I was so excited I could hardly contain myself when I heard about Birchbox, a service that sends you samples of new stuff every month, for just $10. I heard about it in early April, so I was too late to get the April box, but I signed up and anxiously waited for May. My Birchbox arrived last week.
The box itself is a little more elaborate than I expected. There is a nicer cardboard box inside the shipping box. (I shall re-use it!) It’s natural colored, but foil stamped with a hot pink logo. Fancy! Inside, there were a couple flyers and my samples wrapped in hot pink tissue. Cute!
But then it got not-that-cute. The samples themselves were not what I was expecting. I was expecting:
And what I got was:
Here is the breakdown:
Jouer Mini Tinted Lip Enhancer
Bulgari Mon Jasmin Noir
Erno Laszlo Transphuse Night Serum
Archipelago Pomegranate Soap
Tiny Prints Card
I got more stuff than the ad shows, but like, less-good stuff. And smaller sized samples. They say they send 4-5 "luxury-sized" samples so you can really try them out, but it seems like I only really got 3 good sized samples, and then some random stuff. I feel like the perfume sample didn’t count, I can get 3 of those free with any Sephora.com order. Plus: the little soap? If I needed tiny soap I would steal it from a hotel. Seriously, who needs to sample soap? They also threw in (not wrapped up) two single-use samples of Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint. I wonder if the box seemed lame to them as well, and this was an afterthought?
Should I decide I want to buy any of these items in full size, I can order them from the Birchbox website and get free shipping. (Until the tenth of the next month.) And earn points toward future rewards.
It left me wondering if I just spent $10 for the privilege of being marketing to. I kind of knew that going in, but I thought it would be a little more worthwhile. Perhaps I am totally spoiled by Sephora.com's samples and rewards, which I get for free. (Or really, for shopping, but I’m going to do that anyway, so yeah: FREE!) Still, the products will change every month, so maybe it will get more exciting. On their website, I was able to see all the products that were sampled in the May box, and some people got better stuff than I did. I’m going to give it another month or two to see how it goes. I really expected to write a rave review of this service, but… I don’t know. Birchbox?
I actually found your blog when you mentioned it in the Hairpin thread about Birchbox, so it's cool to see you got your first one. Lame what was in it though! I've watched a bunch of YouTube videos of girls who've gotten them in the past and there's usually at least 1 or 2 really cool things from recognizable upscale brands...
ReplyDeleteI'm also frustrated with them now because I ordered 4 3-month subscriptions to give as birthday gifts and mother's day presents and they haven't sent me the code yet, 10 days later. I've emailed them twice and no response. Grrrrr!
I mean, I'm assuming they'll get that straightened out but I'm hoping the next boxes will be better. The idea was that I'd spend $30 and chances were that in the 15 or so samples each of the gift recipients gets, there will be several that they genuinely like that are worth at least that much, vs. buying them shower gel or whatever. But I don't know that anyone on my list would be very excited about what you got. blah blah blah, anyway, hopefully next month is better!
Oh, it's great that you can give it as a gift. If they ever send you the codes. (That part sucks!) It's still a cute gift though. And yes, hopefully next month is better!!! If they don't get it together, I don't know if Birchbox will be around for long.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy you found me on The Hairpin! That must be why you're such a good commenter. Hairpin has the best commenters! Are you going to the meetup?
Oh, I didn't know about them! But :( I'm in Oregon, so so far away. Sounds like a good time; Hairpin commenters ARE the best!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's tomorrow, in Manhattan, so A BIT far for you! I've never gone to one before, so it should be interesting (and a little scary, since I know no one IRL). I'm excited though.
ReplyDelete