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