My First Birchbox, January 2013!

      Over the past year or so, Birchbox, known for their generous monthly box of samples, has received a lot of publicity in the beauty world.  And why wouldn't it?  A Birchbox subscription is to beauty addicts what candy delivery would be to small children!  I finally asked for my own Birchbox subscription this Christmas, and my first one arrived today.  Have a look!

The Photos

Number 4 Clarifying Shampoo

Deborah Lippmann The Stripper to Go

  

The Balm Hot Mama

Embryolisse

The Reviews

Number 4 Clarifying Shampoo:  This is one of the few clarifying shampoos I've used that left my hair feeling soft, not stripped.  It smells amazing, too!

Deborah Lippmann The Stripper to Go:  This single mitt is meant to remove nail polish from all ten finger nails.  I was really skeptical about this one, but it did remove the polish from nine of my nails (and it was glitter polish), so I think this is a pretty good product.  However, the only reason i might purchase this over a good old bottle of Cutex is if I was traveling a lot, which I am not.  

The Balm Hot Mama:  This is a gorgeous blush, but the color is not something I would probably reach for very often in January.  The texture is great,  quite smooth.  It's a glowing, tangerine-coral color. Very pretty!

Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentré: This makeup artist favorite has a lovely, light texture.  It also seems very moisturizing from what I can tell by using it on the back of my hand.  I am very leery of using it on my face, though, since it contains mineral oil and stearic acid.  These two ingredients just don't seem to get along with my skin. Hmmmm...

Aerie Shimmer (Not Pictured):  I apologize in advance that I am not too great at fragrance reviews.  In the bottle, this smells a bit old lady.  After dabbing some on my wrists, I found the dry down to be rather nice...a bit of a woodsy vanilla.  Haha, see what I mean about fragrance reviews?