Beauty Boxes: Bella Box January 2013

Yes people, it's 2013! I have to apologise for being away for so long. I had all sorts of exciting things lined up for the blog, but then I came down with the flu and I could barely move for 3 weeks. I didn't even feel like using beauty products, let alone reviewing them! Drastic times. But now I'm back with the contents of my January 2013 Bella Box. And I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed with this month's box. Here's what it contained:

❏ You, Me and Everybody Cool It Aloe Vera Gel, full size 100ml.
Aloe Vera Gel isn't the most exciting product, but it might come in handy for one of the very rare occasions that I spend too much time out in the sun. (As I've mentioned before, I'm completely paranoid about sun exposure and I even apply sunscreen when I know I'm going to be inside all day!) YM&E seems like a very interesting brand, and I would like to have seen something more interesting and different from them, like the Skin Mousse I received back in September.

❏ Aurora Spa Rose and Aloe Body Cleanser and Ultra Rich Body Cream, sample size 50ml each.
These products are listed separately on the card. Perhaps I'm being unfair, but to me, two products from the same brand, a pair of items if you will, would perhaps be better listed as a single product. Or at least add a 6th product to the box to make up for it. That's just me. Having said that, these products smell absolutely freakin' amazing, and I can't wait to use them! This brand appeared before in the August Bella Box. It is Australian owned and made, and not tested on animals.

❏ Natio Pure Mineral Skin Perfecting BB Cream, sample sachet 5ml.
I love my BB Creams, and perhaps I'm a little precious about them. The BB Creams made by many Western companies have gotten a bad rap in the beauty world, so I'm a little suspicious of this one. It does have green tea, chamomile and SPF 15 (I'll wear sunscreen anyway as I never settle for less than SPF 30), so it might be alright. However, it comes in an ungenerous 5ml sachet, which will probably be only enough for 2-3 applications. (Even the card says, "yes, we know it's a sachet...") It comes in Fair, Medium and Tan, and the colourway I received is Medium, which will probably be too dark for my fair skin. (This supports rumours that beauty box companies do not actually pay any attention to customers' profiles!) Seeing as it's a BB Cream though, I'm curious to give it a try anyway and see if it's any good. I'd better do it soon though while it's still Summer, or I might look like I'm one of the orange ladies from Jersey Shore. ツ

❏ Face of Australia Colour Max Eyeshadow Palette in Mercury Rising, full size.
While Face of Australia has a good reputation, it's kinda everywhere and would certainly not be classed as a 'luxury' brand. I really love eyeshadows - I'm a colour girl - so I'm glad I received this rather than the lipgloss that was the alternative (I have sooo many of those, sigh). I think I'll put this away until winter though: the greys in this palette really seem like winter colours to me. Also, the black pan is cracked, but that's the colour I'd be least likely to use anyway, so I'm not really fussed.

Summary: Other subscribers received different products this month: a Swisse body wash (their hand cream smells divine so I'm curious about their other products), Face of Australia cleansing wipes (would have come in handy), a bright pink nail polish (I already have polish in the same shade so I'm glad I didn't get it), and at least one I saw got a bonus wall decal. Taking that into consideration, I'm glad I got the products I did, but I'm still a bit disappointed. Bella Box's last few boxes have made me start to re-consider my subscription. The RRP of the products is still more than the $15 per month I pay for the box, but they just don't thrill me like they used to. (Aside from the Savoir Faire palette last month, that was pretty amazing!) I'll reserve my judgement and make a decision in a few month's time.

Stay tuned for more posts coming up soon! I'll be writing about:
* my Christmas haul!
* Etsy indie makeup purchases!
* reviews!
* Asian beauty haul!!

Beauty Boxes: Bella Box September 2012

The theme of the September Bella Box is Spring in Your Step and I think we've all been waiting for Spring to come! Even despite my hayfever, I've still been looking forward to it. ッ I'm going on holidays in a few weeks' time too, so I'd be very pleased to have some samples I can take with me.
Let's have a look at this month's Bella Box:


It contains:

♫ Bioderma Sebium Foaming Gel, sample size 10ml
Bioderma is popping up again and again in my beauty boxes. I don't think we have to worry anymore that we won't be able to obtain their products here in Australia! I always like to try new facial cleansers - I just love it when my face is squeaky clean! The snap-off top is not resealable, so it'll be staying in my shower, not coming with me on holiday.

♫ Bioderma Sebium AKN Purifying Corrective Care, sample size 5ml
Whether it's a coincidence, I don't know, but these two Bioderma samples are good for oily and blemished skin, so they're right up my alley. Pimples can get worse in the tropical climate I'm heading to, so this one's going in my travel bag.

♫ You, Me & Everybody Sumptuous Skin Mousse, full size 75ml
I've never seen a moisturiser in an aerosol can before! While it's probably not very environmentally friendly, I'm still curious. Apparently it's a fragrance-free mousse good for dry skin. Holidays are a time for trying something new, so this one joins the facial moisturiser in my suitcase!

♫ Savoir Faire Concealer Kit, series of samples
I've heard of this concealer testing kit before: it did the rounds of the beauty blogs a few months ago. People were a bit mystified as to why SF would include concealers in three vastly different colours in one kit instead of putting them out in separate kits, and I'm wondering why, too! The lightest concealer may just be light enough for me, but it still looks too yellow. The others are suggested to be used for contouring. My makeup routine is never that elaborate! On the other hand, I've never used a finishing powder, and I'm curious. A holiday isn't the time when I want to spend time mucking around with a fiddly new product. But when I get back and I'm nice and tanned ... maybe??*
* (Just kidding: I pretty much have a phobia of getting sunburnt and I'm taking a big supply of sunscreen with me!)

♫ U-Haircare USPA Beehold, sample size 30ml
This gel adds body and helps retain curl in wavy hair, plus 'humidity resistance' (which I assume is anti-frizz?) - just the kind of thing I'll be needing in warm weather. I was going to take my sea salt spray with me, but this sample will be more convenient. Nice. It smells good, too.

♫ Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream, sample size 3ml
Eye creams, hmm! I have a bit of an ambiguous relationship with them. They're usually expensive (check), come in unhygienic pots (check), and don't do what the claims say (judgement pending). The lid wasn't done up properly and it smelled really generic and boring. On the bright side, it was nice that a 3ml sample came in a pot (a cute and reusable one, too!) rather than a sachet. I will put it in my eye cream queue. I haven't decided if I'll take it on holidays, yet.

Summary: I don't mind this box at all. It has a mix of face, body, hair and cosmetics. The face products were right for my skin type, which is nice. It's probably coincidental, but almost all the products were in white, green and blue packaging, which added a fresh, spring feel. The value is OK, not spectacular but nothing to complain about either.

Total Value: $47.66. Cost of Box: $15.00. Benefit: $32.66
Rating: 7/10

Beauty Boxes: Bella Box July 2012

At last! I was starting to get a bit worried. The 20th of July and not one of my 3 beauty box subscriptions had turned up yet. Then last night, after an evening out with some girls from work (geez, that almost sounds like I have a life! ツ ) I found my Bella Box sitting on the couch when I got home. Phew!

This month's Bella Box box was slightly different to the previous ones I've received. There was no actual box this time. The items were tightly packed inside the outer cardboard packaging, with the smaller items inside a cute little makeup bag, which I just know I'll use. How do I know that? Because just yesterday morning I was rushing around my bedroom frantically trying to find a suitable carrier for some makeup items I wanted to take to work. But more on that in a future post. At least this time the items weren't rattling around inside the box - they were tightly packed so they couldn't move. And, boy, were there a lot of them! There were no high-end brands, but BB seemed to have made up for them in sheer quantity. So let's have a look:



You, Me & Everybody Shady Lady Daily Face Milk, full size 75ml.
Recently I've seen a few mentions of this brand doing the rounds of the beauty blogs, and I was curious about it, so I was glad to receive this facial moisturiser. I like the image of the brand, it seems fun and fresh. Most daytime moisturisers only come in SPF15, but I only ever use SPF 30 - I'm a bit paranoid about the sun - so I'm glad to see that this one ticks that box. I'll definitely use it after I've finished my current moisturiser (Nivea Face Veil, for the interested). The only niggling thing is that I couldn't find out whether it's tested on animals.
Conscience time: You Me & Everybody is part of Symbion, which in turn is part of the Zuellig Group. Those are some big hitters in the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Some YM&E products are not tested on animals, but I couldn't get confirmation that this particular one isn't.

Carmex Moisture Plus SPF 15+ Lip Balm, full size.
I had to laugh when I saw this! Just the other day, I finished up a Carmex Lip Balm I'd received it in my December 2011 Glossy Box. It was such a great product - the first SPF lip balm I've ever used that didn't taste disgusting and kept my lips moisturised. I'd been planning on buying a replacement this weekend. Now I don't have to!
Conscience time: Carmex is a family-run brand from the U.S. From the website "No. We have never tested on animals – we test on our family members instead!"

Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle Eye Cream, full-size 14g.
Neutrogena is on my 'no-buy' list because of their animal testing status. Even before that though, it was a brand I was never really interested in, so I've never actually used any Neutrogena products before. I'm already happy with the performance of my Paula's Choice Retinol Serum, so I will just put this aside and perhaps use it when my PC runs out.
Conscience time: Neutrogena is owned by Johnson & Johnson, who test their products on animals.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub, sample size 15ml.
This product isn't listed on the card, so I have only the information on the tube itself to go on. It's an exfoliating scrub and contains BHAs. I've read that things like BHAs and AHAs are only any good if they're in a leave-on product, not one that you wash off. But I'll put it in my queue to use anyway. It also has that annoying warning on the back that some products have: "If you experience dryness and irritation, use less frequently." I'm sorry, but if I experienced dryness and irritation, I'd stop using the product altogether! My skin is too precious for that. Just sayin'.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Night Renewal Cream, sample size 15ml.
I do love Palmer's products: the rich formulas are great for my skin (including my eczema!) and both the cocoa butter and olive oil variants smell great. However, for some reason this one has a 'fresh white lily fragrance' which is a bit off-putting. I don't like using highly fragranced products on my face, so I'll just have to see how I go with this one.
Conscience time: Palmer's is not tested on animals.

Ulta3 Nail Polish in Mulberry, full-size.
Ulta3 seems to be everywhere now! For $2.50 or less, they have better-than-expected staying power, so no wonder they're the biggest selling nail polish brand in Australia. When I first opened my box last night, this colour looked like a disappointingly drab purplish brown, I have to admit. But in natural light the gorgeous mulberry purple/marone really comes out, and I love it! I've been resting my nails this week, but I'm seriously considering this colour as my first choice when I break the drought.
Conscience time: I've heard conflicting reports as to where Ulta3 is from, and whether they test on animals.

Almay Get Up and Grow Mascara in black, full-size 6.2ml.
I'm all for longer, stronger lashes, so I'll put this in my queue to use once my current mascara goes off. (Cos let's face it, you never get to the end of a mascara before it goes off, do you?)
Conscience time: Almay is owned by Revlon, who do not test on animals.

Elgon Professional Primaria Nourishing Silk Hair Mask & Bath of Life Shampoo, sample sachets 15ml each.
This brand of hair products comes from Italy. The 15ml sachets may or may not be just enough to cover my long, thick, crazy hair. I'm always up for a bit of hair experimentation though, so I'm looking forward to using them.
Conscience time: Elgon Professional is an Italian brand. I could not find information about their animal testing status.

Givenchy Pi Neo for Him, sample sachet.
The included card instructed me to give this to my man, and tell him about the new BelloBox for men, which I duly did. He wasn't interested at all! He'll use face wash if I buy it for him, but that's about it. Plus, he's extremely wary of scents ever since the time he used a tester at a perfume party and somehow the chemicals reacted with his skin and made him smell like dog do-do! So, nice try at marketing your men's box, BB, but in this case it sadly didn't hit the mark.
Conscience time: Givenchy is a French fashion house with a fragrance and beauty arm. It is not tested on animals (which I have to say is a nice surprise, because in my experience, most perfumes are).

Summary: I think Bella Box really nailed this month's theme of Essential Beauty Buys. The range of products from different categories was good - skin care, sun protection, hair, nails and makeup. None of the products are from luxury brands, but the sheer number of products made up for this, with 9 products (10 if you count the hair sachets separately), and an impressive 5 of them being full-sized. This bumped up the overall value of the box to just over $80. There's only one product that I can't see myself using - the men's fragrance - so I'm glad to say that I'm very pleased with this month's Bella Box.

Total Value: $80.49. Cost of Box: $15.00. Benefit: $65.49
Rating: 8/10