GLOSSYBOX April 2012 Box Review

Glossybox has just arrived here in the States, and I had a chance to test out their very first US sample box. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Glossybox, allow me to briefly explain the concept behind it: Glossybox is a subscription-based luxury beauty sample service. Each month, Glossybox puts together a set of five deluxe or travel-sized beauty samples and delivers it to your door. I was quite surprised at what my Glossybox contained- have a look below to see what was inside!

The first thing I noticed about the Glossybox was the packaging. Everything was color-coordinated and carefully wrapped. Even the shipping box was decorated. The pink Glossybox box is very sturdy and can definitely be re-purposed. I know that it's just paper and cardboard, but the attention to detail in the packaging made it feel really special.

Glossybox USA April 2012 Box

The Glossybox will contain a different set of products each month, but the April box contained these items:

Basq Cucumber Tea Eye Gel (full size) - A cooling, hydrating eye gel. I found it to be a bit sticky, and the menthol in it made my eyes water and burn a bit (I was not expecting an eye cream to contain menthol!), but when stored in the fridge and applied lightly, it is rather refreshing.

CARGO EyeBronzer (full size) - This is an orange-bronze metallic powder eyeshadow with a sponge applicator. I didn't think CARGO made this anymore. This one I already have; I bought it on clearance when Sephora was clearing out CARGO a few years back. I can't find this item on CARGO's website, so I'm fairly sure it is actually discontinued.

C.O. Bigelow Lavender Peppermint Shampoo (full size) - I really enjoy the calming, herbal scent of this, but it leaves a soapy film in my hair and makes it feel dry and squeaky. Would probably make a better shower gel or bubble bath than a shampoo.

Erno Laszlo The Hollywood Collection (sample packets) - The only item in the box that wasn't full size. I haven't used this yet.

Kryolan High Gloss Brilliant Lip Shine in Toffee (full size) - Has a great creamy formula and a nice, soft brush applicator. Unfortunately, I can't wear the color at all. It's the type of color that makes me look like I erased my lips with foundation. I like the formula enough that it's made me want to try other shades of Kryolan Lip Shine.

OPI Nail Polish in Kiss Me On My Tulips - A brand new shade from the Spring 2012 Holland collection. I've previously reviewed this, but you really can't go wrong with OPI nail polish.

A closer look at the color cosmetics included in the April Glossybox.


Kryolan Lip Shine in Toffee (top)
CARGO EyeBronzer (bottom)

What I liked:

• Nearly everything in it was full sized. I was not expecting that, but it was a really nice surprise!
• A good variety of items included in this box. Color cosmetics, skincare, haircare and nail polish.
• Gorgeous packaging. Re-useable pink box.
• The service is inexpensive and the value of the products included (in this box) far outweighed the cost of the box.
• A one-month subscription is only $21. Six months is $150 and a full year is $220.
  

What I didn't like:

• The subscription/purchase page on the Glossybox website only seems to be accessible when there's a new box available, making it hard to sign up in between boxes. You must subscribe to the newsletter to know when the next box is available.
  
• I already owned some of the items in here. This is bound to happen at least once, especially if you're really into beauty products. Not really an issue, but something to consider if you have a sizable makeup stash.
  
• I'm not certain if the box is customizable at all. The website mentions the ability to fill out an online profile and create a "bespoke beauty profile to start receiving your personalized beauty samples." I didn't see this option for the first box, but it may become available during the next box.
• If you wish to cancel your subscription, you must do so at least 14 days before the next box is due to ship. If your account is terminated by Beauty Trend for any reason, they will not refund any remaining/unused time on your subscription. Full details are available on Glossybox's Terms and Conditions page.
• The box reviewed here was a "promotional" box and may not accurately represent the contents of future boxes.
  

I think this is an awesome idea and I'll definitely be subscribing when the next box becomes available. Based on the products included in this Glossybox, I think it's worth the $21 a month. The retail value of everything in this month's box combined was $85, though there's no way to know if each subsequent box will have the same value. I'm looking forward to the next one. Can't wait to see what's going to be in it!

EDIT: After a short conversation with a Glossybox representative, I've been able to verify that the featured Glossybox (April) was a one-off "promotional" box. The representative was disappointingly evasive when I asked about future Glossyboxes containing any full-sized items, so I'm not sure if the next Glossybox will be of similar value to this one. I guess I'll have to wait and see when the next box goes on sale.

The next Glossybox should be available soon, but for now you can view the details of this month's box (no longer available to purchase) or find out more about how Glossybox works here.

(This was sent for review.)

Makeup Monday: Cargo Voyages Gloss Collection Spring 2011: Voyages Gloss Set

While I was flipping through the new Ulta sale flier this week, I noticed that there was a new Cargo Voyages kit for summer in there. It's almost time for the summer collection and I still haven't finished posting the spring collection that I have to review! Eep! Well, there's still time.. here it is!

The Cargo Voyages Gloss Collection is a set of five travel-sized glosses in cute travel-themed packaging.


The five shades are:

Serengeti, which was in the Safari kit as well. It's a sheer peachy shade with microglitter.


Tokyo, which is a sheer shimmer-free warm rosy pink.

Las Vegas, which is a sheer champagne shimmer with golden microglitter.


Morocco, which is a sheer plum mauve with microglitter.



Paris, a sheer rose mauve with frosty shimmer.

Swatched:


Paris, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Morocco and Serengeti. You may need to enlarge these to see the pretty microglitter. Las Vegas and Morocco are especially sparkly.

The formula on these is smooth and thin. It's slick feeling and the glitter shades are a touch gritty. It's not large, chunky glitter, it's very very tiny, but you can still feel it if you rub your lips together. Due to the thinness of the formula, it's not a very long-lasting gloss.

There's no particular strong or detectable taste or scent. Once they're on your lips, there's practically no scent at all and only a light unflavored gloss base taste.

While the gloss formula is nice and the colors are pretty, there are a few downsides for me.

The most noticeable flaw is the size of the gloss. They're tiny. There's an optical illusion created by the thickness of the plastic tube that makes them appear larger and fuller. However, when the wand is removed, you can see that the tube is barely half full of gloss. These each contain 0.45g / 0.015oz.

On one hand, this is a flaw if you are expecting something bigger. On the other hand, this is convenient if you bought these for travel. They're small enough to take on a plane, they're tiny enough to fit in a pocket, and you could conceivably finish them during the trip and not have to take them back with you.

The other downside, for me at least, is that the colors are very sheer. They add sparkle and shine, but not much color. Only a sheer tint.

And, lastly, again, this is my personal preference, but... They're not scented! Plain, unscented gloss is boring for me, I'm a little disappointed that they're so plain.

This set is priced at a very affordable $22 for the five. But, I must mention... that's $22 for only 2.25g / 0.075oz of product. For comparison, a single MAC Lipglass is 4.8g / .17oz and costs $14.50. Basically, you get half the amount of product as one MAC Lipglass for $7.50 more. I think what you're paying for here is the travel-sized convenience.

So, to recap: Cute package that looks like a postcard, tiny travel sized sheer gloss, good texture but not long lasting, no scent.

This set is cute and the colors are nice, but it's not as good of a deal as that awesome Safari kit from this spring Voyages collection. I'd recommend that kit just for the gorgeous Coral Beach Beach Blush alone. Either way, both the kits are still available from CargoCosmetics.com.

(This was sent to me for review.)

Cargo Voyages Collection Spring 2011: Safari

CARGO cosmetics has just announced the re-launch of their website, www.cargocosmetics.com! You can now order online direct from them, and as a thank you gift to their customers, they're offering 20% off your first order when you register for their newsletter. Along with the re-launch of their website comes their spring 2011 collection, Voyages. It's a set of travel-friendly, multi-tasking beauty essentials, and I had the opportunity to review a couple of the items.

The centerpiece of the spring collection is the Safari set. It's an adorable makeup bag filled with travel ready shades inspired by the colors of the African savanna.


It includes three full sized items and two minis, and it comes in a really nice safari-themed makeup bag.


One side has this adorable postcard theme, with appliques and stitching. It's a really nice quality; it's not a throwaway bag like a lot of travel sets have. The material feels like a soft, buttery leather and it seems sturdy and well constructed.

One of my favorite details is the zipper pull:

It's a swallow charm. I really like this little extra feature. Swallows have symbolic meaning for travellers, especially sailors. There are multiple meanings behind the swallow symbol. Swallows are known for their faithful return to San Juan Capistrano every year, flying over 6,000 miles to make it back. So, for some, swallows are a symbol of faithfulness and returning home after travel. For sailors, a swallow tattoo was somewhat of a merit badge- traditionally, each swallow tattoo they had represented 5,000 nautical miles that they had travelled. Swallows are also a symbol of returning home safely, as it's said that they appear when ships are nearing land. Whatever the swallow means to you, it's a nice touch that's especially symbolic in a collection called Voyages.

The other side of the bag has a safari theme. The safari image is printed and the flamingo is an applique.

Enough about the bag. You know how much I love packaging, so I could go on and on about it... But there's makeup inside!

A full sized eyeshadow duo in a new shade: the left half is a sparkling metallic gold and the right half is a dusty olive-khaki shimmer.



A full sized Beach Blush in Coral Beach. It's a blush-bronzer fusion; it has stripes that can be used separately or blended together. It has a light golden bronze, a medium coral, a light peachy-pink shimmer and a medium peach shimmer.



A full sized eyeliner pencil in Khaki. Khaki is a deep brown with a slight green undertone and lots of delicate gold sparkle.



A mini Triple Action Mascara. It's a curling mascara that also lengthens and thickens the lashes.


...And a mini lip gloss in Serengeti, which is a sheer pinkish peach coral with tiny, tiny gold and copper microglitter.


Here they are swatched:





Gold half of shadow duo, green half of shadow duo, Khaki liner, Coral Beach blush and Serengeti gloss. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the pretty sparkly microglitter in the gloss and the liner.


The eyeshadow duo has a very silky, velvety texture. The pigmentation is very good, but it's also buildable. You can do a more sheer wash if you apply lightly, but you can also build up both colors to make them sparkle more. I find that the gold half is easiest to apply with the fingers; it has a light, flaky texture that looks more glittery when applied with a brush, but more of a smooth metallic when applied with the fingers. It can look slightly flaky when applied with a brush, but that is easily remedied (if you don't want the sparkly look) by quickly smoothing your finger over it after applying.

The packaging on the shadow duo is also rather cute. It comes in a tiny silver tin, like a smaller version of the blush. The eyeshadow feels hefty, it really feels like you're getting a good amount of product and the pan seems really deep. The only downside to the shadow duo is that it doesn't seem to have a name.

The blush is excellent. The shade is extremely flattering on my skin tone, but I can see it working well on both fair and dark, warm and cool skin tones. At first I was afraid it would be frosty, but it really isn't. The shimmer is very minimal and can be buffed/blended away if you want to tone it down even more. When I used it, I blended all the shades together and it became a lovely warm coral. You can also pick out the individual shades with your brush; bronze for bronzer, peach or coral for blush and light pink for a highlight. The shades are all pigmented enough to double as eyeshadow, too.

They eyeliner was also excellent. It has a perfect texture. It's not too slippery/slick/mushy so it doesn't wear down really fast. It's also not dry, it doesn't tug or skip. It was smooth without being squishy. It had great pigmentation, great texture and the sparkles were actually visible (see below.)

The mascara was okay, but not my favorite. It looked really nice, but I just prefer more volume. It applies really smoothly and doesn't clump. It has one of those spiky plastic brushes so it gives tons of definition and acts as its own lash comb. It gives good length, great definition and decent volume. It's supposed to be a curling mascara, but I always curl my lashes anyway so I didn't notice the curling effect, if any. It didn't flake on me when I wore it and it was easy to remove.

The gloss is nice, too. It has a very silky, non-sticky texture. The shade is my favorite part of the gloss; it's a sheer coral that has an iridescent sheen and some super tiny gold and copper glitter to give it sparkle. The glitter doesn't feel gritty; it's too tiny to feel. The effect is subtle but still interesting. I might like to buy a full size of this color... The only flaws with the gloss are that it's really small (the tube doesn't seem filled completely to the top) and it's unscented. It doesn't have any detectable scent or flavor. I know a lot of people who prefer an unscented gloss, but that's boring to me!


Here's a look I did using these items:



This was:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Gold half of duo on lid, applied with fingers
Green half of duo in crease and on lower lashline
Khaki pencil as liner
Cargo Triple Action Mascara, three coats
Fyrinnae Cheeky and Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Powder as highlight

If you enlarge the pictures, you can see the gold sparkle in the eyeliner. This is a more subtle look, but I think it looks really fantastic against my eye color.

Here's a closer look at the mascara:
Three coats of the Triple Action Mascara. It did a really great job of separating and defining my lashes, so if you like a more defining, lengthening mascara, this might be a good mascara for you. I personally prefer a bigger, fatter, faker lash look from my mascara.

Overall, I think this is an excellent set. The quality of all the items is great and isn't lacking in any area. The packaging is attractive and well-made. But, what I think I like most about the Safari set is that it has everything you need. Eyeshadow, eyeliner, curling mascara, blush and gloss. The only thing I could think to add to it would be an eye primer and a tinted moisturizer or foundation, but otherwise this is perfect. After testing this out, if I had the chance, I would totally buy this again. Especially because it's a really good deal; only $34! Three full sized products for $34. The Beach Blush alone costs $28 and an eyeshadow single is $16, so yeah, super good deal. And, if you get it with the 20% off code it's around $27 so it's like you're getting a discount on the blush and the rest of the stuff is free.

This is only my second experience with Cargo eyeshadows and I have to say I'm impressed. My first experience was with the Lumieres du Monde palette and I liked that, but I love this. Now I feel like I've been missing out by not paying more attention to CARGO. I really want to play with more of their shadows and Beach blushes now.

This is available now on CargoCosmetics.com, Ulta, Sephora at JC Penney and Beauty 360.

(This was sent to me for review.)

CARGO Lumières du Monde Palette Winter/Holiday 2010

CARGO is still a fairly new brand to me- I've not used very many of their products so I was really excited to try this eyeshadow palette they've released for holiday 2010. Here's the product description:

"Lumières du Monde - ($29 regular retail value of $175)

This gorgeous holiday palette, meaning “lights of the world”, with original artwork contains eight professional-quality eye shadows and a blush/bronzer duo for an alluring holiday glow. With a retail value of $156 this kit will outlast the wintery weather and take you – or your Secret Santa – well into spring. A collection of matte and shimmering shadows offers an endless number of color combinations for any occasion, day or night. Shades include:

· Eye Shadow in Deep Teal Green

· Eye Shadow in Sparkling Bronze

· Eye Shadow in Periwinkle Purple

· Eye Shadow in Sparkling Electric Blue

· Eye Shadow in Sparkling Brown

· Eye Shadow in Matte Beige

· Eye Shadow in Matte Warm Grey

· Eye Shadow in Glittery Gold

· Blush in Rome paired with Medium Bronzer"

When it arrived in the mail, boy was I surprised! This thing is MASSIVE. Huge. Monstrous. The sheer size alone really makes you feel like you're getting a good deal.

Here's what it looks like inside:

Open palette- indoor and in sunlight. It has a cover that flips open like a book and it has a magnetic closure so it can't open accidentally. I don't know if you can tell from the picture because I haven't included anything for size reference, but these shadow pans are huge. They're the size of a Stila or Make Up For Ever shadow pan. The bronzer/blush combo is about the size of a MAC bronzer compact. If you divide the cost of the palette it comes out to about $3.20 per item.

Here are the colors swatched (indoors and in sunlight, no base):



Smoky teal, shimmery gold, glittery blue, duochrome purple, glittery brown, warm matte beige, matte white, shimmery khaki, bronzer, blush.

The pigmentation is really good on these. Usually when companies do big "value" palettes for holiday the quality ends up suffering (for example Tarte, Lorac.), but not in this case. These all applied smoothly with great payoff. Some of the shimmery colors are a bit flaky- the gold and khaki colors- but the rest are smooth and even.

The description lists a warm grey, but the palette doesn't actually have one. Unless they're referring to the nude beige color? I'm not sure in what universe nude beige equals grey, but can you do?

I haven't used all of the colors on my eyes yet, but judging from the ones I have used, I feel confident saying that the application on these colors is great. I've used the duochrome purple, the blue with glitter, the gold, the khaki and the matte beige and the pigmentation and blending were just right. I had no issues other than a mild amount of fallout, which is really a non-issue in my opinion. The blue with glitter is especially smooth and blendable, but the glitter doesn't really show up on the eye. I'd assume the same for the brown with glitter.

The bronzer turned a little orange on me, especially when I tried to mix it with the pink blush. I'm fair and cool and the bronzer is quite warm. The whole palette actually seems suited more for a warm skin tone than a cool one.

Overall, I really like this palette. It has fun colors and it's enormous. Good combination of mattes and shimmers and even a little glitter. It has a color light enough for a highlight that isn't super frosty (one of my palette pet peeves is including only super frosty highlight colors) and colors dark enough to define the crease. I don't believe I've ever used Cargo's eyeshadows before (except for the Eye Bronzer and a really old palette I used once) but now that I've tried them out and liked them I'm really tempted to try more.

I think this really would make a good gift. The pretty design on the front, inside and on the shadows and the almost comically large size of the palette are really special and the price is right.

(This was sent to me for review.)

Loose Ends and fun stuff.

After I swatched those new Sally Hansens that seemed very familiar, I had to go looking for what they reminded me of and I thought that I had posted the Sephora by OPIs already but I guess I hadn't! I never ended up getting all of them, but I did get these two:

Just A Fairy-Tail.

and

Mermaid To Order.

And yes, now that I'm seeing them again and not basing it only on memory, they totally are matches to the new Sally Hansens. Thank you to Krisprimps for refreshing my memory as well!

This is OPI Pink Me I'm Good from Valentine's day at Ulta. Not the best picture of it because it only shows the gold side of the glitter. It does a little green duochrome too, but it's subtle. One of the very few pinks I like to wear.

OPI Bling Dynasty from the Hong Kong collection. I didn't have a bottle of this at the time I did my post and I was going to go back and post this picture with the review, but it took me longer than I hoped it would take to get an acceptable picture of this.

That was a bit of a drag, now I want to post something fun.


This is an awesome Bourjois polish that my buddy Helen gave me. I don't think it has a name.... I've looked all over the bottle and I'm pretty sure there isn't a name. It's hard to capture in a picture, but it's a dark smoky teal/green with tons of shimmer and a purple-dark mauve duochrome. It's really freakin' sweet. It reminds me of black bird feathers, how they look black in one light and then they're iridescent in another? It has a really odd brush, a lot like the new Sally Hansen brushes- big and wide and flat! I actually really like that style of brush because it covers my whole nail in one stroke. I'm so in love with this polish. Thank you Helen :)

I got this Cargo Wet/Dry eyelining palette on clearance at Sephora a little while ago and I love it! I was very shocked by the size of it- it's as small as a credit card!- but apparently it doesn't need to be any bigger cause I've used it a ton and haven't even put a dent in it yet. I've only used the black, sparkly black and sparkly grey ones so far, but I think they're really nice. I use a drop of MAC water based mixing medium and a very short bristled stiff angled brush and the line comes out perfect. I used to use a cake eyeliner years and years ago and this reminds me of the one I used to use. I haven't tried them as eyeshadows. I don't know how well that light purple (yeah... two of those are purple, blame my camera!) would work as a liner though.... I haven't done a look yet that needed a light purple eyeliner so it remains untried.


Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Malachite Pearl. I don't think I even need to say anything about this. I think words would ruin it. Shhhh. Just gaze upon the beauty and let it speak to you.

Revlon Street Wear Burnt. This is the grey-green version. This is one of those Streetwears that has multiple versions all under the same name. I don't know why companies don't just use different names. I was at Sally last week getting some new Finger Paints and noticed that China Glaze Flying Dragon is a totally different color than it was when I first bought mine... Bizarre.... why not just name it... uh... Walking Dragon? Swimming Dragon. Cause it's not the same color anymore. Oh well. I love this polish. Why did Revlon ever stop making these?! Now their polish line is super boring. I wish they'd bring these back, or at least re-create some of the colors.