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?

November 2011 Birchbox

Wow, I am on fire with posting today! I think I'm feeling motivated by the giveaway, lol.

Atelier Cologne in Orange Sanguine Cologne Absolue - It's a nice touch that they packaged it in the waxed paper with a postcard (as opposed to the usual little throw-it-away-instantly card), but I just don't do stoppered perfume samples. Yawn.  It may smell good, but I'm just not a dabber, I'm a spritzer! It'll probably wind up freshening my wastebasket, yo. 

Borghese Fango Delicate Active Mud for Delicate Dry Skin - I've had a sample of this before and it's a pretty nice mud mask, but not something with results so drastic I feel the urge to buy it.

Supersmile Professional Whitening Toothpaste - I just used up a sample of this and didn't see any results.  I wouldn't expect to from a sample-size anyway, so I'm not condemning the product.  But I would never pay $21 for a toothpaste! Srsly?

Zoya Nail Polish in Noel - Yay! They can send me all the Zoya nail polishes they want <3 I was going to go with Orly Gumdrop on my toes tonight, but I'm going to do this (decidedly Hanukkah-esque silvered blue) instead!

Treat - Two Paper Dolls Ampersand Coasters. Well, I am a fan of the humble ampersand. I probably ought to use coasters more than I usually do, too.  I like this treat (way better than a crummy-looking hairband for a girl with little hair!).