Quick & Dirty Haul

Hello! I'm just popping in very quickly to show you some things I picked up at Chemist Warehouse last night. I just happened to notice a new bargain stand while I was waiting for my prescriptions, and boy was I glad I checked it out!
(Excuse the shocking photo, I took it on my ipod.)


I got the Kosmea Eighth Natural Wonder Serum. They were only $15! So I had to get 2. I've read some great reviews of this product, and it went on my "one day when I'm rich" wishlist. When I saw them for less than half price, I couldn't resist! (Besides, my spending ban is over, anyway. =D ) I also got the Avene Eye Makeup Remover, because I'll be needing a new one soon, and I'm sure $15 is a good price for this brand.

I'm also waiting for a parcel to arrive from YesStyle with some exciting things in it. I hope it comes tomorrow!!

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

December 'Lust Have It' Beauty Box

As I promised last week, here's the December Lust Have It beauty box that I received:



Source: addtocartblog.com via ApartmentCat on Pinterest.

It came with tinsel packaging and a cute mini candy cane! It contained:

Glasshouse Fragrances: Marseilles Body Bar, full size.
This soap smells lovely: floral and old-fashioned. I've been using it since I got it, and it has a nice, creamy texture. I wouldn't pay $12.95 for a soap though, not even a handmade one! Lately I've been getting my soaps from Inner Earth Soaps on Etsy, and been very happy with them.
14-JAN-12 edit: I finished the soap today. Loved it from start to finish. Still not spending that much on soap, though!

Evo: Great Hydrator Moisture Mask, 50ml bottle.
Good, another hair product! Since I started growing out my hair (over 18 months ago, now) I've realised the importance of using quality hair products. So I'm interested in trying new ones. I used this the other day, and it made my hair noticeably smoother. It also had a fragrance that I really liked - perfumy and musky, unusual for a hair product. I would buy this again, I think.

LimeLily Cosmetics: Waterproof Eye Pencil in Jet, full size.
I wouldn't normally buy a black eye pencil. I prefer neutral shades, and sometimes brights if I'm feeling funky on the weekend. But a black pencil might go well with some of the darker brown and purple eyeshadow shades that I have, so next time I've got a special occasion, I might give it a go.
14-JAN-12 edit: Still haven't opened this. I probably won't use it and might give it away.

Kosmea: Purifying Cream Cleanser, 20ml tube.
I used this to clean my face the same night I received it, and it was lovely! My skin felt smooth and plump afterwards, it smelled gorgeous, and it's an Australian brand, too. Next time I feel like lashing out on a cleanser, I'll definitely consider this one.

Lash Republic: False Lash Set in Babydoll (daytime), full set.
Um, I've never used false eyelashes before, and never really considered it seriously. But why not give it a go, considering these were practically free? (The set retails at $25.00) I've read that you can use just a couple of lashes at the corner of each eye instead of the whole set; that might be the way to go for me. I can't even apply normal mascara without making a mess, so it should be interesting. I found a tutorial on YouTube, and it doesn't seem hard, you just need to practice. Just got to wait for a special enough occasion!
14-JAN-12 edit: Still haven't tried this and am re-thinking whether I will or not.

Moxie: Regular Tampons, pk 8.
I've seen this brand around before, but passed them by because they're a little more expensive than the others, and when it comes to this sort of product I figure, why pay more? But it's nice to have the chance to try them out. And they come in a cute little tin.

Summary: This month there were 6 products instead of the normal 5. I'm not sure if that's because it's Christmas, or because a couple of the products might be judged to be a bit iffy by the subscribers. Tampons are hardly a luxury product after all, and I don't think too many people wear false eyelashes! Some of the other products though, were pretty good.
Total Value: $69.45. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $54.50.
Rating: 6/10
14-JAN-12 edit: I might even rate this a 5/10, now that I think about it.