My November Birchbox: Give (Box #9)

I received my Birchbox today in record time! Very impressed with how quickly and smoothly shipping went this month and also pleasantly surprised with the contents (for the most part!). Their theme this month is to 'give' and so instead of using the additional tissue paper to wrap items, they included a little gift envelope to use to gift or re-gift something to someone special! Here's a look at my unwrapping and the items I received this month:

Normal 'Birchbox Pink' packaging this month ;)

Inside is a little card that gives more information about the theme for the month, as well as Birchbox supporting 'The Art of Elysium' this month. (click to enlarge)

On the back of the card it lists the products from my Birchbox this month, as well as their descriptions and prices for the full-size versions. (click to enlarge)

And, the most exciting part... unboxing! Instead of the normal tissue paper, the little pillow box was used in place and contained two of my samples inside. I think it is a pretty cute idea for gifting or re-gifting and I really like the design/options on the back :)

Products in my box this month, from left to right:
John Varvatos 'Artisan' cologne

One Love Organics Aromatic Body Serum in 'Lavender'

Lulu Organics Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder

Mox Botanicals Pomegranate & Fig Lip Butter

ModelCo Fibre LashXtend Lengthening Mascara

A closer look at the products I received this month:

First up is my 'Lifestyle Extra' this month, and probably the product I am least excited about (I mean, c'mon.. a men's cologne sample in my monthly beauty box?)... Not usable for myself, but at least I am lucky enough that I can give this to the boyfriend to use. This was a ploy to reel in new Birchbox Man subscribers (you can even read about it up there on the little card that has descriptions of my products this month).. Nice try, Birchbox.. The boyfriend doesn't share my enthusiasm for monthly samples. :/

The sample size I received is .05fl oz. and a full size (2.5 fl oz.) retails for $62. (.05fl oz/2.5fl oz. * 62 = $1.24)

One Love Organics Aromatic Body Serum in 'Lavender' - super excited to have received the lavender scent! You can't tell from this picture but the sample actually has a removable cap and a spray nozzle which makes this sample pretty neat and convenient to use. My only gripe would be that it spilled somehow and made an oily mess (hence why I didn't want to remove the product from the bag for photographs).

The sample size I received is 8ml and a full size (90ml) retails for $39. (8ml/90ml * 39 = $3.47)

Lulu Organics Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder

The sample size I received is 5gr/0.17637oz and a full size (4oz) retails for $30. (0.17637oz/4oz * 30 = $1.32)

Mox Botanicals Lip Butter in 'Pomegranate & Fig'

The sample size I received is 0.1 oz and a full size (0.2 oz) retails for $16. (0.1oz/0.2oz * 16 = $8.00)

Last but not least, I received ModelCo Fibre LashXtend Lengthening Mascara in 'extreme black' - this product appears to be a full size which retails for $24. I was pleasantly surprised to see a full size mascara in my box this month, and I thought the packaging was pretty clever with the little mirror on the other side of the tube. I didn't take a picture of the wand because I am actually not planning to open this one for a while as I have *tons* of mascara to use up before opening a new one!

I received the full-size product which retails for $24.

Also, a little added bonus that Birchbox included this month is a 'coupon' code to use at CHROMATICgallerie.com (pictured above)

The overall total 'value' of my Birchbox this month comes down to about $38.03 (this, of course, is all subjective). I'm happy with my Birchbox this month because the products I received are products I am looking forward to trying out, and products I will be able to use. However.. I've gotten to the point where I'm feeling a bit 'sampled out' and I really need to take a break from Birchbox for a month or two so I can use up samples I've acquired (at this point, I'm kind of overrun by them! ha ha). I'm excited about being able to cash in my Birchbox points for some full size products - if you have any recommendations, please let me know!

What is Birchbox, you may ask?

Birchbox is a monthly 'beauty' subscription service. For $10 a month (and free shipping), they generally offer 4-5 deluxe beauty samples, plus a lifestyle extra, delivered right to your mailbox. They have an awesome points system in place and for every product you review you earn 10pts (you can only review your own product samples from your box each month, and you have from the time you receive your box to the 10th of the next month to do so) to their little Birchbox shop where you can order full size products of the samples they offer/samples from brands they've teamed up with.  For every friend you refer who uses your referral link to sign up, you'll earn 50pts. 100pts is the equivalent of $10 in their shop! If you are interested in signing up, you may use my referral link here or you can go directly to the Birchbox website to sign up without using my referral. :)

FTC: This sub was paid for by myself/by my boyfriend. I am not being compensated to write this post, these are my honest opinions on the products and company. All photos were taken by myself in natural lighting, are unaltered aside from cropping/collaging!