Glymm Feb 2012 box!

Earlier this week I received my Glymm box.
If you are not familiar with Glymm, it is a monthly beauty sample subscription where you pay $10 per month to receive some "deluxe" samples.

What did I receive this time?

*Sula natural creme shadow in He Loves Me. (value $8.00
The shadow comes in a cute glass jar and is very easy to apply.
But on me the light pink shimmery shade does not show up much. Will prob use this as a highlighter.
I have not yet worn this on my eyes so not sure how long lasting it is.

*Burts Bees tinted lip balm in Rose. (value $7.99)
Always wanted to try this,but never got around to buying one. I do not really consider this a "deluxe" brand.
Still it is a nice product and I am going to keep it in my purse instead of plain lip balm.
The only thing making this product better would be if there was a SPF in it.

*Glamglow mud mask. 7ml sample tube. (value $9)
This seems like a very fancy mud mask. the sample size is decent enough to use once I would think.
Not sure if I will try this or give it to a family member as I have very sensitive skin.

*Mai Couture bronzing paper. (value of .24 cents...yup....)
This has to be one of the cheapest looking samples I've gotten. Just ONE sheet of bronzing papier?
Would have been nicer if they included the blush or maybe 2 sheets.
I have not tried this product yet, when I get around to it...sometime.

Glymm Feb 2012 box!

Overall my impression of this box was the value was ok. But the Mai papier sample kind of ruined this for me with their stinginess.
I have seen other box companies where Mai provided a whole book of their papers, plus a blush sample- so really it is not asking too much.
The Glamglow mask seems nice, but I already have a favorite mask that I like and is good for my sensitive skin.

Glossybox! A new beauty subscription service!

There are so many of these monthly beauty subscription services starting up lately in Canada!
It seems for a while these were mostly available in the United States.
Glossybox is new to Canada and was originally started in Europe. This also happens to be one of the most expensive subscriptions I have seen at this time, costing $15 per month.
Feb 2012 is the first month the Glossybox has started to offer their monthly box service in Canada.
*I will be adding some pictures shortly- my camera battery needs to recharge and that will take a few hours.

The actual packaging for the Glossybox is very classy and sturdy and it is a box I will reuse for sure.
A nice touch was that there was a personalized sticker on the welcome envelope!
There was also a nice good quality ribbon putting the whole package together inside the box.

Now on to the contents of the Glossybox!!

*Wella Brilliance shampoo for fine to normal colored hair. (50ml)
A nice travel size. Wella is a salon brand, so this is off to a good start. I happen to like Wella products. The shampoo smells very clean (I have a cold so can not smell super well).
The minus I have to give is there should have been a matching conditioner. Usually if I buy a shampoo at the salon I always get the matching conditioner. I'm sure other people probably feel the same way??

*Prevage Day anti-aging moisture cream SPF 30 (7ml).
I have always wanted to try Prevage face products,but not too sure I really need them yet and therefore have not invested in this line. My aunt has used Prevage and she did like the line.
Previously I did try the Prevage eye cream and that was very nice- not too rich for daytime. A bit out of the price range for products I buy though.
This will be updated once I try the Prevage face cream.

*Elizabeth Grant moisturizing stick (3.5g).
This is a brand that is sold at the Shopping Channel in Canada.
I am familiar with the line,but have never tried any of the Elizabeth Grant products.
The moisturizing stick looks just like a lipstick, but goes on like a light lip balm. This would be nice under a lipstick as it is not too heavy. There is a bit of watermelon flavor to the product as well. 

*Oscar de la Renta: Live in Love Eau de Parfum 4ml.
This is a decent size and very concentrated. I have never heard of this specific perfume before, but am familiar with the Oscar de la Renta brand.
As I expected this is a sharp flowery scent. It seems to be some kind of white flowers- not too sure what kind. This perfume could be worn during the daytime quite well.
If you are into flowery scents, this might be for you.
Usually I wear green scents like Bvlgari Green Tea. Verbena perfumes- so this is not up my alley.

*Ahava mineral body lotion 40ml tube.
A decent size. I have tried Ahava products before and they are nice, made in Israel as well!
The body lotion is not too heavy and is scented. I can not make out the scent, but it seems to be "fresh".
I prefer fragrance free body lotions,so will prob pass this along to my sister who loves scented products.

*The last product in the box was Beauty So Clean cosmetic sanitizing spray and 4 wipes.
I am familiar with this brand and have seen it at The Bay dept stores.
Beauty So Clean is a very useful product as you be be sure there are less germs on your makeup and that is better for your skin.
I already own two of the small sprays, but am thrilled to get another one. (I did give away some of my other ones last year).
So far I tried the Beauty So Clean on an older Chanel cream eyeshadow palette (from ages ago) and it did not affect the wear or texture at all.
The wipes I have not really used,but they could be useful for wiping down hard to clean items like eyeshadow sticks and other stick makeup I guess.

What did I think of the first Glossybox?

The first Glossybox for Canada was just ok. I had seen some preview boxes that bloggers had received with a nice Essie nail polish and so assumed there would be some kind of Essie product included (anything-even a nail treatment)?
Unfortunately there was no Essie in sight :(
The rest of the items in the box will be used and overall the items are useful- but nothing that I am overly exited about.
I would have loved a makeup product (lip product or nail item), as well as a body item would have been nice.
The size of the items in the box is very good and that is a plus. But for $15 per month I am not sure how long I will be subscribed for. I will wait until I get the March box to make up my mind.

Glossybox mail packaging! Fancy logo box!

Inside the box-personalized with my name!

Contents of Feb 2012 Glossybox!

Topbox.ca Feb 2012 edition! What was received.

My Topbox came in the mail today!
What a nice Valentine's day surprise. I was not expecting my box until next week at least.
If you are not familiar with Topbox, it is a monthly beauty subscription service that is available to Canadians.
Topbox.ca costs $10 a month and you get 5 deluxe and sometimes full size samples of "luxury" cosmetics.
Right now there is a waiting list for Topbox until June? or for quite a few months, as far as I know.
I signed up right when the company started, so this is my fourth Topbox!

What did I receive this month?

Topbox.ca Feb 2012 contents!

*Yves St Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils - travel size (3ml/.11oz) in a black shade.
I have not tried this mascara yet, but usually YSL products are very high quality and quite costly too.

**Update**
I did have the chance to try the YSL mascara last night and it is great! The mascara gave thge very full loking lashes that were almost a "fake lash look" :)
Now, I naturally have very long lashes, but they are blonde and do not show up very well without mascara.
In the past few weeks though I had been trying some natural mascara and did not have the same amount of curl and volume!
Also, I did get a few compliments on my eyes from a few people (one of them being a certain admirer, who I did not expect to notice...).
I think I might just have to add this product to my shopping list!

*Along with the mascara came a small one use sample card of the legendary Touche Eclat highlighter.
It is nice to be able to try this product once at least- stores do not always have sample cards to give out and this product can be hard to find.
I used to buy Touche Eclat a few years ago and it is amazing for under eye circles and making you look refreshed and awake.
The downside is the cost and small size of the actual product. Another "issue" was that it was always sold out every time I wanted to buy another Touche Eclat at the store.
At the moment cost is an issue with me buying this product again- but if you have the extra funds and want to splurge it is a very lovely product!

*C Booth Derma 24 Collagen Elastin Restorative Hand & Nail Treatment (full size 120ml tube/ $16 value).
I had never heard of this brand before, so it is nice to try new things!
The hand cream is not too thick or thin and has a good consistency. There is also not too much scent, so it should not distract too much if you use it during the day.
To me the scent reminds me of a clean bar of soap, but the back of the tube states that it is supposed to be a "soft citrus scent".
I still think it smells somewhat flowery and soapy. Usually I do not use hand creams with fragrance,but will give this a try when my skin settles down. My hands get very irritated during the winter, so I try and use fragrance free items more.
But trying this on the back of one hand the cream does moisturize well and absorbs very well, leaving your hands very soft.

*Pari Beauty Eyeshadow: 2 full size products ($11 value ea/ 2g).
Another brand I have never heard of before!
I enjoy trying new eyeshadow, but these are not colours I would have chosen for myself. Hopefully they will work out.
The eyeshadows do not have names, but there is a code on the back of the product and on the outside packaging. The first shade ES 18 is a light pink shimmery shadow, more of a pearl finish. (I will swatch it during the daytime and update here). The eyeshadow does go on smoothly on my hand- so I will be using this product!
The second eyeshadow is a royal purple looking shade and seems quite bright in the container. It is listed as ES 74.
The purple eyeshadow is also a pearl finish. It is not as pigmented as I expected and is more a sheer shimmery look. I was more expecting a very bright finish (as I am used to mineral makeup and the MUFE line that is very pigmented).
I think these eyeshadows would be very easy to use compared to some very bright pigments I have seen,but I still prefer mineral makeup at the moment.

*The last sample that was in the Topbox was two packets of Lilly Pilly Kakadu Plum hand and body creme.
This brand is fairly new to me as it was in the last Topbox. The packets are 3ml each and should be good for one use. I am saving them for a bit later. But I did like the tube of Lilly Pilly Tea Tree oil lotion from the earlier Topbox, so am sure this is just as good!
Lilly Pilly products also happen to be made in Australia- so that is pretty exotic too!!!

My thoughts on the Feb 2012 Topbox?

Overall it is a decent box, but I am not that exited about anything in it.
I was really hoping for a nail polish or nail product and maybe a body scrub.
The mascara is nice and will get used. I do not use mascara that often- maybe twice a week at the moment.
Hand cream is always useful to have as I do not usually buy a specific product for the hands (I do buy foot creams though).
The eye shadows are nice- not something I would have picked up.
But I guess that does seem to be the purpose of the box- to try items you would have never heard of or thought to pick up at the store. So for that aspect I am pleased.
For $10 a month it is still worth it to me. I also find that since subscribing to a few monthly beauty boxes (I) never stop at the mall or look at too many other stores wanting to buy new products. In a way I am saying quite a lot of money and time by doing this!

Topbox.ca Feb 2012 pic #2

Have you tried any of these items I received in the Topbox? I'd be curious to know what you think!