April 2012 Birchbox

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Yes. I made 2 entries on CricketsBay in 2010, then I didn't use it again until April of 2012 when I started receiving Birchbox.

April 2012 Birchbox

Apr. 14th, 2012 at 3:52 PM

Here's my post on the Makeuptalk.com Birchbox Forum from today.

It looks like I got Box 23. I am so disappointed. April is my first month. I logged into my account and clicked on the Box tab and the picture shows all the stuff I was really hoping I did not get. And it seems that newbies really do get the most leftover samples. My ideal box would have been Box 11, but we can't choose, so it's luck of the draw. My box has not arrived yet, so I'm still very excited to see what's inside, but it's kind of a letdown as well.

First of all, I specifically checked in my Beauty Profile that I like fruity scents for perfume. I got a sample of Viva la Juicy. I made the mistake of spraying a sample of it on myself once. (Gotta try new things, right, and I had no idea what it smelled like.) Oh, my gawd! It's horrible. It smells like baby powder mixed with rubbing alcohol, and when it dried, it smelled like baby powder and gardenias. Maybe it's just me, but I think Viva la Juicy is nasty. I know some people like it a lot, but it is not my style. Birchbox's website specifically says it is a floral scent. I cannot wear anything that smells like roses or gardenias. Those scents give me a headache as well. Real roses smell wonderful, but rose-scented perfume makes me sneeze and my head hurt. Maybe if the gardenia part of this scent is not really noticeable, I could handle it, but I did not like the test spray.

Here's Birchbox's description of Viva la Juicy: "Top notes of wild berries and sweet mandarin flirt with lady-like middle notes of honeysuckle, jasmine, and gardenia. Warm base notes of caramel, amber, vanilla, sandalwood, and praline hover beneath it all."

However, the ladies at Work are raving over it. It's promised to one of them if it really does turn out to be as bad as the tester I sprayed on my arm. I made the stipulation, "If I don't like it, you can have it." Looks like it may be her lucky day.

Befine Exfoliating Cleanser. I use a couple different kinds of exfoliating cleanser on my face, Biore and Clearasil's Morning Cleanser. I need to switch. I have an acne problem. I am actually looking forward to trying this sample. I hope it's in a little squeeze bottle thing instead of a foil packet so I can get more than 1 use out of it. The picture of Box 23 does not show the actual sample, just the Befine card. Bummer, but it keeps the anticipation alive.

Befine Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15. It doesn't say it's tinted, so that is awesome. I don't use a tinted moisturizer. However, I am wondering how well it is going to go with my sunblock. I'll give it a try and find out. Befine is supposed to have really good products, so I'm happy getting 2 Befine samples to try together, well, the exfoliating scrub before I apply the moisturizer, of course, but you get the point. I need a good, oil-free moisturizer to use on my face every day that's not going to clog pores and make the pimples worse.

Stila Smoky Eye Shadow. Another leftover sample. And I cannot use it. Is it waterproof? If it is, how the Hell am I supposed to get it off if I do try it out? I do not wear makeup, thus I do not have waterproof makeup remover. I did buy an Urban Decay eyeliner a couple weeks ago and I'm contemplating trying that out, but even if it is waterproof, it's eyeliner, so it doesn't seem like such a big deal as trying to remove a huge swatch of eyeshadow. I'll probably give the 3 tiny, miniscule samples of eyeliner on a card to a different lady at Work. They don't even look like real eyeliner samples. I am very disappointed with this sample. Other beauty subscription boxes give actual eyeshadow samples in cute little bitty containers. Birchbox gives crap. Luxe, full-size samples?

Hollywood Fashion Secrets Hollywood Fashion Tape. Well, what can I say? I might use it. Isn't this a leftover sample from the March box? Or was it February? Maybe both. I have a silky purple and white shirt that could use some help not falling off my shoulder at Work, so I am definitely going to try out the fashion tape. I probably won't be buying it, though, because I can get it cheaper at the drugstore. The Boss said I was in violation of the dress code, eventhough absolutely none of my bra was visible and my cami was under the silky shirt in case it did fall down low enough where my bra would be showing, so next time I wear it, the fashion tape is a must-have.

Shu Uemura Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil. This is the only product in the box I am actually thrilled about. One awesome sample out of the 6 listed at the bottom of my Birchbox page has totally made this box worth it for me. I have a frizz problem. The conditioner I use just isn't cutting it and I've been looking for something else. I had no idea there even was such a thing as hair oil until recently and I am really looking forward to using this sample. I've seen good reviews of this (or maybe it was another brand of hair oil from the March Box) on YouTube. If it works, this will probably be the first full-size product I by from Birchbox.

And on a final note, in case I get an eyeliner sample in my next Birchbox or something ... anybody got any ideas on removing waterproof eyeliner without using waterproof makeup remover? And how am I supposed to remove it from my waterline anyway? My eyes are closed when I wash my face.

Have Fun, Everybody, and Blessed Be. Thanks for Reading.
Tammy
ThePeridotCricket