Another new fulfillment company this month (First Mile), but the box arrived on November 3rd without an issue! It’s also a much better box this month with a range of products from face/skin to bath/body which is nice. No real theme this month, other than a general idea of dry, winter skin and taking a break from the havoc of the holidays. Anyway, on to the contents!
- Zosimos Raspberry N Honey Face Mask – 4 oz / $28 – (sample is 1 oz, value of $7) I’ve mentioned before that I love clay masks, and I generally use one about once a week. That fresh, clean, tight skin feeling after the mask feels great, so I’m happy to see this sample in the box! The price is pretty reasonable for the volume. There was a little kerfluffle over the labelling since the product card said the product was vegan, but honey is kind of a hot button issue in the vegan community and from what I can tell, is largely not accepted as vegan. It doesn’t make a bit of difference to me since I don’t follow a vegan lifestyle, but just in case you do, this product is definitely not vegan. I gave this a test already (right after using the Tatcha powder). I added enough water, but it clumped up in a few spots and the clumps wouldn’t work into the mask nicely – maybe those are the honey bits? Not sure why it came out lumpy even though I mixed it in my palm well, squishing out the lumps as best as I could. It’s definitely not as smooth as other masks I’ve used. Dried up nicely, washed off easily, left me with that clean, tight skin feeling. Followed up with the DN Unik day cream from last month.
- Tatcha Polished Classic Rice Enzyme Powder – 2.1 oz / $65 – (sample is .35 oz, value of $10.83) I wasn’t sure at first what this was, but it looks like a face wash/scrub. A really expensive face wash/scrub. It’s not something I’d buy because it’s crazy expensive, but it will be fun to try something so spendy. I did give this a try and didn’t notice any difference – it didn’t feel like it even cleaned or exfoliated. The powder is very fine instead of coarse like a sugar scrub, so it doesn’t feel like it had the same effect that a coarser scrub would. There’s also an offer for a free travel size product with purchase.
- MyChelle Clear Skin Spot Treatment – 15 mL / $16 – (sample is 15mL, full size, $16) A full size sample! And, something I’ll definitely use. Even though I’m in my mid-thirties, I have breakouts (making up for my teenage years when I had so few pimples, it was almost criminal). I love that it’s sulfur based because sulfur products seem to work better and quicker than anything else I’ve tried. I gave this a quick dab on a spot and it doesn’t smell strongly of sulfur like other products do. There’s also an offer for a free Argan Oil with purchase of the Perfect C Serum.
- Lauren Brooke Corrective Concealer – 7 g / $14 – (sample is approx 3.5 g, value of $7) I ended up liking the Finishing Powder from the July Box more than I thought I would, so I’m willing to give this a go! I do have pretty dark under eye circles, but I find most concealers to be thick and cakey and feel weird. We’ll have to see how this one works out. There’s also a code for 20% off all products.
Update 9 November 2014 – I actually really like this! It’s not too thick of a concealer, so it tones down the dark circles without feeling cakey and blends in really well with my skintone. Lauren Brooke is on the fast track to becoming a favorite brand! - EO Everyone Yoga Bubble Bath – 600 mL / $12.99 – (sample is 44 mL, value of $.95) So here’s where I admit that I hate taking baths. The idea of sitting in warm water in our teeny bathtub does nothing for me, and I can’t wash my hair in the bath tub, I have to shower because of my long curly hair. If I’m using that much water, I might as well have clean hair too. So, I don’t use bubble bath, except maybe once a year on vacation if the place we’re staying at has a fancy whirlpool tub. I may try to use this as just a regular body wash instead and see how that goes The scent is nice, herbal and fresh with just a hint of citrus. The ingredient list though is amazing and I’m thrilled they don’t use SLS or ALS in the product at all. There’s an offer for a full size bubble bath with $20 purchase.
- Blissoma Scentless Stick Natural Deoderant – 2 oz / $14.99 – (sample is .15 oz, value of $1.12) Yet again, I hand over my natural fanclub card when it comes to deoderants. These just NEVER work on me, and a scentless one is going to have no smell to even try to cover up any stink that is bound to happen. Also, the information on the sample says to wait several hours after shaving before using. Just how is that supposed to work? If I don’t put on deoderant right after a shower (which usually involves a pit shave), I start to stink within the hour. Do you go out of the house without deoderant on and then apply it at 10am? No, that just doesn’t work. I do appreciate that the sample is in stick form instead of in a pot (smearing deoderant cream on my pits is just the grossest thing ever). I mean, I’ll give it a fair try, but I’m not holding out hope that this will actually work at all. There is a coupon code for 20% off.
Update 9 November 2014 – Yeah this didn’t work beyond two hours. It’s weird. I’m not the sort of person who needs clinical strength deoderant.. good old standard Dove is fine. This stuff went on chalky and left bits all over the floor and then offered no protection from odor or wetness. Total failure. If someone knows of a natural deoderant that works, I’d love to try it, but so far, I’m striking out.
Final tally gives us a box worth $42.90 (calculated by volume, not taking into account sample size packaging costs). Aside from the deoderant, I really like everything else and will definitely use up the samples. Even if some of them are things I wouldn’t buy or use in my daily routine, the box still brings me some nice treats and splurges that I get to try for the fun of it!