Birchbox time! The Birchbox September 2014 theme is “Happy Days” which is a lovely idea, although I’m not sure the concept has translated particularly well in the contents, however it’s a bit of a tricky one to put into products; I was expecting bright, cheery shades products and packaging, but instead we got a fairly decent selection of goodies that are aimed at making us look our best during our happiest days…
The September 2014 Birchbox is going to divide subscribers I think, as the psychology of small products will once again step in and make people feel as if they’re not getting their moneys worth. However, keep in mind that you’ve got an oil and an eye cream, both of which are small but long-lasting as you only need a tiny amount for each use. There are some big brand names here so whilst it’s by no means their best box, the Birchbox September 2014 contents is pretty good with some real winners. As usual, here’s a breakdown starting with my favourites:
My mascara fatigue (read here if you don’t know what I’m rambling on about) has now been cured thanks to me digging out the quite frankly awesome Tarte 4in1 Mascara, so I’m excited to see one included in this months box. The mascara in question is ModelCo Power Lash Mascara that apparently captures all lashes to give “maximum impact with minimal effort”, so that has my name written all over it. Included is a decent sample size and full-sized it’s £24.
You can’t be an inclusion from Benefit in a beauty box, which is why it’s fab to see the Benefit It’s Potent! Eye Cream featured this month. It’s a bit of a multi-tasker designed to deal with fine lines and dark circles whilst also protecting against free radicals. You get a relatively dinky sized 3gs and full-sized this costs £25.50.
The Agave Healing Oil Treatment has landed at the right time as my hair is looooong overdue a cut, so consequently the ends are a bit frazzled and frizzy looking, so I’m hoping this will prove to be a quick and effective fix! Yes the sample looks teeny, but it’s an oil that you only need a small amount of for each use, so I predict this giving me at least 4-5 uses, if not more, making this a great travel-size if you’re lucky enough to have a holiday in your near future. The sample is 4ml and full-sized this is from £16.
The Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip Plumper is only so low down on my list as the shade is not for me at all; it’s called Rio which is a deep, muted brown – not the sort of shade I can ever see myself wearing which is a real shame, as how insanely cute is this mini lipstick?! Full-sized this is £22.
The Premae Mild Dermabrasion Face & Body Scrub comes low on my list as I can’t really get excited about it – I don’t often use scrubs on my face and I’m still head-over-heels in love with my EH scrub (review here) so this will probably get added to my ‘donation’ box to giveaway. I have to say, it looks like a moisturiser with added grainy bits which I quite like the idea of, so I don’t think it’s a bad product at all, just not something I can see myself using any time soon. Full-sized this is £25.
There were also two lifestyle products included: the Urban Fruit Magnificent Mango which is the flavour I got, although there are two other variants and the Happy Days Photo Clip which is a very cute little photo displayer that I’ll be putting to good use when I move.
All-in-all a decent selection of goodies, most of which fall into the luxury price bracket, but I can guarantee there’ll be a few people miffed about the lack of anything spectacular, full-sized or exclusive. Find out more about Birchbox here – link.
*PR Sample
I was a little disappointed with this months box. Mainly because I’ve loved everything in my last few boxes. I got slightly different products from you but would have definitely liked something a bit brighter.
Oh that’s a shame 🙁 It definitely would’ve benefited from a bit more colour I think xx