July Birchbox

Late in May, I subscribed to Birchbox after reading about it in the Polish and Pearls blog.

Not to be dramatic, but it's seriously the best thing that's ever happened to me.* For $10 a month or $110 a year, you get sent a little monthly box filled with deluxe samples and goodies. There's an array of brands that are associated with Birchbox, and most of them are high-end if that's important to you. For any beauty junkie, I think this is an amazing deal.

I wanted to show what I received in my July Birchbox before the month's end, so of course I waited until the last day like the procrastinator I am. I personally love reading other people's blog posts about what're in theirs since not every box is the same. They are somewhat personalized by a survey taken when you first sign up for the service. I read there are ten different variations of this month's Birchbox, so I thought I'd post what I received in mine too.

This is only my second one, but I was really, really excited for it because this month's box is in collaboration with designer Cynthia Rowley! I stalked my mailbox for the week leading up to me finally receiving this. They shipped it to me on July 8 from New York, and I received it on July 14 in Atlanta.

So, anyway, on with the contents! As I mentioned in my last post, I'm a sucker for packaging. Birchbox is shipped in this pretty hot pink package, which I think is just a really nice surprise in my mailbox:

Since this month's Birchbox was in collaboration with designer Cynthia Rowley, the box came with a pretty sleeve that it usually doesn't come with.

When you first open the box, you will be greeted by a nice card. It explains the month's theme on one side and lists the products included on the other. This month's theme is Cynthia Rowley.

Look at that gorgeous aqua paper! You can just see the thought that goes into packing the Birchbox. It was packaged prettier than this when I first got it, but I had already disposed of the extra bits by the time I took these pictures. Still, I can really appreciate the little details the Birchbox team put into their business.

Korres Guava Little Showergel

I love Korres products for being natural, but I have never used anything outside of their makeup collection. I like this body wash a lot, but I must say that the scent isn't to my taste. As its name suggests, it smells like guava--a really tropical scent. Personally, I prefer lighter scents.

philosophy purity made simple one-step facial cleanser

I was so excited to see this product! I've always wanted to try it, but since I'm a hoarder with approximately 27 million cleansers, I forced myself not to buy it until I at least finished my others. Well, if it came in my Birchbox, there was nothing I could do about it.

It doesn't foam (which I like), and the consistency is runny (which I can handle). I followed the instructions on the bottle and massaged it onto my damp face for a minute before washing it off. It took off all my makeup but didn't strip my face of all moisture. I think this is great for people with sensitive skin because it's so gentle, but honestly I don't think it's some amazingly special product that's unique in the market. It definitely won't replace my current HG cleanser, but don't get me wrong; it is still a really good cleanser! I guess I had just gotten really hyped up about it so it didn't meet my unrealistic expectations.

Redken shine flash 02

Redken markets this as a "glistening mist" with mild hold power, and it holds true to the latter claim. I tried to use it on my bangs to hold them in place, but it didn't work. That was fine because I think it's aimed mostly as a product that adds shine to hair. However, I couldn't tell if it really made my hair shiny either. I couldn't tell the difference, but even if it had added shine, I'd rather use a serum anyway because it isn't as messy as hairspray. I don't like using hairspray because I don't like the thought of breathing it in or it settling on my face.

ybf beauty Automatic Eye Brow Pencil - Universal Taupe

heavily swatched - lightly swatched

I have pretty full eyebrows, so I never fill them in and am not used to doing so. However, I did try it out, and surprisingly I was very impressed. Even though I have black eyebrows, the lighter color doesn't clash against them and make my brows look unnaturally light. It is a double-ended product, so one end has a spoolie brush to use for blending.

KIND Fruit & Nut Bar - Almond & Apricot

Birchbox always includes an "extra" that's thrown into their boxes that doesn'tt always pertain to cosmetics. This month, they included this all-natural bar. I know this sounds weird, but after the philosophy cleanser, this was probably the product I was most excited about. I've been really busy lately, so unfortunately my diet hasn't been its best. Sometimes I'll go a day without eating a single decent meal, so I'm saving this for one of those days. I haven't eaten it yet, but it sounds amazing!

For more information on Birchbox, check out at their website here. Products that were included in this month's Birchbox ship for free!

*I was being dramatic.