Birchbox
is a $10 monthly subscription that offers 5 (sometimes more) skincare, hair
care and beauty samples in a cute little box that will contribute to further
clutter and hoarding in your home. Birchbox likes to focus on mid-range and
prestige brands so their samples are often on the smaller side. If an increased
fire hazard sounds like a great idea to you, here’s a referral link. December’s box
was one of the better boxes I’ve had in a while:
The box itself was pretty cute. I love the geometric design.
It’s a bit of a modern take on Art
Deco with a bit of Googie thrown in
there, but not at all. The box serves no purpose but I can’t bring myself to
just throw it out. Does Goodwill accept “giftwrap?”
I just this moment realized it’s spelled “Davines oi,” not “Davines
ol” like I’ve been writing for years. I used this in Lizzie’s hair as a leave
in spray conditioner and it was nice. I love the smell (man, do I love this
smell: salon mixed with a gender fluid cologne) and it was a decent spray leave
in conditioner. Leave in sprays are not my favorite. I prefer thicker leave in
conditioners for hydration and detangling but leave in sprays do provide a bit
of extra protection over just spraying water at the beginning of the styling
process.
The dreaded foil packet… At least these foil packets were
bonus items and not considered one of my 5 samples. There was nothing remarkable
about them. I do love the smell of the Davines OI line but besides that there
just wasn’t enough of a sample to give an opinion one way or another. At least
this time and I was smart enough to pre-shampoo prior to using the foil packet.
I was able to get a good lather going as a result. Let’s be honest, whenever
you shampoo, it takes 2 washes to get a good lather, no? Ultimately though, I
feel like the pre-poo is cheating and there was nothing noteworthy about this
shampoo and conditioner outside of the perfumed scent.
I was really hard on this mascara at first because I have an
irrational dislike for Benefit. I can chalk that up to the lack of shades
appropriate for my skin type, brow focus of the brand and how I just don’t use
brow products, the number of times I’ve received Benefit brow products in
boxes, and the price point. The wand is perfect. I love spiked rubber wands and
what’s even better is this one doesn’t hurt my eyes like the Covergirl Peacock
Flare wand from last spring/summer. The formula is a bit wet but it covers
every lash. It provides a little curl (I have an eyelash curler but I never
curl my lashes out of laziness). The formula lengthens beautifully and defines
each and every lash. The only deficits with this mascara are a lack of added
volume, which I desperately need, and 2 coats can get a bit clumpy if I’m not
careful. Other mascaras layer well and this one can be layered on top of other
brands for a second coat but 2 coats of Roller Lash can quickly turn my lashes
into tragic spider lashes.
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| The disgusting shine is after my moisturizer betrayed me at the end of the day with flash. |
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| After 1 0 hours of Wearing Benefit roller lash, LOC shadow in aurora, Clinique Pretty Easy eyeliner, 100% Pure Green Tea Moisturizer, and Make Up Forever Foundation in 415 with flash. |
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| Same look, no flash. |
I want to love Whish as a brand and I love lip scrubs but
this product just isn’t for me. It has a very fine grit and it has a nice balmy
texture but it tastes hideous. It smells like artificial vanilla, what you’d
find in a Now and Later quality candy (really, it’s about as bad as candy
banana flavor). My lips feel coated and really, I’m getting flashbacks of the VenEffect
lip treatment from years past, right down to the drying. The chemical
flavor is so off putting that I’m having a very hard time not throwing this in
the trash like the other balm. I just can’t even. Where’s my latte?
Oh thank god, some lip product to make up for Whish. This “miracle
balm” is listed as Step 1 in your routine. Maybe lips only because… It’s too
thick to be used anywhere but my lips and cuticles. The package even says lips,
cuticles and other areas that need TLC. They seemed a bit confused about how to
market this product is all I’m saying. The balm is a ballet slipper pink in the
tube but sheers out completely when applied. It’s very runny but somehow
effective at coating and moisturizing. Somehow it is less sticky than many lip
glosses I’ve tried in the past too. It’s done wonders at protecting my lips
during this most recent cold snap.
I don’t have any real complaints about this moisturizer. I
haven’t had a chance to use it much but the few times I did reach for this
weren’t disappointing. The instructions say to use a quarter sized amount on
the face after applying a serum but I found that a quarter sized amount is just
a bit too much for me. It absorbed well and did a great job of hydrating but it
left my skin feeling a bit tacky. You guys should know by now how much I dislike
tacky skin so beware if this is a concern for you as well. It also left me
looking a little extra “glowy” (see: oily. Pictured above) so I had to tame that with a
mattifying primer afterwards even though I had no intention of wearing any sort
of base makeup.
This Birchbox definitely
made up for November! Benefit Roller Lash alone made up for the rest of the
box. I love the fact that I enjoyed a Manna Kadar product (a rare event) and it’s
an infinitely useful liquid balm, I got a face moisturizer, and more leave in
conditioner for Liz. Side note: I just this moment realized I mention Lizzie’s
hair needs infinitely more than Olivia’s. This is because Liv’s hair is about a
3B/3C and closer to mine while still being manageable so her needs are more
specific. I have to go out and find items specifically for her and the crap
they throw in sub boxes for slightly less… ethnic hair specific hair
needs won’t work for her. At this point she only gets stuff that would work on
me if I didn’t have locs. Where Lizzie has 3A baby fine hair, Olivia has crazy
thick hair. Any suggestions from the crowd would be more than helpful.
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