Unboxing And Reviewing My March Birchbox…

Oh dear. Oh dearie dearie me. I’m so so disappointed by this box I really am. The last one gave me a light feeling of disappointment but I thought that I would give it a second chance. I can honestly say that I wish that I had saved my ten pounds. It was shit.

The outside box was it’s only redeeming feature. It was a lovely blue colour and had a mandala on the top of the box. I loved that and will be keeping the box to use for storage.

The first item that I found was the free item from last month, that we had to choose. A peel off blaq mask or a set of eye bag rest on face masks. I chose the blaq eye masks. Not only did I feel like I had a used fucking condom under each eye, I had an allergic reaction to them. Not a happy bunny Birchbox. #epicfail

Then came the other products. A trial size spray from a company called Thisworks. It is a deep sleep pillow spray. It is simply sprayed onto your pillow at night and it smells of gorgeous lavender which is one of the best known essential oils to help you get to sleep. I wouldn’t invest in a plastic bottle of this overpriced stuff though. Much cheaper to get yourself a bottle of lavender essential oil and pop a couple of drops of that on your pillow instead.

The next item was a sample size of Benefit’s Bad Girl BANG mascara. It was ok, but I honestly prefer the Wunder2 mascara. That really does give a longer lash effect. Sorry Benefit.

Next comes “Beauty Protector” Protect and Volumise hair spray. Now I don’t use products like this on my hair as my hair is very long and spends its life in a plait. However, the friend that I gave it to said that it smelled ok but she really wouldn’t buy it again as there are cheaper products out there that do the same job.

Next product was a full sized Laqa and Co pale pink blush highlighter. I popped a bit on the back of my hand but you can barely see the product on the skin. I’m not a puce pink kind of girl and I prefer powders to cremes. Sorry.

I will give this box a 1 out of ten and say that I was so bitterly disappointed by the box that my subscription has been cancelled. Sorry Birchbox.

Be kind to eachother.x

Unboxing and Review of My First Birchbox – February ’18…

So here I am again with another subscription box. This one is on a totally different theme than my Blurt Buddy Box. It is a cosmetics subscription box, although one could argue that beauty products are also very much a part of self care and feeling good.

Why have I got a Birchbox?

Yet again, the lovely Jenna is to blame! 🤣🤣🤣 Blame her! I watched her vlog on YouTube and instantly decided that I wanted one, so I went online and hey presto!

Why am I writing a blog and not recording a vlog? Well, I am terrified of speaking when I think strangers might laugh at my voice (long story) and I have zero self confidence about my looks. So a blog it is my fine people!

I also need to stress at this point that I did not receive my Birchbox for free. It was paid for out of my own money.

What happens with Birchbox?

Like any other subscription box, you go online, then select the subscription plan you want or just by a one off box. Now in order to find out more, this is the website that you need to go to…

https://www.birchbox.co.uk

All of the information on what you need to do is on there. Once you sign up, you do need to answer a few questions about your beauty needs and preferences so that they can tailor your box to best suit your needs. Also, this month, you are invited to choose the theme of your actual box that your goodies arrive in. This months’ choice was 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. No brainer for me. I did my major growing up and my discovery of cosmetics in the 80’s so 80’s box it was.

What does it look like?

There is an outer cardboard sleeve to protect the box, with only minimal tape on (huge win there!) which can be recycled. The actual box itself is really snazzy, I love it. As you can see from my picture, there are a multitude of pinks, greens and blacks all over the box and it looks really good. The box itself is sturdy and can easily be upcycled or recycled. Bonus!

What’s in the box then?

There is a really yummy smell as I opened the box… coconut! Another one of mr favourite smells, that I didn’t mention in my last blog. I went on the hunt for the source of the smell and found it really quickly. It is a 30ml tube of LUSETA coconut milk hair mask that moisturises and nourishes your hair. It smells so good, I may have to get more of this one! A full sized pot of this is £32 so yes it is expensive but worth every penny!

Another hair related product in the box. Percy & Reed (London) hair finishing polish 30ml tube. You need only a pea sized amount to rub through your hair and it gives a style with definition and hold. The RRP is £10 so it looks like it should last a good while.

My favourite product out of the whole box is next. A full sized (50ml) tube of COWSHED moisturising hand creme. Now I’m at the age (45) where my collagen is going “See ya later alligator” but of course it never comes back. Asshole. Collagen is definitely off the christmas card list for sure! This hand creme is quite heavily perfumed but it is a nice smell. You only need a tiny amount and the stuff seems to spread for miles which makes it not only a pleasant but value for money item as it will last for ages. The RRP is £8 so well worth it. I’d definitely buy it again!

Next comes a gorgeous full sized trio of eyeshadows called In Love You So Latte. As you can see from the pallet photo, there are three dark brown/gold shades, which are my favourite colours! They apparently contain coffee extracts which help to brighten the eye. Bonus! I’ve done a swatch of each of the three colours on the back of my hand so you can get a better peep at what they look like on skin. They are really smooth and glide into the skin so easily. With a bargain RRP of just £7, I would definitely get this again!

Next comes a full sized Lord & Berry full sized concealer pencil in beige. It is a Birchbox exclusive. It works on blemishes and dark circles under your eyes. This is a major thing for me as I look like a freakin’ panda with my black eye circles! You just apply the pencil where you need it and blend in with your fingers. It has an RRP of £12 and yes, I would definitely consider buying this again! The photo underneath this first one is a swatch of the concealer on my thumb. It’s really pale and difficult to see wither this camera. I did my best with it.

I also got an epic free gift!!! I mean who doesn’t like free stuff right? It is a full sized Smith & Cult “Diary of a Beauty Junkie” The Shining lip lacquer or lip gloss as we call it in this house.

;-p It is a gorgeous pale pink colour and doesn’t fall down like some lip glosses do by being too sticky/tacky. It doesn’t tell me the RRP for this product, but hey, it was freeeeeeeee!

There is also a voucher to get some free retro photo prints. This is one thing I won’t be making any use of. As I mentioned before, I’ve got major self confidence issues and hate having my photo taken full stop.

If you subscribe, you get to make certain choices about your box. In March it is either a free BLAQ eye mask or peel off face mask. I’m thinking of the eye mask. Them thar panda eyes won’t shift themselves! 😜😜😜

Well my lovelies, that is pretty much it for this month’s subscription box. So when March’s Birchbox arrives I shall be back with a post to review it. But I’ll be back with other posts on a plethora of other things between now and then. Be kind to yourselves! See you soon!x