October Birchbox Unboxing

I've been a Birchbox subscriber for the last couple of years, and always enjoy seeing my inexpensive little box arrive in the mail, containing five sample sized beauty products to try out.

At $10 a month, it's a small indulgence, and along the way, I've discovered a few products I really love, along with many I'm happy to use for a little while.

Birchbox asks you to set up a profile and at least partially curates  the box to fit your specific concerns (mostly, though, everyone gets the same thing, I think) - this means that I tend to always have something for wrinkles and/or dry skin, and very often get to try out curly hair products.  Usually,  there is at least one cosmetic in the box, along with hair, skin and bodycare products.

I thought I'd show off what came in the box that arrived at my doorstep a couple days ago - I haven't had much time to try any of  these, but I was pleased with this month's selection!

Together, these are a nice little kit of hair and facial products that I expect to be able to make good use of.

Here's what came in the box:

Avène Thermal Spring Water - This is a spray that provides a moisturizing mist for your face.   I gave it a quick spritz, and it goes on evenly and has no scent.  (as it should be - the ingredients are spring water and nitrogen)

In addition to its moisturizing and cooling abilities, it can be used to set make up after applying.  My dry skin will love this - while it is the way it's applied that makes it anything more than just using spring water, I like that it is portable without spilling and gives a mist rather than a good soaking.

Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate - Birchbox sends me a lot of skin serums, and I generally tend to be meh about them - some work a little, some don't, and many are unpleasant on my skin.  I am very haphazard about using them, too, so I never know if my neglect is reducing their effectiveness or if it's them. So.. here is a line-reducing serum. I will gamely use it for at least a few days before I forget, and for all I know, it could be fabulous!

Milk Makeup Highlighter - This is a great little neutral highlighter cream stick you can use on cheekbones, shoulders, cleavage, legs - anywhere you'd like to capture a bit of light.

There is a subtle shimmer that doesn't seem pronounced enough to make you look like you've been glitter bombed, and it goes on very creamy and smooth.

I think it might also create a good brow bone highlighter, used as part of an eyeshadow blend.

I look forward to playing with this one, especially as we enter holiday party season.

R+Co TWISTER Curl Primer - I've used R+Co products before, and liked them quite well. This is the first I've seen of this one. It is labelled a 'Primer', intended to be applied to damp hair before using other curly hair products, in order to reduce midday frizz.

(That is that thing that happens when you start your day looking like everything is under control - waves are waving, looking moist, and then BAM! Frizz, and suddenly you are doing a blown dandelion impersonation, except of course, now you're out somewhere, far far away from any means of trying to repair the problem.)

I am really looking forward to trying this one - this past summer's humidity has not been good to me, and now we're about to head into 'heater's on, let's turn your hair to straw' season.

The struggle is real.

Saving my favorite for last, I was really happy to see a lip color product in a shade I really like!

LOC Ultra-Gloss Lip Pencil - Cherry Bomb.  This is such a nice, clear red with no orange tones (my nemesis), that goes on smoothly and vibrantly.

It is (as the name suggests) nicely glossy, but I noticed on my test application that it also seems to have good lipstaining properties, so it doesn't disappear an hour after application.  I'll have to give it a real test run to be sure, but I expect to happily use this often.

My sole complaint is that the lid is one I frequently have a hard time getting off - it seems to vacuum seal itself shut, and the pencil is too smooth for me to get a good grip on it. But as long as I'm careful not to close it too firmly, it should be ok.

All in all, I thought the October box was a winner for me, and while Birchbox certainly has plenty of competition these days, I'm pleased with what they send me consistently enough that I expect to continue to be a customer for a good while yet.

Even the boxes themselves are a bonus - they're pretty, and stack up neatly to contain all sorts of small odds and ends in my bedroom.

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