I ♥ Birchbox (And You May Too?!)
So, I just received my second box from Birchbox (if you are unsure what I’m talking about – skip below to read more)! I just love how they take the time to package everything so nicely. Anyway, in my box I received the following goodies…
* Full-size KIND fruit & Nut bar
* 1 oz Purity Philosophy sample
* 0.33 fl. oz. nail polish sized bottle of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse
(the 1.6 oz size retails for $29.50 on Amazon! WOW!)
* Redken Shine Brilliance 2.1oz, JOYA Parfum .05 fl. oz.
(the 2.5 oz size is currently priced at $96.87 on Amazon, so this is some expensive perfume!)
* Your Best Friend Automatic Eye Brow Pencil (Full Size)
Did you snatch up a Birchbox when I posted about it previously?! If so, I’d love to hear your feedback!
And for all you new Hip2Savers (or anyone who may have missed this post previously)… if you love trying out new beauty products or just want to treat yourself to a special surprise every month, then you may want to check out Birchbox. For $10 a month, Birchbox delivers 4 to 5 hand-picked, deluxe beauty samples from high-end brands. Each month you’ll receive a different mix of beauty products, including makeup, skincare, fragrance, body, and hair products. All samples are generously sized, with enough product to allow you to figure out if they’re right for you.
And Birchbox does customize the boxes (that’s why you fill out your Beauty Profile). Some samples are sent to everyone, other samples are chosen specifically for your skin, beauty needs, and style. Keep in mind that all you pay is your $10 monthly subscription fee; there are no shipping or handling fees for the monthly Birchbox and you can cancel at anytime. So you really are under NO obligation.
Now I know that you are probably thinkin’ there are free sample offers always available on Hip2Save, so why would I pay for samples. Well, if you are a fan of high end cosmetic products, then you are basically getting to try lots of these products on a regular basis for a fraction of the retail cost. Even sweeter, these are not your typical samples…. most will be deluxe samples and you may even receive full-size products (just like I did with some of the products I mentioned above). And I don’t know what it is about getting a cute box packaged up with pink tissue paper, but I love it! 😀 Plus, it makes getting the mail that much more fun!
(This is a pic of the first Birchbox I received!)
Another added perk is the Birchbox Points program, which rewards you for signing up for the monthly samples, shopping on Birchbox.com, referring friends to the program, and sending feedback on your samples. Even sweeter, the points that you earn can be used to purchase full-size products at Birchbox.com!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you want to get a Birchbox in August, you need to sign up by July 31st.
** Please note that the links in this post are my referral links. If you don’t feel comfortable using them, feel free to go directly to Birchbox.com.
Oh, so tempting… Every time you post this I wanna join, but currently can’t afford the monthly fee… 🙁
Maybe they’re sending you good things because they know you’ll post it! I got mine the other day and it did NOT have those items in it! A few were the same but I didn’t get the brow pencil or the perfume. Definitely NOT worth $10!
It’s different for people in different regions.
I didn’t get the pencil or perfume, either. I got Zoya nail polish instead of the kind you got. I wasn’t disappointed, because I will use the stuff, but seeing what you got I’m a little ticked that the boxes aren’t all the same.
Oh, I did get a tube of Ahava hand cream that you don’t seem to have. Maybe they ran out of stuff and had to substitute with something else? Seeing as how they wait a month from the time you subscribe, they should have enough product to fulfill each order in the same exact manner. Also, I’ve referred two people, but I only got points for one even though both placed orders.
Remember that you have to fill out a beauty profile, so this may be the difference you are seeing in your box versus another persons box.
I did fill out the beauty profile.
SO agree!! WHAT is that??? I didn’t get the good stuff either, but I paid the same!
Yes, me too- got the nail polish, shine spray, nut bar, hand cream, purity….will give it a few months because heck that little box was just plain fun to get and brightened my day with girl stuff!
I joined last month when I saw Collin’s post and I was really excited to get mine. It was also highly disappointing.
I have been following everyones posts since Collin posted this. I agree! All boxes are definitely not created equal. Kudos to those who get great boxes, but for those who don’t…totally unfair, as everyone pays the same $10. This is why I did not join. Not worth it IMHO. I had the same experience with a similar Co. some time ago called My Pretty Pink Box…complete inequality in the boxes The company is now defunct. Not sure why, but that may have contributed. Not bashing….Happy for those who are happy! 😀
call them…isn’t it guaranteed to get the items? false advertising or mistake?
It’s not false advertising or a mistake. There were 10 different varieties of the birch boxes this month. You can check them out on birchbox.com. I was slightly disappointed as well. But, since they tell you that not everyone receives the same items, you can’t really complain. Cancel if you’re not happy. You should try New Beauty’s Test Tube or Beauty Fix (you choose the products). It’s more expensive. But, you do get quite a bit more.
That is really weird. I got the same exact things that Collin got. Is it because this was my first box?
Why wouldn’t you just save your $10.00/month and go buy your favorite product, etc?
Thats totally my thinking. I love little beauty goodies, but I already have so many lying around.. not adding to the pile..
https://makeupalley.com/ is a great website! You can trade stuff that you have laying around for stuff that you are wanting to try. I love it! 🙂 Hope that helps!
I agree! I love the site, but I don’t think this is very “hip” at all! For $120 a year, you could buy your own products/samples and get exactly what you want. No offense to Collin, but I don’t think she would be into this if she didn’t rack up so many referrals through the site.
I agree with Corie! I got the same box but got a small nail polish and a sample of lotion. No perfume or eyeliner. I got no full size products in my box. Going to try one more month and cancel if it’s not worth it. Sorry….
I also signed up when you posted last month. I was a little disappointed with the box, but figured I would try again. I was still really exicted when the box showed up, and I felt as if it were Christmas as I opened it.
I joined last time you posted and I LOVED my first box! Many of my items were similar but some were different (I didn’t get perfume or eye pencil… got a hand cream instead). Anyway, I really liked my first box and I think I’m going to end up purchasing the shine spray!
I’ve been getting the Birchbox for 3 months now and I LOVE it! I also love reviewing the samples on their site bc you get points that can later be used to get full size stuff from them!! For $10 a month, you cant beat it. All of the stuff is nice, expensive products.
Make sure you fill out the Beauty profile thing bc what you get in your box is customized to your needs.
Ooh thanks, I didn’t know about the points for reviews~
doesn’t seem that worth it. if the 1.6 oz nail polish retails for about 30, then the 0.33 size would be worth about $6. the perfume at $96.87 for 2.5oz makes your 0.05 oz sample worth only $1.93. Granted you got some other things full size, it’s basically the same price paying for those items. It’s good if you want to TRY something new in small quantities, but it’s not much cheaper
I like the idea but how is this legal? I know most samples I receive at stores say “not for individual sale”. Because they are meant to be FREE samples to try products…
maybe you misunderstood…i was simply converting the price of the original size to the size of the sample…i.e.
2.5 oz for $100 is only WORTH about $2 if converted to a 0.05 sample…
Well also keep in mind you also pay more when you buy smaller amounts too – so buying a larger amount is usually going to always cost less than if you bought a smaller portion.
Collin, curious if you are willing to share what you checked on your Beauty Profile? That is what determines which samples are sent out. Thanks! 🙂 I signed up last month when you posted this and absolutely love love love it!!!!
I actually never completed the beauty profile…woops?!
I signed up under your referral link! Thanks!
What exactly IS an automatic eye brow pencil? Does it draw for you? 😉
Haha imagine that lol. Maybe it’s those kinds of pencils you don’t have to sharpen?
Yep! I was clueless at first too! 😉
This is a little off topic but I wanted to post because I think a big part of the appeal of this is getting “fun mail” that isn’t the usual bills and boring stuff. My best friend and I adore old fashioned mail and we, from time to time, send each other packages of books, beauty stuff, etc. It’s not tit for tat but we do it at least a few times a year and we are equally thrilled to send as to receive. We don’t live that far apart but because of different night/day shifts and kids we don’t get to see each other much. These packages are my favorite ever thing to receive. I also make a point of sending cards and homemade cds to other friends. If you love getting a treat in the mail consider putting something together for your BFF, it would make his/her day 🙂
that’s a great idea!
What an awesome idea!!! I have a BFF in Cali that I haven’t seen in years (thank goodness for text messages and Facebook!). I think I’m going to put together a little care package for her tonight 🙂
Good point and great idea! I think we do sometimes sign up for free/inexpensive offers because we enjoy receiving “fun mail”. You have really gotten to the heart of the matter and have found a relational solution. I’m impressed and inspired!
With the age of Facebook, email and texts, I still send greeting cards for birthdays, anniversarys and even Valentines Day, Easter and Thanksgiving. My fam and friends always say they love getting them in the mail.
I agree – things that I used to take for granted, I now treasure! There is nothing like going to the mailbox and seeing a card or letter from somebody you love! I am known by my family and friends for my personal correspondence and they now expect it of me! LOL! But I love the feeling of sending somebody a good old fashioned letter or card. I does as much good for me as the person I am sending it to!
One of my close friends and I write letters to each other! I’m in TN and she’s in CA. It’s really fun 🙂
Lovin’ this idea! 😀
I have done this with several friends for quite some time now. The way we do it, you just randomly send small items when you get them on sale or just see something that makes you think of that friend. If you do this with a couple friends, you have quite a few “fun mail” days. To give you an idea: back around mother’s day I got a note from one of my friends and a “bahama mama” lip gloss in with it. Last year, I bought several cute pens that were in the Target dollar spot. They were fat with fun bright colors and polka dots. I have sent those to three different friends. I might read a good book and send it to my friend who likes to read after I am done with it. Then we call each other and discuss it after she reads it. It can be as simple as sending a “free product” coupon for a product that you think your friend would enjoy more than you. We don’t have a set time frame that you have to send things. Since I do this with a few friends I will send something about every month or every other month to one of them and I try to rotate. So they are each getting something from me around every 3-4 months. Plus, each of them sends something every 3-4 months. So I get something from one of them almost monthly!
I sign my best friend up for funny/strange/awesome! free sample things when I find them.
She knows they’re from me, because I change her first name to “Daisy”
I signed her up for the pint of Glidden Paint, a lobster cracker, Kleenex Sneeze patrol (in Spanish!).
Plus I played the Suave “Can you tell” Game in her name, and got her the Physicians Formula full size freebie, and the John Frieda Hair color freebie. Its fun, just takes a few minutes and doesn’t cost anything!
omg i do this too! with my sister. she LOVES getting free things, I too send her the Glidden Paint. the Klennex bos and a free razor (worth about $15).. I change her name to Promiscuous.. She hates that! I just play with her because she is so shy and is completely the opposite
Love your idea Sarah. In fact, just recently, I decided to pare down to the most essentials in my wardrobe. I put aside several pieces of jewelery and scarves that I haven’t worn in years and had a few girlfriends over for lunch. I told them to take what they wanted and they were thrilled. I also mailed some select items to a long time friend who had moved away. It’s a great way to share with friends!
Hello, I too joined last month. Got mine the other day. I too did not ge the same products but most similar. I only got 5 not 6 total but maybe that was a mess up. I was so excited about getting mine I couldn’t wait. I am not foresure if I am going to do it again because what I got wasn’t that great. The suprise of gettng something all wrapped in the pretty tissue paper with the cute box was the most exciting! But thanks for posting it or I would have never ever knew about it! This would be a good lil suprise gift for someone! Thanks again!
I love Birchbox! Yes paying for samples seems silly, but to get these brands and the size of the Birchbox samples at Sephora would be equivalent to spending $100 – $500 to use your beauty points.
I was signed up on birchbox for a couple months, and after one month I liked it ok, but by the time I got my 2nd box I didn’t like it so much so I canceled. It isn’t worth the $10 if you hardly like what you get. Personally, I’d rather save up money and get what I really have my eyes on at Sephora, or other stores.
wow I really want to see someone who got the same as Collin. I think the previous poster might be right in saying it may be because of the blog posts hummm dont know. I would love to do it but $10 a month would be nice to save for a shopping spree lol take that $10 and go shopping when it is $100 lol thats my dream better get started right
I actually got the identical box, I did fill out the beauty profile and signed up under her link last month, not sure why more people didn’t get the same box, I’m in CA.
I just signed up. I’ll try it for a month or two & see if I like it.
I actually wished that there were more questions on the beauty profile on whether you were interested in certain types of products. For example, perfume gives me a headache so I always just give it away if I get it. I hope that they don’t include any in my package. I’d rather get other items.
see my post about being allergic/asthmatic to perfume. They didnt really care when I told them and wouldnt make sure it didnt show up in my box…
I’m hoping for good results too. Just signed up today. I guess if I don’t like it I’ll just cancel after a month or two. I have to administrative secretaries at work and am hoping I can share these trial sizes with the two of them, especially if they’re a little bit bigger than normal trial size shampoos (like the one time use sizes). I’m going to hope for the best!
I didn’t get the perfrume or eye pencil but instead got the PUR mineral foundation powder with brush and a nice size bottle of body wash (can’t think of the brand right now)
I was so excited to get my box but I was disapointed when I opened it. I was hopping for at least one wow yay item. I got the shine spray and kind bar but my other items were ahava hand crea, philosophy facial cleanser and zoya polish sample. I was the most happy with the zoya because I am already a fan and the color was on my wish list so I feel like I got my moneys worth but do hope to get better things next time. A huge plus was the wrapping though, I love pretty thoughtful wrapped things
I signed up for Birchbox the last time Collin posted it and I just got my first box this month. Personally, I LOVE IT! I received the AHAVA mineral hand cream (which I loooove and have already purchased more), the Philosophy One-Step Facial Cleanser (which I also love and plan to purchase with my Birchbox 20% off first order coupon code), Redken Shine Flash (love this), Zoya nail polish (nice, neutral color) and the Extra Kind Almond & Apricot bar (yummy). Is $10 a lot to pay for a few samples? Maybe…but I LOOVE high end products and sampling them…so I plan to keep receiving my box each month. I love the AHAVA product in this month’s box and would never have known about it or purchased it if I hadn’t received in my box. I found AHAVA facial moisturizer today at TJMAXX on clearance for $7…full size product…my happiness for the day!
Totally agree on the ahava – would never have bought it otherwise and I think I’m now hooked!
I received my first Birchbox this month. I loved getting A little package in the mail! I received the Redkin shine, philosophy face wash,Ahava had cream, nail polish and something else (can’t remember off the top of my head). I wasn’t jumping up and down, but I really like the Redkin product. I’m setting aside anything that I don’t care for to include in gifts for my daughter and her friends (teens). I would have loved this as a teen.
I have been getting Birchbox for a while now and like it. I paid for a year at once (not sure if that triggers better loot). I will say that New Beauty Test Tube is FAR superior! check out hauls on youtube. It only comes every three months but the stuff is fantastic (and you get the New Beauty mag which has a $10 price tag in an of itself). I just got my summer New Beauty tube and it had a ton of great stuff. I am all over the August special edition QVC tube coming out (ALWAYS sells out!)!
I received the same box as Collin! Signed up for the year..maybe that has something to do with it?
Just say no…I’m all for the great deals but you can wind up spending alot of extra bucks buying stuff you really could do without when you try & snag every deal that comes down the pike.
I pass – I get so much stuff free all the time I just will not spend cash on this. Being debt-free, ya tend to hold onto your money a little tigher and give more thought to what you buy.
Why post a comment just to say that the deal isn’t for you? Everyone picks and chooses the deals that are worth it to them – come on, that’s just common sense! I’m sure you would probably choose a deal that I wouldn’t and I don’t post a comment saying – Just say no! – especially without including any personal experience with the company. Just my thoughts!!
Frankly, I don’t think that bryarsmom’s comment was out of place on a couponing website. Most people would naturally feel temptation when hearing of something like this, but in today’s economy it’s just not smart spending for everyone, and some people find that little voice of reason helpful. Especially when it comes to little boxes in the mail with pink paper. : )
OK so I signed up not having read all these posts. My only concern was that I am severely allergic/asthmatic to perfume – not necessarily in products but cologne itself. There was no place to fill that out in the beauty profile, so I called and got a representative. She said there was no way to alert people to that, so it could come in my box. Its not exactly a thorough beauty profile, either. I could always give it to a friend but if it breaks open in the box, etc it’s a trip to the ER for me. Then I read most of these comments and I am severely regretting signing up for a year. I told the rep I’ll be trying it next month and if I didnt like it I would cancel. Time will tell…
The curiosity sucked me in! 😉 I just signed up. It’s my birthday next month so this is my little gift to myself. I’ll take it month to month and see what I get. I too love getting fun stuff in the mail and I love trying new products, so it seems like it could be a win-win. We shall see!
I wasn’t impressed. I’m in the west, and they have a shipping problem. They apologized, but took 2+weeks for the boxes. The nut bar is bizarre. I want cosmetics, not food, and many people have nut allergies. The only thing I would use in the box is the nail polish.
Although it took a bit to get my box I still LOVE it. Its a great deal for 10 bucks a month 🙂
They actually put a food item in each box. I have gotten teas, chocolates, bars etc. I love KIND bars
i LOVE Birchbox! My favorite this month was probably the Zoya nail polish because I loved the neutral color! I also devoured the KIND bar and went on a hunt for more and found them @ my local health food store. Also, something fun to do is check Youtube, I did and found lots of reviews and people opening up their boxes from months previously! Looks pretty worth it to me 🙂
That sounds nice!! I guess I am gonna give it one more try myself! I think the not knowing is part of the fun along with the anticapation. I do think the reason why some of us are getting differnt items is the profile and maybe because they run out of the specifics and fill it with other things. The way I look at is, yes it is 10 dollars but I would spend that much and more running around to the stores paying for the samples and the gas to get the same items.. But I do hope I get the mineral foundation you got next time, LOL!!
I think this is fun concept, but not for me. As someone posted earlier, I already have too many beauty samples, etc. laying around that don’t get used and I end up giving them away or trading, lol. I must say though, I think it’s pretty careless for the company not to consider allergies when people sign up. I know several people who are severely allergic to peanuts, so I would think they’d at least have some sort of disclaimer about the potential for nuts being in these packages. Just a thought.
Someone posted that there are several different boxes sent out – but it seems that all of us with the exception of Collin got the same one. Even if there are different ones I would think they should contain the same approx. value of items and in this case it seems they did not. I was looking forward to something “wow” as well and was a tad disappointed.
There are different ones sent. I got the one Collin did.. exactly! I got zoya nail polish like 2 boxes ago
I just got my Cynthia Rowley Birchbox. Amazing! So glad I invested the few dollars in that – the box was amazing and I can’t wait to get next month’s!
hmmmm I think I’ll order it, I love make up and all that girly stuff 😉 and for 10 dollars I’ll see what I can get 🙂 By the way I’d love it if you kept sharing what you got each month 🙂 (I’m nosey lol)
by the way thats a NICE perfume sample, it’s just like a mini bottle!
Its SOOO worth it. A couple months back, got a full size laura gellar blush and brighten, worth $28 bucks. Everyone got that…
I was really pleased with my first box. It contained the philosophy face wash, Ahava hand cream, Redkin spray and Zoya nail polish as well as the Kind bar. My intention is to try a couple of products myself and tuck some away for my teenaged daughters’ Christmas stockings. I’m really excited to see what comes next month 🙂
I love love love love love it!! The samples I got this month (my first month) are just the right size for me to try out. I particularily love the JOYA parfum. It’s perfect for my purse, and smells awesome 🙂 – thanks for the info on getting it!
I <3 Birchbox! Thanks for sharing this. It was better than I anticipated and the selections were perfect! Mine had the Kind bar, face wash, hairspray, nail polish and hand cream. Can't wait for next month's selection!
Has anyone tried BeautyFix? It’s $49.99 4x a year, but it advertises that you get over $400 worth of products (some that aren’t on the shelves yet). I wonder if it’s worth it? A lot of items are full sized, but $50 is a lot to lay down!
It sounds like New Beauty test Tube, but NBTT is only $40 and comes with a huge magazine. I have heard on (youtube) that the Beauty fix was a rip off…NBTT is not IMO! I got a FULL size Loreal salon hairspray and many other very cool things.
I rec’d the same items as Alyssa above and loved them! This was my first Birchbox. Is it worth $10? Maybe not with the great deals we get with Hip2Save …..BUT it was super fun to receive a nice surprise in the mail! And the items are really awesome. Great, generous travel sizes if nothing else. My Zoya nail polish and Philosophy face wash are my favorites. oh..and I have always adored Ahava items so the hand cream is a big score with me!
Thanks! I received my first box and loved the items I got.
I went to sign in and try this. I figured $10 wasn’t bad to try it. They said shipping was free but at checkout they wanted to charge me $20? I passed and signed up for beauty test tube instead.
I went ahead and signed up (using your link, of course!). I just kicked my soon-to-be ex off the insurance and decided to at least give it a month or two. We all deserve a pick me up once in a while, even if we are frugal. 🙂
Not to be crass, but….are those condoms in the picture? Cuz it really looks like it.
No. They are Deborah Lippmann Lavender Nail Remover Finger Mits.
I agree. I got my first one and cancelled. I don’t think it was worth $10 for all those samples and a full size kind bar. I was really disappointed.
SOOO, I emailed birchbox and got a timely reply stating that they DO NOT send the better samples to bloggers. Jillian said that the boxes are totally based on the beauty profile (except several people didn’t fill it out and got different things?). She said (as I knew) that there was no guarantee for how many/which samples each person would recieve. I am going to give it another month and hope for the best. I was pretty disappointed with most of the samples this month and Collin, I have major ‘Box Envy’ 🙂 but a pretty box, with pink tissue-wrapped goodies is too good to give up on so easily… Hoping for better results next month!
I wanted to add that Jillian wrote back and said they had 10 different boxes this month and only the type of box Collin recieved had the perfume sample but that same box did go out to over 4,000 ppl and a lot of us were first timers who recieved a ‘welcome box’ not based on our beauty profile but rather a box that includes one hair, one face, one nail, and one body sample so we get an all-around view of what birchbox has to offer. So… if you haven’t cancelled, you might want to hang in there another month!! 🙂 I am feeling better already! Thanks Birchbox and Jillian for such great customer service and such a quick response!
OK Collin,
I just signed up {a newbie} on BIRCHBOX and now i just have to wait and be surprised!
I can’t wait to open that box up and see any kind of find will be just great and appreciated!
Thank you Collin again for the great sites on your webpage:]
Rosemary W.
If it ever becomes available to Canada, I just might register.
I signed up for it and just got my first box which was almost identical to yours. I think it’s really nice. It’s a fun gift for yourself for $10. Considering that we save so much buying everything with coupons I think it’s a nice treat and well worth the money.