April Birchbox

One of my favorite subscription boxes is Birch Box. It's only $10 and for every review you do of an item in your box, you get 10 points to spend in the store. Every time you buy something, each dollar equals one point. 100 points are equivalent to $10. I just bought four items (plus a free pick 2 mystery pack) that totaled $104.00. I had a 20% off code and also used the reward points I'd saved up and ended up paying $5.20 - not bad!

With Birch Box, each month you get 4-5 samples and while sometimes it's not something I am interested in, it's been good to get things that I normally may not pick out for myself. It's definitely had me step out of my comfort zone and discover some new things.

Since April is all about rain, they went with that theme (I've noticed that sometimes they'll pick a theme but it seems that no one's box has anything to do with it. Whatever, just go with it). So here is the card that came with my box this month, with all of my goodies hiding underneath:

In case you don't like spoilers (even though there are many different boxes), I'll put a cut here

Once you open the box and move the card that has the description of your items, here's what I saw:

Sometimes Birch Box includes extras like chocolate or this KIND granola bar. I was happy to get this although I saw on Birch Box's Facebook page some people were not too pleased with this. However, I loved it! I'm a huge fan of KIND (the dark chocolate nuts with sea salt is my favorite!). I'm not normally a huge pumpkin and maple fan (value $0.79) so I haven't actually had this yet - I'm not sure if the Mr will nab it for a lunch or if I will.I did like that they included a more healthy option.

Birch Box included this little card with a rainy day tip (they sell a box of all 52 in the Birch Box shop). I got tip 17 which says, "try a new fitness class at your gym or a boutique studio. Drag a friend along for moral support." I don't belong to a gym, but I do like the idea of using a rainy day where you want to stay inside, but still want to do something. I have an exercise DVD that I would love to try out with a friend.

Next up was the BeeKind Body Lotion (full size $15, my sample is worth $1.88). Some people hate small sizes, but I love them. They're great for when I travel, and I'd much rather have a sample of something and dislike it than purchase the full size. This lotions is "made with honey and organic chamomile, this healthy UK fave sinks in to restore skin." The lotion was a little runnier than I usually use on my body (I'm more of a body cream type of lady), but this still felt nice. It just wasn't hydrating enough for my body - maybe it would be better when the weather is warmer. It is still great for my hands so I have tossed it into my work bag. I do like that this lotion is free of parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, urea, etc. The scent is light and does fade, but I don't love it (it smelled like a mix of citrus, honey, and a little plastic to me).

Next up was a polish from Color Club from their Spring Gala's Gems Collection in Gold Struck (a set of 4 minis is $13, so mine was worth $3.25). I have received several Color Club polishes from Birch Box and like them! They only last about 3 days for me, but I'm notoriously hard on my nails so I rarely get more than 5 days (I even tried Shellac and got 8 days - they promised 2 weeks!). I tend to go for darker shades, so maybe it's good that I got a light one to try to make me break out of my comfort zone. However, I have a few similar shades and find that gold never looks quite right on me (both my wedding and engagement rings are platinum). I will likely try to swap this for another shade.

I also found a Sumita Color Intense Pencil in Suman, which is a deep black in a generous travel size (it looks about half size when I compare it to my full size Sumita liner. The full size will run you $11, so I'm guessing the value of mine is $5.50). I would be all about this, but I received the full size version in the same shade in a Glossy Box a few months ago.Birch Box does sell this liner in some not as common shades, like a lime green and a pretty olive. From some reviews I read, it looks like the people who received the Sumita liner got Suman (black) or a dark purple. I do like this liner, although I don't wear black liner all that often. It is very soft and easy to apply. It lasts all day on me - if you want to smudge it out, work quickly as it sets in under a minute on me. 

In the bottom of my box, I almost missed a perfume sample. It was in a little envelope with a card - I do like the packaging. I received Atelier Cologne in Orange Sanguine Cologne Absolute (full sizes are $65-170 - yikes!). The description reads "a versatile, distinctive citrus blend that lasts (and lasts and lasts)" and I have to agree. I usually go for sweeter scents, and love pretty much everything that LaVanilla has ever made (the Vanilla Grapefruit is my current favorite), but I do like citrus scents. I was a little hesitant to give this a whirl, partially because I like what I have already but also the price! $170?! Whoa. The cheapest one is 1oz for $65, which isn't much more than most perfumes so it's more reasonable than I thought, so I decided to apply a little bit. It's been about 10 hours and there is still a little bit left when I go to take a whiff of my wrist. The scent is nice and perfect for spring and summer - it's citrus but with a little bit of sandalwood and jasmine so it's not overly sweet or fruity. I have definitely added this to my wish list, and glancing at their other scents I really want to try the vanilla! I will fully admit that I'm not typically a huge fan of fragrance samples in my Birch Box, but they totally got a home run with this one! (if you don't like fragrance samples, in your profile you can limit them but not completely opt out).

If you want to join Birch Box, it's only $10 a month (cheaper if you pay for a year). You can skip the wait list by using my referral link (and full disclosure, I get bonus points if you sign up using it). If you want to, here is my link for you to check out Birch Box.