My First Birchbox Review - January

This year I decided to kick start the new year by treating myself to not only a Glossy Box subscription, but join the Birchbox craze too. As my Glossy Box reviews are usually months late it got me thinking, that maybe the reason for the lateness is that I don't really like the products in Glossy Boxes. I will probably keep both subscriptions for a while then decide to drop one. The first Birchbox for January certainly made a good impression. I think Birchbox deals with more high end products, whereas Glossy Box showcases more up and coming brands. So lets get started and look at each product individually.

Laura Mercier Body Cream

Laura Mercier was one of the products I knew Birchbox, did so when I opened it and saw one was in there I was very pleased. Laura Mercier is a luxurious counter I have admired from afar at work. Their makeup is really good quality and their body creams smell so delicious and can be smelt across the whole shop. My sister got the creme brulee scent for Christmas and I received the Vanilla scent. I think I prefer the creme brulee but this is still delectable. The cream is highly nourishing and dries quickly so you can get dressed again. The smell is really nice and lasts for ages on the skin, like a perfume. This little sample size will last for ages as well as I've hardly dented it!

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer

I have used Elasticizer and reviewed it before here. This pre shampoo treatment is to be left on for 10 - 20 mins to make hair feel revived and less frazzled. It's great for heat damaged or bleached hair.

Del A Rom Face Mask

I had never heard of french brand 'Del a Rom' until now. Having a 10 minute face mask tied in really well with the Elasticizer product meaning you could have a good pamper session! This hydrating mask is a cream consistency, and at first I thought I may have mistaken it for a moisturiser. As the instructions where in French I had to find the product online to realise that it is actually a thick mask, with pomegranate extract which smelt amazing. After 10 minutes, the mask was completely absorbed in the driest areas of my face, and my skin felt so smooth and healthy afterwards. I really liked this product.

Anatomy Nutrients

Having the Laura Mercier cream and this body oil was quite nice as some people prefer different textures. I personally prefer an oil on my legs, and to have a cream in the upper part of my body. I find oil absorbs better into my legs, and allows you to put even jeans on shortly after, and makes your legs feel amazing after shaving. This oil was quite thick but still easily absorbed. I applied this in the morning and my legs were still highly moisturised by the end of the day. This oil had quite an earthy smell to it which I liked. The yummy Laura Mercier smell would be wasted on my legs as I can't smell that far down!

Birchbox Eye Mask

This little Birchbox own product is a cooling eye mask. It's great for cooling eyes and reducing puffiness due to tiredness. This is even better once it has been left in the fridge, for a cool cucumber effect, but without the mess.

Benefit Pore-fessional

The Benefit Pore-fessional is THE product of this box. Birchbox release a spoiler into what the hero product of the box is going to be, and this was the one they were shouting about. Pore-fessional is a pore minimizing primer and can also be used on top of makeup to keep it in place. My past experience of primers has always been a clear gel liquid, but the Pore-fessional had a tan colour to it, meaning it covered up blemishes as well as pores. I don't have too bigger pores but liked the texture of the product on my face. I also used it on top of my makeup and found my makeup stayed put all day quite flawlessly. As large pores aren't my main skin concern I probably wouldn't buy the product, but I very much enjoyed my sample of it.

Philip Kingsley Haircare

I have just finished using this Philip Kingsley haircare, and here is how I got on with it.

Elasticizer

I have used the Elasticizer hair mask before which you can read a full review of here. I really liked this mask when I used it, it made my hair feel soft and a lot more manageable. It is a pre shampoo treatment.

Shampoo

A lot of natural shampoos do not contain an ingredient that is designed to make a shampoo foam. I am not 100% sure is this Philip Kingsley shampoo is even considered natural, but I can tell you that it did not foam up. At all. Not even lather slightly. Now since using this shampoo I have started using an Aveda Shampoo which is considered 100% natural, and this foams up more than this Philip Kingsley Shampoo. I was recommended the 'Moisture Balancing' range from a Philip Kingsley representative.

I am not going to slate a product, because what doesn't work for me, may work fantastically for someone else, but this Shampoo did not clean my hair AT ALL. After I had washed it, it still felt greasy. My skin has recently changed and become more oily, and I thought that my hair was getting greasier because of that, but since changing my shampoo, I could tell from the first wash that the Philip Kingsley was just not washing my hair properly. As the product didn't foam up, I think it got lost in my hair instantly, and as my hair is thick, it just didn't sufficiently clean it. I tried using more water, more product, but nothing happened. Very disappointing.

Conditioner

The conditioner was slightly better, I used it only on the ends of my hair and it moistures the ends to the standard I would want. I wouldn't say it was the best, but it does it's job as a conditioner. There was no particular smell or anything else that would draw me to it to make me buy it again, it was just a basic conditioner.

Daily Damage Defence

The daily damage defence is hard to review as it is a heat protector, and I can't really tell you if my hair was well protected or not. All I will say is that my hair has not seemed dry or burnt at all, and the little spray lasted me about 2 months.

Not a sparkling review I will admit, but I think it is important not to view everything with rose tinted glasses. I do look for positives in products, but I was actually quite relieved actually when I stopped using these. Philip Kingsley has been around for such a long time it feels almost wrong to not like the products, but perhaps if I used a different range from the collection I would get on better, but after this experience, I am not really interested in trying the Shampoos and Conditioners from Philip Kingsley. I would rather stick to there styling products and treatments.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer

I have been really excited to use this product as I have heard really good things about it, one of them being "it makes your hair feel brand new". I have had my little of sample of this for a while and have been waiting for the right moment to use it. As my hair was stripped of the brown hair colour the other day, I thought now was the best time to use it as it is feeling a little abused!

Elasticizer was the first ever pre-shampoo treatment in the world, and has won loads of awards, including the InStyle award for 'best deep conditioning mask' for two years running, the evening standard beauty award in the hair mask category, and bazaar beauty hot 100. Elasticizer was originally created specially for Audrey Hepburn, designed to revitalise and moisturise her hair that was exposed to damage, from being constantly styled when acting. It works by moisturising the hair cuticle, and adding suppleness and elasticity but without weighing it down with product. It has been a round for 26 years, and is definitely Philip Kingsley's hero product. 

Shiny Hair! - taken from google images.

You have to wet the hair before you apply the mask which is a little annoying but not too laborious. You apply it to the hair in sections, whack on a shower cap and leave it for 10-20 mins. My hair is quite dry so I left it on for 20 mins. It is a perfume free product but I thought it smelt a little chemically, but nothing horrible, just standard hair dressers smell. I washed it out and I could tell instantly that my hair was softer and more conditioned. Your meant to use the mask regularly so I can imagine with prolonged use it would do its job even better. My hair felt softer, and generally healthier once I'd dried my hair, and it looked shinier too. The elasticizer also contains sunscreen so prevents hair from burning when being styled or in hot weather, which also helps maintain colour. I really like this product and for £26.25, it is quite steep for a hair mask, but it is pretty much the best one around! There is also the elasticizer extreme which is for afro carribean hair or seriously damaged hair. It is the same product, just higher doses of everything!

If your looking for a hair mask that isn't in a sachet and actually works, I would really recommend spending the money! If it was good enough for Audrey Hepburn, it is definitely good enough for me!

Philip Kingsley Fact: healthy hair stretches when wet, and really healthy hair can stretch up to 30% its length as well as being able to support 23 tonnes of weight!!!!

*I was given a free sample size of Elasticzer at my work place, but have taken a picture of the full size product so you can find it on the shelves!