Birchbox: beauty samples, $10/month
Promo: 5BOXGIFT to get your first box for $5
I paid: $0
Box retail value: $57, My value: $7.5
Enjoyment factor: ☺
Canceling: painless, through website
Birchbox is a monthly subscription which sends you five beauty samples every month, generally a mixture of skin/haircare and makeup. It comes in a cute little box that you can reuse. You can review each sample and receive 10 points and exchange 100 points for $10 off products sold in their online store, including gift subscriptions to their box. When you subscribe, you can fill out a questionnaire telling Birchbox which type of products interest you, though you may still get products you don’t care for. Lately, Birchbox has allowed subscribers to choose between a curated box that has known samples and a mystery box, with a choice of selecting one sample from a limited array, while supplies last.
This month I got two Birchbox boxes. I already reviewed the curated box. While I paid for the other box, I bought this one with points I’d accumulated. This is a review of the regular box.
I was quite happy because four of the five samples in this box were new to me. This was a pretty high value box as well, with a total value of $57 and it seemed at first I’d be able to use all the items. Once I started considering them more carefully, I realized that there was only one that I really wanted to try. I put the other ones for swap, though I’ll probably end up using them eventually if someone doesn’t request them first. So far, my value for this box is just $7.50.
This is what I got:
MAKE Skin Illuminator in llós (medium), .15 oz, ~$20
I had to look up what a skin illuminator was, and I’m still not too clear, but the Birchbox contouring video looked interesting. Meanwhile I found out that my daughter already uses illuminator when she puts on makeup. I’ve asked her to try hers on me to see if this is something worth putting on my beauty bag. Still, meanwhile I have this up for swap.
Pricing this is bit difficult. The full size costs $34 at Birchbox and only has 25% more product than the sample – tiny as the sample is – but it comes in a cool container with a brush which makes application easier. So I think a $20 price for this sample seems adequate. It’s made in the USA.
Dr. Jart+ Water Replenishment cotton sheet mask, $7.50
I don’t suffer from dry skin, so I’m pretty sure I don’t need a hydration mask, but as I have it, I will try it and I’ll report on it later. It’s made in Korea.
Liz Earle Superskin Moisturizer, 15 ml, $21.5
This little moisturizer jar is adorable and I thought about keeping it. But I just got another sample cream I can use on trips, and this one had a high enough value that I thought it worth getting swapping (I’m getting a pendant and some spices in exchange). The ingredients for the cream were interesting (bitter orange leaf twig and bitter orange flower oils, lavandin oil, Roman chamonile extract and cranberry seed oil among them), but there was nothing in them that made the cream seem particularly compelling.
Made in Great Britain.
Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle, 1 oz?, ~$3
I’ve received this detangler a couple of times before. It works well enough, though not as well as the $8 drugstore detangler my daughter used to get. Still, this is a great size sample for when you travel. My daughter’s hair no longer gets tangled, though, so we don’t really need it. 
Love of Color lipstick in first kiss (nude), mini, $6
I don’t quite get the point of nude lipstick, neither do my daughters. On the plus side, this is made in Germany.