Birchbox February 2018 Subscription Box Review Sample Choice OUAI Leave In Conditioner

Birchbox gives at least 5 deluxe beauty samples each month for $10. Some boxes have more than 5, but anything over 5 is usually a foil. Boxes get customized to your beauty profile, and you can opt out of one type of sample per box during sample choice. All boxes are a mixture of haircare, makeup, and skincare. There are times when body care items pop up, and you can select an option to receive no more than 6 fragrance vials a year in your profile. You could get a box with 2 haircare items, 2 makeup items, and 1 skincare item or any similar variety, but you will rarely see more than 2 items from any category unless the third is a foil. If you are looking for a box that is mostly makeup or mostly skincare, this is not it. Those looking for a well-rounded sample box may enjoy this subscription.

The $10 charge processes immediately for new subscribers and on the 1st in succeeding months. Boxes usually ship from the 8th through the 12th. At the end of every month (actual date varies), Birchbox will email an option to select a sample (from a choice of 3-5 items), or the featured box where you know all samples up front. Those who respond to that email can also opt out of one type of sample. If you want a sample choice and the featured box, read this article. Subscribers can review 5 samples for 10 points each once during the lifetime of the account. Those who pay subscriptions up front get points to use toward shop purchases. Anyone with a month-to-month plan does not get points for the subscription, but the amount spent will go toward the $300 annual minimum to achieve Aces status.

Birchbox makes a custom box design for each month.

The first thing you usually see when you open a Birchbox is a product card. It lists the items in the box and the price to purchase the full-size.

The back of the card usually goes over the box theme, which is Follow Your Heart. That is also the name of the featured box.

This was the first month where we got to skip a product type. Of course, I selected fragrance. I really like that addition to the box and think it makes this subscription even better. Sample selection this month was easy. There was only one of the 3 items I did not already own, and the featured box did not speak to me. The three itmes to choose from were: Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream, OUAI Leave In Conditioner, or MAC Cosmetics Strobe Cream. The featured box, Follow Your Heart, includes: DOUCCE Luscious Lip Stain in Steaming Red, Sunday Riley Good Genes All-in-One Lactic Acid Treatment, Beauty Crop Wing Woman Liquid Eyeliner in Black, Love Beauty and Planet Smooth and Serene Argan Oil & Lavender Shampoo, and Love Beauty and Planet Smooth and Serene Argan Oil & Lavender Conditioner.

The Box I ended up with is 52057035, which includes my sample choice and 2 items from the featured box. It is an extremely rare box. This is the first time in a very long time where there are 3 makeup products in one box. Anyone who reads the intro will notice this box required me to edit it. Even though one product is a multi use, it also works on hair. One could say this box is two hair products and 3 makeup products, especially since that is the way I will probably use the oil.

Contents are loose inside the box with a single piece of black foam at the bottom. As you can imagine, fragile samples move around too much inside the box and are subject to breaking.

My sample choice, the 0.84oz OUAI Leave In Conditioner is worth $4.65. I use a leave in conditioner every time I wash my hair so this is a sample I love to receive. It will be a while before I get to this specific one, but I am happy to try it someday.

I cannot get a precise value for the DOUCCE Luscious Lip Stain in 606 Steaming Red. The online listing says the product is 6g, which equals 0.21oz. It is unclear if that is for both products (the stain comes with a gloss when you purchase it but the gloss was not included as a sample). There is no size listed on the sample either. Assuming the sample is around half the full-size, which includes 2 products, this is worth about $7.

Looking at this swatch and the shade name, you might be thinking, hey, that’s not red. You would be correct. Other reviewers complained their shades did not match the names either. That makes me think this brand either is colorblind, tries to make shades but cannot succeed, or purposely names them something they’re not. If I strain my eyes, I can see brick-red mixed with a dark salmon. It was extremely difficult to remove the swatch so I imagine this is very long-wearing. I will add a picture and review once I wear it.

0.17oz True Moringa Simplicity Face, Hair & Body Oil is worth $4.42. My skin and hair are dry so I like trying new oils. When it comes to multipurpose oils, I typically prefer them on my hair. I will try this all ways though.

The 0.1oz Benefit Cosmetics BADgal BANG! Bigger, Badder, Volumizing Mascara is $8.57. This is smaller than the 0.14oz mini size but what I like about this is the wand is exactly the same as the full-size one. I noticed the wand in the mini is slightly thicker. Trying this will actually be the closest thing to trying the full-size. Even though I found the original Bad Girl only okay, this is the mascara in my stash of over 100 kinds that I want to try the most.

My eyes are hooded so it is really hard to see my mascara when my eyes are open. I’ve worn this many times now and can safely say it is not my favorite. Yes, it gives volume. It also clumps lashes together.

When I apply only one coat, as I did above, it looks decent. It is also not as volumizing when only applying one coat. I like it enough to finish the tube, but I would not purchase this when I am done.

The 0.05oz The Beauty Crop Wing Woman Liquid Eyeliner is worth $12.50. I just have too many liquid eyeliners waiting for their turns. To prevent too many from being open at once, it will be a long time before I try this. As such, I am not providing a swatch.

This box has a $37.14 value. That brings the value of the average box for 2018 to $33.03. My personal value is also $37.14, because I will use everything in this box. Everything is new to me, and one of the samples is something I would have purchased if I did not get a sample soon. Since the sample size is $12, I am very happy to get it with other things to try for $10. That alone makes the box worth it, but I could still find gems in the other 4 items. Sometimes items you are not even excited about end up as your favorites. That is why I love subscription boxes so much. Other than the mascara, I probably would not have bought any of these items. Anything I end up loving will be thanks to this box.

Through the end of the day, the code BEMINE gives 20% off all products. If you want to subscribe, remember to look at start-up offers and all available offers. When you’re ready to spend your rewards points, remember to add your free two piece sample pack when spending $35 from the Bonus Shop. Tips For Getting the Best Deal lays out all the ways I know to save money at Birchbox. Product reviews do not always make it into the haul article, but you can always type the product into the search bar to see if I’ve mentioned it or reviewed it elsewhere. See other Birchbox Subscription articles. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

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