TOPBOX: February 2012

hello everyone!
so i have been waiting eagerly for my first subscription box of the month to arrive - my Topbox was sent on the 13th but there were no updates whatsoever until it arrived on the 20th. i left for Fernie on February17th and at that time, i had not heard anything about my boxes, but lo and behold, all three of them were waiting for me the moment i came home today.

BUT even stranger is that i had TWO Topboxes. whaaaaaaaaat?
i was very confused - i remember entering the contest to win the Valentine's Mystery Box on Facebook but i did not win that... i checked my credit card and it does not seem i was charged twice. i was only sent one tracking information email but received two from Canada Post when it was delivered.
so strange indeed! has this happened to anyone else before? i feel bad that i somehow got two while other people are still waiting to sign up for Topbox!

anyway, i opened one and let my sister open the other to see if she would share my enthusiasm (she did not).
it's the same cylinder box as previously used by Topbox except i think the package got wet sometime during the delivery because the purple design was smudged (on one of the boxes).

this month's product card had a slight change to the cover:

February's samples:

1) Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils in "1 High Intensity Black" - i've already heard fantastic things about how this mascara gives you a false-lashes effect. however, i am reluctant to open it just yet because i don't want to dry it out. (sorry my camera is terrible at focusing!)
size: 3 mL
retail value: $36 (7.5 mL)

2) Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat in "No 2" - another YSL product? no complaints there! i've seen ads for this in magazines and read how it is widely used by professional makeup artists. this is expensive stuff! there is definitely NOT enough sample to really try this product out though. it is similar to those tiny samples you would find it your mailbox or magazine.
size: super tiny
retail value: $50 (2.5 mL)

3) Pari Beauty in "ES 72" - this is a very pigmented blue eye shadow that looks slightly green in different lighting. the card says it was personalized for me and i do not mind the color. it is definitely a bright one so i will have to find ways to mute it out just a bit since blue doesn't really complement my skin tone. i've encountered this brand only recently when i was looking for a makeup case. i found them at a makeup counter at Sears. i didn't really browse their products but did see that they had one of those 88 eye shadow palettes that are quite common now. it seems that companies are just slapping their names on the same palettes and claiming them as their own.
size: 2 g (full size!)
retail value: $11

4) C. Booth Derma Skincare Collagen Elastin Restorative Hand & Nail Treatment - my cuticles are not in the best shape and i was looking to fixing that. along came this cream! and in full size too!! hooray. i'm getting just a little tired of all the lotions - maybe Topbox knew that and so they decided to throw in a "treatment". haha anyway, it is white in color and the smell is decent. not great but not bad either. it does have a greasy feeling right after you apply it but that disappears. as for all the other benefits it claims to provide, i will have to update you in the long run.
size: 120 mL (full size!)
retail value: $16

5) LillyPilly Kakadu Plum Hand & Body Creme - hmm. i received another LillyPilly lotion last month from Topbox. was not a huge fan of the rosewood smell so i am a little hesitant to try this one out. but plum does sound more delicious. there are two of these little packets and they come from Australia.
size: 3 mL each x 2 = 6 mL
retail value: $22 (150 mL)

SO you are wondering about the second box right? everything was the same except for the eye shadow. funny isn't it? since it was apparently personalized and somehow i end up with two different shades. lucky for me, it was in a more wearable shade: ES 35. it's a sparkly peach color that comes off quite pigmented when i swipe it directly on my finger, but once i swatch it on my wrist, i can hardly see it. hopefully it shows up more when i use a brush.

another slight difference was that one box has a large amount of the purple crinkly paper, and the other had less but also came with some scrunched up purple tissue.

so all in all, i am glad to be able to try all these samples twice! especially for the YSL products (or i guess i can share the love and give them to someone?). i am very happy with the eye shadow as well. quite lucky that it didn't break since i saw that happen to many people on Facebook. honestly, i am getting a little tired of the lotion samples. i have not received any nail polish to date so here's to the next two boxes i open today *crosses fingers*! it would really help my nail polish obsession phase (i bought like 10 in the last month!)

----- update 02/24/12: Topbox has a new contest where you can win a 3-month subscription! check it out here. contest ends 03/05/12. good luck! ----- 

oh and i thought i would just end this post with a photo i took while in Fernie, BC: