Birchbox (January 2016)

My experience with subscription beauty boxes in the past has been fairly disappointing -- that is, until I received my first Birchbox. As the original beauty subscription box company, they obviously know what they're doing and they do it very well.

Many of us Canadian beauty lovers rejoiced when the company finally started shipping here (up until recently, it was a US-only service). Sadly, however, it seems some good things must come to an end. Birchbox announced yesterday that it will be putting its Canadian operations on hold with the March boxes being the last one to ship. Due to the current exchange rate and the high cost of shipping in Canada, I guess the company had to make a tough business decision. If only our dollar wasn't doing so poorly... not only has it made online shopping and trips to the States ridiculously expensive, now we're losing Birchbox too!

Since I've still got my subscription for the next few months, I figured I'd continue to share my thoughts. At the very least, we've gotten a taste of what a quality subscription beauty box would look like and can cross our fingers for its return one day.

I, for one, am really going to miss the actual boxes, which come in different designs each month. As a sucker for cute packaging this is a huge plus in my books. I've been keeping mine to reuse and store things in because they're so nice to look at. January's box says "2016: The Year of ________" on the lid and inside are some stickers to choose from (think words like "strength", "fearlessness", "risks", and "joy" to really get us thinking about how we want to theme this new year.) Speaking of which, how is January already over?

Here's what came in this month's box:

BioRepublic Cucumber Breeze Soothing Fibre Mask. I love sheet masks because they're so easy to use for a quick skin refresher. This one was nice and cooling when I put it on and the fibre mask is a really nice quality (it's thicker/puffier than other sheet masks I've used). Afterwards, my skin felt refreshed so I think it did its job!

Amika Bombshell Blowout Spray. Since my hair is so fine, adding texture is key. I currently use dry shampoo for that but this blowout spray is a good option if I've just washed my hair and am going to be blowdrying anyway.

Whish Three Whishes Lavender Body Butter. This body butter is really nice; the formula is creamy but not too thick and it absorbs quickly. The lavender scent is calming and the sample size comes in handy since I travel so often for work.

too cool for school Dinoplatz Pearl Bay Invasion. Ignoring the extremely weird name for a product, this is a cream glitter-based highlighter. I received it in #2 Baby Pink Clam, which is a super pretty gold-toned pink that reminds me a bit of NARS Orgasm Blush but in highlighter form (and of course, not nearly as pigmented).

TONYMOLY Tony Tint Delight in #2 Red. TONYMOLY is a Korean brand that I've heard a lot about but never tried before, so I'm glad tofinally get the chance thanks to Birchbox. Plus, how adorable is this tiny lip gloss tube? The actual product is a stain that dries matte and is great for getting that popular Korean gradient lip look.