Friday, October 16, 2015

October 2015 Birchbox

Birchbox is a monthly subscription box ($10 plus tax) of personalized beauty, grooming, and lifestyle deluxe sized samples tailored to your profile. You can accumulate points with each box and redeem those points at the Birchbox shop. If you review all your products in each monthly box, you can accumulate 50 points which is equivalent to $5 and half the value of the box.

The theme for this month's box is positive force, harnessing the power of beauty by raising money and awareness for breast cancer.

Dear Clark Thickening Balm ($24)
Ingredients: ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, VP/VA COPOLYMER, POLYQUATERNIUM, 4/HYDROXYPROPYL STARCH COPOLYMER, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, POLYQUATERNIUM-7, BEHENTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, KERATIN, HYDROLYZED KERATIN, HYDROLYZED LUPINE PROTEIN, HYDROLYZED RICE PROTEIN, GLUCONO DELTA LACTONE, ALOIFOLIA (YUCCA) ROOT EXTRACT, ANASTATICA HIEROCHUNTICA (ROSE OF JERICHO) EXTRACT, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, POGOSTEMON CABLIN (PATCHOULY) OIL, CITRUS TANGERINA (CALIFORNIA TANGERINE) PEEL OIL, LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA (LAVENDER) OIL, CITRUS NOBILIS (ITALIAN MANDARIN ORANGE) PEEL OIL, EUGENIA CARYOPHYLLUS (CLOVE) BUD OIL, SALVIA SCLAREA (CLARY SAGE) OIL, PELARGONIUM GRAVEOLENS (EGYPTIAN GERANIUM) OIL, CITRUS AURANTIUM BERGAMIA (RECTIFIED BERGAMOT) FRUIT OIL, CITRUS AURANTIUM AMARA (NEROLI) OIL, JASMINIUM OFFICINAL (ABSOLUTE JASMINE) OIL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, CALCIUM GLUCONATE, ISOPENTYL, LAURATE, BEESWAX, GUAR HYDROXYPROPYLTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM BENZOATE, DISODIUM EDTA, PHENOXYETHANOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN

I'm always a little nervous when receiving hair care samples because they can be hit or miss. From the description, it sounds like a good product for my low maintenance hair routine. Dear Clark is a Texas based company which uses natural, active ingredients from Texas in all their hair care products. I've only used this once and I'm pretty pleased with the product. It has a thick balmy texture that's slightly sticky. The balm smells a bit like Aveda hair products. The scent lingers around for most of the day so, if you're not a fan of the smell, you've been warned. This didn't weigh down my hair or make it look greasy and I've got fine/thin hair. I rarely blow dry my hair and instead let it air dry most of the time. I think if I had blow dried my hair after using the balm there might have been more noticeable results with hair thickening. However, I felt like my hair did look fuller and smoother after letting it air dry. 

BioRepublic Green Tea Detox Purifying Sheet Mask ($14.50)
I've been jealous of all the people who've received sheet masks in previous Birchboxes and I finally received one! But, my eyes literally popped out when I saw the $14.50 price tag. That price is for a set of 3 masks but it's still on the pricey side considering you can find great quality sheet masks these days between $1-3. An individual BioRepublic sheet mask retails for $4.99. I haven't had a chance to use this yet but I appreciate that the mask will suit my skin type.

Benefit Cosmetics They're Real! Mascara ($24)
I tried this mascara in a deluxe size a few years ago and it's not for me. It smudged and smeared under my eyes so that's all I'll say about this mascara. 

Origins Modern Friction Nature's Gentle Dermabrasion ($39.50)
I really don't need any more samples of exfoliators or microdermabrasions so the Origins is just a meh for me. I used this once or twice back in the day and don't remember much about it. I'll probably pass this off to someone who wants it.

Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Highlighter ($33)
Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Mica, Dipropylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Dimethicone, Caprylyl Methicone, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Titanium Dioxide, Betaine, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Phenyl Trimethicone, Bambusa Arundinacea Stem Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Laurus Nobilis Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Extract, Magnesium Sulfate, C12-14 Pareth-3, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Trihydroxystearin, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carmine, Fragrance, Iron Oxides, Iron Oxides

This is available in 2 shades: #1 Mother of Pearl and #2 Baby Pink Clam. I received #2. When I saw other people had received this highlighter in their boxes, I was hoping to get it as well. I don't highlight my face but I just wanted to have it. The brand targets a younger age group but I think their packaging is cute. I had two concerns when I was swatching this: 1) It feels a little oily so I hope it doesn't feel that way on the face and 2) Maybe it's a little too shimmery for me. The full size Dinoplatz Highlighters are sold out in the Birchbox store so it's obviously a popular product. The swatch looks pretty but I'll have to test it out on my skin before I can say anything definitive about it. 

FINAL THOUGHTS
The October box wasn't my favorite box but it wasn't a bad one by any means. I like that Birchbox really does tailor some products to my skin or hair type like the BioRepublic sheet mask and the Dear Clark Thickening Balm. It's also nice to see 2 K-beauty products in the box but the mascara was a dud for me. And I don't want or need any more exfoliating products. I currently have $30 in points to spend in the Birchbox shop but I want to accumulate more points to spend towards the end of the year. 
What was in your box this month?
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As always, thanks for stopping by!
Jennifer


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