My first Birchbox! July Edition

To support my recent beauty addiction, I’ve decided to sign up to Birchbox. I’d read a lot of mixed reviews online first, but for £10 + p&p I thought it was worth a try – and with my first box’s arrival I was delightfully surprised!

The theme for July was ‘Sun, Sea & Sand’…

The box arrived about two days after I signed up, and I thought the packaging – a small but sturdy cardboard box with the products inside a drawstring cloth back – was adorable, and I totally plan to recycle this box the next time I have something small to ship. (Which will most likely be a birthday gift to my brother in a couple of weeks!)

Of July’s Sun, Sand & Sea theme Birchbox says: Remember when summer holidays used to stretch on for-ev-er?! We’re bringing a bit of that sun and fun back with your July Birchbox, celebrating glistening sea views and those beautiful sandy beaches that evoke the warmest season of the year.

And so I received Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream, Benefit POREfessional, Laqa & Co Sheer Lip Lube In Menatour (Purple), Number 4 Jour d’Automne Non Aerosol Hair Spray, Whish Three Whishes Lavender Body Butter and lifestyle extra Chia Shots (8g) by The Chia Co.

The first product I tried out of the box was actually the Chia Shots. I wasn’t sure what to think because I’d never tried chia seeds before, but I sprinkled approximately 4g (half the pack) over a bowl of hot porridge with a whole apple and banana chopped up into it.

Now, the flip side of that postcard in the picture says that chia seeds have virtually no taste – and after trying them in the porridge I can totally vouch for this – I didn’t even taste them! And if I’m getting a wee bit more protein into my diet and some added nutrients, then I’ll say that’s a good thing and I’m happy to do it again.
Next up was the Benefit POREfessional and Balance Me Under Eye Creme, both of which I’m using in the picture below.

However, not pictured in the picture below are my glasses. And whenever I wear them (which would be all the time except for just after I put on my makeup, which is when the picture below was taken) the skin at the bridge of my nose where my glasses rest gets a bit patchy. I also smile a lot, and my laugh lines tend to get patchy, too. This is something I’ve come to terms with, and whenever I say my makeup doesn’t ‘budge’ I mean that the rest of the makeup on my face hasn’t gone patchy or streaky.

Now, with POREfessional I still had a tiny big of movement with my laugh lines and at the bridge of my nose, but not nearly as much movement as I’ve seen with other primers. And it didn’t irritate my skin. Score! I’m absolutely in love with the Porefessional, which goes on super smooth and light and I thought my skin looked almost air brushes when I used it.

As for the Balance Me Eye Creme, I’m sorry to say that I’m still struggling to see just how eye products help me, but I suspect this is a learning curve because they’re still new to my daily routine. Regardless, my under eye area doesn’t look nearly as dark as it normally does, and my under eye concealer didn’t crease into the eensy weensy lines that I have under them (like it normally does when I don’t wear any eye creme) – so that’s a plus!

To complete this look I tried out the Laqa & Co Lip Lube, which quickly impressed. It went on smoothly, didn’t feel at all ‘heavy’ the way lipstick can and had a fabulous vibrant purple that met my expectations based on the product’s colour. The best bit? It’s surprisingly long-lasting. I wore it out on Saturday night, and after dinner and two pints the colour was still visible on my lips, though it had faded slightly. A quick re-application later and it was back to its bold stand-out beauty. Now, I’m not much of a hairspray person, but today I was running late and my hair needed a bit of ‘oomph’ and this was (as you may be surprised!) the only hairspray in my beauty arsenal. I decided to give it a whirl, spraying it lightly and scrunching my hair in the process. It lifted my curls and gave my hair a bit of body without feeling too crunchy or unnatural – just the way I like it. And lastly, the body butter. This is a tricky one for me to talk about because I don’t normally use moisturiser on my body (the skin on my torso and limbs is naturally soft – please don’t hate me!) but I’ve been trying several out to see if I noticed a difference. (More on that soon – it’s getting it’s very own post!) So with this one I’ll say: it smells awesome, it’s not heavy (can you tell that I don’t like to feel like I’ve got product on?) and it doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy. All good things in my book, so I’ll be tucking this into my handbag as an on-the-go moisturiser.