Birchbox November 2017 Review

Can I just say I loved the design of the box this month? The colors, the scallops, it was just a beautiful box. I am going to have a hard time trying to re-purpose this as a gift box because I'm that selfish of a person. The contents of the box were pretty strong too.

This month I received:

 

• LAQA & Co. B'Lighter Blush + Highlighter - Peacher's Daughter - $10.67 Cruelty Free
• Briogeo Rosarco™ Blow Dry Perfection & Heat Protectant Crème - $6.00 Cruelty Free
• Klorane Shampoo with Mango Butter - For Dry Hair - $1.48
• Klorane Conditioner with Mango Butter - For Dry Hair - $0.90
• English Laundry Oxford Bleu Femme Eau de Parfum - $0.29
• too cool for school All-in-One Egg Mellow Cream 5-in-1 Firming Moisturizer - $10.23

 

 

I enjoyed the LAQA & Co. Blush Topper more than I expected. This cream blush has a subtle pink shade with quite a bit of shimmer. It is too pink to work as a highlighter  but to shimmery to function as a blush so I just use it as a topper. It little bit goes a long way and it’s a decent size product so should last me for a while. On the bright side haven’t noticed any greasy feeling on my face while wearing it.

I did not like the Briogeo Rosarco Heat Protectant Crème at all this month.  Same song is every month, I can’t use this on my hair. Unfortunately it was basically useless kids’ hair.   The cream left and grow sticky residue and I found it wasn’t hydrating in the slightest. It also didn’t help with detangling.  In an ideal world Birchbox with stop sending me hair care products.

The Klorane shampoo and conditioner I received smelled decadent. Klorane appears to be an ingredient conscious brand and their mango butter seems to follow the trend of ingredient conscious products not providing a very heady lather. It took three good washes to get a respectable lather during one shower leaving me with about half a bottle remaining. The conditioner smelled even sexier, like a frozen mango smoothie, but I found the conditioning properties severely lacking. love that I received both a shampoo and conditioner-it’s always a bummer to receive one without the other. The conditioner sample was just a bonus foil packet though. I have yet to figure out why shampoo samples are always the larger sample (when samples are not the same size). I might just be one of the few who blasts through conditioner at a much faster rate than shampoo.

I’ve learned something about myself over the last several months: I love getting fragrance samples, as long as they’re a bonus, really. I appreciate fragrance samples in Birchbox more than other sources as well just because Birchbox is generally a fail for me on the haircare/makeup front. In November I discovered English Laundry Oxford Bleu, a very fresh, floral yet powdery scent. I may be in the minority but I love these scents. They can be best described  as powdery or old lady smelling, but there’s a certain class and elegance to them and this scent is no different. Its top notes consist of jasmine (probably a major contributor to the old lady scent), orange blossom, and osmanthus and bottom notes of sandalwood, sweet musk and caramelized sugar (source).

My favorite November item was the too cool for school All-in-One Egg Mellow Cream. I’m already drowning in moisturizers but this product was a standout but not for its 5-in-1 claims. It claims to be a primer, serum, eye cream, neck cream and sleeping mask. It functioned well as an eye cream. It is light weight and absorbs well. The Egg Mellow Cream works beautifully as a moisturizer/serum and is a serviceable moisturizing primer. I prefer a silicone textured mattifying primer but I feel like this helps with even application over my dry wintry areas on my face. As far as lotion primers go this has been the best I've encountered to date. I find I still prefer to use this as a moisturizer paired with Smashbox Photo Finish on top. I haven't bothered using the product as a neck cream because of the fairly small size of the sample. I outright refuse to use the cream as a sleeping mask because I am a fretful sleeper and I value my evening comfort and pillowcases.

I'm pleased with November's Birchbox. I discovered a new overpriced brand that I will probably only purchase in the future if I find an incredible deal and I discovered a new fragrance. I will use the B'lighter cream albeit sparingly. The overall value of the box was $29.57 but my personal value was about $21.69. If I were to repurchase just those three items in this box I believe $5 would be a fair price.