Hi all! As the month of May wraps up, it’s about that time to review all the products included in my birchbox. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to treat yourself, birchbox is the way to go! Without fail, every month when my new birchbox arrives I get excited. This is partly because I know I’m about to find my next beauty obsession, but also because the surprises that wait inside are always fun to test out! Below is what I found when I opened my May birchbox.
What all is packed in there? Well this tiny box included all of the following:
Caldrea Body Wash and Lotion
CoTZ Face Natural Skin Tone SPF 40
Nexxus Color Assure Pre-Wash Primer, Shampoo and Conditioner
PIXI Beauty Shea Butter Lip Balm
Greenleaf Candle
Bonus- It even included a 25% off promo code for Kate Spade Saturday!
As always, this month’s box included some slam-dunks that I will for sure be purchasing, but it also included some duds that just weren’t for me.
Let me start with the Caldrea Body Wash in the coconut fig leaf scent and the Caldrea Body Lotion in the tea olive lime scent. I thought both the scents of the body wash and the lotion were light and refreshing. The body wash (gel form) didn’t lather as much as I prefer and after showering, my skin was left a little dry. Speaking of… next I used the Caldrea body lotion and I ended up really liking it! It too has a light, refreshing smell and it left my skin feeling silky smooth. It went on thin and absorbed quickly, which is a huge plus for when I’m getting ready in a hurry.
Onto the CoTZ Face- SPF 40, this sunscreen is great! In general all face products I use must have SPF in them. On a daily basis I usually use a tinted BB cream with SPF 30. This past weekend I went to an outdoor music festival and decided to give CoTZ a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the texture of this product! I was expecting a thicker sunscreen (since it’s higher SPF) and for it to feel sticky after application. Instead, it goes on smooth and blends well! You can barely tell you have anything on. It leaves a great matte finish and most importantly, it protected my skin well!
In the Nexxus sample, it included a pre-wash primer, shampoo and conditioner. This product line is supposed to keep your colored hair vibrant and protect it from fading. I didn’t have enough of the sample to comment on whether it actually keeps your hair color vibrant over time, but I can speak to the immediate effects it had on my hair. First of all, I have never used a pre-wash primer, but it is supposed to seal your hair and repel water and it did just that (which seems to be a weird concept to me when you are WASHING your hair). Next, the shampoo didn’t really lather and left my hair a little tangly. Lastly, the conditioner seemed pretty standard, but didn’t quite take care of the tangles caused by the shampoo. Overall, my hair still felt dirty after the shower. It looked healthy and shiny, but it got greasy much faster than usual. Overall, I would not use again. There are a TON of color-safe shampoo/conditioners out there that I wouldn’t suggest settling for this one.
Next up is my favorite product of the month, PIXI lip balm! To be fair, I am not a huge fan of lipstick, but I am a chapstick-a-holic and this balm is the best of both worlds. My sample was the Pixi Pink tint and this hue was a little brighter than I normally buy for myself, but it ended up adding some much needed color to my makeup bag. Since this balm has the moisturizing effects of shea butter, I find myself reaching for it every time my lips feel dry and in return getting the added color of lipstick! Thinking pink isn’t for you? It comes in 5 hues, ranging from nude to raspberry!
Last up from my birchbox is the Greenleaf Candle in the First Blush scent. As soon as I opened my birchbox I could smell this wonderful candle. It’s such a great flowery scent for summer and really livened up our apartment. Surprisingly, after burning it for a short time, the scent didn’t waft throughout my apartment quite as well as it does with my other candles. And with the price being almost twice as much as the candles I use now, they aren’t worth the splurge.
That’s all for this month’s birchbox finds! Have you tried any of these products or brands? If so, let me know your thoughts on them!
