Birchbox: March 2016 Review

purchased by me | affiliate links

Hi, friends! It's Birchbox time again. My box came relatively early this month (it arrived by the 9th, and typically they ship by the 10th) so I've had some time to mess around with the products inside. 

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're interested in subscribing to Birchbox, I would love it if you used my referral link! Thank you!

I picked the curated box (I know, shocker), so I already knew what I was getting. Granted, sample choice was in February, so of course I forgot what was in it, but in theory it wasn't a surprise. I get the best of both worlds, I guess.

This month's theme was Ready for Anything. Armed with a lipstick, moisturizer, eyeshadow, blowout spray, and undereye pads I'm prepared! No but really, I like the idea behind the box. And I think they considered the color selection for the cosmetics as we're moving into spring, so I'm pleased. 

Here's the info card, bringing information to subscribers everywhere. Seriously, these little guys are nifty. I don't know why more subs don't offer them (read: pointed glare at Ipsy).

Here's a first look inside the box! 

Also, did you know that they have a small sheet of foam padding the bottom of the box? I had no idea! I found it by accident. How long have they been doing this? I think it's a great idea, especially since they do occasionally ship products with glass packaging. Go, Birchbox!

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

PARLOR BY JEFF CHASTAIN | Smoothing Blowout Spray
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [1oz]: $4.90) (Full-size cost [4.9oz]: $24) 

This is a combo volumizer and heat protectant to be used when blow drying your hair. I've heard great things about this Birchbox-exclusive brand. I actually received another one of their hair products in a Birchbox last month, but I haven't gotten around to using it yet since I'm pretty low-maintenance (for a beauty blogger) when it comes to my hair. I also don't really blow dry my hair, so my mother and I swapped. Yes, I have a Birchbox Mom now! It's very cute. I traded her this spray since she's more hair-savvy than I am in exchange for a dark green eyeshadow crayon by Trestique that she was never going to use. Score. When she uses it, I'll let you know what she thinks. 

KIEHL'S | Ultra Facial Cream
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [.25oz]: $4) (Full-size cost [1.7oz]: $27.50) 

It's really weird that I haven't tried a Kiehl's product yet, since they're pretty popular in the online beauty community. But if there's one thing I can never have enough of, it's face moisturizer, so this will definitely be put to good use. This is supposed to be a fragrance-free face cream that provides moisture without being greasy. Sounds good to me. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Other note - The info card says the full price on this is $26.50, but on Birchbox's website it's listed as $27.50. I'm just letting you know, since apparently my new goal in life is to point out information card errors. Let's carry on. 

WILMA SCHUMANN | Hydrating Collagen Eye Pads
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [1 pair]: $3.60) (Full-size cost [5 pairs]: $18) 

This is a pair of silicone eye pads that are soaked with ingredients to help boost hydration and collagen in the undereye area. Being twenty-two and wrinkle-free, I wasn't expecting much when I tried these out, but it was a pampering experience either way. The pads feel nice and cool on the skin, and stayed in place better than expected. A lot of times, I've found that these kinds of things tend to slide down, forcing you to lie down for twenty minutes (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I get impatient). I won't be buying these again, since I didn't see much of a difference, but I'd love to hear if these worked for you!

MILK STUDIOS | Lip Color in C.R.E.A.M.
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [?oz]: $3?) (Full-size cost [.01oz]: $22) 

I almost called Birchbox Customer Service when I thought they'd forgotten my lipstick sample, but then I turned over the little packet it came in and realize the lipstick was inside. Wow, is this not the tiniest lipstick you've ever seen? Check out the header image in this post for a size comparison. I mean, I didn't realize I was subscribed to Birchbox for Barbie Dolls? I mean, it's actually a nice lipstick, but it's so small I couldn't even tell the size. The color is advertised as a nude, but I think it definitely leans more coral. It has a natural-matte finish that isn't super matte, so it doesn't make my lips look dry. But I'll admit, I was kind of afraid to swatch it in fear of the bullet breaking right out of the plastic packaging. I've included a swatch photo a little later in the post if you want to see.

This is the bottom of the tube. You'd think the lipstick would go all the way down, but being that it's just an empty hole, I'm not quite sure where the lipstick itself ends. I mean, I know it's a sample, but I still paid money for it. Feels a little stingy, if you ask me. 

SMASHBOX | Photo Op Eye Shadow Trio in Filter
(SAMPLE-SIZE value [.4oz]: $12.40) (Full-size cost [.09oz]: $28) 

I've been wanting to try the Smashbox Photo Op eyeshadow formula for awhile now, so I was happy to see this in my box. I have about a billion other neutral shadows in forms of singles, duos, trios, and palettes, so I would have preferred something a little different shade-wise. At least I know I'll get use out of it, even if they're not super exciting colors.

 So far, I'm pretty satisfied with these shadows. They're a little drier than I expected, but the shades are easy to pack on and blend out. They're way smoother than a lot of the other shadows I've received in subscription boxes. Also, I like how the packaging on this; even though this is a sample trio, they opted for sturdier, higher quality packaging. It But I've always been a fan of the sleek professionalism of Smashbox's packaging, so that doesn't surprise me.

Left: SMASHBOX Eyeshadow Trio | Right: MILK Lipstick

I think that the light beige shade of the trio (left) was a little sheer, but it could potentially be a good shade to blend other colors out with, or perhaps as a really subtle highlight. I'm satisfied with the two brown shades, though. I can especially see myself using the dark brown as an eyeliner on "natural makeup" days. 

Left: SMASHBOX Eyeshadow Trio | Right: MILK Lipstick 

The Stats:

• Parlor Blowout Spray: $4.90
• The Little Lipstick That Could: $3
• Smashbox Eyeshadow Trio: $12.40
• Kiehl's Face Cream: $4
• Cooling Eye Pads: $3.60
• TOTAL: $27.90

The Best: 
I'm excited to try the Kiehl's! And I'm pretty happy with the Smashbox trio. 

The Worst: 
I would say the doll-sized lipstick, just on principle, but I actually kind of like the color. Nothing in this box was particularly bad. I would say the Collagen Eye Pads aren't really for my age group, but I picked this as a curated box, so that doesn't take my beauty profile into account. And it's not Birchbox's fault I do nothing fun with my hair. 

The Verdict: 

Overall, I would say this is a quality box. I got to try a good variety of makeup, skincare, more. I can definitely see how all these products fit together in a Ready For Anything theme -- prep your eyes with the collagen pads, slap some moisturizer on your face, swipe on some eyeshadow and lipstick, blow out your hair, and head out. Granted, I'd probably add a few other steps in between, but I think this was a well curated box overall.

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

Want to see more Birchbox reviews?  

Like what you see? Sign up for Birchbox!

Let's be friends! 
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin' | Google + | Email Newsletter

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