Topbox Feb 2017 review!

Finally!
I decided to start posting my Topbox reviews again.
Lately I was not as motivated to do so- as I have been a faithful Topbox subscriber since their very first box came out.

These are the items I was sent in my Feb shipment:

Feb 2017 Topbox Contents

Actually, there is one item missing from this photo-there was a Bella Aura repair cream in a 10ml tube and I have no idea where it went.
I was just about to take my photo and turned around for one second and it is like the product flew away?
My review of the Bella Aura products will be somewhat short.
This is the THIRD TIME IN A ROW that I have gotten a Bella Aura product. Earlier I got a cleanser and I thought the size was quite small at 10ml.
For a face cream 10ml is fine, but for a cleanser?? that is too tiny.

*Bella Aura Repair: 10ml tube. Full size product 30ml, cost $90
-sample value $30!
I do like that this company uses many natural ingredients and is also Canadian!


*Mettrum Originals lip balm in watermellon: 5g tube, full size product, value $3.99
I have never heard about this company before. Looking at their website, they are located in Ontario and own several farms that grow and produce hemp products.

I like that the lip balm is all natural and contains hemp oil.
The watermelon scent is not too strong. The lip balm is quite nice and I would get the one with peppermint for sure!
Their other products like salad dressings and baking mixes look really good.
I will try to look for their products locally!


*Caudalie Instant Detox Mask: 15ml tube, full size product 75ml, cost $45
-sample value $10
This mask was nice and dries quite quickly. The mask itself is pink and has a bit of a floral scent.
Overall, it is a good clay mask and easy to rinse off too.
I really like Caudalie products, but this mask is not on my list of must have  items.
The moisture mask is one of my favorites.
Caudalie always has such nice packaging, and the cap on this mask is made of wood and has a neat and different look (the inside of the cap is plastic still).

Caudalie Detox Mask!

*The last product I tried was the St. Tropica hair mask.
The packet is the full size of the product and is 42 grams and cost $5.
This does seem to be the only size this company has and the only product they make at the moment.
Now it is nice to get such a big, generous sample, but for my hair type (fine, dry and curly)- this packet was quite a lot.
I have enough for 3 uses as my ends are very fine.
The instructions state to put the mask in the microwave, but just putting the packet in hot water or else heating with my hands was fine-coconut oil melts at room temp quite quickly.
It is not like a typical hair mask, where you would just rinse this out after washing your hair, this is a product that you use before washing your hair.
St Tropica is made of coconut oil and has a very strong coconut oil scent, almost a bit too much for me. My shirt smelled of coconut until I put it in the laundry.
The ingredients in this mask are very good and all natural.
If you do a lot of swimming, like many people I know- then this mask would be great to help repair all the damage from salt water and chlorine.
The mask would also be really useful to bring on vacation, as being outdoors a lot can dry out your hair.
Overall I think this mask is great, but it would be nice if there was some way to have it smell less of coconut.
I use to buy organic coconut oil and it never had a strong scent to it.



*Guess I forgot to review one last sample....
The Smashbox card with the eye shadows on it.
Kind of annoyed at that sample, as it is not even the whole palette and there are so many other shades in the store for this collection. It would have been nice to receive several other colour samples- esp when this is a free item you can get at the store.

Overall I am pleased with the Feb 2017 Topbox and the value of the samples was $49.


*Before I forget, I just realized that I was double billed for the  Feb Topbox and nothing was done until I contacted the company. So maybe keep a watch on your web accounts just in case...


What was your favorite product this month?

Mr. Pretzels very tasty new stand at Billings Bridge mall food court.

Recently, I went to Billings Bridge mall to run some errands.
I do not get to that mall as often during the winter and recently saw there was a new Mr. Pretzels stand in the food court area of the mall.
I have never heard of Mr. Pretzels, but do enjoy fresh baked pretzels and have even made my own before.
So, of course I had to get a pretzel when I saw this stand.

Usually, I always buy those "new york" style pretzels- the kind that have rock salt on the outside.
Some grocery stores in Ottawa sell that kind frozen and Swiss Pastries (RIP) used to carry those one day a week.

Mr. Pretzels!

Below is a better, more up-close view of my pretzel.
This is the Parmesan and herb pretzel. They dip that in butter before dipping the pretzel in the Parmesan powder.
The dough for this pretzel is more doughy like bread and not like those more dark brown pretzels you find at the grocery store and some bakeries.
This pretzel was quite big and was really more filling than I expected.

Mr. Pretzels close-up!

I will definitely be back to try all the other toppings they had at the stand.
I'm not too sure how many other stores they have in Ottawa, as the Mr. Pretzels website is showing mostly Montreal locations.