First up we have two matching brown bottles. They are both from Bain de Terre – one is the Macadamia Oil Nourishing Shampoo and the other, much to my shock and amazement, is the Macadamia Oil Nourishing Conditioner. It seems that sample boxes always send either conditioner or shampoo, but never both. I actually like that they have sent both because I like to start out by trying shampoos and conditioners together. Then, depending on the results, I will mix and match it with the closet full of other options I already have. They are also a nice size at 50mL/1.7fl oz each! J Both are paraben-free and include argan (or Moroccan) and Monoi oils for soft and silky hair. They small incredible! I haven’t tried them out yet, but I hope I love them because I love the scent – the ingredients should be beneficial too. The full sizes are a mid-priced $12 and $13.50, respectively. I’m not certain of their cruelty-free status, however.
Next is something from a company that I know is not cruelty-free. It is the Fake Up Hydrating Under Eye Concealer from Benefit. Not too excited about this because, aside from the fact that I won’t buy Benefit anymore, I can’t get the product to twist up so that it’s useable. Nothing like a baby sample that you can’t use even if you wanted to. The packaging is cute though.
On to the next product. It is from a company called Karuna and it is a cloth Clarifying Mask. I have a few sheet masks, but I still haven’t used any of them. This one sounds intriguing. I haven’t been able to determine the animal testing policies about this company yet either, but I could certainly use this mask lately. It is intended to “heal acne with ginger and Japanese green leaf.” My skin has been utterly unbearable lately – it literally hurts from all the pimples. L I’ll probably give this a shot and, if it helps, hopefully I will find that it is a cruelty-free company. Fingers crossed! J
Finally, instead of a Lifestyle Extra, BirchBox included what they’re calling a “Find” These are supposed to be “a mass market discovery we think is just plain awesome” and is included in addition to the usual samples. This month it is from Chapstick, which I believe is not cruelty-free, and it is the Hydration Lock in Vanilla Crème. Apparently this contains CoQ10 for 8 hours of moisture and a fuller and smoother appearance to lips. Not very exciting, but certainly a useful kind of sample. I probably will just stick to my current favorite lip balm and throw this into my over-stuffed drawer of untested balms.
Overall, I actually kind of liked this box. It didn’t include as many products as usual I don’t think, and half of them I really don’t want. Still, I really want to try the Bain de Terre products, and the mask is quite intriguing as well. That assumes that they’re cruelty-free of course! J Though BirchBox still isn’t my favorite, they do seem to be stepping things up a bit lately. What do you guys think? Getting better or still awful? I’d love to know! J Should you be interested in subscribing, you can join by using my referral link here, or just heading to the BirchBox website.
