August Birchbag - Dive In!

I haven’t done a Birchbox review for a few months, mainly because I haven’t had a huge amount of time or energy. But this month I managed to get some photos taken, so thought I would talk you through what arrived in my August Birchbox.

This month, Birchbox became Birchbag, with an exclusive scuba bag available in four colours. The main part of the bag stays grey, but the zip came in four cool neon colours – Coral Reef (which I received), Blue Fin, Yellow Tail and Pink Pufferfish. Unfortunately we couldn’t choose the colour (I think I would have chosen pink!) but I’m not unhappy with the Coral Reef and the bag will come in very useful. The theme for this month was ‘Dive In’ and the bag contained a selection of samples along this idea.

For anyone that hasn’t heard of Birchbox before, it’s a monthly beauty subscription service. Each box usually consists of five beauty treats from a range of both well-known and emerging brands, and occasionally there is a lifestyle item thrown in too. As well as the monthly beauty box, the website also consists of a shop where you can purchase all the brands that have been featured in their boxes. Every time you shop, you earn 10% of your final total back in Birchbox points, and when you have 100 points; you’ve got £10 to spend! Subscribers also get free delivery on orders over £35, or when you buy any of that month’s beauty treats in full-size.

English Laundry Signature For Her EDP Spray – Full size RRP £60

I’m going to start with a little extra that Birchbox included this month – a perfume sample from a brand I can’t say I’ve heard of before. According to the website, English Laundry tap into the very essence of an English country garden with this fresh fragrance. It contains top notes of rose geranium and creamy white flowers set against a backdrop of woody spicy and musky notes. I quite like receiving perfume samples and am always sniffing those ones that come in magazines. It gives me a chance to discover new scents that I may not have tried otherwise.

Merci Handy Love & Hand Cleansing Gel - Full size RRP £2.90

This is another brand I hadn’t heard of before finding this product in my Birchbag. I’m excited to give it a try though, as I like to carry a hand gel around with me, just in case I need some and especially as I have to self-catheterise. I received the scent ‘New Wave’ but it also comes in Black Vanilla, Cherie Cherry, Flower Power and Lollipop, all of which I would love to try! These hand sanitisers are enriched with emollient beads and vitamin E to hydrate and nourish your skin while fighting bacteria.

Philip Kingsley One More Day Dry Shampoo – Full size RRP £14.50

The next product in my bag was this dry shampoo from Philip Kingsley, a brand I believe I’ve received in a subscription box before. I must admit I’ve never actually tried dry shampoo before. I keep meaning to, but I worry that with my dark hair it might show. But receiving this will give me an excuse to try it out, perhaps on a day I’m not going out, just in case my hair does turn white! Birchbox say that this lightweight spray absorbs natural oils and grease without leaving any pesky white residue. Sounds good so far! It’s a gentle formula packed with soothing ingredients like zinc PCA and allantoin, which effectively cleanses the scalp while helping to keep flakes and irritation at bay.

Marcelle Waterproof Eyeliner – Full size RRP £10.50

I used to wear eyeliner all the time as a teenager, and for some reason have stopped recently. So I will have to give this waterproof one a try to see if I can get my eyeliner mojo back! I received this in the gorgeous colour mulberry, but it is also available in charcoal, expresso, indigo and black. Marcelle’s blendable waterproof eyeliner goes on smoothly and stays put, which is always good in the middle of summer when all you want to do is jump in the pool.

Balance Me Radiance Face Mask – Full size RRP £18

I’m a really big fan of Balance Me products and have tried quite a few different ones so far. I love how simple yet effective they are and how nice they feel on my skin. This facemask has a tripe action cleansing, exfoliating and brightening formula. Ground walnut shells gently slough away dead skin cells and encourage cell renewal, purifying kaolin clay helps eliminate impurities and the brand’s fruit acid complex works on restoring the skin’s natural radiance. It even includes Balance Me’s signature blend of rosemary, palma rosa, lavender and Roman chamomile oils to help soften, calm and cleanse.

Anatomicals The Buff Stuff Citrus Body Scrub - Full size RRP £3.99

Anatomicals is a brand I have wanted to try for ages, so I was really excited to see this inside my bag. This hard-working exfoliator sloughs away dead skin cells leaving skin invigorated, smooth and delicately scented with energising grapefruit. I can’t wait to try it!

Overall I think this is one of the better ‘boxes’ I’ve received from Birchbox. I’m looking forward to using the majority of the products, but especially the body scrub and facemask. I would say there are a good range of products including skincare, hair care and one make-up item, and I really like the summery theme. I think I prefer it to come in a box, but hopefully I can make use of the scuba bag for make-up.

Are you a Birchbox subscriber, and if so what do you think of it? Or are there other subscription boxes that you’d recommend? I’m always interested to try new ones, beauty or otherwise.

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