Best of Beauty Boxes: June & July

Even though it’s been a few months, I finally finished trying a couple of products from June and July’s beauty boxes. Instead of just posting what I got in the boxes, I’m going to showcase my favourites.

June’s Glossybox was a bit disappointing. Even though it contained four full size products, everything in the box was a drugstore brand. Wow. That made me sound really snobby. lol Not that there aren’t some great drugstore brands, it’s just that I get the beauty boxes to introduce me to brands that are new to me. Anyway, the best part of this box was the full size Gillette Venus Embrace Razor ($13).

July’s Glossybox was an improvement and featured a full size Zoya nail polish in Shelby. It’s my first Zoya polish and I love it. I wore it a few times this summer. It’s the perfect hot pink!

Glymm’s July box (or should I say bag), had a couple of great products in it.

The La Fresh nail polish remover was FANTASTIC and the box contained two pads. As promised, one pad took all the polish off both hands. Just a note, that it removed a pale pink polish so I wonder if it would be different if it were dark polish. Has anyone tried it? What I also loved about it was the orange scent. It was a lot more pleasant than the typical chemical smell of regular nail polish remover. I would love to buy this but it’s a bit expensive. $9.99 for 20 pads. Not so bad but I wish they’d make it without the pads. I’d definitely buy. It’d be perfect for travelling which is what I’m saving the second pad.

My other favourite was Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream. It’s texture is smooth and feels like it’s thick and moisturizing but somehow spreads thin. This sample lasted TWO MONTHS!! It left my skin very soft and smooth. The only thing is it’s pretty expensive, $115 (50 mL) but it did last a long time so I would consider buying if it was on sale.

The great news is that all of these products are cruelty-free!

What’s your favourite product from a recent beauty box?

Pretty Things: My Second Eco-Emi box!

Hello lovelies!

Remember when I said here that I was only going to receive one Eco Emi box? Turns out I was going to get two! Whoop! I was really excited about this to be honest. It felt like a bonus.

1. Baby Me Goat Milk Soap by Alabu Skin Care
Sample size: .5 oz
Full size: 3.25 oz $5.15 US

Vegetarian soap with no artificial colours or preservatives. I’m looking forward to this. I feel like it’s going to be really luxurious.

2. Seaweed Body Wash in Eucalyptus and Peppermint by The Seaweed Bath Company.
Sample size: 1 packet (unspecified)
Full size: 12 fl oz $16.89 US

Sounds expensive for a body wash!

3. Tropical Lime Tea by Mate Factor Tea
Sample size: 1 tea bag
Full size: 20 tea bags $5.99 US

I’m intrigued about the lime, hisbiscus and green yerba mate. It’s a nice treat to get tea in a beauty box!

4. Whipped Shea Butter with Kalabari Melon Seed Oil by Shea Radiance
Sample size: no weight given
Full size:  5 oz $34.00 US
This is a really luscious product! The whipped consistency makes it feel so soft and smooth. However, because of the oil, you don’t need as much as you think. Smells lovely.

5. Organic Raw Fair Trade Honey by Wholesome Sweeteners
Sample size: 1.5 oz
Full size: 1 pack 16.00 oz $7.99 US

I’m not the biggest honey fan. It kind of freaks me out. lol.  I think it’s because I only eat it when I’m sick. Lovely gesture though.

6. Lip Shimmer in Plum by Burts Bees
Full size! $5.00 US
I’m not really a fan of Burt’s Bees but I know so many of you are. I’ll save this for a giveaway.

7. Natural Toothpaste by Dr. Collins
Sample size: .75oz
Full size: 4.2 oz $6.75 US

It smells really nice! I’m going to place in my travel bag with my biodegradable toothbrush I got from the last Eco-Emi box.

8. Bronzer in Golden by Laruen Brooke Cosmetiques
Full size! $12 US

Gorgeous gold colour! So pretty! Completely made my day.  I promise to take a swatch at some point. I forgot when I originally took these photos and the light isn’t working out to well for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also included were these Enchanting Chai LIne Gourmet Enhancers, Finishing Sugars and Spiced Chocolates from Catalyst Gourmet.
It’s a bit weird to receive food that’s not individually wrapped like a granola bar or something. I’m intrigued by these and they smell lovely. I’ll for sure try the finish sugars ($6 for 2 oz; $15 for 6.5 oz) and the enhancers ($7 for .25 oz; $16 for 1.5 oz) but the chocolate  ($8.50 for 2.5 oz) kind of weirds me out. I have no idea why.

That’s it! Another terrific box from Eco-Emi! If it wasn’t so expensive to maintain, I would continue the membership. I really hope and environmentally friendly box comes to Canada. That would be terrific!!

Have you received an Eco Emi box or something similar? What did you think about it?

Pretty Things: My first (and only) Eco-Emi box!

Happy Earth Day lovelies!

Since it’s Earth Day, it’s the perfect time to post what I received in my Eco Emi box. I only received one of these boxes because it is a bit expensive ($30 since shipping from US) but I was really curious to try new eco friendly products. I hope a similar Canadian brand (or eco friendly versions of current beauty boxes) get started up soon. It should be mentioned that this is actually the March box. I only received a week ago because of the extra distance for shipping.

Back to the box! This is what it looks like when I open the box. You can see they reduce the packaging by not putting the items in a box within another box. Also, all the wrapping is with recycled tissue paper.

It smelled so lovely.

Here’s what was inside:

 

1. Vita Care Toothbrush:
Full size! $3.39 US
I am so unbelievably excited about this. Biodegradable toothbrushes was something I never even considered until very recently. I just didn’t think they’d exist! For $3.39, it’d be no different than buying the usual plastic ones from the drug store. When you think about throwing out 2-3 toothbrushes a year, they can easily add up over a lifetime. This toothbrush is made of 100% biodegradeable and recycle materials. Awesome.

2. Raw Vegan Bars by Bella Bars
Sample size: 1 bar
Full size: 12 bars for $19.80 US
Yeesh that’s expensive! The bar I had (chocolate) was very good. It definitely had a chocolately taste to it even though it was dripping in chocolate. It reminded me of fig newtons (must have been the dates) .

3. Pomegranate Gum by Vita Care
Full size! $1.69 US
Another Vita Care product! I haven’t tried these yet but I’m intrigued. I really appreciate how affordable their products are and it makes me what to research where to buy them locally as I see they have toothpaste & mouthwash as well.

4. Lip Tints – Badger
Sample size: no weight given
Full size: $6.50 US
This product contains certified organic oils, butters and waxes with natural mineral tints. I am partial to the Lush Lip Service lip balm (as you know) but I like that this has a shimmer. The colour I received is a browny orangey colour (how specific!) but the shimmer makes it look coppery. It actually goes well with my skin tone but it’s a bit of a fall colour in my eyes. I will keep it around until then. Here is a blurry swatch. It looks darker on my lips and not quite as sheer but very pretty.

5. Vegan Gel Eyeliner in That Black by The Natural Face
Full size! $5.75 US
This was a very cool edition. I love MAC’s fluidlines and this is along the same lines. However, this product is a lot wetter than the MAC prodcuts. I’m trying to compare it to something. It has the consistancy of jello that hasn’t quite set yet. It came with a little brush as well which would be handy for those who don’t already have one. I haven’t tried it yet but I will. I have to confessI am nervous about the consistancy being difficult to work with.  Very inexpensive though. Here’s a pic:

 

6. Vegan Mineral Eye Shadows by The Natural Face
Sample size: no weight given
Full size: 5 g $3.50 US
Another The Natural Face product! I love how inexpensive the products are. You really can’t beat that. I received the eye shadow in Olive U. It’s a small sample but you could probably have two tries with it. It’s a loose shadow and heavily pigmented. It’s a very dark green (practically black) so another fall colour but it’s pretty.

7. Revitalize Shampoo  & Conditioner by Greenbody Greenplanet
Sample size: 1 fl oz each
Full size: 8 oz $24 US each
I just have to say that I can’t ever imagine spending $24 on an 8 oz bottle of shampoo but that said, they smell lovely and I’m eager to try them.

8. Incense by Auromere Ayurvedic in Lily
Sample size: (Full size sample pack!) : $6.95 US
I haven’t lit incense since high school and even then they all smelled the same to me while they were burning. I appreciated receiving the Lily scent as it’s one of my favourite flowers. Who knows? Maybe I’ll light some incense and put on Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy or Smashing Pumpkins Melon Collie & The Infinite Sadness and it can be like old times.

WAIT THERE’S MORE!

9. Pear Tree Specialty Liquid Soap by Old Post Road Oils
Sample size: 2.5 oz
Full size: 8 oz $7 US
I missed this when I originally took the haul photo. What a box! This soap is vegan and according to the product card, perfect for shaving as it’s very gentle. It was initially created for kids with acne. I’m intrigued. I love the pear scent. I don’t really like eating pears as much as I love smelling them. It’s a texture thing so I’ve very glad to have this.

That’s it! That is a huge variety of samples for one box. If I was in the US, I would cancel all other boxes and go with this as there’s a mix of everything and it’s all very interesting. I must say there is a few spelling mistakes on the product card which is a bit unprofessional but that kind of works with the handmade feel of the box.

Have you received an Eco Emi box or something similar? What did you think about it? What are your favourite eco tips?

p.s. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway on Holly’s blog!