Retrospective: Birchbox December 2012

See my first Retrospective for the answers to the quiz that I used.

December 2012: Month 10

Juicy Couture Perfume
Photo by Birchbox

Yeah.  It's another Juicy perfume.  Ho hum.  It's pretty floral and a little too heavy for me.  That's all I got.

Full size $90 for 3.4 oz.  1.5 mL sample value $1.35

Mox Botanicals Lip Butter in Pomegranate & Fig
Photo by Birchbox

I really wish this hadn't been in my pocket when I put my pants through the wash! The one use I got out of it was really nice, and the scent was unusual, but great.  Oh well.

Full size $16 for 0.2 oz, they sent a half size (0.1 oz), worth $8.

Number 4 Clarifying Shampoo
Photo by Birchbox

This is an awesome sulfate-free clarifying shampoo.  It smells GREAT and makes my hair super-clean.  I highly recommend it.  I'm thankful BB sent such a large sample!  I bring it with me when I travel and it makes my vacations that much more special.

Full size $32 for 250 mL, sample size 52 mL for $6.66

theBalm Cosmetics Hot Mama
Photo by Birchbox

This is my new favorite blush for summer! It is the perfect color, and has a hint of shimmer.  In fact, I was doing a friend's makeup for a fancy event and she asked if I could use "whatever made [me] look so glowy on [her]".  Good complement for a great product!  When I use this up, I'm definitely buying the full version!

Full size $20 for 7.08 grams, sample is 1g for $2.82

Tweezerman Filemate
Photo by Birchbox

It's a nail file.  It files my nails.  I wouldn't buy it for $5, but I'll take it if they send it for free!  At least it is a cute pattern.  I think I ended up giving this away in a gift with some polish.

This is full size and Birchbox sells it for $5


Total Value $23.83

Two of the five products were awesome! the others are a little mediocre, but that's what you get with BB sometimes.  Hot Mama totally makes this box worth it!


Birchbox costs $10/month, including shipping and sends you a box of 4-6 samples and sometimes full-sized products.  You can review the products you receive for 10 Birchbox points each.  For every $1 you spend in the BB shop, you also receive 1 BB point.  For every 100 BB points you accumulate, you get $10 to spend in their shop.  If you would like to sign up, my link is here and I will earn 50 BB points at the end of your first month.

This post contains products I purchased with my own money.  No compensation was received for this post and all opinions are my own.  This post contains a referral link, see above for details.

Retrospective: Birchbox August 2012

See my first Retrospective for the answers to the quiz that I used.

August 2012: Month 6

Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy La Fleur
Photo from Birchbox

Ho hum, another perfume sample.  I think through BB I have every variation of perfume that Juicy Couture makes.  They all smell the same to me.  Young, light, fresh, and not for me. Too floral.  Meh.  I'll give this another try if I ever pull it out of my jar-of-perfume-samples.

Full size $70 for 2.5 oz.  Sample value (1.5 mL estimate) $1.42.

Miss Jessie's Original Stretch Silkening Creme
Photo from Birchbox

Yes, I have very curly hair.  No, this did not work for me.  I don't like the texture, I don't like the smell, and I don't like the way it made my hair look.  It just wasn't for me.  I tried another Miss Jessie's product recently and liked that one even less!  

Full size $22 for 8 oz.  Sample size was 2 ounces wasted on me for a value of $5.50.

Pixi Beauty Lip & Line in Orchid Rose
Photo from Blush.com since BB doesn't offer this color

See that color? That color is unwearable by someone as pale as me.  That color is especially unwearable in AUGUST when dark, vampy lips are not in style.  I love the idea, and it went on so nicely, I just wish I had gotten a different color!  Maybe I can work it this winter.  Probably not.

This is full-sized, and valued at $18.  Unfortunately, it is just sitting in my give-away pile unless I get courageous.

Schick Hydro Silk Razor
Photo from Birchbox

Birchbox started something called "Birchbox Finds" where they send you drug-store products and tell you how great they are.  You don't have to tell me how great this razor is, I had been using it already!  Thanks for the spare, though, these things can get expensive (that's what coupons are for!).  Some people were a little miffed at this, but a razor is a razor and I have some legs to shave!

Full-size, value approximately $9.99

Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream
Photo from Birchbox

The final product was a sample of this cream, which smells heavily of camphor.  It's not everyone's cup of tea, but there is something about a medicinal scent that makes me think the product is working that much harder.  It was a nice sample and I wish I hadn't lost it.  It was good for little patches of dry winter skin.  I tried it on my lips a couple times, but didn't like its texture on my lips, or the camphor smell so close to my nose.

Full size $16 for 1.25 oz.  Sample size was 0.1 oz, value $1.28

Total Value $36.19, but half is a full-size lip product that is totally wrong for me.

Besides the awful hair cream, I was so disappointed in the lipliner/lipstick combo from Pixi.  I had really hoped that I could make the color work, but there is no way that is happening.  Any other color would have been great, but they sent the darkest one they possibly could have.





Birchbox costs $10/month, including shipping and sends you a box of 4-6 samples and sometimes full-sized products.  You can review the products you receive for 10 Birchbox points each.  For every $1 you spend in the BB shop, you also receive 1 BB point.  For every 100 BB points you accumulate, you get $10 to spend in their shop.  If you would like to sign up, my link is here and I will earn 50 BB points at the end of your first month.

This post contains products I purchased with my own money.  No compensation was received for this post and all opinions are my own.  This post contains a referral link, see above for details.

Birchbox July 2013

Am I supposed to know what "Suits" is? A *show* picked out a face cream? huh? Birchbox teamed up with the USA network show, "Suits" this month to bring us a new box of perfectly adequate samples.

July 2013 Birchbox, Suits Edition

Anything look familiar? How about this... 

photo from Birchbox

Yeah. I got the same sample in my November 2012 box. However, when I went to my Birchbox box history to confirm this, I saw that they had already realized the error of their ways and had credited me with 100 extra points. Way to be on top of your game, BB! I'm impressed. Fortunately, this is a decent hair product for me and I was tempted to buy the full size after using up my first sample of it. Have you seen my hair? It's curly. It likes products like this. 

I'm all set on face creams for the rest of my life.

This was the Suits pick, and it is Benta Berry G-1 Moisturizing Face Cream. It smells light and a little flowery and seems like every other face lotion I haven't heard of but will slather on my face anyway. Again, I don't break out easily and don't have any kind of dry or oily skin issues. This will be fine for me. 

Their cute design is their only redeeming feature.

These are big and got stuck in my hair and I don't like them. 

Party proof? Halloween party, maybe!

I was really excited to see this lipstick in my box. However, it is in the color "Get Naked" which makes it look like I don't have lips at all. If this was another color, I would be in love! It smells like strawberries and goes on really smoothly. It doesn't dry my lips out, though it accentuates the creases and dry patches a bit. It's too bad about the color choice for my particular complexion. 

Where did my lips go??

I also got a spritzy sample bottle of Juicy Couture's Couture La La. It smells like every other Juicy sample I've gotten. I have a pretty bad nose for scents, so it takes something unusual for me to notice it. Couture La La is a little floral and a little fruity and pretty blah for me. According to my boyfriend, "it doesn't smell like much of anything. Nothing stands out." I hate getting perfume samples, but this was my first one in a few months, so I can't complain too much. 

Here is a summary of the value of my July box: 

Curl Keeper, 30 mL: $3 value. (Full size $10/100 mL) 

Moisturizer, 5 mL: $3.67 value (Full size $22/30 mL) 

Bobby Pins, 2: $1.67 ($5/6) 

Lipstick, 3.8g: (Full size) $8 as part of Birchbox's set of 3 for $24. From ModelCo site: $16.95 

Couture La La sample, 1.5 mL: $1.35 ($90/100 mL) 

Total value: $17.69 (low end) or $26.64 (high end) depending on how you value the lipstick.

I will also get 40 points for reviews (can't review the curl keeper a second time) and the extra 100 points for the duplicate. This adds $14 to my total. Considering I only pay $10/month for this service, I think it's a great deal. Have I had better boxes? Yes. But, I can use the points toward something I love instead of something I just want to use up. 

Here is my referral link, if you would like to sign up.

This post contains products purchased by me through Birchbox.  All opinions are my own.  This post also contains a referral link; I will receive 50 points for every person who subscribes to Birchbox by clicking my link.