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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: Subscription Box: “JILLIAN” to get 100 Birchbox shop points with any subscription purchase. Shop: Try “welcomeoffer20” for 20% off your shop purchase. And don’t forget to add a Mystery Sample Pack to your cart with your $35+ shop purchase!
My second March 2015 Birchbox arrived yesterday! I have mentioned it before, but I have two subscriptions to Birchbox. On one account I opt for that month’s curated box and on the other I go for the standard Birchbox. This review is on the regular March 2015 Birchbox.
If you aren’t familiar, Birchbox, which is $10/month, offers 4-6 (sometimes more) hand-picked beauty and lifestyle samples, delivered to your door each month. You can review the samples you receive on a monthly basis to earn points in their shop, which makes the “real” cost of the box even less. Points accumulate until you are ready to spend, so you can stockpile and combine with coupon codes and get some complete steals (which I try to do).
Birchbox ships via USPS and all boxes generally ship by the 10th of the month. I think this one took about three days to arrive?
Birchbox announced in their January sneak peek video that all of the boxes this year will be fun new designs and that we should save them because they are going to have some ideas on how to use them down the road. I am saving mine, but I’d love to know what they have planned for these boxes.
I opted not to select any of the sample choices this month. I didn’t have a preference so I decided to just roll the dice and see what I got.
The March 2015 Birchbox theme was “Creativity” and included the following items:
~Beauty Protector – Protect & Oil (~$2): I have received this in a previous Birchbox (on my other account) back in February 2014 and feel the same way about it now that I did then. It smells good (reminds me of vacation) and works well, but I wish the container were different. I don’t love the open top and think a pump or even a dropper would be much more user friendly.
~Harvey Prince Signature ($4.37): I am a big Harvey Prince fan and clearly Birchbox is too since there are always HP samples in Birchboxes. This one isn’t my favorite HP one though. It’s a little too strong for me personally. It’s got notes of pink grapefruit, Hawaiian jasmine and plush patchouli and I think maybe the Jasmine is too much for me.
~Jelly Pong Pong Glow Getter Highlighter ($12.75): Love. I haven’t decided if I like it this or Benefit’s High Beam better yet though. The Jelly Pong Pong is thinner and easier to apply. but I think the Benefit might be a little less shimmery which I like better for daytime.
~Mirenesse iCurl Secret Weapon 24hr Mascara ($11.60): Why is it that the first few swipes of a fresh mascara always have me thinking that I am using the best mascara ever? And then as I use it more I don’t love it quite as much? This happens with almost every mascara I have ever tried. Anyway, I like it, but it’s not my favorite. I am not 100% sure what my favorite mascara is these days, but I am not head over heels for this.
~Number 4 Clarifying Shampoo ($3.76): I *think* my box was supposed to have a conditioner packet in it as well as the masque because that’s what my account says, but I am not going to bug Birchbox about sending out a replacement. The shampoo smells good and doesn’t strip color which is key. I don’t think I’d buy the full-size ever because of the price, but I like it a lot!
All totaled I came up with a value of $34.48 for my March 2015 Birchbox. Including the points I get for purchasing the box (10 points = $1 to spend at Birchbox) and reviewing / sharing the items in the box (80 points = $8), the value increases to $43.48. I am really happy with this one and plan to will be using my second (i.e. the newer account) for my sample choice boxes now. I’ve subscribed to Birchbox for nearly 3 years now and the options get a little limited because they don’t / won’t send you duplicates on the same account. I don’t mind a few duplicates here and there though, so I will be using this account that I have only had for the past few months to get a wider selection of items like I did in this box!
Have you gotten your Birchbox yet this month? What’d you get? If you are interested in subscribing I believe you can still use coupon code “JILLIAN” to get 100 extra Birchbox points (which is equal to $10 to spend in the Shop) with any new subscription purchase.
(*) If you want to check out all the boxes this month, go here and change the #1 at the end (instead of “march-2015-bb1”, it’d be “march-2015-bb2”, “march-2015-bb3”, etc.) to anywhere between 2 and 74 since there were 74 different box varieties this month.
The box I was sent was differen than the box listed in my account. Then a few days later they updated what was in my box to accurately reflect what I received. I’ve never peaked at what I was getting before so I’m not sure if this is unusual.
They say that no boxes are final till the 10th. Mine changed from what it showed originally as well.
I haven’t gotten mine yet (even though I live in Va & it gets sent from tn) it shipped over a week ago. I’m really upset this month because I’m not getting the sample I choose . I wanted the Amikka spray but thier sending me the its a 10. I’m also getting two different acne products! My box is number 17. I love birchbox so much but this months a bust for me, I’m so glad I have two subscriptions also so I can get the curated box each month. I really liked the products they sent in that one.
Oh my! I can’t believe the jelly pong is full size! I received It too and never would have guessed!
Okay, so I got a second account to get a second box, but for the life of me I have no idea how to select my own samples or opt for the curated box! I just keep getting whatever they send me because I can’t figure out how change it!!!
I am guessing you aren’t getting their e-mails?? They e-mail you letting you select. I would make sure that you haven’t marked them as spam or anything. You can always e-mail them too to make sure you are on their list. I think it’s info@birchbox.com
THey send out an email. Check you junk/spam folders.
Funny that they are going to give you ideas on what to use the boxes for. C just went out to my stash the other day and got a birchbox and is using it to store his lollipops in his room. I have no idea why but he puts them in the box and has it on his shelf. LOL
Do you automatically get the 10 points for sharing your box on Facebook or Twitter? I’ve shared it on Twitter four months in a row and haven’t received the points. For December & January I emailed CS for the points, but would rather not do that each month. Do I have to share on BOTH Facebook and Twitter?
Julie- to get the points for reviews you go to Birchbox.com and log in and then go to Your Box and select this month’s box in the dropdown. Click on each product and scroll down a bit and you will see a Review this product button. You get points for reviewing the items on their site.
Thanks for sharing! How do you sign up for the curated box vs the normal box? I signed up for the first time this month. Thank you!
I do the same thing with the Birchboxes. I’ve been really impressed with the past few months. I like most of the upgrades (necklaces, etc) they’ve been offering, too. My favorite mascara is still Yes, They’re Real, which is good since I’ve gotten like a hundred tubes from various sub boxes over the last 2 years. I’m actually using Julep’s mascara right now and it’s really good (it’s the lengthening one).
Haha I thought the Jelly Pong Pong was nail polish when I first opened by box!