Birchbox UK November 2013

Let the un-boxing begin!

This months theme is ‘icons’. This months picks have been chosen by iconic women, those in the public eye to CEOs and working mums, there’s something in here to help inspire each and everyone of us to be the best possible version of ourselves.

When I first opened the box I didn’t exactly go ‘wow’ like I have done with my past boxes. I was just the tiniest bit disappointed until I really sat down and went over each product – I’m a little more excited about this months box now but not half as excited as I’ve been with previous ones! I hope that using these will change my mind more so!

Let us take a look at what is in the box, shall we?

There’s a cute selection of postcard sized info cards – I’m still not entirely sure what to do with these once I’ve read them. Some would make nice photo collage backgrounds but other than that they generally end up in my recycle bin. What do you do with yours?

Matriskin High Performance Cream / Collagen MP Serum

Never heard of it, like most of the moisturizers they pop in the boxes! Full sized it retails from £80+ so there must be something potent in this little pot! They say it contains hyaluronic acid and 47 peptides (how many peptides are there?) which plump and regenerate the skin. It seems pretty rich and smells really fresh so I’ll give it a go as a night cream – but I don’t want to be parted from my Total moisture (benefit) for too long!

Weleda Replenishing Oat Shampoo

I haven’t had much experience with Weleda so it’ll be nice to trial the brand! This is a gentle shampoo containing jojoba oil to smooth and reduce breakage. The weather is getting pretty harsh on my hair so anything to put a bit of oomph back in is much appreciated! It smells like plain porridge, not too sure if I’m sold on that scent yet!

Chella Highlighter Pencil

Never heard of the brand before so it’s a new one for me! What I like about this is that it’s more flesh toned than white – but it seems to have very little shimmer/highlight to it. I’ve done a few swatches on the back of my hand but once I blend it out it seems to just disappear! The consistency is really creamy and smooth which feels really nice but I can’t see it actually doing anything. Will have to have a play around with this one but I can’t see it replacing my ‘satin sheets’ by Too Faced or ‘nougat’ by Sleek any time soon!

Laura Mercier Long Lash Mascara

Now this is exciting! Last month I received the Laura Mercier foundation primer and absolutely loved it – and they promised to send us another Mercier goodie this month! It’s only a .20oz sample but it’s size is perfect for the upcoming party season! A quick back of the hand swatch tells me it’s black – and the little product card tells me it’s a smudge free lengthening formula but no word on if it’s water proof or not! Either way this is probably the best product in this months box for me!

English Laundry

Perfume sample. This was one of the reasons I packed in my Glossy-box subscription, I felt all I ever received was perfume samples (seriously, I had a Glossy-box just to store them in there was so many!). I’m a bit bunged up at the minute (thank you chilly weathers) so I can’t really get a good sniff of this. If I really try I’m picking up a faint ‘fluffy towels’ Yankee Candle scent but my blocked up noggin can’t pick out much else!

Pukka Herbs tea selection

I’m a massive tea drinker – these got me as excited as the Laura Mercier mascara! Nothing beats a good brew, and 2 out of the 3 flavors sound tantalizing. I got; three cinnamon, elderberry & Echinacea, and early grey. Not so excited about the earl grey but I’ll still brew up a mug full! The three cinnamon flavor smells amazing – and that’s just thorough the packet!

 

 

 

Birchbox pencil sharpener

I love the little black mesh bag this comes in, so cute! I also really needed a pencil sharpener so this will come in handy to keep in my make-up bag. I’ll just have to keep it away from the regular pencils – that’s how my other one got ruined!

The proof really will be in the pudding with this box. The tea and mascara are probably the most interesting for me – not exactly worth the subscription but hey, not every box can be perfect! I’ve been lucky in that all my boxes to date have been brilliant for me, the selection spot on for what I’m interested in and wanting to try. Maybe looks are deceiving with this box and I’ll enjoy more than one or two of it’s offerings!

What do you think of this months Birchbox? What products are you excited to try?