Birchbox Review – April 2014
Birchbox is one of the original beauty subscription boxes, and even though sometimes the samples are tiny, it will always be one of my favorite boxes because of all the new brands I’ve discovered through this subscription!
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: Use coupon code SFBB100 to get 100 points ($10) when you sign up for a subscription!
The Products: Beauty and lifestyle samples selected by the Birchbox team.
Ships to: US, France, Spain and the UK
Check out all of my Birchbox reviews and the Beauty Subscription Box Directory!
Each box comes with a card detailing the items included and some tips on how to use them.
The theme of the box is rainy days – and making the most of them, so each box included a tip card for how to spend a rainy day.
Harvey Prince Yogini – Sample Value $1.25
Color Club Polish Mini in Heirloom Pearls – Value $3.50
I love the Color Club polish formula, and I’m always happy when Birchbox includes a new shade! (I love that they often do exclusive colors too!)
Sumitas Color Contrast Eyeliner in Jamun – Travel Size Value $7
KIND Maple Pumpkin Seeds Healthy Grains Bar – Value $1
This KIND bar is a lifestyle extra – a bonus item in addition to the 4-5 samples you get each month!
Number 4 High Performance Hair Care Clarifying Shampoo – 1 oz Value $3.75
Number 4 High Performance Reconstructing Mask – .25 oz Value $2.85
I’ve received Number 4 products before in quite a few Birchboxes, so I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get to try more brands that are new to me this month, but these will go to use!
Verdict: I paid a little less than $10 for this box and received almost $20 worth of products. I’m most excited about the Color Club polish, and I can’t wait to try to the Sumita deep purple eye liner – I just need to find the list of ingredients somewhere online! The best part of this box is that it kind of cost me very little when you factor in Birchbox points. I paid around $9 for this box, and I get to review 6 products and get 60 points ($6) to spend in the Birchbox shop, so by my math this box only cost me $3!
What was your favorite item in your April Birchbox?
Written by Liz Cadman
I just signed up for Birch Box, I have a friend that receives the monthly boxes and she loves them. Since she has been raving about her products she receives, I felt this would be the perfect fit for me to try new products that I typically can’t afford otherwise. I am hoping despite some semi-negative reviews that I will enjoy this and utilize the samples.
How do you get points for reviews? I saw someone post this question above but I haven’t seen an answer to the question!
Thank you 🙂
My birchbox was identical to yours. Even down to the eyeliner color and rainy day tip.
I’ve had Birchbox for almost a year, and I’m two seconds away from canceling, but it was my first sub box so I feel like we have a relationship I need to work on… Weird, I know.. No matter how I change my preferences I’m getting oodles of the wrong products (same for my Glossybox)! I threw the nut bar thingy to my husband and he wasn’t overall impressed, I got a teeny tiny baby sample of a CC cream from Supergoop (for the second time, I swear!), skin perfecting gel, the Anastasia brow gel (which isn’t exciting for me because it’s just clear gel and I was hoping for a it to at least be tinted), and the Breakfast At… polish from ColorClub which I do LOVE the color but I’ve gotten the brand before, and a pointless rainy day idea.
Rereading my post I do see that I got some great items FOR SOMEONE ELSE. I just want pretty colors and makeup and fun stuff.
I was dying for the brow gel and that color of nail polish! Let me know if you would like to trade! My email is [email protected] 🙂
Maybe you should try Ipsy, I hear it has more makeup and fun stuff.
I love my birchbox this month. BeeKind Body Lotion, Davines leave in nourishing hair mist, the balm cheek & lip cream, KIND snacks bar, and the Yogini scent.
I liked my bb box this month. It’s the first box I have received that I will try all the products. I agree with the points system it’s the best one of the subscription boxes!
I keep hearing everyone say that they get points for reviewing but I can’t figure out how to get the points? I’ve reviewed a few of the products but no points… maybe I’m doing it wrong?
I haven’t got my box yet but I’ve been praying to receive the purple eyeliner. I received the black version in my glossybox a few months back (feb I think) and am obsessed! Great glide on feel and highly pigmented!
I’m so glad I cancelled my Birchbox subscription! The only thing I would be excited about is the nail polish.
We’re box twins this month. Excited to try the purple eyeliner!
I just signed up. Any recommendations on what preferences get you the best boxes? Should I check less things or be more specific? Does it really matter?
In my experience with Birchbox, your preferences really do matter. When I first joined, I had “anti-aging” checked, because I did want to try that kind of thing. I received that kind of product, and it then sat and collected dust because I wasn’t actually using the samples. So I went in and changed my preferences. Ever since, I’ve been much more excited about my boxes and I’m actually using the products I’m sent! So my advice is to be honest with yourself on what you actually want in your box – remember, a good box to me may be a terrible box to you!
I’ve had 17 BBs so far… for every good box I get at least 2 dud boxes…. this month was such a dud that I’m canceling. We have allergies and they keep sending nut/power bars. totally useless. Plus they used to send 5 samples out, every now and then a full-sized product… now you are lucky to get 4 tiny samples and a “bonus” like the $1 nut bar. Not impressed any more. However due to your reviews, I just signed up for glossy box and ipsy and think I’ll get “inner circle” too. You’re reviews are great!
I don’t have food allergies but I quit Birchbox after 2 boxes. I think I only got 4 products each time, usually quite tiny samples, and at least 1 of them each time was a hair product I would never use (hair spray when my hair is naturally straight and I prefer it that way, and dry shampoo when I wash my hair every day). They also had this tendency to send me HIGHLY scented body butters when I have sensitive skin and these things tend to cause me to get rashes.
Other boxes do a better job at matching my preferences (Ipsy, Lip Factory, Sample Society).
Not really thrilled with my box this month. I received Paula’s Choice Resist Anti-Aging Clear Skin Hydrator, it smells awful. Gilchrist & Soames Body Wash, hotel sized and smells okay. Miss Jesssies Transitioner’s Magic, from reading the package I think it’s for someone of color. Sounds like a good product, but not for my type of hair. Sumita eyeliner in deep purple, the color is very nice. Kind Bar, very tasty.
So only one of the four items I think I will use, and the lifestyle extra was good.
Yeah the Miss Jessies product is mostly for women of color. I won’t even use it since my hair is relaxed. I think any woman with thick curly hair may benefit from it. Just use it on the weekend, just in case lol
Yep, getting a Kind bar stash here. I got one in my Stork Stack too, and received 2 in my Travel box. I have 3 more and don’t remember what boxes they came in, I get soo many dang boxes, once I take everything out I loose track of where it all came from!
Kind bars don’t last long around here, but I have the same problem. I get maybe 6 or 7 boxes total, and they aren’t even all monthly, but once I take everything out, I forget where it came from, too!
I got the purple eye liner and kind bar just like yours . I also got the nail polish in blue. Then I got the Supergoop cc cream which is way to dark for me and very tiny. Lastly, a spray bottle of leave in conditioner. This is the one I’m most excited about. I hate getting nail polish bc I never like the colors and I have tons of nail polish anyways. Also I only got 4 samples plus a kind bar, which I find annoying. I also got one in my stork stack this month. This was my 4th birchbox. The previous two were excellent. And I do love the points system, that’s why I’m keeping this sub at this point.
Same box and was disappointed. Tired of Color Club and the cc cream is waaay too dark for me. The conditioner is fine but I don’t really use that type of product. The eyeliner was the only win for me this time around. Unfortunately, my last three BB have been this way and I’m starting to think about canceling 🙁
I got the same box. The supergoop cream is SO TINY! I feel like it won’t even be enough to cover my face.
I just checked what’s coming in the box and I’m a little let down. No nail polish and I really liked the colors and no sumita eyeliner and I really wanted to try the purple. 🙁 oh well, I still enjoy my birchbox.
I’m excited for mine to arrive! My box includes (you can go to the BB website and click on your box to see what your contents are before your box arrives, FYI):
Supergoop!® Daily Correct CC Cream
Skin&Co Roma TRUFFLE THERAPY™ SERUM Boosting Anti-Aging Serum
Cynthia Rowley Beauty Eye Pencil
Keims Cleanshine Energizing Shampoo
KIND Healthy Grain Bars
I had a Kind Bar in my Stork Stack yesterday too, they must be making the rounds with subscription boxes this month. This will be the 4th eyeliner that I will have received this month though. LOL
I quit Birchbox but this month has been heavy on the eyeliners for me, too. I think I’ve gotten at least 3 in other boxes. (Naturally, right after I bought a bunch of them for myself. But I bought liquids and gels and I got pencils in boxes so at least they’re a little different.)
Why couldn’t I have got this box last month??? This looks 100 times better than my first box, it had 3 samples and piece of candy. I don’t think ill try again for a bit but if its like this one, I might consider again.
Nice box… I appreciate birchbox… I can’t wait for mine looks like I got a swell box… They do a great job every single month… Even if there are packets… They sure do get used… Hehehe
Here’s a link to the ingredient list for the Sumita eyeliner. I have the same color–it is subtle, I think! http://zibabeauty.com/products/product/color-contrast-pencils-
Thank you!!
I love my Birchbox this month!
I’ve been watching the Birchbox sub box for a while and feel consistently uninterested with the offerings. I like that they include some upscale items, but it seems like people on their FB page are always complaining about the consistency in box values between BB subscribers. When I originally started looking into sub boxes I couldn’t decide between Ipsy and Birchbox, but I feel like Ipsy has been the better value overall. So many tiny samples and foils in BB! Is there any guaranty of a full size product every month? I guess that would be the nail polish? That eyeliner looks like the big winner in this box to me.
My Ipsy for this month was close to a $60 value compared to this one’s $20. I will say the BB points system is far superior to Ipsy’s though, so maybe that makes up for other things.
I hope I get a different box because I have way too many eyeliners due to subscription boxes and I’ve already received the clarifying shampoo before. I do like the polish though.