Bellabox April 2014 . . . . . . .

The unveiling for this months Bellabox took place before 8am as I was actually at home to receive the Bellabox, instead of it being tucked in a pot plant like usual (which led me to have a strange and interesting conversation with my postie!).

I have been on the fence about whether to keep this beauty subscription going as it has been a bit up and down. I quite like this months though, so I guess I will be keeping it going for another month!
I really like the new packaging. The little blue box is quite sturdy and good for storing odds and ends once you get a few of them, or even reusing them as gift boxes. They are definitely better than the cardboard envelope things that they had there for a while with the products floating around within.



This month, I am going to take a punt and guess that the star product is the Burts Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Balm is the star of the show, from the bee themed sleeve around the box (which I quite liked, very cute). I have tried this before and enjoy it. It is different from most cuticle creams as it is a lot waxier and doesn't seem to deposit as much product on your cuticles. More like lip balm for your fingers. It does work though. My little dessicated cuticles are doing a happy dance right now.





The next full size product was a Red Earth eyeshadow. Talk about a blast from the past. I thought Red Earth was in the grave. Last time I saw a product of theirs it was in Priceline. I bought a liquid highlighter of theirs that is similar to Benefit High Beam. I could see from the info card that Red Earth can be purchased from their website. I wonder if they will be entering a bricks and mortar store or whether they are just going to stay online. The eyeshadow I received looks very dark grey in the pot so I was a little disappointed, once swatched though I was happy though as the shade is quite sheer and will look great as a wash on the eyelid. It isn't shimmery but has a really nice pearlesent finish.



A small Loreal Base Magique Primer sample was also included. I wanted to try this out so am happy that this was included.



For the eyecream lovers, there is a Indio Eye Rise eye cream. It is anti-aging (aren't they all) with suncream and 'concealing properties'. Will give this little sucker a whirl, everyone loves anti-aging with some concealing properties. 


A Gatineau Aquamemory Moisture Replenish cream was also included. This is more of a luxe sample so will give me a much better idea of the product. It's RRP is $104 though and considering my Origins is only $60, it would have to be pretty special.

There was also a card with 4 Revlon Nearly Naked shades on it. Meh.

All in all, quite like it. Am interested in the eye cream, the cuticle cream pretty much recoups the cost of the box and the eyeshadow is a shade I wouldn't normally wear so takes me out of my comfort zone!.

Bellabox December 2013 . . . . to subscribe or not to subscribe?

So, this was the month that was going to decide whether I was going to stick with Bellabox (a beautybox subscription that you pay $15 a month for and get sent 6+ sample / full size products).

It has sucked me in again. This box is interesting to me and seems to be more tailored to my preferences that I put in when I first subscribed.

It came as usual in a small Australia Post box. Inside was black tissue paper surrounding a small, folded calico tote bag, which was in turn wrapped around the products.

This little postcard tells you about the items, their full size RRP and where you can purchase.

The first item is a handwash. Apparently it is all natural and it smells delicious. The fragrance is watermelon and dragonfruit. YUMMMMM. You can pick it up from Coles and I think the sample was a full size.

Second, there was a Romy Eucalyptus and Lemongrass body lotion. It feels and smells nice. I applied it about 10 minutes ago and the majority of the scent is gone from my skin which is sad as it was deliciously zingy when applied. 

Third there was an ASAP clearing gel which treats acne. I have the occasional spot so will be keen to give this a go. It's an Australian made and owned product also, so that is a bonus. The sample size is 15 mls also, so large enough to give you an idea of how it reacts with your skin.

The fourth item was an Avene Antirougeurs Fort Relief Concentrate. It is supposed to prevent and sooth red skin. So I guess it would be handy for those area like around your nose and chin. I don't really have a huge issue with that, but hey . . .  The sample is teeny, tiny though. 5ml.

Fifth was a Mary Kay Natural Cheek Tint. When I think of a cheek tint I think of a liquid or cream product. I opened up the little pot and it is a powder. Hmmmm. It's in the colour Copper which is quite dark. The instructions say to apply with fingertips. Interesting. I swiped it on my hand and it is quite pigmented with some very fine shimmer. Might be nice when I am a little tanned.

6th, there was an Eslor face product sample pack. I have never heard of the brand but was impressed that the samples came in a little envelope with a range of products so that you can try them out together. Very handy for a pampering evening.

There was a bonus of a teensy Mor handcream in Neroli Clementine. I love MOR products, so was happy to receive this.

The last 'bonus' that Bellabox has been mentioning in emails lately was the calico bag with chevron kind of stripes and a small Bellabox logo at the bottom. The info card says that this bag's RRP is $19.95. CRAZY. It's a little sheer calico bag that probably cost $2. It seems a little cheap for their branding to try and charge $19.95 for it.

So, all in all, I am quite happy with this months box, will see what next month brings, I am a fickle subscriber after all!

[Beauty] Bellabox November 2013. . . . hmmmmmm, a review

I love a sample beauty box. I wish that the wonder of Birchbox was in Australia, but alas it is not.

Last month I subscribed to the Australian version, Bellabox, and today received my second box of goodies.

All items from the box

The excitement level was high as I received the Australia Post notification that it was on it's way as one of my favourite UK beauty bloggers / Youtube gurus, Tanya Burr,  did a post yesterday featuring the Australian beauty box.

It was chock full of items (8 I believe), which made my heart skip a little as I thought perhaps November was going to be a bumper month of goodies.

Size comparison with iphone on the right.

Alas, the box I received was full of 5.25 samples (6 if you want to get all technical, but the bump eraser sample is so small I am only counting it was a 0.25. . . hehe).

The actual box was a sturdy post box in a lovely turquoise colour, inside holding the yellow chevron kind of envelope (the Simple product was loose in the box as it was too big for the envelope).

Inside the envelope was 

1. Simple Eye Makeup Corrector Pen -  This should be helpful if I slip whilst applying liquid eyeliner (which happens more often than not). Not a super exciting addition to the box though as this brand is readily available through Priceline.

2. Bellabox Pb.livout Pencil in Nude - hmmmm, not really my kettle of fish. I am fair skinned and this comes off as a more tawny, orangey / browny nude. A little too dark to be a nude for me. Plus I am used to these style of sticks being more of a stain, so is unusual to see one in a lipstick formula.

3. Lapurete Okuru Protective Day Crème - I am excited about this product. It's a brand that I am not familiar with and I love a day cream with an SPF. Will definitely get some use out of this. The sample size is quite generous too.

4. b.liv by Cellnique Shrink and Tighten - this is quite a small sample considering the directions say to use 3 pea sized drops per daily application. Maybe it only has 3-4 uses in it. But, hey, who doesn't want smaller pores.

5. Aveeno Daily Body Moisturiser - Meh. Again. You can buy this brand at any supermarket / department store / Priceline, so wasn't all that enthused. It will come in handy to chuck in my handbag though.

6. Carbon Laboratories Bump Eraser Medi Paste - this was a 'bonus' item. I don't have the issues it treats, so . .. .  .

All in all I am not all that excited about this months box, the only thing that wowed me was the Lapurete Day Crème which I am excited to use.  I still think it's a bit sneaky of them to send a beauty blogger a box with 8 items though, when the whole purpose is for a blogger to blog about them, and is therefore not blogging a typical example of a box. Not too cool at all.

I will give Bellabox a few more months to see whether I think it is worth it, time will tell!