I might wear this for a casual date and make sure to re-apply a few times. I would also like to note that it doesn't taste very great, but the packaging is super cute, and it's not a sticky gloss! 

Spa Therapy Body Lotion by Gilchrist & Soames- $2.50

The last, and most disappointing of all of my samples, was this body lotion. For some reason, the full size of this lotion retails for $15. It is paraben free and has marine extracts, but the smell is just.... ugh. Not horrible, but not pleasant. The scent is supposed to be Relaxing Sea Fennel...., who thinks, I really wish I smelled like sea fennel, that would be so relaxing. This is the type of lotion you would get for free in a hotel and almost take home with you, until you smell it and realize that it sucks and there's no reason to keep it. Of course, this is the largest/ most generously sized sample in my box. Alas, I may use this as a moister for dry skin at night so I won't have to smell it, I am not someone who likes to waste money!

All in all, I am not super over-the-moon about my birch box. It was fun to get it in the mail, and I am excited to try out some of my products, so for now I will continue with my subscription (though I am eyeing BoxyCharm)! The total approximate value of my box was between $14-$15, which is more than I paid for it, so I am pretty happy! Looking forward to my next Birchbox. Later this week I should be receiving my Love with Food box which I will be sharing as well! 

Let me know what you think about Birchbox! What did you think of your box this month? How long have you been subscribing? If you haven't already, are you considering subscribing?