Birchbox May 2011 Review

So in case you haven't seen my video of my first birchbox, I have signed up for the program. If you're not familiar with it, you can check it out at http://www.birchbox.com/. It's a monthly subscription where you get deluxe beauty samples delivered to your door every month for $10/mth and they have some pretty big brands that participate. What a great concept - a Christmas present every month. Well the video was just a haul type style of opening the box and showing the products. I decided I would review the products after using them here on my blog. I decided to do this after I threw away the actual birchbox and one of the products so Sorry! I don't have the most comprehensive pictures this time but I will from now on - promise!

Ahava Time to Clear Purifying Mud Mask

This was my favorite product in the box. It goes on like a thin mud and it does dry and turn brown on the skin. I love that it dries and makes the skin tight which I like to think is the point of masks. I've tried some that just stay wet until you take them off but I love the feeling of this one. It says apply liberally but it's not really thick. It's a semi-thin consistency. You only leave it on for 2 minutes which goes by SO fast, then you rinse it off. It says it is approved for sensitive skin as well. Sometimes my skin can be sensitive and I had no problems using this mask. My skin was really smooth after using this product and not red or irritated. I would consider buying this in full size.

Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint

I didn't think I would like this since I'm not usually a fan of anything "luminizing" that makes my skin look shiny but I was surprised by this. I probably wouldn't buy this in full size but I received 2 samples of this and will definitely use both. Plus it's SPF 20 (great), oil free, and hypoallergenic. I think this shade is in pearl but it matched my skin fine. The coverage was pretty good for a tinted moisturizer. I think I bought one once from Cover Girl and it pretty much did nothing but this was almost like a light coverage foundation. And my skin didn't look or feel greasy but it actually was luminescent and glowy. I did a very natural eye and lip and it was perfect for a hot summer day. Am I the only one that hasn't heard of this brand before?

Jouer Lip Gloss

This was totally forgettable. I used it once and have no desire to use it again. It has no flavor or scent (boring) and it hardly had any color or shimmer. There's more in the tube than shows up on the lips. I have to say one big pro was that it was probably the smoothest lip gloss ever - no stickiness at all. But that's not enough to get me to use it again. I need color, shimmer, scent, or taste - SOMETHING!

Kerastase Reflection Luminous Softening Shampoo for Highlighted or Color Treated Hair

 I still haven't used this. Haha. So why did I include this in this review? I don't know. Probably because I could take a picture of it since I still had it.

The last item was a bar of soap from Archipelago in Pomegranate. I threw that away. I think it was a sample that's used in hotel rooms. It has no scent - in fact, it smelled kinda gross because it was soooo soapy. My hands weren't extremely dry after washing them, but come on, I have to have some sort of scent to keep using it with all the great scented soap bars out there now.

I can't wait for June's Birchbox!!!!!