It’s safe to say I love getting stuff in the mail. So it shouldn’t be surprising that I’m into Birchbox – I thought I was the last person to discover this awesome service, but after I posted photos on Instagram of my most recent Birchbox, several people sent me messages wanting to learn more.

Birchbox is a service that sends you samples of high-end beauty products every month for a small subscription fee ($10 if you have a vagina, $20 if you have a penis.) Your samples are customized based on your answers to a handful of questions answered when you sign up, like what types of products are you most interested, what’s your hair texture, what color is your skin (which would be disastrous or hilarious information NOT to have when sending out samples of foundation.) Basically, they pick a dozen or so samples to feature each month, from which they choose the best 4-5 for YOU – no one I know personally has ever received a box with samples 100% identical to the ones I’ve received.

I’ve been a Birchbox member for 3 months now. I found my first box to be extremely disappointing. The samples weren’t useful to me (self tanner?! but I like glowing in the dark!), weren’t great (sticky lipgloss in an unflattering shade, a blow-dry spray that smelled bad) or weren’t that exciting (a travel bag for liquids? who doesn’t already own one of those?!)

BUT based on what I had seen from others I decided to stick around… and I’m so glad I did! The last 2 months have been great. Noteworthy last month were a bonus pair of headphones that I now use every day at the gym (in spite of their less than stellar sound quality) and a really good hair conditioning mask.

In my most recent Birchbox, I got a sample of a product I’ve been hoping to find for years – an amazing curl cream. I also fell in love with a new perfume and discovered a long-lasting crayon-textured two-in-one lip liner and lipstick. And the included freebie make-up tips booklet actually had great tips!

As I mentioned earlier, there is a Birchbox for people with penises, too, and my husband excitedly signed up seeing my second box (ha… I said “penis” and “box” in the same sentence in a completely wholesome way.) His first Birchbox included a t-shirt (which is extremely soft and sexy) and some samples I think he’s digging.

If you’re looking for new products to make you purty, or if you just like getting stuff in the mail (60% of the real reason I subscribe to Birchbox), give it a try! That’s an affiliate link – if you click and sign up I get a few points good towards credit towards my next Birchbox purchase.