Birchbox January 13- First Impressions

Hey Everyone, 

So, today was the day that I received my first ever Birchbox so I thought I would do a quick first impressions post about the box and the what I thought. As always, I haven't had time to properly test each product and links will be included where possible :)

Birchbox used to be in America only but it recently merged with Joliebox here in the UK and is now Birchbox UK. I never subscribed to Joliebox and stuck to just Glossybox but when I heard about the merge I thought I would give it a go as I've really enjoyed Glossybox and I wanted to see what the main differences were. It's the same price as Glossybox at £10 pus £2.95 P&P and I've subscribed for three months to start with as I thought that would be a good way to get a proper view on the box and giving it a fair try. 

The Box

Opened

The Products inside

 The first main differences between the Birchbox and the Glossybox is that Birchbox includes a little magazine in with each box which it says is designed to give you beauty inspiration before the next box arrives. I really loved this as it has loads of information, about products that aren't in your box and interviews and there's a nail art tutorial in this month's which is really well explained and simple. The product information is supplied on a seperate card. Also, the products are packaged in a reusable pink drawstring bag instead of the shredded paper which is much more useful and enviromentally friendly than all the paper which I really liked! Also the box it all comes in is very sturdy and can also be used for other storage. I think for these two reasons, I'm starting to like Birchbox more but we will see how the products compare over the next few months. Now, onto the products!

First up, and the thing I'm most excited about so far is the Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment which is a really pretty tinted lipbalm type product which has SPF15 as well. I'v heard a lot of good things about this so I was really excited to try it but I think it's quite difficult to get a hold of in the uk. Birchbox claim that a full size is £15.50 but I'm not sure where it's available as I've only found American links. I'm very fussy about lip balms but this does seem to be really good and I like the tint to it, as I'd much rather wear a tinted balm than a lipstick. I was a bit worried that this would have a heavy rose scent to it, which I hate in lip products but it smells really nice and almost lemony. 

Next up is the KMS Frees Shape Quick Blow Dry which is a spray you spritz into your hair before drying and it helps to dry it faster. I've not had a chance to use this yet but I have high hopes for it and it smells really nice. It's also supposed to detangle, provide heat protection and is lightly conditioning. The full size product is £113.50 for 200ml and the sample is 30ml. 

 This is the Taaj Creme Mains Delhicates Hand Cream and is another product I was interested to try as I've heard really good reviews about other products from this brand but have never tried them. I'm not usually a fan of hand creams as I hate feeling like I have something on my hands but this sinks in really well and you only need a small ammount. It's got a subtle cinnamon scent to it which is unusual but I really like it. A full size is £10 for 75ml which is quite expensive for a hand cream I think, but I think it would last a long time as you only need a little. 

 This is the Teapigs Chamomile Tea Bag and is probably the thing I'm least excited about in the box this month, simply because I'm not a fan of flavoured teas, especially chamomile. There were also peppermint or superfruit ones available which I think I would have been more up for trying but who knows, maybe I'll be brave and end up really liking it! It's supposed to be good for  soothing anxiety and promoting sleep and relaxation which I am in desperate need of! Fifteen teabags cost between £3.49 and £3.99 depending which flavour you buy. 

 Last up is the Wei White Lotus Moisture Rich Eye Blend which is another thing I'm not too sure about. It smells nice and seems to be quite a thick cream but the full size product is £60 which is a tad out of my price range, especially for just an eye cream so I doubt I would repurchase this product, unless it's the most amazing eye cream I ever try! 

So, that's all the products in the Birchbox that I got and all in all I'm pretty impressed with the products and the box as a whole. Leave a comment below if you got a Birchbox, what was in it or if you've used any of the products before :)

Thanks for reading

Lauren xx