Birchbox (I just signed up!)

I'm quite a big fan of hair, makeup, and pretty much any beauty item in general.  I'd read about Birchbox on a couple blogs and was interested in giving it a try.  Basically, you get a box each month of various beauty samples to try.  I had to get on a waiting list, but I'm pretty sure I joined that just a few weeks ago.  I got an e-mail today saying that I could now join!  I filled out a survey telling about my hair type, skin type, and what kinds of products I'm interested in.  It's $10 a month (that's the total cost, nothing extra for shipping) and from what I've read a lot of people have been happy with their Birchboxes.  I searched for "Birchbox" on Google and got to see plenty of reviews and pictures of the items people have received.  My first box will ship on the 15th, so I'm excited to see what kinds of goodies I receive.  I figure for $10 a month (I can cancel anytime) I'll give it a try for 3 months or so and decide if it's worth continuing with.  I love trying new products and from what I've seen they have some pretty nice stuff.  

www.birchbox.com

On a tangent...  I went to Sephora a while back seeking a new face scrub / exfoliator.  The sales guy that helped me told me not to spend money on anything I hadn't yet tested.  He proceeded to find me samples of products that fit my criteria (skin type and budget) and I ended up with 8 different samples!  It took me over 2 weeks to get through all of my samples, but I did have success in finding one I wanted to purchase.  Anyway, I say this because I thought he made a really good point about not buying something I haven't tried.  Especially with more high-end products, I don't want to feel buyer's remorse and regret spending money on something.  I think the whole idea of letting customers sample products at home is great customer service.  I mean, think about it, this sales guy encouraged me NOT to buy anything that day.  He was definitely confident I would find something I loved and would come back for it...  And I did!

Anyway, this isn't really related to teaching at all, but I wanted to share anyway.  I feel like I work hard and like to pamper myself in little ways every now and then.  So many teachers work hard and deal with a lot of stress and this is just one little thing that I thought would be a fun way to reward myself.  I'm not really one to spend a lot of money getting my hair done or my nails done or whatever, but I do love little things I can enjoy at home.  I'll be sure to post pics of my first Birchbox when it arrives and giving you my own input on how I like it.  

In the meantime, here are a few other reviews of Birchbox:

http://www.thestylishhousewife.com/2012/02/february-birchbox-review/  

(She actually has a lot of reviews, but this is just the most recent.)

http://www.birchboxreviews.com/ 

(This is a whole blog dedicated to reviews of products.  It's really good to see what kinds of things they send out!)

http://www.lipstickmusings.com/search/label/Birchbox

(A couple good reviews and pictures of items.)

http://www.haute-lunch.com/search/label/Birchbox

(More good reviews and pictures!)