Winter Wonderland - Birchbox December 2013

Here it is, the last Birchbox of 2013 created to help you sparkle and shine over the festive period.... Let's see what was inside..

There were four products to help you SPARKLE:

Twistband Hair Tie - There was one of these included in the Limited Christmas Birchbox (which for the record was the BEST beauty box ever made - read all about it here) and I absolutely LOVE hairbands like this. This one however, was a bit thinner than the ones I'm used to which I wasn't massively happy with - I much prefer the thicker ones and the colour isn't very exciting either but still, it does the job. These retail at £10 for a pack of 6

Lipsy London Glam Fragrance - Not a scent I would pick up in the shop but after having a quick spritz of it I actually really like it. It has top notes of orchid, jasmine, peony and incense. I never use these little vials but I'll be keeping my eye out for this when I'm shopping and may have to treat myself - It is Christmas after all :)

Nail Rock Nail Velvet - This looks really interesting, you apply your nail polish as normal and then dip your nails in the pot and it gives a velvet texture. Some boxes included a glitter version which I probably would have preferred but I'm not really a nails girl anyway so this will probably be given to my sister. These retail for £6.99

Number 4 Non-Aerosol Hairspray - A hairspray that's good for the environment and provides flexible hold. I'm interested to see what this is like and I'm sure it will get put to good use over the Christmas party season. A full sized bottle would cost £18.50

Now onto the products to make you SHINE:

BeeKind Body Lotion - I thought this was going to smell like honey, but it actually has a really strong lemon scent. I like lemons but this seems more summery and doesn't seem to fit with the 'winter wonderland' theme Birchbox were going for. I like the formula, it's light, non-greasy and absorbed really quickly. A full sized tube would cost £12.95 and a portion of the proceeds go towards helping the honey bees population crisis

Noabay Milk Cleanser - a natural and organic moisturising cleanser designed to remove make-up and impurities from the skin. A full sized tube would cost £12.95

Alima Pure Shimmer Eyeshadow - Last but not least we have the only make-up item in the box, a neutral suits-everyone shade of mineral eyeshadow to add festive sparkle. This is really pretty, but it is a lose pigment so it's a little messy and you have to be really careful when opening it and applying it. I love the shade choice though :) These retail for £12.50

As always the 'theme' of the box was a little confusing. Not one product in the sparkle category would actually make you sparkle (maybe if I had received the glitter nails, but velvet does not sparkle) and the one sparkly product in the box (the eyeshadow) was added to the shine category. Ohhh Birchbox, you need to put more thought into these themes! 

I wasn't the biggest fan of this box to be honest. I like the eyeshadow the best (wish there was more make-up items included) and the perfume surprisingly was also a favourite. The hairband, although lacking in festive sparkle will also be put to good use but the other product's just weren't what I had hoped they would be. 

What do you think of this months box? Let me know in the comments below...

Linda x