I can't believe we are in October already! The theme of Birchbox October is self-love and Breast Cancer awareness and if you tag BirchboxPinkUK to your photo on social media they will donate £1 to breast cancer support which is amazing. Also, I was so happy to receive a tote bag as a part of this month's Birchbox, as you can never have too many of them! Go eco-friendliness.

Product-wise I wasn't super excited about this box, but the previous boxes have been so great I'm not too sad about it.

This October Birchbox contained 5 items:

1) Balance Me - Hyaluronic Acid Sleep Spray - Fullsize RRP £20

2) Real Chemistry - Fresh-Start Foaming Cleanser - Fullsize RRP £24

3) Kiss & Smink - The Everything in shade Tulum - RRP £15

4) Klorane - Shampoo with Mango Butter - Fullsize RRP £8

5) Anatomicals Bergamot Cream Body Cleanser - RRP £2

6) Birchbox Tote Bag

On September's box I got these 6 products:

- This works - In transit camera close-up mini - full-size price  £32 

- Daily Concepts Multifunctional Soap Sponge Charcoal full-size - £6

- MCoBeauty Lipstick Petal full-size - £12

- Philip Kingsley Deep-conditioning treatment Sachet - full-size 75ml £22

- The Beauty Crop - B.F.F Brow Friend Forever full-size - £10

- Extra Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix Sachet - full-size 15ml for £49

The formula is creamy comfortable satin that has enough hold to last well during the day. The packaging is a nice sturdy plastic that reminds me of Mac lipsticks. Overall I think it really does what it promises, it's fairly long lasting for a satin lipstick, it has intensive colour payoff, it feels weightless and has hydrating finish. 

I could see many people really enjoying this product.

Would I purchase this again? Sure, it is lovely colour, the packaging is sleek and the overall performance is amazing.

Overall score: 5/5

Philip Kingsley Deep-conditioning treatment Sachet - full-size 75ml £22

Philip Kingsley Deep-conditioning treatment is a pre-shampoo treatment that should leave your hair super smooth. I really enjoy Philip Kinsley's products and I was keen to try this one out. 

I liked the product and used this sachet two times. It really made my long hair feel smooth and nourished. I don't really have too much to say about this product as I'm not too into pre-shampoo hair treatments as they take so much time, but would definitely recommend this to someone needing a proper hair TLC.

Overall I liked it, but I don't see a need to purchase this type of product again especially when there are so many good hair masks in the drugstore.

Overall score: 4/5

Daily Concepts Multifunctional Soap Sponge Charcoal £6

This item surprised me. I'm usually not into cleansing bars as I feel a lot of them are too harsh for my skin and unhygienic, but I'm really enjoying this one!

It could be a few different things why I like this bar so much:

 1) It has a sponge inside that allows the soap to foam to a nice fluffy cleanser that is nice to apply to the face.

2) Even if this cleansing bar does make your skin squeaky clean it doesn't seem to irritate my skin. 

3) It smells really nice!

Overall I'm super impressed and would purchase this item again. It costs £6 and you can find it in Boots. 

Overall score: 5/5

The Beauty Crop - B.F.F Brow Friend Forever full-size - £10

This brow Grow & Groom Gel was a nice surprise in this box. It is fullsize and it has the cutest packaging with little BFF hearts on the cap that I really liked. 

Overall the packaging is cute and the size is perfect for taking it with you and applying on the go when your brows need a bit of a lift during the day. The applicator is quite small - perfect size for my tiny brows and the formula is a thick gel to keep the brows in place.

While I really enjoy using this, I think the castor oil sometimes is a bit too much for my brows and sometimes it makes them feel a bit oily, other than that if I'm cautious when applying this product I really love it.

Would I purchase this again? Maybe not, as I feel there are better brow gels out there for me personally.

Overall score: 4/5

Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix Sachet

The eye cream promises:

RENEWS for a refreshed, radiant look.

FORTIFIES with cushioning support all around eyes.

HYDRATES for a full 24 hours with a 2X concentrated infusion of Hyaluronic Acid

It definitely feels amazing on the skin and if I had this a full bottle I would use it no doubt, but for a small satchet sample, it is hard to write any kind of review other than it felt nice. I bet this could be a great product to have, but for £49 price point I doubt I will be purchasing this again.

Overall score: 3/5

The July's Birchbox was one of the best beauty boxes I have ever received, so August's box had a very thought spot being after such a successful box. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the August box as well even if a few items were a big disappointment. 

On August's box I got these 5 products:

• Amika - Soulfood Nourishing Mask
• Realher - Incredible Bronzer
• VO - Pineapple Peeling Gel
• Sunny Isle - Jamaican Black Castor Oil Eyelash & Eyebrow Serum 59ml (full size)
• Lord & Berry - Line & Shade Glam eye pencil - colour Dore 230 (full size)

This was one of the items I was super excited to try. I had been eying their website for a few weeks thinking about making a purchase, so this came perfect time. Overall I'm not a big fan of exfoliators as I have thin and sensitive skin, so there is not a lot of use out of exfoliator for me. Anyways I was really interested what type of peeling gel VO had created. 

The packaging itself is a super cute yellow tube. The formula is a thick gel, but when applied on the skin and massaged in it pills up to small crumbles that exfoliate the skin gently. This was a pleasure to use and the crumbles very gentle enough for my skin. Also 20ml is a good size for this to try.

Why I really enjoyed using this, it didn't wow me. It was nice, didn't irritate my skin, but overall I couldn't see any big difference on my skin. Most likely on someone else's skincare routine, this could be a great addition but for me, my skin doesn't really need it.

Score: 4/5

You can purchase Birchbox UK here: https://www.birchbox.co.uk/

I have ordered Birchbox a few times in the last ten years and I have always ended up cancelling it after a few months as I wasn't excited or happy with the products. There were too many shower gels and makeup with weird colours.

Anyway, I decided to purchase Birchbox for my 29th Birthday as they were running a 50% off sale on their subscriptions and I was pretty excited. To my surprise, I was in love with the July box! I'm so happy with the box and can't wait to receive the next one. The theme of the box was Fruity and overall the box was very summer-inspired that I liked. Let's go over the products.

On July box I got these 5 products:

1. Polaar - Sun Lotion SPF50 +

2. Ciate London - Watermelon Burst Hydrating Primer

3. Dr Paw Paw - Balm in Hot Pink

4. Beautypro - Coconut Sheet Mask

5. Philip Kingsley - Flaky/Itchy Shampoo

Polaar - Sun Lotion SPF50 +

The sun lotion is packed in a cute and easy to use 20ml tube, it is also fragrance-free. I have to say from the start that I'm fairly picky with my SPF - I want it all high protection, lightweight formula, good absorption and it can't smell chemically and this product ticked all those boxes. The cream is lightweight and absorbs to the skin easily, makeup applies on top like a dream and the formula doesn't smell at all. I have been loving this and might even purchase the full-size product.

Score: Excellent 5/5

First of all, I don't own any primers as I don't use them at all. Previously when I have tried to incorporate a primer to my routine I have felt that the primers I have tried have all been too silicony, slippery or I haven't really seen any difference using them or not. This Ciate primer is different than anything I have tried before it is a water-based formula and contains no silicones. It might sound like it wouldn't do anything but this little miracle really changed my opinion about primers - it is silky and smooth and makes the skin a bit tacky so it grips the foundation and locks it in. I feel that my foundation look better when using this! Also, a little bit goes a long way. The scent is fairly overpowering watermelon that is a bit strong for me, but not a big issue. The formula also has little black spots inside that I assume are for the 'watermelon' look and make the product look more interesting. They dissolve eventually, but sometimes I need to brush away a few of the dots from my face. Would I purchase a full-size? Maybe, the price point seems to be quite high on my opinion for a primer.

Score: Excellent 4.5/5

Dr Paw Paw - Balm in Hot Pink

This Dr Paw Paw's balm is coloured multiuse balm with hot pink colour. I chose the balm in hot pink colour instead of the rich mocha as I wanted to try this as a blush on my checks. The information says that you can use it really anywhere, but it is coloured so I guess the main usage would be lips. I was fairly surprised by this, as I feel that Dr Paw Paw's products are nice, but nothing too exciting. I have received a few years ago from other beauty boxes and I have never used them up, so I thought oh well one more lip balm. I was positively surprised when I tried the balm - the colour wasn't too bright when applied on lips and overall I really enjoyed using the product. Will I purchase it again, I doubt it, but as long as I have the balm I will use it regularly.

Score: Excellent 4/5

BeautyPro - Coconut Sheet Mask

I haven't tried this one yet! I love sheet masks and use them regularly during autumn and winter for my dehydrated skin. My wife also loves sheet masks, so I might give this one for her to try. Really happy that this was included in the box.

Score: N/A

Philip Kingsley - Flaky/Itchy Shampoo

I was actually excited to find this on the box. I have scalp eczema and I have tested out Philip Kingsley's products before, while they don't treat my condition they definitely help out. The shampoo has a lovely fruity scent and it lathers nicely. I just wish they would have made the sample size bigger as it is very difficult to decide if the shampoo is worth to invest just from a few hair washes. Overall I was very happy, but the size of the sample was a disappointment.

Score: Excellent 4/5

Overall I'm super impressed with the July's box! I will review the August box soon!

You can order Birchbox here:

https://www.birchbox.co.uk/

Birchbox also does amazing limited edition sets! I have been planning on ordering the Wonder beauty set that is £35.

https://www.birchbox.co.uk/category/7358/limited-edition-boxes