Beauty Boxes : Lust Have It April 2013

I need to apologise again for the lateness of my box review! I received this box about 2 weeks ago, and the reason for the delay isn't because I didn't like it! I've just been very busy lately. I did like this box, and again it came in a beautiful patterned keepsake box, which I found handy to keep my fountain pens in. So without further ado, let's see what I got:


❖ Gosh Cosmetics Mono Eyeshadow in Aubergine, full-size.
Gosh Cosmetics comes from Denmark and according to the card, their eyeshadows come in a vast range of colours. It looks good quality and it does sound intriguing. Unfortunately, I already have several eyeshadows in dark purple shades (not least of which is the e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow I received in my LHI Autumn Eco box last month), so I don't think I'll keep this one. I would have preferred a nice light versatile neutral, personally.

❖ Rachel K Mineral Colour Control CC Cream, Original and Neutral Sample Sachets (2 of each).
CC Cream is the latest thing to come out of Asia, just when the West was starting to get used to the idea of BB Cream! I'm a massive sucker for Asian beauty products, and when I first heard about CC Cream last month (the CC stands for Colour Control), I wanted to get my hands on some badly. And here it is in my Beauty Box! I haven't heard of Rachel K before, but apparently it's a Singaporean brand started by former Miss Singapore Universe winner Rachel Kum. I tried the Original CC Cream this morning, and it seems similar to the BB Creams I've used, but with a few subtle differences. The cream is pink rather than tan, and seems to bring my freckles and discolourations back to my natural skin colour, without adding any new colour or glow. It's hard to draw any conclusions when each different brand and formula of BB Cream seems to have slightly different effects! I'll see if I can rustle up a proper review next week.

❖ Remedica Richesse Vanilla and Shea Body Butter, sample pot 50ml (estimated).
I have so many body creams, lotions and butters that I think my cupboard is going to burst at the seams! This is one of the nicer ones I've received, though. The formula is thick and luxurious, yet sinks in quickly without being greasy, and it has subtle nutty and citrusy scents to it. I will look forward to using this one!

❖ Pink Tiger Cosmetics Nail Tools: Buffer and Lint-Free Gauze.
I'm sure these practical tools will come in handy for keeping my nails neat and tidy. It's nice to receive, not just another nail polish, but some tools I can use for those times when I need to give my nails a rest.

❖ Be In Awe Cosmeceuticals Amala Clearing Serum, sample size 5ml.
I remember getting some Be In Awe products in one of my boxes last year, and they were to die for! The clearing serum is just what I need at the moment for my crazy breaking-out skin. I'll be putting my current moisturiser aside for a while to give this a go. Be In Awe is an Australian brand.

❖ Goldwell Dualsenses Ultra Volume Conditioner, sample size 75ml.
It's unusual to receive just a conditioner sample, not a set of shampoo and conditioner, but this 75ml bottle is a very generous sample. It should be enough for a few applications, even on my crazy long hair! This formula is designed to give fine hair volume, and I don't really have a need for that with my thick, boofy hair. The watermelon and bamboo scent does sound very enticing, though.

Summary: This month's box was a solid mixture of makeup, face, body and hair care products. I had a good feeling about it. It was unfortunate that one of them I had little use for, but that was just my colour preference rather than anything intrinsic to the product. On the other hand, receiving the CC Cream was very exciting! Overall, I do like the April box.

Rating: 8/10
Gunna Use It Right Now Rating: 67%

Massive Asian Beauty Haul!!

Well, hello! Today I want to talk about my enormous Asian beauty haul which I bought online from YesStyle. I made the purchase on 31st December, so I've already had them for a while. Things have just been too crazy-busy for me to post my haul(s) before now, but I'm trying to catch up. I often feel like I can't start using a product until I've done a haul post, so yeah, I haven't even opened any of these yet.
I should also confess the reason why this haul is so big! I've been buying things from YesStyle for a few years now, but last year I spent enough that I was getting not really close to qualifying for Silver Club membership. The benefits are quite good so I thought, why not go for it? Plus I received a couple of sample sachets for spending over a certain amount. Here's what I got:

❀ Tony Moly Twinkling Persimmon Cleansing - cleansers are one of my favourite products (is that weird??) and this one smells gorgeously fresh and citrusy. The bright orange pump pack is adorable too, I think I will re-use it.
❀ Dr. Morita Red Wine Essence Eye Masks - this set of 8 eye masks is infused with polyphenols and collagen. The red wine essence was intriguing, and frankly, my undereye area could do with some help. I can see myself relaxing back with an actual glass of red wine while using these.
❀ My Scheming Blackhead Remover Pore Cleanser Set - this set consists of a Papaya Enzyme Sebum Softener, a Purifying Mask and a Pore Treatment Essence. My skin has been kinda derpy for a while: I've been getting lots of pimples and blackheads. I was on the lookout for a blackhead treatment product and chose this one. The packaging is as adorable as anything - check out the cute pictures of the upset-looking blackheads on the box!:

❀ Etude House Best Kit - this travel/sample kit consists of 5 products: Real Art Cleansing Oil; Wonder Pore Freshener; Moistfull Collagen Cream; Nymph Aura Volumer (not even sure what this does!); and Precious Mineral BB Cream. I'm a total sucker for small-size/sample products, even if I have to shell out for them. I love Etude House's aesthetic: the packaging is sweet and pink but not over-the-top kawaii.
❀ Skin79 BB Miniature Set - I've finished up 2 of the BB Creams from my Baviphat miniature set and the other 2 are well-squeezed, so I thought why not try some more? The 4 creams are: Super+, Super+ Triple Function, Luminous Pearl and Oriental Gold.
❀ Sample Sachets - I received 2 samples. Etude House Strawberry Milk Talk: I have no idea what this product actually is! There are 'Milk Talk' body wash and lotion on the site, so it must be one of those?? The other is Laniege Homme Aqua Active Essence, a post-moisturiser protective product for men. But eh, I'll probably use it myself!

Now I can finally start using the products! ahhahaha
Until next time...

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: Bella Box January 2013

Yes people, it's 2013! I have to apologise for being away for so long. I had all sorts of exciting things lined up for the blog, but then I came down with the flu and I could barely move for 3 weeks. I didn't even feel like using beauty products, let alone reviewing them! Drastic times. But now I'm back with the contents of my January 2013 Bella Box. And I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed with this month's box. Here's what it contained:

❏ You, Me and Everybody Cool It Aloe Vera Gel, full size 100ml.
Aloe Vera Gel isn't the most exciting product, but it might come in handy for one of the very rare occasions that I spend too much time out in the sun. (As I've mentioned before, I'm completely paranoid about sun exposure and I even apply sunscreen when I know I'm going to be inside all day!) YM&E seems like a very interesting brand, and I would like to have seen something more interesting and different from them, like the Skin Mousse I received back in September.

❏ Aurora Spa Rose and Aloe Body Cleanser and Ultra Rich Body Cream, sample size 50ml each.
These products are listed separately on the card. Perhaps I'm being unfair, but to me, two products from the same brand, a pair of items if you will, would perhaps be better listed as a single product. Or at least add a 6th product to the box to make up for it. That's just me. Having said that, these products smell absolutely freakin' amazing, and I can't wait to use them! This brand appeared before in the August Bella Box. It is Australian owned and made, and not tested on animals.

❏ Natio Pure Mineral Skin Perfecting BB Cream, sample sachet 5ml.
I love my BB Creams, and perhaps I'm a little precious about them. The BB Creams made by many Western companies have gotten a bad rap in the beauty world, so I'm a little suspicious of this one. It does have green tea, chamomile and SPF 15 (I'll wear sunscreen anyway as I never settle for less than SPF 30), so it might be alright. However, it comes in an ungenerous 5ml sachet, which will probably be only enough for 2-3 applications. (Even the card says, "yes, we know it's a sachet...") It comes in Fair, Medium and Tan, and the colourway I received is Medium, which will probably be too dark for my fair skin. (This supports rumours that beauty box companies do not actually pay any attention to customers' profiles!) Seeing as it's a BB Cream though, I'm curious to give it a try anyway and see if it's any good. I'd better do it soon though while it's still Summer, or I might look like I'm one of the orange ladies from Jersey Shore. ツ

❏ Face of Australia Colour Max Eyeshadow Palette in Mercury Rising, full size.
While Face of Australia has a good reputation, it's kinda everywhere and would certainly not be classed as a 'luxury' brand. I really love eyeshadows - I'm a colour girl - so I'm glad I received this rather than the lipgloss that was the alternative (I have sooo many of those, sigh). I think I'll put this away until winter though: the greys in this palette really seem like winter colours to me. Also, the black pan is cracked, but that's the colour I'd be least likely to use anyway, so I'm not really fussed.

Summary: Other subscribers received different products this month: a Swisse body wash (their hand cream smells divine so I'm curious about their other products), Face of Australia cleansing wipes (would have come in handy), a bright pink nail polish (I already have polish in the same shade so I'm glad I didn't get it), and at least one I saw got a bonus wall decal. Taking that into consideration, I'm glad I got the products I did, but I'm still a bit disappointed. Bella Box's last few boxes have made me start to re-consider my subscription. The RRP of the products is still more than the $15 per month I pay for the box, but they just don't thrill me like they used to. (Aside from the Savoir Faire palette last month, that was pretty amazing!) I'll reserve my judgement and make a decision in a few month's time.

Stay tuned for more posts coming up soon! I'll be writing about:
* my Christmas haul!
* Etsy indie makeup purchases!
* reviews!
* Asian beauty haul!!

Asian Beauty Haul

The spending ban is over! I'm so excited! (Though really I should be sensible about money all the time; a girl needs to treat herself now and then!) I actually broke the spending ban one day early, because I suddenly remembered that YesStyle had a buy-one-get-one-free deal on certain beauty products in the month of June only. These things can sometimes be a bit dodgy, but nearly 400 different products were included in the deal, so it didn't feel like I was restricted in my choices at all. In fact, there were some things I really wanted and needed included in the deal. Even better! So in this haul I got 2 products for free! This is what I got.


* Kose Softymo Powder Sheet in Strawberry (40 sheets) (not pictured)
- this was a replacement for the Daiso sheets that I ran out of last week. So I can spruce myself up at work if I've gone for a walk at lunchtime, etc.

* My Beauty Diary Mexico Cactus Mask (pk 10)
- after trying out my first cloth mask a few weeks ago, I was determined to get more! These seemed like quite good value, and the Mexican Cactus sounded intriguing.

* SkinFood Good Afternon Honey Black Tea BB Cream (Light Beige)
- All of my Baviphat mini BB Creams are quite well-squeezed now, so I figured it was time for my first full-sized BB Cream. There are so many on the site, it was agonising, but I'd been eyeing off the SkinFood Good Afternoon range for a while now. So I decided on the Honey Black Tea variant, which is moisturising, illuminating and has SPF.

* Koji No. 62 Eyelash Curler
- call me vain, but ever since I've been reading beauty blogs and seen the long, lush, thick, curled eyelashes that many other girls have, I've become increasingly disillusioned with my own. There are tools out there to help, so why not try them! This particular one came in cool, faceted packaging, but it was mainly the price that made me choose it. Now I just have to figure out how to use the darned thing. Thank goodness for YouTube.

* Be Creation Oil In Cuticle Nail Pusher Pen
- I have terrible ragged cuticles, I tend to pick them a lot, as well. Hopefully this purchase will help me keep them in better shape.

* Be Creation Gradation Nail Polish Set (set of 3)
- I just wanted this, it was a total indulgence purchase. I already have so many nail polishes, but the idea of the easy colour gradation nail art just appealed to me. There were so many different sets to choose from, but I finally chose these colours because I don't really have anything like them in my collection. This colour set is called Pink Cadillac (after the cocktail I'm assuming, not after the car, as there's a picture of a cocktail on the packaging. Cute!).

* Sophie Monk Beauty Mild Cleansing Oil
- I'm nearly out of makeup remover, so I needed some more. I would not normally have chosen this brand, but it was one of the free items I got. At first I thought that the actress Sophie Monk had started a beauty line, but it turns out that this brand is from Taiwan, and it seems to have nothing to do with her, as far as I can tell from some googling. I'm actually slightly disappointed! But as long as it works at cleaning my face, it doesn't matter.

* Home-Sweet-Home Cutie Cat and Dog Button Earrings
- these were on my save-for-later for the longest time and I finally decided to get them. I'm into stud earrings at the moment, and these quirky mismatched pair are adorable! Apparently they were the last pair too, as I just went back to the site to check some details, and now they're showing as sold out. Now I feel like I have something exclusive! =D


Ok now, I will really try not to make any more purchases for the next few week, unless I actually need them! - purchases of beauty products, anyway. I've become completely obsessed with craft again lately, so all my money will probably be spent on wool and things like that.

Tester: Garnier BB Cream

When I was at Priceline last week, I had a chance to have a look at the new Garnier Miracle Skin Perfecter BB Cream. Now, I just want to say up-front, that I will not be purchasing this product: I don't buy Garnier products as they still test on animals. So. But I did want to give it a swatch and see how it compares to Asian BB creams. The only BB Creams I've ever tried before are my Baviphat Mini BB Cream Gift Set, however, there are 4 different creams in the set with very different properties, so I have a little idea of what they are and what they do.

Out of the two colours on sale, only the darker (Medium) colour was available to test, and I could immediately see that it would be too dark for my skin tone. (I tested it on the back of my hand, but I could tell.) The cream was very thick compared to the Baviphat ones. I really had to push it around to get it to blend in. I don't think I'd like that on my face! The colour was quite sheer, like a tinted moisturiser. It didn't cover up the freckles or veins on the back of my hand at all. I didn't pay attention to how long it fared on my hand, so I can't make any comments about the staying power.

I didn't get a chance to properly try this BB Cream out, but I have a feeling that may be inferior to the original Asian creams. Well, not inferior so much, but formulated like a tinted moisturiser than a 'true' BB Cream. I feel pretty sad about that, because BB Creams have truly changed my makeup routine for the better and made me feel more confident. I do hope that Western women won't be put off, thinking, 'oh, this is just another tinted moisturiser', and will go on to try out some other brands.

I also think it's extremely cheeky of Garnier to claim that their BB Cream is "Australia's 1st BB Cream" [quoting back cover of Shop Til You Drop February 2012]. BB Creams have been available from The Face Shop (Jam Factory; Melbourne Central) and Missha (Box Hill) outlets for years. It wasn't until I'd studied the page carefully that I saw the TINY asterisk next to it, with a tiny little disclaimer running down the side saying "By Garnier". They're skating dangerously close to false advertising there. Even if they didn't test on animals and I had been contemplating buying their cream, I wouldn't after reading that!!

Just my opinion.

Anyway, here's a picture of the product, even though I'm not intending to buy it:


from Pinterest

And here's a picture of my beloved Baviphat set:


from Pinterest

My BB Cream arrived!

My first order of Asian beauty products arrived in the mail yesterday, including my first BB Cream! I don't know why I have this pathetic obsession with them at the moment; I'm sure it'll pass at some point like my obsessions always do, and I'll be really embarrassed when I read back on this.

I have a love-hate relationship with clothes; I have a fairly large wardrobe, but it doesn't make me happy. Shopping for clothes usually leaves me disappointed, so I don't do it often anymore. Sure, Asos got me excited for a while, but my purchases were really hit and miss, so the excitement's died down a bit now.
Shoes never got me going at all. I have fairly oddly shaped feet, so there are few styles that I can wear. I find shopping for shoes an annoying and draining experience.
For a long time I had an obsession with accessories and jewellery. In the last few years I've been more careful about my purchases, but I still bought pieces fairly regularly. And I churned out scarves and headwarmers and such things with wild abandon! But recently, whenever I look at what I have, I think to myself, that's enough. I don't need more.

But with beauty/skin/haircare products, you don't get any of those problems! That's the beauty of them. (So to speak!) They're consumables, so you use them up, and then you get to buy a new one, or try a different one. They have nice smells, or colours, or both. I could go on, but that would be just too boring, wouldn't it?

BB Creams: What Are They?

I'm obsessed with beauty products at the moment! I've started to draw up an inventory of all my bath and beauty products, and it's taking a while! I've had to look, not only in the shower and bathroom cabinet, but in my cupboards, at my computer desk, at work, through all my handbags, etc! I'm getting there though. So far the big trend I'm seeing is with bath products. I'll buy them on a semi-regular basis, but last winter I used hardly any up. In the new apartment, there is a bath, but it's set up a bit differently to the old one, and I just don't find having a bath to be as relaxing as it used to be. So I've more been having a shower at night instead of a bath. However, that does mean I can use lots of lovely-smelling shower gel, so can't complain there. But I don't know what I'm going to do with all my bath bombs!!

I mentioned BB Creams last week and, yes, the obsession continues. After trawling through various reviews, I decided to hedge my bets and order a gift set of 4 mini size creams from Baviphat, a South Korean brand. I can't wait til they arrive! (Also got some essentials - face wash and nail polish topcoat - well, essentials for a girly, anyway!)

The world of BB Creams is a complex and (for a noob like me) confusing one. But it's also an exciting one. As far as I can tell, to qualify as a BB Cream (BB stands for Blemish Balm), it just needs to be a face cream that does more than one thing in one cream. For years I've been thinking, how annoying to have to apply moisturiser in the morning, and then sunscreen, and then foundation and whatever else you want to put on. Why can't they come all in one? I was so thrilled when I found a tinted sunscreen a few months ago, it was bordering on silly!

BB Creams are doing all that and more, and they've been doing it for a while. Most of them are formulated for oily skin and are tinted to hide pimples (as the name Blemish Balm implies). They can also have any combination of sunscreen, anti-ageing, whitening, brightening, moisturising, soothing, and others I can't think of off the top of my head at the moment. They have various textures, levels of coverage and colours of tinting. Just like any other beauty product, they can have various ingredients, from mushroom and peach through to caviar and gold dust!

How confusing!

Though, when I think about it, my sunscreen could be considered a BB Cream, I mean really. As well as being sunscreeen, it's tinted and has anti-ageing AHAs in it. I'll just get my label-maker and turn it into a BB Cream myself!

Why this sudden obsession with beauty products? I don't know. I've always liked bath and skincare products. I've liked makeup on and off over the years. I went from flat-out refusing to wear any as a teenager, to not being able to leave the house without mascara on a few years ago. For a few months at the start of this year, I had a problem with chronic eye watering which meant I couldn't wear any eye makeup at all for 2 months. It was insanely frustrating at first, but I got used to it. Now I'm a bit more relaxed about wearing makeup.
I started reading a new fashion blog recently; she has a lot of reviews on Asian beauty products and BB Creams. In one post, another blogger interviewed her - in answer to the question: "why do you wear makeup?" her reply was short and simple: "to hide".

How sad is that? She's a beautiful girl with a sought-after figure. And that's what she thinks of herself. It just goes to show. I had a think about it, and I realised that I'm the opposite. When I'm feeling bad about myself, I don't wear any makeup, or I wear less. I want to sink into the background, not draw any attention to myself. When I'm feeling good, I want to enhance the way I look. So I'm chalking this whole beauty product obsession up in the 'good things' category!

Here's a picture of my BB Creams; come to me quick!

BB Creams?

I've always been a lover of bath and beauty products, and I've developed a sudden interest (obsession?) with BB creams. They've been big in Asia for a while, and I've recently discovered that one can get them online! (Cue dastardly cackles.) Now I just have to decide which one I'll get first. I could go on and on about them and the process of choosing one. If I was going to write a beauty product blog, I reckon I would have to get used to my photo being taken!

In Related News ...

I'm going to a big wedding tomorrow and I need to prepare! Tonight I have to dye my hair; and tomorrow paint my nails, finish altering my outfit. Decide what makeup to wear. A few months ago I bought cheap makeup as a 'treat' for myself and I won't be doing that again. It's crap! If I'm gonna get myself a treat, then I'm going to get something decent because I'm worth it! Back to beauty products again. I've got a one-track mind at the moment...........