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Birchbox Subscription Box Review + Coupon – February 2017

Haley Faye
ByHaley FayeFeb 20, 2017 | 38 comments

Birchbox-february-2017-box

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!)

LIMITED TIME DEAL: For a limited time, use coupon code ROWLEY to get this free $52-Value Beauty Bundle with a 6-month Birchbox subscription ($60).

OR

Use coupon code STRETCH to get a FREE Full-Size Smashbox Mascara with your monthly Birchbox subscription!

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

OR

Check out the 30% off sale for everyone, too!

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

Ships to: U.S., FranceSpain and the U.K. 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!

Birchbox-february-2017-info

Each box comes with an info card – this months has a little Valentine’s poem on it.

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And the flip side of the card always lists the names and details of the items in your box!

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R+Co Death Valley Dry Shampoo – 1.6 oz, Value $17

I love the packaging of this dry shampoo! I was also happy to get a full travel size, not just half an ounce like some aerosol samples I’ve received before from Birchbox. The product itself smells great and doesn’t leave a white powdery residue. I thought it worked pretty well, but my favorite dry shampoo is still Batiste.

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Davines SU Hair & Body Wash – 2.5 fl oz, Value $6.75

This shampoo/body wash is enriched with Italian Citrus extracts and is designed to help repair sun damage to your hair and prolong your tan. I’m not tanned, and I think it would take a longer time than this sample gives to tell a difference in my hair’s damage from sun. That being said, I love the smell of this and it lathers really well! So far I’m happy with its performance as both a body wash and a shampoo!

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Elizabeth Arden New York Eight Hour Cream - 0.17 oz, Value $2.20

This is a classic, multitasking product! It hydrates skin but also adds shine to lips and eyelids, tames brows, conditions cuticles, and supposedly can even soothe minor scrapes and sunburns. It’s a heavy duty cream! I used it on my knuckles, brows, and cuticles. I think it’s a great little sample to keep on hand in my makeup bag, but the scent is a little funky. Almost like a mix between earthy and chemical-y? I don’t think I’d love it all over my face.

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Dr. Lipp Miracle Balm - 0.1 fl oz, Value $3.25

This is another multitasking product, similar to the Elizabeth Arden. It’s a 100% natural balm that is great for hydrating lips and skin. You can use this is similar ways to the Elizabeth Arden cream, such as cuticles, sunburns, taming brows, and using as a super hydrating spot treatment for dry patches anywhere.

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I really like this formula and the application. This is definitely effective as a lip balm, and I love that I can just add some to my cuticles at the same time. It’s not sticky, either, and there’s no strong smell. I will say that it was pretty hard to squeeze out of the tube, though. Ultimately, between this and the Elizabeth Arden cream, I’d probably reach for this more.

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Manna Kadar Cosmetics Lip Locked Stain in Rosette - 0.052 oz, Value $7.34

This is a primer, lip gloss, and stain all in one. What that really means is that it’s a long-wearing gloss. This was my sample choice for February – I chose it because I have tried this in a different shade from another subscription box and loved the formula!

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This is a really pretty neutral pink shade. It's definitely an easy to wear, every-day shade.

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Here’s how it looks on! I immediately put this in my bag and know I can swipe it on easily when I head out.

Verdict: My February Birchbox was pretty good! I’m not a huge fan of the Elizabeth Arden cream, but I’ll still probably use it. I’m always happy to have more dry shampoo, and I liked everything else in the box. The value adds up to about $36.54, which I’m definitely happy with for a $10 discovery box!

What do you think about Birchbox? What was your favorite discovery 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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38 comments

A

I subscribed to this and my 1st box was Feb. 2017. Awful mess. A broken lipstick in the box that messed up everything in box and was not usable. It is also my last box. I canceled. Sorry.

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Jody

Can someone answer this question? How do you get the non makeup/skincare items in the box? I see so many swaps for “other” items from BB. I can’t locate this items on the reviews or their website.

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Ann

I watch and read reviews carefully and BB has not managed to capture my attention at all. Don’t think I’ll ever try this sub.

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Tia

BB was my first box,I’ve been a subscriber for almost 2 years. I subscribe to Ipsy and Sephora as well. BB was always my least favorite,but they had the points program,so you knew after two boxes you’d have enough to buy some full size product you really wanted for free,if your samples had been a hit or miss.

And then last year they nixed the points program,and made all these claims how they could curate stuff better. Well,despite I wanted to leave,and was angry like everyone else,I kept reviewing the stuff without the opportunity to earn points. And I have to be honest,I find now that they do curate for me extremely better,and they’ve surpassed Ipsy into a strong second,sometimes even punching Sephora in the face for my monthly boxes.

I notice now that it’s much more common for me to get extra items from Birchbox,that are all very relevant like the required samples.

So,even though you don’t have a reward system perk,if you committed to them for a while,you might actually be very happy,but you’ll definitely have to review the stuff to get there.

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Missy

Haley, that MANNA KADAR lip stain looks awesome on u! I totally want it now! It’s such a pretty color I’m just wondering if it actually does “stain” the lips at all because if it did that would be great!

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Jody

I don’t know where else to put this question, so I hope putting it here is ok.
I just got an email saying that MAC cosmetics is coming to Birchbox. Does that mean they will be putting sample products from MAC in our boxes, or will it be only full size products that we have to pay full price for? I have seen the full size products on sale already, but no mention of them in the March box.

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EC

Haley you’re not alone about the Eight Hour Cream. They sent it to me last year and I was convinced that the smell had to mean it was rancid! I’m very adventurous with skin care and cosmetics but it was way over the stink line for me to try more than once. I literally scrubbed my face and hands twice to make it go away!

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Michelle

I didn’ t receive any of those items either. It was my first box back from a 2 year hiatus. I resubbed because I want the Hello Sailor by Lipstick Queen. What a dud. That lipstick does nothing and I can’t imagine how they don’t all get returned. If I had bought it from a store I would have returned it and demanded my money back. Not sure if I am keeping BB or not. One more month then I will decide.

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Chelsea

Its the same with me. I wanted the lipstick and it didn’t do anything for me. 🙁 besides trip my husband out that I was gonna put on blue lipstick lol. The frog Prince works really well tho. My sister has it and i want it!!!

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Lisa

I am so happy I cancelled BB long time ago. It seems they still do nothing but repeats. I am really happy with my subs that I have going right now because they are a little bit of everything. I have Ipsy for make-up and brushes, Sephora Play for a little of everything and perfume, The 3B box for Korean beauty care, and WIN Beauty Kit for Asian skin care. 🙂

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Elena

I also received Dr. Lipp Miracle Balm (I didn’t choose anything this month and got 2 of the choice products anyway). For me this balm smells just like petroleum. I’m not sure I can use it for lips.

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Setzie

It’s lanolin.

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Elena

Judging by the smell, I doubt it.

Emily

By the way, Haley, if you like dry shampoo, I would suggest you try Gold Lust dry shampoo from Oribe. It’s pricey but it’s the best I’ve used so far. Batiste is nice, and it comes in so many scents, but it tends to leave a powdery residue.

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Melissa Bennett

I totally agree with u on the Batiste dry shampoos! I use dry shampoo often and have tried ALOT of them and have gotten several scents from the batiste line and every single time my hair is caked with white residue that I have issues getting rid of even after brushing & using my fingers!

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heat7918

I canceled Birchbox when my 1yr Black Friday deal from 2015 was up – shortly after they stopped giving points for reviewing items in the monthly boxes.

I’m a little surprised at how many people still seem to get Birchbox – I guess it’s good for those newer to subs who like the variety of skincare, makeup & hair products. But once you’ve had it 6 months to a year and get tired of repeats, you could switch to to Play by Sephora or Allure. If you prefer more makeup, you could go Ipsy or Boxycharm. If you prefer skincare, switch to BeautyFix or try K-Beauty like 3B. Or there are amazing “green” beauty boxes of various prices from Petit Vour to Pearlesque (my current fave!)
Once you figure out what you want, no reason to stay with BB beyond a year IMO.

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Emily

The only reason why I still get BB after three years is that they have some of the best hair products of any sub box I’ve gotten (except they send too much dry shampoo in proportion to other types of hair products). The only one that rivals it would be FFF, but that’s not in the same price category.

I just started getting Play, and I agree it’s better than BB. Same with ipsy. The only one you listed that I cannot back up is Boxycharm, simply because they have some of the most atrocious customer service I’ve ever seen (I’m sure you’ve heard about their wait list and how they’ve just stopped responding to people’s complaints. No thanks).

As for K Beauty, I would suggest you check out MEMEBOX. They no longer have a sub model, but they sell full sized K beauty products for a steal- and they have great boxed sets you can buy as well!

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C

Memebox is my go-to! They have a good points reward system too and still do lots of curated boxes or drop points in like $5 for the Chinese New Year. They always have good sales. Also everyone ever neeeeeeeds Elizavecca witch piggy hyaluronic acid serum it is the best and so cheap. Never mind my expensive stuff.

Emily

That Manna Kadar long wear lip “stain” is one of my favorite lip products ever (I put “stain” in quotes because it really isn’t a stain. More like a highly pigmented gloss). I first tried it in the shade Lucky, the full-sized version of which was included in FabFitFun’s editor’s box, and LOVED it. So I was super pumped to see that I would be getting a different shade (but much tinier size) from Birchbox. I highly recommend this product, guys!

The other products I got were also pretty good, the best I’ve received in a while, but Birchbox really needs to stop sending so much dry shampoo!!! I feel like I’ve been getting some variation of it for the past six consecutive months.

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Krista

I got a Juice Beauty® Stem Cellular™ Exfoliating Peel Spray this month that makes the whole box worth it for me, even though my sample choice came in a totally different color than they told me it was going to be

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TK

Very disappointing BB!! The same brands and products month after month. If it’s truly a discovery box this shouldn’t be happening. I don’t mind small sample sizes but I want new things. I’m glad you mentioned the smell of the Elizabeth Arden product. I thought it was rancid.

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Julie B.

I canceled after two pretty bad boxes and the teeny sizes. Really wanted to like this sub, but every time I try to get my brush into a miniature Coastal Scents sample, I laugh,

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Krista

Coastal Scents is such a junky brand IMO and you’re right the samples are BEYOND tiny.

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Emily

Ugh. Coastal Scents is the WORST. I bought the Revealed 3 palette from the Birchbox store in NYC back when I was just learning about makeup. I don’t use it anymore because I’ve now learned that for eyeshadow to be good, it actually has to have some kind of pigmentation in it!

Marleen

I cancelled my sub with birchbox, the sample sizes are too small in my opinion. And I usually only like 1-2 things in my box.

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CHS

My box was so awful this month that I’m seriously thinking about skipping next month, especially with the underwhelming spoilers that I saw today. Two are repeats and the third isn’t the least bit interesting. I may try the curated box out.

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Monique

I sent them an email about mine, they’re giving me a free box next month. I specially didn’t pick any of the items because I didn’t want them. They sent me two of three and stuff for curly hair again…I have stick straight. I keep giving then one more month.

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Julie B.

Hey Monique, I have stick straight hair too. My bonus free box (that got me to sign up) had 3 of 5 items items for curly frizzy hair. Not shampoos which I would have just used, but smoothies, gels. So I complained and they nicely sent a replacement with…Curl Keeper cream and tea bags, plus the same 2 other tiny things I hated from the first box. Was so disappointed because I saw a couple of other people got nice boxes with variety of things.

Monique

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Teresa F.

Missing two samples in my box this month and the ones I’ve been receiving lately haven’t been anything great. Very disappointed since Birchbox was my first subscription box and the samples/brands were amazing. The last few boxes have made me consider cancelling.

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tpop

I got a box in the mail this month that was completely different from the box shown in my account! I emailed them about, heard nothing back, and then got an email asking how my customer service interaction with So-and-So was. This is exactly the sequence of events that happened last time I emailed their customer support.

This is the kind of thing that drives me nuts and makes me stop doing business with companies.

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CK

Try their chat feature. The same thing happened to me last month and I was able to get a new box sent immediately by using chat. Frustrating that you have to do that, but you might as well get the box to were expecting!

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tpop

Thank you for suggesting that! The chat person was super nice and is sending me a new box.

vicki

FYI Birch box has been offering yearly subscriptions for 99 dollars-$8.25 a box- may fall into that 30% sale range

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Tiffaney Gorny-Gonzalez

Does anyone know why I didn’t receive the February box design it stated in my email and on the website when I received it was a plain peach colored box not anything like everyone’s February I have been seeing and info would be appreciated not complaining just curious

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Beka

My first box ever was a plain, non marked box. The subsequent boxes have all been decorated though. Was this your first box?

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tiffaney

maybe that would explain why I did just sign up but on my profile it showed that box but no biggie was just curious thank you beka for the reply

Caitlin

THIS is, essentially, the box that I was expecting to get when I signed up. the R + Co dry shampoo and Davines body wash would have made this subscription worth it for me this month.

I got neither.

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