Birchbox January 2016

For the Birchbox January 2016 box, Birchbox have collaborated with Pinterest. I am a massive Pinterest addict, and I spend so much of my time pinning away so I was excited to see what was inside the collaboration box.

The box design is really cute with pretty images scattered all over it, with the typical birchbag inside the box containing the products. In addition to the normal booklet detailing what’s inside, there are a selection of postcards included too. The whole theme of the collaboration with Pinterest is to have the ‘best year ever’, which coincides with a new year and potential resolutions.

Firstly we have a 30ml tube of the Caudalie Fleur de Vigne Shower Gel worth £1.35. I wasn’t thrilled to see Caudalie within the box as they’ve been featured in endless past boxes, but everyone uses shower gel (or you’d hope so) so this will definitely get used.

This shower gel is 100% soap-free, with an ultra-gentle plant-derived base, which respects your skin’s pH levels with a white rose and rose pepper fragrance.

Next there is a 30ml bottle sample of the Absolution L’Eau Soir et Matin worth £5.40 which is an organic cleansing purifying water for eyes and face.

I love using micellar waters for removing my makeup as they’re so gentle on the skin, yet they’re effective at removing my makeup without aggravating my sensitive skin. This is a mini size so I’ll get a few uses out of it, but I would have loved a larger size of this as it sounds like a lovely cleansing water.

Next we have a makeup item; the Eyeko Fat Liquid Eyeliner which is a full size worth £12, which is a thick nibbed eyeliner pen which is supposedly good for drawing thin, and thick lines.

I’m not normally very good at using thick nibs like this one, but I’m definitely going to give it a try as I wear eyeliner everyday and love discovering new favourites. This full size product nearly pays for this month’s box alone, so it’s a good addition to the box.

Next up are two samples of the Parlor by Jeff Chastain Shampoo and Conditioner, with the shampoo being a 30ml tube and the conditioner being a sachet – I would have much preferred more conditioner than shampoo as I use a lot more conditioner than I do shampoo.

I’ve never heard of this brand before, but it’s supposedly a moisturising and repairing duo and there are over 4000 rave reviews on the US Birchbox site singing its praises.

The last product within the box is a 3ml sample of the Benefit They’re Real! Mink-Brown Tinted Lash Primer worth £1.37. I have the full size of this lash primer which I’ll be reviewing in full on my blog within the next month or so, but it’s a primer which can be used on the lashes alone for a subtle tint or as a primer for mascara for a more dramatic mascara look.

I’m not a fan of this primer personally as I just don’t notice any difference whatsoever but my lashes are so short, so it might work a lot better on those with longer lashes but this is an handy size to give it a try before purchasing the full size.

The life style extra for this month is a little, round mirror with ‘#no filter’ on the back which is strange considering this is a Pinterest box rather than an Instagram box but you can never have too many compact mirrors.

So they are all of the products within the Birchbox January 2016 box, I’d love to know what you think? For me, it’s not the best box they’ve done but I’d like to know if you got anything different in your box?

All products featured on Gemma Etc. are PR samples or gifted items, unless otherwise indicated. This post may contain affiliate links. If you wish to find out more, please see my Disclaimer within my navigation bar.