Hello everyone I hope you’re all doing well. Again I’m sorry for the delay with this month’s Birchbox, it came right in the middle of my stress week and I just didn’t have the time. Today however I’m ready to share to my thoughts and I think I’ll try to keep it as to the point as possible! If you want to know more about birchbox you can read another post on it here and the reward system post here. So anyway I was thrilled when I saw a little sneak peak of the January birchbox as the range of brands this month are awesome! The collaboration with Women’sHealth is just perfect for this month, the month where everyone gets a new year and hopefully a renewed feeling of determination and inspiration!
The design of this box is adorable, the illustrations, the colour scheme and everything about it - I adore it. The theme this month is #HitRefreshChallenge and as usual you get a card with a little letter from the Editorial Director of birchbox as well as a mini magazine. In this magazine or booklet, you get 12 bite-sized challenges and I its such a creative and fun thing to get involved in! Each page is a bright colour with the challenge and the rationale for the challenge written directly underneath. On the other side are some tips to help you get on with challenges, and in some of these they give suggestions on how to use the products included in the box. It really gets you motivated to do that challenge - complete with a little tick box too!
I love... the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask (£30), regular readers of my blog will know I’m a big fan of REN skincare which is super clean and very effective. I have heard so much about these exfoliating treatments and so far this tube has lived up to its hype. I’ve had positive results after one use! My only cheeky complaint it that they gave us 10ml too little, I’d appreciate at least 5/6 uses of a mask to truly see its potential to my skin. I also loved the Birchbox Pilates Band (£7.99) which I’ve heard is brilliant for helping to tone and strengthen the body.
I like... the HealGel Body (£39.50) which is (after a bit of research) created by a bunch of plastic surgeons and other specialists and supposed to be excellent for after sun. I’m hoping this will make help me get rid of the dryness around my eyes which look horrendous when I accidently put concealer over it. I was thrilled to see another product from Beauty Protector - their Protect & Detangle Spray (£14) not pictured, unfortunately I misplaced it? :c which is a birchbox exclusive. It smells nice and protects the hair from heat damage. Now as a hijab wearer heat doesn’t meet my hair often, BUT I’m pleased I don’t need to go out and purchase one for when I do want to play with heat! I got the Stila lip glaze (£15) in the shade glow. At first I wasn’t too pleased with the shade because of the little shimmers or the lipgloss in general, but when I applied it, I actually enjoyed it. It glides on and feels a little sticky, like all gloss must I suppose but this makes it last longer. This shade looks beautiful over a pink lipstick but I know the shimmer won’t be everyone’s cuppa tea. Before I received this I wouldn’t have given this range another look due to the price for a lipgloss, however I am interested in looking for some of their most pinky/brown nudes as I think they would look stunning alone or over some of my favourite lipsticks and liners.
I’m Not Too Fussed About... the Activbod Feel Great Shower Concentrate (£5) it’s just a little meh. And I’d much rather spend £6 on a Soap & Glory bottle which smells wonderful and feels great too.
Oh and I’m not a green tea fan so I’ll be passing that on to mum, although I have to admit the ‘Matcha’ superfood which contains 10 times the antioxidants of normal green tea, does sound wonderful.
Overall rating for this box: 7.5
Highlights and summary: The kick-start to the new year and the motivational team feeling of sharing #hitrefreshchallenge. The REN mask is also amazing, personally I wouldn’t pay £30 for a mask without the chance to try it first, so I was stoked to have this in my box. Furthermore the Pilates band is a great addition to everyone’s fitness routine. However overall the selection of products were not my favourite and I enjoyed December’s quite a bit more.
If you would like to subscribe to birchbox, or you just fancy your own January box with similar contents, feel free to use my referral link here which will earn us both £5 to spend in the e-shop! You can also get £5 OFF January’s box by using the code: JAN5. Also if you’re interested in any of the brands mentioned in the post, including the green tea you can shop them here.
If you are already subscribed, what did you think of this months box?
Thank-you for reading ♥
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