Birchbox(es) May 2015

(Birchbox is a subscription beauty service which sends you five beauty products, either samples or full-sized items, for $10 per month! If you are interested in subscribing, feel free to use my referral link.)

In May, Birchbox had a promotion to receive a free beautyblender and mini blendercleanser solid by signing up for a Birchbox subscription! Since I have been interested in trying the beautyblender for a while, I decided to start a second subscription (my first is a yearly subscription) to take advantage of this promo! So this post will have quick reviews and photos of both the boxes I received. May Birchboxes were curated by Cupcakes and Cashmere, a blog by Emily Schuman, with the theme Elevate Everyday! May’s box design was a pretty geometric design with gold foil in the center. All of Birchbox’s box designs have been so nice lately!

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Here are the contents of my May Birchbox (from my usual subscription):

• Benefit Cosmetics Lollibalm, $8.40
• Macadamia Professional Nourishing Moisture Oil Treatment, $13.95
• TokyoMilk by Margot Elena Bon Bon Shea Butter Rich Lotion, $6.52
• CoTZ Flawless Complexion SPF 50, $1.44
• Harvey Prince Yogini, $1.65

Total value of this box = $31.96

Overall impressions: This box was average for me. I liked Lollibalm and the Macadamia oil the most. The TokyoMilk lotion was good, and I have yet to try the CoTZ sample. However, I hated the Harvey Prince perfume! So everything kind of evened out to be an average box overall.

Benefit Cosmetics: Lollibalm, sample size

Benefit Cosmetics Lollibalm

Estimated retail value of $8.40 (based on sample size of 1.4 g and full size retailing at $18.00 for 3 g)

This was nice! It adds a light pink tint to your lips with a rose scent. It is quite a generous sample, almost half the full size product. It goes on very smoothly and kind of melts on my lips. It’s a great travel size, so I have it in my backpack for when I’m on the go. Although I enjoyed this, I don’t think I would buy the full size, since I don’t particularly gravitate toward this shade of lip products, and I wouldn’t want to pay $18 for what is essentially a nice lip balm.

Macadamia Professional: Nourishing Moisture Oil Treatment, sample size

Macadamia Professional Nourishing Moisture Oil Treatment

Retail value of $13.95 (based on price at Ulta; sample size of 1 fl oz/30 ml)

This is a very generous sample size, considering you only need a little bit for each use! It has a faint masculine smell, which is unusual but refreshing. I put this on a while after I shower, while my hair is still damp. I noticed that after using this, my hair feels silky and smooth. I’ve seen this exact product retail at Ulta for almost $14, which is more than the cost of the box!

TokyoMilk by Margot Elena: Bon Bon Shea Butter Rich Lotion, sample size

TokyoMilk by Margot Elena Bon Bon Shea Butter Rich Lotion

Retail value of $6.52 (based on full size retailing at $20.00 for 2.3 oz)

Lotion isn’t an item I’m particularly excited to receive. However, I like the fresh, fruity scent of this lotion. I noticed it absorbed into my skin very quickly, and it did not feel greasy at all, like some lotions do. I’m planning to put this in my purse as a hand lotion after I finish what I currently use.

CoTZ: Flawless Complexion SPF 50, sample size

CoTZ Flawless Complexion SPF 50

Estimated retail value of $1.44 (based on sample size of 0.18 oz and full size retailing at $20.00 for 2.5 oz)

I haven’t tried this on my face yet, but I did a quick swatch on my hand. It is lightly tinted, but I didn’t really notice a difference to make my hand look flawless. At first, it felt kind of greasy and oily and my hand, although that subsided after it dried. There is a faint sunscreen scent. Overall, I’m not particularly excited to use this.

Harvey Prince: Yogini, sample size

Harvey Prince Yogini

Estimated retail value of $1.65 (based on sample size of 1.5 ml and full size retailing at $55.00 for 50 ml)

Horrible. Just horrible. I’m tired of receiving Harvey Prince products in general. I’m picky with perfume, and I don’t like receiving body lotion or body wash. This smells overwhelming like incense. It’s supposed to be relaxing, but I don’t feel that when I smell this; I just feel the urge to get away from it.

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Here is what is in my May Birchbox (from my new subscription for the beautyblender promo):

 

• Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional, $4.23
• amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo, $3.11
• Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer, $14.40
• Marcelle Clay Mask, $2.23 
• Laura Geller Beauty Color Drenched Lip Gloss in Café Au Lait, $6.33

Total value of this bag = $30.30

Overall impressions: I enjoyed this box. The dry shampoo and primer were great, and I’m still forming opinions about the moisturizer and mask. The lip gloss will be passed along to someone else. Overall, I feel like the two boxes were similar: for each box, I liked two products, thought two products were okay, and didn’t use one product.

Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional, sample size

Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional

Estimated retail value of $4.23 (based on sample size of 3 ml and full size retailing at $31.00 for 22 ml)

Another Benefit sample! I have heard good things about this product, so I was excited to try it. It makes my skin very smooth, and it seems to help with keeping my skin matte and not oily as the day goes on. This is lightly beige tinted and has a light, pleasant scent. I just received a Smashbox primer sample in my June ipsy bag, so I’ll have to see how this compares! I just wish the sample was slightly larger, like the travel-size at Sephora that is 7.5 ml (a bit more than twice this size).

amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo, sample size

amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo

Estimated retail value of $3.11 (based on sample size of 0.75 oz and full size retailing at $22.00 for 5.3 oz)

I love dry shampoo! Since I recently got my hair cut for the summer, I have been more interested in hair products. Dry shampoo helps me save time by not having to wash my hair as often, which also helps save time since I don’t have to style my hair as often. I recently brought this along for traveling; it’s such a cute sample! It also smells nice, kind of powdery and fruity. There was a slight white tint, but I think that’s most likely due to me spraying it too close to my head.

Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer, sample size

Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer

Retail value of $14.40 (based on sample size of 20 ml and full size retailing at $36.00 for 50 ml)

I have a large bottle of my regular moisturizer (Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer), but I tried this for a while. It can feel a bit heavy/oily at first, but it sinks in after a while, as does the light scent. I started breaking out after a while (not sure if it’s because of this product or something else), so I went back to my regular moisturizer. I’ll probably bring this along for future travels.

Marcelle Clay Mask, sample size

Marcelle Clay Mask

Estimated retail value of $2.23 (based on sample size of 0.55 oz and full size retailing at $15.00 for 3.7 oz)

I’ve only used this a few times, so I’m not sure about its effectiveness yet. After showering, I put on a light layer all over my face for about 10 minutes while I moisturize my body. It dries fairly clear, and you can definitely feel when it dries. My skin feels nice after rinsing it off, but I’ll have to use it more to form an opinion.

Laura Geller Beauty Color Drenched Lip Gloss, sample size

Laura Geller Beauty Color Drenched Lip Gloss in Café Au Lait

Estimated retail value of $6.33 (based on sample size of 1.5 ml and full size retailing at $55.00 for 50 ml)

I don’t wear lip gloss, and I’m not particularly interested in trying this either. I’m going to give this to a friend to use instead.