Birchbox - October

October's Birchbox theme was "Prep & Finish."  Since it's almost 2012, I thought perhaps I would "prep & finish" up my missing Birchbox posts for 2011!  Hooray for wanting to complete things!

The Lineup:

• Befine Lip Serum
• blinc Mascara
• Pangea Organics - Japanese Matcha Tea Facial Mask
• Orofluido Beauty Elixir

Bonus Treat:

• Tea Forte Minteas

The Winner
Without a doubt the Orofluido Beauty Elixir is the only thing really worth talking about from this box.  Here is Birchbox's description:

HOW IT WORKS
This serum relies on a triple-threat of standout oils: argan oil strengthens strands; linseed oil smoothes cuticles to leave hair shiny; and Cyperus oil fortifies and boosts manageability.


HOW TO USE
Quick-absorbing and lightweight, this oil works on damp or dry strands.  Take three to four drops between the palms of your hands and distribute evenly through damp hair.  Style as usual.  You can also work a couple drops through dry ends or use a tiny amount to calm flyaways.


This stuff is incredible.  Makes my hair super soft (but not greasy) and smells amazing (a faint musky vanilla).  I'm never really motivated to put oil in my hair since I have such fine hair and it tends to be oily by the end of the day.  But I thought I would try this on the ends of my hair after a shower and I was really impressed with it.  I went to go buy a full sized bottle of it on BB's website and it was sold out when I looked.  So I guess I'm not the only one impressed.  They have some back in stock now so go pick some up if you want to check it out.

The Runner-up:
Befine Lip Serum.  I seem to be reaching for this quite a bit.  The texture is smooth, silky, and the definition of the serum.  It feels nice, doesn't smell, isn't sticky, and makes my lips feel hydrated and soft.  Plus, any lip conditioner that doesn't have a sunscreen in it is cool with me.

The Rest:
To be fair, I haven't tried the Pangea mask.  But in my defense, I'm overloaded with Pangea products from Birchbox and really have only been impressed with one so far.  Also, I'm pretty loyal to my St. Ives clay mask.  I've used it for years - it works, and I love it.  I will come back and let you all know when I do try it.

The blinc mascara...well let's just say you can buy L'Oreal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara for less than half the price and works just the same.  Just sayin'.

The Tea Forte mints, are terrible.  Everybody in my family tried them and nobody liked them.  In the trash they went.

I know I was harsh on this box but, you aren't going to always like/love what you try.  These are just my thoughts.

Do any of you subscribe to Birchbox?

Birchbox - August

So basically, it's September.  Maybe I should post pictures of August's Birchbox?  The theme of this month's box is innovation.

The Lineup

blinc Eyeliner

Carol's Daughter - Monoi Repairing Hair Mask

Pangea Organics - Cleanser for Combination to Oily Skin

Wei - Tibetan Chrysanthemum Correcting Eye Treatment Pads

Birchbox Treat - Twistband - Hair elastic

As of right now, I haven't used 3 out of the 5 products they gave me.  Just the Pangea cleanser and the twistband.  So I can't really give you all a detailed review.  The Pangea cleanser was nice.  I think it worked well and got my face clean.  It has an "earthy" smell to it (take that for what you will).  

As silly as it sounds, I really liked that twistband thing.  I used it everyday...until sadly I lost it somewhere last week.  This is definitely something I'm going to buy from Birchbox.  It kept my ponytail secure without being too tight and when it was on my wrist it looked like a cute little bracelet.

I will update you all when I eventually dig into the other products.  I just haven't made time to try them.

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

Birchbox - June

So....did we do better this month with receiving our Birchbox on time?  No.  What goes on?  Really?  This kind of thing tests my patience (and I have none).  Last month's box was held up at the post office, and this month I went through the same thing.  Tracking number wasn't working, nobody knew what was going on.  Ugh! I didn't want to complain right away and decided to be patient.  The box arrived a week late, but it arrived.
The theme of June's box is "Travel".  What products do you travel with?  When you fly, what do you have to have on the plane with you to land looking fab?

Let's look at what Birchbox thinks would make our travels more beautiful...

The Lineup:

• Kate Spade Twirl Perfume
• Laura Geller Baked Blush N Brighten in Como (Highlighter in Portofino)
• Oscar Blandi Olio de Jasmin Hair Serum
• Pangea Organics Toner for Normal/Combination Skin

Bonus Treat:

• Deborah Lippman Stripper-to-Go Nailpolish Remover Mitts

The Winner:

Laura Geller's Baked Blush-n-Brighten.  This is a pretty highlighter/bronzer.  I'm pale.  Like Nicole Kidman pale.  This doesn't overpower my face and gives a pretty flush of color.  I look like I was pecked on the cheeks by the sun.  I also like that I can easily dip my angled blush brush just in the highlighter portion to sweep the top of my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose.  Another thing I really loved was that my girlfriends and I all received different colors.  Birchbox did a good job of selecting our products based on the way each of us filled out our beauty profile when we joined.  My friend with darker skin, received a deeper bronzer that complimented her, but would have been too dark for me and gone to waste.  GOOD JOB BIRCHBOX!!

The Honorable Mention:

Oscar Blandi Olio di Jasmin Hair Serum.  It has been CRAZY hot down here in South Texas this summer! I try to do right by my hair by drenching it in fresh water before hitting the pool, washing and conditioning in cool water, not blow drying, and using a heat protecting spray before even coming near the flat/curling irons.  But I can't do much about the humidity in the air, and that makes me, and my hair, crazy!  Rubbing a couple drops of this serum between my palms and smoothing over flyaways makes my hair look shiny, and frizz free. Since I have such fine hair I can't use too much or I will look like a grease factory by evening but, this really is a nice product.  Smells good too!

The Disappointment:

Deborah Lippman's The Stripper to Go.  So if I'm paying $12 for 6 per box, then these better knock my socks off.  Which they didn't.  One of these pads should have taken all the polish off both my hands - but it didn't.  Granted, when I do my nails I have a nail strengthener on, my base coat, two coats of polish, and a Seche Vite topcoat - so I've got a lot to take off.  I will stick with my go-to travel nail polish remover by Calico, it takes everything off with one pad and a box of 10 only costs $2.99.

What about the rest?

Kate Spade Twirl smells pretty, like roses.  But I already have a scent called Rock N Rose by Valentino that smells nearly identical so...no excitement here for me.

The Pangea toner spray feels nice, but smells like old school Coppertone suntan lotion.  I already use Evian Mineral Spray and Fix+ by MAC on a regular basis for either finishing my makeup or refreshing my skin after Zumba class.  MAC has a smell to it, but it's clean and fresh like cucumbers.  Evian doesn't smell at all, because it's just mineral water - I'll stick with my favorites.

So what did you think of June's box?

Melissa

PS- July is the Cynthia Rowley box!  Stay tuned for that...

PPS- My new camera takes amazing pictures! Can you tell the difference between this post and the previous ones?  I can!