It looks like the Grinch may have made off with Charlotte's box this month, but mine made it safe and sound. Okay, Charlotte, look away from your monitor and skip the following sentence. This was one of my favorite Birchboxes ever! One product in particular sent me over the moon, but we'll get into that in just a bit.
Benefit Cosmetics - The POREfessional
(0.75 fl oz. $29)
I love primers, I was excited to try out a new one from Benefit. Primers go on under your makeup to help create a smooth surface - this keeps pores hidden and foundation from settling into lines. Benefit's primer is awesome, it's very lightweight and gives your skin a silky feel (it also smells really good). It didn't quite hide the most visible of my pores, but I do have some serious pores on my nose so I wasn't expecting a miracle. But I have to say I was extremely impressed with how well it covered up flaws without ever feeling heavy or greasy. It's oil free, and there's one big difference from other primers I've seen - you can use this under and over your makeup. I ordered a full size tube right away.
Harvey Prince - Ageless
(50 ml $55; 100 ml $98)
The packaging claims that this perfume is designed to make you smell more youthful, which is an interesting concept. After suppressing the urge to pour the entire thing over my head, I stopped to take a sniff. It was crisp, and very familiar... after a few moments I realized it smells very similar to Clinique's Happy. I'm not sure if it actually helped make me feel any younger, but it does smell very bright and fresh. Ultimately, it was a little too much for me - but if you're a fan of Happy, you'll like Ageless.
Jouer - Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink
(0.21 oz. $20)
Birchbox has sent me Jouer lip gloss before, and I've loved them. I'm a lip gloss junkie, so I was happy to slick this new shade on as soon as I tore open the box. They made a custom shade of fuchsia just for Birchbox, and although it looked a little Barbie pink in the tube, a light coat goes on very sheer. You can also build it up to a much more intense hot pink, wear your Birchbox love on your lips!
Orofluido - Beauty Elixir
(3.4 oz. $29.99)
This elixir is for your hair and contains a mixture of argan, linseed and cyperus oils, and I am declaring my undying love for it right now. The description from Birchbox says it has a vanilla amber scent, so I was hesitant to try it (I'm not a fan of vanilla). It may be because my hair soaks everything up like a black hole, but I didn't smell even a trace of vanilla once I worked it in. After just one application I noticed how silky and smooth my hair felt and looked. I ordered a full size bottle immediately! I've been using argan oil on my hair for a little over six months now, and Orofluido blows it out of the water. It's in-cred-i-ble.
Bonus items:
ShowStoppers - Designer Fashion Tape
(24 strips $9.99)
These are double sided tape strips to keep your clothing in place, my sample was in black - how did they know my goth wardrobe habits? The strips worked well, I used it to maintain some modesty in one of my favorite work dresses. The strip held all day, and didn't stain my clothes at all. $10 is a little steep for 24 strips, considering you can buy a whole roll for about $7. The black color is cool, although the whole point is that you shouldn't be able to see the tape at all. The convenience of the strips is that they're pre-cut, so no fumbling with the tape - I have had a few mishaps with tape sticking together or not cutting properly. This was a nice bonus item, but I don't think it would be something I'd buy.
EBOOST - Orange Natural Energy Booster
(20 packets $28)
This is a citrus flavored you mix with water fora vitamin packed "boost". It tastes like an Emergen-C or (my favorite) Berocca, and contains Vitamin C, B6, B12, Zinc, Green Tea Extract (among others). I like these boosts before and after a night of drinking, I wouldn't have survived my week in Helsinki without it. However, $28 for 20 packets is kind of ridonkulous. You can get EBOOST at Amazon for about $10 less (sorry, Birchbox) or go to your local drugstore and pick up something similar for much less.
Hit(s) of the month: I couldn't decide between my top two, so I'll name both of them the winner. Orofluido Beauty Elixir - incredible, amazing, worth the price.
Benefit Cosmetics the POREfessional - left my skin feeling silky smooth and never clumped up or got greasy.
Both of these are examples of the kinds of products I don't mind splurging on. One, they're amazing. Two, they give you a great foundation to build on. An awesome primer will give you a nearly flawless canvas to work on - you'll end up spending less money on other products because you won't have to use as much or buy multiple products to try to correct flaws. The same goes for the Orofluido, it left my hair feeling so soft and smooth, I didn't need to use any other products in my hair. I'm all about trying to be more budget conscious, but sometimes spending money on a high quality product is the wisest choice. I'd rather spend $30 on one incredible product that will give me great results and that I'll use on a regular basis, than on three $10 items that will give me so-so results and will end up collecting dust on a shelf.
A quick P.S. to the post, if you're a Birchbox member you can leave feedback for any product you received that month and earn 10 points! Every 100 points you earn is good for $10 in purchases.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for myself and bought two gift subscriptions! Hope they don't get f'd in the mail! Thanks for the recs sistas!
ReplyDeleteWoo! I can't wait until we start having product swap parties, we gotta fill those AHS-free hours somehow!
ReplyDeleteim down for a swap!
ReplyDelete