Because I signed up to Birchbox towards the end of September, I've ended up getting two boxes quite close to one another. In fact, in the past two weeks I've been sent two Birchbox boxes, one Glossybox and a My Little Box - I'm already feeling a bit sampled out!Whilst I wasn't impressed with the box itself for October's Birchbox - it felt a bit cheap - I was impressed with the quality of the contents. The products came in a handy pale pink zip bag, though I can't see me using the pink lipstick pen. I also liked that they had partnered with CoppaFeel! to support breast cancer awareness month.
Balance Me's cleanse and smooth face balm is full of lovely 100% natural ingredients that made my face feel soft and nice. It also smells really lovely! One thing I often find with cleansers and polishers that have "gritty bits" in them is that the gritty bits can sometimes stick to your face, even if you think you've washed it all off. I didn't get that with this Balance Me cleanse and smooth face balm, and so this will definitely be replacing my Liz Earle exfoliator (once I've used that all up).
When I was six, I had a mini make-up "kit" which was a basically a plastic pink comb with a flower on it, a clear nail polish and a lip balm. The Pixi by Petra shea butter lip balm I was sent in ripe raspberry flavour/colour, reminds me of that lip balm. Don't get me wrong, it feels really soft and luxurious on my lips, but the "hint of colour" made my mouth look like a clown's! I had a red stain around my mouth that looked exactly how I would have smeared that lip balm on me, aged six. However, whilst it doesn't work on my lips, I am liking it as a blusher.
I could smell quite strong alcohol fumes when I sprayed some KMS California's Hair Play dry wax on my hair, which was quite off-putting, plus it made my hair feel really sticky with not much texture added to it. This product is definitely not for me.
The glowing serum by Meaningful Beauty was a sample that got me excited. Costing £30.95 for 15ml, having a 8ml sample included in my box has made October's Birchbox have amazing value. Cindy Crawford and Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh are the two behind Meaningful Beauty, and after using the serum it seemed to me that you're paying for the names rather than an awesome product. The glowing serum made my face feel really sticky when I applied it, and my face was more red than glowing.
I wasn't sure what to make of the Shaveworks: The cool fix sample. I think that's because when it comes to shaving products you always think of preventive gels and creams rather than ones that fix bumps and redness afterwards! It stung when I applied it, rather than feeling cool and tingly, but the gel was a nice consistency. I'll gladly use the sample if I get redness from shaving to see if it soothes me, but this won't be something I'll buy myself.
Even though there's only one sample that I really liked from this month's beauty box, I am impressed with the quality of the samples. The whole point of a beauty box service is to try out new products you probably wouldn't have bought yourself, and I'm happy with the two boxes I've had from Birchbox.
I've put my Birchbox subscription on hold, for now, until I've had the opportunity to review two beauty boxes from Glossybox. I don't need more than one subscription box or I'll probably end up with hundreds of samples gathering dust, and I'm still waiting for my first Glossybox to arrive.
If you'd like to give Birchbox a try, use this link and we'll both get a fiver added to our accounts! x
PS: I did say that I would share my further thoughts on the beautyblender, but as this box turned up sooner than I expected, I've not had chance to give it a full whirl.
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