Birchbox Upgraded Box Review – June 2015

I just got my sample choice email. This is my third month of BB and the only time I’ve ever actually gotten the sample choice email. I went with the Venezia (bright coral) liquid lipstick. I probably would have gone for the curated box if they had included the coral instead of the hot pink! Fingers crossed the rest of my box is as awesome as the liquid lipstick!

Anyone get the sample choice email yet?

has anybody else received their samples half empty? its my first birch box and I’m very disappointed. two of my samples were half empty, not really impressed by any of the products and i got a hair clip?? i was expecting either make up or skin care items. that’s what i asked for in the survey you first fill out with them. Plus two of my other samples were foil packets, to me those shouldn’t even count. All of it was crap, definitely first and LAST birchbox for me 🙁

I upgraded to my subscription and will be getting Smith & Cult nail polish and Mally blush. I’m stoked about the nail polish but don’t really care about the blush. I think the beta program is awesome and they are sending some really high end products. My only problem is that I still have not gotten my box! I have been with Birchbox for more than 2 years and the last few months my boxes have taken FOREVER to get to me. Going on 2 weeks since it shipped.

$20 is a lot for two items I don’t even get to pick. For $20, I can have a whole other monthly subscription of my choice.

I cancelled the Beta Upgrade after two months. . I actually liked the 4 full sized items I received and think the value was there. But I do feel the extra $20 per month is better spent on either another sub box or full sized items of my own choosing. I will definitely keep my regular BB sub. For $10 per month and the points system, the value can’t be beat. Not every month is a hit for me, but I have discovered so many new, high quality products and brands.

Did anyone else receive the survey for Beta customers? I filled mine out and it did ask a lot of thoughtful questions about how to make it better. One of the questions asked was whether I would prefer a single full sized item for $10 extra per month and if I would be more inclined to keep the Beta upgrade if a skin care option was one of the choices. So I might add it back on if some of these changes are made.

Dear BIrchBox,

If you sent me hair products like Temple Spa, instead of Beaver, I would not be counting down the months until my yearly sub is up. I rescind my statement if Temple Spa is made in China.

PA Anna

Seriously, I see things that I would love to try and never get.

With much soul searching (and I only waffled on this decision because I loved their excellent customer service), I cancelled both my and my husband’s boxes.

The BB man box was great when we first subbed (over a year ago), large size items (body wash was 3.4 oz, the face cream was 1/3 or 1/2 the size of a full size cream, and the lifestyle item was great. This was the case for the first few boxes, and we loved it. Then suddenly, foil packets, tiny tiny tiny samples with less than a dimes worth of product and Lifestyle item no longer of same value, and even though I changed the account to say “bald” for husband’s very fine hair thinking I would trick the account to not receive any more heavy moisturizing shampoo, we still got pomade in almost every box. It actually became stressful v.s. fun to open the box.

Then, my women’s box, what a mess. Had for 2 years and only really 9 boxes were good (3 were curated), and 4 were punishment boxes for sure. While the curated boxes were better, some had repeats from items I had previously received, which is a problem because you can’t review them again, so the point value dropped significantly for the value you were receiving overall….I changed profile three times in the 2 years, and it never made a difference just like listing husband as bald….

So now I will stick to LE boxes if one comes up like the ages ago (2 years) now maybe) CEW Prestige box. That was great box.

I upgraded when BB first offered it and I have been pretty happy so far expect with the last two months I received the same two upgraded items the cargo eye shadow in the exact same color and another eye shadow 🙁 it was disappointing

I have to say that I’ve never been tempted to go for this upgrade–I’ve never seen anything that would be worth the extra $20 to me. I’d also be so disappointed if I received those TempleSpa products–they’re offered in a lot of hotels as freebies. The lotion isn’t bad, but my hair hates the shampoo and conditioner.

I think I am in the minority here. I enjoy this sub- Its not the most incredible value- but I trust Birchbox. I like the brands they carry, I believe their products are ‘fresh’ (read so many things on other subs having old or expired products) point system, CS. I also get boxycharm and glossybox with I realize come with more items for the same amount but its always such a gamble- I just like knowing what I receive in my Birchbox upgrade will be from a brand I like and be a current product. The value is still there imo- getting a $22 mascara for $10 is a good value to me. I don’t need to blown away for something good and trustworthy

Last month was my first month, I paid the extra +$20 and didn’t get the two full-size items either. They refunded me.

This month my box took FOREVER to get to me I feel like (it finally arrived 6/19). I got basically this exact same box only my PYS was the Supergoop, not the COOLA.

I am pretty happy with this box but mostly because I didn’t end up with mascara. I know one is coming next month so I’ll swap or gift it. If a lot of my “full size” items end up being mascara I’ll likely end up dumping the +$20 option and just keeping the normal box. I stick to They’re Real.

I have gotten perfume 2 months out of 2 so far and I am sort of bugged by that.

I got the same upgraded box as Liz, except I got the mascara I paid for the $20 upgrade last month and didn’t get the two full size products either, I canceled the upgrade but kept my subscription I feel it was a good value dollar wise for the items I received but nothing I really need or want and I don’t like the mascara at all. Also I don’t like that if you upgrade you can’t choose one of the featured boxes which for me are usually better then my regular box if they are available. I must say that birchbox customer service is great though everytime I email them about a broken item or canceling the upgrade they respond right away and are very helpful. I got the extra $1 box this month and it was all repeats so I’m going to cancel that one though.

Our boxes were almost the same. Only two differences, I got the dr jart water as my PYS and the mirenesse mascara as one of my full size. I don’t know if I’m going to stick with the upgraded box. It’s not really worth it. Maybe if it was hair or skin care. But that would be hard for them to do I think. The upgrade boxes will all include the smashbox mascara next month and in April as one of my full size items I got the lord and Berry mascara. So three full size mascaras in 4 months. Seems a bit much honestly, I emailed them and gave them feedback. Oh and one of my samples one of those months was a small mascara as well. Ha, so I will never run out.

I’m never going to pay an extra $20 for 2 full size products I might not even like. That extra $20 can get you a Glossybox or Boxycharm, or 2 more months of Birchbox! $30 a month… idk what they’re thinking.

My 2 regular boxes this month were the exact same, but that didn’t bother me because I loooove shampoo & conditioner samples. I wasn’t thrilled about the hair ties, but I’ll use them.

Overall I’d give June a 6/10, but I still remain loyal to Birchbox because I just bought $130 worth of make up for only $7!!!!! Thanks to my points and a 25% off code 😀

I don’t like Mally products at all and almost never wear lip products. I love Temple Spa but I get that brand quite a bit in my regular Birchbox. Glad I skipped the upgrade.

Check the ingredients on the shampoo, not sulfate free only sls free. It has als.

I canceled (again) after receiving my box with the Temple Spa products. I travel a lot and receive that brand of toiletries in hotels often. Not what I’m looking for from a sub box.

I got the upgraded box on one of my accounts and canceled it immediately. I don’t care for Mally products too much and I got a Mirenesse mascara instead of the lip rouge. I would’ve rather had the lip rouge, I don’t care for the mascara either and have tons to last me 3 lifetimes. Otherwise my box was nearly identical. Not my fave BB, I could do without all the hair stuff and sunscreen. I liked the headband, but it’s soooo tight on my head it’d be better for a child.

I got the same box, which is disappointing because I said no haircare and I hate perfume samples. It also arrived crazy late (didn’t even have a shipping number until the 11th and even then didn’t actually leave the warehouse until the 15th). Last month was my first month trying the upgraded subscription but they sent me a regular box after charging me for the upgraded (I obviously got a refund for the difference, but all Customer Service said was “oh this is beta.” No “sorry points” or anything). So… I don’t know? I accidently did my plus-item-towel on this account, so I have to tough it out for another month, I guess, and I’m saving the things I don’t like for gifts at a bridal shower I’m planning. But this is pretty disappointing, overall.

Thanks for the review, Liz! I’m glad I didn’t upgrade Birchbox, it seems for the extra $20 you are better off subscribing to Boxycharm or glossybox, despite the problems these seem to have.

Anyway, I got another 20% off $50 code for Birchbox if anyone wants it and I still have the $3 off a $15 beauty purchase at Target coupon to give away. It’d be great if there could be a section where people could post/look for free discount codes like these.