July 2011 Birchbox

What is Birchbox? Birchbox is a membership service that delivers 4-5 deluxe size beauty samples to your door monthly. The cost is $10/month and that includes the shipping and handling. If you like what they send you, you have the option of purchasing full sizes on their website, many of them with free shipping. Membership also includes access to their website, which is loaded with beauty tutorials and the latest in beauty information. 

Last month I hinted that July's Birchbox was supposed to be something special, and special it was.  For July, Birchbox partnered with iconic designer Cynthia Rowley to create a box filled with Cynthia's personal favorite things.  This months box was a special present and opening it was a delight.

The first thing different I noticed about my box, was that it was covered in a pretty water marbled over wrap, just like gift wrap!  Inside, instead of the traditional pink tissue paper, this months goodies were wrapped in pretty turquoise tissue.  The wrappings while pretty aren't really the meat of this box though.

Inside was a beautiful nude Zoya nail polish.  It's a pretty pearled nude that actually looks good on me.  I've struggled with nude nail polish and it always gives me cadaver fingers.  Zoya's Shay had enough reflective properties to help me pull the look off.

Also included is a 1 fl oz sample of my favorite cleanser Purity.  For more on this fabulous cleanser check out my post here.  Needless to say I was quite happy to receive this travel size of my favorite cleanser.

I have been on a seemingly endless search for the perfect hand cream.  I almost found it in this months Birchbox.  It's the Ahava Mineral Hand Cream.  It absorbs nicely into my hands with a nice soft non-greasy finish.  Unfortunately it has a rather strong fragrance (not unpleasant) and due to my "real" job I have to try and stay "fragrance free".  There's also some political stuff brewing around this Israeli based company and I prefer my cosmetics to be a "political free zone".

My favorite addition to this months Birchbox is the the Redken Shine Flash 02.  This is a hair shine product that leaves an almost glossy finish to my hair.  Cynthia Rowley uses this on her models before they march down the catwalk.  I love the finish it gives my hair, it even tames those pesky baby hairs.  I do not love the stinky smell.  It quickly evaporates though and is undetectable in my hair.

Last but not least was this months "treat".  Tucked away in the box was a KIND Almond & Apricot bar.  I have seen these before at Starbucks and have hesitated to try them.  Not any more, they are yummy! This snack is loaded with nuts and fruits, but no preservatives or "hard-to-pronounce" ingredients.  Since trying this, I have purchased several of the other flavors and Almond & Apricot is my favorite.

Have any of you subscribed to Birchbox or are you thinking about it? The last two months have been great, can't wait till August's box comes!

I Have a...

For a lot of us, skin care is a battle.  Whether we are battling acne, wrinkles, dry flaky skin, eczema or rosacea we all face a daunting challenge.  To further complicate things, your skin is always changing.  Once you have found that HG (holy grail) product that makes your skin glow, that fickle skin of yours changes.  Now, what once made you glow, makes you look like an oil slick.

Cleansers have been one of those items that have been particularly troublesome for me.  Foaming cleansers may work for awhile, but they eventually dry my skin out.  Dry oils seem to work OK for me, but they're too messy (I'm a bit of a klutz).  Shu Uemera makes a great dry oil, but it's no longer available in The States.  You can order online, but that's too much bother for me (remember...LAZY!). Cream cleansers always seem to leave a film on my face, that at first is moisturizing, but later gives birth to cousins of Mt Vesuvius. 

My skin is relatively sensitive, with moderate to severe rosacea.  When looking for a cleanser I look for something that will gently cleanse my skin, oh and not cost a small fortune.  I don't think that's too much to ask for, but it certainly is hard to find something that delivers. 

About two years ago I found my HG cleanser.  It was like the skies parted and the angels started singing.  Now I know that sounds silly, but for me it was a defining moment.  I had started to ignore my skin, because no matter what I did, it never looked good.

Purity by Philosophy is the cleanser that changed all that for me.  It's that single product that is a makeup remover, facial cleanser and toner in one.  It removes eye makeup, even notoriously difficult waterproof eyeliner, easily.  Purity rinses off the face with just a few splashes of water and leaves my skin feeling clean, with no film left behind.  When dry, my face doesn't feel like the Sahara desert.  Purity got me excited about skin care again.

Philosophy makes their Purity cleanser in three different formulas.  The one I use is the cream cleanser.  It's more like a lotion then a cream.  Philosophy makes Purity as a foaming cleanser and cleansing cloths in addition to the cream formula, but I haven't tried those.  The cleansing cloths might be nice for travel though.

Everyone has different skin, and what works for me,  may not work for you.  If you love multi-tasking products, this may be something you'll want to try.  It comes in 5 different sizes, with the smallest costing $10.  Not a huge investment for something that may change the way you approach your skincare.