BirchBox November 2014 Review + Promo Codes!!

I can't explain why but BirchBox is growing on me.  It may because of the higher end nature of the samples they send versus the more drugstore brands in other boxes. It may also be due to their terrific points program which keeps me engaged and interested in actually buying full size products from their site.  Or it could just be the little piece of chocolate that came in November's box!

BirchBox often takes on social causes and for November their box contained a lot of facts about AIDS prevention printed on the outside with an incentive code to get customers to share photos via social media.  Every photo tagged with #shaRED gets $1 donated from BirchBox to the global fight against AIDS.

There are five samples in this month's box which include one full size product, two luxury samples and three really small samples.

The two cards included are a nice color brochure advertising some of the holiday gift items on their site and the explanatory card that gives information on the enclosed samples.

The only full sized item this month is a Fat Eye Stick from Eyeko in the shade "Satin Taupe".  This is a very wearable and versatile color in a shimmering neutral shade that can be used as a thick liner or smudged as an eye shadow.  Retail $15

It's about time a subscription box sent a bath product!  For some reason, those are few and far between.  This "Joy Inducing Body Wash" from "Not Soap, Radio" has a light fresh lemony scent. There's not as much here as I would like but at this point, I'm grateful to get ANYTHING for the bath!  I'm baffled by the name and a quick search of their website didn't produce any explanation but they do have a lot of fun looking products that require more investigation.  Full size retail $16

The next product is one I've received before in a couple of other subscription boxes. This is Rusk's Texture Dry Finishing Spray in Medium Hold. I've heard that this is a very effective product but since the last thing my hair needs is more texture, I'll be passing this along to someone else. What I could use is a "Calm Down" hair spray!  Full size retail $18

There is a card containing three very small samples of Silk Cream Lipstick & Lip Primer from Make, a brand I've never come across before. There are tiny amounts of the primer and two colors ("Maraschino Cherry" and "Magnolia") attached to this card.  The colors are both quite pretty but I would have MUCH preferred one full size lipstick or at least a luxury sample size tube. This seems like a throw-away or filler sample and not what I expect from BirchBox.  Full size retail $36

Last is a very small (.25 oz.) sample of Platinume Gold Imperial Repair Hand Therapy from Camille Beckman, a ridiculously pretentious name for a hand lotion.  But I really like this product; it might even be my favorite one in this box.  I don't know if I received a defective sample but this little tube is only half full as you can see in the photo.  Since it's so tiny to begin with, seems like they could have at least filled the tube! Still, this is a great product and leaves a very nice fresh scent on your hands.  Full size retail $20

There should be a law that chocolate must be included in every subscription box!  Even better...subscribers should be able to indicate their preference of milk or dark chocolate and be assured of receiving their favorite. When we are lucky enough to receive chocolate, seems like it is milk chocolate about 75% of the time.  Of course, I prefer dark! Oh well, chocolate is chocolate. This little sample is a ChocoPod which is a very tasty milk chocolate covered kettle cooked potato chip.  Full size retail is $1.00  

Since BirchBox is only $10 a month, there aren't many cash discount codes to be found. But they frequently offer codes which will get you various benefits on their site.  Here are a few to try:

BBJETBLUE - Gives a $10 credit in their store when you subscribe

BBRED100 - Gives $10 off when you sign up plus 100 points in your account

Mobile10 - Gets 20% off purchase of $50 or more in their store

bbshop - Free shipping on your order

20BACK - Through 11-25-14, get $20 off entire order when you sign up for a subscription plus free shipping if you spend $25. 

CRBLIP - Get a Cynthia Rowley lip gloss mini with a monthly subscription or a full size with an annual subscription.

If the above codes don't work at the time you read this, there likely will be newer ones if you search around a bit. Keep in mind that you can get one month free with an annual subscription, which is $110. 

Click here to get the December BirchBox and start sampling some luxury cosmetics!

Cheryl

P. S.  It bears repeating that BirchBox has the best points system around.  Every 100 points gets you $10 off in their shop and those points add up fast.  (It is well worth the few minutes it takes to review each product in your monthly box since that little exercise alone will net you 50 points every month.)  I haven't paid much attention to my points total lately so was shocked when I just checked and found out I had 400 points (or $40) to spend on their site!  

Disclosure:  Views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly my own.  Product discussed in this post was purchased with my own money. Post may contain referral or affiliate links.