JUARA Candlenut Body Creme: This was a nice body creme, it was very thick and smelled lovely. The sample lasted a good long while, which was great too. The only thing is again the price. It wasn't significantly better than The Body Shop's body butters, which are only slightly smaller (0.6 oz less) and you can almost always get on sale for $10 as opposed to the $35 this costs. But if you're looking for a really luxury body creme and you want to spend a bit more to treat yourself, then by all means, this is a good one.
Klorane Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk: I'd been wanting to try out dry shampoo for a while so I was really happy to receive this, and it did do a good job for what it was. But what I discovered was that I don't really like dry shampoo, it doesn't really do much for me. I also found a blog post on how to use it properly and there were so many steps and tricks that I thought I may as well wash my hair at that point, really. So basically I only ended up bringing it out when I hadn't planned on going anywhere and at the last second had to leave the house so I didn't want to look TOO terrible. But with my type of hair it wasn't really a miracle worker. I still keep some around just in case though, it did help enough to keep it around, though at the moment I'm using up a different sample I'll review later. Of the two I've used, Klorane wasn't my favorite, but just because the other smells slightly nicer.
100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Mascara: This is a really nice mascara, and it actually even smells kind of good. It became my go to for a good long while, and I ended up using it until it started getting clumpy. But the only reason I could do that was because I only wear my eye makeup for a half a day most of the time when I go to work at my part-time job, so it doesn't need to last forever. When I did need it to last, it definitely would start flaking off, so I'd go with something else if you need longevity. And it's definitely not waterproof. But if you're wanting natural products, this is a good option.
Ahmed Assorted Teas: I actually can't really review this because I gave them away after I got them. I don't drink tea, for one thing I've been caffeine free for almost 10 years now and it can be hard to know what tea is caffeinated and what isn't, but also because I just never really liked the taste that much (I know, that makes me a heathen).
Nail Rock manicure glitter: I was so excited to get this because I'd been really wanting to try this particular style of nail art. Plus of all the options, I got the one I would have picked on my own. Red is my favorite color, and I only really like the glitter option (the fuzzy one is just odd). So I was super into it and went to use it almost right away. Sadly, I can't say I really liked it at all. The polish itself wasn't that great, it felt kind of cheap. The process of using the glitter was a disaster, actually getting any kind of coverage was difficult and like glitter always does, it got everywhere. It looked pretty when I was done, but I only did one accent nail on each hand because it was a mess. And then the texture was just...not good. It was super bumpy and chipped off in big pieces rather quickly because it got caught on stuff. I ended up selling it at a yard sale shortly after, I knew I'd never use it again. But hey, I learned that this type of nail art wasn't for me without having to invest any money into it.
So all in all, a great way to start out my first calendar year with Birchbox, even with the disappointment of the nail polish. The body creme was a good addition to a winter box, and I never would have bought one that expensive for myself. As always, if you think this looks like fun, use my referral link please!
