It's been another good month for finishing things up! Here are my monthly empties and whether I would choose to repurchase them:- The Body Shop Mango Body Butter - I have probably tried all of the flavours from the standard body butters range and must admit that Mango is the one that I like the least. The scent is just far too sickly for me, which is a shame because the formula is great for dry winter skin. Repurchase? No. Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel - Have been using up the little bottles of this that I acquired at Christmas and still love it, wish it was available all year round! Repurchase? Definitely. Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil I love oils and this is just so lovely to use after a shower. Repurchase? Yes. Neal's Yard Remedies Power Berry Daily Moisture Cream - I was recommended this by a Mac MUA as it's great to use on oily/combination skin if you don't want to use a primer. It does smooth out the skin nicely which creates a good base, but I found the more that I used this, the dryer my skin sometimes got towards the end of the day. Repurchase? No. Barry M Imperfection Correction Concealer Pen in Shade 3 - The worst item I have ever bought from Barry M, it didn't suit my skin at all, looked awfully cakey and dried up in less than a month. Repurchase? No. Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream - I was excited to try this out after reading some rave reviews but it sadly didn't suit my skin and smells awful. Repurchase? No.
Green People Fruitful Nights Night Cream - Can't vouch for the younger looking skin claims, but this was lovely to use and made my skin very soft and smooth in the morning. I also liked how a little went a long way with this. Repurchase? Yes. Rose & Co Rose Petal Salve - As much as I liked using this up, I'm trying to steer clear of products that have petroleum in them so I'll try and find a similar product that is natural. Repurchase? Not sure. Monu Recovery Balm - Such a tiny sample that it's difficult for me to judge really, thought it was OK from what I used. Repurchase? Probably not. Leonor Greyl Palme Oil - This little 25ml bottle has lasted me several months of weekly uses. I liked it, but probably not enough to buy a full size due to the price. Repurchase? No. Santaverde Aloe Vera Creme Light - I think I'm super sensitive to aloe vera as this irritated my skin so much so that I had to wash it off straight away, not for me! Repurchase? No. Colbert MD Nourish Eye Cream - This was the famous £90 eye cream sample from a Boudoir Prive. My verdict? It was OK, but my significantly cheaper Clinique one is much better and far more moisturising. Repurchase? No.
What are your empties this month?
As there was no Joliebox for January, I decided to treat myself to a box from Latest In Beauty. LIB do these great 'themed' boxes every few months, and their main selling point is that you can see what you're going to get before you buy. These are perfect for people who want to try out beauty samples, but aren't fond of surprises, or perhaps have allergies to certain ingredients etc. The current themed box on sale at the moment is the one that I bought, and it's called 'The Refresh and Recover Box' which is £6.95 with free postage. As its your typical detox/new year theme, there is a mixture of beauty samples & supplements which reminded me a bit of the US Eco Emi boxes. Here's what was inside:-
Teapigs Tummy Tonic - one tea temple, is a pure peppermint tea which helps to settle overindulged tummies. I use Teapigs teas a lot because they are an ethical/eco brand and their teas are absolutely delicious. Cosmetofruit Chile Luxurious Hair & Nails, 30ml - I was most intrigued by this little bottle which calls itself a 'beauty drinkable elixir'. It has a 'PhytoNutr-A-Berries Complex' (fancy!) which helps to regenerate and strengthen cells for soft and healthy hair and nails. My only verdict on it so far is that it tastes like sour undiluted Ribena, but I'll no doubt finish off the bottle. ActMint Probiotic Supplement, x 3 - these little mints have probiotics to help aid healthy digestion, so I'll definitely try one of these out after dinner.
Onto the beauty samples, I received a 20ml Sun Shots SPF25 sun protection cream which I thought was a little strange but maybe aimed at those lucky people going away for some winter sun? Have popped it into my suitcase anyhow for the time being. There was also a Lavera Hand Cream, 20ml, which is a nice size to pop into handbags and smells good too. The little vintage inspired tin is a Figs & Rouge Sweet Geranium Balm which is 100% organic and multi-purpose. I always have some type of multi-purpose salve in my bag so I'm looking forward to trying out this one. Lastly, I got a Monu Soothing Touch Recovery Balm, 5ml, which is more like a cream than a balm, but feels very good on the skin.
In addition to the above, you can choose any two luxury samples at no extra cost, to add to your box. Last time I looked, there were brands like Cowshed, This Works, Burts Bees, Clarins etc to pick from so there was a good range. I chose the Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash, 55ml which smells lovely and the Balance Me Hydrating Rose Otto & Shea Butter Salve, full size 15ml to try out.
Summary: I'm pleased with this box and the contents. The customer service from Latest In Beauty was pretty good too when I had a card query, and the box itself arrived promptly. I think these are great little treats for when you want to try out a few things, but don't want to commit to a regular beauty box subscription. I also bought the special YOU box from LIB and will post a review of that when it arrives :)
Do you like this box? If you sub to a beauty box, would you prefer to know what contents you're getting or do you like the surprise?
So this month's Glossybox was once again surrounded by a bit of drama, judging from Twitter et al. Here's what was in my November box, named the Christmas Gift-Guide Part 1...
(1) Arbonne FC5 Cooling Foot Creme, 15ml sample (full size 118ml - £19) - "moisturising, non greasy foot creme hydrates rough, dry skin and soothes, cools and comforts tired feet". Erm yeah. A 'cooling' foot cream is probably one of the worst beauty care items one could receive during the winter months. Not sure about anyone else, but my tootsies are currently wrapped under two pairs of woolly socks and they're still sometimes cold!
(2) Dead Sea Spa Magik Dead Sea Bath Salts, 250g bag (full size 1kg - £5.50) - "fantastic for alleviating dry skin conditions as well as a natural exfoliant, also remarkably improves skin texture." Now this makes more sense for a November box. Personally, I don't really use bath salts, I'm definitely much more of an aromatherapy/ bath oil or Lush bubble bar/melt kinda girl. Happy that it's 100% natural though and it's a good size to try out with.
(3) Monu Skin Perfector, full size 50ml (£16.25) - "a weightless cream that instantly smoothes imperfections and enhances natural radiance." This is for smoothing fine lines so more suited for mature skin. I asked my mum if she wanted it and she's already tried this before and wasn't a fan.
(4) Nail Rock Designer Nail Wraps, full size (£6.65) - "requires no drying time and delivers on trend style in just 15 minutes." I have tried nail wraps before and they are a pain-in-the-ass to apply gimmick. You also have to use an acetone based nail polish remover with these and nothing destroys natural nails faster than acetone does, surely most people know that by now? Plus the design I've been sent is just not my style.
(5) Serge Lutens Eau De Parfums in L'Eau Serge Lutens and Vitriol d'Oeillet, 1ml each (full size 50ml - £78) - these perfume samples are scents for both men and women (I'm guessing these were included because Glossybox are launching their Mens box soon). They smell awful!
Summary: Well...I know that beauty boxes are often a mixed bag (or rather box) of products and it's unlikely that you'll receive boxes every time where you love absolutely everything. But this box is just not for me at all - a cooling foot cream for November, anti-aging/fine lines cream, ugly nail wraps and unisex perfumes, that's 4 out of 5 that I wouldn't even bother trying out. I'm sending it all back for a refund and cancelling my sub. I may or may not sub again to receive the Christmas box and will likely be basing this decision on whether their returns service is hassle free etc. But for the time being, my thoughts are that I probably won't be a customer of Glossybox in 2012.
Did you receive a Glossybox this month?
