Tag: birchbox

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, reviews, Uncategorized

Birchbox x Vogue

ramblingmads

Underwhelming. That’s all I can think of to describe this box. 


From the rather ‘meh’ design (I couldn’t decide between the two rubbish designs so let Birchbox decide) – it’s y’know, pink. 

Then there’s the unoriginal content. Which considering that it’s in collab with a magazine at which there have been some big chances in line up and ideas, I expected more from. 


Inside is just not exciting me. 

Shall we…

In haircare, Bumble and bumble Prep (RRP £18)- not even remotely sure what I’m prepping for…oh it’s expensive leave-in conditioner. 

Then there’s Klorane’s dry shampoo (RRP £8) – could not be more excited *eyeroll emoji here*

Onto make up and first up it’s Benefit’s Hoola (RRP £24.50) a bronzer that makes it look like I haven’t washed my face (that’s all bronzers fyi – I am really pale). 

Now skincare – L’Occitane’s Shea Butter Hand Cream  (RRP £8 and up) which ok, I do actually like but good grief this sample is tiny. 

Finally, and in case you don’t believe that beauty boxes copy each other, a brush cleaner (Birchbox branded £5) just like last month’s Glossybox. Wow. This is the only full size item – I got mine for 99p on eBay. 

Next month we get to choose a lipstick shade but for 2018 I think I’m going to be choosing a new beauty box. 

If I were Vogue’s Lifestyle and Beauty Editor I’d be tidying up my CV right about now. If someone could direct Edward Enninful or Anna Wintour my way, that’d be dandy *wink emoji here* 

Now where’s my intern?? 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

Birchbox October 

ramblingmads

This month’s Birchbox just got dropped off, it’s a pretty box too. 

There are five beauty products in this box – two are fullsize. 

ModelCo Contour Stick RRP £8 – this is way too dark for me – it just makes me look like I haven’t washed. Shame as I picked it as my choice of ModelCo product this month.

 

Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash RRP £16 – this has a bit of a strange a scent probably because grapefruit and frankincense don’t really go. However it’s a good facewash – not too astringent but does leave skin nice and clean. 

Anatomical Grab Your Melons Shower Gel *Fullsize* RRP £1.50 – nice zesty morning shower gel. In collaboration with charity CoppaFeel this shower gel reminds you to check your boobs with a handy shower sticker. 

EcoTools Contour Perfecting Applicator *Fullsize* RRP £5 – essentially a beauty blender on a stick. Nice soft sponge designed to create and blend your contour. 

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner RRP £16 – essentially a skinny felt pen eyeliner in a nice solid black. Another way for me to end up with it smeared all over my face. 

A nice balance of products from the skincare and make up options. While I don’t think I’ll get much use out of the contour stick the rest will be handy. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

Birchbox x Oliver Bonas 

ramblingmads

September’s Birchbox is in collaboration with lifestyle brand Oliver Bonas. 

There was an option to select your box design and to add a candle as an upgrade. 

Inside the box are 4 sample size items and one full size, as well as some stickers and a discount voucher for Oliver Bonas.
R+Co High Dive Moisture & Shine Cream sample size (full size RRP £23) – this is designed to smooth flyaway hair and add shine. It can also be used as a leave-in conditioner. I like a double duty product and this smells pretty inoffensive. 
Manna Kadar Fantasy 3 in 1 Blush, Highlighter, Eyeshadow full size (RRP £15) – this is way too dark for me to use as a blush or highlighter but I think it would make a nice eyeshadow. 

Polaar IcyMagic Instant Eye Contour Energiser sample size (full size RRP £22) – roll on eye gel to refresh and revive tired eyes, bags and dark shadows. 

Dr PawPaw Original Clear Balm sample size (full size RRP £6.95) – this is a handbag hero – lipbalm, hand cream, split end soother, dry skin moisturiser. Shame they didn’t put a full size tube in the box, it’s not exactly pricey. 

Rouge Bunny Rouge Bronzing Glow Liquid sample size (full size RRP  £51) – this should be an added extra not a product, it’s piddly. This is way too dark for me too, although the suggested use is mixed with a little moisturiser or lotion, which presumably dilutes it. 

The candle is bergamot and mint and matches the box, I like the drawer design. It smells quite nice but the bergamot isn’t particularly distinct, which is a shame as I really like bergamot and buy perfumes that contain it. 

Overall this box was a bit uneven, good mix of products but too many tiny samples, which makes it feel less like a treat and more like I wandered around the beauty department and got given some handouts. The candle was a nice add on but it costs an extra £8, which seems excessive as Oliver Bonas isn’t exactly hard up as a company and could have been more generous. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, glossybox, make up, reviews

Box Round Up feat. Glossybox, Birchbox, Glitterati

ramblingmads

I am giving up on beauty boxes I think. I have ordered a Me Love Beauty bag but you pick the products so I can only blame myself if I don’t love it. 

Glossybox 

Another pretty box not in the usual livery. The blue is quite nice. Inside are a selection of beauty products – mostly make up and hair care. 

🍍Sportfx Time Out Mist + Fix

🍍Model Launcher Safari Sun Bronzed 

🍍Valquer Ice Hair Mask, Total Repair 

🍍Batista 2in1 Dry Shampoo & Conditioner Vanilla & Passionflower

🍍Rodial Suede Lips 

Birchbox 

Birchbox have gone with mermaids as their August theme. The drawer box is pretty in blue and purple. 

🐚Spectrum Collections A05 Brush

🐚LOC One and Done Shadow Stick in Rock Steady

🐚Number 4 Sugar Texturising Spray

🐚Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse OR Multi-Usage Dry Oil Shimmer

🐚Yes to Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Paper Mask 

Crown & Glory Glitterati Box

This was a new one for me. Accessories instead of beauty – but to be honest I just wasn’t that impressed. Sorry C&G, I’ll still buy your flower crowns though. 

🌟Glitter Passport Cover

🌟Glitter Bag Charm 

🌟Hair Charms 

🌟Hair Flair

🌟Super Sparkle Pots 

So there you go, three boxes for the month. If anyone can recommend a really good beauty box that doesn’t cost the earth and isn’t regularly disappointing, please tell me. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

Birchbox Merry & Bright 

ramblingmads

This month’s Birchbox has arrived. Instead of the classic box they’ve sent a pop top style box, which they claim can be used as a keepsake box. However it is smaller than the usual box and I can’t really work out what I’d keep in it. 

Inside are five beauty items – they tie into the colour scheme rather neatly. 
💋Ciatè London Fierce Flicks Eyeliner (fullsize RRP  £15) – felt tip style eyeliners are my preferred kind, mostly because I can’t quite handle gel and I have never managed to get a decent line from a kohl pencil. 

💋Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara (RRP £23) – I’m not entirely sure what makes this specifically a smokey eye mascara but there you go. 

💋Benefit Cosmetics Benetint  (RRP £24.50) – teeny tiny Benefit samples I’ve had a few. I used to love benetint but I haven’t used it in years. 

💋Leighton Denny Nail Polish in Just Perfect (fullsize RRP  £12) – this is a really baby pink polish which I really don’t see getting used. Which is a shame as these are good quality polishes. 

💋Amie Skincare New Leaf Deep Pore Exfoliating Polish (RRP £5.95) – this uses rice proteins to exfoliate away dead skin cells rather than nasty plastic beads so yay. Plus this range gets on well with sensitive skin – I just wish it was a bigger bottle. 

This box was a bit mixed, it’s nice that the colours all tie together and I will definitely get some use out of most of the contents which is nice, especially considering the very hit and miss year Birchbox has had. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, reviews

Birchbox x Tatler – what a disappointment 

ramblingmads

Ok, firstly I love the peacock feather design and the fact that they seem to be sticking to the drawer version of the box. 

But oh boy are the contents awful. It feels a bit like they were clearing out some old stock and threw some random bits together. 

💄Amika Dry Shampoo 

💄Nuxe Creme Prodigeuese moisturiser 

💄Beauty Protector Blonde Shampoo

💄OCC Lip Tar Primer 

💄Bbrowbar Brow Pencil in Cinnamon Spice 

Yes, you read that right, two different types of shampoo. In the same box. Clearly the hair care stock pile needed a clear out. 

Then there’s yet another moisturiser. Yes I guess it’s useful but hardly a luxury treat. And I pretty much get one every month.  

The eyebrow pencil is completely the wrong shade – way too dark, the blonde shampoo is at least in the right direction. 

Finally the Lip Tar Primer – I use a lipbalm under my lipstick but this gloop doesn’t fill me with confidence. According to the lovely women in my WhatsApp group it’s a complete nightmare to use and a waste of time. 

So thanks Birchbox for a box full of random stuff from your storeroom. I filled in a beauty profile questionnaire but it seems that it was thrown directly into the bin. 

To be completely honest Birchbox has been flailing around for a while now. I don’t know what’s going on in their HQ but they definitely need to pull their socks up as there are plenty more beauty boxes out there just waiting to steal their customer base. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

Birchbox Heroes

ramblingmads

It’s a Birch-drawer this month, which I prefer to the boxes – they’re really reusable too. The top is decorated with a pastel geometric design which I like. 

Inside is possibly my favourite Birchbox collection ever. 

Starskin Eye Catcher mask – a bio-cellulose mask with coconut juice and liquorice root to brighten, smooth and de-puff. My eyes often need a little love by the end of the evening so these little pads will come in a treat. 

Nuxe Prodigieux Shower Oil – this is very nice, I’ve had it before, it’s fab on freshly shaved legs in the shower. 
Nailtiques Protein Formula 2 – keratin, protein and calcium to bond the layers of nails to stop them splitting and peeling. Which is something that happens to my stressed out nails desperately need. 

Model Co Highlighting Trio – slightly sparkly, this cream highlighter gives you a glittery glow on cheekbones, brow bones and eyelids. 
Amika Bombshell Blowout Spray – volumizing, smoothing and texturising in one, with sea Buckthorn Berry oil antioxidants to strengthen and repair. My hair is a law unto itself – but maybe this can tame it. I’d like some volume and less madness please. 

As a bonus for introducing a friend to Birchbox  (not 100% sure who) I got a dinky little bracelet, embossed with ‘Imagine’ 

There was also a voucher for a photo box from Lalabox – a photo printing app which sends out your snaps in a gift box.  

The drawer/box will be reused too, like previous ones, to store various bits and pieces, and I wish they did it every month, they’re much nicer than the boxes. 

After a few slightly lacking months which have seriously had me thinking of cancelling the box, this was a really good selection of bits. So Birchbox is on notice – next month’s will make or break it. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, reviews

Birchbox – Dive In

ramblingmads

This month’s Birchbox is actually a bag, a little grey scuba bag to be precise – not exactly as jazzy as Birchbox’s usual standard to be frank. 

Luckily what’s inside is better. 

Marcelle Waterproof Eyeliner in Mulberry – this month’s choice was one of these dinky pencils – I went for this black with a tiny hint of purple number. 

Voya Silky by Nature Shampoo – I really hate getting shampoo or conditioner in beauty boxes, it seems a bit of a cheat to me. Still this one claims claims to leave hair healthy and shiny with its organic oils and other super ingredients. 

Amie Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash – this is a really nice face wash, gentle but thorough. Shame the sample is so tiny, but it fits neatly into my washbag for the next weekend away. 
Anatomicals The Buff Stuff Citrus Body Scrub – grapefruit based for a citrus burst with little pumice granules to scrub away dead skin. 

Merci Handy Antibacterial Hand Cleansing Gel – I had a different scent in last month’s My Little Box, and while this is a handy thing to have, especially when commuting, it feels a bit out of place here – and there could have been a better item here. 

There’s an extra sample this month, a teeny pod of Nude Perfect Cleanse Omega Cleansing Jelly – it turns from a gel to a milk on contact with water and clears away impurities. 

This month wasn’t the most exciting offering from Birchbox, it seems to fluctuate a fair bit. I will be cashing in some points this month to buy a few favourites in the shop, but it won’t be any of these. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, haircare, make up, nail polish, skincare

Never-ending Summer with Birchbox 

ramblingmads

This month’s  Birchbox arrived today, all pink and purple, in collaboration with Millie Mackintosh (one of those famous for being famous types it seems). 

This month’s selection contains five items, three full-size. 

LOC x Millie Ultra Gloss Lip Pencil in Bohemian Rose – Birchbox in-house brand Love of Colour lip pencil in a glossy soft pink. 

John Frieda 7 Days Luxurious Volume – this was my pick between two products from John Freida. This is designed to boost volume from the next time you wash your hair with this in-shower treatment. 

Nails Inc in Abbey Road – a teeny bottle of baby pink polish.

High Definition Brow Define in Bombshell – enriched with waxes to boost the long-lasting brow pencil. 
Indeed Labs Hydraluron Moisture Boosting Mask – sheet masks are a big thing at the moment and this one promises intense moisture for dry, tired skin. 

It’s an ok box, not the most exciting to come out of Birchbox and really the Nails Inc polish could be in a bigger size, I will probably lose this bottle at some point. It doesn’t feel hugely summery either – last month’s pineapple print was more so, some summer specific goodies like suncream would be more appreciated, all this pink feels Spring not Summer. 

Thoughts? Are you a Birchbox subscriber? What did you think about this month’s box? Let me know in the comments. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, glossybox, reviews

June: Birchbox vs Glossybox

ramblingmads

Ding ding!

We’re back for another round of beauty box battles and once again familiar foes Birchbox and Glossybox are in the ring. Let’s see how they stack up.

Birchbox – Paradise Found

Ok, firstly I love a literary pun, Paradise Lost is a beast of a poem so points for that. Secondly the drawer box is definitely scoring points, and it’s covered in the current ‘It’ fruit – pineapple.

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Inside the jaunty exterior lurk five beauty products. All sample size except one.

Percy & Reed Reassuringly Firm Session Hold Hairspray – handbag sized for fixing your ‘do on the go, this has been nabbed by the Mr, who has run out of his manly spray for manly hair and been reduced to stealing my much girlier stuff.

Monuspa Warming Ginger Bath & Body Oil – nope, it’s either for washing or moisturising, not both.

Pure & Light Organic Skincare Essential Face Cream – the bottle isn’t particularly “ooh look at me!” but is filled with antioxidants and skin friendly natural ingredients – the rest of which is always does my sensitive excema and rosacea prone skin like it?

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BioNike Defence Tolerance – this is basically a tiny bottle (15ml) of micellar water. Something that only just manages to cleanse my face on a make up free day (I wash it after with more deep cleansing stuff), so not exactly wow.

Stila Lip Glaze – I watched the BBC documentary about figure skaters ‘Making an Ice Princess’ recently and I am pretty sure the 11-year-old was wearing this gloss. I’m 29, so I’ll pass.

Finally, this month for £8 you could upgrade your box with a pair of Quay Australia sunglasses. Now I rarely bother adding extras and nonprescription glasses are wasted on me but these would be perfect for a friend, so I got them to treat her (she doesn’t read the blog so I can tell you).

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Onto our second contender:

Glossybox – new discoveries

The box is in GB’s standard pink and black livery this month with five items (plus a wee bonus) three full size and 3 sample.

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The product they’re most excited by this month is the Konjac Sponge – hailing from Japan and Korea (2016’s skincare top place) these sponges are made from the porous root vegetable konjac, gentler than a sponge, 100% natural and very squidgy, this is perfect for anyone like me who finds some cleansing tools too abrasive on their skin.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream – now GB are notorious for midgy samples like this 5ml tube, so tiny I couldn’t find it in the box straightaway. Considering the full size is £20 and Origins are supposedly focusing on expanding their UK market, a bigger sample would have been nice. This might just do my eyes twice before expiring, not that I’m reassured that ginseng and my sensitive eye skin will get along.

De Bruyère After Sun Lotion Monoï – monoï is apparently gardenia petals soaked in coconut oil and this combined with skin fave vitamin E is designed to calm angry, red and peeling flesh after you forget to apply sunscreen to the back of your neck (what? I can’t see it!)

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Ladival Sun Protection Spray SPF15 – designed for sensitive skin but not nearly strong enough (SPF30 or higher or stay indoors) but protecting against UVA, UVB and infrared A-rays, a non-greasy spray on would prevent the aforementioned burnt neck situation.

Emitè Make Up Cheek & Lip Tint – theoretically I love two-in-one products, realistically it’s Benetint all over again. Great colour on lips, looks like I tried to do clown make up and mistook my cheeks for my nose. This is quite a deep red, and even with a bit o’ blending way too dark for my skin, but perfect for vampy lips.

The bonus item is a sachet of Aussie Hair Care’s famous 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor Deep Conditioner.

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So at the final bell, what do we think this month’s winner is?

It’s a mixed bag really. Can I have the Birchbox box with the Glossybox products? After a few truly dismal months GB have really pulled it out of the bag product wise while BB have backslid, although both could stand with having more generous sample sizes, you need a good few goes before drawing a conclusion on a product altogether.

What do you think? Were you wowed by this month’s boxes, or left feeling a little cheated? Let me know in the comments.