TOPBOX: November 2013

ooooooh gotta catch up catch up! there's so much to do at work too because of year-end and audits... eep! 

how's 2014 treating you?

Topbox wishlists for November included: Bioderma, Estee Lauder. Givenchy, and for an extra $8 - Cake Beauty and Orlane Paris.again, i went for the ol' regular one cause i'm boring like that!

November Topbox:

a few extras with this month's box:

1) Cover FX CC Cream Time Release Tinted Treatment SPF 30 in "Light" - i was very excited to receive a CC cream! it's one of those things that seemed to take over the beauty industry rather quickly but i wasn't won over just yet. the "Time Release" in the name refers to the anti-aging properties of the cream. like BB creams, i find the coverage of this CC cream to be rather sheer. there's also not as much product as you'd think... keep squeezing!

in the pictures below, the "Light" color seems to be a bit more on the yellow side but if you blend the same amount over a larger surface area, it evens out.

size: 5 mL
retail value: $45 (30 mL)

2) Shu Uemura Skin Purifier Anti/Oxi Skin Refining Anti-Dullness Cleansing Oil - i had no idea these beauty oils were so renowned: the Topbox card says that 1 oil is sold every 7 seconds! i've only tried it a handful of times so far but i'm enjoying it. i was always afraid that oils were no good for oily skin but this is not really heavy at all. plus, i'm horrible at removing all my makeup with a regular makeup remover... i always get that raccoon/black eye look after. this oil has helped me remove more of that makeup since it is gentle enough to use around the eye area.

size: 20 mL
retail value: $92 (450 mL); $44 (150 mL)

3) Parfums Issey Miyake Pleats Please - this may be the first time i am happy about receiving a perfume sample in a box. this is one of 3 perfumes i've become attached to lately but i have not quite made the leap and committed to just one. i love fresh fruity scents like these. i would've been happier if it was a rollerball though!

size: 4 mL
retail value: $106 (100 mL)

4) T•Langhans Castile Handcrafted Soap in "Lemongrass" - this is some luxury soap. i have no idea what the difference is with regular soap. this is a small sample... like the ones you would get at a hotel.

size: N/A
retail value: $12 (105 - 135 g)

so tada this is everything! this isn't an amazing Topbox but i am quite happy with its contents (especially the first 3 listed above).

by the way, did anyone watch the Golden Globes yesterday? i only watched the first half hour or so but i'm always interested in the dresses... loved loved the dresses worn by Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift, Margot Robbie and Lauren Parsekian (wife of Aaron Paul). i also actually liked Emma Watson's and Amy Poehler's belted black dress on the red carpet.

what were your favorites?

BEAUTY BOX 5: October 2013

happy happy new year! :) i hope you all had a wonderful holiday! 

i just came back from Banff today and though it was a very short trip (just one night), it was super fun. went snow tubing at Mt. Norquay and hot-tubbing at the Hidden Ridge Resort. at first i was scared of tubing because i had no idea what it entailed but it's seriously fun stuff! you grab an inflated tube, stand on a conveyor belt kind of thing (a magic carpet) which takes you up and then slide down these large snow lanes. reminds me of those carpet rides at amusement parks. there are staff members at the top that get everyone 'boarded' - you can go single-file or in groups as big as 7 (depending on the staff member and how many they can spin). very sweet!

 

i know people have dedicated posts to their new year resolutions but i am absolutely horrible at keeping them so let's just make a general blogging-related one: blog more! yessss! 

and to do this, i need to finish my round of October unboxings... so let's get started here!

October's BB5 "Take it Easy":

1) Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion - very simple moisturizer... no SPF :(

size: 29 mL
retail value: $6.99 (226 g)

2) ModelCo Cheek + Lip Tint in "Rosy Red" - i received this in my Glossybox in March earlier last year. back then, i also received a full-sized version (10 mL). i mentioned that this product was great for adding color to your cheeks - you only need a tiny amount - but it didn't work too well on the lips. please click the link for swatches!

size: 5 mL
retail value: $22 (10 mL)

3) SwissCo Glitter Toe Spacers - i am not exactly impressed with these since they are your very basic toe separators but sparkly...

size: 1 set (full size!)
retail value: $2

4) La Fresh Travel-Lite Facial Cleansing Wipes - also not something exciting since i've received so many La Fresh wipes, i've lost count.

size: 8 wipes
retail value: $19.99 (48 wipes)

5) Nubar Nail Lacquer in "N295-7 Kristal" - this color is part of Nubar's Alter Ego Collection which was released this holiday season and features 8 3D glitter top coat polishes. on the website, it is listed as "Krystal" instead of "Kristal" and is described as a sheer silver white with multi-color sparkles and Mylar. what is Mylar? well a quick Google search tells us that it is often used to give that flakie/fleck nail polish effect. this polish is pretty but i feel like i have a few of these in my collection already. Nubar is hard to find though - i've only seen them at Winners stores. and i didn't even know they made mini polishes.

size: 7 mL
retail value: $8 (15 mL)

so everything is so... let's see here... SMALL. small in size or small in value. the Aveeno, ModelCo, La Fresh and Nubar products are all mini-sizes and then the one full-sized product - toe spacers - are worth $2. the total value of the box is $20.96 (the Aveeno moisturizer was worth less than $1). BB5 costs US$12 and the highest dollar value was the ModelCo tint but i've already received that in a prior box so the value is much less in my books. BB5 is normally not this disappointing so maybe it was just a bad month. we will have to see for November... which i should get onto stat! :)