Birchbox's theme this month was "Rainy Days", and it took extra long to get to me! I normally have my box before the site updates, so it is usually a surprise. Not this month! I got my box later than usual, so I knew what to expect.
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| First Look |
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| My idea card was to "try new things like contouring or curling your hair". I do both of those already, try again. |
Shea Terra Organics Rose Hips Black Soap Deep Pore Facial Cleanser
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| Shea Terra Organics Rose Hips Black Soap |
This soap is supposed to fight blemishes and signs of aging. You apply it, let it sit for a few minutes, and then rinse it off. I have used it twice so far, and it makes my skin feel very, very clean. Squeaky clean! But, not tight or dry. I find that really unusual; most of the extra-clean-feeling soaps leave me tight and dry, but this one leaves my skin soft and smooth. I like it! Plus, black soap is different from the soaps we are all familiar with. It is the ash of various plants (cocoa pods, etc) mixed with Shea butter and left to saponify in the sun. There aren't any unnatural ingredients in this.
Full size is $16 for 4 fl.oz., the 1 fl.oz. sample is worth $4.
Fekkai Technician Color Care Shampoo
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| Fekkai Color Care Shampoo |
I have not tried this. I probably won't. Why? Because it is sulfate-based. I find it highly discouraging that a shampoo designed for colored hair would contain SLS! Yeah, yeah, it smells great and leaves your hair soft (according to the reviews)... but seriously? Sulfates? I don't care how lathery my shampoo gets, I don't want to strip all the oils and color! Fekkai Fail.
$20 for 8 fl.oz., making the 2 fl.oz. sample worth $5.
Color Club Gala's Gem Collection in Gold Struck
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| Color Club in Gold Struck |
This is a very light pink, with a gold undertone. It's not very gold in and of itself, so I don't know why they named this "gold struck." The finish is pearly and reflective, bordering on metallic. I love the color and the idea of the finish... but it is a streaky, globby mess and I hate CC's formula to begin with. This polish is just terrible! I couldn't stand to wear it for more than a few hours.
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| Gross and streaky. Even the top coat didn't help much. |
$13 for the set of 4 colors from BB, making 1 polish (all minis, 0.25 fl.oz.) worth $3.25.
theBalm Cosmetics How 'Bout Them Apples? in Pie
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| How 'Bout Them Apples? |
This is a new product from theBalm, and it is cream-based lip and cheek stain. The full-sized kit comes with six colors, all with apple-themed names, in a palette.
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| Oh, hello. |
I got the color "pie" which is a bright pink, that blends out to a natural looking flush. It's not that bad. It is on the thinner, greasy side of things, but it isn't super drying like a lot of 2-in-1 products.
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| Pie on my lips... ...and contouring. See, BB? I'm way ahead of you. |
I like the convenience of this, and the little magnetic case it came in, so it will be good to keep in my purse for touch-ups. Not my favorite product, but it doesn't suck either.
The full size looks to be $32 for 20g (3 1/3 g per color), and the sample is not labelled with a mass. Judging from the size of the pans in the full palette, and the size of the sample, I would estimate 1g of product in the version BB sent, making it worth $1.60.
Kind Healthy Grain Bar in Maple Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt
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| Pie on my cheeks, too! I'm wearing the Porridge Duck-backed t-shirt from March Golden Tote :) |
The full size looks to be $32 for 20g (3 1/3 g per color), and the sample is not labelled with a mass. Judging from the size of the pans in the full palette, and the size of the sample, I would estimate 1g of product in the version BB sent, making it worth $1.60.
Kind Healthy Grain Bar in Maple Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt
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| Kind bar |
Oh, Birchbox. I would so much rather get a foil-packet-product than receive another granola/power/meal replacement bar. Kind is a good brand, and I will definitely eat this for breakfast at some point this week, but I don't subscribe to BB to try food. This is something I would normally pick up at the supermarket to try. What I like about BB is that they send new products from familiar brands, or small versions of expensive products that I normally wouldn't buy. This is not in line with their usual standard, and I get disappointed every time it happens.
This is worth about $0.79
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| Birchbox April 2014 All Together |
Total Value $14.64. After reviews, I got another $5 worth of point to spend in the BB shop. This isn't a very high value overall, but it is still worth more than the $10 I paid for it. I will eat the Kind bar, and I will use up the face soap. The theBalm product is ok, and I will keep it around. That's about it.
This was just a mediocre month for me. I've had worse, but there wasn't anything amazing in this batch of samples.
If you want to try out Birchbox, please use my link here. It costs $10 per month and your samples are personalized based on a quiz you fill out when you sign up. You will get 4-6 deluxe, and sometimes full-sized, items from skincare to hair products to makeup. Each item you receive, you can review for 10 BB points. Every 100 points gets you $10 to spend in the online BB shop! You also get 50 points for each referral.
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.
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