**REVIEW** Birchbox June 2018

First off, let me set this down right here... Trudy Sent Me! Yeah, that's in case you want to credit me with sending you to Birchbox.

This is my third Birchbox and, while it brightened an otherwise crappy week, I have to admit it's not as awesome as the May box (which contained 3 items I loved). This June box only had 1 thing I'm crazy about and 1 thing that I like a lot. The rest was... We'll get to that.

Let's just go ahead and start with the best item of the box. That would be this amazing Waterfall Moisture and Shine Lotion from R+Co.

5oz full size = $29

This stuff is so good on these dry, afro-natural naps of mine. It's so hydrating without being greasy, tacky, sticky, or heavy. I applied it to my already styled hair and was blown away by how soft and touchable the curls felt. The smell is light and nice and the moisture actually lasted all day and through the night. For me, the biggest advantage was the softening effect. I could not stop touching my own hair!

The only downside is the price of the full-size tube. Thirty bucks is right up there with a full tank of gas, right? And I'm not sure how long a tube of this would last me. Right now, my hair is short (remember I did that big chop the other week) and I could stretch this sample size out for maybe a week if I'm creative. Eventually, though, my hair is going to be growing back out and,,, I don't know if I could afford this product. Still, I will definitely be telling all my afro-natural buddies about this.

My second-fave from this box is this Deep Dive Water Cream from Red Earth.

1.8oz full size = $29

Other than that creepy and new-agey upside down as-above type A, I do like this stuff. I've used gel moisturizers before but there was always something 'off' about them. Mostly it would be the texture - sticky or gluey - that made me dislike them. This one gets it right. It's really light and goes on like water. Seriously.

Once again, though, the price is the biggest flaw. I'm sure there are a lot of hidden costs in bringing a product to market, but I wonder about the markup. From reading the ingredients list, I'm pretty sure that I could pick up most of what I need from Making Cosmetics to throw together a generic version of this stuff. I like the product, but I don't like it enough to pay $30 for 1.8 oz. And, also, that Satanic-looing A really does creep me out...

This next item would possibly have been the second favorite but I can't really tell because the sample was too small for me to test it well.

I think most of us women have tried (or at least seen) the Beauty Blender makeup sponges, right? I don't wear foundation every day and I even have some of the sponges.

Like I said, this one from the Birchbox was too small to do anything with. I couldn't even grip well enough to test it with foundation. The one thing that was kind of cool about the sample - though it's not a feature I would use because I don't wet my sponges - is that you can increase the sponge size two-fold by adding water. The sample even came with its own water. And this actually did enlarge the sponge. It didn't make it big enough for me to use, but it did swell.

The watered sponge is on the right

Oh yeah, and the price - $20 for a full-size sponge - is, as with the other products, ridiculous. However, in the case of the sponge, I can (and have) found them at a much more affordable price. For under twenty bucks, I've gotten up to 3 sponges that work just as well.

The sample, by the way, is not round. It's flat as well as small.

in the center of my watch

Next up is this Glow Serum from Beautaniq.

0.67 oz full size = $22

I didn't like the gritty feel of this highlighter and the color was way too light for my dark skin. After falling in love with the Glowtion from the May box, this was a big flop. And that's about all I can say about that.

The next sample isn't bad but it's not something I could be crazy about. It's the Davines SU Hair & Body Wash.

250ml full size = $24

First off, I'm not a huge fan of this kind of thing. My hair and skin have totally different needs and issues. Second, I don't need anything to help "prolong my tan".This tan of mine ain't going nowhere, thank goodness. Third, I wasn't crazy about the smell of this. If there was any citrus scent, it was drowned out by the castile soap smell. So this was just kind of meh, but kudos to Davines for supplying such a nice-sized sample. That was cool because I know that some folks will probably really like this. It's getting almost 5 stars on Birchbox.

Finally, let me just say that the prices are probably the most disappointing thing. If a product knocks it out of the park and offers something you can't get just anywhere (think Whal Myung), then okay. But even the best stuff here seemed overpriced, in my opinion. What I do like about Birchbox is that when I love something in a box and can't afford to run out and get the full-sized version, I can always order a second box for $10. That's what I did with the Whal Myung until I can get somebody to remember it on my birthday! Haha.

So, yeah, that's this month's box. Not (terribly) horrible, but not my fave. That hair lotion though... Man, that right there made the box worth it.

Peace
--Free