Birchbox: The June Box discussion

[Snow24]

Originally Posted by peebeenjay /img/forum/go_quote.gif

here are some photos of the new BB samples and the card they sent with the package. old sample on the right, new samples on the left.

That is nothing like the replacement I received. They just sent me 2 of the original ones and no note card. When did you email them?

 

[peebeenjay]

Originally Posted by poopfruit /img/forum/go_quote.gif

ahh peebeenjay, your nails are really cute.

thank you! i just got them re-done today! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[erinkins]

WHAT THE HECK! They just sent me two of the tiny bottles with a dot in them... And they forgot to send it to me and I had to email them again. It's really really frustrating to me that they send different things to different people, and the same with telling people things. It's gotten out of hand. I really love Birchbox, but things like this makes me want to cancel...

Originally Posted by peebeenjay /img/forum/go_quote.gif

here are some photos of the new BB samples and the card they sent with the package. old sample on the right, new samples on the left.

 

[Scooby Dynamite]

Originally Posted by Bflopolska /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Not impressed. I got one of the pukey green ones. I think I remember reading about taking your small junk through airport security with these? Oh HELL no. It will end up being subjected to so many x-rays that it will bring forth mutant offspring. I'll use my puke-green one to keep my hair frackies and doodads so my cats don't turn them into hockey pucks, but I have no intention of actually buying any for myself. I don't see it lasting long, and if I want a keeper for my elastic thingies I might do better with a makeup bag from Dollar Tree.

Hair Frackies, LOL!! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[peebeenjay]

/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> sorry didn't mean to cause a fuss, im wondering if they got these samples in for june boxes and gave them out for the late replies. i emailed around june and i was surprised to get samples, i had heard at that point they were giving out points because they were gone. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Jess Bailey]

Originally Posted by astokes /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Has anyone tried the Borghese Crema Saponetta Cleansing Bar yet?

I want to buy it, but I can't find reviews anywhere.

(It was in Box 5 & 22)

i got box 5 (i'll spare you my complaints) and have tried the cleansing bar. i think it smells REALLY good and while my skin does feel a bit tight when i first get out of the shower, it does feel clean. once i dry off, i start to feel "softer". the scent doesn't seem to linger on me at all which makes me sad because i do like it. i use it with my loofa and get a nice, rich lather.  

i have not tried it on my face.

 

[mjbono]

Birchbox has officially lost me as a subscriber. I subscribed in February and got march's box. Everything went fine. But April's box got lost in the mail/there was a problem with the shipping. They sent me a replacement box, and it was fine. Well the same thing happened with May, and now June. I don't really understand how they can ship my first box, but lose all the other ones, and it really frustrates me. I email them about it every month but it takes them a while to get back to me, so I decided to call tuesday thinking that my problem would be fixed faster. I was wrong. The woman I spoke to said she would keep an eye on my tracking information for another 24 hours to see if it would update and if it didn't she would send out a replacement box. I should have known right then that she wouldn't fix it. So now it's saturday and I still haven't received my birchbox. I just sent them an email. This is the last time I'm going to deal with this mess.

 

[arendish]

Oh, man. I'm sold on the Stainiac. I'll be buying it once my sample runs out. I put it on yesterday before work (around 5:00) and I woke up and my lips are still pink.

I also love the rose water, but if I buy it, it will be the lavender water.

 

[Meggpi]

Trip Report: did the tanning towels first thing this morning.  For reference I am very fair and very cool toned and pink, but I DO tan pretty dark naturally.  I had amazing results!  I tried taking pictures but honestly couldn't figure out how to get lighting to show skin color accurately so I binned them.  I usually prefer self-tanning lotion to towels/spray, mostly because you can blend in lotion instead of it drying quickly.  What I did was exfoliated (finally a use for my stupid Julep glycolic hand scrub, just used it on my body and something more gentle on my face) really well and schlopped on a ton of moisturizer.  When it was nearly absorbed I used the towel, starting on my legs and arms, to the chest, to my face, then using the little bit that is left to lightly brush the tops of my feet.  Since I had moisturizer on I actually used my hands to blend it.  Old trick, after I washed my hands and scrubbed between my fingers I very carefully used the towel to rub the backs of my hands so I don't look like I've got sleeves on.  It dried very quickly and developed very bronze, and doesn't smell nearly as bad as a lot I've used.

As much as I like the way it looks (for summer at least) it reminded me why I stopped using self-tanners--to get great results it is an entire process.

 

[ashleyanner]

So I used the self-tanning wipes last night and only on my legs (I only wear jeans, so it'd be alright if I turned out orange!).  Started with the right and was thinking that it was going pretty well....got to my left and noticed the towel was starting to get really dry.  I waited the three hours and noticed a little color change, mostly on my knees.  Woke up this morning and BAM! my right leg looks waaaay darker than the left and I apparently missed some spots (kinda looking like a backwards dalmatian today).

  The color is nice and probably the most "natural" fake tan I've ever tried, but I don't think one towel would work for your whole body...I'm gonna have to whip out #2 and even out the color a little bit.  And I'm not quite sure how to keep the towel from drying out as I'm applying.  Other than that, I don't think they're too terribly bad and they were the one thing in my box I wasn't excited about at all....so once again BB, you've done your job right and introduced me to something that was a pretty good.  Just thought I'd share my experience with them as a person in the "pale as heck" club.

 

[BFaire06]

I am having problems with the stainiac- I know everyone loves it so maybe I am just applying it wrong?  It works great on my lips but when I put it on my cheeks ( I started by doing the little dots and bldending) if you look close up in the mirror you can see all the little dots.  Do other people have this problem??

 

[StillPooh]

I'm not even gonna try Stainiac on my cheeks; I know I wouldn't care for the results!

 

[phoebehearts]

I'm bummed because either the Stainiac or Stila HD BB cream has made me break out on my cheeks. I'm thinking its the Staniniac since its right on the apples of my cheeks and I hardly ever break out. I'll give the stain one more try after my face clears up

 

[meaganola]

So I just made up a little game for myself:  Dream June Birchbox!  The rules, which are an attempt to replicate the apparent rules that went into making this month's box (and I think I'll be trying to do this from now on with the rules adjusted as appropriate if there appears to be a different rule in another month, like the time everyone got either a Zoya polish or a stila eyeliner depending on whether you had received Zoya before):

• Contains five or six items (the shampoo/conditioner packets -- Kelly Van Gogh, Oribe -- count as one item together for the purpose of this game)
• One must be a perfume (I hate them, but since they put them in just about every box, I added this to the list of rules)
• One must be a lifestyle extra
• Only one makeup item (Stainiac not counted as makeup in this particular box) allowed (although it can be excluded)
• Only one item with SPF allowed (although it can be excluded as well)
• Stainiac must be one of the items
• These must be things I'm curious enough to want to try but would most likely not bother buying them (so while I want the Band-Aids, I would buy them if they were at Target, so they're not allowed on this list)

My choices:

• BORGHESE Botanico Eye Compresses -- I'm just curious about these.  I don't use eye compresses, but if I could try them in a box, I would give them a shot.
• Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45+ -- My Waterfuse sample was usable, and I did like it enough to consider getting a full-sized version, but I'm super curious about this one and would love to try it before deciding which one to get.
• Joya Âmes SÅ“urs Parfum - A Scent of Soulmates -- I've been putting a plea for oil-based (rather than alcohol-based) scents in every single perfume review, and this one appears to be oil-based.
• Melvita Floral Water -- It just sounds interesting.  I want to pick out a scent to specify here, but they all sound like good choices!  Maybe Orange Blossom simply because I tend to gravitate towards that as a perfume note over rose and lavender.
• Modcloth Headband -- I'm growing my hair out because fitting a haircut into my schedule annoys me, and I'm going through a bit of a headband phase right now because I hate it when my hair touches my forehead.  I want to put the Tili bag on here, too, because I use zippered bags *all the time* (they're fantastic for corralling small objects in my backpack and desk at work!), but I try to buy the fun seasonal zippered bags (summer, Halloween, Christmas) whenever Target has them, so the headband goes in the lifestyle slot because I already have a solid number of zippered bags even if these *are* much heavier-weight than the bags I already have.
• theBalm® cosmetics Stainiac -- It was in every box this month, so it had to be in this one.  As a side note, I've actually been trying it out, and I love it.  I would consider buying a full-sized version, but I get multiple boxes, which means I'll be getting multiple stains, so I'll just stick with the samples until they run out.

And this is what I did this morning instead of cleaning my apartment.

 

[iugirl13]

Originally Posted by ashleyanner /img/forum/go_quote.gif

So I used the self-tanning wipes last night and only on my legs (I only wear jeans, so it'd be alright if I turned out orange!).  Started with the right and was thinking that it was going pretty well....got to my left and noticed the towel was starting to get really dry.  I waited the three hours and noticed a little color change, mostly on my knees.  Woke up this morning and BAM! my right leg looks waaaay darker than the left and I apparently missed some spots (kinda looking like a backwards dalmatian today).

  The color is nice and probably the most "natural" fake tan I've ever tried, but I don't think one towel would work for your whole body...I'm gonna have to whip out #2 and even out the color a little bit.  And I'm not quite sure how to keep the towel from drying out as I'm applying.  Other than that, I don't think they're too terribly bad and they were the one thing in my box I wasn't excited about at all....so once again BB, you've done your job right and introduced me to something that was a pretty good.  Just thought I'd share my experience with them as a person in the "pale as heck" club.

 I did the same thing! I woke up this morning with splotches everywhere. It was like I had missed parts of my legs and arms. I broke the second towelette out and put the color on the white spots hoping to get everything even looking. I'm really hoping it gets to looking better but if not I have Coppertone lotion that is the same color that I can use.

 

[astokes]

Originally Posted by Jess Bailey /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Quote: Originally Posted by astokes /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Has anyone tried the Borghese Crema Saponetta Cleansing Bar yet?

I want to buy it, but I can't find reviews anywhere.

(It was in Box 5 & 22)
i got box 5 (i'll spare you my complaints) and have tried the cleansing bar. i think it smells REALLY good and while my skin does feel a bit tight when i first get out of the shower, it does feel clean. once i dry off, i start to feel "softer". the scent doesn't seem to linger on me at all which makes me sad because i do like it. i use it with my loofa and get a nice, rich lather.  

i have not tried it on my face.

Glad to know it's a good product. I just ordered it. : )

 

[CourtneyB]

That's a cute game, and when I have time to sit down and look at everything that came in boxes, I'll make my own list!

How do y'all apply the staniac to your lips? For me, it always manages to go to the outer part of my lips, and it's not a good look. And it makes my lips REALLY dry. Tips?

 

[meaganola]

Originally Posted by thewendyyybird /img/forum/go_quote.gif

That's a cute game, and when I have time to sit down and look at everything that came in boxes, I'll make my own list!

How do y'all apply the staniac to your lips? For me, it always manages to go to the outer part of my lips, and it's not a good look. And it makes my lips REALLY dry. Tips?

I start on the inside of my lips and kind of dab it on, avoiding the outer part.  After it starts to dry/set, *then* I swipe it out to the edges of my lips, and I don't blot since the whole point of this stuff is for the color to sink into your skin.  I just make sure that the coverage looks as even as possible.  It's a stain, not a balm, and I find that I always need something on top of stains, so after it dries completely (it just takes a few minutes), I use balm/gloss on top.  

ETA: I was doing a little research on the Band-Aids item that Birchbox has in their store, and there's more to it than just a box of Band-Aids.  If it's the same one available through drugstore.com and Amazon, the Beach Sport Kit portion has four packets of Neosporin, what appears to be a sturdy vinyl zippered pouch, and a box of waterproof Band-Aids.  It's still overpriced (Amazon has it minus the boxes we got in our boxes for $7.14, so it still be under ten bucks if you added $2.50 for the additional box in the Birchbox set since it's the Beach Sport Kit *plus* the black box some of us received in June's Birchbox), but it's not $15 for *a* box of Band-Aids.

 

[Scooby Dynamite]

Concerning the tanning towels. I did a test last night on fresh shaved and moisturized legs..well, one leg /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I used one towel on one whole leg from toes to butt cheek lol, and rubbed my entire leg with the one towel until the towel became dry and scrunched up from application. This morning i have an even, bronze tan on that leg with no streaks or spots. I believe this is key to an even application. Meaning if i chose to buy and use them, i would use three towels on myself for an even tan. One for each leg and one for my arms and upper body. I just cant see trying to use one or even two to achieve an even application. Today, i plan to use the other towel on the same leg, as a test to see how bronzy two applications will make the tan just for fun /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Ill have to sit down and calculate how much it would cost me per tan, using three towels at a time, and how long the color lasts, to fgure out if i think it would be worth it to purchase them. Its been fun trying them out though, my right leg looks super sexy lol!!

 

[Scooby Dynamite]

Originally Posted by Scooby384 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Concerning the tanning towels. I did a test last night on fresh shaved and moisturized legs..well, one leg

I used one towel on one whole leg from toes to butt cheek lol, and rubbed my entire leg with the one towel until the towel became dry and scrunched up from application. This morning i have an even, bronze tan on that leg with no streaks or spots. I believe this is key to an even application. Meaning if i chose to buy and use them, i would use three towels on myself for an even tan. One for each leg and one for my arms and upper body. I just cant see trying to use one or even two to achieve an even application. Today, i plan to use the other towel on the same leg, as a test to see how bronzy two applications will make the tan just for fun

Ill have to sit down and calculate how much it would cost me per tan, using three towels at a time, and how long the color lasts, to fgure out if i think it would be worth it to purchase them. Its been fun trying them out though, my right leg looks super sexy lol!!

A picture of my tan! This is after using one whole towel on my right leg only. 

Yikes! Thighs! LOL!