This month’s Birchbox theme is Away We Go, celebrating everything that makes summer getaways magical, whether you’re counting down to a fun-packed fortnight away from home or day-tripping your weekends away.  Whatever your holiday plans may be Birchbox have your travel essentials sorted in this very handy travel toiletry bag.  The toiletry bag is cute, I love how they have replaced the drawstring bag for this month with this handy bag.  It has three cute blue, yellow and green ice lollies on one side, it is just ideal for putting in your hand luggage or popping into your beachbag.  The only problem I find with it is that it keeps opening, the seal isn’t very strong when you close it.

Birchbox is £10 + £2.95 P&P a month, or you can subscribe for 6 or 12 months, which would save some money.  But I prefer not being tied into a subscription and being able to cancel at any time.  Each month you receive approximately 5 beauty samples and an added lifestyle product, and they all come in a handy drawstring bag.  You also receive Birchbox points for each box you receive, and then if you fill in surveys for each product you have been sent you get more points.  100 Birchbox points are worth £10 to spend in the e-store, which is probably one of the best parts of being subscribed to this beauty box.

Number 4 – Super Comb Prep & Protect

This is a 30ml sample worth £3, full size is 200ml for £20.  This is a leave-in conditioning spray which detangles and protects against heat and sun damage.  It is always handy to take a leave-in conditioner away with you on holiday, especially if you are in the sun all day.  I always need something to protect my hair from drying out in the sun to stop it drying out.  This comes in a handy travel sized bottle with a spray nozzle which makes it easy to use.  You spray this onto damp hair before drying and styling.  I also find these handy to use when I come out of the sea, as I find the sea water dries my hair out and if you can’t wash it straight away while you are on the beach, then this can be handy to help prevent it from drying out.

Nude – Progenius Omega Treatment Oil

This is a 5ml sample worth £9.66, full size is 30ml for £58.  This is a nourishing oil which is rich in omegas 3, 6, 7 and 9 and helps hydrate, nourish and smooth skin.  Simply warm 2-3 drops in your hand and apply to your face after cleansing and before moisturising, or before applying foundation for a smoother application.  Use this product daily to increase your skin’s natural radiance.  This makes my skin feel nice and soft and absorbs in nicely, but I should hope so for a product with this price tag!  Don’t think I will be spending that much on the full sized product.

Vasanti – BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator

This is a 20g sample worth £4.33, full size is 120ml for £26.  This is a multi-action exfoliator which ensures a renewed and refreshed complexion.  Brightens with powerful papaya enzymes to give radiance, exfoliates with dermatologist grade micro-crystals and gently cleanses with aloe vera, coconut and panthenol.  The papaya enzymes break down dead cells while evening out your skin tone.  This is definitely a product I will be using before and while I am on holiday to keep my skin looking fresh and radiant.  To use this exfoliator use 3-5 times a week, wet skin and apply a pea sized amount of the product over your face and massage in, the rinse off with warm water.

Supergoop! Daily Correct SPF 35 CC Cream

If you got this in your Birchbox then you got two mini 3ml samples.  So the total 6ml is worth £4, full size is 47ml for £32.  This seems a bit expensive for a CC cream to me, especially when in America this seems to be $32, so I don’t know if Birchbox has just got their prices wrong, but I can not check as I can’t find anywhere in the UK that sells it.  I got the colour light to medium and I think this will work for me quite well, it blends easily and doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry.  I just wish that this was a larger sample as I don’t think two 3ml tubes is going to last me very long, or be enough for me to trial sufficiently to make a decision on whether I would buy the full size product.  It is a natural shade adjusting CC cream with SPF, it helps to smooth fine lines and even out skin tone, so this makes it ideal for a variety of skin tones.

Wild About Beauty – Creme Eyeshadow – Matilda

This is Full Size and is worth £13.  This is a long lasting, satin finish shadow from Louise Redknapp and Kim Jacob’s paraben free range.  You can apply this with your finger tips or a brush and blend, I tend to prefer using my finger tips to apply creme eyeshadow and then blending with a brush.  You can also use this over powder shadow for a more intense finish.  When I first opened this I thought it would be too dark for me, but when you apply it and blend it it looks like a nice dark bronzey brown and it also has a subtle shimmer to it.  I love the colour and it would look really nice used for a smokey eye.  It feels very nice and light when applied to the eyelid, and you can build the colour up nicely.  You can tell this is a high quality creme shadow and I love the mirror which is in the lid.  The packaging feels like a high end product, I am so glad I get to add this to my make-up collection.

Lifestyle Extra – The Proposal by Tasmina Perry

This is a bit of a different lifestyle extra for a beauty box, it is one chapter of the book ‘The Proposal’ by Tasmina Perry, the full book is available at the Birchbox store for £7.99.  This is a spellbinding and romantic novel, which spans 1950s London and present day NYC.  This isn’t really the type of book I would normal read, I prefer crime, thriller and horror books, but I will probably give it a try as it is only one chapter.  I can see how it is a good idea, and gives you a taster to see if it is something you would be interested in reading.  I can not value this though, as it is a bit hard to value a book that has one chapter.

Overall I am actually quite happy with this month’s box.  I love the handy toiletry bag included in this box, it will be great for when I go on holiday next month.  This month’s box was worth £33.99 (excluding the book sample), this is more than my box was worth last month.  I will use everything in my box so nothing will go to waste, which is always good.

If you want to subscribe to Birchbox and give them a try, you can do so by clicking HERE.

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