I've noticed the growing popularity in these 'beauty boxes' and had been considering trying them out for the last month or so. I picked out 4 different companies Boudoir Prive (£10 + p&p), GlossyBox (£10 + p&p), Carmine (£10 + p&p) and Feel Unique (£9.95). A bit overkill? Maybe, but I wanted to try at least one box from each company to see how they compared. Each one promises almost the same 5-6 deluxe samples with the odd full size product and of course exclusive discount codes for some of the products should you wish to re-purchase.
Although I subscribed to each at the beginning of November I actually received October boxes from two of the companies, Carmine and GlossyBox, which I wasn't expecting.
Below is what I received from Carmine. I'll be sharing my GlossyBox later this week.
I received my first Carmine box around a week after I signed up. How exciting!
Opening up the bright orange mailing box revealed the black box inside. (Sorry about the pics, I had to take them in the evening with a flash. Hopefully the next ones will be in daylight! ^_^)
The inside of the box is a lovely bright green and red with the samples nestled inside some red paper. As you can see there are 5 products in this box:
Balance Me - Super Moisturising Hand Cream (100ml - £14.50)
Daniel Sandler - Eye Delight in Peach or Ice (3g - £10.25)
Trind - Nail Repair Natural (9ml - £12.95)
The Balm - Frat Boy All-In-One Shadow/Blush (8.5g - £16.34)
Caudalie - Quenching Sorbet Creme (40ml - £20.00)
Balance Me Super Moisturising Hand Cream is rich and creamy. It absorbs well and didn't leave my hands sticky or greasy. It's a generous sample size of 30ml so should last a couple of weeks of regular application. The only issue I have with it is the scent. It's very strong, as soon as I unscrewed the cap there was a strong scent of Lavender, which I'm not a big fan of, as well as bergamot and patchouli. I prefer my hand creams to have a more subtle scent but it does the job well and it does leave my hands feeling soft and smooth.
The Daniel Sandler Eye Delight comes in a 3g plastic pot with a clear screw cap. Underneath the screw cap is a plastic sifter kind of lid, which I like since it stops the product falling out when I open it. I got 'Ice' which is a lovely silvery white. I'm quite pleased I received this over 'Peach'. I think it will get a lot of use over the Christmas period and thankfully there is a lot of it to use.
It gives a nice silky sheer coverage (sorry again for the flash pics!). I will definitely enjoy having more of a play with this and perhaps looking at a few more products from the brand.
I think I was most excited to try out Trind Nail Repair so I was pretty happy to have received the October box. The box promises 'strong supple nails' and instructs you to apply once daily for 2 weeks to start with. I'm on day 3 at the moment and haven't noticed any difference in the strength yet but I must say they are looking healthy. The product dries slightly glossy but not too glossy, if you know what I mean. I'm not fond of the super shiny finish that other strengtheners have so I'm happy that this one is more natural. If this works I think it will be a good replacement for my usual, and slightly more expensive Nail Envy by OPI. I will give an update after 2 weeks and let you know how it has worked.
I'm not much of a blush user so I haven't really tried out The Balm FratBoy All-in-one Shadow/Blush yet. It's something that I need to do a bit of experimentation with. I'll probably use this more as a shadow more than a blush. I like the shade and the texture is soft and silky. What I love is the packaging! Very cute and it has a nice sized mirror inside the lid.
By far my favourite product from the box and the one I will definitely be buying in the future is Caudalie Quenching Sorbet-Creme. It has a fabulous texture and absorbs into the skin leaving no residue behind. It left my skin feeling amazing and so, so soft! The scent is subtle and I find it quite pleasant, although I have read that other people dislike it.
Over all a very impressive collection of products. I wasn't very familiar with many of the brands, which is exactly what I was hoping for so that I might find some hidden beauty gems ^_^ I think I'm already hooked and can't wait to try out this months selection!
I'll be putting up my experience of my first GlossyBox in the next couple of days. You may have already seen reviews, the products were equally exciting for me to try as these.
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