May Birchbox: Gossip Girl Edition

As soon as I heard that Birchbox was going to teaming up with Gossip Girl for their May box, I was all over that! I haven’t watched GG in a long time, but I absolutely adored the fashionable, chic and glamorous style that frequently appeared. Because of this excitement and expectation of glitz and glamour, I decided to sign up for a second box.

I’m a sucker for packaging, and this did not fail to impress! I love the chic sleeve that this month’s Birchboxes came in.

This is the box I got on the second account that I opened up and the theme was Chic Sunday Brunch. It came with the standard little card that described the theme of the month and the items inside (top right), a card with information about the Gossip Girl trivia sweepstakes (bottom card), and a plain note card and envelope (top left) for sending out a sweet little handwritten note.

Now! On to the actual items of the box. Here are the items I got in my Chic Sunday Brunch box (from L-R):

• Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25+: I was one of the lucky ones who got a tube that actually had enough in it for multiple applications. I was able to get 5 full-face applications out of this, and I absolutely love it! It applies smoothly and evenly and it only took a pea sized amount to cover my entire face. It didn’t look like I had caked on makeup, but it still did a really nice job of covering up blemishes and acne scars. Plus, this has SPF in it, which is definitely going to be necessary for a pasty lady such as myself in coming months. A full size of this retails for $32.
• Ojon Volume Advance Volumizing Shampoo: I’ll be honest–I haven’t tried this yet. I still have some full-sized shampoo that I need to get through first, and then this stuff will be up. Fear not! I have a few first impressions to share with you, though. It smells nice, which is good. I’m always looking for volumizing hair products since my hair can fall flat quite a bit. One thing that bugs me though: where’s the conditioner?! I really prefer to test drive shampoo and conditioner together so that I can get a feel for things. Hopefully Birchbox will pair them up in the future. A full size of this retails for $22.
• Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm: As far as value goes, this teeny little jar is fantastic! It’s half the size of the full one, which means that this little bad boy is worth over $30! The full size goes for $65, so it’s a very generous sample. Now, on to the actual product. It glides on, blends and absords smoothly. I think I can see a tiny difference in my under eye circles, but I’m not sure. This is one product that I think I’ll pass on purchasing after I finish the sample. I love my it’s potent! from Benefit, and it costs considerably less.
• Color Club Foil Collection in Disco Nap: This is a very, very pretty color! Kind of almost like a silvery gold. I do love that it dried quickly, but unfortunately, the application was a tad bit streaky and it chipped, even with a top coat. Even though it was a nice color, it didn’t blow me away like other polish colors have. A full size retails for $8.

Okay, done with that box! This is my second May Birchbox and this is from my main account that I’ve had for 9 months now.

The cards are very similar to the cards in the previous box. You have your card that explains the theme and the items included, the card with the trivia contest information (I flipped it over in this shot so you could see the questions) and the xoxo card and envelope. One complaint: can you see the tiny white splotch on the front of the note card? Kind of disappointing. I haven’t emailed Birchbox about it or anything, but I might. It would be nice to have a card without the flaws on it.

This box’s theme is Black Tie Ball, and I absolutely loved everything in there!

• Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF 20 in Glow: At first when I found out I was getting this, I was just so meh about it. I don’t need that! It’s too sparkly! It’s too dark! I heard myself saying things just like that, but once I actually slathered some on my skin, I quickly changed my tune. I put this on my legs, and I’ve gotta say, this is indeed a miracle product! I have extremely pasty legs (I’m a pasty gal, whaddya know) and they can frequently look ghostly white and extremely dull. This gave them a nice shimmery glow and even better–it helped mask some imperfections on my legs. My legs are prone to getting beat up–cuts, bruises, and my knobby knees are this weird gray color. Attractive, right? Not exactly the kind of thing that you want to put out on display with skirts and shorts during the hot summer months. This stuff helps bring some life into my ghost legs and banishes the gross imperfections into another dimension. A full size retails for $34.
• Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo: If you had asked me last month to buy a $55 shampoo, I would have called you totally cray-cray. But this glorious little sample changed my mind about expensive hair care. After I used this, my hair felt clean, bouncy, soft, smelled absolutely amazing and despite its length and thickness, it dried very, very quickly. I absolutely adore this shampoo, and it’s going onto my “splurge” list for the future. I can’t see myself buying this very often because of the price, but maybe once in a blue moon, for a special occasion, I’ll buy it.
• Dior Miss Dior: I actually have this perfume in the full 3.4 oz size, and it’s lovely! I got it for Christmas from my mom a few years ago, and it quickly shot to the list of my favorites. It smells fun and youthful, but sophisticated at the same time. $102 for 3.4 oz.
• Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara in Black: I’ve been hunting for the perfect mascara for ages, and this might just be it. I’ve battled clumpiness, wetness, flakes, smudging, and all kinds of other mascara-related issues during this search. This mascara adds volume, length but it looks and feels totally and completely natural. And, there’s no smudging, so don’t worry about those raccoon eyes! A full size retails for $28.50.

The Final Verdict: Birchbox knocked it out of the park for me! I loved the products. I was familiar with a few, and I met some others that are becoming fast favorites. A few issues though: I do think this box was overhyped. Birchbox really built this one up, and I think a lot of people were expecting products and themes that were more glamorous. Also, unlike previous months, Birchbox isn’t allowing people to review the note cards, which is a bit odd, considering they’re up for sale on the site AND we’ve been able to review the “extras” for points in previous months. So, since most of us were only able to review 4 items, that means the points payoff was lower than in other months.

Did you get a May Birchbox? What’d you get, and what’d you think of it? If you’re interested in trying BB, you can sign up for it HERE.

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Okay, time to ‘fess up and be honest–I broke my no-buy for the MAC Hey, Sailor! collection. But the good news is that I lasted 25 days before I broke it! Time to reboot and pursue round 2. Also, question: If I picked up a couple of items from this month’s Birchbox that would be perfect for summer, is that considered breaking my no-buy again? I got my 20% off code AND I have some points I can use. If I wait until I get my 12 month discount, summer will be over!

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Upcoming Posts:

• MAC Hey, Sailor Collection: swatches and review
• Urban Decay and Zoya haul: this is an old haul from over a month ago, but I thought I’d share
• Counterfeit MAC products: I got burned pretty bad in a trade on Makeup Talk (I got sent all fake MAC items!), so I’m going to do a post about fake MAC cosmetics.
• MAC Tres Cheek Collection: swatches and review
• Free Target beauty bag
• May’s Look Bag
• May US Glossybox

Enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend!

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