A Sample Sampler

When I was a kid, I was basically obsessed with miniatures: dollhouses, travel-sized shampoo, room service ketchup bottles, humans, etc. If it came a mini form of a larger, original size, I had to have it.

Similarly, when I was a kid, I was also obsessed with playing dress up and wearing make-up, which my mom allowed me to do on school picture day. To this day, it remains a mystery to me why I never entered a child beauty pageant.

So it should come as little to no surprise that, when I discovered there was a whole business specializing in sample sized beauty products, I happily shelled out the $10/month membership cost to promptly begin receiving my own samples in the mail.

Look, I get it. You're probably saying "Melissa, take a step back. You can get free samples from pretty much any department store." To which I'd say, "yeah, you're probably right." But riddle me this: how can you know to ask for samples of things like eyeliner stickers and powdered mouthwash when you DON'T EVEN KNOW THEY EXIST???

When you sign up for Birchbox, you fill out a beauty profile with information about your skin type, make up routine (I chose "painted like a drag queen"), and hair color. Based on your results, they'll customize what they send you each month. This month, I got:

 This neat powdered exfoliant, which is just so clever for traveling...

 ...This SPF 20 tinted moisurizer from a brand I've never heard of/tried before...

 ...these ah-mazing eyeliner stickers that I literally can not wait to slap on my face...

 ...this organic zit cream (we all know what blemish means, okay?)...

 ...and this duo of powdered mouthwash, which is also cool, just because it is.

I really like this concept because I'm totally up for trying new beauty products, but not for $50 an ounce, especially if I have no idea I'm going to like it. Birchbox allows me to try a variety of things I'd otherwise never try for a relatively nominal fee. If I end up spending a far less "nominal" fee on a full sized version of a sample I like, well, then, so be it.

Has anyone else signed up for Birchbox? How do you like it? Which products have been your favorite??