Birchbox UK – April 2015

April’s offering from Birchbox UK is the Royally Good box. In honour of Royal Baby #2 (apparently some people are excited about this kinda thing? Don’t ask me – if we aren’t getting a bank holiday out of this I’m not interested!) the April box features a selection of products fit for royalty. After a couple of… mediocre… boxes, I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive about yet another gimmicky box, so it was a nice surprise when I actually received mine and saw what was inside.

Laura Mercier Mascara and Eyeliner in Violet – two samples!? Oh Ambassador, with these cosmetics you are spoiling us! This month was a choose your own sample month, and unfortunately (or fortunately?) I chose the Laura Mercier foundation primer. Seemingly everybody else did, and Birchbox must have run out, meaning I ended up with both the mascara and the eyeliner I guess as some sort of compensation. The purple eyeliner is lovely, much more muted than some of my much loved Urban Decay 24/7 liners but just as soft and creamy. I’ve yet to try the mascara out, as I’ve got a few on the go at the minute.

Lola Barcelona Nail Polish in Rambla -a pretty coral shade exclusively for Birchbox. This will no doubt get used through the summer as I continue my adventures in nail stamping (check out my Instagram!)

Percy & Reed London Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil – that’s a mouthful right there! This is a light, non-oily oil (if that makes any sense at all) that can tame frizz without weighing hair down. It also adds volume, and can act as a heat protectant – what’s not to like? I’ve never used anything from Percy & Reed before, but I’m always hearing good things.

bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash – cleansing, exfoliating, and it smells incredible thanks to the host of natural ingredients such as rose hips, chamomile and passion flower. This is a generously sized sample as well, coming in at 30ml. It’ll be perfect for travelling.

Pommade Divine Nature’s Remedy Balm – I am in love with this, it’s just that good! The Nature’s Remedy Balm is a thick, yellow tinged, incredibly aromatic multi-purpose skin-repairing miracle. I’ve been using it on a patch of cracked skin on my hand, and the soothing and restorative benefits are noticeable pretty much immediately. Apparently it can be used to repair dry lips, but I think the smell (heavy on clove, nutmeg and cinnamon) is too off-putting to use it in this way.

Inner Me Beauty & The Green Coffee Bean supplements – I’m not big on the inclusion of stuff like this in my Birchboxes, but I know some people will enjoy the four week supply of dubiously-labelled caffeinated magic beans… Complete with vague and flaky description of what they’re supposed to do. Actually no. When I think about it, I have a lot of problems with the inclusion of stuff like this in my Birchbox. If you want the skin/hair/nail benefits of Biotin consider something like Perfectil, which still isn’t perfect but when you contrast it with something that is cut with ingredients commonly seen in weight loss pills (spoiler: weight loss scams, please think critically about aforementioned magic beans) and has super vague descriptions about what the supplements are meant to do… “supercharge your hair and skin” ain’t no science I ever heard of Birchbox. Well. If you want to take supplements fine, that’s your own damn business – just for the love of god read up on what you’re putting into your body, and don’t just trust the pretty box with a skinny woman on the front. There’s a frightening lack of transparency about what the ingredients in the Inner Me magic beans are meant to do. No, I’m pretty angry to see something like this in my box. A great big fuck off.

Aside from the ridiculous (and arguably offensive) supplement, I loved everything else in my April box. The Pommade Divine balm is incredible, and I’m smitten with the Laura Mercier eyeliner. Here’s hoping the royal baby is a girl, which means I’d be entered into a competition based off the colour of my Birchbox. Pink. You know. Because stereotyping along gender lines exists from the moment you leave the womb… Those supplements have really pissed me off, haven’t they? Anyway. If you’re thinking of signing up for your very own box of magic beans, I’d love it if you used my referral link to get us both 50 points to spend in the Birchbox shop – that’s the equivalent of £5.

Did you get a Birchbox this month? What was your favourite sample?