Unsubscribing from "the boxes"

Hi Pretties

Today I wanted to talk about my decision to unsubscribe from "the boxes".  By the boxes I mean Bellabox and LustHaveIt.

I have been subscribed to Bellabox since March and LustHaveIt since around June and was initially elated with the boxes.  I've gotten some great stuff in each box, and really enjoyed many of the products.  BUT, I have not tried one product that I wish to repurchase, and have more lotions and skin scrubs than I can poke a stick at.  I'm not wanting to sound ungrateful as I really appreciate what each of these boxes are doing, but I have decided they are not for me.  The novelty has worn off.

Cancelling both my memberships has left me with an extra $30 each month which I am now spending on a gym membership at the cost of $32 a month.  My body will thank me for it!

Bellabox
From my experiences with Bellabox I have really enjoyed their boxes.  They seem to be focused on more natural, skincare type products.  Again, I have not wanted to purchase anything I have tried and I have received a hell of a lot of brown lipsticks from them.  No so fussed on the brown.  Another complaint I have with Bellabox is the shipping.  Now I know they can only do so much and Australia Post does the rest, but for some reason I get to read all the blog posts on a Friday about what people have received, and I don't get my box until the following Monday.  If only they would ship out all the boxes on a Monday, everyone would receive them in the same week.

LustHaveIt
LustHaveIt seems to be a bit more of a fun box.  I've gotten more hair care and makeupy type items from LustHaveIt.  Although lately the boxes seem to be lacking a little in terms of content.  Possibly due to the takeover of Glossy Box and the new Eco-Boxes it may have all become a little too much for them to handle. In terms of shipping I seem to be one of the first to get the LustHaveIt box, but they do come later in the month.  I don't really have complaints about the box coming later as it still comes in the month it is expected.

If I had to chose between the two I would chose Bellabox.  They are more consistent and seem a little more stable, but if skincare is not for you then avoid this box!

Tell me, are you still subscribed to the boxes?

August Bellabox - Open Box

Hi Pretties

My Bellabox came today yea!

The theme of this  month was 'Go Green' and this box contained natural products

The products in this box include;

Boujois Smoky Pencil - 72 Dark Purple

EmerginC Skincare - Kombucha Cleanser and Phytocell Cream

Luk Beautifood Lip Nourish - "Awful brown colour" 

Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion

Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner

USPA Organic Wild Thyme Foot Pumice

Phytocare Daily C

Bonus Product

You, Me & Everybody Bodhi Me Hand Wash with every Bellabox purchase

In this months box I am most excited about the Lush body conditioner and the foot pumice.

I am least excited about the Luk Beautifood Lip Nourish.  This would be great if it wasn't awful brown!  I have no idea why Bellabox insists on giving me brown lip products.  It's not fair!

Anyways that is my August Bellabox.

What did you get in yours?

July Bellabox - Open Box

Hi Pretties

Bellabox came today!  The theme of this months Bellabox was Essential Beauty Buys.  These are supposed to be your most basic beauty products.  You can watch the video of the un-boxing right here!

Alternatively, read on to see what was inside!

This months Bellabox had a huge amount of products in it.  And no box!  The three larger products were inside the e-parcel and the smaller products were in the little blue bag in the picture.  That was nice for a change.  Unfortunately the blue bag is terrible quality but I probably wouldn't use it anyway.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser  ($13.99/175ml) - This is the first product I pulled out of the box.  I have not tried Neutrogena products in years and when I last did I had teenage skin and it really didn't work for me.  It will be interesting to see how it works on my adult skin now.

You, Me & Everybody Shady Lady Daily Face Milk ($9.99/75ml) - The second product I pulled out is a moisturizer/ sun screen.  Moisturizers with sun screen tend to break me out horribly so I will see how this goes.  If this is the case I will save this for summer use only when sunscreen is a real necessity.

Nutro-Synergy Sensitive Skin Cleanser ($15.95/500ml) - This large product is actually a sample size.  It's 100ml!  I'm not overly excited to get two large cleansers in Bellabox as my skin is quite picky with cleansers but hopefully neither of them will break me out or dry me out.  If not, more brush cleaners!

Neutrogena Deep Clean Facial Scrub (No price listed) - This is the size product I would expect from a Bellabox.  My skin is not sensitive to scrubs and I only have a sample size at the moment anyway so I will get some use from this.

Elf Essentials Brush Range Brow and Lash Brush ($3.99/brush) - Elf is not a brand that is very popular in Australia.  It's not available in our stores but I am wondering if they will be introducing them to stores since they are making an appearance in Bellabox.  My mind is ticking.  Something to stay tuned to I think!

Carmex Moisturizing Lip Balm (5.99/tube) - I am yet to try Carmex but I have heard a lot of good things about the brand.  Hurray for lip balm in winter.  It is such a useful product.

Ulta3 nail polish in Mulberry ($2/bottle) - I have a few of the Ulta3 nail polishes and fortunately I don't have this colour.  I'm in two minds on receiving and Ulta3 polish in a Bellabox.  This has happened before and while it is not a luxury sample being that they are sold for $2, but on the other hand I would rather a product I would use than one that I dislike.

Givenchy Pi Neo sample (80/50ml) - A perfume sample for the men in your life.  A nice little extra however I hate these perfume samples in these little packets.  There is no good way to store them for a second use so I feel like I'm wasting the product.

Royal Moroccan Hair Repair Shampoo, Conditioner ($17.95/300ml) and Serum Treatment ($29.95/100ml) - I've seen this brand around the place and have been interested to try them.  These are great sized samples and I am looking forward to using them.

I am very pleased with this months Bellabox.  While there are no makeup samples I am quite content with the skin care.

Well done Bellabox!

Project X Pan - 11, 12 and 13

Hi Pretties

Today was a big day for Project X Pan.  I finished my 11th, 12th and 13th items.  I am officially finished!

Firstly this morning I finished off a foundation that I had decided it was time to say goodbye to.  I have had this for about 18 months and I periodically re-visit it.  I forgot how much I actually liked it.  It is a shame that Maybelline discontinued it.  This seems to be a frequent problem for me with awesome foundations.

While this bottle is only small, I kept thinking that I would only get one or two more uses out of it when in fact I got several weeks.

I will miss this foundation.

Next I finished off my last use of this Bellamer eye balm sample that I got in a Bellabox.  When I'm feeling rich I will purchase a full sized product as it is $40.

You apply to the area around your eye for 15 minutes and then wipe away the excess product.  I found that 15 minutes was slightly too long to leave this on as it gave me tiny pimples around eyes but leaving for 8 minutes seemed to have the same results without the pimples.  I feels as though I can actually see my eyes looking more awake, smooth and pretty when I use this.

Lastly I finished off a lip balm by Blistex.  It is the Complete Moisture and contains SPF 15 (yea!).

This is a nice lip balm, but I will be going back to my trusted Nivea.  I did buy a two pack of the Blistex on super special though!




My list currently stands as follows;

Skin items chosen

Nutrimetics Clear Deep Cleansing Exfoliant - 1/8 remaining

Palmers Line Smoothing Eye Cream - 1/8 remaining

Bioderma Make up remover - 7/8 remaining

Bellamer Eye Balm Sample - 1/2 remaining

Hair items chosen

Chi Silk Infusion - 1/4 remaining

Make up items chosen

Maybelline Mineral Powder Foundation - 1/4 remaining

Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation Sample - 7/8 remaining

Loreal Matte Morphose Foundation - Scrapings really

Perfume

Calvin Klein Sheer Beauty Sample - 1/2 remaining

DKNY Pure Sample - 1/8 remaining

Extras

Dove Visable Beauty Moisturizer

Savvy by DB Mechanical Eye Pencil

Priceline Makeup remover wipes

Stay tuned for my final Project X Pan post!

June Bellabox - Open Box

Dear Bellabox

You have redeemed yourself.  I LOVE June's box.  

I received;

Kiss Nail Dress Designs - No 28 Jeweled Stripes: These are super cute and will be a lot of fun on my girls night out on the weekend.

Fendi perfume - Fan Di Fendi: This is an interesting perfume sample as it comes in a sachet rather than a little pump bottle.  I'm not sure how this is going to work but I'll give it a go.

Benefit - The Porefessional sample: Even in their samples the packaging is really attractive and generous.  I'm looking forward to this Benefit sample.

Pure Fiji body butter - Frangipani: Pretty self explanatory really.  I have not opened this yet so I'm not sure how this smells.

Let's Get Fresh - Olive leaf drops:  Apparently you pop a drop when you feel a cold coming on.  We shall have to see.

Facial Fresh - Hyrda Surge - Cloth Facial Treatment Mask: This looks like fun.  I didn't really like the Biotherm one we received a few months ago so hopefully this one is a little better and less drippy.

Nak - Diamond Polish: Who doesn't like a full sized product.  I do like Nak products and am looking forward to using this polish.

Well that's my Bellabox for June.  A very nice box with something for everyone.

May Bellabox - Open Box

Hi Pretties

Well it's that time of month again.  Bellabox time!  This months theme is Pamper Yourself, Pamper Your Mum.  I don't get it :-/  Not quite sure what I'd be pampering my mum with from this box.

I've already seen a couple of posts about the May Bellabox, some good some pretty terrible.  I like this months Bellabox but don't love it.  I think that LustHaveIt just did such a great box it's a little hard to get so excited about this one when you get it over a week later.

I did like Super Purdy!'s Bellabox a little more than mine and I'm pretty sure if read somewhere that you get different things over and under 25 and this is my first month being 25 so perhaps this is true?  Can anyone confirm?  If so, I may change my birth year on my profile.

I received:

Savior Faire Lipstick - I received Grace, a poop brown colour

Bobbi Brown Mini Mascara - Black.  This looks like a good mascara

EmerginC Hydra Repair Capsules - I got two packs of two.  I've seen that people seemed to have received varying amounts of these as well.  These look fun!

Avene Eau Thermale Avene Ystheal Emulsion Moisturiser and Eluage Eye Contour Cream - The name goes on and on.  Pretty sure it is an eye cream and moisturiser.  That will be ok to try.

Sebastian Professional Range - I got these in the strengthening and repair range.  These will be good to try although rather small compared to the shampoo and conditioner in the LustHaveIt box.  Not that I'm complaining, these are still plenty big enough for two uses.

After all, it is a sample box.  Not a weeks worth box.  Overall I'm pretty happy with the box.  There are some fun things in there to try  (especially the capsules they look fun!) and the mascara will get used up.  Nice job Bellabox.

xoxo Caitlin

April BellaBox - Road Tested

Hi Pretties

The time has come for the April BellaBox - Roadtested blog.  (You can read my open box post here!)

April's box had a nice mix of skin care, beauty and scented items.  I didn't love this box as much as March, so hopefully May will improve a little.  I've now signed up for Lust Have It as well so Bellabox, you have some competition!

Comvita Brightening Facial Exfoliant
The texture of this is quite nice.  Again the size of this sample with its consistency makes giving this a proper trial very difficult.  I only got one use out of it.  I do feel I was left with a 'glow' afterwards though.


Comvita Brightening Facial Serum
I disliked this sample for several reasons.  1) It's too small to try properly.  I like to use samples at least 4 times and you normally can with a 1.5ml sample, but this product didn't last me more than 2 uses.  2) It had the consistency of a foaming cleanser.  What the?  3) It went on sticky.  4) I still had to use my moisturiser as well.


Comvita Brightening Moisturiser
This moisturiser is quite a strange consistency.  When I squeezed it out of the sachet it kind of reminded me of clay but spread surprisingly well.  Again - too small a sample, but the one use I did get was quite nice.  Initially my skin felt a little sticky but it did absorb in about 15 minutes.  As the packet said it was quite a nice base for my make up.


Ulta3 Nail Polish
I received this in the colour Jade which is a pretty Christmassy green.  I find Ulta3 nail polishes to be a little hit and miss, and this one is a miss.  It went on nicely and fairly streak free, but 8 hours later I put my hand into my bag to pull out my keys and scratched every nail on my left hand!  That could probably have been prevented with a top coat, but I don't use them at the best of times so I'm not going to when I already have to do two coats.  I've read some people are not too impressed at getting a $2 nail polish in a luxury samples box and I have mixed feelings on this.  I'm not overly stoked to get it as a 'luxury sample', but I'd prefer to get a full sized nail polish as opposed to another sachet of something.


Benefit 'Hello Flawless' Foundation
When I saw this foundation in the box and read other reviews I originally thought this would be too yellow and too dark for me but it actually blends into my skin quite well.  The colour that it.  I find this foundation quite hard to blend both with primer and no primer.  I don't like using foundation brushes as I'm usually running late of a morning and find it much quicker to use my fingers and this doesn't seem to spread out that well.  Once it is on it does look quite blended though.  I don't feel that this leaves me flawless and I kind of feel I look a little shiny when it is on where I prefer a matte foundation.  It is light wearing and doesn't make me break out which is a plus.  While I like this foundation, I wouldn't go and buy it.  Looking forward to trying other Benefit products though!  I am quite interested in the Erase Paste.


pureDKNY Verbena
This perfume is quite nice.  It's not a scent I would buy a full sized bottle of.  Not that I disliked it, I just kind of feel that it is a little old for me?  I like something a little sweeter.  The scent is long wearing though and I could still smell it on myself 10 hours after application.


OP Therapy Body Hydrator
I really like this moisturiser.  It is nice and thick but also blends REALLY well which is often an issue with thick moisturisers.  It is not unscented as the packaging says, but it doesn't seem to have any added fragrance, just a generally cream smell to it.  It is nice and gentle and highly moisturising.  I've been using it on my upper arms where I tend to get eczema when the weather changes, and its been holding it off so I'm very happy about that.  We will see what happens though as winter gets closer.


Hollywood Feet Velvet Cushions
This is not a product I normally use, so I want to get a good use out of them and will use them when I go to Melbourne in a few weeks.  I shall update this section then.


Overall I'm pleased with this months BellaBox.  I did like last months a little better, but I especially enjoyed the moisturiser in this box.  I think the Comvita samples were a little small for their texture.  Normally you can get a couple of uses out of a 1.5ml sample but not these ones which is a shame.  Only getting to use something once is not going to make me want to go and buy it, so I think the small samples are counter productive for Comvita.

I have also signed up to Lust Have It now so BellaBox is going to have a little competition next month!  I am NOT planning on dropping BellaBox at this stage though.

You can sign up to BellaBox here.




Don't forget to enter my Giveaway!.

Sunday night haul

Now I know I'm on a spending ban!

But there were a couple of specials I couldn't pass up this week!  With Big W and Target having sales, I just HAD to get something.

Face of Australia Cleansing Wipes - I got these for only $1.46 I believe.  Big W had FOA $3 off and I though yup, these will be useful.

Australis Nudist palette - After all the fuss about this palette on Beauty Heaven, I just had to get this as soon as I found it.  I searched three different Target's for it and finally found it today :)  I'm planning on doing a swatch post tomorrow for you guys :)

Designer Brands Got the Blues for Mauve palette - I go to see Chicks at the Flicks monthly at my local Event Cinemas and each month you get a goodie bag.  This was in my bag this month.  The white colour is stunning! I used it to do my Sea Inspired Eyes tutorial.

Max Factor nail polish in Diva Violet - With Big W having $5 off Max Factor, this nail polish was only 48c!

Alberto Balsalm Clarifying Shampoo - My hair has felt a little gross the past couple of weeks and I've put it down to silicone build up.  My local Amcal sells these for $2.99 and this is a great clarifying shampoo.  It's really gentle but quite effective.

I also got my April BellaBox this week so I've been having loads of fun trying out those products.  I'm really happy because the Benefit foundation that I thought would be way to dark for me actually blends into my skin quite well!  Winning!

I also purchased all the goodies for my giveaway this week.  Don't forget to enter!

Giveaway entry form

NOTD - Ulta3 Jade

Hi Pretties

Here is my nail of the day!  It is Ulta3 nail colour in Jade and I received this in my April Bellabox.  A luxury sample this is not.  The RRP is only $2 on these nail polishes so after I've had a bit more of a think I'm a little disappointed to get this in my BellaBox.

I own about 4 of these nail polishes.  Some I like, some I don't.  One I think is the best wearing nail polish I own.  Last night when I put this on I really really liked the colour.  I thought it went on pretty well, a little streaky but that might just be my application skills but apart from that I was pleased.

THEN this morning as I reached into my bag to get my keys out I managed to scratch up 4 nails on my left hand.  This is over 8 hours since application!  Very disappointing.  Now I didn't use top coat, but I don't use a top coat with any nail polish and I don't normally have this problem.

Thumbs down to Ulta3 nail polish in Jade.

April BellaBox - Open Box

Well it's that time of the month again.  BellaBox time!

The month of April is all about being fashion forward with the theme 'around the world in fashion' and there is a nice selection of goodies in this months box.

This box contains I guess you could say 3 full sized products (maybe 4?) and 5 samples.

This months box included:


pureDKNY Verbena - 1.5ml sample

OP Therapy Body Hydrator - 75ml product

Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation in Petal - 5ml sample

Ulta3 Nail Polish in Jade - 13ml product

Comvita Brightening Range - 3x1.5ml samples

Hollywood Feet Velvet Cushions - 2 pairs

Well I'm pleased with the Ulta3 nail polish.  It's a pretty colour and I am on a nail polish buying ban so it's exciting to get one for 'free'.  The body hydrator will be good to try, you can never really have enough moisturiser and coming into the cooler months my eczema starts to play up so an unscented product will be nice and hopefully the emu oil will work some magic for me.  I've been wanting to try the Benefit foundation but I am a little concerned this will be too dark for my pale skin.  I'll give it a go though!  The Hollywood Feet are nice, but I have never used this type of product as I don't often wear heels.  They might be nice in my boots though?  The Comvita products will be nice to try, as will the perfume although on a quick sniff I don't really like the scent.

But anyway, that's my April BellaBox; stay tuned for the BellaBox - Road tested blog.  You can read about March BellaBox - Road test here.

Sign up to Bellabox via their website.

Caitlin xoxo

March Bellabox - Road tested

Hi All

Happy Easter!! I do hope the Easter Bunny was good to you and you all got very spoilt. I know I did :)

Well I know it's early April but with moving house and waiting for my WiFi connection in my new house I've been very busy, but I have finally had the chance to road test all the products in my March Bellabox. Yea!

This was my first Bellabox and I must say I'm quite happy with it. Although I didn't really like a few of the products, it's still loads of fun trying new things.

So the March Bellabox was actually a March Bellabag which was nice. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with it but it's a nice idea and I guess more useful than a box?

The first product I'll talk about is the hair product I received. It's the U Little Beauty Natural Shine Hair Serum (full size). I have seen this range at Priceline and had been looking to purchase something from the range as they are mostly natural products. It doesn't contain any silicones which appeals to me. Once you get past the smell of grass this is quite a nice product. I've used this in conjunction with my new Matrix shampoo and conditioner (spoken about here in my March favourites) and have had no flyaways, my hair feels soft and sliky and generally shiny. The thing I don't like is the pump top because the product seems to want to go flying across the room when I use the pump. Maybe I just got a dodgy bottle though.

Next up is a product by Yes to Carrots. A brand I have eyed off for a while as I really like the concept of the 'Yes To' brand. I received the C Me Blush Lip Tint in Sunset Pink (full size). The smell of this is delightful. A mixture of something minty and I guess carrot? Unfortunately against the pigment of my lips this is an awful 90's brown on me, but I will still use at night for a lip balm. For the price tag of around $10 I don't think this is as moisturising as it could be and I prefer the $4 Nivea balms much better. This does offer a nice tingly sensation when you apply to your lips, but that's about the highlight of this product for me. It's gone to the bottom of my lip balm pile unfortunately and I would be extremely disappointed if I had purchased this myself.

The next two products I kind of group together. These are both by Planet Eve Certified Organics and they are the Facial Cleansing Oil (x2 3ml sachets) and Facial Balancing Toner (5ml). I got a full weeks use out of these even though they were quite small. The cleansing oil was bizarre. It may be just me, but I can't really come at putting oil on my oily skin to cleanse it. It felt heavy and just strange. I did have to use this after my regular cleanser as it didn't remove make up at all, which is something I like my cleansers to do.

The toner on the other hand I am quite fond of. It removed the oil slick feeling of the cleanser nicely and doesn't burn or sting as a lot of cleansers do. I didn't like the spray bottle it comes in though as I prefer an opened top bottle to empty product onto a cotton pad. I'm not sure how the full size bottles are packaged though. I believe these retail around $40 and I definitely would not purchase these. The cleanser is weird, and the toner is no better than my $8 TN Dickson's Witch Hazel. Neither made me break out though which I call a bonus as a lot of products do!

Next product is by Biotherm and its the Skin Vivo Anti Aging Expansive Mask. Strange, strange product. Now I do have a small face, but I think this mask was designed for the 'above average' facial shape. It slopped over my face like I was wearing a Halloween mask and made me look like some kind of space creature! I know beauty is not always pretty but my gosh this was hideous! The product itself was nice I guess, but I spent the 15 minutes you leave it on for stopping slime from dripping onto my neck and counting down until it was over. I would NOT pay $25 each for one of these masks that Biotherm wants you too. I couldn't wait to take it off and throw it in the bin!

Lastly I'll speak about my FAVOURITE product in the Bellabox and that is the Bellamer Botanical Skin Care Eye Balm sample. There is no size on this sample but I'm guessing about 3-5ml? This I would call a wonder product. It's fantastic! RRP is $40 and when my generous sized sample is empty I will be repurchasing although I've been using this almost every day since I got it and I still have quite a bit of product left. Basically this is a balm which feels like Vaseline that you apply to the eye area at night, leave for 15 minutes and wipe off the excess. I then follow with my eye cream and night cream. I can definitely notice the difference around my eyes. They look wider, smoother and just better. Now I am only 24, so eye creams are more of a preventative for me, but I do look much more awake after using this product too. I honestly can't rave about it enough!




Overall I'm very pleased with my Bellabox/bag. The hair serum and the eye balm make the $15 subscription fee highly worth while as these products are fantastic and cost well over that. Definitely looking forward to my April Bellabox. Hopefully it will come soon!

What are your thoughts on the March Bellabox?

March Favourites

Well it's the start of a new month and that means it's favourites time! I've narrowed my favourites down to 5 as I really have so many this month, but the list could just keep going on and on!

The first favourite of the month is a face product, and it's a MAC blush in Fleur Power. The MUA at the Mac counter said this was his favourite and I really liked the swatch of it, and have been wearing nearly every day since! It's a perfect coral and is very, very pigmented so a little goes a long way. I apply with a stippling brush and then buff out with a blush brush. I think this will be in my collection for a long time!

My second favourite of the month is a eye balm I received in my March Bellabox. It's by Bellamer and really feels like Vaseline to the touch. You apply for 15 minutes in the evening and then wipe off the excess. I have definitely noticed a difference in the skin around my eyes since I have been using this and when my sample runs out I will definitely be buying a full sized product which is valued at $40 and well worth the money I think.

Next favourite is a new shampoo and conditioner I have been using this month by Matrix. The shampoo is from the Sleek Results range which the sales associate at Hairhouse Warehouse told me is the same they use in the salon. This shampoo does contain a silicone which normally I don't like in a shampoo, but this product does not leave my hair greasy at all. The conditioner is from the Biolage Range and is the De tangling Solution. Again this contains a silicone, which I don't really mind in conditioner, but the sales associate recommended the De Tangling Solution rather than the normal conditioner as it is lighter and won't way the hair down as much. I find both to be really moisturising, I don't get any fly-aways and my hair feels so soft after use. It cost me $40 for the two but it is well worth the money I think.

My fourth product is another eye product, but this time an eye shadow and it is Naked Lunch by Mac. I was tossing up between this and All That Glitters and I love just a simple all over lid colour for day time with eye liner and mascara but decided on Naked Lunch as it is a little more my colour. Its a very gentle colour for office wear but also blends out nicely with a matte brown for night time. Again this is a colour I've been wearing almost every day for the month of March.

Last favourite of the month is a lip product, and its a lipstick by Rimmel. The colour is Guest List from the Lasting Finish range that I got on special at K-Mart for $6. It's a really nice moisturising medium pink that goes wonderfully with my Fleur Power blush. I really like the Rimmel Lasting Finish lipsticks and have three of them now. They are great for the price as you can normally get them for around $6 on special!

Well those are my favourites for the month of March.

What are your favourites?