Birchbox Review

Good morning! 

I mentioned in my Friday Favorite's Post that I have a Birchbox subscription and I loooooove it! If you're a fellow beauty junkie, it is completely worth the price. I figured since I try all these products they send me I can review them here and let you know what to try and what not to try.

For those of you who don't know what Birchbox is, it's a monthly box with 6 beauty samples of various brands and products. It is automatically mailed to you every month like a magazine subscription!

I travel a good bit (or try to) and shower/get ready in the gym at work most days so I really like how I get monthly travel size products. If I don't use it I save it for when I need to stock up my gym bag or go on a trip. So I do like it for the products but I do have an ulterior motive :)

I got my June box last Wednesday. Here is the loot from my box...

1.

Temple Spa Good Hair Day Shampoo

2.

Temple Spa in Good Condition Conditioner

I'm going to combine my comments on the shampoo and conditioner. I liked these. But I know this isn't politically correct to say but I don't see a big difference in different shampoos and conditioners. Gasp! I do see that drugstore brands of shampoo definitely strip your hair but all nice shampoos tend to work well for me.

Several of the reviewers online didn't like the smell. The smells didn't bother me at all...I would even say I liked it. For my hair, I wash it every 2-3 nights and let it air dry to it's natural texture (thick and wavy). So when I use shampoo and conditioner, I'm looking for products that won't weight down my hair and will help add texture while still making it soft and bouncy.

I think it worked! Here are my very early morning selfies...yikes!

3.

L. Erickson Grab & Go Pony Tube

Well, this was a new one for me. I haven't ever received a hair tie in my box before. I first I was confused and thought it was a bracelet. Maybe the company did that on purpose so that when you wear it on your wrist it can look like a bracelet? I don't know. But I was weary of this one. I'm plenty happy with my regular Target hair ties.

This hair tie is supposed to hold more and tear your hair less than others so I thought I'd put it to the ultimate test: my cardio gym class. If it could hold my short, layered hair during a class where we're running, jumping, moving around then it probably could survive anything.

Here it is...

Great picture, I know. But it shows that it held my hair pretty well! I don't know if I would go out of my way to buy it but I definitely do like it! If you have hair that breaks, creases, or is damaged this would probably be a good fit for you. I'm not crazy about the fact that it's so big. I don't really like my hair ties to be seen if that makes sense. 

4.

COOLA SPF 50 Sport--Mango

I love getting sunscreen. Anytime Nordstroms gives out samples or I go to the dermatologist I always stock up on nice brands of sunscreen. It really is crazy how much better nice brands (read: Expensive) feel and work! I only had one opportunity in the past week to wear this. I wore it to my cousin's cookout birthday party. The verdict is...

I loved it! It smells so delicious...like sunshine, coconut, and mango. Also, it went on like a lotion not like a sunscreen. I'm not a huge organic everything kind of person but it certainly does help that it isn't full of chemicals! I would definitely buy this again!

5.

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel Exfoliant

Honestly, at first I was kind of confused on how this works. I've heard of Glycolic Acid and how good it is for your skin but this was different. It says it's an exfoliant but that's it. In true Lauren fashion I went to use it as a face wash before doing my research to see what it is really for. I could instantly tell it wasn't mean to be rinsed off. The back of the bottle offered no help so I retreated to online. It's an exfoliant that is meant to go on after your face wash and before your serums and moisturizer. #Duh

So I learned my lesson on reading instructions first :) I used this exfoliant day and night as suggested. I definitely agreed with some of the reviews that my skin got worse. But don't fret, I don't believe this is a bad thing. Apparently, how this product works is that it purges your skin of all the junk to make room for the good stuff. I think this product came at the right time because when I began my job I started wearing full makeup all day everyday and it shocked my skin. I'll keep you updated if I think this product works long term.

6.

Marcelle Mini Waterproof Eyeliner

This little guy is definitely out of my comfort zone. I didn't know when I would have the chance to try this out because my work dress code is pretty conservative so I decided to try it out at church :) I was apprehensive because my eyes are blue so I thought it would look weird. I've always heard that blue eyes look better with shades of brown. But I think it looked good...here are some awkward selfies of my eyes! haha 

These selfies crack me up! I think it looks good but I'm not sure if I'll buy it. I'm not really an eyeliner kind of gal. 

Phew, that was a long one! I hope you found these reviews helpful! You should definitely check out a Birchbox subscription. Check back on Friday for Friday Favorites! Have a great day!