Birchbox April 2015
Jun. 2nd, 2015 12:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
terrikoCan you tell I was playing with some shaped bokeh in these shots? Sorry they're not great product photography, but look at those hearts! ;)
Short reviews because I'm kind of behind and haven't even photographed my May products yet...
Totally acceptable shampoo and conditioner as far as these things go, not too much scent and the smell was inoffensive. What was offensive is this whole "amino acids will fix your hair when applied topically" nonsense on the label. Also, it's made in China, which isn't bad in and of itself, but that seems a long way to import shampoo when it's not really anything spectacular. Overall, I'll use it, but I wouldn't buy it.
I liked the body scrub with this scent, so I was kind of pleased to get this, although to me it doesn't actually smell quite the same. Still, it's a reasonable enough creme, a bit heavily scented by nicely effective without being super greasy. I have it on my desk at work, although I do worry that it's too strongly scented. (I needed something less greasy, and birchbox isn't so great at low-scent moisturizers as scent is one of few defining features for the genre.)
This is the sample I got to choose, and I'm glad I did!
This is a lovely set of eyeshadows. My sample was all neutrals, which I found a bit amusing given how loud the birchbox box itself was in comparison:
They go on fairly lightly unless you've got a base coat for it to stick to, but I don't think that's entirely a bad thing if you want to build up a more subtle look. Swatches below without any base coat: you can barely see anything but a sparkle, which is a fun look on eyes, I think.
Anyhow, they're not heavily pigmented, and I found them really nice to work with, and they worked very well with the eye primer I have. As my birchbox points build up, I'll probably be buying the full-sized one to try some of their other colours, even though I seldom wear eye sparkle. Maybe having more colours will tempt me?
I was pleasantly surprised by the formula here: a lot of lip stains seem to me to be a bit drying, but this was pleasantly moisturizing. Unfortunately, the colour of my sample was too close to my existing lip colour to be very interesting...
Can you even tell I'm wearing lip shade? I can't.
I'd consider trying another shade someday. Maybe several if they release a set of minis, as this is a great pocket size! Actually, to be honest, I'd buy a lot more lip products if they came in this kind of size instead of giant pen-sized. The small samples get used way more often than the big ones in my life!
Overall:
The eyeshadow kind of made this box, for me! But the other products are all things I will use (perhaps more than the eyeshadow, even) and good examples of their respective genres. Nice samples this month, Birchbox!
Short reviews because I'm kind of behind and haven't even photographed my May products yet...
Beaver professional shampoo and conditioner
Totally acceptable shampoo and conditioner as far as these things go, not too much scent and the smell was inoffensive. What was offensive is this whole "amino acids will fix your hair when applied topically" nonsense on the label. Also, it's made in China, which isn't bad in and of itself, but that seems a long way to import shampoo when it's not really anything spectacular. Overall, I'll use it, but I wouldn't buy it.
Hello Body Butter
I liked the body scrub with this scent, so I was kind of pleased to get this, although to me it doesn't actually smell quite the same. Still, it's a reasonable enough creme, a bit heavily scented by nicely effective without being super greasy. I have it on my desk at work, although I do worry that it's too strongly scented. (I needed something less greasy, and birchbox isn't so great at low-scent moisturizers as scent is one of few defining features for the genre.)
POP beauty eyeshadow trio
This is the sample I got to choose, and I'm glad I did!
This is a lovely set of eyeshadows. My sample was all neutrals, which I found a bit amusing given how loud the birchbox box itself was in comparison:
They go on fairly lightly unless you've got a base coat for it to stick to, but I don't think that's entirely a bad thing if you want to build up a more subtle look. Swatches below without any base coat: you can barely see anything but a sparkle, which is a fun look on eyes, I think.
Anyhow, they're not heavily pigmented, and I found them really nice to work with, and they worked very well with the eye primer I have. As my birchbox points build up, I'll probably be buying the full-sized one to try some of their other colours, even though I seldom wear eye sparkle. Maybe having more colours will tempt me?
Cynthia Rowley lip stain
I was pleasantly surprised by the formula here: a lot of lip stains seem to me to be a bit drying, but this was pleasantly moisturizing. Unfortunately, the colour of my sample was too close to my existing lip colour to be very interesting...
Can you even tell I'm wearing lip shade? I can't.
I'd consider trying another shade someday. Maybe several if they release a set of minis, as this is a great pocket size! Actually, to be honest, I'd buy a lot more lip products if they came in this kind of size instead of giant pen-sized. The small samples get used way more often than the big ones in my life!
Overall:
The eyeshadow kind of made this box, for me! But the other products are all things I will use (perhaps more than the eyeshadow, even) and good examples of their respective genres. Nice samples this month, Birchbox!