I recieved my first Birchbox today! Shipping didn't take terribly long considering it's coming from the east coast ( I am on the west coast ) and they shipped on the tenth and it reached my doorstep by the sixteenth.
The first box Birchbox sends you is an introductory box of favorite products. This includes a Stila shadow card with three shadows, a sample of Viva la Juicy fragrance, a vial of Shu Uemura Essence Protective Oil, three pouches of Befine Exfoliating Cleanser, two pouches of Befine Daily Moisturizer and two envelopes of Hollywood Fashion Secrets fashion tape.
Let me just say the pouches of the moisturizer and exfoliator are HUGE! You could get several uses out of each pouch so I suggest squeezing them into a small jar to prevent product drying out in an open pouch.
**Side note: I hoard small glass/plastic cosmetic jars because I use them for everything! They are great for storing deluxe samples that come in pouches among other things. They are great to have around especially if you have friends who are also makeup junkies. If they have shadows like loose pigments, you can trade colors! Any makeup junkie knows a little loose pigment goes a loooooong way and most loose pigments come with more than enough for one junkie!**
The fragrance sample comes in a mini spray bottle instead of the vial with the plastic lid that can be so difficult to remove. I love when fragrance samples are packaged this way because some fragrances don't always wear well directly on the skin and the spray bottle is much easier to disperse the correct amount.
The eye shadows are a little neutral for my taste, but are a great color combination with a very clear instruction card on how to apply. I love Stila products especially the lip stain, but usually find the eye shadow colors to be a bit boring.
The Shu Uemura Essence Protection Oil comes in a small vial with a lid similar to afore mentioned fragrance vials, but because it's of thicker consistency it doesn't make a huge mess. I am excited to use this product because my hair does well with oils/serums.
The Hollywood Fashion Secrets fashion tape comes in two envelopes with assorted kinds of tape, including hem tape. I've used different fashion tape before and because I am rather busty and there's so much tension on that area, it doesn't usually hold my garment in place. However, I will give this tape a try and because I am short I can put the hem tape to good use.
I am super excited to use these products and do my first product reviews! I am definitely impressed with the size of the samples. They give you enough to really try the product because we all know that one use isn't enough to decide if a high end product is worth buying.
To my fellow beauty junkies, so far I recommend Birchbox. It's a fun treat for $10 every month and you could find a product that you love! If you live outside the U.S. there are other companies like Luxe Box (Canada), Glymm Box (Canda) and Glossy Box (U.K.). I have to say, after reading some reviews on Luxe Box and Glymm Box I'm a little jealous. They get candy :)
Stay tuned for my first product review!
