My August 2015 Birchbox

Hello beauty lovers,

I received the following lovely samples in my August 2015 Birchbox:
* Rene Furterer LISSEA Leave-In Smoothing Fluid
* OPI Venice Collection My Gondola or Yours? (black)
* Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant
* St. Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion
* LAQA & Co. lip & cheek tint crayon in Humble Brag (blush pink) shade.

I picked the Candidly Nicole curated box during the sample choice period last month. I was excited to get especially Dr. Brandt and LAQA & Co. samples in this box, also none of the other options caught my eye. I haven't tried 3 out of 5 items in this box: St. Tropez, LAQA & Co., and Rene Furterer. I regularly use and love OPI nail polishes and Dr. Brandt microdermabrasion cream, so it was the best option for me. 

Rene Furterer LISSEA Leave-In Smoothing Fluid smells nice and leaves my hair soft. This fluid works well on tips to protect from heat, also reduces frizz nicely.

OPI Venice Collection My Gondola or Yours? (black) was not exactly the shade I was hoping to receive, I'd rather receive the Amore at the Grand Canal (red) shade that was originally listed under my box. I used to use a lot of black and indigo nail polishes during my teens and twenties, but in thirties I tend to go for more classic shades like red or nude. In general, OPI polishes apply evenly and give rich color, but they tend to chip so it's better to use a top coat with them.  

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant is one of my skincare staples. I was happy to receive this sample size to keep in my travel kit. I like how gentle it is even on sensitive skin, but exfoliates so well. This cream also smells so good and a little goes a long way. I definitely recommend this exfoliator.

St. Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion is completely new to me. I tried it once but found the application a bit bothersome. It requires applying evenly on wet skin after rinsing the shower gel out and waiting in the shower with no water running for a minimum 3 minutes which gets boring. The time I tried I applied some hair mask at the same time to utilize the waiting time better, but still I can't see myself using this in shower tanner on regular basis. 

LAQA & Co. lip & cheek tint crayon is a nice matte lip and cheek tint. It applies evenly and gives out a good amount of color. I found it a bit difficult to blend the color on cheeks, so I mainly use it as a lip color. This color looks natural, it is especially good for gym (yes, I wear colored lip balm or natural lipstick shades at the gym :) ).

Overall, I like every single item in this box and am glad I picked this one.

For those of you who are not familiar with Birchbox yet: It is a monthly cosmetics&skin care subscription service that costs $10/month (including shipping). They usually send 4-5 deluxe samples (and sometimes regular foil ones :/ ) of usually new and trendy brands.
For more information you can check the official page here for US or here for Canada.

Disclaimer: I am not paid for this review. All opinions in this review and all of the other review in this blog are my own.