Beauty Boxes: Lust Have It July 2013

Yeah, I know, technically it's August! I've been really busy lately and haven't gotten around to reviewing my LHI box yet. I received it one day after my July Bella Box, so that goes to show you how slack I am! It came in another gorgeous collector box, this time pink and purple. I already have several of these and I use them to keep everything from fountain pens to small craft projects. (The Bella Box boxes, which consist of a separate box and lid, I mainly use as trays for things like nail polish, jewellery and decoden supplies.) LHI also had some interesting news this month, and I'll go into it at the end of this post. But let's see what was inside!

* Nude By Nature Natural Tinted Mineral Moisturiser with Sunscreen, full size 30ml.
Interestingly, I received the Nude By Nature BB Cream a few boxes ago, and I came to the conclusion that I would rather use it as a tinted moisturiser. And now here is their actual tinted moisturiser! I'll be very interested to do a comparison of the two.

* Knotties by Condition Culture Hair Ties, 2 pieces.
These hair ties promise not to leave that kink in your hair after using them that normal hair elastics do. I haven't tried them yet myself, but my friend Mrs. M said her hair was less kinky after trying them. The card suggests that you can also wear them around your wrists, an idea that I like. I have to admit, a few months ago I saw a blog post on how to make these yourself with a length of elastic bought from the craft store. However, it's probably easier buying these instead of trying to source wide leopard-print elastic!

* ColorSmash by Condition Culture Hair Shadow, {not sure if full-size or sample}.
Finally, a hair product for those of us who'd be sent home if we rocked up to work with turquoise-coloured hair! Again, I'd seen a blog post a few months ago about temporarily colouring your hair with chalk pastels, but it's good to see products especially for the purpose starting to come out. I was lucky to get the trendy teal, and Mrs. M received a lovely marone colour. I'm not sure how it will come out on my dark hair, but I'll give it a try this weekend!

* Schwarzkopf Extra Care Volume Powder, full-size (?) 10g.
I had to laugh when I saw this because my hair is so thick and boofy, it doesn't need any extra volume! Although it does get a little flatter than normal as washday is approaching, so it might be handy for those days. There's very little that I rule out when it comes to beauty products!

* Swisse Pomegranate Hand Cream, sample size 50ml.
I was happy when I saw this product. I received one of these a few boxes ago, and I was sad when it ran out. It's so handy when you're meaning to buy something and it appears like magic in your box!

* Health Essentials zNano Active Gold Anti-Wrinkle Eye Patches, sample size 1 pair.
These eye patches promise to soothe, cool and refresh on contact with the eyes. They certainly sound appealing right now! I think I'll try them very soon.

* Alexami Face Mist, sample size 15ml.
I received a face mist spray in my Bella Box this month as well, so I wasn't terribly enthused by this. It had leaked into the box. It smells a little soapy, but I'll keep using it and see if it improves.

* BONUS: Health Essentials Maqui Berry Active, sample size 6g.
With Acai berries now shown to have no more nutrients in them than an orange, Maqui is the latest health food star on the block. Occasionally there will be a food or vitamin bonus in the beauty boxes, and I like that because it reminds me that healthy insides are just as important as healthy skin in looking beautiful.

Summary: There were a lot of products in this month's box, with face, hair and hand-care products included. The hair ties and the Maqui berry drink threw in a different dimension to the normal. The Hair Shadow is very on-trend, and I'm glad I received this as the cosmetic product instead of the same old lip gloss, etc. Overall I was very pleased with this box.

Gunna Use It Right Now Rating: 75%

.... And the LHI News: Lust Have It have released two new types of beauty boxes: a one-off Bridal Party Box and the FaB (Fashion and Beauty) Box. The FaB box is very similar in concept to the Her Fashion Box I subscribed to briefly earlier in the year. For $35, subscribers receive a selection of beauty samples plus a fashion accessory. Unfortunately there isn't much more detail than that at this stage. The website doesn't even specify how often the box is released, however the first box is the 'Spring Box', so I can only assume it's released quarterly. I unsubscribed to Her Fashion Box because I didn't think the products in the debut box were worth the hype and, despite getting the choice of 3 styles of accessory, I received something I wouldn't wear. Will the FaB box be the same?? Lust Have It are an established company with a large subscriber base already, so perhaps they'll be in a position to offer something more satisfying. Then there's the price to consider, not to mention the backlog of products I already have to use up! Then again, it's (possibly) only quarterly instead of monthly like Her Fashion Box is. Oooh, decisions, decisions!

Beauty Boxes: Lust Have It January 2013

My January Lust Have It box finally arrived yesterday! I was starting to see reviews popping up on other blogs and was worried something might have happened to it. Despite living in a metropolitan area, I often seem to receive it a bit late. Never mind, it's mine now!
The first thing I noticed about the box is that it's bigger than normal. Exciting! Inside there was a special cardboard box with a magnetic closure. This must be the collector box that was promised late last year! It's beautiful, I love the colours, and it's a good size for storing lots of different things.

It contained:


* Lush Cosmetics Emotional Brilliance Eyeliner in Motivation, full size.
A product from Lush's New Emotional Brilliance Range, and a full-size one, no less! Of course I'd heard about Lush's Cosmetics range when it first came out a few months ago. It was all over the beauty blogs, and I subscribe to their emails, too. I was very curious, but at RRP $24.95 a go, a little hesitant. Especially because you're supposed to choose the colour by spinning the wheel! I'm just not that spontaneous! Yet this gorgeous blue colour and its name appeal to me. I really could do with some 'Motivation' right now. And I've been wanting to experiment with liquid eyeliners (I bought a brown one from Daiso recently which I haven't shown you yet). To sum up, I was excited to see this product!

* Nude By Nature BB 5-in-1 Miracle Cream in Medium Tone, full-size.
As I mentioned in my last post, I'm a bit suspicious of Western BB creams, but I'm glad to get to try another one. And this is a full-sized tube. It's much more generous than Bella Box's 5ml sachet (I know I promised not to compare different brands of box, but sometimes I just can't help it.) The medium tone will probably be too dark for my fair skin, but as it's summer I just might be able to get away with it.

* Lust Have It branded Kabuki Brush.
This brush looks very beautiful and I'm looking forward to trying it. Lately I've started applying my morning BB Cream/Foundation with a brush instead of my fingers. The main advantage to this is it saves time in the mornings - I don't have to go into the bathroom and wash my hands before finishing my morning routine. Whether or not I use less product or there are other advantages, I'm not sure yet! It's also fun to use a brush - I feel more grown up and sophisticated. =)

* Klorane Pomegranate Shampoo & Conditioner for Colour-Treated Hair, sample sachets 10ml each.
Well, I don't know if it's a coincidence, but this product is just suited for my constantly-dyed hair. Plus, I love pomegranate in all its forms. I'm really looking forward to trying these.

* Avene Clenance Gel Cleanser, Cream Exfoliant and Anti-Shine Moisturiser, sample bottles ___ml each.
Again, I'm happy to receive these three generously-sized sample bottles. I was really impressed with the Avene eye makeup remover, so I'm looking forward to trying some of their other products. The Clenance range is for sensitive skin; even though my skin isn't particularly sensitive, I appreciate products that don't have too many chemicals.

Summary: I was thrilled when I opened up this month's box - two full-sized makeup products, some relevant hair products and a generous sampling of skin things. Even though there are 5 products listed on the card, some are grouped together so there's actually 8 separate items. There was no splitting up of products to make the offering seem more generous like has occurred in the past (this month's Bella Box being the most recent example I can think of. This actually makes it seem more generous rather than less, in my opinion. The value of this box is somewhat over $55, which is very good for recent boxes.
In short, I really love this box!


Gunna Use It Right Now Percentage: 75%
Box Rating: 9/10

Beauty Boxes

I've been a very naughty girl. A bit before I went away on holidays, I came across the concept of beauty box subscriptions. Basically, you pay a subscription fee (either monthly direct debit or a year in advance) and each month you get sent a box with beauty products in it. Most are sample size but some (especially makeup) are full-sized, and the idea is you get to try a lot of different products for a small price instead of forking out a lot for something you might not like. A whole bunch of companies started offering these boxes in Australia around the same time. With some judicious googling, I found about 6 different ones. They all cost the same, and offer at least 5 products per month, so I read some reviews and looked at the brands they offer to whittle them down. In the end I couldn't decide, so I subscribed to Lust Have It and Glossy Box. Yeah, two, oops! I figured, I'll probably cancel the less-good one after a few months. In the reviews I read, that seemed to be an OK thing for people to do.

Aaaand guess what? I received my Lust Have It box last night! (It comes out at the start of the month and the Glossy Box one at the end of the month.) I seem to have subscribed during the cross-over period, because I actually received the November and December boxes at the same time! Double yay! I will just look at the first one today though, and the second one in a few days.

Now, I'm no beauty blogger! There are literally hundreds of great Australian beauty bloggers out there who'd do a much better job than me. I just feel like spilling my personal comments and excitement over receiving cool (and cheap!) beauty products.

So here's the November Lust Have It box:



Source: addtocartblog.com via ApartmentCat on Pinterest.


It contained:
RoC: Complete Lift Daily Moisturiser, 5ml tubes x3.
I used it this morning and it seems quite good. As for whether the active ingredients really work, I won't know for a while. I've used RoC brand before and thought that the packaging was boring and smelled a bit generic. I get the same impression from this product. For something that expensive, I'd like a more memorable experience. Plus I believe they still test on animals. So I won't buy it.

Nude By Nature: Lipliner in Chique Natural, full size item.
I've never used lipliner before, because a) I don't have a problem with lipstick bleeding; and b) don't often wear lipstick anyway. But I'll give this a go next time I have a nice occasion to go to.
14-JAN-12 edit: I still haven't opened this product, and I don't think I'll use it, after all. I might give it away to a friend.

Lancome: Tresor Midnight Rose, 1.5ml vial x2.
I put some of this perfume on this morning, and I really quite like it. At first it smells fruity, like berries, then a deep, musky fragrance kicks in. It's probably more appropriate to wear in the evening or special occasions. If I could afford it, I'd buy it again.
14-JAN-12 edit: I wore it at my wedding earlier in the week!

Hawley: 2-Step Nail Shiner Buffer.
Some of the reviews said this was a bit of a disappointing addition to the box. I'll definitely use it though. I like to paint my nails, but they peel easily and I need to rest them in between. I can use the buffer for those times.

Kerastase: Nectar Thermique Leave-In Conditioner, 10ml sachet x5.
I haven't used any of this yet, but I'm very glad it was included. When I was overseas, I just used the generic shampoos that the hotels provided, and now my hair is feeling really coarse and yakky. So I'll be giving this a go when I wash my hair tonight.
14-JAN-12 edit: I have used this, and it made my hair so soft and shiny, smelled good also.

Total Value: $60.70. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $45.75.
Rating: 7/10