"Shine Bright Like a Diamond" February Birchbox: Unboxing and Review

I really wasn't happy with the delivery service of Birchbox this month. I didn't get the box until well after it was due, over 2 weeks later. I posted a picture on Instagram  in the hopes of winning the highly coveted and beautiful diamond necklace. 

 Hence the name of this month's box 'Shine Bright Like a Diamond'. See what they did? ;)

I was so happy to discover I had received the purple box as there were 3 designs this month with blue, pink and purple stripes, but my favourite colour is purple! So onto the box! 

 And the products!

Number 4 Lumiere d'Hiver Super Comb Prep & Protect - £20.00 

Honestly, I'm not a fan of leave in conditioners because it leaves my hair feeling greasy and I try to limit product use. For the price of this, I will definitely not be purchasing it. The smell reminds me of swimming pool chlorine and the bottle didn't spray very well at all. It left my hair feeling sticky to touch.

Only Fingers and Toes Nail Polish -£16.00

 I only recently purchased a red nail varnish and so I wasn't particularly a fan of this colour, in 'Laney'. It is a nice red and it's very bright. The polish applies evenly and only needs one coat if you are in a rush, although I always do 3. The brush has a nice and easy application. I would actually really like the packaging because it's simple and very sleek, had it not been for the fact the sticker was on at an angle and nowhere near the centre which made my first impression of the product simply, cheap. When I saw the price I was shocked! Even the name of the polish makes me think it's for kids to play dress up with.

Spectrum Collections Tapered Finishing Brush - £7.99

I've only ever used one brand of brush and that is all in the range of BareMinerals but they are quite expensive. I think this is a nice alternative to them. The bristles are quite thin so definitely not the brush for foundation but perfect for blush. I actually really like the design. It adds a pop of colour to my make-up bag which is always appreciated!

AYRES Body Butter (Patagonia) - £19.50

I love the packaging of this and I think it looks so cute! The cream is cooling and thick which makes it a great moisturizer. It absorbed into my skin pretty quickly but it did leave me feeling a little sticky so I had to wait a little while for that to go unfortunately. I think this would be a great hand moisturizer to use before bed but during the day it may be too faffy to get jobs done. The massive downside for me was the smell. It was a very heavy fragrant which I assume is the overpowering jasmine but if you like the smell, it can be very calming. 

Birchbox Love Of Colour One and Done Shadow Stick (Perfect Cents) - £8.00

Firstly, I thought it was amazing that they let subscribers pick their own colour for their new eye products. If you haven't picked yours yet, click here and to help make up your mind you can watch this video to see the colours in use!

I am seriously impressed with this product. I decided to go for the darker gold colour than the lighter champagne because I didn't think it would show up very well. I was wrong. the Perfect Cents at least is highly pigmented. I wasn't expecting it to be so pigmented in one coat. It is so easy to use, it's as if colouring in your eye lid. I used no primer but the product stayed on all day at the same level of intensity. 3 downsides: it is a little harsh to put on as you have to press quite hard but I think with warmth the pigment will be easier to transfer; it's extremely hard to blend, once it's on it's on so this colour can pretty much only be worn alone; finally it is very stubborn to remove, which is a good thing until bedtime and then I couldn't get it off!

Derm Eyes Make-Up Remover Wipes - £9.50

This was the extra bonus this month. It was small in a packet and contained just one makeup remover wipe, hence only one use. There was no way that the wipe would retain it's moisture over 24 hours. Firstly, the wipe stinks. The smell when ripping open the packaging is overpowering. It worked to remove my foundation and majority of my eye make-up but it was not very effective on my waterline even with increasing pressure. The worst thing about it is that it leaves a thick soapy residue on the skin so you defintely need to wash your face afterwards as it is very sticky.

Overall, the box is gorgeous! I love the design and it's simplicity. I'm really not happy with the variety of products. I received yet another leave in spray conditioner and a nail varnish colour that I will never you. The LOC eye stick, however, was amazing!