Birchbox November 2018 Subscription Box Review

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 full-price for their subscriptions up front get points to use toward shop purchases. People who use a discount code on up front subscriptions will not get points. No one on a month-to-month plan gets points for the subscription either. The amount spent for the subscription goes toward the $300 annual minimum to achieve Aces status.

Birchbox makes a custom box design for each month.

The first thing you normally 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 goes over the theme, which is, this fall, there’s no better time to get connected with….

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.

The three items to choose from were: the Love of Color Liquid Shimmer Shadow in Aurora, the N. 4 Smoothing Balm, or the LXMI Creme Du Nil. I did not own any of these and would have been happy with any of them, but I selected the one I wanted the most. Those who selected the featured box got all five of these samples: the amika Soulfood Nourishing Mask, the Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real! Lengthening Mascara, the Love of Color Glow Squad Quad Face Palette in Bubbly, the Air Repair Protect + Prevent Hydrating Serum, and the too cool for school All-in-One Egg Mellow Cream 5-in-1 Firming Moisturizer. As I already own 4 of those 5, I do not need it. Subscribers can always purchase this curated box separately for $10 if they want that and a sample choice. Everyone else can purchase a featured box for $15.

The Box I ended up with is 60167615. It has one hair product, one skincare product, one makeup product, one lip balm, and one body wash. My favorites are typically when the box has a good mix but still lacks perfume, so this is well-rounded.

The full-size 0.03oz Love of Color Liquid Shimmer Shadow in Aurora retails for $10. I’ve enjoyed liquid shadows (since I accepted that I will crease with liquids and powders now). This is one I have not tried yet, and I hope it holds up as nicely sit swatches.

I love this color, which is funny given the name. Once I wear this, I will edit in a picture and a review.

The 1oz N. 4 Smoothing Balm is worth $5.88. I have really frizzy hair, so I love trying smoothing balms. They are usually more forgiving than hair oils, not that I am against trying hair oils. This is one I have not tried yet. It is also a sample choice I would have selected had I not wanted the shadow more. Getting it as well was a good thing.

The 0.23oz LXMI Creme Du Nil is worth $11.12. I love the photo of the full-size packaging on the Birchbox site. It makes this look really high-end without an overly high-end price tag. Yes, this is expensive, but it is not as expensive as other products that come in similar packaging. There are a lot of claims on this cream, but if it delivers the moisture with dewy fresh skin as it promises, I will love that. My skin is really dry, so a dewy texture from moisturizer alone is a feat. This was the third sample choice, and I would have been fine selecting this as well. Getting all three of the sample choices in a month where I wanted to try all of them is pretty cool.

The 0.1oz Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 is worth $3. I already like this lip balm, as does my husband. It is technically a man’s brand, so he usually takes them from me when I receive them. This is the Natural Mint & Shea Butter formula. My comprehensive lip balm article will hopefully be up before the winter is over. For now, I can tell you that the texture is not my favorite. It is closer to Carmex than I usually like. However, it moisturizes better and feels nicer than Carmex. I also think it penetrates to moisture the lips instead of only sitting on top. That means this is not my favorite, but it is far from my least favorite. My least favorite ones only sit on the surface causing my lips to feel dry the moment they wear off, or worse, pull moisture from my lips causing them to feel worse as the formula wears off.

The 3oz Love Beauty and Planet Coconut Water & Mimosa Flower Body Wash is worth $1.69. This is another item that is new to my collection. I’ve given away a lot of full-size body washes lately, because I realize I have way too many to work through in a reasonable amount of time. That said, I really want to try this. Though it will take me a long time to get to this (have to work through so many others that have sat in my collection longer), I hope I eventually get to try this. The longer things sit around the more likely they are to get gifted. It is hard to say at this point, because I am on body wash overload. When a formula is somewhat inexpensive, claims it is hydrating and refreshing, and will probably smell nice, there is a better chance it will make it.

This box has a $31.69 value. That brings the value of the average box for 2018 to $29.84. My personal value is also $31.69, because I will probably keep everything in it. I love that there are four items that do not already exist in my collection and the one item that did repeat is something I already like. My husband seems to love it, so there is a good chance he may eventually take it from me. Winter is just around the corner, and I can already see him taking this first if he raids my lip balm drawer looking for some winter weather relief for dry, chapped lips. It would be nice to try everything in this one, because I really think they could all be great for me. Of course, I will never know until I try them. Trying new things is the biggest appeal of this subscription though, so I am happy this is a really successful box.

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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