Birchbox Sample Box Review + Coupon – September 2018

I just got my first September box. They picked everything for me since I subscribed late in the month. I also got my Wanderout Lipstick Duo as my promo.

Stila Stay All-Day Liquid Lip in Patina Shimmer: It’s very shimmery – almost looks like a melted metallic coating. Kind of cool, but I normally go for a more natural look so this is outside my normal style. Still, fun to have, and not a dupe of anything I own. It bleeds a lot, so next time I apply I will definitely put a lip liner on first. The color is a bit pink for me, but I think it might be fine depending on what other makeup I wear (I tried it on with no other makeup, so it stood out more.) It seems to have good lasting power, but it isn’t transfer proof, so I’m guessing it will wear a bit when eating. It’s actually slightly moisturizing and not drying at all, which I appreciate, but the patina on it does show every lip line and bump so I will be sure to exfoliate before applying next time.

Beauty Protector Protect and Detangle – a Very useful product for me. Decent sample size, and I will probably throw this into a diaper bag for ‘on the go’ mommy and daughter hair detangling!

Number 4™ Jour d’automne Smoothing Balm: I was surprised to get two hair care products in a box, but the sample size is good and I can use this. As a mom I don’t get much time to fuss with my hair, so something I can smooth through to calm it down on a bad hair day sounds good.

M·A·C Cosmetics In Extreme Dimension 3D Black Lash Mascara: Small even for a sample mascara, but I don’t really mind since I prefer tiny mascaras. I rarely wear mascara and mascara expires quickly, so the small tubes are perfect for me and fit well in my purse. I always hate throwing away larger tubes of dry or expired mascara that I only used a quarter of! I haven’t tried it yet. Most mascaras do not work for me, I end up looking like a raccoon (maybe I have oily lids despite my otherwise dry skin?) so Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes is my general go-to. I’ve found a few through sub boxes that work OK, and some that were complete misses. Nothing from MAC yet, though, so this will be good to try.

[ comfort zone ] Hydramemory Cream Gel: This sample was a small tube that came half empty. I tried it last night and it was nicely moisturizing, but it took a lot of product – so I think I will only get three applications out of the tube. A bit disappointing!

For a first month I think it was an OK selection, and I have two more months in my 3 month sub to decide whether I want to keep the sub long term or not.

Wanderout Lipstick Duo: This was my promo, and overall I really like it. The tube is great – these lipsticks should be very well protected in my purse and it looks very classy. Even though this is the full size Wanderout lipstick duo, it’s worth noting that the lipsticks themselves are travel size. I can see why – the tube would be huge if the lipsticks were full size! I love the shade barely there – I wouldn’t really call it a nude as it has a lot of color, but it’s a very wearable shade for me. Wanderberry is a lovely burgundy but just a bit darker than what I normally go for. I ended up toning it down with a little of the barely there. Staying power doesn’t seem to be great (at least for me it seemed to have worn off about 4 hours later) so I think it would need reapplied throughout the day.

September is my first box so they picked the entire box for me. I noticed a similarity with this box, i got:

– a cleanser (malin+goetz, october choice)
-a spray type hair product (beauty protector detangler)
-a balm/mask type hair product (number 4 smoothing balm)
-a face product (good genes)
-makeup (for the eyes too, mac 3d lash mascara)

The same pattern as this box, only with different products. Lol don’t mind me, Ive just been curious with these algorithms.

Wow, nothing I wanted there.