Last Month's Beauty Boxes: Looking Back on March 2012

Hi all! This is a new feature where I look back on my beauty boxes for the previous month and see whether I really did use the products in them. Previously I would edit my old posts and make notes on what I thought of the products, but I became dissatisfied with this way of doing it. I mean, aside from the blogger who wrote them, who goes back and reads old blog posts anyway? シ

So here we go with the March 2012 boxes (click on headings to see original reviews):

Lust Have It
Davroe Moisture Senses Argan Oil - haven't opened this yet, but very much looking forward to using it once I've finished my Garnier Smooth n Shine Serum (I'm phasing out Garner products due to their animal testing status).
Karpati DITO nail lacquer in Midnight Romance - used this on my toenails. Normally polish on my toenails lasts a couple of weeks, but this started to chip after only a few days. Unfortunately seems to be quite bad quality.
1Skin Solutions Lip Balm in Vanilla - in my lipbalm stash and next in the queue!
Kosmea Replenishing Moisture Cream - haven't opened this yet, but I just adored the exfoliant so very much looking forward to using it once my Jurlique Night Cream is finished. P.S. I was excited to see Kosmea products at Priceline and Chemist Warehouse recently!
Mirenesse Pearl Crush Creaseless Eyeshadow in Tahitian Pearls - love, love, love this! I use it all the time. The shadow is extremely pigmented and stays on all day.


Mirenesse Pearl Crush Creaseless Eyeshadow.
(Mine was a different colourway to this.)
From Pinterest.

I Love This Box
Essie Nail Polish 'Carry On' Autumn Collection in Lady Like - have only used this once, soon after I got it, but I adore it and will definitely use again. It was very long-wearing.
Maybelline New York XXL Pro Curl Mascara - have not opened yet, but will use when my current Maybelline mascara goes manky.
Sunsilk Co-Creations Frizz & Weather Defence, Weather Protection & Shine Serum - haven't opened yet. I've received a lot of hair products lately, so I'm not sure when I'll get around to it.
Thalgo Soft Hydrating Emulsion - I've been using this regularly. I like the sea salt smell and it makes my skin soft.
Glitter Puff Wand - not a product that you use, really. It's currently decorating my makeup station.


Thalgo range.

GlossyBox
Proactiv Cleansing Body Bar - Husband and I both used this bar, but after only a few days, we threw it away because it was giving us pimples and his back became very oily.
Eau Thermale Avene Thermal Spring Water - put this aside, may or may not use it. I do use a facial spritzer at work, but it has calming essential oils in it. This has nothing. Hm.
Nougat London Tuberose & Jasmine Nurturing Hand Cream - currently using. However, it sets off my eczema. (I'm bad like that: I'd rather use something up than throw it away, even if it's bad for my eczema.)
KMS California Free Shape Hot Flex Spray - currently using. I occasionally need to straighten my fringe, so I use it then.
Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream - currently using. Love the smell (very similar to Jurlique's exfoliating cream, actually) and makes my skin smooth. Not sure if it truly cleanses well, though.

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