Gossip Girl Themed Birchbox

With a guest appearance by Duke The Wonder Dog! Oh and in the video, I give a shout out to the fantabulous Spanky luvs Vintage and Briebella's 

Everybody probably knows about Birchbox already- $10 a month, you fill out a profile, you get a curated beauty box. I still think of Birchbox as the original and probably the most consistent of all of the subscription services. If I had to pick just one, Birchbox would be it. You ALWAYS get your money's worth and looking at other bloggers, people DO get different things based on their profile. For instance, last month some folks got an ENORMOUS Stila bronzer, and while I was jealous of their full sized Stila product, what the hell am I gonna do with a bronzer? I got Cynthia Rowley band aids instead, and believe you me- if anybody can use Band Aids, it's me. Apparently they do roughly 20 different box styles each month. I gotta admit to be a little miffed at the gals who got the Stila Sparkle waterproof eyeliner in their boxes. DANGIT! I want more makeup!

This time they partnered with the TV show Gossip Girl, and while I've never seen the show, I get the gist. Hot  sophisticated gals in the city, right? Probably all young enough to be my children, but whatevs.

Well in my box I got

Arquiste Flor y Canto-full size is 55 ml and retails for $165 This is a vial so value is hard to guess, but holy hell. This perfume is EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!! Getting a few wears of a $165 perfume is a bonus for me! (and despite all the complaints I see about vial perfume samples, I actually quite like them. I don't like to be predictable with my scents, I really choose based on my mood, my outfit, and the occasion. Having a jar full of vials means I never have to get boring.) And did I mention that this stuff SMELLS like it's totally worth $165? Like to the point where I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get some when I get paid? Whoohee! It smells SOOOOOOOOOOO amazing.................

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream- Full size is .75 ml and retails for $19. I received .15ml for a retail of $3.80  I am absolutely buggers for anything by Caudalie. I'm glad to see them spreading across the US market- they used to be my own little (expensive, imported) secret. Not NEARLY as pricey now that I don't have to have it shipped from France. They were really the first company to realize how awesome grape infused products are. 
FusionBeauty LipFusion Balm Lip Conditioning Stick SPF 15-Full size retails for $22 So BOOM, there's double the cost of the box already, everything else is just gravy. The packaging queen here is in love with the gorgeous heavy duty metal container. Like, when I use this up I'm gonna melt some other balm or lipstick and pour it into this thing. I feel like Miss Sophisticate just pulling this out of my purse. 
Ojon damage reverse™ Restorative Conditioner- Full size is 8.5 Fl oz. and retails for $25. I received 1fl oz for a retail of $2.95 I guess I will be needing this to get me through my 30 days, 30 hairstyles challenge! I don't normally use a lot of tools on my hair, but I'm pretty sure something that produces heat is going to have to be used to step up my game soon!
Birchbox Notecards - $10 for a set of 12, so worth, what, about 75 cents?
Birchbox, I love you and have been a devoted subscriber since you started out. PLEASE stop making the "Birchbox Extra" be stupid stuff like this. At least the laundry detergent was useful. If I want notecards, I'll go the handmade route and get them from some place like Elodie's Shop  (who by the way is having a Christmas In July sale) where they're unique and original. God, at least it wasn't a cardboard coaster.

So tiny whinges aside, I actually am still hopelessly devoted to Birchbox. If you wanna sign up, Here's A Link.