Beauty Boxes : Lust Have It October 2012

The theme for this month's Lust Have It is Luxe and Luscious Lust-Haves. Like Bella Box, they are looking at the Cancer Council's Pink Ribbon campaign, and have packed the smaller items in a pink organza bag for that reason (bag not shown, but trust me, they were!). Here's what was in this month's box:


Photo by AntwanR.Here we see:

❖ Waxaway Ready-To-Use Sensitive Wax Strips, sample pack of 2.
I've always been terrified of waxing. I've tried going to a salon, and I've tried doing it myself at home, and every time it's been painful, confusing and a failure. I'm a staunch shaving girl and I don't think anything will make me change. Except for beauty product samples! So I will give these a go and you never know.

❖ Elizabeth Arden Red Door Aura Eau de Toilette, sample vial 5ml.
A lighter version of the iconic Red Door perfume. I received a sample of the original in my I Love This Box (now sadly defunct) box at the start of the year. This version is very similar, but lighter with more floral overtones. It still has that classic elegance, but doesn't make my eyes water. ﭢ Having tried it out last night, I definitely noticed the shorter staying power of the eau de toilette as compared to an eau de parfum. I do really like this perfume, though. It would be good for a garden party or daytime wedding.
Elizabeth Arden is not tested on animals.

❖ Say It With Scent Hand and Body Lotion in Lavender, sample size 30ml.
The rate of hand creams in my beauty sample boxes has dropped off a bit lately - and quite frankly I was kinda glad. I need to be really careful about what I use on my hands because I have eczema, and this one, while it smells lovely, would not be suitable for me, I think. Such a shame. I love the pretty tube. I think I'll set it aside and slip it into a friend's Christmas present.

❖ Star & Rose Confetti Soap Petals, full-size box of 3.
These soap flowers are way too pretty to use! They're the kind of thing you'd get in a gift hamper, not for solid, down-home everyday use. I'm going to put them aside for a gift as well. (Though I'll have to make sure I give them to someone who I'm pretty sure doesn't read the blog! ahahha)

❖ Montaser Cosmeceuticals Renitence Eye Revival Cream, sample size {not given but estimate 5ml}.
I'm feeling a bit of a glut of eye creams at the moment. I'd never heard of this brand, so I had a look at their website. They're an Australian company that use a combination of Science, native Australian plant botanicals and dead sea minerals to create anti-ageing products. While the mustard-yellow colour of the cream is a bit disturbing (I opened up the pot for the photo), it has the most divine and unusual buttery caramel smell. Mmmm!
The full-size product is not in a pot. It seems to be a pump pack. Montaser products are not tested on animals.

Summary: I'm a bit on the fence with this month's box: not excited, but not horribly disappointed either. Just like last month, none of the products were full size. (Well, the soap flowers are, but they just strike me as being a bit of a fluffy filler product, so I'm leaving them out of that statement.) Unfortunately that brings the value down a bit, but that isn't what's niggling me about this month's box. It suffers a little from a lack of makeup products, I think. The "Luxe and Luscious" theme could have done with a bit of indulgent cosmetic pampering. I do really like the perfume though, and I'm looking forward to using the eye cream.

Total Value: $44.28. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $29.33
Rating: 7/10

Another Haul!

I placed a little bit of an order on Catch of the Day and it arrived late last week. It was the last haul before my self-imposed spending ban (which I'm already hanging out for the end of!). I was a bit all-over-the-place with what I bought, I can't really explain it! But anyway, here we see:


* Joico Renu Age Defy Shampoo
* Tigi Rockaholic Livin' The Dream Conditioner
* Beautician's Secret Cleanser, Moisturiser and Body Sculpt Set


* Spoilt Rotten Ginger and Green Tea Shower Gel, Body Lotion and Body Mist set. I bought this and the Beautician's Secret set to take with my on my holiday in a few months. Thinking way too far ahead? Just an excuse to buy something? Perhaps a bit of both....


* Shampoos again with Revlon Just Tinted Nail Enamel in Mystic, a sheer berryish pink. If I can ever figure out how to take decent photos of my nails, I'll show you what it looks like on!


* Elizabeth Arden Shimmer Powder. The main reason I got this is that it came with a Kabuki brush. I have a pressed powder already from Daiso that I was using one of those fuzzy puffs to apply with. Not only was it streaking and coming straight off, but the puff started to smell manky really quickly. I decided I needed a proper brush to apply it with! The Shimmer Powder was half price and it came with a lovely kabuki brush - a bonus! It cost half of what a decent kabuki brush normally costs on its own. The packaging was gorgeously sophisticated as well.


Although I'm on a spending ban, don't worry, I still have plenty of reviews up my sleeve. There'll be more in the next couple of weeks!

Review of February ILoveThisBox Beauty Box

Hello again already with another beauty box review. I picked up my 'I Love This Box' box from the post office this morning. It actually arrived at the post office on Monday, but I didn't have time to pick it up until today. Technically, it passed the 'did it arrive by Valentine's Day' test, but in practicality, it didn't. It doesn't mean that much to me anyway, but the box is very V.D. themed, so it would have been nice.
This month's box comes with red tissue paper, a sticker with a heart on it, and a generously-sized packet of red jelly beans! I went to the trouble of using my camera today instead of my ipod, so the photo is a little better quality. Here it is:



It contains:

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Eau de Parfum, 10ml bottle.
Now, this is a real luxury product! Elizabeth Arden was a pioneer in the beauty industry, so it's exciting to have her iconic Red Door perfume. I haven't spritzed it yet, but just from sniffing the nozzle, I think it smells good. This item makes me feel very special!
P.S. Did you know that Elizabeth Arden's real name was Florence Nightingale Graham?
Conscience time: Elizabeth Arden is a U.S. company, founded by an individual. It is not tested on animals.
21-MAR-12 edit: I like the smell of this perfume - sophisticated. But it's so strong! The fumes made my eyes water, so I sprayed it on my back instead!

Keratinology by Sunsilk Overnight Treatment, full-size 100ml.
Unilever, the parent company of Sunsilk, still test some of their products on animals, so I was a bit dismayed to find a product from this brand in my box. I heard recently that there are now leave-in treatments which work overnight to repair hair. I don't really see what the difference is to ones that work during the day! I guess I'll use it, seeing as I have it now, but I'm not too happy about it.
Conscience time: Sunsilk is owned by Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch company. Some of their products are tested on animals.

Nail File
I gave this file away to B before I had a chance to photograph it, so I put my glass nail file in the box so it didn't look too empty! It was a cute nail file with pink love hearts on it. As I said in my last GlossyBox review, nail files are not really an exciting product, but at least this one was designed to last a bit longer than the G.B. one, and its design was consistent with the Valentine's Day theme.
Conscience time: The brand is not listed. I don't imagine you'd test a nail file on animals, though.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Kiss & Stay Lip Gloss, Colours of Love Series, in Lasting Passion, full-size 2 x 8ml.
I already have a lot of lip balms and glosses, so I wasn't overwhelmed with joy when I first saw this. But then I tried it out this afternoon and .... wow! It stays on like nothing else! My lips still feel sticky 5 hours later! I'm going to need to use makeup remover to get it off! Application is a two-step process: Step 1 is the colour, in this case a deep plum. Once that's dry, Step 2 adds the glittery gloss. The colour is a lot darker than I'm used to, but I can see myself using it at work where a) the shade will fit in well with my business persona; and b) I don't have time to worry about re-applying makeup.
So, even though this isn't a product from a luxury brand, its performance certainly makes up for it. Overall, I'm very happy with this.
Beautypedia Rating Summary [see full here]: This product gets the Paula's Pick (best) rating. It is very long wearing (more so than some other leading brands) and not drying.
Conscience time: Rimmel London is a U.K. brand, owned by Coty, a German company (originally French). It is not tested on animals.

The Aromatherapy Co. Rose & Patchouli Sensual/Soothing Hand & Nail Cream, full size 100ml.
I've never heard of this company before, but the product sounds lovely. I'm not going to open it straight away, as I have my full compliment of hand creams on the go already. I love rose-scented things though, so I'm looking forward to it.
Conscience time: The Aromatherapy Co. is a New Zealand company. It does not test on animals.

Summary: Despite the one product tested on animals, I loved this box! It has many of the products I like - hair care, hand cream, perfume. Most of the products were full-sized - and the perfume was a 10ml door-shaped bottle instead of the more usual 3ml vial - which pushed the value up quite a bit. As with this month's GlossyBox, the nail file was a 'meh' product, but the amazingness of all the other products made up for it (unlike GlossyBox!). So overall, I loved 'I Love This Box'!

Total Value: $66.13. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $51.18
Rating: 8/10