Birchbox: June 2012

YAY! My Birchbox arrived! The tracking kept telling me that it wouldn't get here until Monday which is crazy. Birchbox really tried to keep people from taking a first peek at the boxes this month, haha. Btw, the is the earliest I've ever received a box o.O

Seems like all the boxes are picking up a travel theme this month. Birchbox specially customized the inside of the outer packaging. Cute.

I really like my box this month! It has a variety of items and most importantly they're items I can use.

1. the Balm Cosmetics Staniac- Beauty Queen: leaves a lasting stain on lips and cheeks. Since it’s water-based, it has a longer setting time than most quick-dry stains, which means it won’t leave any unsightly streaks behind as long as you take care to blend well. Use a single coat for a subtle look or layer it on for a more visible (yet still discrete) hue.

It's on the left side (cheek too)

• Sooo excited to see this. After seeing the Sneek Peek vid, this immediately popped up as the item I wanted to try (and the mask)
• Gel. When I took the wand out, it actually left an imprint inside the gel where it was.
• My color is Beauty Queen. It's the one I wanted most, I didn't want a warm toned one as those don't go well with my skin tone. Prom Queen is lighter and has less impact so.. I'm happy!
• It takes a minute to fully dry and set, so you can manipulate the gel better and try to get it to streak less. The color also darkens as it dries (which I found out). I recommend to put on a layer first, then let it dry to see if you actually need more product. Otherwise you will end up with a very dramatic effect.
• Sheer (but buildable). You don't have to worry about accidentally putting too much on and looking like a clown. 
• Tingled/ itched a bit when I first applied, but not as bad as the Revlon Just Bitten. There must be something in these tints that I'm slightly allergic to.
• Comes off with water.

• Some may want to separate lip tube vs cheek tube- although I guess that defeats the purpose. 
• If you don't have a tint yet, I highly recommend this one. It's not too expensive, and it goes on sheer (harder to mess up)
• Full sized .3 oz $17, sample size .04 fl oz worth $2.27

2. Apothederm Stretch Mark Cream- The lush cream tones and reduces the look of both ancient and recent stretch marks alike. Four natural moisturizers—olive oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and meadowfoam seed oils—leave skin wondrously soft. Meanwhile, the unique SmartPeptide™ system increases collagen production, while licorice root and antioxidant-rich resveratrol fade discoloration. A dose of hyaluronic acid helps with long-lasting hydration.

•  Last month Sample Society gave us Strivectin, and now BB has come out with Apothederm. I just need to get one to work
• This one is a lotion but doesn't have added fragrance. It smells.. like a plain lotion.
• The bottle is half full. 
• It's to be applied twice a day. I think that's why these things are hard for me to see results with. I have a hard time remembering to apply once a day, much less twice. At this point, I'd be happy if these samples can fade my smaller stretch marks away.
• Full size 5.7 oz $89.95, sample size .7 oz worth $11.05

3. Scalisi Anti-Aging Moisturizer Broad Spectrum spf 30- This moisturizer uses innovative peptide technology you won’t find anywhere else—it tricks your skin into thinking a wrinkle is a cut so collagen production increases to “heal” the wrinkle. Genius, right? Add White Tea Extract for radiance and soy proteins rich in amino acids to boost cell regeneration, and you’ve got yourself an anti-aging powerhouse. the faintly floral scent is a far cry from eau de SPF.

• Pump applicator
• Rather than floral, I think it smells like sunscreen. Like the BeFine from a couple boxes ago. It has the same slightly more liquid lotion texture too.
• I'm pretty much hoping something will work on my microwrinkles. After a year and a half of using the Missha moisturizer, I'm sure it's a sham.
• Full size 1.7 oz $110, sample size .2 oz worth $12.94

4. Clean Well Hand Sanitizing Wipes- These alcohol-free wipes use thyme oil, a natural anti-bacterial, plus super hydrating aloe vera.

• To be honest, I thought these were the lifestyle extra. Guess not.
• Citrus-lemony scent.
• I used these to wipe off the cheek tint above and they do a pretty good job without drying out my face (soft too).
• I was kind of ehhhh about these at first, but the individual wipe thing is actually pretty handy. I usually try to grab some food while waiting for the train, and after touching everywhere on public transit a wipe is definitely a good idea. Not sure about the price though =/
• Full size 10 ct $3.98, sample size 2 ct worth $.80

5. Band Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages- Cynthia Rowley

• I got bandaids in my Birchbox o.O
• They seem to just be a design printed on, not actually decked out in sequins.
• They look skinnier than normal bandaids (sport?), and there are two sizes
• Full size 40ct $14, sample size 20ct worth $7

6. John Varvatos Star USA- The manly scent combines red ginger essence from Laos, juniper berries and cedrat from Sicily, blue spruce, green cardamom, osmanthus, vetyvert, belambre, and tonka bean from Venezuela.

• It's another one of those sharp fresh business like fragrances that I wouldn't mind smelling on someone in the elevator.
• Fades to a less strong scent pretty quickly, but up close you can still smell it.
• Full size 1.7 oz $55, sample size .04 fl oz worth $1.29

Overall Box Value: ~$35.35

The big ticket items were mostly the Anti-Aging Cream and Stretch Cream. The Stainiac was also something I really wanted to try. The rest are extras?

As much as I like my items this month, I'm happy I cut it down to one Birchbox again.

Wonder what's in the other boxes...