(1) Beaver Professional "Hydro Nutritive Moisturising" shampoo (RRP: £11.50/258ml)
I wasn’t overly-impressed with this - it worked as shampoo but didn't do anything incredible; why use it when my £1.99 bottle of Pantene does the same job? Also, it came with a sample of the conditioner (RRP: £11.50/210ml), but this was a tiny sachet - compared to the travel-size bottle of shampoo! So I couldn't really try them together, or trial them properly. I'm saving the conditioner to use as an intensive treatment some time when I have a spare moment! Then, when I went onto the Birchbox website to get the details for it, I read some of the reviews and a few of them mentioned that this shouldn't be used on coloured hair. I wish I’d read that earlier because a few months ago I used a semi-permanent brown dye on my hair, and am now convinced that this is the reason for how much it’s faded recently! I thought taking the plunge and going a few shades darker with my colourant had stopped it from going back to the golden-ginger colour it often turns after a few showers, but all of a sudden it's creeping back!
Score: 2/5
Would I buy this full-size: No
(2) Seche Vite fast dry top coat (RRP: £9.00/14ml)
This definitely does what it says on the tin - dries your nails super fast! I swear no matter how long I leave each coat to dry, I never finish painting my nails without then knocking, smudging, and/or chipping them! So this was a really great item to get in the box, especially as it's full-size. I read some reviews saying it can shrink and pull your nail polish down, but I only experienced this on one thumb, and I think that's because I used my hand to write quite soon after applying it. It kind of folded up into a few wrinkles, but I redid it fine the next day. Unfortunately though, it really didn't stand the test of time - so not actually very functional as a top coat. It flakes and chips off very easily (often taking the colour polish underneath with it). I'm thinking of trying to alleviate this by adding another top coat underneath the Seche Vite - because I'm so impressed with its drying capability - but that will make painting my nails an even longer task! Reading the online reviews, some people re-apply every day, but I don't like the idea of such a big build-up of product. Another thing I noticed was people complaining that it thickens very quickly, and Seche Restore Thinner is the only solution that can be used for this. Which didn't seem like too much of a problem to begin with, as I could then use that thinner for other varnishes. But a bottle of the thinner will put you back £9.95 - more expensive than just buying a new bottle of the top coat itself! So if anyone can suggest an alternative fast-drying, non-chip top coat I'm all ears!
Score: 3/5
Would I buy this full-size: Maybe
(3) Eyeko "Fat” liquid eyeliner in black (RRP: £12.00/3.5g)
First off, this was a full-size item too, which was awesome and really makes me feel like I'm getting my money's worth with Birchbox. I already have the Eyeko "Skinny" eyeliner and love it; it's one of the best felt-tip-style liners I've ever owned. I don't really use pencil eyeliners anymore (except if I'm applying liner to my waterlines), because I find pens are so much easier. They're smoother to apply and come out sharper and clearer, in my opinion. So I was mega excited to get this, but I don't think it's suited to me. Maybe I'm not delicate enough, because I feel like the nib is too fat. It's okay for doing the outer corners and flicks, but for the inner corners I found it got everywhere; I ended up with it on my bottom lash line, under my eyes, on the side of my nose, etc.! It does have good staying power though. Perhaps with some practice I'll come round to it, but for the moment I'm sticking with the slim version.
Score: 3/5
Would I buy this full-size: Maybe
This post is quite late going up, so I already have November's box - watch this space for a peek inside that one too!
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