Luxe Box Summer 2014 Review

I know! It's been a long time since I've last posted! Sadly, my camera card with ALL of the images for the future blog posts became corrupted and I lost them ALL. I had already opened and used many of the items so I couldn't take new pictures. I was really discouraged and it was hard to get in the mood for blogging. But I'm back! And I'm reviewing my very first Luxe Box!

Luxe Box is a quarterly subscription box from Loose Button. For $26/season (less if you purchase a 6-month or yearly subscription) you receive 6-7 trial size beauty items. Here is the fancy box it came in:

And here are the goodies that came inside:

I received:

• Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate (www.lancome.ca)
• Fekkai PrX Reparatives Shampoo and Conditioner (www.fekkai.com)
• Marni Perfume (www.marni.com)
• Teeez Chain of Stones Nail Lacquer in Pretty in Pyrite (www.teeez.eu)
• L'Occitane 20% Shea Hand Cream (www.loccitane.com)
• Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner (www.eyeko.com)
• Loose Button tweezers 
• 4 samples of Crest 3D White Whitestrips and Toothpaste + coupons (not pictured)

The box I received seemed to be different from a lot of other people's, but I'm very happy with it. I was most excited to receive the L'Occitane hand cream because I LOVE their hand cream. It is soo nice. I also was excited to try the Fekkai hair products because I have heard good things about Fekkai products, and I was not disappointed. My hair is feeling much stronger after using this shampoo and conditioner. 

I have been wanting a nice liquid eyeliner for some time, and I really like this Eyeko one. It stays on well and is easy to apply (for someone why has a steady hand - not me!). I loved the Teeez nail polish. The colour is really nice and something I can wear year round. The only product I didn't care for was the Marni perfume, it was not my scent AT ALL, so I passed it along.

I have to say I really enjoyed this box. There was a good variety of products and they were all high quality. I can't wait for the Fall 2014 box!

To subscribe to Luxe Box, visit www.loosebutton.com/luxebox

May 2014 Topbox Review

It's that time of the month again...Topbox time! I'm still playing catch-up, so again, forgive the lateness of this post. Now on to this month's Topbox!

Here's what I received:

• Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Skin Balancing Lotion SPF 15 (www.elizabetharden.ca)
• Kinetics Nail Colour in Splatter It! (www.kineticsnails.com)
• Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Lashes in So Black! (www.lancome.ca)
• Benefit Posiebalm Hydrating Tinted Lip Balm (www.benefitcosmetics.com)
• 10-day supply of Lancôme foundation (received empty jar with coupon to redeem at The Bay)

It was another really great month! First off, my favourite product has to be the Kinetics nail colour. I'd never heard of Kinetics, but I was dying to try a splatter nail polish after seeing Maybelline and Revlon's versions at work. Here's a swatch of Splatter It!:

2 coats of Splatter It! on 2 coats of Rimmel 60 Second Nail Polish in Sunny Days

I think it looks awesome, and I've already had friends request to borrow it. I definitely want to check out more of Kinetic's other nail polishes.

I wasn't super excited to receive the Lancôme mascara just because I feel like I've received a lot of mascaras recently. That said, it IS a good mascara and I do love Lancôme products. The Elizabeth Arden lotion I was excited to try out because it's for combination skin, which I have. It's lightweight, not too greasy, and a little goes a long way.

I LOVE Benefit so I was VERY excited to try out the Posiebalm lip balm. It's super moisturizing and has a nice light pink tint. I almost cried when I accidentally ruined it in the washing machine a week later. :(

This was another great box from Topbox. I wonder what next month has in store?

For more information on Topbox, visit topbox.ca

Little Life Box May 2014 Review

This is a bit of a late post, but as you can see from the lack of activity lately, life's been busy and I haven't been on much. I did receive a Little Life Box this month (well, actually 2 with the Mother's Day box), so let's check it out:

I received:

• Camino Organic Fine Chocolates Box (www.lasiembra.com/camino)
• Deep River Snacks Gluten-Free Kettle Chips in Original Salted (www.deepriversnacks.com)
• Go-Go Quinoa Puffed Cereal Choco-Puffs (www.gogoquinoa.com)
• EFFFI Gold Exclusive Skin Emulsion (www.efffi-e.ca)
• Ener-C Vitamin Drink Sachets (www.tryenerc.com)
• Mighty Leaf Organic Tea in Spring Jasmine, Breakfast, and African Nectar (www.mightyleaf.ca)
• Natura Cappucino Soy Drink + coupons (www.nutrisoya.com)
• OneCoffee Organic K-Cups in Sumatran (www.myworldinacup.com)
• Sow Good Face And Body Polish (www.sowgoodbeauty.com)
• Maison Orphée Unrefined Toasted Sesame Oil (www.maisonorphee.com)
• Brad King's Ultimate Calorie Burn (www.transforminghealthinc.com)
• Ecoideas Chlorophyll in Mint (www.ecoideas.ca)

One thing I will mention is that I received the same box for Mother's Day as I did for the regular box, differences being a different flavour of the Deep River Chips and a note in the MD box (ranty note: when the MD boxes were ordered [I ordered one for my mom and Mike ordered one for me] you had the option to have a personalized note written on a card inside the box. My mom received the personalized note; I received a generic "Happy Mother's Day". Mike was not impressed). Other than taking the specialness away of having a MD box, it worked out having both boxes the same because they were so good. You have no idea how happy I was to have a second crack at that box of Camino chocolates (which, btw, were beautiful and delicious).

There were a few repeat brands: Camino obviously, but THEY'RE SO GOOD they can be in ANY BOX ANY TIME; OneCoffee k-cups (which I have a sneaking suspicion they're trying to clear out); Mighty Leaf Tea (different flavours this time); Ener-C, which I love for work anyways; Sow-Good, different product though.

One weird item I received both times - Brad King's Ultimate Calorie Burn. Now, I'm wary of all weight loss pills, since, well, c'mon. There's no magic pill. I also find it kind of insulting to include this in a MOTHER"S DAY box! It's like, "I love you Mom...but lose some weight." I dunno, it's supposed to give you energy, so maybe I'll use it when I'm back in class in September?

Otherwise, everything else I received was so good. Standouts (other than the Camino): the Maison Orphée sesame oil (I feel really luxe cooking with it), and the Natura Soy Milk, which tasted awesome, and I've bought a few times since trying it.

To subscribe to Little Life Box, visit www.littlelifebox.com

imPress Press-On Manicure Review

I recently got the chance from Influenster to try the new imPress Press-On Manicure. The kits came as a total surprise in my mail one day (though 2 days later I received an email from Influenster saying I had been chosen to try out this product and that my box was being shipped :/). Anywho, here's what I received:

I don't generally do artificial nails, or even long nails for that matter, for several reasons. One, I am not functional with long nails AT ALL. And by long, I mean normal for everyone else. When my nails are like an inch long, I act like my nails are like this:

The second reason I don't use artificial nails is that I have small nail beds and usually artificial nails are too big for me. That said, the inPress nails are actually quite small fitting. I really wanted to try the lacy set too so I had high hopes for these.

These were super easy to apply - just peel the back off of each nail and press it on. The package also came with a variety of sizes which was helpful. The length was okay. Still longer than I'd like, though the thumb length was perfect. If all the nail lengths were like that I would've been very happy. The nails stayed on very well. I peeled them off after a day, but it took a lot of effort.

IF I were to buy artificial nails, I would buy these because I know they fit well. Maybe one day I won't be such a spazz with long nails :P

For more information on imPress, visit www.impressmanicure.com

Camino Ginger Dark Chocolate Bar Review

ethicalDeal recently sent me a Camino chocolate bar to review as part of their new ethicalSamples program. I'm a big fan of Camino chocolate. Their chocolate bars are certified fair-trade, organic, kosher, and gluten-free. Here's what I received:

Camino's Ginger Dark Chocolate bar contains 65% cacao. I love dark chocolate but I was a little bit apprehensive to try ginger and dark chocolate. I don't mind a little bit of ginger here and there in my food, but I'm not a big fan. That said, ginger and dark chocolate actually makes a really nice combination in this chocolate bar. It's similar to chili dark chocolate, which I like, but less spicy which works out better than me (I'm also not crazy about a lot of spice).

It's a really different kind of chocolate bar, and I would definitely buy it sometime. I might have to, because the rest of the family isn't getting any of this :P

For more on Camino products, visit www.tasteofcamino.com

Good Things in the Mail - May 12, 2014

Here are some good freebies that came in the mail last week:

• Garnier Damage Eraser shampoo, conditioner, and hair mask samples (from www.garnier.ca - OVER) - I was able to try these products in the Influenster Mystery Box  so I know they're good :)
• SaveaLoonie.com tote bag (from sending in a hot freebie tip)
• Bolt Tape sample (from www.bolt-tape.com - OVER) - I'm excited to try this on my wrist (I have carpal tunnel syndrome), and I've used KT Tape before which is similar so I feel like I'll have success with this

What good things did you get in the mail last week?

Clearance Steals at Chapters

I was at Chapters last week to do a return (accidentally bought a book I already had), and of course I had to go check out the clearance table (my favourite place in the store). I had checked out calligraphy and fountain pen kits the last time I was at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, QC  and REALLY wanted them. Well, I found BOTH kits at Chapters! For uber cheap!

Manuscript Calligraphy Set - reg. retail price $25, sale price $5

This set comes with looks great! It comes with two fountain pens as well as a selection of nibs and colour cartridges, practice pad, and guideline sheets.

Manuscript Quill Correspondence Set - reg. retail price $50, sale price $8

I'm SO excited to try out this set. It comes with a quill with 3 nibs, a bottle of ink, red and gold sealing wax, wax seal, and stationary.

I am extremely excited to try out this set and I'll have to share some of my work once I get started :)

For more information on Manuscript products, visit www.calligraphy.co.uk