August’s Birchbox arrived just when I was in the mood to try something new! Clearly, all the right people over at Birchbox got the special “shout-out” from my post last month and did something about it! There wasn’t a pink lipstick, lipliner, lip gloss, lip stain or lip-anything in sight!

While I can’t say that this box was one of my favorites overall, it did introduce me to some great new beauty goodies to experiment with that I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to. I’m now even a fan of blue eyeliner! Here’s how August went…

{1.} Whish Coconut Milk Correcting Gel – I love the subtle smell of coconut – there’s something so soothing about it that grabs me every single time. Unfortunately, I’m not really buying what this particular product is selling. The Whish Coconut Milk Correcting Gel has all the elements for what would make an amazing product to a women of today: a great smell, a nice texture, anti-aging properties abound, natural and organic ingredient-infused, and helps with sun damage if that’s something that you struggle with. But I put this on my dry to at times combination oily skin type (depending on the day) and my face craved more moisture instantly. I found myself putting on my beloved Murad moisturizer because my skin felt so dry after using the correcting gel. This makes this a pass for me.

{2.}  uniqONE All In One Hair Treatment – My first thought after I made the first spritz onto my hair was “men’s cologne.” It has an unusual, but not altogether unpleasant scent. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but the smell just…works. The texture of this product, a creamy white liquid, was also a surprising change of pace. Its claim to fame is that all of your post-shampooing/conditioning needs are in this one bottle. Ten needs to be exact. Your leave in-treatment, detangler, frizz tamer, hydration helper, and heat styling protector among other factors is here. I have to say that I only used this product once, and I am a stickler for using a leave-in conditioning product anyway (so essentially, I doubled up when testing this product); but I have been enjoying the benefits of a rather good hair day as I write this very sentence. Perhaps the uniqONE hair treatment is on to something. I’d like to use it a few more times before I give a definitive answer, but the fact that I don’t hate it already speaks volumes. I’m just not sure at $17 a bottle, that it’s worth the hype when I’m already pretty happy with my hair care system. Stay tuned…

{3.}  Mally Beauty Evercolor Starlight Watercolor Eye Liner – Another first courtesy of Birchbox? Experimenting with a navy blue eyeliner. And this one from Mally, charmingly named “Sailor,” had me from the first swipe across my eyelid! The color is just the right amount of blue so it doesn’t come across as too much, making it appropriate for a little flair if you work in an office, but doesn’t overpower your look if you’re trying to keep things professional. The pencil glides on as smooth as any eyeliner I’ve ever used due to its extremely creamy texture. At $15 – it’s not overpriced with the added benefit of being both waterproof and long-lasting. I’ll be rockin’ blue eyelids for some time to come. A great product if you’re in the market for the right way to give your eyes a little pop!

{4.} Whish Deodorant Swipes with Hair Inhibitor – I’ll admit, I was skeptical about this one the minute I saw it in my box. I can dig the deodorant swipe aspect to this product, it might even be nice to have with you in your purse when you need a refresher after the gym – but a “hair inhibitor?” Common! Since I obviously can’t back-up this bold claim with the one sample provided, I’ll choose skepticism until proven otherwise. Either way, I really liked the scent of the swipe and didn’t personally feel the need to reach for my go-to gel deodorant after an hour like I thought I might. However, I’ll still to my $4 Secret brand gel deodorant and a razor when I want to “inhibit” under arm hair.

{5.}  (MALIN+GOETZ) vitamin e face moisturizer – My review of the Whish Coconut Milk Correcting Gel applies here minus the lovely coconut smell. This product just didn’t appeal to me at all. The scent was blah and I still felt the need to apply my Murad over this MALIN+GOETZ product for additional moisture, and at $45 full-sized this shouldn’t be the case. Case closed. Total pass here.

Looks like the eyeliner is the win for the month. The hair treatment – a close second. See you for September!