30 days of birthday - day 15: birchbox!

let me just say this for the record: i enjoy being a girl. admittedly, it was not always so. i wasn't the girl that knew how to be a girl in this really effortless female way.  i have always had to work hard at it. for the most part, its a fun ride but that wasn't always so, either. i was a tomboy until i hit puberty -- well, you can read all about that here, if you'd like) and then i was a very angry bitter pill until i hit college.  and then i got hit on, a lot. and then everything went left. thank God i was in texas. but i digress.

my friend gina told me about birchbox -- for $10 a month, a pretty package would arrive at my door, filled with anything from perfume to the perfect lip stain. i get to try all kinds of beauty products i'd heard about but could hardly afford. i love experimenting with makeup -- God knows there's always something new to explore -- but who has the time to run in and out of department stores and the like, and make that happen? and with no real money?

with birchbox, there are no contracts to sign, no crazy commitments, no complications. i get to try before i buy. and yes, there are online video tutorials, a pretty comprehensive website and a store to purchase whatever sample i like. too perfect!

i am smitten with the idea of trying things out at home like this. with enough subscribers, the opportunities are endless, really. what a great idea. is everybody doing this with all kinds of stuff, and i'm the last one to know about it? (probably.)


this is the way it looks when it crash lands on my kitchen table. it feels like a birthday present every month.

when i open it, there's a little card that explains how everything in the box coincides with the theme for the month. cute!

i open the tissue paper and what do i find? such lovely things. to the left, cynthia rowley dress-up band-aids -- something the girl in me could really get addicted to, if i were a little more accident-prone. below that, borghese crema saponetta cleansing bar for face and body -- perfect for traveling. you can even use it instead of shaving cream.

and then there's that little package, wrapped in tissue paper...

...filled with ada cosmetics bronzer ("flatters every skin tone"...yeah, we'll see about that...), bvlgari omnia crystalline eau de toilette spray ("combines notes of lotus flowers, bamboo and Nashi pear" - LOVE what this turns into when it melds with my chemistry/skin) and thebalm cosmetics stainiac in beauty queen (a two in one lip and cheek stain).

there are at least 3 things that i'd like more of from this haul, starting with that perfume. and the lip stain has inspired me.

hm. someone should create something like this exclusively for women of color.

okay, so here's the kicker: if i refer anyone to them, i get points (yippee!) so if you'd like to hook me up ("happy birthday to meeeee!"), please click here. and yes, a thousand thank yous in advance -- because like i said, this girl stuff is not only expensive. it's hard work.