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!