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Birchbox Subscription Box Review + Coupon – October 2016

Haley Faye
ByHaley FayeOct 23, 2016 | 14 comments

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Birchbox
3.7 overall rating
657 Ratings | 188 Reviews

Every month, Birchbox lets subscribers pick between a curated box (all samples revealed) or a single sample choice and be surprised by the rest of the items.

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

This review is of the Sample Choice, $10 a month, box. 

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The Subscription Box: Birchbox

The Cost: $10 a month (get one month free and $10 to spend in the shop with an annual subscription!)

COUPON: Get $5 (50 points) to spend in the Birchbox shop when you subscribe with coupon code SUBSCRIBENOW50

OR

Use code NATURALEYE to receive a free W3LL PEOPLE Expressionist Mascara with a new subscription

OR

Try any of these free gift with purchase coupons on orders of $35 or more!) And don’t forget your free mystery sample pack on orders of $35 or more!

The Products: Beauty and lifestyle samples selected by the Birchbox team.

Ships to: US, FranceSpain and the UK and Canada

Check out all of our Birchbox reviews and the Beauty Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

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Each box comes with a card that has a blurb of the month’s theme and focus, along with a description of each item included. October’s theme is about slowing down and taking a breather to help you unwind while reviving and restoring.

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Number 4™ Fluoro5 Elixer Restore & Repair Oil - 0.5 fl oz, Value $6.50

Hair oils are definitely something I love to use, and I’ve tried a lot. This hair oil elixir from Number 4 is very lightweight and didn’t leave my hair feeling greasy or weighed down at all. It added shine and softness and was a nice finishing touch to my blowout. It’s not my favorite hair oil but it does work well and I think it’s probably a good one to try if you’re new to hair oils because it’s so lightweight.

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Hustle Butter Luxe - 0.25 fl oz?, Value $6.25?

This balm is new to me, but I like the formula. Right away, I noticed that it smells amazing and tropical, which must be from the papaya and coconut in it. It’s a thicker consistency until it warms a bit from your fingers, a little goes a long way, and it absorbs easily. This is a multi-purpose formula that can remove makeup, hydrate your face, hands, or any skin, as well as helps heal and soothe skin. It was originally developed as a moisturizer for tattoos.

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The Organic Pharmacy Double Rose Rejuvenating Face Cream – 0.24 fl oz, Value $12.32

The fragrance of rose isn’t my favorite but it does some great things in skincare. This cream is very hydrating and moisturized my face well. It’s not a super thin cream so it took a minute for it to absorb, but allowing a little absorption time is good for any skincare anyway so that doesn’t bother me much.

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Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask - 0.25 fl oz, Value $14.50

This was my sample choice for this month. This mask has some great reviews on Birchbox’s website, so I had high hopes! To apply, you use a thick layer on dry, clean skin and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. I actually like that it takes that chunk of time because I generally zone out when waiting for a mask (playing mobile games, reading, watching a podcast or show) so I tend to accidentally leave masks on longer than they’re supposed to anyway.

After about 15 minutes the mask dried as a thin layer over my skin. When 20-25 minutes was up I washed it off and continued with my regular toner and moisturizer. A few minutes after that, my skin tone looked more even and less red, and my skin felt soft and smooth. I’m not sure I like it enough to buy the full-size, but this sample should get me a total of 2-3 uses, which I’ll use.

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MAKE Silk Cream Lipstick in Taffy – Value $2.50

(The size isn’t listed on this sample so I’m going off of Liz’s value estimation, which guesses that this is 1/10th of the full size.)

This lipstick sample is pretty tiny, but it’s definitely enough for me to tell that I really like this formula and I love this color. It’s so wearable and pretty and would work well for pretty much any skin tone!

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Here it is swatched. It looks a little less bright on your lips than it does here, I think. I swiped it a couple times to build up some color. You can see how it looks on my lips below. It’s described as a medium pink with purple undertones. Even so, though, it’s not a particularly cool shade so I really think it would look great on anyone.

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Here I am wearing the lipstick – it’s pretty natural, but such a pretty color. I think you could swipe on another layer to make it a little more like the swatch above, as well. It’s a fantastic go-to shade. I know I’ll use this whole sample (and quickly).

Verdict: My October Birchbox was filled with products that were all new to me, so I had fun trying out new things! Many of my samples this month were pretty small but they all still had plenty of product for multiple uses. I’ll definitely be able to get a good sense of how I like them from the amount I was given, which is exactly the point of a sampling service – if that expectation is met I’m generally satisfied with the sizes. That being said, the values of my skincare samples were actually nice since they’re expensive full-size products. The total value of my box comes out to about $42, which I’m happy with.

What do you think about Birchbox? What samples did you get this month?

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.

Haley Faye
Haley Faye
Haley Faye first discovered the wonderful world of subscription boxes in 2012 and began writing for MSA in 2014. Over the years, she has found many subscriptions to love. Now a mom of three, her favorite boxes are ones that dress her kids, help her get organized, feed her family, send her snacks, and offer educational fun for her children.

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14 comments

Bridget

Am I the only one who feels that these five little things are sooo not worth the ten bucks a month?

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Ann

Looks okay for a $10 box except more hair oil!

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Dianne

Just resubcribed today because of the brow pencil in sample choice. I’ve been using it everyday and the shade is perfect for my ashy dark brows. I got it in a Boxycharm box before. I didn’t want this months Just next month hope I waited long enough. When I checked out it didn’t tell me.

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Mac

The cutoff is after sample choice. So yeah you bought this months box. There’s no way to skip the current month but still get sample choice, I’ve asked.

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Amber Y

Box twins! I’ve been too scared to try the oil, but now I think I will! Just to clarify, you used it on dry hair correct?

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Haley Faye

Amber – correct, after blow-drying. However most oils work okay on towel-dried hair and then as you dry it it sinks into your hair a little more and leaves your hair silky. I know that’s the case for the Macadamia oil I love, too. 🙂

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starfire92086

your box looks really good, i received the lipstick. i would like to try the balm and face mask…. great value for 10$

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Keri Daugherty

What is your favorite hair oil? My hair is in need of some shine. Everything I’ve tried weighs it down

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Haley Faye

Oops – I lied. I like the Moroccan oil, but my fave is the Macadamia oil. I got them mixed up. http://macadamiahair.com/care-and-treatment/nourishing-moisture/nourishing-moisture-oil-treatment.html

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Kp

Beauty protector oil smell great but my 3 year old got to it. She smelled good for days lol

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Pearldrop

Kerastase Elixir Ultime is the best ?

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Haley Faye

Keri – my favorite is from the Moroccan Oil brand oil treatment. http://www.moroccanoil.com/us_en/hair-care-moroccanoil-treatment-original-us

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JessL

Oh! Try Sebastian dark oil!

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Khaleesi

I got the curated and sample and I lovedo both boxes! The lipstick was a surprisingly gorgeous color 🙂

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