Birchbox Unboxing – August 2014

In the words of Birchbox, it’s time to Lighten Up! This month’s theme for Birchbox was super appropriate for me! I have been in such an intense, work-focused mood lately that I’ve barely noticed that Summer is almost over. Eeek! It’s time to take a step back, enjoy what’s around me and lighten the hell up. There was awesome variety in my Birchbox this month, switching up the type of items that I had in my box last month. This gave me a chance to test out some awesome new products!

Birchbox Take: A blend of smoothing powder and elastic silky polymer minimizes the appearance of pore and fine lines and evens skin tone. Meanwhile herbal extracts reduce excess sebum to keep pores clean and clear. Vitamintree fruit and snow lotus soothe and brighten skin, while Nordenau water locks in moisture. The hypoallergenic formula is free of unwanted parabens, sulfates, and phthalates, and uses SPF 30 to protect skin from sun damage. 

My Take: I received this sample at the perfect time! My skin had been freaking out due to stress and I wanted to give it a healthy break from my foundation routine. Since it was a BB cream, I didn’t expect the Beauty Balm to have great coverage, but it did! It had amazing coverage for such a creamy light product. I will definitely thinking about picking up the full size to use through the rest of Summer!

Birchbox Take: This sheer, oil-controlled powder glides on smoothly for weightless coverage. Matte leaves behind a natural warmth, while Shimmer has a golden, illuminating effect. Suitable for all skin types and tones. Like all of ModelCo’s products, this one’s cruelty-free and PETA certified.

My Take: I totally freaked out when I read the word Shimmer on this Bronzer. I’m not a fan of glitter or super shimmery products because they don’t really pair well with my combo/oily skin, but this bronzer has a really light and subtle hint of shimmer that looks beautiful on the skin. I also love how tiny this bronzer is, it’s a perfect size to throw in my touch-up makeup bag.

Birchbox Take: Indian Gooseberry is packed with Vitamin C- a must-have for healthy hair. Botanical extracts get strands squeaky clean without creating dryness or frizz, and the formula is safe for color-treated hair. Natural scents like grapefruit and sage ass a long-lasting fragrance that-fair warning-is highly addictive, and the formula is safe for color treated hair. The TSA-friendly size means you can get sleek hair to go, not matter where your travels take you. 

My Take: I LOVE the smell of this shampoo & conditioner set. It reminds me of the citronella candles that we used to burn to repel bugs. It sounds weird, but that scent now totally reminds me of lazy long summer nights spent outside making s’mores and being silly. I have yet to try them out so I can’t comment on how they work, but if they are anything like how they smell, they will be awesome.

Birchbox Take: This multifaceted perfume has citrus notes that open up to aromas of lush orange blossom, sweet jasmine, and fresh gardenia. The fragrance rounds out with hints of amber and musk, leaving behind a lovely blend that capture ad flirty but refined mood.

My Take: Okay, I’ll say it! I strongly dislike perfume samples. I will never purchase a perfume based on a tiny sample vial and I’m such a picky person with perfumes that even if I did want to buy a perfume off a sample, it would be rare that I would find one that I liked. Case in point, this perfume, while good for some, was a miss for me. Oh well, you can’t win them all!

While not loving the perfume, I did like the rest of the products in my Birchbox this month and I really can’t wait to try out my little Citronella Shampoo/Conditioner combo! 

Do you guys subscribe to Birchbox? What was your favorite product from this month? Share them with me in the comments!