I received my April 2015 Birchbox a couple days ago, and I have to say that this month’s box design is my new favorite (I know, I said last month was my favorite). When I opened the outer box and saw the Birchbox, I recognized the Rifle Paper Co. design immediately. I mean, how freaking adorable is this box?!

April 2015 Birchbox Rifle Paper Co

The insert card explained the collaboration with RPC for April alongside some very pretty flowers:
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I was SUPER excited when I flipped the card over and read what my April 2015 samples were:

IMG_4650The Jane Iredale lip and cheek stain! I had seen on Birchbox that this item was in some April boxes, and I was SO hoping it would end up in mine. I enjoy most types of samples, but I get the most excited about makeup.

However! The sample was missing from my box. SUPER SAD FACE! I was all:

This was actually the second time in three months that a sample was missing from my box; my February box didn’t have the Paula’s Choice RESIST BHA 9 for Stubborn Imperfections. Not good, BB.

More on that later. Now, on to the samples that I actually DID receive.

April 2015 Birchbox samplesI’m least excited about the Harvey Prince Hello Body Butter. I received HP Hello Shampoo and Conditioner in my first Birchbox last December, and I used both samples up but I wasn’t too into the fragrance. I feel the same way about this body butter’s fragrance—it’s overly floral for my taste.

Though the WEI Manuka Bee Venom Mask sounds a little intimidating, it also has my interest piqued. The venom is purified, and the mask is supposed to help correct imperfections, firm skin, and fight wrinkles. Sounds pretty good, right? Not that a single use is going to do much good.

The Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator also has me a little excited. It’s supposed to help even out skin tone, which I’m all about. I have some age spots that I’m not to thrilled with and have been trying to find something to help lighten them, without much success so far. Maybe this product will be The One?

I used the Cynthia Rowley Beauty Brightening Illuminator this morning on the tops of my cheekbones (along with the Cargo blush sample and Supergoop! CC Cream from last month’s box) and I really like it! It’s a nice pearly pink shade that’s very easy to blend. You can see my selfie wearing these three items, along with a few others, on my Instagram. The illuminator came with a card showing where to apply it for maximum glow-face:

IMG_4651Let’s see how these products rate (or not) in the EWG Skin Deep database, shall we?

  • Harvey Prince Hello Body Butter: unlisted
  • WEI Manuka Bee Venom Mask: unlisted
  • Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator: unlisted
  • Cynthia Rowley Beauty Brightening Illuminator: unlisted
  • Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain: unlisted, BUT some other JI Just Kissed Lip products are in the database with a low hazard, limited data rating. That’s actually pretty good!

Back to The Case of the Missing Lip and Cheek Stain. As soon as I opened my box and found that the sample wasn’t inside, I contacted Birchbox customer service. They got back to me this morning and said that they had run out of the Jane Iredale samples (WHAT?!) so they couldn’t send me one. Instead, they credited me 50 Birchbox points, which are worth $5 toward a purchase in their online store. Such a major bummer that they ran out of the sample that I was supposed to get AND was most excited about! Yes, I know, this is the absolute epitome of #firstworldproblems, but dammit, I really wanted that lip and cheek stain sample. They are, however, going to send me the Paula’s Choice sample that I didn’t get a couple months ago, so that’s good.

With the 50 points that I just got in my account I actually had enough points for a $10 credit, so you know what? I went ahead and ordered the Jane Iredale Lip + Cheek stain. It’s costing me $17 (including shipping) as opposed to $27. Not horrible, but I still wish I’d been able to try it out first. I hope the stuff ends up being worth it!

What is Birchbox?

In case you’ve never heard of Birchbox, it’s a $10/month subscription box that includes five sample sized products based on your preferences (makeup, skin care, hair care, fragrance, etc.). They also have an online store filled with full sized versions of all the products they include in their monthly subscription boxes, so if you fall in love with a sample they sent you, you can go back to their site and buy the real thing. Use my referral link to sign up for your own subscription!

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