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Birchbox December 2015 Review – Skin Recovery Kit Box

Ragan Buckley
ByRagan BuckleyDec 15, 2015 | 10 comments

Birchbox December 2015 Review Skin Recovery Kit Box - pillow

Birchbox
3.7 overall rating
657 Ratings | 188 Reviews

Birchbox has recently released some new collections.  This one is their Skin Recovery Kit.  They are marketing this as something to use to recovery after staying too late at a party (!), which is something I tend not to do.  However, I recognized a couple of past favorite items in here so I decided to give it a try.

I’m not such a fan of the large pillow packs.  I’ve had them come open before and I’ve had missing items from other collections (not this one) because of it.  This one was a bit beat up, but it did stay closed.  (There were other items in my order as well.) 

My Subscription Addiction paid for this collection. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Box: Birchbox Skin Recovery Kit

The Cost: $28

TAKEALEAP20 TAKEOFF20

COMEBACK20  MOBILE20

WELCOMEOFFER20 TAKEOFF10 or BEAUTYMAVEN

And don’t forget your free mystery sample pack on orders of $35 or more!

The Products: Hand-selected products to cleanse, moisturize, and revive tired-out skin. 

Birchbox December 2015 Review Skin Recovery Kit Box - card1

Birchbox December 2015 Review Skin Recovery Kit Box - card2

Here’s the information that was included with the collection.  It’s pretty standard for a Birchbox information card.

Birchbox December 2015 Review Skin Recovery Kit Box - mask

Air Repair Complexion Boosting Moisturizer (2 oz, full size!) – Value $20

I had this as my sample choice a few months ago.  It absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave my skin greasy, and it has a lot of antioxidants, plus it’s free of parabens, phthalates, etc.  Plus, at $20, it goes a long way towards covering the cost of the kit.  If you were thinking of getting this in full size, you may want to spend the extra $8 and get the rest of the items in here, as well.

Borghese Fango Delicato Mud Mask (0.89 oz) – Value $4.45

I love pretty much every kind of mask.  I’ve been feeling kind of oily lately so I’ve been drawn to muds and clays in particular.  I think this was soothing and moisturizing without making my oil problem worse.

Malin + Goetz Mojito Lip Balm (0.2 oz) – Value $12

This has been a longtime favorite item of mine since discovering it in another subscription box last year.  I like thick balms like this for overnight use; I think this helps repair damage from the sometimes drying lip colors I experiment with during the day.

Birchbox December 2015 Review Skin Recovery Kit Box - mitt

MicrodermaMitt Makeup Remover Mitt – Value $28.95

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect this to work.  And then I tried it.  (I did remove my eye makeup first.)  I was wearing primer, liquid foundation, finishing powder,  and blush, and this got all of those things off – using only a bit of water.  It didn’t even take very long.  To clean it, you rub it with bar soap and rinse it out – that’s it.  I was pleasantly surprised!

Avene Thermal Spring Water (1.76 oz) – Value $9

I have a lot of these already.  I need to start using them!  It is suggested on the product page that this can help soothe allergic reactions and itching on the skin.  I tend to get hives and welts with some regularity, so there is one use I can put this to right away. 

Birchbox December 2015 Review Skin Recovery Kit Box - shamanuti

Wilma Schumann Skincare Hydrating Collagen Eye Pads – Value $3.60

I’m saving these.  There are some mornings when I wake up and my eyes and cheeks are SO puffy.  Gel eye pads like these definitely help.  But to really evaluate these versus other brands, I have to wait until I’m having a problem and then see how well they treat it.  (I find that keeping pads like this in the refrigerator can help enhance the soothing properties!) 

Shamanuti Activated Charcoal Cleanser (1 fl oz) – Value $6

I love charcoal everything in skincare products, especially for the face.  This really treats my pores and I think I am even getting just a little gentle exfoliation from the charcoal.

Birchbox December 2015 Review Skin Recovery Kit Box - msp

With any $35+ order from the Birchbox Shop, you can also get a mystery sample pack for free.  I had another item in my order to meet that minimum (you can also buy the mystery sample packs for $10, but I wouldn’t recommend that) so I thought I would show you what I got in mine:

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer

This is a new item for me; it’s an alcohol-free toner.  I tend to gravitate towards alcohol-free toners in winter, so this is good timing.

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Venezia

A lot of these have been going around in mystery sample packs lately.  Because I already have at least three of them in this specific color.  Oh well.  I did get two multi-use samples in this pack and no foils, so I can’t complain. 

Verdict: This collection has a retail value of approximately $84.  That’s one of the best values for one of these collections I have seen!  I thought this was a good way to stock up on a couple of old favorites, try new brands of item types I already like (mud mask, eye gels), and discover a few new products.  As of the time I am writing this review, this collection is still available.

What do you think of the Birchbox Skin Recovery Kit?  Are you going to grab one?

Starting at $17.00
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Birchbox ($15 per month) was one of the very first beauty subscription boxes—we’ve been reviewing it since 2012! Each month, subscribers get a new mix of 5 beauty samples, such as makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance items. Birchbox lets you choose whether you’d like a box of items picked ju... read more.

Ragan Buckley
Ragan Buckley
Ragan stumbled across My Subscription Addiction in late 2013 and immediately subscribed to way too many beauty boxes. She's now focused on boxes for her cats and dog, vegan/vegetarian food boxes, and craft subscriptions (and she didn't give up beauty boxes entirely).

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10 comments

Gloria

I ordered this one when they had the 30% deal. I loved it so much that I’m considering order another one. BTW mine did not had the information card. I thought it was odd but assumed that maybe this kit did not came with it

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joy

I was getting a little bored of the same old mystery samples so I added a men’s one instead of the women’s one and it was great! I got a big 2oz minty bar soap from Maak Lab and an Ursa Major face wash that’s about 1.5 oz.

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Tamara

I dislike the giant pillow packs too! Like you, I’ve had them arrive open and squished, which was not good for the contents. One time, I had a couple items hanging out (but at least they weren’t lost.)

I seriously considered getting this. In retrospect, I should have bought it with the 30% off deal. I love that moisturizer. But I recently bought a Caudalie moisturizer that I really like, so I decided to hold back.

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Kay

Great review Ragan! I ordered this kit during Black Friday deal. The order went though, but it was sold out by the time they shipped. So I got the email saying refund and such, but it was available again on the same day, lol. I wanted to give some of the items from the kit as holiday gift over last weekend and mine just arrived today, so it didn’t make it… I wish when I expressed my concern, they should have expedited my shipping, but they didn’t. Maybe karma is telling me that I should keep the entire kit! They did honor the discount. In my mystery sample pack, I got 2 foil packets of Malin + Goetz Vitamin E Face moisturizer and 100% Pure coffee bean eye cream which is $13 value on their website. This is the second eye cream I received in mystery sample pack and I am happy with it. I also received Fatty Sundays Toffee Pretzel as bonus holiday gift.

Anyone reviewing the other kit that included beauty blender by any chance?? Thinking of getting that as well.

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Suzy

I loved this set, it’s definitely my favorite of any I’ve gotten so far from Birchbox. I got it for the lip balm and the Avene water-two of my favorite products-but everything else in the set was amazing as well. Especially the makeup mitt, it worked so much better than I thought it would! I got a sample pack as well, and it contained a Vasanti blemish cream and a Malin+Goetz grapefruit cleanser-so I was even more pleased with my whole order!

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Ragan

I would love it if I got that sample pack. (I have an order coming today or tomorrow so we will see.)

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Nichelle

Great review, Ragan! I have been wanting to try this box and now I’m sold. Have a fabulous day!

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Ragan

It’s really one of their better collections if you like skincare stuff (which of course I do!).

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Rain

That Stila Venezia!! BB has sent me 4 of those, and not a single one of the other two colors which I could actually use. I’m imagining a massive warehouse full of just Stila Liquid Lipstick Venezia.

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Ragan

I have all three. Some from boxes but I’ve definitely gotten multiple Venezias (and at least one Beso) from mystery sample packs. At least it wasn’t a Marcelle eyeliner. I have multiple sets of those…

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