Wednesday, February 12, 2014

February '14 Birchbox!


I don't even know why I bother putting an exclamation point at the end of my Birchbox post titles anymore since I'm far from excited about them. The past few (more?) months have been less than thrilling and the boxes just don't seem to be getting any better. As far as I can tell Birchbox gets this same type of feedback from many of their customers (reading through the comments on their latest sneak peek video has been a treat) so I know it's not just me… which means that this is a company that only cares about the money they're making rather than the happiness of their customers; pretty disgusting if you ask me.

That opening paragraph was thoroughly enticing I'm sure (please note the heavy sarcasm coating that sentence), so let's jump right into this month's box shall we?



Same old card, filled with the typical blah blah blah; read if you'd like but don't expect anything remotely helpful or uplifting therein.



First off we have a hair oil which, truth be told, would be exciting if it wasn't for the stupid rippy crap packet that it's housed in. It'll be a mess if there's enough oil inside to constitute saving it for multiple uses though there's no way of knowing how much oil is actually inside of this cardboard abomination… I know it says "0.1 oz" on the front but whether or not I believe that (because of Birchbox's track record with deceiving sample sizes [just wait for one of the products below to see for yourself]) is completely up in the air. Shenanigans!


Next up we have a bar of soap. Yup… a freaking bar of soap. Most likely an employee at Birchbox nabbed a handful of these for free at a hotel on their most recent excursion to find the best deluxe sized beauty samples in the land (THE SARCASM IN THAT LAST BIT THOUGH, IT'S OVERWHELMING) and then scattered them into poor customer's boxes this month but hey what do I know; I'm merely the victim of something I can only imagine is a joke under the guise of reality. I'd be a little more okay with this soap, I suppose, if I didn't have a cat but since I do I don't really like the thought of leaving a bar of poison laying around for him to lick/devour. Ugh.



As much as I hate getting perfume samples in my Birchboxes (I could literally walk into a Sephora and get one [heck, why stop there, I could get twenty if I asked for them!] myself for free, no questions asked) but I have a great track record with Juicy Couture fragrances (Viva la Juicy, La Fleur, and Couture La La are favorites of mine) so I was excited to give this one a go. Sadly it's just not for me! It's got the 'typical' base notes that Juicy Couture puts into their perfumes but the top and middle notes are far too heavy and cloyingly sweet for me to handle. 



Upon first glance this little tube actually looks like a deluxe sample; joy!… except not because the minute you hold it up to the light you can see that it's hardly even half filled with product. Thanks for the tube of deception Birchbox! So sweet of you. Either way I suppose I'm always up for trying out a new highlighter but I think I'm just so mad in general with this box that I can't even appreciate it for the miracle it may end up being. Time will tell I suppose! 



And last but not least we have what may be the cutest little bottle of nail polish I ever did see. Seriously, take a second to ignore the horrendous state of my nails (I took my Birchbox rage out on my current polish and picked it to oblivion) and look at how stinking adorable this bottle of O.P.I. Top Coat is. Unfortunately that's where the excitement ends for me because, as much as I love polish and O.P.I., what the h*ll am I going to do with an orange tinted top coat??? How, in any way shape or form, is a sheer wash of orange going to make my nails look anything other than diseased? May as well have made it yellow and called it a day because I can guarantee I will get no use out of this polish, adorable as it may be.

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

So there you have it folks: this month's box is pretty much the reason why I'm 99% positive I won't be renewing my subscription to Birchbox when the time comes in March. I wish I could be happier about things but I'm no fool and can clearly see when I've been played as such. Bugger!

Are you subscribed to Birchbox?
What did you get in your box this month?
Aren't subscribed to Birchbox?
Is there anything you wish you could have received?
Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie

21 comments:

  1. Oh I hear ya! I have been pretty unsatisfied lately with BB too. The point you made about perfume samples...agreed, all the way! Barely filled sample tubes...what is up with that?! Speaking of, my Feb box had a tube of Coola matte mineral sunscreen that was foil sealed yet only had a pea sized amount poop out leaving the tube empty! I also got a chubby vial of hair oil (cotton candy scented, but has cones), Ruby Wing np mini, mini Smashbox mascara (nice), and a pathetic card from Smashbox containing a one time use coating of 10 eyeshadow shades from the new palette. I much rather have a tiny pan of one single shade. On the upside, BB has very good customer service, in that they will make good on any issues regarding damaged, defective, etc items. Often the icing on the cake is that usually give 100pts for the trouble...so they have that gooing for them at least.

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    1. I wanted one of those ruby wing polishes so badly!!! Oh well you win some you lose some haha. And I totally agree about the eyeshadow cards that they put in some people's boxes; one mini one would be so much better! They do have VERY good customer service and points system but I'm just not sure it's going to be enough to keep me as a customer :/

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  2. oh man! this post was so refreshing to read :) you are too funny! i gave up birchbox a long time ago because their samples weren't all that great. and let's talk about that soap for a minute.. i mean yeah its not too fun to get a bar of soap.. the least they could've done was maybe give you a bar of soap shaped like a heart or something.. to make it somewhat cute and appealing. lol i'm sorry that this month is such a let down :( the only thing that birchbox really has is the points system but in general i think ipsy is a way better value as far as the products they usually send, and if you don't like something like hairspray samples ( i hate those) and review the bag letting them know, no more hairspray samples :) great post!

    www.dianamechelle.com

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    1. Hahah I'm glad you enjoyed it Diana! And yeah I agree that they points system is their BIG big plus that Birchbox has going for them. I've always been tempted to join ipsy but I just have wayyyyy too much makeup as is and feel like I would never use the stuff they send me/it would go to waste :(

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  3. As much as I liked my Birchbox from last month... this one just seems disappointing! I hate getting those cardboard/plastic sample packets as well. Unsure what else to say, as I feel like I am rubbing your Birchbox misery in your face (first world problems, haha).

    xx becky / star-violet.com

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    1. Well, I just got my Birchbox today. Disappointing as well, hoping for a better March box ;__;

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    2. Ugh sorry to hear yours was a disappointment as well Becky. I'm hoping March will be better as well but my expectations are very very low at this point...

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  4. Ugh, I have to agree. This month's box is a TOTAL let down. Again. I think I may fully commit to Ipsy and cancel my Birchbox after this crap... after I cash in my points of course.

    xo Glazed Over

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    1. Yup, a total box of yuck-no-thanks. Cashing in them points though is the best feeling everrrrrrr haha!

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  5. I just heard about OPI's sheer tints and honestly I cannot see any point to them. Sure if you put them on without polish it'll look like you have smokers nails.

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    1. Yeah they seriously puzzle me… I don't understand them at all!

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  6. Eeeek. I love Juicy fragrances by the way. But that Birchbox is almost an insult. I got that Agave sample from Sephora for free last month. Not to mention fragrance samples are always free. The value of this box is terrible. Are thinking of unsubbing?

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    1. Yup you pretty much summed it up Coco! And yeah at the end of the post I said I'm pretty positive I'm unsubscribing… I just can't waste my money on this crap anymore!! :(

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  7. I got my first Birchbox today and while it had some nice things in it my perfume sample arrived broken. They do have amazing customer service though! They are sending me another entire box immediately and gave me 10 bucks on their site so I think I'm going to give them another try. You can look at what I got if your curious. http://beautymadnessforever.blogspot.com/

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    1. Yup they really do have amazing customer service and a wonderful points system but sadly it doesn't make up for their lack of a good overall product in general though :/

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  8. yanno, it's gotten to the point where I'm actually expecting a let down with Birchbox and am pleasantly surprised when I'm not. I just got my February box today, and although I got the same sample of Juicy perfume you did, the rest of my items were different - a 1.2 aerosol can of Serge Normant Dry Conditioner with aragon oil. (I'm interested to try that); the cutest little 0.1 oz glass jar of Benefit "It's Potent" eye cream; a tiny pan of "universalist colorstick" that is supposed to be an eyes/cheeks/lips product in the shade "dusty rose" and a foil packet of benefit's "the big easy" 'complexion perfector' (CC cream?) in the shade 03 light/medium. So for this month I'm actually pleased with the products themselves, just rolling my eyes at some of the miniscule sample sizes. Are you still subscribed to ipsy? I LOVED what I got from them this month! :-)

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    1. Haha I know it's sad that it's just expectant for the box to be bad… definitely not how it's supposed to work! Sounds like you got some good samples this month though so good for you :D And I've actually never been subscribed to ipsy; I've always wanted to but since they mostly send out makeup I just don't think it would be right for me since I hate having tons of extra/never-going-to-use products laying around (says the hoarder haha).

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    2. yeah, makeup, but it was actually pretty good stuff like facial scrubs that I've LOVED, and I've gotten three different Zoya nail lacquers from Ipsy, plus a couple others from different brands, some false eyelashes (what?!?), makeup brushes, and body lotions that were great - and even though I've never purchased anything from either ipsy or birchbox, I seriously thing ipsy is worth the money and the experience. (JMO) :-)

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    3. Well thank you Meloria, I'm always glad to get your input! Who knows, maybe someday I'll try out Ipsy but I think for now I'm just going to go subscription-less for awhile :(

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  9. I stuck it out with Birchbox for a while and maybe one box was a winner for me. I even stayed with them after they sent me a TheBalm Instain blush sample that I was so excited about, until I opened the package and saw that it was so small you could apply it with an eyeshadow brush.

    I switched to Ipsy and hadn't been wowed until this month, when I got a full-size nail polish from Zoya, a brand I've wanted to try, a hair mask, what looks to be a full-size, gorgeous cream eyeshadow with a wand, and a cute little lip gloss.

    Glowing Clever

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    1. Ugh yeah I just cancelled my subscription yesterday because I can't deal with this B.S. anymore :/ Glad you finally got an Ipsy bag that satisfied you though!!

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