Birchbox for CEW

I made a post recently about some special edition boxes that Birchbox put out in collaboration with CEW, the Cosmetic Executive Women, Insiders' Beauty Awards of 2013.

I decided that since I either own or have tried that majority of the Prestige box (still available for $18), I should go for the Mass Appeal collection (currently sold out).

This cost $12 and arrived today!  I love that Birchbox is able to ship my orders so fast.  It was just what I needed after a tough work day.

First look! It came in a normal pink Birchbox shipping box, but since I ordered other products, that pink box was within yet another box.  Boxception.

Info card

The inside of the box isn't printed, like the July Suits edition was, but the top has a nice chevron print.

First look... the Olay treatment was hiding

Here it is!

The item I was most excited about was the Infallible eye shadow from L'Oreal...until I opened the box.  I received a reddish-purple color called, "Glistening Garnet", however it looked much better once I swatched it.  I don't normally wear reds or pinks near my eyes because I'm so fair and I feel like it makes me look like I have conjunctivitis.  For this reason, I do not have a lot of pink or red eye shadows (except the random ones sent in sub boxes) and this is totally different from everything I have in my collection.

L'Oreal Infallible in 557 (Glistening Garnet).  This is the bottom of the container.

Image from drugstore.com

Full size, approximate retail $7.99 but I'm sure there are all kinds of coupons out there, as well as pharmacy reward deals.

It comes with a little plastic damper?  Is that the right word? It seems like you pack down the powder with it.  IDK.  I used it to smear some of the shadow on my hand.

 If you look at the bigger size of the swatch picture, you can see that there is definitely some multidimensional shimmer to the product, which makes it swing more to the purple side of things, thus making it infinitely more wearable.  I'll have to give it a try.

Nivea Olive Oil and Lemon Moisture Rich Lip Care

Image from Drugstore.com

Full size, approximate retail value $2.99. You can never have enough chapsticks or lip balms or moisturizing lip treatments, or whatever you want to call the gunk you smear all over your kisser.  I don't really want to open this until I have to, or until I lose all of the currently open lip products I'm using.

Olay Professional Pro-X Even Skin Tone Spot Fading Treatment

Image from Drugstore.com

This retails for about $32.99 for 40 mL.  The sample size is 7 mL, an approximate value of $5.77.  It is certainly a large enough sample for me to tell if I like the product or not!  Do freckles count as dark spots?  I have too many!  Damn you, Irish/Scottish heritage! Damn you, sun!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 040 (Rendezvous)

Image from Drugstore.com

This is also full-sized and retails for about $8.99, but again, there are always sales and coupons.  

I LOVE THESE LIP BALM STAINS.  I have 4 of them, including this color, so now I have a duplicate.  Or a gift for someone because everybody should know how awesome these crayons are.  They twist up- no sharpening needed, smell a little minty (but not overpowering), and the stain lasts a long time and wears evenly.  There is no gross stain ring around the edges of your lips at the end of the day.  Depending on how hard you press, you can get anywhere from a light wash of a pretty, warm pink color to a deep, intense orange out of this particular shade.  It's amazing.  Seriously.  This is one of the reasons I ordered the Mass Appeal box- so I could get one of these for cheaper than I could even with coupons and on sale!

Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-On

Image from Drugstore.com

This is another full-size product, which retails for about $10.99.  It has a cooling metal roller-ball, and I bet this would be awesome if you kept it in the fridge and used it in the morning to deflate any under-eye puffiness.  It felt nice when I applied it, but I'm sure that's mostly due to the cold metal ball and less due to the generic ingredients in this product.  Either way, it feels nice and can't do much harm.

Burt's Bees Ultimate Care Hand Cream

Image from Drugstore.com

The full-sized hand cream retails for about $12.99 for 90g.  This 50g sample has a value of about $7.22 and is slightly more than half the full size!  I think that Burt's Bees makes some great products, and this hand cream is no exception.  It came sealed within the tube, which always makes me happy, and it smells wonderful without any added fragrance.  It's nice and thick and will be perfect in the winter when my hands dry out from the cold and from washing them so many times a day.  I'm bringing this to work in the morning and I'm going to toss the old hand cream that's on my desk because it's from about 5 years ago and smells bad.  I didn't want to buy another one when I wasn't finished, but now I don't have to ;)

The overall value of the products included in the Birchbox & CEW Mass Appeal Box is approximately $43.95.  Because these are all products readily available in drugstores like CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens, that is the highest price you should expect to pay for everything combined.  Store specials and newspaper and online coupons will get you most of these products for a few dollars less than I listed.  It was still a great deal at $12, and an even better deal because I paid for it with my Birchbox points!


If you are not signed up for Birchbox and would like to join, here is my referral link.  In the name of disclosure, I will get 50 BB points after your first month.  BB costs $10/month, including shipping, and will send 4-6 sample and full-sized products to you.  You can then review the products you received and earn 10 points each.  Every 100 points gives you $10 to spend on full-sized products in their shop.  It is one of the best values out there!

This post contains products that I purchased with my money.  No compensation was received for this post and all opinions are my own.  This post also contains a referral link.  I will earn 50 BB points for every person who subscribes using my unique code.