Hi guys! Sorry, I’m running a little late with this post, for some reason, I thought taking a week off I’d have tons of time to get everything on my to-do list conquered. Turns out I was busier than when I actually go to work. Today I’m just going to give you a little run through of my July Birchbox, have a little look at the products and give you the low down.
Firstly, this months box design is gorgeous and if you’ve also received this month box I’ve seen an easy little D-I-Y project to turn it into a handy jewellery box. It’s a stunning little idea for keeping your rings safe. I’ll pop a little picture on here and if you want to know more details just pop me a message. 
This month’s box is centred all around summer as there is no better time for adventure, the perfect time to step out of your comfort zones and try something new. This is my third box now and I was just as excited as ever! What I love most is the chance to try five new products and brands that I otherwise probably never would, this month I received two full makeup products and three mini skincare products. All of the products brands I’ve never tried before, overall I was very happy with my box but unfortunately there were a couple of products I won’t be rushing to the shops to get. 
Lipcote & Co Browcote: This little bottle of goodness has to be at the joint top spot for the product of the month. I absolutely love it, from the creators of Lipcote, this clear – waterproof formula tames and fixes brows in place, it also claims to set brow makeup for hours. The instructions are nice and easy, all you have to do is:
- Groom and colour eyebrows as usual.
- Evenly brush through Browcote
- Allow setting for a few moments.
Since my box arrived I have thoroughly tested this, in fact, I think I’ve used it every day. Since I had my brows micro-bladed I haven’t really worn anything on my brows but I do wake up with them slightly crazy and pointing in all sorts of directions, but with one sweep of Browcote, it instantly smoothes them into place. I also wanted to make sure it would keep a full drawn in brow in place all day, I can honestly say with this on top they weren’t going anywhere. My brows looked just as good in the evening after a full day at work in this heat as they did at the beginning of the day. When this product runs out I shall certainly be buying again.
Merci Handy Hand Cream -Cherie Cherry: So this one I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with, maybe more 70% love. I’ll go through my cons for the product first then we can move onto the happier stuff later. I don’t feel the quality of this hand cream is particularly any better than others I’ve used but it did leave my hands feeling soft. Also, I wasn’t a huge fan of the smell, it’s not awful but a bit too perfumed for my liking. The best thing about this cream is that it’s not oily so doesn’t leave any residue on your hands so perfect for on the go it is also a nice handy size so perfect to slip into your bag. The thing I liked the most about this cream was the little beads mixed into the cream so your hands get a little exfoliating treatment each use. The design of the bottle is rather pretty and comes in two other scents, New wave and Flower Power. Overall this isn’t a terrible product but doesn’t really have anything to set it aside from other to make me want to purchase it.
Manna Kadar Trifecta Bronzer: Now this handy little bronzer is actually a 3-in-1. Designed as eyeshadow, to fill in brows and bronze those cheeks. I did wonder how it would work on all three as I normally use three quite different colours for these areas. Now, unfortunately, the brows did not go well, it just wasn’t the right shade at all, in fact, it almost made me want to throw in the towel it looked that bad. However, when I moved onto my cheeks it was a completely different story. The colour was perfect gave me really subtle bronze and then when it got to my eyes I used it as a base colour to put a reddy orange on top and it actually looked really lovely. The powder itself is a good quality and goes on very easily. Overall I was very happy with the bronzer and is now something I use regularly I will definitely be looking into the brand more in the future.
What’s In It For Me- Shower Scrub: I thought this was scrub was going to be a miss for me. The first time I used it I just slapped it on my hands and it went everywhere (it was a lot runnier than expected) and I didn’t feel very exfoliated. However, I didn’t give up there I went back the next morning in the shower and actually read the directions this time! Recommended use with a sponge or shower puff so I did and boy it made a huge difference. It created a lovely lather on the sponge and really exfoliated my skin. It’s left my skin feeling extra soft and moisturised, got rid of lots of dry skin. The floral smell is absolutely lovely so I felt and smelt great! It’s absolutely jam-packed with natural ingredients like walnut shell, orange and jasmine flower for a great all-round everyday scrub.
Balance Me Congested Skin Serum: When I picked this one of out my box I didn’t necessarily think it would be able to help me. Designed to target blemishes and give your skin a reboot the mix of Roman chamomile, anti-bacterial may chang, lavender and eucalyptus restores your skin’s natural balance. Now I’m not someone that really suffers greatly with spots but I do get the occasional blemish and lots of red patches. After a week using this my skin isn’t 100% better but is an awful lot clearer, I’ve even passed it on to Tom to use as he woke up one day with a spot the size of Mount Vesuvius on his cheek. Now we’ve all been there with one of these and they can sometimes take a few weeks to completely disappear so I told him to whack some of this on day and night and within 3 days the little bugger had virtually gone. I will definitely be investing in a full-size tube of the Balance me Serum. For those desperate times when you just need a spot to vanish and for everyday use over my red patches. The full-size bottle is £16, more than I would normally spend on something like this but for me, the quality and power of what it does is really worth it.
Overall I was really happy with this months box, several products are now part of my daily routine and I’ve found some new brands that I want to explore. If you want to know any more about these products I’ll pop a little link below for you to check them out.
Have you used any of these products before? Drop me a comment and let me know what you think.
Anni xx
Sweet-Pea 