September 2011 Birchbox

It's Birchbox's one-year anniversary!

High-res pictures and my thoughts after the jump...


This month's box, I'll admit, is pretty disappointing!

First we have Incoco nail appliques.

 These are a neat sparkly metallic animal print.  Other brands include Sally Hansen, but I'm not familiar with Incoco.  The packaging claims that these are made from 100% real nail polish, and it includes base, color, and top coats all in one strip.  Without opening the foil, it looks like it's one application (12 strips), but it may be more.  This particular style is a glittery animal print... since I'm a 30 year old professional, these may not be very useful to me.  I may put them on for a weekend or something, but I won't be able to enjoy them as much as a teenager probably would.

Next up is a perfume sample:

It's called LIV GRN Natural Eau de Parfum, and 10% of sales go to Global Green, an environmental non-profit.  I have to admit - I am a scent snob.  I dislike most perfumes, especially anything super strong or really floral.  However, this smells really clean and light.  I'm going to wear it a couple of days and see how it "cooks" on me.  I have high hopes for this one based on the initial scent!  However, its "value" is minimal, if any, since most stores hand these out like candy with any online purchases.  Disappointing again.

 Then we have Jouer lip enhancer:

Great, just what I need.  Another useless lip balm.  It's so small I had to squeeze it almost completely pressed to get any product out.  How am I supposed to test this product if I can't hardly use it?  Shame, Birchbox!  This one was just plain anger-inducing.

Then we have the infamous blinc mascara.  It's a recycled sample... people got it last month.  Oh well.  I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens.  I don't need lengthening - just volumizing.  Because I'm a natural blonde, my eyelashes are lighter in color (very, very light) so it's important to wear a quality, non-clumping mascara.

It's a teeny sample, so I may get just a couple uses out of it.  I'm going to try to remain optimistic on this one.

Speaking of non-clumping, this next sample is related!  Because my lashes are so blonde, you can see right to my eyelid.  Therefore, if I get any mascara on my lid, you can see it!  This product claims to help with this problem.  We'll give it a shot and see what happens.  My sense is that they're just overhyped post-it notes you put on your eyelids, but we'll see.

Lastly, Birchbox sent its subscribers a friendship bracelet.  That's nice... to thank me for my business, you send me a string with a square piece of metal on it.  I'd rather have had another makeup sample.

All in all, not theworstthingever, but I'm definitely disappointed after all the hype.  This month is by far the worst, and I suspect they may get worse.  I have gotten very few makeup products with my subscription, and nothing's rocked my world, aside from last month's June Jacobs papaya face mask.  That stuff is the amaze.  I'm going to hold out a couple more months, and if they don't get better, I'll spend my money elsewhere.