July Birchbox

I’m back again with another Birchbox Review gang. This time, it’s the July box which was themed around ‘Saying Yes to Adventure’ and new things! I can confirm that i’ve definitely never tried any of this months products before so this box was all new for me.

In this months box I received;

-Manna Kadar Long-Wear Powder
-Joliderm Nose Patch
-What’s in it for me..? Shower Scrub
-Percy & Reed No Oil Oil
-Balance Me Skin Serum

Manna Kadar long-wear powder in shade Trifecta RRP £15.00
This powder is literally ideal for me. It’s a long wear multi-purpose compact powder which i’ve used on both my cheeks and eyes. I currently use my bronzer to brush over my eyelids as part of my everyday make up look as it gives just the right amount of subtle colour that’s in-keeping with the rest of my make up and this is absolutely perfect for that.

It lasts all day and has great colour pay off so you don’t need to use too much, but if you do want a stronger colour it’s easily buildable too. I’m not sure if the price is reflective though, I would probably expect a slightly lower price point and don’t think i’ll be re-buying it for that reason.

Joliderm Nose Patch RRP £13.90
I was expecting good things from this ‘skin-purifying patch’ and got Dave in to do the testing for me as he absolutely loves a little pamper sesh. His verdict was “it’s a 6/10 and you’re lucky with that” – so there we have it! The patch didn’t attach itself to the skin quite as well as other nose patches we have tried and overall, actually felt quite flimsy. Due to this, it also only removed surface dirt rather than really digging to remove blackheads and impurities as promised.

I didn’t see the results I expected with this and i’ve definitely used standard ‘drugstore’ nose patches, with a much lower price point and more high quality results.

What’s in it for me..? Shower Scrub RRP £7.00 200ml
I love this brand so immediately knew that I would adore their shower scrub. Ingredients include Sweet Almond Oil and Jasmine Flower extracts which give the scrub THE most amazing fragrance. I smelt amazing and so did my bathroom, even hours after.

It’s quite a gentle scrub and doesn’t contain the usual micro beads for exfoliation, but you can definitely feel it doing it’s job.

The one drawback is that it doesn’t really lather or go very far – so I used the entire sample in one shower. Given the RRP is £7, that’s double what i’d usually pay for a scrub and would probably only last me half the amount of time.

Percy & Reed Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil, Oil RRP £15.00 60ml
This is a more water based oil and feels much more like a hair serum, than an oil in texture. It has vitamin B5 to strengthen the hair as well as other ingredients to add shine and others to add texture.

It’s not really for me, as my hair type needs an oil which is actually an oil, in order to for it to get the nourishment and conditioning it needs. I don’t feel like I got the right amount of that from this one and it made my hair feel more dry and straw-like if anything.

It’s definitely worth a try if you like a more water-based hair product as the reviews on Birchbox’s website are all pretty good, not to mention the £15 price tag is not too bad for a hair oil.

Balance Me Congested Skin Serum RRP £16.00 15ml
If you have particularly blemish prone or oily skin which leads to it becoming clogged then this product sounds like the perfect remedy. It can be used as an ‘on-the-spot’ serum to reduce redness and inflammation or can be used more regularly to prevent the build up of blemishes or congestion of the skin.

It has some wonderful ingredients such as Chamomile and Lavender, anti-bacterial May Chang and something called Spruce Knot which i’ve never heard of before but is apparently a miracle worker in immediately reducing redness. All of those have great properties and work well together in this wonder serum.

I’ve been blessed with relatively good skin, so i’ve not used this yet however i’m keeping it safely tucked away for the day I have a big event and a new chin decides to grow the night before. It happens to the best of us so i’m hoping this will help me out in my hour of need.