January Birchbox Review

My January Birchbox was one of the better ones I've received.  It contained four regular samples and one "Birchbox Find," and four out of the five were perfectly tailored to my interests.

January's theme was "Go Time," which was all about taking initiative in conquering new things.  Again, I rarely ever see any connection between the themes and the products, but I appreciate the sentiment.

I peeked at my products on the Birchbox website before receiving the box (as I always do), and I was excited about all of them sans the Juicy Couture perfume.  I hate perfume samples and I do have the option to receive no more than six perfume samples a year checked on my profile, but I wish there was an option to just say I don't want them at all.

• Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle - When I went to try this out the spray pump wasn't working, so I took a video and emailed Birchbox's customer service department to ask if I could have a new one sent.  They responded saying that the pump was probably clogged and provided information on how to clean it out, which was nice of them, but why would a brand new sample ever be clogged?  I was a little annoyed by this, and I didn't want to mess around with cleaning it out, so I just found an old spray pump from another sample that fit the bottle and used that instead.  Regardless of that, I do like this product.  It smells great and since I heat style every day I'm always looking for heat protectants.
• Inika Mineral Eyeshadow in Eternal Marine - I wasn't sure if I wanted to open this because I don't wear a lot of blue eyeshadow, but I looked around for some swatches and decided to keep it and use it.  It's more of a gray shimmer with a slight tinge of blue, so it's very usable to me.  I love that this brand is certified 100% cruelty-free by Australia's Choose Cruelty Free Organisation, registered with the UK Vegan Society, and have packaging that is made from recycled materials.  I'll definitely be purchasing more from this brand in the future.
• Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy - So not only is this a perfume sample I don't want, it's also a repeat sample for me.  I don't like the way this smells, so I'm going to keep it for possible swapping in the future.
• Nail Rock in Sequin Green - I was most excited to try this product because I love doing my nails.  It ended up being a disappointment, and I wish I had received a different kit that may have yielded better results.  My favorite color is green, so originally I liked the sounds of this.  I was disappointed to find that the nail polish included was clear (how boring!), since some of the other kits contained colored polishes.  I also found that the glitter/sequins were too big to really stick to the nail, so more than half ended up falling off within a day.  I'd be willing to try some of the kits that had smaller glitter particles, but I don't recommend Sequin Green.
• Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion with Clary Sage - This was my Birchbox Find item, which means it's a drugstore brand that Birchbox thinks their subscribers will enjoy.  I'm on the fence about Burt's Bees for a few reasons (they're cruelty-free but owned by Clorox, plus some other things), but I was still willing to try this.  At first I thought it was a body lotion, but after reading more about the product I realized it was for the face.  It has a nice light smell and feels weightless on the skin.  I wouldn't purchase a full-sized version of this, though, since I prefer to support companies that are 100% cruelty-free.

Bottom Line: Aside from the Juicy Couture sample, I really liked this box.  The Nail Rock was disappointing, but it was still fun to try.  If you're interested in signing up for Birchbox, please consider using my referral link!

*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.  Post contains referral links.