December Birchbox 2016! What did I get?

So it's that time of the month for my Birchbox arrival! And I was extra excited for this months box as it is the December box, and I always feel like the December boxes are the best!

This months box was very sleek, with a different style of opening it compared to the usual boxes. I did feel like the box itself wasn't very christmassy, and I would of liked to have had some kind of Christmas design on the box.

Inside the box, you get your usual magazine that has all the info about your products in your box, as well as tips and tricks. The products themselves came in a cute little burgundy drawstring bag, which I liked a lot.

So now onto the products that I got!

                                   

                                   

In my box this month I got 5 products. The first item was this Fierce Flicks felt tip eyeliner from Ciate London. I was very excited to see this product in my box, not only because its a full size product, but also because I'm loving felt tip eyeliners at the moment. 
This eyeliner retails for £15, which is already worth more than the value of the whole box! This is why I love Birchbox, you get so much for your money!
The eyeliner swatches beautifully, and seems like it's going to be perfect for creating the ultimate sharp winged eyeliner! The felt tip feels sturdy, yet flexible, and isn't too thick either.

                                 

Next in my box I got the Percy & Reed Hair Wonder Balm, which is a 30ml sample size. This retails for £18 full sized, and is a multi use product that claims to moisturise, boost shine, smooths, softens, protects and speeds up styling of the hair. I haven't tried this product as of yet, but I am excited to see what it has to offer.

                                 

I got a skincare item from Dr Brandt, which is the PoreDermabrasion. This product claims to unclog pores, even out skin tone, and give your complexion a brighter finish. This is a little 0.25oz sample size, and retails for a whopping £43 full price!! I'm always interested in trying out new products to help with my pores, so I'm hoping this will be a winner.

                                  

                                  

One product that I was most excited to see was this sample of the Benefit Dew the Hoola. I've seen this product floating around on YouTube a lot over the past few months, and I'm intrigued to see if its worth the hype! This retails for £22.50 full price, and is a liquid version of the famous Hoola Bronzer. I own the powder Hoola bronzer and absolutley love it. Swatching this liquid version, I have to say I'm not so convinced so far. The colour does look very orange when swatched, despite the powder Hoola being more cool toned. However, for the summer it could be a great product to use.

The final product that I got in my box was the Caviar eyeshadow stick from Laura Mercier. This is in the shade Amethyst, and I absolutely adore this! This product retails for £22 full sized, and is a gorgeous bronzy, purple colour. I love cream eyeshadows as they are so easy to wear. This one feels buttery to apply, and the pigmentation is amazing. I know this is going to become a big favourite of mine, so I may have to buy the full size soon!

That is all of my goodies in my December Birchbox. I really love all the items that I got, although I do wish the box itself was a little bit more Christmassy! If you got a Birchbox this month, let me know what products you got and what you think of them!

Thank you for reading x

August Birchbox | What's inside?

Yesterday I received the August Birchbox in the post, and I thought you might like to see what came in this months box! I haven't tried anything out yet (apart from swatching), but I am happy with what I got and am excited to start using the products!

The theme of this months box is 'Away we go!', so basically it has a theme of going away on summer holidays! My products came in this see-through makeup bag, which I think is going to be really handy to use for travelling, or just to use as a makeup bag!

The first product I got was the Nude Progenius Omega treatment oil, which retails at a whopping £58 full size. This is just an intensely nourishing oil to help add moisture back into the skin. Which of course is always handy!

The next thing I got was the Chella highlighter pencil which retails at £15.95. This is to use to highlight on the brow bone, cheekbones & inner corners of the eyes. I would use this on the brow bone, but not on the cheeks or eyes as it's too pink for that. But I think this will be great to define the brows.

I then got the Number 4 super comb prep & protect spray, which is a leave in conditioning spray. It detangles, and protects again heat & sun damage. This retails at £20 a bottle. I think this will be really handy to try out. My hair is always dry and get tangled easily. So I'm excited to see if this will be a product I could purchase the full size of.

Next up is the Vasanti Brightenup! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator, which is £26 full price. This is an exfoliator for the face, which I am very happy at getting. My face gets very dry, and always needs to be exfoliated. I love trying out new skincare products, so I am going to get some use out of this one!

The final product I got was the Supergoop! CC cream. I got 2 samples of this, and it came in the shade 'light-medium'. This is £32 for the full size. I am really liking lightweight foundations & BB creams at the moment, as they are perfect for the summer! So this is a product I am excited to try out. It's a shade adjusting CC cream with SPF 35! I've never heard of this brand before so I am intrigued to see if this CC cream is any good.

I also got a mini book called The Proposal, by Tasmina Perry. It's only the first chapter of the book. It's worth a look at though, as a book is a much needed item for a holiday!

If you got the Birchbox, what items did you get?

Birchbox First Impressions & Review | June Box

If you've seen my past Youtube videos, then you'll know that I used to be subscribed to Glossybox. In fact, in past blog posts as well, you will be able to see boxes I'd got from them. I had loved being subscribed to Glossybox, but in the end I cancelled my subscription because I felt that I was getting the same old brands and similar products, and I was never using anything I got. 
After cancelling my subscription, I missed getting my monthly surprise goodies. So I looked into trying out a different box. After much researching, I came across Birchbox, who admittedly is very similar to Glossybox. I had seen videos of guru's and their Birchboxes on Youtube, and the products looked more to my taste - so I decided to get a subscription with them and I got my first box today! 

So a little bit about the box before I show you what I got. Birchbox is a monthly subscription box which costs £10 plus £2.95 p+p. I didn't have to pay postage for this box as being a new subscriber to the box, I had a code that meant I got it for free. I believe that code is no longer in use, but if you check their website, they might have codes go up in the future. You can also buy full sized makeup from the Birchbox website which is really cool as they usually have special offers on products. Check out the Birchbox website here - https://birchbox.co.uk/

In your box you get 4-5 samples, as well as a card with relevant information about your boxes theme and the products contained, and also a mini magazine containing more info on your products and how to use them. 

I did also get a little welcome card (as you can see in the picture above) which I thought was lovely, as it gave me all the relevant information I need to know about my subscription & box.
When you get your box delivered, it comes in an outer box (which keeps your box inside safe), and then inside you have your box. The products contained in the box are inside a little drawstring bag which is ever so cute, and I like that the main box is of an easily recyclable material, unlike the Glossybox's which were quite bulky and in general, too nice to throw away!!

I like that I can keep my products in the little bag until I get around to using them. It is very handy indeed!

So now onto what products I got!!
On the Birchbox website, you can personalise a profile, so you get the choice of products you will like each month. For this months box I cheated, because I ordered it after it had been released, so I pretty much knew what I was going to get. But normally the box will be a surprise each month - which is the best bit!

In my box I got 5 samples, plus an extra free gift! This months box has the theme of Global strikers - in other words, the world cup football on at the moment!

The one item that caught my eye was the Beautyblender! I was over the moon when I saw this in my box, as I have wanted to buy it for ages! The Beautyblender itself is worth £26, and the box only cost me £10 - bargain! I was going to buy this a few months back and I am so glad I didn't. You also get a little soap with the Beautyblender too, so you can clean it. I am very excited to try this out!

Next I got a little miniature OPI nail polish which is from the Brazil collection. The full collection is worth £11.95. My colour is a goldy yellow with shimmer, which is not a colour I would usually go for, but it's still pretty and I will use it.

The next product is the Caudalie Vinoperfect day perfecting fluid. This is a 10ml sample and the full size would be £38. I have recently got into trying new skincare, so this moisturiser looks interesting to try out, as I have never tried anything from Caudalie before.

One product that I will always get use out of is body lotion. So to get a 30ml sample of the Naobay body radiance lotion, makes me happy indeed! The full size of this is £14. It has shea butter, olive and avocado oils in it, and it smells lovely and lemony! I think I will enjoy using it!

Another brand I'm always excited to see products from is The Balm. I got a little sample of the 'How 'Bout Them Apples?' cheek & lip cream. This costs £26 for the palette, and the sample shade I got was 'Pie'. It is a gorgeous pinky/peach/orange colour, and feels soo buttery. I love products from The Balm.

And finally, I got a little extra gift, which is a Birchbox flip flop keyring - very cute!!

Overall I am so impressed with my box. Obviously I did have an idea what I was going to be getting but I am happy with the variety of items I received. With Glossybox I always ended up getting mostly skincare and haircare items, and maybe one makeup item. I prefer to have makeup mostly and a couple of either skincare & haircare products. With the special profile you fill in on the website, it helps to choose the right products for you. But with Glossybox, even though they had a similar profile thing on their website, I never got anything I liked. Hopefully Birchbox will continue to be as good as it is at the moment, and I am already super excited to receive my next box!

I was going to do an unboxing video for this box, but seeing as I knew what my items might be, I've decided I'll skip that until next time. Keep tuned on my Youtube channel for when that video goes up next month!

If you have a subscription with either Glossybox or Birchbox, let me know what you think of your boxes! x