Beauty Boxes: Bella Box October 2012

My Bella Box came so early this month, it was a lovely surprise! So I feel pretty bad about reviewing it so late. Here it is anyway! This month marks the first anniversary for Bella Box, and I think they've delivered quite an impressive box with the theme Pretty in Pink Party. Behold!

✰ Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Instant Action lift Treatment, sample size 5ml.
What an exciting-sounding name! I don't know why many beauty companies give their products such fancy names: surely the actual result has to be a let-down compared to that! I'm getting to that age now where a little lifting may be in order, so I'll be closely watching the results on this one. Estee Lauder products are tested on animals where required by law.

✰ Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Extra Radiance Renewer, sample size 7ml.
This fancy-sounding product is actually an exfoliant. With my oily skin, I'm all for exfoliation! I really liked the Clinique products I've tried before, and I'm a new convert to chemical exfoliants. Clinique is owned by Estee Lauder, whose animal testing policy is above.

✰ Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Colour in Sonic Bloom, full size.
Wow, this bright pink is amazing! I don't have anything like it, probably because I would really have to be in a confident mood to wear something this bold. Some subscribers received the pastel pink shade Petal Pusher, but I'm glad I didn't - because I actually received it in a (non-Bella) box earlier in the year. My nail-painting drought is recently over (hello giant Orly bottle!) so I may debut it soon. I've been pleased with the performance of the Sally Hansen polishes I've received before, so, yay! I'm pleased to say that Sally Hansen products are not tested on animals.

✰ DKNY Fresh Blossom Eau So Intense, sample vial 1.5ml.
Funnily enough, I've almost used up the DKNY Verbena that I got back in April's Bella Box and was hoping to get another perfume. (A good beauty blogger never forgets! Or at least, has a good tagging system. ツ )
Crisp apple blossom and citrus combine to pack a punch in this intense scent. It conjures up warm summer's days, wandering through orchards in a floaty white dress. Normally I prefer sweeter or more spicy scents, but this one has a blend of fresh and floral that's appealing to me. DKNY is also owned by Estee Lauder.

✰ Cedel Blow Dry Faster Heat Protector, full size 165ml.
I have to admit, at first I was thinking "ho hum, another hair product, and a fairly low-shelf brand at that". Then I noticed that this product cuts down blow drying time. Interesting! With all my hair, something like that would come in really handy. And Cedel's not bad at all, really. I remember it from when I was a kid. Plus, it isn't tested on animals.

✰ e.l.f. Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Cherry Tart, full size.
e.l.f. (it's spelled with small letters and stands for eyes lips face) is a bargain makeup brand that's just arrived in Australia, and there's a lot of talk about it around the traps. How can a good quality product be so cheap? A quick look at their website just left even me excited. A free product worth $10 with a minimum spend of only $20. That got my heart beating faster! And they don't test on animals or use any animal ingredients, either.
As for the lipstick itself, it uses a twist-up mechanism to push the liquid lipstick into a sponge for application. It seems to be fairly sheer (hand swatch only at this stage) but I really like the cherry pink colour.

✰ Carmex Moisture Plus SPF 15 Lip Balm in Pink Sheer Tint, full size.
This product wasn't listed on the card at all, and it was outside of the tissue paper seal when I opened the box. I'm not sure what to make of it: was it a last second inclusion? Never mind, it always good to have more products rather than less, I think! This is the same SPF lip balm that I've come to know and love over the last few months, but with a very sheer pink tint. It'll be perfect for work! Carmex is a family-run company (I find that endearing) which doesn't test on animals.

✰ BONUS: Chocolatier Pink Heart Chocolate
Just about everyone loves chocolate; I was certainly won over by the pink heart. Well done, Bella Box!

Summary: Bella Box have done an excellent job with their first anniversary box. The theme is articulated very well, and we have the satisfaction of knowing that $1 from each box was donated to breast cancer research. It has a good mix of skin care, cosmetics, hair, nails and perfume. I declare it a winner!

Total Value: $59.17. Cost of Box: $15.00. Benefit: $44.17
Rating: 9/10

Beauty Boxes: Bella Box April 2012

I picked up my Bella Box at the same time as my I Love This Box, but I decided to open them one day after the other, or else my poor little brain would explode! This is my first box from Bella Box, so I was especially looking forward to opening it. Before I even opened it though, I noticed a disconcerting rattling noise coming from it when I picked it up and moved it around. I was a bit worried about the products being OK. When I opened the box, I found there was no shredded tissue or other packaging to protect the contents, and they were all piled up on top of each other. Not very aesthetically pleasing. I probably should have taken a picture of that for you, but this is how they looked when I arranged them nicely:



It contains:

Comvita Brightening Facial Exfoliant; Facial Serum; Moisturiser, sample size 1.5mls each.
These Comvita skincare products are based on olive leaf extract. I almost had to laugh because recently Husband and I have started drinking olive leaf extract in our daily juice! So apparently it's good for your outsides as well as your insides. The samples are probably only enough for one or two applications, but they'll be interesting to try. a) I'm a sucker for skin care; b) I'm intrigued by boutique brands; c) I'm always up for some brightening.
Conscience time: Comvita is a New Zealand brand started by a cute little old man in the 1970s. Its skincare products are not tested on animals.

Ulta3 Nail Polish in Cocoa, full-size 13ml.
Ulta3 is about as cheap-o as you can get! In fact, I saw some in the bargain bin at Coles last week, but the colour range was terrible, so I didn't get any. However, everyone's been talking about Ulta3 and how good quality it is for such a cheap nail polish, so I had been wanting to try it out. And this colour is not only pretty, but probably suitable for work, too. At first glance it's similar to the deep bronze shade I got in my Be Creation Dot Artist Kit (review in progress), but the Be Creation one comes out as more of a marone colour, whereas this seemed true to colour when I swatched it on a piece of paper.
Conscience time: I've heard conflicting reports as to where Ulta3 is from, and whether they test on animals.

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation in "Petal I'm Plush & Precious", 5ml sample size pump pack.
I'm not that crash-hot on foundations, I prefer BB Creams personally. (I have a stack of unused foundations samples that I got with magazines, whereas all my BB Cream tubes are well-squeezed.) Having said that, I've been hearing about this new Benefit foundation around the traps recently, and I've been mildly curious about it, so I was glad to receive this sample. However, just looking at the bottle, I can tell it's a little dark for my skin tone - and Petal is the second-lightest colour! If it looks too dark on me, I'll probably put it aside until next summer.
Beautypedia Rating Summary [see full here]: smiley face: foundation blends easily and has a natural finish, but the range of shades is not large.
Conscience time: Benefit is a U.S. brand. It tests on animals where required by law.

Pure DKNY Verbena Eau de Parfum, 3ml sample vial.
I love perfumes, so spritzed some of this one before I went out to brunch. (Same-Day-Trial product, for the win!) It has a fresh, cool water scent with just a tiny hint of fresh floral. It reminds me a little of Acqua de Gio. I quite like it. It would be good for work and casual occasions.
Conscience time: DKNY (Donna Karan New York) is owned by Estee Lauder, a U.S. company. It tests on animals where required by law.

OP Therapy Summer Glow Pineapple & Papaya Sea Salt Scrub, full-size 75ml.
Another independent Australian brand - it's amazing how many there are out there! One thing I like about Beauty Boxes is being able to try out a range of them without having to seek them out. This body scrub smells nice and I'm sure I'll enjoy using it.
Conscience time: OP Therapy is an Australian brand. It is not tested on animals.

Bonus: Hollywood Feet Velvet Cushions, 2 pair pack.
It's always nice to get a bonus product. I think they're technically meant to be worn with heels, but after a day of fetching files and shifting boxes at work, even my ballet flats could do with a bit of cushioning.

Summary: My first Bella Box was more than satisfactory. It had some of my favourites: skin care, nails, perfume, not to mention a bonus product. The value of the box is fairly low-ish compared to others, but I'll definitely use all of the products in the box. That's not something I can say for every box! The only glitch is the way that the box was packed, and that might just have been a one-off. Overall, I'm happy with my first Bella Box.

Total Value: $54.60. Cost of Box: $15.00. Benefit: $39.60
Rating: 8/10