February Birchbox Review

Happy hump day! We’ve reached the coveted middle point of the week, all down hill from here on out folks! How was your Monday and Tuesday? Any healthysELF elves out there? Did you get in your leg workout on Monday? I got in a 5k run and some squats and lunges. Okay, let’s get right into it, this review is upon request for a very special lady out there, Maryana! I hope you find this helpful! 😉

Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that will send you 4-5 beauty and lifestyle samples.

“Every month, you’ll receive a box filled with beauty, grooming, and lifestyle samples from both up-and-coming and well known brands. Each delivery will include a mix of categories, as well as lifestyle items. Samples are generously sized, with enough product to allow you to figure out if they’re right for you.” –Birchbox

The box is available for both men and woman. The women’s box is $10/month, whereas the men’s box is $20/month. To receive the women’s box, you must first sign up on a waiting list (I was on the waiting list for about 2 months). The men’s box does not currently have a waiting list. When you sign up, you are asked to answer a few questions about yourself and create a profile. Some of the things they want to know are what your hair color is, skin coloring is, and the type of beauty issues you’re concerned with. From there, the products you receive are supposed to be based off of your personal profile. I’ve been receiving these boxes since December; here’s a look at the latest shipment:

It’s delivered in a bright pink packing box. It’s fun to get such a brightly colored package in the mail!

I believe the men’s box arrives at their doorstep in a more discreet box, it’s themed with blue and gray colors. Anyway, inside of the pretty pink box rested this brown box:

They really hold true to the pink theme with the tissue paper…

Each Birchbox comes with an explanatory notecard. On one side it explains the theme for that month’s box, and on the reverse side it has a breakdown of the products you receive and how much every product runs for at retail size. When I lifted away the tissue paper, this is what I saw:

For some reason, Birchbox likes to put a couple of small items into their own little gold box holders…I guess it makes it look fancier. After I ripped into the little box-within-a-box, I discovered these other items:

Here’s the breakdown of what the box included:

• Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate and Caramel square, retail 5.32oz for $4.25
• Color Club nail polish in Wild Cactus, retail 0.5oz for $8
• Perfume sample from Juicy Couture in Couture La Ra, retail 1.7oz for $70
• Dr. Jart+ Black Label Detox BB Beauty Balm, retail 1.5oz for $36
• Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle, retail 8oz for $21.95

I’m excited to use the wild cactus polish, it’s a crazy color but it would be fun for the spring and summer. I’ll definitely give the hair protector (it’s paraben and sulfate free) a try too, as it is supposed to help seal the cuticle of your hair and prevent frizz. The BB cream is SPF 25, tinted, and contains “rare caviar extract” which is supposed to promote collagen production.  Those 3 samples will be put to good use…but the chocolate and perfume? Okay, don’t get me wrong, but the chocolate square is not what I signed up for. It’s the “lifestyle” sample. I know for some of you, your life may very well revolve around chocolate, but I am not really a huge fan. I would have rather received another beauty sample. As for the perfume, in my January box I got 2 samples that are still sitting in my bathroom. In all honestly, I will probably end up throwing them out, so getting another sample of that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I guess it would be a good idea for me to throw the samples into my gym bag so I can freshen up a bit after a workout. My favorite box so far was the December box, not only did it have a special fancy holiday box:

Oooo! Ahhhhh! So shiny! 🙂

But I also got some great samples and ended up using every one of them (again…besides the perfume). It even had a full-size mascara that retails at about $20, that more than paid for the box!

December’s loot.

Overall, in hopes that I’ll get another awesome box like I did in December, I’ll probably hold out and keep the subscription going for another month.  But Birchbox needs to step up their game a little, and for pete’s sake I don’t want any more perfume samples. I take showers! I have my own perfume that I like to use!

*I paid for the Birchbox subscription with my own money and was not given compensation for the review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*

Thoughts??

Have you ever tried Birchbox? Did you get TONS of perfume samples too?

Do you have a favorite monthly subscription?