For those of you who don't know, Birchbox is a subscription service where for about £10 a month you receive a fab little bundle of five beauty and make up samples in the post which you can tailor to suit your needs better, for example mine usually arrive having more make up and beauty based items as opposed to haircare or skincare, but you usually get a little bit of everything. It also comes with a handy guide telling you all about each product you have received.
Learn more here, www.birchbox.co.uk/about/how-it-works
My Birchbag
My Birchbox Booklet
This month for the first time ever Birchbox has replaced it's box format with a 'Birchbag', a splash proof clutch which is perfect for poolside essentials. It comes in four different colours all chosen by different beauty editors who took their inspiration for the clutches from their favourite holiday destinations. I got the Pink 'Ibiza' bag by Jess Diner of Birchbox UK and I must say I am pleasantly surprised by it, it seems very durable and is indeed 'splash proof' as it claims, it is also a great size.
The 'Ibiza' bag in pink
Now onto the products I received, eek!
UNANI Aloe Vera Gel - £15
UNANI Aloe Vera Gel
This product claims to 'calm and nourish to help skin recover' which is perfect for a skin that's spent a day in the sun, it also says that it can be used for burns blemishes, eczema and bites etc.
I am a great believer in an 'all rounder product' and have endless supplies in my house of things like witch hazel and sudocrem and never leave for a weekend away without them, so by the sounds of it this product has the potential to become a skincare staple.
I was impressed with how quickly the product absorbed into my skin and it is also surprisingly lightweight, not leaving a sticky residue like most lotions.
As this blog post is just for first impressions of the products I can't yet tell you whether this product has any long term effect on sore skin but as of right now I am impressed, I will keep you updated!
Soigne nail lacquer in Lavande - £11
Soigne Nail Lacquer in Lavande
Please forgive my short nails, i'm a biter!
This is a brand I have been eager to try for a while, Soigne is a cruelty free and vegan friendly brand, they also use non toxic formulas and up to 85% natural ingredients in their products.
The packaging is lovely, in my Birchbag it just came as it is photographed yet I know ordinarily each nail lacquer is packaged individually in a beautiful box.
The brush was wide which made for an easy application, after one coat I was a bit sceptical as it seemed almost watery and very thin yet after a second coat I was left with a full coverage glossy finish. My only reservation with this product is that it is a little pricey compared to high street brands, yet so many of the colours in their range are so beautiful I do think that I will purchase more shades.
POP Beauty eyeshadow trio in 'Peach Parfait' - £15.50
POP beauty eye shadow trio in 'peach parfait'
I was slightly disappointed with this product. Firstly, the applicator is a bit useless, with brands like Benefit, Naked and Too Faced producing palettes with good quality brushes in, there is no reason that a palette of this price should be providing an applicator like this, good lord how are we supposed to blend with that ladies!
However that being said the colours are lovely and pigmented with a subtle sheen, they are also relatively easy to blend using a good brush, yet for me the darker two are less peachy and more bronze meaning that on my skin tone (pale) I could not use them as a trio as it looked too orangey.
It is a nice little trio yet I wouldn't purchase it, I have used better products which are very similar for half the price from the high street.
Benefit Dream Screen SPF 45 - £25
I am so concious of my skin in the sun and keep on top of lathering my body in sun cream in an effort to prevent myself looking like Madge from Benidorm in a few years, however I let my sun care standards slip when it comes to my face, I am aware of the importance of putting sun cream on my face I just HATE it. If you put it under make up your make up just slides off through out the day and putting it on top just ruins your make up. This is why I am super super thankful this product made it's way into my life, it is described by benefit is a 'silky matte sunscreen which is ultra lightweight and truly invisible on skin. It absorbs instantly to help prevent skin ageing by protecting against sun damage... and leaves skin feeling moisturised'. Sounds too good to be true right? WELL IT'S NOT!
I could not believe how fast this absorbed into my skin leaving my skin feeling soft and moistened not sticky like sunscreen usually does. I did doubt it's mattifying abilities however I applied my make up about 2 minutes after the Dream Screen and it had absolutely no affect on how my make up sat on my skin. It is quite a runny product and does seem oily initially however it is completely oil free. An absolute star of a product, only downside is the price. I have ordered the full sized bottle and will keep you informed on it's lasting abilities!
Bionike Cleansing Water - £12.20
I had never heard of this product before today yet after a bit of research I found out that it is made by an Italian brand who pride themselves on providing affordable skincare which is effective yet they try and use the minimal amount of ingredients to get the job done. It also seems it is targeted at those with very sensitive skin.
This particular cleansing water claims to gently remove make up, cleanse skin and leave your face feeling super soft and smooth
The directions on how to use it are that you massage the product into your face and neck and then just wipe it away with a cotton pad. NO NEED FOR WATER?! I was very sceptical about it's effectiveness to remove all make up without water yet excited to try it as sometimes when travelling different tap water can irritate my face when washing it.
I had a full face of make up this morning before I tried the product and it did take a while and a few very dirty cotton pads to completely remove it, if you wear heavy make up everyday I wouldn't recommend this product to take your make up off with as it would be a waste, yet for lighter everyday make up I would recommend it as it was very gentle on my sensitive skin and left it feeling soft and bare an not sore and sensitive like some harsher cleansers do.
Barely 'prep, blot and blend' sponge - £5.99
This product is very similar to a beauty blender yet is designed to apply moisturiser and primers and not foundation. Following the belief that perfecting the base of your make up is the main way to achieve a truly flawless look.
You use this product like you would a beauty blender, run under water then squeeze, this makes it inflate to a much larger size and does make it incredibly soft.
My favourite thing about this product is that it comes in a little reasonable pouch meaning you can keep it in a make up bag without worrying you will pull it out all grubby.
It was very easy to use and did apply my primer evenly however I am not sure it is 100% necessary, it was a cool little freebie yet I do believe fingers to just as good of a job at applying primer.
That's all for my Birchbag this month and I must say I am overall very impressed, Benefit's Dream Screen is without a doubt my star pick and the POP beauty trio the product I would be least likely to buy. If any of you are unsure about whether to subscribe to Birchbox I really do recommend it.
Thank you for reading
Emma
xoxo
Ps, if anyone else has received this months Birchbox please let me know in the comments and let me know what you guys thought about it.
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