Birchbox - Are they worth a go?

Birchbox

I've been looking at the Birchbox website for a few months now so when they had a promotion on Facebook for a free surprise box on your first Birchbox for a limited time only I finally had the push to order a one time only box. It took about a week or two for them to arrive but it has been worth the wait. As my surprise box I received the September box as well as the January box. The packaging is nice with them being draws so when you collect enough you can use them as storage and the designs on them are nice. In each box there are five items, when you order your box you fill out a basic questionnaire about the type of things you would like to receive in your box and about your skin type etc so they can put the right products in the box for you.

Opening up the draws you get to see the products for the first time. I've got a range of things from hair to skin care to make up in both of my boxes (the September box on the left and the January on the right). I'll start with the products from the September box then move onto the January box.

 In the September box I've received Whish Almond Body Butter (the left in the draw) the formula does three things; moisturizes with shea butter, raspberry butter and aloe, firms skin with seaweed extract then purifies with rice bran oil. I've got to say that it smells fantastic! It sinks into the skin almost instantly feeling cool and soothing with no trace of it still on the skin. The original cost of this product is £14.50. The next product in the draw (next to the body butter) is the NUXE Paris scented shower oil with golden shimmer, it looks almost like a liquid highlighter with plenty of shining flecks inside. After the first use my skin aready feels slightly softer and makes me feel like I've been pampered. Luckily non of the shimmers really stayed on my body which has happened before with shower gel with shimmer in it. This retails at £10. The next product I received is the ModelCo Creme Rouge cheek and lips in Just Peachy. It is a really light blusher which works well for the slightly pinched cheeks look and is very moisturising for the lips however I don't think it'll be something I'll be buying again as I prefer to buy proper lipstick and powder blusher (if I use any). This retails at £14. The next product is a Bioderma Hydrabio Micellaire Solution for; cleansing, taking off make up and hydrating the skin. The formula is light weight and removes even tough mascara easily without as much effort at usual baby wipes. This retails at £10.50. The last piece in the September box is Batiste Oomph My Locks Volume Spray. My sister loves the Batiste dry shampoo and this spray so I was glad to receive it in the draw knowing I wouldn't use the larger sizes and this is perfect for my make up bag for when I get ready for going out. It fades nicely in my black hair (it was a worry for me) and doesn't weigh it down like some styling products do in my hair. This retails at £4.29. Over all out of all the products in this Birchbox I would probably only buy the NUXE Paris shower oil again as it was so luxurious for once in a while kind of thing. Maybe the Bastiste Volume Spray but I think this smaller size can will last a while.

 In the January box I've got quite a lot of nice cold weather products to keep away dry skin and leave me with a slight glow. The first product is the Rituals Hammam Body Mud. Now this is a tough one for me to review as every time I use this product I'm not sure if I like it or not. I don't really have much dry skin only in the corners of my hands and considering this is for dry skin this is probably why I'm not sure on it. I have used it on my face as a mask before and found it was good at unclogging pores so I don't completely dislike it as I've found a purpose for it. This retails at £14. The next product I love! It's the Merci Handy New Wave Love & Hand Cream. Considering it's winter I haven't actually got any carry size lotions to top up my hands when the weather drops which is why I'm delighted to have this. The smell is fantastic and it doesn't leave any residue on my hands like some of the heavier weight lotions do. It retails at £4.90 which is very reasonable for it! The next product is another NUXE Paris, this one is a multi-purpose dry oil face, body and hair. This gives a very natural glow to your face when you put it underneath foundation, but doesn't make it last as long as it normally would. If you're having a minimal make up day then a few drops of this rubbed into your face makes it almost glow. This retails at £21. The second to last product is a Lord & Berry Conceal - It Crayon in Beige. I like the coverage with this concealer but as I have very pales since (porcelain) having a concealer in Beige wasn't what I would of hoped for, it is nicer but because it's a few shades too dark I think it makes my blemishes a bit more noticeable. This retails at £12. The last product in the January box is Beauty Protector, Protect & Detangle. This has many purposes; instant detangler, thermal protector, UV protector, Seals cuticle, smoothes hair, locks in colour, adds shine, weightless, non-greasy and conditions. It is very much an every day product, if you have thick hard to control hair then this is perfect for you, but if you also like to give your hair a little treat every now and then then it certainly does that. My hair hasn't felt so pampered since I don't normally do much for it, but a spray or two of this and it feels like I've had it in a mask. This retails at £18.50. Overall out of all the products I would defiantly buy the Merci Handy cream as my hands have never felt softer before and the winter weather hasn't phased through this hand cream. I think the only thing out of this box I wouldn't buy again would be the Lord & Berry Conceal-It Crayon as I did like it, but I found that I much prefer the liquid concealer.

If you like to try new things without committing to the full price of the product then I think Birchbox is worth a go, every month there will be different products with give aways you could win and the questionnaire makes such that you get things suited for you mostly. The one thing I would rate the highest has got to be the Merci Handy. It is worth every penny!.


If you want to start a subscription but are worried about the cost then use :

https://www.birchbox.co.uk/invite/61mnl

to get $5 off your first box!

Valentines Day 2017 Make Up Look and Products I Used

Valentines Day 2017

Valentines day is a time of love and when you're going out for Valentines day there is a lot of pressure to get the right look. From clothes to make up it takes at least two weeks to decide what look you're going to go for. Me and my boyfriend have been together for over two years so when it comes to events like Valentines day it's one of the rare moments I like to put in a lot of effort with how I look and what I will look like on the day/night. First to help you decide what you're doing on Valentines day, if you're going out for a meal at a restaurant then it's all about getting the right dress to suit the restaurant theme with the dress matching the eye shadow look and the lipstick where as if you're going to a more casual day/night you'll be looking for the perfect outfit to match where you're going and want a more bolder make up look to make you really stand out.

This blog is going to be on what me and my boyfriend will be doing and how I decided what to wear and how I will be doing my make up with the brands I'll be using. This is the first post I will be doing where I won't be really reviewing the products as I have used them before or they are new and will all be future blog posts.

To start off with I'll go through what I will be wearing and why I chose to wear this. We have decided to have a picnic at Rutland Water (a nature reserve/ reservoir near where we live) if the weather is as nice as it was last weekend then while we're there we are going to have a skate around the water as well. As it gets nippy up there I chose my outfit according to the temperature there; jeans, my new jumper and Converse as any other shoes (like ballet pumps) wouldn't work while skating. This is a simple yet nice outfit and with the jumper being a darker toned pink it goes with the whole valentines (pink or red usually). If I have enough time before packing up to go for the picnic I want to curl my hair to make it look nicer.

Onto the make up part... since I know what I will be wearing I know the colours for my eye shadow (pink to match the jumper) for my foundation I will use my usual Maybelline Better Skin foundation (in Light Beige) with Benefits Porefessional primer underneath to make the foundation go on smoother. For eye shadow I am going to use Huda Beauty Textured Shadows Palette Rose Gold Edition as I've tested the look before and liked how it looks so to start off with I used the shade 'Bae' with my Spectrum C06 blending brush to start off with all over my lid as a base shade to set the primer then I used the shade 'Shy' over my crease towards the outside of my eye to give it some depth. Using the Spectrum brush again I packed on the shade 'Flamino' in the outer corner of my eye towards the centre part of my eye then a dash of the shade 'Maneater' with my Zoeva 226 smudger brush  to blend it in to make the crease pop. For the inner corner of my eye I used the shade 'Moon Dust' as it really stands out. When you pick up this palette you know you have to use at least one of the textured shadows as that's what makes the palette so unique so I smudged a bit of the shade 'Angelic' in the middle of my eye up to the crease then used the blending brush again to just gently make it look smooth. For my lashes I used my usual Clinique high impact mascara as I know it makes my lashes look long and stops clumping. For my eyebrows I used Kylie Cosmetics Kyliner Creme Gel Eyeliner in Black with the brush which comes with the kit as I find it makes my eyebrows easy to shape and look nice and natural. In the photographs I have used my Sleek Medium contour kit as well for my jaw line and to make my cheeks look more defined but I didn't use as much as normal as I wanted to make it look more natural. I then used my Sleek Solstice Highlighting Palette to make my face have a nice glow on my cheeks. I might add blush on the actual day but I don't use it that often so I didn't use it for creating the look to start off with. I didn't go with eyeliner like I normally do as I wanted it to look natural and less bold as I would save that for the night time look. I didn't go with lipstick as picnic food can get messy and I wouldn't want to have to top it up.

For the evening we haven't decided what we will be doing so I am going to wear my a simple black dress with grey tights then my Converse again, I will bring my outfit from the day with my so I can change if we have plans which involves being outside again. For my eyelook I will make it more dramatic by adding my usual Maybelline Master Ink eyeliner and a dash of silver glitter eyeliner to really make my eyes pop.

I hope everyone who reads this has an amazing Valentines day and likes my Valentines look. I know it is simple but my boyfriend tends to like the more natural look so I like to make it look as natural but to the outfit as possible. Leave me a comment to let me know what you do for Valentines day and what look you did!.