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Starting with Birchbox....This month's theme was "Let's Do This!"
So in case you didn't know, this is actually my second Birchbox. My first one was December, but since I had already completed the smackdown for that month and I was in the last month of Ipsy vs Lip Monthly (update coming soon) I decided to hold off on that review. Birch Box has announced that every box this year will be decorative so that is cool and I am very excited. I have so far not been too impressed with Birchbox, but it hasn't been a total let down either... so let's get to this!
Wish Shave Cream (Acai Grapefruit) $2.93- As horrible as this is going to sound, I haven't shaved with anything but my electric razor in several months. I've honestly just been way too busy and it takes a lower priority. I will probably just keep this in my travel toiletries, since I generally use conditioner to shave with anyway as a cheaper alternative.
Number 4 Non-Aerosol Hairspray $4.50- This was a decent hairspray and it didn't leave my hair too crunchy, but it also didn't have too much hold so it wasn't too impressive for our weather. However I really do like non Aerosol hairsprays, especially in this format with the pump for travel. I will be keeping this for an upcoming trip.
Tocca Cream Da Mano Hand Cream (Grapefruit Cucumber) $5- I love little tiny hand cream samples and this one is very nice. It is highly perfumed and has a strong scent but I enjoy it although it's probably not for everyone. It seems to soak into my skin fairly quickly and it fits nicely into my purse. This is quite possibly my favorite item out of the box.
Coastal Scents Revealed Palette Sampler (Latte) $1 (Estimated Price)- Seriously? A Coastal Scents sample? Admittedly the colors are a nice neutral selection and I could create some really great looks with it, but I have a lot of similar products so I think this will be held onto for traveling since it's so small.
Harvey Prince Sincerely Perfume $0.55-This was a major let down. I hate perfume samples like this. It's just so disappointing because I can go into a store anywhere where I live and get these for free. Plus I don't wear perfume a lot so this was a huge bummer. It doesn't smell bad but I'm just not interested in trying perfume.
Total Box Value $13.98- I was pretty let down by this box. I expected to be wowed and really happy, but it turns out I'm really only happy about one item, the rest are going into a tub full of stuff I take on trips. Except the perfume, that's going to a friend. The theme this month was really inspiring and sparked a conversation between John and I- we've decided to join a gym and finally shed those extra pounds. But the products were kind of forgotten.
Now onto Ipsy:
This Month's theme was "Fresh Start"
The idea of this theme wasn't all that interesting to me considering we did "Fresh Picks" last year. I definitely see what they were going for, but I wasn't all that excited about it. As for the bag...eh, not my favorite. I'm actually using it to hold some old costume jewelry that I am going to remake.
Bellá Pierre Shimmer Powder (celebration) $14.99-Lately I haven't been too big on shimmer products but this is a nice gold color. It's very flattering with my blue eyes and looks nice against my skin tone, I probably wont use it a lot but it would be nice for date night.
Elizabeth Mott All Over Shadow Brush $9.99- I'm always happy to have another brush and I really love this brand so I'm always excited to get something from them. This brush is very soft and dense so it packs on shadow nicely. I'm actually pretty impressed, plus it's not a bad price point and it feels really sturdy.
La Fresh Eco Beauty Be Good. Good Day. Day Moisturizer. $12- Is it just me or is this brand getting more and more expensive? I'm really not a big fan of their products and my skin is very sensitive. It breaks out often with new products, and I have not had good luck with this brand in the past. I did end up passing this onto John.
Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eyeshadow (Ethereal) $2.80- Honestly I wasn't super excited about the Pacifica, we've sampled this formula before, and though it's a beautiful color I just don't like how chalky it feels. It's got a subtle shimmer which is pretty but I will probably pass this along to a friend.
Probellè Nail Lacquer (Into The Blue) $6- Lately I've been gravitating away from the bright colored nail polish in place of some nice neutral more nude colors, however this broke that pattern. I love the color and I've gotten so many compliments while wearing it. It did chip within a few days which is a bummer, but I'm really hard on my nails. I wasn't excited about this at first but now it's one of my favorite products from this months bag.
Total Bag Value $45.78- Even though I don't like the bag itself, I really felt like we got a good selection of products this month. I'm enjoying 3/5 products this month which in my opinion is a win. I also think the bag value for January is amazing. I can't wait to see what February brings.
And January's winner is...Ipsy! Between the two, I feel like Ipsy actually offered better samples. I was happy that nothing I got in my Ipsy bag was something I could walk into a store and sample for free. Though I'm not thrilled with everything in the bag, I feel like I got a much better value and more products that I will get use out of. Birchbox has yet to really impress me, but we have two more boxes to go for this part of the smackdown series.
Hope you enjoyed this month's smackdown. If you want to sign up for either of these boxes feel free to use my referral links below:
Ipsy Birchbox
xoxo
Courtney
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