February Bellabox

I'll start this post by saying I wanted to cancel my membership last month. I thought, before I cancel I'll find out if I can use my rewards points after I cancel my membership. I sent an email asking about it and if a few products were going to be stocked in the near future and never received a reply, and I'm too lazy to send the email again and I'm not one to write about it on their facebook. Since then I decided it's not worth the minimum $20 spend after points and there's nothing I would buy from this box to get free shipping.

This months box arrived pretty quickly, I think it was sent on Tuesday and I would have received it yesterday except the postman decided to send it to the post office instead of leaving it in my letterbox like they always do. There was a part of me that was hoping that because they didn't leave it meant that I was one of the lucky people to receive a Tiffany necklace in the box. I wasn't, and I'm not really too bummed about it because a Tiffany's necklace isn't something that I wanted anyway.

Batiste Dry Shampoo - (50ml Sample, RRP $9.95 for 150ml)

I've actually been wanting to grab another bottle of this after I ran out of my last sample of this from a Priceline goody bag, but I've been putting it off.

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Dream Curls Curl Perfecting Spray (30ml sample, RRP $16.95 for 198ml)

Yay!!! I have super curly hair so I'll be one of the lucky people who actually get to use this! I got my hair cut yesterday and almost bought one of the De Lorenzo products the my hairdresser put in my hair (instant satur8 by the way, it made my hair feel so lovely!!) so I'm happy I have a product now I can use while I'm poor and can't afford to buy it (I know it's only $20, but I'm walking to work this week because I can't afford petrol!)

Banana Boat Sports SPF 30+ (15ml Sample RRP $14.95 for 200g)

I was going to hate on this product because it's in a stupid sachet, but this is actually going to be pretty handy when I got to Soundwave next week! I'll need sunscreen but I don't want to have to carry a whole bottle (especially incase it gets confiscated - festivals have gotten so anal about liquids it's ridiculous, but I did hear a story about some girls sneaking alcohol into a festival in a sunscreen tube)  so this will be perfect to reapply during the day! This seems like it would be enough for one person.

Fing'rs Nail Makeup (full size RRP $9.95)

I haven't actually heard of this brand before, nor have I used nail polish strips before. I'm willing to give these a go, but I'm not too sure abut the colour. I'm usually a fan of bright nails (I even have bright pink polish on at the moment) but the pattern on these just seems a little tacky.

U Skin Solutions Clean and Go Exfoliating Gel Cleanser (small sample, RRP $30.95 for 125ml)

I don't know how I feel about this one. It smells like a mix of lavender and tea tree oil and is really strong! It's not a scent that I would want to use on my face. I'll give it a go though and hopefully it doesn't irritate my skin.

Eye of Horus Eyeliner in Charcoal Obsidian Goddess pencil (full size RRP $30.00)

This eyeliner claims to be waterproof, smudge-proof and long lasting. I put a swatch on my hand before I had a shower, and was able to smudge the remaining pencil (some had come off in the shower already) off easily. You can get much better quality eye pencils for way less than $30. This is a black pencil with a bit of shimmer and a smudging bit at the end and I might get use out of it but I don't use pencil eyeliners much anyway.

top: swatched once, bottom: smudged with smudger.

Overall, I really could have done without this box (an extra $15 in my account this month actually would have been a great help!) and I wish I had just cancelled last month. I will probably use most of these products anyway, but it's nothing I needed or am super excited about. I have already cancelled my subscription so this is the last box (for now, I may subscribe again when I come back from England).

Did you receive a Bellabox this month? What did you think?

January Bellabox

Yep, it's Bellabox time. I'm a little late this month, I got my box last Friday, but I just didn't care that much about what was in this months box and I wanted to use the products first (well that never happened!). This month the box is full of Australian products.

Everything that was in my box. Including a card about their bellababy box (did anyone else get this?)

What I got:

NatioPure Minerals Skin Perfecting BB cream in Medium (Sample RRP $14.95 for 50g)

 This cream is useless for me. I'm so pale that even in the middle of summer I'm still way too light for anything labeled medium. I haven't actually tried it, I doubt there would be any point. Ok, I will use this to see how the formula is, because I haven't had much luck with BB creams yet, and this one is Australian and not too expensive.

Swisse Body wash with Vitamin B3 and Macrobiotic Sea Minerals (30ml Sample, RRP $14.95 for 250ml)

I haven't tried this either, but I really liked the Swisse hand cream I got in my November box so I should like this. It has the same scent as the hand cream, which I quite like. I'm going to use this for traveling.

You Me and Everybody Cool it Aloe Vera Gel (100ml fullsize, RRP $8.95)

So far this summer I've managed to stay sun-safe and not get burned (Ok, I got burned a little once, and that was only from driving around town so it doesn't count!) and I plan to keep smothering myself in sunscreen so I don't get burnt. It's actually pretty impressive I've only been burnt once, especially because I spent a whole, really hot day at a water park without shade and didn't get burnt then. Anyway, I guess that means I'll be using it as an after shower moisturiser like it says on the bottle. It's not sticky and is pretty cooling.

Mode Nail Polish in Rave'n (15ml fullsize, RRP $2.45)

I haven't tried Mode before, and seeing as I'm not allowed to buy nail polish anymore I'm happy with receiving ANY nail polish! I do actually like this colour. However, it does seem a little similar to one I already own, Essie Fear or Desire, but maybe a tad more fluro. See swatches below. I do love the other colour (hot stuff) a little more and wanted to buy it off their website to make shipping free for some new  4me polish remover pads, but neither product was there.

Essie Fear or Desire on first 3 fingers, Mode Rave'n on pinky. Sorry about the chipped polish.

Face of Australia Makeup Purifying Cleansing Wipes (24 pack fullsized, RRP $4.95)

I haven't used these yet because I want to use up my other face wipes before I open another packet. I'm happy to try these as I'm not impressed with my current wipes (Swisspers Aloe wipes).

Overall, although I can use almost everything from this box (except the BB cream sample), it hasn't impressed me. These are all pretty boring products, except the cheap as chips nail polish. I'm also a bit peeved that some people who got the same box as me got a decal included. Although that's not something I would use, it's a bit unfair that they received more products. I am contemplating my subscription, as I'm trying to save money to go live in England for 6 months, and spending $15 a month, regardless of how insignificant that amount is, on products I don't need and am not wowed by is a waste of money.

What did you get this month? How happy are you with how the Aussie beauty box subscription companies are running at the moment?

December Bellabox

Bellabox really hyped this one up. We were told a while back that a colourful makeup product worth triple digits would be included in the box. There were hints, but for once I managed not to snoop.

What's in the box?

Anumi miracle recovery (5ml sample, RRP $65 for 30ml)
This is supposed to be an overnight treatment to rejuvenate dull and tired skin and can be used in conjunction with your regular moisturiser. It'll be interesting to see if this does anything, but regardless I won't be buying it because of the price.

Allegra Rhodes Hand and Nail Cream (5ml sample, RRP $32.95 for 175ml)

I got the 'ocean mist' scent, but I think the scent is really just a floral scent and is quite strong. It's a nice cream that sinks in quickly and isn't oily.

John Frieda Frizz-Ease secret weapon flawless finishing creme (30ml sample, RRP $16.99 for 113g)
This is the 3rd sample of this I've required, and I don't even mind. I have horribly frizzy hair so I find this smooths down my fly aways. It can be a little heavy but it's fine if you only use a tiny amount.

Zipette (3 zipettes RRP $5.95)

These are little hooks that are designed to keep your fly up. I will definitely get use out of these because I have a few pairs of pants and shorts with flies that have a habit of falling down. I've heard of safety pins being used for the same thing (although maybe less safe).

Reb'l Fleur by Rhianna (2 x 0.4ml samples, RRP $79 for 100ml)
I'm not a huge fan of the packaging of these samples, and would much prefer to receive samples in a spray bottle. I guess these are less likely to break in transit though.

Savoir Faire limited edition kit in "C'est le ton qui fait la musique". (RRP $110!!!)
This is the product that's been hyped all month! A palette that contains a gloss, 6 eye shadows, a blush, eyeliner and mascara, all in a travel sized cardboard palette with a mirror. The shadows are what drew my attention, they're such interesting colours. They're all well pigmented, and all shimmery except the black which is matte. I was a bit scared about the gloss, but it's a lot less scary on the lips. It's supposed to taste like apple pie, not too sure about that but it does taste sweet and yummy. The blush is a gorgeous pink, but very powdery, and has a nice shimmer. It also came with 3 'look' cards with different ways to wear the shadows. I think it'll be interesting to see if this palette can live up to it's value. I have never used Savoir Faire before so I'm not sure of their quality (surely it's going to be good stuff though).

eyeshadow swatches in natural night (l-r) devout, kinetic, immortal, spicy, liberating and vivacious 

natural light (l-r) Je t'aime lip gloss, devoted blush and onyx eyeliner.

I'm pretty happy with this box. The palette alone makes the box, but I will get use out of the rest of the items (if I can work out how to use the perfume samples...). I think they maybe could have put a little more effort into making it a bit more 'Christmasy' but I guess the palette was supposed to be our 'Christmas present' from Bellabox. I'm also a bit iffy about the fact all of these products (bar the John Freeda sample) are quite expensive products to buy full size. The idea of bellabox is to introduce us to new products, but I know I wouldn't be able to afford the creams full sized. I would rather a better mix of high and low end products, especially face and hand creams (we seem to be getting a lot of high-end ones lately).

What did you think of this months bellabox? Do you agree that there needs to be more of a mix of high and low end products?

November Bellabox

I recieved this months bellabox yesterday. I'm pretty happy with this one as it contains almost all products I will get use out of.

John Plunkett Essentials Multi Vitamin Moisturiser ($9.95 for 20ml - full-size)
This is a face/neck/décolletage cream for normal to dry skin. I found it had kind of a weird smell (almost like playdough?) To me, this is just an ordinary face cream.

Swisse Hand Cream with Vitamin D and Pomegranate ($14.95 for 100ml - 30ml sample)
I really like this hand cream. I think it has a nice scent to it, and moisturises well. I like the sample size as it's great to put in my handbag and I always carry hand cream around. This is one of the better hand creams I've received in a subscription box.

Palmolive Strawberry Smoother Body Butter Body Wash ($6.49 for 400ml - sample size 50ml)
This is an exfoliating body wash. So far I've used it once and I think it's great, I'm glad I got this in my box.  It has a nice light strawberry scent.

Bioderma Crealine H2O Clensing Water ($39.95 for 250ml - sample size 20ml)
I'm a bit skeptical about this product. Are they just sending me water? This does work well at removing makeup, however I'm happy using remover wipes. It was good to try it out though.

4me Nail Polish Remover Pads ($3.49 for 30 wipes - full size)

I've never used a nail polish remover wipe before, and I'm almost out of remover so I'm happy I got these! They were really different from just using a cotton pad with liquid remover. They were a lot wetter so you got remover all over your fingers. They didn't have the strong smell that normal nail polish removers do. They took a lot longer to remove the polish, but I'm not sure if that's because I had a couple of coats of flakie polish over the top... I think they'd do better for something other than glitter polish. They did leave my nails feeling a lot nicer than normal polish remover and I can see myself being converted to these instead of normal polish remover.

Bloom Glitter Liquid Eyeliner ($14.95 for 4g -full sized)
I've recently been contemplating buying some glitter eyeliner so I am supper happy to receive this! I got the shade rising star which is primarily black and gold with bits of silver and bronze glitter. I used this when I went out to dinner last night over black eyeliner with goldy-brown smokey eyes and (I think) it looked really good. It also goes well with the pinky-gold eyeshadow I got in my last bellabox, which is great! (I have a friend who got a different shade, which she says goes well with the shade of
eyeshadow she got last time. Well played Bellabox!) I can't wait to use this more.

Skinmiso Pore Beauty Nose Pack ($21.99 for 10 sheets - 1 sheet sample)
This is supposed to get rid of blackheads and whiteheads on your nose and close pores. I don't have this problem so I'll be passing this on to someone else.

October Bellabox

I am SO happy with this bellabox. Maybe it's because the last subscription box I received was just awful, but I think it's mostly because this box is great. There isn't a single thing here that will be tossed aside, which is great.

Box contents (minus the choccie, I ate that straight away)

In the box:

DKNY Fresh Blossom Eau So Intense: I'm always happy to receive perfume samples in these boxes. It's something I would usually never be able to afford to buy, and now I've got a few of theses sample vials around if I ever want to smell pretty. And this one smells VERY pretty! 

Carmex moisture plus extra hydrating lip balm - sheer pink tint: Yes lip balms! And tinted! And full size! This does leave a lovely pink tint on the lips, and is super moisturising. ++.

Clinique extra turnaround concentrate radiance renewer: Ok, so I'm not quite sure what this is supposed to be, but from the product card it looks like an exfoliator. But you don't have to use water? It's very gentle for an exfoliator, and I'll use it anyway to see what it does.

Estee Lauder Resilience Lift: This wasn't on my product list, but a friend got the exact same products as me and got this, so I don't think that was an accident. I'm not sure if I need something like this but I'll use it anyway.

Bobbi Brown extra repair eye cream: Everyone seems to be really excited over Bobbi Brown, so I expect good things from this. Extra moisture on the super dry skin around my eyes can never hurt.

Prestige total intensity eyeshadow in Spellbound: This is great! In the pot it looks pink with a gold sparkle, but it's mostly just gold when applied. It's super creamy and is really long lasting. I've worn it for 6+ hours now without any fading.

Organic rose hip skincare seed oil: I haven't used an oil before, but I'll try this on my hands with my body shop gloves at night.

Adorn mineral eye create intensive eyeshadow in Obsidian: This is a browny gold colour. It looks nice and I will definitely use it. I haven't yet so I have no idea how long it lasts.

L-R: carmex lip balm, Prestige eyeshadow, Adorn eyeshadow

Prestige and Adorn

I'm looking forward to see what Lust have it! give us this month. I wasn't happy with last months box and I'm giving it another month to redeem itself. Not sure if I need 2 boxes a month and so far Bellabox is far better.