Birchbox | April 2013 edition

Yesterday I decided to take a day off, jump in a car with my friend and spend a few hours in Brighton. We stopped by an organic shop to stock up on delicious organic groceries – something I was particularly excited about, got all touchy-feely with some beautiful clothes in Comptoir des Cotonniers and had a coffee in a charming French cafe.

Although it was wonderful already, there was another lovely surprise waiting for me as I got home. It was an April Birchbox from the sweet PR elves who contacted me a few days ago asking if I’d like to sample one.

The concept of a beauty box isn’t new, but until now I never really wanted to try one due to the fact that I am very particular with what I put on my skin. What I liked about Birchbox is that most make-up and skincare brands they work with follow the natural/paraben-free/synthetics-free policy – a huge plus both for the skin and health. I talked about parabens before, but in case you are new to the blog, it’s worth mentioning again that parabens have been strongly linked to breast cancer, so, naturally, avoiding them is always a good idea.

Until recently Birchbox was only available in the States, so, for obvious reasons, getting a monthly supply of goodies was out of the question. Luckily, things moved in the right direction and so the Birchbox arrived in the UK to stay.

The April box contained some wonderful and very pretty things including a bar of Le Savon Marjolis soap by La Société Parisienne de Savons (a beautiful mix of ylang ylang and jasmine and very charming packaging), Mirinesse lipstick in Glossy Kiss (the colour, once applied, looked very similar to raspberry – perfect for summer and tanned skin), Paname Paris Mirror (ideal for keeping in my handbag), and samples of Weleda Skin Food (I love this brand), Natio Foaming Cleanser and Gerda Spillmann Renaissance Age Serum.

The Weleda moisturiser had a creamy light texture and felt wonderful on the skin. The fragrance was quite strong and was a combination of calendula, chamomile and rosemary.

I couldn’t use the cleanser – unfortunately it had some pomegranate in it, which, as I discovered last year, I am extremely allergic to, as far as my skin goes.

The serum had a very light, silky, almost water-like texture and gorgeous smell that made me think of Elemis papaya enzyme peel, but turned out to be edelweiss. It’s designed for mature skin, so I can’t comment on the effects of this product. I wish there was a full list of ingredients available, but so far I only managed to find out that the range is free from parabens and synthetics.

I must admit I found it extremely tempting to sign up for a monthly delivery because at £10 (and a bit of extra for P&P) it certainly felt like a good value and great opportunity to discover some new brands. If you are curious, just visit their Birchbox UK for more details.

 

Photo source: personal