I don’t think I have ever received a Birchbox faster than this month, in fact, I got an email with my May tracking number after I already had the box in my hands! I was always under the impression that boxes shipping early are worse than those shipped later, but in this case I was totally wrong. This month I got seven products, which is the most I have ever gotten in any of my past boxes. That means I get $7 back in points for product reviews. I bet you can’t wait to see what I’m so excited about, so without further ado, here are the contents of my super-awesome May Birchbox!
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| Birchbox May 2014 – special yellow packaging for May |
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| Birchbox May 2014 |
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| Birchbox May 2014 – contents |
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 rewards program, where 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!
Special offer: Subscribe by 5/26 and get your first box for only $5 using the code SUMMERSUB at checkout.
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| PIXI Beauty Shea Butter Lip Balm |
PIXI Beauty Shea Butter Lip Balm – The shade I got is called Coral Crush, but in reality it looks more like a bright ripe tomato, which is what it looked like on me. Something about this color made my skin look dull, and even emphasized my dark circles, so this was a classic case of the hue being totally wrong for my complexion. This lip balm, however, feels wonderful on the lips – its non-sticky formula and long wear time make it a good alternative for everyone’s favorite Maybelline Babylips sans petrolatum.
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| Marcelle New·Age 8 in 1 Power Serum |
Marcelle New·Age 8 in 1 Power Serum – I have never heard of Marcelle brand before they started getting featured in Birchboxes, and looks like a lot of people love their BB cream. I was hoping to snag a sample of it too, but instead got to try this serum. Fine with me, I love skincare! This serum is packed with a blend of five peptides to deliver eight visible skin benefits in just one week of use. A bold claim! The sample I received is large enough for about 2 weeks, so I look forward to seeing those amazing results for myself.
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| COOLA Environmental Repair Plus Radical Recovery After-Sun Lotion |
COOLA Environmental Repair Plus Radical Recovery After-Sun Lotion – COOLA [along with Supergoop, La Roche-Posay, Shiseido and Josie Maran] is my favorite brand of sunscreen, and that’s all I bought from them. I never cared about after-sun lotions because I don’t tan, but I will give it a try since I have this sample now. I suppose my skin could benefit from its soothing properties after a day outside, even if I didn’t intend to bake intentionally. The ingredients look promising, too: 70% of the ingredients are harvested from organic farms.
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| Nexxus Color Assure trio |
Nexxus Color Assure Pre-Wash Primer – That’s an interesting concept! This oily emulsion is meant to envelop the strands to protect the color from washing out, and I can actually see that method being quite effective. It was somewhat tricky to spread evenly across my long mane, but in the end I really enjoyed the result. It can’t be used alone on its own, obviously, because this oil needs to be thoroughly washed out with mild sulfate-free shampoo.
Nexxus Color Assure Vibrancy Retention Shampoo – How do I know this shampoo is super mild? It didn’t foam at all! It’s a good thing for color-treated hair, but I still would have liked a little bit of bubbles just to give me an idea if there are any spots that I missed. Regardless, this is an impressive and very gentle shampoo, that I would definitely trust with maintaining my hair color.
Nexxus Color Assure Vibrancy Retention Conditioner – This gentle conditioner contains nourishing oils that help detangle the hair and further seal in the color, preventing it from being washed out. I thought it was a nice finishing touch, and my hair looked great after the shower.
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| Harney & Sons Wrapped Tea Sachets |
Harney & Sons Wrapped Tea Sachets – It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with tea, and I always want to try all of the delicious varieties. In this box I received Caribe and Pomegranate Oolong, and they were both so refreshing! Now I have to remember to add Caribe to my cart next time I shop at Birchbox.com.
THE VERDICT
What can I say, I personally thought my May Birchbox was great! It’s also nice that I received $7 back in points, so the box essentially cost me $3. I can’t wait to use COOLA and Marcelle products, and I already have a wishlist going for those teas. I may or may not pick up PIXI tinted lip balm in a different color, we’ll see!
Do you subscribe to Birchbox? What did you think about the samples I got?
| Product | Retail value |
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| PIXI Beauty Shea Butter Lip Balm | $8.00 |
| Marcelle New·Age 8 in 1 Power Serum | $8.16 |
| COOLA Environmental Repair Plus Radical Recovery After-Sun Lotion | $2.66 |
| Nexxus Color Assure Pre-Wash Primer | $0.92 |
| Nexxus Color Assure Vibrancy Retention Shampoo | $0.26 |
| Nexxus Color Assure Vibrancy Retention Conditioner | $0.33 |
| Harney & Sons Wrapped Tea Sachets | $0.96 |
| Box Retail Value | $21.29 |
