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FeedBirchbox Delivery! Beauty Samples at Your Door
Most anyone who uses makeup has a makeup junk drawer. For some, it may be the bottom drawer in your vanity or a box sitting on a closet shelf, but they are all the same. Shades of lipstick that didn't look good, the skin cleanser that breaks you out, it's all housed in there until you give it away to a friend or trash it. Even though many stores now allow you to return used cosmetic products for any reason, most of us still hold on to the junk. What makes my heart break is when I calculate the amount of money that sits in my junk makeup box.
While it's fairly easy to get samples of perfume, it's much harder to find samples of new and innovative products that aren't sold locally. Or maybe you're looking to get out of a beauty rut, when you've tried everything from the CVS shelf. This is where Birchbox comes in to play.
For $10 every month, a bright pink box appears in your mailbox filled with the latest in beauty goodies. Typically, you'll get anywhere from 4 to 6 different samples in a range of products from shampoo, perfume, and lip balm to nail polish. What you get in your box depends on your beauty profile, which you fill out when you start your subscription. For example, my beauty profile states I prefer a more classic look than a trendy one, and that nail polish is my preferred splurge item. This is the box I received this morning in the mail:
This was a great box to receive. I got several samples of exfoliant and moisturizer from the brand Be Fine, which uses many organic products. Exfoliant happens to be my favorite skin care item so I'm really excited to try these out. There was also a sample of Taylor Swift's scent, Wonderstruck. It's your basic fruity/floral celebrity scent, but I like it. There is a sample of LuLu Organic's hair powder, which is a dry shampoo. I've used dry shampoos in the past with little luck, but I'll give it another try. A sample pack of Say Yes to Blueberries facial cleansing wipes is fantastic. I already use this product (and love it!), but this sample size is perfect to throw in my purse. But my favorite item in this box is the sample of Zoya nail polish. The picture above shows a lavender-ish polish, but the one I got, Blevin, is a sort of dusty minty-turquoise which is really pretty and very me.
Each box is a surprise. Even if you and a friend have identical beauty profiles, she may get something different than you. Even though the picture above showed I was getting a different color polish, I love the color I received instead. Last month a similar thing happened to me. I was supposed to reciveve a certain perfume sample only to be sent a different one which I adore.
And to be honest, you're not going to love everything in your box. You may not even like the entire box. This is the box I got last month:
I wasn't crazy about this box at all. I got some fashion tape, nail polish remover wipes, some hair oil which made my hair super-greasy, and a face wash which was only okay. The best part of the box was the wrong perfume sample, Annick Groubal's Petite Cherie, which has notes of fresh-cut grass, peach, and jasmine. I love, love, love this stuff. But I also received these:
These are stick-on eyeliner strips. It's a sticker you peel off and attach to your eyelid. They are as silly and stupid as they look. As you can see above, they didn't look that good on me. They were hard to put on and felt ridiculously horrible.
As a whole, I do enjoy my Birchbox subscription. For about the cost of a movie ticket, I've found some great products, and some great laughs over the product that didn't work out so well. If you're into beauty and makeup products, you'll enjoy the wait at your mailbox for that iconic hot-pink box.
Unfortunately, there is usually a wait list to subscribe to Birchbox. I waited maybe two weeks to get my invitation to join. If you don't want to wait, here are some similar services:
I love your posts! Saved me from buying stick-on eyeliner strips!
Great post about Birchbox! I've only been a subscriber for 2 months and echoed the same sentiments you felt about March's box. April's box was awesome though!
Can't wait to try this out! YAY! Thanks for sharing (: -Brittany Wilmoth