Wednesday, November 13, 2013

TOPBOX REGULAR EDITION NOVEMBER 2013

The month of December is already here!
What happened to the time.....something must have sped all these calendars up as I see how little I have updated my blog lately.
At least I did manage to get very good use out of this Topbox and have almost used up every item in it!
(Guess that happens when you skip another sub you have and have less samples you want to try out...).

November 2013 Topbox!

Here is what was received in my November 2013 Topbox:









I will have to add that this was not the most exiting Topbox I've gotten lately.
Not the most thrilled about this selection and first- seems more like some useful items to try out.
I've tried some Cover FX products before and know they are high quality.
 Shu Uemura I've tried some of the hair products I think. Currently I am using another Japanese cleansing oil by DHC, so that is not a new idea. Never tried such a FANCY cleansing oil though!
Perfume samples are nice and useful,I have so many to still try out...
The castille soap smells so nice, not very new to these kinds of soaps- usually health stores and farmer markets sell this kind of thing- not familiar with T Langhans products.
I do like how the November 2013 box has a nice mixture of face and body products and even has 2 Canadian-made items!

Now onto what I thought of my Novermber 2013 Topbox selection:

*Cover FX: CC Cream Time Release Tinted Treatment SPF  30
.
(sample size 5ml/0.16 fl oz, value $7.50 // full size item 30ml, $45).
This happens to be a Canadian-made item! The 5ml size tube is a good size to try out a product for a few days. I do not recall trying out another CC cream yet- I've tried BB creams and many tinted moisturizers over the years.
The light shade I was sent makes me look a bit pale- usually I am a medium beige/olive skin tone and naturally tanned. The cream went on quite easily and has a bit of a scent- not enough to distract, but a light fresh scent. Usually I prefer fragrance-free skincare.
The CC cream left my skin with a shimmery finish that was quite natural. This product seems to work better for me with a face powder over it to make it look not as light.
I did enjoy trying this sample and will use it all up. Will most likely buy the full size in the future!

*Shu Uemura: Cleansing Beauty Oil.Received the purifying kind.
(sample size 20ml, value $7.00// full size 150ml, $50).
This sample bottle just seems so tiny, at least compared to my other cleansing oil from DHC (that is also Japanese). Usually cleansing oils are quite concentrated, but the Shu one looks quite liquid and watery in the bottle.
The scent is light and fresh, a clean scent. I'm not too sure what more to expect from a expensive cleansing oil, my other one is more resonable in price and works very well.
With such a tiny bottle I have to be careful not to spill the contents of this extremely tiny bottle, with a even tinier cap...
The oil is quite watery and if you are not careful applying it, you could easily spill it everywhere.
Now that I got the cleansing oil on my face, it does do a good job of taking off my sunscreen and face stuff.
You are supposed to rinse your face afterwards.
My face feels very clean and not at all "oily" from using just the Shu cleansing oil. I do not even need to use any toner after this as my face feels very clean.
After using the Shu cleansing oil once a day for two weeks I still have 1/2 the bottle left...amazing!
I was not expecting the product to be so concentrated and lovely!
Now I will have to put this on my wish list of cosmetic items!
I really want to try out samples of the other kinds of Shu Uemura cleansing oils to see how they all differ. Hopefully someone can send them my way..ry.....:)

Update Jan 11, 2014:
I am very impressed with how long the Shu Uemura cleansing oil actually lasted for such a small bottle!
I was expecting to get only a few days use, maybe a week at most and this lasted me 3 weeks with using once a day.
My skin also felt very clean compared to other cleansing oils I have tried.
Compared to my other cleansers I did not need as much product and that was very unexpected.
Next time I pass by a store that carries the oil, I am surely buying some!!

*Parfums Issey Miyake: PLEATS PLEASE.
(sample size 4ml vial, value $4.24// full size 100ml, $106)
After reading the description, no clue what kind of scent this will be. This is described as being "joyus,upbeat,graceful and feminine). Could be just about..................anything!
The sample is a nice size and came in a long vial- not the most practical thing, still very generous size!
When I smelled the Pleats Please fragrance, to me it smells light and floral. A clean and fresh scent that is quite unobtrusive. You could wear this to work during the day and not annoy anyone.
I can not make out what the notes of this fragrance are, but I will use this up.
Doubt I would buy this,but it is quite nice.

*T. Langhans : Handcrafted Castille Soap in Lemongrass.
(sample size 20grams, value $2.50// full size 105-135g, $12).

This was the item that made my Topbox smell very nice when I was unboxing it!
The scent of the lemongrass was very fresh and strong- great if you like lemongrass and lousy if you dislike it.
Lemongrass happens to be one of my favorite scents, so that was a plus!
Castille soaps are supposed to be very gentle on the skin as they retain all the good oils when the soap is made. Most "commercial" soaps they take out all the good things and they can dry your skin out.
This kind of soap is great for someone with very dry skin during the winter as it did not dry out my skin.
The small sample bar lasted longer than I expected, but I will have to give a somewhat lower score on this item because you can find castille soap for much less cost in a lot of local shops around here.
If there are no natural product stores or local soap makers in your area, then this soap is a very nice treat (or gift) for yourself.

Final thoughts about the November 2013 Seasonsbox:

Overall I did like this box and learned of one new brand.
Also, I had not tried any of the products that were sent to me before, so I can say Topbox did a great job of introducing me to some new cosmetic items.
The value was not the highest coming in at $21.24.
I did make use of every item in my box, so that was good!
Can't wait to see what December brings as that is the festive season!

1 comment:

  1. I got the same, except for lipstick samples (repeat) instead of soap. Here's my review:

    http://rebekkahmay.blogspot.ca/2013/11/topbox-november-2013-review.html

    ReplyDelete