I hate to say it, but this has got to be my least favorite Birchbox I’ve received so far. Keeping in mind that I love the service overall and I bought yearly Birchbox subscriptions as some of my Christmas gifts for people this year… They’ve already received their boxes and in my opinion got way better samples. Oh well, guess you can’t win them all.
I choose the Serge Normant Dream Big Instant Volumizing Spray as my pick this month. I’ve started to go through texturizing sprays so quickly on days that I curl my hair, so I can pretty much never have enough of it. Especially nice travel size ones. I’d say this falls firmly in third place of the texturizing sprays I’ve tried out lately. Better than some, but still behind my go-to Oribe or Oscar Blandi faves. It has good texture, but feels a little too sticky compared to it’s competition.
I have to say, Coastal Scents can be a great low cost option with certain products (case in point their Silica Spheres are a great dupe for the MUFE setting powder). The mini StyleEYES Palette option just didn’t appeal to me much. The shadows were not as pigmented as I was used to, nor did they blend out well.
Malin + Goetz on the other hand is generally a brand that I can always count on. When I tried out the Clarifying Clay Mask though, I didn’t see much result. But maybe it’s what I didn’t see that counted. I didn’t break out, dry out, or freak out during application. It’s a great gentle option that left my skin feeling soft and cared for. It just didn’t do much clarifying. Further tests to be run on hormonal skin days when I really need that extra help. Stay tuned folks.
Negative opinion is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to this sample as I don’t necessarily dislike the actual product. It’s merely the packaging I find poor. Overall, The Balm Frat Boy Blush is a great color and really shows up well on the skin. However, you wouldn’t quite know that based on the teeny-tiny size of the packaging/sample. There is no way I can easily swirl around my blush brush in this.
A huge plus for the Yu-be Moisturizing Skin Cream is that it is pretty moisturizing. Which was certainly needed considering how dry my skin has become this winter. It does mostly sink in, but that little remaining bit that seems to sit on top of the skin drives me a little batty. It has thus been relegated to the nightstand for a just before sleep routine. The camphor smell might also be a bit of a divider of opinions. It reminds me of Vick’s VapoRub a bit and actually helps me fall asleep faster – but the smell is pretty much a love it or hate it feature.
Shop this post: Serge Normant Dream Big Instant Volumizing Spray, Coastal Scents StyleEYES Palette, Malin + Goetz Clarifying Clay Mask, The Balm Frat Boy Blush, and Yu-be Moisturizing Skin Cream.
♡Em
