July Birchbox

It's time for my July Birchbox post! Sorry this is so late, but it's here now! This month I got four things, and 1 healthy food bar. Some people like that, or think it's cute, and it kind of was, but I much prefer getting beauty samples to random health food samples. But it was nice, and it didn't look like some cheap granola bar either, it looked really nice and made the box prettier. Haha :) So basically, this is the Birchbox I received in July, and it wasn't as thrilling as my June Birchbox, but still nice. My FAVES handsdown are the Philosophy Cleanser and the ybf eyebrow pencil. The box was put together by Cynthia Rowley, and the outside was designed by her too.

Blue tissue paper this time :)

What's in the box are some of her personal faves, and things she uses on her runway shows. 

Gorgeous packaging

The full haul unveiled!

So this is it, minus the food bar haha. Gave that to my mom ;) 

BIRCHBOX                                                                        BIRCHBOX+CYNTHIA ROWLEY

                                                                                                                                 JULY 2011

1. Korres | Showergel                                                                            13.53 fl oz | $19.50

A deliciously foamy body wash with aloe to keep skin soft long after you've toweled off and an exotically lush fragrance.

2. Philosophy | purity made simple one-step facial cleanser                        8 oz | $20 & 16 oz | $32

THis perennial award-winner is pH-balanced to gently clear away dirt, oil, and makeup without drying out skin.

3. Redken | shine flash 02                                                                                  4.4 oz | $17

A must for all Cynthia's runway shows, this weightless spray gives hair a brilliant sheen.

4. ybf beauty | automatic eye brow pencil in universal taue              .005 oz | $12

A two-in-one brow-tamer: the comb brushes hairs into place, while the creamy pencil fills in sparse areas

EXTRA KIND | Almond & Apricot

Snack right witht his wholesome bar- no preservatives or hard-to-pronounce ingredients.

"They are my favs! I always have one in my bag just in case."- Cynthia Rowley

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My thoughts: 

The presentation of this box was lovely, and the products are all pretty brand name stuff (two from Sephora, Redken is a household name, and the only new one to me was ybf), but I only liked two of these. 

1. I hated this. I just couldn't get past the smell. I'm bad at describing scents, but maybe I just didn't like the "exotically lush" fragrance. Give me Philosophy's Vanilla Birthday Cake Shower Gel any day.

2. This is a good cleanser. I wasn't wowed by it, but I started noticing how soft and smooth my skin was feeling, and just how it looked and felt so much less irritated. It really is gentle, and it really is effective at removing oil and makeup. This is a repurchase for me.

3. Meh. I wanted to like this!! I really like the way it sprays in such a fine mist, and the bottle is designed very nicely, not to mention it's a generous size, and that Redken is a pretty fancy hair line. But I just... didn't notice much shine. I don't know. It kind of looked the same to me... plus the smell was overpowering.

4. I reallly liked the ybf eyebrow pencil because it's a drier formula then what I had been working with (the cheap $1 wet and wild eyebrow pencil), and I had to press down harder to deposit color, which I actually liked, because I could control what I was doing and where the product was going so much more. I really liked the way my brows looked using this. Much more natural. I also liked the comb at the end. However, I did have problems with this pencil. It kind of snapped in half on me. The actual product part I mean... So I just kind of had to jam it back in the pen and keep popping it back in when it fell out. :( Also the top part got smashed one top when I put the cap on and then the point it had was never the same again, and it's not like I could sharpen it. Boo :(

All in all, I found some good products through this month's Birchbox, and I liked the variety. Could have done without the fruit bar. Can't wait for this month's!