birchbox

Christmases are more about the kids nowadays that getting gifts myself. Pat and I stuff stockings for each other, but give nothing under the tree other than to the kids. Of course, you read earlier that I gifted myself a Stitch Fix box - but that's beside the point. One unexpected gift this Christmas was a year-long Birchbox subscription! It's very similar in concept to Stitch Fix, yet very different.

I'll let you read about the experience and figure the rest out for yourself ;)

My first box came and fit snugly in our mailbox:

I knew ahead of time from filling out the survey about myself that the box if filled with samples - so I'm not sure why I was surprised at the small size of the box.

Once opened, inside is another box. And I think I fell in love just with the actual box itself:

Inside was a book of stickers you could choose from the fill in the blank. The word I cam up with on my own was "energy", but then I put ALL the stickers all over the box because the words they came up with were equally as important.

Once the inner box was opened, you see this gloriousness:

...and a card looking like this...

...which would equate to Stitch Fix's style card. Kind of.

Unlike Stitch Fix, I don't go sample every product immediately. For example, one of the products is to be used on wet hair, so I waited until the next morning. Another is a sunscreen...which I probably won't try until Spring Break or even this summer. The eyeshadow stick I didn't try until I had an outfit that would match it.

Here are my thoughts:

amika - bombshell blowout spray - full size $24

This is the one you put on wet hair, starting at the roots and then spraying to the ends. Blow out your hair and POOF, it instantly volumizes and smoothes...well, not really. I could tell there was a slight amount of added volume. I am using it every day just to use it, and don't necessarily deem it $24 worthy. But it smells good!

Cargo - Swimmables Shadow Stick - Sunkissed - Full Size Trio $22

Waterproof and smudge proof eyeshadow/liner...I was a tad confused. It's huge, like the tip of the pencil is too wide to really be a liner in my opinion. Nor would I line my eyes in bronze. But to use it as an eyeshadow made me look a little crazy. It's more of a color you'd wear to bronze your face I think. Perhaps if it were in a typical eye shadow color I use I might like it? I don't know. I used it once and probably won't again.

Supergoop - Daily Correct SPF 40 CC Cream Fair/Light - Full Size $32

I know it says "daily" but my facial regimen already has SPF in it. So I'm thinking I probably won't try this until I'm at the beach this summer. I don't want to waste it during the winter, especially when I am indoors most of the day. But I'm not sold on spending $32 on sunscreen for my face either.

Vasanti - BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator - Full Size $34

So this is kind of like a Microderm product I think. A mask/scrub type thing. I already use something similar, and I like what I use. But I tried it and it smells nice and seems to "work" - I think I'd prefer it to be slightly thicker. Probably won't buy full size, but will definitely use the sample until it's gone.

Lastly,

Whish - Three Whishes Body Butter - Almond - Full Size $24

I LOVE THIS! It smells amazing, is the perfect thickness, and truly leaves my skin feeling buttery. I've been using Arbonne's hand cream for several years, and pay a good amount for it. I can't stand to have dry hands, and have always had a hard time keeping them from cracking in the winter. This body butter is a must-buy and will be replacing Arbonne's hand cream ONLY because of the smell - and maybe it's a few dollars cheaper :)

So after this super exciting box #1 experience, the very next day, box #2 arrives - I think they had a mix-up and were supposed to send one in December and another in January. They just happened to come on back to back days.

Next box:

I'm in love with their boxes! I'm going to keep them and use them to wrap presents.

Actually I think this box was supposed to be my December box because it showed that I'd been gifted the subscription and gave me a $10 gift certificate to use in their store.

Exciting :)

This box was slightly more successful for me.

Dr. Lipp - Miracle Balm - Full Size $17

Everyone in my family is dealing with chapped lips right now. Cold. Wind. Winter. I used this for the first time today - and it stayed on really well for a long time. Most of the time lip balms seem to "disappear" from my lips quickly. I felt like I didn't need to reapply this more than 3 times in one day. I'll want to completely use the tube before I decide to spend $17 on a full size balm. Which I can't imagine would be much bigger than this? It's good stuff though.

Eyeko - Fat Liquid Eyeliner - Full Size $16

If you know me, you know I'm a big fan of mascara. I've always used eyeliner pencils. Never tried liquid liner because I don't have the steadiest of hands and thought it would be a disaster. I tried this for the first time this morning getting ready for church. It was AH-MAY-ZING! Easy to apply, instant perfection. I'm buying it immediately.

Juliette Has a Gun - Not a Perfume - Full Size $90-$120

I'm sorry. Are you kidding me? $90-$120 for this? The smell was horrible.

Number 4 - Fluoro5 Elixer Restore & Repair Oil - Full Size $26

I tried this this morning instead of the other spray from the first box. Its purpose is "amazing shine". It definitely gives amazing shine without an oily look. However shine isn't important enough to me to spend $26. I'll probably still use the sample until it's done. If I bought a product like this it'd be the spray from box 1 because I think it made my hair shiny as well as slight volume.

Soap & Paper Factory - Shea Butter Hand Cream - Green Tea - Full Size $18

I'm glad I had another hand lotion to compare to the body butter from box 1. Really the only difference is I like the body butter's smell better (Almond). This one is still thick and leaves your skin  soft. Depends on which smell you prefer. Well, that and the body butter is $6 more. I'm still getting the body butter.

SO........

You can go online and review the products. For every review you get 10 points. For every 50 points, you get $5 credit to spend toward product. Reviewing all 10 products in these boxes gave me $10, then I had $10 from the gift car included in this box. So that's $20 toward the body butter and liquid liner that I can't live without. Pretty good! That means I'll pay a total of $20 for both full size products, which I think is a pretty sweet deal.

There is a way to gain referrals and earn 50 points (I get 50 points and you get 50 points) BUT you can't just click on a referral link like Stitch Fix. I have to send you an email with a referral and you only have 2 days to order a box in order for both of us to get the points. So whenever you're ready to try it, let me know and I'll send you a referral link.

And just so you know, I'm not a huge product junkie. If you are, this would be HUGELY ADDICTING. And for me not being a product junkie, this is just another fun box to look forward to every month...whether I like the product or not!

I'm so new to this I don't even know how much it costs to buy a box. I guess if you want to try it, you'll find out.