Birchbox: August 2015

Oops I’ve been slacking with my posts again this month! They’ll be coming thick and fast over the next few days as I scramble to get all of the August box reviews in before my September goodies start arriving!
I was eagerly anticipating this month’s special #BeautyJunkie Birchbox, which promised each subscriber 2 make up items in addition to their other treats. I can’t deny that I was pretty disappointed that both said make up items were teeny tiny samples rather than full sized products (i’m sure my boxes seemed much better value for money when I first started subscribing!) but I will try not to let that sour my review of the products in question!

theBalm cosmetics Balm Desert Bronzer

I have come across a few theBalm products before and I think that its a quirky and interesting little brand. The sample is nicely presented, even for a miniature and the bronzer seemed nice enough when applied to the areas of my face that would usually catch the sun: my forehead, nose, cheeks and chin. Unfortunately I feel that the size of this sample hampered my ability to accurately test it, as well as being generally disappointing. The useage instructions recommend applying with a fluffy brush but it was difficult to fit any decent sized brush near the powder to apply it. I settled on a Crown blending brush in the end but I usually apply my bronzer with a nice big Kabuki brush for even and natural coverage and this just wasn’t possible to do. A big shame because I couldn’t really get a proper feel for the bronzer, therefore cannot assess whether or not I would be interested in buying the £15 full sized item.

Lord & Berry Blush in ‘Lotus’

I love Lord & Berry cosmetics and judging by the size of this box I expected a full sized blusher so I was pretty disappointed when I opened it up and found just a little pan encased in plastic packaging. I understand that the full sized versions of these products are pricey and that the main aim of these Beauty Boxes is to introduce subscribers to a wide range of samples from various brands but when a box is hyped up as being make up focused as this one was, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect at least one of the products inside to be full sized. Is that just me?
Moaning aside, the shade of the brush is flattering and the Lord & Berry quality shines through but i’m generally not a huge fan of blush so I doubt that I’ll be purchasing the £17 full sized product.

Kebelo Clarifying Shampoo

I received this ‘Ultimate Detox for Hair’ in a previous Look Fantastic box and I still hadn’t got round to trying it. At least receiving a second sample has reminded me of it’s existence! I did give it a go this time around and the results were pleasing. I don’t use many products on my hair other than occasional colourant and the usual shampoo and conditioner so there wasn’t much to ‘deep clean’ but I do love the idea of using a product like this once or twice monthly to give your hair the same sort of TLC as you do your face with regular face masks and treatments. After using this my hair felt moisturised and was shiny and more manageable. Better keep this tube somewhere close by in the bathroom so I don’t forget about it again!

Rituals Organic Rice Milk & Cherry Blossom Calming Body Scrub

I really like Rituals bath and shower products and was pleased to find this in my box. It smells lovely and is nice and gentle considering its exfoliating properties. It transforms into a rich creamy foam upon contact with water and leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth.

BioNike Defence Tolerance Essential Cleansing Water

As a loyal devotee of Garnier’s Micellar Water I have no real urge to find a new cleansing water, especially one that costs 3 times as much as my favourite, but I gamely gave this one a go. It is suitable for all skin types, is soothing and left my skin feeling clean and soft but i’m afraid that I couldn’t find anything that set it apart to justify the £12.20 price tag.

L. Erickson Grab & Go Ponytail Holder

I am already a Popband devotee so I haven’t let a run-of-the-mill elastic and metal hair tie anywhere near my hair for months but this makes an attractive alternative to my usual no-snag hair ties. It is sturdy, flexible and metal free so it secures without damaging your hair and it’s a pretty silvery grey colour. I love my popbands but they sometimes slip out of my very fine hair unless I secure them tightly (thus rendering their ‘no kink’ characteristic useless) and I found that this tie held my hair more securely. I am sure to get some use out of this and it was nice to see something a bit different in a box for a change.

So that’s my verdict on this month’s Birchbox. What do you guys think? I may have been extra critical because I should probably pick another of my subscriptions to dump in order to save a bit of money, but I just wasn’t blown away like I hoped I would be. I am not a big blush user and I have plenty of bronzers already so I don’t think I could get over the disappointment of not finding a make up gem that I was really excited about nestling inside that familiar drawstring bag. Anyone else a subscriber? What did you guys get? I’d love to see some more reactions/posts.

Birchbox is available as a subscription service costing £12.95 per month. Check it out at http://birchbox.co.uk