24 April 2013

The Beauty Boxes : Bella Box April 2013

My April Bella Box arrived mid-week last week, and I'm afraid I've been a bit slack in sharing it. I've been a bit disappointed by Bella Box's offerings in the last few months, even to the point of considering a 'three strikes and you're out' policy. So I was particularly interested to see what was in it.
Let's have a look:


** Cellulix Glacial Mineral Gel, sample sachet.
I had no idea what this product was at first! I had to read the fine print on the back to find out. It's a mask that contains negatively-charged molecules, which draw out positively-charged bacteria and impurities from the skin. It sounds like interesting stuff and I'm looking forward to trying it. At RRP $69.00 for 60g, I wouldn't be able to afford to use it ongoing, but it's fun to try these things. Cellulix comes from Canada.

** Indio Facial Scrub and Multi-V Serum, 10ml sample / 15ml full-size.
Another deluxe brand, this time from Australia, Indio uses Dead Sea Salts and vitamins to keep the skin glowing and fresh. Aside from the healthy ingredients and luxe feel of the serum bottle, I'm just attracted by the pretty pastel-coloured balls suspended inside. I can be very superficial that way. I'm really impressed to receive a full-size bottle of the serum, which retails at $78.00 for 15ml.

** Bella Box Lash Card, pack of 10.
The Bella Box Lash Card is a new concept in makeup application. The curved edge of the card sits in behind your lashes while you're applying your mascara, resulting in a mess-free application. To me it seems like I might make more mess trying to hold the card in place with one hand while putting on my mascara with the other! But I'll definitely give it a try. I tend to smudge my mascara a lot, needing to swab it off with a makeup remover pen, then re-apply my eyeshadow (when I can be bothered!). Once I master the use of these, I can certainly see them being useful when preparing for a special occasion.

** Avene 3-in-1 Micellar Lotion, sample bottle.
This is another one of those products that I needed to read the fine print to find out what it does! The 3-in-1 lotion is a face wash, toner and makeup remover in one. According to the Bella Box card, you don't even need to wash it off, but I like to anyway, just in case. (Where does all the makeup and dirt go?) The Avene Eye Makeup remover is my go-to makeup remover, so I'm hoping for good things from this.

** Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Colour in Metallic Grey, full size bottle.
I was a little surprised to receive this, and not in a good way, I'm afraid. I don't read that many nail polish blogs, but I do read enough to know that magnetic nail polish was a short-lived fad about a year ago. Nobody's doing magnetic nails anymore! The trends at the moment are holographic glitter and jelly look - like the polish I got in my February Bella Box. Which was also Sally Hansen, coincidentally. I wonder why Sally Hansen supplied Bella Box with an up-to-the-minute nail trend one month, and a so-last-year fad polish a few months later? Unfortunately this just feels like one of the occasions where a supplier is trying to get rid of a dated product by dumping it on beauty box subscribers as a filler. On top of that, I don't even like the colour - I wouldn't even wear it without using the magnet, so I think I'll throw it away.

** Lady Gaga Fame Perfume, sample vial 1.2ml.
Now this is one product I was very happy to receive! I gave Fame the sniff test at Priceline when it first came out about 3 months ago, and I really liked it. I've been waiting for it to come on sale to buy some. Now I can put that off a little longer. The bomb-shaped bottle and unique black fluid disguise a hearty spicy-floral scent that immediately appealed to me.

Summary: This month's Bella Box was a solid offering with only one disappointing product out of a generous seven. There was an exciting range of skin care products (my favourite!) with several being from luxe brands. I'm happy to say that, in my opinion, Bella Box seems to be improving again.
Gunna Use It Right Now Rating: 70%