Year End Birchbox Review

This month marks one year since signing up and receiving our very first Birchbox. Please click here to see our video where we unveiled our first box. If you aren't familiar with Birchbox then we will keep it short and sweet - it's a $10 a month subscription where you receive 4-5 deluxe samples of beauty/lifestyle products.  During the course of the year, we have been introduced to some fabulous brands and products, but we have also received boxes that left us wanting more. And because we always try to stay positive on HLNC, we wanted to write a post highlighting the standout products that we have received in our year of Birchboxes. We enjoyed other products throughout the last 12 boxes, but these are our favorite products that we have received. Here we go...

The box received last June seen here was our best box of the year. The #1 standout product from June's box has to be the full-size Laura Geller Baked Blush-n-Brighten (retails $29.50 USD). Jayme received Apricot Berry and Mendi received Honey Dipped. These blushes have been go to products since we were first introduced. We even dedicated a video solely to Laura's baked awesomeness seen here. If you haven't tried the Blush-n-Brightens, then you should!

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We both received the Kate Spade Twirl Perfume (retails $65.00 USD - 1.7fl oz.) sample and fell in love with it's light and fruity scent. So much so that Jayme even purchased a roller ball after testing out the sample. And not that this matters, but the bottle is gorgeous, so it would be so pretty setting out on your dresser or vanity.

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Now here's where our boxes differed slightly in June. Mendi received the Pangea Organics Facial Toner in Italian Green Mandarin and Sweet Lime (retails $26.00 USD - full-size) and Jayme received the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-free Lotion (retails $24.50 USD - full-size). Both were excellent products and were used up rather quickly. Mendi even went on to purchase a full-size bottle of Pangea Organics Facial Toner for thirsty skin in French Rosemary with Sweet Orange. And the Kiehl's is a definite buy again product!

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Moving on to the July box, we both received our first food product - a KIND Fruit and Nut Almond & Apricot bar (retails $1.99 USD per bar). Now while this flavor has turned out to be Jayme's least favorite flavor, she has LOVED these bars. In fact, Starbucks sells KIND bars and Jayme's go to flavor so far is the KIND Plus Cranberry Almond. These bars pack lots of vitamins and antioxidants and make a great snack or breakfast option.

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Mendi fell in love with a totally random item from our August box. We both received one black Twistband (retails $10.00 USD - set of 6) as our "extra" goodie in the box.  It was just floating in there all by itself and it made a home on Mendi's wrist immediately. Since using these Twistbands she has bought more from Anthropologie and Sephora. They make nice hair bands and also look cute on your wrist.

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In October we received another fun box with a beauty product and another food item that we were both really excited about. Mendi had already discovered the Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel (retails $21.00 USD) and was ecstatic to have another on hand. And this was Jayme's first time trying anything from this brand. Love it and have and will purchase again. Also, we recommended this to our friend Heather and she loves it too! Keeps your brows in place without any crunchy feeling.

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Then we got Tea Forte Minteas (tea mints for fitness) in Matcha Chai (retails $9.95 USD - set of 3). We love the container and the taste, though a little odd at first because they have a super light tea and cinnamon flavor. Now, we aren't sure about the "fitness" part, but we'll go with it. The mints say that they have "slimming matcha, with a tingle of cinnamon to aid in keeping you fit and feeling fab."

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December's box brought a neat food related product called the E-BOOST Orange Natural Energy Booster (retails $28.00 USD - box of 20 packets) which is a dietary supplement powder that you add to cold water for a healthy pick-me-up. It tastes really good and is packed with vitamins B, C and D which is great for your overall health and immunity.

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We did our first "unboxing" video in January where we were pleasantly surprised with the Stila Smudge Stick Eye Liner in Moray (retails $20.00 USD). This eye liner has been amazing! It's vibrant, waterproof and super smooth and creamy which makes this liner oh so easy to use. We would definitely purchase another one of these!

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March's box came with a "home" product that landed in Mendi's March Favorites.  It's the Grandma Stelle's Refreshing Hand Soap in Verbena Thyme (retails $20.00 USD - full-size). Now while Mendi compared the scent to the smell of citronella candles, this zesty gel formula boasts that it does not dry out your skin like other hand soaps.

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And in our most recent box, we received the MicrodermaMitt (retails $28.50 USD) which had us saying "huh?" at first, but has turned out to be an awesome product. It's made of all-natural floss silk and is perfect for cleaning and exfoliating your skin. And who wouldn't want this right around the time when you need to start self-tanning?

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So here is a mini wrap-up:

12 boxes = $120.00

Out of 12 boxes, 8 had standout products

Out of 8 standout boxes, we received 6 full-size products

6 full-size products if purchased separately = $104.30

It was fun for us to look back on the past year of Birchbox, because some boxes aren't as great as others and we sometimes think of cancelling our memberships. But after seeing what we have learned and tried, we think we will stick with Birchbox for another year. For us it has been worth the $10 a month fee and we are already looking forward to our next box of surprises. Hope you enjoyed this recap!

Let us know what you think!