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Making more sustainably conscious product choices is one of my goals this year. I’ve made strides when it comes to fashion, shopping from my own wardrobe is the key. I’m getting behind the whole repair and reuse, especially when it comes to furniture, and I’ve made a real effort to limit my single-use plastic, and now, I’m tasking myself to look at my beauty products.
I don’t know about you but my bathroom is laking in eco-friendly products. Just take a look at some of the bottles for your go-to brands and I bet most aren’t even made from recycled materials or are recyclable themselves, and that’s before you even look into what the products are made of. I won’t lie, I was pretty shocked, so when I saw that Birchbox was doing a box with Stasher for Earth Month filled with environmentally conscious products I knew I had to try it out.
First off, if you haven’t heard of Stasher, you are going to love them – they do reusable, non-toxic silicone storage pouches in cute colours. Basically, their bags are a reusable alternative to single-use plastic bags that can be reused over and over for cooking, storing or freezing food, as well as home storage – and now beauty products as well.
Each Birchbox x Stasher box, or should I say pouch, for April, comes with a green, yellow or orange reusable pouch, along with five beauty products chosen for their eco-friendly credentials.
Eco-friendly beauty products to try in your April Birchbox
In every April box, you’ll find the organic night repair facial oil by Huygens that uses a blend of seven organic oils to naturally aid skin regeneration while you sleep. The beauty in this product is, not only does your skin feel softer and look healthier, but the luxurious oil ingredients are 100% natural origin and 25% of the ingredients are produced from organic farming. Plus, all of Huygens’ packaging is 100% recyclable or biodegradable.
For your second skincare product, you will find a hyaluronic acid-packed booster by Algologie or a purifying face mask by Kiehl’s made with white clay from the Amazon. I received the Algologie Hydra-Replenishing Booster a moisturising serum designed to hydrate and comfort even the driest of skin, which is definitely needed after that long winter. This is a vegan and bio-organic product, and the brand uses stem cell innovation to produce ultra-concentrated actives without harming the marine environment.
You also receive a full-size waterproof mascara by The Beauty Crop enriched with argan and jojoba oil to nourish lashes worth £9. I had never heard of this brand before, but it is female-founded and all their products are derived from natural ingredients and I really loved how my lashes looked healthy.
There is also an additional extra nail polish or makeup product in the box, I received a full-size Nails.Inc ‘Looking Super Juicy’ nail varnish worth £11. I love this nail brand, not only are the colours always amazing, but the products are 100% vegan and I find them kind to my nails – this polish is enriched with real melon extract and vitamin C.
The product I was most excited about was the Greenfrog Botanic Argan & Rose Oil Shampoo Bar. I have been wanted to make the switch from liquid shampoo to a more sustainable alternative for a while and using a solid shampoo bar is great if you are trying to cut down on plastic. Like did you know that the UK population throws away 520 million shampoo bottles every year – staggering, isn’t it.
This argan oil-packed, nourishing shampoo bar from Greenfrog is vegan-friendly, plastic-free, has no nasty chemicals as it is made from 96% natural ingredients and is 100% degradable – so make sure you protect it after you get out of the shower!!!
I just can’t believe you can get all this for less than £15, to give you context the Stasher sandwich bag alone is worth £12.99. Also, if you like any of the samples in your box you also get 10% off a full-size product.
How to use your Stasher Bag
This is my first Stasher Bag, and certainly won’t be my last, I’m obsessed with how many ways you can use it. This airtight and leakproof pouch is microwave-ready, hob safe, freezer-friendly, dishwasher safe, oven strong and is heat-resistant up to an impressive 205°C. You can also write on it with a drywipe marker and then wash it off again when you’ve used the contents.
A few care and usage tips to keep your Stasher bag looking great:
- Wash in the dishwasher or with warm, soapy water
- To protect seams, avoid turning your bag inside out
- Leave the seal partially open for microwave or oven use
- Avoid sharp objects that could puncture your bag
Want to buy more Stasher bags? Well, you can buy on John Lewis and Amazon – I think I need one of those stand-up styles.
Subscribe to Birchbox for monthly beauty surprises
You can either buy the limited edition April Birchbox as a one-off or sign up to receive monthly beauty boxes – directly to your door. There are different types of membership: buy monthly for £13.95, 3 monthly £30 plus £2.95 P&P/month (rebilled every three months), 6 monthly £60 plus £2.95 P&P/month (rebilled every six months) and yearly for £110 plus £2.95 P&P/month (rebilled every 12 months).
