I can honestly say that this is the first Birchbox I've received (other than the one way back in 2012) that made me think twice about continuing my subscription. Maybe I built it up too much in my head since the last 3 were pretty great, maybe it's because and I saw all the amazing products other bloggers got this month...but regardless I was super disappointed. This one was not customized to my tastes at all. My beauty profile indicated I was not interested in exploring new skincare products and in this box 3 out 5 products were skincare! Those were the larger samples too.
My box contained: COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face (Full-size, $36), DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew (Full-size, $42), English Laundry No. 7 for Her (Full-size, $90), Gilchrist & Soames London Collection Body Lotion (Full-size, $16), Ojon Damage Reverse Restorative Hair Treatment + Restorative Hair Treatment Plus (Full-size, $33 each) and Ghirardelli Cherry Tango Square
The English Laundry brand doesn't really mean much to me. I've pretty much only heard about it through Birchboxes. So, I must admit I was a little skeptical. however, I tried this out and it's actually quite nice. It's got a strong vanilla scented base with some light notes of what I thought smelled like grapefruit, although the description says floral. It is one of the first scents I can describe as truly feminine but not powdery or overly floral. You don't have to be a super girly-girl to wear this one.
At first sight I was not so excited about these samples. Deluxe samples are so much more attractive than the foil pouches that look like you could have pulled them out of a magazine. However, when I took a closer look I soon decided that these were my favorite samples in the entire box! My hair gets very dry from being color treated, blow drying it, and really just the elements in general. These are two restorative treatments that help treat severely dry hair. You have to leave them in for 20 minutes to work their magic, so I imagine they are deep conditioning masks. I'm really excited to see the results!
Gilchrist & Soames is a great brand, don't get me wrong. However, I think the name (at least in America) has become too closely tied to complimentary hotel toiletries over the years. If they want to appeal to the luxury beauty market, I think they need to do a little marketing re-vamp either in packaging or product innovation. I have a lot of similar samples from them that I have gotten for free in hotels, so I was a bit disappointed to see this in my box. There's nothing wrong with it. It's a decent product. However, Birchbox is supposed to help us explore new products from familiar brands or new brands altogether. This product is neither. I think if this brand had a little makeover it could really be amazing.
This Mineral Sunscreen BB Cream was really not my thing. I am not interested in getting teeny tiny samples of BB Cream that are mostly air. I haven't opened this sample yet but from feeling the .17 fl. oz. tube it's pretty clear there's not much in it. I'm also not really one to spend a lot of money on BB Cream. I've found some very affordable ones that really suit me like Ponds BB+ Cream,$12.99. I'd rather spend more money on make-up, fragrance, nail polish, and hair care.
So, with this DDF Moisturizing Dew you have probably counted already - that makes 3 moisturizing lotions/creams in this box! I think DDF is a fun brand to get because normally their products are so prohibitively expensive. So, they're always nice to try. This one has a really nice texture. It moisturizes deeply without feeling too thick. It is definitely the best of the 3 lotions/creams I received. However, I still would have preferred a makeup or lifestyle item over any of the 3 skincare items in this box.
This little Ghirardelli chocolate had some unfortunate timing. I just got back from a trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago. On my trip I went to Ghirardelli Square and purchased a tin full of my pick of all the flavors of Ghirardelli squares. I got at least 4 of the Cherry Tango ones. The tin cost $12 (plus I had a coupon for 10% off!) and I could fill it up with as many chocolates as I wanted, which came out to about 24. In all the pharmacies I saw the squares being sold in non-assorted bags for even less! So, this is not exactly a big-ticket item (but tasty nonetheless). I think I would have preferred one of the Chuao chocolates I've seen in other boxes for something a little different.
Overall, as you can tell, I was not so psyched about this Birchbox. The difference between Birchbox and other sample boxes I've tried though is that this is the FIRST disappointment - they usually get it right! So, maybe they built my expectations up too high with the first few.
I received my box a few days later than quite a few other bloggers this time and had a lot of time to look at what they received and get excited about my box. A few of the other March Birchbox samples I'm coveting are: How 'Bout Them Apples Cheek & Lip Cream Palette by theBalm, Stila Lip Glaze, Supergoop! City Sunscreen Serum (just to try the brand), Luster Now Instant Whitening Toothpaste, Mighty Leaf Tea Bags, and Tea Forte Minteas. Umm...theBalm and Luster Now are two of my FAVORITE brands! So jealous, you lucky ladies! Maybe next time. That being said, I still haven't decided if I should take a break from Birchbox next month or not after this one. I'd love to hear your opinions!
No comments:
Post a Comment