BIRCHBOX: JANUARY 2014

Birchbox is one of the popular beauty box subscription services and each month you receive a number of beauty/lifestyle products to try out. I've always liked this concept as there's nothing worse than buying a full size product without being able to sample it first and it ends up not working for you. Birchbox is £10 per month plus £2.95 P&P which I think is very reasonable as you typically receive 5 good sized products to sample. It's a great way to discover new brands and trial new products before going straight for the full size version.

I also love the surprise of it, as you don't know what will be in your box each month until it turns up on your doorstep!

(Ok... I'm already late to the party with this review so I'll stop babbling and get onto the January box of goodies!)

Left to right (prices listed are for the full size product):

Birchbox Eye Mask (£10.00) - filled with a blue gel, this mask is designed to cool the eye and surrounding area and decrease puffiness. It can be kept in the fridge until you're ready to use it. One thing this is great for is headaches! I went through a phase of having regular sinus headaches and recently this has helped soothe that entire area. Great product.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer (£27.50) - A product of much debate in the beauty blogger community - some people love it, some people don't notice much difference with it. It is a pre-shampoo treatment which claims to strengthen, nourish and prevent breakage. I have used this product a number of times as I also have the full size one and I have to say, my hair does feel a little weighed down after using it. However, I do have very fine hair so that could be why. I do notice that my hair is noticeably shinier and softer after using this product so I guess i'm still undecided. I would definitely recommend this to people with thicker hair in need of a bit of TLC!

Vasanti Detox Nutrient-Rich Purifying Facial Cleanser (£18.00) - I had never heard of this product before and since getting it in my Birchbox I have only used it once. My skin is quite troublesome at the moment so i'm trying to get it back to what it was before adding new cleansers into my routine. The description card Birchbox provides states that this product will "wash away toxins (not to mention every last trace of foundation) with this fresh cleanser". The time I did use this cleanser, it certainly did remove all of my face make up but I did not use it on my eyes.

Benefit The POREfessional (£24.50) - I always heard people rave about this product so I was very excited to try it out when I saw it in my Birchbox this month. I did panic slightly when I saw the product was a brownish colour as i'm very pale but the colour virtually disappeared when I applied it to my face. It was velvety and my skin definitely felt smoother and more even before I applied my foundation. My most problematic area for pores is around my nose and I do feel it helped disguise this. A classic does-what-it-says-on-the-tin product!

Lavera Basis Sensitive Hand Cream (£4.45) - This product is made up of ingredients including organic shea butter and almond oil to protect the hands (much needed during winter in Scotland!). I have since seen it in Holland and Barrett and would definitely purchase this product now that I have had a chance to sample it first. There are a lot of hand creams out there but I think this one is both affordable and very effective at relieving dry/cracked hands.

I also received a small sample of the Rodial Stemcell Super-Food Day Cream SPF 15 (£42.00). Unfortunately I was only able to try the product once on my face as the sample was in a small packet and I usually like to trial skin care products, especially moisturisers for at least a week to see the effect it will have on my skin as I have dry/sensitive skin.

On the whole, this was another month I was very happy with my Birchbox samples and I can't wait to see what the February box will bring.