Beauty Boxes: Bella Box November 2012

Both of my beauty box subscriptions came pretty late this month. I was really hanging out for them! The theme of this month's Bella Box is Soiree Season Staples, and I think they have done quite well. I was very happy with the box, except for one slight hiccup, which I'll detail at the end!

So here is the November box:

✽ Bioderma Sebium H2O Cleansing Water, sample size 20ml.
I was very impressed with the last Bioderma product I received, so I'm looking forward to using this cleansing water. It's formulated for oily and combination skin, which is perfect for me.

✽ 4Me Nail Polish Remover Pads, full-size 30 pads.
A basic but essential product if ever there was one! I've been painting my nails a lot again lately, so these will come in handy. I can see myself keeping them at work in case I get a multiple-chip issue and the whole lot needs to be removed straight away. (It happens to me quite a lot!).

✽ Swisse Hand Cream with Vitamin D and Pomegranate, sample size 30ml.
I'd noticed recently that the Vitamin company Swisse had put out a range of skin care products, and I was curious. The packaging design, while not exactly pretty, certainly stood out from all the rest. This hand cream is free from parabens and many other nasties, and is not tested on animals. I have to be really careful with hand creams due to my ezcema, and I really hope this will be one of the few I can use.

✽ Palmolive Luscious Strawberry Smoother Body Wash, sample size 50ml.
I would really rather have had the mango version of this, as I already have a bottle of the strawberry. But these things can't be helped. I was thinking of reviewing it, so perhaps this is a sign that I should!

✽ David Jones Beauty Radiant Moisture Day Cream, 30ml.
It's exciting to see another new product in the box! I'm very interested to see that David Jones have put out a store brand of skin care (and cosmetics too, I believe). I only use products with SPF in the morning, so this will be a night cream for me. The product is made in Australia and not tested on animals.

✽ B by Bloom Collecta Colour Cheek Tint in Barossa Valley, full-size 5g.
I was very excited to get a Bloom product in my box! As I've mentioned before, I have a bit of a soft spot for Bloom and can sometimes feel a little down that I don't have more of their products. (True beauty saddie, me?) I already have a Bloom Cheek Tint, but it's in a very different colour to this beautiful reddish pink. So now I have two. Yay!

✽ Rose-Hip Vital Rosehip Oil, full-size 30ml.
I love, love, love rosehip oil! It helps to sooth my eczema, and makes my skin feel so soft and plump when I apply it to my face. I'm very glad to know I have another bottle to fall back on when my current one runs out.

Summary: This month's box is very impressive! Seven products, three of them full size. I love the Bloom cheek tint and the rosehip oil, and the nail polish remover pads and cleanser will come in handy. There's a good mix of different types of products. The value of the box is comparatively good. There was only one disappointment, as I mentioned before. Whenever I open a beauty box, I always make sure to examine the products first, and then look at the card later. When I did that this time, I noticed it mentioned a bonus necklace. Oooh, that sounds good! But wait, I didn't notice the necklace in my box ... I searched the contents again ... no necklace! I was quite upset and thought I'd have to email the company to tell them they'd forgotten my necklace. Then I read the card again and realised that the necklace is free with purchase from the Bella Box online shop. The item isn't a bonus with the box, it's a bonus when you make an additional purchase, and yet it's listed on the card in the same manner as all the other products as if it were part of the box. I was angry then, and I felt a little misled.
But if I take a deep breath and put aside this quibble, I actually really liked the November box. My issue was with the marketing, not with the products or box themselves. So I'm giving it 9 out of 10!

Total Value: $56.42. Cost of Box: $15.00. Benefit: $41.42
Rating: 9/10

Collective Haul, I believe it's called

These are some things that I've bought/acquired in the last month or so. I've really been trying hard not to spend too much money at the moment, so the haul is small. ツ


Here we see:

❥ Styli-Style Twist & Seal Eyeliner in Turquoise ... I got this for a costume party I'm going to later in the month. I won't reveal yet what my costume will be, but I'll just say that I'm going All Out with my makeup! I've really got to get on with solving my face photography issues before then! =7
I bought this from FishPond. Known mainly as a book seller, I quickly discovered that this site sells beauty products, too! Joy! The purchase was a test really, to see if the site is any good before I go throwing too much money at it. Perhaps I'll do a site review soon.

❥ Mirenesse Absolutely Smooth Primer x4 [not pictured] ... I was so happy with the performance of this primer, that when there was another big sale on Ozsale, I got a bundle of 4. They should last me a really, really long time!

❥ Palmolive Strawberry Soother Exfoliating Body Wash ... I got this sample size bottle for free. Whee! There's a story behind it. I was at my local supermarket, where there was a sample stall set up, as you often see. The stall was giving away roast potatoes or some such thing, and there was a huge rush of people all going for their free potatoes. I wasn't hungry so I walked straight past, only to notice a second stall tucked away behind it with (joy!) beauty products! I loitered around for a while amongst the fruit and veg, and I noticed that everyone was ignoring the poor girl. I felt sorry for her, so I went over and let her give me her spiel, which she did with the appropriate amount of enthusiasm. Then she let me choose a free sample! It made my day.

❥ Doro Sen Gan Charcoal Clay Wash ... that's all I know about this product. The rest of the text is in Japanese. I bought it from Tokuya in the city. I was looking for a new shower hat and, well, you know, beauty products just seem to jump into my basket. I'm sure you can relate.

❥ Vitamin E Collagen Vitamin Essence Mask ... I bought this at Tokuya, too. Again, few details, but much happiness. The fruit pictures on the front make me think it might contain fruit essences. I'm building up a stock of cloth face masks now, but I just couldn't help myself. It was a fun trip.