I was super excited when I got this Birchbox in the mail, but due to a crazy month full of toddler swim lessons, extra shifts on the job, an unexpected funeral, and a much needed girls day on what I think was my one day off in April, this review is a tad bit late. However, I believe all products deserve their review, so better late than never! I've said more than enough about my love for Birchbox packaging with my first box back in March, but I was pretty tickled to see this box had a change in theme. We went from hot pink in March to sky blue in April. This makes me excited to see what the marketing team over at Birchbox does over the next few months. I love things that have a changing theme, and any element of surprise just adds to the cracker-jack box, Christmas morning feeling I get any time that Matthew texts me at work with a "Hey one of those box things came in the mail for you."
Beauty Protector: Protect & Detangle (Full Size $21.95)
Not only does this leave in conditioner come in a super cute bottle, but the scent really could be addictive. I absolutely love the way this smells. I was really put off at first, because it comes in a spray bottle, but my sample did NOT spray. I tried numerous times to fiddle with the spray head and the little hose on the inside trying to make it work, but it just wasn't having it. I'm not sure if I just got a faulty bottle, or if this issue was due to the small size of the bottle and the thickness of the conditioner, but I eventually gave up and just worked this stuff into my hair from the palm of my hand. Since then I've gotten the bottle to work and I'm much happier with it now.
Whether or not this is effective as a protectant against heat is honestly hard for me to tell. My hair is rather healthy because even though I DO curl my hair, it is only an occasional thing and I more often than not suffer from a bad case of "mom hair." As far as detangling goes, this product is absolutely excellent, and that is coming from somebody with extremely thick hair.
It gave my hair a nice healthy shine, and I was really happy with it until the end of my day. After wearing my hair down and blown out straight for a long day though, my hair felt unnaturally bogged down and a little matted. Nothing too serious or that a wash couldn't cure, but I'm typically the type that can go a few days without washing my hair, and I don't think that's the case with this product. I have considered the definite possibility that due to the faulty spray head I just simply used too much conditioner, but my hair is very thick and I used a nickle sized amount and worked it into my hair fairly evenly so I'm not completely convinced.
All in all the only complaint I had was the thick residue in my roots at the end of a long, successful hair day. The price for a full sized bottle doesn't seem too outrageous by any means, and I give this product a 8/10.
Color Club: Gala's Gems Collection in Aquamarine Azulino (Set of 4, $13)
I was kind of excited when I read that this product was a joint effort between Birchbox and style blogger Gala Gonzalez, because even though I had never heard of her before I always think it's pretty neat when a beauty blogger or a company like Birchbox begins to market their own products rather than just review.
I'm not a huge fan of the color that they sent me, I've never been big on pastels in nail polishes, I tend to go more toward bright but opaque colors like a teal or a coral, or I'll go for a classic red or pretty neutral tone. However that is just a personal preference, and I do think that the underlying jewel tone to this polish is quite pretty, if not for me. The lacquer itself was a lot more transparent than I like and it took two coats to get a thick, even color due to this polishes watery nature. With just one coat it showed all of the imperfections on my natural nail. It did spread very evenly and easily and didn't clump like some cheaper polishes do. I work in an industry that involves a lot of hand washing, so I was actually surprised that this polish didn't chip away too dramatically through a night at work. Typically I'll get a shellac manicure, otherwise there's just no saving my nail job.
All in all, I was neither impressed nor sorely disappointed by this product. I personally found it to be on par with your typical drugstore brand nail polishes, it kind of reminded me of a larger version of those bon-bon polishes I used to get as a kid. If it were another color, I would definitely keep it around and wear it. Four polishes for $13 is actually a really good price for this polish, but being that I really do prefer a thick opaque polish, I doubt I'll be purchasing seeing as the other colors in the set are much on par with this one. They're all pastel and look like they would have the same pearly finish that I'm not a huge fan of. However, I will say that I look forward to seeing a different color collection from this brand, and I think my mother is really going to love this polish. I'm adding it to her Mother's Day goodie bag because I know she'll appreciate the color much more than I do. After all she's a Tarheel born and a Tarheel bred.
Polish itself was great, but I can't get over the color, which to me is the most important part of a polish. I give this product a 6/10 but I can't wait to see something more opaque from Color Club.
Supergoop!: Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream (Full Size $32)
This is the second product from Supergoop! that I've received from Birchbox, and I couldn't decide if I was more excited that Birchbox had given me another sample from them so I could give their brand a fair second try, or if I was more disappointed that I didn't get something new after having already seen this. In my March box, I got the City Sunscreen Serum which I gave a 5/10 review. I liked the product but found it to be ridiculously over priced for being so comparable to the lightweight SPF moisturizer that I already keep on my counter.
I was excited to try a new CC cream though. I do already have a CC cream that I use but I love trying new products. I was unimpressed with how small of a sample size this is, because I felt as if I would only get one possibly two uses out of it if used as my foundation for a day. Then I realized there was no use in being upset over the sample size, because I wouldn't wear this color on my face anyways. I was sent a light-to-medium sample, and my skin is much fairer than average. This is an issue that I also ran into with BB5 in April, and I think I'll come to expect it in the future, at least regarding skincare samples. It's rather disappointing to have this same thing happen twice from two different companies, but I also understand that the average subscriber has more color to their skin than I do. I do hope that in the future Birchbox manages to send more user specific shades. I checked my profile though, and I have my skin listed as Light with Birchbox. I adjusted my profile so that my skintone is listed as Fair, which is the palest option and originally I had thought that would be too pale as I do have some color to my skin, but now I'll look forward to seeing if that adjustment ends in some more appropriate products for me.
Due to the shade of my sample, I tried this product out on the back of my hand where I have an ugly burn scar that I've never been too fond of. I was excited to see that for a product with an SPF, this wasn't as greasy as I expected it to be, and it blends quite easily into my skin. This is one of those products with a powdery scent to it, and I can't help but imagine I would be a little sneezy if I were to purchase this product for facial use.
As you can see here, the coverage is actually quite impressive, neither of these images have a flash or filter, and for such a deep scar, it definitely does a good job of covering the imperfection. I really do like this product and would be excited to try it as a foundation if I had the correct shade, but at $32 for a full sized bottle, I'm looking at the same issue as before, I think this product is over priced. I actually am amused because both the moisturizer and the CC cream that I use as my go-to products are from the same company, and both Supergoop! samples I've been sent have been SO comparable to them it's almost as if they're emulating each other. I've considered the possibility that Supergoop! could be an impressive extended use product, but I just cannot justify spending the money on this.
Overall, I'm going to have to give this a 6/10 it's a great product, and definitely fulfills it's purpose, but once again the outcome is not worth the cost.
Sumita: Color Contrast Eyeliner in Jamun (Full Size $11)
Let me start by saying, I love eyeliner. I was super excited to see this one in my April box, because last month Birchbox let me down a little in regards to cosmetic samples. Don't get me wrong- I loved the skincare in March's box, but I'm a color junkie and it's a little upsetting to me that Birchbox has only sent one cosmetic item each month thus far.
This eyeliner is the perfect color for me, I absolutely love purple and this is a deep enough purple that it almost looks black, but still has that underlying tone to it. The liner itself is quite brittle and breaks much easier than most pencil style liners I'm accustomed to, but it glides on SO smoothly and is super pigmented. I paired this with a few shades from a UD palette I've had for ages and got a gorgeous purple smokey eye for the day. The wear is awesome too, it dried quickly and didn't give me the dreaded eyeliner mishap in my crease, and it last me an entire day of strawberry picking, and playing in the pool with the kiddo.
I really don't have anything bad to say about this product. It's comparable to Urban Decay's 24/7 glide on eyeliner, but at almost half the price. Sumita has done great things with this and I have every intention of exploring their color options. I did notice however, that on their website these full size is listed for $15, so I'm going to take advantage of the $11 price from Birchbox while I can.
Definitely my favorite product from this month's Birchbox. I'd seriously have to give this a 9/10 and I do hope this is one of Birchbox's repeat brands as I would love to try more of Sumita Cosmetics.
All in all, I'm still super excited for my Birchbox to arrive each month, and since this post is so late I'm expecting to get my May box in just the next couple of days. However I'm seriously considering closing the lid on my subscription. I've been mostly disappointed with the samples I've been sent, and even though it's only $10 a month, my first Beauty Box 5 impressed me a lot more than Birchbox has done thus far. I've definitely found a few products that I've really enjoyed from Birchbox, but I've got a list of beauty subscription boxes a mile long that have been suggested to me, and I think I can find something I like better. The few samples I've really enjoyed have been over priced, and there have only been two, possibly three, products thus far that I would even really consider buying at full size. I haven't fully made my decision yet, but after my May box arrives, I'm confident that I'll have come to one.
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