Even though I was leaving the baking hot sunshine of Crete, one small solace was that my Birchbox was waiting for me at home. Perhaps a little bitter sweetly (it's about thirty degrees in Heraklion right now...), this month's theme is "Paradise found" with boxes either covered in palm trees or pineapples. As usual, five big beauty samples are in my box, and this month seems to be mostly focused on skin care. The box is also a slightly different format, for one month only, being a pull out draw. I am not sure how strongly you can feel about this small change but it probably will make for a better storage box. | There is also, as per usual, the card which gives you information on each product and how to use them something which I don't think all beauty subscriptions do and I personally find a really nice touch. There are also some general tips and reviews from the staff which can be fun to read too but any way, on the the fun part, the products... |
Cynthia rowley beauty-Brightening Illuminator
As the name gives away this is a small tube of liquid highlight. It is formulated to give a subtle pearlescent sheen which you can use pretty much anywhere you would want to highlight. I mostly agree with this description. It definitely gives a pinky shear glow, without any glitter, similar but not as intense as the Becca shimmering skin perfectors. My preference is to keep it on my cheek bones and down the bridge of my noes, avoiding under my eyebrows as I either can't be bothered with highlighting there or I just use a matte white eye shadow. This highlight is for fairer skin and this is in tune with my profile (make mine for pasty verging on translucent). The full size product comes in a fibre pen brush thing, much like YSL's Touch Eclat.
All in all I really like this product, it's very subtle which I like and easy to apply. It is much cheaper (the full size is priced at nineteen pounds) than some of the other luxury alternatives like the Becca options, but there is a step down in intensity too. I would have most likely purchased this product but sadly it is discontinued. Not too sure why Birchbox would send me something I cannot buy, it's never happened before, but the sample should last a while, and besides it's better for my bank account...
All in all I really like this product, it's very subtle which I like and easy to apply. It is much cheaper (the full size is priced at nineteen pounds) than some of the other luxury alternatives like the Becca options, but there is a step down in intensity too. I would have most likely purchased this product but sadly it is discontinued. Not too sure why Birchbox would send me something I cannot buy, it's never happened before, but the sample should last a while, and besides it's better for my bank account...
Absolution-Le nettoyant Pureté
This product is a gentle face wash hailing from a french brand called Absolution. The brand focus seems to be on organic, natural products, and this sample is no exception with the main ingredients being oats and camomile. We have received samples from Absolution before and I generally really like them. This is an effective face wash which makes your skin feel soft and relaxed. Sometimes when your face feels oily or dirty the temptation is to find a "purifying" or oil "stripping face" wash but actually, I have learned the hard way that this just makes things worse. I have combination skin, but oiliness is rarer for me now than before, and although not being a teenager anymore has a large part to play, but I would argue using gentler |
products has helped too. This product is a great example of a "kind" face wash and I would definitely recommend it. As per usual, I find that if I am wearing lots of makeup I need to go back over with some micellar water or similar round my eyes etc, but this left me feeling very clean over all. I don't think I will purchase this one now as I am incredibly loyal to my current cleanser, something I hope to post about soon, but when it is time for a change, why not?
Monu-Monuspa Enriched body cream
I have to start straight away by being totally honest about this one. The minute I opened it up, I didn't like it. This is completely a personal preference as I really didn't enjoy the smell. It is a very herbal spa like sent which I think would be nice for an oil, but in body cream just doesn't work for me. We have received a face cream from this brand before and I had a similar issue with that one, which smelt very heavily of lavender. This brand also seems to stick to very thick formulas which I really didn't like in the face cream but for a body lotion is alright. It did seem to make my arms feel soft, but I haven't noticed anything that special to make it |
worth forgoing on the scent. I have to say though the sample size is very generous (forty ml) as you only use a small amount at a time. There are however, so many lovely smelling alternatives that I would not buy this one. Just not for me.
Aïny skincare-pure lumiere gommage
This unfortunately didn't work for me either. I like receiving exfoliants in my boxes as they are useful for travel but this one has a very strange texture. The formula comes out as a thick yellow paste, like a cross between vaseline and honey. The product description reads that the face scrub then turns into a nourishing milk on contact with damp skin, but this is not what I found. |
It became very watery and the grains in the scrub felt stringy. I don't think this is nice at all. It is meant to make your skin feel radiant,and having used it only once I can't say wether on repeated use this is true. Usually, though, after exfoliating, my skin feels immediately better, but here I just wanted to go over again with a different product. Won't be buying this one either...
percy and reed-reassuringly firm session hold hairspray
Lastly comes a very nice surprise... Usually I would never even bother to look at a hairspray. My hair is so thick and unruly that to be honest, trying to spray some order onto it seems a little like trying to put out a fire with tears. This fixing spray, however, really did work for me. It is described as a fine, strong hold hairspray which doesn't leave your hair crunchy and I totally agree. I was going out for the evening when I first tried it. |
I had just washed my hair so it was still a little damp and it was pouring outside. For curly hair like mine, that is almost a guaranteed eighties pop star hairdo in the making. I thought I would use the spray because to be honest, how much worse was it going to be? It doesn't smell of anything nice or bad just a bit plain. But despite all this, I was very impressed. My hair remained remarkably un-frizzy throughout the whole evening, like it had dried at home, and that is enough of a miracle for me. My hair didn't feel crunchy or heavy or anything unpleasant and still felt freshly washed. I am going to be carrying this one around and when it runs out, I will be buying another. Easily my favourite of the bunch.
Overall thoughts...
This hasn't been my favourite Birchbox overall. As usual, I have really enjoyed opening it and trying new stuff out but there were two quite big misses for me. Having said that though, bar the terrible exfoliant, most of my issues were down to personal preference which won't obviously be the same for everyone. The other three products were pretty great too.
I think the samples were generous, the packaging beautiful as always, and most importantly I have had a lot of fun playing with the products. I have preferred my other boxes so far, but for the money involved, it's just a bit of fun. A slightly disappointing month is no terrible thing. Besides, the sneak-peak for next month looks very exciting, with the promise of a lip pencil for all subscribers. I already can't wait...
I think the samples were generous, the packaging beautiful as always, and most importantly I have had a lot of fun playing with the products. I have preferred my other boxes so far, but for the money involved, it's just a bit of fun. A slightly disappointing month is no terrible thing. Besides, the sneak-peak for next month looks very exciting, with the promise of a lip pencil for all subscribers. I already can't wait...