June 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 June's box is everyday magic with the right products and techniques to transform your routine.

Unfortunately I logged on to my account a little late this month and the featured box was already taken so I had no choice but to go with the sample choice. A bummer since I was actually interested in the featured box. The sample choice was the Benefit Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel with your pick of the shade in light, medium, or dark.

Featured Box
Loc One and Done Shadow Stick in Haute Cocoa or Heavy Petal
Davines Authentic Cleansing Nectar Hair/Body Deluxe + Authentic Moisturizing Butter (packet)
Nuxe Reve de Miel Facial Cleansing and Make-up Removing Gel
Air Repair Complexion Boosting Moisturizer
The Beauty Crop PBJ Smoothie Stick in Raisin the Roof

Avene Thermal Spring Water ($9-$18.50)

This re-balancing mist soothes redness and calms all sorts of skin troubles from sunburns to allergic reactions, eczema, and itchiness. You can use it as a toner, refresher in the middle of the day, or to set makeup. I've actually used up a full size bottle of this in the past and am happy to own a travel sized version of the mist. From what I remember the nozzle sprays a fine mist instead of getting everywhere and there's no scent which is an added bonus.

Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel in Deep ($24)

I wasn't thrilled to see this as a sample choice since I don't really do anything to my brows. I'll occasionally pluck a stray hair but that's about it. I guess the brow gel is good advertising for the release of Benefit's new brow line. My mom has pretty sparse brows and is always filling them in so I'll hand this off to her.

Dr. Brandt PoreDermabrasion ($58)

This sample is a reminder that I need to go in and tweak my profile. I think I've received at least one facial scrub or microdermabrasion product in the past few boxes. Although I don't really suffer from cystic acne anymore, I still do get the occasional pimple or two. I've learned that scrubs don't work well for my skin type and stick with peels as they're more gentle and effective.

IPKN Moist & Firm Beauty Balm SPF 45 in Light/Medium ($35)

This is a gel formula with a matte finish that claims to offer flawless coverage. It's available in 4 shades: 01 Fair, 02 Light, 03 Light/Medium, and 04 Medium. I already know the shade I received will be too dark for me so I'll pass this off to my mom as well. I probably would have chosen Fair or Light. It looks like IPKN has repackaged their sample products because I've received this BB cream in previous Birchboxes. Sadly I still have not gotten around to trying them out as I tend to hoard and hang on to all my samples.

Lavanila The Healthy Sunscreen Sport Luxe Face & Body Cream SPF 30 ($22)

This is a physical sunscreen with zinc oxide that is sweat resistant and goes on sheer with a long lasting formula. I'm all for sunscreen since I slather it on my face year round and all over my body during the summer. But, I already received a sunscreen sample in last month's box so I would have liked something a little different. I also will only use Asian sunscreens on my face since they have a high PA rating and are just better in my opinion than Western sunscreens.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Wow, I feel like the samples I receive every month are becoming more and more useless to me. It's definitely time to change my profile since I'm receiving the same types of products from month to month or repeats. I was super happy with January's K-beauty box but it's been a downward spiral since then. I'm going to keep the Avene Spring Water and give the other four products away. I'm hoping the next few months will change my lackluster opinion of Birchbox samples but it was my fault for missing out on the featured box this month. Lessons learnt!

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Thanks for stopping by,
Jennifer