Birchbox: December 2013 Review

Hey, friends! Today I wanted to share the Birchbox I received in the mail for December. Isn't it pretty? I like the gold! Very pretty for the holidays, not that the usual pink isn't nice.

Birchbox? What's that? - Birchbox is a monthly beauty and lifestyle subscription service. It sends 4-5 deluxe samples that are curated to your beauty profile. It is $10 a month, and has a wonderful rewards program, in which you can earn points for reviewing products and making purchases in the Birchbox Shop. You can then redeem those points for full-sized products in the Birchbox Shop! It's probably the best rewards program out there, in my opinion, which was one of the big draws in me signing up. If you're interested in subscribing to Birchbox, I would love it if you used my referral link. Thank you!

This month's cardboard box was different than the usual Birchbox. I enjoyed the festive feel to it.

This month's theme was Sparkle and Shine. The theme didn't seem to really correlate with the products I received, but that's all well and good.

I like how Birchbox always puts the really small items in a separate (in this case, blue) container. That way, they don't get lost. But enough about that--let's move on to the fun stuff!

Styled by Hayadi Pure Happy Smooth (Sample-size: $4.38 for 1 fl oz)
(Full-size: $17.50 for 4oz)

HAPPY SMOOTH. I WISH EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE COULD BE HAPPY SMOOTH.

A-hem. But in all seriousness, this is a heat protectant/frizz-relieving hair product. I probably won't use it, since I always just let my hair air-dry (out of both the fact that using a lot of heat on your hair isn't the greatest thing, and sheer laziness). It's a good sample size, though!


Secret Agent Beauty Secret Lip Affair Lip Gloss in Foreign Intelligence Flirt 
(Sample-size: $9 for 2.1g)
(Full-size: $18 for 4.5g)

I can never get enough lip gloss! This one is not sticky, and the color is a pinky-natural color that adds some shine. This is part of their "Nourishing & Plumping" line. To be honest, I think that the majority of plumping lipglosses are BS (it's all in the mind in my opinion). This has the typical menthol-minty-tingling feeling, and this color is basically a slightly darker version of my natural lip color. It's nice looking, but I'm not a big fan of the tingly. There isn't really an applicator--it's just kind a teeny tiny tube opening, about as wide as my finger nail--so I just smoothed it onto my lips with my finger. It's okay. I wouldn't go out and buy the full-size, but I don't see how anyone can get their panties in a twist over lipgloss.

BENTA BERRY G-1 Exfoliating Facial Cleanser 
(Sample-size: $1.60 for .1 fl oz)
(Full-size: $16 for 1oz)

Well, I love cleansing and I love exfoliating. I've heard good things about this product, but I haven't gotten a chance to try it. Supposedly Benta Berry specializes in youth skincare, ages 12-24, so I'm excited to try this out.I just can't see opening it when I have other cleansers and exfoliators open at the moment My skin is actually looking really good right now, so I don't want to screw that up by testing a million different products on it. I'll get around to it, and let you know what I think of it!

Chella Highlighting Pencil in Ivory Lace (FULL-SIZE: $18 for 1.4g)

I received one of these from my Ipsy bag back in June. I like it, but I don't need two full-sizes, so I'll be trading this one away. I like how you can use it a multitude of ways. It's a little bit dark for me to use as a highlighter (#palelife), but it actually works pretty well as a concealer for me. For highlighting purposes, it can be used under the browbone, on the cheekbones, in the inner corner, on the cupid's bow, on the waterline of your eyes (sensitive eyes and contact wearers just be wary, as with any product on the waterline), and more. Experiment! That's what makes makeup fun!

Lifestyle extra: Chuao Chocolatier Chocolate Bar in Honeycomb 
(Sample-size: $1.25 for one piece)
(Full-size: $10 for 8 pieces)

There isn't much to explain: it's chocolate. What more could you want? It's a glorified Crunch Bar, but it's a delicious glorified Crunch Bar. It's essentially dark chocolate with crispy pieces throughout the middle. I didn't really taste the Honeycomb flavor this was supposed to have, but it was still good!

The Stats: 

• Hayadi Happy Smooth - $4.38
• Secret Agent Beauty Lip Gloss - $9
• Benta Berry Exfoliating Cleanser - $1.60
• Chella Highlighting Pencil - $18
• Total Box Value: $32.98 (that's more than triple of what I paid for it!)

All in all, I'm really happy with this box. I won't be using the Happy Smooth (though I will be saying the name of it a lot, because happy smooth), but I'm pretty happy about everything else! 

What did you get in your Birchbox this month?

Disclaimer: I pay for my monthly Birchbox subscription myself. But, hey, anyone who wants to gift me a free Birchbox subscription this holiday season, you won't see me complaining. 

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