Saturday, April 14, 2012

April 2012 Birchbox: Love it!

Ladies, I am really happy about this month's Birchbox! I think next month's might be my last, but this box has seriously made me consider re-upping my subscription.  The theme is "Natural Wonders," and as you can probably tell by my blog mini-facelift and recent FOTD post, I'm trying to convert more of my routine to vegan/cruelty-free products (of course, these aren't necessarily one and the same; OPI and MAC, for example, have vegan products in their lines but are technically NOT cruelty-free because their parent companies test on animals.  But I'm not here to moralize, so... moving on).  This is partly inspired by the fact that my husband and I want to try to have a kid so I've already had to quit caffeine and alcohol for the time being. I also need to avoid phthalates (in a lot of fragrances) and other iffy ingredients, so I thought it might be time to give away some of my stash and seek out replacements.


Well, this month's Birchbox fortunately has nailed that theme! The timing couldn't be better.
Contents:
Befine Exfoliating Cleanser and SPF15 Daily Moisturizer packets - "single serving"
I'm intrigued to try this skincare because of their "No animal testing whatsoever" statement.  Individual packets like this keep the samples fresh and are nice to have for travelling, too.

Lulu Organics Lavender Hair Powder -
In the beauty blogging-and-Youtube world, powder shampoos have been raved about for the past year or so.  I have quite short hair so I didn't want to invest in a bottle to try it out because I can often go a couple days without a wash without having any oil issues, but this little sample is the perfect size to give the trend a whirl.

Wonderstruck Taylor Swift -
This is the only dud in the box for me at the moment, because I'm concerned about phthalates and companies that are cruelty-free... and I don't know if the company that makes this tests on animals or not.  I'll have to look into it.

Zoya TRUE Spring Collection - Bevin
I've never met anybody named Bevin.  In fact, I'd never have heard of this name at all if it weren't for Flight of the Conchords (45-second mark):

 The manager, Bevin, starts to abuse me. Hey, man, I just want some Muesli.

Everytime I wear this Formaldehyde, Toluene, and DBP-free vegan polish, I'm going to think of these funny Kiwis <3
I thought Bevin might be a dupe for OPI Mermaid's Tears.  A nail swatch shows they aren't identical, but... close enough for me to feel comfortable donating my OPI shade to my sister.

Left: Mermaid's Tears, Right: Bevin
Honestly, I'd be pleased as punch if Birchbox just sent me a mini Zoya polish every month... y'hear that, Zoya and Birchbox?

The Beauty Extra is Yes to Blueberries Facial Cleansing Towelettes.  I love my face wipes!  Plus, these are cruelty-free and vegan (of course. Most of the Yes to... line is vegan <3)  I didn't much care for their Cucumber ones because the scent was so strong, but I have some hopes for these. I wasn't going to shell out to try them because of disliking the Cucumber ones and now I can try without paying :)

Any birchbox twins out there?

35 comments:

  1. oooh i think i need Bevin!
    (i am sure i have something like that, but....)

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  2. Oh man, I can't wait till I get mines! I'm loving the Zoya nail polish, it's a pretty color!

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    1. Let me know what color of the Zoya polish you get! I've seen a purple-blue that's gorgeous on other blogs, too :)

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    1. I think I might even prefer Zoya's formula to OPI!

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  4. I think it's great you're trying to be so 'good' with your beauty choices, I'm tempted to do the same although I have so little anyway it'd just be a case of buying all new ones (hmmm tempting!) I love the nailpolish too - super cute!

    Sarah
    http://fashionismyh2o.blogspot.co.uk/
    xx

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    1. Haha :) <3 I am always looking for an excuse to buy more... the hard part is getting rid of the older stuff ;)

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  5. Wow, you got some really great stuff in your Birchbox this month! I really like that nail polish color.

    http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
    Twitter: @GlamKitten88

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    1. Lucky me :) Do you subscribe to any montly clubs? I know your blog is more fashion-oriented, so I would think one of those shoe clubs would be up your alley.

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    2. I used to subscribe to Birchbox, but I am so picky with my beauty routine that I never took advantage of the products they offered. If I could afford a shoe club, I would! I'm supposed to be saving money right now ... Borrrrr-riiingg.

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    3. Oh, me too! I feel your pain!

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  6. I love Zoya!! It would be awesome if they always had Zoya in their boxes!

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  7. the green polish is pretty! it does look similar to the OPI version, but a bit brighter - I should wear more green polishes out!

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    1. Hi Nic Nic, I think it is brighter, and bluer. If I wasn't so lazy I'd keep my nails polished, too. Mint green is next :)

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  8. Aww....I miss my Birchboxes, especially when I see someone who has gotten a great box like this one. I love the mini Zoya polishes....

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    1. I know, they get you to keep your subscription by having a good box here and there!

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  9. I'm not sure what Taylor Swift's fragrance is doing in here but it smells amazing and I REALLY want it! If I had receive such an amazing box, I would also consider subscribing again ahah! That hair powder looks interesting too (:

    Did you know that you had captchas on? You could easily switch for comment moderation which makes things easier for your readers (:

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    1. I wondered about that. To be honest I'm not sure how to turn them off but thanks for the heads up! I'll be looking into that this weekend.

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  10. Hi Sarah, I love your new leafy background; I think it fits your blog well! I also like the birchbox--- the zoya, yes to, and wonderstruck seem like great picks

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  11. I love your leafy green background! :) Congrats on trying for a little one- that's so exciting for you two! I agree, it definitely makes you think even more about what you are putting in AND on your body. A word of caution- the befine moisturizer packets that came in my Birchbox was 2 years expired! On the side of the packet it shows the date (it's imprinted). Birchbox sent out an email last week and I checked mine-much to my dismay mine were. But they are crediting 100 Birchbox points for those that were effected so contact them if you were :)

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    1. Thank you, Danielle :) Thanks for the heads-up about the moisturizer! Mine was 3 years expired :O But it'll be nice to use that 100 pts. = $10 towards some nice Boscia blotting papers on the birchbox site <3 I think they handled the gaff well.

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  12. love that nail polish colour x

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    1. I always have a soft spot for greens and teals :)

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  13. Hey Sarah first of all you look gorgeous! Just came across your blog and its lovely! Love, love your eyes! Seriously never came across such gorgeous and expressive pair! We bet your reviews are really handy and its sad that we can't get those products here never the less really like how you do your eyes! :)

    www.chpdzn.blogspot.com

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  14. I do have purple in my hair =3
    Haha I know right? I am not going to stop being who I am just because I'm not a teenager anymore! I love what I love regardless of age.

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  15. Glad that your birchbox was pleasing, as for mines it was a bit ok. lol

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  16. how many goodies..love..


    From Paris with love!
    Kristina.

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I love comments <3