It’s November Birchbox time again! Birchbox is sort of The Queen of subscription boxes as it was one of the first to take the market by storm. For $10/month you get a pretty box of fun makeup and skincare samples that are tailored to you by a quiz you take when you sign up. It was my only box for years and I quit getting it a few years ago. However, since starting this blog, I felt obligated to review it for my lovely readers. I’m a serious journalist, after all.
This month’s theme, predictably, is Giving and Birchbox partnered with (RED) to help raise money and awareness for the global fight against AIDS. Every time you share a picture of your Birchbox with the hashtag #shaRED Birchbox will donate a $1 to (RED). That’s pretty neat.
Birchbox also included their Holiday catalog in their box which is full of really fun, curated boxes for pretty much anyone in your life. They put together some really nice boxes this year. I might get the Man one for Matt. He’s so hard to buy presents for! I never know if he’s going to like things.
As usual, they included a product card that details all the products and how to use them. These cards are always helpful and not every box has them! I come to expect them and I get sad when I’m just blindly putting primer on my lips or something. That never happened but it could. Anyway. The card!
As for the actual products they included, I am a little bit bummed in general. I’ll go into more detail but as you can see in the picture, I received both a food item AND a perfume sample, both items I requested NOT to receive on my subscription survey. I’ve been providing food for myself for quite some time now. I don’t really need my beauty box sending me food. If I wanted food in a subscription box, I would get a food subscription box. When I first started with Birchbox a few years ago, they started sending me food and so that’s when I decided to quit subscribing. However, a friend of mine told me recently that you are able to opt out of that now so that was intriguing and one of the reasons I decided to subscribe again. So receiving a food item in this box is just a bummer.
- Bain de Terre argan oil & passion flower COLOR THERAPY STYLING OIL: (Full size $14) This was a very small sample of hair oil that you apply on damp hair to nourish it and make it shiny. This would be nice… if hair oils worked for me. I’m often trying everything possible to make my hair BIGGER and hair oils do the opposite.
- Eslor Firming Collagen Day Cream: (Full-size $85) This product kind of surprised me because I’m pretty sure this is the full size product. It’s neat to receive an $85 product in a $10 box but I’m still undecided on this one. This is marketed as a day cream, but like the one in my September box, I do not understand day creams that don’t have SPF! What is the point? It’s 2014. You can’t turn around without someone telling you to wear sunscreen. Pretty much every skincare and makeup product has it, so it really surprises me when one doesn’t. This is a nice cream but nothing special, in my opinion.
- Joie Folle de Joie eau de parfum: (Full-size $98) As I mentioned above, I am not a fan of receiving perfume in subscription boxes. I even filled out a survey saying so! But you are lucky this time, Birchbox. This one smells beautiful. Very spring-like and sweet. This feels like it would be more appropriate to wear in May or something but this is still a nice scent.
- Not Soap, Radio Joy Inducing Body Wash: (Full-size $16) This is a lovely lemon scented body wash. I like to receive body washes in boxes. I like not having to buy it at the stores. Somehow it makes it all feel worth it.
- theBalm cosmetics Cindy-Lou Manizer: (Full-size $24) This is a nice neutral highlighter that could also double as an eye shadow. I have gotten so many highlighters lately, and one from Birchbox recently. Kind of a bummer to receive a dupe of a product I got just a few months ago but this is a product I enjoy using.
- Coconut Chips: Ugh. Food. I won’t rant on anymore but I have received these chips before in another box and didn’t eat them then either. I am not a coconut person so this is lost on me. Stop sending me food, Birchbox! What do I have to DO?!
I’m definitely disappointed with my November Birchbox and I’m rating it a C-. Out of 6 products, I got 2 that I clearly stated I prefer not to receive, though the perfume was nice. I liked the body wash but the fancy day cream was average at best. Hair oils aren’t suited for my hair type and I just got a highlighter from Birchbox very recently. However, that’s kind of par for the course with subscription boxes. You never know what you are going to get. However, it helps when they ask you for your preferences and then actually follow through with that. However, Birchbox has a saving grace with their points system. Each item you review from your box gains you 10 points to use in the Birchbox store. Every 100 points gives you $10 in the Birchbox store. This system can definitely add up and you could buy something pretty nice! Click here if you are interested in learning more about Birchbox!