Sometimes, good things just aren't meant to last. And sometimes, good things come to those who wait. And sometimes, neither of these cliches are true and you're just stuck justifying something that was never good in the first place.
Before I even received this box, I had already set it in my mind to cancel my subscription. So this was going to be my final Birchbox Canada box, for all those reasons above and more. The box may say 'Say yes', but everything inside me wants to say no. But will trying this month's contents make me change my mind?
What Is Birchbox Canada?
Birchbox is a mid-priced monthly box ($10CDN for the box + $5CDN shipping= $15 a month), that offers a unique rewards system. If you write product reviews on the Birchbox site for your products each month, or refer friends to the subscription, you can earn points to use in the Birchbox beauty shop which carries a variety of products from brands found in the boxes.
Another interesting thing about Birchbox is that they allow you to see what your products are before they hit your door, so it can be a surprise or you can spoil yourself if you want. Me? I've spoiled it for myself every month except once, so I always know what I'm getting a few days ahead.
In my final Birchbox Canada box I received:
Beauty Protector Beauty Wash Body Cleanser
I really enjoyed the Beauty Protector hair mask I received a few months ago, it smelled amazing and definitely helped soften my locks, and this body wash is of a similar quality. It has a relaxing vanilla and white-floral scent and, as a gel cleanser, lathers up quite nicely. Thing is, I've received shower gel in my last three boxes so I certainly don't need any more.
Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturizing
This stuff smells really good and goes on smoothly as a nice facial moisturizer. It doesn't have any SPF so it's not particularly great for this time of year, but if you use an SPF foundation or sunscreen over it, you'll be ok. A curious thing is that this moisturizer smells almost exactly like Froot Loops, which I'm noooooot sure is the scent they were aiming for.
Parlor Moisturizing Sea Salt Spray
I'm a no-muss, no-fuss hair girl right now. I keep it up in ponytails 90% of the time because I have no idea how to deal with long hair. I've had my eye on a sea salt spray for awhile to shake up my look and I'm definitely going to be rocking this all summer. I haven't used this yet, but it has pretty good reviews from other bloggers and online, so I'm curious to test it out.
Cynthia Rowley Brightening Illuminator
I've not opened this product yet because I just received a highlighter last month (Jelly Pong) so I was a bit unimpressed to receive another SIMILAR product in my next box. I'm sure it's fine, but I won't be opening it anytime soon.
Reel Chemistry Luminous 3-Minute Peel
Real Chemistry Luminous 3-minute Peel
This peel instructs you to wash your face, leave it damp and QUICKLY put the gel-like substance all over your face. Once you've applied it, you need to rigourously start rubbing it in circular motions until it collects into weird little nubby particles. The problem isn't that the peel doesn't work, it's just WEIRD. It feels like when you get glue on your fingers and you can't seem to get the little glue fibres off your skin and it's constantly rolling around on your skin. But on your face. I didn't notice it did much of a difference either? I'll stick with my other masks/peels.
EMI JAY Hair Tie - 1
If it's not Goody, it's guaranteed to snap or lose all elasticity in a week. I've already read about other people having this thing completely lose shape after four days. Oops.
The verdict?
*I'm finally cancelling. *Birchbox Canada isn't a terrible subscription but I barely get any makeup products, it's almost all skincare and hair products, and they're just ....boring. It just feels so boring. I know some people who are totally into this subscription but I've just felt underwhelmed for months now, and even the points system isn't enticing me to stay. It's miles away from the quality of the American subscription and doesn't look it's going to improve anytime soon. So with this post, I'm cashing out my points and have already cancelled.
Are you a Birchbox Canada subscriber? Do you like it? Chime in.
