Birchbox: February 2014

Wow, Birchbox, you came early this month... Or maybe you just came really late in January, so it just seems like you're super early... Not that I'm complaining.

I especially liked this months box. It had pretty stars. I like pretty stars. Apparently this month was a collaboration with US News, although I'm not sure how that really affected my box this month. It pretty much is the same it always is.

 

FYI, Birchbox is a subscription box. It's generally one of the cheaper ones, along with Ipsy. It costs $10.00 a month. There's a waiting list, but I think I got off of it in about two to three weeks, so it wasn't a long wait.  They send you a variety of beauty/lifestyle products based on a profile you fill out on their website when you sign up. I'm not quite sure if their boxes really go with your profile because I've gotten some items, where I'm like WTF, but there's always a variety. It's more varied than some of the other subscription boxes. This one has makeup, hair products, skin products, makeup tools, hair tools, perfume samples, and there are 50 different boxes each month that you can get.

Here it is... Under the wrapper.

 

Sorin seemed especially interested in my birchbox this month.

The magical list.

At first glance. My first impression wasn't bad. I did see a bottle of liquid and for a minute thought it was a huge perfume sample and got pissy, but luckily it was not. I don't wear perfume and I loathe it when I get useless perfumes samples.

I actually think Birchbox did a decent job with my box this month... That's two decent boxes in a row, which is much better than all the random boxes I had gotten before. I think their New Year's Resolution was to really try to improve on their boxes, and January and February have been surprisingly not as sucky, as previous boxes.

Beauty Protector: Protect & Oil, a full-size retails for 25.95, and I got about 3/4th's of an ounce according to my high school math teacher fiance. That makes this worth about $5.00, again according to him. I've never tried hair oil. My hair is oily enough. It smells nice. It smells like vanilla. Since I live in Houston, the humidity capital of the world, and I spend a shit ton of time outside, at the pool, with my kindle, reading so bad they're good dark-hunter sex novels... I think this product could prove itself very useful in the hotter months. AND YAY IT'S NOT PERFUME!!!

Ruby Wing Color Changing Nailpolish in Kitten Heels. Full-size retails for $10.00, and this is literally half the size of full-size, so it's also worth $5.00. I've always liked color changing nailpolish. My parents would always bring me back that Costa Del Sol stuff whenever they went on a cruise, and I loved it. These colors are rather bright for me, but they're probably really good for a summer pedicure, especially when I can wear my cheap Target flip-flops 24/7. I would have preferred one of the glitter colors.... because glitter makes the world go round, but I'll take it :)

Coola Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face. Full-size retails for $36.00. Mine is .17 ounces and worth $3.60. I happen to really like Coola products. Birchbox sent me their cucumber scented facial sunscreen in the summer, and it was a nice cooling relief that got me through a day at Schlitterbahn with barely a facial burn... My shoulders on the other hand... They were as red as a lobster. I don't think I would do a Tinted Sunscreen just because I don't like skin-color products. I don't wear foundation or cover-up or anything like that. So this isn't really for me, but it is a brand I do highly recommend for facial products with SPF.

On the left is the product squeezed out of the tube, and the right is it blended into my hand. It blends in well. It was a great match for my skin-tone. It's also sort of mousse-like, which is a nice and light fluffy texture. It's not oily at all. I'm not sure if I'd buy a product like this, just because it's not me, but it is a good product, and a great brand.

 

 Smashbox Full-Exposure Mascara in Jet Black. Full-size is $19.50. Mine is .14 oz, which is worth $7.08. I love me some mascara, especially black mascara. I have non-existent lashes, so mascara is my friend. I haven't tried it yet since I have TONS of mascara, but I will work into my rotation as soon as one of my tubes runs out. I have heard good things about this brand though. 

My lifestyle extra was a Smashbox Cosmetics Full Exposure Palette.

It's a sample of ten colors. The top are Crease-resistant, long-wearing shimmers. The bottom is velvety-smooth matte colors. I didn't swatch them or anything because the samples are so tiny. The top colors are more glittery than the bottom colors. The full-size is $49.00, I'll says these are like a tenth of the full product and round it up for $5.00, since it's hard to put a price on it. I do like that they're mostly nude colors, which gives me a lot of options for wearing them, since I tend to keep my makeup tame for school and such.

The math total is: $25.68, which is more then double the cost of my birchbox. So for just ten dollars, it's a pretty good deal.

I was very pleased with my Birchbox this month. I definitely think they're upping their game since 2013, and I'm eager to see what else awaits me.