Birchbox 1

What could it be?

For those who don’t know (which is probably most people) birchbox is company that, in addition to having an online store, sells a subscription to a monthly cosmetics sample kit, called a birchbox. This is pretty much all my hopes and dreams (samples! mail order! cosmetics!) so I’ve been wanting one forever. So I was beyond thrilled when one of my friends got me a subscription for my birthday.

I was really happy with my first box; it contained all things I had been wanting. Namely:

Helpful Description Card

1) An exfoliating face wash. Due to travel and trying to hoard my low supply of my usual exfoliate, my face had got to the point where it actually felt “coarser” to the touch (the constant touching probably didn’t really help my skin). So the BENTA BERRY G-1 Exfoliating Facial Cleanser was a very pleasant addition. As a cleanser, it got the job done; after using it the area of my nose returned to my prefered level of smoothness. It wasn’t overly grainy, so it provided a very gentle exfoliation. I noticed it felt warm on my face, so it might be chemically as well as physically exfoliating.
2) Conditioner. I usually use Argan oil, which is miraculous and all, but sometimes I just want to be done with my hair when I get out of the shower. I'm lazy like that. So I amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask as normal conditioner rather than a mask. So far my hair hasn’t become oily or weighed down or anything else alarming. The mask has a nice thick texture and a kind of coconutty scent which makes me think of the beach and summer. I’m also impressed by the size of the sample. I’ve used it two or three times and I still have most of the tube left.
3) More nail polishes. When I first tried to paint my own nails, I quickly realized that I was in no way a nail painting prodigy (unless there is some kind of modern nail art where blobby and smushed is the style). After a few failed attempts (pro tip: don’t try and floss right after doing your nails) I gave up. This year however as I marveled over my friends' manicures one of them mentioned that it was in fact a skill which improved with practice. Struck by that thought, I decided to try painting my own nails more. The colors I currently own are: sheer nude, super pale blue/grey, and deep charcoal. So the Color Club Clambake Coral, a pretty shade that balances between tangerine and pure pink, makes a nice change of pace. Plus the name reminds me of running around and devouring flavored ices at clambakes as kid.
4) Something moisturizing for my lips. Moisturizing is pretty much a throway word for lip products. It might possibly to be illegal or some kind of marketing suicide to release a lip product that isn't at least "non-drying." So I was kind of surprised when the Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink was in fact very moisturizing. On top of that it had a smooth, non-tacky texture, no annoying smell, and provided a delicate but popping wash of pink on the lips. I'm not sure there's anything I can imagine wanting in a lipgloss (unless it offers to mow my lawn).

Slightly better picture of the products.

-TeaInACan