August 2014 Birchbox Review

It’s been a while since I posted a Birchbox review! Which means that I have a lot of catching up to do. So, despite the chilly fall spring weather…welcome to August!

The theme for August was “Lighten Up”. According to Birchbox, this meant being less serious, keeping cool, and kicking back and relaxing.  I think part of my box sort of embodied the theme — the grapefruit scent of the lotion was a little playful and out of the ordinary, the eyeshadow was named “Cool Lids,” and the face mask was relaxing. I would have loved to see the theme expanded into sea salt hairspray, cooling foot lotions, and aromatherapy.

And without further ado, onto my box!

Laura Geller Beauty | Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow in Silver Sands

This was my sample choice for August, and I was looking forward to it since I don’t own any other cream shadows. I really liked the idea of this shadow, but the brightness of the color and the consistency made it difficult to apply in a way that looked good. I’m going to have to experiment with it a bit more to find a wearable way to apply this. Right now, it’s just not suitable for the looks I want.

Harvey Prince | Body Cream in Ageless

I liked the bright grapefruit smell of this. I has expected it to feel too “mature lady” for me, but the scent is truly “ageless”. As for moisturizing, it does a good enough job. It doesn’t provide intense moisture, but it does absorb into my skin really quickly, which is what I seek from a normal body lotion.

Neil George | Shampoo

This shampoo had the most interesting smell! I couldn’t place quite what it was, definitely not at all floral or fruity, but my boyfriend said he liked it, so I guess it was good. However, I needed to use a lot more of this shampoo than I do of my regular shampoo. I mean, it did what shampoo is supposed to do. But right now I use an extremely cheap shampoo, and so I’m not really in the market to replace it.

Neil George | Conditioner

This conditioner had the same smell as the Neil George shampoo. However, it didn’t make my hair as soft as my regular conditioner does, although I did feel like I used less of it. I was happy to be able to try these products out, especially since the full sizes are pretty cheap compared to the rest of the hair products in the Birchbox store, but I’m not planning on purchasing these (although my boyfriend might!)

nügg Beauty | Revitalizing Face Mask

I was disappointed that the sample size for this was one-use. This review is actually late because I was postponing using this until I found the “perfect” time for it. When I finally did use it, I was pleased to discover that I could actually get 2-3 uses out of it!

The mask smells very herbal, but in a good way. You can definitely smell the peppermint in it. The smell lingers the entire time it’s on your face, but since I loved the smell I didn’t care. The product itself is white with a gel-like texture. It feels REALLY nice going onto my skin. Like, incredibly nice. It’s also slightly cooling, which I think is the effect of the peppermint. It reminded me a little bit of a moisturizer, or a hydration mask. Most of it soaked into my skin, and a little bit was left at the surface. After I washed it off, I felt like my skin was really clean and soft.

All in all, it’s a really relaxing mask to use on a weekend morning. I might have to invest in this when it’s gone!

Verdict: Out of my 5 products this month, I loved 1, liked 3, could have done without 1, and disliked 0. I was definitely disappointed to get both a shampoo and a conditioner as two separate samples (at least in June when I received the shampoo/conditioner/hair milk, they counted as one sample!) since I’m not looking to replace any of my shower products, but at least I like the samples and will be able to use them on trips. The eyeshadow wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t own any cream eyeshadows before and I was pleased to get to try one. And I was really pleasantly surprised by the mask and how much I loved it. All in all, a worthwhile box!

If you’re planning on purchasing a Birchbox subscription, please consider using my referral link: https://www.birchbox.com/invite/justabirchbox