October Birchbox! Did You GOOP?

   So this month Birchbox subscribers were offered a choice of two boxes, you can either stick with a regular Birchbox, or you could GOOP. 


GOOP.

Right!? Well, GOOP is the brainchild of actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Each week a free digital magazine is released to us ladies with lifestyle advice for virtually anything, from items in beauty, skincare and fashion, to cooking and travel! Apparently Ms. Paltrow is pretty big on pampering, and she most certainly has expensive taste, so I figured maybe a GOOP box would be loaded with some pretty luxurious swag! The only issue is that although we were able to say we wanted a GOOP box, we weren't guaranteed one, as supplies were limited. If you didn't receive a GOOP box however, we were promised a great Birchbox with the theme of transformation. What does that mean, you ask? Hell if I know! All I knew was that I wanted me a GOOP box!

   And get one I did! I was so excited when I saw GOOP on the side! So after calming down and opening the box, this is what I unveiled:

   Pretty sweet huh? I was a little disappointed when I saw I didn't get any of the cool products shown in the Birchbox sneak peek video, and I kind of expected to be blown away, but I really enjoyed what I received anyway.

   So in my box I received a sample of Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, EVE LOM Cleanser and Muslin Cloth, Jouer Lip Enhancer, and Orofluido Beauty Elixir. I also got some lifestyle extras: two Kusmi Tea tea bags and a LUNA LemonZest bar! There was food in this box! That is always a plus for me! 



Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum ($79 for full size)

    This serum is supposed to help brighten your skin tone and lighten up dark spots with grape-derived antioxidants. It has a very very light botanical scent and feels very light on skin. It takes a little bit to fully absorb into skin, but a little bit goes a long way.




EVE LOM Cleanser and Muslin Cloth ($22-$50 for full size)

   I really enjoyed using this cleanser! It comes with a neat little muslin cloth you use to gently exfoliate. When I majored in fashion design in high school muslin was just used as a kind of scrap paper for constructing garments, so I was intrigued when I saw I was going to be rubbing it on my face! Muslin is kind of rough and grainy, which I guess makes it perfect for gentle exfoliation. The cleanser doesn't lather up, it isn't like typical cleansers. It actually felt like I was rubbing Vicks on my face! But because of the texture and slight oiliness, you don't need to use a lot, so I still have some left to use again next time. 
   The directions are very specific so I did everything to the letter. After applying the cleanser in a circular motion, I had to put the cloth in hot water, wring it out and put it on my face for 5 seconds, and do this 3 times. This cleanser also says it is good for makeup removal- - definitely true! I had some eyeliner and shadow on and it removed it almost completely. I had to rub a little more to get the rest off, but I was happy with the results. After cleaning the cleanser off, I had to put the cloth in cold water, wring it out and put on my face for 5 seconds to close my pores. The whole process was very quick, and my face felt super clean!



Jouer Lip Enhancer ($14 for full size)

   
   This was very nice to try. It is a lip moisturizer with a satin glossy finish. It has a very faint floral fruity scent. and goes on very smooth. It isn't sticky either, it is very light. It had a faint pink color to it so I thought it was a tinted balm, but nope. Either way it is a very nice lip balm and my lips felt soft when using it!



Orofluido Beauty Elixir ($29.99 for full size)

This is a hair treatment, but I was not sure in what sense. So I summoned the magical Google genie and found the answers! According to the Orofluido site, this is what it does:

Applied to damp hair

• Reduces drying time
• Leaves hair light, silky and easy to comb
• Gives hair body and movement
• Enhances the natural shine of the hair

Applied to dry hair

• Gives hair instant shine

• Controls frizzing and makes combing easier
• Leaves hair soft, disciplined and flexible

   This is right up my alley! I'm always looking for the next best thing to calm my crazy frizzies! And it smells SOOO GOOD! It has a vanilla amber scent that is just, wow. I put a small amount through my hair and I smelled awesome! I immediately got a nice healthy shine to my hair too. I really like this product, I think I'm going to buy the full size, a little goes a long way, so for the price I'd  have a nice big bottle to last me forever!



Kusmi Tea  - Detox and Euphoria (full size $21.95)

   I love tea! Any and all all teas! (except chai, ugh! >_<) This tea looks so fancy! I got one tea bag in Detox, which has mate, green tea and lemongrass. The other, Euphoria, has mate, chocolate (yum!) and orange. I knew what the other stuff was but i had never heard of mate before, so I asked the magical Google genie for more assistance! So I found a whole thing about what it was on Wikipedia, and it actually has a very interesting history! So if you're interested in checking it out here's the link!


LUNA LemonZest Bar ($18.75 for pack of 15)

   I've never eaten a LUNA bar before so I was kind of excited to finally eat one! And I love lemon so I thought this is gonna be great! Unfortunately I was half right. Don't get me wrong, it tasted alright, but it had a weird aftertaste that I just couldn't deal with for long. And for some reason the lemon kind of tasted like, well, lemon Pledge. 

   I heard the dark chocolate one tasted better, so I won't give up on LUNA yet! This just wasn't the flavor for me.



   All in all, I wasn't wowed by this Birchbox collaboration. I had heard that a lot of what members were getting were repeats from months before, which bummed me out. I really liked last month's box, and I was hoping that with such a cool collaboration I'd really be amazed. I hope next month's box is better, but I am glad I got to try what I did. 


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