How the hell did September happen already…and how on earth is it already halfway through the month?! Anyway, I just returned to Brooklyn after a few days of visiting my parents in St. Louis, and was greeted with my September Birchbox when I came home. Side note: I keep accidentally typing “Bitchbox,” which I think would be an awesome idea for a subscription service…I’m just not certain what those boxes would contain. 😛
For the September box we were given a choice of either customizing our box by picking one of four samples, or selecting the customer favorites box. I decided to pick my sample: the POP Beauty Portfolio Eyeshadow in Sugar Plum.
Now, on to one of the most fun parts of getting a Birchbox every month: this month’s box design reveal!
Who wouldn’t be charmed by this cute box with a rose gold “You’re beautiful” slogan emblazoned across the top?
This month marks five years of Birchbox, so the theme is subscriber celebration. I’m on board with that. 😀 The box includes a 20% off code my next order of $35 or more, so that’s pretty sweet.
The first item at the top of my sample card got me super excited:
I almost bought 100% Pure’s Coffee Bean Eye Cream from Birchbox awhile back…it’s like they read my mind! 😛
Let’s take a look at what I got inside my box (that’s what she said):
The box felt heavier this time around, and that was due to the Davines OI All in One Milk—a leave-in hair treatment. This was the second month in a row that I received a leave-in spray, but I’m cool with that, as that type of product tends to work well for my baby fine hair. I’m a little confused by the product name; I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be capital letters “o” and “i” or a zero and a capital “i” or a capital “o” and a lowercase “l” or some sort of combination thereof. Not great naming, Davines (which I also can’t figure out how to pronounce). Anyway, I’m looking forward to trying out this leave-in, as the one I received last month was pretty good.
The second sample is an Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil. This sample is a major meh for me, because the only product I use on my brows is clear mascara just to tame them. I naturally have very dark, full brows so I really don’t need a pencil to fill them in, but I suppose this sample could come in handy if I happen to pluck a brow hair by mistake and need to cover up the mishap.
My third sample, not pictured in the main box photo above, is Harvey Prince Hello fragrance. I know, I’m always a little grumbly about fragrance samples, but this one had cute packaging so I am trying to be open minded about it. In fact, I spritzed a little bit on before beginning to write this post because the description sounded rather energizing. So far it’s not bad—it’s a little more flowery than I prefer, and I wouldn’t buy a full sized bottle of it, but I might use a spriz of this sample if I feel like something different from my usual Marc by Marc Jacobs.
The sample that got me excited when I first opened the box is the 100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream. As I mentioned I had toyed with buying this product in the past, but a full sized tube is $25 and that’s more than I typically spend on eye cream. So I’m thankful for the chance to try this stuff out before deciding whether I want to drop that much on eye cream in the future! They sent a generous sized sample, too!
My chosen sample, the POP Portfolio Eyeshadow in Sugar Plum, is another exciting item for me. It’s a trio of “bold, pigmented purples” which should be great for fall. Plus, I’ve always read that purple is a great color for ladies with brown eyes like myself. The sample itself is substantial and comes with a double-ended applicator to boot:
The true colors don’t really come through in the photo, so I swatched them on my arm for you to see, in the same order from left to right that they appear in the pan:
I especially love that purple-y taupe on the right. All very pretty! I’ll be trying them out my my actual eyelids later this week. 🙂
Birchbox also threw in bonus Davines OL shampoo and conditioner packets, which are sulfate-free. Excellent!
Now let’s find out how these product rate in the EWG Skin Deep Database:
- Davines OI All in One Milk: unlisted
- Davines OI Shampoo: unlisted
- Davines OI Conditioner: unlisted
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil: low hazard, limited data
- Harvey Prince Hello: unlisted
- 100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream: unlisted, but 100% of the brand’s products listed are low hazard, limited data
- POP Beauty Portfolio Eyeshadow: low hazard, limited data
Not too shabby!
I know last month I was a little down on Birchbox and thinking about canceling, but my attitude has swung the other direction and as of now I think I’ll stick with it for awhile. I’ve never received a box that I’ve completely hated, and the good has definitely outweighed the bad for me.
Read my August 2015 Birchbox Review
Read my July 2015 Birchbox Review
Read my June 2015 Birchbox Review
Read my May 2015 Birchbox Review
Read my April 2015 Birchbox Review
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!
