Beauty Boxes: Bella Box May 2013

Once again I have to apologise for posting my review long after receiving the box! Life just gets in the way sometimes. So let's move straight into the What I Got part of the post:



❀ Lonvitalite C4 Coconut Milk Hydrating and Nourishing Facial Mask, sample 1 piece.
I am in loooove with cloth face masks and I've enjoyed the Lonvitalite products I've received before, so I'm looking forward to using this one soon! I like that the masks are colour-coded and numbered for various different skin concerns.

❀ Suigo Absolute Volume Keratin Treatment, sample size 100ml.
I haven't heard of Suigo before, but I'm impressed already with their generously-sized sample pot. Unfortunately my hair is extremely thick, not "fine [and] lifeless", so it doesn't really suit me. It could do with "shine and a light hold" though, so I'll give it a go anyway.

❀ Bloom Shadow Liner in Emerald Green, full size 0.4g
Yay, a Bloom product! This innovative wedge-shaped liner can be used for either precision lining or wide sweeps of colour. I have swatched it below and you can see the beautiful shimmering green colour with just a hint of gold. This is the sort of colour I would definitely wear! The pencil is a twist-up design, and unlike many cheaper designs, twists back down again too, to protect the tip. Lovely.


❀ La Roche-Posay Effaclar Foaming Gel AND Duo, sample sizes 3ml AND 15ml.
These products from the cult French brand are paraben-free and are designed to clear oily skin. Strangely enough, I have found my skin has been getting more oily over the last few years as I have gotten older, not less. So I'll certainly be using these products very soon!

❀ Manicare Duo Mascara Brushes, full-size pack of 10.
The pack contains 5 volumising and 5 curl-effect disposable mascara brushes. I suppose these could come in handy in certain circumstances - if you had a mascara that had a great formula but a terrible brush, for example. Or if you wanted to share your mascara with a friend. I can't really see any use for them myself, though. To be honest, Husband and I could probably put them to better use cleaning our computer keyboards or some other fiddly task.

❀ Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden Brightening Facial Illuminating Moisture Lotion SPF 15+, full-size 75ml.
This generously full-sized product retails at $19.95. Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden is a UK brand that is paraben-free and isn't tested on animals. The brightening effect appeals to me, however I'm a bit paranoid with my sun protection, and I prefer the SPF factor of my daytime moisturisers to be at least 30+. That way I'm more confident of the protection lasting at least until lunchtime. I'll probably use this on dull days so at least my skin will be bright, even if the weather isn't!

❀ BONUS: Nanoblur, sample sachet 2ml.
I saw this at Priceline a few months ago, and I tried it out on the fleshy part of my hand where I have a few wrinkles. It actually worked! Of course, the effect isn't permanent: the optical effect just reduces the look of wrinkles for a few hours, rather than actually getting rid of them. But it actually works! The irony of the situation is: I don't have wrinkles yet. Even when I'm very tired, it tends to come out as under-eye circles rather than wrinkles. So I have no use for this product (yet!). The other irony: it could be insulting if I offered this to a friend or relative! So I'm not sure what to do with it. It's nice though, to be given a product that I know works.


Summary: This month's Bella Box was quite generous and contained a good mix of products. I was excited to receive the Bloom and Lonvitalite products, and will certainly use most of the rest. Overall, it's not spectacularly exciting, but it's a good, solid offering.
Gunna Use It ASAP Rating: 62.5% (5 out of 8)

Beauty Boxes : Lust Have It February 2013

February's Lust Have It box is a little different to normal. In a spirit of honesty they sent an email last week explaining some changes to this month's box. One of the full-size products they wanted to include was so large and heavy that they couldn't put it in their new signature box, and they also had to leave out one of the products from the card due to the weight limit. There was to be 3 full-size products in total to make up for it. I was so intrigued as to what they might be!

The box finally arrived on Friday. The postie had put it in the letterbox instead of by the front door like normal, and unfortunately, being a 33oC day, the contents felt warm. Grrr again, Australia Post! I really hope the heat didn't affect them too much, though it can't have been too bad as the lipstick hadn't melted or warped. Moving on though, let's see what we got:

* Mancine Summer Tan Self-Action Tan in Dark, full size 250ml.
This is the large bottle that caused all the last-minute swapping surrounding this month's box, and unfortunately I have to say it's a product I probably won't use. I've received tanning products before and said I'd use them, but never do. Sometimes I get vain and want my legs to be a bit more tanned, but I always fall back on my good old Palmer's Gradual. Even then, I sometimes have to dilute it with moisturiser because even after one application it looks too weird with my pasty fair rose skin. I may well try it out, but I can't imagine going through a whole 250ml bottle of the stuff! So I was kinda disappointed to find that the product I'd been waiting for and which I had to miss out on my 5th sample for, is wasted on me.
The product is made in Australia and not tested on animals.

* Styli-Style L3 Timeless Lipstick in Spirit, full size.
I don't use lipsticks too much, but I'm in love with this colour! It's like a dusty rose pink with a touch of mauve, and quite sheer. I have swatched it below! It comes in a nice solid metal tube that I could throw in my bag and take everywhere with me. I can see myself using it often. This brand comes from the U.S.

* The Natural Source Camouflage Colour Nail Lacquer in Brown Plum, full size.
I just can't get enough nail polish! This one is a deep brick red tending to brown. I probably wouldn't have chosen it myself, but it might make an interesting base for some of the glitter nail polishes I've acquired lately.

* Lon Vitalite C9 Moisturising Hand Mask, 1 pr.
This looks like a really interesting product: like a cloth face mask except for your hands. I'm really looking forward to using it. My hands have been so dry in the heat, so I think they deserve a bit of pampering. The price seems very reasonable, $4.50 per pair, so I might buy some if I enjoy the pampering. ;)

Gunna Use It Right Now Rating: 75%
Summary: I'm in two minds about this box. While it was disappointing to only receive 4 products, I did like 3 of them, and LHI's upfront email went quite a way to make up for it. I can't help wondering though if they couldn't have thrown in one or two lightweight sachets as compensation, or if the box really was too heavy. Normally my box ratings depend on giving 0-2 points per product, and with only 4 in this one I'm afraid it only gets 5/10.

Rating: 5/10

Now for the lipstick swatch. This was taken under my daylight lamp. The colour is much more true-to-life in this shot (compared to my monitor settings anyway!). I think it will be fairly long-wearing as the lippie took a bit of rubbing to get off my arm!:

Things I Took on My Holiday, Part 2!

This is part 2 of my post on the products I took with me on my Queensland holiday.


Hair Products! [above]
I decided to experiment with a few sample hair products while away. The sizes are just so handy for travelling! I was glad I took along the Biolage Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner. I think they really did have a smoothing effect. However the U-Haircare Style Beehold I'm afraid had no effect whatsoever! I have naturally frizzy hair, and the high humidity in Queensland turned me into a puffball! I washed my hair and applied the product (there were no instructions, so I applied it to towel-dried hair as you normally do with this type of product), but afterwards I still looked like a human poodle! I had a wedding to attend at the end of the week - this would just not do! After an emergency trip to the local IGA, I managed to get hold of some Schwarzkopf Hair Repair Straightening Balm. Thankfully it worked and I started to look like a normal human being again.
The V05 Hairspray is also the result of a last-minute trip to the supermarket. I'm pleased to report that it kept my hair in rock-solid shape throughout the entire evening.


More hair products [above]
My anti-dandruff shampoo - an unfortunate necessity - and my Schwarzkopf Colour Protectant Spray, which I always use before going out in the sun for any length of time. I don't tend to have the problems with my hair colour fading that many girls report, so I think it works! The smell reminds me of holidays now.
I also took along my Lon Vitalite face and eye cloth masks, but didn't get a chance to use them.


Necessary Products [above]
Deodorant, of course! And my Eulactol Heel Balm Gold, which I was sure I'd need with all the sandal and thong-wearing that I'd be doing. I have to be careful in summer or I get cracks in my heels. Ouch! The facial cleanser I took along was this Beautician's Secret Milky Cleanser sample size that I bought as part of a gift pack. It's made my skin break out a little bit though, so I don't think I'll buy it again.

That's it for the boring but necessary products. Stay tuned for Part 3 where I look at the makeup I took!

Beauty Boxes: Lust Have It June 2012 and Blogging Fail

Lust Have It sent out an email a couple of weeks ago detailing some changes they're making: mainly, not using tracked postage, and giving different items to different subscribers (though not according to our profiles because, with all the ex-GlossyBox subscribers they have now, it's just too much effort). I was left feeling a little miffed, and vowed to cancel my subscription at the first sign of trouble. Apparently now they also charge your card about 2 weeks before they send out the box, as I found out. So without the tracking, I had no idea when my box was coming. I was starting to see reviews from beauty bloggers popping up early in the week, and my box still hadn't arrived! I was starting to get quite worried. But then I found it in my letterbox on Thursday. Again, the items came in a LustHaveIt-branded makeup bag, this time a lovely purple colour. The package has come in a makeup bag the last 3 months, and I've gotten a different colour each time. I don't know if this is deliberate or not, but if it is, it's a Good Thing. I actually prefer getting the makeup bags to the box I get with the other packages; they're more practical.

I'm just doing a shortened review today; I can't be bothered searching for all that extra information. Here's what was inside:


✔ Lon Vitalite 24K Active Golden Yulan Oil Facial Mask
✔ Lon Vitalite 24K Active Gold Full Eye Mask
✔ Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush
✔ Bloom Shade & Line 3-in-1 in Times Square
✔ Marc Jacobs Lola
✔ Chloe L'Eau de Chloe

Summary: Most of the reviews I read expressed disappointment in this months' box, and I can see why. Only one of the products (the Bloom eyeliner) is full-sized; having 2 perfume samples is a bit repetitive and boring; the masks are treated as separate items when I really think they should be treated as one, which is a bit cheeky; the dry shampoo is a bit of a bottom-shelf everyday item.

On the other hand -
There were some things that saved this box for me, though I have to say they were purely coincidental:
* I tried my first cloth face mask just the other day (don't worry, pictures are coming soon!) and I really like them. I can't afford to buy the really fancy ones like this brand (RRP $59.00 for a pack of 5 face masks), so getting one in my box gave me a little thrill.
* I like perfumes, and both the Marc Jacobs and the Chloe were ones I'd been wanting to sniff for some time. I could always go to Perfume Connection or one of those places, bug the saleslady for a while, and then walk out cheekily empty-handed; but I'm too shy for that! The only time I get to try testers of the really top-end perfumes is at the duty-free shops at the airport - and that's not very often! ツ Even when I do get to try them out, I'm never sure if I'll like them in the longer-term and if it's really worth shelling out the crippling amounts they cost. So when I get a tester vial in a beauty box, I'm always very happy, because then I can see if I still like it over time. So I have to admit ... I'm not really annoyed at all to get two perfumes.
* I've always had a soft spot for Bloom, though for some strange reason I don't have many of their products. It was the first non-chemist brand that I was really interested in. The eyeliner is actually a shade that I would wear, too. Other subscribers received a glittery gold eyeliner, which is definitely not me! I was glad to receive it. I was so excited that I did a swatch of it - my first swatch for the blog! - and here comes my beauty blogger fail ....


So above is my swatch. I tried taking pictures in various places around the house - even under my brand new daylight lamp that I got for my birthday - and this was the best I could come up with. I was moderately proud of it, until I was looking at my products again later, and wondering why it's called a 3-in-1 stick. I realised ... there are actually 2 products in the stick! When I screw off the coloured section, there's a gunmetal grey eyeshadow as well as the eyeliner in the stick! Arrgghh! It's actually even better than I thought. ツ

Total Value: $50.15. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $35.20
Rating: 7/10