Thursday, May 28, 2015

July 2014 Birchbox

If I recall correctly, July of 2014 was the first time they let you choose a sample for your Birchbox, and I've really enjoyed that extra perk, though sometimes I think about maybe just saying "surprise me" instead. I'll get into that in later boxes, in this box there was no question for me on what to pick.

A photo posted by Elizabeth (@onegirlsreviews) on



Hello Body Cream: I'd been excited about this product since I realized it existed, especially after how much I enjoyed the Hello perfume in my June box. The body cream smelled just as lovely, if not maybe slightly better actually. It was a great lotion, you didn't have to use much to get a really great feel on your skin. I love the entire Hello line, though I have to admit they're a bit costly. Though Harvey Prince is constantly having sales if you subscribe to their mailing list.

Ruffian Nail Lacquer - Ambrosia: This was the sample I chose, which is probably no surprise since I've talked before about how much I love Ruffian's products and wrote a tutorial for their "signature" look a while back too. I'd been wanting some of the new colors for a long time, but I couldn't convince myself to spend the money because I had so much nail polish already. But then came the choice to get the color I wanted most in my box? Yes please. This color is absolutely beautiful, I'm still so happy I have it. Especially now that it looks like it's not available anymore.

Ruffian Dressing Room Nail Lacquer Remover Towelettes: I can't actually remember if I've talked about these on the blog before or not, or if this was even the first time I'd gotten them. But either way, I'll just say I LOVE these. I ended up buying a pack shortly after I got this one, because they work so well. I've tried other nail polish remover towelettes before (namely Julep's) and they've been basically rubbish (yup, Julep's middle range quality strikes again). So I wasn't expecting much the first time I opened one of these. But seriously, it works. It's actually bigger and has enough stuff to really remove all ten nails worth of polish. Honest. And they really do smell better than normal.

suki exfoliat foaming cleanser: This cleanser was okay, I wasn't overly impressed really. The lemon smell reminded me of a furniture cleaner or something, it just wasn't a smell I associate with face wash. It was a little more harsh than my sensitive skin can usually take, and the sugar dissolved way before it could actually do anything. And at $33, I've definitely gotten far better products from Etsy that cost less.

Marcelle New Age 8 in 1 Power Serum: I don't know what to say about this that I haven't said about every other serum I've reviewed. Meh, it does something, not sure what, it's better to use this with my moisturizer than not, but I'm still too cheap to think $34 an ounce is a price I'm willing to pay for something that's just "eh, I guess it's doing something" when I can get something cheaper that is about the same effect at The Body Shop.

Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette: I'd been tempted to buy this palette a few times actually, or the first Revealed palette, but I convinced myself not to because I have several eyeshadow palettes right now from BH Cosmetics and they're fantastic and will take me forever to use up. So I was thrilled to get a chance to try this without having to spend the money. I got the "ballerina" set of colors, which were four very nice, subtle neutral shades. I loved them, the colors are great and I got really good coverage out of them. I definitely liked them enough that I'm even more tempted by the full sized palette now, and will probably cave and get one of them next time I order with points.

One of the other things that came with this Birchbox was a year's subscription to Women's Health Magazine. Like, an actual free subscription where you didn't have to remember to cancel later or anything, just fill out a quick card and drop it in the mail. I definitely am not one to say no to something like that.

So now that it's been about a year, my review of Women's Health Magazine is that it is a seriously weird mix of actual, good, scientifically backed advice and really bonkers woo woo stuff, plus some body positivity sprinkled over fat shaming. I mean, I guess it's as mixed up as most women's emotions on those topics? It was a decent distraction for the last year, and if I could renew it for less than $5 I might think about continuing to get it, but honestly I got very little out of it. Also, it's more than a little heteronormative (which is not a word I use often for various reasons). But it was very, very full of the "how to please your man in bed" stuff and a bit too much focus on losing weight to look good to get a man (which is eight kinds of problems in one) and I can't recall seeing one mention in the entire year of women who are lesbians, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, nothing. I'm not saying every issue of every magazine every time needs to include everybody always, but they don't really make an effort.

I am currently trying to get healthier, and I did pick up a couple tips from them over the last year. But for the most part I found it the same old crap I've been trying to reject, with a lot of fat shaming and "lose weight no matter what" and "only skinny people are attractive" kind of feel. So I won't be renewing.