GLYMM BAG: October 2012

first thing i see: Glymm brought back the product cards!!! yessssss! it is now in the form of a brochure (instead of the previous card and booklet formats). thank you Glymm for listening to your customers!

as for the bag, it is pink this month in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. it's always nice when you notice a little bulge in the bag! i am predicting that we get a new type of bag next month but we'll see. actually, i'm really hoping that Glymm comes up with something completely different - i think most of us are getting tired of these bags...

October's edition:

1) Lash Card (Individually Wrapped Mascara Shields) - so Glymm was smart to include a product like this in a bag that also contains a mascara but really, the product itself is pretty lame. the Lash Card is described as "innovative" and it's actually "patented". really?! very silly since i am sure most people do not use such an item when applying mascara or even if they do, they just use a simple FREE business card. or any type of card period.
i also think it's funny how they try to recommend "1 card per make up session" - is that really necessary? or is it only because they want to sell a box of 10 for a whopping $7?
size: 2 cards (each card has 2 curves - a large and a small, depending on your eye shape); Glymm says: up to 4 uses (not really sure how that works given the previous statement)
retail value: $6.99 (10 cards)

2) Femme Couture Lightning Lash Mascara in "Midnight Black" - Glymm has a slight typo on their card, calling this a "Lightening Lash Mascara" - i paused for a second since i thought that people wore mascaras in the first place to darken - not lighten - their eyelashes. ;)
anyway, this Lightning Lash Mascara focuses on lengthening. i have some Femme Couture loose eyeshadows somewhere in my stash and i've always been tempted to pick up something else from them while at Sally's. mascara takes me a long time to get through so i don't know when i will be able to use mine up and review this!
size: 11.3 g (full size!)
retail value: $14

3) CyberDERM H2O Hydration - think it sounds familiar but looks different? it's because Glymm sent these out in their July bag but it was in the form of a syringe. it did not have a scent and felt moisturizing and light. be careful when you first use this since it can get messy.
size: N/A... looks about 5 mL?; Glymm: 10 uses
retail value: $60 (50 mL)
see 4) for pic

4) CyberDERM Every Morning Sun Whip - after using H2O Hydration in the morning, you can apply this Every Morning Sun Whip which is a matte sunscreen with SPF 25.
the Sun Whip is thicker and not as creamy as the H2O Hydration. there's hardly a scent to it. i like this product but not enough to fork over $38 for a 50 mL sunscreen.
size: N/A... about 5 mL; Glymm: 2 uses
retail value: $38 (50 mL)

5) Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme - buttercreme... you'd think that butters and cremes are for the body right? so of course i was thrown for a loop when i read that this for HAIR. i have never heard of such a product before... looking at the instructions, it says that this moisturizer is to be used on wet hair. you only need a nickel sized amount to soften "dry, crunchy curls" - i have neither dry nor crunchy nor curly hair... if you check out the website, you will see that the company is focused on curly hair.
to me, buttercreme sounds well, buttery and creamy - both of which will probably weigh down hair or make it look greasy - and both of which are hair no-nos.

nonetheless, i decided to try it. i used it on my wet hair and only on the ends of my hair. my hair is still air drying but i can feel the difference between my ends and my roots. the ends are noticeably softer but i still wouldn't recommend using this product on your roots.

it smells like shea butter and... wait, caramel is listed in the ingredients? correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't recall caramel being used in cosmetics. i wiki-ed it and it lists caramel candy, caramel coloring and caramel sauce. under caramel coloring (which i thought would be the most likely reason), it says it is used in food coloring and beverages - no mention of cosmetics. sooo do you guys know?
size: 59 mL ("full size"!) - as in full size of a mini version; Glymm: 5 uses but i hardly even scraped the top layer
retail value: $9 (also available: $32 for 237 mL and $58 for 473 mL)

6) *bonus* Johnson & Johnson Johnson's Baby Oil - i don't understand why people are complaining that this item is in the bag... it is a bonus item and it is to promote Glymm MAMA. i think it's a neat idea and i can use it to remove makeup or for shaving (which i didn't know so yay!).
yeah so this is baby oil and it smells like babies!
size: 88 mL
retail value: $4.49 (414 mL) or $6.49 (592 mL) according to well.ca

i think this is definitely a step up from last month's Glymm - bigger samples (hello full size items! it's been a while!) and a bonus item. plus the list of samples is back! still my overall impression of the bag is that it's good - nothing jaw-dropping but good.
are you guys happy with this month's bag?

GLYMM BAG: July 2012

weird. i almost titled this post January 2012 instead of July. it does seem like the year is flying by though!

my Glymm bag arrived yesterday and as predicted, it's orange! i love orange but on the other hand, i do not know what to do with all these makeup bags! ideas anyone?

July's samples (with info taken from the Glymm site since there is no product card, boo): 

1) Mèreadesso Beautiful Body Balm 

This non-greasy, all over body balm, hand moisturizer and foot cream is the ideal skin solution for all skin types.

this is the second Mèreadesso product i've tried, the first being a "lip treat" from another Glymm bag (May 2012). the lotion smells something along the lines of musky lemons. personally, i'm not a huge fan of the smell but it does the job of moisturizing without leaving a greasy feeling. 

size: 30 mL

retail value: $54 (200 mL)

2) CyberDERM H2O Hydration 

This moisturizer will show your skin a good time. With more benefits than you can count, you can be sure to see some drastic results.

right after pulling out this box from the bag, i was confused. then i opened the box and i went from being confused to just being completely weirded out. these things look like syringes! and i absolutely hate needles. there's some faded lines (used to measure dosage) on the side which increases the likeness to an actual needle. there's also wording that says "Oral use only" which is very misleading (as well as calling themselves "the sunscreen company" when neither products turn out to be sunscreen related...)

it is a unique way of packaging their samples but it's just so very strange to me... 

anyway, enough freaking out over the packaging.

the company is actually Canadian, specifically from Ottawa, ON. there are two syringes - one is "H2O Hydration" and the other is "PM Anti-Age" (see #3). "H2O Hydration" can be used in the morning or at night. you take the blue cap off but be careful if it's the first time you're using it since the product immediately comes out without needing to press on the plunger. the moisturizer is unscented and feels nice on my skin.

size: N/A ... one syringe vial thing (lasts about 5 uses according to Glymm but i think it will last me a bit longer)

retail value: $60 (50 mL)

3) CyberDERM PM Anti-Age

Take a bold stance against physiological aggressors that age us with this powerful cream.

as the name suggests, it is to be used at night. i used it last night and oh.my.goodness. it smells terrible!! the whole time i was putting it on my face, i was like "gross gross gross". it has a very strong herbal smell (sort of reminds me of Chinese medicine). i do not think i'll be attempting this again.

size: N/A ... same as above ~ 5 uses

retail value: $115 (50 mL) ... which is almost twice as much as the one above!

4) MANE TEEZE Hair Perfume in "Social Butterfly"
Summer is a busy time for pretty socialites like you, so bring this hair perfume along with you when you need that little boost of luxury.

upon visiting the website for this company, you find their advertising slogan in large pink font: "EAT MY HAIR". seriously LOL.
MANE TEEZE is created by two Canadian ladies (T&M) and comes in two other scents for your hair: "Haut Mess" and "Black Widow". ***spoiler alert*** on their FB page, T&M says to "watch for our other two delicious signature scents in next GLYMM bags".

according to their site, 3 sprays and it's enough to last you 12 hours. the scent is a very strong vanilla and even with just 3 sprays i felt it was a little overpowering (smells good though). i'd prefer to use just 2 sprays next time. i like the idea but i'm not sure if i need a perfume specifically for my hair. especially since i don't expect my hair to smell bad... guess it's still a good idea to refresh mid-day when it seems like your other perfume has faded. Glymm says there is about 50 sprays in the sample so it should last you about 16 days!
size: 8 mL
retail value: $34 (50 mL)

5) Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe Bio-Advanced Restorative Treatment

This luxury hair treatment is clinically proven to instantly correct damage and protect against future damage.

the treatment is to be used on clean wet hair and rinsed off after 3-4 minutes. it's a slightly peachy colored creme and leaves my hair feeling extremely soft (it felt soft immediately after as well as 12 hours after!). this product will definitely be used up since the ends of my hair are quite (err...severely) damaged.

size: 50 mL

retail value: $25 (150 mL)

i like this month's Glymm bag - lots of variety in products. while i'm excited to try a few of them (the hair perfume is interesting and the Joico K-Pak treatment really works), i'm not a fan of the scents of certain products.
how do you feel about your Glymm this month?
also stay tuned for a semi-annual report card on the beauty box subscription companies coming up very soon!!