Howie and Birchbox #1 - fresh 'out the mailbox

I signed up for Birchbox around Jul 9th (see link to original post below) – I received my first Birchbox today! Isn’t it so exciting to get a package in the mail!?

My initial reaction – on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being NOT-SA-MUCH, 10 being AMAZING)…

• Presentation – I give a 10 out of 10
• I will admit, I thought the box would be larger (above is a pic of Howie modeling the size)…but since Birchbox mentions you will receive 4-5 samples per month, the relative box sizes makes sense
• It was fun to open – there was a box within a box:

• The outer wrapping had a cute design – upon reading the note inside, this month’s box is designed by Cynthia Rowley (apparently, she is an American fashion designer, her name sounds vaguely familiar)
• The inside was lined with turquoise tissue paper, like a present!:
• The contents – I give a 6 out of 10
• 5 samples were included (pic below):
• Redken Shine Brilliance ‘glistening mist’
• KIND Fruit & Nut bar
• Purity one-step facial cleanser
• AHAVA mineral hand cream
• Mini Zoya nail polish in Shay
• I like the variety of the contents. Something for hair, nails, face, hands, and tummy!

To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll get much use out of these samples. I’m not big into hair spray let alone glistening mist, I’ve tried the Purity cleanser (it’s been around for a while), it wasn’t for me…I have 100 hand creams in my bathroom. I guess, I’ll fo-sho eat the granola bar…and the polish is cute.

Overall, I give box #1…a 7 out of 10…the presentation really carried this one. So, although, I’m not super psyched to try any of the contents…it was SO fun to open up and explore. Also, the notecard included with the contents helps shed light on what they are/why they are in there…apparently, they are some of Cynthia Rowley’s go-to products! (brings it all fulllll circle):

Birchbox also includes a small tag that encourages you to rate the products online…and it says ‘you’ll be thanked with loyalty points to buy your favorite full-size products.’ It’s cool that they’re collecting feedback, which will help compile even better boxes in the future…and even better that feedback helps bank points for full size products down the line. Another offer – free shipping all month on this box’s samples AND orders over $50. Some cool perks!

What do you think? @ $10 a month…not sure I can make the call yet. I’ll report back again when I receive my send Birchbox next month.

• Link to original Birchbox post: http://wp.me/p1kq6s-5h