For those of you not familiar with sample choice, it’s a program that began last August where Birchbox subscribers have the option to select a sample to be included in next month’s box. Each month 3-4 samples are revealed and the sample you pick will replace one of your traditional 5 samples. This month, Birchbox subscribers have the chance to choose from 4 samples, or select a box curated by a guest editor. This is a comparison of those options based on research I’ve done using other blogs and my own calculations. This month I’ve taken all of my images as screenshots from the official Birchbox video.
First, the four sample options. This month’s theme is curation by an as-yet-unnamed beauty blogger.
The first sample is the Macadamia Professional Nourishing Moisture Oil Treatment. This sample is pretty large, which is nice. It has mixed reviews — half of them love it and say it rescued their hair, and the other half think it is too heavy and greasy or didn’t make a difference to their hair. I’ll leave it up to you to conclude whatever you will.
Next is a brand new Sea Salt Hair Mist from Harvey Prince. This apparently smells like their signature Hello fragrance, which I love.
The third sample is a Real Chemistry Luminous 3-Minute Peel. I received this in a box last summer and wasn’t a fan — it was hard to use and didn’t feel like it was doing much; the sample size is also pretty small.
The final option is the Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer. I’ve heard good things about Naobay, and this facial moisturizer has tons of good reviews on Glossybox and Birchbox, especially regarding the “perfect” texture.
The featured box this month is curated by Beauty Solutions.
This box contains:
– Marcelle Hydra-C 24H Energizing Hydrating Gel
– Juara Candlenut Body Butter
– Number 4 Blow Dry Lotion
– Cotz Flawless Complexion SPF 50
– W3LL People The Expressionist Mascara in Black
I haven’t even heard of any of these samples before, which is intriguing since I read a lot of Birchbox reviews every month. I am personally most excited about the Marcelle Hydrating Gel, which is a light gel texture moisturizer. It has several positive reviews from other bloggers and has been compared favorably to the Clinique Moisture Surge.
The Juara body butter apparently has a pretty strong nutty scent (which you either love or are indifferent about, according to reviews), but everyone agrees that it’s very creamy and moisturizing. The Number 4 Blow Dry Lotion pretty good reviews for use as a blowout aide. If it smells like the rest of the Number 4 line, it will also have a nice, vaguely oceanic scent. The Cotz Flawless Complexion has mixed reviews — a lot of people like it, but some people think it is too greasy. Personally, I’m a fan of trying any product with SPF protection. The W3LL mascara is all-natural and reviews say it does a good job of lengthening and defining.
Like all of the other boxes so far this year, the May box has a beautiful pattern!
Sample choice will open on April 28th for subscribers (April 27th for Ace members and referrers).
Although the featured box contains a few products I’d love to try, I’m going to go with one of the sample choice products. Specifically, the Harvey Prince Sea Salt Spray. The Macadamia Hair Oil was really tempting, but I already have so many oils and anti-frizz hair products to work through that it seems like overkill to select that one. Also, I LOVE the smell of Harvey Prince Hello.
Which sample(s) are you considering?
If you’re planning on purchasing a Birchbox subscription, please consider using my referral link: https://www.birchbox.com/invite/justabirchbox
Just A Primer 