July Bellabox 2014

Hiya All!

What a day, not just one but 3 subscription beauty boxes turned up yesterday. I think the postie has been hoarding them :P . I had a busy day so I wasn’t even able to look at them till this afternoon, let alone write about them . Any way I technically got the Bellabox first so let’s star there.

For those who don’t know; Bellabox is an Australian monthly beauty subscription, available from Bellabox. It costs $15 a month and you receive 5+ beauty products mailed to your house. 

This month the theme is “American Beauty” and I find it absolutely hilarious that the first product on the card is Japanese. A question to older subscribers; have the themes always been so badly matched or are they just running out of ideas/ putting less effort in.?

We also got a 10% off voucher Designer Brands’ online store. I may pop over and have a look, but probably won’t use it as that’s not a super saving.

YU-BE Moisturizing skin cream – LUXE

RRP: 70g (66ml) for $35.95

Received: 3ml (approx. value $1.63)

This is a cream which is meant to be used on dry skin /lips. The handout claims ‘head-to toe hydration from Japan. Kind of funny to see this in an “American Beauty” beauty box. If you read on the handout tells the story of the man who decided to bring the product to America. Not exactly what I want to know about my cosmetics, but I suppose it justifies this item being in this box.

I tried a little on my lips and I wouldn’t recommend it taste-smells rather gross in a medical sense. It doesn’t feel that different to applying any other good moisturizing cream, so I’m not that wowed. Personally I feel that you can buy many other similar products for a better price.

Nicole by OPI nail lacquer – Colour

RRP: 15ml for $14.95

Received: Full Sized in Carnival Cotton Candy (value $14.95)

This was one of the sneak peek we were given this month along with the promise that every box would contain at least one of the sneak peek items (thank you Bellabox). Now I would have preferred ‘theBalm How 'Bout Them Apples?’ sample. That said this was my second preference since I’m in the midst of a nail polish cull (gives me a reason to buy Pretty Serious' new collections )

Despite that the retired Goth in me cringes, I’m happy with the colour I received. The formula is nice and the wide brush applies the polish nicely. I can’t comment on how it lasts as I absolutely botched my mani (read below for more details).

After doing a little research and looking at the RRP it seems that Nicole by OPI is the supermarket/ drugstore version of OPI. Also judging by the price, funky bottle shape and the colour section, I believe that Nicole by OPI may also be targeted at the teen/ young adult market. 

Nailene Treatment to go pen– Essential

RRP: 4ml for $14.99

Received: Full Sized (value $14.95)

This is a all-in-one base and topcoat, which is in a pen like contraption with a brush nib and a click to for dispensing. Seeing this I thought, “What a great idea and I’ll be able to use this with my new Nicole polish.” I was wrong.

Despite what the packaging says I find that the brush is not nice and that the product is not quick drying. Then there are problems with the pen/clicker concept. You really have no control over how much product comes out. I found that one click was too little for one stroke of my medium nails and two was too much. Also it would seem that the concept is to hold this in a pen grip, but the need for constant clicking leads to a constant need to change grip leading to drips. It seemed more practical to wrap my fingers around the barrel and plant my thumb on the clicker, like a child holding a crayon. This is a very awkward grip for painting nails. I ended up making a mess of my manicure.

Maybe this would work better with practice, but I think I’ll stick to the traditional bottled treatments for my nail, thank you very much.

desinger brands lip butter – Classic

RRP: 10ml for $4.99

Received: Full Size in Mango (value $4.99)

Surprise, surprise. Another lip balm, I seem to get one in every second BellaBox. How much do they think I go through? I’ve never actually used this brand, but I’m probably going to pass this on; one – I don’t need another lip balm and two – I’m not that fond of mango scented cosmetics (through there better than coconut ones) at least this one has actual mango in it (Mangifera indica extract). 

Revlon fatasy lengths self adhsive lashes – colour

RRP: 1 set for $9.99

Received: Full Sized (value $9.99)

Being a glasses wearer I don’t use falsies as they tend to annoyingly knock against my glasses. After my disappointment in seeing these and thinking I got a product I couldn’t use, I realized that they actually aren’t very long. I decided to try them and oh yeah! I now have a pair of falsies I can comfortably wear.

These lashes give a nice think fringed look without being over the top, perfect for my beloved retro style.  Now I just need to learn how to put them on/ wear them properly. Any hints for a lash novice?

Bonus – naturals pure 100% aloe vera gel

RRP: 200ml for $14.45 (or 75g for $7.75)

Received: 2g (approx. value $0.21)

I think Bellabox, is trying to be tricky by using different units on their card to the sample, But the power of Google has prevailed! I found the product listed on Beauty Haven and I also discover that it’s available in several sizes, I used one of these for my value calculation.

I find Aloe gel is always good to have on hand, but then I have an actual plant in my backyard to use. I’ll keep this for trips or when I’m too lazy to go outside. Being a sachet is pretty meh, though.

BOX OVERVIEW

The box cost the standard $15 and the contents has an approximate value of $46.72

This included four full sized products and two samples.

This is nowhere near as impressive as last month’s box (but it would be hard to match that one). Also, I’ve seen boxes which had much more impressive items in them, but that is the nature of these boxes and I feel that this kind of balances out last months. Now looking at what I did get in this box (opposed to what I didn’t get) this box isn’t a complete let down. The box is worth over twice the value I paid and there are several I’ll.

Have you tried any of these products? I’d love to hear about or experiences and about the box you may have received.

~ Annie.

Note: last month I said that I would comment in this post on the products from last month’s box after using them, I now fell this may be a bit confusing. I have decided to instead go back and put an edit section in the original post.