Birchbox November 2013 Review

Birchbox November 2013 Women's Box

I didn't even get a shipping notice for this month and my box arrived! Normally it doesn't come until well after they post online, so it's not a surprise.  This was!  Go me! Spoiler-free for the first time in months.

Birchbox November 2013: "More Good"

First item:

Eyeko Black Magic Mascara, 4 mL (0.13 fl.oz.)

Eyeko Black Magic Mascara

This is supposed to add curl and volume and has shea butter and keratin.  The brush seems very soft and full and is curved, so I think it will help keep lashes separated and more lush than some other mascaras I've used in the past.  The full size is 0.29 fl.oz. and sells for $24, making this sample worth $10.76.  I like the other Eyeko products I've tried, so I think I'll like this- especially if the brush works as well as I hope!

Next, I was sent Ayres Body Butter in Midnight Tango.

Ayres Body Butter in Midnight Tango

This smells like orange blossom and vanilla, a combination that reminds me of Valencia.  If I close my eyes, I am back there, walking down streets lined with blossoming orange trees.  Sigh.  The texture is rich and creamy, but not whipped like many body butters.  It's like the texture of a thin cookie icing, instead of the texture of the batter.  I wouldn't call it a body butter, but it is very nice.  

I appreciate the fact that they use high quality ingredients such as shea butter, coconut oil, and apricot kerneal oil.  They could have cheaped out and used mineral oil and water, but they didn't.

I was sent a 1 oz sample and the full size (6.75 oz) sells for $28, so mine is worth $4.15.

I had a dreaded fragrance sample this month, but I guess I can't complain, since this is only the third one I've gotten in 2013 (January, July, and November).  This one is Folle de Joie and smells citrusy and woodsy, and light on the floral.  I appreciate the lack of heavy florals, this is a scent I could see myself wearing this winter.  

Folle de Joie Perfume

At $98 for 3.4 fl.oz. it is about the same price as most other perfumes.  The 0.06 fl.oz. sample is worth $1.74.

I have two products from Wei: Pomegranate buffing beads and Golden Root purifying mud mask.

Wei Buffing Beads package

The pomegranate buffing beads are dry exfoliants that you mix with your favorite face wash to turn it into a scrub.  The ingredients include pomegranate peel and probably some kind of polymer microbead to scrub and polish.  Each packet is 0.5g and BB sent two.

I like this idea, even if it seems kind of wasteful.  I can imagine that if you really really like a particular face wash and have skin problems whenever you switch, this would be a way to incorporate an exfoliant into your routine without risking a reaction to a new product.  

20 packets sell for $20, so this is nice and easy math!  My sample is worth $2.

The second Wei product is a little pot of mud mask.  The full-size, $42, is 8 pots and a brush so that you can apply a nice even layer of product on your face.  Golden root, rhodiola rosea, is a type of succulent and has been used in many cultures as a natural anti-depressant.  I doubt rubbing it on your skin will help at all, but it's a nice thought.  

Wei Golden Root Face Mask

My single pod is worth about $4, assuming the brush would sell for about $10.  That seems pretty high to me!  I remember seeing that some people get more than one application out of a single pod, which would bring it into a more reasonable price-per-use territory.

The last item this month was a chocolate-covered pretzel that was sprinkled with toasted coconut from Fatty Sundays.  The other available flavors include smooth mint and toffee crunch.  I wish there was more of this!  I got one bite and my boyfriend got one bite and it was amazing.  So good!  I'm going to have to start dipping my chocolate-coated pretzels in toasted coconut for the holidays, because this combination of salty and sweet and nutty was incredible.

Heaven in pretzel form.  Buy these.  Seriously.

I want to order EVERYTHING from their website.  Like, now.  Mmmm.  They sell five full-sized dipped pretzel rods for $6.95.  There wasn't a weight on this package, but I'll estimate it was 1/8 the size of a full pretzel, making it worth about $0.17.  Doesn't matter; was delicious.

All together, this was a weird box.  I like everything, but I don't really love anything (besides the pretzel that is long gone and the wrapper that I've licked clean and may or may not be sniffing trying to get some kind of pretzel high).  I'm not big on face masks and I have quite a few to use up before I get to this one.  The lotion and perfume smell nice, but I'm not tempted to get a full size.  Same with the buffing beads- interesting concept, but not something I'll purchase.  I get a lot of face scrubs from my sub boxes!  The mascara sample is nice, but I have soooo many to use up.  This will be my next one, though!  The brush looks amazing.

November Birchbox Goodies

All together, this month's Birchbox had a value of $22.82.  Not the highest value, but definitely worth more than I paid.

Birchbox costs $10 a month, including shipping, and will send you 4-6 deluxe and full-sized items.  BB also gives you 10 points for each item that you review.  So, with 6 items, I will get 60 review points.  Every 100 points gets you $10 to spend in the Birchbox shop.  It's a really nice system, and one of the best reward systems out there for a sub box!  If you are interested in signing up, please use my link here.  I will get BB points if you use my link.  If you use code HOLIDAY100 and buy a 3, 6, or 12-month gift subscription, you will get an extra 100 points ($10) to spend!

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.  This post contains a referral link; details are above.