Birchbox Review: One Year After Subscribing

I guess it makes sense to start out with what is Birchbox before telling you my thoughts and experiences with the company and their service. Birchbox is a beauty subscription box. You pay $10 a month to receive a box in the mail every month with 4-5 deluxe (and occasionally full-size) product samples. They throw in random lifestyle products from time to time too, which I find I either love or hate.

I had been hearing the buzz about Birchbox off an on through my twitter feed and from fellow bloggers (namely, Linley) for a while, but it was the Cynthia Rowley collaboration that finally pushed me over the edge and caused me to join. It was my first ever box subscription, and the concept was completely foreign to me. I watched unboxing videos on Youtube from past months, hyping myself up while I waited for MY first box to be delivered. And I have to say I was not disappointed. That first box is still counted among my favorite boxes. In fact I bought two of those products in full-size, one of which I am still repurchasing and using on a regular basis a year later.

I wanted to give you an idea of the products and brands that I have received in past boxes without listing a bunch of products in a big boring list, so I thought I’d give you my top 10 hits and misses.



(1) Blinc Mascara (2) Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee (3) Benefit The POREfessional (4) Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum (5) Borghese Fango Active Mud Face & Body (6) Tarte LipSurgence Lip Tint (7) Korres Showergel in Guava (8) Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara (9) Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner (10) Twistbands

   (1) Redken Shine Flash 02 Glistening Mist (2) ybf Automatic Universal Taupe Eyebrow Pencil (3) Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint (4) June Jacobs Papaya Purifying Enzyme Masque (5) Eye Rock Designer Liner (6) Dropps Laundry Detergent (7) olie biologique huile moderne (8) Supersmile Powdered Mouthrinse (9) Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash (10) Two Paperdolls Coasters

This is not a list of everything that I loved or didn’t care for and there were many that fell in the middle somewhere. For every product that I didn’t like there has always been something I liked and many times something I absolutely loved. I have only received one box that felt like a complete bust to me and generally every box has 2-3 things that I genuinely enjoy trying out even if they don’t end up being favorites.

As far as how birchbox has influenced my spending and which brands I select. From my birchboxes over the last year I have bought 12 of the products in full sized and at least three of the brands I was introduced to by birchbox have become favorites with their products becoming staples in my daily routine.

As far as customer service is concerned I think Birchbox is topnotch. Not only are they prompt in responding to customer concerns, with multiple ways that you can get in contact with customer service reps, but they even have a separate twitter account (@BirchboxOps) for their customer service team. I really don’t know why more brands don’t think to do this. I have only had one instance where I have needed their customer service, and the customer service representative I spoke to was polite, helpful, and fixed my problem in minutes. The thing, however, that has made the biggest impression, with regards to their customer service and their commitment to their brand, is when they had an issue with a set of boxes that did not go out on time due to a delay in receiving a perfume sample. They could have very easily taken then “this wasn’t our fault” approach, but instead they gave each of those subscribers affected 100 Birchbox points (which is $10 credit in their shop). They didn’t have to do that, but let me tell you, that small act and the transparency that came along with admitting the problem, have assured that I will be a long time Birchbox subscriber... and I wasn’t even one of the subscribers affected.

Which brings me to Birchbox points, which are points you rack up for a variety of things (giving feedback on the samples in your box, referring friends, and purchasing from their shop). 100 Birchbox points = $10 you can spend on products carried on Birchbox’s website. I love this system and it does encourage me to buy products on their website versus being them from the companies websites most of the time. If I know I can get the product locally or a brand is running a promo, I do skip the Birchbox shop and buy it elsewhere, but I have bought a number of things from their site (especially when they run promos offering extra points for purchases!).

All in all I have had a very positive experience with Birchbox throughout the year I have been subscribed and I still get giddy like a child on Christmas when that bright pink box arrives in my mailbox! I hope you guys found this helpful. I'd love to answer any other questions you might have about my experience with Birchbox, so feel free to ask!


In case you want to sign up for Birchbox!

Birchbox did not ask me to write a review on their subscription service. I was not compensated for this review post in any way and the opinions stated above are my own honest opinions. All images in this post are from the Birchbox website unless otherwise stated.

*Both links to the Birchbox website in this post are referral links. If you sign up for Birchbox by clicking through my link I will receive 50 Birchbox points the month after your first box ships.

Where I've Been

The plan was to restart my blog on the first of July. I have been planning and scheduling and writing to prepare for that deadline. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like I will be back to regularly scheduled posts just yet. So I wanted to at least get up the post with an update about where I’ve been and why I’ve had such a long (and unexpected) hiatus from blogging.

Well first of all at the beginning of the year I was getting to the point where I just didn’t think I wanted to blog my outfits any more. I just couldn’t make the time to find a location and shoot photos on a regular enough basis to feel like I was fulfilling what I had set out to do with Pixie in Pumps. As time went on and I got out of the swing of taking pictures regularly and things at work got more stressful and less bearable, it became just one more stressor. I started trying to rethink my content, but was never happy with any of the things I came up with, so I kept trying to blog outfits just to have something to blog. Then I lost my remote to my camera, and I just threw my hands in the air and called it a day.

   

In April I got an interview and what felt like a real shot at a new job. By mid May I had put in my notice at my previous job, packed up my two bedroom apartment, moved it all into two storage units (yeah i have too much shit... what can I say), moved in with my parents (temporarily while I looked for an apartment), and started my new job. That’s a lot at once... especially considering many of those things happened over a 4 days period. So naturally my blog took a backseat to an almost complete life upheaval. 

 

So I thought hey, I’ll find an apartment and be moved in within a month, at which point I’ll be settled in to the new job and have time to get back to blogging. NOPE! Turns out apartment prices were ridiculous and I just couldn’t stand the thought of throwing that much money down the drain every month. And as it turned out there was a foreclosure house not too far from my parents that was just going on the market, and in pretty great condition. After a very stressful 5 days I found out that I had the winning bid. 


That was towards the end of May. So I started planning for July for the blog because we all felt sure closing would be before the end of June. Well... CURVEBALL! Turns out the previous owners decided not to pay their property taxes and so there is a hold on my title and the bank can’t get a clear title on the house until the end of July. So with all that said I won't be in my house until some time in August, and living out of suitcases, storage units, boxes, and one tiny room in my parents’ house is not conducive to blogging of any kind. So basically until I get moved into my house, my blog is basically on hold.

 

My plans for when I do reboot are a bit different. I do want to say that yes, I intend to share some of my outfits on my blog, but they will by no means be daily. My hope is that I will post three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and include various types of posts. Since I will be starting a new exciting chapter in my life, expect that there with be posts about some of my crazy life experiences. 

 

The house I bought is an older house (built in 1973, actually) and there is a fair amount of work to do to make it what I want it to be. This means there will be remodeling posts, vignettes of some of my favorite spaces as they come together, and DIY posts centering around home decor/home improvement (and fashion too). 


I am falling back into love with the city I grew up in and finding out all the amazing things is has to offer, new and old, and I want to share those things with you. I, also, want to share some of my favorite cooking adventures and recipes with you. I am trying to eat healthier and think locally. 


I also want to share review and opinion posts about my experiences with products and services that I think you might enjoy. (I have a hefty post on Birchbox already drafted that I can’t wait to share you guys.)

 

Well if you’re still hanging in here reading this ridiculously long post, thank you. I appreciate each and every one of my readers and the many friends I have found through blogging, and you are the reason why even when I was too stressed to even think about my blog, I still missed blogging. 


 I am not sure when I will be back to regular posting, but I don’t expect it to be before August, though I do have some things drafted and I think I might schedule them throughout July. We’ll see. If you want to keep up with my adventures until them, you can find me on Twitter or Instagram as lolainred. In fact here are a few OOTD’s from my Instagram:

<3 jenni