Birchbox - July

The past two months my box has arrived over a week late (my Post Office was dropping the ball)...but NOT this time! Whoo!  I was excited to see July's Birchbox because of all the buzz on Birchbox's Facebook page that Cynthia Rowley was going to be filling it with her favorite products - and even creating the box design!

The Lineup:
philosophy purity made simple one-step facial cleanser
Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Usage Dry Oil
Redken shine flash 02
Zoya Touch Collection Nail polish in Pandora

Extra Treats:
Kind - Almond & Apricot Snack Bar

The Winner:
Philosophy! I've used this facial cleanser before and was glad to see it in my Birchbox.  Using it again, I was reminded of how well it really works.  It really is a one-step cleanser.  It takes off my makeup and leaves my (oily) skin squeaky clean.  I find myself reaching for this cleanser over all my others - including my face scrubs.  Love it!

The Honorable Mention:
Zoya's polish in Pandora.  I really like Zoya polish and this is my third color.  This applies evenly, without streaks, and dries fast!  One coat is a pretty, sheer neutral color.  Two coats is a gorgeous pink oyster shell color.  Really, there should be a tie for the winner this month.  There should have been a photo finish it's so close.

The Disappointment:
Redken shine flash.  Honestly it's probably not fair for me to judge this.  I have fine hair that gets oily by the end of the day which means I'm one of those people who has to shampoo EVERY, DAY.  So shine sprays are tricky for my hair.  I do have a Garnier shine spray, so if I curl or flat iron my hair I will just spray a little bit in the palm of my hands and lightly smooth over my hair avoiding my roots.  This is the first time I'm using Redken's shine spray, but it was much heavier than the one I already own.  My hair looked heavy and really oily (more than usual) by lunchtime.  Since I know that when I filled out my beauty profile I indicated that I have oily hair, I think Birchbox should have skipped giving me this product.  I feel like the chances were extremely low that it would work for me.

The only thing left to talk about is the dry oil.  I have a dry oil from Sephora that I've had for years now because I don't really use it.  So I haven't used the Nuxe oil and will probably just give it to a friend.
All in all, my $10 this month was definitely well spent on the facial cleanser and nail polish.  The Kind snack bar was really yummy too!  I actually found them at my local grocery store for 2/$3.00 so I picked up a blueberry one to try and it was equally good! Thanks Birchbox and Cynthia Rowley - perhaps more guest designers in the future?

Thanks for reading,
Melissa

Birchbox - April

April's Birchbox was all about being "green" - not just the contents, but the actual box itself. Birchbox's usual hot pink box was changed to green for the month of April - how cool! Birchbox was celebrating Earth Day so they chose products to reflect a greener way to beautify yourself.

The Lineup

• Weleda Wild Rose Smoothing Facial Lotion
• LIV GRN C2C Fragrance Collection Natural Eau De Parfum
• Zoya Intimate Spring 2011 Nail Polish Collection in Dove
• Zhena's Gypsy Tea Italian Chamomile
• Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser

and a super sweet little bonus, a card that you plant and it grows wildflowers!

The Winner:

SUKI!! SUKI!! SUKI!! - I can't stress enough how good this makes my skin feel! This sweet, lemon smelling cleanser starts off feeling like a sugar scrub, but then all of a sudden it changes to a foam and rinses clean.  Leaves my face squeaky clean, but without overdrying.  I haven't picked this up from the Birchbox store yet, but it is soon to be my first full-size purchase - $29.95 for a 4oz jar.

The Honorable Mention:

Well manicured hands in the air to Zoya's polish for not chipping for 4 days and looks beautiful - even in grey!  Since trying Zoya, I've purchased a pink matte polish from them that is quite pretty.

The Disappointment:

Weleda Wild Rose Smoothing Facial Lotion.  Sorry Weleda but this smells so wrong to me that I couldn't wait to get it off - and I only had it on my fingers.  I threw the sample away without even putting it on my face.

So what about the rest?

I actually haven't tried the tea yet.  I'm more of a hot tea in the wintertime girl.  Since I live in South Texas, I can't seem to get away from the heat.  I will let you all know about the tea the next time I am feeling under the weather or, it's cold.  Whichever comes first!

The LIV GRN perfume - is fresh and sweet, smells like apples.  But so does DKNY be Delicious, which I already own so, I gave this sample to a friend to enjoy.

The wildflower card I'm saving for a rainy day - flowers need water to grow right?

Thanks for reading!

Melissa