Hi everyone! Last week I was kindly sent the Birchbox UK May 2015 box to review for you, as it has a nail-related item inside

It’s been a while since I subscribed to a beauty subscription box – my last two I ended in 2012, so I was pretty excited to open this box up!

The theme of the box is “Free Your Mind”. I was very happy to find that the box is white with patterns filled in, which allows you to colour the box exactly how you like! If you follow my Instagram, you will know I am a big fan of doodling and drawing… that alone has me sold on the box

In case you prefer not to know the contents of the box I have put all the pictures beyond the ‘read more’ button – if you’ve come direct don’t scroll below the 2nd photo

One of the features of Birchbox currently is the ‘Pick Your Sample’ campaign, where you can choose either a WAH London Nail Art Pen, or a set of WAH London Press On Nails. I believe you can choose to leave it to surprise too.

WAH London The Pink Brush Press On Nails

In the set you get 24 Press On Nails in various sizes, 24 adhesive tabs and a mini nail file. The adhesive tabs are good as they mean your nails don’t get damaged, but you still get some decent wear from the nails. I believe you can also buy these separately (if not from WAH London, you can get these from Elegant Touch in Boots/Superdrug). The tabs do mean there’s a tiny gap between your nail and the false nail, but it’s nothing major. They recommend you keep your hands free from water for 30-60mins to enhance the wear-time of the nails. I ususally get 3-4 days out of false nails with adhesive tabs – longer obviously if you choose to use glue.

The design of these is nice, I actually really like it. As you can see they are long almond shape (you can cut these down to size) but this was a big change to my normal nails so scratching itches was immensely satisfying, while things like typing were a little more tricky. It did make me feel very fancy!

RRP: £9.00 (Boots)

Mirenesse Mattefinity Lip Rouge in Paris

This is a lovely mid-pink colour, one of my favourite pink shades to wear. It’s very flattering on my pink-toned skin. I haven’t included a lip-pic as my lips really aren’t looking all that great just now! The wand is odd and fluffy – it makes me feel like I’m rubbing an animal paw on my lips lol.

It dries semi-matte after 30ish seconds – I’ve seen lip products that dry more matte than this, but this is a nice step towards matte if you’re new to the trend (like me!).

RRP: £21

Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Tinted Moisturiser in 01 Light

This tinted moisturiser does what it says on the tin – it has a little tint to it while being moisturising plus having SPF20 in the mix. Birchbox advise that if you have dry skin you should moisturise first, and use this over the top.

The shade 01 Light is obviously a little dark for me, but perhaps if the sun stays out this summer it will work well for me haha

RRP: £27

RMK Point Make Up Remover

This is another one that does what it says on the tin! It appears to be made up of two different consistencies – you may be able to see in the above photo that there’s an ice-blue layer sitting on top of the clear layer. So you need to shake this before you use it. It removes my makeup well and isn’t greasy, which is great! I can’t tell any scent to it myself – which for my sensitive skin is a good thing.

RRP: £20

PARLOR by Jeff Chastain Moisturising Sea Salt Spray 

This is a lovely moisturising hair spray – I can’t tell a massive difference in my hair but it definitely smells extra nice! The idea is to give tousled and textured waves, like beach hair I think. My hair is unruly as it is, so I can’t tell if it’s normal or because of the spray!

RRP: £17

No. 4 Lumiere d’Hiver Reconstructing Masque

This is an additional sample to the promised 5, which is always a nice touch in my eyes! It’s a moisturising hair treatment, which my hair absolutely needs! I’m pretty excited to use this since my hair is rather like straw at the moment. Sunday night pamper session commencing!

RRP: £36

Colouring Pencils

This is a super cute little extra – a set of 6 colouring pencils to use to colour in your box! I love this!

If you have this set and colour in the box, share a photo of it here: blog.birchbox.co.uk/colour where you could be in with a chance to win £500 of beauty treats from the Birchbox Shop – once uploaded share with friends and get them to vote for your box the most votes wins! You do have to be subscribed to Birchbox UK to win, and the competition closes on 7th June so you don’t have long left! Good luck if you’re doing it!

Overall

I really like this box – all of the items included are ones I would use and (if I had the money) would buy, with the possible exception of the hair spray as my hair is too much of a wild animal to be tamed! But generally I love the ideology of this box – it has all the makings of a pamper session or preparation for an evening out! And a relaxing morning-after colouring in your box.

You can sign up to Birchbox UK by clicking here, and then clicking on the ‘subscribe’ button at the top of the page. Subscription is £10 plus £2.95 shipping per month (£12.95 total), or £50 for 6 months (+£2.95 per month p&p), saving £10, or £90 for 12 months (+£2.95 per month p&p) saving £30 a year. You can still buy the May 2015 box, and they even guarantee your money back if you don’t like the box That’s pretty good I’d say!

Let me know what you think in the comments!

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