February 2016 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...what's the occasion? The products in it will help create your own not quite everyday looks, from easy hairstyles to versatile makeup techniques. I wasn't feeling the products in the curated box so I chose to go with the other option, selecting one sample and allowing Birchbox to choose the other four.

Arrow Boost Color Enhancing Lip Balm: This adjusts to your pH and contains hydrating ingredients like mango seed butter. It's vegan, paraben free, cruelty free, and gluten free. The description states the lip balm has a minty scent which is sort of accurate. I definitely catch the minty scent but there's something else I can't quite place. The mint is faint enough that it shouldn't bother those of you who dislike the scent. It will tingle your lips slightly as with most mint products. I like the natural tint of color the lip balm leaves behind and it is hydrating. This will leave your lips feeling a little slick and shiny but it will take care of dry lips. This is the sample I chose for my box.

Color Club Mini Polish (That's My Jam): I don't wear nail polish so I'll be giving this away to my BFF. The shade is pretty and seems perfect for fall/winter. It's described as a deep wine color between a pink and red. It's supposedly a chip free formula that goes on smoothly and dries to a glossy finish. The polish is vegan, 100% cruelty free, and made in the U.S.

Not Soap, Radio Body Wash (Liquid Freud): All of the brand's body washes are free of parabens, sulfates, and phthalates and are never tested on animals. I'm neutral about the scent of Liquid Freud which is coconut milk and mango scented with St. John's Wort. I don't dislike it but it's not my scent of choice. The other scents are:
Bubble, Not Carbs-citrus scent with horse chestnut extract to tone and firm skin
Awash in a Field of Four Leaf Clover-fresh fragrance with a four leaf clover and green tea
The Phoenix-bergamot and persimmon plum
Bathing with Sharks-beach scented and helps energize with royal jelly extract
To Sleep Full of Sweet Dreams-lavender fragrance with clementine
The Stuff That Cupid Dips His Arrows In-blackberry and vanilla cream scent with ginseng
Joy Inducing-Birchbox exclusive with a lemon sugar scent

Obliphica Professional Seaberry Serum (Medium to Coarse): At this point, I'm really annoyed with Birchbox! I have fine, thin hair with a very greasy scalp. I'm not even going to bother using this because I know it will weigh down my hair and cause it to become greasy even faster. The hair products in my box are usually appropriate for my hair type but I'm not sure why I received something that's completely wrong for my hair. AND the serum smells like vanilla, a scent which I dislike.

Whish Revitalizing Cleansing Oil: I've only tried this once so I haven't formed a solid opinion about it yet. I liked the fruity berry scent and it seemed to remove makeup well as a first cleanser. I wasn't wearing heavy makeup so it's hard to say just how well it can "melt away stubborn makeup."

Final Thoughts: I really didn't like February's box but you win some and lose some. I had pretty good luck with my boxes from June-November of last year. December's box wasn't that great although I loved January's K-beauty box. This box is the first that's pretty much a dud for me. I'm okay with the lip balm. body wash, and cleansing oil. But, I feel the products don't really fit in with the theme of the box and I wasn't all that happy with the selection of products. I hope next month's box will be a little more exciting and contain the appropriate products for my hair type and more makeup.

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Thanks for stopping by,
Jenn