September 2011
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Ingredient Decoder: Retinol
Photo: All Women Stalk
I started using retinol creams at the ripe old age of 21. It wasn’t because I had a lifetime’s worth of wrinkles to erase; I had just read a slew of magazine articles touting retinol as a miracle skin saver for all sorts of issues. A quick refresher: retinol is Vitamin A in its purest form, and dermatologists call it the topical gold standard for anti-aging,...
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Justin Bieber 'Someday' Commercial Outtakes
Okay, remember the amazingly cheesy commercial that Justin Bieber made for his fragrance, Someday? Good. Do you also recall when Jimmy Fallon made everything better with his spoof commercial, featuring Bieber and himself? Good. Jimmy has finally released the outtakes from that fateful day for our entertainment. Watch and enjoy. It is Friday, after all.
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Mizrahi Makes Millions, Palermo To Launch Site,...
Photos: WWD, PeopleStyleWatch
This week, we’re in a mood to try new things: adventurous eye ornamentation, ’40s style hair, and nail art galore. We’ve also got big pieces of news from two style icons — one of which signals the end of an era and another that hopefully marks the start of a new one. Happy Last Day of September!
Can’t get enough of fashion week manicures? This...
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My Wish List: Guest Blogger
The moment you start reading Alex Yeske’s dreams + jeans blog, you know one thing for sure: the girl has excellent taste. Musing on everything from fashion to beauty to design, the recent Syracuse grad has a knack for spotting pretty things — a skill that no doubt serves her well in her day job as a graphic designer for Madewell. This week, we’re lucky enough to have her guest blogging...
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Cooler Cleanse's Get Well Gift that Gives Back
Despite the copious amounts of EBOOST consumed in our office, there’s been a whole lot of coughing lately. Yes, cold season is here. This year, instead of sending sniffling loved ones soup or flowers, how about case of vitamin-packed juices? Cooler Cleanse’s Healing Cooler is a collection of six fresh-pressed juices that you can have delivered anywhere in the continental United...
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Of a Kind: Birchbox's Emerging Beauty Brand of the... →
ofakind:
Birchbox’s Mollie Chen is on a fragrance kick. And, since there’s nothing cooler than having a signature scent that no one can quite pin down—beyond Curious by Britney Spears—we’re more than OK with it.
Judging by how much time I’ve been spending on Jetsetter lately, it’s…
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Design Your Own Decals: Nailing It
Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails — and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every week for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
Last week while reading All Lacquered Up, I came across a post on a...
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Celeb Hair Stylist Kristan Serafino's Insider Tips
Yesterday, I took a break from my usual salad-in-front-of-laptop for a fun lunch with celebrity hair stylist Kristan Serafino. A real-life renaissance woman, Serafino styles celebs, designs runway looks, consults for brands, and hosts training sessions for young stylists. Oh, and that’s even before we start talking about her blog, Serafino Says. A mix of useful tips, behind the scenes pics,...
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Friendly Advice: Guest Blogger
The moment you start reading Alex Yeske’s dreams + jeans blog, you know one thing for sure: the girl has excellent taste. Musing on everything from fashion to beauty to design, the recent Syracuse grad has a knack for spotting pretty things — a skill that no doubt serves her well in her day job as a graphic designer for Madewell. This week, we’re lucky enough to have her guest blogging...
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textravert asked: Hello again lovelies, it's Genevieve popping in to say THANK YOU! I asked a while ago about help with my foundation oxidation problem and you guys were so right! It was my powder that was causing my oxidation problem, not my foundation! Taking that out of the equation plus using an oil-free foundation cleared up my problem almost immediately. You guys are seriously genius. Thank you so much!
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Lemme Upgrade Ya (Part 1): You've Got Male
Change can be scary. I get that. I think many guys feel intimidated when it comes to overhauling their regular routine — and with good reason. When we have habits that we’ve lived with for years, the idea of a ‘makeover’ is terrifying. Too much change all at once! So, I have decided to take a step-by-step approach to upgrading and will be dedicating the next few weeks to...
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Crystal Renn Reveals Her Contouring Secret At...
Last night two big things happened: 1) Benefit opened its much-anticipated first New York City location and 2) I scratched meeting supermodel Crystal Renn off my bucket list. Renn was co-hosting the party with Maggie Ford Danielson (who is the daughter of Benefit co-founder Jean Ford and the company’s current trend artist and global beauty authority). In addition to be festively attired in...
formerlycarolwalden asked: Dear Birchbox- I am a poor college student... Since I am bettering myself and the future of our country wanna send me free monthly boxes?? I will blog about it and promise when I run for Presidency to implement a Birchbox for everyone campaign ;) worth a shot right???
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Party Pics: Birchbox + Smashbox Event in Los...
We may be a New York-based company, but we have members in all 50 states. Last week we got to meet some of our amazing California Birchbox-ers at our Birchbox + Smashbox party in Los Angeles. Smashbox generously loaned us their Culver City studio and 12 pro artists for a night of makeup, cocktails, and fun. In addition to makeovers, celebrity photographer Steven Khan and his team heroically...
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Brighter Skin in Ten Minutes with Juice Beauty
I was at a Juice Beauty media lunch the other day, and in addition to gossiping about recent online scandals, I also got a real-time reminder that Juice’s products really, really work. It sounds like the tagline of an informercial but Juice Beauty’s Green Apple Peel Full Strength does give an instant boost to your skin, without any gimmicks. Unlike many so-called natural lines, Juice...
kyerabianca asked: The weather is starting to get cold and I'm noticing that my skin is flaky around my nose and mouth area. I think it's time to switch to a "winter moisturizer"... Any recommendations? :)
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Of a Kind Designer Elizabeth Yarborough on Her...
We’d like you to stop thinking of Wednesdays as hump days and start thinking of them as the day that you discover awesome designers. This week, Of a Kind is introducing us to Yarbie’s Elizabeth Yarborough, an accessories talent with gorgeously textured pieces. Check out her Red-Crested Trio Bangle and read on for her must-have hair tool.
Elizabeth Yarborough Shares the One Tool You...
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Standout Nails: Guest Blogger
The moment you start reading Alex Yeske’s dreams + jeans blog, you know one thing for sure: the girl has excellent taste. Musing on everything from fashion to beauty to design, the recent Syracuse grad has a knack for spotting pretty things — a skill that no doubt serves her well in her day job as a graphic designer for Madewell. This week, we’re lucky enough to have her guest blogging...
barefootandvintage-deactivated2 asked: my husband would like monthly samples - why not a birchbox for men?
notplainjane asked: It's getting cooler, and I definitely need to swap out my citrusy summer scents. Any suggestions for some great new fragrances for fall?
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The Perfect Blowout: Guest Blogger
The moment you start reading Alex Yeske’s dreams + jeans blog, you know one thing for sure: the girl has excellent taste. Musing on everything from fashion to beauty to design, the recent Syracuse grad has a knack for spotting pretty things — a skill that no doubt serves her well in her day job as a graphic designer for Madewell. This week, we’re lucky enough to have her guest blogging...
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Birchbox + BaubleBar 10K: Race Details
Last week, we kicked off our special Birchbox + BaubleBar 10K. If you missed it, here’s the deal: Between September 19th and October 16th, we’ll be keeping track of your Birchbox Points. The first 10K (yes, 10,000) members to earn points will receive a sweet BaubleBar bracelet in their November Birchbox. Not sure what Birchbox Points are? You’re in luck. Here goes Birchbox...
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Notable Quotables: Hamish Bowles
Notable Quotables is a weekly series featuring a great quote. Whether it’s the founder of a beloved beauty brand, an eccentric makeup artist making headlines, or even a super-stylish celebrity, our favorite tastemakers always have something worth sharing. This week our quote is from Hamish Bowles, Vogue Editor at Large— but before you start thinking he’s dissing Anna Wintour, you should know...
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Win a Lifetime Subscription to Birchbox!
To celebrate our incredibly diverse customers and our one-year anniversary, we have a very special sweepstakes for you! Head over to our Facebook page and tell us what your beauty style is by selecting from a list Birchboxes that each represent a different personality. There’s eco-chic, classic, luxury lover, minimalist, girly girl, and risk taker — so you have plenty of options!
One...
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Team Birchbox Loves Incoco
It’s fair to say that our team has gone a little nail applique crazy. Who needs neutrals when you can go with zebra or glitter? Check out our staffers rocking their favorite looks.
Charlie wearing a Plum Quartz statement nail — blingy polish with a blingy ring!
Sugar and spice? Alicia pairing Pink Satin with an All That Glitters statement nail
Lorelei wearing a Showstopper...
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Birchbox and Jurlique Sweepstakes: Win $1000 Gift...
One of our new September brand partners is a company we’ve actually wanted to work with since Birchbox started: Jurlique! The Australian company is known for its all-natural skincare regimens and commitment to environmental sustainability in their products, packaging, and business practices. Our favorite fun fact? They have a 150+ acre farm in southern Australia where they grow all their...
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Loving: Blake Lively's Simple Sexy Hair in the...
Last night’s premiere of Gossip Girl’s fifth season was entertaining and expectedly salacious. Dan, Nate, Chuck, and Blair were all back and better than ever with their rapid fire banter and seemingly unending brooding. Of course, Serena was there too, and doing what she does best: showcasing her to-die-for wardrobe and giving women everywhere major hair envy. I mean, is her hair...
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What's The Craziest Lip Color You've Ever Worn?
When it comes to runway shows, there is nothing I love seeing more than crazy lip colors. I adore testing out different hues and translating something from the catwalk into something that I can try. Richard Chai Love just showcased super-intense shades of electric blue and deep violet for spring 2012, which has me thinking about how I can experiment with the more wearable versions of those...
jenjay asked: I loved your post on "Faking Perfect Skin." I want to buy one of the foundations, but I'm worried about finding the right shade for my skin tone. If I'm not satisfied with the shade of the foundation that I purchase, can I exchange it for a different shade?
natalie695 asked: Hi! I really wanted to know if BirchBox lets you subscribe by mail, rather then online?
jessifica asked: I'm looking for a great (yet affordable) toner. I have combination/acne prone skin. Any suggestions?
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Channeling Pretty Woman at Beverly Hills's New...
The just-opened Nail Bar at the Beverly Wilshire. Photo courtesy of Four Seasons.
I’ve been to Los Angeles plenty of times, but it wasn’t until this last trip that I finally visited The Beverly Wilshire. Considering just how many times I’ve seen Pretty Woman, the field trip seemed long overdue. The hotel, where much of the movie was filmed, is as grand as ever — with a few...
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My Daily Line-Up: Guest Blogger
The moment you start reading Alex Yeske’s dreams + jeans blog, you know one thing for sure: the girl has excellent taste. Musing on everything from fashion to beauty to design, the recent Syracuse grad has a knack for spotting pretty things — a skill that no doubt serves her well in her day job as a graphic designer for Madewell. This week, we’re lucky enough to have her guest blogging...
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Reading List: Awesome Ladies
Another Friday, another Reading List, folks. This week we just happened to come across an unusually high number of stories about awesome women. Whether they’re founders of beauty companies, the brains behind brilliant websites, models with fun attitudes, or just ladies teaching us how to make great nail art, we couldn’t get enough.
Lara Stone at her favorite pancake house. Photo: T...
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Why Serums Are a Good Investment
While I was hanging out at the Jurlique store and spa earlier this week, I learned plenty about plant botanicals and marine-based anti-aging ingredients. But the single best takeaway was something incredibly simple (and didn’t require breaking out a botany textbook). Store manager Sara LaBree told me that whenever you’re trying out a new skincare regimen you should start with the...
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Lace It Up: Nailing It
Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails — and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every week for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
Backstage at the Joy Cioci show during New York Fashion Week
As a nail...
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Favorite Birchbox Products: Guest Blogger
From the moment we came across Liz Marie’s blog, we knew she was a DIY genius. From organization inspiration to turning old objects into new treasures, Liz Marie has a knack for making anything and everything beautiful. This week, the super-crafty North Carolina resident is guest blogging for us and revealing some tricks of her trade.
As a Birchbox subscriber, I’ve been exposed to...
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What's on the Birchbox Staffers' Desk: Marketing
Since we just introduced you to Deena, our VP of Marketing, we thought it was only fitting that we share her desk with you as well. She’s definitely on the “neat and organized” end of the spectrum but still has lots of fun goodies, including the cutest picture ever of her kids and quite a collection of polishes. Even though she’s prepping for a big presentation tomorrow, we...
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Team Intros: Meet Deena!
You may or may not have noticed, but we’ve been a little behind on our team intros. Deena came to us from Gilt a few months ago to lead our marketing team and is revolutionizing the way we do things. Somehow, after hours spent working on customer acquisition, search advertising, and Google Analytics, she has time to be a rockstar mom of two and a yoga instructor! We’re not sure how she...
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Learning About Jurlique's Skin Magic At Their L.A....
I’m in Los Angeles this week for a mini media tour — editor dinners, blogger breakfasts, Birchbox members’ party, oh my! In between the events and the driving traffic, I’ve also been doing my beauty research. Yesterday, I field tripped to Santa Monica to visit Jurlique at their lovely store. The small boutique carries their entire catalog, which means you could spend hours...
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Get The Look: Twiggy's Eccentric '60s Style
We’ve got the ’60s on the brain here in the office lately. Not only are many Birchbox staffers die-hard Mad Men fans (just look at graphic designer Charlie), but now we’re also hearing a lot of good things about the new shows Pan Am and The Playboy Club. Given that we adore everything about this super-chic decade (especially the fashion!), it was only natural that we flipped over...
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Creating A Vanity Closet: Guest Blogger
From the moment we came across Liz Marie’s blog, we knew she was a DIY genius. From organization inspiration to turning old objects into new treasures, Liz Marie has a knack for making anything and everything beautiful. This week, the super-crafty North Carolina resident is guest blogging for us and revealing some tricks of her trade.
A while back, I was getting frustrated by the lack...
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A Love Letter to the Clarisonic Mia: You've Got...
Once a week, Birchbox’s resident Yoga and men’s product expert, Eric, will gives us girls some insight into his world in You’ve Got Male. Whether he’s giving his expertise on skincare (boys need advice, too!) or highlighting his new favorite grooming trend, this guy has got taste—so we’re lucky he’s on staff and willing to share.
If there is one skincare item that has become a necessity in...
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Will You Be Wearing Bangs This Fall?
Whether you like it or not, fall is here. Temperatures are a bit crisper, days are a tad shorter, and stores are fully stocked with wooly knits and cozy corduroys. About this time every year, I debate whether or not to do the season’s quintessential cut: blunt bangs. They’re perfect for the fall because your lovely fringe won’t stick to your forehead (July is not the time to...
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Team Intros: Meet Alicia!
We’ve mentioned Alicia on our blog in the past (she has a killer vanity stuffed with products), but we haven’t officially introduced her yet. It’s only been a couple months, but we can’t even remember how we managed to get our work done without her. Not only does she kick butt at creating our product pages and articles, but she also comes from six years at Estee Lauder,...
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Spice Up Your Polish Organizer: Guest Blogger
From the moment we came across Liz Marie’s blog, we knew she was a DIY genius. From organization inspiration to turning old objects into new treasures, Liz Marie has a knack for making anything and everything beautiful. This week, the super-crafty North Carolina resident is guest blogging for us and revealing some tricks of her trade.
If you are anything like me (I hope I’m not the...
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Team Intros: Meet Charlie!
Our creative team has gone from a one-woman show to a two-person force, thanks to our new graphic designer, Charlie. (Yippee, Jess finally has some company!) If we had to sum up what Charlie does in a nutshell: she makes things look pretty. Very pretty. From creating eye-catching newsletters to helping source beautiful imagery for content to assisting with our recent redesign, she wears many artsy...
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Create A Magnetic Makeup Board: Guest Blogger
From the moment we came across Liz Marie’s blog, we knew she was a DIY genius. From organization inspiration to turning old objects into new treasures, Liz Marie has a knack for making anything and everything beautiful. This week, the super-crafty North Carolina resident is guest blogging for us and revealing some tricks of her trade.
It’s not so easy to get ready in the morning...
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Notable Quotables: Bobbi Brown
Notable Quotables is a weekly series featuring a great quote. Whether it’s the founder of a beloved beauty brand, an eccentric makeup artist making headlines, or even a super-stylish celebrity, our favorite tastemakers always have something worth sharing. Today’s quote comes to us from Bobbi Brown, who has some very helpful career advice!
Photo: Bobbi Brown via FashionEtc
A year after I started...
