Birchbox December 2013
I arrived home from uni this weekend to a stack of parcels in my room, sadly not all for me, but the fruits of a few weeks worth of ordering presents for my friends and family. However, at the bottom of a mound of Amazon parcels was a lovely surprise, my December Birchbox!
The theme of this month's box is Winter Wonderland, and the products are divided under two themes, 'sparkle' and 'shine'. I know I probably say this every month, but I was completely blown away by the extremely generous sizes of this month's samples. A 50ml cleanser?! Swooning. I've really enjoyed using the products in this months box, and really don't want some of them to run out!
Number 4 Non-Aerosol Hairspray
I've never tried a non-aerosol hairspray before, and I have to say I was a little skeptical about the concept. I have very long, thick hair, so it takes a serious amount of hairspray to keep it in place, and I just couldn't see a spray like this one coming close. I've been pretty impressed though. This has a surprising amount of hold and doesn't leave my hair with that nasty crunchy hairspray feeling.
I still don't really know how I feel about this product. I was really excited to try it, as I love trying out new things with my nails (especially when they don't require a great amount of time and precision), but it was a bit of a letdown. Whilst it was a relatively quick and easy process overall, the whole 'dipping your nails in the velvet' procedure was a bit awkward. The pot size and shape really didn't allow for an even coating across the nail. Sadly the velvet effect didn't look as pretty as it could have, and most of it came off within about 12 hours of application. Within a day, the varnish itself was chipping big time, so I ended up removing it all.
I've wanted to try a Twistband for ages so I was really excited to see one in this month's Birchbox. These hair ties are designed to prevent kinks and snags, and alleviate the tug on hair caused by normal hair ties. They also look a lot prettier on the wrist than your average hairband, come in just about every colour imaginable, and can be personalised for events and special occasions!
Size-wise the only letdown of the box, and I'm not really a fan of the smell. I'm terrible at describing smells but this has a very generic cheap perfume smell, and kind of reminds me of Impulse sprays. I don't know about you but 'Eau de Year 9 changing rooms' ain't really ma thing.
Naobay Moisturising Milk Cleanser
Love love LOVE this product. I always get way too excited when my Birchbox contains skincare goodies, and I am incredibly impressed by the size of this product. I've paid good money for 50ml cleansers before! Naobay is a Spanish brand (with BEAUTIFULLY packaged products), that I've seen mentioned quite a lot in magazines and on blogs lately. Naobay stands for Natural And Organic Beauty And You, which kinda sums up the company's whole ethos. I love this cleanser, it has a mild pleasant smell, and is really gentle, perfect for second cleansing.
Alima Pure Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Paris
I'm not really a big eyeshadow person, but I do love a bit of sparkle, and this is perfect for a subtle but pretty party look. It's a metallic shade with lots of glitter, and a tiny bit gives a lovely delicate brightening effect. I'm not really a big partying person either, but this gorgeous shimmer will definitely be gracing my eyelids at some point this holiday.
I actually think that this is the perfect summer smell (ironically). It's got a light citrus scent with definite honey undertones. I was amazed at how quickly this sank into my skin, and it didn't leave the slightest trace of product at all. Zilch tackiness = thumbs up from me. Another natural/organic brand, and the proceeds earned from selling this products go towards supporting the dwindling honey bee population. What's not to love?
Definitely one of the better boxes I've received lately, I won't be unsubscribing anytime soon! Birchbox have a great subscription offer on at the moment where you can get a free Christmas box with any 6 or 12 month subscription, so if you're still on the hunt for a Christmas gift for the ladies in your life, click here. To read last month's Birchbox review click here, and for similar posts and reviews you can follow me on Bloglovin and Twitter.