Birchbox Review, January 2014

Birchbox January 2014 Review

Birchbox was so early this year that my online profile hadn't updated with my box items when this arrived.  I'm not complaining, I get the box early and I don't spoil it for myself! Win-win.

Birchbox January 2014: Go Time

The box felt pretty full, which made me excited.

First Look... is that a hairspray? womp womp

I was slightly miffed to see an aerosol container, thinking it was another hairspray.  I don't like hairspray.  However, the actual product was much more interesting.  Read on...

Birchbox Finds: Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion with Clary Sage

Every so often, BB will include a drugstore product in that month's box.  These "don't take the place of regular samples" but sometimes they seem to.  I don't mind, as BB tends to send products that are really nice, and generally are something I wouldn't spend money on.

This face lotion by Burt's Bees lives up to the company's reputation.  It's a nice facial lotion that absorbed quickly.  I'm not sure if there is enough in the 7g sample to decide if it really does reduce visible signs of aging like lines and wrinkles, but I don't really believe any products actually do that anyway.  It has a moderately strong scent that might not appeal to everyone, but I don't mind it.

Sample size is 7g, and the full size (50g) is $18.  The sample is worth $2.52.

Harvey Prince Journey

Although I normally hate perfume samples, and I have my BB profile set to send me the minimal number per year, I wasn't sorry to see a new Harvey Prince scent included this month.  I bought a full size of their Ageless perfume after getting a sample in BB, and I have liked another scent, Hello, after trying that one.  This isn't my favorite of the three, though.  It smells like orange and grape candy.  Mixed together.  It's super sweet and fruity, and though there are other exotic notes listed, all I smell are orange and grape.  Eh.  

Full size is $55 for 50 mL, and the sample is about 1.5 mL, making it worth $1.65.

Serge Normant Meta Revive Dry Conditioner

Ahh... the non-hairspray.  It's actually a dry conditioner.  What?  I have dry shampoos, and I actually like one or two of them, but I've never heard of a dry conditioner.  I suppose it makes sense.  The bottle says to use it on the mid-to-ends section of hair after dry shampoo.  I did, and it made my hair soft and added a fresh, but not overpowering, scent.  I like this idea, especially if I have straightened or curled my hair and don't want to add in a water-based product (hi, frizz), but still want to condition.  

Nice.  This is what BB should be about: introducing people to new and interesting products that they might not hear of otherwise.

Full size is 3.2 oz for $25, and this 1.2 oz sample is worth $9.38.

Inikia Mineral Eyeshadow in Eternal Marine

Next up is a mineral eyeshadow by Inika.  Eternal Marine is a gray-based shadow with muted green and blue tones on top.  It's really pretty, and will definitely need a primer.

Eternal Marine swatched once over bare skin

This is a nice change of pace from the weird mineral shadow colors I've gotten in sub boxes.  This is a very wearable shade that will look nice with every eye color.

This is full sized, 1.2g, and sells for $20 on the BB site.

Nail Rock Nail Velvet in Navy

Last up is something that I couldn't believe BB sent!  It's a nail velvet set from Nail Rock, which includes a polish and a velvet flocking powder for on top of the polish.

Nail Rock Polish and Velvet Powder

I did a quick test of the set, since I've never done a velvet mani before.  I had on 2 coats of Julep Lucy, so I just added one coat of Navy polish on top (good coverage!) and dipped my finger in the little pot of velvet powder.  I used a finger of my other hand to tap off some of the excess (tapping the knuckle, not the nail) and let it dry.  I've seen some people repeat this process (polish, then powder, then let dry) twice, and I think that would be a good strategy.  I didn't get full powder coverage on my nail from just one dip in the powder.

Nail Rock Velvet Mani on ring finger

This is an interesting look, it's fuzzy!  

The sets sell for $4.99 at Urban Outfitters.

All together!

Total Value $38.64

This was a great start to the year.  I'm not crazy about the perfume scent, but it was from a brand I like.  The eyeshadow is beautiful, the nail kit is perfect for me, the dry conditioner is unique, and the face lotion is a decent find.  Add that onto the $5 credit I'll get for reviewing these products on the BB site, and this was an awesome box.

Birchbox costs $10 per month and sends you 4-6 samples of higher-end skin, hair, and makeup products.  Each product you review gets you 10 BB points, and every 100 points can be redeemed for $10 credit to the site.  This is one of the best deals out there when points are incorporated. If you want to try it out, please use my link here.  I'll get 50 BB points.

All items in this post were purchased by me.  All thoughts and opinions are my own, and no special credit or compensation was received.  This post contains a referral link; see above for details.

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.

Birchbox Limited Edition Boxes

Birchbox has just put out two new limited edition boxes in conjunction with the Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) Beauty Insiders' Choice Awards.

The first box is the Prestige Headliners box for $18.

Photo from Birchbox

The contents are:
Julep Nail Polish (one of my favorite brands)
Julep Essential Cuticle Oil (smells like lavender)
Living Proof Prime Style Extender (this stuff is awesome)
IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Brow Pencil
LA Fresh Eco-Beauty Oil-Free Face Cleanser Wipes
Elizabeth Arden Prevage Anti-Aging Triple Defense Shield Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 50


The other box is the Mass Appeal box for $12.

Photo from Birchbox

This is the box I bought.  It contains:

Burt's Bees Ultimate Care Hand Cream 

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (I have 4 of these and can't get enough! Best drugstore lip product I've ever tried!)

Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-On

L'Oreal Paris Infallible Eyeshadow

Nivea a Kiss of Olive Oil and Lemon Moisture Rich Lip Care

Olay Pro-X Spot Fading Treatment

I have enough Julep polishes and cuticle oil, and already have the living proof product, so I wasn't really interested in buying that box.  The one with the drugstore products, however, I was all about!

If you buy both, you get a $4 discount, bringing the total to $26 for all of the above products.


I had some BB points to spend, so I picked up theBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer since I've heard great things.


If you are not yet a member, you can use my referral code.  It won't get you anything extra, but here are some codes that will:
For free shipping use code BBSHOP
For 15% off a $35 order, use code 7TEEN15

You can only apply one code at a time, so I opted to save 15% (theBalm is shipping free this month) instead of applying it toward a bonus sample-sized product.

Are you getting either box?  I can never seem to resist ;)

Disclaimer: This post contains a referral link.  If you become a Birchbox subscriber using my link, I will receive 50 BB Points at the end of your first month.  All reviews and opinions in this post are my own and no compensation was received for it.