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?

BEAUTY BOX 5: November 2012

got my BB5 recently and it looks like they went back to the normal BB5 product info cards. perhaps they only do the other one when they have a theme like Halloween? 

November's goodies:

1) Swagger Eyeshadow in "Swagger" - this pretty eyeshadow is not labelled but comparing it to the shades found on the website, it looks most like their signature color. i love the diamond bow logo - it's very cute (so is the website actually)! "Swagger" is a lovely blue-green color with glitter and is 100% vegan. 

when i swatched it, it turned out to be more blue and not as pigmented as i thought. it was slightly clumpy which made it difficult to get it through the sifter. this also meant that you had to put a little more effort in blending it out evenly. i'll update you when i wear it on my eyes but it seems that the color has pretty much disappeared off my arm already (it's been a little over an hour and i did not use primer)... 

promotion: 20% off order before December 25, 2012; international shipping = $6

size: N/A but i believe it is a 5 g jar that is only about a quarter full

retail value: $9.50 (5 g)

2) Envie De Neuf Platinum Lineless Eye Mask - i haven't used any eye masks before so i am intrigued, though i wouldn't be able to judge its effectiveness since i do not yet have any lines to make 'lineless'. 

promotion: 50% off order before December 31, 2012; Canadian shipping = $26.95 (ouch!)

size: 1 sachet - 10 mL ("full size"!)

retail value: $3.00 (1 sachet); $30.00 (10 sachets)

3) Global Goddess Shine Coconut Amla Revitalizing Hair Treatment - there are a ton of different oils in this (including coconut, neem, grape seed and avocado oils) to make your hair shine. it is to be left on your hair for 30 minutes before shampooing and conditioning. there are a variety of other methods of using this, such as leaving it on your hair overnight or using it on your arms and legs. 30 minutes sounds pretty long so i will use this tomorrow! i doubt that these foil samples contain enough product for my long hair though...

promotion: 20% off order before December 31, 2012; Canadian shipping = $8.95 and decreases depending on order amount

size: 5 mL x 2 = 10 mL

retail value: $20.99 (180 mL)

4) Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion - meh. i've seen this in stores everywhere but i haven't tried it. almost unscented, absorbs quickly, non-greasy, nothing too exciting but it will be used. it is a little difficult to control how big of a glob that comes out using this bottle. 

promotion: $1 off any Cetaphil product with manufacturer's coupon before December 31, 2012 but only in the U.S.. bah! useless.

size: 29 mL

retail value: $8.99 (236 mL)

5) ModelCo Shine Ultra Lip Gloss in "Strip Tease" - aww i'd love to try more ModelCo products but just my luck that i get a lipgloss in the exact same color as the one in my Glossybox (part of the lip duo). at least the mirror is not impractical like the other one!

this one also looks slightly different than the one on the website - i am guessing that they just changed up the packaging (mine is long and thin while the one online seems shorter with a different cap). i will be saving this for a gift or a swap. check out the link to my Glossybox post for a swatch.

promotion: none but shipping to Canada is $15.00

size: 4.2 mL (full size!)

retail value: $16

- - - - -

hrrrrrrm. i'm confused about Beauty Box 5 again - they started out iffy but then came a string of awesome boxes and now, we have returned to the age of foil samples. on the plus side, leave it to BB5 to continue introducing me to new brands i haven't heard of before.

what really stuck out to me is the Swagger eyeshadow - i'll have to keep experimenting with it before i decide whether or not i really like it. it's really too bad that i already have the ModelCo lipgloss or else that would be another hit with me. 

there was also a $10 gift card to MyNameNecklace.com... i've been wanting a personalized necklace for a while and there's free shipping! very very tempted!

did you like your BB5? what do you think of name necklaces?