First Ever Birchbox! Eyeko, Nail Rock, UrbanVeda and more

First of all, let me say I'm a little behind the times with this! This is a post about the FEBRUARY Birchbox. At first, I wasn't going to bother (It's March, I know, I know!), but its actually my very first beauty sample box and I know everyone gets something slightly different, so I thought I'd go for it anyway.

I've been wanting to have one of these subscription boxes for a while, but I was unsure which one. The one I really desired was the Wantable box, but it comes from America and the shipping charges to the UK are on the expensive side. I thought it was too much of a gamble for something you're not sure you'll like. Then of course, there's Glossybox, (which I still might try) but I thought Birchbox seemed as if it had much more high-end stuff in, so that decided it for me.

I ordered right at the end of last month, so I still got the February box, even though I'll be getting the March one very soon!

It felt like such a treat getting a gorgeous box full of little beauty things! It is a bit frivolous, but I've paid off all my credit cards now so there's a little bit more spare cash each month and I thought 'Why not?'.


Here is the box as it came. All the samples are in a little drawstring bag -  I think these will be super-useful for taking on holiday to hold underwear or bikinis!

And here's what was inside! A good mix of products -  one for the skin, one for the hair, one make-up and one for the nails, plus a cute little mini bar of Green and Black's, which I've stashed in my drawer for chocolate emergencies!

UrbanVeda Daily Radiance Facial Wash

The first product was from UrbanVeda. It's not a brand I've come across before, but I found out that it's all about skincare based on Ayurvedic principles. Its mission is to improve your skin's natural balance using herbs, flowers and fruits combined with multi-vitamins and clinically proven actives. Sounds worth a go, doesn't it?

You can take a quiz on their website to discover your 'dosha' which is a physical and mental type. I got 'Vata-Pitta', which is a blend of the elements 'air' (I am an air sign) and 'fire', which means my skin can be dry and I should change my skincare in line with the seasons (Pitta in the summer - cooling and soothing and Vata in the winter -warming and moisturising).

The products on the site are classified by your 'dosha' and this one is for 'vata' types, which is lucky. Its the Radiance Daily Facial Wash, which normally retails at £7.99 for a 150ml tube. Its formulated with Turmeric extract to battle environmental pollution and brighten the skin, and superfruit extracts to counteract free radical damage and reinforce skin's natural barrier function.

I was going to keep this for holidays or travel, but I have so many travel minis I actually decided just to use it. I'm not majorly one for 'natural' skincare (chemicals and science things intruigue me more at this point), but I'm looking forward to trying something I wouldn't pick up in store.

Beauty Protector Protect & Oil

Beauty Protector is a line of vegan haircare products. They're paraben and sulfate free, which means they'd be especially good for coloured hair. This oil works to guard hair against UV rays, heat and breakage, which sounds good. I'm well into oils for hair, but I'm pretty keen on Mythic Oil, so it will be interesting to see how this compares! They are the perfect finishing touch for de-frizzing, smoothing out and glossing the hair and giving it a subtle perfume. The packaging is really cute and I'm keen to pop this in the little make-up bag I take with me during the day for on the spot hair touch ups.

Beatitude Joy Body Oil

Beatitude , which I believe means 'gratefulness', is another line I haven't come across -  so lots of new discoveries in this box! Everything in their range is made from essential oils and natural botanical ingredients. I could smell this as soon as I opened up the box, it was wonderful! It smells citrusy, but not in that overpowering, Lemon Cif way -  this is a blend of Grapefruit, Bergamot, Orange, Mandarin and Petitgrain which is really uplifting - the perfect thing for these drizzly days. And its packed with different plant oils - Oat, Camellia, Peach Kernal and Daikon Radish Seed. Weird and wonderful. Not sure quite what to use this one for yet, so I'm keeping hold of it for the time being.

Nail Rock Nail Glitter Kit

Nail Rock is a brand that I've seen and admired from afar before. This is definitely not something I would usually buy so it's great to have it in the Birchbox - the way I see it, its all about trying stuff that's a little out of your usual comfort zone! The super-intense red glitter is sort of like Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz. It would be fabulous for Christmas parties in this pillar box red shade. I'm not very patient with painting my own nails (I usually have them done at a salon), but this is so fun and unusual for me, I'm going to have to give it a go -  perhaps on my toes to begin with!

Eyeko Skinny Mini Liquid Eyeliner

This is actually one of my all-time favourite products anyway, so I was very pleased to find this in the box! I've used Eyeko for years (back when it all used to be pink and have cartoon characters and anime on the packaging), but its definitely undergone a bit of a sleek-over lately and everything is looking much more grown up. This is the king of felt-tip style liner pens and is just perfect for getting that feline eyeliner flick we all love so much. I couldn't live without eyeliner! I already have one of these on the go in my travel make-up bag so this will be good to have as a backup.

It was a great box this month and I'm really looking forward to March's which can only be a week or so away! Someone told me this month's has a Benefit product in so I'm already excited!