Birchbox Review: January

The Birchbox game was pretty on point in January. It may not look like much, but these little samples delivered. Here's what I got.

Manna Kadar Lip Locked - All of Me, $24

Once I figured out how open this, which took a surprisingly long time, I fell in love. Contrary to the almost nude color of the cap, the actual gloss is a deep berry color. But spring berry, not fall berry. It's peppy. It doesn't stay on "all day" as advertised, but it stays on plenty long for a gloss, and a heavy pigmented gloss at that. I love this. I'm buying it. I'm interested in the brighter colors, too, Siren and Manna Babe.

Curl Keeper Gel, $17.50

I was initially aggravated at this because it looked cheap and dumb, but this shizz is legit. I applied it wet and then dried my hair with a diffuser. It really did keep my curls from frizzing. My hair was super curly and bouncy, in a good way. If you have curly hair, I recommend trying this. I tend to wear my hair more wavy than curly, but this makes me want to wear my hair curly more.

Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45+, $39

I feel like every time I turn around, I'm getting another Dr. Jart BB cream sample, but I don't care because they're all so good! I haven't bought one yet because I get so many samples, plus I have a full-size bottle of Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. If I ever run out, it'll be hard to decide between Laura Mercier and Dr. Jart. These BB creams have more coverage than my tinted moisturizer, and they feel good on my face, which I like. To be continued!

Harvey Prince Hello Liquid Loofah, $22

So this "liquid loofah" is supposed to be used sans loofah. The directions say to smooth directly onto damp skin, work into a lather, and rinse away. Who touches their own body? I'm not washing my body with my hands. Gross! I squeezed this onto a loofah and commenced scrubbing a couple layers of epidermis away and it worked great - very moisturizing. I love the scent of everything in this product line. I'm not buying this because I don't need a $22 body wash, but I like it.

Essential Elements Wake Up Rosemary Body Lotion, $19

I got the body wash version of this recently and loved it, so I was excited to see this little bottle in my box. It's almost impossible to use as body lotion because of the sample container, so I'm using it as hand lotion. I've been putting it on when I get into bed at night, which is in direct conflict with the "wake up" product description. Whatever, it's a nice, relaxing scent for me, and I like it when I'm powering down for the night. The scent is really strong, but I'm fine with that. It's not as moisturizing as a legit hand cream, but it's moisturizing. I like it.