Birchbox Review July 2024

It’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed Birchbox so I thought it was time to give it another go and see what’s new.  You may have heard all the chatter about Birchbox suddenly shutting down last year without so much as a peep to customers. It was covered at length on beauty box forums, but the company was quickly acquired by a new organization and has been consistently shipping boxes since last summer.

What’s New With Birchbox?

They made quite a few changes from what you may remember from the original Birchbox, and a lot of them, I think are actually really great!  The biggest change is that Birchbox now lets us completely customize our own boxes.  When you sign up, you complete a questionnaire to help Birchbox understand your preferences and interests. From there, you’re able to select a variety of products from 4 main categories: skincare, makeup, hair, and body.

You can choose from a variety of brands and products and select full-sized options or sample-size products from the selection. To ensure the value is consistent, if you choose full-size items, you’ll get fewer items in your box, and if you choose sample size, you’ll get more items in your box.

Another change for Birchbox is their pricing. Prices have increased and they have introduced new payment options. You can subscribe to a monthly box, or pre-pay for a 3 month subscription or a 12 month subscription with a cost savings.

The increase in price is so that Birchbox can continue to work with emerging and popular brands, and to offset increased costs experienced in the industry.  I personally don’t mind that they’ve changed the pricing structure – I think it’s good business practice to charge a fair, yet sustainable price, and even at $20 per month, it’s still a very budget friendly option.

I also really love their punchy blue boxes – I think they’re so fresh and vibrant!

Birchbox Subscription Details

Each month you’ll have the option to customize your Birchbox from a wide assortment of makeup and skincare products — pick your favorites, try out new products, and enjoy!  You get to choose every product in your Birchbox. From cult favorites to breakout brands, you always call the shots. Choose items from skincare, hair, makeup, and body categories.

You’ll start by sharing your beauty goals in a brief questionnaire. Answering a few questions when you join helps match you with the right products for your skin, hair, and style. Then, you’ll be presented with options from categories like skincare, haircare, makeup, and body where you can choose the products and sizes you want, or let Birchbox build a box that’s tailored just for you, based on your preferences.

Birchbox has 3 subscription plans that start as low as $19 per box with monthly deliveries. Shipping to the US is a flat rate of $5, and they offer free US shipping over $50 for shop orders. They only ship to the US at this time.

Unboxing the July 2024 Birchbox

I was able to customize my July Birchbox and I picked each of the following items for my box:

Exfoliating Dual Texture Scrubber by Daily Concepts: I’ve seen these in other boxes before, but never tried one personally so I was excited to snag this when my customization opened.  It’s a mild exfoliating sponge that’s perfect for sloughing away dead skin cells and cleansing all areas of the body. I like that it’s compact enough for travel, but is full size enough to do the job!  ($5 value)

Brass Off Shampoo & Conditioner by Matrix (1.7 oz each): This deluxe sample-sized set was calling my name to keep my blond hair from turning brassy after lots of time chasing my boys in the pool.  It smells really good and I’m excited to give it a try. (full-sized 33.8 oz for $24, value is $1.21 each)

Brillo & Volumen Kueshi Hair Mask: This hair mask is intended to brighten and add volume to damaged hair. It’s an easy application on freshly washed hair leaving on for 3 minutes and then rinsing off. I like that I can apply it while I’m in the shower, go about shaving and then rinse it off without any fuss. It really did leave my hair noticeably softer. I had never heard of this brand before, so it was a good find. ($8 value)

Sand and Sky Australian Pink Clay: Okkk, I was pretty jazzed to be able to try this one. I know, I know, it’s been around for a minute – but your girl hasn’t gotten hands on it yet! I thoroughly enjoyed trying it and feel like it really left my skin feeling a lot more matte and less shiny. It’s a pretty small sample, but a little goes a long way and I think I’ll get a few more uses out of it at least. (full-sized 3.4 oz for $21, value is $2.18).

R+Co Twister Curl Primer: Yes to this little gem! I’ve got wavy hair and I’m always looking for easy ways to wash and go without having to style and dry it in the summer. This curl primer was a top pick for me to see if it would define some of the curl without leaving it crunchy.  These are the types of products I like to try the most in beauty boxes like this – something that I’d consider buying if I knew it worked. But something I probably wouldn’t buy on my own until I tested it first. That’s exactly what I can do with this one. Thanks, Birchbox! (full-sized 5 oz for $31, value is $3.10).

Arrow Color Enhancing Lip Balm: This one might be my favorite find of the whole box. I got the color Coral and when I first applied it, it looked almost transluscent. BUT, after a minute, it was straight up magic! It reacts to the pH level of your skin and creates a unique shade based on your natural tint. I LOVED this one! The color was perfect, not too bright, but still pigmented enough to feel like I was wearing something. Such a win! ($15 value)

July 2024 Birchbox Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed receiving this month’s Birchbox!  I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Birchbox as I hadn’t tried them since their hiccup last year. But I’ll be honest, I really like the concept of picking my own products. Being surprised is fun, but there’s something really valuable about knowing that I’m going to get exactly what I want to get and having a bit of control over the value of the products I receive.

I’ve tried many other beauty boxes and I know that some months fall super flat, and others are fantastic. It’s kind of the roll of the dice. But I’m intrigued by this concept with Birchbox where I can pick what I want and ensure I’m getting things I’ll use or know I would like to try.  I think it takes a lot of the risk out of it.

As far as value, the products I received in my July Birchbox had a total value of $30.70. That may not be as flashy as some of the other beauty boxes, but here’s what I can say: I felt like the majority of the brands I received are trusted, well known brands that don’t have over inflated prices.  Sometimes I feel like beauty products in subscription boxes are inflated just to add value to the box, without really having the quality to back it up. I really don’t feel like that’s the case with my July Birchbox.

If you want to give Birchbox a try to see if it’s a good fit for you, I’ve got a $10 off coupon code you can use to try it with even less risk. Use code YEAROFBOXES at checkout here.

I’m going to keep reviewing Birchbox every other month to see how it goes, and I’m excited to bring you along with me.  I’d love to hear from you, have you tried Birchbox recently?  What are your thoughts?  Drop them in the comments and let me know!

-AYOB, Jessica