Birchbox {July 2012}

How sad is it that the Glamour Birchbox made me feel more like an Upper East Sider than the Gossip Girl Birchbox had done?

Truthfully, most of my Gossip Girl Birchbox (from May, before I started documenting them here) ended up in the garbage. At $10/box, it was like throwing cash into a trash bin.

And when I was photographing this Birchbox for the blog, Mum asked me something unexpected: "What is this makeup sample box thing?"

It made me realize that I hadn't bothered telling my own mother that the Birchboxes are actually a wedding gift from my dear Mr. Cheddar. And all of my lamenting of our money woes probably seems weird next to my Birchbox posts and collection of nail polish. But yes; besides splurging on wall paint and fresh veggies, Hubs' only other way of spoiling me was with occasional bottles of nail polish and this, a year-long Birchbox subscription, which he is able to pay monthly.

And honestly, after that May Birchbox, I was starting to wonder if this whole thing was even worth it.

Happily, June's Birchbox was much better, and this one from Glamour is better still. I'm choosing to chalk up May's hiccup to the overall deterioration of Gossip Girl itself. Surely Birchbox can't be responsible for that sinking ship!

Anything with this many cheerful colors in one box is okay in my book!

I tried this lipstick already, it's a pink that's very close to my natural lip color, but shimmery and lightweight. It lasted quite a while, too!

I got excited about this shimmery lotion. I've never bought anything like this, because Florida humidity + my olive skin = natural (sweaty) glow, but I tried this on too and it was awesome! I was worried about the orange color but it really does blend better once it's on the skin. I was wearing it in this photo, which got a lot of unexpected compliments on Twitter yesterday! Maybe I should wear this stuff more often...

Ahh. The girly-girl in me swooned over an Oscar de la Renta scent in my Birchbox... and it was a lovely scent. But I don't wear anything stronger than a faint floral scent (the rose water from the last Birchbox was perfect for me, but my go-to is cherry blossom without going full-on 'smells like a funeral home') because I get easily tired of smelling anything stronger. Truthfully, I wish I could eliminate fragrances from my Birchbox altogether, in exchange for more nail polish or something. But my sister loved this scent so it's definitely not going to be wasted!

True to form, I geeked out over, arguably, the least exciting part of the box: the mud mask. But I've never treated myself to a mud mask! I KNOW! What's wrong with me? So now I have a perfect sample (it's pretty substantial, might get two uses out of this one!) to see if mud masks are my thing. 

And lastly, earbuds, which my sister promptly tried to pilfer (she's forever ruining headphones). It comes with a link to a Spotify playlist for those Glamorous gals who like listening to music while they're applying mud masks and dabbing on their Oscar de la Renta perfume. I'm definitely going to use them, and they're a fun, colorful summer accessory.

I'm curious how the boxes will change as the weather starts cooling off. These two summer ones have been tons of fun!