When I got an email from The Best Beauty Box Ever to ask me if I’d like to receive a complementary beauty box to review, I tried to play it cool, I really did…. Fail: I was jumping with excitement and my email reply had a number of OTT exclamation marks. I actually said YES PLEASE!!!! in capital letters. I’m so uncool. I love all things beauty and when my friend recently told me about Beauty Booker I was so excited. It’s sounds amazing. There are so many great products in the beauty industry now, I never know what to try first!
I’ve had my Best Ever Beauty Box for nearly three weeks now and I’ve had the chance to give all of the products a jolly good test drive, Here’s my thoughts which are, as usual, honest and unbiased, albeit a bit too wordy. Sigh.
Wait: What the hell is a Beauty Box?
Ordinarily the concept with beauty boxes is that you sign up and, for a set fee each month, you receive a package of beauty products (which might be samples, or full sized products). Usually you end up getting a bunch of products at a much lower cost than if you buy the products individually which can amount to a significant saving. I’ve been chomping at the bit to to try a beauty box. However I’ve been reluctant to commit on more than a one-off basis. My reluctance also was because, often, you don’t know what products you are going to get. But wait: The Best Beauty Box Ever is different! How so?
How The Best Beauty Box Ever Works
Good news: There’s no ongoing/long-term subscription with The Best Beauty Box Ever: Nope, you just buy a box when you want it. Also, if you don’t want a surprise in terms of the products you receive, you can jump online and check out the contents of the box . Awesome. Price-wise, there’s a bunch of different boxes at prices to suit your budget. For example:
- Nail aficionados will enjoy the We Love Nails box filled with 10 nail products for $58, the full value of box would ordinarily be $169.
- Those who love to shop Kiwi made will enjoy the NZ Brands Beauty Box (NZ$97) which is crammed with 11 full sized products which would, all up, usually retail for $289.
Check out the range of boxes here. I got the Incredible Eyes box, which I was bloody stoked about – beauty eye products are my favourite products. The Incredible Eyes box retails for NZ$74.95 and it contains $236 of products. Holy shitballs. I love a deal… This is a steal.
So, what was in my box? What are my thoughts? Keep reading!
Mellow Glam Eye Shadow Palette
This is a GREAT palette. I am, frankly, stunned, that it retails for $28.50, especially considering it was designed and tested in NZ: This is astonishing bang for buck. There’s 14 shadows, 7 velvety smooth shimmery colours (all are gorgeous) and, pleasingly, seven matte colours (I’m a big fan of matte shadows for blending out the eyeshadow crease). I’ve been using this palette for the best part of three weeks and I’ve got one slight criticism: It’s missing a matt skin coloured neutral colour for brow bone highlighting. That’s being a bit picky… That there is a blush and bronzer included, top marks. Seriously impressed. RRP: $28.50.
L’Oreal Paris Brow Artist Plumper
LOVE THIS! I’ve already waxed lyrical about this in my April favourites blog post. I’m a big fan. RRP: NZ$19.99
L’Oreal Paris Superliner Smokissime
Another BIG winner from L’Oreal. This black smokey liner has been worn non-stop for three weeks and I’d go as far as to say that, as the lover of a smokey eye most days, this half eyeliner/half eyeshadow product is a gamechanger product for me.
The spongey tip is unique: It’s super soft with a pointy tip so you have good control, yet it blends really well at the same time. It’s a bit hard to explain what I do with it, but here goes. Using a ‘naked eye’ (that only has eyeshadow primer on), I apply this as an eyeliner, thickly, and messily. Then I softly blend it in with an eyeshadow brush that has a bit of ‘fluff to it’ (like a MAC 217 brush). Then I apply a mid-toned eyeshadow to my whole eyelid (like any of the sparkly colours in the Mellow Glam Eye Shadow Palette), including over the top of the eyeliner. Done. The result is a glam smokey eye with sod all fuss. I am going to get the dark brown version of this. Totes in love, I’ve been doing demos on y friends. I think they think I’m a bit bat shit. RRP: NZ$22.99
Artiste Small All Over Shadow Brush
This is a neat little brush that has a rounded natural bristle tip which is ideal for applying eyeshadow colour to the whole eye lid and highlighting the brow bone. It’s also small enough to apply eyeshadow to the lower lash line. A thumbs up for a mighty good staple in your makeup bag. RRP:$16.49.
Manicare Eyelash Curler
I’ve been curling my lashes since I was 13 years old when I got my first curlers from Boots on a trip to the UK. I know it seems a bit freaky, curling your eyelashes, but I just don’t get why more people don’t do this: Eyelash curling opens up the eyes and makes your lashes look longer and your eyes bigger – this step makes the single biggest difference in my whole daily makeup regime (and it has many steps, let’s be honest).
This stainless steel eyelash curler is good. It comes with spare cushions/pads which spins my wheels: Did you know these need replacing? If you don’t, you’ll risk cutting your eyelashes off (my friend Jenny kept doing this and couldn’t figure out why her lashes were so short… I called her an egg and explained that she was trimming her eyelashes most days. Jenny thought I was a genius for working it out). If you a newbie to eyelash curling, hook yourself up. Top tip: Give the curler a quick blast with the hairdryer to warm it up before you curl your lashes. This trick creates curled lashes the same way curling your hair with a curling iron does. RRP: $12.99.
Manicare Pencil Sharpener
I already had one of these, but really needed a second one as I keep misplacing my original! This is a dual cosmetic pencil sharpener, one side is suitable for fat pencils. I love this, in part, because of the no-mess catcher. Because there’s two sizes it fits nearly all of my eye and lip pencils. The blade is also super sharp – the result is perfectly sharpened pencils with no mess.A great staple for your makeup kit. RRP: NZ$11.99
Jessica/Taylor Lashes
I don’t really need to use falsies as, thanks to fLash eyelash serum, my eyelashes are so long they look like falsies already (don’t mean to brag…) Anyhoo, I gave these a bash and I can report back that they are gorgeous! They instantly accentuated my eyes and I had thick and full, but still natural-looking lashes. I find I often have to trim falsies (with scissors) to fit my eye: Sometimes they are too long. Good news though, there was no cutting to size necessary with these, they were perfect. These have been carefully filed away back in their box: I’m going to bust them out again on Saturday night for my mate Cathy’s Glitz and Glam 40th birthday party. I reckon I’ll get another few wears out of them. RRP: NZ$13.99
Manicare Mixed Mascara Wands
This is probably a product that would spin the wheels of a die hard makeup geek, or a makeup artist. I do makeup on other people (mainly friends but I take the occasional client) and I buy these regularly on account of good eye hygiene: You don’t want to use the wand the mascara comes with on multiple people – ewww! Show us your eye-itis! Anyhow, this packet of mascara wands comes with four different mascara brushes to help create different looks (volume, lengthen curling,define). They are good, I like ’em, these are a regular purchase for me and a welcome inclusion to my Beauty Box. RRP: NZ$11.99.
Manicare Precise Grip Tweezers
I’m a bit embarrased, I’ve shunned pharmacy bought tweezers up till now. Smack my bum: These are shit hot. They’ve got a precision slant tip for general tweezing and, by jingo, they get the fine hairs that you didn’t think possible. When you get a super sharp pair like this you realise how blunt your old tweezers can get! I love the non-slip design too. Warning: They are so precise and sharp, be careful not to pinch your skin! Totes recommend and I love the price-tag: RRP: NZ$13.99. Hell, they are that good: Get two pairs, give one to a friend!
Dr Lewinns Firming Eye Cream
This was such a good score in the box: This eye cream retails for NZ$59.99 and there’s a shit tonne of product: 30g worth – I reckon this’ll last me at least six months. Containing Vitamin A to assist in skin cell renewal, and anti-oxidants and multi-vitamins to help hydrate, rejuvenate and nourish your skin, this highly concentrated formula targets all the stuff around my eyes that gets me down: Puffiness, fine lines and general tired signs. Long story short, I REALLY like this product and it does a good job of tightening (you can feel it working ) and making me look more awake. As for reducing fine lines: These look smoother somehow. They are still there though.
I apply this gently to my eye area after cleansing and toning, and before my serum. The eye cream is a gel formula, which is lightweight and contains natural pigments for an illuminating effect to, presumably, make the undereye area look brighter (you don’t end up looking like a disco ball, don’t worry). The gel consistency absorbs quickly which is brilliant for use under makeup. Note: I’ve got to deduct a few brownie points deducted for the packaging, I am not a fan of eye creams that are in a pot: You need to keep sticking your fingers in the pot each time and this gives me a bit of angst from a hygiene perspective. Simply, I prefer a tube. Yeah, I’m anal.
Now, as a bit of a disclaimer, I am enjoying this product so much I eagerly ciphered some out and gave it to a friend to try out (in a sterile container)… Bad idea, she has slightly sensitive skin and she said it made her eyes sting and water. Bugger. I have skin as tough as old boots though – I’ve not experienced any issues.
Za Killer Volume Curl Mascara
I was excited to try this as I’d heard good things. But it didn’t really work for me as I’d hoped. This mascara is supposed to create volume and long-lasting curl. It did slightly curl my super-straight (and non eyelash curled) lashes, but it made my lashes so clumpy and almost glued them together: I couldn’t even comb them (with a specific eyelash comb). It also, bizarrely, straightens out my eyelashes if I apply it to lashes that have been curled with an eyelash curler. Part of the problem is that the mascara is just so wet: I’ve resorted to wiping nearly all the product off on a tissue before I use it. As for trying to remove it… I needed twice the amount of a coconut oil as usual and I only wear waterproof mascara, I’ve never had such a palaver in the removal process. Maybe it’s just me… Anyway, I can’t say I’m a fan, but it might be just me! You can’t win ’em all. Anyone had good results with this? RRP: NZ$23
My verdict on The Best Ever Beauty Box…
I think this is such a brilliant idea. I thought the variety of the products was well thought out and I loved nearly all of the products. I also tried some new products I wouldn’t ordinarily have bought: The eye cream, the eyeshadow palette (I probably would have dismissed this as cheap and nasty… Opps) as well as the L’Oreal smokey eyeliner, which I would have deemed gimicky.
Mostly I think the box represents sensational value for money: $74.95 for $236 worth of products. Far out. I love a bargain. A box of goodies from The Best Beauty Box Ever would be a brilliant present for a makeup lover. I’ve been showing off the box to all my friends and colleagues and everyone has commented what a gorgeous gift this would be to receive. Don’t worry: I’ll remind you all of this closer to Christmas! Bottom line, I received this complementary from The Best Beauty Box Ever (thank you so much!) but I’ll be buying one of these, for sure, as a treat for myself sometime soon.
