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Birchbox Goodies // May 2017


A rose gold AND marble effect? 😍 I was excited for this box before I'd even opened it! This month Birchbox are focusing on the little details and have offered products aimed at de-cluttering your make-up routine. In this box I received a Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow, a Doucce Punk Volumizer Mascara, the new Benefit the POREfessional: Matte Rescue, a Kueshi hair mask and a lip primer from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics! Read on to see what I thought!

Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow in "Vanilla Frosting"

Well this little powder sure does pack a punch! I'm actually really impressed with this eyeshadow; it's super pigmented and it's easy to use wet or dry. I've included a picture at the end of this blog using the products in this month's box and you can see how beautiful this looks on! The only downside to this is that because it's such a fine powder, you do get a lot of fall-out from it, so it's probably best to do your face make-up after it so you don't get a sparkly face (unless that's the look you're going for of course!)

Doucce Punk Volumizer Mascara

I have been on the hunt for a good mascara for a while now, so I was really excited to have on included in this month's box! My lashes are really short and straight so I find most mascaras don't really give me much lift or, if they do, the curl doesn't hold for the whole day. Usually I avoid volumising mascaras as I find they leave my lashes looking really clumpy but even after two coats this one still looked really nice! My lashes actually stayed curled throughout the day as well so I didn't need to apply another coat!

Benefit Cosmetics the POREfessional: Matte Rescue

So this is one of the newbies in Benefit's the POREfessional range; I tried the primer a few years ago and was less than impressed so I was a bit skeptical about this one. Unlike the primer, this formula is more water-based and is designed to absorb excess oils on your face. I have combination skin so I only tend to get oily on my T-Zone, which is where I used this product. I thought it would make my skin quite tacky but it actually felt really smooth after it had dried! My main issue with the original primer is the fact that it breaks up underneath my foundation; I did notice a little bit of break-up with this product but not as much as the other one. It definitely reduced shine on my forehead but if I'm honest my Smashbox primer does a better job at that so this isn't a product I'm going to be buying unfortunately!

Kueshi Hair Mask Shine & Volume

I am honestly so impressed with this hair mask! I've probably mentioned before that my hair is quite dry and frizzy, so I'm always up for trying new haircare products. I definitely noticed a difference after the first use; my hair felt much softer and there didn't seem to be much frizz either! I didn't really think my hair looked shinier, but I'm definitely going to continue using this product so hopefully that will help in the long-run. What's also great about this mask is that you only need to leave it on for 3 minutes before rinsing; most hair masks I've used require about 5-10 minutes so they're not very practical if you've got limited time! 

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar Primer

Ok, so I did really put this product through its paces by using it underneath a matte lipstick; it's my favourite Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream and as much as I love the colour I do have a hard time keeping it on my lips for a whole day so I usually only wear it on nights out. I have to say, I do think it lasted slightly better than it normally would as I didn't have to reapply it during the day. That being said, I do think that £15 is a lot for something that I personally didn't really think was all that amazing. It did work really nicely as a lip balm though and my lips felt really soft after using it!


Ok so here's the finished look I put together using these little goodies!

Face: Benefit the POREfessional: Matte Rescue, Smashbox Photofinish Primer (just on my cheeks), Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer , Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation, Benefit Hoola bronzer and Dandelion blush
Brows: Benefit Ka-Brow and Goof Proof brow pencil
Eyes: Nyx Proof It! primer, "Lockout", "Instinct" and "Lethal" from the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics palette, Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow in "Vanilla Frosting", Doucce Punk Volumizer Mascara and Topshop matte eyeliner
Lips: Makeup Forever Aqua Rouge liquid lipstick

So this is definitely more of a night-time look as it's quite smokey and the mineral eyeshadow is really shimmery. I loved how easy to apply the Marsk shadow was and it's definitely something I could use in lots of different eye looks!

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