Birchbox review

At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to win the October Birchbox from the lovely Lisa who runs Lisa’s Notebook. First of all, if you haven’t already, you should 100% go and stalk her blog for a few hours because it’s absolutely beautiful and ranges from books to beauty so there’s a little something for everyone. Got it? Okay, cool. Anyway, so if you know me, I’m not too savvy when it comes to beauty and make-up and that’s a-okay. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy trying new products and talking about them – it makes a nice change and is actually quite a nice little challenge for me every once in a while. So I thought as I’ve never reviewed a beauty subscription box before, it’s a new year and the perfect time for me to step out of my comfort zone!

This post is not sponsored nor was I sent any of these products in exchange for review.

First of all, I bloody loved the box that these products came in. Whilst the products themselves are long gone, I’m certainly going to keep this box – maybe for trinkets? Maybe to use in the occasional blog photo to add a bit of colour? Who knows. The possibilities are endless. But regardless, I am not throwing this box away, it’s far too pretty. 10/10 for packaging, Birchbox!

I’m not going to do excessive reviews of each product (God knows what I’d say!) – just a few of my thoughts so the first product I used was the balanceme Pure Skin Face Wash. I’ve never heard of this brand (I’ve never heard of any of these brands, reiterating how “not with it” I am when it comes to beauty and skincare!) but I really liked this. It smelt like the oils that are used when I go for massages, so it’s a really lovely scent. I’m in need of a new face wash, so this has come at a perfect time and I’ll certainly be using it twice a day.

I had myself a little pamper afternoon, which gave me a chance to try out all these products so straight after washing my face with the balanceme Face Wash, I used the Bioré Deep Cleansing Charcoal Pore Strip. I don’t ever use these pore strips, to be totally honest and I only realised this was a charcoal one after it was firmly stuck on my face, haha! I don’t think it’s possibly to know how well these work unless you use the same one regularly but nevertheless, it was nice to indulge a little and the instructions on the packet were super duper clear, so there’s no risk of you getting it wrong. My nose was a little red and stiff afterwards and it definitely stung a tad getting it off!

Next up is the Amika Dry Shampoo which, predictably, works a lot like your good ol’ Batiste dry shampoo but hands down, I’d say this one smells a lot nicer! Absolutely love this product, it’s just a shame the bottle is so teeny tiny. I don’t wash my hair an awful lot (disgusting I know… joking, I mean like, I don’t wash it every day) so I can’t imagine this lasting too long!

I then tried the Model Co mascara which was in the box. I’m honestly not too sure about this one just yet – I think I need to give it a few more goes and try it with a full-face of make-up. I found it quite sticky and heavy, even though I only put one layer on. I wouldn’t mind that like I said, if I was wearing a full-face of make-up and going all out on the eye front.

And lastly, we have the Anatomicals Shower Gel which is melon scented. This is probably my favourite thing in the box, partly because you can’t go wrong with a nice smelling shower gel and secondly, because they teamed up with Coppafeel for this product, who are an absolutely incredible breast cancer charity, founded by an extremely inspirational and brave woman called Kris Hallenga who was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in her 20’s. I’ve watched plenty of videos about Kris and Coppafeel so I love that they did this and also included handy little cards and stickers (like that pictured below) which gives you all the symptoms you should look out for and reminders to check your boobies! This sticker would be great to stick in the front of your diary or planner, somewhere you’ll always see it so you’ll never forget.

There we go! I hope you enjoyed my first ever beauty subscription box sort of review! Have you tried any of these products? Do you subscribe to Birchbox? What do you think of the products here? Let me know and let’s discuss! And make sure you check out Coppafeel!