Wednesday, July 31, 2013

My First Birchbox

So, I've recently started to be a little more interested in being a bit more professional and put together when it comes to my look. I've long been the "roll out of bed and run a brush through my hair" type, but it's not been working for me for a while.

To that end, I've been trying to get some new products in my routine, but maybe not just the cheapest thing on the shelf all the time anymore. I'm still not really on the super expensive bandwagon either, but you know, you usually get what you pay for (to a point).

The problem is that I've been having a lot of trouble lately with buying a new full sized product, and having it not work for one reason or another. I have extremely sensitive skin, and just complicated issues with everything (partially because I haven't care about it for so long).

Enter Birchbox. A friend of mine had been subscribing to it for a while, and I admit I've been intrigued.

If you don't want to watch the video, basically you pay a monthly subscription fee ($10) and each month you get a box in the mail containing a set of samples based on the profile that you put in on their website. If you like a product, you can easily purchase it from their online store and you get points towards purchases too.

I finally decided to take the plunge and my first box actually showed up on my birthday. I was worried that it would be mostly samples I wouldn't care for or didn't want to try. But instead, all but one were things I was very interested in.

I've been using the Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect, which I like because even though I haven't used my blow dryer in about four years (and that was to try to dry a book that had gotten wet) my hair is pretty damaged and dry. So far, I've quite liked the results. It's a very, very subtle difference but that's what I like about it.

Tonight I tried the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow brightening makeup for the first time. It was actually really great, I have a lot of problems with most foundation because of my dry skin and while this wasn't perfect, it was still better than most things I've tried of late. I don't think I could use it every day as an all-over foundation, but it certainly will work for the special occasions very light makeup that I'd like. The only problem is that it's kind of far outside of my price range for the full size bottle.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'm also excited about the 100% Pure Nourishing Body Cream, my samples are coconut but the Honey Almond also sounds fabulous. With my hyper-sensitive skin, a cream that's completely organic is probably my best bet.

I know this is just one box, but I definitely think I got more than $10 worth of samples out if it and they were all things I wanted to try (except the Tan Towel, I really don't have a big desire to fake tan). They also have already sent me two or three coupon codes, and their website is full of sales and gifts with purchase. I think it's perfect for somebody like me who is just getting their feet wet with this whole beauty product thing.