Birchbox January 2014

IMG_9246 This month's Birchbox takes the theme 'tiny tweaks', and features products aimed to help make sticking to your new years resolutions that little bit easier, as well as introduce new ways to keep on top of your appearance, both inside and out.

I was over the moon to learn that there would be a Benefit product in this months box (not least because this means there would be Benefit products in the Birchbox shop, and I have £30 of points!) and even more so when I saw that it was a sample of Benefit's cult primer The Porefessional. I've tried a sample of this before and absolutely loved it. The mini tube lasts a surprisingly long time as well! I honestly never understood how people described beauty products as velvety until I tried this. It's very thick and dense, quite hard to spread, but leaves a lovely silky/velvety finish to the skin creating a perfect makeup base. My foundation applies, last, and looks 375936894 times better when worn over this. I was also really pleased to get a mask in this months box. The Delaron Aquaconfront Mask is a nourishing, hydrating mask. I usually opt for spot-fighters when buying masks so it's nice to try something different for a change. However I was a little disappointed by this mask. It looks and applies just like a moisturiser, sinking straight into my skin and leaving me nothing to wipe off (as the instructions direct). Another skincare product included this month was the Rodial Glamtox Day SPF 15 Moistursier. I'm not really on the hunt for a new moisturiser, and I can't really say this does anything amazing. But it's always handy to have a travel sized moisturiser to hand, especially when it has an SPF. The Philip Kingsley Elasticizer is something of a cult product in the beauty world. It's not the sort of thing I'd normally buy (especially as its pretty pricey) so it's been nice to have the opportunity to finally try it out. Basically a conditioning hair treatment that's applied before shampooing and left on for 10-20 minutes, I found it left my hair super soft and clean feeling, but nothing wow. Maybe more in the long-run? I've never tried a body oil before, so was pleased to see this cute bottle of Premae Anatomy Nutrients Instant Renewal Body Oil included this month. This smells gorgeous, a really fresh summery fragrance. I was surprised at how quickly it sinks into the skin, although it does leave a slight oily sheen.

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I also received one of Birchbox's Eye Masks. I had one of these in a box a few months ago, but a girl can never have too many eye masks right? And Birchbox kindly sent me 50 points to spend in the Birchbox shop to apologise for the duplication! I keep this in my fridge for times when my eyes are feeling a little irritable. It also works wonders on my forehead when I have a headache! I was a little disappointed to see that Birchbox have joined the ranks of the other beauty boxes in wrapping their products in tissue paper. I loved the little bags that the products normally come in, they're so cute and useful, and I always saw it as an extra bonus gift, so I do hope they haven't been discontinued permanently!

To see last month's Birchbox review click here, and to stay updated on similar posts and recipes you can follow me on Wordpress, Bloglovin and Twitter.