You know, lately I’ve been loving my Birchboxes. Maybe it’s the ability to choose one sample or even the whole box sometimes, or maybe it’s because the quality really improved, but I genuinely look forward to my monthly surprises now. In November I opted in to receive a pre-curated BuzzFeed Life box titled “Holiday Hacks”, so I knew exactly what was coming to me.
HOW IT WORKS
Birchbox is a subscription service that delivers a box of luxury beauty samples to your doorstep every month. Subscribers receive 4-6 samples and sometimes even full-sized products. At $10/month Birchbox is one of the cheapest monthly beauty subscriptions out there, the value of each box usually ranges from at least $15 and can be as high as $60. They also have a nice reward program: for each completed product survey you get 10 points, every 100 points earns you $10 in Birchbox credits – a currency to use in their online store for full-sized products and even gift subscriptions.
If you would like to use my referral link then click here to join Birchbox. Thank you!
COUPON CODES
Use code BBJETBLUE when you subscribe/reactivate to receive 100 Birchbox points [$10 credit]. Expiration date unknown.
amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo makes me feel happy just by looking at it – the designers really went all out and created something fun and unique. The size is perfect to put in a travel bag or even carry around in a purse for midday touchups, and it smells great, too. My roots turn dirty really fast, so a nice dry shampoo is a must.
Greenleaf Signature Candle in Silver Spruce seems like a perfect home accent for the Holidays. These tiny votive candles come in their own little boxes and have potential to be great stocking stuffers. The scent takes me to a large pine forest on a cold winter evening, with fresh snow up my knees. If you ever wondered what Christmas by a cozy fireplace in a snowed in cabin smells like, I bet this is it.
Birchbox pinky swears that Dr. Jart+ Pore Minimalist Mask will make me wake up like Beyonce, even after all that eggnog, ham, and mashed taters the day before. I’ll take them up on that offer! I have an odd feeling they aren’t lying, because in my experience all of Dr. Jart+ products that I tried have been amazing.
Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips is really for “nips”, but it sure makes an amazing lip treatment. It’s made with 100% medical grade lanolin that moisturizes better than any lip balm or lip butter. It works for dry cuticles, too!
And finally, the last sample is Mirenesse iCurl Secret Weapon 24hr Mascara, which looks totally adorable. It has a curved wand that helps lengthen the lashes and give them slight curl, but doesn’t do much in terms of volume, and that’s something my winks desperately need. I guess I’ll use it for the daytime, but I personally prefer volumizing formulas.
THE VERDICT
I think this was a great Birchbox, and everything clearly fits into the theme of Holiday Hacks, wouldn’t you agree? Sample selection for December is already available, and everyone gets to pick one product from the bunch, or a whole curated box [this month Birchbox collaborated with Lo Bosworth]. I chose the full-sized rose gold eyeliner, because I don’t own anything like it, but the curated box looked tempting, too.
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo | $4.36 |
| Greenleaf Signature Candle in Silver Spruce | $1.92 |
| Dr. Jart+ Pore Minimalist Mask | $7.50 |
| Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips | $2.90 |
| Mirenesse iCurl Secret Weapon 24hr Mascara | $11.60 |
| Box Retail Value | $28.28 |
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^ Ahh, sorry. I seem to be having technical errors today. Anyway, I really like the Dr. Lipp! I got it in a Birchbox last year and really enjoyed using it as a nighttime lip balm. Have you tried regular plain ol’ lanolin? I’ve heard it’s the same thing as regular plain lanolin (which is cheaper) so I’m looking to try that at some point.
Hi there! To answer your question, this is the curated US box for November, and I believe we’re getting a curated box from Lo Bosworth in December, which was also very tempting 🙂 I actually really like the idea of two curated boxes every month – one with all contents revealed and the other one for the usual mystery samples – I think it’s more fun that way and gives us more options.
I’ve never had a subscription box before but I like the sound of Birchbox. I like that it included a little votive candle – I’m such a candle lover and ones with scents are my favourite. The Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for lips is a really popular product, I’ve seen it on so many peoples holy grail products list. Enjoy your new goodies!
I’ve been using Ipsy for awhile, but I’ve been wanting to try out birchbox. Which do you think would be better? I sure do love what you got this month!
xoxo
Lauren
http://www.dressingdallas.com
The price is a bit expensive but with the coupon it becomes quite reasonable. I can’t decide though if I want to try them. The pore minimizer always gave me such a disappointing short term effect. I feel like I spent money for nothing. =(
I also love receiving monthly surprises especially if the products are really what I need and want. The amike Perk Up Dry Shampoo has a nice packaging. It didn’t look like a typical shampoo. I’d also love to try the Mirenesse iCurl Secret Weapon 24hr Mascara because the shape just looks perfect!
I used to have birch box and used to love it but then i noticed the products in the box where the same as the ones i was already getting in my love me beauty box (beauteco) so I ditched birchbox and stayed with LMB but saying that I would have loved to receive that mascara
I love birchbox. I threw a birchbox +benefits cosmetic party a few months ago! I love all things beauty and now I am inspired to check out another box to review for myself so thanks for this post!
What a neat subscription box. I’ve heard of birchbox before but have never tried it for myself. After seeing the goods, I really might just try it. I love that mascara.