December 2013 Birchbox

I know I've been pretty much M.I.A. since last month's Birchbox, but I'm back!!

Wednesday December 11 2013

I know I’ve been M.I.A. since this time last month, but I just needed a little break. With my son’s birthday, a trip to NYC, Thanksgiving and now Christmas coming up I was trying to not spend money on makeup and things I don’t really need. I’M BACK now though, I promise.

This month, Birchbox strayed away from their usual pink outer box for a gold holiday one that was cute.

They also changed up the Birchbox itself. I like when they do little changes like this and December seems like an especially good time to do it. The samples didn’t quite seem holiday themed to me though.

While I had been looking for a new facial cleanser, I wasn’t super excited to see this Benta Berry G-1 Exfoliating Facial Cleanser in my box. I’ve never heard of this brand and I just spent about $30 on a cleanser one of the girls at Sephora recommended. Maybe this is a great product though and the full-size is only $16, so I’ll give it a try.

This product was a little bit of a surprise. It’s Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips. Apparently, it was originally made for nursing moms, but can also be used on dry lips, cuticles, and elbows.

This balm is kind of a thick, sticky, yellow balm. I’m not sure I’ll love it, but it might be great for applying to dry winter skin at night.

I’m always game for trying a new mascara in hopes of finding the best possible one. This FusionBeauty LashFusion XL is supposed to be a “drier formula meant to enhance length and volume.” It kind of smells like paint to me, but I didn’t use it yet.

I have to be careful with what I put on my hair. While it is usually dry and damaged, it can easily get greasy looking. For this reason I’m hesitant to use this Hayadi Pure Happy Smooth styling lotion. I feel like I never love the hair products in my Birchboxes.

I HATE when Birchbox includes food items! This Emily’s Chocolates Fortune Cookie is cute, but I don’t love fortune cookies and would not pay $5.99 for one.

I feel like the first three items in the December Birchbox were decent, but the last two made it disappointing. When I think of a holiday box that says “Sparkle and Shine” on it, I would expect sparkly polish, lip gloss, a highlighter, etc.

What did you get in your December box? Comment below!