Beauty Boxes: Lust Have It September 2012

I'm a little late reviewing the September 2012 box. What can I say - I've been busy! So, this time the pack came in a pretty silver makeup bag. I have about 5 now, I think, all in different colours, and I've been using them to store my samples in. Handy! Here is this month's haul:


Here we see:

♥ Aum Gentle Facial Foam Cleanser, sample size 20ml.
I've sampled quite a few facial cleansers lately but I always like to have more. I love washing my face and feeling it squeaky clean. This smells divine, like lavender and ylang ylang and I can't wait to use it! It is not tested on animals.

♥ YSL Opium Vapeurs de Parfum, sample vial 1.5ml
This perfume is so new it's not even in stores yet, so I feel quite special being able to sample it. In fact, I even wore it to the wedding I attended recently. I really like the spicy smell - it's not as intense as Chloe, but not as floral as Lola.

♥ Davroe Colour Senses Ends Repair, sample size 50ml
I liked the Davroe detangler that I received a while back, and this end-repairing serum for coloured hair suits my hair profile perfectly. It's Australian and not tested on animals.

♥ Morrissey Hand & Body Lotion, sample size 40ml
I reluctantly broke the seal to smell this lotion - the bottle is so sophisticated-looking I didn't want to ruin it! It has an unusual scent of blood orange and lime that I quite like. Morrissey is Australian, not tested on animals, and paraben-free.

♥ Mirenesse Ace of Base Concealer, sample size 1.5g
I was excited to be able to try the Mirenesse Concealer. My current Smashbox Concealer is a bit yellow for my skintone, but this has a much pinker hue. It's a winner! I took it with me on holidays and tried it out a few times, not least of all for my wedding makeup look. Yay!

Summary: Despite the very low value of this month's box, I actually really like it. There's a good mix of product samples: face, body, hair, makeup and perfume. Facial cleansers and perfumes are two of my big weaknesses, so I did squee a bit when I saw them! And I was very impressed with the Mirenesse concealer. I have to say that I also loved the colours of the different bottles and vials - don't they look lovely against the background of the silver bag? Unfortunately all of this month's items were sample-sized, resulting in a very low box value compared to past boxes. I've taken a couple of points off for that, but even still, it scores a decent 7 out of 10.

Total Value: $27.21. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $12.26
Rating: 7/10

Empties: April 2012

I decided to start doing this feature half-way through the month, so I don't have photos of all the packagings, sorry!



Dove Go Fresh Cream Bar - (given by mum-in-law) a good, moisturising soap. The fresh smell was nice, but a little strong. I'd consider buying it again.

Pola Kalahari Moisture Lotion - (sample sachet; a gift from S & B) Reviewed here.

Davroe Tame Lemongrass Detangler Spray - (sample size; LustHaveIt box) smelled a bit strange (soapy) but worked well. Was well out of my budget though, so I made my own. See here.

DHC Make Off Sheets - (purchased from YesStyle) Reviewed here. Replaced with Biore brand.

Lush Face Mask in Crash Course in Skin Care AND Cosmetic Warrior - threw these away because they were well past their use-by date and smelled manky. I'm saving the pots to get a free face mask.

Avon French Manicure Set: Topcoat - went very thick and cloudy, so I turfed it. Replaced with Etude House Jelly Nail Top Coat.

Sheer Cover SPF 15 Nourishing Moisturiser - (sample size; GlossyBox) horrid stuff. Waxy, boring and gave me pimples. Would certainly not buy again. Replaced with Nivea Sun Face Veil SPF30+ Moisturiser.

Sasy n Savy Rose Lavender Hand n Nail Repair Creme - (sample size; LustHaveIt Box) so tiny that it was all gone after about 4 applications! Smells lovely and has average sinking-in ability but it set off my eczema.

Proactiv Cleansing Bar - (GlossyBox) horrid stuff. It gave both man and I pimples on our backs and dried out our skin. Would certainly not buy again.

Planet Earth Lime Blossom & Coconut Soap - (Christmas gift from Husband) lovely smell, moisturising bar, long-lasting as well. Would get again.

Review of Lust Have It Beauty Box, March 2012

After receiving the triple-whammy of 3 beauty boxes all at once in February, I was starting to pine for another one, wondering when my first one would come. Lust Have It was first cab off the rank this month, and boy, was I excited when I opened it!! Here is the pic of the products, nestled in an autumn-appropriate bed of orange tissue:



It contained:

Davroe Moisture Senses Argan Oil, full-size 50ml.
When I received the Davroe de-tangler in last month's box, I was a bit ambivalent about it. When I tried it though, it really worked! So I was happy to see another Davroe product. Not only that though, it's Argan oil! I've been wanting to try argan oil ever since I first heard about it, but wasn't willing to fork out the extravagant price point for the Moroccan Oil brand. Now here it is, right in my box! Yay!
Conscience time: Davroe is Australian made and owned. It does not test on animals.

Karpati DITO nail lacquer in Midnight Romance, full size.
What an interesting concept - a nail polish bottle with a finger-grip on it so you can slip it over your fingers while painting your nails. I'm always a little paranoid that I'll knock the bottle over while I'm painting my nails, so this seems like a fantastic solution. The white mod styling with the little round window showing the nail polish colour is really cool. It won a design award, apparently. The colour is also gorgeous; I don't already have a deep purple. I don't think I would buy this though, as it's $19.95 for an 8ml bottle (OPI is the same price, but has twice as much product). I know it's a boutique brand, and the bottle design is unique, but my grinchy soul just wouldn't let me!
Conscience time: Karpati is an Australian company founded by an individual. I could not find info about its animal testing status on the website.

1Skin Solutions Lip Balm in Vanilla, full-size.
I already have about 3 trillion lip balms, so one more can't hurt, I suppose! This one does smell/taste very nice, like the vanilla sugar topping on a biscuit. The feel and staying power are average. I wouldn't say it was worth $9.90! Probably my favourite thing about this is the gorgeous lavender colour of the label.
Conscience time: 1Skin Solution is Australian made and owned, founded by an individual (I believe - the website was a bit vague). It is not tested on animals.

Kosmea Replenishing Moisture Cream, 20ml.
I just adored the Kosmea facial cleanser I received in my December Lust Have It box, so I was very pleased to see the facial moisturiser as well. It has the same divine scent. The feature ingredient is rosehip oil, which many sources are saying is excellent on the skin. I've started using pure rosehip oil on my eczema, and its helping. So I'm very happy to receive this product.
Conscience time: Kosmea is Australian owned and made, founded by an individual. It is not tested on animals.

Mirenesse Pearl Crush Creaseless Eyeshadow in Tahitian Pearls
I've been hearing a lot about Mirenesse lately, and been wanting to try one of their products. Being a semi-luxury brand however, I was reluctant to make the purchase. Now here it pops up in my beauty box! Excitingly, it's a product I'll actually use, as well! (I'm not really into eyeliners, etc and there's only so many mascaras you can have, but I just love eyeshadow.)
The eyeshadow trio came in a glossy paper packet. I love the lacy baroque styling of the compact. I already have browns that are similar to the two in the compact, but the olive green is new and I'm looking forward to trying it. I was very glad to receive this.
Conscience time: Mirenesse is an Australian owned company, founded by an individual. (Though the product itself was made in Taiwan.) It is not tested on animals.

Summary: Overall - just wow! I 'squeed' in the car when I opened this!
4 out of 5 products are full-sized, and the sample size (Kosmea moisturiser) is large enough to last quite some time. All are from Australian boutique brands. No cheapo brands to be seen here! I'll definitely be using all of them, which is something I can't say for every box. And the total value is over $100 - amazing. I would say this is the best box yet, from any box company.
I do also have to say - I like the way the Lust Have It box is packaged. There's just one box which functions as both the presentation box and the postal packaging, and it's quite small. With the GlossyBox, I feel like I'm chucking an unnecessarily large amount of packaging in the bin, but the Lust Have It box is small and compact. That's all it needs to be!

Total Value: $103.73. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $88.78
Rating: 9/10

Review of February Lust Have It Box

Well, hello! Today I went to the post office to pick up my beauty box, and the lovely lady advised me there were actually two waiting! I was so chuffed. I actually subscribe to three now, so I suppose the chances weren't that low. There's been a bit of talk around the intertubes as to whether the box people would work double-time this month and make sure their boxes arrived before Valentine's Day. Two have passed the test so far. I'll review the LustHaveIt box today, and the GlossyBox tomorrow.

So, here is the February LustHaveIt box:



It contains:

Lancome Juicy Tubes {colour not specified}, half-size sample.
Lancome is a luxury brand, and Juicy Tubes are an iconic product, so this is is the kind of thing you'd want from your beauty box! However, I think they're overpriced, and the company will not confirm its animal testing status, so I've already decided not to purchase anything from this brand. This half-size sample is worth $23.
Beautypedia Rating Summary [see full here] : the Juicy Tubes get a smily face (very good) rating.
Conscience time: Lancome is owned by L'Oreal, a French brand. It does not divulge its animal testing status.

Davroe Tame Lemongrass Detangler Spray, 50ml sample bottle.
I do love hair products! I haven't tried a de-tangler before, so it should be interesting. I don't really have a problem with tangled hair, but it does get very frizzy, so it might help with that. I'm a bit confused though, because the bottle mentions lemongrass, jasmine, passionflower and ylang ylang, and it doesn't smell like any of these at all! However, it's always good to try an independent Australian product.
Conscience time: Davroe is Australian made and owned. It does not test on animals.
21-MAR-12 edit: This stuff really works! I've been using it regularly.

Sasy n Savy Rose Lavender Hand n Nail Repair Creme, 5ml sample tube.
A 5ml sample ... not much! And from an unknown brand ... not very generous. (An unknown brand with such a dorky name, too. What the?)
But! It's not too greasy and it smells divine. A good product shines through every time. I'd consider buying this if I wanted to splash out.
Conscience time: Sasy n Savy is Australian made and owned. It is not tested on animals.

Lush Sugar Scrub, full-size.
In the past I had a bit of an unhealthy obsession with Lush. But about a year ago, when I decided to be a bit more savvy about my beauty products and delved a bit deeper, I became unhappy with the ingredients they use. They choose to use problematic ingredients. There's no need for sodium laureth sulfate. There's no need for parabens. There's no need for so many colours and fragrances. They make a lot of claims about being natural and chemical-free which are, in my opinion, quite iffy. Anyway, back to what's in the box:
I've used this product before and I found it too scratchy on my skin. At the time I'd thought that, if I ever bought it again, I'd grind it up and mix it with some olive oil before I used it. So yeah, I'll use it. This is the only full-sized product in the box.
Conscience time: Lush is a U.K. company. It is not tested on animals.

Lac Taut Collagen Infusion Mask, 1pc sample (usually 5pc).
I was excited to see this, despite myself. I'm completely obsessed with Asian beauty products at the moment, and it's a bit of a guilty pleasure. It's very difficult to find out much about them - whether they test on animals or even a complete ingredient list. But I just can't help myself! I can't wait to try out this mask. I've been wanting to try out cloth face masks since I first heard about them. The only issue is - it's such a luxury product that I feel like I need a 'special occasion' to use it!
Conscience time: Taut is owned by AMS Life Science, a Japanese company. I couldn't find any information about its animal testing status.

Summary: I was terribly excited when I first opened this box. It has it all! - independent brands, Australian brands, Asian brands, hair, skin, yay! Only one of the products is full-sized, but still the value is good and the excitement factor is there. My only gripe (and it's really a small one) is that the box could have reflected the Valentine's day theme a bit better. Just some pink tissue paper would have done the trick, or a paper flower. Overall though, I'm very happy with the box.

Total Value: $67.90. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $52.95
Rating: 8/10