March 2014 Birchbox Review – “Spring Forward” + Coupon Code

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Birchbox
Cost: $10/month
Ships To: United States. However France, Spain and the UK also have their own Birchbox subscriptions.
Coupon Code: Use the code “BB100” at checkout on a new Birchbox subscription for 100 BB points and no waiting to subscribe (valid through 3/23).
March 2014 Birchbox
March 2014 Birchbox

Yay!  My March 2014 Birchbox is finally here.  It was supposed to be delivered yesterday and the mail person actually marked it delivered, but yeah, it wasn’t really here.  Love when they do that. None of my packages arrived yesterday actually.  They were all marked delivered.  But nothing.  Grrr….

March 2014 Birchbox
The Box

Birchbox ships via Newgistics and took only 4 (well it should have only been 3) days to arrive to me!  It shipped on the 11th and was delivered on the 15th, which is awesome.

March 2014 Birchbox
The Box in the Box

Last month I asked what everyone does with their Birchbox boxes and am still super curious to hear your answers.  Birchbox recently did a blog post showing how three members have upcycled their boxes.  So if you need some ideas (I know I do), totally check that out.

March 2014 Birchbox
First Look

My March 2014 Birchbox was Box #8 (*).  To find out what box # you got, go into your account and click on “Box” and then “Women’s Box”.  Scroll down to the “Box History” section and then click on “March 2014″.  The last number in your URL is your box number (mine says “bb8″ – meaning I have Box #8).  I explained how to review products for points a few months ago, so if you missed that, check it out here.  I totally peeked on the 10th to see what I was getting in my box and it made me even more excited for it to arrive!  So many new (to me) things to discover.

March 2014 Birchbox
The Information Card

The March 2014 Birchbox theme was “Spring Forward” and this month they are talking about smart DIYs (see the link above), clever beauty shortcuts, and even ways to improve your Birchbox experience (don’t forget to review those products)!  Here is what I received in my box:

~COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face ($3.60): I think this has shown up in a box or two somewhere along the way. I don’t mind the spare and can always use sunscreen.  And tinted sunscreen is even better.

Birchbox
COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face

~Air Repair Rescue Balm All-Purpose Skin Salve and Lip Balm (~$2):  Totally awesome.  This can be used anywhere your skin needs it – lips, face, hands, elbows, cuticles, anywhere.  I love those multipurpose beauty products so this is perfect for me.  I will for sure be purchasing the fill size of this one.

Birchbox
Air Repair Rescue Balm All-Purpose Skin Salve and Lip Balm

~HAVVN Night Cream ($4):  I am still testing out the new RoC stuff I bought last weekend, so this is going to need to wait until I am done with that.  I found it very interesting that it was created by a physics professor who was determined to make an antiaging formula without all of the harsh chemicals found in most overnight treatments.  And I also love that it’s only $30 for the full size.

Birchbox
HAVVN Night Cream

~Gilchrist & Soames London Collection Body Lotion ($3):  I am loving this.  I swear if there were a hand cream of the month club and I would be the first to sign up.  I immediately but some on and thought the smell was nice (very clean smelling – not too strong), it was moisturizing and made me want to stay at a fancy hotel that stocks this.

Birchbox
Gilchrist & Soames London Collection Body Lotion

~Harvey Prince Cherie Blossom (~$2): Out of everything from the sneak peek video, I really really wanted to receive this, which is odd since I am usually not over the moon about perfume samples.  I love the scent and once I restock on points, I will be picking this up. Or asking for it for my birthday (in June).

Birchbox
Harvey Prince Cherie Blossom

All totaled my March 2014 Birchbox had a value of $14.60.  Including the points I’d get for reviewing the products, (which is equal to $5) and the points I received for purchasing the box (which is equal to $1) (**) the box had a real total value of $20.60.  It wasn’t a “valuable” Birchbox at all, but I loved this box and loved that I got so many of the “new” products this month!  In battle between Birchbox and ipsy this month, Birchbox wins for me!

Shop Gift with Purchase Tray
Shop Gift with Purchase Tray

I also received my Gift With Purchase Diamond Tray today from my shop order last week and I love it.  It’s free with the code “BBDIAMONDTRAY” and a shop purchase of $55+ and I can’t decide if I am going to use it for makeup or office stuff.  I may have to get another….

Do you subscribe to Birchbox? Did you get your box yet this month? What number was it and what was in it?  If you don’t subscribe (it’s only $10/month) and are interested in learning more, click here.  They have an awesome promotion going on right now that not only lets you skip the line, but also gives you 100 Birchbox points (which is equal to $10 to spend in their shop)!!  Just use the code “BB100” on your subscription when you checkout!

Screen Shot 2014-01-11 at 10.35.35 PM

(*) If you want to see all the boxes this month, click here and change the 1 at the end to anything from a 2 to 78 since there were 78 (in comparison, last month there were 63 box variations) box variations this month.  Once again it was an insane number of boxes this month!!
(**) You only get points for purchasing the box if you buy an annual subscription (or 3-month, 6-months, etc.). You don’t get points if you are on a month to month subscription.
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Jennifer

Jennifer is the author and founder of Subscription Box Ramblings. She first discovered subscription boxes in 2012 and has been addicted since. Current favorites include CAUSEBOX, Boxycharm and Beachly!

This Post Has 41 Comments

  1. Haley

    Ooooo, I actually have a good idea for the birchboxes! If you have daily contacts (like I do), they fit really well!

  2. Laura K

    It’s boxes like this that encouraged me to cancel my Birchbox subscription. Ditto for Sample Society.

    A word of warning about the sunscreen though. It’s one of the poorest in real protection that I’ve seen in ages. For the best coverage, you need a double-digit percentage of zinc oxide, and titanium dioxide doesn’t do enough to talk about. It’s usually added in to offset the white of the zinc oxide.

    1. Jennifer

      Thank you for the heads up!!

  3. Alexia561

    I received the same box, but was disappointed that it’s mostly lotions and creams. I think I have enough lotions & creams to last the next 10 years! For me, Ipsy won this month as I love the make-up they sent! I’m going to tweak my profile to see if that helps, so fingers crossed!

    1. Jennifer

      I am always scared to tweak mine.

  4. Ruth Gilbert

    We got Box #1 and I loved the smell of the English Laundry. Although that was all I could smell for hours. I daughter is very excited about the tinted sunscreen because she has fairy skin and doesn’t wear much makeup. Of course, she scarfed down the chocolate in 10 seconds.

    1. Jennifer

      I always like when I get chocolate in mine!

  5. Kelley Quigley

    I got a couple of the same things you did – the sunscreen and the rescue balm. I really wanted the perfume! As for the boxes, I have no idea what to do with them all. For goodness sakes, I have only been doing sub boxes for 2 months and I have a huge stack in my bedroom already. Definitely going to have to think of some repurposing or else I’m going to have to get rid of most of them. They are all so cute and would be nice gift boxes, but I’ll have tons more than I need for that!

    1. Jennifer

      It’s hard to think of uses for them! I send out all my prizes / trades in them, but I get so many boxes that I even have too many!

  6. julie w

    Hi! I love your blog and think your family is adorable! Your reviews are helpful and honest, not just descriptions pulled from the box inserts like you find on a lot of subscription box blogs. I also love your ramblings and musings, you are pretty witty and I feel like we could be friends : ). Anyway, I also got the Harvey Prince perfume in my Birchbox and dislike it, I hope this is not weird but I would love to send it to you since it is just going to sit in the box where samples go to live until I can bring myself to throw them away. I am not sure if you can see my email but I can send it to you privately if you would like. Happy sampling!

    1. Jennifer

      Awww, thank you for the kind words! I can’t try everything, but I certain do try to try! I will e-mail you!

  7. Cheryl

    Ooh, I need to check out ideas on how to upcycle my Birchboxes AND my Glossyboxes. I can’t bear to throw them out but if I’m not careful they will take over my house lol!

    1. Jennifer

      I cannot ever throw those GB boxes away!!

  8. Bethany

    I got a couple of the same things–the night cream and the tinted sunscreen–but got box 71. I seriously had to pump the night cream a million times to get it to work and finally had to ask my husband (who got it to work instantly, of course), but I liked it! Instead of a regular fifth sample I got a “finds” drugstore sample, a Jergens BB body cream. Not sure if that’s a short-term thing they’re doing or not. I love the diamond tray! I need to find some things to order in the shop..

    1. Jennifer

      I think they do that every once in a while. The drugstore finds ones aren’t suppose to count against your normal samples and should be counted like a “bonus” item.

  9. kay

    I got box 77, it had the inika eyeliner, supergoop sunscreen serum, grand central serum, keims shampoo, and the jergan’s BB lotion.
    I was excited about the eyeliner but when I tried it out it was SO LIGHT. And green. Which I wear purple normally, and it doesn’t look purple, it just isn’t as harsh as a black line, so I was hopeful on the color… But it doesn’t show up at all it seems like. Sad! Great value for my box since the eyeliner is full sized, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever use it.
    But an extra sunscreen to pop in my purse is always awesome!

    1. Jennifer

      Yeah, I’d rather have a low “value” box of stuff I will use as opposed to a high value with something I’d never touch. Although, I suppose you could trade?

  10. Krista

    I got box #60 and it is probably the most disappointing box I’ve ever gotten from BB. I also got the Jergens, and while it is marked as a “find” in my account, I only got a total of five samples, so it definitely wasn’t an “extra.”

    I do like the Rescue Balm (but it is *really* tiny), and between the Jergens and the 5 millionth sample of Clean perfume that I’ve gotten in the past year, this one was an almost total bust. BB better pick it up next month or I’m out.

    1. Jennifer

      I agree. That should be sample #6, not #5!

      1. Krista

        If anyone is dying to try the Jergen’s BB Body Cream, a sample is available for free this morning at samples.target.com

        I actually took the time to write and complain to Birchbox this morning once I saw that sample was free at Target. It just burns my hide that they replaced a regular sample with a drugstore brand.

        1. Jennifer

          Boo!!! Although, I am going to request that sample!

  11. Susan

    I got box 17, and the Jergens body cream counted as one of the five samples. Also, I got two samples I’ve received previously, although in other boxes not birchboxes. So overall a disappointing month. I got the Jergens cream, Supergoop sunscreen serum, INIKA eyeliner, Curl Keeper, and Juliette has a gun not a perfume. That last one is interesting.

    1. Jennifer

      Fingers crossed next month is better!

      1. Susan

        Just to let you know, one of the duplicates I received was from a prior Birchbox. They send me an apology e-mail:

        It has come to our attention that you are receiving a repeat sample in your box this month. We are writing to extend our sincere apologies. While we hope you loved the sample the first time around, we never want you to receive the same item twice!
        We strive to send you a great selection of new and exciting products each month. We have added 100 Birchbox points to your account which can be redeemed for $10 off a full-sized product of your choice in the Birchbox Shop.
        Again, our apologies for the mistake and hopefully you can still put the sample to use (or gift it to a friend!).
        Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.
        Thank you,
        Team Birchbox

        I thought it was nice that they gave me the extra points!

        1. Jennifer

          Ohh, that’s awesome!!

  12. Chris

    I was kinda meh on mine this month. I really wanted the Harvey Prince Perfume sample, but a swap will have to take care of that. The Gilchrist and Soames lotion I was also hoping for, but no dice. I got box 1. Merp. Couple of months of bum Birchboxes…I hope it gets better!

    1. Chris

      Though, looking back, I ended up likely and using all my January samples, and Feb. was a mer but I did come away with one awesome product that I’ve been using for a month and it doesn’t even look like it has been touched.

    2. Chris

      And I lied. It was box 4.

    3. Jennifer

      Hopefully you get an amazing one next month. What was the awesome product you got??

      1. Chris

        I got the ElevenSkin Perfection eye cream. I tend to have dark circles and it covers them right up, plus it’s a moisturizer, so multiple uses in one :3

        1. Jennifer

          Ohh that sounds nice!

  13. Jinny Hendrickson

    I have an Etsy store where I sell vintage clothing and accessories. I use my old birchbox’s for shipping sunglasses when I sell them. It works great as they fit perfectly and are strong as well as allowing enough room inside for some additional bubble wrap to further protect.

    1. Jennifer

      That’s a great idea!!!

  14. Lauren

    I got Birchbox # 41. I got the pop eye liner(so excited about), the night cream, the vanilla scented perfume, the benefit big easy, the same lotion as you and a chocolate. Was pretty happy with my box this month.

    1. Jennifer

      Oh I love that one! I think that would be a nice one!

  15. Debbie Sauer

    I started my BirchBox subscription about 6 months ago. I have yet to get a box with items that I really like. I thought maybe it was my conservative profile so I changed it to be more liberal but still didn’t like the item in the recent boxoes so I canceled my subscription today and am going to try something else.

    1. Jennifer

      What are you planning to try next?

  16. Debbie

    I just signed up for PopSugar. A little more expensive but, hopefully, it will have items that I like included in each shipment. The items that showed up as included in the Feb, Mar & Apr boxes looked awesome. I missed May but can’t wait to see what’s included in the June box.

    1. Jennifer

      I LOVE PopSugar! It’s my favorite!

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