May Birchbox: Gossip Girl

I received my first of 2 Birchboxes today! This month, the theme is Gossip Girl, and they are meant to be filled with products inspired by the series and Manhattan's chic events.

Gossip Girl is a guilty pleasure of mine, and while I've fallen behind on this latest season, I was really excited by the idea of these boxes, and I promptly created a second account, so I could try out two boxes. This box is actually the box for the newly created account, and my regular account's box has not yet arrived.

Overall, I'd rate this as quite possibly my favorite box to date!  I like every single item in there, and got one full sized makeup item.

Instead of the usual bright pink outer box, this one is a more subtle and chic black and pink. I thought it was a nice touch!

Inside, they put a cute Gossip Girl sleeve on the regular Birchbox box.  I always like these special edition boxes, but I'm a sucker for variety.

I opened it, and found that the theme of my particular box is Downtown Book Party.  They created boxes to suit four different events.  Of this one, they said "This collection has what a city girl needs for a downtown party- a hot book release, perhaps? Go for an edgy-cool look with unexpected pops of color. You'll be out late, so we've included long-lasting products and the skin-fixers you'll need the day after. And don't forget- a good guest always follows up with a thank you note."

Sounds good to me!  

My list of products shows that I received four actual products and three extras. Awesome.  I was super excited to see what I received - makeup items, nail polish, and hair care!  All things I enjoy.

The first thing I pulled out was the Dr. Jart + Waterfuse BB Cream.  This is a four-in-one moisturizer, serum, sunscreen, and skin-perfecting tint.  As I am really interested in trying different BB Creams, I was super excited to get this one! The thing that bummed me out was that there was such a tiny amount of product in the tube - I got a dot smaller than a pea, not even enough for a full application.  But I did really enjoy the way it made my skin look and feel.  I would definitely be interested in trying a larger size of this product.  I'm just glad there was anything in it at all - I read that some girls were getting completely empty tubes!  Birchbox generally has great customer service, so I'm sure they'll try to make it right.

The full size (1.7 oz) of this retails for $32.  This is a .06 oz sample, making it worth about $1.13.

This is the star of the box and the thing I most wanted this month - the stila sparkle waterproof liquid eye liner.  I received it in curacao, which is a gorgeous sparkly blue color!  They also sent out some black and brown neutrals. I was so hoping for the blue, as I have plenty of neutral liners. The applicator is like a felt tip marker, and I absolutely love it - it went on so easily and I got a great line with it. I wore it all day today and it did not budge.  It is so pretty and I am so glad I got it.  This is a full sized liner, and it retails at $22.

I also got Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide, which is a hair serum meant to add shine and moisture to hair.  It is a little vial, and if it is anything like the Elixer Ultime, it will last forever!  It also came with packets of the shampoo and conditioner as extras. I love the Kerastase products I have tried to date, so I am willing to bet that these will be great, as well.  

The full size of the Lumiere Liquide is 50 ml and retails for $42.  This 3 ml sample is worth about $2.52.  The shampoo is $36 for 250 ml and the conditioner is $39 for 200 ml, making the sample packets worth $1.44 and $1.95.

I received a Color Club foil nail polish in Disco Nap.  This is a shiny gold foil and it is so pretty. I don't always like nail polish, but I love metallic gold and I look forward to trying out this brand.  The .5 oz full size is $8, so this .25 oz sample is worth $4.

Finally, another extra is a cute purple notecard. I love to write letters and notes, so this is a very useful extra for me. A set of 12 cost $10, so this cute card and envelope are worth about 83 cents. There is also a little card with trivia questions about the season finale.

In all, I think this is a great box! I love all of the products I received, and I can't wait to try out the Kerastase and Color Club products!  This box has a prorated value of $33.87, which is pretty awesome. I hope Birchbox continues to do special themed boxes like this. I can't wait to see my second box!