August Birchbox: Whish Deodorant Swipes and Coconut Milk Correcting Gel

Since these two products are made by the same brand, they are going to share realty on my blog.

First and foremost, the disappointment.

Image stolen from BirchBox's website, because my camera is having a hissy fit.

I was really excited to try these deodorant wipes. They smelled excellent out of the package and I always love the promise of using something natural on my sensitive underarms. I was also lured in by the promise of hair removal over time.

I should have known that too many promises lead to heartbreak.

This product smelled great on, although it was odd to apply deodorant with a wipe. Great for travel, I suppose, but wasteful for everyday use.

But hey, I smelled nice and my skin was definitely softer and cleaner than when I started.

So I go about my busy day, which is when the problems started. At around noon (I had applied the Whish wipe at 8am), I started to smell funky. And not the jazzy, cool kind of funky. I mean I smelled like I hadn’t applied deodorant in weeks.

I smelled dirty and sweaty and everyone noticed. It was like I was walking around in a funk cloud.

Needless to say, I pulled out my spare stick of deodorant that I keep with me for just such occasions and banished the cloud forever. Unfortunately, the damage was done. My shirt smelled off and even with the promises Whish gave me, I found myself putting this particular product on my “Never Try Again” list.

Again, picture courtesy of BirchBox.

Enter the Whish Coconut Milk Correcting Gel. It’s meant for after sun, which makes sense for most people when it’s the middle of summer. But I don’t get out much. Or even if I do, I apply loads and loads of sunscreen. However, I did use this morning and night, as directed, anyways.

It made my skin feel a little bit tight at first, which I assume is the aloe. I always have that feeling with aloe.

Afterwards, my skin was soft and smooth, if a little stiff feeling. It tingled a little for a while, and I imagine that the feeling would intensify if I had gone out in the sun. It’s not terrible by any means. But the smell. Well, that’s another thing entirely.

The smell is…intense. It’s fruity and fragrant. In fact, it smells exactly like this perfume that I have called Mango Tea. It smells like summer and drinks on the beach. Which is awesome, except that the smell wouldn’t go away. It was strong enough to make my nose burn at first, but it eventually died to just a ghost. But it lasted. The. Whole. Day. This face gel has better lasting power than most perfumes that I’ve used.

But in all honesty, that’s not exactly a compliment. I don’t necessarily want my perfume to have to compete with my skin care regimen. So this product will be used, but it will be relegated to days when I actually go out in the sun.