Birchbox August 2014 Unboxing, Review, Pictures: Lighten Up

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With the enormous number of boxes Birchbox sends out, I’m surprised they even bother with themes anymore. To honor the August theme Lighten Up, Birchbox included products that will help us kick back, relax, and enjoy the remaining days of Summer.

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!

Laura Geller Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow in Silver Sands – I chose this sample to be included in my Birchbox this month because I heard so many great things about the brand and their products. And here it is, finally in my hands, in all its shimmery glory!

I really like the formula, because I can build up the opacity for an almost chrome-like effect, or sheer it out for gorgeous diffused shimmer. I have nail polish that is an exact match for this color, too, so I can be all matchy-matchy 🙂 Either way, this sample did not disappoint, and I’m glad I picked it. Now I’m curious to try other shades from the collection, because I love this one.

Harvey Prince Ageless Body Cream – Harvey Prince took Birchbox subscribers by a storm with their fabulous fragrances, and now they offer body products, too! I received this sample of their new anti-aging body cream, infused with pink grapefruit and vanilla extracts, with rich base of coconut oil and shea butter. The lotion is very heavily scented, which may bother some people. Harvey Prince fragrances are fairly powerful to begin with, so I expected their body care line to be strongly scented, too. The fragrance is something between fruity and floral, and lasts on the skin for many hours. I kind of wish they made an unscented version, because I enjoyed the way this lotion made my skin feel.

nügg Beauty Revitalizing Face Mask – Nugg is a totally new brand to me, that I had no idea even existed. They make masks with 95% natural ingredients, and package them in single-use capsules. In my August box, I received the Revitalizing mask that is perfect for a morning pick me up, according to Birchbox. As a mask fanatic, I am thrilled to give it a try, because I love the idea of mask in a pod. Isn’t it nice that you don’t have to expose a full jar of product to air and germs? The company recommends using the whole pod once a week for best results.

Neil George Shampoo & Conditioner – My first reaction was “who in the world is Neil George?”, so I looked it up and as turns out it’s actually two people – Amanda George and Neil Weisberg, that co-founded Neil George Salon in Beverly Hills, where stars like Heidi Klum and Nicole Kidman go to get their hair done. Well, who am I to doubt the fabulosity [is that even a word?] of those two gorgeous women? Both shampoo and conditioner samples are pretty generous in size and should last a couple weeks. The fragrance is minty and fresh, sort of reminds me of eucalyptus or something. However, after I took a look at the ingredient list, I noticed that the formula looks very simple and generic – sulfates, dimethicone etc. I can’t imagine these products being very effective.

THE VERDICT
This was just an okay box, because it had both hits and misses. I really liked Laura Geller liquid eye shadow and will most likely use it a lot. I also look forward to trying the mask, the ingredients sound very promising! I also liked the formula of Harvey Prince body lotion, but the fragrance is way too strong for my liking, so I’m not sure what to do with it yet. As for the shampoo & conditioner, even though the sample sizes are very generous, the formulas seem too simple [the bad kind of simple].

Are you a Birchbox subscriber? What did you get in your August box?

Product Retail value
Laura Geller Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow $12.50
Harvey Prince Ageless Body Cream $0.91
nügg Beauty Revitalizing Face Mask  $2.99
Neil George Shampoo $4.50
Neil George Conditioner $4.50
Box Retail Value $25.40


Disclosure: This post features products purchased by Glamorable! and may contain affiliate or referral links. For more details about my product review policy, copyright, and information about affiliate links, please refer to Disclosures & Content Use page. To find out how I rate products check out Product Rating page. 

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