Birchbox, June 2014

*Referral Link Included

Last month's Birchbox was so late that I was quite shocked when June's Birchbox arrived on Tuesday.  The theme is Away We Go and the samples are supposed to be travel ready.

They've partnered up with JetBlue and a fun travel quiz is included as an extra.   It comes with cute little square cards that I forgot to take a picture of, but they are perfect for future paper crafting projects so I am hanging on to them.

The third info card is a gate fold advertisement a new they're Real push up liner by Benefit, it'll be released on June 27 and I totally don't get why it was included.  There is a coupon code for a free gift with purchase but if there is an ad from a company, I want there to be an actual item from them in my box!

So as you can see from my top photo two of the dreaded foil packs were included this month.  The first is for a Davines OI/All in One (full size $28).  This was totally not what I was expecting based on the How-To video Birchbox made.  In the example it's sprayed onto the hair, um yeah, this is a thick white cream.  Why would Birchbox show it being used on way and then send a sample that's not in a spray bottle?  I got two used out of it, but didn't notice much of a difference.

The Catherine Malandrino Style de Paris fragrance sample (full size $110), came in the black envelope, both shown above.  I'm terrible at describing scents so I'll use the official description: This multifaceted perfume has citrus top notes that open up to aromas of lush orange blossom, sweet jasmine, and fresh gardenia. The fragrance rounds out with hints of amber and musk, leaving behind a lovely blend that captures a flirty but refined mood.  It's not for me, so it's going into the share with friends pile.

Coastal Scents: Revealed 2 Eye Shadow Palette Set, full size $34.  This got a little messed up in transit but the colors are all lovely.  I will enjoy using them, even though the packaging is pretty underwhelming and not exactly user friendly.  That being said the full size palette looks like a good deal for 20 shadows and three brushes.

Along with the confusing foil packet of OI/All in One, I also got both the Love Smoothing Shampoo (full size, $24) and Conditioner (full size $27.50) from Davines.  The shampoo sample is a good size so it's odd that the conditioner came in a foil pack.  But the packaging doesn't really matter since both have a strong off putting scent.  The shampoo I could smell as soon as I opened the outer box!  Pass.

This Gilchrist & Soames London Collection Body Lotion does have the light crisp scent promised in it's description.  I like how it's cruelty-free and doesn't have parabens or other yucky ingredients.  It's a nice light lotion that absorbs quickly.  It's perfectly fine but doesn't have a "wow" factor that makes me want to plunk down $18 for the full size.

My last sample is the Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator, full size $34.  This will help gently exfoliate your skin, unlike other ones I've used the crystals are very fine and don't leave my face red at all afterward.  I have been enjoying this and hope to see a noticeable difference by the time my sample is used up.

I have been using dr. brandt® microdermabrasion skin exfoliant, but it is definitely more vigorous so I have to be careful not to overdo it.  Plus it's more than twice as much so it would be great if the Vasanti works well and I could use it instead.

That's it for my June Birchbox, as you might have been able to tell from my reviews I was a little underwhelmed with it overall.  It just didn't excite me.  I have my profile set to send me only a few perfume samples and this is my third one.  I haven't liked any so far so and I'm super picky about scent so those are always a dud for me.  I also don't like getting hair care samples, I'll have to see if there is a way to note that on my profile.

That being said, this Birchbox is still a win for me, mainly because of their steller rewards system.  If they ever do away with that I would probably stop subscribing.  I got seven products this month and I'll go onto their site and review each one.  So I will get 10 points for each review or a total of 70, which equals $7 to spend in the future.  That means the box cost me $3 and I am happy enough with the Coastal Scents eye shadow and the Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator to make it worth it.

If you'd like to subscribe to Birchbox, please consider using my referral link.  I'd really appreciate it!