BEAUTY BOX 5: January 2013

so many January boxes to be arriving in February... what is up with that?

still my BB5 is 'on time' - as in it has been consistently arriving a couple days after a new month has started (due to shipping from the States). i got my BB5 last Thursday/Friday. it felt rather light when i picked it up.

January's 5 beauty items:

1) Ferro Cosmetics Blush X3 in "Desert Rose" - if this looks familiar, it is because i received the same item (but in "Miss Priss") from Topbox last month. this color looks much prettier. however, the lack of a sifter calls for another mess...

"Desert Rose" is a shimmery peachy pink and is one of Ferro Cosmetics' new 2013 shades.

size: N/A

retail value: $17 (4 g)
shipping to Canada: $20

2) Pencil Me In Eye Accent Pencil in "Mint" - this shade is described as a "frosted pastel green". according to the Pencil Me In Cosmetics website, "Mint" works best for blondes (which i am not). 

i am not entirely sure what to do with this... on one hand, i have heard that these eye pencils were pretty awesome - they do not tug and are long lasting. on the other hand, when am i ever going to wear this color? i don't know if i can rock this mint green color... any suggestions?

the eye pencil comes with a sharpener. the black lid on it is removable and is supposed to be for dumping out the shavings.. but i can't exactly see why the shavings would be on the inside... hmmm.

size: N/A (full size!)

retail value: $6.99
shipping to Canada: $2.00 (by UPS Ground)
promotion: buy 2, get 1 free for "a limited time" (odd that this is not clarified!)

3) ModelCo Colourbox Lip Pencil in "02 Pomegranate" - one of my two favorites of the box. i don't have a whole lot of lip pencils so i was excited to use this. this tugged a bit and felt a bit dry on my lips but it was nothing a little lip balm couldn't fix. other than that, i found it to be quite pigmented and i really enjoyed the color. i've been using it as a lip liner and then filling it in completely with the color since i like it so much.

this pencil also has a built-in sharpener which is super handy. i hate looking for a sharpener!

size: 1.6 g (full size!)

retail value: $18
shipping to Canada: $15

4) Perfumies Solid Perfume Stick in "Text Me" - on the Perfumies website: "Sweet sugar cane with notes of lemon rind and shortbread."... which is definitely a unique combination - i don't normally like lemons but i think this smells really yummy! it reminds me of something else too... i can't exactly pinpoint it but... a Jolly Rancher maybe?

the texture of this one is softer than other solid perfumes i have tried. sort of reminds me of lip balm - especially when i compared it to my Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer. hope i don't confuse the two!

the Perfume Stick is 100% natural and comes with a cute seal that's partially cut off on mine but it says "smell pretty always".

size: 2 g (full size!)

retail value: $7
shipping to Canada: $3.00 (via First Class USPS)

5) *surprise 2012 favorite* Global Goddess Shine Coconut Amla Revitalizing Hair Treatment - ahh boo... this could have been a really good surprise, had it not been one of these foil samples :/ i got this only recently in my November box and i've used it once. one sample was enough for my mid-back length hair... or so i thought anyways. i don't like the feeling of greasy hair so i used it mainly around the ends of my hair. i felt that it made my hair slightly softer but failed to amaze me.

size: 5 mL x 2

retail value: $20.99 (180 mL)
shipping to Canada: $8.95 and decreases depending on your order amount

so overall, it was a pretty decent box. my favorites were the Perfumies Perfume Stick and the ModelCo Lip Pencil. in a time of increasing beauty subscription prices, i find BB5 much more affordable. if you are looking for some great samples from brands you haven't heard of, i'd recommend BB5.

what were your favorites for January?