Beauty Box Review: I Love This Box March 2012

I got to the post office with 5 minutes to spare this afternoon, and happily picked up my 'I Love This Box' beauty box for March. It was packed in lovely lavender tissue paper...



... and it contained:

Essie Nail Polish 'Carry On' Autumn Collection in Lady Like, 5ml sample
I've been wanting to try Essie for a while, and this nude colour is perfect! After getting blacks and bright reds in previous boxes, it's nice to get a colour I can wear to work and on days when I want something more toned-down.
Conscience time: Essie was founded by an individual, but is now part of L'Oreal, which test on animals.

Maybelline New York XXL Pro Curl Mascara, full size.
Maybelline isn't a luxury brand, but they're always coming up with interesting mascara concepts. Supposedly this mascara will curl and lengthen your lashes in a two-step process. Lash-wise, I could use all the help I can get! So I'm interested to see what this stuff does. I already have a few mascaras but, as the card included in the box reminded me, they don't last that long, so perhaps I should chuck one of my old ones.
Conscience time: Maybelline is owned by L'Oreal. Its animal testing status is unknown.

Sunsilk Co-Creations Frizz & Weather Defence, Weather Protection & Shine Serum, 40ml full-size
There was a Sunsilk product in last month's I Love This Box as well, and I noted the possibility that it was tested on animals back then. ILTB have paid attention to my beauty profile and sent me the frizz serum rather than the straight hair mist which is the alternative product on the card, so they get a tick there! The blue goo in a futuristic vial, surrounded by packaging which makes it look twice as large as it really is, strikes me as rather surreal. But hey, if it works, I won't mind!
Conscience time: Sunsilk is owned by Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch company. Some of their products are tested on animals.

Thalgo Soft Hydrating Emulsion, 30ml sample size
Ah, now Thalgo is a brand I couldn't afford to buy normally, a luxury brand. Thalgo uses marine algae and other sea-based substances in their products, and this certainly smells nice and ocean-y. I've already tested it out on the back of my hand and it's not greasy at all. I already have a veritable ocean of body moisturisers, but this one will rise to the top.
Conscience time: Thalgo is a French company. It is not tested on animals.

Glitter Puff Wand
What an odd item to find in my box! The puff is full of glitter; tap it on your skin to make it shimmer. It seems like filler to me but, you know what, I like it! I have a secret unhealthy obsession with Fairy Kei at the moment (probably a rebellion against my corporate work dress code), and this item reflects the aesthetic perfectly.
Conscience time: There is no brand name listed, so I have no idea.

Summary: This month's box had a good mix of skin, hair, nails, makeup and just plain fluff! Two of the products were full-sized (including the glitter puff, that makes 3), which is quite impressive. It didn't quite sweep me away with raptures like the Lust Have It box did, but it came close - the Essie nail polish and Thalgo product were big wins. The box value is middling, but certainly not the worst I've received. Overall, I'm happy.

Total Value: $54.84.* Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $39.89
Rating: 7/10
* There seems to be a typo on the cost of the Glitter Puff, but I'm going to assume it's supposed to be $12.50.

Review of February ILoveThisBox Beauty Box

Hello again already with another beauty box review. I picked up my 'I Love This Box' box from the post office this morning. It actually arrived at the post office on Monday, but I didn't have time to pick it up until today. Technically, it passed the 'did it arrive by Valentine's Day' test, but in practicality, it didn't. It doesn't mean that much to me anyway, but the box is very V.D. themed, so it would have been nice.
This month's box comes with red tissue paper, a sticker with a heart on it, and a generously-sized packet of red jelly beans! I went to the trouble of using my camera today instead of my ipod, so the photo is a little better quality. Here it is:



It contains:

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Eau de Parfum, 10ml bottle.
Now, this is a real luxury product! Elizabeth Arden was a pioneer in the beauty industry, so it's exciting to have her iconic Red Door perfume. I haven't spritzed it yet, but just from sniffing the nozzle, I think it smells good. This item makes me feel very special!
P.S. Did you know that Elizabeth Arden's real name was Florence Nightingale Graham?
Conscience time: Elizabeth Arden is a U.S. company, founded by an individual. It is not tested on animals.
21-MAR-12 edit: I like the smell of this perfume - sophisticated. But it's so strong! The fumes made my eyes water, so I sprayed it on my back instead!

Keratinology by Sunsilk Overnight Treatment, full-size 100ml.
Unilever, the parent company of Sunsilk, still test some of their products on animals, so I was a bit dismayed to find a product from this brand in my box. I heard recently that there are now leave-in treatments which work overnight to repair hair. I don't really see what the difference is to ones that work during the day! I guess I'll use it, seeing as I have it now, but I'm not too happy about it.
Conscience time: Sunsilk is owned by Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch company. Some of their products are tested on animals.

Nail File
I gave this file away to B before I had a chance to photograph it, so I put my glass nail file in the box so it didn't look too empty! It was a cute nail file with pink love hearts on it. As I said in my last GlossyBox review, nail files are not really an exciting product, but at least this one was designed to last a bit longer than the G.B. one, and its design was consistent with the Valentine's Day theme.
Conscience time: The brand is not listed. I don't imagine you'd test a nail file on animals, though.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Kiss & Stay Lip Gloss, Colours of Love Series, in Lasting Passion, full-size 2 x 8ml.
I already have a lot of lip balms and glosses, so I wasn't overwhelmed with joy when I first saw this. But then I tried it out this afternoon and .... wow! It stays on like nothing else! My lips still feel sticky 5 hours later! I'm going to need to use makeup remover to get it off! Application is a two-step process: Step 1 is the colour, in this case a deep plum. Once that's dry, Step 2 adds the glittery gloss. The colour is a lot darker than I'm used to, but I can see myself using it at work where a) the shade will fit in well with my business persona; and b) I don't have time to worry about re-applying makeup.
So, even though this isn't a product from a luxury brand, its performance certainly makes up for it. Overall, I'm very happy with this.
Beautypedia Rating Summary [see full here]: This product gets the Paula's Pick (best) rating. It is very long wearing (more so than some other leading brands) and not drying.
Conscience time: Rimmel London is a U.K. brand, owned by Coty, a German company (originally French). It is not tested on animals.

The Aromatherapy Co. Rose & Patchouli Sensual/Soothing Hand & Nail Cream, full size 100ml.
I've never heard of this company before, but the product sounds lovely. I'm not going to open it straight away, as I have my full compliment of hand creams on the go already. I love rose-scented things though, so I'm looking forward to it.
Conscience time: The Aromatherapy Co. is a New Zealand company. It does not test on animals.

Summary: Despite the one product tested on animals, I loved this box! It has many of the products I like - hair care, hand cream, perfume. Most of the products were full-sized - and the perfume was a 10ml door-shaped bottle instead of the more usual 3ml vial - which pushed the value up quite a bit. As with this month's GlossyBox, the nail file was a 'meh' product, but the amazingness of all the other products made up for it (unlike GlossyBox!). So overall, I loved 'I Love This Box'!

Total Value: $66.13. Cost of Box: $14.95. Benefit: $51.18
Rating: 8/10