July Birchbox Review

This month Birchbox teamed up with Women's Health and my box was a total dud.  I know they can't all be winners, but I'd been so happy with my boxes lately that it was a little bit of a let-down to get one that was not even close to being as good.

I was excited for this box because I subscribe to Women's Health and they had an article in the July issue that showed all of the products they'd be featuring.  Of course, my box had none of the products that I wanted.  I even updated my beauty profile after June's box in hopes of getting a different variety of items, but so far, no good.

July's theme was "Power Up," and the boxes contained "samples to energize your routine."  I find that the Birchbox themes rarely have anything to do with the items inside, but I applaud them for trying.

My box contained four samples and one lifestyle extra.  I can't say I was excited to get any of these samples.  I also don't care for the extra little booklets they've been including recently; I find that they're usually full of unnecessary information and are a waste of paper.  This month's booklet had "12 bite-sized challenges," including "part your hair differently" and "up your sleep quality."  All of the ideas were things we've all heard before and I just don't see the point of including them (give me an extra sample instead, not a booklet).

• NAOBAY Body Radiance Lotion - This is the only item that I was kind of glad to see, mostly because I'm always using lotion and the sample-sized ones are good for my purse.  This one smells nice (like lemon) and has "natural" ingredients, for the most part (there are still some synthetic ingredients included).
• Supergoop! Advanced SPF 37 Anti-Aging Eye Cream - I do use eye cream on the daily, but getting eye cream in a beauty box is so boring to me.  I already have a bunch of them from various sources, and since you don't need to use a lot per application I won't have a need for this one for awhile.  I posted it up for swap.

• Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect - Birchbox has been great about sending me heat-protectants, but I would like to get something different now.  This one is another product I'll be able to use, but it's nothing I got excited about.  I also don't like the way the Number 4 products smell.
• Cynthia Rowley Beauty Black Eyeliner - I was originally going to post this for swap, but my current eyeliner is running low so I decided to keep it.  It glides on really easily, but it's very soft so I have to be careful not to press too hard when applying it.
• SmartyPants All-in-One Gummy Vitamins for Adults - These gummies tasted great, but the packet only contained two and the recommended serving is six daily.  It also costs $29.95 for a 30-day supply, which is absolutely outrageous.  I can go to Target and get a 50 day supply for $10, so there's no reason why I would ever purchase these.

Bottom Line: Not a great month for Birchbox, but I still love this service so I don't think I'll cancel any time soon.  I know not every month is going to be great; I just hope that August's box will include samples that are newer to me so that I can discover something new.

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