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.
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.
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: While supplies last, use coupon code LIFESTYLE to get a FREE mystery lifestyle gift with your first month!
OR
Use code STRETCH to receive a bonus full-size Smashbox Cosmetics Indecent Exposure Mascara in your first box ($23 value)
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., France, Spain 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!
Each box comes with an info card. This month’s talks about how pretty packaging is great but most important are the ingredients and “what’s on the inside.”
To drive the point home, this month’s box print was on the inside instead of the outside!
The flipside of the info card lists information about each item they sent in my box.
Amika Nourishing Mask, 0.7 fl oz. - Value $2.32
I haven’t loved the couple other Amika products I’ve tried from Birchbox, but I really like this mask. It smells great and it made my hair feel hydrated, soft, and healthy!
No. 4 Smoothing Balm, 1 fl oz. - Value $5.88
I always use some kind of leave-in product after showering and I like No. 4 products so I was excited to try this. You can use it before air or blow drying to help dry, frizz-prone, or coarse hair, and help against humidity. I liked the performance of this! I used it pre blow-dry and I found it did make my hair soft. The scent leans slightly unisex, too.
Shamanuti Seaweed Toner, 10 ml - Value $2.37
Seaweed is a very nutrient-rich ingredient, and this toner helps balance pH levels, nourish skin, and help minimize the appearance of pores. It’s also supposed to be effective at removing residual makeup and mascara after cleansing. I like this toner pretty well – it feels very gentle and absorbs well. My biggest complaint, though, is the rollerball packaging for the sample. I found it really inconvenient and hard to use. I didn’t feel like I could get an even application on my skin and how is it supposed to help remove any residual product if there’s no pads or anything to help wipe it away? It’s a shame because this could be a really nice product and the full-size has a spray, but the packaging here really just makes me want to chuck it instead of trying to go through the hassle of using a toner like this.
This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, 0.17 fl oz. - Value $1.97
This pillow spray is made with 100% essential oils (like lavender and chamomile) and is meant to help you fall asleep faster and get a better night’s sleep. I love aromatherapy, and I like how this spray smells, but I just can’t speak to its effectiveness because I have a toddler going through a sleep regression and I’m just not getting much sleep in general.
The Beauty Crop GRLPWR Liquid Lipstick, Imma Bawse, 0.07 fl oz. - Value $12.42
This is a new brand to me. Something about the packaging and the spelling of the name didn’t strike me as high quality, but the performance is pretty strong. The fluid is a little too runny to apply as well as it could (it’s easy to get messy), but the pigment is opaque and the staying power lasts a really long time. In fact, it’s really hard to get off and stains some once it is. In fact, after I swatched it for photos, I had a stain on my arm for the rest of the day and next morning.
Here’s the lipstick swatched.
And here’s how the lipstick looks on me.
Verdict: This was an okay month of Birchbox for me. I don’t think anything wowed me this month, but I still like trying new products. I mostly feel like the sleep spray was wasted on me at this point in time, and I’m disappointed in the lack of usability of the toner’s packaging, but I enjoyed trying the hair samples and lipstick still. The value of my box adds up to $24.96, which is on the low end of what I’ve come to expect from Birchbox but still isn’t bad for a $10 sample discovery box. Overall, this was a weaker box for me.
What do you think about Birchbox? What did you get this month?
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