Birchbox - My First Three Months

It fits in the mailbox!

As I have previously mentioned, any time that I can order something online to take care of my impulse shopping, it will be ordered. Much like Stitch Fix, I heard about Birchbox and knew I wanted to have these adorable boxes of samples sent to me. I learned about Birchbox and Stitch Fix from the same blogger Jenna over at Eat, Live, Run. She must also like getting packages.

The interior box is a great size for small gifts in the future.

First Month: January

The products are packaged in such a way that I can't help but smile when I get the mail on the day it appears.

January Birchbox: apple/pear body lotion, fragrance, face cream, lip gloss, cleansing shampoo.

One of the reasons I thought Birchbox was perfect for me, and probably invented for me to find, is that I recently decided that my face routine was no longer working. My skin is dry, flaky, pores are very visible, I wasn't feeling clean after a wash. I also do not like my makeup in any way. I suppose the ol' "you get what you pay for" is definitely applicable for me. I buy drugstore brands and not even their high-end products. The fact is I don't like the idea that I need to spend lots of money on beauty products. I like to look natural. I don't like to spend too much time on how I look. However, as a professional in my career and with the way I dress for work I knew I had to make sure I am professionally presentable.




Second Month:February

The postcard included in each package includes a witty tie-in to what is going on around the country. This month they focused on love, of course, but mostly self-love. And not in that way. Entirely.

February Birchbox: curl cream, lotion, nail polish, tinted face cream, chocolate.

The renewed interest in finding the right products stems from a certain wonderful past supervisor who once told me, "You always look very natural. But you can also look a little bit like a zombie. You might want to think about makeup products that cover your lack of sleep." She was entirely correct. I don't sleep well and my face is evidence of that. I never thought about it that way until she pointed it out to me. I did not take it personally as it was well-meant. And she did it in a way that was comfortable for me, as in, she used her nerdy knowledge and called me a zombie. The truth was I had not thought about it at all. I was in my mid-twenties and had not spent much time in those years considering my beauty routine as part of an overall look or presentation of self. No matter how many times I told students entering career development workshops, working on mock interviews and finding that perfect suit for interviews, or etiquette workshops, I never internalized the fact that I was ignoring that highly useful information in myself.

Third Month:March

The postcard this month included a partnership with the male side of the Birchbox company and the March Madness that is inevitable.This includes a chance to do brackets and win prizes.No, I did not join the brackets. I am ready for baseball and this whole basketball thing is just a terrible distraction from Spring Training.

March Birchbox: lotion, skin tint, body glaze, fragrance, hair tie, emery board.

So Birchbox has become the way I can dive into all of these crazy products out there and see if any of them help with my concerns. So far, none of it has been entirely perfect but I do like a few of the things I have received. I am really excited that two of the three have included fragrance because I have also been thinking about changing that up. I have used the same fragrance since high school and though I don't wear it often I think changing it up, or having several options, could be a good thing. I also am highly intrigued by the skin stain (here is a link, you may want to check on a non-work device)  and the card that came with it. I would never have thought of something like this. The one product that I have definitely considered purchasing is the Elizabeth Arden 8-hour cream. I don't know that it is supposed to be used on the entire face, but for the week I did so I had a lot less dryness issues. Could be an answer to my frustration there.

Overall I really like getting the small packages that bring something new to fixate on for a few days. I will probably continue to do this for a few more months at least to see if anything brilliant and perfect comes my way.