As my November box makes its way toward me, I figure it's about time I drag myself away from work to review my October box. Honestly, I thought this box was awful when I first opened it. And in the end, I wasn't super impressed. Shame on you, Birchbox! I expect more from you after this long.
First is the
Alison Raffaele Reality Base Foundation. This product was terribly packaged, for one. The label had already come off, leaving a sticky residue all over the bottle. And I think it would be impossible to get all of the product out of this sample.
Think, you say? Don't you know for certain?
No, because I didn't use this product. At all.
Do you see how dark and yellow that product is? Like, whoa. I'm super light skinned, as I stated in my Birchbox profile. And they send me something that even my tan friends think is yellow.
So it's not totally their fault, I get it. But the product is also....mediocre, to put it lightly. It was really runny. The coverage was thick and impossible the blend. I just wasn't blown away. Especially not for a price tag of $38. I'd rather not pay an arm and a leg to end up streaky and yellow. Thanks, but no thanks.
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Next was the
POP Beauty Aqua Lacquer. This may be one of the weirdest lip glosses I've ever gotten. And I'm not a fan of lip gloss to begin with.
The applicator for this product is supposed to be a "unique spatula-like applicator brush" that makes application easy. Ha. Ha ha! It's awkward and hard to get just right. I would have preferred a doe foot applicator or even just a squeeze tube. Instead, it's a combination of squeeze tube and weird "patented" (aka gimmicky) spatula. Great.
And on top of that, the gloss just isn't that great. It thick and sticky, unlike what all of the marketing about this product says. It also tastes awful, which only matters for people like me that lick and bite their lips constantly.
As far as hydration goes, that part was nice. It does about as well a decent lip balm. Nothing earth shattering, but hey, you take what you can get.
Unfortunately for me, I kind of like the color. Just enough to maybe use it once or twice before it gets forgotten at the bottom of my makeup drawer. Oh, well.
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By far, one of my favorite things in the box was the Chapstick product. ChapStick Hydration Lock is my new favorite daily lip product. At this point, I've almost used the whole stick that I got in my Birchbox.
This stuff is super moisturizing. It makes even my chapped lips feel like butter. And as winter creeps ever onward, I'm going to be glad to have a constant supply of this in my vanity. And my purse. And my other purse. And my backpack. And my wallet.
What? I'm a hoarder for lip balms.
There's not a whole lot to say about this, though, other than it's awesome. Great moisture, nice scent/flavor, and the usual Chapstick quality. No complaints here.
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The last product in my box was a twofer, although that's almost a shame. I feel like since they're packaged together, it should count for one product. But eh, what are you going to do?
The
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and Liz Earle Pure Muslin Cloths are nice quality. And they should be, for the cost. The polish is nice, although using it on dry skin was odd to say the least. Definitely different from what I'm used to.
The polish did, however, leave my skin baby soft. I kept stroking my cheek because I was impressed at how well it had exfoliated all of those awful dry patches that come with swatching products on a near daily basis. It smoothed everything out and gave me this gorgeous glow. It also didn't make my skin red like most focused exfoliators.
The cloth helped with that. I usually use a microfiber scrubber for my face, but this muslin was just as nice, if not better. It's become a staple in my bathroom and I use it even when I don't use the Liz Earle polishing cleanser.
Overall, a half and half box. Two flops, two winners. Maybe Novemeber will be better?
Thanks for reading!
