Beauty Box Review // Birchbox June 2019

Oh man this months Birchbox is so unbelievably cute. I love the colours, the scrapbook vibes and the whole 'adventure' theme just makes me want to go on holiday. This is based off  the new 'Memories' collection from Paperchase and I took a peek at the collection...it's amazing. To be honest I would've preferred a box full of that collection than what I actually received.

I guess it's not too bad but, face wipes? Really? The box does fit a travel theme though with all the mini sizes but I'm just not overly excited.

If you prefer watching unboxings; check out the video! Otherwise keep on scrolling for the text version:

Lip Stix in Plum // Laritzy
3.6g Full Size - RRP £20

This is not worth £20. It's $20 on their US site which is about £15; I still wouldn't pay that for this thing. It's strange how often I see this brand in Pink Parcel, Look Fantastic and Birchbox yet it's extremely difficult to get hold of in the UK. Why advertise here? Anyway, I'm getting sick of choosing red or plum lip shades from Birchbox now. Why can't they feature a nice nude? I went for the plum as I hate wearing red lipstick and it's ok as an all over lip colour and makes my eyes look brighter but I would never wear it by itself. Instead I mix it will some lip balm and wear it as a light tint which looks much better in my opinion.

Gimme Brow in Neutral Light Brown // Benefit

1.0g Sample - RRP £7.30 (based on £11 for 1.5g)

This isn't even the travel size, it's a sample and there is barely any product inside it. I don't know why they couldn't have included the actual travel size which is sold by Benefit for £11 as it's only 0.5g more. For something described as 'neutral' as well I find it to be a warm and red looking on my skintone but I did like the natural look it gave my brows. If I could find an actual neutral shade I would probably purchase this.

Cucumber Soothing Facial Wipes // Yes To

10 Wipes Travel Pack - RRP £1.99

This is such a cop-out product to receive in a beauty box. I don't mind it femfresh wipes in my Pink Parcel because that makes sense but if you're going to include wipes at least make it the full size pack because they don't cost more than about £5 anyway. The pack of 30 is only £3.99 so why skimp on us Birchbox? I would never use face wipes to remove my makeup anyway so these will get used as hand wipes or to wipe down surfaces but there are too many reviews online saying these wipes left their faces red, burning and itchy. Yikes.

Invisible Colour Everyday Glow Gradual Tan Lotion // MineTan

30 Sample - RRP £2.69 (based on £17.99 for 200ml)

I already have another 30ml tube of this thanks to Look Fantastic a couple of months ago and I still haven't used it. I always buy self-tan products with the intention of being bronzed but then get put off by the having to exfoliate first, tan with mits, thoroughly wash hands so I don't end up with tan hands and then try not mess up bedding...I have never heard of this brand and apparently it's Australia's no.1 tanning brand; I thought that was Bondi Sands? Or do they just pay influencers more? Anyway, I do prefer gradual tan products more than wham-bam-now-your-tan products so I will try my best to give this a go. It does smell really good; it's slightly sweet and feels moisturising. I was surprised to see that it's just a white cream. Perhaps I'll actually like it?

Anti-Pollution Shampoo with Aquatic Mint // Klorane

25ml Sample - RRP £1 (based on £8 for 200ml)

And last is a tiny shampoo sample. It does smell incredibly good though and I kind of like mint in my shampoos as makes my scalp feel all tingly. I will let this one off though as it's a clarifying shampoo, so I'd only use this about once a month so this sample will last me a good 3/4 months. I hope this is a really good shampoo because £8 is a great price for clarifying shampoo.

// Box Contents

// 1 Full Size, 1 Travel Size, 3 Samples

// £32.98 Estimated Box Worth

If we took away the £20 RRP of the Laritzy lipstick all of the other samples would literally cost the price of the box. I honestly do not believe that lipstick is wrth £20 and my Feel Unique Pick'n'Mix ended up as a better beauty box this month and that only costs £3.95. This has been the first month in almost 2 years where I've seriously thought about cancelling but I love the box designs and even though they send out tiny samples, they do send out some strange products that I've ended up loving. If the Benefit Brow was full size instead, the shampoo was a 50ml sample and the MineTan was 70/100ml sample then this would have been a fantastic box as I actually quite like most of the products. I just don't know why I'm paying £13 for tiny samples though.

Birchbox

P&P £2.95

Monthly - £10

6 Months - £60

12 Months - £110

pssst...the sneak peak for next month is a choice between two different Inc.credible sheet masks.

BEAUTY BOX: Look Fantastic June 2019 Review

Man, it's so weird to be doing an unboxings again, it's been almost a year. Anyway, I did a video if you prefer to watch those instead or keep on scrolling for the text version!

I will update this post later on in the month as well, detailing how I got on with the products. So make sure to check the 'Recently Updated' tab at the top of the page. 

Anyway, I think my attitude towards boxes have definitely changed since I was last blogging them as I'm no longer mad at Look Fantastic. They used to inflate their box prices and always include the same type of products but all this year I've been super happy with every box. June's is no exception. I know some may be angry at the tiny samples, however when you have 6 box subscriptions, I'm quite grateful for the samples because I get through them quicker, I get to try more items faster and it's fun. Plus this months box has a pretty decent value for only £13 with most products being on the more expensive side as well. 

Dry & Sensitive Eyelid Cream // SVR
15ml Full Size - RRP £15

Described as an eye cream for those with sensitive itchy eyes, I'm looking forward to using this now the hayfever season is well underway. Right now I can't live without my Piriton and my eyes are always the most affected so this was actually a really good inclusion for this month considering so many of us suffer from hayfever. It also gives 24 hour hydration and eases redness and discomfort; just what the doctor ordered.

Peeling Mask // Ecooking
15ml Sample - RRP £11.10 (0.74 per ml based on 50ml for £37)

Oh man I love this brand. I've tried so many other sample products from them before and I've loved every one. The packaging is also really cute and I love the glass jars; I'll probably recycle them into glitter/rhinestone jars. Anyway, this mask actually has a really low pH value of 3.5 (so it's super acidic), therefore your face will probably feel like it's burning and go red but they say this is supposed to happen so it's all good. I would recommend a patch test though if your skin is sensitive. Ecooking say to use this for only 4-6 minutes at first and then gradually increase it up to 10 as you use it more. It smells a little like PVA glue but I can't wait to give it a try.

EGF Serum // Bioeffect
3ml Sample - RRP £25 (8.30 per ml based on 15ml for £125...)

Such a tiny sample, however, at £125 for 15ml I'm not really mad because that's a great sample size for the price of the product. Bioeffect also only recommend using 2-4 drops so this will last quite a while. They have some bold claims about what this can do for anti-ageing properties so I'll be keeping an eye on my skin over the month. 

Surf Spray // Bumble & Bumble
15ml Sample - RRP £2.40 (0.16 per ml based on 125ml for £20)

You could've received a volumising spray instead but I'm glad I got this one as my hair doesn't need anymore volume. I'm worried about how much this may dry my hair out however it feels soft and isn't too sticky. They only problem is that it isn't very inclusive as B&B state its for those with straight/wavy fine/medium hair and I have thick, course semi-afro hair. I'll give it a try though.

Chamomile Softening Soap // Korres
125g Full Size - RRP £5.50

Soap has come a long way since ye olden days and I'm looking forward to giving this one a go. It has a light, pleasant and calming scent and feels very waxy. Korres says it's glycerin based so it should be ultra moisturising. It can be used for both face and the body so we'll see how it goes.

Lift-Structure Ultra Lifting Cream // Filorga
7ml Sample - RRP £9.10 (1.30 per ml based on 50ml for £65)

And then last but not least is a tiny sample from Filorga. I'd say this is my least favourite item in the box mainly because I'm not a fan of Filorga. Look Fantastic love including them in the box but they just don't do anything, to me they're just overpriced creams. Filorga say this can either be a day or night cream and has anti-ageing properties to tone and firm but most products from them all look the same and are pretty vague about what they do. This will be used in a few days though so I'll report back soon.

// Box Value
// 6 Items // 2 Full Size // 4 Samples
// £68.10 Estimated Worth

Overall, not a bad box, the serum is heavily appreciated, it's not everyday you get to try skincare that costs over £100 and the Ecooking mask and eye creams will be used immediatly. I think Look Fantastic should reduce their box size though to maybe that of the Birchbox size, it seems they're going more down the sample route and whereas that doesn't bother me (it is only £13 a month after all) the size of the box and all the waste packaging does bother me. Anyway, I'm looking forward to next months as I love Elemis! The sneak peak for July is their hydro-balance day cream.

Look Fantastic Beauty Box

Monthly - £15

3 Months - £14.50

6 Months - £13.75

12 Months - £13

All options are billed monthly and include P&P