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!:

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.