Birchbox: December 2015 Review

Hi, friends! Today I wanted to share with you my December Birchbox. This month I opted in for the guest curated box (surprise, surprise), so I already knew the products I would be getting. But I didn't know if I would like that, so the surprise factor is still there. But enough about that, let's jump into everything.  

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! It's probably the best rewards program out there, in my opinion, which was one of the big draws in me signing up. They're always adding new products to the shop. In the past, they have sampled products from Amika, Juice Beauty, Shiseido, as well as pages of others! Some products are even exclusive to Birchbox, like Cynthia Rowley's new makeup line and the cult-favorite Beauty Protector brand. If you subscribe now, you'll get 50 points free with the code SUBSCRIBENOW50. If you're interested in subscribing to Birchbox, I would love it if you used my referral link! Thank you!

As usual, my Birchbox came packaged in a pretty blue cardboard box. Since I opted for the curated box of the month, mine says Winter Essentials, and has a different design that the regular boxes. 

This month's theme was Winter Essentials. The info card included says that they wanted to include festive products to you could use for a holiday party. I think that's a cute theme! It's actually fitting! And the products make sense! I'm so proud, after two years, the themes finally make sense.

This box is also available on the Birchbox Shop for $15 if you wanted to buy it separately from your subscription. 

As always, an information card is included. I noticed a few typos this month.

• The eSalon Leave in Conditioner is actually $15 for the full size, not $25. 
• The Coastal Scents duo included is from the glamourEYES palette, not formalEYES. 

But enough about that. Let's get to the good stuff~

JANE IREDALE Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain in Forever Peach
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [?oz]: $5?) (Full-size cost [.1oz]: $25) 

I've been wanting to try this product for awhile (I'm sure you all know of my obsession with stains by now) so this was one of my main reasons I chose the curated box. And did it deliver? I think so! Like most stains, I didn't like how it performed on both cheeks and lips equally, but I think it's a quality stain nonetheless. It swatches to a pretty peach color, slightly tacky and glossy, so I prefer it on the lips. It's also kind of tricky and tedious to apply it from the tiny tube to your cheeks. When I tried, I felt like I was applying forever, and wasn't happy with the result (it looked kind of "streaky" because of the tube applicator).

If I wanted, I might be able to sweep a duo fibre brush (like the Small Stipple Brush from e.l.f.) into it and apply it as a blush that way, but it's just not worth it. Plus, I'm happy with the peach tint it gives my lips. I've included an arm swatch below.

There's no exact size written on the packaging, so I took a guess on the value. 

COASTAL SCENTS styleEYES Eye Shadow Sampler in glamourEYES
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [.65g]: $0.61) (Full-size cost [12.89g]: $12) 

So many Birchbox subscribers get salty about seeing Coastal Scents in their boxes because they're so cheap, and Birchbox is known for providing high-end samples. They're not Urban Decay quality or anything, but I don't think they're half bad. Well, maybe they're exactly half bad. The shadows are of average quality and pigmentation, not too dry that they're unworkable but they don't "wow" by any means. The green is pretty--I can see myself wearing it to a Christmas party--but the gold kind of left me wanting more. See swatches below:

Swatches left to right: Jane Iredale Forever Peach, Coastal Scents foreverEYES

E SALON Perfect Ending Leave In Conditioner
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [?]: ?) (Full-size cost [5oz]: $15) 

Wow, um, so I actually didn't receive this in my box. It's on the info card, and my mother (who I have converted to Birchbox) got it in hers, but it was missing from mine. I thought my box looked a little empty when photographing it! I have emailed customer service about this, so I'm sure they'll get back to my soon. I was able to try my mom's sample, and I liked it well enough, so it'd be nice to get one of my own. That's really unusual. I don't know if this has ever happened to me with Birchbox before. I'll keep you guys updated!

DERMA E Microdermabrasion Scrub
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [oz]: $8.13) (Full-size cost [2oz]: $32.50) 

I've heard great things about this face scrub from my beauty blogger friends, but I haven't gotten around to trying it yet. Being that it's packaged in a jar, any beneficial ingredients that are sensitive to light and air will begin to break down, so I want to make sure once I open it, I'll commit to using it, at least for a bit. Most face scrubs tend to feel a little harsh on my sensitive skin, so for the most part I stick with Paula's Choice's 2% BHA Liquid, but I'll get around to testing this out eventually.

JUARA Coconut Illipe Hand and Nail Balm
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [.27oz]: $2.16) (Full-size cost [2.5oz]: $20) 

I'm surprised with how much I like this product! It's more of a thick body butter than a true balm, like I was expecting, but I don't mind. It's very creamy and moisturizing, but doesn't leave a greasy residue once it sinks in. I can see myself using it on my nails, hands, and even rough skin on my elbows and feet. It also has a subtle coconut scent, which doesn't bother me, but I'm not a huge fan of coconut. My mother is obsessed with this though. She says it beats Perlier in her favorite hand cream (which is quite a feat--we're essentially a Perlier family) and she's ready to buy the full size and possibly the whole Coconut line when she builds up enough points. Slam dunk!

Bonus: CHUAO CHOCOLATIER Cinnamon Cereal Smooch

(SAMPLE-SIZE value [1 piece]: $1.25) (Full-size cost [8 pieces]: $10) 

I love when Birchbox includes little extras and snacks in the boxes! This is kind of like a glorified Crunch bar--there's not a ton of cinnamon in it, but it still definitely has the crunchy bits on the inside. I don't know if I'd spend $10 on 8 pieces of chocolate, but I suppose it could be a nice gift for someone else whom you know really likes crunchy chocolate. Keep in mind the 8 piece set is a variety pack, so if you like this flavor, you'd only get one more piece). 

The Stats:

• Jane Iredale Lip and Cheek Stain: $5?
• Coastal Scents Eyeshadow Duo: $0.61
• eSalon Leave in Conditioner: ?
• Derma E Scrub: $8.13
• Juara Hand and Nail Balm: $2.16
• Chuao Chocolate: $!.25
• TOTAL: $17.15?

*Keep in mind this is inaccurate because I don't have the eSalon Leave in Conditioner to compare the ounces and value to the full-size. Plus, I don't know how big the Jane Iredale product is (no size is written anywhere on the packaging) so the Stats this month are one big guessing game.

The Best: 
I'm happy with everything I got in this box. Though, if I had to guess the ones I'll get the most use out of, I'll have to say the Juara Hand and Nail Balm (that'll be great with winter coming up and all) and the Jane Iredale Lip and Cheek Stain (I'm all about that peach and coral life in spring and summer). 

The Worst: 
I suppose the eSalon product, being that I didn't actually receive it. 

The Verdict: 
Well, Birchbox made a few flops this month, but I'm still really happy with the products I received. I'm sure they'll get back to me soon about sending me an eSalon Leave in Conditioner, and when they do, I'll let you know more about what I think of it!

Did you get this month's Birchbox? What did you think?

Want to see more Birchbox reviews?  

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Disclaimer: Not sponsored. I paid ten whole dollars for this.