So earlier this month I was nosing through my emails and my latest email from Wowcher piqued my interest. There was an offer for a half price 5 month subscription to Birchbox… Now I’d noticed the Birchbox adverts from time to time on Facebook, but I had particularly noticed the gorgeous #BeautyJunkie decorated box this month. I had a quick google to see if I could find a Birchbox review, but there didn’t seem to be many independent reviews from the UK, so I decided to give it a go. After signing up – which was a really simple and easy process, you can select your preferences. These include your skin tone, hair colour and type, and product preferences, which you can change at any time through your account. My Birchbox arrived and I will confess to being more than a little excited. 😉 I watched quite a few unboxing vlogs on YouTube and thought I’d do mine a little differently, as I decided I’d trial the products for a week to be able to give you a decent review of the Birchbox contents.
Birchbox August 2015 Unboxing
The actual box lid on the August 2015 Birchbox is stunning! This box is definitely a keeper and is designed around the theme #BeautyJunkie. It is covered in beautiful little beauty-themed emojis and is super cute. My youngest boys James & George were desperate to get their hands on it thinking it contained some miraculous new toy! When you lift the lid you’ll find your “Welcome To Birchbox” leaflet which includes a description and directions for each of the products within your Birchbox, as well as a selection of sweet little emoji stickers that emulate the ones on the front of the Birchbox. Then it’s time for the nitty-gritty………the products!
Once you remove your leaflets and stickers, you find your surprise selection of products playfully nestled within a lovely little canvas drawstring bag, which would be great to keep for popping toiletries in when you are travelling or storing your nail art goodies!
I was excited to see what products I had been sent and give them a trial run to see if a Birchbox subscription is worth the money.
Birchbox Review August 2015
Once I opened my little drawstring Birchbox bag, I was able to get my first look at my selection of products. I immediately recognised one product as one of my daily favourites, saw a few I’d heard of but not tried, and then there was a just bit of a random hairbobble hidden in the mix 🙂
Beauty Protector Leave-In Conditioner Review
I thought I’d start with one that intrigued me most and that was a trial size Beauty Protector, protect & detangle leave in conditioner. I tried to find a bit more out about this product, but it is a Birchbox exclusive and therefore only available through the Birchbox website and appears a bit of an enigma. What the Birchbox website does say about the product is that it’s a vegan, paraben and sulphate free leave-in conditioner. It proclaims to detangle and minimise frizz, protect your colour, add shine, protect against heat/styling, provides UV protection and is non-greasy. It professes to do the job of a number of products and I can confirm that it does! It’s absolutely amazing! After washing my hair, I applied a few pumps of the leave-in conditioner to the palm of my hand, rubbed between my hands and then ran it through my hair from scalp to tip, and then blow-dried and straightened my hair as normal. It smells absolutely divine, and applies beautifully. My hair has never been so silky as it has using this leave-in conditioner. It is worth acknowledging that when you use products regularly on your hair, it’s beneficial to use a clarifying shampoo from time to time to reduce product build up which can make hair dull and heavy. In fact, my only negative about the product is that it doesn’t spray as a fine mist like the description explains, hence me applying it to my palms instead, and the spray has a creamy deep peach colour to it, so don’t spray it near clothes, fabrics or wall coatings as it will mark.
Huygens Facial Exfoliator Review
This little pot of exfoliator is an absolute gem! It smells insanely delicious, like a freshly baked lemon meringue! All the beauty editors in France are raving about this product and I can understand why. It has a beautiful, creamy consistency which soaks into the skin perfectly, but the exfoliating beads are gentle and effective. Whilst it is gentle enough to use every day, I’d suggest you probably only need to use it once or twice a week as it’s so effective. Whilst the pot is small, you really don’t need to use much so this is likely to last me a few months!
Lord & Berry Lotus Blusher Review
I’ve heard some great things about Lord & Berry cosmetics, but I had been yet to try any so this Birchbox review posed the perfect opportunity! On first glance, this sample looked like it was made for a flower fairy as it is rather small but perfectly packaged. However, the greatest things can come it small packages! Also the colour was not even remotely close to what I would ever normally chose as I always buy rose/coral toned blushers so I thought there was no way that this would suit my ginger complexion! However, I could not have been more wrong on both accounts. Whilst the sample is small, you really do not need to use much of this Lord & Berry blusher at all. In fact, just a quick dab of my blusher brush was enough for my cheeks and this sample will probably last me ages, even though I am wearing it every day. The colour is also fantastic and a perfect example of why you should never judge a book by it’s cover. Once I’ve used this up, I will be buying the full size Lord & Berry Blusher again. 🙂
Benefit High Beam Highlighter Review
In honesty, I don’t really need to do a Birchbox review on this product. All I can say is if you don’t already own it, then you need to buy it!! This has been a firm favourite with me for years. I wear it everyday and a little goes a long way so I can’t even remember how long it has been since I last purchased one. If I was stuck on a desert island and only had 3 cosmetic products I could take, it would be Benefit “They’re Real” mascara, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer and this, Benefit High Beam! I have nothing bad to say about this product, it applies perfectly, gives that youthful glow to the skin and is unbelievable value for money with how it lasts. I’ve trialled so many highlighters over the years but I have yet to come across any that come close to this! It is without a doubt the best highlighter you could every buy. 🙂
Rituals 
Fortune Scrub Review
I’ve used some Rituals products in the past, but it had been a while. I have totally fallen in love with them again after using the Sweet Orange & Cedar Fortune Scrub daily. It’s heavenly! Now I am not normally a fan of citrus smelling products, so to receive 2 in my first Birchbox could have been make or break! However, it smells like the most high end spas and cascades you into a relaxing paradise just by taking off the lid!
It exfoliates beautifully and lathers up into silky, tiny bubbles on your skin leaving you looking and feeling sensational!
L Erikson Hair Bobble Review
A bit of a random addition to the products in my Birchbox, was this little grey hair bobble from L Erikson! Now I don’t know if everyone gets one of these in their August 2015 #beautyjunkie Birchbox, or if I have because of my preference settings in my Birchbox account, but actually, it’s a bloody good hair bobble! I always have a hair bobble round my wrist ready to tie up my hair, and I normally buy the seamless type as they don’t catch or pull the hair as much as traditional hair ties. However they can be a bit tortuous after a full day in the salon wearing your hair in a ponytail or bun! This little beauty is actually really nice looking in the hair, and I only needed to wind it once (wrapped twice round my hair) to get a really good grip on my ponytail without pulling or snagging. Basically, it was a random but gratefully received little edition to my August 2015 Birchbox!
Birchbox Review & Unboxing August 2015
Well what a little pandora’s box of goodies my first Birchbox turned out to be!! I was lured in by the gorgeous beauty emoji’s on this special #beautyjunkie edition, and I’ve been left firmly impressed. At £10 a month plus P&P, the Birchbox seems like a really good deal if you are open to trying new products. I will definitely be buying the full size Beauty Productor Leave-In Conditioner when my sample runs out as I have never had my hair this silky without being greasy or weighed down. In fact, I’ve loved all the products in my August 2015 #beautyjunkie Birchbox. The only negative I have to say about it is that I can’t believe I have to wait until September until I get my next one!! It’s like Father Christmas is visiting me every month 🙂 xNx
