Birchbox December 2014

Ok, I know, it's February now. What the heck is this? I received two different subscriptions for the month of December already. Ipsy vs. Lip Monthly  What happened? Well, I signed up for Birchbox as part 3 of the smackdown series, but I did end up getting a December box. So I figured I'd post this as it's own individual review since December's smackdown already happened. But don't worry, January  and February's smackdown will still happen. To find out more about Birchbox check out their FAQs here!

So instead of doing this like a smackdown I'm going to do this more as a first impression style post. starting with...packaging:

The December box was decorative in spirit of the Holidays, I think the color combination of blue and gold is very pretty. I like this a lot, and I intend to keep it.  

Now onto what I got in the box:

Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream $1.28- This little guy was quite a small sample. However the product itself was nice and absorbed into my skin quickly. I did end up giving this to John to use at work during the cold season, since it wasn't all that impressive to me compared to less expensive drug store brands that I have.

Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner (Jaipur Gold) $4.81-This was a nice sample to receive, it's a decent size for a liner and the formula is nice. it's soft and creamy but sets well and lasts a long time. It also has great pigmentation. It reminds me a lot of the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners and the BH Cosmetics waterproof eyeliners. I'm considering purchasing this one.

Manna Kadar Lip Locked (Lucky) $0.20- Admittedly the packaging for this tiny sample is super cute. It has a rhinestone on top.  The color is pretty neutral so it's not that exciting but it's nice and wearable which I like. This product does claim to be a "priming gloss stain", though I'm not really sure how much it primes your lips and it doesn't really seem to stain them. For this reason I don't think I will be purchasing the full size of this.

Rusk Texture Spray $3.37- Okay, I really liked this one. No I didn't need another hairspray but this one actually worked really well. It's a texture spray so I think that helped. It claims to have medium hold, but it lasted me all night and didn't make my hair have too many crunchy pieces, so I am pretty darn impressed. I'm considering buying the full size of this. My only complaint is the product comes out super fast on the pump.  But other than that it smells nice and works well so I'd say this is a win.

Royal Apothic Cuppa Cuppa Firming Tea Treatment Mask $9.66- Ahhh...I was excited to try this but I put it on the back of my hand to test it first and boy am I glad I did. It irritated my skin pretty badly so I didn't end up keeping it. I passed it along to someone else and that was the end of that, so unfortunately I can't really give a review on it.

Box total: $19.32

So as a whole, my first Birchbox was pretty good. I'm not overly impressed with it, but I feel like it will be one of those things that gets better with time. I will have another couple Birchbox reviews up soon. I have already opened my January box and started reviewing products for the smackdown, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Interested in Birchbox? Feel free to use my link here.

xoxo
Courtney