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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: “PIXIPALETTE” to get a free Pixi by Petra Palette with all new Birchbox subscription purchases (valid thru 5/25)!
Birchbox 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 to get some complete steals (which I try to do). I have been subscribing to Birchbox for almost 4 years now and would say they are one of the most (maybe the most) well known subscription boxes out there. They are certainly one of the longest lasting boxes.
Birchbox ships via USPS and all boxes generally ship by the 10th of the month. Mine have been arriving earlier and earlier every month and I love it.
Since I have two accounts I generally opt for that month’s curated box on one account and opt for the standard Birchbox on the other account. This review is on the May 2016 regular box.
My May 2016 Birchbox included the following items:
~MDSolarSciences Mineral Moisture Defense 50 (7.08g) ($2.44): This is fairly thin, but let me warn you, a little goes a long way! It’s to be applied after 80 minutes of swimming or two hours of sweating. I didn’t love the smell, but I could get past that if this were something I loved. It hasn’t been warm enough here to test its effectiveness, but I have a lot of similar products that work great, so I can’t see myself switching.
~Cargo Blush (0.0525oz) ($4.27) and Bronzer Duo (0.0525oz) ($4.91): This has popped up in a few boxes lately – Allure and Lip Monthly to name a few. I love the colors and find this to be a fantastic size. It lasts forever! I use mine when I travel and I will be passing this one on to a friend who can do the same.
~COOLA Daydream Mineral Primer (3mL) ($4.20): In addition to being a fabulous sunscreen, this also minimizes pores, reduces redness, and sets the stage for flawless makeup. The sample is on the tiny size (it didn’t feel full?), but I loved it. If you just need a quick fix, I recommend trying primer alone.
~Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle (~$3):I have gotten Beauty Protect a few times and have always been a fan. I mentioned it a few posts ago, but my hair has been pretty tangly lately. This will come in very handy. Plus, I love the smell, so it’s a win all around.
~Tocca Crema de Mano – Bianca (30mL) ($5): Eeek! I love me some TOCCA! The Bianca scent is a mixture of Green Tea and Lemon. It’s rich and creamy, smells amazing and is basically everything I am looking for in a hand cream.
All totaled I came up with a value of $23.82 for the May 2016 Birchbox. Including the points I get for purchasing the box (10 points = $1 to spend in the Birchbox Shop) and reviewing the items in the box (50 points = $5), the value increases to $29.62. I loved this box (it didn’t match my sneak peek though) and am thrilled to have gotten some old favorites in here!
Have you gotten your Birchbox yet this month? What’d you think? If you are interested in subscribing, use coupon code “PIXIPALETTE” to get a free Pixi by Petra Palette with all new Birchbox subscription purchases (valid thru 5/25)!
I got the exact same box as you! I noticed the same thing about the Coola-when I squeezed a little out it seemed very light, and when I held it up to the light there was hardly anything in it. Not a big enough deal to complain about, I just would have liked a little more in the sample. It was a great box this month though!
Yeah, that Coola was barely filled. It was the first item I decided to use and thought it was empty!
I also basically said to myself, “This is getting ridiculous…the samples are smaller and smaller. If I just want to see how something ‘feels’ I can go to the store and rub it on my hand. I’m done with BB after this yearly is up.”
Of course, I was cranky (it was early a.m.). But still, how small can a sample get these days?
Jayne, have you ever seen the old SNL skit with Will Ferrell and Jimmy Fallon where they work at Jeffery’s, the snobby clothing store? Their phones just keep getting smaller and smaller until they have to use a magnifying glass to even see it to open it. That’s how I feel every time I get samples now-they just keep getting teenier and teenier. I mean, did you get the Milk lipstick sample a while back? I could barely hold it to try it, it was so small! I hate to complain for ten bucks, but I agree with you, I can go to a store and test a product and it be just about the same thing.
LOL…I don’t remember the skit, but can imagine it!
I held the Coola up to the light today and there was barely anything left. I got one more use out of it and it was done. And, I’m not even sure I actually used the amount you are supposed to for full coverage (you know that 1tsp rule?). Very disappointing.
I did get that Milk sample. It totally reminded me of the tiny Avon samples they used to give out when I was a kid (and that was loooooong ago). My mom used to give them to us for “play” lipstick. Probably in part because they were only able to be used by tiny hands!
I agree about hating to complain for $10 (especially because I did a Black Friday deal and I do love the points we get), but still kinda sad.
I got the cargo duo, and a tiny coola sunscreen (not the same, though). I was supposed to get the protect and detangle, but this sample was missing from my box. I guess they got a little bit lost this month, sending some wrong things for some, and not sending stuff for others 😛
Is it just me or was the Cargo Duo hard to open? I was trying to get it open and then my 13 month old started getting into somethign he wasn’t supposed to get into and i dropped it and have not tried since. #momlife