Saturday 31 December 2011

December Monthly Subscription Boxes Comparison

So sorry for coming up with this review so late. Christmas has been really hectic and I really wanted to give some thought into who should win this month. And the winner is...*drumroll*...Glymm Box!!! You really can't decide which box to buy next month, because last month's champion is now this month's last place. I really do believe if you don't want to feel any regret, it's best if you just buy all three. So I really feel that Glymm beat its competition by a mile this month even though the scores don't reflect that, but that's mainly due to the fact that there was a lot of tying. I also did not make a category of deducting points for colours of lip products given, or both Luxe and Topbox would have received substaintially lower points than Glymm, but I choose not to do that, because I feel that it is unfair to judge the boxes on the shades that they give us, because they did not see our pictures and have no idea which colours go well for us.










Luxury - Based on the luxe factor of products received:  Glymm makes a great comeback, taking in the first place this month.  The Caudalie and Ahava products that I received in the box definitely ups the luxe factor for December.  Topbox comes in second this month; leaving Luxebox in last place.  The Cargo lipgloss that I received from Topbox is more luxurious compared to Luxebox's Yves Rocher Rouge Dragee Lipstick.

Quantity: Samples Received - Based on the number of samples received: Luxebox comes in first place in this category with five samples, while Glymm and Topbox tie at second place with four samples.

Quantity: Full Size Products Received - Based on the number of full size products received:  Topbox and Luxebox tie at first place with two full sized products received, and Glymm box comes in last with only one full sized sample received.

Range of products - Based on the different products that was received: Glymm and Luxebox tie at first place in this category.  Glymm hit four categories (Skincare, Hand, Perfume, and Lip) while luxebox also got four categories (Body, Perfume, Eye, and Lip) Topbox comes in last by only hitting three categories (lip, skin, and body)

Timeliness - Based on when box was received:  Topbox comes in first place in this category because it was the first box to arrive in my mail.  It comes almost a week ahead from Glymm and Luxebox.  Glymm comes in second place as it arrived a couple of days before Luxebox arrived.

Thursday 29 December 2011

Lush Boxing Day Haul (Big Savings!!)

Since I have become such a big fan of Lush, I decided to wake up extra early to go to their boxing day sale. Before heading out, I did do my research, and know that their pre-wrapped gifts, holiday bath products, and soaps were going to be buy 1 get 1 free.

I made a list, checked it twice, and here is what I bought:

1. Christmas Star

2. Happy Bathday

3. Truly Scrumptious

4. Billy Bonkers Bathtime Favourites

5. Bath Bomb, Bubble Bar, and Cakes

So, since I am an accountant, I decided to see how much my savings. My gosh, I saved $170!

Now this is not part of the haul, it is a gift that I received from my best friend Steph. This is not what a pre-packaged Happy Christmas contains, Steph had personalized a couple of things for me. Like I said, it's not part of the haul, but I really wanted to share what I got from Lush and I wanted to say thank you to Steph.

Monday 26 December 2011

ELF Studio Beauty-On-The-Go Single Palettes Review and Swatches

When I saw this on ELF, I got so excited! I love the concept of switching up palettes and bringing such a small compact in your makeup bag for touchups. It is almost an exact duplicate for Sephora's Colour Play 5 in 1 Palette that was Sephora's Christmas palette last year.

These are the palettes that I bought:
- Night on the Town
- Pretty Picnic
- Shopping Spree
- Happy Hour
- Tuscany Retreat
- Day on the Beach

Unfortunately, the Beauty-On-The-Go single palettes just doesn't deliver in terms of the makeup quality despite it being from the studio line. If you gals are thinking that the product will be as good as the ELF Studio Single Eyeshadows, you are hugely mistaken. I am going to chuck mine into the garbage the second I am done with this review.

The quality of the eyeshadows vary immensely. Most shimmery eyeshadows have great pigmentation but are powdery in general and can not be swatched evenly on my arm. Matte eyeshadows are even worse. I press my finger very hard against the eyeshadow pan and I can not get any colour from it.

The quality of lipglosses are horrible. The lipglosses feel sticky and light colours do not even register on my arm. Darker colours show up as a lighter version of the colour from the pan.

All in all, yes, the palettes are cheap (I got them for $1.50 each because I got them during the Cyber Monday sale), but at the end of the day, what are you going to do with the palette that doesn't perform in a consistent basis? But what I am going to do is keep the palette case in case ELF comes up with palettes of better quality in the future.

If you are determined to purchase one of the palettes, I would recommend going with the Tuscany Retreat palette. Out of the six that I purchased, this palette was the one that showed up the most on my arm, and the pan does contain a pretty rusty colour that leans towards orange rather than red that is a pretty unique colour.

Here's a picture of Sephora's Colour Play 5 in 1 Palette that was available at Sephora last Christmas (Price: I think around $36)

Here's a picture of the palette with the cover closed

Here's the picture of the palette

Swatches of the Night On The Town Palette

Swatches of the Pretty Picnic Palette

Swatches of the Shopping Spree Palette

Swatches of the Happy Hour Palette

Swatches of the Tuscany Retreat Palette

Swatches of the Day On The Beach Palette

Monday 19 December 2011

December Luxebox

My December Luxebox finally came in! I am happy that I got the box before Christmas, but I am a little bit disappointed by what I got.

This is what I got in my Luxebox this month:
- Yves Rocher - Rouge Dragee Lipstick in the colour Framboise Sorbet
- Yves Rocher - Italian Mandarin Shower Gel
- Nina Ricci - L'air Du Temp
- Nina Ricci - L'Elixir
- NYX - Slim Eye Pencil in Black

This is what the box looks like when it comes in

This is what the box looks like when you open it

I love the label that says that the box is made for me!

This is the picture of what I received this month


I personally don't like Yves Rocher because I tried their nail polish, body wash, and body lotion, and I didn't like any one of them, but people have nothing bad to say about the Rouge Dragee lipstick, so, maybe this is a product that Loose Button tested out and thought that it was good enough to end up in my box. The lipstick is suppose to be very hydrating and is infused with musk rose oil. I don't like how the Nina Ricci perfumes smell and will most likely end up as someone's Christmas stuffers.

I thought that the chocolate is really cute though since Loose Button went out of their way to make their own chocolate coin (did anyone catch the silver coin with the Loose Button logo?). According to the card, the chocolate coin is made from imported Belgian chocolate. All in all, the items that made up the box don't really excite me much, but the Belgian chocolate sure made me feel like an appreciated customer.

But what do you guys think? Did I get a good box this month? I think I am one of the lucky ones since I got a full sized product (and the colour does look pretty good to me), but I think I'm really loving the Glymm Box more than Luxe Box this month.

Friday 16 December 2011

December Glymm Box

My December Glymm Box came in the mail today, and I can't wait to share what I got in it with you.

For December, I received:
- Caudalie - Vinoperfect Enzymatic Peel Mask
- Ahava - Mineral Hand Cream
- Yves Saint Laurent - La Parisienne
- Sula Beauty - Natural Lip Gloss
- $10 gift card to Glymm's Beauty Boutique

This is what the Glymm Box looks like

This is what the box looks like when you open it

These are the items that I received this month

So, I really have to say that I am very impressed with this month's Glymm Box. I can't go around saying that Glymm Box is a drugstore-ish version of Luxe Box anymore. I feel like this month's Glymm Box had a lot of luxurious items, and I will very likely make use of their $10 off gift at their Beauty Boutique since I am loving the Caudalie Premier Cru La Creme that I received in their October box.

I feel like the other boxes have really failed expectations this month (don't know about Luxebox yet, since I haven't received mine yet, but have received shipping notice last night). The items that came in the Topbox this month didn't really excite me a lot. In fact, all four products (click here to see what I got) are still sitting on my countertop and I just breeze by them every morning. Luxe Box have apparently been having problems with Canada Post, but I did not even get an email from Luxe Box saying that they were having problems. I don't mind when companies have problems, that's normal course of business, but I do expect to be promptly notified. There were a lot of wall messages on Facebook from customers wanting to be informed because their gifts might not make it to their loved ones for Christmas, while some say that they did not get the extra gift for the expired hair product that they received last month, and of course, no one can get reach customer service by email, wall messages, and telephone as well. I really hope that I get a great Luxe Box this month. Some people have received their boxes already, and it seems like most people got perfume and some other items that didn't really peak my interest either. I will keep you all posted on what I received in my Luxe Box when I get it.

So, what did you guys get in your boxes?

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Urban Decay Naked Palette 2 Swatches and Review

I was very hesitant when I clicked the purchase button on Urban Decay, because there was a lot of mixed reviews initially. Some loved it, while some did not think that it was worth it because the colours were very similar to the Naked Palette.

Here is the picture of the Naked Palette 2 itself and swatches

Here is the picture of the Naked Palette2

Here is a picture of the palette itself with flash

Here is a picture of the palette itself without flash

Here is a picture of the swatches with flash

Here is a picture of the swatches without flash

I really like this palette, and I am very happy that I decided to purchase the palette instead of waiting till February to purchase the palette from Sephora in Canada. I think the people who decided not to buy the palette probably just read the reviews and made a decision. The pictures of the swatches and the palette really does not do it justice. The eyeshadows have a lot more sheen in actuality than the camera picks up. The eyeshadows have the same creamy consistency as most Urban Decay eyeshadows, last a very long time and do not crease. I think the palette complements the Naked 1 very nicely. I love the Sin + Suspect + Darkhorse and Bootycall + Snakebite + Hustle.

Friday 9 December 2011

December Topbox

I am so excited to get my topbox in the mail today. It almost seems like Topbox wanted to make up for their boo boo last month and sent my Topbox extra early! However, I don't think I got an extra item because of their mistake last month even though they said that they will enter a note into the system to remind them to put an extra item in my box. Which is kinda disappointing...but I guess with so many boxes that they have to send put, that is expected. I still need to confirm though because I haven't seen what everyone else got to determine if I got an extra item than everyone else.

This is what I received this month:
- Cargo Cosmetics - blu_ray gloss in Big Sur
- Cover FX - Skinprep FX Primer
- Skinceuticals - Hydrating B5 Gel
- Bella Pella - Marula and Neroli Glyerine Soap

This is what I got

This is what the contents look like with the lipgloss out

This is what my lips look like bare, and this is what my lips look like with the cargo lipgloss on


I am happy that I got the Cargo Lipgloss, it is very pigmented and the colour is gorgeous on my lips!
So, what did everyone get? Are you happy with your box? Leave a comment! :)

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss - Rosegold and Orchid

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss - Orchid (Top) and Rosegold (Bottom)


What it claims to do:
Lips that shine with killer color. This weightless gloss makes lips pop with 5X more shine than patent leather

My thoughts: I thought that the lipgloss delivers a lot of shine and it is very well pigmented. I am not able to take a picture without the flash on because my condo is too dark, but Rosegold shows up as a very neutral colour without the flash on, while Orchid shows up as a very light pink on my lips. The lipgloss leans on the thick side but I like lip glosses that are thick, because liquidy lip glosses do not give an even distribution of the product on your lips.

Here is how Rosegold (Left) and Orchid (Right) look swatched on my hand



Here is how my lips look with just my EOS lip balm on


Here is how Rosegold looks


Here is how Orchid looks