2014 Beauty Related – Cindy's Love Of Books

Beauty Box 5 December Edition

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Cindy

Beauty Box 5 is a subscription-based, beauty sampling program that delivers a box filled with 5 cosmetic samples to your door every month. Aimed at introducing women to new cosmetic products and educating them on best practices, Beauty Box 5 scours the market to find the best products for your lifestyle.

There is three subscription options: $12/monthly, $30 quarterly and $99 yearly.

I opted to pay monthly just in case there is any issues.

I believe I have been with Beauty Box 5 for over a year now and I am always on the fence about this one. Its like all beauty boxes there will always be hits and misses with them.

This month I have to admit I’m not quite sure how I feel about the box. I am always excited to get it because I never know what is in it and then once I open it and look at everything I am kind of meh about it.

What do you think?

For December the theme was Merry & Bright.

Jaqua Bath & Body Collection. I got the Rose Bouquet Hydrating Facial Mist. Not sure how I feel about the smell as I find it a bit strong and I had to play around with the nozzle a bit because it would spray out in clumps. SRV is $16.50 for 50ml (this is on their site). I was sent the full size.
Absolute! New York Nail Polish Remover Pads. I got mine in the scent Lemon. This is a new brand for me. I honestly think I would end up using these to clean up nail polish mistakes as opposed to removing a full nail polish because I could see that I could clearly go through 12 pads doing this. It did remove the red polish I was wearing on two nails. SRV $2.99 for 32 pads (and this was a full sixe product I received)
Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Moisturizer. For some reason I feel like I have gotten this in previous subscription boxes. I probably have enough to try it out now. It has a bit of a weird smell for me and I can’t quite place the smell. SRV is $65.00 for 1.7oz and I got a sample of 0.26 fl oz
Nanacoco Nail Polish. I got one in the shade Stardust. This would make a perfect top coat on a colored nail for New Years Eve I think. I have gotten nail polish from this brand in the past and I have liked them. SRV $3.95 and its a full size item.
Lucky Brad Lucky Number 6. This is another new to me brand and I have to admit I love getting perfume samples. I have tried this and I do like the scent. SRV is from $15.99 to $60.00 and I got a sample size.

So this is what I got in my December Beauty Box 5. I am still on the fence with this and I will decide in January if I will be keeping this or not.

If you subscribe what do you think of it?

GlossyBox November Edition

Posted on December 9, 2014December 21, 2014 by Cindy

Glossybox is a bespoke box of 5-6 luxury-sized cosmetic and wellness samples hand-picked by our beauty experts and mailed directly to your door. No matter which subscription plan you choose, from once-a-month to just once, this box is perfect little present from you to you!

There are four different types of GLOSSYBOX subscriptions: a monthly package ($21/month), a 3-month package ($60), a 6-month package ($115), and a 12 month package ($220). All regular subscriptions are recurring, unless cancelled within the term deadline. Please note that Canadian addresses will incur a $5 shipping fee. So be sure to add $5 on to the above totals.

Please note that if you use my referral link and sign up I will receive points that I can use towards a free box, so I invite you to use THIS LINK it will be greatly appreciated.

Yesterday I got my first USA GlossyBox. I was super excited to get this because I have always loved GlossyBox when they were in Canada. This was one of my favorite subscription services.

The outer box has stayed the same as before as is the Glossy Box itself which is nice because the boxes can be reused for something else since they are sturdy and I believe all my previous Glossy Boxes are currently being used.

One thing I noticed right away was the product card. Its on cardstock which is nice. The product card list what the products are, suggest retail value (SRV) of the item, the size of the full size item and tips on how to use the product.

I love the card because its laid out with the item and its spread out and not jam packed on it.

Lets get into the box shall we. As you can see I got 5 items.

The first thing I smelled right away was the Kneipp Herbal Bath: Balancing Lavender. I just discovered what lavender can do for you within the last year or so and I have to say what they said was true. I have been using the oil for quite some time to helped me with my mental fatigue and getting me to sleep. So being able to try this herbal bath has been great. The tip suggest using half a bottle but I have been using less then that and I think I am going to get about 4 baths out of this bottle.

SRV = $20 for 3.38 fl oz and I got 0.67 fl oz $5.50

12 Benefits instant Healthy Hair Treatment. This is a leave in treatment that will help correct the damage from chemical processing, pollution and heat styling. The 12 benefits include seals color, smoothes, repairs, prevents split ends, moisturizes, and a few other things. It smells really good. I haven’t tried this yet because I am waiting to get my hair colored then I will test it out.

SRV= $20 for 6 oz and I got 1.5 oz $5

I believe I got something similiar in my Canadian Glossy Box at one point and its the Kryolan For Glossy Box. Its a Blusher in Glossy Pink. I went looking for it but I couldn’t find it (perhaps over Christmas I will). This is a blush that labelled for all so depending on your skin tone it will give different looks.

SRV= I believe this is a full size $16.17 for 0.09 oz (how weird of a price is that?)

OPI Nail Lacquer in Pink Outside The GlossyBox. I believe this was made just for GlossyBox which I think is really nice. It looks white in the photo but in real life its a very pale pink. Its a great color to put on when you want something on your nails but not alot of color. I love OPI polishes. I put this on yesterday and I am sure throughout this season and future ones this will be worn alot. I love that its a limited and special edition because you know only GlossyBox subscribers have this.

SRV= This is a full size item $9.50 for 0.5 fl oz

Finally the last item in the box is by Juice Beauty and its a Green Apple Age Defy Moisturizer. I have gotten this brand before and I don’t recall if I have used my samples up hmm I will need to check on that. I like that this is suppose to replenish and firm your skin. I love that its organic as well. I am excited to try this out.

SRV= $45 for 2 oz and I got 0.5 fl oz for $11.25.

My over all thoughts on the first box is that I am truly impressed. I have been waiting for GlossyBox USA to finally ship to Canada once ours closed and I really hope that it stays and that we get amazing boxes. SRV wise this box was valued at $47.42 as you can see the box did pay for itself and I am quite pleased with what I got.

What do you think?

Challenge/ Foil Sample Challenge 2014

Posted on August 31, 2014August 28, 2014 by Cindy

Earlier this summer I decided to do a massive clean up of my bedroom. I literally pulled everything from my closet, dressers, bins etc and decided it was time to purge and get rid of clothes that no longer fit, purses no longer used, shoes no longer worn, etc because you know what I mean, right?

I wish I would have gotten photos but I was too busy getting rid of things because I had known had I stopped I would be in trouble.

The whole clean up took almost a week to complete and I still have some rearranging to do.

What I did when it came to the the make up I put everything into a bin and from there I organized it (once I am done I will share pics of the final look) into three piles on the bed, stuff to keep, stuff to donate, stuff to trash and then all the foil pack samples was a whole other story.

This is where I had an eye opening experience and I don’t have pictures because what I am about to say/write I don’t want proof of, (denial perhaps) but looking at the piles on the bed sat literally hundreds upon hundreds of dollars of make up/other kinds of products that was either not open, opened but not used, used & didn’t like, expired and using. I was in total disbelief at this and shock my head.

In order to tackle that I quickly trashed all the expired stuff (you know that mascara you opened years ago and really liked but never finished it, eye shadow you first had when you started wearing make up in high school, etc) I mean there is really no need to hang onto that any longer and I trashed the used and didn’t like as well because I don’t like to give used make up away.

Then from there I tackled the rest I kept what I really wanted and would use and donated the rest so that someone else or others that could get use out of it.

So now that I am aware of all this I decided that I will:

get back into doing my make up ban and this will begin Sept 1st until May 24, 2015 when I go to NYC. I figure I can finish up a few things and make a dent into other things and if I buy anything when I am in NYC it will only be things that I can’t get here in Canada.
will make monthly empties posts/vlogs and I think once I start using up things I will feel like I am accomplishing my goals
I think I am going to start doing either a weekly what’s in my make up bag or a monthly one and pick out either enough make up for that week/month and use only that for that period.
I have cancelled all my beauty box subscriptions and currently only have Beauty Box 5 (monthly) and Fortune Cookie Soap (this one is quarterly)

That is a good way to use up what I have and perhaps either finish up or make a dent into items.

Now for the foil samples that I have, I have gone through them and already bagged the ones that have expired and for the rest of them, I am making it my mission from Sept 1 to Dec 31, 2014 to use them up.

Here is my list that need to be used up:

2 body smoothers
20 various make up samples
90 various skin care samples
13 various hair care samples
13 perfume samples
25 hand/body samples
3 food item samples
3 biore strip samples
4 breathe right strips
5 crest strips samples
6 sunscreen samples
16 various other samples (a mix of an assortment of samples)

I will be putting the finished up packs into a monthly post/vlog.

Am I the only one who has a stash like this?